Perennial Love

Chapter 2: Blossoming Bonds

Apple Blossom- Strong Love, Peace, Sensuality, Fertility.

Hello, I just wanted to give anyone reading this a heads up. Given the different meanings of flowers, the chapters are not going to be chronological. Still I hope you enjoy. Thank you for your time.

What the hell? First he's sparring with Annie then all of a sudden he wants to run for the hills.

To say that his first few months of training was tough is an understatement. It's pure torture and he's not talking about the training itself, oh no. He's referring to something even more horrifying.

Eren 'the suicidal bastard maniac' Yeager...was in love. It's impossible he told himself. Killing titan is his number one priority. It's all he ever thinks, talks, and dreams about or at least it was. As of last week instead of begging Annie to teach him new moves, he's been avoiding her. Why you ask? Because he's in love with her.

At first he thought he just admired her as a formidable soldier, but gradually he started feeling different over time. He originally brushed it off as just some awkward embarrassment from having his ass repeatedly handed to him by a girl shorter and stronger than him. I mean who wouldn't? During their sparring sessions he would constantly blush for no reason and just blamed the hot weather or fatigue from hours of practice.

Eventually he admitted to himself that maybe he did like more than a friend, but just figured it was puppy love and it would pass over time. He was dead wrong.

It was a relatively perfect day at camp. Clear sky, gentle breeze here and there. All in all normal. That is until combat practice. As usual Eren had paired off with Annie to work on a new technique and as usual she won each match.

Groaning in pain, Eren rolled onto his back since Annie had kicked him from behind. She sighed in amusement as she walked over to him.

"Oh c'mon I didn't kick you THAT hard." She smirked inspecting her handy or rather foot work.

"Damn it."He hissed between clenched teeth. He moved to sit up only to be met with a whack to the head. "Ow! What the hell?" Opening his eyes to see his sparring partner rubbing her forehead.

"I should be asking you that. Geez watch it." She scolded.

"Me? How 'bout you. You're the one standing over me like that."He rebutted.

"Whatever," She stood up. " I think it's safe to say practice is over."

"Huh. Wait, but it's only be 2 hours." He exclaimed.

"It's not my fault you have such a hard head." She began walking off .

"It is not!" He shouted after her. After a few minutes he sighed heavily and stood up. Dusting off his pants he wondered aloud. "Great now what." He wouldn't admit it openly, but he highly enjoyed her company. Though she came off as a complete bitch as per the rumor mill, she actually barely called him names unlike the others. She thought he was an idiot, but didn't voice it. Also despite it just being practice, he actually appreciated that she didn't hold back.

Eren headed in the direction Annie had snuck off to. Being curious as to what she does when no one was watching. He found her moving towards the forest. He was a distance away right behind her. Not exactly close, but enough that he could see her from his peripheral vision. He continued to trail her for about 10 minutes before realization struck him.

Stopping in his tracks, his face heat up as if he just downed a bottle of hot sauce. 'What the hell am I doing? Why am I stalking Annie? What is wrong with me?'

"AHH!" He groaned in frustration before covering his mouth. He looked around frantically inwardly hoping she hadn't heard him and hid behind a tree. Taking a deep breath he peer out again, but found no trace of his friend. Moving back behind the tree, he leaned on the trunk and sighed with relief. "That was close. I would have been in a world of hurt if she found me." he whispered to himself.

"You're about to be." Came a soft and threatening, loud whisper next to his ear. He felt his face flush again from embarrassment and began sweating buckets of fear. Slowly he turned his head to find the person of his previous interest. Standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder and face close to his was none other than Annie Leonhart. "You wanna tell me what the hell you think you're doing? Out of all the people in this godforsaken world, YOU Eren Yeager were the last person I expected to do something so...daring."

Eren gulped scared out of his mind. Yet he couldn't find the courage to move. He was frozen in fear, embarrassment, and strangely enough...arousal. What was this feeling. His hands were sweaty, mouth dry and speechless, legs suddenly heavy (thank god he was leaning on the tree or he was sure his knees would give out any moment).

"Then again," she mused. "You ARE a daring person and you ALWAYS do the unexpected." With that said she smiled, not smirked smiled. No one knew it, but Eren was the only person who could make her smile genuinely and he would be the only person she smiled for. Moving off of him she stepped back a little to give him some much needed air space. He let out a long, deep, shaky breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

Running his shaky, sweaty palm through his hair, he turn to her. "Jesus Christ you're creepy, you know?" He was stilled freaked out by her sudden appearance.

"Says the creep who was stalking me a few minutes ago." she retorted smirking with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry alright. So mind telling me what you're doing?"He asked. Trying to calm down.

