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"I don't know why I'm so tired," Mikasa yawned, stretching and letting her head sink into her pillow. "I'm just exhausted."
Eren slid his arm under her and kissed her softly on the shoulder. "Is that why you've been so cranky today?"
Mikasa's eyebrows furrowed. "I haven't been cranky," she said, her lower lip beginning to tremble.
"No! Of course not!" said Eren, panicked, peppering her face with kisses. "I was just kidding. You were totally normal," he lied. She had snapped at him because he had dared to fix himself his daily peanut butter and jelly sandwich and eat it in the same room as her. She'd said it smelled bad and if he was going to be disgusting he should go do it outside.
"Are you sure I wasn't cranky?" she asked, her eyes big and watery.
"I'm positive," he said, kissing her on the neck, his hand straying down to her boob. "Are you too tired to fuck?"
She yawned. "I can try," she said, blinking sleepily. “I like fucking.”
"How about I try to wake you up a bit first?" Eren said, kissing her collarbone, then pushing the giant t-shirt she liked to sleep in up to her armpits and trailing his lips over the soft mounds of her breasts. He peeked up at her. She was watching him, looking very interested in his offer. He grinned and made his way lower, nestling his body in between her legs, his chin resting on her pelvis. "Say the word, babe," he said, sticking his tongue out at her.
She smiled back, getting herself comfortable. "Okay," she said. "Wake me up."
Eren pulled her panties down with his teeth, then wrestled them to her knees with his hand. Mikasa extracted one leg from the cotton undies, then lifted the other so Eren could get the panties off for her. He tossed them across the room and gave a happy little wiggle as he prepared to eat her out. Just as he was about to go to town on her, he stopped. "What's the date, babe?"
"Ummm… the 18th," said Mikasa, scooting towards his mouth.
"No offense, but aren't you supposed to be on your period?" said Eren.
Mikasa jerked to a seat, staring down at him. He cocked his head. "What?"
"I am!" she gasped.
He studied her. "I don't mind taking my chances," he said, beginning to lower his mouth to her nethers again, then stopping. "Wait!" he said, pushing up onto his hands and knees so he was level with her face and staring at her. "Why aren't you on your period, babe??"
Mikasa's only reply was a squeak.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuck," said Eren.
***
45 minutes later, after a mad dash to CVS, Eren and Mikasa were squeezed into their tiny bathroom, Mikasa on the toilet and Eren pacing inside the bathtub.
"Shoot," said Mikasa.
"What does it say?" Eren asked, anxiously.
"I don't know," said Mikasa. "I'm still peeing on it. I just got pee on my hand." She frowned, then held up the pregnancy test.
"What does it say?" asked Eren, nervously.
"We have to wait three minutes," she said, staring intensely at the plastic stick.
Eren pulled his phone out of his pocket and set the timer. "I hope it's a girl," he said.
"I'm not necessarily- oh shoot."
"What?" said Eren.
She held out the test to him. There was a window with a red line down the center. A faint pink line intersected it, growing darker by the second. Eren looked at it helplessly. "So… you are… not…?"
"That's a positive, Eren," she said, her face pale.
"So… you… are?" he ventured.
She nodded. Eren's eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open. "Your tits are going to get huge," he breathed.
Mikasa just stared at him for a moment, then started to laugh, her head falling to her chest as her shoulders shook with mirth. Eren beamed at her. She looked back up at him, her eyes twinkling.
"I hope it's a girl," he repeated.
***
“We should get married,” said Eren, laying with his head on Mikasa’s lap, his ear pressed against her growing belly so he could try to hear the baby inside.
“No,” said Mikasa.
Eren’s mouth fell open, his face twisting with hurt. “Don’t you love me?” he asked.
“I love you more than anyone else in the world,” said Mikasa. “I just don’t want you to marry me because you got me pregnant.”
Eren sat up. “I also want to marry you because you’re my entire reason for living, babe,” he said.
Mikasa shook her head. “But you only asked because I got pregnant.”
Eren pouted. He’d been planning since her last birthday to propose on her next one. What shit timing.
***
"Eren, let me hold her," Mikasa complained from her hospital bed. Objectively she looked like shit, but subjectively, Eren had never found her more beautiful. He was sitting beside her, cradling a tiny little human with giant squishy cheeks and the dinkiest little nose. The nurse said she would look less like a gremlin and more like a baby in a couple of days. He kissed his daughter’s downy thatch of black hair and cuddled her tiny body to his chest. Objectively, she looked like shit. Subjectively, she was the most perfect, adorable, smartest, most articulate newborn baby in the entire world. He loved her so much.
