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You wake up slowly. Becoming aware of your surroundings before you even opened your eyes. It was quiet in the girls' sleeping quarters. Everyone must still be sleeping... as you turned on your side, a bright ray of sunlight attacked your closed eyes, making you cringe. Why is it so bright? You ask yourself. It should be around 4am if no one is up yet... Suddenly your eyes shoot open.
"CRAP!" You yell loudly. It was indeed quiet in the girls dorm, but only because everyone was already gone. You stumble out of your bed, searching for your clothes. Grabbing your button up shirt and your pants, you hobble to the window, trying to see where everyone was. You noticed they were all standing in formation. You knew that if you didn't hurry, Shadis will know you overslept. You shiver at the thought.
As you begin to strap on your belts, you here a sound across the room. Whipping your head around you notice there's someone else still sleeping. Oh. I should wake her up so she doesn't get in trouble...you think to yourself as you slowly make your way to the sleeping figure. You stop dead in your tracks when you notice who it is.
You look at the blonde curiously. She's really cute when she's sleeping...a lot less like she's ready to kill anyone who crosses her...you think. Hmmm...I know I should wake her up but...you look at her warily. Honestly, she's kinda scary...you chuckle at your thoughts, but quickly stop when the blonde begins to stir. Crap Crap Crap... you look around hoping to hide, but realize that's foolish of you.
Taking a deep breath, you slowly walk closer to her. Just as you near her bed, her leg shoots out from beneath the covers. You yelp in pain and fall onto the floor clutching your right shin tightly.
"Oww! What the hell?" You think out loud. You furrow your brows, your eyes filled with a mixture of pain and shock. You look up at the girl who now seems to be awake. Her icy blues stare into your own (e/c)s. There's a small look of her own shock sketched onto her face. As she sits up, running her hand through her blonde locks lethargically.
"Why are you so close to my bed?" She asks evenly. Her eyes not meeting yours, but instead looking straight ahead. You blink a couple of times before nervously running your hand through your own (h/l) (h/c) hair.
"Well...umm..." you start off, thinking back to why you were going to wake her up. Your eyes widen as you remembered that you two had completely overslept. "Wait!" You exclaim. "We're late. Hurry and get dressed!" you say, as you begin to pull on your brown leather boots. As you finish pulling on your boots, you look over at the short girl, as she shrugs her quilt off of her herself. You raise a brow, when you realize that she was already fully dressed, boots and all.
"What the-" you stop talking as you watch her stand without a word and begin to pull her hair into a bun. You watch intently your eyes glued to her as she begins to walk towards the exit.
"Are you just going to sit there?" She says to you over her shoulder as she opens the door to the sleeping quarters. You snap out of your staring and jump up onto your feet. You dash out behind her quickly and notice that the rest of the squad had already seemed to start a hand-to-hand combat routine. Your heart beat quickens ever so slightly at the fear of being caught by Shadis.
"(L/N)!" You hear a sickening familiar voice holler behind you. You slowly turn around to find sunken amber eyes staring at you angrily. "What the HELL is wrong with you, huh?" He asks, towering over you intimidatingly as you salute. You begin to stutter out an answer, but he cuts you off. "Do you think you're special (l/n)? You think you can just sleep-in whenever you want while your comrades are working hard to be the best they can!?" He screams into your face as he bends over you. You cringe internally feeling specks of spit fly onto your face.
"No, Sir! I'm sorry, Sir! It will never happen again!" you reply. Shadis towers over your slowly shrinking form even more, and you ready yourself for the second round of yelling. Just as Shadis opens his mouth, you both hear a small sound to your left. Slowly turning your head, you look into fierce blue eyes. The blonde quickly shifts her gaze to Shadis as she speaks.
"I was late as well." She says simply, moving her bangs. Her hard look is not phased by Shadis' death glare- her eyes as cold and unnerving as always. Was that her half-ass way to get his full attention off of me?..The tall instructor stares her down for a good minute or so before straightening and turning to the the both of you.
" (F/n) (L/n) and Annie Leonhardt!" He bellows extremely loudly, making you jump ever so slightly. So...her name is Annie huh? Annie Leonhardt... "You two will partner up today for hand-to-hand combat." He continues.
