Hey guys. Welcome back to another chapter of HSF. This is the second part of the double chapter update and it may play out to be shorter than the previous one. That's because this chapter wasn't initially there. it just came about and I felt the need to put it in. I hope you like it. Anyways…

Oh and wait… I don't know if this chapter will make the ratings go up. you tell me.

"Go ahead and do it," Mikasa challenged, locking her grey eyes with his blue ones, "hit me…"

Mikasa had to admit, seeing him so angry did unnerve her a little. Still, she kept her face confident, not daring to show him any fear.

She had just about had enough of all of this. She couldn't believe Levi would go as far as giving their son a pocket knife, endangering his life with whatever training he was giving him and all this was being done behind her back.

What happened to trust? Weren't couples supposed to let each other know what was going on?

Mikasa kept watch as her husband's glare left hers, his eyes surveying the area around him.

His face remained plain as he probably didn't care about what the others thought of him. The looks they had given him were akin to those given to the criminals. But Mikasa wasn't bothered. In fact,

He deserved it.

His features remained the same up until his eyes looked over her shoulder to where their children were standing.

His pupils dilated and his breathing steadied.

Mikasa steadied herself as soon as he let go of her scarf. She watched, keeping her guard up, as he slowly turned and started to walk away from the group, away from the many scrutinising eyes around him.

She hated to fight with him. She really did, but it was moments like this, when Levi acted so… ugh, that set her off.

Previously they had been fighting about Junior, and Mikasa had come to understand that he was right. She was holding their son back. So what did she do? She gave Junior space and Levi the opportunity to mould him and possibly even all their children.

Today had been a different day, Dean had gotten injured because of a pocket knife, owned by Daniel, given to him by Levi for God knows what reason but whatever it was,

In no way was it right to give their son a dangerous weapon.

"Daddy!"

Mikasa was pulled out of her void of thoughts by the sound of Marie's small voice calling out to her father.

Before Mikasa could even say anything, the little girl rushed over to her father, trying her best to reach out to him.

From everyone else's angle, the conversation looked one sided but Mikasa knew he was trying his best to keep himself composed so as to not break down in front of their little one.

Mikasa loved Levi, with all her heart and there was nothing that would ever change that. She knew that he loved their children as much as she did and she'd never doubt that. Still, there was still a very thin line between complete carelessness and what he had done.

There was only so much she could tolerate.

Mikasa flinched, when she heard him raise his voice at Marie, the little girl immediately beginning to cry while Levi retreated into the house, leaving everyone outside.

"The nerve of that man, putting his poor children in danger," Carla commented before looking at Mikasa, "you see what I was saying, dear?"

Mikasa didn't respond to her mother, she instead rushed over to her daughter and picked her up, holding her crying form close to her bosom. She began to bounce her.

"Sh... stop crying," she whispered into Marie's ears, trying her best to calm her down but what happened next, shocked her.

"No! let go of me! I don't want you!" she wailed, kicking and pounding her fists against Mikasa's torso. They didn't hurt physically but there was a stinging sensation in her chest.

"Marie, what's going on?" Mikasa asked, looking down at her.

"Mikasa, what's going on?" Carla asked, walking up behind her, "why's she upset?"

"Grandma!" Marie said, reaching out for her grandmother.

Hesitantly Mikasa, Mikasa let Marie go into her grandmother's arms. She couldn't tell what stung more, being rejected by her own daughter or her daughter being more comfortable in someone else's arms.

"Marie, what's going on?" Carla asked Marie, who was pouting right back at Mikasa.

"Mommy made daddy angry!" she spat.

"That's because your daddy did something wrong," Carla explained.

"No, it's because mommy's a… a bad mommy!"

Mikasa gasped. That was the cherry on top. She had never, in her entire life as a parent, anticipated being scorned by any of her children. She had done her best to be there for them. Even when she was working. She'd come home exhausted but still have manage to save up enough energy to watch the kids' favourite evening shows with them before dosing off on the couch. She never wanted her kids to see her in a bad light.

"No, sweetie. Your mommy's not bad," Carla tried to convince the child.

Using her sleeves to wipe away the tears that almost strayed from her eyes. Mikasa sniffled before saying, "Mom, thank you for having us over. I really need to go."

