Archive of Our Own ^beta

Annie heads to her university’s gym with a rare, energetic and eager motivation to exercise early in the morning; she takes advantage of this sudden burst of energy this early on since she normally works out in the evenings. Although there are a few gyms scattered about, there is one that has more equipment and space compared to the others, so that is where she walks to; it is also the one that she frequents. Once she arrives at the gym, she checks in and relishes the warm temperature inside as opposed to the blaring hot weather in the beginning of autumn. Finally, she reaches the weight room. 

Striding over to the bench press, she places her water bottle and phone neatly down beside the bench, turning around to examine it. She wants to get a personal record today. With an energized grin, Annie hauls her warm up plates onto each side of the metal bar, securing them with the collared springs at the end so they won’t fall off. She lays down and does a few reps with this warm-up, and once she feels ready, she slowly starts to increase the weight. Then comes the targeted weight she wants to achieve.

She sits on the bench while she looks around the gym absentmindedly, watching people with terrible form or lifting heavily. Then when she twists her back and looks behind her,  her eyes glide over to where the benches are, she spots someone who captures her interest. Not only because of her incredible looks from afar, but because the woman is staring right at her. And it has her heart skipping nervously. Annie turns back around with her insides buzzing and her heart fluttering, internally scolding herself for acting like a skittish fool. Just simple eye contact with some hot girl makes her melt. 

Exhaling to calm her nerves, she brings her mind back to her bench press. Her personal record. She might not be able to push it and end up crushing her ribcage, but that’s okay. She’s got this. Lying back down so the bar is above her, she takes a few deep breaths to psych herself into getting this achievement. She’s got this. With a final breath, she extends her arms up to grip the metal bar firmly, and pushes to lift the bar into her hands. The weight is already intimidatingly swaying in her grip, but she doesn’t let her confidence falter. She lowers the bar to her chest, her triceps shaking in protest, but she braves it as she pushes with all her might. She zeroes in on the metal bar slowly elevating, her entire body tense to keep pushing and pushing. She can do it. 

Then she sees movement above her, then a pair of hands under the bar, and she realizes that someone has rushed to spot her. She keeps her focus, and with a final grunt, she thrusts the bar up and into its placeholder. Annie gasps as she regains her breath, immediately shooting up to sit and rest her elbows on her knees, panting as she catches her breath. 

“That was impressive. Was that a personal record?”

A smooth, velvety voice sounds behind her, and she turns to see whomever spotted her. And her heart skips a beat when she recognizes the girl she made eye contact with before. This woman is tall, way taller than herself, appearing Asian with silky black hair in something like a pixie cut. She has plush, pink lips that are parted, a beautiful nose, strong cheekbones, and finally, those steely gray eyes that meet her own icy blues. Not only that, but her build is insane. This girl only wears a sports bra and biker shorts, and every single muscle group is visible and flexing so hot that it nearly makes Annie drool. Annie herself has a modest build; she keeps up her form, especially to hone her fighting. But this girl? She’s ripped. She’s beautiful. It feels like it’s just her and this girl in this weight room, and Annie feels her heart beating in her ears as her hands get clammy. She sure as hell doesn’t believe in love at first sight, but this girl might make her a believer. 

Then Annie remembers that this woman asked her a question, and all she’s been doing is unabashedly gawking at the woman of her dreams. She clears a nonexistent blockage in her throat, biting the inside of her cheek. Then she nods. “Yeah. It was.” 

The girl’s eyes brighten at her answer, the corners of her lips pulling slightly upwards in the faintest trace of a smile. It makes Annie’s heart leap. “I went over just in case you needed assistance, but clearly you handled it well. Good job.”

Despite her lack of interest in anyone attempting a conversation whatsoever, the compliment makes her chest bloom with a foreign warmth. Annie casts her gaze down nervously, hiding her face from the stranger. “Thanks.”

There is a beat of silence before the woman speaks again. “Say, could you help spot me, too?”

Normally, Annie wouldn’t be talking to someone for this long. Normally, she wouldn’t even consider helping someone else. But the way those hopeful, mesmerizing eyes bore into her own, she finds herself too intrigued to refuse. So she nods and stands up, cleaning up her machine and puts everything away. Once she’s done, she follows the other girl to the bench. 

“My name is Mikasa, by the way,” the girl speaks once she reaches the bench, staring down intently at Annie that makes her limbs feel weak. Annie feels her breath catch in her throat. Mikasa, huh? What a pretty name for a pretty girl. 

“Annie,” she says back, and that widens Mikasa’s smile. Then Annie changes her focus to the weights on the floor, then to the way the bench is set up into a chair. “You’re doing shoulder presses?”

Annie raises her eyes to see Mikasa nod with a hum of assertion. “Yes. I’m also doing a personal record, but I need help getting them up for the first rep.”

Annie nods, watching Mikasa closely as the other girl rounds the bench and picks up the weights with ease. Mikasa sits with the dumbbells on her thighs, gripping them with her hands, prompting Annie to stand right behind her. There is a mirror in front of them, so she cannot avoid the intensity of those steely grays. So she looks down as her heart races involuntarily. Then Annie’s eyes widen as she spots the amount of weight she’s holding. 

“You…are you lifting that much?” Annie blurts in surprise, bringing her eyes to meet Mikasa’s in the mirror. Mikasa wears a smug grin. 

“Yes.”

Annie’s jaw drops in disbelief, and that only makes Mikasa chuckle. Then Mikasa meets Annie’s eyes seriously with a smile. “Are you ready?”

Annie frowns. “I might not be able to help much considering this insane weight.”

Mikasa’s smile grows. “That’s okay. You only need to push a bit so I can get these up the first time.”

Annie blows out a breath, nodding in affirmation. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Mikasa tears her eyes away from Annie’s and looks at the weights on her lap, so Annie takes that as her cue to prepare, too. She hears Mikasa take a deep breath before she lifts her legs and takes the dumbbells and levels it with her shoulders. Annie jumps in and hovers her hands right below Mikasa’s elbows, ready to help at any moment. Mikasa starts to push, her breath straining as she tries to push, but it is apparent that Mikasa will need a little assistance. So Annie places her palms to Mikasa’s elbows—ignoring the immediate spark of electricity that shoots up her spine at the contact—and guides them up until Mikasa pushes them above her head. Annie takes her palms off Mikasa’s elbows, but keeps them just below them in case she needs more help.

