A/N:

Hello everybody! Happy Easter for those of you who celebrate! Chapter 2 is done! Woohoo! The first chapter of this story got good feedback and a few people have asked me to continue it, so your wish is my command. I would like to send a quick shout out to Holl0w Dan for being the stories first follower/favourite and thanks for the awesome review as well as the review from the guest, thanks! Also a shout out to Wolf301 for being my first Author follow/fav thanks a lot, I really appreciate it! Finally a HUGE shout out to LuminousWriter11 for their feedback, they took the time out of their day to give me an in depth review of my writing and me being a new writer I really appreciated it. Check out their stories, they're great! Well here you guys go, chapter 2.

Oh I almost forgot, just so everyone knows I'm Canadian so some spelling may be different. For example: Colour/Color and Favour/Favor. Alright just letting you guys know.

By the way all characters are over 18.

Chapter 2 – So Close

"You have the cutest smile in the world, you know that?"

Annie stood there speechless, trying to conjure up something; words, thoughts, actions, anything, but to her avail there was nothing. She was a blank page lying on the desk of a spaced out trainee with nothing to do but stand there looking like a complete fool with her mouth agape. She stood there, stiff almost blending in with the trees for what seemed like hours staring at the clearing where the green eyed brunette boy was standing only seconds ago, until she finally came back to reality, or at least her thoughts.

Cute. Why does he keep using that word? I'm not cute; I was never cute, not even as a child and I will never be cute!

Fuck you Eren Yeager, stop doing this to me. Stop making my heart ache, stop making me at a loss for words. Stop everything! Leave me alone! Stop calling me cute!

What was that? What just happened? I don't even understand? Cute?

His eyes though, his green orbs shine like emeralds reflecting the light that hides deep down in this world. His enthusiasm and joy and pride and happiness, it doesn't make any sense to me. How can he be so enthusiastic in a world like this? How can he be so cute?

Annie's thoughts echoed in her head, the theme of the voices bouncing back and worth; anger, shock, confusion and adoration, but one word occurred in all her multiple personalities. Why did it have such an effect on her, it was the second time he had used it on her and both times it sent her into a spiral of emotions and ache.

To be honest no one had ever called Annie cute in her life, not even as a child. She grew up in tough surroundings, in a village far away from the walls with her single father. Her mother had died during her child birth and it had affected her father greatly. After her death, Annie's father spiralled into drinking, drug abuse, self-harm and any other way to torture himself because he blamed himself for her death. He was the one who impregnated her with the child that inevitably ended up killing her. The abuse hit its extreme at the start of the Annie's life and for the first few weeks she almost didn't survive because her father never tended to her. He didn't feed her or change her and left her alone in her crib all day while he drank and sat in silence in his bedroom. Eventually though, he came to realize this child was his to care for. She was dead and he had to get over it. He had to make sure she survived this cruel world and that she was strong enough to protect herself. He wouldn't let her make the same mistake that he and her mom made. Love was a mistake, a foolish lie that can't exist in this cruel world. So he didn't show Annie any. He cut love out of his life and made sure she never felt it. He trained her hard, long nights and early mornings of physical and mental discipline, without a single sign of compassion or care.

It wasn't long until Annie found herself wanting to leave. Her "friends" Reiner and Bertholdt were joining the scouting legion and she had asked them if she could come along. There were not many jobs available in their home village and the military was a common future for the teenagers. So Annie found herself packing her bags and on her way out the door to her new life, not before getting a final lecture from her father though.

"The world is your enemy Annie! Promise me you will never love! Annie! Promise me!"

Her father's words now echoed in her mind. She never understood why her father had this obsession with protecting her from the world. Why she was never allowed to be close with anyone around her. Reiner and Bertholdt weren't even her friends, just the only people who made a slight attempt to connect with her when her father was busy with other things. She never felt love; she had overheard the other trainees talking about love and relationships but had never felt the things they discussed, until today. The ache in her chest, the heat in her cheeks, the rubber feeling in her legs all matching the descriptions she had overheard, but Annie being the cold heartless girl she was, mistook these feelings for something else.

Maybe he's just mocking me, just trying to get a rouse out of me, fucking with me-. But what if he's not? What if it's true passion? I need to consult someone about this.

"And I know exactly who to talk to..." Annie said out loud concluding her thoughts as she started to jog back to the girl's barracks.

