Well, it took me damn long enough, I guess.

Here's the final chapter for the second part!

I hope you all can forgive me for the ridiculously long delay.

Death and Life

In the last hour, Armin had learned more than he thought possible about taking care of a baby. Thanks to Peter, Leo had been fed, bathed, dressed, and rocked to sleep. He'd laughed when Armin asked him how he knew what an infant needed. Peter just said, "When you're stepmom is only a few years older than you are and she starts cranking out kids, you either learn or… well, you just learn." Then he'd shrugged and changed the topic, artfully avoiding any and all further questions about his family.

They were all in the kitchen now, sitting at the table; though there wasn't much conversation. Eve had been less than helpful during the whole process. She'd hovered in the back of whatever room they were in, watching. Peter had asked her several times if she wanted to do something, but she just shook her head and remained silent. She was still silent now, though Peter had coaxed more drinks into her and was trying to get her to talk.

"Alright, so let me try to get all of this straight," Peter said, relaxing back in his chair and taking another sip from the blue porcelain teacup. "Aldrich was adopted by Doc and his wife Susanne when he was a kid. He was the person who came to find you and your family when the Wall fell, and he took you guys to that village. He taught you what you knew, and when your brother died, Aldrich sort of… well, replaced him." Eve's hand gripped the teacup a little harder. "Not replaced, then. Just- filled the void?" He got no answer, so he continued. "You watched him get eaten by a Titan and you never saw him again until a few days ago in the market." She nodded once. "Right. So then today you killed him and now everyone is pissed at you?"

"She didn't have a choice," Armin muttered. He'd tried to stay out of the one-sided conversation, but supplied the vocal answers for Eve when he knew what she wanted him to say. They'd been going over the details, somewhat. Everything was mentioned in one-word answers for the most part; questions were shoved between remarks about Leo's dinner or his bath.

"'Course she had a choice!" Peter downed the remainder of the liquid in his cup. Eve mimicked him. "It was either kill him or let him kill her and the rest of the village- or let him get away and then have to go with everyone when they were all forced back outside of Wall Rose." Armin sighed. The tension had been mounting between them all since Leo had fallen asleep some thirty minutes ago.

"How many people have you killed?" Eve's question was soft and dark. Her eyes were narrowed at Peter.

The larger man shrugged. "None." Something about the causal answer made Armin frown. It wasn't exactly a lie, he thought, but maybe it wasn't entirely true either. Although how that situation worked, Armin wasn't quite positive. He supposed it might have been a situation similar to Eve's before they reached the wall- maybe it was just guilt.

Armin could have laughed at the thought. "Just guilt" sounded like the stupidest thing he'd come up with all day- and he didn't think he'd had a good day in the least.

"Then shut the fuck up," Eve whispered. She snatched the bottle Peter had grabbed from his hand. Uncorking it, she brought the mouth to her lips and tilted her head back. Several gulps later, she slammed the bottle on the table. The chair behind her squeaked over the wood floor as she stood. "Aldrich wasn't the only person I've killed." Her hand slid from the bottle and she drifted out of the kitchen and down the hall to Alois' and Mina's bedroom.

"Why don't that surprise me?" Peter raised one eyebrow at Armin, but he didn't respond. Grabbing the bottle, he finished off the last bit and sighed. "You try talking to her."

He really didn't want to. Maybe he was just being selfish, but he didn't want to go back there in that dark room with her. She was upset and Peter had only made it worse. What good could he do by talking to her? He didn't want this responsibility. Otho's words rang in the back of his mind. She wasn't going to talk to anyone from the village, so that left himself and Peter.

"What am I supposed to say?" He looked over at Peter, a little jealous of the way his eyes were beginning to drift close. Armin was much too tense to feel tired at the moment. He found himself mimicking Peter's yawn, though.

"Look kid," Peter began. Armin's face fell flat for a moment. He wasn't a child anymore. Hell, at the rate people continued to die off around him, he was probably middle-aged at this point. "I'm no good with women. They're complicated and ornery and emotional monsters of hormones." Armin wanted to laugh again. He only just held it in, but Peter seemed to notice all the same. "But you're good with people- I've seen you talk Jean and Eren down from a fight in seconds. Use that brain of yours."

