Devotion

Chapter 4

Enjoy Comrades!

It was not long before she started to show. It was nothing too obvious at first, but it was there. The swell of her stomach got slightly bigger with each passing day. It soon became very apparent in her shirts.

Eren frowned as he watched Mikasa struggling with the buttons on her shirt. The bottom ones did not want to come together. She tried and tried, being careful not to tear the fabric, but the two sides would not meet. When she realized it was useless, her gray eyes met his green eyes. "Now what?"

He rustled through his stuff; he pulled one of his shirts out and handed it to her. "Here, will this work?"

She looked at it. Eren was letting her borrow his shirt? She took into it her hands, pulling it up to her face and burying it into the fabric, taking in the scent. It smelled just like he did. She lightly smiled. "Thank you."

She unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and slipped it off of her shoulders. She shrugged Eren's shirt on, buttoning them. It was not much better, but it would do to keep them going. They could only hope it would hold the secret a little bit longer. She embraced him in a hug, holding him tightly. He returned the gesture and whispered, "We'll make it through this. I promise. I'll do whatever I have to to make sure you two are safe."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Even with Eren lending her some of his baggier, but somewhat bigger, spare shirts, it was becoming glaringly obvious Mikasa Ackerman was pregnant. There was only so much they could do to hide it. Their secret would slip in time. They could not hide it forever.

As time went on, her breasts ached; she needed to use the bathroom more often; her appetite increased. She still insisted to push herself. Eren couldn't possibly stop her. He tried his best to get her to take it easy, but they could not afford to let anymore suspicion surround them and she kept to her usual routines.

Eventually, the next trip outside the walls was proposed. It was absolutely necessary to Eren that Mikasa did bnot/b go on that mission. That was one of his biggest concerns. She wanted to go to protect him, but he put his foot down and told her that was not an option.

They were on the verge of being exposed. Mikasa was nearing her fifth month and it was becoming harder and harder for them to keep the secret any longer. Eren was already worrying about her doing too much, but she continued on, causing a part of him to wish they would be found out, for hers and the baby's safety.

A couple of nights after the next mission was announced, Armin approached them with a possible solution. They were running out of time and they had to act fast. They tried their best to hold off as long as possible, but it was becoming a necessity to figure out a plan. There was no time left.

"Have you thought of something?" Eren asked in desperation. He didn't want to leave Mikasa's side, but he was worried for her safety...both of their safety.

Armin frowned, nodding. "I don't know how much you're going to like it, though."

"We're running out choices, Armin," Mikasa replied and clutched onto Eren's arm tighter, "You always have the best strategy, so we trust you."

Despite the situation, it made Armin happy to hear that. They had done so much for them over the years, so it was the least he could do in return. They were his best friends and he would do whatever he could to keep everyone involved safe. He took a breath and started, "If they know the father is Eren, who knows what the military will want to do? Will they want to hand her over to the Military Police and exterminate a possible threat before it's born? The Scouting Legion is already in pretty deep after our first mission. Even if they don't kill them, they'll experiment until it happens, which is why, we'll tell them that," He paused, not sure if he wanted to say it, "We'll tell them I'm the father."