Mikasa exhales as she holds the weight there, and then once she starts to bring them back down, she inhales. Then Mikasa pushes them back up, her arms slightly shaking with effort, but with that weight, she almost makes it look easy. Almost. A grunt escapes Mikasa’s mouth when she manages to force the weight up, sending a wave of heat straight to her core at the sound as inappropriate images fill her mind, and she nearly runs away right there. She shouldn’t be having these thoughts for someone she’s just met. Mikasa does another rep, grunting again except this time it sounds more like a strangled moan, and that has Annie squeezing her thighs together as she exhales. This last rep has Mikasa struggling to send it upward because her pace has slowed significantly, so Annie readies herself. But now she makes the dire mistake of watching Mikasa’s face as she strains to complete it, because her face is tensed up. It looks pretty—dare she say sexy—because that face, the way her eyebrows knot above closed eyes, the way her mouth is parted as heavy breaths follow through, the way her breasts move with every movement, the way she visibly sweats gives her a strikingly similar image of Mikasa getting pleasured. And it very nearly makes Annie moan at the sight. She’s practically drooling right now. 

Luckily, Mikasa manages to fight and complete the rep while Annie is paralyzed with arousal, and quickly snaps out of it once the dumbbells aggressively hit the floor. Mikasa breathes heavily as she falls back into the seat, eyes still closed as she gradually relaxes. Annie’s eyes are still glued onto Mikasa with wonder as if she’s in a trance, watching any and every miniscule movement from this girl. 

“Thanks for spotting me. That really helped,” Mikasa says breathlessly, opening her eyes to stare at Annie in the mirror. Annie nearly chokes, her heart jumping at the eye contact. She might have a heart attack if this doesn’t stop. 

“Y—yeah. No problem,” Annie replies plainly, eyeing the neglected dumbbells on the floor. She doesn’t know if she should help for another set or not, but Mikasa’s wording insinuates that she’s done. So Annie supposes that she should go. She should. But she doesn’t want to. And that’s strange for her. 

But before Annie can even voice her departure, Mikasa beats her to it. “I haven’t seen you around before.”

Annie perks up at that, staring cautiously at her through the mirror. “Yeah. I normally go in the evenings.”

Mikasa hums thoughtfully. “Makes sense. I would have remembered you.”

Annie flushes, eyes widening in disbelief, and she coughs. Is that flirting? Is she flirting? “Good thing I went this morning, then.”

Mikasa snorts, smirking with a glimmer in her eyes. Then her smile goes away, but the look in her eyes changes to curiosity. The glimmer stays. “What year are you?”

Annie answers easily. “Sophomore.” Then she rounds the bench to be face-to-face with Mikasa instead of looking at her in the mirror. A shiver runs down her spine as she watches Mikasa’s face following hers, steely grays looking up at her. And she gets a full view of Mikasa’s front. She tries hard not to linger her focus on Mikasa’s provocative cleavage peeking out. “What year are you?”

“Freshman.”

Annie nods, bouncing on her feet nervously. “Cool.” She doesn’t have a vendetta or anything against any grade level. They’re all college students that relate to drowning in work to graduate. At least most of them. She glances aimlessly around the gym, feeling the urgency to leave with how awkward this is. This might be the last time she sees Mikasa, though. She drops her eyes to steely grays that are still watching her closely, and it makes Annie’s heart rate spike. She swallows. “I guess I’ll…see you around.”

There is something that flashes in Mikasa’s eyes before it quickly goes away, and Mikasa looks down and nods. “Okay. See you.”

Annie grabs her things and goes across the gym to finish her session, intentionally keeping her sight away from the bench area to avoid the piercing stare of a certain someone. It’s for the best, anyway. Sure, Mikasa would be an amazing fuck, but she didn’t even have the courage to ask or hint at it. Now Annie deems it too late. She has a class in an hour, too. Maybe it would be good to get Mikasa’s number, but it’s probably for the best. Someone like Mikasa is probably already in a relationship, anyway. 

With a sigh, she finishes up her last set for the morning before going to the locker room to change out of her gym clothes. As she strips off her clothes, a part of her wishes for Mikasa to walk in and see her naked, then approach her and fuck Annie right then and there. But it doesn’t happen. 

Annie walks to her class with an odd, profound disappointment weighing heavily on her heart. She’s had her share of hot men and women, but Mikasa seems different. Maybe because the fucking would be mindblowing. Maybe because she wished she talked more. She doesn’t know, and she doesn’t dare mull over it. It was a good thing she left then and there. 

Once she gets to her lecture, she sits down right as the professor walks in. She’s right on time. She spends the entire time trying her best to pay attention and take some notes, but her mind keeps drifting to Mikasa. Even though it was her first time meeting that girl, she’s never met anyone quite like her. Beautiful, exotic looks. Flirty. Exceptionally muscular. Considerate. If Annie were looking for a relationship, she wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest. But unfortunately, she’s not. 

The rest of the lecture, she thinks about extremely inappropriate fantasies of Mikasa eating her out with those pretty, possessive eyes gazing lustfully at her until she’s sensitized and screaming for her to stop. To see those bulging arms encasing her as she’s touched on the bed, to kiss those tempting lips as slender fingers slip inside her wetness. To have those strong, muscular thighs brushing against her own as Mikasa fucks her ruthlessly with a strap-on…and then it hits Annie that she’s never had such intense sexual fantasies about anyone, anyone before. Sighing, Annie attempts to focus on the words that her professor is saying, but it doesn’t work the entire time. 

After class, she decides to get back into the gym and take her frustrations out on the punching bag. She’s not in the mood to deal with her roommate, Hitch, before letting out some steam first. Since she’s in the boxing club at her university, she doesn’t need to worry about limited usage. Her father taught her everything she knows now. It’s the only thing she held consistent from his teachings. She tries not to think of her father as she walks into the locker room and changes into her training clothes for the second time that day. Grabbing her gloves from her training bag, she secures them on each of her hands before heading out. She needs this. 

She hurries to where the punching bags are situated, praying that at least one of them is available; fortunately for her, there’s only one other person occupying the room. She chooses the punching bag farthest from the other person, not wanting to interact with anyone at the moment. 

Punching the bag with practiced, flawless punches and kicks, going over she works until she’s exhausted and her movements slow, deciding that she needs time to do a bit of homework for the rest of the day. The person from before left already, but she was too focused to even notice who it was. She quickly changes back out and heads back to her dorm with the lingering question if Mikasa fights, too. Because with that body, she can easily pack a punch. She wonders if Mikasa can match herself in a fight. She’s never had the thrill of a challenging match in ages. 

She walks to her car in the parking lot to drive to her apartment off-campus that she shares with Hitch. They were roommates in freshman year on-campus, and both expressed that they wanted to move into an apartment rather than the shitty and disgusting dormitories; since Annie didn’t know anyone to room with, and so did Hitch despite her nightly partying in sorority clubs with her friends. Fortunately, they don’t have to worry too much about rent since Hitch’s parents take the brunt of it since they’re rich. Annie compensates by working part-time for the rest of it because she doesn’t want to burden them or anything. That and Hitch would hold it against her forever. Annie doesn’t like owing any favors. 

