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It was not even nine o clock and tourists were already swarming the city. It was extraordinarily hot and people were insanely loud. Maybe those were the two main reasons why Annie found herself frowning so much. It was cynical since she was also a tourist but she didn’t care, she wasn’t as loud as the rest of them. God, they were even louder than the italians themselves and that was not an easy thing to achieve.
For as long as she could remember, Annie had always been teased because of her height. She lost count of how many fights she got herself into just because someone tried to pick on how small the world thought her to be. She distinctly remembered when, on her first day of school, right after she moved to Trost, a kid approached her, attempting to be funny and trying to show off to the rest of the class. He taunted her for one minute straight, completely unable to shut his mouth until Annie took matters into her own hands. She flipped him over her shoulder and left him with a busted lip. What did she achieve? Well, she was grounded for a month and got stuck with said kid because, instead of becoming enemies, the blond boy laughed it off and doomed her with his friendship. Stupid Reiner.
She was nine then, now eleven years later and for the first time in her life, she was willing to admit he was right, she’s always been tiny, and she knew that because she was currently trying to figure out the best way to take up all the space of the stone bench she was sitting on so nobody else could even entertain the idea of sitting next to her. But again, she was tiny. Even if she were to lay down, there would still be room for one or two more people.
Annie glanced around, her eyes bouncing back and forth from one person to another one. Most of them with olive skin, perfect brown hair and dressed so elegantly, Annie felt forced to be conscious about her pale skin and old hoodie. It was Bertholtd’s idea to come to Europe, in fucking summer, and no, he didn’t have in mind places like Finland or Sweden… they’ve been to freaking Madrid, where in august it exceeds 40º, and now they were in Rome where Annie’s phone marked 39º. It was a horrible nightmare bursting into flames. It was already turning into her worst summer ever.
So why was Annie wearing a hoodie? Well, because she was stubborn and she would rather faint than let Hitch know she was right when she nagged her about her choices while packing.
“Why are you so bullheaded? You’re doing this to spite me. You won’t need the hoodies; why can’t you just lend me some space in your bag?”
“I’ll need my hoodies.”
“Annie, you won’t wear them, like never. It’s summer, like a literal hell over there.”
“I’ll wear them.”
So that’s why she was wiping drops of sweat every now and then while taking small sips of the coffee she bought from the restaurant behind her. Annie turned just to read the name again; her brain couldn’t help a stupid forced italian accent: Trescalini. She was indeed stubborn but she was just proving a point.
She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice a girl sitting right next to her. The bench was large, yet instead of sitting as far away from Annie as possible —like any other human being would do— the girl sat right next to her.
“Hey, this bench is taken.” She paid Annie no mind, she kept her face glued to an enormous professional camera while she took snaps of who knows what or who. “Hey.”
The girl pulled the camera away allowing Annie to take in her features. She was absolutely breathtaking, so much Annie had to swallow hard and reorganized her thoughts before speaking again.
“Uh, this bench is taken. Yeah.” The girl looked right into her eyes before moving on, focusing on the pictures she took. “Do you speak English?” No answer. “Deutsch?” Nothing. “Just my luck,” she hissed. “It had to be the asian girl, the one who wouldn’t understand if I tell her to fuck off.”
Annie released an annoyed puff and committed herself to ignore her new companion. Her eyes danced all over the public square, there were two fountains at each side. Annie had to admit she was never really into old architecture, but there was something magical about Rome, it just smelled like old times.
Her new friend started taking some pictures again, the insanely amount of clicks caught Annie’s attention.
“So are you a photographer, ah? I would have guessed you’d be in front of a camera not behind it.”
She glanced away as soon as those words rushed out of her mouth. Thank God the girl didn’t speak english. She counted to five before she stole a glance again. The girl wore a sun hat and a beautiful white dress. She was not a ten, Hitch was a ten —or at least she was to Annie before they broke up a year ago—, that girl could actually break the fucking scale, with those gray eyes and—
Annie’s phone went off. She checked and cringed internally before answering.
“Yeah?” It was Hitch, an annoyed Hitch. She screamed so much Annie had to pull away from the phone. “Jesus Christ, Hitch would you calm down? I couldn’t sleep and decided to have a coffee by myself.” She could feel her right ear internally bleeding while her friend kept going on. “Why would anyone even try to kidnap me in the middle of Rome? You know what? You’re right, I’m sorry, I won’t sneak out from the hostel again without telling you or the boys, happy?” No she was not happy, not at all. She let her rage fall all over Annie so the blonde knew there was no way she was coming back anytime soon; she was in no mood to put up with Hitch’s nagging. “Well, I made a friend, yeah, and I’m spending time with them.” She glanced at the asian girl; she was still messing around with her camera. “What do you mean I’m incapable of making new friends? Well I just did, we’ve been talking for a while, she’s a photographer, she’s smoking hot and not as rude as you, so I’m hanging up.” Okay, she was starting to get really annoyed. “No, I’m not telling you where I am because I don’t even know myself, I—
“Piazza Navona.”