"Yes, sir!" You say loudly, throwing your fist over your heart. You don't fail to notice how nonchalantly Annie is standing next to you as Shadis continues to yell. You ignore his rant for the most part, but your ears perk up towards the ending.
"-since you two decided you were to good to wake up at 5:00am!" He finishes. You begin to panic when you realize you have no idea what he just said. Deciding it was best to just ask Annie later, you re-straighten your salute. And it amazes you when Annie doesn't do anything but rather walks away without a word. How does she not get in trouble for these things?...you think to yourself as you run after her.
"Wait! Annie!" You call after her. She stops in her tracks, not bothering to look at you as she speaks.
"What?"
"Well, uhh...aren't we supposed to be combat partners today." you ask in a small voice, trying to contain your excitement. You've always enjoyed sparring and knew you were a pretty good fighter. You've just been itching to start combat training since you decided to join the military.
"This is pointless." Annie says, and you can hear words lingering in her voice.
"Pointless?" You echo, trying to get her to elaborate.
"Yes. This training doesn't factor into our scores and the only people who participate are either stupidly serious are seriously stupid." She continues in a thoughtful, yet still impassive voice.
"Truthfully...I can't even pretend to be stupid enough to play soldier in this insane world." Annie says in a low voice. You furrow your brows. What does she mean? You can't think it over too long before disappointment begins to set in. If Annie didn't want to partner up, that means that you wouldn't be able to spar today. You let out a rather depressed sigh as you kick a small peddle to your right.
"So..." You start off. "Does that mean, I won't be able to spar today?" You ask her, dismay evident in your voice.
Annie apparently notices this, and turns to face you. You notice a slight softness in her eyes. She stares at you and you realize that this is your moment to get her to spar with you.
"It's just that...I've been really looking forward to hand-to-hand combat practice."
"Why?" She says, and you realize her voice isn't as cold as usual. You run your fingers through your hair as you think back to the people who taught you to fight. Tears threateningly sting your eyes as you answer. You look down, suddenly finding your feet extremely interesting.
"It- it reminds me of someone." You say in a whisper. You look up when you notice Annie shift in front of you. Your eyes widen, tears still brimming your eyes. She's standing in a fighting position. One you immediately notice to be Muay Thai. Happiness overwhelms you since Muay Thai was your favorites, well one of them. You take your own stance a mixture of several different martial arts as you try to hold back your smile.
You take a small step forward and feel a sharp pain in your shin where Annie had kicked you this morning. You realize that if Annie kicks that hard while she's sleeping, she probably kicks even harder when she's actually trying. You take a deep breath bringing your fists level with your eyes. She looks like she'd be a good fighter...
"Are you ready? Here I come!" You exclaim as you quickly close the space between you two, going in for a sharp elbow. Annie dodges quickly, and you block her knee. Wow, she doesn't waste any time...you think. That knee was aimed straight at the center of your chest, one of the many human weak spots. You manage to side step her, but you had little time to react when you notice Annie takes a swipe at your injured shin with a sweeping kick. You hop back, and deliver a hard kick that she blocks with mild ease.
Minutes pass by quickly as you each try to gain the upped hand. She was an amazing partner you realized. Most of the time, during sparring lessons, you would have to go easy on your opponent. Not with Annie, no definitely not. The moment you underestimate her, it's her shin to your jaw. Literally. After what seems to be hours, you both notice how slow your movements have become. But, your slow, was any regular person's quick, so the spar was still fierce.
You begin to notice that everyone had already stopped, and you two were alone. That half second was all Annie needed to sweep your legs from under you. Though, it wasn't that easy. The moment you saw her take a step towards you, you only had time to begin a grappling defense, and grabbed her collar, sending you both flying onto the ground. Annie's hands placed firmly on either side of your head, your own hands clenching her uniform. Your faces extremely close.
You wince in pain. As you let go of Annie's collar. You eyes locked with hers. Somewhat embarrassed of your current position, you clear your throat.