"Does it matter? Why were YOU stalking me like a lost puppy?" she questioned back.

"I was...just um..." what was he supposed to say? 'Oh nothing. Just curious as to where you go when you ditch training everyday?' Yeah that doesn't sound wrong at all, but he would have to own up anyway. Besides she already caught him in the act. No point in beating around the bush or in this case tree. "I was curious okay." He looked away blushing with his hand on his head.

"About?" she pressed arms crossed, brow still raised.

Sighing loudly again he looked at her. "I wanted to know where you're going alright?" He looked away again.

"And you could ask me directly why?" she deadpanned.

"I don't know," he exclaimed. " Maybe it was to avoid getting caught. Which by the way I don't know how you don't." He answered crossing his own arms and glaring annoyed at her.

"God you're stupid." She rolled her eyes. Sighing herself she grabbing his hand and dragging him along. "C'mon dumbass."

"Wha-Wait? Annie, hold on. Where are we going?" He exclaimed again.

"Relax. It's a secret. You'll see soon enough." she looked back at him smiling again.

He blushed again. 'What is this feeling? It's like my body is on fire. It's strange, but in a good way...'

In a few minutes they came to clearing. It was a grassy cliff overlooking the lake. Small white and pink flowers were scattered here and there. It was a perfect spot for relaxing away from life's stresses. Eren was speechless. He was so in awe he didn't notice his mouth slightly hanging open.

Annie laughed inwardly upon seeing his awestruck face. It reminded her of their first spar. He was so easy to impress. Reaching up she moved her hand under his chin to gently close his mouth. This action snapped him out of his daze.

"Close your mouth you'll catch flies idiot." she spoke softly. Normally he would snap back at her, but from her tone he could tell she didn't mean anything.

Shaking his head, he cleared his throat before responding. "Um, so, uh this is where you've been hiding everyday huh?" He turned back to the blossoms before them, smiling thoughtfully.

"Yeah. It's one of my favorite places." She mimicked his soft expression.

"I can see why. This place is amazing." His eyes lit up with delight.

"They're called apple blossoms. If you think that's great wait 'til you see this." Grabbing his hand once again she lead him to the cliff's edge. Stopping a few feet away so as not to fall off the edge. "Look down here." She instructed.

Eren did as told and found himself even more surprised. Below the cliff side covering the whole side of the lake was a field of the same flowers he just saw. The little flowers were in full bloom. Surrounding the lakeside like a giant blanket. Even though they were close to the lake, from where they stood it appeared as if they went on forever. An endless sea of white and pink. Petals danced through around them carried by the gentle breeze. The tree leaves and flowers were blown lightly give the effect of a rolling grass field. It was breathtaking.

Inhaling deep he smiled contently at the feeling he got. He felt free. I was a bit hard to believe that a place like this existed withing these cursed walls. A breeze brushed behind him causing a chill to run down his spin. It was warm, but at the same time cool.

He turned to Annie and found her sitting, legs hanging off the edge, eyes closed, and content smile on her face, and boots placed next to her. Once again Eren was completely breathless. He stares a moment longer before following her lead and removing his boots then sitting on the edge next to his blonde companion.

"You really like flowers huh, Annie." He started.

"No...," He turn to her. "I love them." She smiled sweetly at him making him blush again. Lucky for him her eyes were closed so she didn't notice it. He gazed at her taking in her uncharacteristic expression. The way strand of gold fell out from her usually neat bun from being blown by the wind. How the sun kissed her angelic face, brightening up her skin making her appear happy, or was she always like that? After lingering his eyes on her for a few more minutes, he looked back out to the blossoming sea below. "Hey, Eren..." She spoke so softly he almost missed it.

"Hm, what is it Annie?" He replied.

"If you could be anywhere you wanted where would you go?"

"I'm not sure. There are lost of places outside the walls I want to see." he wondered.

"Well which peaks your interest most?" she pried.

"I guess if I had to choose it would be the ocean." he mused.

"Not bad. For me I would go to the mountains." she looked up to the sky.

"Mountains? I heard they're huge and take days to get to the top." He recalled.

"So? I want to climb to the top and see what the world looks like." She reached out a hand towards the sky imagining her dream.

"I read somewhere you could see everything from the top. I want to see it too." He confided.

" Then let's do it, Eren."

"What?!" Eren exclaimed.

"Let's do it. After we take back Wall Maria. After we rid the world of the titans. After we save humanity. Let do it together." Annie told him, her voice getting louder with each sentence and her body unintentionally getting closer to his.

