A rewrite of the one-shot I wrote like 2 years ago. Now given a new title. ;D
This fanfic is Rated M for sexual tones!
A Reward Most Divine
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, coursing through his body like liquid fire. Ignited every one of his senses. His racing heart supplied him more fuel; kept him focused, kept on his bouncing feet. The blood gushing from his broken nose was nothing to him—nor the blurred vision of his swelled purplish left eye. Nothing was going to stop him from winning. If you don't fight back, you can never win; it was the motto he's lived by for most of his difficult life.
Eren Jäger was going to come out victorious in this match, even if it killed him. His body burned and perspired, aches happening in the joints of his fingers as he clenched them into fists so tightly, he felt a knuckle might pop. He could taste the copper in his mouth, but he swallowed it down. He didn't care. He wanted to make it out of there a champion. He wanted to make her proud.
Reiner Braun. His opponent, a man three-years his senior, and one of the owner's finest fighters rose tall, solid, sweating and bleeding. Eren was going to give him a run for his money.
Faster, I must be Faster!
He dodged a swing to his cranium, ducking low then rising like quicksilver, fist flying for an uppercut—he caught the stubbled jaw of his opponent. The blond man's head snapped back from the blow, he staggered, blood spurted from Reiner's mouth as he forcibly bit his tongue. The blond steeled himself upright, spitting blood onto the ground, he grimaced showing reddened teeth.
Both knew this fight wouldn't be over until one of them was unconscious or tapped out in defeat. But Eren shunned the idea, the very thought of giving up. It was for the weak. He was not weak. And she certainly would not tolerate a quitter.
He quickly stepped to the side on jittery legs as Reiner struck forward with a kick; twisting his body and swinging his own leg into a round house. His hit landed on the neck of the blond who crumpled down like a rag doll.
Eren surged forward immediately straddling Reiner, swinging blows left and right; breaking through his weak defense. Pain seared up Eren's arm as he felt his pinky finger break beneath the bandages. He sucked in air as he switched hands, pummeling his opponent with his uninjured fist. Reiner laid sprawled underneath him, shielding himself with his arms, but not much was being protected. His face was messier than Eren's to say the least. A split lip, thick bruises under his eyes and blood splatter on his chin and jaw.
There was no referee for this fight, as there usually would be for some. Someone was always there to stop them when things got to chaotic, too gory. There was no one this time, because this fight was a test of power. Of dominance. And because the owner called the shots; the bloodier it was, the more people will bring in the bets. The crowd of spectators that have formed around the two fighters were merely the audience that were paying to see the bloodshed.
Their bloodshed. However, if one of them admitted defeat, then the other won by default. It was Eren's first time fighting without some fake referee; but he wished it wouldn't have to be his first time sending someone to a real emergency room.
If he'd just fucking forfeit already!
Every hit Eren landed became more sluggish than the last. Reiner was breathing through a blood clogged nose, one arm braced against Eren, ready to shove him off; the other acting as a guard. Eren wouldn't let him have the benefit of the doubt. A plan formed in his head, the minute he stopped throwing punches and was forcibly pushed off by the big brute. He landed on his side, got to his feet quickly as not to let his opponent have the advantage.
But the fighters were both thrown off their equilibrium so much that they swayed across from each other. The room was sideways, dizzying. Eren tried to refocus on Reiner, who's thrown his arms up again and was circling him. They went around each other like predators; both waiting for the other to move. Eren snarled, flicking strands of dark hair out of his eyes.
Hit me, c'mon!
Reiner seemed to read his mind as he swung a right jab but switched to his left quickly. Eren barely blocked it, he's taken enough punches for being too reckless today. His left eye ached in response. As the blond seemed distracted on taking him down, Eren pivoted his leg, hips thrusting forward, turning as he put brute force onto kicking the man's shins. Reiner lifted his own leg in attempt to block it but Eren's kick caught on his thigh. Reiner's face scrunched in pain.
