So, to my dear guest that left me a loving review, you're just in time! I was actually going to update The Baby series today, so luck's on your side, my dear friend. As I said, I'm going to take things back in time a little so we can have some more insight; it all felt a bit too rushed for me, but that's about to change.

I'd also like to take the time to thank each and every one of you that has read, favorited, followed and/or reviewed this piece so far! It warms my heart, and I hope that the fandom will be at its full strength when season 2 comes out next year!

Enjoy!

Casual Affair (Office!AU): The Beggining, Devil Of A Boss, Cancelled Plans, Confessions

The Baby: Failed Attempt, Silence, Assurances, Truth

Icaurus: Found, Awake

XI: The Baby

IV: Failed Attempt

Mikasa prided herself for the control she developed over her emotions. As years passed, she learned to keep her cool, learned to hide her emotions well under an impassive mask, learned how to think things through before jumping into action. It all happened once she put her animosity for the Corporal aside and decided to take his advices for once, letting him pull her under his wing and learning from the best of the best.

She could not quite remember well the last time she felt anxiousness ripping through her insides, so constant and so demanding of attention that she could not focus on anything else. She could not remember the last time she lost sleep over something that deeply bothered her, the last time she felt hesitant to move and do something, the last time she tired herself out for overthinking so much. She learned to control herself, her emotions and her thoughts, learned to trust her abilities, learned not to worry when things were beyond her control, learned to trust others – her allies – and to put her faith in them.

"Ackerman."

Jolting from her reverie, her eyes widened minimally before she blinked and settled them on the form of her superior, sitting on his chair in his office, arm outstretched in her direction, palm turned up. She breathed in shakily through her teeth and set the cup and saucer on his awaiting palm, trying to control the quivering of her muscles. Mikasa set the tray and teapot on the corner of his desk and gave him a hurried salute before whirling around on her feet and walking on wobbly legs to the door.

She learned it all, yet her current problem was so worrisome that her own body was slipping from her control. She could hide it from others, just barely, the way she would brush her palm against her stomach and close her eyes as her throat tightened. From him, though, it was getting harder with each passing day, and yet she could not find in herself the courage to tell him.

"Ackerman." Her hand halted an inch above the metallic knob and she turned just a fraction to the side, enough to let him see part of her profile, and she did not know what she wanted him to do, nor what she needed him to do. "Come back here."

Mikasa complied with his orders, her chin high, but her eyes focused on the hardwood floor below. Stopping on the other side of his desk, her fingers trailed the edge of the furniture, the slight trembling of her limbs never escaping his trained eyes. With a sigh, he set the saucer down on the desktop and pulled his chair back, but remained seated as he beckoned her over, his arm hooking around her waist when she was close enough and pulling her to him. She twisted in his hold, already expecting it, and accommodated herself on his lap with knees on each side of his thighs.

Her breathing was labored. Usually, this would lead to something else, to deep, passionate kisses and delicious friction between their bodies. Today, or in the days to follow, she did not think she would be able to do anything more than just peck his lips and brush her hand across his. Her heart was beating too wildly, her body so full of tension and worry she would not be able to feel any pleasure at all.

Levi looked up at her, gaze hard and calculating, but she could see that behind his façade that he was concerned, and swept her fringe away so his palm could rest on her forehead. Upon realizing her temperature was normal, his eyebrows pinched as his hands came to rest on her hips, rubbing circles over her hipbone and making her lungs cease all work. "This is an unusual behavior, especially for you, Mikasa." He said it lightly, voice low so that no one passing by outside would listen.

"I..." She maintained eye contact for as long as she could, then gazed over his shoulder instead to the scenery outside and bit the inside of her cheek. "I just..."

His palm travelled up and down her sides, perhaps in an attempt to calm her down, but it was doing the complete opposite. "You don't need to talk about it if you don't want."

"You don't understand", she wanted to say, scream it in his face; "I'm pregnant! The child's yours!" But nothing came out of her lips, only a pitiful, humiliating little choking sound, and with that she buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling the scent of clean soap and black tea that permeated his skin, and hoping it would soothe her worries.

He threaded his fingers carefully through her dark, dark hair, and placed a kiss on her temple. "Relax," he whispered, his lips brushing softly across her flesh. When she told herself that, it never worked and she was left much more agitated than before. With him now, though, fingers working on her hair and mouth grazing her face so gently, her heart calmed its pace a little.

Still, even as she breathed in deeply, with her nose shoved in the crook of his neck and his hands touching her so comfortingly, she could not help but let her mind wander to places beyond her reach. It was a mistake, a stupid mistake she had made, and the result could threaten their relationship, their squad, even the Survey Corps as a whole. There was no telling how he would react to the news, how their Commander would react, what their friends would think of him, of her, of them. It was supposed to be a secret; no one was ever to know that they met in whatever dark corners they could find.

Her superior pushed her slightly away to gaze into her eyes, lines creasing his forehead as he frowned at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

It took her a handful of seconds, but eventually she realized that her frame was shaking far too much to be imperceptible. Both her hands rested on his strong shoulders and squeezed them tentatively as she quickly roamed her mind for an excuse, any of them, even if it were completely lame and he could see right through it. "I didn't sleep well tonight." Before he could even narrow his eyes at her, she added a little something to make it sound more real. "Sasha was talking in her sleep again."

That seemed to do the trick. With a nod, Levi exhaled through his nose and rubbed his palms up and down her thighs, probably recalling all the other times she had mentioned her roommate babbling nonsense while unconscious. "You should be using your free time to rest, then." He advised, casting a glance to the teapot that laid forgotten behind her back. She wondered, in the back of her mind, if he would ever know that serving him tea that afternoon was just an excuse to have a little alone time together in hopes she would spill the beans as her anxiety reached its peak.

Mikasa smiled, as reassuringly as she could manage, and locked her fingers together on the nape of his neck, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm fine like this," was her whispered reply.

A guttural sound rumbled deep in his chest as his fingers dug into her cloth-covered skin. "I'm flattered that you would choose me over sleep," his teeth gently nipped at her bottom lip, "but if I recall correctly, you and Armin were to help shitty glasses this afternoon."

Trailing her nose along the side of her face, she was glad that he remembered it. While she had made a conscious decision of shifting his focus to something more pleasurable, Mikasa would not be able to keep up with the act for much longer. Disengaging her body from his, a small smile found its way to her lips as she stepped away from the chair, her eyes never leaving his until she had no other option but to close the door of his office and lose sight of him.

Sucking in a breath through her nose, her arms wound around her middle and she hurriedly walked away from that place with her head ducked in defeat.