Feeling

Married life has done a lot of good for Lara and Armin.

Usually, people who marry at a young age are censored by others, receiving criticism and opinions (which they didn't even ask for) such as: "You guys are ruining your lives!", or "Poor things, you won't be able to enjoy your youth anymore!", or "Just wait till the fights begin!", or worse.

However, what these people don't know is that when you marry the right person, that's when you can really enjoy your life to the fullest, because you can live the best moments in the company of the person who makes you the happiest in the whole world.

Armin and Lara were no different.

Like Levi and Hange, with each passing day that Lara woke up and saw Armin beside her in bed (and vice versa), they loved each other more.

Even when the months passed, since the day they got married and everyday life and daily routine got into their lives, they still felt great joy in being in each other's company.

They were always very affectionate. They bathed together in the bathtub or shower, and enjoyed putting some futons in front of the fireplace to eat marshmallows and make love until they couldn't make it anymore.

Lara acquired a habit that scared Armin, of biting his nape, as she joked that there was a small human being living there inside and that Armin was a Titan. This would often make him get a big fright and shivers all over his body when he felt his nape being bitten by his crazy wife.

On the other hand, every time Armin passed by Lara, he would give her a nice slap on her butt, drawing loud screams of fright from her (there were times when Lara would run after him with the dish towel, trying to whip him. In the end, they would give a passionate kiss after all, because deep down, she really enjoyed her husband's gesture).

Of course, they would disagree with some matters (which is normal for any human being), but they tried to resolve everything through good dialogue, which is very rare nowadays.

However, they had no memories of fighting badly for some reason and, at times when they felt that they were going to start a more heated argument, for whatever it was, they tried to do an excellent exercise that many people forget to do: take a deep breath and put yourself in the other's shoes.

Is it cliché to say that? Sure.

But, do people do it? No!

So I'll drop here my recommendation.

When, for example, Armin got really stressed about something that happened at work, instead of Lara annoying him by saying he was behaving in a boring or grumpy way, she would take a deep breath and patiently take him by the hands, lead him to the bed and give him a nice back massage, showering him with kisses, without him even having asked for it.

Result: Armin felt loved and loved his wife even more for it.

Another example, when Lara was on PMS full of cramps lying in bed, instead of Armin saying she was boring and irritable, he would take a deep breath and surprise her, bringing her some medicine and chocolates, stroking her hair and giving her soft kisses on her face until she fell asleep.

Result: Lara felt loved and loved his husband even more for it.

Are these things difficult to do? Of course they are.

But they are not impossible.

Apparently, Jean and Mikasa had been watching what Lara and Armin did to get along so well as a couple, and they started behaving the same, making their engagement better with each passing day.

They also started building their house, where on their days off, Armin and Lara would gladly help them out.

At this point, Sasha couldn't come to help as much anymore, due to the work routine, taking care of Ben, as well as helping out at Niccolo's restaurant, when she had free time.

Connie also couldn't help much, because his relationship with Onyankopon's cousin was going so well, that he finally took some action and proposed to her, which made him now use his free time to build his own house, with the help of Onyankopon's family, as they were going to live nearby.

So the result of that was that Lara and Armin, and Mikasa and Jean got a lot closer, which was great for the four of them because they got along really well. They were constantly seen working on Jean and Mikasa's piece of land, and when they finished another day's work, Armin and Lara would invite them to their house for pizza and have a nice time together.

However, Lara and Armin's days off weren't just for helping out at Mikasa and Jean's house, no sir.

As promised, they were still taking Kuchel to the playground whenever they got the chance, now with Hannah coming along as well, as she was already crawling on her own. Lara would stay with her in the sandbox, while Armin would push Kuchel on the swing and try to separate her from the fights she got into with other kids.

As good parents as they were, Hange and Levi never interfered in Lara and Armin's lives, avoiding any kind of conversation that might imply they wanted to be nosy, for it was something they themselves would hate if someone did towards them.

Whenever they had the opportunity, Armin and Lara would stop by Levi and Hange's house to see them and the children. And every Sunday they would all have lunch together, sometimes at one's house, sometimes at the other's.

