Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the start of a new school year. Trost High buzzed with students’ chatter in the hallways as they gathered into their respective classrooms, eager to catch up with each other about their summer holiday.

“All right, settle down and take a seat everyone.  My name is Keith Shadis and I will be your homeroom and maths teacher for this year. As you all probably figured out, we have a new student, Annie Leonhardt. Please make her feel welcome.”

Just two more years left and I’m out of here.

 “Annie!” Annie looked up, her two childhood friends smiling at her exactly the way they did all those years ago.

Reiner and Bert?! What are they doing here?

She tried to hide her shock and walked quickly to sit next to them, ignoring everyone’s stares. By the looks on the blonde boy’s face, it was clear he had a lot of questions to ask. “What are yo-“

“There are two things I will not tolerate in this classroom. One is speaking over me. The second is-“

A student ran in, stopping at the door panting. “Sorry I’m late sir the car broke down so I had to run here and then I couldn’t find the class list so I had to go to reception to ask.” Shadis turned towards the class. “The second is tardiness.” Looking back at the boy, Shadis asked, “Eren Jaeger, I presume?”

Eren nodded.

“I’ll let you off since it’s the first day back. Take a seat.”

Annie watched Eren as he sat next to a small blonde boy and an Asian girl. It was customary for her to take note of the people around her, so she knew who to avoid and who was bearable enough to talk to. Eren was definitely one to avoid. She noticed the Asian girl seated next to him wearing a thick crimson red scarf.

Who even wears a scarf in the middle of summer? Weird. Oh well. Not my business anyways.

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“You’re back! Where did you go?” asked Annie’s tall and lanky friend.

“My mum divorced my dad and took me with her. She got remarried last year and she’s starting a new family so I came back to live with Dad.”

“You’re still short,” laughed the well built blonde.

“Reiner, don’t be mean!”

“Bert, it’s fine.” She punched Reiner.

“Ow! What the hell?!”

“And you’re still a weakling.”

Although she’d never admit it, Annie was glad to see Reiner and Bertholdt again.

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Shortly after, it was lunch time.

“And that concludes the tour of the school. That’ll be five dollars, please,” Reiner joked.

Annie let out a laugh through her nose. “That was a shit tour. You didn’t even show me the toilets. I need to pee.”

“Oh! End of the corridors on your left.”

Reiner grinned. “You owe me and Bert five bucks now.”

Ignoring Reiner, Annie followed Bert’s directions.

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“Eren I went to your room to wake you up but you were dead like a rock.”

“I bet he was watching porn all night,” the blonde boy chuckled.

“Armin! I was not!  I thought school started next week so I stayed up watching anime.” He turned towards the Asian girl.  At this point, she started to space out. Mikasa was thinking about the new student.

Annie. Annie Leonhardt. Pretty name. She was kinda cute too.

“Mikasa tell him!”

“..Huh? Oh.. yeah.” Why am I even thinking about her? “I’m gonna go toilet.”

The two boys nodded in acknowledgement while bickering as Mikasa stood up and left for the bathroom to wash her face. She walked slowly, trying to clear her thoughts on the way. 

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Upon opening the cubicle door, Annie noticed Mikasa washing her face. It’s Eren’s scarf wearing friend. Better wash my hands quickly and get out of here.

The splashes of water felt cool and refreshing on her face. Looking up to see herself in the mirror, she also saw Annie next to her washing her hands. Thinking Annie couldn’t notice her staring, she continued to watch her, captured by how pretty she was up close. Annie had crystal blue eyes that showed no emotion, her hair was tied in a bun with her fringe covering mostly the right side of her face. Although she was taller than Christa, she had a short and petite build, Mikasa noted.

Little did Mikasa know, Annie could feel her intense gaze, and decided to feign oblivion with the assumption that Mikasa would stop staring after a few seconds. Expecting her to say something considering how long she was staring, Annie started to feel uncomfortable.

“Is there something on my face?”

Annie's voice brought Mikasa back to reality. Realising that she had been caught staring, Mikasa blushed rose red.

“Err no it’s not that, uhh- sorry, you’re Annie right? I’m Mikasa.”

Annie looked up and blinked at her, nodded, dried her hands and left without saying a word.

Not knowing what to do, Mikasa stooped her head down and sighed. What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I do that, now she’s gonna think I’m some creep. She took a deep breath and decided to wash her face until the coldness of the water numbed her.

