AN: This is my first (probably only) Shingeki no Kyojin fanfic, be gentle.

The cover was made by the amazing Lulu2222, I just cropped it. :)

English is not my first language, so, point out any mistakes and I'll fix them!

So sorry about the OOCness, but it's hard to fit in love when the freakin' damnation in happening, but this is me trying.

Vicky, this one is for you, by the way.

#

Hope For The Future

It was never meant to happen; none of it. They were not meant to spend the night together, they were not meant to fraternize, and they were not meant to hold each other like they did.

But life doesn't make a habit to follow a plan. Oh, no. Life does whatever the hell it wants and has no one to answers to.

So, the unfortunate day Lance Corporal Rivaille found out that Hanji Zoe was pregnant with his child after a drunken encounter, he really started to think that no, life didn't give a shit about him and never would.

Three months after the night they spent together, the brown eyed woman called him to her quarters when both arrived from a scouting mission, dirty and tired. At first, Rivaille was going to say 'no', but her gaze upon him said that it was a matter that needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

Once both were alone they removed their green coats, now dirty with mud –much to Rivaille's disgust-, and Hanji, as always, went straight to the point.

"This was my last mission with the Scouting mission for a while." She said and for a fraction of second the always stoic face of Lance Corporal Rivaille showed surprise by a small raise of his eyebrows.

"Is that so?" He asked, leaning on the wall, crossing his arms above his chest and studying the woman in front of him. She looked tired, but aside that, she looked her normal self and Rivaille knew Hanji Zoe (in more way than others, he thought); only something much important would make her stay away from the subjects of her studies: the Titans.

"Yes." She pulled a chair and sat. Staring at him, she hesitated a moment before continuing. "It's better if you know the truth from me: you are smart enough to figure it out on your own in to time and I don't want our…." She searched for the right word. "friendship to be affected by it more than it should."

Rivailled raised one eyebrow both in question and as an invitation for her to keep going; he was curious of what could make her stay away from scouting missions.

"Well," Hanji took a deep breath. "I am pregnant."

Even though Rivaille's expression didn't change, he was clearly confused by her statement. 'Hanji' and 'Pregnant' never passed through his mind in the same sentence before. Hell, the word 'pregnant' probably went through his mind about three times in his whole life and now there was: his comrade saying that she was pregnant.

"Just if you are wondering: it is yours, by the way." Hanji said light headed, trying to alleviate the tension of the room; somewhat Rivaille was starting to send an unpleasant aura around him. "I wanted to tell you before you heard from someone else and put two and two together."

Hanji could see his marvelous brain working by the way his eyes moved a little, a thing most people didn't notice, she did –most of her job was to observe behavior-. Rivaille was remarkable intelligent and when he was forming a plan, he wouldn't move much, but his eyes would move slightly as the possibilities and both likely and unlikely scenarios went through his head.

So, she gave him his time to understand all the implications about a pregnancy. Even Hanji herself had to take a long time to think about what she was going to do about it.

"Are you keeping it?" Hanji, lost in her own thoughts, missed his eyes on her and his voice was icier than ever.

"I thought about it a lot." She said. "It was never in my plans; I mean… ever. I am not mother material." Hanji looked at him over his glasses when she stated a fact both knew. "But, it happened even with me on the pill. I know that it isn't a hundred percent, but even so. My decision is to have it."

"What?" Rivaille walked away from the wall and stood in front of her, and Hanji was presented with a rare sight: a red faced Lance Corporal.

"Too many lives have been lost." She told him with calm while fixing her glasses. "I can't do it."

"We're at war, Hanji!" Rivaille said. "Do you want to bring a child into this world? With a war happening?"

"No, and that's why we are fighting: for the future and if everyone thinks like you, we are meant to lose." The brown haired woman said angrily getting up from her chair, and then took a few deep breaths, returning to sit down. She was tired from the mission and now with the conversation. "Children are the future and I intend to make mine live in a world where peace is a constant, not a hopeless dream. I'll have it and I'll stay in the military because that's how I'll contribute to the future. You are welcome to share this view or to fuck off."