She needed to leave, fast.

"Won't you at least be there for dinner?" Carla asked, worried about her daughter, "you don't have to help out in the kitchen."

"No, it's fine. Just make sure Junior eats before he leaves," she said before feeling a hand tap her back. She turned and found all her other kids behind her.

"Mom," Daniel's voice came in a rather sombre tone.

"Yes, Danny," Mikasa calmed her features.

"I'm sorry for making you and dad fight."

Mikasa's eyes widened.

"No, mom. It's not Danny's fault," Dean interjected, sounding equally sombre, "I'm the one who wanted to play Assassins with him."

"No, Dean. If I hadn't been such a brat and kept my mouth shut, mom wouldn't have gotten mad," Daniel argued.

No… please no.

"Guys… please… stop arguing," Mikasa cut them off.

"But mom…"

"Listen, it's neither of your faults that your father and I fought, okay?" she started, "so please don't blame yourselves. What happened was only between mom and dad. You kids are completely innocent," she then placed her hands on their shoulders, "I shouldn't hear you guys blame yourselves again."

"Okay…" the said in unison.

"Good, now give me a hug," she said, prompting the boys to hug her. "You boys should be good to your grandparents alright?"

"Yup!" they responded, popping the 'p' sound.

She then lifted her gaze to Junior, who had been standing there the whole time, stuffing his hands in his pockets while wearing a frown on his face.

"Junior, is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded, avoiding eye contact.

Deciding not to pry even more, Mikasa offered him a nod before turning.

"Wait, mom."

She stopped.

"You… you and dad are going to be okay, right?"

Mikasa frowned. she didn't want her kids worrying that their parents would separate. that was something that she had never dreamed of. She loved her family too much. She was in love with her husband, no matter how irritating he could get at times, and she loved her children equally as much. Now that their children had started to worry, thoughts ran through Mikasa's mind.

Perhaps their fighting was getting out of hand.

Mikasa nodded her head. she had come to a conclusion. When she got back to the base, she was going to have a long talk with her husband. They needed to sort things out.

For now, all she needed to do was assure her children.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine," she smiled back at them, "okay guys, I've got to go now. Junior, you should come after you eat dinner."

"Okay," she heard them respond before she continued to walk.

"Bye mom…bye Marie," she waved, the former smiling back at her while the latter just frowned.

Mikasa smiled back at her daughter regardless. The little girl was probably just tired and confused. Perhaps Levi's thinking wasn't so far off. at this point she might have to start giving Marie some space to actually think.

The half-Asian proceeded to approach the door, waving goodbye to everyone as she did so.

"Mikasa," she heard Grisha call and turned around.

"Yes?"

Grisha walked up to her and placed something in her hands. she looked at it.

The Knife?

Mikasa raised her eyes to meet Grisha's, asking for the reason.

"I want you to keep this and try and think about it. think about everything that has just happened today," Grisha started, wearing an expression Mikasa couldn't decipher, "I need you to have a nice long chat with Levi, too. You need to come to a common understanding."

Was this his way of giving advice?

"I-I will," Mikasa nodded, "thank you. Have a good night."

With that, Mikasa proceeded to exit the house, with only one thing in mind.

Getting ready to confront her significant other.


"Hey, Mikasa. How was lunch with the family?" Marco asked, leaning against the wall as Mikasa passed by.

"Oh it was… okay," Mikasa said, maintaining her usual plain expression, not giving any indications despite her hesitation.

"And how's Jean doing?" Mikasa asked, remembering the news of his missing son.

Marco frowned. Clearly he was worried about his friend, "honestly, not so good. He's been upset the whole day. He made us walk around town all day just so we could find Pierre," he then sighed, "I completely understand how devastated he is but, I'm exhausted."

"How exactly did Pierre go missing anyway?" Mikasa asked, already beginning her private investigation.

"Well, Jean and I decided to take Pierre to the park after he complained about being bored," Marco started, "when we got there, we played tag a little bit before Jean told him to play with the other kids on the playground. I left Jean to check on this store that was selling everything half-off and man it was crazy in there, people beating crap out of each other over a pair of sandals. some big guy tried to bite me," he smiled before shaking his head, "but anyway. When I got back to the park, I found Jean frantically moving up and down saying Pierre went missing."

