Hello! THIS IS A SEQUEL to "The Shark and the Mouse" please read that first or you won't know what's going on.

Disclaimer: I do not own AOT

Chapter 1

Rui stared at him. This man. This insane man who had been keeping his distance from her physically for two weeks. This man whom she'd fallen in love with over the past seven months. They'd returned two weeks ago to civilization. They'd returned to a group of people who thought they were dead. They were welcomed with open arms to people who, frankly, were just grateful Levi was still able to fight.

They'd returned to the cabin and - God, how she wanted him. But for two weeks...he said no. For two weeks he built her up before shooting her down and, to be honest, she was close to bursting.

And now she stared at him, because the words which came from his mouth made no sense, especially because it was, in fact, his mouth.

"A...baby?"

"That's right," he said, picking up from breakfast. They'd smuggled two chickens back with them and kept them at the cabin for eggs. Thankfully, they seemed to be good layers. Without a rooster, gathering them was easy.

"I'm confused...that's why you've been saying no? You want to get me pregnant?" She repeated. Levi stopped what he was doing and looked back at her.

"Yes. I want to have a baby with you."

Rui blinked as hard as she could. Where the hell did this come from?! There was no way he was in his right mind. She'd have thought he'd gone off the deep end and was somehow drunk if this resistance hadn't been a two week affair.

"Why...do you want to do this?" She asked, still rooted to the chair she was sitting at. Levi moved about the room, clearing the table.

"I don't know. Seems like a good idea," he said quietly, almost to himself. Rui stood up, clearing her throat.

"Okay, well, I'm...not ready for that kind of thing," she said nervously. Levi nodded.

"Yeah, I figured you'd need some time to think it over. So whenever you're ready to have sex again, you just let me know," he said simply, walking into the kitchen. Rui stared after him.

"Come again?" She asked, unable to process what had just occured. "You mean...we won't have sex unless it's to...make a baby?"

Levi called from the other room, "Yup."

Rui shot up from the table, stomping angrily into the kitchen as he dunked the dirty dishes into the trough.

"What - that's completely unfair! You can't hold that over my head!" She argued. This was insane! He couldn't hold off indefinitely until she was ready to get pregnant! He was normally ready to go at a moment's notice. Besides that, what if she was never ready? She was in the scouts after all...

"In the...wait a minute..."

Levi glanced at her. "I smell smoke, you're thinkin' hard," he chuckled.

"Not funny. Is this some kind of half assed attempt to keep me off the battlefield?"

"Half assed? I'd say it would pretty efficiently get you off the battlefield. And it is certainly one of the perks I've been thinking about as well," he smirked.

Rui crossed her arms.

"Have you ever even seen a baby?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Obviously, everyone's seen one. Those little...loud things that run around everywhere."

"Those are toddlers. Have you ever seen a BABY?"

"They come smaller? That's crazy," he smiled. Rui was caught in between finding him adorably naive and pompously irritating.

"You're crazy! How are we going to have something as demanding as a baby?! Less than a month ago you told me to stay away from you, then, the very next day you screwed my brains out. How are we even remotely ready for something like this?"

He looked up to the ceiling, likely remembering that particular event by the smirk on his face, making Rui fume. She made her way over to him, sliding up next to him and tucking herself under his arm.

"Can't we just keep doing what we've been doing and talk about this maybe in another year or two? I'm not in any hurry and it's not like you're going to shrivel up so..." She whispered, sliding her hands up his shoulders. He smiled, taking her lips gently.

"If you're not ready, I'm not going all the way," he said against her mouth, "I'm not taking the chance that you get pregnant on accident while knowing I want it. So until you come to me telling me you're ready, my belt stays buckled, Rui."

Rui broke the kiss, glaring into his steel eyes.

"You make it sound noble, but what you're actually doing is using sex as a weapon. I'll have you know I can go a lot longer than you without it so there's really no point to this," she said sternly.