Do you remember Levi would think about whether he would take Hange on a trip or not? Well, he did think about it and gave up, setting some days to travel with Hange to Tuscany as well, since it was a region where they would at least have an idea of what to do, after Lara and Armin told them all the wonderful things they did there, which made Hange go crazy about knowing new places, especially to make a balloon ride.

However, before actually going, Levi and Hange needed to know if the little girls would be okay in their absence. So they started doing some tests, letting Kuchel and Hannah sleep for a few days at Armin and Lara's house, to see if they would cry or not.

When they built their house, Lara and Armin already had in mind that their sisters/in-law would sleep there at some point, so they left a small room with a bunk bed prepared for the girls, with some toys.

The first night the girls went to sleep at their house was a little tough. Kuchel was the one who gave the most trouble (even though she always showed how much she wanted to do that). She woke up crying in the middle of the night, waking Hannah, too.

Kuchel swore she had seen a Titan under the bunk bed (because Levi and Hange had told her about their life story one day, but not with the intention to scare her, but to teach), making her now terrified, and Hannah, scared by her sister's terror.

In the end, the little girls were unable to sleep in their bedroom at all, so Armin and Lara had to let them sleep in their double bed, which was a little uncomfortable for both of them because Kuchel moved a lot in her sleep. Armin woke up with her foot almost stuck in his mouth, while Lara was kicked several times in the ribs. Hannah, on the other hand, slept snuggled with her older sister (Lara) in a very deep and peaceful sleep.

After many days of testing, the girls were finally able to sleep without any problems at their sister/brother-in-law's house, and Hange and Levi felt they could travel more peacefully.

While they traveled, the little girls spent the days at the Headquarters. At first, Lara and Armin thought Sergeant Hans would not allow the children to stay there, but to their total surprise, he was the one who most enjoyed seeing them every day during that week of their parents' trip, making Hans, Kuchel, and Hannah being caught having the most fun in the Headquarters' training area.

Levi and Hange returned from their trip and were completely indignant when they knew that the girls didn't show the slightest bit of missing them during their absence (Hannah, we have to admit, did show a bit, getting tearful at some moments, but since she couldn't speak yet, I won't be able to say if she wanted her father or mother).

The six of them had a very enjoyable night with lots of spaghetti, with Hange excitedly telling them everything about the trip, while Levi listened to his euphoric wife talk about her experience in Tuscany, chuckling in amusement.

The first thing Hange told was her utter disappointment at not being greeted at the hotels with boxes of chocolate, wine, or juice.

"I should've written in the reservation letter that we were on our honeymoon!" she complained, indignantly eating a forkful of pasta. "I got in our room all excited and there was nothing in there!" Hange pouted.

Even though Levi was making a bit of a fuss about how traveling was tiring and boring, deep down, he really enjoyed meeting new places, especially seeing the statue of David (although Levi thought it was totally shameless that David was posing completely naked).

Months went by and Jean and Mikasa got married. One night, while Armin and Lara were having dinner at home, they joked that they should open a travel agency to Tuscany because Mikasa and Jean were also going to spend their honeymoon there. They really enjoyed hearing everything Lara and Armin told them about there and were a little apprehensive about visiting a place they didn't know, so they thought it was better to go to a region that at least they had heard a lot about.

By this time, Hannah had learned to walk and talk, and to Hange and Levi's complete dismay, the first word the girl had said was "cat", and I'll explain why.

Kuchel had dreamed she had a pet kitten, and from that day on, she couldn't stop talking about how much she wanted a cat. Kuchel kept on saying that word so much that Hannah ended up repeating it.

Levi didn't want a cat at all, while Hange really enjoyed the idea, because since Lara was ten years old, at the time they went to that Festival back in Paradis, Hange had said that if one day they were to adopt a pet, it should be a cat. After Levi admitted to himself he would practically declare war against his wife and daughters if he refused their request, he gave in, but firmly claimed he wouldn't clean a single poop from the future flea-bitten animal.

They did adopt the cat, who was black and had green eyes, with only a piece of his tail, and the girls decided to call him Toothless because the poor thing had some teeth missing.

