Attack

Indeed, in the time period of about one month that had passed after Levi went with Zeke and the soldiers to the Forest of Giant Trees, everything started to go downhill.

A group of rebel soldiers and civilians emerged, led by Floch, to reunite Eren with his brother Zeke and create the New Eldian Empire, and then activate the Rumbling. They were outraged by Eren's arrest and began to speak out for him to be released from prison. So they secretly started working with a loyal follower of Zeke, named Yelena.

Apparently, about ten months ago, Floch, Yelena, and Eren began working together and after that, Eren started behaving completely different, like he's behaving now. With all this rebellion, Hange began to receive a lot of pressure from the press and the population, because in their view, Eren was the hope of the people and they were unfairly keeping him in prison, besides that the Shiganshina District was being evacuated without people knowing why. However, Hange argued that because of what happened in Liberio, the rest of the world now had a much more negative view of Paradis than before, and that even though Armin had not turned into the Colossal Titan and destroyed Liberio's Port, only the massacre that Eren caused had shaken them all enough to be hated even more, and an imminent war was at the door at any moment.

All this pressure contributed to the fact that now, Hange constantly felt severe pains in her belly and her health started to get worse considerably. Now, she visited the infirmary almost periodically.

Lara and Armin did their best to help her in any way they could, but the burden of responsibility inevitably would fall on Hange. Because of that, one night, in her Commander's Office, the three of them talked a lot and came to the conclusion that it was time they needed to come together and help each other. So, it was agreed that from now on, Lara would move to the rank of Captain and Hange's right-hand woman, and that Armin would become the Squad Leader in Lara's place, becoming responsible for it. Hange obviously continued to be the active voice and responsible for everything, but she felt much more relieved, at least emotionally and psychologically, to know that she could count on her daughter and son-in-law to help her in every possible process.

All the situations they were going through, along with the pregnancy hormones, made Hange feel a huge emotional roller coaster, now that she was about six months pregnant.

And, of course, Hange finally "revealed" to Lara and Armin where Levi, Zeke, and the thirty other soldiers were located. The couple did their best to show surprise at the information. However, it was agreed that Armin would still need to pretend he didn't know anything, because if something happened to Hange or Lara, he would be their backup to help Levi. However, even though Hange had told them everything, Lara and Armin didn't tell her that Levi had already informed them of his location, to avoid any further problems for Hange or Levi, for sharing this confidential information.

What also relieved Hange was that, constantly, she and Levi wrote letters to each other, trying at least, in written words, to show their love and support, through three soldiers who came and went from the Forest to deliver the supplies. However, Lara and Armin had to spend a few late nights with Hange in the infirmary, due to her blood pressure now always reaching a very high peak.

Armin and Lara weren't having the engagement of their dreams either. They practically didn't have a peaceful time to really be together. It is a fact that they were constantly in each other's company, but not under favorable circumstances for anything romantic or similar. In addition, at seeing her mother go through so much stress, Lara herself also started to get very anxious, making her have strong headaches and, if it wasn't for Armin's good heart and solicitude, she would also have spent some nights in the infirmary as a patient, and not as a companion of her mother. Armin was taking care of Lara with great love, always trying to bring her some medicine or a calming tea to help her with her stress. Besides, he also gave Lara relaxing back massages when she didn't even ask for it, which made her affection for her fiancé only grow more.

Lara and Hange were more and more amazed at how kind and helpful Armin was to both of them. On nights when they managed to stay in their old bedroom (and not in the infirmary), Armin would surprise them by bringing them dinner on trays, so they could eat with a little peace and privacy. It was amazing how he always had a word of comfort or simply stopped to listen to what they had to say. There was even one occasion when he brought them a box of chocolate, on a day when the girls were particularly feeling pretty tense.

The high level of Armin's caring relationship with his fiancée and mother-in-law reached such a point that he simply began to sleep on a mattress between their beds, in case something serious happened during the night, especially with Hange's health. Although it was technically forbidden for him to do so, for being in the Women's Wing, Hange used her Commander's authority to say that he could do whatever he wanted.