"You already had a turn," he said, refusing to hand her over.
"No, I didn't! The second they got her out of me you grabbed her!" said Mikasa.
"I'm talking about the nine months before that," said Eren, kissing his baby again.
"Eren!" Mikasa whined.
He relented, and placed their daughter in her arms. Mikasa smiled down at her, her eyes soft.
"I named her Poppy," said Eren.
"What?" said Mikasa.
"They brought the birth certificate stuff while you were in the bathroom," said Eren.
Mikasa stared at him, dumbfounded. "Poppy. Okay… What's her middle name?"
"Mikasa," Eren sighed, dreamily, looking at his girlfriend and his baby and feeling like the luckiest man in the world.
Mikasa's cheeks turned pink. "Really?"
"Duh," he said.
***
"She's finally asleep," Mikasa sighed, looking at Eren over the top of the crib. Poppy was on her tummy, her little mouth hanging open as she drooled all over her mattress, exhausted from her long day of destroying the apartment. Now that she was crawling, she was unstoppable.
Eren held his finger to his lips and they snuck out the door.
“I miss when I could put her down somewhere and she was stuck in that spot,” sighed Mikasa wearily, looking at the knee high disaster area she had to clean.
"I'm going to make a PB&J," Eren said, heading for their small kitchen. "Do you want anything, babe?"
Mikasa cocked her head. "Can you make me a cream cheese and jalapeno sandwich?" she asked, eagerly.
"Uhhhh, maybe?" said Eren, going to check the cupboard to see if they had any canned peppers. He shifted around some tuna and olives, then grinned as he spotted a small green can. "You're in luck, babe!" he said. “Coming right up!”
Not too much later he brought their sandwiches into the living room, which Mikasa had managed to mostly restore after Hurricane Poppy's thorough ransacking. He set the plate on the coffee table and grabbed his sandwich off of it. Mikasa slapped it out of his hand. "Babe, what the fuck?" he said.
"It smells bad," she said. "The peanut butter is rancid."
Eren picked up his sandwich and smelled it. "It smells normal to me," he said, then frowned and looked at her. "Hey… babe? What’s the date?"
***
45 minutes later, Mikasa sat on the toilet while Eren paced inside the bathtub.
“I should have known,” said Eren. “You’ve been acting so pregnant.”
“I might not be,” said Mikasa, looking at the pregnancy test. She sighed. “Nevermind.”
Eren jumped out of the tub to look at the stick. Sure enough, a plus sign was already blooming in the window. “It's definitely another girl,” said Eren.
“I think it would be nice to have a boy,” said Mikasa.
“Sperm chooses,” said Eren. "I picked girl."
“That’s not how it works!” said Mikasa. “It’s random!”
“I don’t think so, babe,” said Eren.
***
“Another girl!” gushed Eren’s mother. “How sweet!.”
Mikasa tried to wrestle Poppy into her high chair then gave up and let her eat her yogurt puffs off the floor like the animal she was. “Yes, we’re ecstatic,” she said, dryly.
“They say the second one is always your wildest,” said Eren’s mother, blissfully.
Mikasa went white. Eren laughed. “I hope the fuck not!” he said. "Poppy's already running us ragged!"
“So… With baby number two on the way… When are you two going to get married?” asked Eren’s mother.
Eren looked at Mikasa, raising his eyebrows. “Babe?” he asked, hopefully.
Mikasa just shook her head. “I don’t want him to marry me just because he got me pregnant,” she said.
“But he did it twice,” said Eren’s mom. “I think he’s in it for the long haul.”
Eren nodded eagerly.
Mikasa shook her head, stubborn as ever. “Then he should have asked me when I wasn’t pregnant.”
“But babe, you’re always pregnant now!” said Eren. “You’re not giving me time to put something together!”
***
Eren and Mikasa were squished in the hospital bed together, looking down at their newest daughter. She looked like trouble.
“I love her so much,” said Eren.
“She’s perfect,” agreed Mikasa. “I was thinking we could call her Piper.”
“I already named her Clover,” said Eren.
“What??” demanded Mikasa.
“They brought the birth certificate stuff by while you were taking a nap.”