"Oh, I see," Mikasa said, taking note, "where is Jean?"

"Oh, he's… actually I don't know where he is," Marco said, growing concerned, "I need to find him. see yah, Mikasa."

Mikasa watched as Marco ran off to find the brooding father. Even though Jean was still a pain, she still hoped he was okay. She then proceeded to her room.

She stopped outside the door and reached out for the handle.

It didn't budge.

It's locked. He hasn't arrived yet.

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a spare key, twisting it into the keyhole and entering the room.

She closed the door behind her and immediately slipped out of her shoes, letting her feet touch the cold wooden floor.

She placed the shoes near the shoe rack and walked over to the bed, crawling to the centre and sitting down, not forgetting to put the knife onto the end table.

It's awfully cold.

Mikasa couldn't tell if she was cold because winter was approaching or because the bed felt…

Empty.

Levi wasn't there so she couldn't talk to him just yet. It wasn't a bad thing, perhaps it just meant she had an opportunity to prepare.

Prepare for what? He was her husband. Talking to him wasn't supposed to be hard…

Was it?

Mikasa shook her head. she had started to acknowledge that she was starting to get nervous about it. She didn't know why, and it was killing her. She just needed to wait for him to arrive and then they would have an actual conversation.

Yeah, definitely beats worrying about things.

Finally, content with her decision, Mikasa scooted over to her side of the bed and reached out for the parenting book on the end table. Maybe that would help her pass time and probably allow her to understand if she'd gone wrong anywhere.

"Chapter 6: Listening"

Mikasa sighed, wondering whether it was by coincidence or fate that the chapter she had just started shared similarities to the recent events.

She then sighed before deciding to start reading, her mind quickly being immersed into the sea of knowledge offered by the book.


"Chapter 9: Trust"

Mikasa turned the page, entering the new chapter. Over an hour had passed and she had already read two chapters, each of them putting her mind through a lot of thought.

The door swung open, snapping Mikasa's eyes away from the book.

In the arch stood Levi, looking as indifferent as ever.

Mikasa watched as he closed the door behind him and proceeded to walk towards the shoe rack. He took off his shoes and neatly placed them onto the rack, scoffing when he noticed Mikasa's misplaced ones and placed them onto the rack.

Seems normal

Finally gathering up enough courage, Mikasa managed to say, "hi."

"Hi," he responded before taking off his jacket and placing it on the coat hanger.

"H-How are you feeling?"

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Mikasa cursed herself for asking something like that when she obviously knew the answer.

"Like shit," he deadpanned, finally turning to her. "but that's better than I was feeling before."

"…that's good."

"I guess," he said, walking over to his side of the bed and plopping down, turning to rest his back against the wall.

The air still felt tense and it was getting tenser.

Mikasa decided to put the book down and scooted closer to him, noticing the side glance he gave her when she sat next to him.

They were close enough for their sides to be touching.

Neither said a word.

Mikasa let her head lean against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she took in his musk. It was strong, yet pleasant. Giving her a feeling of security in the warmth of his presence. A feeling of regret coursing through her being for even arguing with him in the first place.

For arguing with the man she loved.

Mikasa gasped when she felt him shift a little next to her, getting nervous that he'd leave her alone to feel cold once more but instead.

She felt warmer.

Levi had stopped shifting and had wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him, resting his head on hers.

Mikasa internally sighed out of relief and smiled to herself knowing he hadn't pushed her away.

Perhaps today was going to be a good day after all.

"How are you…feeling?"

"I'm fine Levi…" Mikasa sighed, remembering the previous events, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I said, Mikasa," he stared, "Like shit, but better."

"Right," Mikasa nodded, closing her eyes to relax against him, enjoying his presence, thinking back to all the memories they had spent together. The times they'd spend in each other's arms, be it watching a movie, being on a date, comforting each other after an argument or loss, or even simply enjoying sitting there in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. And all those times, there was one thing she always wanted to see.

His face.

Mikasa lifted her eyes until they landed exactly where they were meant to be.

As though it were for the first time, Mikasa took in his features, examining each of them closely. She raised her hand and cupped his cheek, enjoying the slightly ruff feeling that had developed probably due to slowly growing stubble.