To Hange's relief and happiness, the Tiny-Human-Bean kept growing well in her belly, starting to kick more often now. The purple bruise from the hit gradually disappeared, although she still felt severe pain in her belly in general. Lara continued to do her best to maintain her baby care routine, rubbing her mother's belly with the lavender essential oil every night and, before bed, by the light of a cozy oil lamp, giving her a nice foot massage, while Armin read aloud a poetry book or something light for Hange to get a good night's sleep, where every time, she slept cuddled with the teddy bear, wishing Levi was there.

Now, talking about the relationship between Armin and Lara, while they weren't spending a lot of quality time as a couple, they were closer than ever. With each passing day, the bond between them grew and they worked with such companionship and complicity, that it was as if they were connected by the same brain and heart.

In the few moments when they got some peace and privacy, they would just stand on their feet, embracing each other, their foreheads touched and rocking themselves slowly, remembering when they danced on their first date. They would give a few soft, tender kisses, and were usually in silence, for words didn't need to be said, because each knew what the other was thinking. Speaking of which, now that they were engaged, they managed to improve their technique of communicating with their eyes a lot. In addition, now that Lara, Armin, and Hange were very close and spent most of the day together, the three of them managed to acquire the ability to communicate with their eyes among themselves, which made it much easier when talking at a distance.

Since Armin also needed a break from being stressed sometimes, Lara would stroke his hair before bed, where he would lie on his mattress and she would sit next to him, caressing him until Armin fell asleep. Hange watched the couple with a twinkle in her eyes and felt her heart warm, because she remembered Levi and so many nights when he also fell asleep with the caress of her hands.

For the first two weekends of that past month, Hange and Lara managed to go to their house, inviting Armin to come along. In the others, things were getting so complicated that they thought it best to stay in the Headquarters. But at least, during those two weekends they stayed at home, they were able to spend a good quality time in each other's company. They would leave work late on Friday night and it was agreed that Lara and Hange would sleep in the double bed, and Armin would stay in his fiancée's bedroom.

They allowed themselves to sleep until a little later on Saturday and Sunday, and Armin helped Lara prepare healthy and hearty meals for Hange. For the rest of the day, they would relax, read a book, sit on the porch having tea and cookies (which reminded them of Levi, making Hange very emotional), or simply, the three of them would lie on the couches, with Hange using a single couch only for her, and on the other, Armin would lay on Lara's lap, who rested her feet on a chair while she stroked his hair and listened to relaxing music playing on the phonograph. They also noticed that Tiny-Human-Bean liked to talk very much, making the three of them lie on the double bed, chatting loudly with Hange's belly, which moved a lot when the baby listened to each one's voice.

During the weekends at the house, Hange would sleep all day long, since her pregnancy and the post of Commander were making her exhausted. However, Lara and Armin insisted that she should continue to do at least some exercises to strengthen her body. So, while it was now Armin who read Lara's notes, Hange was helped by her daughter to do the exercises. It was still quite cold, so when the sun showed up for a few minutes, the three of them would take the opportunity to walk around the house.

At least, on those relaxing days, Lara and Armin were able to spend some time alone, whether on the porch, watching the sunset, or sitting on the couch, with Lara lying on her fiancé's chest as he stroked her hands. They avoided talking about work or any other problems that surrounded them, investing their time in kisses, affection, and making plans for the future. There were times when they even forgot about Armin's Titan curse, having fun imagining where they would be when they were fifty years old.

On one of the Saturdays, Lara and Armin went to the grocery store to buy food and came back surprising Hange with a pack full of marshmallows, which some Marleyan volunteers taught the Eldian people to make, and they had a very pleasant cold night, lying on the futons in front of the fireplace, making delicious marshmallows and wishing Levi was there with them.