Mikasa pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. “What’s her middle name?” she asked.
“Mikasa,” said Eren, happily.
“Again?” she asked.
“Why not?” said Eren, squishing Clover’s chubby cheek.
Mikasa shrugged, then resumed staring adoringly at her baby.
“Mama! Daddy!” squealed her other baby as Mikasa’s parents swept through the hospital room door with her.
“Poppy!” said Eren, holding out his arms. Mikasa’s mom handed the squirming toddler over and he peppered her small face with kisses.
“Poppy, my love,” cooed Mikasa. “Are you ready to see the baby sister I was growing for you in my tummy? This is Clover.” She held up the newborn for Poppy to see. Poppy leaned over to get a closer look while Mikasa’s father snapped photos.
“So cute,” gushed Mikasa’s mother.
“Baby?” said Poppy, picking up one of Clover’s miniature fists and studying it.
“Yes, baby, she’s your new baby,” said Eren, gently.
In one quick movement Poppy shoved Clover’s hand in her mouth and chomped down with her sharp little teeth. Clover screamed with all her might and Poppy bopped her on the head. “No!” she shrieked.
In a panic, Eren lifted Poppy up over his head while Mikasa soothed the newborn, already looking harried.
“They’re both so lively,” said Mikasa’s mother, happily.
***
“I win!” said Eren, snapping Clover’s onesie closed and setting her on the ground to run around.
“That’s because you got the smaller one,” Mikasa grunted, wrestling to keep Poppy in one spot as she changed her diaper. “You need to start using the potty, missy.”
“I no like a potty,” said Poppy, defiantly.
“You don’t like getting your diaper changed, either,” said Mikasa. "And big girls use the potty."
Poppy kicked at her and Mikasa blocked her with her arm. “You are not going to get to watch any Daniel Tiger today if you hurt Mommy,” she warned, as Eren came up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, ignoring Clover as she pulled all the cushions off the couch. He had learned to save his energy for when she was in danger.
Mikasa finally got the fresh diaper secured and pulled up Poppy’s leggings. “Go play with your sister,” she said.
Poppy ran over to the couch and began trying to bury Clover in cushions. Eren wrapped his arms around Mikasa’s waist. “You smell pregnant,” he commented.
She frowned. “What?”
“You smell pregnant,” Eren repeated.
“You’re so weird,” said Mikasa. “My period isn’t due for another week. There’s no way you’d be able to tell this early.”
Eren shrugged. “I was just making an observation, babe."
***
A week later Eren returned home from the store to find his two daughters trapped under an overturned pack ‘n play and Mikasa sitting on the toilet, staring at a pregnancy test.
“Babe?” he said.
She held out the stick. A dark red positive. “I was going to make the girls peanut butter and jelly for lunch and I almost barfed when I opened the jar,” she said.
Eren pouted, putting his hand in his pocket and wrapping his fingers around the box there, bidding a sad “see you later” to the engagement ring he had literally just picked out. He hadn't gotten it fast enough.
“What did you pick this time?” asked Mikasa, wearily. “Is it another girl?”
Eren, perked up, grinning. “Won’t it be cute? A trio of little princesses!”
"We're going to need to move to a bigger place," said Mikasa.
***
Mikasa wept as they locked the door of their old apartment for the last time. “It was our first home,” she sniffled, balancing Clover on top of her giant belly and waddling towards their new minivan.
“We kind of outgrew it, babe,” said Eren, carrying Poppy on his shoulders. “Still, it was a nice little place.”
“It’s just my hormones,” said Mikasa, tears streaming down her cheeks. “That apartment was a dump.”
They buckled the girls in and drove to their new house. Their parents were all there, busily helping unpack.
“Thanks again for just giving us the down payment,” said Eren, releasing Poppy and Clover into the backyard.
“Well, it’s not like we’re going to be paying for a wedding any time soon,” Mikasa’s mom sniffed, looking reproachfully at her daughter.
Mikasa shook her head, firmly. “He had nearly a whole year to propose before he knocked me up this time,” she said.
Eren pouted. “Babe, it was only eight months. I was going to do it on your birthday.”
“I was pregnant on my birthday,” said Mikasa.
“You’ve been pregnant on your birthday for the past three years!” said Eren.
“Do we know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl?” asked Eren’s dad.
“I know Mikasa’s been wanting a boy,” said her dad.