Annie froze.
She turned her head slowly. “Wha— uh?”
“We are in Piazza Navona.”
She hung up without uttering another word. The girl put her camera to the side and smirked at Annie.
“You speak English?”
“I do.”
“What the fuck! Why didn’t you answer me when I talked to you before?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t have heard you calling me smoking hot.”
“Oh God.”
Annie was utterly mortified. She hid her face behind her hands. She felt herself covered in sweat; Hitch was so fucking right about her hoodies.
Suddenly, there were two fingers tapping Annie’s hand, the blonde merely spread her fingers and looked at the stranger through them.
“So, what’s your name?”
God, her voice was as alluring as her presence.
“Why?”
“That’s a peculiar name.”
Okay, that was just too much sassiness. Annie put her hands down and glared at the girl.
“Annie, the name is Annie.” she deadpanned.
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
“It’s just that… such a simple name for such a fierce girl.”
Annie felt her eyebrow hiking up so much it was about to leave her face.
“The last name is Leonhart.”
“Annie Leonhart.” She said it as if she were savoring each of the letters. “Now, that’s powerful.”
“So I already know you like to humiliate random girls, care to tell me your name?”
“That’s a bit dramatic. Mikasa, Mikasa Ackerman.”
“German?”
“Half german, half japaneese, obviously.”
“And what are you doing here? Do you live in Rome?”
The girl shook her head.
“I decided to spend my summer in Italy before starting college.”
“Oh, that’s nice. How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
Annie was about to say she was twenty but then a group of rowdy people passed by, distracting her. Italians were not only loud, but rushed their words and spoke with their hands a lot.
“They are loud.”
Mikasa chuckled. “That they are.”
“And they are handsy.” The girl threw a curious glance at her “They ignore personal space and kiss too much, I hate it.”
“So you don’t like to be touched?”
Annie’s mouth hung open while she felt a furious flush creeping up her face. When she faced Mikasa, the girl could barely hold back her laughter.
“You’re an asshole. You know that, right?”
That was enough for Mikasa to break out in a fit of laughter. Shockingly, rather than annoyed her, it actually amused Annie.
“I’m sorry, I’m being mean, aren’t I?” She smiled at Annie. “But you are right, they are pretty effusive, it’s part of their culture.”
Once she said that, she looked away. One of the girls from that specific loud group waved at Mikasa and the girl waved back.
“Friend?”
“One-night stand.”
“She’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah, and very sweet. Too much.”
“Is there anything as too sweet?”
“Sometimes.”
“Mhm.”
“So…I know you already had you coffee?” Mikasa said pointing at the cup she was holding. “But I haven’t had mine. There’s a little coffee shop I usually go, it’s not far from here. Would you like to come? I promise I’m not kidnapping you.”
Annie snorted.
“You wouldn’t be able even if you tried.”
“Wanna bet?”
Annie snorted again but sprang to her feet as soon as Mikasa did. She followed her trying not to seem too eager. The girl was clearly flirting with her and it had been a while since she'd met someone so straightforward. She decided to play along with that banter.
“I know I look small but I can assure you I can kick ass.”
“I know someone shorter than you.”
“Oh, do tell, that’s a person I wouldn’t mind meeting.”
“A friend of mine, I met her when her family moved to Japan. I haven’t seen her in two years, though; she went back to Trost.”
“She’s from Trost?” The girl nodded. “No shit, I live there.” She couldn’t understand the reason behind the girl’s smirk. “What?”
“Nothing, sometimes life is funny.”
“Uh?”
“Forget about it. Were you born there?”
“Nope, I was born in Germany but my dad and I moved there when I was nine.”
Soon enough they left the buzzing streets behind and entered somewhere different. That area was full of narrower streets, they looked older, kind of mysterious.
“We are almost there. I like this part of the city, and it’s only five minutes away from Ponte Sant’Angelo.”
“You speak Italian?”
“That’s another reason why I came here, I wanted to learn. This is it, we are here.”
Annie looked up and read the sign. “Caffetteria Nico.” It was a small place in the corner of a street. There were two free tables outside, but Mikasa ignored them in order to get inside. It was smaller than Annie could have imagined, but very cozy, with that “antic cafe” vibe that the blonde wasn’t sure she appreciated, but at least the smell of coffee was delicious and the AC was at full blast.