Rivaille and Hanji stared at each other, neither backing off, for long minutes up until he turn around, grab his coat and leave her.

The woman sighed deeply and had to contain her tears (fucking hormones!), she was not going to cry and regret her decision. When she took that last mission, she knew it was going to be a long while before she could go in one again. She also knew that Rivaille wanted a child as much as she did: never even thought about it being a possibility. She also knew he would be against it. She knew it was going to hurt to see his rejection, and she knew that wasn't going to be easy to have a child on her own, but as she told the Lance Corporal, this was the future.

Hanji put a hand on top of her slightly swollen (almost unnoticeable) stomach and somehow her will got stronger.

She could do it, she just needed some sleep. In the morning she had to tell her superior about her leave.

#

The news that Hanji Zoe was no longer an active member of the Scout Legion spread fast. She was famous because of her research and exquisite and somewhat reckless fighting smile. Not to mention how weird it was for someone to try to communicate with the Titans.

The why was still a mystery for most for a while, but of course, Rivaille knew that she took some time off because of the pregnancy.

If he had a tired face before in the two weeks since Hanji informed him about the child she was expecting, it got worst. He didn't want to care, but did. It was his child too and was too much to take in. But Lance Corporal Rivaille was nothing but an honorable man.

So, one morning he knocked on Hanji's door and waited for her to open and when she did, the man wanted to roll his eyes with the sight; her hair was loose, reaching under her shoulders and it was a mess. She was putting her glass on, and was wearing a t-shirt and it was somewhat tight around the stomach area, consistent with a woman pregnant and in her sixteenth week.

"I understand your view and I am not some guy who walks from his responsibilities." Rivaille said when her sleepy eyes finally focused on him. "The child will be taken care of, of course. I'll help you out with any financial issues you both require. I just don't think that my involvement will bring it a good side for a child; but once it can understand the concept of fatherhood, I don't mind you telling it who I am and I shall accept it further contact. But if it doesn't, it's alright too."

"Erm…" It was Hanji's smart response. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say." She let out a big yawn. "Want to get inside and have coffee?"

"No, thank you." Rivaille refused politely. "Just tell me if you need anything and don't overdo yourself in the lab. I'm sure Doctor Stein wouldn't mind if you took your meals in the right time."

"I eat." The woman said and Rivaille scoffed; she ate, alright. She ate when her stomach hurt or when someone pulled her away from her notes and from her 'pet titans.'

"Sure you do." He said in the most sarcastic tone he could master and then turned to leave. "You have no pants on, by the way."

Hanji looked down and pulled the shirt down as far as she could before closing the door to prepare herself for the day.

#

Rivaille could say many things about himself, but that he didn't care about her pregnancy was the most absurdity she heard in a long while. Every day for the past month there was a young trainee that would bring her lunch and wouldn't leave until she saw Hanji eat. It had a diversity of items, from meat to vegetables, which was rare to have every day.

When those lunches first arrived, Hanji inquired the young man, Carlos, and he told her that Lance Corporal Rivaille gave him the order to supervise the preparation of the food in the kitchen, bring it to her and watch her eat it all.

That first day, the hormones made her eat crying her heart out while the trainee looked very uncomfortable.

At 22 weeks of pregnancy, it was very hard for people not to notice Hanji's stomach, which was healthily big; and of course, everyone knew about who the father was, since Rivaille, every week, asked a report on Hanji's pregnancy to her superior.

It was mandatory to all pregnant women to stay away from missions during their pregnancies, but since Hanji was a very important researcher, she was authorized to stay in the Headquarters doing her research, reading diaries from people who returned from missions, making harmless experiments. Her superior, Dr. Stein was more than happy to have new eyes to look over the paperwork and if those eyes were Hanji Zoe's, better yet. Everyone knew that she was almost an expert, seconded only by Dr. Stein himself.

Rivaille and the Doctor had an agreement: Stein would ask Hanji for updates on her pregnancy, since the parents to be didn't exactly worked together anymore. Rivaille was going on more and more missions and Hanji stayed inside wall Sina helping Stein, who took her place in a few missions. He was a good soldier.

