I found a muse!
I like numbers. Especially perfect ones.
This is a long one that I actually had to split into a couple parts. I have to apologize in advance, though. There is a very high possibility you may not like what you read. I accept whatever punishment is deemed appropriate.
"Oi, did you hear a word I said?"
"Did you hear a word I said?"
The air was tense that morning as they sat at the small oak table in their dining area. Like every morning the past year of their marriage, he sat in his place at the head, she to the left in hers. It wasn't so much a display of power as it was an easier access point for him to the cleaning supplies. He liked the table to be cleared and wiped down after every meal. The other four seats remained empty and largely untouched, save for those few instances when the occasional visitor would spill in. Mikasa had a small cup of black tea pressed to her lips, her eyes closed, only half listening to the report Levi was relaying from Erwin when she decided to spill news of her own.
"Why, of all moments, would you choose to say that now?"
She took one more sip before placing her cup down next to her untouched omelet. She rarely ate, anyway. "I thought you should be the first to know."
"Yeah, when we're fucking in bed, or eating dinner, or hell, when one of us is taking a shit; not when I'm in the middle of telling you those goddamn colonies have been under attack and we're the ones that have to go out into god knows what!"
"I thought this was Military Police work."
"Inside the walls," he told her, pressing the bridge of his nose. "They're too chicken shit to step foot outside."
"Oh."
It was a stressful situation. First it started with three brave groups ready to see if there could be life outside of the walls. After four months of success, three colonies turned into seven, quickly growing to ten, and not a titan in sight. Those first few months showed great progress. The colonies established their own small governments, began growing crops, building homes and families. Other families within the walls soon followed their braver predecessors and left to see what fortune they could find, inadvertently improving the economic situation for those who still resided within. Their efforts were almost ready to be declared a success… until the bi-weekly reports to Erwin stopped coming in from the most recently developed colony, otherwise known as Settlement 10. A month later, Settlement 9 also failed to report its status. Settlement 8's reporting date was two days ago, exactly one month to the day, and like the two before, it didn't appear. It was too fixed a timetable to be a coincidence and too risky to make public, so it had been decided a select few would go out and assess the situation in two weeks' time. There they could make the decision to evacuate or defend against whatever threat they may face, if there was one at all.
Four squad leaders were assigned, each leading groups of twelve to the last four developed colonies. The group headed to Settlement 8 was to be led by Mikasa. It had been a unanimous decision between Erwin, Hanji, and Levi. She had proven herself more than worthy of leading her own squad. But now…
He slammed his hand on the table.
"You're turning in your uniform. Today."
"What?"
"You heard me. Go change into civilian clothing and hand in your uniform."
She narrowed her eyes, finally understanding his intent. "I thought I was getting my own squad."
"Yeah, you were, right before you told me you were fucking pregnant."
Levi watched from the window as Mikasa violently chopped away at the logs of firewood piled on the side of their house. The only reasons he had let her stay out there so long was because the colder months were coming (they needed the wood) and she really needed to vent her frustrations out on anything other than him.
Their heated argument that morning quickly escalated into a full-blown fight, complete with punches and kicks to bring the other down. Mikasa had initiated the majority of it. Levi mainly blocked her hits and made sure she didn't hurt herself or their unborn child. Frustrated it was getting them nowhere, he finally saw his opening and swept his leg underneath hers, forcing her to fall off balance and sending her toppling to the floor. He trapped her prone form with his own, effectively holding down her legs and wrists lest she get any more ideas.
His face hovered over hers as he glared into her dark, bloodlust-filled eyes. "Submit."
"Never." She bit out through clenched teeth.
She struggled more, but he held firm.
"Submit." He repeated, lowering his head, his lips just barely brushing the outer edge of her ear.
She gasped.
He smirked.
She growled.
Somehow managing to wriggle a leg free, she took her split-second window of opportunity and hooked it around his torso before successfully shoving him off of her. As they scrambled up and stood staring at each other, both breathing heavy and ready to strike, she soon realized it was a fruitless battle. The only thing she had succeeded in doing was enraging him even further – something she had never intended in the first place, but he just had to open his mouth. There would be no way she could get around disobeying his orders this time.
It was decided.
"Fine, heichou. You win."
Without waiting for another word, she turned on her heel and stomped upstairs to their bedroom. A short while later, she came stomping back down wearing a long, lavender-colored skirt and grey collared blouse. She shoved her bundled uniform hard into his chest and continued her angry march out of the house to the world outside, headed straight for the wood pile she was currently chopping into bits.
'It was for the best.' He kept reminding himself, reminding her. He should have been happy. He wanted to be happy. They were going to be a family. But she was so goddamn stubborn. She could argue all she wanted; he was not going to risk the life of this child. It was safer if she stayed away from their work. He told her this repeatedly, but as expected, his words only fell on deaf ears.
Levi turned to her uniform, now pressed and hanging against the doorframe. She never expressed interest in leading her own squad before. Why now? He was not looking forward to explaining this to Erwin, who was actually due to arrive soon to further explain the upcoming mission.
"Right on fucking cue." He muttered, hearing the door knock.
They sat for a long while discussing the new circumstances. Every so often they would glance out the window to the angry woman wielding an axe outside. Levi refused to let Erwin even entertain the thought of sending Mikasa out, so the older man eventually let the issue go. Things were certainly changed, but three squads instead of four wouldn't hurt the expedition a great deal. It would just carry out longer than planned and, for once, funding was not an issue. Their conversation was put to a halt when a sweaty Mikasa came walking in, her scowl still planted firmly on her face. Both men stood.
