Wooo new chapter!! Things are really startin' to happen now. ;)
"Shit!"
Thomas kept swearing, his hair brushed the dusty ground. This was his fifth attempt trying to stay stable in the 3DMG mimicry contraption. Each try ended worse than the last and this recent attempt he had fallen backwards and barely caught himself from cracking his skull.
You tried to contain your soft giggles by bitting your lip, this was too funny. Thomas never was very strong or athletic, more of a sprinter if anything. He was faster than you, a proven fact found out years ago on a stupid bet. You had to do all of his chores for days after your loss.
Thomas glared daggers at you, his dark bangs falling over his even darker eyes as Erwin lowered his suspended body from the contraption.
You giggled again, the light musical sound reaching the Commander's ears; they turned scarlet a moment later. He liked hearing you laugh, he would happily listen to it everyday of his life if he could. He scolded himself mentally for his straying thoughts, you were off limits.
"You suck, (F/n)." Thomas growled, brushing off the dust particles that had attached to his hair once he was standing on his feet again.
"No, you suck, Thomas." You bantered childishly, folding your arms across your chest.
"Well I thought he was doing just fine." A shrill voice pipped up from a few feet away, her cat-like green eyes sparkled in the sunlight when she moved.
Remembering that the doctor had tagged along to your private assessments, as Erwin called it, made your blood boil in annoyance. Doctor Ramirez had insisted she joined the three of you once she heard Thomas was coming.
A shame...You rolled you eyes and scoffed, this lady was ridiculous.
"(F/n)," Erwin called you, snapping your from your angry glaring. "It's your turn."
You raised a brow at the Commander who waited patiently with the hooks in his strong hands. He mirrored your look mockingly.
"If I suck so much, Little Kestrel, then why don't you show me how it's done?" Thomas sneered, a glint of mischief showing in his eyes as he placed himself next to you. "Or is the little birdie afraid of heights now?"
You narrowed your eyes at the boy and stomped over to Erwin and snatched the hooks from his hands, tossing a dirty look at the raven haired boy behind you. Erwin's digits moved to help but you shot him a chilly glare that stopped him in his tracks.
"I don't need your help." You hissed, clenching your teeth and quickly attaching the hooks to your gear yourself.
Erwin's thick eyebrows furrowed slightly and nodded. He sighed and lifted you from the ground, your form perfect, still, and calm.
Flawless, he thought, his deep cerulean orbs eyeing your from head to toe.
Your arms were crossed in distaste and your face held your signature scowl. This was unnecessary and Erwin knew it. Yet he still made you do this little test. For what? You didn't know.
What Erwin failed to mention that morning, was that he only invited you to assess Thomas's skills, not your own. You had shown plenty of promises the day you climbed the wall. It was Thomas who the Commander was worried about. His new files had caused some recent troubles for Erwin, the boy was full of surprises and the Commander wasn't sure if he should tell the boy what they had found or keep it hidden until he asked...
"Can I come down know? This is stupid." You groaned loudly, swinging back and forth slowly in the fake 3DGM wires, tearing Erwin away from his inner turmoil.
Erwin nodded and set you down gently, your quick fingers unhooking yourself with ease. You stepped away and twirled over to Thomas, a smug look plastered on your features.
"Kestrels aren't afraid of anything." You smirked at the grumbling boy.
"Yeah, whatever." He huffed, "You've been doing this since you were seven."
Erwin's mouth twitched into a frown, Seven years old?, he thought in surprise. No wonder you could pull off the feat of rescuing yourself and this boy. Erwin sighed, it was most likely because of that Anthony Tropianska man you had mentioned in the trial days before. He was even mentioned in a certain boy's file..
"Im not making fun of you for fucks sake, Thomas! You just suck because you've never really done this before!" You yelled at the boy who had a look of hurt in his thin eyes.
Erwin's ears picked up on your light bickering, the previous words you both had said slipped his mind. You sighed and scribbled something down on Thomas's performance file.
"Hmph."
You rolled your eyes and tugged on his sleeve. "Don't be such a Wren."
A small smile tugged on the corner of Thomas's lips at the stupid thing you came up with because of Wren's constant whining and moping. You missed her..