In the few times they met each other, Hanji and Rivaille exchanged pleasantries and he asked her how she was feeling. She told him about the baby moving and he nodded in acknowledgment. The meals kept going and Stein kept sending the updates about Hanji's pregnancy to the Lance Corporal.

One day, a different Scouting team captured a Titan by Stein's orders. It was different, a Deviant Type because of its size: not even two meters high but extremely fast and Dr. Stein and his team had trouble capturing it, but they did.

Once she heard about the news, Hanji immediately went to see it. Even with her growing stomach, she was a researcher more than anything; if it was rare to capture a Regular, a Deviant was even more! Oh, she was so excited to learn more about it.

Arriving where they held the Titan, she was stopped by Stein almost immediately. "No, Hanji. You are not allowed to get close to a Titan, for god's sake. You are pregnant!"

"And he is trapped, he can't hurt me." She looked over his shoulders, arranging her glasses better. "Oh, and look! He has freckles! Can we call him Freckles?"

"Hanji…" Stein said letting out a sigh. "You need to think about your child."

"My child is safe, Doc. It is inside me and I am perfectly safe. See?" She smiled, her eyes sparkling in excitement; she hadn't 'interviewed' a Titan in months! "Come on, Claudius. There are many people around here and Freckles here is wrapped up."

"Fine." Stein nodded. "But only for a few minutes, Hanji. I mean it!"

"Thank you, Doc! This is the best opportunity to have some stir around his behavior with emotions." She stepped inside the small arena where they were holding the Titan. She stared at him. For a Deviant, it was too 'normal', same expression, eyes vacant that followed her. "Hi, there. I am calling you Freckles since I don't know your name. Is that alright with you?" When no response came, Hanji continued in a safe distance from the strapped down Titan. "So, do you see this?" She pointed to her stomach, and as incredible as it was, the Titan followed her hands and a bolt of joy went through her body. Maybe she could see an emotional reaction after all!

"Inside me, there's a baby. I am going to be a mother." She said and Freckle's green eyes were kept on her stomach. "Do you have a mother? Someone who took take care of you?" No response. "No? How about a wife? Have you ever loved someone, Freckles?"

At that, something changed in the Titan; with a roar, it got one of the hands loose. Hanji could only give a step back before its hand tried to catch her. And when it couldn't, the Titan started to pull the strings to set itself free. There was some shouting and most of the soldiers started to use their 3D gears to go to higher grounds.

Hanji had no equipment. She was completely hopeless.

"Run, ma'am!" One of the men she didn't know the name shoved her out of the way right when Freckles went to take a bite on her, biting his arm instead. He cried in pain, but as Freckles was somewhat still trapped, Hanji thought fast enough to grab the man's blades and cutting Freckles' face enough so it released the man.

"My arm!" The man yelled and Hanji pushed him away from the Titan while its face was beginning to heal.

"Run!" Hanji yelled, holding the man and her fear rising up when she saw the Titan get fully released. The other soldiers were trying to catching him, but with little effect. It seemed that it was stronger than it looked.

And worse, it had its eyes locked on Hanji.

Noticing that, Hanji let go of the man, half of her body covered in his blood and started to take Freckles' attention away from him. She still had her blades, so, if someone could hurry the hell up and tame Freckles again, she could still be alive by the end of her crazy plan.

The Titan slapped a man in order to get to her and when it was about to grab her, she cut is hand, but that didn't stop Freckles. With his other hand, he was about to grab Hanji. Fear started to boil inside her: if she had a 3D maneuver equipment, she could get away, but she didn't have and the others were having trouble getting to Freckles.

A hand went to her stomach as she mentally asked for forgiveness from her child and she raised the other, the blade up. If she was going down, Freckles was going to feel pain for it.

Before it could reach her, though, Freckles fell down and was about to fall over her when Hanji felt someone grab her by the waist and dragging away from it.

She knew who had saved her even before she looked to see who was.

Lance Corporal Rivaille.

And he was furious.