However, unfortunately, the weekends were over and they had to go back to the Headquarters. One morning, while Hange and Onyankopon were having a meeting to talk about Yelena and Eren's secret meeting, Armin invited Lara to visit Annie in her crystal. It was the first time Lara had seen her more closely in that state, and she couldn't help but feel a certain compassion for Annie. However, while Armin was explaining to Lara about the touch that could activate Titan's memories, an old roommate of Annie's, named Hitch, appeared behind them, thinking that Armin was clearly trying to touch Annie's crystal with ulterior motives.

Armin had quite a hard time explaining to Hitch that it was not what she was thinking, and he even took Lara's right hand to show they were engaged. "Look at our rings!" he said, and Lara couldn't help but giggle as she heard a certain tone of desperation in Armin's voice. Finally, Hitch seemed understanding and even very kind, saying that she thought it was good that Annie had one more company to talk to besides herself. And when the three of them left the place where Annie was being held in custody, they saw that there was some uproar and rebellion from the citizens in front of the Headquarters gate, with people complaining that they weren't getting all the correct information, outraged by Eren's arrest and with the Armed Forces, which now really weren't in a good reputation at the moment. However, the Armed Forces could not reveal the existence of Zeke and of the Rumbling to the population.

While Hitch, who was from the Military Police, helped to contain the people, Mikasa went to Armin and Lara saying that she had finally arranged a meeting with Darius Zackly, the commanding General of the three Military branches of Paradis, in order to obtain authorization to talk to Eren, for they wanted to know what was happening to their friend for him to be behaving that way, since they had been forbidden to visit him again.

Much to their surprise, Armin, Lara, and Mikasa were informed by Darius that they had discovered that Eren had encountered Anti-Marleyan volunteers at clandestine meetings before the attack in Liberio, and that the investigations were still ongoing, and that, until now, it continued being a secret about what really happened to Eren when he spent those three months in Marley. To the complete dismay of the three of them, Darius also said that they were working on the possibility that Eren was being controlled by Zeke. Everything Darius revealed to them should be kept in the strictest of secrecy.

When Mikasa, Armin, and Lara left Darius' office, they talked about how it was very likely that the Armed Forces were looking to pass Eren's Founding Titan to someone else, for it was the most powerful attribute, and whoever possessed it would obviously have control of most everything. They passed by three Military Police soldiers who went into the General's office and suddenly, they heard a loud:

BOOM!!!

A big explosion happened in Darius' office. Lara only had time to see Armin throw himself on top of her to protect her.

There was fire everywhere.

"Armin!!!" Lara was lying on the floor, with his body spread over hers, "Babe, talk to me!" She shook him desperately, tears already coming to her eyes.

He didn't answer.

Lara felt a terrible chill all over her body and her heart seemed to fail. Panting, Mikasa came to her side, asking if they were okay. Then, slowly, Armin opened his eyes and looked at Lara. There was some blood on his forehead.

"Armin!!!" she exclaimed, sitting up and hugging him very tightly. Feeling the warmth of Lara's body, Armin managed to regain consciousness and got an expression of pure terror, as he looked at the destruction around them. He noticed that Mikasa seemed to be fine.

Still sitting on the floor, Armin took Lara's face with both hands. They were filthy with ash and dust.

"Baby..." he whispered, inspecting every inch of Lara, "Are you hurt?!"

"I-I'm good, I'm good!" she replied, also taking his face and running her hand gently on his cheeks, cleaning it. "Oh... For a second, I thought something horrible had happened! You didn't answer me!" Tears streamed down Lara's eyes. Armin gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and they hugged tightly.

"W-What happened?!" he asked, staring at Mikasa.

"It looks like an attack," she replied seriously. "Let's get out of here, now!"

Staggering, the three of them quickly made their way down the corridors. Armin took Lara's hand and interlocked their fingers, squeezing them.

"Babe," she said, panting and worried, as they went down the stairs, "Your forehead..."

Armin ran his other hand over the wound.