They sat on a small table and, as soon as Mikasa settled herself on her seat, she tilted her head back and ran her hand through her jet black hair. Annie was in shock of seeing a goddess pretending to be human.
“Mikasa!”
“Buongiorno, Nico.”
A young blond approached them. He was kind of handsome and his smile was broad and kind, one of those Annie hated. He was wearing a striped apron and seemed to know Mikasa well. Even though she couldn’t understand a thing they were saying she was still able to sense the familiarity between them.
“Annie?”
“Huh?”
“Cosa vi porto da bere?”
“Huh?”
“He’s asking what do we want to drink.”
“Mhm a cappuccino?”
“Why do you seem uncertain?”
“My friend, Reiner, he asked for a cappuccino yesterday and I think the waiter pretty much wanted to murder him.”
“What time it was?”
“I don’t know maybe four or five.”
She didn’t understand why but Nico laughed loudly.
Ok… rude.
“Well that sounds about right. There’s no better way to stand out as a tourist than ordering a cappuccino after noon.”
“Oh.”
Mikasa looked at the waiter again.
“Ti faccio il solito? Un caffè espresso?” The boy asked after he nudged at her shoulder playfully.
“Sì, grazie Nico.”
“Are you friends?” Annie asked interested.
Nico smiled at her and went to tell something Annie didn’t understand. She was about to say something in german just to balance things out but he stopped, took some air and delivered a final sentence.
“Ci siamo conosciuti a una festa.”
“I’m really sorry. I don’t speak any Italian.”
“He said we met at a party. He’s a friendly guy.” Mikasa told her as he smiled at her before going away. “So what do you do?”
“You know… college.” Annie said boringly. She hated talking about that. She really didn’t do anything exciting. “I want to be a lawyer.”
“Oh, my condolences.”
She snorted again; it was the third time. Now, THAT was interesting.
“You? Let me guess… photographer?” She asked nodding towards the camera. It almost took up the whole table.
“Well I wish, but no. For now, it’s a hobby, maybe someday… when I get better at it. I want to be an architect.”
“That’s impressive. I can understand why you chose to spend some time in Rome. This must be like Disneyland to you.”
The girl laughed at Annie’s comment and the blonde swelled with pride. It hadn’t been too long since the last time she was with someone. Actually it had only been two months since Carly decided to put an end to their… well it was not exactly a relationship but they were seeing each other. Anyway, apparently Annie was great in bed but sucked a lot at the emotional department.
“Yeah, well I planned this a long time ago with a friend but… he couldn’t make it.”
When Mikasa said friend, it sounded as bitter as when Carly tried to force her to be more attentive. “You should try to surprise me more often, Annie.” “I would like for you to be more romantic.” “What do you mean you make plans with our friends, I thought you wanted to spend your free night with me.”
At that moment the waiter appeared again and placed Mikasa’s order and her cappuccino in front of her. It was beautiful, it had a flower drawn on the foam.
“Thanks,” she said. “Uh… how do you say that it’s beautiful?”
“You can say: è bellisimo.”
Annie said just that and started to appreciate Nico’s smiles.
“Nico, aspetta un attimo. Che dolci ci sono oggi? Do you like pastries Annie? I'm asking what they have.”
She LOVED them.
“As long as it’s sweet I’ll have it.”
Once the boy went with their order, Mikasa fixed her gaze on Annie again. It was making her kind of nervous and that wasn’t something Annie usually felt.
“If you are that much into sweetness maybe I should have introduced you to the girl from before.”
God, the girl was like an arrow, there were no curves with her. Annie knew and liked the game she was playing.
“Nah, I don’t think I’d be interested in her.”
“Don’t you like girls? Or you got someone on your mind already?”
Fuck.
Ok, she can play too.
“I do like girls, I just happen to like outstandingly attractive people and I haven’t met anyone like that in a while.”
Mikasa gasped and placed one of her hands on her chest in a rather dramatic way.
“Ouch, that hurt.”
“Poor you.” She interjected before Nico laid out four different kind of pastries in front of them. They looked delicious.
Annie wanted nothing more than to stuff her mouth with them but Mikasa made her move first and started to gracefully cut each pastry in half. Annie felt as a cave woman sharing a table with classiness itself.
“You look impatient, come on, dig in.”
Annie tilted her head trying to figure out if Mikasa was making fun of her. That idiot smirk plastered on her face told Annie that she was indeed very amused by her.