Hanji, on the other hand, was holding onto him, murmuring to herself: "Maybe it showed weakness because it wanted to be brought in…"

"Hanji!" Rivaille put her down and her knees couldn't hold her up and he put her sitting on the floor. "Hanji, look at me! Are you okay? Is this blood yours?"

"You killed Freckles." She whispered, letting the hands that were holding him relax. "He was going to…"

She had never been like that before and she faced death way too many times to just get in shock like that. It was probably the pregnancy hormones kicking in more than normal.

He slapped her in the face. It stung so much; she finally snapped out of it. "Are you crazy, Hanji? What were you thinking of doing?"

"Freckles… Freckles got loose." She told him even though it was obvious.

"And you thought of fighting it?" Rivaille said enraged and grabbing her by the shoulders.

"I still can fight." The brunette woman mumbled.

"No, you can't." The Lance Corporal said with a growl. "You chose to have the child, so, if you are in danger, you run. You run as fast as you can to survive. That's why you are not alone here, there lots of people with you, all trained in titan killing."

The brunette woman put a hand over her stomach when she felt her child kick harder than usual and winced. Rivaille kneeled by her side and even though he had his cold façade back now, Hanji knew his eyes and he was deadly worried.

"Hanji, go to see a doctor." Stein appeared by her side; he had been trying to catch the Titan, but as it seemed to want Hanji, he couldn't do much. "And don't come to the lab for a week."

"She won't." Rivaille said through gritted teeth and helping Hanji up. "I'll make sure of it."

"But…" She tried to say, but a look from Rivaille shut her up. The adrenalin was lowering down and she decided that she was going to shut up for the time being, seeing that her hands were starting to shake.

"Someone bring a horse!" Rivaille yelled, leading Hanji away from the arena.

#

The doctor said that everything was surprisingly fine with Hanji and the child; that she was just tired and stressed and told her to stay in bed for a few days just as a precaution, only up for a few minutes every day.

Surprisingly for Hanji, Rivaille accompanied her through the whole appointment and after, took her home and helped her into the bathtub. Hanji, emotionally and physically exhausted, didn't complain. After taking the dirt and blood from her body, she changed into a nightgown.

"I was not only with someone else, I am also pregnant. Even when I left the other guy, it still wanted me. I think… I think it wanted me because I am pregnant." Hanji was sitting on a chair, waiting for Rivaille.

"Hm?" Rivaille asked, putting the covers away from her bed –where the baby was conceived in the first place– so she could lie down. He turned around and helped her to sit on the bed instead.

"Titans go to where more people are, right? I am two in one right now." She sighed, moving herself so she was lying down. When her head hit the pillow, she let out a groan of happiness. "Since it's not common for pregnant women to encounter a Titan and survive this is a very big breakthrough. Pregnant women need to be even more careful." She tried to get up once again, but Rivaille pushed her back. "I need to write this down, Rivaille, to show Dr. Stein tomorrow."

"I'm calling it." He said, his stoic demeanor returning.

"What?" The brown eyes woman took her glasses off, putting them on the counter beside her bed.

"I'm calling my half of the child." Rivaille crossed his arms above his chest. "And since I am, we're going to have more rules: you will not get close to a Titan until the child is born. Actually, not even after it's born; not for a long time. You will stay doing your desk duty and gestating in peace. And when I am in a mission, I'll have someone with you just in case. I will pay very much attention to the Titans and even try to talk to them so I can give you my insights about their behavior." The Lance Corporal

After a few moments, Hanji asked with doubt: "Would you do that?"

"Yes. If you promise to stay at your desk; I don't care if they bring you a Deviant Type that can talk five different languages. Do you understand?" The man asked, staring right at her.

"Yes." A smile crept into her mouth. "Thank you."

"Just don't worry people like that again." He was about to turn around and leave, but Hanji grabbed his hand, so he stopped and turned to look at her. "Do you need something?"

Without saying another word, she pulled him and patted beside her on the bed, signing that he should sit down. He frowned a bit, but did what he was told without releasing her hand. After a moment, she carefully put it over her stomach.

