"WHAT? No!" Sasha protested vehemently. "I DO NOT like Connie!"
Ymir gave one single laugh, rolling up on her side so her dark eyes were staring directly at the brunette sitting on the next bed over. "Right! And I don't have freckles." Sasha's face flushed an even darker shade of red. "Come on, we all know you two have a thing for each other. It's obvious."
"Well it's not true," Sasha insisted, kicking distractedly at the floor. Ymir shook her head and flopped over on her back, nudging Krista with her elbow.
"Hey, back me up. Doesn't Sasha like Connie?" the dark haired girl asked. Krista tore her blue eyes away from her book and looked down at Ymir before looking over at Sasha. The other girl was watching her expectantly with a look of hope.
"Yeah, I think she does," the blonde admitted. Ymir gave a whoop of excitement, punching at the air as Sasha began to protest again. "Sorry, but Ymir's right. It is kinda obvious."
"How?" Sasha pleaded, raking her hands through her hair. "How could you know that?"
"So you don't deny it?" Ymir asked, her eyes glinting mischievously. Sasha swallowed uncomfortably.
"Fine, you win," she sighed, her shoulder slumping in defeat. "I… might have a crush on Connie." Ymir smiled. "But you can't tell him! And how did you know anyway?"
"First of all, you two always pick each other first for partner exercises," Krista began, ticking each point off on her fingers. "You always sit by each other in class, and usually at meals. You listen attentively whenever he talks, no matter how silly the topic. You make fun of him, but never push it too far. And you willingly share your food with him and him alone." Both Sasha and Ymir stared at Krista, mouths slightly agape. The blonde girl shrugged. "I'm pretty observant when it comes to people."
"Wow," Ymir commented. "That was… awesome. I hadn't even picked up on some of those." Sasha started blushing madly again. "Oh calm down, it's not the end of the world."
"It's actually kind of cute."
"MIKASA!" Sasha cried, whirling around to the girl sitting next to her. Mikasa shrugged, her eyes never leaving the book in her hands.
"Anyone watching close enough could see that you like him. Now you just have to let him know that, because it's clear he doesn't watch close enough," she said. Sasha buried her face in her hands.
"Is that how you approach your crush on Eren?" Ymir asked plainly. Mikasa glanced at her sideways. Most people would've cowered away in fear, but Ymir wasn't most people. "Oh, don't you start. You hardly need Krista's killer deduction skills to see that you're head over heels for that kid."
Mikasa looked away, her eyes glazing over with some distant memory. "Yes, I care about Eren. A lot. But it's clear that he doesn't feel the same, and even so, as long as I'm with him, I'm happy."
"That's sad," Ymir said after a short pause.
"No, it's sweet!" Krista insisted, vaulting up on her knees so she could better see the other girls. "And you shouldn't just give up your feelings so quickly! Who knows, maybe once Eren grows up a bit, he'll start to understand girls and maybe he'll like you back."
"What do you mean when he grows up a bit?" Mikasa asked, her tone edging on accusation. Krista held up her hands.
"Nothing bad, I swear. It's just… a lot of the guys here are kind of immature," the blonde explained. "I mean, yeah they've all grown up a little fast because of the titans and all, but they aren't exactly proficient when it comes to girls and crushes and feelings and things. Then again, I guess that's boys."
"Yeah. Boys are stupid," Ymir commented, kicking one leg over the other and crossing her arms behind her head.
"What? Don't you like anyone here?" Sasha questioned. Ymir shrugged.
"People aren't really my thing," the freckled girl replied. "Just be glad I talk to you guys."
"Yeah, we got real lucky there," Sasha muttered. Ymir stuck her tongue out at her to which Sasha mirrored the gesture. Ymir shook her head and turned back to Krista. The blonde was staring off at the wall, her light eyebrows furrowed in thought. Ymir gave her another soft nudge with her elbow.
"What's up?" the brunette asked.
"I wonder who Annie likes," Krista said absently, moving her gaze the blonde who'd separated herself form the group, as usual.
"Oh hey, yeah! I've thought about that too!" Sasha exclaimed in a quieter voice.
"Annie?" Ymir scoffed. "I don't think the ice queen has feelings enough to like anyone like that."
"Don't say that," Krista chastised gently. "I'm sure she's liked someone since training started. Or if not liked, at least found them attractive."
"Or simply just not wanted to murder them," Ymir offered. Krista rolled her eyes.
"Will you guys help me figure it out?" she asked. Sasha nodded, her ponytail bouncing with excitement. Mikasa gave a singular nod. Ymir sighed, taking another look over at Annie.
"Fine. It'll be a challenge if nothing else," the taller girl conceded, vaulting herself up from the bed. "Hey everyone, I think we could use some team bonding. Circle up."
"Ymir, what are you doing?" Krista whispered, looking around uneasily.
"Relax. I've got it covered," the brunette replied.
"I thought you just said people weren't your thing," Sasha said, her expression suspiciously curious.