Between mouthfuls of food Annie discovered that for all Mikasa’s striking appearance, she was a very normal and laid-back person. Apparently, the girl lived in Japan, with her grandmother. She also told Annie that she recently got in touch with a distant cousin and that she was supposed to go to Germany next week to spend a few days with him. It was easy to talk to her, sometimes she was contemplative, others flirty and bold and, if she wanted, she could be really sweet too. She was the whole package and as much as Annie tried, she couldn’t find any red flags.
Mikasa also seemed genuinely curious about Annie and for the first time in what felt like forever, the blonde didn’t mind talking about herself.
"Would you like to see some of Rome with me?” Mikasa suggested gently dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “Unless you are already tired of me.” The girl was piercing her with her eyes and Annie forgot which word was commonly used for an affirmative answer.
She was about to say something but her phone went off. This time it was Bertholdt but she still could hear Hitch’s ire being the most annoying background noise Annie had ever listen to. She just stared at Mikasa knowing that her mind was already made up.
“I’m with a friend, I don’t know when I’ll be back. I’ll call you later. Don’t worry.”
She silenced her phone and remembered that the world she was looking for was “yes”.
Mikasa only smiled and gestured towards Nico who understood the girl was asking for the check.
“It looks like I did kidnap you in the end.”
Annie snorted probably for the… hundredth time in that morning and managed to stop Mikasa from taking her wallet out.
“It’s my treat.” Annie insisted firmly.
There was a small mischievous twitch on the lines near Mikasa’s eye. The girl lazily rested her back against the back of the wooden chair.
“Guess I’ll have to make it up to you later.”
Annie almost choked with her own saliva, thank God she managed to cover it up with an awkward cough. She was not going to let the girl intimidate her like that.
“I mean, you can try, I don’t think you have what it takes to do that.”
She left ten euros next to the check and then she glanced at Mikasa, the look the girl was giving her was not playful anymore, it was kind of aggressive, but in a good way, an excellent one. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips pursed in a slight tempting smirk, as if she were challenging Annie with her posture.
“You’re driving me crazy. You know that, right Annie?”
She placed a hand on her chest and feigned a shock gasp.
“Me? What? You can’t take a little banter?”
“Oh, I’m sure I can.”
Eternity dwelt in the way they were holding each other’s gazes. It felt like the beginning of a grand new adventure and Annie was aiming to burn by playing with that particular fire.
“So… about that walk?”
Mikasa nodded and both sprang to their feet slowly, without tearing their eyes away from each other.
“Al ritorno raccontami com'è andata. In boca al lupo!”
Annie waved him goodbye but picked up on the way Mikasa glared at her friend. She didn’t ask until they were outside again.
“What did he say and why did he winked at me like that?”
Mikasa breathed out a laugh. “He wished me good luck and ask me to tell him how it goes.”
“How what goes?”
“You and me.”
Mikasa was something else… like really. Annie had never met someone like her. The more time she spent with Mikasa the less her thirst quenched, she felt tricked into needing more and more, as if not even a life time near her would be enough for Annie to be satisfied.
She would love to say she was paying attention to everything that Mikasa was explaining to her. She knew everything there was to known from all the monuments, the churches, the paintings… and she was pouring her heart into her words but Annie was far gone… lost in her beautiful gray stones and mesmerized by her sincere excitement while talking about any building.
It was already night time and Annie could only conclude that: Firstly, Mikasa’s ex, was the king of fools —Mikasa chuckled when Annie asked if they needed to kill him—, but the: “Eren’s a good person, kind of a jerk but a good person.” was enough for Annie to realize they were actually on good terms; secondly, Annie knew that she should thank Bertholdt for choosing Rome as a destination; thirdly, Rome was actually more beautiful and interesting that she could have imagined; and lastly, that Hitch was so fucking right about the hoodies. If it weren't because she was only wearing a bra underneath she would have already gotten rid of that long-sleeved nightmare.
It was all going so well that, even though she didn’t want to assume how the night was going to end, she never expected Mikasa to NOT invite her to her home.
“When are you leaving, Annie?” She asked instead.
“The day after tomorrow.”
“Want to have dinner tomorrow then?”
She had to admit she was a bit confused not only by the request but also for the change in Mikasa’s demeanor. It was a soft question with a very different vibe from all the flirting Mikasa had been doing until then. Regardless, they exchange numbers and she agreed to meet her.
Needless to say, Reiner and Bertholdt wanted to know every single detail, so Annie indulged herself a little and told them how "alright" her time with Mikasa was. She was not known for her talkative side and she wasn’t planning on changing that. For her part, Hitch didn’t talk to her until the morning after. Annie tried to apologize for worrying her so much, but the girl didn’t even acknowledge her existence and it was rather uncomfortable given they shared a room. Finally, Annie caved in and not only apologized again but told her she was right about the hoodies. Hitch just looked at her with that smugness she had always hated in her. But with that smirk, she knew she had been forgiven.
