Since the win against Petra, the gym had been buzzing with talks of a shot at a title. The rumor that Petra had been using Annie as a final preparation match for that fight had been confirmed. Now all they were waiting for was a call from the current champ's manager.

Bertholdt didn't even bother trying to set up any more fights. The crew was factoring in recovery time for Annie's concussion, and wanted to make sure she was at her best when the call came.

Well, that was, if Annie would accept.

Each day, the blonde grew more and more irritable towards the others in the gym, sometimes going out of her way to make things difficult for them. She timed her usage of certain equipment to clash exactly with Eren and Jean's schedule, then neglected to put everything back after she was finished. She met everyone's friendly advances with cold rejection, usually throwing in an abrasive comment as well. Mikasa thought it was a symptom of the concussion initially, but when the doctor declared her symptom-free and able to resume competition, and Annie's mood got worse with every passing day, Mikasa knew there was something else going on.

She managed to catch the athlete at the end of a heavy bag session. Annie pummeled the bag with surprisingly bad form, especially for her. Mikasa watched as Annie took wild, out of control swings at the battered sack, breathing heavily. Finally, the woman ended the assault. She flipped her bangs out of her face and looked menacingly at Mikasa.

"What?"

The hostile tone sent Mikasa for a loop. She hadn't heard Annie use that voice with her in a very long time. Concerned, she spoke softly, as not to further agitate Annie.

"You okay?"

Annie turned back to the bag, angrily resuming the attack. Between punches, she gasped out a reply.

"I'm." Thud. "Fine." Thud.

Mikasa waited patiently for the woman to tire herself out, but Annie just kept punching.

"You don't seem fine."

Annie, clearly exhausted, threw a few more punches before catching the bag with her hand, steadying it before leaning on it herself. She looked at Mikasa with an icy glare.

"What do you care, anyways?" She panted. "Don't you have something else to do? Like, hmm, plan a fight I want fucking nothing to do with?" She swung again angrily, connecting squarely with the bag.

"Annie, I wasn't-"

"I'm not fighting for the belt. Find someone else to relive your glory days for you." Annie scooped up her water bottle and stalked off towards the locker room. Mikasa had half a mind to chase after her, but reasoning with her at the moment seemed impossible.

She debated about how to go on with Annie over her recent blow up. One option was to just let the woman cool down on her own, then they could talk about the fight. However, Annie seemed like the grudge-holding type, and Mikasa did not have time to let Annie get over this before she was bound to get the call. She thought about using force as well, but she knew she'd be toeing a very fine line between gaining Annie's respect and pissing her off. Best case scenario would be Annie blew her off altogether, worst case being Mikasa ended up in the hospital with her own broken cheek.

There was also the third option. It was risky, since Annie was quick-to-anger lately, but it seemed like it had the best chance of reward. Mikasa waited outside of the locker room for Annie to come out. Like clockwork, the blonde exited the room, five minutes after closing. A damp towel draped over her head, she peeked out beneath the cloth to see Mikasa sitting on the bench, and her frown instantly deepened.

"Annie, wait up."

"Not in the mood, Ackerman." Annie dismissed her with a wave, stalking off towards the exit. Mikasa stood and fell into step, just a few feet behind her. Annie scoffed and continued walking, Mikasa right on her heels. She reached the doors and looked back to Mikasa.

Without warning, Annie dropped her gym bag and sprinted out the door. Taken by surprised, Mikasa rushed to the door, only to catch a glimpse of Annie taking a hard corner, disappearing from sight.

Mikasa couldn't say why she did it. She took off after the woman, bursting out the door herself and rounding the corner. She was lucky the sidewalk wasn't too busy; she caught sight of Annie's blonde hair and white sweatshirt a block and a half ahead of her. The woman was fast; if she got around a corner too quick, Mikasa would lose sight of her.

Thankfully, Mikasa was in better shape. Although she stayed a good block or two behind Annie for most of the chase, eventually, the blonde's lungs gave out and she slowed, giving Mikasa enough time to catch up.

The chase finally ended in front of an old building. Annie sat on the front step, her chest rising and falling. Mikasa walked up to her and bent at the waist, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Well?"

She looked up to see that Annie was already standing, looking impatient as she held the door open for Mikasa. Mikasa hurried up the steps, trying to keep Annie from waiting any longer than necessary. They entered a dark lobby. Annie darted up the steps and hung a quick right, pulling a set of keys out of her sweats as she went. Mikasa followed, and when Annie opened the door to her apartment, Mikasa followed her in there as well.

She was surprised at how small it was. The kitchen and living room were cramped into one small combined space. A two seater couch took up the middle of the room, facing a small, old tv, separated by a small wooden coffee table. A few dirty pairs of gym shorts and other assorted clothes littered the floor. Mikasa noticed the tapes she had given Annie on the previous fighters were all scattered on the floor, some halfway played, others not rewound at all.