Eren sprinted through the forest at top speed, dodging trees, branches, roots, stumps, animals and anything else in the way of his mission to get back to the barracks as fast as possible. His body was flowing with adrenaline, excitement and fear; he was worried that Annie was chasing after him after his concluding comment. She was surely ready to kill him after that cheeky comment. His blood was pumping and he kept running, but eventually he got lost in his thoughts.

I'm such an idiot. Why the hell would I say that to her. Do I have a death wish? I didn't even think about it. It just squeaked out. Of all people I could've complimented I chose Annie, the toughest and baddest bitch in the 104th trainee squad. I've surely dug my own grave.

There was a reason that Eren had told Annie of all people but he hadn't come to the conclusion himself yet. He was too foolish and idiotic to realize his true feelings for Annie. Another thing he didn't realize was the low branch that was hidden behind a thick tree and as Eren rounded a tree he came face to face with branch.

.

.

.

Oh my god, Eren thought as he held his head hopelessly, he was bleeding profusely from his forehead. Where did that branch come from, Eren thought as he chuckled lightly, grimacing from the pain. Eren had now realized that Annie wasn't following him and couldn't really care less anymore if she was. He collapsed from the pain. He lay down on the forest floor and closed his eyes, letting the sun gleam through his closed eyelids. Right before Eren could lose himself to sleep; a shadow blocked the gleam of the Sun from Eren's closed eyes.

"Annie..?" Eren whispered almost silently.

"Eren!" the figure yelled and grabbed him by the shoulders pulling him up into her arms.

Eren opened his eyes wide when he realized that it wasn't Annie's voice that had called his name, "Mikasa..?"

"Yes Eren, it's me," she spoke softly. "I was looking around for you and found you here lying on the ground. Why are you out here again? Don't tell me you were thinking about mom and home again?" she questioned as if she already knew the answer.

Eren's face turned red, he had known that Mikasa was keen to following him and protecting him but he didn't enjoy it when she babied him. He knew that she would comfort him if she knew he was thinking about home. Which he was at first, but then Annie came strolling in and made him forget all about it, she had that power on him. Right now however he couldn't return Mikasa's glare. She kneeled in front of him waiting for his answer. They sat there in silence for a several minutes taking in each other's presence.

Eren finally decided to speak up, "Yes Mikasa, you're right I was thinking about home and mom and dad. I'm sorry for running from you and hiding here but sometimes I just need to reminisce and let my thoughts out…" He paused to let the information sink in. "However you should be happy to know that my grieving did not last long. I got distracted by some other thoughts," Eren couldn't help but unleash his thoughts about the blonde girl that were encased in his head.

"What other thoughts," Mikasa said quickly and abruptly.

"Well I've been thinking about this girl a lot recently. I can't get her off my mind. She's beautiful, smart, caring, tough…" Eren trailed on.

Mikasa was starting to get curious and wondered what girl could affect Eren so much to make him forget about his grief. She was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't even listening to the rest of the qualities Eren was listing off.

"She's a petit little girl, with a hot body and sparkling eyes, her hair is glowing and she's got a smile that could knock any guy out…." He trailed on with Mikasa not registering a single word, until his very last sentence, which blew all thoughts out of Mikasa's mind.

"And I-I..think..I-I might love her…" Eren stuttered his last words.

And then it hit her. The final words that came out of his voice made her realize it. It was her, the girl was her. Eren loved her. "E-Eren.." was all Mikasa could push out while hiding her blush under her scarf.

"I know Mikasa, I know. This world is not the place or time for love. We are training to eradicate the titans and the last thing I need is a relationship but I can't help the thoughts. I think about this girl all day, every day and I can't stop it. She's special."

Mikasa's blush deepened, her entire face turning beet red to the point where she could no longer hide it behind her scarf. "I-I think that you should tell her… Maybe not today but she should know. You're right that this isn't the time or place for a relationship, but it also doesn't give us time to hide our feelings. In this world you could die tomorrow, even if it's not from the titans, people die in training too. You don't want to die with regrets." Mikasa internally scoffed at her own words due to the irony of what she was saying. She's had these feelings for Eren for years now and had never confessed them to him. She always hoped that one day he would stop being oblivious to her feelings and realize the real reason she babies him. She was too afraid that he only thought of her as a sister and wouldn't return her feelings. She wanted him to be the one to confess to her.