"I also said I tolerate you all, didn't I?" she fired back. "And since you've so kindly volunteered your voice, Sasha, why don't you go first?"
"First?" Sasha questioned. "First for what?"
"For telling us all what you look for in a guy," Ymir smiled so sweetly it looked unnatural. Sasha's eyes flew wide.
"W-What?!" she exclaimed. "What kind of team bonding is that?"
"Isn't that what normal girls are supposed to do? Talk about boys and stuff?" Ymir responded, hands finding her hips. Her voice was so sarcastic, it almost sounded like she meant it. "I mean, it can't be good for our mental health to just talk about war and killing and death all the time, right?"
"Well yeah, but… but you all just made me admit my secret about Connie so why should I have to go first?" Sasha argued pitifully.
"I'd prefer not to participate," Mikasa commented plainly, turning a page in her book.
Ymir rolled her eyes. "That's fine. We all know your type anyway. You like green eyes, brown hair, on the taller side, pretty skinny, kinda scrawny, overemotional, decently aggressive, try hard, guys who are painfully oblivious to all emotions except anger and determination."
Mikasa put her book down, her full attention on the brunette standing in front of her. Krista wrapped a protective hand around Ymir's left wrist. If anyone else had said that, they would be halfway across the training compound, running as fast as their legs could carry them. Again, Ymir wasn't anyone. She met Mikasa's glare with a self-satisfied little grin. "Go on, say I'm wrong."
Mikasa blinked. "Eren isn't a type of guy. He is a guy; one single, solitary guy. Don't make it sound like there are more of him out there." She didn't need to add the because he's mine. They all knew it was implied. Ymir smiled triumphantly.
Her dark eyes slid back to the brunette sitting next to Mikasa. "Sasha," she sang sweetly. "Your turn."
Sasha sighed. "Okay." She bit her lip and stared off at the ceiling. "I guess… I like blue eyes the best because there are so many different shades and each one is just so different and pretty. I mean, there are other shades of all eye colors, but… yeah. I like blue. And for hair color I'd say brunette. And I guess I don't really care about height or weight, just as long as the height difference isn't completely awkward. And as far as personality goes… I'm not really particular about that either as long as he's funny. He has to be funny."
Krista nodded. "I agree with that one hundred percent! A sense of humor is one of the most attractive personality traits in a guy. And on that note, I want to go next." Ymir settled back on the bed next to the blonde as Krista tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I would have to say that I prefer brown eyes, dark hair, taller, and I also definitely love someone who brings out the best in you."
"Aw," Sasha cooed. "That's so sweet!"
Krista shrugged with a small smile. "But I mean, as long as that last one holds true, I'd take anyone regardless of looks." Ymir smiled, ruffling a hand through her friend's hair.
"You're precious," she commented as the blonde squealed with protest, swatting at her hand. "What about you, Annie?" she called across the room.
"What about me?" the blonde girl replied, sounding as bored and uninterested as ever. She hadn't come any closer when Ymir had called the 'town meeting', and was still sitting with her legs crisscrossed on the bed, a piece of paper in her hand.
"How about some class participation?" the freckled brunette said challengingly, her lips forming a devious grin. "Physical preferences for your ideal man. Go." Annie gave her a long, suffering look before looking off into space.
"I don't really have any preferences," she said. One of Ymir's eyebrows arched up.
"Really?" Sasha asked, leaning forward on her bed. "So you're saying that if you had the chance to build a perfect guy, you would have no specifications about him. Not eye color, hair color, height, build, anything?" Annie shrugged, still staring off at the wall.
"No," she said plainly.
"Not good enough," Ymir shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "Pick an eye color." Annie's eye returned to the other girls, narrowed challengingly.
"Why?" she asked simply. "Why the sudden intrusion on my personal life?"
"Because we're girls and we're supposed to talk about boys and stuff," Ymir repeated. Her tone was, again, ambiguous as to whether or not she was being sarcastic. Krista guessed that part of Ymir actually believed that statement, while the other half thought it was hilariously stupid. And the latter part was probably bigger than the former. "So fess up. Favorite eye color. Go."
Annie sighed. "Will you stop bothering me if I answer?"
Ymir shrugged. "Give me three questions, and then we'll leave you alone for the rest of the evening." Annie considered the offer.
"Deal. Blue," the blonde concluded. Sasha and Krista shared a look of astonishment. Mikasa glanced up at Annie.
"Hair color?" Ymir asked.
"Um… blonde, I guess," Annie answered. Sasha nodded. Mikasa's eyes narrowed at the blonde in the white hoodie.
"And… let's go with height," Ymir posed.
"Taller than me," Annie replied. "Doesn't have to be anything specific, just taller than me. That's three."
"Thank you," Ymir nodded.
"Wow. That was impressive," Sasha gasped, staring back and forth between Ymir and Annie.
Ymir smiled victoriously. "Don't mention it." Her eyes darted to Krista. "Does that answer your question?" The blonde smiled.