Armin grunted a sarcastic laugh, annoyed. He stood, careful not to let the chair legs scrape over the floor. It took a moment of deliberation before he stepped away from the chair. He left Peter alone in the kitchen, passing through the sitting room without a sound. The door at the end of the hall was open just a crack, but there was no light. He paused.

How was he supposed to do this? Back in Eve's village, he'd been just as useless. She didn't want to hear anything he had to say. Actions, for her, were far superior. Words are wind. He thought he knew the phrase from an old book, but dismissed it. He was just trying to distract himself from the painful process of struggling to figure out what to do.

This was so unlike anything he'd ever faced before. There was no immediate danger- no risk for his life or the life of his friends. Not yet, at least. It was the "yet" part that troubled him. If she went out beyond the Wall like this hollow shell of herself, then she was going to do something stupid.

He thought briefly of Mikasa wasting all of the gas in her tanks back when they were fighting for Trost. She'd risked her own life and everyone else's. What would he have done for her back then? She and Eve weren't really so unlike when he stopped to consider it. Mikasa was no leader, though. Because of everything she'd been through, she'd built walls around herself and those she loved- reserving only a handful of spaces for the ones she cared for. He doubted that even his own death would be significant compared to Eren's. As long as she had him, she could do anything.

Rather than letting the thought depress him - he'd figured that out so long ago now that it hardly mattered anymore - he thought about Eve. She was solid, like Mikasa, facing down any dangers to protect those she cared about. She just cared about too many people. There was no way that Eve could protect everyone, but since she wanted to… He sighed hard.

"Eve?" He tapped on the door with his knuckles. It opened a little more. He already hated himself for what he was about to do.

"Come to yell at me again?" Her bitter response hit him in the gut like a sharp blow.

"If I have to." He was surprised at how much he meant the words. After a second of reflection, though, he knew that he'd already committed to doing whatever he had to do. She had to come out of this… state she was in. Throwing her life away was only going to get more people killed. Levi had seen it, too.

"Well?" He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Eve was curled up on the far side of the bed, her chin resting on her knees. The bed filled up most of the room, resting in the center and flanked by two small dressers. A longer dresser with a mirror on top of it rested against the wall opposite the bed. The window Mina had been looking out of earlier rested between the door frame and the dresser. Moonlight trickled in through the window, giving him just enough light to see Eve's red-rimmed, tear-stained eyes. He walked slowly, circling the bed before reached the side she was closest to.

"You're stronger than this." She had to pretend to be, anyway. He'd seen her force her emotions away back in the village. "Cry, hit something, whatever it takes. Levi warned you earlier. You won't get to go with us tomorrow if you're still... like this."

"I don't care." Eve wasn't looking at him, just staring at the quilt on the bed. He clenched his fists. No, she didn't care right now. He had to make her care.

Without the fire to warm this part of the house, it was much colder. Armin almost wished he still had his coat on. Instead, he grabbed Eve's shoulders and shook her. It wasn't too rough, but it did get her attention.

"Are you really telling me you'd rather stay here?" he demanded. "You can't tell me that you have forgotten what that will mean..."

Eve tensed. Her silence was enough to tell him that she did remember, but he wasn't going to let it go unsaid. He sat down in front of her, twisted so that one foot was still on the floor. Why was it that the stupid liquor was only just now hitting him? He felt dizzy, but pressed on.

"You made a deal, Eve. You have to prove that you're useful." He grabbed her wrist, jerking her a little just to get her to look at him again. He didn't want his next words to fall on deaf ears. "Your people will be forced to leave if you don't go tomorrow. They will die."

"I know," she whispered. The tears had come again, but he wasn't done. She needed to get to the point where she wasn't going to breakdown on the other side of the Wall. A few tears weren't enough. He sighed. This was going to be the hardest part.