There was no time to lose. Nerves aflame, Eren pivoted and kicked the blond on the other side of his thigh; then surged forward before his opponent could recover. Swiftly knee striking him right into his abdomen. That knocked the air out of Reiner's lungs, and his eyes bulged as he doubled over, coughing up bloody phlegm. Eren whirled around, shoving him down onto the dirty mat and hooking his left arm around Reiner's right, firmly locking them. He braced his other hand against Reiner's shoulder and bent the other arm so harshly that the pressure made his opponent howl in pain.
Eren mentally thanked his cop of a sister Mikasa for teaching him this move. There was no escape for his opponent now, unless he pulled a miracle. Reiner struggled beneath him, squirming and writhing against his hold which made Eren just apply more pressure. There were whoops being heard in the boisterous crowd, and one onlooker shouted to break his arm and be done with it.
Reiner stilled underneath him, mangled face bleeding, and twisted in pain. Eren glared at the back of his head willing him to do it.
Then as his opponent raised his free hand, Eren kept the pressure on his hooked arm, only when he heard three heavy thumps on the matted ground beneath them; did he immediately release him. The crowd erupted into cheers, Eren slumped to the floor alongside Reiner who now rested his head against the mat. Whether he was passed out or not, Eren did not know. But it was over, he won.
Hands hefted him up by his shoulders, he heard his name and his stage name being chanted in unison from the crowd around him. He was nauseous, but he couldn't stop the stupid little grin from spreading on his face as the med people took him away. There was no stretcher bed, he was not being taken to a real hospital; so, the audience felt and touched him.
Patting his arms, and back in a show of appreciation. He heard a woman scream asshole on his way out but he was too tired to crane his neck and see who it was. One small guy pushed past everyone and got right into his path, he had a shock of fair blond hair, and wide smile on his face, bouncing up and down. Eren could see the excitement excrete from his friend.
"Connie." He croaked, right eye focusing on the bald kid.
Connie acknowledged him with an even wider smile, "Bro! Bro that was awesome! Man, bro that– shit– that was the best fight I've ever seen!" Connie clapped his hands for emphasis.
Eren could only grimace as it hurt to smile much, "I'm glad. You came..." He managed. There were very few people in his life that knew of his… underground career. Connie Springer happened to be one of them.
The med people holding him up seemed to be getting bothered by his little friend, they had a job to do after all. Regardless if they were not real medics, they still got paid like one. Well, somewhat. Other meds approached them from behind, parting the crowd. Reiner, slightly unconsciousness and bleeding profusely from his injuries, leaned heavily onto them.
Connie whistled at the sight. "Man, you fucked him up." He clicked his tongue, "Nobody challenges Rogue and comes out unscathed."
If Eren could roll his eyes he would, "I got fucked up too, y'know." The bruises on his skin ached something bad as if to agree with him.
"Yeah, but he was the one that tapped out." Connie shook his head, "That knee kick man, that was killer!"
"I– "
"Excuse me, we have to tend to his injuries, so if you can kindly step out the way." One of Eren's medics interrupted him. They eyed Connie distastefully, he caught the passive aggressive message.
"Alright Bro, I'll see you later." Connie threw him the peace sign, before disappearing into the crowd. The med woman to his right muttered something under her breath, but he didn't quite catch it. They made their way out of the double steel doors. Audience still in a muffled uproar behind him.
Being cheered for was an amazing feeling, winning was an even greater accomplishment. But what Eren wanted to feel right now, was her satisfaction.
The disinfectant stung, he winced once or twice as it was dabbed repeatedly on a cotton swab around his brow. The raven-haired woman worked carefully around his swollen eye. Another medic, Thomas was his name, had Eren's open hand on his palm, inspecting the broken pinky. He placed it between his fore finger and thumb, testing its movement. Eren hissed through gritted teeth.