“It’s another girl!” said Eren, happily.
"Speaking of girls, why don't I hear Poppy and Clover?" said Mikasa, pricking up her ears.
Eren was already halfway out the back door.
"Fuck!" Mikasa heard him shout from the side yard, then, "Girls! Get back here!" from out front.
She heaved herself up and scurried to the front door, throwing it open and standing on the top step. Poppy and Clover were coated in dirt and scuttling down the sidewalk as fast as their fat little legs could carry them, Eren on their heels and closing in fast.
He got a daughter under each arm and headed back, beaming at Mikasa as Poppy and Clover struggled to wiggle free. "I think they're going to be track stars!" he said. Clover looked up at Mikasa with the same winning smile as her father.
"Mama! I fast!" she said.
"Daddy! Let go!" grunted Poppy.
Eren chuckled. "I don't think so, honey!" he said.
"So much for letting them wear themselves out in the yard," said Mikasa.
***
Mikasa lay in the hospital bed, watching Eren wheel the baby bassinet out the door as he took their newest baby daughter with him to get a snack from the vending machines. Mikasa watched them go, waiting until she could no longer hear Eren’s voice cooing at their baby, then hit the call button for the nurse.
“Do you need something?” the nurse asked a few minutes later, poking her head in the door.
“Can I get the birth certificate paperwork?” she said. “I want to get it out of the way.”
“No need to worry about that!” said the nurse. “Dad just picked it up.” She shot Mikasa a friendly smile. “He's so cute with the baby. I think you’ve got yourself a keeper with that one.”
“Yeah,” sighed Mikasa. “I do.”
Eren came back a few minutes later, wheeling the bassinet with one hand and carrying an armful of chips and chocolate-covered pretzels in the other.
“Juniper and I are back!” he announced.
“What’s her middle name?” asked Mikasa, shaking her head.
He looked at her quizzically. “Mikasa,” he said. “Of course.”
“Why?” she laughed.
Eren shrugged. “It’s my favorite name.” He pushed Juniper next to Mikasa’s bed and sat down, dropping the snacks in his lap. “Hey, let me see your hand, babe.”
Mikasa held out her right hand.
“The other one,” said Eren.
Mikasa complied. “Why?” she asked. Eren jammed something on her finger. Mikasa looked down at it, then looked up at Eren, a question in her eyes.
“You’re not pregnant anymore,” he said.
Mikasa wiggled her ring finger, watching the way the diamond sparkled under the fluorescent lights.
“Will you marry me, babe?” said Eren.
“Yeah,” said Mikasa, a smile spreading across her face. “Okay.”
***
“He’s so sweet,” Mikasa gushed, squishing little Aiden’s cheek as Annie bounced him on her knee. “I didn’t know a baby could be that chill.”
Poppy and Clover were scuffling on the floor, trying to take bites out of each other.
“He’s really easy,” said Annie, kissing the top of his downy head. “He barely ever cries. We didn’t even need to baby proof the house once he started crawling. He doesn’t get into anything.”
Mikasa looked around at her own home and shuddered. Every inch of it was fortified against her relentless daughters and their lust for death. On her own lap, Juniper pried a button of Mikasa’s sweater and attempted to swallow it. Mikasa swooped it out of her mouth and shoved it in her pocket, making a mental note to get rid of all her cardigans. “Are you sure you want him around the girls?” she asked. “They might be a bad influence.”
Annie eyed the girls on the floor. "Well…" she said. "I'm sure it's fine."
Eren burst through the back door. "Armin says the burgers are ready!" he announced.
Annie headed outside while Eren helped Mikasa herd the girls out into the yard. She grabbed his sleeve before he could go join their friends on the patio. “Please don’t put any more girls in me, Eren,” she whispered. “I’m so tired. I want a boy.”
"But our girls come out looking so much like you," Eren protested. "They're so cute."
"They are cute, yes," said Mikasa. "I want a boy."
"Why?" asked Eren. "What could be better than a bunch of tiny Mikasas?”
"Because I want a miniature Eren!" she said. "You're being selfish!"
Eren frowned. “I just feel like I should warn you,” said Eren, “When I was little I was insane.”
“Our daughters are already batshit crazy,” said Mikasa, gesturing towards the three girls as they teamed together to try to pry up one of the fence boards.
“A boy might be worse,” Eren whispered, his eyes wide and harrowed.
