7.

"Mom, I can't, it's too hard and you-you're too fast," Sora panted, his hands on his knees and his face dripping. His two 3DMG swords lay tossed to the side, the wires dangling from his waist.

"We're not through yet," Mikasa wiped her face with the back of her hand and looked skeptically at her middle child. At nineteen, he was still lanky and not yet filled out like his older brother, and he lacked the strength to carry his own weight, a requirement for joining one of the squads of the Scouting Legion. "A few times more, Sora. Your father is coming back in a week and expects you to pass the assessment before he returns."

"Mom. You know I can't pass in a week. I shouldn't even be joining the Scouting Legion anyway," Sora frowned and waved a hand over his face.

"And whose fault is that? Who was the one who said he was going to be just like dad–"

"Mom. I was seven. I didn't know it was required to actually see the things we were ordered to kill," Sora said bitterly. He sighed and faced his mother, the milky blue irises of his eyes boring holes into Mikasa's chest.

Sora had been born blind, an impairment that had kept him from joining the Trainees' Squad at the usual age, and though he was an intelligent kid with brains rivaling Armin Arlert's, his dream had been to join the Scouting Legion under his father's squad. It was something his parents had been against since the very beginning: "Without your eyes you'd be a burden to your squadmates, and that is not something we can force on them. It's dangerous as it is, and we can't afford to lose any more men. We're sorry, Sora." They had done everything they could to protect him from the military's reaches, even going so far as to send him to the Capitol to keep him from the Trainees' campground.

But of course he had defied them (Mikasa thought it was unusual for her children to follow any rules at all); a few years ago he had snuck out with his older brother Rin to try out Levi's old 3DMG in the dead of night. Discovering what Rin had done, Levi and Mikasa had chased them through the nearby forest, believing that the boy tailing Rin was one of his friends and not their blind son. By the time they had caught up with them, Sora had been sitting comfortably on a branch of a tree, grinning triumphantly, and Levi and Mikasa had been speechless.

So here he was now, attempting to perfect the use of the 3DMG even though he was debilitated. If he managed to pass the assessment, he'd be the first blind soldier the military had ever recruited. His unnatural hearing and sense of direction helped him during the basic trainees' tests, but his final assessment was coming up and Mikasa had warned him it would be an entirely different experience. He'd need to demonstrate the precise cutting technique normal eyes would allow him to perform, and so far his cuts had either been off by a few inches or too shallow.

"You're going to have to figure it out, Sora. I know this is a lot to go through, but I can only help you so far," Mikasa flipped one of her blades into her husband's signature backhand grip, and Sora jerked his head at the sound, the slight whizzing sound of cutting air sinking into his sensitive ears. He furrowed his eyebrows, anticipating his mother's attack, and picked up his own swords, his head turning as he strained to hear Mikasa's movements.

Closing his eyes, he brought the swords into a defensive position, waiting for his mother to make the first move. She swung to his left, bringing the sword down on his shoulder but he managed to swerve out of the way and rolled to her right.

Strike to the left, then a full turn and strike to the right. Thigh-high. Jump! His mind scrambled to predict the succession of attacks and dodging his mother's other blade, he flipped his right sword into a backhand and twirled into his own attack.

Clang! His two blades bit into his mother's as she blocked the cutting attack and she nodded her head. "Good, Sora." She jumped back, examining the tiny nicks in the metal where Sora's swords had hit. "Only off by an inch this time. Force was good. Judging by how deep the nicks are, I'd say you need to add a little more strength. Much better."

Sora nodded, sheathing the blades and releasing the handles. "Rin's teaching me Father's attack. I'm not as fast as him though, so I don't have the power behind it like Rin does." He panted. "Can we be done now? I still have to do that atrocious workout Dad left me."

"Yes, you do," a low voice drawled, and Mikasa whipped around to see her husband walking across the field to where they stood.

"Levi! You weren't supposed to be back until next week!" she exclaimed, her face incredulous but full of relief. Whenever Levi left her, she worried deeply, sometimes locking herself in their room for hours, saying, doing, eating nothing. And every time he came back to her, alive and unharmed (mostly), her soul would rejoice and she'd give thanks to whatever god would listen.

"Mission was successful. Squad cleared out the rest of the titans in that town on the border, and Erwin decided we'd earned a break. Only two lost this time," Levi said quietly, and stopped in front of his wife and son, crossing his arms. His green cloak hung over his arm and a deep cut inked the side of one of his cheeks. One of his hands held a few ripped pieces of cloth, bloodied blue and white peeking through his fingers, and Mikasa knew he'd be up late tonight, writing condolence letters and drinking the pain away.