"I think so," she said with a small laugh.
"Wait, what's going on?" Sasha asked, leaning closer to the duo. "Who do you think it is?"
"Think about the answers and put it together," Ymir instructed slowly. Sasha thought it through, then her eyes lit up.
"Oh my gosh! That's so cute!" she squealed quietly. Krista giggled again and Ymir smiled knowingly. Mikasa glanced at the other girls, then back to Annie. The blonde in question was paying an awful lot of attention to the paper in her hand.
"So, Ymir, you never answered your own question," Krista said suddenly, tapping her friend's shoulder gently. "Your turn. Describe your perfect guy."
"I thought I told you guys I don't think about people like that," the brunette shrugged her pursuit off. Sasha shook her head.
"Uh-uh. You are not getting off that easily!" she exclaimed. "Tell us!"
As Ymir continued to protest and the Krista and Sasha pressured her to tell, Mikasa silently closed her book and swung her legs to the floor. Her footsteps quieter than a mouse, Mikasa glided over to Annie's bed.
"You really aren't particular about looks, are you?" Mikasa asked, appearing at Annie's left shoulder. The blonde didn't jump, but hastily crinkled up the piece of paper that she'd been reading, hiding its contents. Mikasa had only had time to see the Dear Annie scrawled on the top.
"No," the blonde replied distantly. "No, I don't."
"You lied to them, didn't you?" the raven-haired girl asked. "You made up those answers to Ymir's questions." Annie didn't answer. "You just said something to get them to leave you alone."
"What do I have to say to get you to leave me alone?" Annie asked in response.
"Tell me the truth," Mikasa answered plainly.
"This is new for you, Mikasa," Annie quipped icily. "I've never seen you take so much interest in someone other than Eren." Mikasa shrugged, even though the blonde couldn't see it.
"I'm just curious," she stated. "And after all, girls are supposed to talk about boys and stuff, right?" Annie smirked at the reference, but Mikasa couldn't see that. "Will you just give me three questions like you did Ymir?"
"Fine," Annie conceded, crinkling the paper in her hands. Her eyes were glued to that paper like an insect to a light.
"You wouldn't care if he had green eyes instead of blue?" Mikasa asked, leaning casually against the wall.
"No," Annie answered, shrugging inconsequentially.
"Or… brown hair?"
Annie bit her lip. "That would be fine."
"He just has to be taller than you, right?" Mikasa clarified. Annie nodded. "And I mean, fifteen inches is a pretty big difference so…"
Annie's spine straightened. "I never said…"
"I've seen the way he looks at you," Mikasa interrupted gently. "Krista isn't the only one who's good at observing people. And yes, I do pay attention to more people than just Eren." Annie remained frozen in her spot.
"Just because he looks at me, it doesn't mean I have feelings for him," the blonde replied plainly. Mikasa felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards.
"I saw him slip that note to you during class," she said. Annie's eyes found the paper crumpled between her fingers again. "And you wouldn't have hid it like that if you didn't want me to find out what it said."
"Maybe I'm embarrassed by what he said and don't want you to make fun of him for it," Annie suggested.
"If that were the case, and you didn't care about him, why would you care if he got made fun of?" Mikasa challenged. Annie's hands tightened around the paper.
"Why don't you ever stare back?" Mikasa asked.
Annie sighed, hanging her head. "Please don't tell him."
Mikasa smiled. "I won't tell anyone. Just tell me why you don't stare back." Annie finally lifted her eyes to meet Mikasa's. There was a sad, little smile stretched on her lips.
"Because if I look back, I'm scared he won't ever stare at me again," she replied. "He's insecure like that."
"Every guy has their flaw," Mikasa said in response. "But that's why we love them, isn't it? It's not the hair or eye color, or the height or build or anything physical. It's the little quirks that make them special." Annie's smile brightened.
"I suppose it is," she said. Then her smile faded. "This doesn't mean we're friends, though."
Mikasa nodded, moving back towards her own bunk. "I never said we were."
Annie watched her go out of the corner of her eyes, then unfolded the paper. She smoothed the note out on her leg, frowning at the creases that would forever scar the page. She smiled again as her eyes read the words one more time.
Dear Annie,
I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, but didn't know how. So I wrote you this note. Here goes. You're a brilliant fighter, and I admire your natural talent. You are also one of the most graceful people I've ever seen. And I also wanted to tell you that you're beautiful. Because you are.
Happy Valentine's Day.
Sincerely, Bertholdt
Happy Valentine's Day!
I know the ending it weak, but I put too much time into the beginning and middle to not post it, and I just really wanted to write something BeruAni related for Valentine's Day, so… yeah. I apologize if the characters seem OOC, or the ending is weak, or anything else.
The song 6-2 by Marie Miller inspired this story. Just listen to it and tell me it doesn't make you think of Annie and Bertholdt because that was my immediate reaction, especially at the end.
Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks for reading! :)
