Chapter Text
To say that her teenage habits of going to bed late at night grew to a point where she could no longer sleep normally was an understatement. Since she started working from home and her job only required her to deliver things within the schedule Annie has been working during the evening, having her free time during the night, and going to sleep when the sun is already high up making her squint her tired eyes.
However, before going to bed, she liked to walk up to a nearby park and watch the sunrise while drinking something, either hot or cold. Egon would always meow in protest when she left, still dark outside, but he also understood that the human who fed him needed some time to herself.
By the third time she went to the park, she found a small two-seat bench in front of the lake that she quickly adopted as hers. Annie would sit down with her recently bought beverage and observe the scenery, normally absent of any other form of life besides herself. It quickly became part of her routine, and it was peaceful most days. That is until around 06AM.
The first time she saw the other woman was in a fairly cold morning, the sun barely peeking out of the clouds, just enough to make visible the features of the Asian dark-haired girl that was apparently walking her dog. She had a neutral expression and was looking slightly down at her pet, Annie had the impression that it was just to avoid stepping on him.
By the constant sway of her head to a certain rhythm, Annie also deduced she was listening to something, but at this point, she was staring. The other noticed and turned her vision to the blonde, who felt the blood leave her face.
The tall woman then smiled slightly and said "Hi" after raising her hand in greeting. Annie, desperate, just copied her movements and stayed a little too long with her hand raised. By the time she felt normal again, and able to lower her hand, the other woman was far away from her, the dog choking himself slightly due to his excitement. Was it a Shetland? She didn't know much about dogs, being a cat person, and it was almost time to sleep anyway. According to her schedule, at least.
Annie likes having a routine. A week passes by and watching the taller woman walk her dog becomes something she's got used to as well, so much so that when that person appears but this time not wearing headphones, it makes her look into the woman more attentively. The dog seemed even more excited now that its owner was paying more attention to him, so it began barking out of nowhere. By the time Annie got greeted by the girl with the habitual hi , the dog was biting and pulling at the leash, making its owner look at him disapprovingly.
If Annie had a dog, and it did that, she would flip her shit. Apparently, the woman was some kind of saint and just kneeled in front of the dog, waiting. It took a minute, but eventually, the dog stopped chewing on the leash and laid down waiting for the dark-haired girl to command it to do something. She patted it on the head and got up, encouraging the pet to do the same. They continued their walk without looking back to Annie, who was fairly entertained by the demonstration of restraint: Egon would NEVER respect her like that, not that she craved it. Although being woken up with bites on your nose could be one good reason to look into how to better educate your pet.
Fucking hate my nose anyway. She finished her drink too quickly, almost burning her tongue.
Annie really likes having a routine. After more than one month of this morning ritual, she caught herself disappointed to find the woman missing. On the first day of her absence, the blonde took a few minutes to realize that the other woman was at least late to their daily encounter. Normally by the time she got annoyed by the early morning glimmers disturbing her vision, they would've already said hello to one another. She took her time sipping her drink, hot cocoa this time, looked for the woman one last time, and left.
She was getting used to the loneliness by the third day when to her surprise they appeared again. Except there was something different.
She seemed... tired somehow, and the dog was also walking at a slower pace. It would sniff things around like it always did, but eventually, it would cough or stop and sit with its tongue sticking out. No more choking in excitement. The woman kept her attention solely on her companion, barely noticing Annie, but after all the staring she took notice of the blonde and nodded in her direction. She also provided her with a weak smile that made Annie uneasy.
That day Annie didn't finish her drink.
Annie tried to break the routine, avoiding the park for a few days. It didn't work much, since by the fifth she left Egon meowing to himself and locked the door behind her, heading to the open coffee shop next to her house.
She chose a cold drink this time since the day was weirdly hot compared to last week, and proceeded to sit on her conventional spot. There was some weird construction-related noise nearby and she could also hear the buzzing of the nearby street-lamp. They didn't bother Annie per se, but the synchronized sudden stop when the tall woman appeared in her peripheral-vision made her briefly question her sanity. Her sole attention was directed towards the brunette.
There was no dog. And the woman had a dire expression while walking her usual path, again, alone. Annie must have made a noise since when the other girl got close she looked a little startled at her. She said their habitual hi , but again, something was off.
Annie stared, with ice-blue eyes piercing the other woman's expression while her fake smile turned into a serious blank stare as well. Dark hair started to move in the other direction when the blonde spoke, halting her departure. Annie's hands were starting to hurt from the cold beverage she was holding.
Fuck it .
"Where is your dog?" Her voice failing to transmit much emotion. Still, she kept staring at the other girl, waiting.
The brunette glanced over, chuckled at her question. She seemed to ponder for a bit, and then noticed the free space beside Annie, who understood and scooched to one side to free more space.
The tall woman hesitates but ends up going to sit down beside the blonde. With both sitting down side by side, their height difference was almost comical, especially considering the way Annie tends to sit with both legs propped up on the bench.
The sudden approximation made the smaller one uneasy so she held her drink with both hands next to her chin, keeping her face neutral.
"He died last week. " The woman was looking at the lake, not exactly sad. She seems... disappointed.
Shit .
"Oh."
Annie takes another sip from her drink, not knowing exactly what to make of that.
Silent, awkward silence sets in. The woman shrugs forward, her hair hiding her face from view and Annie hears a sigh. Her elbows now rest on her knees and she seems tired. Annie knows tired.
Annie doesn't know what to say in these situations.
"I always hated dogs," Annie mumbled, with her drink still close to her mouth. She could feel the cold sensation touching her lips. " They pee everywhere".
Wait .
She suddenly realized how inappropriate that sounded, turning to meet a pair of eyebrows lifted pretty high on the other girl's face. The brunette started to laugh with a perplexed expression on her face. She then turned forward, looking at the lake again and still laughing, more discretely this time.
Annie didn't know that Mikasa loved her dog, but also hated the peeing. She also didn't know that their interaction was one of the few genuine ones that Mikasa has had for a long time. The dark-haired woman waited a few more seconds of awkward silence as a punishment for the abrupt comment, although she only felt entertained by the nonchalance of the other woman. She then realized that the blonde also didn't know her name.
"Mikasa" she said, now smiling at the blonde, offering her hand. Annie struggled a bit with her drink, holding it with one of her hands and freeing the other so she could reciprocate.
"Annie."
Mikasa chuckled, for the third time or so that day, lingered a bit with Annie's hand on hers, then let go. Her chuckle was becoming dangerously frequent, and again, Annie liked repetition.
"You have a beautiful name, Annie. See you tomorrow?" she then got up, got her cellphone, and started texting someone as she walked up back the way she came without looking back.
Annie thought she said " sure " but it was only in her head. Her hand was hot and sweaty just as her now crimson face, flushed for God knows what reason. Probably her hot drink. She took another sip.
Oh right, it was a cold drink.
Well, fuck .