This is 99.9% based on the Hunger Games scene with the whole 'boy with the bread' thing. Also Petra lives in the inner city, Sina, and is close in age to Levi.

The first time Levi came above ground wasn't when Erwin captured him along with Isabel and Farlan.

The first time was when Levi was ten. He was a small, skinny kid at that age, but he was still fast and agile, and that's what helped him get passed the guards who stood watch at the stairway to 'freedom'.

Levi didn't have any particular plan in mind when he decided he wanted to escape the underground. He just wanted out, and he wanted it now.

So Levi managed to slip around them at a time which they were intoxicated. They were half-conscious and barely able to stand, so it had been easy to steal the keys from their belt and quickly make off. Dirty pigs, he thought to himself in satisfaction as he peered out at the sky for the first time. They deserved being made fools of.

The world above was vastly different than what he'd been imagining. He supposed he'd been picturing roads of gold and so much food and wealth that it flowed from the houses in abundance.

But the streets were made of cobblestone and the houses were normal enough, though clearly in better condition than those below.

Now that he was here, Levi finally stopped to consider his situation. Yes, he'd gotten above ground, but what was he to do now? He was in the inner city, comprised of the wealthy and fortunate. A ragged kid like him would draw unwanted attention in no time.

Levi began to realize just how short-lived his moment of satisfaction had really begin. Without a citizenship, he'd be captured by the Military Police in no time and returned to the underground. There weren't many places he could go in this city as so not to stand out. He was beginning to regret his decision to venture out of the underground to begin with.

Not to mention, he was hungry and cold, and it looked like it was going to rain.

And rain it did, coming down in heavy sheets and torrents, dousing him completely and seeping down to his bones.

Shivering, Levi wandered the streets, but everyone seemed to have escaped inside. No one was out, and even if he knocked on a door, he was sure to he turned away. Who would take in a starving kid who looked as if he might attack you at any second?

Then he caught sight of the garbage cans. Remembering the stories that Kenny had told him about people actually having enough to eat and could actually afford to throw away food, his steel gray eyes perked up.

Crossing to one of the tall metal objects, he stood on his tiptoes (why did they make these things so tall!?) and quietly pulled off the lid. Eagerly, he peered inside, only to be attacked viciously by a swarm of flies.

Levi swatted them away and hopefully examined the can. But his heart fell when he found it spotlessly bare.

He hurried around to several more, the rain still coming down with icy-like fingers that struck his skin and trickled down. But all the cans had been emptied already, the garbage collected and taken away to be burned.

Levi sank down against the side of a shop, too tired to care that he was risking illness by staying out in the rain. His immune system was already low as a result of malnutrition, and it would drop even further in these conditions, the cold leaving him susceptible to any lingering viruses.

Viruses could be fatal, he though vaguely as he began to drift off, his body turning numb. In the underground, with little to no experienced doctors and poor living conditions, even a small cut could kill you. Left without treatment, the chances of it getting infected were high.

Ah, he was so hungry. He wanted bread...a luxury he almost never managed to get his hands on. He wanted it so badly he could almost smell it...

Levi bolted upright when he realized he could smell fresh baking loaves. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he stumbled to the front of the building, and with a bit of difficulty, (he wasn't a very proficient reader yet) spelled out the words 'Sina Bakery'.

A bakery! He hadn't checked this garbage can yet, and there was a possibility of something, anything, that had been recently thrown away.

He quietly lifted off the lid, not wanted to attract attention from the lights that still glowed within the shop, and with his heart beating faster, glanced inside.

Nothing.

The dejection almost crushed him. He'd been so hopeful this time, so confident, so defeated, that there was nothing, that he stood there a moment, still clutching the lid in his hand.

He wished he'd replaced it immediately though, when the bakery bell jangled and a large, scowling man stepped out and walked purposefully his way.

Levi moved to return the lid, but the man was already screaming, asking him who he thought he was, he didn't look like he was from around here, was he one of those rats from the underground and if he was, did he want him to call the military police?

The man unceremoniously shoved him, grabbing the lid himself and slamming it on before yelling at Levi that he wanted him gone. Without a second glance back, he stormed back into the bakery, and only then did Levi catch sight of the little auburn haired girl who had been watching from the doorway, a sorrowful expression on her small face.

He watched as she quickly stepped inside behind her father, but soon after, he heard a loud crash and the father began screaming again. "You idiot! Useless girl! Who will eat burned bread? Throw it to the pig, you useless creature, no one in their right mind would buy it now!"

The bell jangled again and the little girl stepped out, carrying two large loaves of bread, the outsides blackened. Her face was red, and he could clearly see the slap mark on her cheek. She didn't look at him, but instead began tearing away burned portions of bread and tossing them to the animal. Her father watched for a few moments before shaking his head and disappearing further into the shop.

A few moments later, however, Levi heard a splash near his feet, and looked down in surprise to see one of the loaves of bread. A second splash quickly followed, and the girl hurried back into the store, her eyes meeting his for less than a second.

But it only took him a second to be captured by those large, amber orbs that in that moment, seemed to fill up his world.

That was the first time. The first time he'd seen her, that is. And he never forgot.

And so, when he finally locked eyes with those glowing amber gems years later as she pledged her allegiance to the survey corps, he couldn't help but be transfixed, the way he had been all those years ago when he stared in disbelief at the life giving bread.

He had wanted to say something to her, to ask her if she remembered as clearly as he did, but when he opened his mouth, the only words that escaped it were, "What's your name, soldier?"

"Petra Ral, sir!" She cried, staring at him with as much conviction as she could muster. "I want to join the survey corps and help humanity attain victory against the titans!"

Levi nodded sharply. "That's a noble goal, Ral. See that you stick to it." He opened his mouth to say more, but quickly decided against it, moving to the next soldier in line, who he was also considering for part of his special operations squad. "Name!"

"Erd Jinn, sir!"

That was the second time he saw her.

And he never forgot the last time he saw her, her head facing upwards, her amber eyes facing the sky. Her amber eyes that were now dull, but still looked to the heavens, and he thought, as he stood above her, maybe, just maybe, to him.

The End.