"If you don't get this out of your system, then you will be killing them all. Just like Aldrich. Their blood will be on your hands."

It didn't hurt at first, it was just a shock. She'd hit him hard enough to almost knock him down over the mattress, but he straightened. Then the pain flared, and he grabbed the left side of his face just under his eye.

"You don't have to tell me that." Her voice was soft. Even in the dark, he could see the faint glint of tears on her cheeks. "I will be fine."

"You call this fine?" He grabbed her wrist and held it up, prying her fingers open and turning her palm so that she had to see the blood where her nails had dug into her skin. "You're not fine, Eve. If you have to hit me, then do it. But this... acting like you don't feel anything at all is not helping!"

He waited. It wasn't until he sucked in air that he realized he'd been holding his breath. He expected her to hit him again, almost wanted her to if it would make her feel better. She didn't. He let go of her wrist and watched as it fell into her lap. The silence in the room was tense, colder than the temperature outside.

He'd reminded her of her people, at least. She said she knew, but he doubted she was really thinking it through. There was nothing to be done about that for the moment. Hitting the same nail on the head after it had been driven home wasn't going to accomplish anything. He needed to move on to the next thing. But what was the next thing?

"Then tell me what will help." Her whisper was choked with tears. He almost missed what she'd said. With a sigh, his shoulders slumped.

"I don't know." He wished he did. "Go pick a fight with Peter or something. He won't mind, and you'll feel better after. You felt better after you fought with Levi." As strange as it had been, she really had felt a lot better. Her resolution had solidified once more. But this wasn't exactly a question of her willingness to continue to do what was required of her… Eve was going to go tomorrow, as long as someone would let her. It was this… shell she'd become that needed to be revived back into her whole person.

"That was different." She turned her face away from Armin. "I just killed my brother. I don't know how to deal with that."

He didn't know how to help her adjust. He chewed his bottom lip for a few seconds as he thought. What else did he know about her? Actions, yes. And caring, too. But he'd covered those bases already. It was time to figure something else out. The errant consideration of what he would give for a piece of paper to jot down notes brushed his mind, but he pushed it away. Now wasn't the time for stupid jokes.

"I'm not telling you to get over it." Armin grabbed her hand and looked at the smears of blood. He sighed. "You just can't... be a ghost. It's not going to be easy, but wallowing in self pity doesn't suit you. You know what needs to be done. Now you just have to get up and do it." Back to action again, he guessed. The words weren't enough, though. He knew that, but he didn't know what else he could say.

"And if I break down again?" She was serious. That was cause for concern. "What then? When we are out there... surrounded by Titans and running for our lives... if I break down again..."

He smiled. It wasn't a grin, really just a twitch of his lips, but it was enough for Eve to scowl. "You won't. Not when we are fighting Titans, at least. You'll put it behind you long enough to take care of everyone, just like you did in your village."

"How do you know?" Her tone was almost accusing. "How can you know that?"

Armin shrugged. "I just do."

And he did. Somehow he didn't doubt her for one single second when it came to fighting the Titans. His thoughts were more concerned with after the fighting was over. When they lost someone else - because it always happened - he didn't want her to slip right back into the shell she was in now. Even if it was someone she didn't know personally, it could still send her straight back to this mess. And if it was someone she did know and care about… he sighed.

"You're not helping." Her voice was flat, but he could almost detect a trace of humor underneath the monotone.

"Not as much as I'd like." He wasn't afraid to admit that to her. It was just now, though, that he realized he didn't really know that much about her. He knew she cared too much and that she hated the responsibilities she'd been saddled with, but he also knew that the care she had for her people was what kept her tied to them. Every death was going to be her fault. It was maddening. Sometimes bad things just happened and there wasn't any one person to blame for it. But she didn't see things that way. He knew she valued action, too, but action was one thing he was unsure of at this point. He wasn't up for a fist fight.