"I believe it's nothing serious," he replied, trying to give her a reassuring smile, "I think it was just a splinter of wood that cut me. Don't worry, my love. Soon I'll regenerate."

Lara tried to smile back at him and they soon arrived at the place where Hitch was helping to contain the rebellion. When they saw her, she showed what was left of Darius' body, who had flown into the courtyard because of the explosion.

He was dead. Only part of his torso and his head were left. The three soldiers who were in his office had also died.

To their surprise and all the soldiers who were there as well, the people who were participating in the rebellion against the Armed Forces and in Eren's favor, started to claim victory and said that the time had finally come to counterattack. In unison, they exclaimed:

"DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS!"

At that moment, Lara felt her heart ache.

She remembered very well the first time she said that salute. She was in a refectory at the Forest of Giant Trees camp, the day after she was rescued, wearing the Survey Corps uniform for the first time. Hange had previously arranged with Lara for her to say the salute in front of Erwin, to play with him.

She remembered that Erwin applauded her when she, at just ten years old, exclaimed it in her high-pitch child's voice, "SHINZOU WO SASAGEYO!", hitting her fist against her chest.

However, at this time, the salute was being said in a rebellion.

A sentence, which symbolized how much they should dedicate their hearts and stand together for the sake of humanity, was now used to cause a rupture in it.

♦♦♦

Later on, Lara and Armin were sitting down on a bench in one of the Headquarters' empty corridors, already cleaned and with their uniforms changed after the explosion. Their hands were entwined, but each was absorbed in their own thoughts. From time to time, they looked at each other and tried to give a comforting smile.

At one point, Lara lay on Armin's shoulder, who put his arm around her neck for support.

"It seems like we're both always putting ourselves in front of danger to save someone, isn't it, babe?" said Lara, softly. "It has happened since Shiganshina...

"I wonder how long we'll need to do this?" replied Armin, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head, while he gazed at the oil lamp that illuminated the corridor.

Lara nodded. Then, she looked up at Armin, holding his face with affection.

"But, you know... Onyankopon once told me a quote he read, which I found very interesting, where it said that 'Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends'... It makes me think of Moblit..."

Armin kept looking at Lara, thoughtful. Gradually, he nodded his head in agreement, giving her a little smile and blinking slowly. Lara closed her eyes, snuggling deeper into his chest.

After a few minutes, she felt her fiancé's heart begin to race and noticed that he was also tapping his foot uncontrollably on the floor, looking very anxious. "He must be thinking about Eren," she thought. Gently, Lara placed her hand on his knee, and slowly, he stopped his movements.

"Armin?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, okay? Whenever you wanna talk, I'll be here for you."

In the same instant, Lara noticed that Armin's heartbeat had changed to something more calm and steady. He sighed.

"Thanks, baby," he replied, squeezing her a little tighter, "I love you too, very much."

She lifted her head with a little smile, looking deeply at Armin, who took her face and leaned down to give her a long soft peck kiss. They remained in silence again after that, and he seemed calmer now. A few minutes later, they heard a voice exclaim from the corridor:

"LARA! ARMIN!"

It was Hange, followed by Onyankopon. They looked nervous.

The couple stood up and started walking quickly towards her, who by now was running towards her daughter and son-in-law. Hange practically threw herself at both of their necks, tears streaming down her face. She embraced them like an eagle mother protects her babies under her wings.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, squeezing them tight, "When I heard what happened with Darius and that you were there, I-I thought my heart would stop!" Hange then started to inspect Lara and Armin, "Are you okay, my dear ones? You got any hurt?"

She alternated between her daughter and son-in-law, turning them around and looking at every inch of them. She took Lara's face and kissed her on the cheek, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm okay, Mom," Lara gave her a sad smile, trying to calm her down. "Armin protected me," she looked at her fiancé, now with a proud expression, "He literally threw himself on top of me when everything exploded," Lara stepped back to get a better look at her mother.

Hange, gaping, turned to Armin and stared at him wide-eyed. Her jaw trembled and she shed more tears. Then, to Armin's surprise, she pulled him into a big bear hug.

