Chapter 5: The Gift of Practicality

"Annie Leonhart. Now there was a girl that was shrouded in mystery. There were days where she and I were on friendly terms. Well, as friendly as she could get. Those were the moments where I could finally get her to open up a little more instead of her being on the defensive so much. Her mother passed away when she was younger, though she never liked talking about it. I could tell when she talked about her father that she missed him a lot. I'm hoping that she'll get the chance to see him again. When this was all over, maybe I could try helping her find him.

"However, those days were rare for her. Most of time, she was cold, always wanting to push people away. Except for me it seemed. I've seen her smirk, but I've never seen her smile, except for the time I made her laugh, and that was in 847. I always wondered what happened in her life to drive her to this point. So, I concocted a plan that I hoped would finally make her days a little brighter. There were advantages to being a blacksmith.

"Unfortunately, there was one obstacle that I had to get pass first."


(March 20)

"You wanted to see me, Commander?" Dillon asked.

Shadis pulled out a brown box from his desk that had clearly been opened recently. "Open the box and tell me what's inside, Amsdale."

Nodding, Dillon took off the lid, revealing two, black knives with six-inch blades. There were in perfect condition, indicating that they had never been used. There were also two, small letters engraved on the hilt: D.A. He gulped, realizing where this was going. "These are boot knives I made, sir."

"How do you know these are yours?" he interrogated.

"Every weapon I made has the initials D.A. on the hilts," he explained. "My father does the same thing, except his are M.A. It's not just an artist signing his work; it's doubles as an insurance policy in case someone decides to kill someone else with our weapons. Makes tracking them down easier."

Shadis walked over to him, his stare as menacing as ever. "Then explain to me why these weapons were delivered to you and what you are planning to do with them."

Taking a deep breath, Dillon said, "I asked my parents to send them to me so I can give them to Annie Leonhart for her birthday. I thought she would appreciate them, sir."

He snorted. "The gift of weapons. How romantic."

Careful, Shadis. I can smell your sarcasm. "It's not like that," he explained. "You see, I've known Annie for a while, and—"

"Save it, Amsdale," Shadis interrupted, returning to his desk. "I'm holding you personally responsible if I find one of these knives in the back of a soldier. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Dillon responded, but then a thought came to him. "Uh, sir, if you don't mind me asking… when is her birthday?"

Once again, he was on the receiving end of the yellow-eyed glare. "Figure it out yourself, Amsdale. I'm not about to reveal personal information to help you get laid."

Dillon blushed in embarrassment. "That's not my intention, sir."

"Get out of here, maggot!"

Taking the box, Dillon dashed out of Shadis's office before the commander entertained the thought of throwing one of the knives at him. He should have thought out his plans more. He couldn't ask Annie herself. She would get suspicious and the surprise would be ruined.

He took another look inside and noticed a letter. He opened it up and only found two words on the paper: "Good luck!" Short, brief, and to the point. Definitely his father. Needless to say, Dillon had to come up with an idea fast in case Annie's birthday was right around the corner.

Then, an evil grin appeared on his face. There was one girl who, with the right motivation, would get him exactly what he wanted.


"Another piece of bread, Sasha?"

Sasha gratefully took it, chomping it down. "Thanks, Dillon." It was her fourth piece.

Dillon considered himself lucky. Annie wasn't in the mess hall at the moment, giving him the chance to say her name without her hearing it. She had incredible hearing after all. The first two pieces were for if Sasha knew when her birthday was, but she didn't know. The next two was for his Plan B.

Once Sasha swallowed the bread, she reiterated what she was told. "So, let me get this straight. You want me to ask the scariest girl in the Corps when her birthday is so you can surprise her with your gift. Is that what I'm hearing?"

Dillon nodded.

"And she can't know that you're planning to tell me. The minute she finds out, she'll know what I'm up to.

"If she asks why I'm asking her, what's my reason?"

"Anything that doesn't put her on the path towards me," he answered. "Maybe you want to throw a party for her or something like that."

"I'll think of something," she assured. "How long do I have?"

"Get the date as fast as you can," he replied, equally serious. "For all I know, it could be tomorrow. The second you find out, come find me without Annie seeing you relay the information to me. I'm counting on you."