What else did he know? Almost nothing else. He wanted to laugh at himself, but kept it buried inside of his mind. He'd thought he was good at reading people. Somehow he'd been blinded by this woman. She was strong in her own way, but she was also weak. He wasn't accustomed to anyone showing weakness anymore. Weakness was something for the dark hours of the night, alone and where no one could hear. Eve had waved her weakness in their faces and felt proud to do so- admitting her shortcomings and embracing them. If only getting her to see how hollow she looked now was that easy…

He flinched when she raised her hand again. She frowned, but didn't say anything. Her fingertips traced over his cheek where she'd punched him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He knew he deserved it. He'd been cruel. The guilt of what he'd said was going to eat at him for days, he knew, but it was still worth it. "I'm going to get something to clean up your hand." He didn't have any other answers at the moment. Maybe getting away from her and having a breath of icy-cold winter air would help him reason out some sort of solution.

"No." She reached over and grabbed the sweater she'd had on earlier. He hadn't even noticed she was down to a thin, black, sleeveless undershirt. She wiped away the blood. He was glad the little cuts weren't still bleeding. "Thanks, I guess..."

"Don't." He looked away, down at his boots. "I don't deserve it." His own guilt had begun earlier than he expected it to.

Her fingers were under his chin, bringing his face back up so that she could look at him. "You won't let me apologize and you won't let me thank you..." She fell silent for a moment, a small, wry smile tugging at her lips. "You and Otho are more alike than I would have thought."

He was about to open his mouth, ready to protest. She didn't give him the chance. Before he realized what was happening, she'd leaned forward. Both of her hands were around his shoulders somehow, locking him in place as her lips pressed to his. Her lips moved, and his hands found her waist. His mind was going faster than he could process, his body moving before he realized what was happening.

She broke away for a moment and he licked his lips. He could taste the salt from her tears and the liquor from earlier. His hands were at her shoulders before she could kiss him again. Between being mean to her and getting punched, he'd forgotten how much she'd had to drink. He'd had a few kisses before, but he never expected himself to have such a hard time pushing someone away. Eve just flashed her crooked smirk at him. She darted forward and planted a kiss on the cheek she'd punched earlier.

"I'm not sorry." She pulled her arms away and sat back down. He didn't know what to say to her. All thought had somehow stopped. "I know what I need now." She climbed off of the edge of the bed and went to the dresser. She'd left her coat on top. Slipping into it, she looked over at him.

"Where..." Armin felt frustrated with himself. His mind was so scrambled he couldn't even form a coherent sentence.

"You can sleep in here." She grabbed one boot and slid it on, not bothering with the laces or the buckles. "I... Don't take this personally, but I'll be back later." Realization hit him like a blow to the gut. Somehow he knew she was going to go to Otho.

He nodded and watched her step into the other boot. The room grew a little brighter when she opened the door, but she didn't look back. Seconds later, the other door opened and closed and she was gone.

Armin dressed himself for bed in a daze. He'd had one cup to every four that Peter and Eve had downed, yet he felt unsteady on his feet. The absurdity of the situation made him want to laugh and cry at the same time.

He wandered into the sitting room to check on Leo, but found Peter stretched out on the couch with his head closest to the crib, snoring softly. Leo was still sound asleep. He wondered how anyone could sleep through the chaos that was blowing through his mind. He went back to the room. There was nowhere else to sleep.

Despite feeling exhausted from the day, he had a hard time getting himself to go to sleep. He could only think about Eve. He kept seeing her: curled up in that basement the first day he'd met her, slicing open the Titan that almost killed Jean, broken and sobbing in the bed at Doc's house, hitting the ground right before they reached Wall Rose, grinning after her fight with Captain Levi, laughing with everyone else at the way Sasha Sasha and Connie had teased Jean and Mercedes, her joy while racing Alois, covered in blood after killing Aldrich, and her lips on his.

He scolded himself. Told himself to stop thinking. He could reason everything out tomorrow when his mind wasn't so clouded.

But the swirl continued, some images changing, some repeating every time he lopped back to the beginning. There were thoughts sometimes, but the nagging curiosity of what she would have done if he hadn't pushed her away clung to the back of his mind. Sleep claimed him at last, though it wasn't as peaceful as he might have hoped.