"Wha-what?! Um Annie I..." He blushed double hard from her declaration and closeness. "I-I don't know if that's a good idea. We can't do that." His mind was reeling with wrong impressions.

"What are you talking about? I thought you wanted to see the outside world?" Annie questioned genuinely confused.

"See the...ohh. That's what you meant. I thought...he, well this is awkward." He was rivaling Mikasa's scarf right now. 'Idiot! Of course she meant that! Seriously what is wrong with me?!' he mentally slapped himself.

"Eren? Eren!" He snapped back to reality a felt her hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? You're face is like a tomato and you're burning up." she was clearly worried. This made him smile and calm down. She would act cold and distant around everyone else, but when it was just the two of them, she became a social butterfly and he adored that.

Removing her hand, but keeping it in his own. "I'm fine. Don't worry." He rubbed small circle in the palm and back hand. "Okay."

"Okay?" she repeated suddenly lost.

"Let's do it. Just the two of us." He looked up at her with a soft gaze again.

"But what about the others?" she asked.

"We can bring them next time. It's not everyday I get to hang out with you. Unless you count you kicking my ass." She chuckled lightly. It was music to his ears.

"Sounds like a plan. Just out of curiosity, why do you want to go together? What do you have a crush on me?" She smirked teasingly.

"What? Like hell. I just enjoy your company that's all." he looks away defensively like a little kid.

"Okay, if you say so." she nods not believing him. "One more thing. Why are you so interested in me? In general?" she added the last part quickly before he got the wrong idea again.

"You don't bother me. Even though I should hate you for always beating me, I don't. You don't hold back like Mikasa does. Both of you are badass freaks of nature, but she's soo overbearing. She always smothers me. Being with you is kinda refreshing, ya know? I can tell if I'm improving or not. I love her, 'cause she's my sister and all, but sometimes I wonder if she's really taking me seriously. The few times I beat her I can't help, but feel like she let me win like she used to do when we were kids." He confessed.

"She's your sister, Eren. Your each other's only family. I'm a little jealous to be honest. You are the first person to take the time to get to know me. Not even my father cared that much. I get where you're coming from. It's normal, but don't take it for granted. In this life going solo is an instant death wish."

She tried to reason with him.

"I know. I can't help it. She acts like my mom." He clenched his fists in pain and a anger.

" I get it. So by acting like that she reminds you of your mother. Sorry again." she placed her hand over his to comfort him. She knew what it was like to lose your mother. They talk about it some nights when Eren would have nightmares of the Shinganshina incident.

"I suppose. I just wish I we could understand each other better like us. I've know Mikasa for 6 years and you for less than 1." he held her hand again. To anyone else it would seem like they were a couple, but to the two of them it was just too really close friends helping each other over come things no one else could ever hope to understand. Turning to her with a big smile. "Annie, thanks for everything. I'm really grateful for meeting you."

"Me too, Eren." She returned his smile.

It was now or never he decided. Hey what does he have to lose aside from her friendship, respect, and current love of his life. With new resolve he took her hands again and looked her straight in her eyes. His eyes held a firey determination like when they sparred.

"Annie...I know this is completely out of the blue and I will understand if you kick my ass after and never speak to me again." He spoke fast, but not enough for her to miss it.

She stared at him. Her clear blue eyes shone confusion, curiosity, and a bit of nervousness. "Eren...?"

"Annie, I-"

"Eren!"

"Annie! You guys here?" Came a group of voices somewhere in the forest. Eren recognized them as Mikasa and Armin.

"Damn," He turned back to Annie. "Annie, I-"

"Eren!" Mikasa called again.

"God dammit." From what they could tell the other two where not far from them.

"C'mon." Annie stood up pulling him up with her.

"Wait, Annie I-" He was cut off again.

"Tell me later, okay. I don't want anyone else to see this place. After all this was supposed to be MY hiding spot remember?" she reminded.

"Right..." He looked down disappointed and defeated. The two cadets fixed themselves and headed back into the forest still holding hands until they reached the path. Eren glanced back at the clearing. Annie caught his attention by gently squeezing his hand, in which he stared down at her.

"Don't worry we can come back later. Sound good?" she smiled slightly.

He returned it. "Sounds good." They reached the rest of Eren's group no longer holding hands. Mikasa and Armin questioning him like frantic parents along the way. Annie trailing a short distance behind them.

Once they reached the camp which was the same when they left. No one else noticed their disappearance except for a few of their friends. Not even the instructors noticed. They all went back to sparring, Mikasa insisting she be Eren's partner. He was began to protest when Annie decided to take initiative and brushed past Eren. "See you later, Eren." He watched her leave before whispering to himself. "See you later, Annie." Both secretly smiling to themselves.