"Not what you were expecting?" Annie said dryly. She took a seat on the couch, saving space for Mikasa to sit next to her. Mikasa did so soon after; the couch was a tight fit for both women, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Annie leaned on her arms, bracing herself against her knees. "I'm still paying a few things off, then I'll be outta this dump."

Yet another cryptic statement from Annie. Mikasa was beginning to wonder if she'd ever learn anything about the blonde.

"It's...cozy." She felt bad about the comment, but she just couldn't think of anything else to say about the apartment. Annie had been making a lot of money off of her fights; why didn't she look into something a little nicer?

Annie scoffed. "Polite as always" She got up off the couch and walked to the refrigerator. "Want anything?" She called.

"I'm alright, thanks."

Disregarding the response, Annie returned with two bottles of water, placing one in front of Mikasa. She opened her own and took a long drink of it, taking her time to reseal the container and placing it on the surface in front of her.

Mikasa knew Annie was stalling. She seemed uncomfortable, something that made her uneasy too.

"Annie, I think we should talk about the fight." No sense in beating around the bush any longer.

"Maybe I don't really feel like talking about it."

"You may not want to, but it's something we need to do." Mikasa pushed gently.

"I can't fight for the title."

"Why not?"

"I just can't." The blonde crossed her arms stubbornly.

Mikasa looked at Annie, hurt. All she wanted was for the blonde to trust her. Waiting a moment before trying again, she proceeded cautiously. "Annie, please. I want to understand."

"It's because of him, alright?" Annie suddenly snapped. The blonde looked away, ashamed. "I just can't."

"Him?"

"My old man." Annie continued. "That lying fuck. He was a boxer too, you know. A titleholder. He taught me everything he knew. He told me he'd take me to the championship himself." A dark look overtook her face. "Until that bitch came around. He dropped me off at the gym and never came back for me. I was twelve." Annie looked down at the floor. The vindictive tone was gone, the usual walls down. Mikasa saw a tired woman who had been alone for too long, trying to work with the hand she had been dealt.

"I promised myself I wouldn't be anything like him. Including being a champ." Annie finished. They sat in silence while Mikasa processed what Annie had told her. It explained why Annie was so reluctant to join the gym, why she was quick to anger and slow to trust. Mikasa knew she had to say something, to acknowledge that what Annie had just told her was deeply personal, and that she appreciated the fact that she had trusted her enough to tell her.

"Can I say something?"

The blonde didn't protest, which Mikasa took as a sign to proceed.

"I-thank you. For sharing that with me. I get that it must have been hard for you to do this. Especially after being hurt by someone like that. But if I may, without overstepping my bounds, I just want to say that anyone who could have left you like that isn't worth a damn to you."

Annie turned to Mikasa, unsure if she had really just heard the raven-haired girl correctly. Mikasa met her gaze steadily; for the first time, Mikasa was able to see past Annie's icy glare and fully appreciate the color of Annie's eyes. Their pale blue was stunning; Mikasa even took a moment to admire them before continuing.

"Annie, you're surrounded by people that care about you. None of us want anything more than to see you succeed. You don't have to give this up because one man gave up on you. We're all here for you now." She smiled. "You've just got to let us in, that's all."

Mikasa watched the blonde as she took in what Mikasa had just said. She still looked weary, but she didn't have the same raw, vulnerable look to her. Whatever Mikasa had said had struck a chord with her, and she was using the time to process it, to figure out what it all meant. Finally, she appeared to reach a conclusion.

"I guess." Annie said sheepishly. It may not have been much, but it wasn't a flat out rejection either. It told Mikasa that Annie was at least considering trusting her, even if she wasn't fully ready to yet. That alone was more than enough for Mikasa.

"You know when you're ready, I'm here. We all are." She gave Annie a light squeeze on the shoulder and stood, preparing to leave. She had gotten her point across for the evening; she felt Annie needed time to let everything fully sink in. Just as she was about to leave, Mikasa felt Annie's fingers brush against her own, then her hand being grabbed by the blonde.

"Hold on." Annie said hesitantly. Mikasa tried to sit, but Annie stopped her, still holding her hand. "This won't take long. I'll let you get out of this shitty place." She said dismissively. "I'll...think about the title fight. I can't promise that I'll be able to do it. I'm...still working through that." Mikasa nodded encouragingly. "But I just want you to know that I'll think about it. Okay?"

"More than okay." Mikasa answered. "Anything else?"

"I think I've said more than enough already." Annie said tiredly. She let go of Mikasa's hand, signaling that she was free to go. Mikasa left the apartment feeling the strangest combination of emotions she had ever felt. Hearing that she had been all but abandoned by the one person who was supposed to take care of her had Mikasa's heart aching in her chest, accompanied by a rage she didn't know she was capable of directed at that specific someone. But in the back of her mind, something else wormed its way into her thoughts; a flicker of hope that someone would be able to reach the blonde, to remind her that even when the world was against her, there would be people there to help her through it. Mikasa hoped that she could be that person.