"You're right Mikasa, I should tell her. I'll do it when the time is right! Thanks Mika, you're the best!" he stated excitedly to her and planted a kiss on her cheek before running off back to the barracks.

Mikasa just stood there for a few seconds, holding the cheek he had kissed. Eren was not one to show affection. She caressed her cheek, her blush couldn't deepen anymore more than it already had. So she just stood there with a smile spreading from ear to ear and whispered to herself, "I love you, Eren Yeager."

Back at the girl's dorm, Annie entered her room shutting the door behind her quietly. It was dark outside now, she had missed dinner but thankfully some leftovers were left out for her and what she assumed Eren when they returned from the forest. She had eaten her food and was now attempting to sneak into her room without waking her roommate, which proved unsuccessful.

"Hey Annie, where have you been?" asked Annie's polite but very eccentric roommate Mina Carolina.

Mina was the only person in the trainee squad that Annie was somewhat comfortable with. She was her roommate so Annie didn't have much of a choice of opening up to her or not. Mina didn't make it easy either; she was persistent since the start. Annie thought she could get away with being a silent, anti-social cadet but Mina had other plans. She kept pressuring Annie with questions, accusations and more questions. The questions never stopped until Annie finally starting answering them to get her off of her back. Now she found herself fairly close to the pig-tailed girl. Although they had opposite personalities, Mina was eccentric, hyper and social, where Annie was anti-social, calm, and angry. They complimented each other though and formed a nice balance of sugar and spice.

"I was just wandering around in the forest," she responded casually.

"Ah, I see. That's… interesting I guess. Anything interesting happen?" she questioned.

"No, not really," she blatantly lied. "Sorry for waking you."

"It's okay, I technically wasn't asleep yet," A silence broke out, although only to be broken a few seconds later, "Is everything alright? You seem on edge, which isn't normal for you," Mina stated waiting for Annie's response, but she already knew something was up.

Oh Sina! I know this is a huge mistake but here goes nothing. "Well… actually there is something."

Mina had jumped out of bed at these words, in a split second she had grabbed Annie by the wrist and was dragging her over to her bed. Mina gently threw Annie onto the bed, moving to sit next to her, "Tell me, tell me please!" She yelled excited beyond imagination.

Why am I doing this to myself? Annie thought. Here goes nothing, "Well you see there is this boy-"

"AHHHH! Annie it's a boy! Oh my god! You're not asexual?" She interrupted shrieking.

Annie sighed and face palmed simultaneously at her reaction. This really was a mistake. Annie started to stand up trying to return to her own bed but Mina gripped her shoulder holding her down.

"Annie I'm only joking. It's a pretty big deal, you've never shown any interest in anyone, let alone a boy," Annie just glared at Mina with a very unimpressed look. "Sorry, I'll be serious now. C-Continue," Mina spoke nervously.

"Fine," She deadpanned. "Anyways, there is this boy and he really bugs the shit out of me. He never leaves me alone and won't stop talking to me. But the one thing that really bugs me is he keeps calling me cute," she pronounced the last word bitterly.

Mina wasn't quite sure how to react at first, Annie seemed generally pissed off and she didn't really know what to say. She decided to just tell her what she thought of his actions, "Awww Annie, I think he likes you! He really likes you! Who is it? Tell me!"

"No way Mina! There's no way I would tell you, half the world would know about it by tomorrow." She laughed.

"Annie please." Mina pleaded.

"No Mina." She deadpanned.

"Fine," Mina pouted for several seconds and then one question popped into her head, "well do you like him back?" She asked.

"No!" Annie yelled abruptly. "He's annoying and I just want him to leave me alone."

"Then why are you so flustered?" Mina smirked. Mina had known Annie long enough now to understand when something was bothering her, even with her stoic attitude.

Annie sighed and decided that she had made it this far, she might as well tell her about the weird aches, "Well you see… whenever he speaks to me I get this ache in my chest. I get all hot in my cheeks and ears and I can't make it stop and I don't really understand why."

"Annie! You like him back! Oh my god Annie Leonhart likes a guy. I've got to tell EVERYBODY!" Mina squealed.

