Some Say (Jean Kirstein X Reader)

Chapter Twenty

Jean stares at me and I stare right back with just as much intensity. Marco stands off to our left with his partner, keeping a watchful eye on us both.

"You know you really suck at this, Kirstein," I comment, not breaking eye contact.

He snorts. "Coming from the likes of you, that's rich."

We start circling one another. Fists held in defence mode, not that it would really matter that much anyway. We both suck at hand to hand combat, we know it, everyone knows it. Shadis gets a kick out of watching Jean and I absolutely fail at it, our awkward stances, terrible footwork, the list goes on.

"I'm placing a bet on (y/n) this time," Reiner calls out.

I smile in response. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"Stop talking and start throwing some punches," Connie yells.

This seems to fire Jean up, he takes a swing at me. I quickly dodge and trip him over. As he falls backwards, he latches onto my arm dragging me with him. I land on top of him, knocking the air from his lungs.

Marco quickly jumps in to help us both. He pulls me off Jean before I can get a hit in. Jean is hunched over, trying to catch his breath while Macro is having to hold me back.

"Don't kick a man when he's down," Marco says, trying to calm me.

"If he had stayed down, I wouldn't want to kick him right now." I snarl.

Shadis comes over before I can get to Jean. "I'm calling it a day since everyone seems too invested in this little gambling ring." He shoots a dark look over at Reiner and Connie. "(y/n), stay behind, There are some matters to be discussed."

Everyone breaks off. Marco helps Jean move away, he flips me off behind Shadis back knowing damn well I can't do a thing about it. Once everyone is out of earshot, Shadis motions for me to follow him.

"What's this all about?" I ask. "I've been training hard, listening to you from time to time."

He lets out a subtle laugh. "You're doing fine though I'm sure Levi would be disappointed to see you slacking off with hand to hand."

I shrug. "Can't say he really trained me well enough in that. I was basically a moving punching bag for him."

"That does sound like him. You would have flown through hand to hand if he had trained you."

I roll my eyes. "I get it, I suck. Now, tell me what's this all about? I still need to go and hand Kirstein ass to him."

He stops. "Erwin wanted to pass along that he and the other scouts are going outside the wall for another expedition."

I sigh and look down at my hands. "Levi and Hanji too?"

"Yes, all three are heading outside the wall."

I nod. "Okay... thank you for letting me know."

He places a hand on my shoulder. "I will let you know as soon as they are back."

"Appreciated." I give him a half-smile before walking off.

I walk in the opposite direction of the dining hall, not really feeling up to being social now. The sun is starting to set as I make my way up a nearby cliff that overlooks the training grounds. Sitting down with my legs dangling over the side, I take in the peace and quiet of my surroundings. I always hate when they have to go outside the wall, I hate knowing I can't go with them, be by their side.