Chapter Text

They hadn’t spoken to each other since their encounter in the school bathroom. They both had no reason to, although Annie could’ve sworn she saw Mikasa shooting glances at her a few times during classes and the lunch breaks.
Once, Christa took Annie to watch the volleyball team practise during lunch, but it was because she just wanted to watch Ymir play. Not having anything better to do, she left Bert and Reiner that lunch and followed Christa. Mikasa was also on the volleyball team. Watching her play with such grace and strength, Annie’s opinion of her changed. Maybe she isn’t weird like I thought. She’s pretty good. It was then that Annie discovered how well toned Mikasa’s body was, and how good she was at volleyball.

Annie had settled in her new school without any problems. People quickly discovered that it was probably a good idea to leave Annie alone, after she beat Jean up when he commented on her height. The only friends she’d seem to have made (not including Reiner and Bertholdt) were Christa and Ymir. Ymir was a tall brunette with a face covered in freckles, whereas Christa was short and had shoulder length blonde hair. They were an odd couple because of how they were pretty much polar opposites, and the only thing they seemed to have in common was the fact that they were raging lesbians deeply in love with each other.

Earlier in the year, Christa noticed Annie was lost and offered her help even though Annie refused. That day onwards, Christa considered herself a friend of Annie's, always greeting her whenever they crossed paths in class or in the corridors. Initially, Annie had decided to ignore Christa’s hellos, until she started to feel guilty because of how pure and innocent Christa was. Ymir noticed this and was hit with jealousy. She eyed Annie for a while until she realised that Annie wasn’t Christa’s type. Annie thought Ymir was annoying at first but lost that thought when she told her about how Jean’s ancestors were actually horses.

“Shortie!”

It was Ymir’s voice. Annie turned around to see Ymir and Christa holding hands and walking over to her. “Jean’s having a party at his stable this Friday. Everyone’s invited but he asked us to invite you specifically so make sure your ass is there.”

“No thanks.”

Christa looked disappointed. She wanted Annie to go so she would make more friends. It saddened her that she and Ymir were Annie’s only new friends. “I think Jean wants to apologise for teasing you that day. Please come,” Christa said, almost apologetically.

Why is it so hard to say no to this girl? Damn her and her innocent looking face.

“Fine. I’ll reconsider if Bertl and Reiner go.”

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Christa was right. As soon as Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie arrived at Jean’s place he walked out to greet them. “Thanks for coming guys, come in, everyone’s already inside.”

Reiner and Bertholdt walked in first, and as Annie followed behind, Jean grabbed her arm gently. “Annie, I’m sorry about the other day, I was only joking.”

Annie shrugged half heartedly. “It’s fine. Sorry for beating you up.” She walked in.

“You came!” Christa chirped.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, playing monopoly. Annie went down to sit next to Christa and Bertholdt. Annie didn’t like monopoly, and everyone was playing in teams so she decided to watch. The teams were: Ymir & Christa, Reiner & Bert, Eren & Jean, and Armin & Mikasa.

“Losers have to do a dare!” shouted Eren.

“Shut up Jaeger, what if we lose?” said Jean.

“You idiot, we’re not going to lose! Look at how much property we own!”

They spent the rest of the game arguing and ended up bankrupt. Everyone decided to end the game and call Ymir and Christa the winners. No one had noticed Annie sneaking off to the backyard. That is, no one but Mikasa. She didn’t go after her though, after all, they weren’t really friends.

Shortly after, Connie and Sasha returned with alcohol and snacks.

“Yoohoo! Dinner is served!” exclaimed Sasha.

I should have just stayed home. Annie was looking up at the night sky, enjoying the cool breeze. A little while after, a small blonde figure came out and sat next to her. “Hi Annie.” It was Armin.
“Hey.”

“Not a party person either?”

“I enjoy peace and quiet.”

“Same goes for me, but if I didn’t come Eren would probably end up sleeping in his puke later.”

From the backyard they started to hear people screaming and shouting.

“NO JEAN, LEVI IS THE BEST!!!!”

“ERWIN COULD WHOOP HIS SKINNY ASS ANY DAY.”

Armin turned to Annie, “well, I better get back in there before someone gets knocked out. It was nice talking to you.”

Annie nodded.

Ten minutes later, Armin comes back to the backyard, with Mikasa slouched over him. “Annie! I’m so sorry to ask you to do this, can you look after Mikasa? I didn’t know she was going to drink and I’d take care of her too but Eren’s off his face right now and I have to get back there before he pukes on Jean and you’re the only one who’s still sober-”

“ARRRRRRMIN WHERE ARE YOUU!?? NOO MY BEST BUDDY HAS LEFT MEEEEEEEEE-”

“Sorry Annie! Thanks so much I owe you one,” Armin said while he ran off, dumping Mikasa on her lap.