However, Toothless liked Levi so much, he just wouldn't stop following him wherever he went. At first, Levi didn't like it in the slightest, but when he realized that the pet loved him so much, he decided to give the cat a chance, leaving Hange, Kuchel, and Hannah quite angry, because Toothless just wanted to be on Levi's lap, who, over time, had his legs and arms all stretched and bleeding, for Toothless would often mistake him for a scratching post.

Lara and Armin also considered adopting a cat, but since they spent the whole day out of home, they thought it would not be cool to leave the poor animal alone all day long, so they contented themselves to play with Toothless every time they went to visit Hange and Levi.

Time went by and since Armin and Lara returned from Tuscany, they had agreed to save a part of their money to make another trip. So on their one-year marriage anniversary, they took an amazing trip to a country called Norway, which was located in a very cold region of the planet.

They decided to go to this country because they wanted to diversify a bit more from the Mediterranean-like atmosphere in which they lived. It was just a fantastic trip for both of them and they agreed that during their lives, they would do everything to always be able to travel to a different region and get to know new cultures. They came to the conclusion that even when they had their children, they would take them along, as they would like their kids to also have the opportunity to visit such wonderful places.

Speaking of children, Hange gave everyone a big scare when, at a certain Sunday lunch, she let out she suspected she was pregnant with "Tiny-Human-Bean III", where Levi almost fell back from his chair, such a fright he took. However, it turned out to be a false alarm, leaving Lara a little disappointed, as she enjoyed the possibility of maybe having a baby brother.

About two months later, on a certain Saturday night, when Lara and Armin were eating pizza at Jean and Mikasa's house, while they were having ice cream for dessert, they noticed that Mikasa looked a little anxious. After Jean, Lara, and Armin insisted she should spit out for once what was troubling her, Mikasa shyly declared she hadn't had her period in over a month and that she was feeling very nauseous and dizzy.

Her symptoms were obvious.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" the three of them asked at the same time, leaning forward on the table.

After she nodded in confirmation, it all turned into complete chaos. Jean's blood pressure surely went down, because he turned white as paper and literally fell off his chair, passed out on the floor, leaving Mikasa pretty much worried. Armin rushed to his friend's aid, patting his face, while Lara hopped in place, waving her hands, exclaiming:

"I'M GONNA BE AN AUNTIE! I'M GONNA BE AN AUNTIE!"

Jean finally recovered from his slight passing out, and when he saw his desperate wife shaking him, he burst into tears like a child, pulling her into a hug, while sobbing how happy he was to know he was going to be a father. Lara and Armin gazed at each other with a smile and hugged sideways, watching their friends get up from the floor. Jean started kissing Mikasa's belly, who stroked his hair, now looking very relieved to have finally told them she was pregnant.

Just like Armin did with Sasha, he now left Mikasa doing internal work at the Headquarters, to keep her from going out on patrols and thieves chasing to prevent any risk for her and the baby. During her pregnancy months, Mikasa improved her embroidery skills a lot, making beautiful handcrafts such as towels and blankets for her future baby. Lara painted a beige-colored wall in the baby's room, with several colorful clouds and stars, drawing some tears of emotion from Mikasa.

Jean was a completely doting father, never stopping spoiling his wife for a second, buying her everything she wanted to eat, and always being around, even if it was to help Mikasa go to the bathroom, which was literally next to her work table.

When she was in her ninth month of pregnancy, Lara and Armin were, as usual, having dinner at her house. Jean was happily serving her another slice of pizza, which Mikasa placed on her big belly, pulling the cheese with delight. Jean was gazing at her with an expression of pure affection, his eyes gleaming.

As Lara and Armin chatted with their friends that, within a few months, they would celebrate their two-year marriage anniversary and travel to a country named Egypt, Mikasa suddenly widened her eyes and squealed, dropping her pizza plate onto the floor. Everyone turned to her, worried. Jean immediately approached her.

"What's wrong, my love?!" he exclaimed, running his hands over her face, "Are you okay?!"

With a piece of pizza still in her mouth, she stared from Jean to the floor. He followed her gaze and they both widened their eyes as they saw a puddle of water just below.

Jean screamed.

"Y-Y-YOUR WATER!!! IT BROKE!!!"

Lara and Armin stared at each other with an expression of utter astonishment.