Annie grabbed Mina by the collar and got right up in her face, "Mina I will kill you, but first I will rip your voice box out and shove it up your-"

"Annie! I get it, enough!" Mina's voice cracked. "D-Do you w-want my opinion or n-not?" Mina could barely speak as Annie breathed in her face. Annie just nodded waiting for her to continue. "I-I," She cleared her throat and calmed her nerves. "I think you should tell him how you feel. I know you don't know what any of these feelings mean, but you like him and he likes you. Annie this could be good for you, you need to loosen up. Love is a special thing that you'll never understand until you experience it yourself," Mina cowered under her arms afraid Annie would pummel her.

Annie contemplated her point, eventually realizing that Mina wouldn't leave it alone until she did it. She had made the mistake of telling her in the first place and now she was knee deep in shit. "Okay I will. I'll tell him," She said stoically.

"Oh ANNIE!" Mina screamed and pulled her into a hug.

"What's all that screaming about next door?" Sasha asked Mikasa while they lay in their beds trying to fall asleep.

"Probably just Mina freaking out again," Mikasa sighed.

Mikasa and Sasha had built a friendship over their time in the training corps. They had trained together a couple of times and although Mikasa teased Sasha a lot, she respected Sasha and how she didn't care what others thought about her, even after she had lied to everyone and said Sasha had farted in the dining room.

Mikasa had shared her bread with Sasha once and that's all it took to win her over.

"So Mikasa… any new gossip?" Sasha questioned now that Mina's yelling had woken them from their state of slumber.

"Well actually there's something I've been meaning to tell you," Sasha had sat up in her bed, she was now seated cross legged waiting for Mikasa to continue, "I spoke to Eren today and well… he told me about this girl, this special girl who he couldn't stop thinking about and he started listing off qualities about her." She paused. "And w-well they matched my description."

Sasha gasped, Sasha had known about Mikasa's feelings for Eren since day 1. She had seen the way Mikasa babied him, I mean who hadn't, and everyone could tell she loved Eren more than just family. However Sasha had consulted Mikasa about it one night and eventually pressured her to confess the hidden feelings.

"Oh my god Mikasa! No way!" Sasha was bouncing around her bed like a child.

"An-And he said that he thinks he's in love with her."

"What?!" Sasha yelled before falling off her bed face first into the floor.

There was a knock on the wall from next door.

"Hey! Keep it down over there!" Mina yelled from the other side of the wall.

"You should talk Mina! The whole world can hear you!" Mikasa yelled back.

.

There was silence

.

Mikasa swore she heard someone mumble 'smart ass' from the other side of the wall, but thought nothing of it.

Sasha lay on the floor from her fall, a little bit dazed. She immediately ran over to Mikasa once she had shaken off the stars and grabbed her shoulders, "You need to tell him Mikasa! Now is the perfect time! He is finally realizing his feelings!" She spat in her face.

"No! He is still my brother and he always flips out on me. He would never feel the same way back. A girl can only dream," Mikasa's face dropped.

"Mikasa you and I both know that's bullshit! Stop denying the fact you guys are perfect for each other. He's your adoptive brother, it's not incest. Grow a pair and-"

Sasha was interrupted by the door to their room swinging open and smashing against the wall. Both girls' heads turned to face the burly bald man standing in their doorway. He had a look on his face that every trainee feared, his dark eyes glaring them both down.

"S-Sir?" Both girls squealed.

"Shut up you brats! People are trying to fucking sleep and your whiny little voices are giving me a headache!

"S-sorry, sir we-"

*SLAM*

The next morning Eren prepared himself for the day, getting dressed up in his sweater and jacket, pulling up his boots and mentally preparing himself for his training session with Annie.

Alright this is my chance to prove to Annie how tough I am. I can prove my worth and then maybe she will give me a chance at being her friend. My compliments don't seem to be working so far and she broke my nose for Sina sakes. Well at least she apologized, so maybe I'm making some progress. I've got to show her that I'm tough and can take her down, but at the same time I don't want to hurt her. She's a tough girl but if I ever hurt her I couldn't live with myself. She's so cute and adorable-

Eren's thoughts were interrupted by the alarm signalling the beginning of training, "Shit! I'm going to be late!" Eren went running out the door.

"Late again," Annie stated. "You're creating a bad reputation for yourself Yeager."

"Sorry. To be honest I don't really have an excuse, I just got lost in my thoughts," he responded guiltily.

"Big surprise," She deadpanned.

