Jealousy

The sun was setting when the soldiers were ready to leave for the mission. They decided to travel at night, so they could avoid the Titans. They left the HQ early to prepare everything at the gates where they were going to leave. The mission seemed simple: Eren would need to harden his Titan to block both the outer and inner gates of the Shiganshina District. However, the fact that they could face the threats of those three other Titans still made many soldiers feel very anxious.

Before leaving, the population greeted the Survey Corps with confidence, leading all citizens and soldiers to shout a great battle cry. It was beautiful to witness. The last rays of sunlight reflected the Wings of Freedom symbol on their green cloaks. Seeing the whole scene, Lara shivered in emotion.

Then, the Survey Corps left to retake Shiganshina.

♦♦♦

It was early hours when the soldiers walked in the darkness, on a trail that led to Shiganshina. Only the horses' hooves could be heard and every now and then, a little chat here or there. None of the soldiers were mounted, just holding the reins of their horses.

Lara was walking a little behind her parents, very thoughtful. Levi and Hange glanced back from time to time.

"What do you think she's thinking about?" Hange asked Levi.

"How am I supposed to know what goes on inside a teenager's head?" he replied.

"Stop pretending you don't care. I know you're more curious than I." Hange chuckled.

Levi clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, as if to say, "Alright… You won!"

"Hey, Lara," he called, looking back. "Baby, wake up!"

Lara shook her head, as if getting out of a trance.

"Sorry, dad…" she replied. "Did you call me?"

"I've been calling you for twenty minutes already," said Levi, then Hange nudged him. "Ouch, Hange! Okay... I've only been calling you for twenty seconds. Come here, please."

Lara got in between them two, her horse behind her.

"Your father and I wanna know what are you so thoughtful about," said Hange, with a curious smile. "You're too quiet..."

"Oh, right..." Lara smiled back. "I was thinking about Armin..."

Levi and Hange looked at each other, eyes wide open.

"What the heck, girl?!" asked Levi, harshly. "You're not old enough to--"

"No, dad!" Lara cut in, laughing. "This isn't what you think it is."

"Yeah, right. And I was born yesterday," he replied, still grumpy. "What do you expect us to think--"

"Let our daughter explain herself, man!" said Hange, interrupting him. "Lara, please go on."

"Well... Daddy asked me to do an assessment of the cadets from my Squad," said Lara. "Remember, dad?"

"Yes..." replied Levi, pretending she wasn't talking to him. "I remember, vaguely..."

"Vaguely?!" asked Lara. "You threatened to disown me again if I didn't!"

"What do you mean, 'again'?!" asked Hange. "Levi, what's this story about disowning our daughter?!"

"It's a tactic he's been using, mom," replied Lara, "when he wants me to do him a favor, he threatens me with lots of disowning and exclusions of firstborn rights."

"Oh!" exclaimed Hange, arms akimbo. "And when were you planning to involve me in these matters?!"

"Hange," said Levi, "do not meddle in my methods of getting favors from Lara, please."

Lara laughed at them.

"Can I continue?! Well… I did a very thorough assessment of my cadets and came to the conclusion that it's time for me to have my own Executive Officer. Just like mom has Moblit, a right-hand man, you know?"

Hange and Levi looked at each other and raised their eyebrows, impressed. Sometimes, they forgot that now Lara had her own responsibilities and duties, no longer being just under their wings and waiting for them to make all the decisions.

"So," continued Lara, "I thought about it and decided that I'd like to have Armin as my Executive Officer. I'll assess him better during this mission, and depending on the result, I'll decide if I should promote him or not." Lara looked at Levi. "Of course, only if you allow me to do this, dad."

Levi looked at Hange, who looked back in a way as if saying, "That's not a bad idea." He looked up to the starry skies and took a deep breath, thoughtful.

"Look... I like Armin... But, don't you think he still lacks ability in terms of fighting? So far, I've never seen him kill a single Titan."

"That's the thing, dad," replied Lara. "Armin can still lack these abilities, but on the other hand, he has the mind of a strategist, that I confess, I've never seen before. He's always the one who comes up with the smartest solutions when I apply exercises to the cadets."

"Levi," said Hange, "I agree with Lara... Armin really has an amazing brain."

"Exactly," replied Lara. "Besides, I think it's a good combination, joining his intelligence and my strength. Far be it from me to brag, but you know I have a facility to kill Titans and to fight. So, if he and I work together, I believe we can come up with a lot of good ideas to help humanity!"

She gave Hange and Levi a smile, excited and eager for an answer.

Hange looked meaningfully at Levi, who was pouting his lips, thoughtful. They remained silent for a while.

"You're right, baby," he finally replied. "Armin's a good choice as Executive Officer. To me, he's approved. You have my permission to promote him whenever you feel it's better. Just let Erwin know before."

"Thank you, daddy," smiled Lara. "I knew you would approve it. I'll get back to my position now, call me if you need anything."

Lara remained a few steps back as she thought about more strategies to improve her Squad's performance. Her parents watched her.

"That's cute..." said Hange, giggling. "Were you jealous of Lara?"

"Me?!" replied Levi, indignant. "You're making things up."

"Don't worry," Hange gave him a little smile. "I know our daughter very well and I can assure you she's not thinking about these things yet."

"Thank God," replied Levi, crestfallen. Then he looked at Hange. "Sometimes, I think I wish I could go back in time…"

"Why do you say that?"

"Dunno... I keep thinking that I should've enjoyed it more... I should've been less rigid and spent more time with her... I can't say... But thinking that she's growing up so fast makes me feel strange..."

"This is completely normal, Levi…" Hange gave him a reassuring smile. "But, you were and are an excellent father. I can't imagine a better man to play this role. I'll tell you something: I've met many young cadets out there to realize how most of them don't get along with their parents. What you and Lara have is something very rare to see."

Levi looked at Hange, feeling insecure. Then he gave a quick glance at Lara, who gave him a big smile when their eyes met. He replied with a wink and turned to Hange.

"Yeah..." he said, contemplative. "I think you're right, my love."

"I know I'm always right," Hange smirked.

After a few minutes of silence, Hange abruptly turned to Levi.

"Did you by any chance just called me 'my love'?!"

Levi widened his eyes and held his breath.

"I-I-I..." he stuttered, looking sideways. "Of course not. I said 'get off!'."

"But then your sentence wouldn't make any sense!" replied Hange, giving him a mischievous smile.

"You're hearing things," Levi avoided her eyes. "I always choose the words I say very well."

"Exactly," she replied, nudging him. "That's why I think you really wanted to say I'm 'your love'."

Levi stared at her in a grumpy way, while Hange giggled. But in the end, he couldn't resist that woman's eyes and found himself giving her a silly smile.