It was Leonardo who woke him. The shrill screams for food or a clean diaper or just some attention echoed throughout the small house. Armin sat up with a sigh. When the quilts around him were snatched nearly away, he looked to his left. Sleep fled in the wake of surprise.

Eve had snatched the quilts away to bury her head, but he knew it was her. Her back was towards him, but there was no mistaking the crown of auburn hair poking out of the top. He nudged her gently. She groaned in response.

"Five more minutes," she slurred. He sighed and allowed himself a small smile. One thing he'd forgotten last night: she hates waking up early. He reached one hand over and shook her shoulder. He'd learned by now that she wouldn't try to punch him when he woke her up- unlike a range of other people he knew.

"Eve!" Peter was shouting over the baby's cries, but that only made Leo scream louder. Eve moaned and snatched Armin's pillow from behind her head to cover her ears. He just shook his head and crawled out of bed. Whatever last night had brought about, this morning was nothing more than exactly what he'd expected.

He tugged on the same pair of white pants from the day before, having long become adjusted to wearing the same set of clothes for a couple of days (at least) at the time. He had two more uniforms in his bag, but he'd be lucky if he got to wash the one from yesterday (and today) before he'd worn the other two at least twice as well. The luxury of washing his clothes had faded sometime during his days as a Cadet.

He shrugged out of his night shirt and found the light green button-down shirt, shoving his arms though the sleeves and managing the buttons as fast as he could. Leo was still screaming at the top of his lungs. Rather than bother with the straps for his gear, he went to the other room and found Peter in the same position as Eve- curled up with his back to the world and a pillow over his head. He did not envy them.

With a small chuckle, he reached into the little crib and picked Leo up like Peter had shown him the night before. His cries softened, then faded as he stared up at Armin with curiosity in his big round eyes. Struggling to remember everything Peter had said last night about warming up the goat's milk, Armin headed for the ice chest in the kitchen.

"Thanks." Peter's groan was muffled by the pillow over his head. Armin just shook his head again and grabbed the basket that Peter had pointed out the night before. It was wicker and deep, but layered with blankets. He could leave Leo in it for a moment while he started the fire in the kitchen and grabbed a pot to fill it with water.

By the time Peter finally crawled off of the couch, Armin had managed to feed Leo and change his diaper. It was strange to do it himself, but he managed. Leo surprised him at every turn, working with him rather than against him (which, to hear Peter tell it, was a miracle in and of itself). He and Armin sat at the table with tea. By the time Peter roused himself into making breakfast, Armin judged that it had to be close to eight in the morning. They were departing at noon, and the ride to Trost would take a little more than an hour at a regular pace.

"I reckon Alois and his lady will be back soon," Peter remarked, cracking the third egg into the skillet. "See if you cain't get lazy-bones in there to get her ass out of bed." Armin felt like he was sighing all the time lately, so he held back the one that almost came forth. He left Leo in the basket, content with the little wooden bear Eve had brought him the day before. Heading for the room in the back, he found himself thinking of the coming ride.

He didn't think to knock.

Eve's bare back was to him. The single second it took for the both of them to react felt like an eternity. Eve's arms shot up to cover her chest as she glared over her shoulder, ready to shout. Armin was already apologizing, closing the door and retreating. He could feel the hot flush burning its way up his neck into his cheeks.

Peter just laughed. And laughed and laughed. Even Leo was gurgling his little laughter. Armin sank into a chair, staring at the surface of the table and refusing to look anywhere else. He hadn't seen anything- not really. After a moment, he calmed down and the flush receded.

"How much did ya see?" Peter teased, sliding a plate down in front of him. There were two eggs and a few slices of bacon. He went back to the skillet.

"Just her back," Armin muttered. He grabbed the fork and poked at the runny yolks of his eggs. He could still picture her: the back of her head nearly shaven in the spot where her braid had been, her eyes cutting over at him, and her back…

"So you saw those scars, then, huh." Peter was cracking eggs into the skillet. Armin didn't answer, just waited for some sort of explanation.