"Oh, Armin!" exclaimed Hange, sobbing, "You've been so good to us!" She grabbed his shoulders and gazed deeply at him, "Do know you're like a son to me!" Hange gave him a beautiful smile.

At that moment, Armin felt a warmth fill his heart and chest in such a way that he only remembered feeling something like that when he was very small, back when his mother was still alive. His eyes watered. Hange then pulled him into another very cozy embrace, holding him behind his hair, rocking him slowly, as if cuddling him. Armin reciprocated, feeling such love got into his heart, he couldn't help but shed a tear. Lara watched that scene with a twinkle in her eye and a big smile on her face. Onyankopon was also watching them, with a very satisfied expression. When she drew apart from Armin, Hange gave him a tender kiss on his forehead and took his face.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for our family," said Hange, with another beautiful smile, "Do know that I, Levi, and even Tiny-Human-Bean," she stroked her belly, "love you very much."

Armin felt like his heart failed for a moment. He was looking at her from below and his chest burned at hearing those words. Armin pressed his lips together and again, shed another tear.

"T-Thank you..." he said, with a shy smile, "I-I... I love you all very much too."

Lara couldn't hold back anymore and also shed a few tears, smiling from ear to ear. Despite the terrible circumstances they were going through, she felt such joy fill her heart at that moment, she thought she was going to explode.

"Come here, my babies," said Hange, pulling Armin and Lara into another tight embrace, kissing the top of their heads. Lying on Hange's chest, Lara and Armin looked at each other with a smile. They felt Tiny-Human-Bean move, as if it was also replying to their embrace and both placed their hands on Hange's belly.

The three of them, or rather, the four of them stood there, united for a few seconds, until they heard Onyankopon say behind them:

"Hey! Where do I apply to also become part of this family? I can be the uncle who makes boring jokes, what do you guys think?!"

Everyone laughed and went to Onyankopon to spoil him a bit, patting him on the back and Lara even gave him a tight hug. Onyankopon said they reminded him of his own parents and lamented how he missed his family. They allowed themselves to have that moment for a few minutes and then Hange called them to an urgent meeting to discuss the recent attack on Darius.

During the meeting, it came to the conclusion that inside Darius' office, there was a chair that had a bomb inside. It was still a mystery who was to blame for that. Roeg, from the top rank of the Military Police, turned to Onyankopon with a meaningful look.

"He's been with me all day, he's not a suspect," said Hange. "The other volunteers are under house arrest."

"And who else could be responsible for it?!" asked Roeg.

Lara noticed that Armin was uneasy.

"About that chair..." he said, catching everyone's attention, "When I, Lara, and Mikasa were in a meeting with Darius, he told us that recruits brought it to his office."

"Recruits from which division?!" asked Nile Dok, the Commander of the Military Police, who was attending the meeting.

"Darius only said they were recruits," replied Lara.

"However," added Armin, "When the three of us went to his office, we saw recruits leaving the Headquarters." He sighed, "They were from the Survey Corps."

Everyone in the room was perplexed.

"Speaking of the Survey Corps," said Nile, "I heard that the soldiers who leaked the information about Eren were also from that division--"

Nile was interrupted when a soldier ran into the meeting room.

"IT'S AN EMERGENCY! EREN JAËGER HAS JUST ESCAPED FROM PRISON!"

Lara felt her entire body tingle and instinctively took Armin's hand. He squeezed it hard. They both were shaking. The only sound that was heard in the room was the breaths of fright the soldiers took when they heard that news.

"Mobilize everyone and find him!" exclaimed Nile. Many began to run out of the room, obeying the orders.

Hange held her belly, astonished. Armin and Lara stared at each other, completely pale. Then, they noticed that Mikasa was not okay. She was staring at a fixed point, her eyes wide and a dread expression.

"Armin... Lara..." she said, "Please... Tell me... What in the world is happening?!"