OMG. Wow. I need a moment.

It took me almost an entire year to write this story and now it's over.
This is one of the most intense and difficult thing I wrote in my entire life and I never thought it would be so followed. I got so much love in here I could cry.
I thing that say sing "thank you" is a little repetitive now but that's just what I feel, Im so grateful for each one of you who decided to give a try to this story.
I love you so much. Thank you.

When I grow up I want to be happy.

Levi went into their room, slightly sighing. That day continued to rain non-stop and it didn't seem to want to stop, making any outdoor work difficult. The smell of humidity now permeated the air and the coolness it brought with it accentuated the already cooler climate, a sign that summer had inexorably come to an end.

What he saw, after closing the door behind him, caused him a strange heat.

Elizabeth was standing in front of the mirror, with her hands resting on her slightly swollen belly and her gaze in wonder, as if she had only just now realized that she was pregnant.

"There's a baby in here." she explained without even waiting for him to ask her what was going on.

Levi trembled slightly. By now Elizabeth was already five months pregnant and, although her belly still wasn't visible much, the doctor had assured her that it was normal and that the baby was fine.

Leaving the army had been difficult, she felt as if she was leaving Historia alone, but in the end she also knew it wasn't like that. She herself had given birth to a beautiful little girl and couldn't wait to let their children play together. The Queen was particularly happy to receive that news and any excuse was good to get together and spend even just a couple of hours talking in peace.

Elizabeth was beaming. Mikasa kept repeating it every time she had the opportunity, grateful for that home and that new life that she had given her, for that crazy family she had created. Between Elizabeth, Frank and Marie there was no blood bond but she saw them talking every day as if they were the ones who brought her into the world. And, strangely, Levi also got along well with them. The ex Captain of the Survey Corps had become much more relaxed and talkative, sometimes she even saw him smile, especially when she found him in moments of, theoretically, secret sweetness between the two spouses. That child was not yet born and they already couldn't wait to see it.

Marie, in particular, had been the first to go shopping to fill that child with gifts, from clothes to soft toys.

"Mikasa was starting to doubt it, you know?" he stated ironically, hinting precisely at Mikasa's jokes that, while many women complained of gaining weight and becoming huge, she was in that small percentage where the baby bump did not grow that much.

"I know it. But… " she began pressing her hand to a particular spot, tears in her eyes and her voice broken by her emotion. Levi didn't understand what was happening, maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but she hurriedly explained everything to him. She reached her hand in his direction, silently asking him to give her his hand, and she placed it on her belly.

Levi stared at her for a moment without fully understanding, but before he could ask for an explanation he felt something moving under his hand.

One foot.

It was the first time he had felt that foot and his breathing stopped, as if even that life-like gesture could break the idyll that had been created around them.

Their baby was kicking. It was fine, alive and in four months they could hold him or her in their arms.

With a smile he reached out to her wife's lips, kissing her softly. No words could do justice to the emotions he was feeling at that moment.

"It has moved." Levi murmured out of breath, keeping his hand on his wife's swollen belly as he felt his baby's foot under his palm for the first time.

"And to think that I'm alive thanks to him. Or her." Elizabeth commented, moving her gaze to Levi's hand. It was almost ironic, it had to be the other way around, that child alive thanks to them, - and consequently thanks to Hange-, but the former General herself, even if just for a while, had revealed to him, while Levi was unconscious, that the Ackerman blood in that little creature that still it hadn't even formed, it had prevented her from transforming into a Titan after drinking Zeke's wine.

"And I am thanks to you." Levi added, leaving his wife breathless.

And she didn't feel like adding anything. Everything was perfect exactly as she was.

Levi felt short of breath, he could no longer think and did not even know what to think.

Elizabeth screamed. A scream of pain.

And Elizabeth never screamed in pain. Not even when she was tortured or fatally wounded had she screamed, so now he couldn't help but wonder if she was really going well.

Mikasa was sitting next to him giving him quiet comfort while Frank squeezed his shoulder to calm him, but Marie's back and forth was somewhat irritating him.

Sure, he understood her and wouldn't tell her anything.

He had no idea what was going on in that room, closed there for hours that seemed interminable, and without the slightest sound coming out of it.

Until he had heard that scream. He instinctively tried to get up to enter and reach her but Frank put his hand on his shoulder to avoid it. It was forbidden for anyone to enter except for those who brought clean cloths and water.

A strange thud was heard beyond the door, making the four outside worry and intrigue at the same time, and then Elizabeth's voice.

