3 whole months have gone by since I joined the Training corps and I've never improved THIS much in well, anything really.
Following the ODM gear evaluation, me and Jean have turned this bickering and taunting game of ours into a whole ass competition in training. My rank has gone up very high from what I've heard but unfortunately, Jeany boy is quite skilled too, which is DRIVING ME CRAZY. One week, I'll be above him in rank in the next, he is.
I just want to prove to myself (and to THAT jackass) that I'm not who I was before. I'm not gonna back down. That's why I was so pumped when I found out in training today, it was hand to hand combat.
I had been secretly practicing after supper behind the horse stables, with Mikasa and Sasha.(well if you count eating our leftovers while being our hypegirl "practicing", then go ahead and give my girl Sasha an A plus~) Anyway, the ACTUAL practice that I do with Mikasa is improving me like crazy, like queen has stamina for days.(And not forgetting to mention, A SIX PACK! Like I made her promise me that if everyone is eaten by Titans and it's only the two of us left, I'm putting a ring on that finger of hers cause DAMN MIKASA=WIFEY)
Having this little spiel of mine caused me to forget about my surroundings because someone put their arms around my waist. Figuring out who it was, I scoffed as I tried to remove them.
"Ugh, what do you want Jean? It's too early in the morning to deal with your bs."
Jean smirks as he puts his chin on my shoulder, pretending to be offended.
"Aww, Good morning to you too~, but is that any way to talk to the person who's gonna whoop your ass in combat training today?" He said, patronizing me.
"Really? Have you seen the rankings? I rank higher for a reason." I proclaim.
"Not for long, L/N~" He squeezed my waist then released me, walking to the girls who were waiting to flirt with him, yet not taking his eyes off me with a devilish smirk that got under my skin.
Asshat. I'll show him.
"Cadet L/N, you're doing combat with blondie over there." Lieutenant Ernst said from behind me while pointing to the petite cadet he was referring to.
"Yes, sir." As I quickly ran over to my combat partner, I recognized who they were immediately because a certain person named Ymir wouldn't stop talking about how adorable she was.
I tapped on their shoulder.
"Hi! Christa Lenz, right? I'm Cadet L/N."
She turned around. Or apparently he turned around.
"Don't worry about it, people do that a lot. Hi, my name is Armin Arlert."
Shit. I royally messed up.
"OHMYWALLSIMSOSORRYPLEASEFORGIVEMEIAMONEDUMBBICH-" He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled.
"Haha, it's fine. Seriously. And besides you're Y/N, aren't you? Mikasa tells me all about you. It's nice to put a name to a face." He chucked.
Omg, this man is too precious, I would totally take him home if I had one.
"Haha yeah, I'm Y/N. Actually, Mikasa has told me stories about you and Eren and all the fun you guys had."
"Yeah, we've all been friends since we were kids. They really helped me find my confidence which is why I'm grateful for them." I smiled at his little appreciation moment until he noticed me and his face became more red.
"Let's start training, shall we?"
—————————————
Listen, I LOVE my new friend Armin, Ok? But this was combat training we are talking about. Of course I pummeled blondie into the ground, Arlert didn't stand a chance against my skills thanks to my secret trainings with the wifey~
On the bright side, Armin was more than happy to go to the infirmary. I don't even think I injured him though, I think mans just wanted to finish early, since he gave me a thumbs up as he walked away.
After Armin left, I was assigned Bertoldt Hoover to spar with, which I won by unexpectedly head butting him out of nowhere.
I grinned as Lieu. Ernst found me a new combat partner to train with. So far, I was loving this feeling a victory, feeling of being skilled. It motivated me to want to become better. For humanity.
"Wow, are you that excited to lose?"
I could almost imagine tauntful smirk on him.
I laughed as I turned to face the charming yet lofty cadet.
"Oh, Jeanie boy, stop acting like you're actually gonna win."
"Let's find out, shall we?"
We both form our fighting stances, both arms in front of us with our hand curled into fists with one bent leg behind the other for balance.
Jean swings first, causing me to duck under his arm. Figuring out a counter attack I can use, I go behind him, putting him in a hold with my arms while dead legging one of his knees. Before I could grab his other arm though, Jean grabbed mine instead, using his knee on the ground as a launchpad to lunge upwards with his other leg, thrusting me over his shoulders and throwing me on the ground in front of him.
I sat up as I winced at the surge of pain that erupted from my back and shoulders, but I didn't want to lose, not to him. Knowing that he was still holding on to my arm that he used to catapult me to the floor, I had to react fast. Using my free arm, I hit him in the jaw with my fist, prompting Jean to let go of my other arm as expected. That's when I turned around, placing my hands on his shoulders as I tackled him into the ground.
Catching my breath from all the thrown into the ground type movement, I glanced at Jean who, was looking at me with a lewd look in his eyes.
"Heh, I never expected our first time to be like this~" Jean teased.
Confused about what he was talking about, I looked down to see me on top of Jean, straddling him with my legs; my hands still on his shoulders. We both had sweat and dirt all over us. He chuckled as he saw the morbid expression that grew on my face.
"Haha, I don't think I've ever seen someone get as red as you just did." He taunted.
Suddenly dying of embarrassment, I tried to get myself off of him until he grabbed my wrist.
"Training's not over, sweetheart~"
Out of nowhere, Jean grabs the rest of my arm and twists it as he pushes me off him, causing me to drop to the side of him, grimacing at the aching of my already throbbing right arm. Jean then swiftly pushes my right shoulder into the ground, places his knee into my stomach, and pins my hands above me, rendering any attempts for me to win now, futile.