Annie, trying to process what the hell had just happened, looked at Mikasa. What the fuck? I did not sign up for this. She pushed Mikasa so she was sitting upright next to her. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeeees. Helloo An*hiccup*niee” Mikasa leaned her head on Annie’s.

Annie had never seen or expected this side of Mikasa before.

“I’m gonna puke“

“No Mikasa, not here, come on, get up. Let’s get you to the bathroom”

Helping her up, Mikasa stood up, using her arm around Annie’s shoulder as a support. Annie was going to take her to Jean’s bathroom, but it was too late.

“Nooo, that’s too fa-“ she quickly turned away from Annie and towards the open space of the backyard.

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Mikasa fell asleep in Annie’s car, and Annie woke her up after arriving at her own home.

“C’mon Mikasa, we need to get you cleaned up”

“Nnngh I showered in the morning”

Bringing her inside, she dragged Mikasa to the bathroom, turned on warm water and took off Mikasa’s scarf and shirt. She was too pissed off by the smell and what she got herself into to admire Mikasa’s bare body.

“You smell like shit so I’m going to help you clean yourself”

“You smell gooood Annie, what shampoo do you use-” Mikasa was having trouble even staying upright so Annie made her get on her knees and lean over the bathtub. Annie felt relieved that Mikasa was drunk enough that she didn’t notice the blush that rose on her face.

“Shut up and keep your eyes closed. I’m going to wash your hair.”

Chapter Text

Waking up due to her body’s internal clock, Mikasa opened her eyes slowly, trying to understand how she managed to sleep so well last night. The blanket was so warm and snug, leaving Mikasa’s body feeling like it had become one with the bed. She had never felt this comfortable when she slept in her bed. Not realising where she was, she closed her eyes and fell back asleep. 

An hour later, Mikasa woke up for the second time, still groggy from last nights’ activities. Her nose was attracted to the scent of the blanket, causing her to bury her face underneath them. She had awoken but kept her eyes shut, as if she were attempting to snooze again. She turned from her side to her back, feeling something underneath her neck. Why did I wear my scarf to bed? She grabbed the piece of material and pulled at it, only to feel the rest of her clothing coming off too. Confused, she opened her eyes, blinking slowly to adjust to the sunlight coming through the window on the left. Wait. Mikasa sat up instantly. Why is there a window here? Fuck. I’m in someone else’s bed. Fuck. Now alert and awake, she tried to remain calm, taking deep breaths. Where are my clothes? And what happened to my jeans? She was wearing a plain baggy grey hoodie. Is this Eren’s hoodie? It can’t be; it doesn’t smell like shit. Scanning the room, she tried to remember exactly how she got herself into a stranger’s bed. She checked to see if she was raped, and a sense of relief came over her when she found out she wasn’t. The room was spacious, with light blue painted walls, and it was quite minimalist, Mikasa noted. Considering she hadn’t been raped and the fact that there weren’t any bruises or hickies on her, she decided it was probably safe to see who’s house she was in.

Mikasa exited the room, and when she reached the bottom of the stairs she could smell a sweet aroma that made her salivate. How does this person know what my favourite food is? Maybe it’s Sasha. The smell she followed led her into the kitchen. She stood frozen and speechless as she recognised Annie’s signature bun in a hoodie and sweatpants.

“Took you long enough.”

“Hi. I have no idea why I’m at your house.”

“Armin asked me to take you home after you got shitfaced at Jean’s.”

 “Oh.. Uh...Thanks. I’m so sorry.”  By this time, Mikasa’s face was as red as it was when she got drunk. She asked quietly, “But why you? Of all the people he could’ve asked?” as if the question was directed at herself.

Annie turned her back towards Mikasa to hide the hurt in her face. She looked down and toyed with the tea towel in her hands. “’Asked’ as in he just dumped you on me and left. You’re welcome,” she muttered, with a tinge of bitterness.

“Oh! I didn’t mean it like- I didn’t think he would’ve asked you because you know... we’re not exactly friends …yet…right?”

Annie’s response was silence. Shit, Annie stop being such a bitch. She’s just trying to be nice. “We’re friends now, if you want I guess”

The silence that came was much less awkward thanks to the smile that rose on Mikasa’s face.

“Um, I made pancakes.”

“I didn’t know you could cook. Pancakes are actually my favourite food.”

Although they ate their breakfast in silence, neither of the two felt awkward enough to speak. Mikasa was too busy trying to devour her stack of blueberry pancakes with a bit of restraint in order to keep herself from looking like a rabid dog. After all, she didn’t eat dinner last night, and plus, the pancakes were just too damn good. Annie was eating in a more peaceful manner, although her face held a quizzical expression as she watched her new ‘friend’ eat her food. If Mikasa wasn’t too focused on her pancakes, she would’ve seen the tiniest hint of amusement in the blonde’s expressionless face.

“Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

Mikasa looked up at Annie, chewing with her mouth still full of the heaven-sent pancakes, face red with embarrassment as she realised Annie had been watching her eat. She smiled sheepishly and bobbed her head as she chewed as if it’d help her swallow faster. There was something about Annie. Something about her that always brought out the part of Mikasa’s true personality that she always hid. The part of her that always yearned to be able to laugh and smile like the goofy kid she used to be. That was, before her parents died. After their tragic accident, she had spent most of her life building these walls around her heart, always braving a strong front around her peers, and since she met Annie, how many times had these walls crumbled so easily? She had broken out of character so many times already. Why was this happening? How was this even happening? Mikasa had never done this before, not even around her two closest friends, Eren and Armin.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to. I can find my way home on public transport. If not I can just call Eren to come get me.”

Oh. Right. They’re probably dating or something. “Oh. Okay. Well we’re on Rose Street, Trost. There’s a bus stop a minute away that goes to Stohess Station.”

Mikasa looked up, one brow raised. Annie saw, and did the same, waiting for a response.

“Rose Street?”

“Yes? Know where it is?”

“On Sina Road? Because I live on Maria Lane.”

“I am assuming that Maria Lane is also on Sina Road.”

“I probably live like five minutes away from here.”

Annie stood, and went to the kitchen counter to grab her phone. Mikasa just assumed she was checking her texts. Annie walked towards Mikasa, showing her the screen. “This is where my house is.”

Mikasa took the phone and zoomed into the map. She placed the phone on the table slightly confused. She got up to wash their dishes. After she was done, she faced Annie. “Can you take me to your backyard?”

Annie looked her, also confused. “Um...okay?”

The backyard was simple, the plants were well kept, and in the middle was a backyard set of two wooden chairs and a table. Mikasa grabbed one of the chairs and stood on it, looking inside the house on the other side of the fence. Annie, now even more confused and somewhat concerned, tried to get her down before any of the neighbours saw. “Mikasa what the hell are you doing.. If people in that house see you it’ll be on my ass.”

“No one will see me, it’s fine.”

“…How do you know that?”

Mikasa turned back around and smiled at Annie. “Because that’s my house. Thanks for the pancakes. Catch you later, Annie.”

Deciding that she felt a bit more badass, Mikasa climbed over the fence with ease in one swift motion, leaving Annie in much shock and surprise for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

Ten minutes after Mikasa had jumped the fence dividing hers and Annie’s house, Annie heard a knock on the door. She opened to find Mikasa smiling bashfully and avoiding her eyes by having hers glued to the floor. When Annie refused to say anything, Mikasa eventually met her gaze, rubbing the back of her neck and flashing another shy grin.

“Hey again. I forgot I was wearing your clothes.”

Annie’s face remained expressionless. “Your clothes are almost dry. If you’re not doing anything you can come inside and wait if you want.”

“Okay sure.”

Mikasa followed Annie’s lead and they sat in the living room, with Mikasa feeling awkward and embarrassed at her failed attempt to fix her reputation. “Sorry if I disturbed you in the middle of something.”

“I was just getting my stuff out to study.”

“I never pegged you as the studious type.”

Annie shrugged. “I’m not. I don’t even know what book we’re analysing. I’m screwed for the test next week if I don’t study. Was gonna call Bert to get him to give me his English notes.”

“I can give you mine? Since it’s closer and all. And I kinda owe you. If you want we can study until my clothes dry and I can summarise the stuff we’ve gone through in class. Can I ask you a question first though?”

Annie didn’t say anything and just looked at Mikasa, waiting for her question.

How do you not even know what book we’re supposed to be reading? Then realisation dawned over Mikasa as she remembered that English class was always in the morning. And Annie was always sleeping in the morning. Ms Ral was too nice to ever tell her students off.

“Nevermind. I’ll be back, going to get my books.”

Annie just shrugged it off and cleaned up the area in the living room to make space for her new study buddy.

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“That’s dumb. I’d rather elope or something.”

“It’s romantic in a way.”

“So you’re saying you’d kill yourself for Eren if your parents didn’t let you guys go out?”

Mikasa widened her eyes at Annie’s question, brows raised in shock. Annie felt a wave of embarrassment rush over her as she watched Mikasa’s reaction. “Wait, aren’t you dating Eren?”

Mikasa kept her gaze on Annie for a few more seconds before chuckling. “He’s my adoptive brother. His parents adopted me almost eleven years ago when my parents passed away.”