The sudden image of her broken body drifted to the front of your brain. Her dead, hollow brown eyes and the blood that dripped down her face, filling every crack and crevice. You visibly paled, catching the attention of the Commander and a worried Thomas at your abrupt change in demeanor.
You heard her screams. Her screams that called for help that you could of prevented. You could of killed that titan, you could of done so many different things to help, but you ran. Like you always did.
"(F/n)." Thomas said worriedly, placing his hands on your tense shoulders. Your eyes were wide with fear and your skin was drained of color.
The Commander approached hurriedly and bent down to your eye level. His lips were set in a deep frown at your frozen expression. He cupped a large hand against your clenched jaw in concern.
"(F/N)!" Thomas shouted, shaking you roughly. "(F/N)?!"
As Thomas shook you again your eyes blinked and darted around wildly for a moment before resting on the boy's concerned face. Erwin was there too, his cerulean pools scanning your face for some type of clue. You stared back, a strange warmth coming from the side of your face. You lifted you fingers up and brushed against warm skin, a small blush forming on your cheeks as you realized what it was. It was his hand. Erwin's hand.
The Commander cleared his throat and quickly took his hand away from your face and glanced away, his cheeks turning a subtle red that could be mistaken for exposure from the sun.
"(F/n)," Thomas breathed, "Are you okay?"
You nodded. You knew deep down you weren't, but you couldn't trouble Thomas. Your goal was to keep him safe and worry free, not add on extra burdens for him to carry. Especially yours, your problems were your own.
"Does she need a doctor?" A shrill voice piped up from the side, the brunette's catlike eyes looking over Thomas's shoulder curiously.
Embarrassed by your mild panic attack, you shook off Thomas's hands and turned on your heel, eager to leave the now awkward atmosphere. You brushed past Erwin, the slight tingle of where his hand had been moments before still lingered.
"(F/n)!" Thomas called, stepping after you, ignoring Cinna completely.
"Im fine, Thomas." You hissed, rounding on the boy. "Leave me alone."
His dark eyebrows furrowed but let you stalk off. Thomas would ask you later. This was embarrassing for you, he knew that, so he let you be. Thomas frowned and sighed, glancing up at Erwin who still watched you vigilantly, an unfamiliar emotion swirling in his deep cerulean eyes.
"Sir, she'll be ok." Thomas hummed. "Let her cool off."
The strong man nodded and stared down at Thomas. "We should continue your training."
*************************************
You angrily stomped towards the gothic looking castle, furious at yourself.
You were weak. You let Wren's death get the better of you and even embarrassed yourself in front of the Commander because you couldn't control your own damn thoughts.
"Stupid," you growled to yourself, kicking a stray pebble out of the way. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
"Hey, what did that rock ever do to you?" A familiar voice joked, interrupting your angry mutterings.
You turned and spotted Eren with a friendly smile waltzing after you. You shrugged, your bad mood slipping away almost instantly after seeing the boy.
"It got in my way." You said, a small smirk creeping over your lips.
The boy chuckled and bobbed his head in agreement. "Fair enough."
He paused before opening his mouth, not sure if it was he knew you well enough to ask what made you look so angry before, so he settled for something else, slightly afraid of having a repeat of last night. "Where you headed to, (F/n)?"
You honestly didn't know, anywhere was better than where you had just been. You shrugged and folded your arms across your chest, deciding to tease the teal-eyed boy a little.
"Depends on who's asking." You smirked, raising an eyebrow.
The brunette rolled his eyes and stepped closer. "Im asking. Where you headed?"
"Where are you* headed, Eren?" You mimicked, snorting in amusement as his eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Ha ha, very funny." He said dryly, glaring at your amused features. Your (e/c) orbs sparkled even brighter in the sun, the various layers and colors visible to Eren. Last night he could barely see, but now that he saw you in daylight, his stomach fluttered anxiously.
"Let's make a deal, Eren." You said smugly. "Tell me where you're going and I'll tell you where Im going, deal?"
The corners of the brunette's mouth curved into a smile, and held out his hand. "Deal!"