The only thing that made the position I was in even more mortifying was that grin, that cocky yet salacious look on his face. It bothered me. It bothered me so much that whenever he looks at me like that, I get butterflies in my stomach. It bothers me whenever I see him look that way at some other girl. It bothers me when I feel my face go red when I look at him. Hell, it bothers me that I even feel this way. Damn this feeling of mine.
"So, in the end I won, just like I predicted~" Jean cooed, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Barely, I literally did the same move just before you." I replied.
"But I, did it better~" The brown haired cadet smiled.
"Yeah, yeah, now get me up, horseface." I commanded.
Jean stood up, extending his arm for me to grab. As I took his hand, I felt a sweep of pain run through my right arm, making me groan in irritation.
"What's wrong with you?" Jean asked.
"Ugh, I think you fucked up my arm, that's what."
"Jean, take Y/N to the infirmary. She most likely has a sprained arm." I hear Lieutenant Ernst ordered from behind us.
"Yes, sir." Jean replies as he picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder.
"Put me down, you jackass!"
"Oh, so I'm jackass now?" Jean teased.
I hit his shoulder.
"Ouch, calm down, ok? I'm just taking you there."
"Hmph, whatever." I said, trying to act mad. When he picked me up, it took so much out of me to not react to his touch. Ugh, curse that athletic build of his.
——————
The nurse that checked me confirmed Lieutenant Ernst's speculation that I had a sprained arm and bruised wrist. Unfortunately, she let Jean bandage me.
5 minutes earlier
"Hi, can we get some help here?" Jean said as we walked in(or he walked in with me in tow.)
"Yes, what can I do for you- Oh! Young lady, I see you have a lovely gentleman who escorted you here, how charming~" The nurse said with a clever smile on her face.
Oh my walls, can we get this over with?
~
"Ok, everything looks good." The nurse says after examination. "But, why don't I let your delightful partner here dress your injury, Hmm? I'll be back~~"She says, winking to me before shutting the infirmary door.
Umm, what was she thinking was going to happen?
After the nurse left, Jean began to wrap the thin, transparent fabric around my arms. I couldn't help but stare at him while he did this. Just the way he looks, the way his fawn colored hair looks almost golden when the sun hits it, the way his hazel eyes glisten when he laughs, the way his jawline looks like it was gifted by Gods. The way-
"Hey pervert, quit staring at me." Jean teased, breaking me from those thoughts.
Thank the walls.
"I-I wasn't staring!"
"Keep telling yourself that."
I rolled my eyes which made him smile. We both sat in silence until I said something I've been wanting to know.
"Hey, Jean."
"Hmm?" He murmured, still looking at my arm.
"Why did you bully me?"
Jean stopped wrapping the gauze around me. He looked at the roll of bandage before looking up at me, his eyes full of sincerity, before looking back down to continue wrapping.
"I don't know. I always did wonder to myself during these five years why I treated you and others around me horribly. I wonder, why do I push the people who are trying to help me away?" He looks up at me, his face looking tired, like he's been hiding all of this for a long time. All I can do is stare at him back, wanting to here more. He then looks back down at my arm and continues to cover it.
"Sorry, I can't tell you this when I look at you." He admits before continuing.
"I remember you. You lived on the street across from me. Our moms would force us and the rest of the neighborhood kids to play outside. It was fun being around you. It was peaceful." Jean said.
"I remember that. What changed?" I asked, causing Jean to look up. The way he looked at me made me grab his hand and give it a squeeze, urging him to go on.
"A lot of things, Y/N. As I grew up, I felt so suffocated. Like I was confined to the ideals of others. My parents and everyone in Trost who wanted me to do big things would not give me a break. It got to the point where I took it out on others. Others like you. I know that doesn't excuse the way I was, but I really do mean it when I say I've changed. I don't want to conform to what others expect of me. That's why I joined the Training Corps, to become better for humanity after everything that happened." Jean confessed, looking back down again to finish wrapping me.
All I could do was look at him in awe. I mean, could I really forgive him for what he put me through? I know he's different but I need to give it time. Because I've changed too. I put my hand on his face, caressed it, then lifted his chin to face me. I don't know exactly why I did that, but I knew he needed to hear something as I looked at him and smiled.
"Thank you for confiding in me. It really means a lot." I said in full honesty.
"Thanks for listening." Jean smiles.
We both continue to stare at each other as I still had my hand on his chin. I couldn't help but be mesmerized, looking at him, feeling like his eyes were saying something too, until they looked down at my lips. I could feel myself blushing as we slowly moved closer and closer to each other until our noses were touching.
The chemistry in the room went from a confession to something more. Jean tucked the end of the translucent fabric into my bandage as he placed his right hand behind my neck, pushing me even closer to where our lips brushed against one another, making the hairs on my neck stand.
For some reason, I didn't want to push him away. There was just something in the atmosphere that told me to do something. Instead, I grabbed the collar of his shirt, wanting to do more than just look at him. I gently pressed my lips against his and he returned it, tenderly squeezing my neck with his hand, telling me he was enjoying it as well. I was about to go further until-
"Oh! Pardon me, looks like I didn't give y'all enough time. Carry on~" The sharp-witted nurse says, about to close the door she was just trying to enter.
"Don't worry! I'm all bandaged up and I was just leaving." I said, practically running out of the door, leaving a dumbfounded Jean in the infirmary.
I ran all the way to the girl's barracks and headed straight to the restrooms. I kneeled in front of the sink as I groaned.
What did I just do? I would have gone further had it not been for the nurse. How could I be so impulsive?
I slowly got up to stare at myself in the mirror. The girl looking back at me was all Red, with her hand on her mouth. I blushed even more as I realized. My hand was on my mouth to calm down the tingling sensation that eroded from my lips. Or should I say, Jean?
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Author's note: that was WAY longer than I anticipated chapter 4 to be, but I hope u enjoyed it nonetheless:)