Ashes and Oaths - A Levi Ackerman x Reader Story

~ 2 ~ The Man In The Hat

I leave the tavern as soon as I can, heading back to the alleyways to find my way back to my little hideout that I share with Astrid and Hugo. They're the only ones I have ever trusted to sleep around. I could never let my guard down like that around anyone else. It's not far from the tavern, but it's better than staying in Korst's nasty apartment above the tavern. 

A few blocks from the tavern, I find the stepping stones leading up to our little hideout. I jump up on the first one then grab ahold of the next one, pulling myself up. With two more jumps, I throw myself through the window of the dank room. As soon as I am safe, I pull my scarf off my face. 

Inside, Astrid sits with a candle lit at the small table with three mismatching chairs. Some broken, as the trash is an unreliable place to find furniture. I don't see Hugo, but I can sense his presence somewhere nearby. 

"You're back early," Astrid smiles at me, her bright emerald eyes sparkling against the candle light. "You turned down another job?"

"How'd you guess?" I say, less of a question but more of a statement.

"What, are you suicidal?" Hugo asks, coming out of the single room we have in this place, pulling a gray shirt over his chiseled chest. 

"Y/N, you need to stop doing that!" Astrid shouts at me. 

"If you're going to shout at me, use my other name," I tell her sternly. "The window is open."

"We're worried about you," Astrid says, brushing off my request. "We don't want Korst to hurt you. He doesn't take this sort of thing lightly."

"Let her do what she wants, Astrid," Hugo states deeply. "If she wants to die, that's on her."

"I don't want to die!" I tell him, glaring slightly. "But you know how I feel about him having full control of me. I understand he's our boss, but I don't want this forever."

"Yeah, we know," Hugo rolls his eyes, not wanting to hear another one of my rants. He walks over to our makeshift kitchen, grabbing a cup from the chest we keep on the floor.

"Don't be a dick, Hugo!" Astrid glares at him. "You just don't want to hear it because you feel the same way, you just don't want us to know."

"Yeah, because you forget what Korst taught us," he strikes back. "Push your emotions deep down. They don't matter down here."

"But, they matter when we're together!" Astrid says back. "Y/N and I can shut our emotions down, no problem, but when we're all alone, I don't mind letting the walls down."

She's not wrong. These two are the only people I have ever allowed myself to trust. They taught me that I'm not just the shell I was built to be. I can be myself around them and that means everything to me. 

"Yeah, sure," Hugo says. "But that doesn't mean I want to hear her annoying rants again. I've heard it all before. We all know we're not getting away from Korst, so let's just drop it."

"Yeah, you're right," I admit. 

"Do you want some tea, Y/N?" Hugo asks me. 

"No, thank you," I say. "I'm not staying, I just dropped by to clean up a bit. I'm heading into town for a bit."

"Do you want company?" Astrid asks me. 

"No," I state plainly. "Maybe next time."

I hear her huff, as I turn around and go into our shared room, shutting the door behind me. Inside, I see the candle Hugo left lit lighting the room. In the middle of the room, against the wall, is the mattress that the three of us share. It took a month, but we used all our money combined to get it.