Shit, Annie you idiot, say sorry before it gets even more awkward. “Oh, sorry.” Annie tried to sound as sincere as she could.

“Not your fault. Anyways let’s get back on topic.”

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Their study session had consisted of more than just studying. Annie had managed to learn the class work she slept through for the week in a surprisingly short amount of time. Afterwards, the two had bonded over things like being thirdwheels for their gay childhood friends. They ordered pizza for lunch and watched a movie, forgetting the reason why Mikasa was there in the first place. They decided on Romeo & Juliet so Annie would understand the plot without reading the book for English. After all, Annie was all about shortcuts and efficiency. Throughout the movie the two had remained seemingly bored and expressionless, but in the corner of her eye, Mikasa could tell Annie was holding back tears.

It was when the movie finished that the pair finally remembered that they were only spending time together to wait for Mikasa’s clothes to dry. Nothing else, of course.

As Mikasa reached the front door of Annie’s house she spun around to face Annie. “Hand me your phone for a sec.”

Annie complied, hiding her curiosity behind her usual bored expression.

“I want to take a selfie.”

Annie raised a brow, not sure if Mikasa was being serious or not.

“Just kidding. I put my number on here, if you ever need notes for English again. Or if you need anything in general, you can call or text or whatever. Or you can throw stones at my window if you’re feeling romantic. ”

“I’ll text you so you can save my number too if anything’s up. Or if Armin decides to ditch you for Eren again when you’re both drunk.”

“Heh. Thanks again.” Mikasa chuckled and smiled at Annie warmly, admiring the way the afternoon sunlight shone on Annie, making her look all the more gentle and warm. Somehow it felt like only Mikasa could see this side of Annie. Most people viewed Annie as a cold and heartless bitch. But Annie took it as a compliment so it didn't bother her.

“Is there something on my face? Again?” 

She is too cute right now. “Yeah, my eyes. Catch you later, Annie.”

Annie huffed out a laugh through her nose and rolled her eyes. “Bye.”

Chapter Text

The following school week went by quickly. Students were swarmed with tests and homework that had little impact on their grades, so those who cared were busying themselves with study. Annie and Mikasa went to school not knowing how to approach each other. They weren’t exactly best friends, but they were still friends. Their encounters on school grounds would consist of Mikasa’s simple greeting and Annie’s silent nod.

“Hey.”

Annie gave a quick nod and kept walking.

“Come over after school. I need help with maths.” Mikasa lied. Armin had helped Mikasa go through the material already.

“’Kay.”

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Since that day, it had become an unspoken rule for them to study at each others’ houses after school - every day. They didn’t even have to study. They would help each other out if one of them needed it but most of the time they enjoyed each others’ company while doing their own things. Mikasa usually read or did her homework while Annie would nap. For some reason it was easier for her to fall asleep on Mikasa’s couch than it was on her own bed. On the weekends, they kept to themselves.

Having her friends made her schooling experience much more bearable, but the one thing, or rather, person who Annie looked forward to seeing the most was Mikasa. There would be times where Mikasa would pull silly faces at Annie during class when no one was looking. The Annie from the past would have probably beaten Mikasa up, but the present Annie was different, the Annie now was filled with joy whenever she saw Mikasa’s goofy smile.

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Monday morning, Annie noticed her scarf wearing friend was nowhere to be found at school. She stayed up in English class, thinking Mikasa would just be late for some odd reason, but she was wrong. The rest of the school day went by slowly, with Annie slightly confused as she remembered Mikasa once told her she had never wagged a day of school in her life. As the bell rang for home time, Annie went to ask Armin about Mikasa’s whereabouts.

“Hi Armin.”

“Oh, hey Annie, what’s up?”

“Just wondering if you know why Ackerman wasn’t at school today.”

“Oh. Mikasa. Wait for me for two seconds. I’ll tell you on the way home.” Annie waited as Armin packed his books into his bag.

“What about Eren?”

“He has basketball training on Mondays. Okay, let’s go.”

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“I suppose no one has told you yet. It’s Mikasa’s birthday today.”

“That’s why she was away?”

“It’s also her parents’ death anniversary.”

Words failed to come out of Annie’s mouth. “…Oh.”

“I’ll leave the details for her to tell you. Mikasa stopped celebrating her birthday since the accident, so everyone knows not to mention it. Every year she just keeps to herself for the whole day. Eren and I tried to take her out once, but it seemed to do more harm than good so we leave her be.”

The rest of the trip back to their neighbourhood was filled with silence.

 “Thanks for telling me.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. I think secretly she might want you to see her.”

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Annie found Mikasa’s front door unlocked, and entered cautiously.