The drive to the apartment complex is rather short, so it’s not too much of a hassle. She parks her car and checks into the apartment, going up the stairs towards her apartment. Elevators take too damn long. Once she reaches her floor, she trudges along to her door, praying that Hitch isn’t home yet. But of course, that’s wishful thinking. 

“Annie! You’re home late. Didn’t your class end, like, three hours ago?” Hitch barrages her with questions as soon as she unlocks the door, and Annie finds Hitch sprawled on the couch watching some television show.

“Yeah,” Annie responds curtly, heading straight to her room so that she can study in peace. She considered living alone—no, she wishes she could live alone—but that’s tough when rooming expenses are, well…super expensive. So she has no choice but to stick with her ever animated roommate, Hitch. 

“You’re not even going to ask me how my day was?” Hitch calls out ruefully, but Annie’s already closed her door. She hears Hitch click her tongue in annoyance. “Jeez. Should have chosen a better roommate.”

Annie silently agrees as she takes out her laptop and places it on her desk. As much as she despises studying, she needs to do it. She works on her assignments for a while until Hitch barges into her room without even knocking. Annie audibly sighs. 

“Hey, I’m throwing a party tonight. Are you staying?”

Another disadvantage with having Hitch as your roommate: she throws parties like there’s no tomorrow. Normally, Annie wouldn’t even consider staying, but tonight, she feels like she needs to take her mind off of that pretty face she saw this morning. So Annie turns her chair around and faces Hitch. “Sure.”

Hitch widens her eyes, clearly stunned, before a cheeky smirk plasters her face. “Wow, look at you, finally being social, huh? Make sure you wear something nice instead of that damn hoodie this time.”

Annie resists the smirk that tugs on her lips, knowing that she won’t do anything about her appearance at all. She just wants to drink and maybe get someone in bed tonight. To take her mind off. “Whatever.”

With an annoyed sigh, Hitch turns on her heels, steps out of her room, and closes the door. Annie doesn’t like having parties here, but Hitch is that girl who boosts her ego by throwing the biggest parties out there. Not only that, but if Annie does attend, she’s obligated to help Hitch with the clean-up. Reiner and Bertholdt normally hang around to help, though. She hasn’t seen those two in a week or two, so it would be nice to see them again. Annie turns back to her desk, returning to where she left off until the party starts. 

She doesn’t actually notice anyone entering the building since she has her headphones blasting music to be in her own headspace, and it isn’t until she feels her headphones ripped off her head, and she scowls with an annoyed grunt.

“Hey there, shorty.”

Comes an annoyingly gruff voice, and she glances down at her headphones limp on the ground after being slapped away by this musty freak. 

“Ymir.” Annie growls, whipping her chair around to glare at her. The fucking giant looms over her with that smug grin that Annie wants to punch off. “Don’t call me that again.”

Unfortunately, Ymir is one of the very few that doesn’t get intimidated by Annie. So Ymir’s smugness remains unaffected, and she snorts instead. “Yeah, whatever. Get your ass up, the party’s already started.”

Before Annie can even think of a retort, Ymir’s already out the door, leaving Annie to roll her eyes with an annoyed click of her tongue. She supposes she can mingle for a few minutes, maybe find someone to fuck. She gets up and places her headphones neatly on her desk, closing her laptop before heading out the door. There’s loud conversations that the neighbors surely won’t appreciate, and some quiet music playing to accompany the atmosphere. 

Stumbling awkwardly into the living room, she sees a mass of people loitering around in every corner of the house. Except her own room, of course. She sifts past familiar faces such as the ecstatic duo of Connie and Sasha, the obnoxious Reiner socializing with anyone he sees, the timid Bertholdt trailing after Reiner like a lost puppy, Hitch flirting with anyone she comes across…people she’s become familiar with since Hitch has thrown these parties. She sighs, hoping that tonight won’t be as chaotic as usual. But that’s wishful thinking, knowing the people that attend these parties. 

Annie makes her way to the two people she’s most comfortable around, Reiner and Bertholdt, who immediately spot her once she begins to approach them.

“Annie!” Reiner booms out, raising his hands up with a beer in one hand. Bertholdt gives her a welcoming, bright smile. “You’re here!”

Rolling her eyes, Annie grunts in greeting as she stops in front of the two towering men, shoving her hands into her hoodie pockets. “Yeah.”

“So what brings you here?” Reiner asks, lowering one hand while the other hovers towards Annie’s head, most likely for a hair ruffle. Annie fends him off with a glare, and he drops that hand too. “You never go to these.”

Annie shrugs aloofly. “It’s my apartment.”

Reiner doubtfully quirks a brow, taking a sip from his beer. “You never come to these.”

Annie rolls her eyes at his persistence. “So what?” Can’t I just relax in my own home?”

Reiner sighs dramatically, shoulders drooping in defeat. “Fine, whatever. How is everything?”

Taking his diversion in a stride, Annie answers easily. “Fine. Classes are rough as always.”

Reiner hums, then a flash of mischievousness strikes his amber eyes. “Met anyone you like?”

Annie scowls, brows furrowing in annoyance, yet she doesn’t expect the heat rushing to her face as she recalls meeting Mikasa this morning. “You ask that all the time.”

“Wait, is that—are you blushing?” Reiner booms out for the entire room to hear, causing Annie’s face to heat up intensely. Then he roars out a laugh, one hand on his belly. “So there is someone! Tell me who it is.”

At this point, Annie should just retreat to her room, wrap herself in her blankets, and sleep until she can’t remember this conversation anymore. Annie walks away, Reiner and Bertholdt in pursuit, and grabs a drink from the fridge. “There’s no one.”

“Don’t lie to me, Annie,” Reiner says with a teasing tone, sticking by her side. Annie sips on her drink—limeade—and leans her elbows on the countertop. Then Bertholdt steps in.

“Reiner, don’t pressure her.”

Annie gives Bertholdt an appreciative glance to which he returns an understanding smile. Reiner clicks his tongue frustratedly, crossing his arms, but he listens to Bertholdt and backs off. “Fine. But don’t keep us out of the loop, Annie.”

Annie walks away from them, throwing a, “whatever,” over her shoulder as she heads to the living room. She spots Pieck sitting on the couch next to Marcel, so she starts heading towards them before she gets intercepted by a tall, bright-eyed man who she’s never seen before.