Thomas looked apologetic. "I think your bandages weren't wrapped correctly." He explained, nodding over to the bloody mass of cotton on the crate next to them. Eren said nothing as the woman tilted his head up, examining his slightly crooked nose. Blood ran down in crimson rivulets from his right nostril.
She dabbed at it with a clean cotton swab while Thomas worked on putting a mini splint on his finger. Eren gazed behind the medics, across from them, laid his opponent, Reiner Braun, who was also being tended too with equal care. The medics kept him upright as he was barely conscious to hold himself up. He stared unblinkingly at Eren, almost like he was looking through him. He opened his mouth and for moment Eren thought he was going to be cussed out for the second time, which was perfectly fair in his situation.
"That was… a good fight." He rasped, then shook a dried bloodied fist in a messy salute to him, before the medics ordered him to lay down on the crates. Eren couldn't reply as the woman, Mina, he remembered her name, was now working on placing a small bandage across the bridge of his nose. But he nodded at Reiner in acknowledgment.
The curtain that hung between them was drawn by one of his medics and acted as a boarder. "That's one I'll remember for decades." Reiner laughed hoarsely. Mina patted Eren's arm to inform him she was finished. She warned him not to remove the bandages on his nose until the cartilage had fully healed.
The grating sound of a metal door being pushed open rang in his ears, Eren turned, just when the medic finished wrapping his splint, too see her standing there. She was flushed, like she had just run a marathon, someone had probably called to inform her of his victory. Her platinum blonde hair stuck out at odd ends. His heart swelled with elation just by her presence alone.
"Are you done with him?" Annie Leonhardt strode over to them; the medics greeted her with utmost politeness. She was, after all, the owner of the whole complex. Her father had been notorious for his brutal street held fights back in the eighties. He made a business out of it when his life took a turn for the worse, almost all the profits came from betting, but her father grew old and sickly as the years passed by. Five years ago, he had left her with all his winnings as well an empty warehouse where he once became a street champion.
Though it was illegal, Annie Leonhardt had no qualms with not putting a stop to something her father built a career out of that kept her fed and clothed as a child. She continued his legacy, expanded the property to other places, made a few shady deals, hired more people to work under her name. It was a bigger and better business, a covet nonprofit organization. And she knew her father would be proud, angry at first that she would risk being put away for life for holding illicit underground fights beneath the watchful eyes of authorities. But he'd be proud nonetheless.
"We're about finished here, miss." The medic, Thomas spoke up. Annie thanked them, then ordered their leave, and they obeyed without a word.
As soon as the medics left, Annie walked up to him. Eren wanted too envelope her into his arms, but he was so tired, and his body ached. So, he instead buried his face into the crooked of her neck, drawing her closer with feeble arms so she stood between his legs, breathing in her citrus scent. He didn't care that others were still in the small room with them. They couldn't see through the thick curtain anyway. Annie wrapped a thin strong arm around his shoulders, another hand combing through his sweat matted hair. He hummed weakly in response.
"Hitch rang me up, I was in the shower, so I couldn't pick up right away." She stroked his cheek gently, Eren leaned into her touch.
"I won." He murmured against her shoulder, she chuckled, lightly pulling at the wet strands of his hair. "I know, people all but screamed it at me the minute I walked in."
Eren nuzzled against her neck, "You satisfied that I won?"
Annie spared a glance to the ivory curtains and the silhouettes that moved behind them, "I'm pretty surprised to see you with only a few minor injuries actually, Reiner can be dumb sometimes, but his fighting is no joke."
Eren tried pull away from her, a bit hurt by that statement, but she grasped his bare shoulders, holding him in place. Annie made him look at her, pinching his face in her hand and mushed his cheeks together. His bruised face resembled a kicked puppy's, it made her snort.
She pressed a kiss to his puckered lips, Eren felt warmth radiating from her. He wanted to feel more of it. Just as he was about to yank her closer, she pulled back, dropping her hand to his knee. Placing her forehead on his.