“I don’t care,” said Mikasa, stubbornly. “Either stop getting me pregnant or get me a boy.”
“I’m not trying to get you pregnant, babe,” said Eren. “It just keeps happening.”
***
Poppy, Clover, and Juniper looked adorable in their little flower girl dresses, each one clutching a little basket of flower petals, each one being restrained by a doting grandparent as Eren stood beneath the arch they had erected in their backyard and waited for Mikasa to make him the happiest man in the world. At a signal from their wedding planner, the girls were released down the aisle; Poppy marching at the front chucking handfuls of petals at their most dearly beloved guests while Clover shoved all her petals down her front and began turning truly god awful somersaults down the aisle, petals spewing from her skirt as she rolled, and Juniper, dear, psychotic little Juniper, sat her ass down and started eating the contents of her basket. It was a good thing Mikasa had insisted on edible flowers, Eren noted.
His mother grabbed Juniper and dragged her to sit with her sisters just in time for Mikasa to appear, resplendent in a patterned maxi dress that she had chosen because, assuming the girls hadn't magically turned docile for the ceremony, it wouldn’t show any dirt or, in the worst case scenario, blood.
Eren’s heart fluttered. "Hi, babe," he whispered, once she was standing in front of him.
"Hi," she whispered back, pushing Clover away before she could pull down her dress. Poppy was thankfully busy peeling her scabs and feeding them to Juniper. "You look handsome."
Eren was wearing Dickies and a button up that complimented her dress. "You look fucking hot," Eren whispered back. Then he turned to their officiant. "Please go fast. The girls look restless."
Five minutes later, their "I dos" had been declared and Eren was given permission to kiss his bride. He threw his arms around her, shoving his tongue in her mouth. Mikasa responded eagerly, getting a leg around him as she kissed him back. The uncomfortable audience watched the two newlyweds eating each other's faces, their hands hovering in the air as they waited to applaud.
"Save it for tonight, kids!" Mikasa's dad finally shouted and the two pulled apart, blushing and breathless.
"Being married is awesome," Eren muttered as he smiled at their clapping guests. It was unclear whether they were clapping to celebrate his union with Mikasa or because they were relieved they had finally stopped making out.
The reception was held immediately after the ceremony, with guests milling around the yard, enjoying tacos and margaritas while Eren's dad manned the stereo. Eren and Mikasa danced with their girls on their makeshift dance floor, hoping to wear them out a little bit before their grandparents took them for night. They only managed to make themselves tired. They sat down, panting from exertion.
"I want to keep dancing!" Poppy complained, climbing onto Mikasa's lap. Clover climbed up after her, trying to shove Poppy off so she could have their mother all to herself. Juniper used Mikasa's skirt to pull herself up to standing and began to scream reproachfully. Mikasa slid to the ground and sat cross-legged, cramming all three daughters into her lap. Eren got on the ground with them and found an open patch on her knee to rest his head on.
"You're pretty popular, babe," said Eren, booping each of his four girls on the nose.
They conducted their first dance with their three little hellions crowded around their knees, fighting with each other and getting underfoot. Eren and Mikasa ignored them, wrapped in each other's arms as they swayed to the music.
It had been a wonderful day. Their friends and family were here. The taco bar they'd catered was delicious. They were in love. The girls hadn't managed to severely injure anyone yet and they were going to be sleeping over at their grandparents' that night.
"I can't wait to have the house to ourselves," sighed Mikasa, resting her head on Eren's shoulder.
"We'll be able to watch TV without subtitles," said Eren.
"I'll be able to poop alone," said Mikasa, exultantly.
"I won't have to share any bites of my PB&J tonight," enthused Eren.
"Maybe I'll even get to sleep in," said Mikasa.
"I'm not going to have to get up fifteen times to bring anyone water," said Eren.
"If I were to clean the house it would stay clean for more than ten minutes," breathed Mikasa.
"I'm going to take a shower by myself for once," said Eren, gleefully.
"You are?" Mikasa pouted.
"No," said Eren. "Of course not. Nevermind. I wasn't thinking."
He buried his face between her shoulder and her neck, inhaling deeply.
"You smell pregnant again, babe," Eren whispered.
***
"I told you, it's a boy this time," said Eren as they waited for the doctor to come tell them the results of the anatomy scan. "I manifested it."
Mikasa shook her head, stubbornly. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"I'm not!" said Eren. "I thought about what you said and I decided to start giving you boy sperms, just in case your birth control failed again."