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I'm not so sure I agree with you, or have you not noticed how itchy you've been lately. You're practically at your limit already."

"I didn't know what I was dealing with! How was I supposed to know you'd gone baby crazy? It's...well...it's a turn off!" She shouted. Levi snorted, chuckling.

"You're a lot weirder than I thought. What kind of woman are you, anyway?" He smiled placing both hands at her hips.

"One who wants to do her job and not be forced into being a parent. I joined the scouts for a reason and I'm going to fight. You can't stop me by trapping me in a house with a child because I know that's all this is about."

Levi frowned. He held her chin, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't turn me into the bad guy. I can't tell you why I've been thinking like this, but I can't stop. As much as I'd like to keep you away from titans it isn't the soul reason I'm thinking this way. I have no idea when you'll be taken from me...and I don't plan on doing this ever again when it happens so it only makes sense to do it with you," he said, his tone growing irritated. He'd been in such a good mood too. Rui felt a pang of regret that she'd spoiled it. She loved his better moods.

"So...if I come to you asking for it, I'm to be under the impression that you're going to try and get me pregnant?"

Levi's face was unwavering.

"Yes."

"What if you break first and come to me? How can I be sure you won't trick me?"

Levi scrunched his nose. "I feel like that would be a pretty nasty thing to do to someone. I've tortured a lot of people, Rui, I wouldn't do something like that to my enemy," he said assuredly. She believed him. Forcing her to get pregnant would absolutely not be something he would do. The more she thought about it, the more abstinence made sense in his case. Though he wasn't worried about accidents before, why worry now when he actually did want to conceive?

"So if I can get you to want it first...you won't try. But if I give in first you will?" She asked, leaning closer again. She raised an eyebrow.

"We're not playing coitus chicken, Rui, either say yes or don't, but I'm not doing it with you until you're ready," he said with a stern look. Rui clicked her tongue, moving away.

"Okay, we'll see how long it takes before you break. But I am impressed with your resolve."

"Whatever, I'll be waiting. You let me know," he said, turning back to the dishes. Rui left the room. For some reason, she felt like crying. Why? She didn't need it that badly. A part of her felt like she'd lost an argument, but that wasn't what had just happened either. She was feeling antsy. Maybe she would break before him. But she for sure was not ready to be a parent.

000

Rui stared at the scouts. They were going over tactics and battle plans. Eren Jaeger was amongst them. Levi spent a lot of time with him and she completely understood why. He could turn into a Titan at will. What an ability! But then most of the other scouts, the ones who weren't already his friends, kept their distance from him.

"Rui Stone! You are needed in the commander's office immediately!"

Rui's body flinched as her name was called. She looked to the source of the voice to find she was being glared at by a member of the military police. Many other scouts looked in her direction as well, wondering, in all likelihood, what business the military police had with her.

"Umm...yes, sir!" She shouted, having no idea if this person was a ranking officer or not. She hadn't learned as much as she would have liked, given the short length of her training. She quickly followed him as he led her out of the courtyard and into the scouts base of operations. The man said nothing to her for some time, turning a corner and opening a door for her. Once inside, she was less than thrilled to see Levi sitting leisurely in a chair, his leg resting casually on his knee. His hands were resting behind his head. He looked bored. The rest of the room nearly gave her a heart attack as Commander Erwen, Pixas, and someone else she didn't recognise looked in her direction. But whoever the stranger was, they were in the Military police.

"What...did I do?" She asked nervously. Levi cracked an eye open, looking at her.

"That's a good question, soldier," the man she didn't recognise in the military police said with a sharp, suspicious tone. "Mind telling us where you disappeared to during the second battle for Trost three weeks ago? Captain Levi and yourself were AWOL and assumed dead after the battle was over. Need I remind you we lost many lives in that battle and barely came out if it without losing the city for a second time. Three weeks after, you return with an injured Captain. Now your Captain appears to be in great health. I need to know where you were."

Levi stretched his arms over the back of the couch he sat in.