Sasha patted him on the head, smiling. "Don't worry about it, Dillon. Sasha Braus has got it covered. You just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

Why do I get the feeling those are the last words I'll ever hear from you?


Not many people knew this about Sasha, but when she was sufficiently paid for a mission, nothing would stop her from completing it. Give her a piece of meat and she would take on the Titan army herself. Four pieces of bread was enough to get her to retrieve the information for Dillon as a down payment. It was going to be tough with a minor chance of injury, but she was confident she could get it done.

She spotted Annie leaning against the side of the barracks, looking bored and apathetic. So, nothing out of the ordinary.

Commencing Operation: Breaking the Ice. Plan A: Casual Conversation. Sasha thought as she approached the target. "Hi, Annie."

The blond-haired girl barely gave an indication that she heard her other than a mumbled, "Sasha."

Sasha leaned on the barracks next to her and started talking. "You know, I just realized something. I don't know a lot about you."

"So?" Annie asked, her tone indicating that she wanted Sasha to leave.

"So, I thought it would be fun to get to know each other," she said, ignoring Annie's unspoken request. "Let's see. I'm from Dauper Village, south side of Wall Rose. Where are you from."

"Wall Maria," she answered bluntly.

Sasha sucked in a nervous breath. "Okay, scratch that off the list. Um, oh! I'm 14. How old are you?"

Annie rolled her eyes and gave a begrudging answer. "Almost 14."

The trap is set, and the prey draws near. "Really? When's your birthday?"

"Why does it matter to you?" she questioned, annoyed.

Sasha groaned. "Oh, come on. You can't give me at least that? It's just a date. I just want to know something about you."

Annie stared at her firmly. "Here's a fact about me you should've picked up on a long time ago: I don't like talking to people that waste my time with pointless questions. Go be a bother to someone else."

Normally, those words would sting a normal person, but Sasha was not normal. As Annie walked away, she called out, "I'm not giving up, Annie. I will know the truth!"

Plan A: Failed.


(Later)

Plan B: Casual Dialogue as a Distraction.

Among the many things that cadets had to be trained in, horseback riding was essential. In order for the Survey Corps to elude the Titans and conserve gas when they ventured into Titan territory, they had to learn how to ride at high speeds and maneuver quickly. If someone fell of their horse, their days were numbered by minutes. The instructors set up an obstacle course, the obstacles being cardboard Titans. The path that was set before them would take them close to the Titans and they would have to dodge them by the skin of their teeth to get a feel for what it's like out there. Ymir learned the hard way that too much of a sharp turn could make things worse. She turned so sharply that she flew off the horse and broke her leg on the landing. Her chances of getting into the Top 10 were dwindling.

Surprisingly, Sasha was a master at high-speed horseback riding. It helped that she was from Dauper, a village that was well-known for its hunters. She's tracked down beasts of all sizes so she could help her father bring food to the table. That explained her obsession with a food that was becoming rare in Wall Rose: meat.

Unfortunately for a certain blond-haired cadet, that meant she could multitask.

"I still don't understand why you can't at least give me a date!" Sasha shouted over the wind as she made a clean, sharp turn. "Look how easy it is. July 26. That's when mine is."

It was like Sasha was sent to this planet to get Annie to snap, but she was stronger than that. There was only one way to deal with a nuisance like her: ignore her while galloping away.

"Okay, how about this?" Sasha offered. "If I guess the month of your birthday, tell me. Same goes for the day when we get there! So, March!?"

Does she ever shut up!? Annie wondered, getting more and more aggravated by the second.

"April? May?"

(Later, back at the starting point)

"October? November?"

"Shut up already!" Annie yelled, finally reaching the end of her rope. She came to a stop and glowered at the tormentor. "You've circled through the months three times. Get this through your thick skull, Braus: we are not friends and we will never be friends. Just leave me alone."

She jumped off the horse and stalked away for the second time today to the astonishment of her fellow recruits. They had never seen Annie lose her temper like that before. They made mental notes to stay away from her even more than usual.

Sasha smirked at the spectacle. I'm wearing her down.