You eyed his outstretched hand, much like you did yesterday and tilted your head to the side. "I thought you only did that when you met people."
"Well yeah, but, like, it's also used to seal deals and stuff." Eren explained.
"That's dumb." You snorted. "But whatever." Your hand shot out as well and shook it.
"Well a deal is a deal." He chuckled. "I was heading over to a training session with a few people from my squadron."
"Ah," you hummed, slightly curious if Armin was part of the training. You kind of missed the boy for some reason..
"It's your turn to tell me, (F/n)." Eren pressed, his tresses of chocolate brown hair swaying slightly in the light breeze around you.
"Nowhere." You said simply, finding the irritated glare from Eren hilarious.
"We had a deal." He grumbled.
"Hey, I said the truth." You smirked.
"Hmph. Whatever." The brunette muttered. Suddenly, out of the blue, an idea formed in his mind; another lopsided grin replacing his scowl. "If you're going nowhere, then why don't you come with me? I think some of us need a change in the regular partnering."
Surprised at his offer you shook your head embarrassed, "I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Why?" He smiled, "I think you still owe me from last night."
You face met your palm when you remembered almost murdering Eren. A embarrassed flush spread across your cheeks. "Fine, I'll come with you. But I swear to God, I will actually end you if you mention that again."
Eren smirked happily while you glared at him dangerously with a hint of red lining your cheeks still. Even if you probably would kill him in his sleep, Eren's stomach couldn't help but twist in knots seeing your pouty face. Before his face could form his own blush, he started to head over to the meeting place with you besides him.
*************************************
When Eren reached the decent sized clearing where all his friends sat, they were surprised at seeing an unfamiliar face trail behind him.
"It's the Pipsqueak!" Jean hissed, rapidly placing himself behind one of the taller boys, his head peaking out behind a beefy arm to glare suspiciously at you.
Shasha burst out laughing and choked on her bread, earning a few strange glances at the tall brunette.
"Hey guys!" Eren called, waving to the small group consisting mostly of boys. "I brought someone with me!"
"Isn't that the chick that threatened you, Pony Boy?" A muscular blond barked, craning his neck to look at Jean who hid behind him.
"Shut up Reiner." Jean muttered, still eyeing you warily. The blond chuckled and stepped to the side, completely exposing the other boy.
Your sharp, observant (e/c) eyes landed on him instantly and smirked wickedly, successfully scaring him again.
"This is (F/n), everybody." Eren said, pointing down at you. "I invited her to train with us."
"Hey, aren't you the girl from outside the walls?" A shaven haired boy asked after giving you a wave.
"Yeah.."
"That's so cool." The boy smiled. "Im Connie Springer, by the way!" He laughed, running up to you and slinging an arm around your shoulders.
You tensed at his touch and squirmed slightly, unaware of the jealous stare from the teal-eyed boy next to you.
"So, like, do you wanna be sparing partners, (F/n)?" He offered happily, giving your shoulder a playful squeeze.
Before you could answer, another voice answered. "Obviously not, Connie. You suck at sparing." Eren scoffed.
Connie pouted sadly, letting you slip from his hold. Yet, before you made it to freedom, you crashed head first into a firmly built chest.
Yelping in surprise you tripped over your own feet and would of fallen if strong arms hadn't caught you and pulled you back into balance.
Looking up, since he was much taller than you, you were met with a flirty grin and soft blue eyes. "Hey there." He purred. "Im Reiner Braun."
Pulling your arms from his grip you made a noise of surprise when Eren pulled you by the collar of your shirt and protectively stood in front of you. The small noise you emitted made another tight knot form inside him, a few certain others as well.
"You're scaring her, you bastards." He growled, his arm was held up to the perfect height in order to block your view of the pouting shaven headed boy and the built blond.
Annoyed, you tugged Eren's arm down and glared at him, you weren't a fragile little flower. Before you could spit something venomous out, your eyes spotted a particular blond boy chatting with a beautiful stoic girl with a red scarf and a very tall boy.
Smiling slightly, you slipped away quietly and padded towards Armin, earning a few confused stares.
"Hi Amrin." You said, albeit a little awkwardly. You weren't really one for human interaction, finding it hard to connect and feel somewhat comfortable around someone after what happened with Anthony.