"Bring me here Levi or I swear I'll tear your intestines, tie it around your neck and use it to strangle you!"

A woman with a terrified gaze opened the door slightly to prevent the inside of the from being seen from outside and let her head out just enough to call Levi. The man did not speak, he only felt Frank's hand leave his shoulder and his legs moved almost by inertia towards the woman that was about to give birth to their child.

He entered the room ignoring the woman who quickly closed the door behind her, slightly shaking, and only then did he realize he was shaking too. His hand was shaken by slight and almost imperceptible tremors and he clenched his fists to prevent them from being seen.

Elizabeth was lying on a cot in the center of the room, the window was open but the white curtains in front of it were closed, letting in the summer sun but trying to keep out the heat it entailed. Her legs were covered with a dark cloth, which reached up to her breasts, stopping under her armpits. She had been completely stripped and he didn't know if everything was normal or something was going wrong. Her face was so contracted that she couldn't see her particular eyes, while another woman, less terrified of his presence, lowered herself to bring her head under her cloth. Elizabeth's knees, bent, helped the sheet pull up and prevented Levi from seeing what was happening. And maybe it was better that way.

"I'm here." he murmured, jerking up to his wife and grabbing her hand. "It's okay, you can do it."

Elizabeth squeezed his hand with a force she had never used with him, trying to keep her head up and stifling a scream, or at least she tried.

A second scream of pain escaped her throat and Levi began to sweat. He knew that childbirth was painful but he also knew how resistant she was to pain, which made him think it was something completely inconceivable to him.

Instinctively he went to hold Elizabeth's head to help her, - even before the terrified gaze of the first woman went to ask him -, and to somehow try to support her.

"She's screaming, why?"

"It's all normal sir, I see the head." answered the woman under the sheet, quickly dismissing him. "I need you to push very hard now."

"Elizabeth never screams in pain." Levi answered stubbornly, almost convinced that there was something they didn't want to tell him.

"I assure you that you are normal sir." she resumed with the same hasty tone, which irritated the former Captain of the Survey Corps even more. "You're doing great. Another push."

Levi began to see women bringing clean towels and removing others full of blood so much that they were useless, and his heart began to beat madly.

It was all happening so fast that he almost couldn't make it happen, he no longer felt anything but Elizabeth's hand squeezing his own, almost clinging to it, silently begging him not to leave. His eyes saw red; the more they cleaned blood, the more he worried, until he became pure terror of losing one or both of the two most important people in his life.

Then everything stopped. A last scream from Elizabeth as if to declare the end of everything and, to answer her, a cry.

Elizabeth raised her head to look at their child. A little girl. She was stained with blood and in tears, with her eyes and fists closed, but alive. She let out a tear and an exhausted but joyful smile, without yet letting go Levi's hand. She just loosened her grip, feeling her strength just abandoning her and the need to rest but the sight of it repaid her every effort.

And for Levi, in the meantime, the world stopped. Everything began to revolve around that little girl, his family and the happiness he was feeling. It almost didn't seem real to him, he thought he was dreaming with the fear that he might wake up and find that none of this had really happened.

It was Elizabeth's grip that reminded him that it was all real.

"You made it, my love." he whispered in her ear, bending over his knees up to Elizabeth's blonde head, starting to stroke her hair.

The gazes of both remained fixed on the child whose umbilical cord was being cut and removed from her parents just for the time to be cleaned.

"Mikasa and the others outside will be worried, they must have heard you scream." Levi whispered short of emotion, his hand continued to tremble slightly but this time for a different reason. He was excited and happy.

"Apologize for me." Elizabeth murmured closing her eyes and, aided by her husband, leaning better on the headboard of the bed in a more comfortable position to relax.

"You don't need to apologize." he replied stroking her hair before leaving the room to reassure the others outside.

"Levi!" Mikasa exclaimed standing up. "How's Elizabeth doing?" "Was the baby born?" Marie then asked with her hands folded to her chest and an anxious look.

"When can we see her?" asked Historia instead, who had recently arrived. Levi was not surprised to see her there, in the last periods, also helped by their respective pregnancies, they had formed a good relationship and supported each other even more. He inhaled calmly before answering one by one, pointing to them in the meantime.

"She's only she exhausted but she is fine. Is a girl. And after she has rested."

"My baby." Maria murmured bursting into tears of joy, raising her hands to her face, unable to contain herself further.

Levi looked at her for a tender moment before feeling once again a hand on her shoulder, Frank's, which made him turn around just to embrace him.