"Annie? Are you okay. We landed pretty hard." You chuckle, breaking Annie out of her trance.
"I'm fine." she said standing up quickly. You could've swore you saw a small brush gracing her features. "You took most of the impact anyway." she continued, looking away from you as she pushes her bangs out of her face. You slowly sit up. That fall certainly was hard, and you knew you would definitely be feeling the affects of it tomorrow. You look up to see Annie's outstretched hand. You take it and allow her to pull you up.
"Thanks. Shouldn't we head in with the others?" You ask as you dust yourself off. Annie looks at you with her usual apathetic face.
"No. Shadis wants us to continue until dinner. " She states. "We also have to clean up the mess hall everyday for three months." She finishes. Your jaw drops.
"Three months! What? Just because we slept in? Once!" You complain loudly. You blow out some air as you rub the back of your neck.
Way After Dinner***
"Well at least I got to spend the rest of the day sparring." You smile as you stretch your arms across your chest. You two were almost done cleaning the mess hall. It was a pig sty when you firsts started. Good thing you two were fast workers.
"Who does it remind you of?" She asks bluntly, catching you off guard. She sets down her cleaning rag. You look at her rather confused.
"What?"
"Earlier, you said you liked sparring because it reminds you of someone. Who?" You blink a couple times before clearing your throat.
"My dad. He owned the local Martial Arts studio in Shiganshina, and my mom was a Muay Thai instructor there- part of the reason I was so happy while sparring you- and... whenever I get the chance to spar... I take it. That said, I don't mean I'm always looking to start fights but, you know-" You pause for a second trying to gain composure. "Sparring, reminds me of them." You state in a quiet voice, scared that if you spoke any louder your voice would betray you. You notice a change in Annie's eyes as they widen ever so slightly, her stoic face now completely gone.
You don't stare for too long as your vision becomes blurry. Suddenly, you find Annie right in front of you, the softness of her thumbs on your face, warmth radiating from her body. She was very close. You swallow the large lump in your throat when you feel her wiping the tears from your cheeks. After a few seconds, it's as if she realizes what she's doing, and quickly backs up. Gabbing her rag, she begins to finish the table she was cleaning. You stay there, for a few seconds, your brain trying to process what just happened.
"Thanks." You say. Annie falters for a split second before dousing her rag in the steaming hot water next to her.
"For what?"
"For sparring with me when you didn't have to, especially for as long as you did. For listening to my sad sob story when you didn't have to." You say with a sincere smile. Annie haults her movements altogether.
"I was just being a good frie-" Annie cuts herself off. "I mean, anyone would have done it." She counters almost defensively. The makes your smile grow.
"No, not everyone. But anyone who would do that, I would definitely call my friend." You say trying to look at Annie's face, but she turns away quickly.
"Oh, come on Annie. Be my friend. I know you want one." You tease playfully.
"Friends- friends are unnecessary." She coughs rather unconvincingly. You openly laugh as you continue to try to look at her face.
"Come one! You know that's not true, and I know that's not true. Now come on. Just be my friend." You offer as you finally stand in front of her, her face oh-so impassive. "What do you say?"
"Why do you want me to be you friend?" She asks, suspicion dripping from her apathetic voice.
"Cause-" you start. A sly grin making its way onto your face. "I like you." You say smugly. A deep blush surfaces on Annie's face, though her features remain hardened. As you close your eyes on laughter, you fail to notice the blonde's movements. THUD! You open your eyes, and realize that you're looking at the ceiling of the mess hall. Annie had tripped you.
"Owww. So is that a 'yes'." You say playfully. Your face contorted in pain, yet you still have the strength to tease. You look up to see Annie walking away from you.
"Sure, whatever. Let's be friends." She stops for a second, "I- I would like that." she says to you over her shoulder, causing to do the happy dance on the floor. You wince when pain bolts through your back. You were definitely going to be feeling everything you and Annie did today, but that's okay. Because in the end, you knew that you had broken down one of Annie's walls. But, who knows how many she has up...and how thick they are.
Hopefully this chapter as enjoyable.
I personally enjoyed writing it.
Stay tuned! ^_^ ~
demiflower14