"So, do you think you could actually teach me your technique today instead of just kicking my ass?" Eren smirked.

"Don't be a smart ass." Annie told him, but couldn't hide the small smirk on her face. "There's only one way to learn and that's the hard way. Man up Yeager," and with that comment Annie lunged at Eren.

They wrestled each other for several minutes, swapping punches, kicks, knees and other simple combat moves, until Eren finally gave in to his exhaustion and Annie took advantage. She used her technique to knock Eren to the ground and straddled his hips, holding his arms above his head pinning him, "Gotcha!" she said with the smallest of smiles breaking on her lips.

"There it is again." Eren smiled as well.

"What?" Annie asked confused.

"That smile," he replied. A silence broke out between them as Eren took in all of her glory, the smile that he loved so much, looking down on him. Then he noticed something, "You've got some dirt on your cheek," Eren said while placing his hand there. He rubbed the dirt off with his thumb slowly and his smile grew, as he could feel the heat in her cheeks.

It felt as if time stopped and it was only Eren and Annie lying there on the training ground. They stared into each other's eyes with Eren cupping Annie's cheek and refusing to remove his hand, but Annie didn't seem to care because they were both lost in each other's eyes. Annie's blue eyes reminded Eren of the Ocean that Armin had told him about, the vast salt water that expanded huge areas outside of the wall. It reminded him of his goal to get to the outside of the walls, to break the barriers holding him in. The fire that was lit inside of him after his mother's death and Annie's eyes brought it out of him and in this moment his desire for her grew.

Annie on the other hand had different thoughts.

Why is he touching me again? What did I tell you Yeager? "What did I tell you about touching me?" Annie stated more than questioned, but her tone was calmer than before. Eren made no attempt to move his hand; he was lost in her eyes and didn't even register her comment. Annie however was now caught in his eyes as well.

Eren's emerald eyes sparkled in the sunlight so much that Annie could see her reflection in his eyes. She stared into his eyes. Green eyes, I don't think I've ever seen green eyes before. It's a pretty rare sight, not many people are privileged with them. Unique some would say, but I guess Eren's a unique boy. He's definitely different; I don't know how he manages to keep such an upbeat attitude about life with all the shit that's going on. He is one special boy. And at that moment Annie recalled Mina's words. 'Make the first move Annie, it asserts dominance and shows that you're serious about the relationship.' With that Annie found herself subconsciously leaning towards Eren. Eren's hand on her cheek warming up her entire body and her lips parted slightly as she slowly leaned into him.

Eren noticed this, finally breaking him out of his trance. What is she doing? Is she..? No way! In front of everyone? At that moment Annie had closed her eyes and was passed the point of no return. Eren realized this as well and went for broke. Who cares if people see. He closed his eyes and leaned forward to meet her. Their lips were only inches away from each other; they could feel the breath from each other's mouths on each other's lips, both cadets breathing fast and coarse. The distance between them about to be closed and their lips sealed in their first kiss-

"EREN! Where are you?!" Sasha yelled from across the training grounds.

The sudden shriek startling Eren and caused him to jump up bumping his forehead with Annie's, causing both cadets to grimace in pain.

"What the fuck Yeager!" Annie yelled.

"I'm sorry, she scared the shit out of me," Eren rubbed his forehead.

"Whatever," Annie deadpanned also rubbing her forehead. This was a mistake anyways. Her emotional wall reconstructing itself and as if their moment had never existed she stood up, brushing the dirt of her knees and walking away as Sasha approached Eren.

"Annie! Wait!" Eren pleaded, but it was too late.

Fuck, Eren cursed. SO close!

A/N:

I apologize for the conversations between Mina/Annie and Sasha/Mikasa, I'm a dude and I really don't know how girls talk about guys and stuff. Sorry, I hope I did it some justice. Poor Mikasa she's clueless. To address Sasha's character, a lot of other fics that I've read have given Sasha an accent; I'm not the greatest at typing accents so I kept her voice normal. I also apologize if any characters are slightly out of character, I changed their personalities slightly to match the storyline, I'm trying to keep them generally cannon though.

Also I said last chapter that chapter 2 would be dedicated to Annie and Eren's relationship, but I need to build up the relationship first. Next chapter will be full of Eren and Annie moments I promise, but don't hold me to my word haha. Also next chapter we welcome Armin.