"IMANI! NOW!" exclaimed Lara, and Armin dashed out the door. They heard the sound of the car's tires skidding across the lawn.

Jean looked worse than Mikasa. He circled around himself, completely lost, as he nearly pulled out his hair.

"What now?!?!" he exclaimed in desperation, "Lara, what do I do?!?!"

"Pull yourself together, man!" she retorted while lifting Mikasa from the chair, which at this point, was already starting to give some soft cries of pain, "If you pass out, I won't help you!"

Jean widened his eyes and did his best to remain calm.

"Okay!" he replied, panting and quite red, "What do I do?!"

Lara gave him all the orientation he needed as she led Mikasa to the bedroom. Minutes later, Armin finally arrived with the midwife. Just like she did with Levi, Imani shooed Jean out of the bedroom, who was literally crying on his wife, while Mikasa gave a loud cry of contraction (this guy, for sure, Lara did believe would pass out if he witnessed the baby delivery).

Armin guided a staggering Jean into the living room as he closed the door behind him, muffling Mikasa's screams. Armin had to give him a glass of sugar water to try to calm his friend, who was desperately staring at him.

"How can you be so calm?!?!" asked Jean, with red eyes. "I'm almost collapsing here!!!"

"I've already been through this twice, when Kuchel and Hannah were born," Armin calmly answered, squeezing Jean's shoulder, who was taking another big swig of water.

"But that's because they're not your daughters!" replied Jean, indignantly. "Let's see how you'll behave when it's Lara's turn!"

Armin's eyes widened and felt butterflies in his stomach at the thought of it. He came to the conclusion that maybe Jean was right. Armin might be a calm, down-to-earth person, but nothing prepares a man for the day his baby is born.

As he concluded this thought, Mikasa screamed so loudly, Jean choked on the water he was drinking, and Armin had to slap him on the back.

Silence.

"ARMIN!!!" exclaimed Jean, shaking him, "Why I'm not hearing anything?! What's going on?!"

"Hold on..." Armin raised a finger, leaning forward as if he wanted to hear better, "Just a second..."

Then, a high-pitched cry was heard.

"There you go!" exclaimed Armin, now giving Jean a big smile, "It's born, buddy! You're officially a father!"

Jean was opening and closing his mouth, blinking several times. Armin took the glass of water from his hands and placed it on the little center table in front of the couch.

"I-I-I-I…" stuttered Jean, "I-I'm a... Father?"

Armin chuckled, patting him on the back as they listened to the baby's cry coming from the bedroom.

"Yeah! Rejoice!"

Jean slowly turned to his friend and little by little, a big smile formed on his face, and tears welled up in his eyes. He pulled Armin into a big hug, bouncing his shoulders and sobbing happily. Armin returned the hug, himself feeling a few tears fall.

"Congratulations, Jean!" they heard Lara's voice. The two friends raised their eyes, staring at her. Jean jumped off the couch in astonishment. Lara smiled. She was a little disheveled.

"It's a girl!" she exclaimed, opening her arms. "Mikasa and the baby are fine!"

Jean covered his mouth with both hands, running them over his face. He slowly fell back onto the couch. Armin gave a big smile, wiping a few tears.

"A-A... A... A... Girl?" he gazed at Lara, still gaping, "I-I'm a father of a little baby girl?" Jean slowly started to smile, letting tears fall from his eyes once more.

"Yeah!" chuckled Lara, also feeling emotional. "Don't you wanna see her?"

Jean got up in a jump.

"I-I can?!"

"Of course!" Lara stepped back. "Imani has already finished cleaning both girls. You may now see your wife and daughter," she smiled.

Still looking incredulous, Jean slowly made his way to the bedroom. He met Imani at the door, who congratulated him on the beautiful girl, saying that both mommy and baby were in excellent health. Armin signaled to Lara he would take Imani home.

Lara watched Jean walk slowly towards Mikasa, still gaping. He didn't know whether to gaze at his wife or the tiny package in her arms. Mikasa's now long hair was wet with sweat, and her bangs were plastered to her forehead. She watched Jean approaching with a big smile and tears in her eyes.

"Look, sweetheart..." said Mikasa, lifting the package up a little, "Come see our little one..."

Jean sat beside his wife, gazing at their little daughter with fascination.