Plan B: Failed


(That evening)

Plan C: Too Exhausted to Resist

"How about January?"

Annie let out an animalistic growl, trying to get to sleep. "They will never find your body, Potato Girl!"

Plan C: Failed.


(March 21)

Plan D: Bargaining.

"Hey, Annie!"

Annie wanted nothing more than to scream to whatever deity was out there to consume Sasha Braus in a fireball, so she let out a groan. "What now, Sasha?"

To her surprise, the irritant tossed a wooden knife to her. "I want to fight you."

Annie caught it, realizing where this was going. "Let me guess: you win, I tell you when my birthday is?"

"No," Sasha answered, stretching out her arms in preparation. "If I hit you once, you tell me when your birthday is. If I don't hit you, I'll never ask that question again. Do we have a deal?"

The blond-haired girl sighed. "Fine."

Quickly, she stuck out her hand. "Shake on it."

Slowly, Annie shook her hand. "I'll make this quick." She didn't give Sasha a second to prepare. Annie tackled her to the ground and jammed the knife into her chest. She really wished it was a real knife. "We're done here."

Then, Sasha did something she didn't expect: she flicked her on the nose.

"Got you!" she exclaimed happily.

Seriously? "I already killed you," Annie pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure I'm still alive," she replied, moving her fingers to make sure.

She shook her head in annoyance, feeling a migraine coming on. It was like talking to a five-year old. "For the purpose of this exercise, when my knife penetrates your chest, you lose."

Sasha would not stop grinning. "You said I had to hit you once. You never said I had to beat you… or live. I flicked you on the nose; therefore, I win."

Annie stared at her as if she grew three heads. Did I just get played by Potato Girl?

"To shake my hand is as binding as a blood oath," Sasha pointed out seriously. "I fulfilled my terms of the bargain. Now, fulfill yours."

Annie would never admit that what she did was well-played. She got off her and finally came clean. "My birthday is tomorrow, March 22nd."

Sasha hopped back up, a feeling of accomplishment passing through her. "Thanks, Annie. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The feeling vanished the moment she was given the infamous stare that was usually followed by a major beating. Then, the evilest of all evil smirks appeared on her face, sending shivers down Sasha's spine. If she survived this encounter, she would be seeing that in her nightmares tonight.

"You should've quit while you were ahead," Annie said darkly, cracking her knuckles.


Groaning, Dillon threw himself off the bed after putting away his journal and opened the door that something was slamming against repeatedly. What he saw caused him to stagger back in shock. It was Sasha, but her face, which was incredibly swollen, was covered in bruises and scratches. Judging by the way she was standing, it looked like she had a limp too. Nevertheless, she was still smiling as if she was promised a lifetime supply of meat…which Dillon was smart enough to not promise.

"Annie's birthday is tomorrow," she announced happily. "Mission accomplished!"

"Thanks, Sasha," he replied hesitantly, a little concerned for physical health. "Are you, uh, okay?"

She brushed it off. "Oh, please. If Shadis could make me run 'till I passed out, I can handle a few scrapes."

Dillon shook his head. "I don't even want to know."

Operation: Breaking the Ice: Successful! Reward: ten steamed potatoes.


(March 22)

Okay, Dillon. You can do this. He coached himself as he stood in front of the girls' barracks. Just knock on the door and ask to see Annie Leonhart.

Let's think of all the ways this could go wrong.

"Hey, Annie. I made you these knives," Dillon said, handing her the gift.

Annie looked pleased with the gift, but no smile. "Thanks, Dillon. This is just what I needed."

"Really? What for?"

Without blinking, she stabbed him right in the heart with a sadistic grin on her face. "I'll give you one guess!"

The last thing Dillon heard before he succumbed to his injuries was the sound of Annie laughing maniacally.

Okay, that's probably not gonna happen. But there are other people who might take it the wrong way.

"But, Commander, I swear I wasn't planning on assassinating you!" Dillon protested as he was being led away by two soldiers. "The anonymous tip was lying, sir!"

"Defiant to the end, maggot!?" Shadis roared. "When I'm through with you, you're going to be singing like a majestic eagle!"

