.

.

.

I.

It's his third week as a barista. Everything becomes routine; taking the customers' orders, making the coffee and serving it. He's friendly to the customers, and chats to some occasionally. At two in the afternoon, he has an hour lunch break. On the Tuesday, it's pouring it down outside but that doesn't stop him from leaving the coffee shop. He pulls out a cigarette from his pocket, places it between his lips, and lights it.

The rain pelts down; it's cold, and the air nips at his skin. Eren bounces up and down and takes a long drag of his cigar. It feels good, makes it easier to breathe, calms his nerves. That's when he spots the girl standing nearby. She's soaked. Her hoody sticks to her body, and her blonde hair is dripping; she doesn't seem to be aware of his presence. Her arms are folded, she's leaning against the coffee shops, and her head is down.

Eren watches her. Admittedly, he likes her appearance: she seems powerful, and he isn't quite sure how. She's petite, but the outline of her frame is more defined due to the dampness of her hoody, and he can tell she's fit, strong. Eren remembers his customers well, however he can't recall ever seeing her. 'Hi,' he greets. She doesn't respond. 'It's raining!'

At that, she glances up at him shortly, then loses interest.

Feeling slightly awkward, he shuffles closer. 'You're going to catch a cold, you know?'

'I'm fine.'

Her voice is soft, calm, but he has a hunch it's all a lie. He has a hunch she's not calm at all, that she's a mess inside, and he's fascinated. 'You want to come inside?' Clearing his throat, he drops the cigar and squishes it with his heel. 'We sell nice hot chocolate.'

'I'm fine.'

'I'll buy you one,' he offers, pulling a crooked smile. 'We have different flavours: there's orange, mint –– I think we also have strawberry.' He laughs. 'It sounds gross, but the original flavour is tasty. What do you say?'

When she looks at him again, it's hard to read her expression; she has a thousand secrets she doesn't wish to share. But her eyes are sad. Lonely. His heart drops, and he sighs. Then, the girl straightens herself and nods. 'All right. I can have one.'

He smiles warmly, and invites her inside the coffee shop. After ordering them both a hot chocolate, he picks out a table for them by the window. It's still raining, and thepitter-patter sound is soothing against the window. Eren stirs his hot chocolate while he watches her take a hesitant sip, before sitting back, eyes focussed on outside. There's a sort of boredom in her gaze, but he wonders if that's just how she normally looks.

She's put her hood up, and he thinks she appears sweet.

'I'm Eren,' he says, offering a hand to shake.

For a moment, she just stares at his hand, then takes it. 'Annie.'

'Hi,' he grins. 'So, do you come from here?'

'Yes. I live with my dad.' Her responses are short, disinterested, and she sips her hot chocolate quietly, avoiding his gaze.

'Does your mum live elsewhere then?' Immediately he regrets asking this.

'No. She's dead.' The bluntness in her tone is a tad concerning.

Eren concentrates on drinking his hot chocolate for a while, guilty. Armin always warned him to be careful with his words around girls, especially if he liked them. He tended to speak before he thought. From above the surface of his mug, he kept his eyes on Annie, how she seemed so interested in the rain, so distracted. 'I'm sorry,' he says suddenly. 'About your mum, and me bringing it up. That was stupid.'

She shrugs. 'It's okay.'

'What do you do? For a career?' He's desperate to change the subject. For some reason, he doesn't want to lose her interest. If she has any.

A sigh. An indication she's not keen on talking about herself. 'Yes. I work.'

'What do you do?'

'I'm a coach.'

'Oh,' Eren straightens in his seat. 'Football?'

Annie snorts. 'Yeah, right. I teach a variety of martial arts.'

He raises his brows, and a smile reaches his lips. 'I've always wanted to learn a form of martial arts, like karate and jujitsu. Is it hard?'

'If you practise enough, you'll get the hang of it. It's hard, though.' Annie lifts the mug to her lips.

Eren runs a hand through his hair. 'Yeah, I bet.'

In that instant, something about her changes. A small smile curls at her lips, but she drops her gaze, as if she isn't allowed to smile at him, or doesn't want him to know his interest has an affect on her. 'I can teach you if you like.'

