Work Text:
Annie punched the training dummy so hard she heard the straw stuffing in it crackle. She swung her leg out and kicked the head off in one swing. She was just about to retrieve the missing head when Sasha barreled over to her.
"Annie!" she cried, grinning broadly. "Annie, you gotta see!"
"See what?" Annie asked flatly. She picked up the dummy's severed head and felt Sasha's hand clamp down on her wrist. Her skin crawled at the invasion of personal space and she shot a glare at Sasha. Unfortunately, Sasha was too bubbly to notice.
"C'mon!" she exclaimed, pulling Annie along with surprising strength. Annie sighed through her nose and tossed the severed head aside. Sasha led her to the girls' quarters and straight to the section where Annie slept. She pointed at Annie's bed. "Look!"
Annie narrowed her eyes at the flowers neatly laid out on her bed spread.
"Isn't it romantic?" Mina asked, laying on her stomach on her bunk next to Annie's.
"Annie's got a secret admirer!" Krista cooed, folding her hands together and smiling. "I think it's so sweet!"
Annie bent down and gathered them up in her hands. She sat down on her bed and furrowed her brow.
"Who do you think sent them?" Mina asked, propping herself up on her elbows. "One of the boys?"
Ymir rolled her eyes and slung her arm over Krista's shoulders. "If this is the start of a trend, I'd better not see any flowers on Krista's bed or mine or I'm gonna puke."
Krista puffed her cheeks and glared, jabbing Ymir in the side. "Don't be rude, Ymir!"
The sounds of Ymir and Krista's squabbling faded as Annie blocked out the world around her. She couldn't take her eyes off the flowers. Carefully, she inspected them. She turned over each petal as though it would break beneath her fingers. She noted the way the blue pigment of the flower was stronger at the edges and faded to white towards the center.
Eight petals, she observed. These must be Blue Giants. But who left them here?
"Bertholdt!" Mina cried, snapping Annie back to reality. "He totally gave them to her!"
"No way!" Ymir snapped, crossing her arms. "That walking tree is too busy sweating and staring at her to even think of making a move!"
"Ymir, that's mean!" Krista piped up, balling her fists.
Bertholdt? Annie wondered, feeling a strange giddiness in her chest. Has he always felt that way? She recalled all the times she'd felt his eyes on her when he thought she wasn't paying attention. He always blushed when their fingers brushed. When they sparred, she always won and he always mumbled a compliment about her fighting skills. I suppose he has always felt that way?
"So?" Ymir asked roughly, breaking Annie out of her thoughts. "Who do you think sent it?" She raised an eyebrow, giving Annie an expectant look. "Surely you don't think it was that lanky dork, Bert, do you?"
Yes, I do.
"I don't know who it is," Annie lied, her expression never faltering from her usual poker face. "Excuse me." She stood and made her way through the crowd. She headed for the one place she knew she'd find her admirer.
Bertholdt sat on the edge of the hill on the outskirts of the training camp. He dug a stick into the ground, lazily carving shapes in the dirt.
"Bertholdt."
Bertholdt yelped and the stick flew out of his hand, landing somewhere behind them. He whipped his head up and saw Annie staring down at him. "Oh. Hey, Annie." His eyes drifted to the bundle of flowers she held in her hands and he felt his face flush. "Oh. You noticed them?"
"I did."
"D-Do you like them?" he asked, his pulse speeding up as Annie sat down beside him. He felt beads of sweat budding on his brow and he adjusted his collar in the hopes the breeze would cool him down.
"Yes, I do."
"Well, th-that's good," he replied, slouching out of habit. He waited for Annie to say something more, but she held her tongue.
Maybe she wants me to say something? he thought, swallowing hard and let his gaze fall to the ground. What should I say? Should I ask if she knows how I feel? God, I wish she'd say something! A knot was forming in his stomach the longer the silence between them dragged on.
"S-So, I-"
"I wanted-"
They both paused, waiting for the other to continue first. When neither did, Bertholdt laughed nervously. "You go first."
Annie nodded and felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I wanted to say thank you for the flowers. It was sweet of you."
Bertholdt rubbed the nape of his neck, unable to fight the shy smile spreading across his lips. "Well, I-I saw them a-and thought of you."
Annie's blush deepened and she glanced to the side. "Don't do it again."
Heart stopping in his chest, Bertholdt snapped his attention to Annie. "What?"
"Don't do it again," Annie repeated, her heart clenching as she tightened her grip on the flower stems. "I know you care about me, Bert. I know you have feelings for me-"
"What about you?" he interrupted, his heart beating faster when she looked at him. "H-How do you feel about me?"
Annie opened her mouth to reply, but no words came and she shut her mouth. Glancing down at the flowers in her hands, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she remembered why they couldn't do this. "How I feel doesn't matter. This isn't why we're here."
Bertholdt hung his head and looked down at his hands. "Oh. Right. The mission." He clenched his fists. "I'm sorry. Throw them away if you want."
Annie's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "Why would I do that? I told you I liked them."
"But you said-"
"I didn't say 'don't do that ever again'," she explained, risking a glance at him. He had his eyes on her and she felt her face flush again. "I like them, Bert. I do. But the mission comes first. We aren't like the other cadets. We don't have time for dating." She bit her lip and reached out, placing her hand on top of Bert's. She brought her eyes to his. "But when this is over and we return home, I want you to buy me all the Blue Giant flowers you can find."
His eyes lit up and his lips pulled into a crooked grin. "R-Really?"
"Yes," she replied, slipping her hand into his. His palm was sweaty as he interlocked their fingers, but Annie didn't mind.
"I'll plant you a whole garden of them, if you want me to!" Bertholdt said, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled wider.
"I'd like that," Annie replied, biting her lower lip in a vain attempt to stop the shy smile creeping onto her lips. She froze when she saw Bertholdt lean forward. Her pulse quickened when she felt his lips against her cheek. "What was that for?"
Bertholdt cleared his throat and blushed so hard he clashed with his navy shirt. "Just to tide me over until we return home."