She would be lying if she didn’t admit she felt tempted to text Mikasa, but she did not. Instead she went out to walk around the city —this time with a short and a t-shirt— and spent the rest of her afternoon sipping wine and eating pasta.
It was around seven when Mikasa sent Annie a location. Her fingers felt like butter while she typed her answer. At eight sharp she stood in front of an old building. She waited for Mikasa thinking the'll be going to a restaurant, but the girl opened the door for Annie to step inside the building.
“I hope you don’t mind, I wanted to impress you with my cooking skills.”
“Being humble is not one of your qualities, right?”
Mikasa winked at her before opening her apartment’s door.
It was a cozy and small study on the third floor. It looked old but elegant. It had a large sofa, a small wooden table, a small bathroom, a very tiny kitchen and a door where she guessed the bedroom was.
It was actually pretty nice and there was a strong scent of garlic and tomato that made the experience even warmer. She looked at the kitchen and saw the oven was on.
“So that’s what you hide underneath that hoodie?” She was so distracted checking out the place that she didn’t realize Mikasa was checking her out. The blonde looked down at herself. A top and skinny jeans, nothing out of the ordinary. “You know, that hoodie was what prompted me to sat next to you.”
In your face, Hitch.
“Really? A hoodie?”
“Yeah, only someone crazy will be wearing that in the middle of summer. Also the annoyed expression… I didn’t know if I needed to be scared or intrigued.”
Annie chuckled while Mikasa reached for two glasses and started pouring some wine.
“That was me being stubborn. Not gonna happen again, I almost fainted.”
“I mean, you looked good wearing it… but you look great with less layers.” She stated as she handed Annie the glass.
“Cheers to that.” Annie said smirking.
“To less layers of clothing?”
That night Annie was ready to give as good as she get.
“To none layers.”
Mikasa’s eyes widened before she closed her mouth. Annie knew what was going to happened as soon as Mikasa bit her lower lip. The blonde took another sip of her wine while Mikasa placed her glass on the table.
“Like the wine?”
“It’s sweet.”
Mikasa stepped closer to Annie and whispered to her.
“Just how you like things.”
Annie felt a shiver running down her spine. She lifted her head and found herself face to face with the girl. She was wearing a little bit more of make-up than the day before and instead of a dress, she was wearing shorts and a comfortable top. She was stunning.
“Just how I like things.”
Mikasa had a unique glint in her eyes and, somewhere between those sparkles, Annie saw the reflection of her own desires burning brightly, enflaming her eagerness and hinting at the possibility of fulfilling every crave they could have during the night. She waited, almost frozen in time while the sizzling of the frying pan got louder, while her heartbeat increased its speed and while the voices from the street flew through the window deafening the soft music Mikasa’s phone was playing.
Annie’s lips twitched upwards. It felt so good to have someone like Mikasa looking at her with that much hunger, Annie had never felt as wanted as she felt at that moment; it set her body on fire. The girl started leaning in and, just when Annie was already able drown herself in Mikasa’s hot breath, she tilted her head to the side and smirked as Mikasa’s lips landed near her ear.
“The oven is on and whatever is in that frying pan is about to burn.”
Mikasa let a laugh out.
“Who’s the one being mean now?” She whispered right into Annie’s ear. The girl set her hands on Annie’s hips and held the blonde’s common sense hostage as they began moving slowly. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since I first looked at you.”
Annie couldn’t help herself and trailed her fingers along Mikasa’s forearm. She was barely touching her but it felt so good she couldn’t think straight anymore.
Mikasa pulled away from her but she did it slowly, almost painfully, as if she wanted the blonde to know how little she wanted to distance herself from Annie’s body. She didn’t take her eyes away from her and stepped back until she got to the kitchen, she bit her lower lip and turn off the oven and the burner.
“I hope you’re as hungry as I am.”
Annie swallowed hard. She couldn’t handle it anymore; she was already burning.
“Just kiss me already.”
It slipped out of her mouth and for a second she thought that Mikasa was going to tease her for that, but she didn’t, instead she let out a frustrated groan and with three determined strides made her way towards Annie. Mikasa groaned again once she crashed her lips against the blonde's.
It was gentle at first, with the kind of softness that allowed Mikasa to sank completely inside her mouth but at the same time it was so moist and hot that Annie could taste the depths of her lust on the tip of the girl’s tongue. Mikasa’s hands went behind Annie’s neck and pulled her closer to her. She felt a bolt of electricity swimming from her lips, crossing through her whole body, just to end at the very center of her pleasure. Annie’s excitement throbbed physically and mentally, she felt Mikasa everywhere at the same time.