"I meant surprised in a good way," She whispered, "You stood your ground against one of my best fighters, I'm so proud of you." As she said that her hand slid up his thigh just a fraction.
Eren gave her a half smile, swollen eye crinkling. He knew she'd be happy. Annie lived for victory. She was a fighter herself, and she never lost. Not in matches, not in life. And certainly not in love. Eren lived for these moments that presented itself whenever he came out a winner; the moments of her and him.
His working teal eye linked with her strikingly blue ones, he cupped her face with his uninjured hand, wanting to feel the press of her lips against his own. She gasped against his mouth, and he let his tongue slid between her parted lips. His veins boiled, hot and coiling with every caress of their tongues. Different than an adrenaline rush from fighting. It was pure desire.
Her nose bumped his and he winced slightly, she pulled back sheepishly mumbling a small apology, then pressed a kiss to it.
Eren leaned back on his elbows, the makeshift bed, that was just two crates with a blanket thrown over it, creaked with the added weight. He beckoned her to him with his finger, his seeing eye half lidded and blown with want.
She crawled over him, leaning down to press butterfly kisses up his clavicle, moving to his jaw, then to his cheek. Eren turned, capturing her lips with his. One hand tangled in her blonde tresses, to press her closer, while his splint one rested on her hip.
They're both very aware of the movement behind the curtain as one of the medics spoke up to their patient, Eren heard Reiner's deep baritone voice as he replied. They were about finished and were getting ready to leave, but his mind was hazy, and he needed this right now.
"Annie." he breathed her name quietly against her lips, nuzzled her jaw like a puppy would. She pressed her clothed chest against his bare one, slanting her warm mouth on his for another heated kiss. He secretly wished that they were in his bedroom instead; he'd get to feel the softness of her skin on his, get to hear her breathy moans and girlish whimpers as he lavished her with his tongue.
She pulled away from him than all too quickly, severing their intimate contact. Smoothed out her long sweater as the two medics drew open the curtain that bordered the room. Eren sat up immediately, crossing his legs to hide the bulging evidence she caused him.
Annie spoke to the two medics. Nodding as they listed the extent of the other Reiner's injuries. His opponent, now patched up with an arm sling around his shoulder, winked at him as he stood up from the crates.
Eren pointed faintly to his injured arm, "Sorry bout' that."
Reiner shrugged in response. "It's alright, I apologize for the broken nose, and black eye." He chuckled deeply, gesturing to Eren's swelled eye.
The medic's bid their goodbyes to their boss, Annie dismissed them after going over the costs of medicines and pain killers to be delivered. Reiner Braun, who turned out to be a decent fellow, patted Eren's shoulder with his good hand in a brotherly fashion.
"I look forward to fighting you again, Eren," He shook his head in disbelief, "I never fought someone with such ferocity, well not since Annie, at least. You know what I mean?" He ended his sentence with a slap to Eren's arm. Eren rubbed at the reddened skin as Reiner turned to Annie, waiting by the door.
"Bertolt's not gonna' be happy about this, he doesn't like that I still fight… but damn it. If you ever have need of me again—"
"You're rather expensive." Annie cut him off with roll of her brilliant blue eyes. She opened the door for Reiner. He grinned at her as he exited. "I took a pummeling from your boy toy there, if I'm fighting him again I'm going to need a lot more compensation!"
Annie chided him with a click of her tongue, her cheeks burned, she shook her head disapprovingly. As he exited, Annie slammed the door shut with so much force, the hinges rattled. Reiner's brash throaty chuckle could faintly be heard down the hall.
Then it was just the two of them, Eren felt his heart speed up in anticipation. Annie locked the door after a pause, then pressed her back against it. Eren met her smoldering icy gaze, obscured by her platinum fringes. He raised an eyebrow, admiring silently as she reached for her sweater's zipper, pulling it down gradually. She shook the garment off, it fell to the cemented floor in a heap.