“Hey, I don’t think we’ve met before,” the man says enthusiastically, his emerald eyes gleaming with interest. “I’m Eren.”

She stares up wide-eyed at the stranger in front of her who wears a charming smile as he expectantly waits for an answer from her. She doesn’t mind being approached this way, but it still scares her a little at the sudden appearance of this man. So she returns his gaze with indifference, taking a sip of her limeade. “Annie.”

His smile grows after she responds, seemingly satisfied with how he draws a response out of her, and it somewhat unsettles her. 

“So are you a freshman?” He asks after a moment, his posture relaxing and his confidence visibly heightens. 

“No, I’m a sophomore.”

He raises his eyebrows for a moment, making a noise of acknowledgement. “Makes sense. I’m a freshman.”

She hums with slight disinterest, lifting her drink up to her lips as she shuffles her feet nervously. This conversation brings her back to how she talked with Mikasa this morning, too; except it was so much more intense.

“Eren! There you are. Oh, who’s this?” Another voice comes through, this one sweeter and comforting, and her eyes land on a blonde man whose blue eyes meet hers curiously. 

“Ah, Armin! This is Annie,” Eren introduces them, glancing almost proudly between the both of them. Armin gives her a warm smile—much like Bertholdt’s, she remarks—and gives a small wave.

“Nice to meet you, Annie.”

She nods, returning the greeting. “Yeah.”

Eren steps closer to her, way too close for her own comfort, and it makes her shift her gaze away from him to avoid that eager stare. “So who invited you to this party?”

Annie returns her eyes back to his. “I live here.”

And his eyes immediately widen in surprise, mouth gaping as he incredulously looks around aimlessly. “You live here?”

Annie nods, casting her gaze down. “Yeah.”

“Wow. You have a nice place. I never would have pegged you for the party type, though.”

That earns a small smile of amusement from Annie, because he is right. “That would be thanks to Hitch, my roommate.”

Both Armin and Eren share a noise of understanding, exchanging looks; Annie suppresses a chuckle because of their reaction. It seems that most know about Hitch’s party reputation, being one of the more well-known students at this university. 

“So how did you two find this party?” Annie asks out of curiosity, because since she knows most people at this party, then she wants to know who invited Eren and Armin. 

“Oh, my friend Reiner invited me. He’s super cool, have you met him?” Eren supplies, glancing over to the burley blonde man who still stands at the same spot next to Bertholdt. Of course it was Reiner. That man makes friends faster than he can think. 

“Yeah, I’ve met him,” Annie replies, leaving out the part that Reiner and Bertholdt are her closest friends. 

Eren nods and Armin flashes a glance at Reiner, then back to her. Then Eren offers, “So do you guys want some drinks?”

“Eren, you shouldn’t drink during the weekdays.”

Another voice—this time more feminine and velvety—springs up behind the two boys, and when they both part to reveal who it is, Annie’s heart nearly jumps out of her chest. It’s Mikasa. The taller girl looks equally as surprised as her steely grays land on Annie, and the eye contact has Annie’s stomach doing flips, and suddenly she’s lost the ability to speak. Mikasa looks absolutely…beautiful. She wears light make-up and wears a skirt with a sleeveless top that exposes a little of her abdomen, revealing those bulging muscles that Annie loves to ogle at. She is almost different wearing regular clothes instead of training clothes, but her beauty has the same effect. It has Annie paralyzed to the spot. 

“Annie?” Mikasa speaks first, her eyes never leaving Annie’s. At the sound of her name, Annie releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding, feeling that familiar heat creep into her cheeks. 

“M—Mikasa,” Annie utters breathlessly, completely disoriented at Mikasa’s appearance. Annie thought that she would never see Mikasa again, that she was just a really hot girl that she was lucky to speak to and would never see again. But here she is, in the flesh. In front of her, gaping at Annie. 

“You two know each other?” Eren asks, gaze flicking between the two women.  

“Y—yes. We met at the gym this morning,” Mikasa explains, finally tearing her eyes off of Annie to her dismay. 

“You work out?” Eren asks as he turns to Annie, his eyes widening.

“Yeah, I do.”

Eren grins, puffing out his chest proudly. “I work out, too. Maybe we should go together some time.”

Annie quirks a brow, taken aback by his forwardness. He seems friendly enough, so she really wouldn’t mind having a friend as passionate as he seems. Besides, he looks well built. Maybe she can kick his ass if she tells him that she’s a boxer. Her eyes slide over to Mikasa, who looks almost…hurt when she looks at Eren. 

“But Eren, we already work out together,” Mikasa says with an edge in her voice, placing a hand to grip his shoulder. And suddenly Annie gets a pricking in her chest, souring her heart as she watches the physical touch between them. They seem…close. Annie’s heart sinks, wondering if Mikasa and Eren are dating. 

Eren shrugs Mikasa’s hand off her shoulder, seemingly irritated with the gesture. “So? I can work out with friends, too.”

Mikasa sighs, casting her gaze down in defeat. Annie glances between the pair, seeing the stark contrast in personalities with them. They’re…completely different. And don’t seem compatible at all. When Annie shifts her gaze to Armin, he seems to have a look of understanding when he meets her eyes. 

“What are you doing here, Mikasa?” Annie asks breathlessly, distracting the girl from the previous conversation and partly hoping that Mikasa is here because it has nothing to do with Eren. Mikasa raises her steely grays to icy blues, her demeanor softening as if she’s grateful for the diversion.

“Eren was invited to the party by one of his friends, so I decided to tag along to keep these two safe,” Mikasa answers, and Annie feels her shoulders slump in disappointment. 

Annie nods curtly. “Oh, okay.” She tries to ignore the curious glance that Armin gives her.

There is a second of silence that Eren generously interrupts. “So what do you say, Annie?”

She looks up to see green eyes burning with impatience and hope, clearly waiting for an answer. She doesn’t see the harm in it. She wants to see what Mikasa sees in him. And maybe routinely kick his ass. “Sure.”

At her affirmation, Eren instantly brightens, a wide grin playing on his lips. Mikasa, however, seems to become slightly dismayed by it. Annie gets a small tinge of satisfaction, because if Eren is her boyfriend or whatever, she’ll make the most out of it. 

“Why are you here, Annie?” Mikasa reciprocates the question, leaning in slightly with interest lining her eyes. Annie decidedly ignores the racing of her heart.

“I live here,” Annie shortly replies. Mikasa raises her brows, studying Annie for a moment. 

“So Hitch is your roommate?”

Annie chuckles softly. “Yeah, she is.”

There is something that flashes briefly in those steely grays, but it goes away after another moment of staring. “I see.”

