You sighed softly, looking around the training area at the cadets surrounding you. Your search for a sparring partner wasn't going too well- It seemed that every time you walked to someone, they would immediately be partnered with someone other than yourself. You groaned as you began to walk towards Krista, as Ymir had just asked.
"Why can't I find a partner?" You asked yourself quietly. Hearing footsteps behind you suddenly, you turned, and looked up at the one approaching.
"Bertholt," You said with a small smile, looking up at the large male. He smiled.back at you.
"Hello, [y/n]..." He said, sounding at though he was nervous- More so than he always seemed. You shrugged this feeling off with a sigh.
"Are you, by any chance, looking for a partner to spar with..?" You asked, looking around. He nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I can't find anyone.."
"I know someone you could spar with.." You said with a small smile.
His head whipped around as he looked for anyone who didn't have a partner. "Who?"
You laughed as you poked his chest, making him take a step back. "Me. I was suggesting that we could spar. What do you say?"
He blushed lightly in embarrassment, realizing what you had meant, and nodded. "Oh! O-Of course!"
You smiled. "Well, let's get to it, then."
He nodded slightly, taking a step back as he raised his fists up. You prepared yourself, getting into your own fighting stance, and glaring up at him with a smirk playing at your lips. "Let's do this!" You said, before quickly running at him.
He took a step to the side as you swung your fist at him, and quickly grabbed your hand, attempting to flip you to the ground. You kicked in his grip, hitting him hard in the shin and stepping away from him quickly. He hissed in pain, but shook it off, charging at you this time. You quickly thought of something to try, something new to escape the attack with.
As he was headed for you, you jumped up, setting your hand at the back of his neck and using your strength to push down on it. His eyes widened as his head lowered, and he tried to pick his head up again. You grinned before pushing on his neck further and jumping completely over his back.
He turned on his heel in shock, all meanings of attacking you gone from his mind. "How did you do that?" He asked, eyes wide.
"I just pushed you down and jumped! What else?" You said with a slight smirk. "It's like climbing a tree, but your neck is a branch. Just pushing on it and lifting yourself up."
He nodded slightly. "That was impressive... But can you do it again?"
You nodded. "Oh, I'm pretty sure I could, yeah. Doesn't it hurt, though?"
He shook his head. "It doesn't hurt, not really... But it's a pretty well thought out move. With a 3 meter titan or something, if you could jump high enough, you'd probably be able to use that as an escape method. Your quick thinking keeps you alive, doesn't it?"
You nodded, smiling. "That's what most think, Although I'm not certain that it's true." You shrugged. "Regardless of what it is that's keeping me here, I'm just glad that it works."
He smiled nervously but nodded. "Hey.. [y-y/n]? There's, um, something that I'd like to tell you, if we're partnered right now.."
You raised an eyebrow. "Alright..?" You said, biting your lip suddenly. "What if it's bad..?" You asked yourself silently.
He searched the back of his neck, averting his gaze from your own. "Well, you see, I-We've been in the cadet corps together for a while, and I feel like we've become good friends.. And I think that I-Uh, I've got... Feelings for you, [y/n]."
Your heart skipped a beat and you looked up at him. "Feelings... As in friendship? Or... That kind of feelings?"
He blushed madly, closing his eyes. "Those kinds of feelings. It's okay if you don't return these feelings, I just- I want to get them out there. So that way you know..."
He looked at the ground as you remained silent for a moment. You frowned at this action before walking.closer to him, so that way he was able to see you. Giving him a small smile, you nudged his chest gently with the side of your head. "I like you too, Bertholt." You stated, a light blush covering your cheeks.
A smile crept to his lips as he opened his eyes, looking down at you. "Y-You aren't joking with me... R-Right?.." You shook your head immediately.
"Why would I joke about this?" You said with a brighter smile. He let out a small laugh, making you blush darker.
"That feels really good to hear, [y/n]. Now, let's get back to sparring. I want to see if you can do that move again."
You nodded, the two of you stepping away from each other. You quickly.began stepping towards him, headed to jump. His head stayed up straight, and you quickly changed that, once more pushing with As much force on the back of his neck as possible. This time, though, rather than jumping straight up and over him, you hoisted yourself up, standing on his back. His eyes widened as you turned around, throwing your leg over his.shoulders.and.sitting down, wrapping your arms around his neck. He picked his head up,
"What are you doing?" He asked, tilting his head back to look up at you. You smiled down at him.
"I'm fighting a tree. Remember how I said that you were like a tree?"
He nodded. "Yeah. But you're sitting on the tree!"
You laughed softly before leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I should stop fighting the trees. As of now... I've decided that I think I love trees. A lot. So I'm sitting on one."
He smiled softly, blushing. "Well, the tree loves you too, [y/n].."
You giggled softly before leaning down and pecking him on the lips gently. Smiling against his lips, you mumbled. "Good." He smiled, closing his eyes.
"Very good."
Is the whole "human/tree" metaphor creepy, or is it cute? I seriously need your opinion on this. I had the idea, and I liked it, so I wrote it out, and I'm going to publish it. Hope you guys are happy with the new update- I'm incredibly sorry that it didn't come earlier. Procrastination is my specialty... Hehe. Anyways, if you did enjoy this story, leave a like, a vote, or a comment! Until next time...
-___LeviAckerman___
