Himitsu No Ai 秘密の愛 ⋮ Levi Ackerman

Chapter 3

As a last warning to leave you alone, you shove Jean roughly against the trunk. His head hits the tree, he winces and yowls from the sudden trauma. You let go of him and Sasha's back from the terra firma down below.

The girl lands atop the branch in a crouch. Her cords snap back into her vertical maneuvering equipment as she brings herself to a stand. She speaks with her mouth full, so her words are incomprehensible.

You arch a brow. You don't understand a thing she's saying, "What? Don't talk with your mouth full."

Jean straightens up and his scowl deepens. His hand goes up to comfort the aggravated spot on the back of his head.

Sasha's neck shifts as the bolus passes through her throat. She swallows her food and then she speaks again, this time clearly, "What's going on?"

You give the girl a vacant look. As abasing as Jean was, you didn't want to besmirch and tarnish his name. You were all a team, regardless which squad you came from, it had to remain this way for the sake of humanity. So you decide to be the better person.

"Nothing." You remain apathetic, "Just having a chat."

Jean's astounded at your response. He thought you would have called him anything along the lines of an asshole. But you didn't. He feels bad (kind of).

A signal flare appears in the sky at a distance. The color of the smoke is blue, a sign to retreat.

"I guess it's time to go home." Sasha's hands go to her hips, "I wonder what's for dinner."

"Boring day." The light-haired man's face contorts with aggravation.

You scoff internally. And he said he wanted to be in the Military Police Brigade. Did the man think he'd be doing something much more interesting?

You don't waste another second. The metal cords of your equipment ejects and the grappling hooks grab onto the woody perennial plants and you quickly descend to meet your awaiting ride. In one fell swoop, you land onto your horse. You flick the reins and then you're off.

"What's the rush?" Jean manages to catch up to you. He notices your eagerness to return and he's curious. Cause there's no further tasks to accomplish once the Scout Regiment returns. It was always like this. The soldiers normally lazed around leisurely till the next day.

You ignore him. You lean forward and your thighs tighten against your horse, it lets the mammal know to accelerate. You're excited to see Levi but you're not going to voice that. And it's not that you couldn't, it's more like you shouldn't.

Jean matches your pace, he pulls up next to you again, "Could it be a hot date?"

"No." You say and your gaze remains fixed in front of you.

"So you have nowhere to be?" He asks.

You ignore him again.

"Let me take you on a date tonight." The man's adamant despite your unremitting rejection.

"What's the opposite of positive?" You ask.

He's confused but he answers anyway, "Negative."

"There's my answer."

Jean deadpans. He clicks his tongue, "Just one date. After that, if it's still not what you expect, I'll leave you alone. For good."

"I think I made myself quite clear."

You weren't sure why Jean Kirschtein was so interested in you and you never bothered to ask (cause you didn't give a damn). But the guy, he knows exactly why. It's because you were everything he's not. He had found someone—he believes—who complemented him. Someone whose strengths were his weaknesses. When the two of you are together amidst a battle, you always brought out the best in him. Your unwavering determination gave him motivation to lead his teammates. You could be the yin to his yang. He was attracted to your beliefs, your strong-will and—of course—your looks.