Clearing

Chapter 1

Hey!

This is probably going to get a little spicy, but I will be putting warnings before chapters that have any triggering or NSFW content.

I'm pretty new to this, so any feedback after this chapter would be great!

The characters in this story are intended to be the ones after the timeskip, because they look cool and we won't be doing anything illegal thank you.

Warnings for this chapter: mild violence

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My mind wandered as I blocked yet another punch from Armin. We had been training for a few hours now, starting with 3DMG gear and then moving onto combat practice. I had chosen to pair with Armin since he was my closest friend here, but the poor guy wasn't the best when it came to fighting. His mind was quick as a whip and sharp as a dagger, but in training he would often slip up.

Still, he seemed determined to at least try. I had to give him some merit for his perseverance.

I dodged a kick to my head and swung my fist at him halfheartedly. Armin could tell I was not putting in the effort that I normally did, and this seemed to frustrate him more than I had realized. I grinned as his brows scrunched into a frown.

"Oh, come on." Armin dropped his fists, an exasperated sigh escaping from his lips. "You aren't even trying and I'm still barely leaving a scratch."

"I'm sorry." I replied. "I'm a little out of it today."

"Even when you're out of it, you're still kicking my ass." He muttered under his breath.

I laughed hard and patted him on the shoulder. The sympathetic gesture pissed him off even more than before. He tensed back into his offensive position and lunged at me, aiming his fist at my face. Now, however, my head was back in the game. I twisted out of the way of his arm, grabbing his wrist as it flew past before pushing it up and behind his back, flipping him onto the mat. He grunted in frustration as I knelt on his back and pinned his shoulders to the floor, counting to five before releasing him again.

"I should have left you to daydream." He groaned, rubbing his arm as he hauled himself off the mat. I had already braced myself for a second attack when I heard my name from over my shoulder. I twisted around to find Jean stood behind me, smirking like an idiot. My face changed from a grin to an irritated frown.

His arms were crossed across his chest in an infuriatingly smug stance, and he looked me up and down once before I spoke.

"What do you want, Jean?" I narrowed my eyes at him, hearing Armin shuffle awkwardly behind me, very aware of the tension between me and Jean. "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit today, so spit it out."

He grinned and folded his arms tighter across his chest, flexing his muscles. I rolled my eyes. "You seem to be a little bored with Armin there. Want me to step in?"

"You want to train with me?" I raised an eyebrow. "You know I'll beat you."

"I'd like to see you try." He shrugged. "Either way, I'm sure I'll put up more of a fight than Armin."

I ignored Armin's high-pitched protest from behind me.

"Go on then." I gestured to the space where Armin stood, waiting for Jean to take his place. I had never paired with him before, but the idea of punching the arrogant prick in the face was more than a little alluring. Armin huffed and moved off to pair with Marco. "Do your worst."

"Oh, I will."

I paid no attention to the strange way he looked at me, straightening my back and guarding my face with my fists. He did the same, eyes fixed on me like a hawk.

I struck first, moving so fast that he barely had time to react as my fist swung at his jaw. At the last second, he pulled back and swiped at my stomach. I whirled out of the way and instantly sprung forwards again, supplying a hard roundhouse kick to his torso and withdrawing my leg as fast as I could so he couldn't pull me onto the floor. He folded over, clutching at his abdomen.

The corner of my mouth twitched upwards as he spluttered for air. True, he had fought far better than Armin, but I was still going to take him down. Before he managed to catch his breath, I swept my leg behind his ankles and grabbed his wrist, pushing his legs forwards and his arms back.

He toppled to the ground and I landed on top of him, pushing against his chest and pinning his wrist over his head as I forced my knee against his torso to keep him still. I applied all of my strength to him, determined not to let him get back up. He struggled underneath me, gritting his teeth and grunting in frustration.

Five seconds passed and I released some of the pressure on his wrist, taking my knee off him. I leant closer to him, anger written on my face.

"I bet you regret that cockiness now, don't you?" I said, my voice low, my face inches away from Jean's. My hand tightened on the fabric of his shirt as his breath hitched. "Underestimate me or insult my friend again, and I'll beat you bloody."

Jean didn't reply, his mouth open and a small blush spreading across his cheeks. It wasn't until then that I realized exactly how I had landed on him, straddling his body. My mouth stretched into a smile as I took in his flustered appearance, and I shifted my weight to sit back on him, watching his eyes widen.

To anyone nearby it would have looked like an innocent maneuver to get myself back up, but his face reddened even more than before. I lingered there slightly with my hand on his chest before rolling off him and getting to my feet.

"Get up." I brushed off my shoulder and turned my back on him. I heard him grunt as he forced himself off the floor, Marco offering him a hand up. Armin stood to my left, his eyebrows raised in shock, his arms slack at his sides. He ran over to me and grabbed onto my sleeve.

"What... what the hell was that?" He squeaked quietly,

"What do you mean?" I frowned, and he mirrored it mockingly, an incredulous expression painted across his features.

"Oh, come on." He suggestively tilted his head over to where Marco and Jean stood on the mat a few feet from ours. "Did you think I wouldn't notice the look on your face? Or the way you pinned him down?"

"I have no idea what you're on about!" I crossed my arms and leant back slightly. "I fought him, and I won. Case closed."

"That's not what it looked like." Armin wiggled his eyebrows and I snorted. "There was so much tension between you two that Marco and I could feel it from over here, and not the usual kind either. Poor Marco's jaw nearly hit the floor when you sat back on Jean."

I could see Marco out of the corner of my eye now, looking up at Jean in the same suggestive way Armin stared at me. Jean had his hand resting on the back of his neck as he talked. He had long, slender fingers, and I subconsciously bit my lip as I watched them tense against his skin.

His eyes flicked up to meet mine, and I forced myself not to look down, despite the way my chest tightened. The flush returned to his face and he looked away, his hand falling to his side. I hated the guy more than anyone else, but there was no denying his good looks. I clicked my tongue, frustrated, and turned back to Armin, who looked like he was going to explode.

"SEE!" He yelled, clutching my arm. "I TOLD YOU!"

"Shut the hell up." I hissed, settling into an offensive stance, desperate to resume training and distract myself from the thoughts swimming through my head. It didn't take long for me to cleanse my mind, but every once in a while my eyes slipped over to Jean.

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Sorry for how short this is. The other chapters will probably all be a similar length, since I have the attention span of a walnut and if they were much longer, I would have a breakdown.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Any feedback would be lovely here :))

(Don't be too mean though, I'll probably cry lmao)

Have a wonderful day my loves!