"You have become a father. Congratulations."

And in that moment Levi was able to register it completely, feeling his heart beating madly in his chest.

He had become a father.

"Hey sunshine." Elizabeth murmured as she watched Levi enter the room again after permission was given. For a moment he remembered when she had returned from that mission, after Hange had saved her life. She had the same tone. The only difference was that little bundle that she held in her arms, with a raised hand that she then pointed towards him when she saw him enter. "Someone wants to meet his dad."

"She is so small." Levi commented feeling the hands that trembled slightly. What the hell was happening to him? He was the strongest soldier of humanity, for God's sake, and now he was trembling in front of an extremely small creature! But that was precisely the problem, he had always been just a soldier. Although he had always tried to be gentle with Elizabeth, she remained a woman of extreme strength and she did not bend easily. The same could not, however, say of that little girl that, although she was their daughter, she was still too small. "What if I break her?"

"You won't." she smiled as she lifted her little girl, holding her head, and handed it to her father.

"Hi." he murmured, looking the child in her eyes. She was beautiful: blonde hair like her mother and grey eyes like her father. At that very moment, as they looked into her eyes and met for the first time, he extended the oath of protection to her as well. To her daughter. He would never allow anyone to hurt her, whether it was physical or emotional pain, they had to pass over his corpse before.

"She smiled at me."

"She has already recognized you." Elizabeth answered leaning her head against the keyboard of the bed, feeling very tired.

"You have created a wonderful thing." Levi commented, talking to his wife but unable to take his eyes off his daughter. She was so small in his hands.

"Half the work is yours."

"What do we call her?" Levi asked, sitting down next to Elizabeth and settling the child better in his arms, letting her rest her head on his chest, continuing to look at him.

She was studying him with her bright eyes, especially observing that scar on his face. But she didn't seem frightened, just curious.

"What do you think of Zoe?" Elizabeth then asked, referring to the very woman who had allowed that pregnancy. For a while he wondered what expression she would have, what Erwin would say looking at her so small and defenseless, what their old team would do, maybe celebrate, and what their guys would say. Their absence was felt, there was no day when a thought did not go to them.

Levi nodded, fully agreeing with her.

"Welcome to the world Zoe Ackerman."

Year 557.

"Good morning."

Elizabeth stretched better in her husband's arms, enjoying the caresses on her arm that he had begun to give her the moment he heard her wake up. The sun had begun to warm the air and the smell of the blossoming flowers filled the house with a good perfume. Marie had developed a strange passion for floriculture and she enjoyed taking care of those little cries she had placed in front of the windows and in the garden. No one could touch her plants but somehow when Zoe did and then looked at her with her big eyes, she couldn't really get mad at her.

That little girl was a little devil, tenacious and courageous like both parents.

It was not strange to see her try to climb on furniture, to launch herself from unacceptable places in the house or to pull things. And, fortunately, she still could not get to the cabinet where they had put knives and glass glasses...

"Mmm good morning." she answered, still with her eyes closed and her head resting on his chest.

"Mikasa is out with Zoe and Frank and Marie have gone to the market." Levi explained, grinning and hugging his wife a little more, now completely awake. "Which leaves the house to ourselves."

That simple sentence had the power to completely awaken Elizabeth. After giving birth it had been difficult to recover their sex life, which had already changed radically with the discoveries of the Titans years ago. Between the tea shop and Zoe, the only free time they had was in the evening but she was so exhausted that sex wasn't always an option. Not to mention that the presence of the other three, Mikasa in particular, in the same house sometimes held them back.

"And what are you going to do?" Elizabeth asked mischievously, climbing over her husband's body and sitting astride his legs and feeling his growing erection make its way towards her femininity.

"I'll show you first." he concluded by lifting the light nightgown with his hands that left little room for imagination, undressing her completely and enjoying the sight of her body. It was absurd how he could love a person so much, venerate them, and at the same time hate everything related to the subject if it concerned others. She had managed to weaken his trauma, reassuring him and giving him a calmer life. He didn't regret joining the army, but he didn't regret leaving it either.

The more he lived that new life, the happier he was.

Elizabeth raised her arms to help him in the undertaking and then went down with her fingertips to follow the outline of the scar that had marked his face from three years. Yet not even that disfigurement had served to make her love that man less. Even the little girl seemed fascinated by it. The greatest war story, the hardest battle he'd come back from.

With his hands, Levi, he went to just squeeze Elizabeth's buttocks, pushing her against him and making their intimacy still covered, but already feeling her begin to get wet.