“Since we’re going to work out, can I get your number?” Eren disrupts the tension between them, and Annie looks at him, unimpressed. She hopes that Eren isn’t an annoying texter. When he holds out his phone, she takes it and types in her number into his contacts. He smiles. “Thanks. I’m gonna talk to Reiner. I’ll see you around?”

Annie hums in acknowledgment, nodding. “Yeah.”

With another satisfied grin, Eren strides over to Reiner, leaving both Armin and Mikasa with Annie. Annie shifts uncomfortably where she stands. Sensing the uneasy tension, Armin instead speaks up.

“So Annie, have you ever been to a volcano?”

It is indeed an odd topic, but when he begins to talk about the various volcanoes that he has read about, she becomes genuinely interested. His enthusiasm definitely helps. Mikasa, however, seems entirely hellbent on staring intensely at Annie, as if she has something to say but won’t say it. 

There is a loud cheer from where Reiner is, so when she looks over, both Reiner and Eren are beginning to wrestle. She hears Mikasa sigh, and she walks over to them, most likely trying to break up the fight. Annie watches with interest, seeing that Eren is holding his own against Reiner, surprisingly. Not that Reiner is a good fighter, though. Annie handed him over his ass countless times. 

When Reiner pushes against Eren, knocking him to the ground on his back, Reiner slams into him with his entire body. Annie winces, knowing that heavy weight can crush the air out of anyone’s lungs. Mikasa stands by as if waiting for Eren to make a move, but then Reiner gets up, raising his arms victoriously as the rest of the room cheers. Annie sighs, knowing that when Reiner gets drunk, he likes to wrestle anyone who seems like a challenge. And he never fails to ask Annie. 

“Annie!” Predictably, the blonde man shouts, gesturing to her to approach him. She looks at him boredly, and he grins widely with a sway on his feet. 

“You’re too drunk, Reiner,” Annie responds, seeing the worried glance that Bertholdt gives Reiner. 

“I don’t care. I feel like I can win this time.”

Annie scoffs, unconvinced. He’s never won against her. But maybe she should teach him a lesson tonight. “No way.”

Reiner’s grin turns mischievous as if he’s planning something. “If you lose, you have to tell me about your little crush.”

Oh, now that sets her off. Anger boils in her blood, mustering her hardest, most deadly glare at him as her fingers clench into her fists. Before he can even take back what he said, she storms over to him, grabbing one of his arms, kicking his legs out from under his feet, and slamming him hard into the ground. Reiner groans, caressing the back of his head while he struggles to move his head around. He’ll probably have a nice headache in the morning. 

“Woah, that was amazing!” Eren exclaims, staring at Annie with unadulterated marvel. “I didn’t know you could fight.”

Annie boredly turns her attention to Eren. “It helps me kick Reiner’s ass.”

Eren gapes at her. “Could you teach me?”

Annie quirks a brow, crossing her arms. “What?”

“Can you teach me how to fight?”

His expression is so eager that she finds herself not wanting to refuse. She can teach him a little to fight against Reiner. Maybe Eren can beat him if he learns enough. She looks at him, then shuffles her stance to get into her fighting position. Then she raises her fists above her head. “Copy my stance.”

Eren watches her excitedly, shifting his feet wider and raising his hands to his face. Not half-bad, but she doesn’t want to correct it as of now. Then she smirks. “Come at me.”

His green eyes burn with determination, one that captures her interest. He might not be easy to defeat. He throws a sloppy right fist at her face, one that is slow enough that she easily dodges and grabs at his extended wrist, easily swiping a leg at his shins and he tumbles down on the ground. Keeping a tight grip on his wrist, she tackles him onto his stomach, twisting his arm around his back and sitting on his bottom, and he groans in defeat. She smiles, satisfied.

“Still want to learn?”

Eren grunts, looking over his shoulder with a determined grin. “Hell yeah.”

“Annie, get off him,” a familiar voice sounds next to her, tugging her shoulder harshly so the grip on Eren’s wrist loosens. Annie lifts her face up to meet the slightly irritated gaze of Mikasa, and Annie’s heart drops. Annie reluctantly gets up and off of Eren, watching him get up with a bounce. 

“Come on, Mikasa. She was just teaching me,” Eren says, nudging Mikasa with his elbow. 

Mikasa glares at him. “You’re tipsy. You should be careful.” 

Somehow, Annie gets the feeling that those words aren’t directed to Eren. Tuning out the conversation, Annie looks around and spots Ymir approaching her with a smirk, and Annie groans internally. This can’t be good. Ymir slings an arm over her shoulder, ignoring Annie’s attempts to shrug her off, and wears that smug grin. 

“So who’s this crush you have?” She asks loudly, making her scowl and push Ymir out of her personal space. 

“Your mom,” Annie deadpans, knowing that Ymir won’t let this one go. 

“Ha ha, so funny. Just tell me.”

Annie raises a brow, eyeing the tall girl with unconcealed annoyance. “Like I would tell you.” 

Ymir sighs. “Well, if you don’t tell me, I’ll start making guesses.”

Annie freezes, looking frantically around the room to look for Mikasa in hopes that she is out of sight, but Ymir begins pointing out people. Loudly.

“Is it Pieck?”

Annie furrows her brows furiously, glaring threateningly at Ymir for her to shut her goddamn mouth. “What? No.”

Ymir ignores Annie staring daggers at her, proceeding to glance around the room. “Is it Hitch?”

“No.”

“Eren?”

Annie snorts. “No.”

Ymir brings a finger to her chin, feigning pensiveness. It just looks stupid on her. “Is it Armin?”

Annie scoffs. “No, just shut up and stop guessing.”

Ymir hums. “Is it—”

“Enough, Ymir,” Annie growls, half annoyed and half fearful that Ymir will actually figure it out. Ymir only flashes her a cheeky smirk, relishing in Annie’s embarrassment. 

“Fine, whatever. I’ll find out eventually,” Ymir says, slapping Annie on the back with unnecessary force. Annie is one step away from kicking her ass. Luckily, Historia bounds up to Ymir and drags her away by the arm with an apologetic smile towards Annie.

When Annie heaves a sigh and checks her surroundings, Mikasa is watching the both of them with an indecipherable expression. Annie wonders how much of that conversation Mikasa heard. Then Mikasa just turns around and starts to fret over Eren again, and Eren continues to fend her off. Annie just gets more and more confused if they’re dating or not. They seem more like siblings than anything else. She would ask Mikasa, but Annie feels like she’s already pissed Mikasa off enough. Great. Now Mikasa hates her. 

“Hey, Mikasa,” Sasha greets as she skips over, and Annie watches as Sasha casually wraps an arm over Mikasa’s shoulder. While Mikasa seems surprised, she doesn’t seem uncomfortable. Annie watches them talk. They seem to know each other very well. And with that physical touch, maybe Sasha’s the one that’s dating Mikasa.

