Losses

Lara's eyes were puffy from crying so much.

They were all at the entrance of the Forest of Giant Trees, awaiting the return of Levi, his squad, Mikasa, and who knows, even Eren, too.

Hange was sitting on the ground, with Lara lying on her lap, while stroking her hair. Hange's eyes were also puffy.

From what they counted, many soldiers were lost, especially those on the right flank, which is where the Female Titan had come from, bringing with her a herd of Titans.

Müller, a female soldier who had accompanied Lara since she was rescued and who once had her life saved by the girl, was now gone. Just like many other soldiers that Lara had deep friendships with. She felt like there was a lump in her throat and an emptiness in her stomach.

Then, they heard a rustle of leaves coming from the Forest, and from its entrance, Mikasa and Levi appeared, who carried a passed-out Eren in his arms. Levi quickly placed the boy on the ground, which from what Lara could see, was encased in a very slimy cocoon.

The instant Eren touched the ground, all soldiers desperately gathered around him, to know about his condition. Mikasa was the first to do this, of course. The commotion was so great that Levi ended up being practically shooed away from there.

But, Hange and Lara didn't go to Eren. They went to Levi, who had an expression of deep agony and was limping a lot.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Lara, running to meet him.

"Levi!" said Hange, with tears in her eyes, holding him, for he was about to fall.

The girls helped him get a good distance from the agitation that surrounded Eren. Bracing his arms around Hange and Lara's necks, Levi looked back, seeing how everyone almost climbed on top of each other to see the boy.

"So only you two came to check how I am?" he asked, looking tired. "Wow, what a good reputation I have..."

"Levi," said Hange, "you'll always be the most important to us."

He gave her a sad smile and felt a warmth in his heart.

"Daddy," said Lara, helping him to sit on the ground, when they were pretty far from the others. "What happened?! Did you hurt your foot?"

Levi grimaced in intense pain.

"Let me see this," said Hange, as she grabbed Levi's left foot, who let out a grunt of discomfort.

"I don't think it's broken," he said, gritting his teeth. "But I believe I ruptured something. I tried to save Mikasa from being slapped by the Female Titan and I ended up landing badly."

The girls made the same expressions that Levi did, as if the three of them were feeling the same pain. Hange gently analyzed Levi's foot, while Lara stroked his hand to relax him.

"You're right," replied Hange. "This is not good... It's dangerous if I take off your boot now, 'cause then you won't be able to put it on again. When we get back to the HQ, you'll go straight to the infirmary. But, I believe you'll need to bedrest for a long time, because soon, it's going to be very swollen."

"Bummer…" mumbled Levi.

"We'll take care of you, daddy," said Lara, smiling. "Just like you both took care of me when I broke my foot and my rib."

"Thank you, baby," Levi gave a sad smile and ruffled her hair.

"Where's your squad?" asked Hange, gently putting down his foot.

Levi lowered his head and ran his hand over his face. He felt the pain hit his chest hard, which hurt even more than the pain he felt in his foot. Slowly, he shook his head in denial.

"No..." Hange widened her eyes. "It can't be..."

Lara looked from one to the other, not understanding at first, but then, it finally hit her and she gasped so loudly, she scared herself, covering her mouth with both hands.

"No, daddy... No way... All of them? Eld, Oluo, Petra and Gunther?"

Levi signalized a "yes" with his head, still crestfallen.

A whimper came from Lara's throat, and she lay down on her mother's chest and began to cry again. Hange hugged her daughter and began to rock her slowly, as if lulling her. Tears started to well up in Hange's eyes and she also ended up letting out a cry.

"Levi..." Hange gave a big sigh to recover some air. "We're very sorry for your loss... We know how much they were your friends."

Hange took Levi's hand and squeezed it tight. He reciprocated, covering his face with the other hand, to hide himself. Levi felt his chest swell and a lump in his throat, but he simply couldn't let out how much he wanted to cry at that moment for the friends he had lost.

♦♦♦

The tragic return of the Survey Corps soldiers cause the few citizens who still believed in them to finally abandon their hopes. Many, many lives were lost. Because of all these losses and the cost of the failed mission, Eren's custody of the Survey Corps was taken away. As the soldiers' situation was deplorable, the authorities gave them a few days to recover first.

Levi would need to bedrest for about two weeks. The Survey Corps soldiers were still staying at the castle, but, due to needing medical attention, Levi had to stay in the HQ, in his room, because he thought the bed of the infirmary was extremely uncomfortable.

Hange was right. The very next day, a large lump grew on Levi's foot, from how much it had swollen. He had indeed ruptured some tendons and it wasn't until the third week of treatment that he could think about starting to walk and move slowly to other places.

During the day, Levi stayed in his room, alone, for Hange and Lara worked in the lab with their Titan research. In these moments of solitude, he finally allowed himself to cry over the loss of his friends. Before they left the Forest of Giant Trees, Levi had ripped the Survey Corps symbol from each of their vests and placed them in a box he kept with several other clippings from many of his departed soldier friends. It was his way of saying that they were once alive and that they mattered.

Sometimes, Lara would drop by to pay him a visit and bring him tea and cookies, which made Levi's day much lighter. She had made a beautiful drawing of the "Levi Squad", with all of them holding buckets and mops in front of the castle, so she could always remember this moment they spent together.

Every night, Hange and Lara insisted on having dinner with Levi in his room and they would talk about what they had done during the day. He listened more than he spoke, for his days were usually spent with much book reading and daydreaming.

Since the first night, Lara didn't want to let her father sleep alone. Hange had commented to Levi, on one occasion when their daughter went to the bathroom, that Lara came back much more traumatized from this mission than from the others, and that she now just couldn't stay alone for so long. She also said that Lara was a little more needy than usual.

"Can't we all sleep together on daddy's bed?" she once asked. "Let's make a family sandwich, just like we did on that night I came back from Winter Training. I really enjoyed it..." Lara looked sadly at the floor. "I felt safer..."

Hange and Levi looked at each other, a little embarrassed, but eventually agreed. So every night, the three of them snuggled up on Levi's little bed, making the family sandwich, with Levi and Hange as slices of bread, and Lara as the filling.

Every single night, no exception, after Lara slept snuggling to her mother's chest, Levi would caress Hange's face, and she would do the same to him, silently.

Since they returned from the mission, a feeling of attachment has grown stronger between them two, as if they wanted to cling with all their strength to what they still held most dear.

Then, when they notice that Lara was sleeping so deeply that not even an explosion would wake her up, Levi would gently pull Hange's face close to his and kiss her lips, silently. They would keep doing this for a very long time, until Hange falls asleep.

One night, the three of them were lying on the bed and only the moonlight was coming through the window. Hange and Levi were facing each other and he grabbed her waist, bringing the girls closer to him, as if he wanted to protect them. Hange blinked slowly, for she was about to fall asleep at any moment.

"Hange?" Levi whispered quietly.

"Yes...?" her eyes were very, very heavy.

"Please… Just wait a little longer, okay?"

Hange wanted to ask what he was talking about, but she was so sleepy, she just mumbled an "okay, I'll wait", and fell asleep right away.

The next day, she wanted to ask him what was that all about, but Hange no longer knew if she had dreamed it or if it really had happened, so she thought it was best not to say anything else.