Her eyes finally landed on his and instantly got lost the sea of blue, hoping to drown in them for as long as possible.

The two stayed that way, their breathing in sync alongside their resonating heartbeats.

Having had enough admiring, Mikasa pulled his head closer and connected their lips.

She sighed as Levi adjusted himself and brought her onto his lap so she was straddling him.

He leaned in to deepen the kiss, placing his hands on her hips.

Finally tired of kneeling, Mikasa decided to relax against him and sat.

Oh…

Mikasa's face flushed, "already excited, are we?" she asked in between breaths.

Levi pulled away, that carnal look in his eyes, "don't forget, Mrs. Ackerman, when I'm done with you, you won't be able to walk straight," he growled.

"We'll see about that Mr. Ackerman," she said before pulling back into the kiss.

Mikasa let her hands wander from his face and onto his chest, admiring the firmness of his well-built torso.

Damn this shirt.

Mikasa's fingers got to work and masterfully started to work on the buttons, undoing them one by one until Levi's chest was exposed.

She let her hands run along his rock-hard abs.

All that hard work paid off.

At the same time, Levi had been working on unbuttoning her top as well, with speeds mimicking Mikasa and helped her shrug off the shirt, revealing her equally well-built torso.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful," Levi growled, his eyes looking all over her.

Deciding that they needed to go further, Mikasa lowered hands until they found themselves at his belt buckle.


Mikasa lay on the bed, tangled in the sheets and panting heavily, staring at the ceiling.

"That was great."

"Yeah…" she heard Levi respond, "but did you really have to throw me off like that?"

Mikasa lifted her head enough to see the foot of the bed, where she saw Levi lying on the floor, "what could I do? You weren't going to pull out and I'm pretty sure I made it clear that we were stopping on Marie."

"What are you talking about?" Levi asked, getting up and walking up to the bed, plopping down beside her, "I always pull out."

"Really?" she raised her eyebrows, "because if I can remember properly, you said those exact same words he night we made Junior, and the twins, and Marie."

Levi sighed, a small smile forming on his face, "Okay fine, you've got me," he said before briefly glancing at her legs, "do you think you'll be able to walk."

He was really serious about that, wasn't he?

Mikasa rolled her eyes before propping herself onto her elbow so she could look at him, "what if I say I can?"

"We can go again," he sat up.

"Easy lover boy," Mikasa pushed him back down and continued to gaze into his eyes. his eyes, however, were looking much lower than her face.

Ugh, men.

"You know Levi," she started, his eyes shooting up to meet hers, "I think, this is what we needed."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, this… getting intimate with each other. I think it's brought us closer again," she explained, "We haven't been able to reconnect in this way for months now. Maybe all that sexual tension forced us to get frustrated with each other and fight."

Levi's eyes narrowed and he looked away.

Not a good sign.

"Levi?"

"Tch," he scoffed, sitting up, "so you think everything's okay now just because we had sex?"

Mikasa's eyes widened.

What was happening?

"Levi, I…"

"You thought you could get rid of your guilt by getting me to fuck you. You thought I'd forget about everything once you got me under you," Levi spat, "shit, Petra was right!"

Mikasa's eyes widened.

Petra?

"Petra?" Mikasa asked in disbelief, "Levi, how the hell, is Petra involved?"

"None of your damn business," he deadpanned.

"Levi this is a hundred percent my business!" Mikasa raised her voice, "did you tell your ex-girlfriend about what's been happening between the two of us?"

"So, what if I did!" Levi growled at her, "My own wife didn't want to listen to me so I went to someone who did."

Was he being serious? Was he being fucking serious?

"Levi, you could've gone to Erwin, Miche, Hange," she said, striking her left palm with her right pointer finger as she listed each person, "yet you went right back to your ex-girlfriend. Why the hell would you do that?"

"I gave you the fucking answer Mikasa. It's because she listened to me. She took the time to see things from my point of view!" he yelled.

"But you could've gone to someone else, I mean, Erwin would've listened to you," Mikasa pointed out, "heck you could've waited and told me to my face. I would've listened."

She was having a hard time understanding why her husband would choose to complain about his marital life to his ex, the same person that had left him heartbroken all those years ago. The same person he had chosen to forget and move on with his life.

"Mikasa, you have no control over my decisions."