'Really?'

'I hold sessions at the gym every Tuesday, at around six.'

'That's when my shift finishes,' Eren proclaims, grinning ear-to-ear. 'So, you'll be there?'

Annie nods.

'I'll go then.'

For the next couple of minutes, they sit in silence. The rain slows, until it comes to an abrupt halt, and the sun gently warms the coffee shop. Eren watches as Annie stands to her feet. 'Thank you for the drink. I'll see you next week.' He smiles again in confirmation, and lets her leave.

II.

After two hours of intense taekwondo training, Eren is on his knees, sweating and exhausted. But he has never felt so thrilled in his life. He loved it as well when Annie was willing to offer him a few personal tips, which naturally only resulted in her kicking his ass, but he learnt a lot anyway. She is a good teacher, she knows her stuff, and he likes how she just comes to life. He notices how she appears so bored and disinterested, but as soon as she has the stage, and is performing combat, her excitement and energy bounces off him.

Wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand, he walks over to her. 'How about a hot chocolate at my coffee shop then?'

She looks at him, and her eyes trail up and down his form. 'Seriously? You're too hot for that.'

'Fine. A smoothie, then. Or something.' He shrugs dumbly.

'I guess.'

Once all the equipment is stored away, the two set off for Eren's workplace. The baristas recognise him and give him his order (with an employee discount, he's chuffed to know). He and Annie take the same table from last week, and sip on their smoothies in silence. Eren has cooled down, but that's mainly thanks to the rain. Fortunately Annie is wearing her hoody so could keep her head dry, but Eren is soaked, not that he minds.

He asks her about training, how long it took her to fight like that, and who taught her. As always, her answers are brief. She's been learning since she was five, and her father taught her. The topic ends there. 'You got to admit, I kicked ass today,' Eren says, eyes glinting with enthusiasm.

Annie gives him a funny look. 'You were awful.'

'Wow,' Eren decides to just stare at his smoothie. 'One can never underestimate the effects of honesty.'

'For a rookie, though, you weren't bad.'

'Come on. I was able to hit that guy more times than he hit me today.'

'He's a black belt, and he was going easy on you.'

'Pft, you weren't.'

Annie smiles crookedly, glancing down. 'Of course not.'

'How am I supposed to learn if you're going to knock me to the ground all the time?'

'That's how I learnt.' Annie finishes her smoothie. Eren cocks his head to the side, and he wants to know more about her, but she's on her feet. 'Good bye, Eren.' Before he can say anything else, she brushes past and leaves the coffee shop. The rain doesn't stop this time, and even after a few minutes, he can still smell her scent, and he smiles shortly.

'Good bye, Annie.'

III.

The following Tuesday, after getting his ass handed to him by Annie and being humiliated in front of the majority of black belts and dans in the class, he confronts her again. 'Go on a date with me. To the coffee shop I work at. Tonight.'

'Why?'

'Because I like you.'

There's something challenging in her eyes, but she realises he's serious. It's funny: Eren is a mess right now. Sweaty, hair a mess, and stinking. Yet he's still on his feet, and he's still asking for more, and even though he barely passes a white belt, she thinks he's talented. She wants to teach him other styles of martial arts, but knows she can't.

Time is running short.

She likes him, too. She doesn't know why, she just feels safe and secure around him, and no one has made her feel that way before. She feels she can tell him anything and everything and he wouldn't walk away. Because Eren is good, and he has goodness in him, and she doesn't think he should fight. He should fight and use his body as a weapon because, unlike she, he has kindness that he needs to share.

A small blush appears on her cheeks at his confession, and her heart flutters. And it's stupid and reckless. 'If you want.' They do what they did last week: pack away the equipment, and then head off to Eren's coffee shop. This time, they order hot chocolates, and as they sat down, it starts to rain, which Eren points out. She doesn't care about the rain, though, and she knows he knows there's something bothering her.

Drumming his fingers against the table, Eren softens his expression. 'You can talk to me.'

Annie nods once, dismissively.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.'

'Doesn't look like nothing.'

She shrugs. 'Maybe I'd rather keep it to myself.'

'That's not what you do on dates.' She rolls her eyes. 'Really. You need to tell me about yourself; what are your hobbies, what you do in your free time, why you took up martial arts.'

A sigh. She's getting impatient. 'I'd rather talk about you.'

'Okay.' Eren's impatient too now. 'I live with a mum and dad, and my adoptive sister, Mikasa. She joined the army so I rarely see her. I think you'd both get along well. In my free time, I like to hang around with my best friend, Armin, and play video games and play sports.' He snorts. 'I'm pretty boring. So, I wanna talk about you. Please.'

'I… don't really know what to talk about.'

Leaning forwards, he hesitates, then clicks his fingers. 'I know! Tell me your hobbies. What you enjoy doing, besides martial arts.'

Annie averts her gaze in thought. 'I like to read.'

'Okay.'

'… That's about it.'

'Oh, right. I like to read as well.'

'Whatever,' Annie mumbles, drinking her hot chocolate.

Eren pulls a face. 'Jeez, and I thought I was boring.'

'Shut up, you asked.'

He smiles and she looks away. 'Did you get your eyes from your mother or father?'

'What?'

'Just answer the question.'

'No. It's dumb.'

'Annie.'

'My father,' the corner of her lips twitch. 'I inherit a lot from him.'

'Like your nose…?' He cringes when she her expression darkens. 'I like your nose.'

'I got a big nose. Get over it.'

'That's hard to do so because it's so big.'

'Fuck off.'

Eren laughs. 'Sorry.'

'You will be.' However, she offers a small smile in return.

They melt into silence again, and it's nice. While she sips at her hot chocolate, and watches the rain fall, she's consciously aware of Eren watching her. It's kind of annoying, not to mention creepy, but she always quite likes it. He doesn't stare at her, he just watches her, as if he's studying her, trying to make sense of the enigma she is.

He sighs at one point. Then he speaks softly. 'Can I ask about your mother?'

Annie's eyes fall to her mug. 'What do you want to ask?'

'Do you miss her?'

'I didn't know her enough to miss her. She died in childbirth, and my father doesn't let me forget it.' She shuts off then; she stares at the window, and he realises she's stepped out of line. She's said something she regrets.

'That's harsh, Annie.'

'That's life. Not much can be done.'

'… What do you mean your father doesn't let you forget it?'

'I don't want to talk about that,' she snaps.

'Okay,' Eren goes quiet.

Minutes pass, and his heart drops when she finishes her drink. They look at each other once, then she's on her feet and leaves the shop. He knows better than to attend her session the following Tuesday.

IV.

He misses her. Dearly. Which is silly, considering they barely know one another. But she's constantly on his mind, and he can't get rid of the guilt and embarrassment from their previous evening. As much as he wants to apologise, he can't. He can't go anywhere near the gym she works at, so he remains the barista, polite to his customers, serving coffee, and having a cigarette on his lunch break.

It's a late Tuesday night, and he's wiping the tables. Not to his surprise, it's raining, but it's raining especially hard this evening and the wind howls. It's going to be an unpleasant walk back home. As he reaches the last table, he lifts his head to see a customer walk in, and his heart stops when he recognises her. Annie doesn't order a drink, she instantly approaches him. She has her hood up, but she's soaked from head to toe.

Before he can ask what's wrong, she cuts through him. 'I'm moving.' She says it so formally, as if he is a colleague or a distant relative, or someone she doesn't give a shit about. And even though he might as well be someone she doesn't care about, it still hurts. What hurts more, though, is her revelation.

'Why?'

'My dad is dying.' No emotion. Nothing.

He frowns. 'Why… does that mean you have to move?'

'Because I do,' she's not in the mood to discuss this. She has no intention to. 'Now you know, so there aren't any more sessions being held at the gym.'

Eren blinks rapidly, trying to fathom what she's saying. 'Wait, wait.' He grabs her hand. 'Just because your dad's–– Annie, you don't need to move.'