"Hello, sir." She greeted.
Erwin nodded to her.
She cocked her head at Levi. "I wanted a glass of water. Or do I need permission for that as well?"
Erwin snorted, now knowing the reason why the two were acting so terse. Their body language was not lost on him. Levi glared in his direction.
"I'll let myself out," he said, grabbing his notes. "Congratulations, you two."
Levi followed him to the door and slammed it shut as Erwin walked out into the afternoon sun. He kept his back to his wife.
"Go wash your hands. I'll make tea."
A talk she didn't want to have was coming. She would humor him… for now.
She walked into the kitchen minutes later to find a small plate of biscuits placed beside a porcelain teacup on the countertop for her. She took the cup, ignoring the plate, and inhaled the aroma. Soft, fruity wafts laced with pine hit her nose, a stark contrast to its flavor of bitter smokiness. Perfect. Warm. Soothing. Levi sat at the table silently drinking from his own cup.
"You know this is all for the baby, Mikasa." He finally said. His voice was tired, almost apologetic. She lifted her eyes to glance at the back of his head and took a quiet step forward.
He took her silence as a sign to continue.
"Should anything happen-" he paused. "I told you I would protect you as best I could." He turned, surprised she was soon right beside him. Looking into her eyes, he carefully placed an open palm over her stomach. "And that includes our child."
She didn't try to push him away.
"I'm not your superior in this, but I need you to trust me. Keeping you as far from danger as possible will keep it safe. It will be protected. Loved."
She stared at him for a moment, taking in all he said. The game was changed. It wasn't an ideal situation, but she realized it was about more than her. If he failed, he needed to be assured the child had someone. He was scared. She softened her eyes and placed her hand over his. "Okay, Levi. I trust you."
The days leading up to the scout's departure were filled with preparations for their new addition. The room they used as storage was emptied and filled with whatever baby items they could find. The baby itself wasn't due for a while, so they had time to organize and plan. Every day Levi would record Mikasa's weight, made sure she actually ate the meals he prepared for her, and documented everything in a notebook he kept locked in his desk. He would allow nothing to get by him. Mikasa found it endearing. No one could have expected their happiness to be so short lived.
The evening before the expedition, Erwin was reviewing Settlement coordinates with squad leaders when Armin suddenly burst in his office, searching frantically for Levi. His sweaty, disheveled appearance bode ill news.
"Heichou, come quick! It's Mikasa!"
Levi immediately dropped everything and left the room, dragging Armin along with him.
"Explain, Arlert. Now."
His strides grew faster the more Armin stuttered through his words. Mikasa fell over in pain. His wife fell over in pain. Mikasa never fell over in pain.
"She locked herself in the bathroom nearly three hours ago!" the boy cried, "She was sick earlier, but said it was nothing the first time she came out. That maybe she ate something bad. But then she ran back in almost a half hour later… She didn't want to unnecessarily alarm you, so I waited, but… by the time she started crying in pain… I- I ran out to find you. I was gone so long, I don't know if she is still in there or not."
Levi barreled through the front door only to find his home dark and quiet. The only source of light came from the dim flickering of the lamp in the main sitting room. He expected to find everything in disarray, to analyze the hysteria in front of him and decide a first course of action. This… unnerved him.
He turned to Armin, who stood in a calculative silence. "Arlert, go find Hanji. A physician- any kind of doctor. Go now."
The blonde nodded and ran off. The sky was getting darker, the first stars of the night just barely becoming visible.
Levi slowly made his way further into the house. He looked towards the bathroom and saw the door was slightly ajar. Had she fallen unconscious? Was it really just a small bout of sickness? He made careful steps in that direction until he heard her soft voice call from behind him.
"Liar."
He spun around to see her sitting hunched on the floor, alone in the dark, surrounded by the few baby items they collected the past few days. Tiny clothes were torn apart; a stuffed doll emptied of its contents. As he stepped closer he noticed she was a sickly pale color. Her face was covered in sweat. It didn't take him more than a minute to put two and two together.
"Mikasa…"
Immediately upon hearing his voice, she perked her head and narrowed her eyes on him, giving him a look he had only seen on her once before. It was the same look she had as a girl of fifteen, forced to watch in a courtroom of her peers as he, Levi, beat her brother within an inch of his life. Her clenched jaw, slanted eyes filled with malice, and furrowed brow told him she was ready to go on a rampage.
"Liar." It was almost a growl.
There was no one to hold her back as she stood to come face to face with him. He didn't stop her as her right hand connected to his cheek once, twice, three times. The sharp slaps echoed throughout the empty house.
"I trusted you." She spat, slapping him once more. "You lied!"
He held his jaw and looked at her with wide eyes. "How?"
"In the bathroom."
He slowly made his way to the small room, barely big enough to comfortably hold one person. Ignoring the tiny droplets of blood littered around the toilet bowl, he let out a heavy breath of air and peered down. Years of handling blood and gore, often by his own doing, could never have prepared him for what he saw next. He had to fight the urge to fall to his knees. There, floating in a small pool of red, was a tiny form, no bigger than his pinky finger, but unmistakably human in shape. Unmistakably his.
WHATS WRONG WITH ME?! I swear I'll give them a baby soon! I have prompts!