A wide smile spread across his face and practically flew up from his seat on the ground. "(F/n)! I didn't know you were here! Where did you go last night? I couldn't find you.." He said, rubbing the back of his neck at the last part.
"Last night?" A questioning voice grumbled, Jean slinked nearer. "What happened last night?"
All eyes were directed towards Armin who blushed a cherry red from the slightly jealous glares.
"Armin and I were in the library. He helped me find some books and I think I fell asleep reading them.."
"O-oh!" Armin nervously chuckled. "I can't believe I left you there!"
You shrugged, feeling the eyes of the tall boy who still sat beside Armin's friend. You glanced at him, the boy barely making eye contact before looking away and blushing, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.
"Well since she's such a Pipsqueak, she was probably covered by one of those dusty old things." Jean smirked, catching your eye.
You clenched your fist angrily and bit the inside of your cheek. Did this kid have a death wish?
Your glare was abruptly ended by a firm slap to the back, knocking the air out of your lungs. "Hey buddy!" Sasha laughed. "Come spar with me and Mikasa."
She elbowed Armin and Jean out of the way and practically dragged you from the group of males, the raven haired girl following suit.
"Hey! I thought I was sparing with her!" Connie pouted.
"Hah, no way!" Jean laughed. "If anything the Pipsqueak should spar with me!"
Sasha rolled her eyes at the squabbling males. "Boys, Im I right?"
Confused you shrugged, why would they even want to fight over who got to spar with you? It's not like they couldn't take turns.
"Your name is (F/n), right?" The cool voice of Mikasa spoke.
You nodded and squeaked in surprise when she patted your head softly. She smiled slightly and glared at the fighting boys.
"Would you like to be my partner today, (F/n)?" She asked, stepping back into the cleared space and raising her fists defensively.
"Sure." You hummed, copying her actions, the familiar position as natural as breathing to you.
Sasha stood smiling from the sidelines and cheered you on, grabbing the boys attention, whose faces fell when they realized you weren't their partner. "Woo! Go (F/n)!"
You snorted at Sasha's cheering and barely sidestepped a swinging fist. Snapping back into focus you eyed the raven haired girl who stood at the ready.
Your eyes watched as her right arm twitch slightly and threw another punch, but you were ready. With hidden strength you snatched her clenched hand, twisted it outwards and brought he body weight towards you and made her nearly stumble to the ground.
But she was fast, so fast that your head was nearly smashed against Mikasa's knee cap. But you were faster. You quickly grabbed her from behind the knee and with your free arm you elbowed her chest, sending the taller girl to the dusty ground.
A few gasps from the boys and an excited Sasha could be heard but you ignored the noise, solely focused on the girl below you who hooked her foot into your shin and pulled. Hard.
As your foot was pulled out from under you, you let yourself fall backwards and allow your hands to support your weight in an arch and then nimbly kick your feet up over your body so they were in the air for a brief moment, and back to the ground. At the ready position once more.
Determined to win, Mikasa aimed for your stomach, which you blocked, leaving your other half defenseless. A sharp pain stung your jaw when she brought her left fist into play, taking full advantage of your exposure.
Ducking just before she could land another punch, your crouched form snatched the cuff of her sleeves and swung your legs over her arm and rolled to the ground so that her arm was ensnared between your leg.
Her face was pressed into the dusty floor after you brought her down with you. Mikasa gasped in pain at the position and squirmed slightly.
If you pressed any harder you could of broken her arm but you didn't fancy the idea of hurting her. You released her and stood with you back to her, brushing your hands together to brush off the collected dirt.
Sensing that Mikasa wasn't finished with you, you ducked, feeling the graze of her knuckles against the top of your head. You cocked your elbow up high enough to reacher her collarbone and with enough force that surprised nearly everyone, you sent her crashing to the ground once again.
Glancing up to your little group of spectators, they all stared in shock.
You had just taken down the highest ranking member of the 104th like it was the easiest thing in the world.
You sent their heart aflutter by your smirking lips when you caught their gaze, a few feet away from a dazed Mikasa.
"Who's next?"