Nobody noticed in the background Annie tossing one of the knives in her hand, smirking.

Dillon shook himself out of those thoughts. Get a hold of yourself! Annie isn't a monster. She's a human being. Just knocked on the damn door.

"Hi, Dillon!"

With a high-pitched yelp that he would later deny making, Dillon whirled around to see sweet, beautiful Krista with a smile that could make anyone feel better about life.

"Hi, Krista," he greeted, panting from shock.

"I didn't mean to startle you," she said.

"It's fine," he assured. "I was just lost in thought. How's Ymir?"

A frown creased her face. "She won't be walking for a couple of weeks. At least she didn't get discharged to the fields."

While Ymir wasn't his favorite person, Dillon still sympathized with her. "Well, at least you two can be thankful for small blessings."

Curious, Krista gestured to the box in his hand. "Who's that for, Dillon?"

"Oh, this? This is for Annie," he explained.

The smile blossomed right back on her. "Aw, that's so sweet."

Blushing a bit, Dillon stared at the door as if it was a great obstacle. "I've been trying to muster up the courage to knock on the door and ask for her, but the worst-case scenarios keep popping up in my mind. I thought that giving her this gift would finally make her smile for a change, but what if she doesn't? What if she gets annoyed with me? What if by wanting her to be happy ends up backfiring somehow?"

Krista placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Dillon, didn't your parents ever teach you not to focus on what-ifs?"

"Yes," he answered, happy that Ymir wasn't around to go ax-crazy on him for being near her.

"It's hard to, isn't it?" she asked.

"It is," Dillon agreed.

"Here, I'll help you." Before he could stop her, Krista opened the door and exclaimed, "Annie, Dillon wants to talk to you about something important!" She turned around and mouthed, "Good luck," before vanishing into the barracks.

"I wasn't ready,"he mouthed back, inwardly panicking.

In about three seconds, Annie walked out of the door and stared at him blankly. "What is it, Dillon?"

Hoping that he wasn't sweating and taking a deep breath, Dillon held the box out to her. "Happy birthday, Annie."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, this… is for me?"

Okay, you can roll with this. "Don't tell me you've never had a birthday gift," he said.

"I can't remember the last time I had one," she admitted, taking the box into her hands.

Dillon's face fell for a moment. "Oh. I didn't know. Well, I hope you like this."

Before she opened the box, Annie looked at him, realization dawning on her. "Wait a minute. It was you. You put Sasha up to it yesterday."

"Guilty as charged," he replied with a smirk. "She was the only one I could think of that could get the information out of you without you figuring out that it was for my benefit. Go ahead. Open it."

Annie tossed the lid off the box and stared at the knives. "Are these boot knives?"

Impressed, he replied, "Good eye. I made them myself. I figured you were the type of girl that would like something with practicality. If there's ever a need to defend yourself, you've got two knives to whip out."

Carefully, she stuck the knife in her boot next to her foot. "Fits like a glove."

"The knives are standard issue for soldiers," Dillon added. "You should see how many we have at the Forge." Oh, come on, Dillon. What was the point of saying that? It bears no relevance to the conversation.

Annie was about to do the same for the other knife when she paused. She glanced back at him, suspicion on her face. "Why are you doing this, Dillon?"

He tilted his head, confused. "Huh?"

Putting the box down, she crossed her arms, her eyes going cold once again. "What's the catch?"

Dillon couldn't help but groan in annoyance. "Seriously? Are we really doing this again?"

"No one has ever done something like this for me unless they wanted something from me in return," she shot back. "So, what is it? You want my life story? Are you expecting me to give you a gift in return? Or maybe you want me to have sex with you. I wonder how long that has been on your mind."

That crossed the line. Instead of shouting at her like he wanted to, Dillon settled for the sarcastic approach. "Yes, Annie. In exchange for these knives, I want your painful backstory. Leave nothing out." He snapped his fingers as his tirade full of mockery continued. "Actually, I have a better idea. I get to have sex with you because obviously, giving you sharp weapons was going to be a prelude to a night of sexual pleasures. Is that what you wanted me to say, Leonhart? Does that answer satisfy you?"