The baby girl was a complete mixture of her father and mother.

She had Mikasa's almond-shaped eyes, her small mouth and pointed chin, as well as Jean's nose and hair color.

Mikasa was smiling at her husband, her eyes gleaming.

"Wanna hold her?" she asked gently.

Still wearing the same fascinated expression, Jean turned to Mikasa.

"I-I... can?!"

She nodded, slowly handing the tiny baby into her father's arms, who gazed at her as if she were the most wonderful treasure in the entire world. Tears streamed down his face and he began to giggle as the baby slept peacefully in his arms.

"H-Hi, my love... It's me… Your daddy…" he whispered, analyzing all the details of his daughter's face. He turned to Mikasa, who was smiling, and gave her a tender kiss on her forehead.

"What are we gonna call her?" asked Jean, gazing at the baby once more.

Mikasa tilted her head and blinked slowly, also gazing at her daughter.

"Naomi."

Jean turned to her, curious. She gave him a sad smile.

"It was my mother's name. They have the same eyes…" sighed Mikasa, "I remember to this day…"

Jean smiled and pressed his lips against Mikasa's in an affectionate peck kiss. Then, he turned to the baby, smiling.

"Welcome to the world, Naomi."

Lara watched the scene leaning against the door, tears streaming down her cheeks and a big smile on her face. Then, she felt something very strong in her heart, as if a different heat was growing inside it. She had never felt that before. Lara thought it must be due to the emotion of the moment, so she ended up ignoring that feeling.

Minutes later, Armin returned and the four friends gazed at little Naomi with great happiness, saying that now she would brighten up their pizza nights.

About two weeks later, Lara and Armin were having breakfast on a Sunday morning. They chatted about how Naomi was such a cute baby and how Kuchel, Hannah, and Ben were looking forward to meeting her soon.

Armin stoked his wife's hands, who gazed at him fondly as they drank their mocha coffee and ate some bread. Lara, however, didn't look very well and he felt her palms sweat.

"Love?" called Armin, approaching and taking her face gently, "Are you okay? You're looking a little downcast..."

Lara took a deep breath, grimacing.

"I'm sorry, babe..." she ran a hand over her face, "I don't know... It's been a few days that I'm feeling a little tired..."

"You're working too hard, baby," he stroked her face, "and when you get home, still find time to practice your paintings." Armin gave a sad smile, "You've improved a lot since we got back from Tuscany."

Lara gave him a kind smile of thanks. She then swallowed hard and felt her heart start to race, her hands sweating cold. Armin noticed right away that she had completely turned pale.

"Baby!" he exclaimed, scared, holding Lara, who started to get a little dizzy in her chair, "Lara! Talk to me!" He shook her slightly.

Lara opened her eyes, blinking several times, leaning on Armin.

"Babe..." she said softly, "Please… Take me to the bathroom…"

He helped her out of her chair and they walked to the suite's bathroom. There, Armin watched Lara kneel in front of the toilet, lift the lid, and simply start throwing up. Armin felt a chill run through his entire body and crouched down beside her.

"Lara!" he held his wife's hair to keep it from getting dirty, while she continued to throw up. "My God, baby! What's going on?!" Armin had a very worried expression on his face.

Still in silence, Lara signaled for him to help her get up, and together, they went to the sink, where she leaned on it and washed her mouth and brushed her teeth. Her face was completely white and she was panting tiredly.

"Baby!" Armin called her once more, distressed, "Please tell me, what's going on with you? Did you eat something for breakfast that made you sick?"

Lara looked at herself in the mirror and gave a little, tired smile. She began to chuckle. Armin was even more confused, opening and closing his mouth without making a sound. Lara turned to him, still with a smile on her face.

"You better sit down, babe..."

Still not understanding, he closed the toilet lit and complied, sitting down.

"Well, I did feel something different when Naomi was born..." Lara whispered to herself, "Now I understand why..."

Armin had the purest expression of confusion on his face, shaking his head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, frowning.

Lara gave him a tired smile, for she still wasn't feeling well.

"Babe... I think we need to postpone our trip to Egypt for now..."

"Why?"

"Because..." now she was smiling gently, "I'm pregnant."