'You don't know what I need to do.' Finally, there's emotion, and he registers fear. It isn't sadness, it isn't mourning. She speaks about her dad in fear, and he knows he can't push the subject further. He would be an idiot too. 'Let my hand go, please.'

Immediately he lets go. 'Hold on. Are you going to come back?'

Annie opens her mouth to speak, but then hesitates. She shakes her head. 'I don't know yet. I'm just doing what needs to be done.'

'I don't want you to go,' he blurts out, and instantly his cheeks burn. But he doesn't regret it; she needs to know.

Then he realises she already does. 'I'm sorry, Eren.'

'Are you?' He scowls. 'Fuck, Annie. Is it because of what I said? About your mum?'

'Wh–– No.' She looks away. 'It's got nothing to do with you.'

'Is your dad forcing you to move? Is that it?'

'Excuse me?' She looks at him as if he's slapped her, and she's ready to slap him back. There's a horrid venom in her eyes and he hates her looking this way, especially at him. But he knows he's right; she'd only react this way if he was right.

'You heard me, Annie. Your dad's forcing you. He's sick, so he's giving you no other choice but to take care of him. You're too scared to know what he'll do if you don't do as he says. That's what it's been like since you were a kid, hasn't it? After all, he taught you how to fight. I suppose that fear comes hand in hand with a rough coach.'

'Fuck you, Eren. Fuck you.' Annie steps back. 'You don't know what you're talking about. I came here to tell you I'm leaving, when I honestly didn't have to. The least you can do is accept my choice and let me go. Don't make this about my father.'

'I am letting you go,' he growls. 'Fuck you.'

'Gladly.'

And, as always, Annie is the first to walk away. Eren's heart is in his mouth when he attempts to catch up with her, but he knows better, and stays put. When the door closes and she escapes into the rain, he swivels around and kicks the table viciously, which only earns him a scolding from the manager.

What a waste.

V.

The last time he sees her is on the day she leaves. It's a Tuesday, and it's raining, but it's early morning. Very few customers have arrived, and Eren is still half asleep to notice her enter the coffee shop. As soon as he does, he just looks at once, then sloppily stands to his feet. 'Can I take your order, ma'am?'

Annie doesn't reply, which forces him to meet her eyes. He instantly feels like a fool.

'I didn't think you'd come back.'

'Neither did I.'

They fall into silence again, but, this time, it's uncomfortable. It's desperate, and it's just a reminder that she's leaving. That he won't ever see her again, and even though they barely know one another, it hurts. He's become attached to this person, this mystery of a woman. Slumping his shoulders, he walks out from behind the counter and faces her properly. He chuckles, because she's so small, she has to crane her head back slightly to look at him.

'I find it sweet someone so tiny can flip me over their shoulder.'

'You're a twig compared to some people I've fought.'

Her cheek is soft under his palm, and she leans into his touch a little. His thumb strokes her tenderly. Already, he knows he's going to miss her, and he wishes he met her a long time ago. He wishes he met her when they were kids.

He wishes a lot.

'It was nice knowing you.'

The words taste bitter, and he gives up with words at that point. Because words aren't good between them. Words only cause tension, discomforting shifts in their unique and fresh bond. A bond which is already corroding.

Fate is cruel.

So he kisses her instead. It's a short, soft kiss, and he lingers a moment longer, just to feel her warm breath against his lips. He smiles, because her cheeks have reddened a little, and her timidness gets the better of her and she drops her gaze, pulling out of his touch. But she mirrors her excitement when fighting –– that inviting glint in her eyes; when she comes to life, she has such a pretty face.

'It was nice knowing you too.'

She doesn't look at him, until the last second. Then she swivels around on her heel, and he watches her leave the coffee shop one last time. When the door closes, he sees it's sunny, the rain has stopped pouring. And, already, he misses her.

Eren wishes it'll rain again.

.

.

.

author's note: This was originally a request on tumblr, and it received such positive feedback, I decided to post it on here too. Obviously this oneshot is an alternate universe, but I referenced the canon in several areas, and hopefully kept Annie and Eren in character. Thank you for reading, and feedback is always appreciated. Until next time!