“Food’s gonna get cold” Annie mumbled in between kisses.
“I don’t care about the food.”
Annie didn’t either, she was too busy thinking that if heaven existed she was sucking it right from Mikasa’s lips.
It didn’t come as a surprise when she discovered that Mikasa’s moves were as bold as her words. Not even two minutes after they started kissing, she was already pushing Annie’s bra up and sucking on her neck. The girl was pure fire and Annie’s yearn for her touch was just uncontrollable.
She grabbed a fist of black hair and pulled the girl away from her, it was forceful enough for Mikasa to groan and tense her jaw.
“Let me.” She commanded so sternly she didn’t leave space for any discussion.
Annie released Mikasa’s hair and pushed the girl until she hit the sofa. As soon as Mikasa landed on it, Annie resolved herself to give Mikasa the boldest version of herself.
Undressing the girl felt like peeling off the layers of a dream, one by one, slowly, almost to the point it felt like torture. As she deepened herself in Mikasa’s body, Annie discovered that she smelled like the sea and tasted like the sweetest of satisfactions.
Their lust turned into rough kisses and abrasive touches following the course of fire, into bareness and unhinged eagerness, into biting, sucking and grinding and into endless trembles just for the girls to end up consumed by ragged breathing and some begging.
She lost the sense of time, she didn’t care, she didn’t even bother to ask when she had the chance a few hours later. She woke up to Mikasa kissing her back fervently. It was still dark outside and that was enough for Annie to surrender to her most visceral instincts once Mikasa’s fingers once again found that place where her passion emerges from.
She would have loved to stayed immerse in the warmth of Mikasa’s lust but as soon as she woke up next morning, she panicked. She extended her arm and checked her phone only to find more than twenty missed calls from her friends. Their plane to Sicily was leaving in two hours. Hitch was going to choke Annie with the sleeves of one of her hoodies.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
She sat bolt upright in bed, unintentionally waking Mikasa up. The girl opened her eyes wide, she seemed confused but once she looked at Annie and recognized her, her expression relaxed. She sat up rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Good morning.” She said in a deep voice. “Why are we waking up so early?”
At first Annie was at a loss for words. Mikasa looked so relaxed and beautiful… her bed hair was wild and her yawns adorable.
“It’s not early, it’s almost ten.”
Fuck. Almost ten!
Annie vigorously threw back the sheets and got out of bed. She needed to pick her clothes up from the floor.
“I hope you’re not thinking about leaving after flaunting your naked—
“I need to leave, now.” Annie interrupted while she lifted her right foot and violently aimed for the leg hole of her underwear. “My plane leaves in two hours. Hitch is going to fucking kill me.”
“Who is Hitch?”
“The person who will go to jail if they ever find my body.” Annie answered between awkward jumps while trying to pull her jeans up.
After she hooked her bra, her cellphone started ringing. It was Reiner and boy was he pissed. He told her to go straight to the airport, they’ve already packed her things so there was no need to go back to the hostel. He also told Annie that Hitch had unintentionally left her favorite hoodie behind, back in their room. She’ll just ask Mikasa to pick it up and keep it safe for her.
“I’m sorry Reiner, I promise I…
Mikasa was sliding out of the bed, very naked, very beautiful, ver—
She shook her head and tried to focus. Once she ended the call she sighed and sat on one of the chairs. A headache ground into her temples. What a horrible way to start a morning.
“I already called a taxi for you. They’ll be here in five minutes.” Annie looked at her while Mikasa got closer to the blonde. “But of course you’re welcome to stay in my bed with me all day.”
Annie sighed frustrated once Mikasa sat on top of her and started kissing her neck. She pressed her body against Mikasa’s nakedness and groaned eagerly.
She couldn’t help it, everything about Mikasa was intoxicating so Annie got lost in her body. She touched Mikasa’s lips, her jaw, her sides, her chest, between her legs, her arms, her thighs; but she also touched her hunger, her want, her fervor… it was a shame that Mikasa’s fingers sliding under her top prompted Annie to stop instead of allowing herself to enjoy.
“Please don’t make this harder than it already is.” She held Mikasa closer but rose to her feet taking the girl with her. Once she was standing up, she dropped Mikasa down, delicately.
“That was… surprisingly strong.” Annie didn’t say anything, just pulled Mikasa’s face down and kissed her deeply. “I had fun last night.”
“Likewise.” She really, really didn’t want to leave. “I think I should go.”