“…Mikasa? Are you-”

“NO!”

Annie ran to Mikasa’s bedroom, to find her sitting upright in her bed, face in her hands and breathing heavily. She rushed to the side of Mikasa’s bed.

“Are you okay?”

“Just a bad dream.”

 “I’ll get you some water.”

As Annie stood up to leave, Mikasa grabbed the sleeve of her hoodie. “Don’t leave me.”

Annie simply sat back down next to Mikasa on her bed, wrapping one arm around her. They stayed in that position for a few moments until Mikasa had eased up on her crying. Annie shifted so that she could let Mikasa lean on her chest, and gently brushed the hair out of her swollen eyes with her free hand. “I’m here. If you want to talk about it.”

Mikasa took a deep breath before closing her eyes.

“My parents died in a car crash on the day of my 6^th birthday. I always have nightmares about it on my birthday for some reason.”

Annie chose not to speak, and instead chose to stroke Mikasa’s hair, gently taking out the tangled knots, although there were hardly any. Feeling Annie’s chest slowly rise and fall and listening to the sound of her heartbeats calmed Mikasa and she fell asleep quickly.

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Roughly three hours later Mikasa woke from her slumber. The whole time Annie sat in the same position, worried that if she moved it would wake her friend up. The nap definitely cheered up Mikasa’s spirits and took her mind off things.

“It’s almost eight,” Annie said as she gently patted Mikasa’s back. “Get off me so I can get you some food. You haven’t eaten anything today right?”

“Mmmgh five more minutes.” Mikasa was still curled up against her, but now with her arm and leg draped across her too, which stopped Annie from getting up.

“No you butthead you need to eat something.” This time Annie moved Mikasa’s limbs off of her and went to downstairs to Mikasa’s kitchen, only to find the pantry and fridge empty. She went back to her house. Twenty minutes later, Annie entered Mikasa’s bedroom with two plates of food, and seeing the grin on Mikasa’s face again made her heart feel lighter.

“Fried rice? Yum.”

“Don’t expect anything great.”

They ate in a peaceful silence. When they had finished washing up their dishes, Annie went to get her stuff to return home. She stopped at the front door.

“Will I see you at school tomorrow?”

With a smirk, Mikasa asked playfully, “Will you come over and make me food if I don’t?”

Annie rolled her eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Catch you tomorrow, Annie.”

“Happy birthday, Ackerman.”

Mikasa watched Annie’s back as she left, resisting the urge to run after her and pull her in for a hug. Thanks, Annie.

Chapter Text

“Unfortunately Miss Ral is sick so I will be your substitute teacher for this period. She didn’t leave any work and I don’t teach English so you rascals can do whatever you like as long as you stay on school grounds and don’t disturb any classes.”

Eren banged his hands on his desk and stood from his seat.

“Sweet!”

Earning a glare from his favourite teacher, Eren sheepishly sat back down. Most of the other students were already gathering their things and leaving the classroom. Armin leaned over his desk and turned to face Eren and Mikasa on his right.

“Do you guys wanna study together?”

“Sure. But I’ll probably end up sleeping.”

Armin smiled. “Mikasa?”

“No thanks, I forgot I have some stuff to do. I’ll see you guys at lunch or something.”

Trying to hide the fact that she was watching Annie leave the room, Mikasa quickly gathered her books and shoved them into her bag and scurried out the room, leaving her two friends baffled. The trio usually studied together during their free periods, but sometimes Mikasa left secretly to leave the two lovebirds alone. She had never outright declined the invite.

Eren shrugged. “Oh well. She probably forgot to do her homework. Let’s go.”

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Mikasa appeared at Annie’s locker as she was putting away her books, smiling at Annie’s passive expression while waiting for her to say something.

“Hi.” Annie remained expressionless and didn’t turn to face Mikasa, still organising the things in her locker.

“Hey. So are you doing anything important now?”

“Yes, if you consider sleeping in the library important.”She stopped and turned to face her friend this time. “Why?”

“Have you been to the rooftop before?”

Annie closed her locker and looked blankly at Mikasa. “What rooftop?”

Mikasa grinned. “Follow me.”

Avoiding teachers’ lines of sight through classroom windows, the pair stealthily made their way through the school grounds to the building that was used mostly for arts related classes. The building had no computer labs or classrooms for self study, so if they were caught here, it would mean trouble. They climbed up three flights of stairs before Annie finally voiced her annoyance.

“This better be worth my sleep time.”

“You can sleep there if -”

“Okay kiddos! Quieten down, we don’t want to disturb the other classes, or I won’t have classes on the rooftop anymore! Also, you must promise me this stays between us! Or else I’ll lose my job!”