He opened his mouth to remind her of how filthy these floors were, but his breath hitched as she swiftly removed her tank top as well. It pooled to the floor alongside her sweater. She stood there clad in a black bra and yoga pants. Stunning, he thought. Beautiful. No matter what she wore.
"Um… Annie." She sauntered over to him, plucking her hair band off and shaking wild blonde strands free. It curtained over her face as she lightly pushed him back against the crates.
"Annie," He rasped, smoothing out her cropped hair, "We should really do this, elsewhere..."
He trailed off as she straddled onto his lap, settling on his thighs. Her small callous hands run down his hard abdomen to his waistband, teasing the hem, then back up to his chest. Eren exhaled, His loose jeans doing very little to hide his growing excitement. And all she was doing was touching him.
Eren swallowed thickly, running his injured hand down her waist, lightly grazing her pale skin. He could feel the goose bumps on her flesh; her silvery locks of hair tickled his cheek as she leaned down and claimed his lips again.
He nibbled on her plush bottom lip, moving to the junction of her neck, then her shoulder, leaving little love bites here and there. She keened against him, and despite the protesting pain in his arms and injured hand, he managed to flip them over, so he was on top.
Annie sighed sweetly as he took over; luxuriating against his soft touches, calloused fingers and opened mouth kisses on every expanse of her skin. She arched her back slightly, biting down her lip to stifle a moan as he started to gently rock his hips against her. Eren sucked on a pulse point on her neck, admiring the little bruises he left after. The only bruises he would ever want to see on her.
Too soon were they both fumbling to discard his jeans and her gym pants; they laid in a heap on the ground. A gasp erupted from Eren the moment he got to feel more of her hot flushed skin. She climbed onto his lap, throwing her arms around his neck and grinding down on him, biting his quivering bottom lip. He pulled back, choked for a moment, groaned against her shoulder blade, then held her hips down for more pressure.
"Annie, I–ah." She rocked against his hardness; even with their underwear still on, the sensation was too overwhelming. He could feel how damp she really was, and it was making him impatient. He dropped his head against her shoulder; wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, almost possessively. Closer than they already were. Annie writhed deliciously on his lap causing a groan to spill from his lips. She could feel him twitch beneath her, and she whined, "Eren, let me, let me..."
He planted a kiss to her shoulder, secretly enjoying her little display of fragility, he knew if she truly wanted to, she could throw him onto his back and take what she wanted. Hell, he would love it all the same.
"If I lost… Oh god." His mumbling became a shaky groan as she slowly rotated her hips.
"If you lost?" Annie inquired breathily, tightening her hands in his long messy hair, and seeking his mouth.
He obliged her, moaning as she darted her tongue into his mouth. They come apart messily, lips wet, puffy and pink.
"If I lost once, would you still want to be with me?" He questioned, breathless. He stared at her with adoration, unveiled lust and curiosity.
Annie smiled. It was a tender smile that was only ever reserved for him. One that he had seen many times now in their spared moments alone together. She brushed aside his sweaty bangs and pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead, almost too romantic, even for her. It almost threw him off guard.
"You can lose a thousand times, and I'd still come to you," She said in a soft unnatural tone. "Idiot." She added, because of course, it's still Annie.
But hearing that made his heart leap up to his throat, and the heat below rise. He had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her. Never fully engaged in hand to hand combat until he met her. Never cared much for winning either. She trained him, honed him until he was all sharp edges and deadly techniques. He was her star pupil. And she was his teacher; as well as his boss. And even if Annie would probably never commit to a true relationship, he was aware now of how much she was already his.
He showed his thanks by sliding his hand down into the waistband of her shorts; reveling in how she whimpered when his calloused fingers touched her sensitive wetness.
"Love you." He whispered against her heated skin; delved two fingers into her tight warmth, his other splint hand tracing up her spine. She shivered with a breathy whine, then leaned forward sinking her teeth into his shoulder.
Eren smiled.
That's my girl.