“If you must.” Mikasa gave her one more kiss and let her go. For a second, Annie didn’t know what to do. It had been just one night, but she couldn’t imagine not seeing Mikasa again. Fuck, one night with her wasn’t enough. “Annie?”
“Yeah?”
“Text me when you get to the airport.”
“Oh, ok.”
“Take care.”
She looked at Mikasa one last time and went her way.
Two hours later she was already on the plane but her mind was somewhere else, somewhere in between sheets, discarded clothes and forgotten cold dinner.
Minutes, hours, days… they stop being her reference for measuring time. It all started revolving around whenever Mikasa texted her. The first week there were a few lines exchanged. There was nothing special about them, at least not until Annie got to Copenhagen; there she decided to take a picture and sent it to Mikasa. She didn’t think nothing of it, but Mikasa answered with another picture. She was smiling at the camera, next to a beaming Nico. Annie hadn’t realized how much she missed her face.
Since then, them exchanging pictures became a regular thing and when Annie landed in Trost she had at least twenty pictures of Mikasa saved in her phone. She didn’t know how it happened and didn’t care how much her friends teased her about it, but a month later she knew everything there was to know about Mikasa. She knew when she went to sleep, what she had for breakfast, what plans she had each day, how things went with her cousin, how sad she was to leave Rome… just everything, until one morning Annie realized that her heart had stopped being hers and had run away to chase after the other girl. She didn’t mean for that to happen, she never realized she was falling until she became a lost cause.
Forty-two days after she met Mikasa, she gathered the courage to call her for the first time. Well… the truth is that it was Hitch the one who pressed the button because “I’m tired of your sulking, Annie. It’s pathetic,” and by the time Annie snatched her phone out of Hitch’s hands, Mikasa had already picked up.
That was the first of their many phone calls. It didn’t matter the time zone difference, the little sleep she got sometimes or the weight settling on her chest every time they hung up… every second she heard Mikasa’s alluring voice, was worth it.
And just like that, Rome became a summer memory. A trip she talked about vaguely once she saw her classmates again and at the same time a fantasy she knew she couldn’t hold on to for much longer. The strange part was that things with Mikasa were going better than any relationship she had ever had. Annie didn’t even know what they were, but they constantly told each other how much they wanted to meet again, how one night wasn’t enough for them, and sooner than later their flirty banter turned into spicy exchanges which reminded Annie of how much she missed Mikasa’s moans dancing their way to her mind.
She was already half her way through her second week of college when she decided to take a step forward; she couldn’t handle how much she craved her, how much she wanted Mikasa. So she just sent her a quick message and started looking for flights.
Mikasa’s answer came quickly, so much it hurt Annie how she, once again, dismissed her attempts to see her again. It was absolutely puzzling because Mikasa indeed seemed very eager to maintain contact with Annie, she always asked about her, she burnt the same way Annie did when they had to settle for phone sex instead of being able to touch each other… but then, when Annie tried something, Mikasa simply didn’t take it seriously.
“You really like me don’t you Annie? If you are willing to come all the way to Japan just to see me for a few hours.”
“You can turn me down, you know. Just let me down easy Ackerman, because at this point I’m kind of crazy about you.”
“Where is that grumpy and rude girl I met sitting on that bench?”
“This girl is already forgetting how you look like, so she wants to do something about it.”
A picture.
“Damn. New haircut? Now I want a nude.”
“I’ll think about it. I have to go; I’ll call you tonight. You finish at 8 right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be home at 8:30.”
“Talk to you later. I hope you can’t stop thinking about me until then ;)”
“Fuck you Ackerman, like really, fuck you.” She muttered to herself.
It was frustrating and unfair. She didn’t pay attention to her class and she felt growing more and more angry as minutes ticked by. Honestly, it hurt her that Mikasa didn’t even take her offer seriously. Maybe this was a sign that she should reconsider what she was doing. If she thought about it, she was wasting her time getting involved with someone so out of her reach. Suddenly, she didn’t want to talk to Mikasa that night, she needed a distraction, something to take her mind away from her feelings. That’s why when Carly suggested all of them to go out for drinks she accepted immediately. Perhaps Carly’s flirty wink helped a little too.
Since she was back in Trost, the girl had been pretty straightforward about what she wanted, and what she wanted was to have Annie back. At first, Annie just shrugged it off but, as time went by, she started feeling more and more alone, till the point she started thinking that maybe she should place her efforts on someone that not only told her how much she wanted to see her, but who also was willing to do something about it.
“So… I was thinking that you could come to my house after the drinks.”
Annie pursed her lips.
“Not today, Carly.”