"That's not how it works!" said Mikasa.
"I'm pretty sure it is," said Eren.
The doctor bustled in. "Good afternoon!" she said. "You two are back again, huh?"
"It's another girl, isn't it?" said Mikasa.
The doctor looked over the ultrasound images. "Hmmm," she said. "It looks like we couldn't get a good shot of the genitals. Baby was being a little difficult today."
Mikasa shot Eren a look. "Just what I'd expect from one of our daughters," she said.
"I told you, we're having a son," said Eren. "And if he takes after me he's going to be a monster."
"We'll just keep checking back and hope Baby is more agreeable next time," said the doctor.
***
"You've got this, babe," Eren encouraged as Mikasa squeezed his hand so tight the bones nearly popped. "He's almost out."
"It's a girl and you know it," she grunted, bearing down.
"Almost there!" said the doctor. "I have to admit, I am dying to finally find out what you're having."
"Can I please name this one at least?" Mikasa asked.
"Of course, babe," said Eren. "I didn't know you wanted to."
"I can see his or her head! It's crowning!" said the doctor. "One more push!"
Mikasa gave it her all, and before she knew it her newest child was no longer living rent free in her uterus. Tiny wails filled the delivery room.
"It's a boy!" said the doctor.
"What?" gasped Mikasa.
"I told you," said Eren, smugly.
The doctor held up the baby for Mikasa to see.
"What's wrong with her vagina?" she said, her mind still refusing to comprehend.
"Nothing!" said the doctor. "That's a penis."
"She's really a boy?" asked Mikasa, holding out her arms for her crying son. The doctor laid him on her chest.
"Yup," said the doctor. "And he's a real cutie."
"Get me the birth certificate paperwork right now," said Mikasa.
***
"Meet your little brother," said Mikasa, smiling at her daughters as they crammed onto her hospital bed. Eren sat at the bedside, snuggling their sleepily blinking baby.
"I guess he's pretty cute," said Poppy, looking unimpressed.
"Do he like peas?" asked Clover, hoping she had finally found a willing receptacle for her most detested vegetable.
Juniper yanked up Mikasa's shirt and jabbed a small finger into her mother's stomach. "Put back," she demanded. "There."
"You don't like him?" asked Mikasa.
Juniper pouted and shook her head.
"Now that we're all here, are you finally going to tell us what you named him?" asked Eren, kissing their new baby on his bald head.
"Alder," said Mikasa.
"What's his middle name?" asked Eren.
"Eren," said Mikasa, dreamily, looking at her husband cradling their tiny son.
"Really?" said Eren, his cheeks turning pink.
"Duh," said Mikasa.
***
Eren reclined in their easy chair, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables on his crotch, recovering from his vasectomy. The girls were crowded around Alder, poking him in the face and pinching his chubby thighs. Mikasa was laid on the couch, a bag of frozen blueberries between her legs, still recovering from the delivery. In the kitchen, they could hear their mothers preparing lunch.
"Do you think he's sick?" she worried, watching the baby as he kicked lazily on the floor.
"I'm glad you said something, babe," said Eren. "I've been getting concerned. The girls were all much more energetic. I feel like he should be crying a lot more."
"I can't even tell when he wants to eat. Maybe we should take him to the ER," said Mikasa.
Her mom bustled in at that moment to summon the girls for lunch. She stopped for a moment to admire the baby.
"Does he look healthy to you?" asked Mikasa, anxiously. "I mean, he's just laying there, letting them poke him."
Mikasa's mother smiled. "He looks fine. I think he's just a calm baby, like you were."
"Really?" said Mikasa as her daughters abandoned the infant to go to the kitchen. Without his older sisters to distract him, Alder began to chirp fretfully.
"Oh, sounds like he's hungry," said Mikasa's mother, scooping him up and handing him to Mikasa. He began rooting around for her breast. Mikasa looked amazed.
"He's so polite," she marveled, beginning to nurse him. "Eren, did you hear that? That sound means he's hungry."
Eren shook his head. "I had no idea, babe," he said. "The girls were all such rude, bossy babies. They'd always just scream." He paused. "Do you think I should have just done boys from the start?"
Mikasa shook her head happily, the sound of their daughters bellowing at each other from the kitchen filling her ears like a serenade. "No," she said. "The way you did it was perfect."