Chapter 3

Rui had never seen his eyes this way. His mouth opened but no words came out. They simply looked at each other, unable to process what was going on. Rui placed her hand to her belly, looking down.

"Am I...already?" She whispered. Levi approached her, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"You felt any different?" He asked. She narrowed her eyes.

"Of course I have! I've been under so much stress lately and you haven't touched me in weeks! I chalked it all up to...that..."

Levi smirked. "To be fair, I have been touching you. We just haven't gone all the way. I'd like to reiterate that I did not do this on purpose..." He said, combing his hair back. Rui felt suddenly irritated.

"No, but I bet you're happy. Captain Levi gets his way again at my expense," she mumbled. Levi's face frowned.

"That's not fair, Rui, I didn't want it to happen like this," he defended. He reached out to touch her face, but stopped when she looked away.

"Well it did and it's a huge problem. What the hell are we gonna do?"

Levi crossed his arms. "We aren't even sure about it yet, quit being a brat. So you're one week late. You've never been late before?" He asked, his voice getting lower. She rubbed her arms.

"No, never a whole week. I've always been pretty regular. That said, I've put my body through a lot recently. Who knows. But...I can't get this creepy feeling to go away. I don't like it," she said, her voice starting to crack. Levi became more irritated.

"Creepy? What's so creepy about it? It would be my kid, so what's the problem?" He asked, his tone getting louder.

"It's just how I feel, Levi! I wasn't really prepared to have something growing inside me is all! It's just...weird. I'm starting to feel sick. I don't want this..." Her body started shaking. She glanced into his eyes, seeing pain within them. The knowledge that she was the reason for that pain made her hate herself. But how was she supposed to react? He knew she wasn't ready. He had known that she was leaning towards never wanting children.

"We will talk more about it when we're more sure about it. Until then just get out the door, we have shit to do," he stepped around her, bumping his shoulder to hers. It might have been an accident, but it still hurt.

The walk to the courthouse was silent. Rui walked a few steps behind Levi. Her thoughts swirled around in her head. Had she reacted incorrectly? Should she have kept her negative feelings to herself? She couldn't force herself not to feel them. Her head hung as they walked. Levi didn't say anything to her. He was angry. She hated this feeling. She felt trapped. Her eyes started to burn. She felt like the smallest person in the world. What she wouldn't give to just curl up in bed next to him with no stress, no pregnancy, and no anger. She became suddenly very tired.

She bumped into him, not having realized he'd stopped.

"Sorry," she whispered. Levi sighed, taking her arm. She felt like he was pulling her straight out of her thoughts. He lead her around a large building and into an alley, his grip more gentle than she'd expected. Had they made it to the courthouse already?

When he was sure there was no one around, she was pulled suddenly into an embrace, his strong arms tightening around her. His hand held the back of her head against his collar. Before she could think, her tears came rushing from her eyes. She clenched his jacket, shoving her crying face into his clothes, muffling her sniffles. She felt him deeply inhale, his fingers tangling loosely in her hair.

"I'm sorry, Levi...I'm sorry I'm not happier. I wish I could be excited, but I'm just so scared..." She cried into his chest. The prospect of dying in the jaws of a Titan scared her greatly. But the idea of bringing something into the world and ruining it's life with her own shortcomings was terrifying. She couldn't be a mom. She could barely take care of herself without him.

"Are you under the impression you'll be doing this yourself?"

His words were a soft whisper into her ear. The tenderness in his voice struck her, as any tenderness from him always did. She never knew how to react to him when he was like this.

"Well...you'll be a Captain of the scouts. You'll be going on missions and staying at headquarters a lot. I'll be with a child. I'll have to feed it and clothe it and make sure it's healthy...not to mention giving birth is dangerous and what if I..." She felt a shaky breath cut her voice off, making her unable to continue. His smell began settling her nerves as she noticed his scent particularly strong today. It was all around her.

"Oh, Rui..." He breathed, constricting his arms tightly around her. "I'm not leaving your side. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but this isn't just a fun thing to do behind closed doors anymore. You aren't just a cadet sleeping with her Captain. You're mine. I want you and can't imagine life without you anymore. For once I can actually consider myself happy. I couldn't feel that before. I didn't know happiness truly existed. But here you are, wrapped up in a vexing, irritating, beautiful package. I think you should worry more about getting sick of me rather than being alone because I'm not going to lie to you, if you are pregnant, I'm never leaving you alone again," he said softly. She lifted her head from his chest.

"Like...never again?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. He smiled.

"Like, I hope you enjoyed privacy while it lasted because it's pretty much a no go from here. I'm not letting a God damn thing happen to you. Those assholes in the military police are right to be afraid of what you've done to me. If anyone lays a finger on you I'll go on a massacre," he promised. Rui wasn't sure if he was serious or not. She sniffed again.

"Don't get snot on me, you're freaking me out," he said, rubbing her head. Rui wanted to laugh.

"And you were being so romantic, too. Why'd you have to ruin it like that?" She smiled, backing away.

"Is that what I was being? How romantic do you find massacres?" He asked with a smirk, smoothing out his jacket. She crossed her arms.

"Romantic, obsessively controlling...it's a fine line with you," she said. He put his hands into his pockets, looking toward the end of the alley where they'd come from. They were pretty well hidden. He wasn't overly fond of the idea of anyone seeing him like this. He had a reputation, damnit.

"So...does this mean we can...start doing it again?" She asked quietly. The thought had hit her rather suddenly and she blurted it out without thinking. Perhaps other things were more important, but heck, while they were having a conversation...

"Rui, we can do it right now if you want to. It's not like you can get more pregnant than you already are," he chuckled. Her face flushed instantly.

"Not RIGHT now! We're outside in public...on the side of the courthouse!" She whispered, as if even saying it out loud could get them in trouble.

"Convince me some more, Rui, because you're doing a damn good job," he stepped closer, pressing her up against the brick wall. Her heart began pounding in her chest as he leaned closer, sliding his teeth down her neck. The last time this happened, she ended up possibly getting pregnant. Now they were out in the open. He knee'd her legs apart, pressing himself against her.

"But...someone might see..."

"Maybe. Depends on how loud you are," he said into her mouth, lifting one of her legs up around his hip.

Rui was on fire. Her head was spinning from his intensity. She had missed his heat, feeling she couldn't have said no even if she wanted to. She would worry about everything else later. The pregnancy, the courthouse, the scouts; it all took a backseat once his hands found her. She clung to him, relishing in his attention.

000

"Probation? What does that mean?" Rui looked to Levi who was staring down Walker. He'd personally decided to be the one to hand them their papers.

"It means, Miss Stone, that while you're under investigation, you're not to go anywhere that you're not designated to. That means unless you are in transit to one of the locations you file here, you are to be AT one of these locations under punishment of arrest. Ill assume Scout headquarters will be filed as one of these locations. You may also put a residential home. No more than three locations is preferred."

"That's funny, General," Levi said darkly, "your ass doesn't appear to be an option, but I'm in need of a place to put my foot."

"Be as disruptive as you like, Captain, you aren't the one with the power here. I highly suggest you start taking this more seriously or you may find yourself in a great deal of trouble," he warned. His greying hair was neater today. He seemed to be in his comfort zone.

Rui signed the paper, not wanting to cause problems for herself or either of the two men before her. Honestly, she was clueless when it came to policies and laws. She didn't know what was acceptable, but wholly assumed Levi was not to be used as a role model.

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