With a certain emptiness in her heart, Annie searches for a potential hookup, but finds no one her type. Then she considers Hitch. They’ve hooked up many times in the past, and right now neither of them are in a relationship. And though Hitch will rub this in her face and gloat, Annie needs to take her mind off of the one girl she can’t have. So she leaves to sift through the crowd, eventually seeing Hitch flirting with some guy. 

Ignoring the man’s surprise, Annie interrupts whatever shitty flirting they had going on, grabbing Hitch by the arm and pulling her away. 

“Annie, what the hell?” Hitch exasperates, attempting to resist the powerful pull from Annie until they stand in the hallway. Annie looks up nervously into the expectant sage green of Hitch’s eyes, worrying her lower lip in contemplation. She never asks for favors from Hitch. And when she does, Hitch holds it against her. But this is a rare instance, and she just needs it this once. Annie takes a deep breath.

“I need to fuck,” Annie spills out, averting her eyes to avoid any further embarrassment from Hitch’s smug expression. 

“What? Right now?”

“Yes. Now.”

Hitch pauses for a moment, and when Annie raises her eyes, Hitch is squinting at her suspiciously. “Why?”

Annie rolls her eyes with a groan. “It doesn’t matter. Come on.”

A smirk begins to form on Hitch’s lips, and Annie is one second away from flipping the other girl off before she goes and fucks somemone else. But then Hitch sighs, the smirk staying on her face. “Fine. Your bedroom or mine?”

Annie sighs, relieved. “Mine.”

Hitch chuckles, immediately dragging Annie by the upper arm into the room, shutting the door behind them. “I’m so glad you asked, there was no one hot for me to get laid with.”

Annie hums distantly. “Not surprising.”

Hitch turns to Annie, green eyes sparkling with mischief as she places a delicate hand on Annie’s chin. “So what were you thinking of today?”

Despite Hitch only being a friend at most, Annie still finds herself nervous and out of her element here. And Hitch knows exactly what she’s doing when a knowing smirk plasters the other girl’s lips, and then she leans in to press her lips onto Annie’s. The kiss is teasingly slow thanks to Hitch, the other girl seeming to sense Annie’s impatience and stirring her further. This is why Annie didn’t want to ask this girl of all people. 

They end up on Annie’s bed in a flash with clothes haphazardly strewn around the room with Annie swiftly climbing on top of Hitch with the dire need to get off. Annie hovers over Hitch who stares back at her with half-lidded eyes, waiting for Annie to make a move. Annie trails a hand down from Hitch’s shoulder to her hips, feeling the soft skin underneath her fingertips. She barely registers the blissful sigh coming from Hitch when Annie wonders what Mikasa’s skin would feel like. 

But when Annie finally reaches the wetness between soft thighs, she becomes fascinated with the noises that escape Hitch’s mouth. They’re breathless and pretty, reflecting Hitch’s hazy pleasure that she’s in, and when Annie slips two fingers inside, Hitch moans loudly. 

Annie groans as she begins to pump and curl her fingers inside, placing a hand on a breast and massaging rhythmically as Hitch wraps her arms around Annie’s neck, entirely lost in pleasure. Annie’s own arousal spikes as she watches Hitch's reactions, astounded by every twitch and roll of the body below her. 

Eventually, Hitch comes when Annie increases her pace to an almost brutal rhythm, rapt by how easily her own fingers slide into hot and wet flesh. And while Hitch basks in her afterglow as she catches her breath, Annie impatiently shimmies her thighs up and moves towards Hitch’s face, sitting with her thighs on either side of her head. Hitch looks up at her with a smug gleam in her eyes, sensing Annie’s growing irritation, but she does not tease. Immediately, the warm feeling of lips wrap around Annie’s sensitive clit, and Annie instantly groans and tugs at Hitch’s hair with a hand.

Overwhelmed with the pleasant pressure of sex, Annie closes her eyes and moans, her mind drifting to someone she doesn’t expect. She imagines what Mikasa’s mouth would feel on her clit. If she would use her tongue and fingers at the same time. If she would tease. If she would fuck Annie ruthlessly. Then suddenly her body thrums with such powerful arousal and pleasure at the thought of Mikasa, and Annie whimpers and she grinds her hips down to chase that sweet release.

The rest of the world fades out, the sole focus is on Annie’s pleasure—with her imagination of what Mikasa would be like eating her out just like this—and she comes with a drawn out groan and she rides the powerful waves of her orgasm. As soon as her orgasm ebbs away, Annie flops down on her back to lie beside Hitch, heaving a sigh of relief. 

“So are you going to tell me what that was about?” Hitch says breathlessly after a moment, and Annie turns her head to look at Hitch beside her.

“Nope.”

Hitch giggles, sitting up and retrieving her clothes. “Maybe someday. I’m gonna get back to the party.”

Annie watches Hitch for a moment before deciding to put on her own clothes; she doesn’t want anyone to walk in and see her naked when Hitch leaves. By the time she is dressed, Hitch is already out the door without even checking if Annie is fully dressed, to her chagrin. But she heads out the door anyway to grab a drink. She almost forgets that there is a party when she sees the mass of people in her house, and she stifles a groan in annoyance. She just wants to drink in peace. With a sigh, she makes her way towards the kitchen where the drinks are. But then Ymir steps in front of her, effectively blocking her path. Annie rolls her eyes.

“Wait, is it seriously Hitch?”

Annie furrows her brows, eyeing the vodka that calls her name on the countertop. “What?”

“You just slept with her, didn’t you?”

A buzz of irritation nests in Annie’s chest, disturbed by the loudness of that sentence. Annie shrugs, shoving past Ymir to grab a cup “So?” 

Annie grabs the bottle of vodka, pouring a generous amount into the cup. She can feel Ymir staring at her back. She turns to meet Ymir wearing a grin. “Do you have a thing for Hitch?”

“What? Hell no,” Annie replies quickly, making a face resembling disgust. Dating Hitch sounds like a nightmare. 

Ymir scrutinizes her face for a moment as if trying to detect a lie. Then her posture relaxes, a small frown forming on her face. Then Historia joins Ymir’s side, thankfully. 

“Ymir, stop bothering Annie,” Historia scolds, tugging the taller girl by the elbow to drag her attention away from Annie. Then Historia turns to Annie with those big, sparkling blue eyes. “So who is it?”

Annie stifles a groan, glaring at Ymir. “You told her?”

Ymir shrugs, topping it off with a smirk. “Not my fault that Reiner has a big ass mouth.”

