Devotion

Chapter 7

Enjoy!

There was a court hearing, reminiscent to Eren's, but not on quite as large a scale. Even with Erwin's sympathy (thanks to Levi's help), the higher-ups still had to go through with allowing Mikasa to take off for hers and the child's safety. The hope in the situation seemed dim. Mikasa was the Scouting Legion's second strongest soldier and the sect was already under scrutiny. She was much needed, so it seemed far-fetched to allow her leave to have the child.

There was a quick meeting before the hearing to discuss strategy. Everyone seemed to be a bit nervous from the whole situation.

"And you plan to plan to return after you give birth?" Erwin sat at the head of the table. He had his hand balled up in front of him, resting his elbow on the hard surface and his face against his hand.

"Of course," Mikasa replied with a solemn nod, "I need to help Eren."

"Wait a minute!" Eren interrupted as he stood up. He looked almost angry. "Mikasa, what about the baby? It needs its mother and-"

She whipped her head in his direction and had a serious look on her face. "I have a job to do, Eren; I need to protect you."

"I can take care of myself! The baby won't be able to do that!"

"I can do both."

"Are you crazy? What are you-"

Levi strutted over to the two teenagers, pushing them back from their heated argument. "Enough. We are not here for you two to bicker over parenting; we're here to make sure you know what to say so you don't fuck up everything even more."

"We don't have time for it, anyway," Armin chimed in somewhat sheepishly, "We really need to go over everything."

"Arlert's right," Erwin agreed, "Time is running out and I would really hate to lose the second strongest soldier in this force." He let himself smile a bit, trying to ease up the tension.

"I'd be more than happy to have Mikasa work with me on research until she needs to stop for a while." Zoe smiled, eyeing Mikasa's baby bump with an overly fascinated look that only a scientist could possess. "I really want to know the effects a child with Titan genes would have on a human."

"You won't hurt her, will you?" Eren asked. He looked scared. He sounded scared as well, but he tried his best to hide it. The squad leader sensed this and replied cheerily, "Ah, of course not!"

"Hanji, down, it's not the time for this," Levi scolded, arms crossed over his chest. He huffed and continued speaking, "You are willing to have her help with researching, though? It could prove she won't be completely useless at the moment."

"I can fight!" Mikasa slammed her hands against the table as she leaned against it. Her swollen stomach brushed against the edge, reminding her that she not only had herself and Eren to take care of anymore. She pulled back a bit with a frown. Still, she kept up a strong front.

"You cannot!" Eren retorted, gently pushing her back down in her seat.

She stood once more, her face getting closer to his. "I'm pregnant; I'm not incompetent."

"Enough!" Levi was on top of mediating things once again. "We need to set up the plan of action."

The short man swore under his breath, beginning to regret ever agreeing to help these kids. All that was getting done was bickering and nothing close to the real matter at hand. At this rate, he would have gotten himself involved with nothing to prove.

"We already know what we need to do," Eren muttered as he plopped back into his own seat. He leaned back, lifting the front two feet of the chair off the ground, in an attempt to get comfortable and calm himself down a bit. "We make sure they think Armin's the father and we just get them to let Mikasa work with Hanji for now until the baby's born."

Levi lifted Eren up by the collar of his shirt, the chair falling down the floor, the sound breaking the room's silence. "Listen here, you little brat, I'm getting tired of your shit. Don't get so cocky. It's inot/i that simple. You're already asking a lot of us and you really need to clean up your act. You're going to be a father soon; you can't expect everything to still just be handed to you. You need to have a little respect, so sit the fuck down and listen for once." He dropped the boy onto the floor and went back to the wall, leaning against it.

Zoe frowned. "Levi, you didn't have to be so hard on him. He's just a kid."

"He needs to grow up," Levi responded coldly.

The room went silent. Eren picked himself up from the floor, pulling the chair up as well. He plopped down on it and scooted closer to Mikasa. He pulled her in a hug, wondering if he would get a chance to do this anytime soon. What if they sent her off on her own instead of letting her stay with them and helping out the best she could in her condition? What if they decided that it was a stupid move to make-being that she was such an excellent soldier-that should not make such a foolish mistake? What if they made her continue fighting, despite the disadvantages she was currently experiencing? Eren did not even want to think about that. He could lose both Mikasa and their child; he could not even bear the thought.

It was only a matter of time before they would call them to the hearing. Eren could only hope that this was not the last time that he got to hold Mikasa like this. It was mere moments before someone would open the door and tell them that they needed to be present. He could not even bring himself to check if they knew all that they need to know, that they had their stance placed as firmly as they could. He only found himself worrying about his future with his growing family. He held on to Mikasa for as long as he could.

Erwin went over the plan again to make sure everyone knew what they were doing, but Eren did not even hear him, lost in his own thoughts and worries. Nothing mattered to him in that moment except for Mikasa. He loved her more than anything, along with their unborn child, and he could not help but worry if all of that would be taken away from him. He would do everything in his power to keep them safe, but how much icould/i he do?

Levi must have been listening closely because suddenly, he tapped Eren on the shoulder. "Oi, they're coming. Let go or this will never work."

The boy immediately pulled back. He did not want to, but he did not want suspicions to arise. They had to have people convinced that Armin was the father of the child and if Eren was caught cuddling Mikasa, it would never work, and they had to make this work.

The door creaked open and one of the people from the hearing walked into the small room. "Everything is ready. Please proceed this way."

Everyone nodded, standing up or straightening up from wherever they were. As the others made their way out first, Eren grabbed one of Mikasa's hands, squeezing it. She turned around to face him. They stared at each other for a moment before he spoke softly, "Remember no matter what happens, I love you so much."

She allowed herself to lightly smile at him. "I love you, too."

He pulled her in for a quick, but passionate kiss. Once they let go, his face was full of confidence. "Let's make the best of this, okay?" She nodded in agreement.

They were then off for their growing family's fate to be decided.