Chapter 75 - Gabi and Falco

                                    

                                          
The lobby was completely silent. Not even the soldiers' breathing could be heard.
Sasha looked up. There was a big hole in the ceiling, right above her head.
She ran her hands over her body. Sasha was alive.
Ahead of her, she saw Lara still thrown on top of that little girl.
Somehow, Lara had managed to shove the rifle barrel upwards and the shot hit the ceiling of the lobby.
Lara then quickly snatched the girl's rifle and threw it towards the soldiers ahead. Jean caught it in the air, mouth agape.
Lara and the little girl stared deeply at each other, eyes wide.
The silence was broken by a shout.
"LARA!!!" It was Armin. He pulled her, who still looked a little flustered. Just as Hange used to do, Armin began to inspect every inch of her, looking for any injuries.
"Baby!" he exclaimed, desperate, "Are you okay?! You got hurt?!"
"I-I am okay, yeah..." she replied, blinking her eyes in confusion, "W-What are these kids doing here?"
That was the question on everyone's mind in the lobby.
Lara turned to Sasha, who looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Sasha... How are you? Did you get hurt?"
She was unable to answer at first. Gradually, Sasha shook her head.
"I didn't... I'm fine..." tears came out of her eyes, "Lara... You've saved my life..."
Then, everyone looked up at the hole in the ceiling above her head, and as if they were connected, they all thought the same thing. If Lara hadn't shoved the rifle barrel, the shot would have hit right in the middle of Sasha's chest, killing her right away.
Instinctively, Connie and Jean stepped in front of Sasha, as if to protect her from any other shots that could come from any other imaginary direction.
Then, chaos took over the lobby. Shouts of hate, questions, and exclamations came from all soldiers. The two children were leaning against the wall, looking scared and cringed, especially the little blond boy.
	"Lara..." Armin took her head with both hands, amidst all that fuss, with tears coming out of his eyes, "When I heard that shot, I-I thought... For a second, I thought... That I had lost you..." he kissed her forehead, embracing her tightly. Lara hugged him back with the same intensity.
"I'm fine, babe, I swear," she replied, still panting. Her heart was racing very fast. Just like Armin's.
Levi's words echoed in his head, said only the day before: "Don't wait until you see her passed out in your arms, to take some action. Don't leave it to the last minute, because of the fear that I know that also lies inside you."
Armin felt affliction take over his heart, for having come so close to this scenario worthy of a nightmare, and then, he pulled Lara and pressed his lips against hers, with an expression of pain, still holding her face. He didn't care if people were looking or not. What mattered was that Lara was there with him, alive. Her lips were warm, not cold, like a corpse's.
She gently stroked his face and they touched their foreheads. None of them noticed, but the little blond boy watched them the entire time.
"We need to sort this situation out," said Lara. She turned to the soldiers, asking for silence.
Her tone of voice didn't come out that loud, because she was still a little shaken by what had just happened, then, she got startled to hear Armin shout at the top of his lungs: