First Shingeki fanfic, awesome! Don't bother going easy on me, I thrive on constructive criticism.
This one-shot was written for a special occasion, namely my good friend Boboleta's birthday. I would like you all to know that she does accept credit cards and cheques *hint hint*.
Happy birthday Bobo, I hope you like it ;)!
And to you others, please read, review and enjoy!
"Again!" The harsh, stern voice of Annie Leonhardt cut through the afternoon skies. Her grey-green eyes lingered on the boy before her, down on his knees in the dust. His brown hair concealed his face from view, but a chuckle escaped him as he rose to his feet.
"Oi, Annie," Eren Yeager laughed as he cracked the joints in his neck, swinging his arms around a few times to loosen up his sore muscles. "I know you're supposed to teach me how to fight, but could you ease it up next time? My spine still feels like it was smashed with a mallet."
The blonde girl returned the grin. She wasn't exactly known as one to smile very often, but the boy standing face-to-face with her was an entirely different case. His perseverance was, in the least to say, noteworthy, and no matter how much she would batter and bruise him during their combat training, Eren would always get up his feet and grin like he had just heard the best joke ever.
"Well, maybe you should actually try and defend yourself next time…" Annie retorted as she slid into a fighting stance, ready to take on the next assault. "…instead of just going in for the kill. It might save you a few bumps and scratches."
"I know, I know," Eren said, green eyes shimmering. "But they always say that offense is the best defense."
Annie rolled her eyes. Would this kid ever learn?
"I thought I told you that this style of fighting is supposed to be the exact opposite," her gaze never left her opponent as she spoke. "...but you're a harsh learner, so I suppose I just have to make you bite the dust until you understand."
Hearing those words made the fire inside Eren burn wildly, that heat that began to boil his blood whenever a challenge arose. A smirk curled his lips.
"Come at me then, and see if you can."
In a flash, Annie dashed at the boy in a blonde streak. She swung her arm back in an attempt to strike him, but the kid never budged an inch. She lunged, bringing her hand down in a chopping motion, the attack aimed at Eren's sternum. When her wrist was caught with relative ease, she gasped.
Eren could hardly contain himself. For nearly three years the girl had been training him in her own, unique style of fighting and not even once had he been able to land a strike on her. Not that it hadn't come in handy though, as it had helped him to knock down Jean a few pegs at the beginning of their military training, but he hadn't been able to lay a finger on the Sensei herself.
Yet, now that he had the opportunity, he couldn't let his own pride get in his way; it would only result in another pummeling and a stern look from his teacher. Determined to succeed, as always, he gave a rough pull and slid his foot out, causing Annie to trip and allowing him to swing her away, causing her land on her side. With the grace of a true fighter she rolled away to lighten the impact.
"Ha!" Eren exclaimed enthusiastically. He couldn't help himself from jumping in excitement a little.
Annie was silent as she sat in the dirt for a while, a look of defeat on her face. Eren's hand in front of her to help her up was a reality call, and once she was back on her feet, she quickly brushed the dust from her military uniform.
"I finally got you, I knew that I could do it!" The boy's eyes gleamed in joy from under his brown bangs.
"Yeah you did," his Sensei said, crossing her arms. "But don't think that you'll be that lucky next time." Looks were exchanged, and both members of the duo smirked.
"Let's call it a day now, though," Annie reasoned as she turned to walk away. "It's about dinner time."
Like it always was after the daily training, the barracks were crowded with soldier trainees hoping to grab a bite to eat as quickly as possible. It came as a surprise to no one when Sasha was the first to elbow her way to the front of the line, accompanied by terrifying growling and hungry snarling noises leaving her stomach. The other rookies soon followed suit, and scattered across the barracks to find themselves a spot and eat in peace.
Eren sat at an old, oak wood table in the center of the big room. The spots around him were empty still, but he figured that it wouldn't take too long for his friends to join him by his side and engage him in their carefree chit-chatter. He barely even registered the taste of his soup-with-whatever; his mind was occupied elsewhere.
Sparring with Annie today had once again brought him to the gruff realization that humankind was pretty much defenseless against the incredible terror that came in the form of the gigantic Titans. It had taken the green-eyed boy nearly three years to even come close to the blonde girl when it came to hand-to-hand combat, and when he would finish his military training and join the Scouting Legion fighting with your fists was a useless skill anyway. All good that it could probably do him now was wipe that arrogant smirk from Jean's face the next time he saw it.
Somewhat frustrated, he clenched his wooden spoon into his fist and stared at the table sullenly, his appetite gone. For the last three years, this was what his life had been like, a bittersweet mélange of despair and hopelessness, all topped off with just a slight hint of fright. The Titans could breach the wall again any waking moment now, and simply sitting around doing nothing didn't cut it for the Yeager kid. He had sworn to himself that he would kill every single one of those man-eating bastards, even if it was the last thing he'd do. He would pulverize them all, even if it took him his dying breath.
Eren was so lost in thought that he failed to notice the blonde appearance sitting down in an open spot next to him. It wasn't until the person scraped its throat that the brown-haired teen looked up, only to have his lifelong best friend Armin Arlert staring back at him intently, a small smile curled around his lips.
"Oi, Armin," Eren greeted, an eyebrow arched in curiosity at the enthusiastic look on his friend's face. "What's got you all excited like that?" He stirred through his dinner absentmindedly, downing a quick spoonful before shoving the bowl aside without deeming it worthy of another glance.
"Eren," Armin smiled as he grabbed the other teenager's hands, as if to bring his full attention to the conversation. "Do you even know what day it is today?"
Said boy blinked his eyes sheepishly. How could this day be special from the others? For the past three years their daily routines had consisted of waking up, training until their legs almost collapsed in pure fatigue, dinner, then bedtime. Nothing had changed about this whatsoever, so Eren had no reason to believe that this day in particular held any kind of sentimental value, or rather just anything to set it apart from others.
"What are you talking about, Armin?" he queried, a look of puzzlement on his features.
"Why doesn't it surprise me that you managed to forget," a feminine voice called from behind, prompting both members of the duo to turn their heads and stare up at two calm, soothing blue eyes looking at them from under a thick bush of dark raven strands. "You seem to have your mind on your maneuver gear and blades more than you do on your own health anyways."
"M-Mikasa?" Eren stuttered as the girl that he grew up with walked over to the table in long strides. With a grace that only the top trainee of the class could possess, Mikasa Ackerman flipped her hair from her face and sat herself down on the other free spot next to Eren.
"Why does everybody keep implying that I forgot something important?" Eren rubbed his temples, confused. He glanced over at the raven-haired girl, whose face gave away nothing that could help him figure this out.
"Because you did, ya idiot," the Yeager kid turned to see Jean, hanging back lazily against one of the support beams, his eyes crossed and a small smirk playing his lips. "And that's kind of pathetic, seeing how even I managed to remember."
Eren was left speechless. What the hell was everybody talking about?
"Hey Jean, go easy on the guy." Conny decided to put in his two cents as well, joining himself by the growing group of trainees, all gathering around the puzzled boy. "Maybe all the beatings he took by Annie made him an amnesiac."
By now most of the 104th Trainees Squad had surrounded Eren, all of them laughing at the short kid's joke. Eren himself was about to pull out a good handful of hair out of frustration, but that was when Armin placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Eren," Armin chuckled in amusement. "Today is your fifteenth birthday, remember?"
He sat in silence for a moment, trying to blink away the confusion. Then his pupils dilated when the realization dawned upon him. It was true! All of the harsh training he had been subjected to had pretty much taken away all sense of time that he had, and asking him what specific day it was would definitely not result in a senseful response. His cheeks tinged red ever so slightly in embarrassment; how could he forget his own freaking birthday!
Yet, he hadn't forgotten without proper reason. It only seemed natural to him that there was no time to celebrate, ever. He and his fellow Trainees were here to learn how to defend the human race's most deadly enemy, not to participate in festivities. Of course he couldn't blame his friends for wanting to show their affection towards him, but there were much greater matters at hand. There was no need for them to waste precious time on someone with a much too loud mouth and a short temper, when they could be training to protect themselves and their loved ones.
"Armin, I..."
"Nah-ah, not I's and but's," Sasha's cheerful voice was unmistakable. "We are going to celebrate your birthday tonight, whether you like it or not! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to steal this cheese and ham from the kitchens? I was certain that I'd get caught and that I had to run laps until I puked my guts out." Said food was slammed onto the table in front of him, neatly placed onto a plate as a highly unusual birthday cake.
Slight shock was readable on Eren's face when no one reacted the same way that he did. Nobody seemed to be surprised that Sasha had risked her precious daily meals in order to acquire this food. Were they all in on this?
"You guys..." the green-eyed kid barely managed the words over his lips. "You... you didn't have to, really..."
"Eren," Mikasa's voice was soft so close to his ears, but just like every time she spoke, her words cut through him like a knife. He had never been able to figure out just why, but this girl did something to him that nobody else could. "Stop trying to avoid it, we are all here for you, so get used to it." Her azure orbs met his emerald ones for a second, and just then he realized what Jean had said to Mikasa almost three years ago. She really was beautiful.
"We weren't really able to get you a present, but some of us got together and talked to the drillmaster about this, so..." Armin's voice nearly squeaked in enthusiasm as he rummaged through his pockets. "...here's your birthday present anyway!"
With hands slightly shaky in anticipation, he pulled a little cord from his battle jacket that chimed softly as it dangled in his clutch. It was a sturdy, wired cable that Eren quickly recognized as the ropes that blast out of a 3D maneuver gear with grappling hooks attached. This particular one seemed to have been shaped as a necklace, with two pieces of silvery metal clanking on it as decoration.
"It's the wire that you were told to use at the beginning of our training," Armin explained the symbolic value behind the gift. "You know, when your equipment turned out to be broken, but you managed to balance in the air anyway? Well it turned out that one of the latches on your hips was bent and thus unable to support your weight. The latches on this chain were the same ones they used for you back then." The blonde boy handed the self-crafted necklace over to his friend, who took it and studied the oddly bent piece of metal, before sliding it around his neck.
"Apparently the faulty equipment was never thrown away," Armin said. "All it took was some pleading words to the drillmaster, who agreed with us surprisingly easily. We were allowed to take them from the storage and turn them into that chain."
Eren glanced around the room. All of his friends were looking at him with anticipation, eager to know what he thought of their present to him, Arranging something like this must've been incredibly difficult, and he truly was grateful for their generosity, but he still couldn't comprehend why they had decided to do this for him. What had he done for them to deserve this?
"You guys..." Eren wasn't too sure which words would suit the situation best. "Thanks a lot, but... I don't deserve this..."
"Oh, shut up!" The Yeager kid had heard those words so frequently now that it almost made him nostalgic. Jean hadn't left his spot by the support beam as he gave Eren a sharp look. "You may not realize it, dumbass, but you've done more for this squad than you think."
"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" the boy questioned, stupefied. Of all the people that had come to love and hate during his time in military training, he never expected for Jean to compliment him like that. "I... I..."
"Tsck. C'mon Eren, you sound like a broken record," Conny laughed, leaning his hands onto the birthday boy's shoulders in a teasing manner. "It's because of you that most of us are considering to join the Scouting Legion, we owe you one! Your determination has inspired quite a few of the people here, and you managed to instill some hope into us all. Saying that you don't deserve two pieces of scrap metal on a chain would even have Jean over there offended."
Eren's self-sworn nemesis decided not to reply.
Looking at all the beaming faces around him made Eren feel very self-aware all of a sudden. He had never realized that his impact on the rest of his squad had been so great. In all honesty, he was surprised enough that not everybody hated his guts. But he had inspired them, for real?
"Did I... did I really?"
"Yes you did," Mikasa said, with a rarely seen smile adorning her pretty features. Her hands shot up and fondled her adoptive brother's chain. Unbeknownst to her, Eren drew his breath in sharply at the sudden intimacy. What were all these feelings washing over him so suddenly, and why was he harboring them towards the girl he considered to be a sister for so many years?
"You showed us all that no matter how hard you go flat on your face," her eyes sparkled in admiration. "You always stand up and try again, until you persevere. I reckon that it'd be a nice thought to go with the necklace." Her slender fingers let go of the latches around his neck, almost to Eren's disappointment.
"Just face it," Sasha grinned as she leaned her weight onto Annie, obviously to blonde's slight irritation. "You're great, Eren, you even get Annie to smile every now and then. If that's not a miracle than I have an eating disorder." This earned her both a bop on the back of her head by a somewhat offended Annie, as well as a wave of laughter from nearly the entire 104th Trainees Squad.
And Eren smiled with them. It dawned on him now. All these people loved him for who he was, and they wanted to express it to him, yet he had gone off and acted like a depressed child. Well not anymore! He truly was happy that his friends cared for him this much, and all the affection shown curled his lips.
"Wow, I never even realized that..." He whispered under his breath, before raising his head and smirking at his collective of friends. "Thanks you guys, it really means a lot to me."
"Oi, enough with the sentimental crap already," Jean mumbled with a roll of his eyes. For the first time since the end of dinner he shifted positions, and immediately walked away from his previous spot, disappearing into the dormitories. Everyone present stared after him blankly, the puzzlement reigning supreme.
"Oh, that's right!" Armin suddenly cut in, causing every eye to turn to him. "Jean told me that he prepared a surprise for Eren as well."
What that could be was a mystery, even to Eren himself. For all he knew the arrogant teen had set up an opportunity to embarrass the crap out of him, or something that could cause minor physical injury, judging by who it came. What he couldn't have foretold, however, was that the spiky-haired blonde returned just as quickly as he had vanished, carrying something made of wood and with one of the oddest shapes that the green-eyed boy had ever seen.
It looked like a large wooden box, with curved sides and rounded corners. A long neck protruded out from one end, and six thin, wiry strings ran their way down back to the body. A medium-sized hole had been sawn in under the strings, probably for a reason Eren wasn't able to fathom. Armin, however, nearly popped out of his skin in excitement.
"Hey Jean, how did you even get that?" The blue-eyed teenager watched in admiration. "I thought that all of these went lost over one hundred years ago?"
"Armin?" Mikasa queried. "Do you know what that is?"
"Yes, I do," the blonde smiled. "Jean is holding a guitar. It's a musical instrument that people used to play all the time before the coming of the Titans. However, when most of humanity was wiped out and before the completion of the wall, most of the humans still alive had to provide for their own shelter and warmth. Many wooden attributes were burnt in the fireplaces in an attempt to keep heated, and it was suspected that all of the guitars that were being owned by the living were lost in the fires. After the survivors were led inside the walls, none remained. The government was too occupied with funding the re-enforcements on the wall and keeping our troops fed to provide anything more than the basic needs, and even then people were forced to work for their own food, so there was never anyone to craft guitars anymore. Seeing one now can be considered a real miracle."
"Well this crooked old thing isn't exactly miraculous, but it works the way it should." Jean said as he sat down on a random bench, positioning the instrument on his knee and plucking a string, the soft pling that came from it reverberating throughout the room.
Several of the Trainees present went wide-eyed.
"Can you really play that thing, Jean?" Conny asked, a hint of disbelief playing his vocal cords. "Cause you don't seem like the type of dude that would enjoy a jolly good tune, in all honesty."
"I do," the arrogant one smirked. "This guitar used to belong to my great-grandfather, and it has been passed down by the men in my family ever since. My father gave it to me, and even taught me how to play it a little. I wouldn't exactly call myself a prodigy, but I'm confident enough in my skills to bust this old beauty out and play it for a bit." he glanced over at Eren. "It is a special occasion after all."
"Well then don't keep us waiting!" Sasha cheered through a mouth full of cheese and ham. "Let's bring those tunes and get this party living!"
