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It’s after everyone has returned to their quarters. It’s when the periwinkle sky deepens to a royal blue. It’s when the crickets start chirping and when the fireflies become candles. It’s the time of dusk when everything is simultaneously dead and alive.
In the girls’ dorm, the chatter slowly diminishes as the night ripens. Conversations become yawns and starry eyes become half-lidded as fatigue settles like a think blanket. Finally, finally, the lights are turned off.
And Annie waits. Waits until the soft whispers between Ymir and Christa become silent, until the moon’s light is just bright enough to trickle into the cabin, until the room is filled with the heavy, lulled breathing indicating sleep.
When the only sound is Sasha’s loud snoring, Annie hears a familiar cough, signaling her to get up.
In the dark, she can only see a figure rise out of bed and throw on what seems to be a scarf. Annie herself quickly changes into her hoodie and meets the other girl outside the dorm. The moment Annie opens the door, a gust of cool wind caresses her face.
Despite it being well past midnight, Mikasa looks alert as ever. They make eye contact for a split second, and without saying a word, they start towards the forest.
It’s a routine that neither can remember the origin of. Morning training is beneficial, sure, but Annie and Mikasa needed opponents that could challenge them. Few trainees could even stand a chance in a fight with one or the other, and the two girls only truly matched each other in style, skill level, and fighting technique. It was a shame their instructors never paired them up to spar. Or perhaps it was intentional.
In the dead of night, where nobody was around to watch, where nobody was there to scold them for being “too rough” -- this was the only way they could engage in a worthwhile battle.
They keep cutting a straight path through the woods until they reach a clearing. The ground is mostly dirt, but it is still speckled with patches of grass.
Mikasa stops in her tracks and pivots to face Annie. She raises her hands slightly and assumes a fighting stance.
Annie rolls her head around a few times and hears her neck crack. Without warning, she charges. Mikasa welcomes the attack like an old friend.
Punch after punch, kick after kick, the warriors are at each other’s throats, never giving the other a chance to let their guard down. Annie dodges Mikasa’s attempt to grab her shoulder. The black haired girl grapples at thin air and loses her balance, and Annie sees an opening. Sweeping her leg under Mikasa’s feet, Annie exhales in a sigh of triumph as she watches the other land on the ground with a thump. 1-0, Annie thinks to herself.
Mikasa grinds her teeth frustratedly, quickly picking herself up and diving into the fight once more.
A bit feistier than before, Mikasa is like a flame, and it’s not long before she has Annie in a headlock. But the blonde doesn’t give up just yet, and she struggles to free herself.
Mikasa’s grip begins to weaken, but before Annie can break out of it, she pauses in a moment that Annie registers as hesitation. Suddenly, her arms retract and her hands relocate themselves to Annie’s sides, firmly squeezing her midriff.
Annie releases and uncharacteristic half-giggle-half-gasp as she crumples to the ground. 1-1.
She glares up at Mikasa. “That’s foul play,” Annie snarls as she gets up from the soil. The other girl sizes her up once more, a hint of a smirk on her face.
Mikasa cocks an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize we established any rules.”
Annie feels a low growl bubbling from her throat. If that’s how you want to play, so be it. She rushes at Mikasa with renewed vigor, tackling her with her momentum.
Immediately, Annie’s fingers gravitate towards Mikasa’s stomach. After merely a few scratches, Mikasa is already falling apart. Her typical stoic demeanor fades away and is replaced by helpless laughter.
Annie shoves her hands under Mikasa’s shirt and runs her fingertips over her abs. She raises her eyebrows a bit when she realizes that damn, they are impressive as fuck. But no matter how ripped Mikasa is, it doesn’t seem to decrease her sensitivity.
Mikasa is pushing at Annie, batting her arms around and trying to crawl out from under her. In her efforts, she ends up punching Annie in the face (accidentally or intentionally, Annie can’t tell).
Taking advantage of Annie’s shock, Mikasa swiftly rolls them over. She straddles Annie and reasserts her dominance by drilling her thumbs into her hips. Annie tells herself she won’t react, but that promise is broken in two seconds.
Laughter echoes through the forest, and Annie can’t remember ever sounding so unrestrained. Has she ever laughed before this? She wouldn’t be surprised if not.
If there’s one thing Annie hates, it’s losing. But this doesn’t feel like a loss. Her mind is in turmoil, because damn it she hates Mikasa, this is humiliating and disgraceful, but why why why don’t I feel terrible about this.
Their fights are all bloody noses, bruises galore, aching limbs -- their fights are hurricanes. All bitter, no room for sweet. But this, this is intimate. This is unfamiliar and strange, but at the same it is light and free. And although Annie has sparred countless times with perhaps the most lethal soldier who ever lived, she only now feels like she’s stepping into dangerous territory.
Mikasa moves her hands so her fingers flutter against Annie’s neck, and Annie cringes at her helpless squeal. Her own hands work to pry Mikasa’s off, and in her desperation, Annie succeeds. To prevent any further attacks, she interlocks their fingers and holds on tightly.
The duo starts rolling around, both striving to gain the upper hand. Fingers still woven together, they gradually rise from the ground. Now standing up, the two push at each other, and they pretend not to notice the fact that both of them are smiling.
Annie can’t really strike, since her defense also prohibits any offense. Without her hands, she wonders what she could do. She stares straight into Mikasa’s brown eyes, but her intimidating glare melts into something warmer. Annie’s eyes flicker down and back up, and she makes a sudden decision right there and then. She moves her head forward and brushes her lips against Mikasa’s.
It certainly catches the other girl off guard, but she doesn’t recoil from the kiss. If anything, she leans into it.
Mentally patting herself on the back for using this strategy, Annie rips her hands away and promptly shoves them into Mikasa’s underarms.
Mikasa’s arms clamp down straight away, and her laughter is ten times more hysterical than before. Annie guesses that she’s found one of her more ticklish spots. The raven haired girl sinks down to the dirt, Annie following.
Annie’s fingers begin to cramp up, so she keeps them still for a bit. Mikasa continues to giggle (Annie chuckles to herself. She’s not even doing anything and Mikasa’s a mess). When she resumes, Mikasa jerks and tears prick at the corners of her eyes.
From her peripheral vision, Annie sees Mikasa’s hand balled up in a fist, lightly pounding on the ground, sending up tiny clouds of dust. Is she tapping out? Annie isn’t sure, but either way, she thinks Mikasa needs a break. Withdrawing her hands, Annie stands up and peers down at her counterpart, who is panting loudly.
That was childish, that was stupid, Annie thinks to herself. But she sees Mikasa smiling brighter than she has ever seen, and she can’t bring herself to care.
Annie calmly walks over to a patch of grass and lies on her back. She does not worry about a counterattack; Mikasa is probably too tired anyway, just like herself. She closes her eyes.
Not thirty seconds pass before she hears footsteps padding over. Something warm settles at Annie’s side, and she cracks an eye open. Mikasa has her head buried in Annie’s chest, and Annie reluctantly wraps an arm around her muscular figure.
Breathing deeply, Annie smells sweat and foliage mixed with something she can only describe as a spring morning pouring through a field. It’s comforting, it’s warm, it’s Mikasa.
A voice in the back of Annie’s mind cackles menacingly. This is temporary, it says. She’ll hate you again by tomorrow. You’ll never have more than this, you’ll never be more than this. Annie wants to scream and claw at the ground beneath her because I know I know I know I know but please just let me have this. The voice quiets but Annie knows it’s still there. She ignores it.
Mikasa and Annie never spar for more than an hour before returning to their dorms. But for once, they remain there until the sun rises.