“Shit.”

Annie is not amused. “You’re buying me lunch for this.”

“Only if we get caught. C’mon, we can just hide in that closet until they get on the rooftop and then we’ll escape like spies.”

Mikasa grabbed Annie’s wrist and dragged her into the closet with her, not giving her a chance to respond. The sound of the footsteps was getting louder and eventually stopped as Hanji spoke. “I guess the rain doesn’t want us to have fun today! But we can just stay here and enjoy the view of the classroom walls!”

Luckily the closet was empty, minus the random pieces of what seemed to be clothing were on the floor of the closet. It helped hide the sound of their shoes against the closet wood. It was more spacious than it looked but also dusty, adding to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Mikasa waited until the students’ voices were distant before whispering, “Well. I don’t think we can leave anytime soon.”

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They waited in awkward silence, and eventually the class was loud enough for them to speak without the fear of being heard. Mikasa, looking guilty for getting the two into this situation, decided to break the silence, hoping that a conversation would make time go by more quickly. She noticed a little insect near Annie’s head. Annie noticed Mikasa staring at something either near or on her face, and raised her brows expectantly.

“Are you scared of spiders?”

 Annie froze. “Is… Is there one on me?” Her voice was quiet and weak. She looked like she had just seen a ghost.

“Don’t scream, but there’s one on your left.”

Annie’s eyes were getting teary; her breath faster, sweat was forming on her forehead, and that’s when Mikasa realised her tough little friend was terrified. Fuck, she’s having a panic attack. Annie on the verge of tears? This was no laughing matter. Mikasa did the first thing that came to mind and grabbed Annie’s body and held her close. In her arms, she could feel Annie shaking. Shit, didn’t know it was this serious. Mikasa thanked whatever god there was that she didn’t tease Annie about it. Annie probably would’ve decided to never speak to her again. Still having one arm holding Annie, she used her free hand to grab a tissue from her pocket and kill the spider. Annie was still shaking. It didn’t look like she was going to budge anytime soon. Mikasa tightened her embrace, cradled Annie’s head in her chest and spoke softly.

“It’s okay, I killed it.”

Annie was trying so hard not to cry. They stayed in that position, silent and still, until the bell rang and Hanji’s class had left, leaving only them two. The scene and state that Annie was in left Mikasa baffled and confused. Who knew someone who was tough as nails could be that scared of spiders? Annie somehow managed to fall asleep standing upright in her friend’s arms. She had to admit though; it felt nice being held like that. It was definitely warm and snugly and no library beanbag could ever come to par. Mikasa noticed Annie was sleeping and just watched her, taking note of all the little details on her face. Although, it was kind of hard to since her face was buried in Mikasa’s chest. She had never seen Annie’s sleeping face this close before, and decided she would commit it to memory. Mikasa patted Annie’s back and rubbed it gently to wake her up.

“C’mon sleepyhead, I’m hungry. It’s lunchtime.”

 “You tell anyone and you’re dead. Plus, you owe me lunch.”

Chapter Text

“Before I let you in, you guys have to kiss.”

The pair looked at Reiner, simultaneously raising their eyebrows. Bertholdt sighed while pointing at the mistletoe above their heads on the doorway. “Sorry guys, Reiner really wanted to even though I told him not to.”

Annie’s face flushes a light shade of pink. “Reiner. No.”

“YOU HAVE TO!”

“No.”

 “YOU MUST. It’s tradition!”

Annie, realising that the conversation would go nowhere, nimbly squeezed through the boys’ bodies and ran off inside.

Reiner lowered his head in a sigh. “NO ONE EVER APPRECIATES MY EFFORT HERE.”

“There there, it’s okay.” Bertholdt patted Reiner’s back. “Mikasa come on in. Sorry about that, Reiner just really wanted his mistletoe to be of more use than just decoration.”

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By the time everyone had arrived, Reiner seemed to regain his high spirits. “KK time! Everyone, gather ‘round! Did everyone bring their presents?”

“Oh shit.”

“Annie! I even reminded you!”

“Sorry. I’ll get it now, shouldn’t take more than half an hour. Play a game or something while I’m gone.”

Mikasa grabbed Annie’s arm and smiled sheepishly. “I’ll come with you. It seems I forgot mine too.”

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[MIKASA’S POV]

Annie can’t find her gift so now we’re both frantically looking for it. I don’t like to keep people waiting. I remember her bringing it into my house though, so it’s bound to be here somewhere … Eren and Armin adorning my house with a heap of Christmas decorations certainly doesn’t make it easier. All I can see is red and green stuff everywhere. I don’t even know why they decided to decorate my house for me. I guess they thought I’d feel left out if they didn’t. I really don’t mind. They’re too nice sometimes. To speed up the process we’ve decided to look through different rooms. I’m searching in the kitchen while Annie’s searching the living room.