Both girls look at Annie expectantly, and Annie holds the bridge of her nose in irritation. “Whatever. Just leave me alone.”

Annie stalks away with a certain frustration building up. This is a shitty fucking party, and she doesn’t even know when everyone will leave. She shouldn’t have stayed here. She eyes the door with the intention of bolting out of here, but before she can, someone blocks her path. Again.

“Who was that girl?” Mikasa stands before her, effortlessly towering over Annie that makes her dizzy. 

“What girl?”

Mikasa stares at her for a moment as if trying to analyze her. “The girl you went with in that room.”

Annie freezes, eyes growing wide with surprise. Mikasa saw that? Not that it should bother her. But why is Mikasa asking who it was? “Why do you want to know?”

There is something along the lines of surprise that flashes along Mikasa’s face, but it quickly fades away. “I just feel like I’ve seen her before.”

Annie’s heart drops with a strange sense of disappointment. Maybe Mikasa wants to be friends with Hitch. Of course, Hitch is popular around here. “Oh, she’s Hitch. My roommate.”

Mikasa quirks a brow. “Roommate?”

Annie nods. “Yeah.”

Now both of Mikasa’s eyebrows are raised. “Wow. You both seem—”

“Different? Yeah, I know.”

Annie cannot count how many times she’s heard that. It’s not like Annie would choose Hitch as a roommate on her own, but it is because they have known each other that they are. A complicated expression surfaces on Mikasa’s face, but then a loud voice interrupts what Mikasa was about to say.

“Mikasa, there you are! I was going to ask if you wanted a drink?” Sasha calls out, completely disregarding whatever conversation was happening between them. Not that Annie cares. That’s just Sasha. Annie wanted to get out of this, anyway. 

“I told you I’m not drinking,” Mikasa responds evenly, turning her attention towards the brunette. Giving one last glance at Mikasa, Annie slips away quietly while they are engrossed in conversation. With a sigh, Annie steps out of the unit and decides to go up to the rooftop. Once there, she looks over the edge and relishes the tranquil energy of the night. If she liked smoking, she would have a cigarette right now, but she’s always hated the smell. 

A certain tinge of emptiness settles in her heart, sending goosebumps along her skin. It’s a chilly night. Sometimes she wishes she weren’t so introverted to find ease in social situations. But she finds peace in the quiet. When Hitch throws these parties, she typically locks herself in her room. But she doesn’t feel like going back there. Another thing she rarely does is to crash at Mina’s, one of her friends that she met through a class. So Annie pulls out her phone and finds Mina’s contact, and shoots her a text.

Hey, are you busy?

And Mina being the kind friend she is, responds in less than a minute.

Nope. What’s up?

Annie sighs, a weight lifting in her chest as she allows a tiny smile.

Can I crash at yours tonight? Hitch has a party going on.

Annie doesn’t need to say more as Mina invites her over, and Annie exits her apartment building to walk over there. It’s not that far of a walk, so she gets there in under ten minutes. When she arrives at Mina’s unit, she knocks at the door and waits for an answer. The sound of locks click, and the door swings open shortly after. 

“Hi, Annie,” Mina greets her with a smile, stepping back to let Annie pass. 

“Hey. Sorry about this, it was sort of last minute,” Annie apologizes, stepping inside the familiar apartment. 

“No worries. You know you’re always welcome here,” Mina dismisses, shutting the door after and striding into the living room. She then gestures to the couch. “Sleeping there again?”

Annie nods. “If that’s not a problem.”

Mina smiles easily. “Of course it’s not. My roommate doesn’t mind, either.”

Annie shoves her hands into her hoodie pockets, embarrassed. She’s not used to people being so kind to her. “Thanks, Mina. I owe you one.”

Mina scoffs, waving a hand in refusal. “Please. I owe you one too many.”

Feeling a little reassured, Annie sits down on the couch. “Thanks. I’ll be out by morning.” 

True to her word, Annie gets up and leaves as soon as she wakes up from a restless slumber, closing the door behind her. With a yawn, Annie begins her journey back home when she receives a text from an unknown number.

Hey Annie, this is Eren! Are you free to go to the gym?

Annie blows out some air, thumbs hovering over the keyboard in contemplation. She does need a distraction.

Sure. I’m free right now.

It takes a moment before Eren responds again. 

Great! See you there.

She continues her path back home, walking up the stairs to her apartment unit and unlocking the door. The apartment is a mess. There’s empty cans and cups everywhere with food littered all over the place, and Annie guesses that Hitch is still passed out. Annie can clean up later. She heads into her room and changes into her work out clothes, and heads towards the gym on campus. This one she frequents since it is closer; it happens to be the one that Eren goes to as well. 

Once she arrives, she checks in and walks over to the boxing ring since that is what she assumes Eren wants to train for; if he says otherwise, then she’s fine with that. She warms up by stretching her stiff muscles carefully, relishing the pull of her muscles. By the time she finishes her meticulous stretching, she hears the heavy footfalls of someone approaching. She snaps up and turns to see Eren wearing an eager grin, ready to get his ass kicked.

“Hey, Annie. I’m ready to learn how to fight,” Eren says brightly as he approaches her, puffing out his chest. Annie raises a brow as he begins to bounce on his feet and raise his hands in an awkward fighting stance. She peers behind him for a reason unbeknownst to her as if she expected someone else to tag along with him. There is a pang of profound disappointment when no one does. 

“Let’s start with your form,” Annie advises, getting into her fighting stance. Annie waits as Eren tries to copy her stance, and she immediately spots where he could improve. Since he’s tall and has longer arms, he won’t need as many compensations in his technique as Annie. But his form is the first thing to work on.

“A little wider space between your feet,” Annie instructs. “Non-dominant foot in front. Tilt your back foot out to the right.” His stance begins to shape up as Annie verbally instructs, keeping up her stance so that he has a visual reference. Once he gets as close to a fine form as possible, Annie nods in approval. 

“Alright. Now come at me.”

Eren raises a brow, his face morphing into confusion. “I thought you were teaching me.”

Annie clicks her tongue, lightly bouncing on her feet. “I am teaching you. This is the best way to learn.”

Eren hesitates for another moment, and it almost makes Annie herself launch at him instead. She doesn’t have the patience for this. But he tightens up his form and runs towards her with a slow, reckless punch straight to her gut. He’s clearly underestimating her because she can absolutely brunt a punch. She easily dodges to the right, grabbing his outstretched wrist and yanking it forward to make him stumble on his feet. Then, she uses her body weight and the momentum to flip Eren onto his back, and he grunts from the impact. He wasn’t even thinking. 

