#ereaniweekend

Closing the door behind him Eren saluted his commander. “You wanted to see me?”

Hanji dropped her papers back onto her desk and smiled at Eren as he approached. “Yes, there is something we need to discuss.” She said gesturing to a chair. Sitting down, Eren watched as Hanji sat back in her chair. “We know about your… unsanctioned visits to miss Leonhardt,” Eren felt his heart sink in his chest. “How long have you been visiting her?”

“S-since I was released.”

“Why?”

Eren sighed. “At first I would just walk around the compound all night talking to myself but people kept looking at me like I was going crazy so I thought I’d go and talk to someone who wouldn’t tell my commanding officer.”

“Do you trust her?”

Eren shook his head. “I want to though. I’d like to.”

“Okay,” Hanji groaned. “No more beating around the bush. She’s awake. Now before you lose it and run off I need to promise me something,” Still coming to terms with the weight of this revelation Eren slowly nodded. “Now since you’ve already told her damn near everything try not to tell her anything else. Just try to remember what classified means. Now go, it’s not polite to keep a lady waiting.”

Running as fast as he could Eren tuned out the rest of the world as his mind raced with questions. The voices of his concerned friends were drowned out by the thought of seeing her again, of hearing of her voice again, of sparring with her again, of being teased by her again. He practically threw himself down the stairs that lead to her chamber, only coming to a stop outside her door to catch his breath and calm himself. After what felt like an hour he opened the door.

“Annie?”

At first, there was no reply, only an empty cell with iron bars separating him and where Annie should be. For a moment he thought he was in another twisted dream and resigned himself to his torment when a familiar voice called out to him.

“Your voice has gotten so much deeper, you sound like a real man now.”

Hearing her voice again was almost too much for Eren as he slowly stepped forward as Annie emerged from the shadows. “You’re one to talk,” He chuckled. “You sound awful.”

Annie shrugged. “I guess that’s a side effect of sleeping for nearly five years and it looks like you still haven’t learned how to talk to girls.”

Rubbing the back of his head Eren found himself blushing. “I haven’t had anyone to teach me for a while.”

Despite the chains that weighed her down Annie crossed her arms. “Is that what you came down here to do? Give a cheesy line?”

Eren shook his head and stepped towards the bars. “You’ve listened to everything I’ve told you all this time.”

“So do you want my opinion?”

Once again Eren shook his head. “We- I need your help.”

Annie’s expression softened as she too stepped forward and wrapped her hands around the bars. “Do you really want me on your side after everything I’ve done?”

Tentatively Eren put his hands over hers and smiled. “If you really have been listening to me all this time then you know the answer to that.”

“So where do we start?” Annie asked quietly.

Eren smirked. “I don’t know. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to talk to you again.”

Annie did her best to stifle the laugh that rose in her throat as she watched Eren sooth his backside.

“Am I ever going to beat you?” Eren groaned.

Shrugging her shoulders Annie tucked a stray bang of hair behind her ear. “Maybe if you pay attention to your teacher.” She cooed.

Eren smirked and brought his arms up in the familiar stance. “I’ve been paying plenty of attention, just you wait.” After rolling her eyes Annie mirrored his stance and waited for Eren to make the first move. She didn’t have to wait long.

Taking a sharp breath Eren lunged forward and aimed a fist at Annie’s side.

Despite his sudden burst of speed Annie stepped to the side and readied herself to send Eren into the dirt. As his weight carried him forward Eren gritted his teeth and ducked under Annie’s waiting hold, with a devilish grin he wrapped his arms around Annie’s waist as tackled her into the ground.

The moment she saw Eren duck down Annie prepared herself for the inevitable as she felt his arms tighten around her and as she was pushed back she locked her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “Try and get out of this.” She whispered as the two of them collided with the dirt.

Once on her back, Annie took a deep breath and arched her back. Doing her best to ignore the blooming pain from the impact Annie tightened her grip as Eren struggled for breath. “You can tap out at any moment if you want to give up.”

With what little breath he had left Eren craned his head to the side and gave Annie a devilish grin. “Like I’d give you the satisfaction,” He growled. Mustering all his remaining energy Eren pried Annie’s arm from around his neck and pushed her away allowing him to pin her to the ground. With his weight holding her down Annie could only struggle against his hold. “You can tap out.” He smirked with a raised fist.