None came.

But Eve did. She flopped into a chair beside Armin and snatched a piece of bacon from his plate. "Sorry. I thought you were Peter."

"Hey!" Peter protested. He waved the spatula at her, but had to tend to the eggs before they burned.

"You're the pervert who likes to look," Eve said with a shrug.

Peter fumed, tossing both of the eggs onto a plate before tossing in more bacon. "We'll see what ya say the next time ya need me to tape up your busted ribs!" Eve just laughed.

Armin wasn't sure where this was coming from. He was too cautious to be grateful for her change. This was too sudden. Every now and again, he would catch her pause just before she took a bit of food, a deep frown on her face. She recovered quickly each time, though, and finished up most of what Peter had cooked. Just as he was gathering the dishes to help wash them, Alois and Mina returned, both with pink cheeks from the brisk winter air.

"Enjoy your night?" Eve asked, with only the faintest hint of malice. Alois didn't catch it, but he thought Mina might have.

"Yeah." Alois wasn't really paying much attention to her, though. He was watching as Mina went to Leo and picked him up. The infant gurgled up at her cooing.

"Well let me go grab my stuff and then you can change into your uniform." Eve glanced at Armin for a brief moment and they headed to the back of the little house to gather up their bags and gear.

"What is it?" He could see Eve on the other side of the bed, holding the strap of her bag in her hand. She wasn't moving, just staring at the gear assembly on the floor against the wall. "Eve?"

"Thanks." She looked up at him, a small smile on her face. He wasn't surprised to see her eyes red and shining with tears she didn't let escape.

"F-for what?" He wasn't sure how to handle her or of what to say.

"Peter was right, you know. I replaced my brother with Aldrich for those two years. And I did have a choice - but I made the right one. I know I did." She paused long enough to bend down and grab her gear. "You were right, too."

"What… what now?" He felt stupid for asking, but it was all he could think of. Whatever she'd come up with, it was of her own design. He just wanted to know her motives.

"I'm going today." She shrugged lightly as she walked around the bed. "I can't say I'm okay just yet, but I'm getting there. I was given last night to wallow in my self-pity. I don't get that luxury anymore."

Armin was silent for a long while after that statement. He followed her into the sitting room and he, Eve, and Peter began working at the straps for their gear. Eve was the only one lagging behind them, but every few moments, he would see her grasp at her side. He only kept silent because Peter had seen it as well. Had she hurt herself worse than they expected during the test yesterday? He doubted she'd broken or fractured her ribs again, but it was cause for concern.

He helped her with the last couple of straps, adjusting the ones across her back for her when she began tugging at them to tighten them up. She muttered her thanks, but didn't look at him. Her attention was focused on Leo once more, holding him and smiling at him. He and Peter donned their coats, gloves, and cloaks before heading out to the stables.

"Think she'll be okay?" Peter was grabbing his saddle. Armin shrugged as he mimicked his actions. "She didn't seem... "

"She said she was going to be okay," Armin muttered. "She said you were right."

Peter grinned and laughed. "'Least she finally learned to listen to someone!" Armin returned a half smile, but considered Peter's words. He was right. Eve didn't often listen to anyone else's suggestions or opinions, she just stuck to what she knew. He supposed even that had to change at some point. It did worry him, though. Her stubbornness kept her loyal to her people, if not herself.

Just as he and Peter finished with the horses, Eve and Alois appeared by the stables. They were each carrying two bags in addition to their own. Eve had Armin's bag and Alois had Peter's, but apparently Mina hadn't let them leave without food to take along.

"Ready?" Alois asked. Armin didn't fail to notice how distant he was from Eve for the moment, but he still had the strangest expression. He looked excited and depressed all in the same turn.

"Let's go," Peter announced. He and Eve set off first, with Alois and Armin falling just a small distance behind.

"Alois?"

He looked up and over at Armin with that strange expression once more. "I'm… Mina…"

Armin held his breath for a moment. Eve was half turned back to look at them.

"I'm gonna be a dad…"

Dun dun dun!

Please review. :3