His hands went up her back, moving forward to pay some quick attention to her breasts, brushing the scar on her abdomen, the one bigger than the others, and then down again along her thighs. Their lips met, hungry and eager; they searched each other with their tongues and found each other, savoring each other and getting lost in each other's mouth

They weren't sure how much time was available to them but they didn't care, they just wanted to belong, feel and love each other.

The blonde pushed back just enough to completely undress her husband, enjoying the sight of that toned and still perfect body, which by no means seemed to feel the passing of time. Despite all the scars it remained a wonderful sight.

Finally stripped both of their clothes, she went to rub against his erection, which immediately darted in search of those coveted attentions.

Levi sighed, then sneered maliciously as he lowered a hand towards her female hand, penetrating her with a finger. With that single gesture he already felt her terribly wet, he saw her writhing on top of him and moving in a desperate search for some attention. But that one finger wasn't enough, and neither was the second he inserted.

Her moans filled the room as he moved his fingers in and out of her, enjoying her and torturing himself at the same time. Her flushed cheeks and her eyes languid with pleasure made her a sight to his own eyes and, he had to admit, he understood why most of the men who looked at her craved to sleep with her. She was beautiful.

An erotic spectacle which he now could not do without. But it wasn't just that.

It was the big love of his life and he would give anything for her.

Reached the limit to how much he could look at her without having her, he decided it was enough; he removed his fingers and lifted her by the hips, guiding his member towards her entrance and penetrated her with a sharp blow, filling her completely.

Elizabeth moaned even louder, letting herself go completely and sighing at the sensation of her husband filling her, working his way into her own womanhood, skin to skin. She placed her hands on his chest and settled better with her back, giving herself more balance, and she began to move on him, dancing gracefully and gracefully. By imposing a calmer rhythm at first, understanding each other's needs, they slowly found their meeting point, coordinating perfectly and pushing one against the other. In the room nothing could be heard but their moans and the sound of their skins colliding, not even the chirping of the birds they could hear so much they were taken by those sensations so terribly strong.

Year after year the sex got better and better, they never got tired. It was not only mere physical but also moral fulfillment. It was something extremely profound and meaningful.

They felt their hearts beating so hard in their chests that they could have come out of their respective rib cages, looking for their mate and going together.

His thrusts began to get faster and more rambling, until it was too much for her and she could no longer hold up, coming with a strangled scream and throbbing around Levi's member.

A few thrusts and he joined her, emptying himself into her.

For a while they stayed like that, he still inside her and she slumped on his chest while enjoying a few caresses in her hair. Slowly they managed to catch their breath, also remembering what day that was. One they've been waiting for far too long.

"Shower?" she asked, lifting her head to look her husband in his eyes. He smiled at her, nodding.

"Shower."

"Good morning."

Mikasa's voice reached their ears as she walked through the thick front door of the house, leaving the hand of the little blonde girl who immediately found her way to the kitchen, looking for her father.

"Good morning Mikasa." Elizabeth answered pouring a cup of tea for Levi, who immediately welcomed her daughter into his arms.

"Morning."

"Levi is in a good mood or am I wrong?" Mikasa asked Elizabeth, noticing how his usual halo around him that frightened people was missing. But it was also true that when she saw him with Zoe he was a completely different person.

"He's learning how to sleep." commented the blonde, putting the teapot in the sink to be able to wash it after pouring the tea that was left in for Mikasa. "Was Zoe good?"

Mikasa gladly accepted the cup of tea and began to sip it, following the gesture of the woman.

"Very, very good. We went to Eren's grave."

"Are you ready?" Elizabeth then asked in a sweet, understanding tone. In those years they had talked a lot about Eren, about her feelings and the fact that she had to accept his absence. She would never stop loving him and she didn't even have to, but someday it would be time to move on. "You know there is no rush, eh."

"I think I'm ready." Mikasa replied calmly, smiling as she saw Zoe trying to grab her father's cup.

"We are always here for you."

Mikasa turned to Elizabeth, smiling at her friendly and with all the gratitude she had in her body.

"I know it. Thank you so much."

Elizabeth took all three cups, checking the clock and noting that the time had come. They had to go to the port, their guys were returning to Paradis.

"Zoe." Elizabeth called her, immediately getting the attention of her daughter who stopped squirming in her father's arms. "Are you ready to meet your uncles?"

The little girl smiled excitedly, with her grey eyes that immediately lit up with emotion.

"Yes!"