Annie found herself looking at Eren with blood rushing to her cheeks, his body cast a looming shadow over her that sent her heart racing. Doing her best to calm herself Annie struggled against his grip but he was too strong, too heavy. Beaten Annie lay back and sighed loudly. “I guess you beat me… this time.”

Relief flooded through Eren’s weary bones as he sat back and straddled his sparring partner. “I finally did it! I finally beat you-” Annie didn’t let him finish, the moment he released her she twisted to the side, freed one of her legs and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him stumbling back. “Y-you said I beat you?” Eren groaned.

Shrugging Annie brushed the dust from her jacket. “I said I guess you won. You lowered your guard, I took advantage of that.”

“B-but…”

“Besides I never said the fight was over.”

Eren rolled his shoulders and smiled at her. “How about anything round then?”

The cracks slowly grew bigger, day after day with each returning memory. The countless hours spent training together, the nights spent soothing bruises and aching bones. The weeks and months she spent watching him grow and develop until the day he was strong enough to stand his ground against her.

Screaming, Eren sat up and threw the covers off of his body, looking around he slowly realised where he was and who he was. Soothing the headache that always followed the memories Eren sighed heavily. Hoping he hadn’t woken anyone up he dressed himself and left his quarters  

It didn’t take Eren long to memorize the route through the long twisting tunnels that lead to her chamber, he could perfectly visualize each doorway and corridor that separated the two of them. The guards let him pass with only a cautionary glance between them, they had heard the stories of his capabilities and his now famous temper.

‘How many times have I been down here?’ Eren thought to himself as he tried to calm himself. Taking a deep breath he unlocked the last door and pushed it open. A familiar, flickering glow met him as he stepped inside.

“Hey Ann,” The torches snapped and popped as Eren leant against the wall and slowly lowered himself to the ground. “I hope you don’t mind but I guess you’re the last person I’m going to wake up.” He chuckled.

“I was wondering about something you told me years ago. About your… dad,” He said looking up at the giant crystal in front of him and the frozen body it protected. “You told me he taught you how to fight. Taught you to be the person you… were.” A silence fell on the room as Eren allowed himself to indulge in such memories.     

“I never figured out why you were so reluctant to talk about yourself until recently but even after I learned where you came from something didn’t add up.”

For a moment looked at the crystal for any sign of change but quickly shook his head and pushed such hopeful thoughts from his mind. “Why did you tell me about your father? You could have just brushed my question off but you answered. I know it seems dumb but I couldn’t get over it,” He scoffed. “Until I started having this dream. The same dream over and over again, if you could call it a dream.”

Standing up Eren walked towards the crystal until he stood directly in front of it and found himself looking up at Annie. “I… I was my father, I felt what he felt, thought what he thought. It was horrible,” He laughed dryly. “But it got me thinking about you, about your dad. What sort of parent teaches their kid martial arts the way he taught you?”

Once again silence fell upon the chamber as Eren pushed his hair back. “For years I couldn’t answer that question, but then I figured it out. He did it because he knew you’d need to be strong. To live in a world that hated you you’d need to be able to protect yourself so he gave you the ability to look after yourself.”

“We live in a cruel world, he knew that. My dad knew that.”

Slowly Eren reached out and placed a hand against the smooth, cool surface. “Our parents did what they could to protect us,” He pressed his hand against the crystal even harder. “To protect us from the sins of our fathers.” Eren leant forward, one inch at a time until his forehead rested against the crystal.

“I sometimes wish we could have used those abilities to look after each other,” Eren whispered. During training I wanted us to fight side by side forever, I thought with you teaching me there was no fight I couldn’t win… well, any fight that wasn’t against you.” He chuckled.

This time there was no silence only the sound of Eren choking back tears as he hammered his fists against the glassy crystal. “If you were out here we could talk each other to sleep complaining about our dads,” Eren said quietly as he reluctantly pulled himself away to leave.

“At this rate, I’m going to drive myself crazy.” He whispered as he closed the door behind him.