"I was injured. Broken leg. She took me to a safehouse until I could move around again and brought me back. I still don't have full mobility, for what it's worth. What's the big deal?" He asked. His voice was deep. She looked nervously at him.

"The "big deal" Captain, is that you claim to have had a broken leg. You claim to have been living in a place crawling with Titans for over a week without any ability to fight. Are you telling me she protected you for that long AND managed to bring you back in one piece?" The man questioned.

"Walker, I have full confidence in Levi and those within the scouts. He has served humanity as its strongest soldier for years. He has no reason to turn on us or act suspiciously. I believed we cleared this up already," Erwen said confidently. Rui looked back to Levi who almost looked bored. Was he always this flippant with authority?

Walker wiped his hands down his shirt. His greying hair was muddled and out of place. He clearly wasn't enjoying this talk. His tired, scared eyes kept looking nervously to Levi.

"There you have it. Is that all?" Levi said in irritation.

"Absolutely not! For one, a broken leg doesn't heal in three weeks, Captain Levi! I'd like to know the logistics of how you are able to walk on that leg! Secondly, how on Earth did you survive out there with no provisions and no protection with just one person fighting titans?! You can't possibly tell me that little girl warded off every Titan that came after you!"

"I am saying that. She's killed more titans than you'll ever even see in your life. She'd cut the necks off a hundred titans while you sit scared pissing yourself. In fact I'd be willing to put my life on that," he defended. Rui felt something akin to pride welling in her chest. That was pretty high praise coming from him.

"I highly doubt that..." Walker said, seeming to be getting frustrated. Levi stood up.

"Oh, no? As far as my count goes, she's killed no less than twenty six titans in her extremely short career. How many have you killed, General?" He picked. Rui's face went red. She was standing in a room with humanity's finest and she was on the chopping block. Levi was actually making things hard on purpose!

"That's not the point!" Walker shouted, his body clenched and angry. It appeared he was not accustomed to dealing with the Captain.

"How long have you held this position, General? One month? Two? I can't begin to tell you how bored you're making me. Leave Rui out if this and vacate the premises," he demanded. Erwen cleared his throat into his fist.

"That's enough, Levi. He's only doing his job."

"What job is that? Patronizing actual soldiers? He's doing a great job, I can see why he was promoted."

"Rui Stone," Pixas spoke up, having not said anything until now. Her skin crawled as everyone looked to her. His shaved head glistened in the dull light if the office. He stroked his large, white mustache.

"Y-yes sir!" She jumped. She was starting to feel sick.

"Is it true that you and Captain Levi are in an intimate relationship?" He asked. Rui felt a block in her stomach. Levi didn't seem fazed at all by the question. Walker's eyes widened considerably.

"That's a breach in protocol, if it's true!" He shouted.

"Like anyone follows the rule. Are you gonna stand there and tell me you've never gotten into the pants of one of your lessers, General? Be careful, I'll know if you're lying," he said darkly.

"That's not the point, Captain," Pixas continued. "I have known of you a good many years and have never once seen you act in any way untoward to a fellow soldier, or anyone, in fact. In your entire career, have you ever had this sort of relationship with anyone?"

"No," Levi said simply. Rui stared. That was surprising. The way he acted, she assumed differently. He was ruthless in every aspect of his life. She couldn't imagine he'd had such a squeaky clean record.

"Knowing that you've never done such a thing leads me to believe she has some sort of hold on you, perhaps emotionally, perhaps through blackmail. Either way, I can't know if you wouldn't act out of character when it comes to Miss Stone. Also, I'm sure you remember most of our troubles have come directly from the 104th cadet core and therefore, her youth cannot be taken lightly. All of Miss Stone's family history can only be speculated at since most records are lost. The facts of her abilities being impressive and mysterious, your strange disappearance, your odd actions as of late and the fact that your story holds up about as well as paper in a wind tunnel is concerning. As the widely proclaimed "strongest soldier" in humanity, that makes you very frightening, indeed, Captain."

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