Family Name

A week before the mission to retake Shiganshina, Lara was alone in her room, writing some reports about the research done with Eren's Titan.

Then, she heard a certain buzz coming from the corridor. The voices were familiar and they seemed to be arguing, quietly. Lara turned around just to find her parents standing in the doorway, side by side, in an extremely rigid position. They were both red and looked anxious, as they clasped their hands very hard.

"Is everything okay over there?" asked Lara, laughing at her parents' awkward behavior.

Hange and Levi looked at each other and got into the room, closing the door.

"Sweetie," said Hange, "sit down on your bed, please."

Lara noticed that her mother's hands were shaking. She sat on the bed, with Levi and Hange also sitting on either of her sides. Lara looked from one to the other, confused, as her parents seemed to be mentally arguing.

"Go on, Hange!" exclaimed Levi, his teeth clenched.

"You say it, Levi!" she replied, with the same expression.

"Uh… Hello?" Lara waved at them. "I'm here, okay?" she looked at Hange. "Mommy, what's going on? Why are you guys acting strange?"

Hange looked at Levi, who waved his hands, as if to say, "Go on!". She then took an envelope out of her pants pocket and handed it to Lara.

"Open it, baby…" she said, handing over the envelope, her hands still shaking.

"Wow..." replied Lara, smiling. "What a mystery..."

She opened the envelope and began to read the paper inside. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming and felt her hands tingle.

On the paper was written:

"ROYAL GOVERNMENT,

I hereby declare that, as of today's date, LARA, current Squad Leader of the Survey Corps, is under the full custody of:

LEVI ACKERMAN, current Captain of the Survey Corps,

and

HANGE ZOË, current Squad Leader of the Survey Corps.

Now having her name changed to:

LARA ZOË ACKERMAN

The adopted one must receive all the rights and privileges relating to legitimate or biological children of the parents mentioned.

Sincerely,

Historia Reiss."

Lara stared at the paper for a long, long time.

Hange and Levi looked at each other, eyes wide, not knowing whether to call her or not.

"Baby…?" tried Hange, softly. "Did you understand what's written there?"

Lara's chin trembled and she had to blink several times to wipe away the tears that were in her eyes.

"I'm…" she began, almost in a whisper, "I'm… Officially… Adopted by you two?"

Lara looked from one to the other, her chest going up and down rapidly.

"Yes..." answered Levi, with a little smile. Then, he rubbed behind his neck. "We... We even tried to do this a while ago, but..." he glanced at Hange, "As your mother and I are not..." Levi cleared his throat, "Married... Things are a little more complicated…"

"But..." said Hange, holding Lara's hands, who had red eyes. "As Historia's your friend, we talked to her and, as she's the queen now, she just had to pull a few strings here and there and... We did it." She looked deeply into Lara's eyes, with a beautiful smile. "You are our daughter now, for real."

Lara couldn't hold it anymore and began crying. Her shoulders went up and down and she tried to catch her breath, while her parents stroked her back. Hange also cried and laughed at the same time, looking at Levi, who at this moment, seeing that he was only in the presence of the girls and the door was closed, allowed himself to shed a few tears, too.

"T-T-Thank…" Lara tried to speak, between sobs, "T-Thank y-you! Thank you so much!"

She then grabbed her parents and they all hugged very tight. The sun came in through the window and shined on them, as if to highlight this event for all to see. They held each other and cried for a while.

When they managed to compose themselves, Lara burst out laughing, such happiness she was feeling. Her eyes were swollen and some sobs were still coming from her throat.

"I-I'm," she didn't know whether to laugh or cry some more, "I'm speechless… H-How? When…?"

"Actually, your father and I have been thinking about this for a while," answered Hange, wiping a tear. "But, at the time, neither of us said anything about it to the other, or..." she blushed a little, "we were just embarrassed by the implications that this could mean…"

"But then," added Levi, still stroking Lara's back, "when I overheard your conversation with Eren, back in the castle, I decided to talk to Hange about it..."

"We did fill a lawsuit so that we could officially adopt you," said Hange. "However, as I mentioned, it was all very complicated..." she then gave a big sigh. "But now, everything went well and..." Hange held Lara's face, "You are no longer someone without origins or roots, my sweetie... Your father and I are here, giving you our family names, so that you can also be part of our story."

Lara covered her face and began to cry once more, leaning over her body. Levi looked at Hange and from behind Lara, he ran his hand across the mattress and took Hange's hand, squeezing it and giving her a little smile, which she reciprocated.

"Baby…" called Levi, now ruffling her hair. "It's not just that…"

Lara suddenly jumped in surprise.

"There's more?!" she exclaimed, staring at her father. "What is it?! Please tell me you're getting married!"

Levi and Hange looked at each other and turned even redder, quickly releasing their hands. They began to stutter nervously.

"N-N-No," said Levi, glancing at Hange. "It's not it... It's something else..."

"Then what?" asked Lara, curious.

Levi took another envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. There, was her new birth certificate. On the old one, in the center of the paper, only the name "LARA" was written on it. However, on this new birth certificate, in capital letters, it was written: "LARA ZOË ACKERMAN".

"Lara..." said Levi, looking deeply at her. "You're now ours... Both your past and your future... You are our daughter."

Lara held the two documents in her hands: her adoption contract and her new birth certificate, and she pressed them against her chest, heaving a big sigh.

"I don't know how to thank you…"

Then, instinctively, Hange and Levi hugged her and the three of them remained there, united. Lara felt that at this moment, nothing could separate them.

Without her parents noticing, she looked at the skies through the window and mouthed her lips a "Thank you… Thank you so much…", shedding a tear.

As they disengaged, Lara sniffled and gave a little smile. Then, suddenly, she acquired a cheeky expression and looked at Levi.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, arms akimbo. "Did you really overhear my conversation with Eren?! What a nosy!"

Hange burst out laughing and Levi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Y-You..." he stammered, looking from one side to the other, as if looking for an escape. "You were talking way too loud. It was hard not to listen. I was just passing by."

"I do remember very well that you said you would check the other rooms," replied Lara. "But, I bet you didn't even leave the corridor!"

Levi tried to say something in his favor, but Lara interrupted him.

"It's okay, daddy... I forgive you," she gave him a daring smile. "As long as you start solving the other problem I mentioned with Eren."

"Which one?" he asked, confused.

"Your marriage to mom!"