“Woah! How did you do that?” Eren springs up from the mat, and Annie is taken aback by the unadulterated astonishment in his eyes. Annie tries to resist a smile. No one has ever been this eager and willing to learn after she’s slammed them into the ground. 

“I just used your size against you,” Annie replies with a shrug, looking away with a slight fluster. 

“But how?”

Annie scrutinizes him for a moment, deliberating whether to explain in depth or not. “You don’t use your head. Your size doesn’t mean shit if you don’t have a strategy.” She shifts her weight to one foot and Eren listens intently. “If you use the right technique, you can take down an enemy twice your size.”

Eren openly gawks at her, that endless excitement burning in his eyes as he takes in the information. Then he nods. “Right.”

Annie stares at him for a moment. “You want to keep going?”

The blaze in those green eyes sparks stronger. “Of course!”

After about an hour or so, Annie has lost count in the number of times she’s slammed Eren down on the mat. He hasn’t even touched her once, but he’s evidently keeping up. He truly is willing to learn. When Eren gets slower in his movements, making him more subject to the powerful hits that he receives from Annie, she decides to call it a day. 

“Alright, let’s end it here,” Annie announces after throwing Eren down on the mat once more, and he audibly groans in pain. She looks around once more to see if there was anyone in particular in the audience. “Say, where’s Mikasa?”

Eren heaves himself up into a stand, dusting himself off before he glances at her with a curious gaze. He whirls around as if he’s looking for her. “Mikasa? Oh, she drove me here. I think she’s in the weight room or something.” He shrugs, looking disinterested before his gaze lands on hers. “Why?”

Channeling all nonchalance into her expression and tone, she shrugs. “Just wondering.” Luckily, Eren isn’t astute enough to pursue it. As evidenced, Eren simply ignores it and starts grabbing his stuff. 

“So when are you free next?”

Annie raises her brows, surprised by the immediate eagerness to follow up. “Just text me. I’ll let you know if I’m free or not.” 

Eren nods, his long hair moving with the movement. She pauses for a moment before beginning to head to the weight room. She hears Eren padding up to her side, and he keeps pace with her. “So what are you gonna do now?”

She furrows her brows, eyeing him suspiciously, but she doesn’t want to ask why. That would just egg him on. So she lies. “I don’t know yet.”

He hums absentmindedly. “I think I’m gonna get something to eat. Wanna join?”

Annie stares at him, cold eyes analyzing him closely. “I’m going to stay here for a little longer.”

Something shifts in his expression, but Annie can’t pinpoint what it is. Eren nods easily, turning his gaze away as they continue to walk. “Okay. I’ll see you around, then?”

She watches his expectant, almost hopeful expression, and she nods. “Yeah.” He returns the smile, his eyes shining brighter, and he turns to leave the building. With a sigh, Annie continues her journey towards the weight room to find a certain someone. 

Once she walks into the generously spacious room, Annie surveys the machines, looking for a familiar shock of black hair. And when her eyes land on that woman—who is working on her squats—and it strangely makes Annie’s heart jump and race at the sight of her. But as she takes a step toward Mikasa, she freezes. She’s not even sure why she’s trying to confront her right now. Not only that, but she doesn’t know how to start up a damn conversation. 

Just as she’s about to turn around in regret of even thinking of seeing Mikasa, she hears that voice that effortlessly sends shivers down her spine.

“Annie?”

When Annie looks up, Mikasa stands in front of her, looming above her with surprise etched in that beautiful face. Mikasa wears nothing but a sports bra and shorts, revealing tight and lean abs, sculpted arms, bulging legs, and pale skin. Sweat coats her body, sending warmth down in Annie’s lower belly, and Mikasa’s chest heaves from her previous effort. And then Annie realizes that she’s been ogling at the other girl without a response.

“M—Mikasa,” Annie breathes, oddly breathless despite her relaxed physical state. There is a tense silence hanging above them, one that Annie doesn’t know what it’s caused by. She can only focus on those intense steely grays locked on her icy blues. 

“I heard you’re training Eren,” Mikasa breaks the silence first, her eyes hardening slightly as she finishes talking. 

Annie shifts uncomfortably. “Yeah.”

“You’re not going too hard on him, right?”

Annie raises a brow. Teaching isn’t always about going easy. The best way to learn, in her opinion, is to immerse someone in a skill to allow them to adapt and comprehend faster. Besides, Eren was more than eager to get his ass beat. “He’s completely fine with it.”

Mikasa’s brows furrow. “You’re not hurting him, are you?” 

The worry underlining Mikasa’s tone tells Annie that Mikasa isn’t being sarcastic. It's a genuine, overbearing concern. Annie sighs. She doesn’t know what to make of their dynamic. Whatever it is, Eren doesn’t seem the least concerned about how Mikasa feels. “Listen, how I teach him isn’t to beat him to a pulp for no reason. That boy needs to learn respect.”

The worry in Mikasa’s expression quickly turns to restrained anger, steely gray eyes hardening almost threateningly. Despite the intimidation permeating fromMikasa’s countenance, Annie locks her jaw. Stands her ground. She’s faced various opponents in the ring, but this isn’t any different. Then Mikasa speaks, voice low and cold. “Don’t talk about Eren like that.”

Annie squints her eyes at the other girl, analyzing anything to decipher why Mikasa is so protective of that boy. Sure, it could be a sibling thing, but does she have to go that far? Without having a reference since she doesn’t have lifelong siblings herself, she decides she shouldn’t press the topic. It appears to be a sensitive one, anyway. As much as Annie likes to test Mikasa’s patience, this topic isn’t one she can press. It doesn’t make her any less angry though. 

She knows the logical way to diffuse this is to back down, but that isn’t what she does. She never gives up, she isn’t supposed to. That’s what her father drilled into her for her entire life. “I can talk to him anyway I want to. He can choose his own limits.”

Mikasa’s eyebrows slant downward furiously, but her expression quickly falls once she looks around. When Annie does the same, she’s suddenly aware that they’re in a public space. People are looking at them with judgmental expressions as they pass by, and she gets that they’ve been arguing in front of everyone.

When Annie shifts her gaze back to Mikasa, the taller girl is already staring back at her. Despite how hurt Annie still is, the eye contact sends a shiver of electricity down her spine. And it is all sorts of confusing. She should be angry, offended even that Mikasa is insulting her ways of teaching. But she’s not. With panic trickling down her body, Annie takes this awkward moment for a chance to turn and go about her own way. And she does. Mikasa doesn’t say anything. 

Annie works out at a sour note, blowing off her frustrations by lifting extra heavy, purposefully avoiding anywhere near Mikasa. She shouldn't let anything from Mikasa bother her. In fact, she hopes she never sees the other girl again.