His first instinct was to take it away, but she held it there and a second later, he felt it: a small pressure against his hand. It was light, but it was definitely there.

Their child was saying a small 'hello' to its father for the first time.

He felt Hanji's hand leave his so he could choose to keep it or not. When the brown eyed woman looked up to his face, he could see his eyes a little wider than usual and his hand was even moving a little around her stomach to find where he could feel it better.

"My back is starting to hurt." She whispered, afraid of spooking him and when it didn't, she continued. "I have to go pee all the time now, it's silly." She giggled and she saw one corner of his mouth up for a moment. "I read a book that says that it has the size of a banana or something." A few moments later, the baby stopped and Rivaille removed his hand away from her stomach.

"Well…" He coughed. "That's… hm…"

Hanji laughed lightly and sat on the mattress, feeling really happy to have a 'moment' with the baby's father. She leaned towards him, their noses touching but neither moving, she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. "Thank you for saving us."

She proceeded to touch her lips with his in a tender kiss, which he didn't object. "You don't have to go, Rivaille." She patted her bed. "It's big enough for the both of us and after a near-death experience, people need physical contact, otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation." Hanji said in reference to the pregnancy. "Just… stay tonight."

"Hanji." Rivaille sighed.

"I am not going to jump you tonight. I am just telling you to sleep by my side today." Her brown eyes pleaded to him, and, after some consideration he nodded.

"I'll stay. I am just going to take a shower." He said and Hanji nodded, lying down back to the bed. After telling him where he could find clean towels, she joked: "Just so you know, you can jump me. Your child gives me sex hormones."

She heard him groan and laughed. Things were starting to get better.

#

Neither broke their words: after her bed rest, Hanji was strictly on desk duty and hating it while Rivaille did try to talk with the Titans before slaying them and then telling the whole story to Hanji, who wrote down everything into detail.

Their relationship changed a little bit too. Three days before he left for a mission, Rivaille would go to her house and stay the night with her, only allowing himself to hold her during the last night and from time to time, they would kiss. And when he returned from the mission, he would hold her during the first night, sleep by her side in the second and stare at her in the third.

To her, it seemed like when leaving, he worked up his thoughts to leave her and needing her embrace, and right after he returned, he needed to reassure himself that she was fine, the baby was fine and that he had returned home.

Because home changed to Rivaille, that was for sure. He could sleep most of the nights in his own quarters, but Hanji could see that he would fully relax when he was at her apartment, helping her choose the baby's room color –he wanted it white so he could easily spot some dirty while Hanji wanted yellow. She won. –, or cooking for her (Rivaille was surprisingly good at it) and later at night, she would read some book with named while he cleaned the dishes.

Hanji would never say it out loud, but it was kind of having a male housemaid with a very cute ass to stare at (she slapped it once. Rivaille didn't show in her house for two days after that.).

But for someone who wasn't supposed to get involved, he was too deep down to turn away now.

When Hanji was eight and a half months pregnant, the nesting started. It can happen anytime during a pregnancy but often happens between the 5th and 9th month of gestation. It is a primal instinct but many pregnant women may look a little crazy when they get swept up in the syndrome. Some women feel the syndrome mildly and others suffer from an overwhelming case of the nesting syndrome.

Nesting is both biological and emotional. A part of it is instinct. A woman knows her body best. Women seem to know when the baby is about to arrive and thus the nesting syndrome takes over. Pregnant women can be found at this point cleaning vigorously, rearranging the baby's room and packing and unpacking the labor bag.

And to tell the truth, it was happening; the walls were getting clean, the baby crib was no longer at its original place, the clothes they bought were washed over and over again, even though they had time, the house was being baby proofed.

One day, when Hanji was entering her ninth month, Irvin Smith went to visit the pregnant woman, like he had been doing whenever he could. He had the unfortunate luck to arrive in a 'Nesting Day.'

The cushions from the couch were on the window, drying. The carpet was being swept over and over again.

Irvin did not see that coming: Lance Corporal Rivaille was cleaning the house as if a surgery was going to happen that day on Hanji's living room.