Mikasa's eyes widened, her heart picking up speed. Rin had been placed in his father's squad. She swallowed and looked questioningly at Levi, preparing for the worst. She hoped to high heaven her son's patch wasn't in Levi's hand.

But he shook his head, silently telling her that their oldest hadn't been one of the two killed, and she breathed out quickly, closing her eyes. She'd sleep peacefully tonight, knowing her family was safe and unbroken.

"Sora," Levi turned to his middle child, narrowing his eyes.

"Father," Sora nodded in his direction. "Mother says I'm improving. I've been practicing all–"

"No matter how much practice you get, it won't prepare you for the real thing. We're going out beyond the Wall tomorrow. You've been sheltered enough." Levi's eyes were hard and his words were clipped.

"Levi!" Mikasa swiveled to face her husband and slammed down the swords into the dirt, leaving them quivering where they stood. "He hasn't even passed the assessment! You can't place him up against a real titan just yet!" she said harshly, her voice rising. "This was his decision, not yours. He should–"

"There's nothing to discuss. We leave at 0600 hours tomorrow morning, Sora," Levi interrupted her and turned on his heel, black hair whipping in the light breeze.

Mikasa's heart sank. Biting her lip, she turned back to her son, who was staring blank-faced at his father's back, his hands clasped behind him. "Sora," she said softly, "I'll talk to your father. You know how he gets after…after…" she couldn't bring herself to say it. She'd watched and heard too many of her comrades die before her eyes, and watched and heard Levi grief at the losses, too many to count now.

"Mom. I…I think I can do it," Sora didn't move from his position, eyes still focused on Levi's retreating back. "If Father thinks I'm ready, I must be. I'll try." His voice wavered ever so slightly and Mikasa wanted to embrace him in a crushing hug and never let go.

"Let's go back to the house, Sora. We'll talk about it later tonight." But Mikasa could hear the doubt and hopelessness flooding into her own voice.

"Levi, talk to me. You can't just expect Sora to go out there and be exactly like Rin. His eyes–"

"I know about his eyes, Mikasa. Don't lecture me," Levi snapped from the bathroom. Dinner had been a quiet affair, neither Levi nor Mikasa speaking to each other, and their children hadn't dared to say a word either, knowing it was best to keep quiet, lest a violent argument break out.

"Then you know we must take certain precautions to make sure he stays safe. He's going to end up a liability if you throw him in too early!" Mikasa retorted back, her frustration slowly rising.

Levi walked into their bedroom, dressed in nothing but his sleeping pants and Mikasa could see multiple new cuts decorating his pale skin, some serrated and larger than others. She lowered her eyes. Those definitely weren't cuts from the 3DMG swords, and Levi was skilled enough to not cut himself with the wires.

"Tell me you didn't."

"I had no other choice. My squad was ordered to take back the town. The bandits refused to leave peacefully," Levi said coldly as he slid into bed next to her.

Mikasa swallowed, wondering just how many he had to kill for the mission to be successful. She wrung her hands, winding the sheets between her fists.

"Twelve." Levi said sharply, answering her unspoken question. "Twelve bullets, twelve people." He said softly. "Rin stayed back."

"So you'll protect Rin but throw Sora in danger?" Mikasa grabbed her husband's hand, running her fingers over the rough calluses and massaging the palm. "You know how much passing this test means to him. If you take him out there now…you'll only make him doubt himself more." She leaned into Levi's side, tracing the scars on his chest and earning her a faint hiss from his lips.

"He'll never learn if he doesn't experience that fear. He needs to learn to act on his feet," Levi breathed, and Mikasa ran a hand down his stomach, feeling the low pulse beneath his hot skin.

"Not now though. Let him pass the Trainees' test. Then take him beyond the Wall," Mikasa scowled, irritated that Levi refused to comply. Her first duty was to be a mother and then a soldier, something Levi oftentimes forgot.

"Mikasa…"

"Just sleep on it, Levi. We'll talk about it in the morning. You're exhausted and tired, and you're hurt. Just…rest," Mikasa pulled him down further into the bed, kicking the sheets away so that there was nothing between them. "You've been gone for so long."

"Sleep, eh?" Levi asked, his voice taking on a throaty timber. "You drive a hard bargain, Mrs. Ackerman," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

Turning out the lamp, Mikasa rolled over, never taking her eyes off her husband's. She'd won the argument from today, but she knew Levi would be merciless tonight, rough in his lovemaking and relentless in his passion.

But that was okay, as long as her children were safe tonight, so she would be just as intense, knowing this might well be the last time they ever made love.

Trailing kisses down her back, Levi growled, and Mikasa shivered from the savage sound, growing more and more lascivious as he stripped the rest of his clothes.

Problems forgotten, she whimpered excitedly. Tonight would be a night to remember.