Jean nodded, his smirk still plastered on his face. Then, he began to play, filling the room with joyous melodies and happy rhythms. Sasha was the first to respond by moving her body in according to the music, with others soon to follow. Eren sat on his bench and watched with a smile how his friends intermingled. Conny was being dragged and forth by the girl famous for her never-ending appetite, and without him noticing it the very pretty blonde girl that went by the name of Christa Renz had dragged Armin from his spot, and was guiding him to the dancing crowd, much to Eren's amusement. The blue-eyed boy was failing miserably, but trying nonetheless. Eren had to admire him for that.
He sat there for a while, watching how his friends celebrated and had fun in honor of his fifteenth birthday. He had never expected this to happen, but now that it had it warmed his heart. His fingers clasped around the newly acquired necklace and the cold touch of it felt soothing. For now he felt happy.
There was one thing, however, that he still couldn't place. Something had happened tonight, and he wasn't sure how to express it, or rather, even how to feel about it. A certain girl had caught his eye tonight, in a way that he had never seen her before...
"Eren," a voice snapped him back to reality, and a hand waving in front of his face forced him to look up. Mikasa was standing before him, arm stretched out. "Why don't we go join our friends?" For some reason she seemed to avoid his direct stare, and the red scarf he had given her all those years ago had been pulled up high, as if to hide a growing blush. Eren had to prevent his own cheeks from glowing in a tinge of crimson as well, but failed miserably. Albeit hesitantly, he took the girls hand and walked over to the moving group of Trainees.
Not sure exactly how to initiate this dance, he let Mikasa take the lead first. When Jean's playing shifted to one of the slower songs in his catalogue, the beautiful girl draped her slender arms around his neck, resting her forehead on his strong shoulder. She slowly came into motion, and slowly guided Eren in her steps. His arm was snaked around her waist, and the other was used to support her back. Whether or not they were moving in rhythm with the music or whether or not they were skilled dancers didn't bother them.
Just for that small moment in time, the world crumbled away beneath their feet, and every part of their surroundings faded into nothingness. All that mattered was each other, and the soft gentle touch of Mikasa's hands in his neck, brushing his locks, versus the feeling of Eren's warm breath in her neck as he pressed his head to hers. Jean's playing was still vaguely present in the background, and that only added to the magic of it all.
How long they were there neither one of them could tell. They just danced and swayed, moving their bodies as one and merely reveling in one another's presence. Eren could only wonder why he hadn't noticed his attraction to Mikasa before. Had he been too fiercely striving towards the eradication of the Titans? He could question himself endlessly, but this wasn't the time for that. All he wanted to do now is have his best friend, his sister, and his love as close to him as possible, and enjoy the lovely sweet scent of her beautiful hair.
The silence between them was finally broken when Mikasa spoke up in a soft whisper.
"Eren, can I ask you something?"
He slowly swooped her to the left. "Sure Mikasa, you know you can ask me anything."
Mikasa raised her head. "Can you close your eyes? I'm afraid to do this otherwise."
Eren arched a brow. "What do you mean, I'm afraid to?" yet, upon seeing the somewhat pleading expression on the girl's face, he closed his lids and then saw nothing but darkness.
First there was nothing. Then, there was the sudden sensation of warm breath against his lips. When he was about to open his eyes and sneak a peek, his lips were suddenly crushed by something soft, and sweet tasting too.
When Mikasa kissed him then, so many questions arose in his head that he didn't bother to think about it. He simply savored the peachy taste of her lovely lips, and reveled in her delicious musky scent. This moment was too good to end.
Finally, Mikasa drew her head back slowly, and Eren opened his eyes. His face expressed slight confusion, but upon seeing Mikasa smile shyly at him, he grinned. The girl rested her head on his shoulder once again, and buried her face in the crevice of his neck. Eren kissed her hair, and pressed his cheek against her.
Slowly and slowly they moved, even the music gone to distract them.
"Happy Birthday, Eren."
Happy Birthday, Bobo.