"But Levi!"

"Mikasa!" he roared, banging his fist against the wall.

Mikasa was at a loss for words. She could only stare back at his features, watching them morph from their enraged tension to a calmer one. Levi's face returned to its default state.

He retracted his fist from the wall, "You know what, fuck Petra. She doesn't matter."

"Okay Levi then tell me what it was she told you," Mikasa started, "tell me what it was that she was right about."

"It doesn't matter what she said," Levi defended, "you see, Mikasa. That's the problem with you. You always think you're right. And if something doesn't sit well with you then it's wrong. It doesn't deserve to be considered."

"Back at your parents' place you were so driven by your own emotions and views that you forgot that I was your husband," he continued, "first you slapped me and then you accused me of not caring for our kids. If that wasn't bad enough, you decided to bring up something I so much wanted to forget like it was nothing."

Mikasa saw the look in his eyes. it wasn't the same the same angry one he wore before, nor was it the empty one he always had on. This one was different. It looked almost as if he were…

Hurting.

"You gave literally zero shits about how I felt. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was for me? Do you know how bad that made me look? You didn't see the way everyone was looking at me. The way my own children looked at me," he took a deep breath, "tell me Mikasa, what makes you think I don't care about our kids? When did I stop loving them as much as you do? Mikasa, for fuck's sake, when have I ever hit you?"

What had she done?

Mikasa stayed silent. She never realised all this could've hurt him. But then, he always wore that emotionless mask on his face. No one could've known.

No one but her.

The guilt started to engulf her but she didn't know what to say so she stayed silent.

"Tch!"

She snapped out of her thoughts and saw Levi getting off the bed.

What did she do? Did she say anything? Was she too quiet maybe?

"Levi where are you going?" she asked, watching him put his clothes back on. The same sweaty, smelly clothes he wore before.

He was really mad.

Levi didn't answer. After putting on his pants, he grabbed his shirt and walked over to the shoe rack to grab his boots.

After putting them on, he approached the door and opened it. He stood in the archway and without turning, he said, "Goodnight, Mikasa."

He closed the door.

Mikasa sat in shock after what had just happened, not sure exactly how to react.

She pulled the blankets closer to her chest together with her knees. Her mind started to race, race through that day's events, Dean injured, Daniel's terrified face, yelling at Levi, watching him go, seeing her daughter crying for him, being rejected by her when she tried to hold her, the twins blaming themselves for the fight, Junior worrying about their marriage.

Mikasa felt her throat tighten and her eyes sting. She held the blankets tighter, her breathing destabilising.

Her thoughts continued on, sitting next to Levi on the bed, enjoying his presence, reconnecting with him.

Her thoughts shifted back to the sadder ones. Arguing with him again, seeing the look on his face, having him walk out on her. Her day hadn't been a great one.

And it was all because of her

"What have I done?" she whispered to herself as the tears started to flow down her cheeks. She never wanted things to turn out like this. She hoped the day would be fine. She hoped everything would end as wonderfully as it did when they had the picnic.

Yet here she was, all alone, feeling the room getting colder by the second, replacing the warmth she felt when she was in Levi's arms.

Today wasn't a great day in the end.

Hey there readers, there was chapter 17. Levi finally poured his heart out to his wife. Whoa that was quite something to write. Thanks so much for reading so far and I hope you're still ready for the rest of the story because there's more for yah.

Editing the past two chapters was fun because many of the things I wanted to remove ended up staying because I felt they fit perfectly. I hope you enjoyed the Drama. I hoped you enjoyed the way things played out because wow, this was deep. do you think the Ackermans are going to pull through? Do you think their marriage will last to the end? What about Daniel and his Knife. what's the story?

all these answers are waiting to be revealed in the remainder of the story. so please guys. stay tuned. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, feel free to drop a PM. I'd answer as soon as I could.

I'd love to hear what you all think about this chapter so don't feel too shy to air your views.

SHOUTOUT TO THE FOLLOWING:

arrios18,aydenmdillon,CerisierJin,CrossoverLover2013,emwal6492,InconspicuousRock, ,Redior,Tonkhao,xxxivyninjaxx and all the guest readers that have stuck to the story. I appreciate the support.

Well all I can say for now is see you whenever next I update.

Bye!