"You're mocking me," Annie stated, eyes narrowed yet again.

Dillon opened his mouth to say something really stupid that could mean the end of him and pulled back from the brink. He took a deep breath and he explained his motivation. "Annie, the reason I gave you those knives is because I wanted you to be happy. That's all there is to it. You know, I've gotten to know you for over a year, and save for the one time I made you laugh, you never seemed to have anything to smile about. I just thought that this would cheer you up a little."

Annie's anger slowly dissipated as the words sunk in. Like last time, she could tell that he was being sincere. He truly meant it as a gift, and she spit in his face in return.

He sighed, disappointed at how things turned out. "I'm sorry I made you mad, and I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Dillon turned to leave, but Annie quickly grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from walking away. "Dillon, wait!"

Surprised, he turned back around and noticed how… nervous and hesitant Annie looked. This was a side to her he'd never seen before.

"I learned at a young age that there are a lot of people in this world with ulterior motives," she explained, finding the ground to be an interesting sight. "They give you something to make you feel secure and safe…and then they own you."

Dillon's eyes widened, shocked. "Annie, please don't tell me this is going where I—"

Her head shot back up, realizing the implications behind that line. "No! That never happened to me! It's just… when I was a refugee in Wall Rose, I had to do favors for several people to survive. Sometimes it was stealing money, and other times it was delivering packages to certain people."

"Drugs?" he questioned.

She nodded. "I was good at what I did, and I got rewarded with food. My 'gifts' always came at a price back then."

That made a lot of sense to him. Combined with the trauma of the Titan Invasion, getting separated from her father, and the fall of Wall Maria, she also had to deal with assholes who took advantage of beggars. No wonder she was so cold and angry most of the time.

"I'm sorry I accused you, Dillon," Annie continued, feeling a little ashamed. "I should have known better by now."

"Just promise me you won't start stabbing cadets with the knives and we'll call it even," he replied.

Then, she did it. Annie gave a small, genuine smile. "Thank you for the gift."

Something about that smile made Dillon feel like he won the grand prize in a tournament. It made him feel warm inside. "My pleasure, Annie. Happy birthday!"

Once Dillon left, Annie headed back into the barracks where Krista was waiting with a cute smile.

"Aw, wasn't that sweet of him, Annie?" she asked.

Normally, Annie wouldn't have said anything, but she decided to oblige the girl this one time, taking the knife out of her boot. "Yes, it was."

However, she wasn't finished. "You know what I think? I think he has a crush on you."

That caught her off guard, her eyes widening. "Wait, what?"

"Think about it," Krista said, listing off the facts with her fingers. "Whenever he eats, he usually tries eating with you, the two of you seem to enjoy each other's company most of the time, and he went through all that trouble with Sasha just to find out when your birthday was."

Annie shook her head in disbelief, putting the knife back in its box. "You're delusional, Krista. There's no way someone like Dillon would…I mean, why would he…?" She was faltering as the facts started to come together in her mind. "Son of a bitch. He has a crush on me."

Krista frowned at how she said that statement. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Annie scoffed, stashing the box underneath her bed. "In case I haven't made it clear, the only reason I'm here is because I want to survive. Last thing I need is some guy choosing me as his crush. Besides, why me?"

She shrugged. "I can't answer that, Annie. You'd have to ask him yourself."

Once she was done securing the knives, she faced Krista. "Look, just do me a favor and keep your theories to yourself. I don't need people gossiping about things that aren't true. I'll deal with this myself."

Krista's face fell, feeling sad for Dillon, but she had to be sure. "You don't have feelings for him, do you?"

Annie sighed. "Even if I did, it wouldn't work out. The only thing I would be good at is hurting him." She paused as a thought came to her. "Wait a minute. Why am I telling you all this?"

"Because you trust me enough to keep quiet about it?" Krista suggested, resisting to urge to laugh.

She groaned. "Never mind. Just go do whatever you want. I don't care."

Krista took careful notice that Annie did not say she didn't have feelings for Dillon.


Remastered Edits: I removed Dillon calling Annie stupid. Not exactly the smartest thing to say to her.

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane because the next chapter is a completely new one.