"He is nesting." Hanji chuckled while seated on her chair eating a sandwich, the plate being balanced on her big stomach.

"I thought that women went through that." Irvin frowned.

"I am not really the cleaning type of girl, so… he's doing it." She took another bite from the sandwich.

"I am not letting a child come live here in the filthy place, Hanji." Rivaille stopped his sweeping. "In a few days a baby will be coming to live here, you know?"

"I am aware." Hanji said calmly. "I am pushing it out of my body."

"Well then." He resumed his cleaning while Hanji and Irvin talked about mostly about his missions. She had too much baby talk from a few girlfriends she made during her days at the military. She wanted to return to action as soon as she could.

#

The day Hanji went into labor, she was feeling her back hurt for a while, but didn't think much of it, at the end of the pregnancy, she was feeling everything hurt. But when the pain started to get more and sharper, it hit her.

The baby was coming.

She took a few deep breaths and called Rivaille, who was luckily staying at her, seeing that he was going in a Scouting Mission un three days.

"Hey, Lance Corporal!" She said with a big smile on her face and getting up from her couch. When he looked up from the book he was reading (A baby name's book, mind you), she pointed to her stomach. "Someone's ready to see the world!"

It took him thirty seconds to realize what she was saying. "Okay." He got up from the couch and started to ask questions as calm as ever. "The bag is ready, right?" Rivaille asked even though he knew it was: he had neatly arranged it once a day for the past week; just to make sure everything they need was there. "Then we'll go to the hospital. Can you walk?"

"Yes. The pain is gone now. We have a few minutes." Hanji said, glad that she was wearing a dress that wasn't too awful.

"Okay." He kneeled down and helped her put her slippers on, and then went to fetch the light green bag with farm animals drawn into them. He thought it was ridiculous, but Hanji liked ridiculous. He, then, offered help to her. "When the pain comes, tell me so we can stop." The woman nodded and they proceeded to go to the hospital.

It took them about half an hour to walk there, stopping from time to time so Hanji could feel her contractions in peace. A man offered them a hide on his chariot, but Hanji refused, saying that walking speed things up and she wanted it done sooner rather than later.

At the hospital she was put into a room and her doctor came to check on her and told her that she wasn't really dilated just yet, but yes, the baby was on its way and Hanji was happy. Maybe her labor was going to be an easy one.

Thirteen hours later, Hanji had enough of labor, really. The phrases she was yelling were a variation from: "Rivaille once this is done I am cutting your dick off so you can understand the pain I am in, you sucker!" and "I'll rip your balls off with the Titan Cutting Blades" were yelled from time to time during the process and the Lance Corporal took it all with his stoic face even when she was crushing his hand.

When it was finally time to push, Rivaille's expression finally changed as he turned to Hanji and whispered: "You can do this, Hanji."

The brunette woman nodded, summoning energy as she started to push while grasping Rivaille's hand as much as he could and, to his merit, he didn't complain about it. Just kept whispering things to her, encouraging her.

"I can see the head!" The doctor said. "A few big pushes and you can see your baby, Hanji. Whenever you are ready."

She took a deep breath and did it, then again, again and again, and then it was bliss. A cry echoed through the room; the cry of a newborn baby.

"It's a girl!" The doctor announced.

Rivaille's dark eyes were focused on the red faced infant the doctor was holding and showing to him. He had seen blood take life away, he never thought he could see it while the prospect of life was so full.

That was his daughter.

"She's perfect." Hanji was openly weeping, her glasses foggy, but she could still see her daughter.

"Do you want to cut the cord, sir?" The doctor asked and without thinking much about it, Rivaille nodded and took the scissors to do it. "The nurses will clean her up and bring her to you in a few, okay?" Both nodded, Rivaille returning to his previous place by Hanji's side and grabbing her hand while she laughed and cry at the same time. Rivaille, being Rivaille just held her hand.

Twenty minutes later, a nurse came with the small baby girl already clean (wearing the yellow jumper they brought from home) and checked: she was perfectly healthy. Rivaille looked as the nurse gave the baby to Hanji, who had the biggest smile on her face.

