Chapter 10

There had never been a summer like this...

Rui sat on the front steps to the house, fanning herself. Why was it so unbearably hot? Her belly had become rounded in her fifth month of pregnancy. Everything hurt, every goddamned thing. Her hips felt like they weren't even attached anymore. Her breasts were swollen and although Levi refused to acknowledge them having swelled, he was more than obvious about noticing.

Thankfully, the daily sickness was over but it had been replaced with a variety of other problems, one of them being Levi himself.

He stepped onto the front deck, dripping with sweat and dragging the axe behind him. He hadn't needed to chop much wood lately since the weather had been so hot. Though the weather would be cooling off soon, today was a scorcher.

"I bet you smell great..." She smiled. He dropped the axe heavily next to the house, brushing the dirt from his hands.

"No, Rui. I'm filthy. Let me clean off," he said grumpily. Rui pouted.

"Just a few minutes? Please? I'm craving it! You wouldn't deny a pregnant woman her cravings!" She whined. Levi rested a hand at his hip, wearing a look of annoyance.

"You can't be serious. I'm not getting into the bed like this. You can get your fill right here because after I'm cleaning it all off whether you like it or not. And don't cling...it's too hot."

Rui petulantly stood. She'd get it however she could, even if he started kicking and screaming. She moved over to him, snaking her arms around him and pressing her nose into his chest. It wasn't as fragrant as his underarms, but he was being unreasonable.

"Won't you hold me?" She inhaled deeply, taking in his unbelievably intoxicating smell. She heard him sigh, wrapping one arm around her shoulders almost too casually.

"It's hot Rui..." He said quietly. She looked up at him.

"Okay, how about a cool bath?" She offered. Levi smirked.

"First you want to smell it, now you want to sit and stew in it?" He questioned. She giggled into his collar.

"You can rinse off first, I was just offering to sit in the bath with you is all," she said. He patted her head, peeling her off.

000

Rui rested her head back against him. The cool water of the bath was so relaxing and refreshing. Her belly was large and harder now and the water relaxed it too. Levi's hands eventually found their way to it, as they always did.

"There haven't been any titans for a while. I wonder where they all went," she said. Levi pulled on her ear.

"Don't say stupid things," he said. She supposed he was right. Why question a good thing? As they sat in the bath, her body remained still and she felt something extraordinarily strange. A small bump from within her. Levi jolted when he felt it on his hands.

"What was that?" He asked. The normal deep tone to his voice was slightly higher. It had surprised him.

"I think that was..."

They felt it again. This time Levi didn't pull his hand away. He widened his fingers over her belly, trying to touch every inch. He lowered his head on her shoulder.

"That's...pretty amazing..." He whispered. She smiled. She would have to tell Zoe about this.

000

Levi opened his eyes to the sunlight pouring in from their bedroom window. His arms were wrapped protectively around her and his nose was buried in her hair. She fit so perfectly against him. Her gentle, steady breathing had every day solidified a hope that maybe he could be happy here. Maybe he wouldn't lose her. Maybe he could live free of heartache and loss. Once the kid was born, she'd take on a mothering role. He would protect them with everything he had. They would never be harmed.

He looked down at her a moment, kissing her temple. He heard a sweet sigh and she rolled over, with a bit of difficulty, to face him. He leaned down for her lips, one of her arms finding its way around his neck while the other tucked under his shirt, lightly running her nails over his back. He tried not to put any of his weight on her belly, bringing one of her legs up and around him. It had become a familiar dance, but one he enjoyed immensely.

He sat up, rolling over her, but not laying down. He slid his knees under her legs, pulling her up closer. He ran his hands up under her shirt, being careful with her breasts - she was so sensitive lately, he wondered often if she even wanted him to pay them any attention.

She closed her eyes, laying her arms down and taking a deep breath. Her hair was everywhere around her, disheveled and wavy.

Movement caught his eye at the window and for a very quick moment, he looked up, before looking back at her. When his brain processed what he'd seen out the window, his entire body froze and he looked back up.

A smile, large and foreboding, was just outside the window. His eyes were wide as he stared. It stood still for a moment before ducking low, and two enormous eyes looked inside.

Rui opened her mouth, confused by his pause and he placed his hand slowly over her mouth.

"Don't speak," he mouthed. She almost didn't understand. He lowered himself, lifting his leg over her and sinking down next to the bed. He crouched low, moving silently for his gear. The eyes moved away, a low rumbling sounding outside as it walked. Rui didn't move.

"Stay still," he whispered. She nodded in understanding. She was unable to fight. Her belly made it impossible for her to put on the gear. He made his way quickly and silently down the stairs, rounding a corner to the front door. As it slowly creaked open, the head of a Titan was just before him, smiling disturbingly at him.

Its hand reached for him. He shot his line directly for its palm, slicing it to pieces. He whirled around it, sliding his bare feet on the wood deck. He came around it, cutting into the nape of its neck. It fell heavily onto the wooden steps, crushing it and destroying the steps completely. Another Titan grabbed for him as he cut all the way up its arm, turning sharply and killing it as well.

He looked down the hill to see more titans coming in the distance. One of them had seen him and began sprinting.

"What the hell? The alarm didn't go off..." He said angrily through his teeth.

"Levi! What's happening?" Rui called from the front door. He held up his hand.

"Stay there, Rui," he said, quickly sailing towards the approaching titans. She watched nervously from the doorway as he cut through each Titan. One reached to grab him, but he turned its hand into ribbons, cutting through like a saw blade.

Rui watched carefully, making mental notes of his movements. She walked over to the alarm line, inspecting it.

After a few moments, Levi returned, stepping around the Titan bodies littering the ground.

"What happened?" He called out. She showed him the severed line.

"It must have snapped. Maybe there was a stiff wind?" She suggested. Levi looked closely at the line.

"It was cut...deliberately," he noticed. They tied the ends together again, Levi glancing toward the house. It had been cut extremely close. So whomever had done it knew exactly where they were and knew enough about them to know what the line was being used for.

000

This...this is scary. Do you think it's the military police?" Rui asked. Levi had poured himself some tea, his face a typical scowl, but it was deeper today, frustrated and angry.

"I don't know. But either way you're not to leave my side. We will have to constantly check the line for slack and we cannot let our guard down," he said. So much for peace. So much for the happy life they'd been living up to this point. Not only that, if Erwen and Zoe came for a visit anytime in the future, there was a good chance they'd be caught. Levi had a hard time believing the military police would be ballsy enough to actually follow them out into Titan country, but then they had been getting desperate. He supposed this shady backwards way of trying to kill them without being seen meant they were at least still scared of them.

This was more than troublesome. His hand clenched over his cup. Why? Why did it always have to be this way? Why couldn't he just live? Why was it always a fight to survive?

"Levi...are you okay?" She asked. He hadn't realized how far gone he must have seemed, glaring angrily into his teacup. She approached him, sitting next to him. Her honey eyes looked at him with sadness, something he was becoming increasingly not okay with, and her hand laid gently over his own. No one ever tried to comfort him. Why would they? He had made himself unapproachable for a reason. But she was not afraid of him. She loved him. How he adored those warm and soft hands.

"I'm fine, just a bit worried," he said in a whisper. He glanced to her abdomen, person number two he needed to protect above all else.

"We'll get through this. I have faith in you," she smiled. Levi looked seriously at her.

"Yeah..."

Like he hadn't heard that before.