“Mikasa, where did you put it!? Maybe you put it in the kitchen.”

“Me?! I didn’t even touch your–“

Spinning my body around, I suddenly feel Annie’s body crash into mine and I kind of topple over her and we end up landing in a somewhat awkward position. During the fall I placed my hands down for support and they landed nowhere other than the location of Annie’s chest. Fuck me. This is so awkward. She’s just laying there on her back with each her legs sprawled on each side of me and staring at me. Due to the shock, I don’t realise that my hands were lingering for too long until it’s too late.

“Sorry.” Not knowing where to look, I kind of laugh hoping it’ll distract her from the heat I can feel burning my cheeks. I could probably blame it on the alcohol though.

She doesn’t say anything, and I notice her eyes focus on something above my head, but I don’t question it. Suddenly her face is all red and I’m tempted to look. Redder than my scarf. Like, seriously red. Maybe it’s a giant spider again.

“Pervert.”

Annie turns her head to the side and looks away. I should probably get off her. But the curiosity gets to me first. I glance upwards at the ceiling, and at that point my face is probably the same colour as hers. No, there’s no spider there, just a tiny little mistletoe. I swear Eren and Armin are spawns of Satan. I make a mental note to myself to kill them the next time I see them. I look back at Annie; she’s still got her head tilted to the side, and refuses to look at me. Her face is still flushed and she looks so damn cute and now I have an urge to kiss that face of hers. Our faces are already close, so I lean in and she turns her head back to look at me. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. She’s closed her eyes, which means she knows what’s going to happen, right? We’re close enough to feel each others’ breath, and suddenly I remember how she ran off when Reiner told her to kiss me. Oh no. She doesn’t want to kiss me. My eyes widen at the realisation that I may have just ruined our friendship forever. I pull back and I don’t know what to say except sorry again.

“Sorry.”

She opens her eyes and regards me for a moment before she grabs my sweater and pulls me back towards her. “Tradition, right?”

And before you know it her lips are on mine, and even though I’m sober, everything feels like a blur and all I can feel is the softness of her lips and the tenderness in her kiss and I can taste the hot chocolate I made for her earlier and when she breaks the kiss I’m brought back to the world. What just happened? I’m sure two suns have somehow entered each side of my face.

“Oh ho. Don’t tell me that was your first kiss?”

I’ll admit she’s so cute how she’s smiling and kind of smirking right now but it doesn’t help the fact that I am embarrassed as fuck. I don’t know what to say so my answer is given away in my face and in my silence.

She kind of stares at me for a bit before giggling to herself. “Mine too.”  

“Sorry. I- Er... You didn’t- Um... you didn’t have to… If it was your first.”  

My body is still awkwardly hovering over hers because I don’t want to crush her body so I decide to sit up again. I don’t realise her hands are still gripping my clothes until she tugs me towards her but this time more gently. My hands are holding me up now so my positioning feels less awkward than before, but I still don’t know what to do, so I just look at her. She smiles at me, but this time it’s different.

“I wanted to.”

I’ve seen Annie smile before, but never like this. It’s so gentle, so heartwarming, and it makes me want to kiss her again. And so I do. I lean in to kiss her, but I have no idea what to do next and I think Annie notices and takes the lead. She opens her mouth so I do too and then I feel her tongue in my mouth and I use my tongue too. My body is now on hers and when the possibility that I could flatten her tiny little figure comes to mind, I turn over and kind of carry her over too, so she’s on top. I’m guessing she understands why by the way she lets out a smile while we’re still kissing. We kiss for a while, before Annie starts to make these little moaning sounds. I put my hands inside her hoodie, at first caressing her back and lightly scratching her skin. I’m pretty sure I’m doing the right thing, because her breathing gets heavier and the sounds she’s making are getting louder. Reiner’s probably gonna come and find us like this if we don’t go back soon. It takes all my willpower to break the kiss. It’s really cute how she just stares at me slightly puzzled and confused.

“As much as I’m enjoying this, we have to find your present and go back before one of them comes looking for us and finds us like this.”

Suddenly, I feel Annie’s phone vibrate in her hoodie pocket. I bet it’s Reiner telling her to hurry up. I wait as she checks her phone and she stares at me with her expressionless face. “It’s Christa. She said we don’t have to come back because everyone is crazy drunk and most of them passed out.”

And then she grins. It’s the evilest grin I’ve ever seen. But also the sexiest. Thank god for mistletoes.