The girl’s smile didn’t falter, she took Annie’s chin between her fingers and forced her to look at her.
“One of these days, Annie. Just give me time.”
She pulled away from her touch and watched Carly walking off to where their other classmates were waiting. Annie started collecting her things, then, she looked at her phone: eight o clock, she needed to message Mikasa and cancel their phone date. She sent a short text and sighed while she slung her backpack on her left shoulder. Then, she lifted her head to look for Reiner and the—
“Did you just cancel on me?” Annie froze. That voice was not coming from her phone. She tilted her head to the side actually afraid of turning around. Her senses were on high alert. “I can’t believe you cancelled on me.”
Ok, she was not dreaming.
Slowly, like almost not moving at all, she turned back only to find herself face to face with her summer memory.
“Holy shit!”
“Language, Annie.”
“Holy shit!” Mikasa… beautiful, amazing Mikasa rocking that new hair style was right there, wearing the same hoodie Annie asked the girl to retrieve from her hostel. She was even sexier than she remembered. “You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here?”
“Well, I wanted to surprise you.”
“That’s why you’ve been asking about my classes, schedules and teachers?”
Mikasa nodded before crossing her arms.
“I got to say, I thought you’ll be happier.”
That’s when Annie snapped out of her stupor. She released a long and heavy sigh before stepping closer to the girl. She took her hands and held them tight.
“God, sorry… you just surprised me. I just… wasn’t expecting this.”
“I can tell.” Annie followed Mikasa’s eyes until they landed on Carly. “I’m usually very self-confident, but I have to say, that exchange made me nervous.”
And right there, Annie’s mind caught up with the fact that Mikasa was indeed there, with her. Her body roared through her veins and her excitement flooded her mind making Annie feel the kind of rush that didn’t come without the risk of heartbreak.
“How long are you staying?”
Mikasa looked at her but then looked back at Carly again. Annie tugged at her hand to regain her attention. She couldn’t give a bigger fuck about Carly or anyone else for that matter.
“You never asked where I was going for college.”
It can't be.
“You moved to Trost?!”
“No, but my friend, Historia, does study here. I moved to Stohess last week, that’s why I’ve been busy. I started classes last Monday.”
“Stohess…” she repeated absentmindedly. It was two hours away by car, but at least better than seven hours trapped inside a plane. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I already told you, I wanted to surprise you.” Mikasa was still mad and Annie… she couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. She had to cover her mouth but kept on laughing until Mikasa’s annoyance faded away from her face. “What?”
Annie didn’t answer, she just stood on her tip toes to reach for the girl. Once their lips touched, she was back in Rome, back in Mikasa’s little studio, back in her arms and back to feel her heart racing like crazy from pure excitement. When Mikasa circled her arms around Annie’s waist, the girl pulled away from her lips. Mikasa was staring at her with the kind of intensity which could set the world on fire.
“What now?”
“Now it’s time for our second date.”
“A date?”
Mikasa nodded. “Unless you have other plans.”
Annie didn’t need to turn around to know Mikasa was looking at Carly again.
“Let’s have our second date.”
Mikasa smirked for the first time and it made Annie’s blood boiled.
“Ok, but…“ She leant in again and let her lips rest on the blonde’s for a few seconds. “Just to make sure she understands.” She murmured against Annie’s mouth.
Annie didn’t protest. She took Mikasa’s hand and wave a quick goodbye to her confused friends. She’ll tell them later, right now the only thing that mattered was that Mikasa was there and she was not an illusion, just a dream, a very real one.
“Well, where are you taking me?" Mikasa asked while they exit the classroom. “Since I planned our first date now it’s your turn.”
“Let’s improvise.”
Annie freed Mikasa’s hand from her hold but they walked so close their shoulders were deliberating bumping into each other with each step.
“Oh, but I like to plan things. I already know where we will be going a year from now.”
“A year from now? Wow, you really are confident, uh?”
“Of course.”
“Ok, I’ll play along. Let’s say this is going to be our second date out of… let’s say a hundred and that a year from now we still haven’t gotten sick of each other. So tell me, where will we go? And don’t say Rome please, that would be just cheesy.”
“It’s not cheesy, who doesn’t love Rome? In fact, I could tell you a great story of how I met this very pretty girl there.”
“Very pretty, uh? Do tell.”
Mikasa slung her arm around Annie’s shoulders.
“Brace yourself, it’s very romantic.” She cleared her throat dramatically. “It was not even nine o clock and tourists were already swarming the city. It was extraordinarily hot and people were insanely loud. Maybe those were the two main reasons why this pretty girl found herself frowning so much. It was cynical since she was also a tourist but…
Annie fucking loved Rome.