He did look away when the nurse oriented Hanji in how to breastfeed the little one and soon enough the kind lady was out, telling that she would come and get the baby later.

"Look at her, Rivaille." Hanji whispered looking down to her child while she ate rather hungrily. "She is perfect."

The Lance Corporal stared at the child, trying his best to avoid look at Hanji's breasts, which was a very task, so he gave up.

"I don't know many children, but… she is the best specimen of baby that I've seen." He agreed with Hanji.

"She has your hair color." Hanji kissed the top of a very hairy head. "And your nose. Thank goodness."

Rivaille agreed, and in his head he reinforced the wish that the girl got Hanji's eyes instead of his. He didn't like them much, while Hanji's were in a beautiful chocolate color that shined when she was excited. It was one of the many things he liked about her.

"We need to name her." The woman said and looked up to Rivaille. They discussed a few, but no name seemed right. "Do we use your surname or mine, since we are not married?"

"She's going to have your surname." Rivaille said in a decisive voice.

Hanji hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"If it was my call she wasn't going to be here, remember?" He pointed out. "She's more yours than she is mine."

"Okay." Hanji smiled, looking down to their daughter. "You pick her name, then. I know you have a list inside your head, a list that you didn't share with me, so… come on. Look at her and choose wisely."

As instructed, Rivaille did exactly that, he stared at the little human he and Hanji made together and he knew exactly what her name should be. "Nadine." He said and Hanji frowned in question, asking him to continue. "It comes from one of the old languages… I think it was called 'French.' It… it means 'hope'."

The new mother looked from the man to her daughter and said: "Hi, Nadine." And then smiled softly. "Yeap, this one works." Hanji's smile widened. "Welcome to the world Nadine Levi Zoe." Rivaille opened his mouth to tell her that the baby didn't need to have his 'name', but the brunette woman ignored him. "We'll call you DeeDee as a nickname, baby."

"What?"

"Nah-dee-nee." Hanji said with a giggle to the man by her side.

"I refuse to call her that. It's beyond silly." Rivaille shook his head lightly.

"DeeDee loves her daddy, see? She's even saying hi to you." Hanji waved one of Nadine's little hands while the woman spoke softly. Rivaille rolled his eyes. She, then, noticed that the baby was already with her stomach full and carefully straightened herself up, then turned to Rivaille. "Now DeeDee wants her daddy to carry her."

"What? No, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Oh, is the bad Lance Corporal Rivaille afraid of a little girl? Did you hear that, DeeDee? Your daddy is afraid of you. What will people say?" She mocked him. "Come on, Rivaille. Come closer." He hesitated but did as he was told, offering the arms like he watched Hanji do a few minutes before when the nurse gave Nadine to her. "Just be careful with her head and you are fine."

The baby fussed a little while Rivaille set her on his arms, but in no time was quiet in a slumber and then he could really see his daughter.

And Hanji's opinion that Nadine was perfect was more than righteous. He knew that there was no such thing as perfection, but the baby girl in his arms sure was very close to it, he noticed. Songs would be written to talk about her perfection, people would be ashamed of their own looks when looked at Nadine Zoe.

Without realizing, he started to walk around the room, still staring at the baby. When he stopped close to the window, he finally spoke.

"Hello, Nadine." He murmured; Rivaille was turning away from Hanji, so he let out a small smile that she was sure he was holding since the moment Nadine was born. He didn't notice that the glass of the window could reflect his actions. The woman dried a stray tear and smiled. Yes, there was hope for their future.

#

AN: So… Yeah, that was my silly attempt of a little fluff in this fandom. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that! :) I hope it wasn't too stupid. Anyways, leave a review telling me what you thought about it?

Totally made up that rule about reporting your pregnancy to your superior just for the sake of the story. As we didn't see a pregnant woman in SnK so far, I can take some liberties. Hopefully it's not too crazy.

The "Nesting Syndrom" thing I took from Yahoo! Voices.

Thank you for reading this far!

07/27/2013 ~ BonneyQ