Training Trip

" *Huff* *Huff*" (Armin)

" Here, let me take the bag. There is still some distance to go I think, you should take it easy and catch some breath." said Asriel while taking the heavy training bag from Armin.

" *Pant* Thanks...*Pant*....Asriel..." said Armin trying to catch a breath.

" Don't worry about it, besides I'm not gonna hold the bag for you the entire way." replied Asriel with an amused smile.

" *pant* Don't worry *pant* I'll take it back as soon as I can catch some breath" replied Armin still panting. Every other trainees were also out of breath with only a few obvious trainees who were treating this like a stroll in their back yards. It is now winter, early in the morning, they were on a trip to a mountainous area near their training grounds and the forest while jogging in formation. The world was white with snow everywhere, the leaves had fallen from the trees and the ground was damp from snow. It was a chore to travel through snowy lands with huge bags on their backs.

" Ok, I'm fine now, give me the bag." (Armin)

" That's the spirit, here you go. If you want, I can get a stick for you." replied Asriel while handing the bag back to Armin.

" No, I'm fine" relied Armin determinedly and jogged ahead.

" Eru.....are you ok? Do you want me to hold the bag for you?" asked Mikasa worriedly while jogging close to him. Since the day they confessed to each other and went on a date, Mikasa became very intimate with Asriel. They went on a few dates again later on while holding hands (in this case, leaning against Asriel for Mikasa), cuddling with each other and at the end of the date, they would give an affectionate kiss to each other before parting.

" I'm fine Mikasa, how about you? How are you holding?" asked Asriel with a warm smile.

" Nn....I'm fine as well." Mikasa replied and smiled back.

" You piece of craps! If a titan was chasing you, with your stamina you might as well save the trouble for the titan and stand still!" shouted Keith on a horse. The trainees hearing this cursed him in their minds. Keith seeing that the trainees were listless and looked extremely tired, decided to play with them a bit.

" Hmph! Even my grandmother can jog faster than you!" shouted Keith and when the trainees heard this they once more cursed him and groaned in their hearts.

" Heh, if you think you can do better than my grandmother, I want all of you to run starting now! The first 7 who made it to the training grounds in the mountains would get meat and exemption from toilet duty for the duration of the training! The rest....will have to run until sundown at the training grounds and will have toilet duty for the duration of the training." shouted Keith with a sadistic smile. The trainees were instantly revitalized, they looked at each other with madness in their eyes and started to run like their lives were depending on it. Asriel and Mikasa instantly dashed in front while grabbing 2 people each. Asriel grabbed Eren and Annie while Mikasa grabbed Christa and Armin. They were being held like a sack of potatoes but they couldn't complain so they just hoped they reached their destination quickly. Their bags on his back and Mikasa's.

" Wha....." Annie was about to struggle and fight back and complain when she found that Asriel was so fast even with her and Eren in his arms and their bags that he already left the other trainees in the dust. She figured she would just let it be and think of it as receiving a free ride and besides she felt that it was quite nice. Annie and Asriel spar every day since Annie was defeated that day. Mikasa would also join the spar and she defeated Annie easily. Since then she actively searched Asriel for practice. She felt that she was just a frog in a well and lost her pride in her hand to hand combat. After each spar, Asriel would give her some tips and tricks and they would discuss hand to hand combat over some drinks. If Mikasa was there she would be attached to Asriel the whole time they discuss while glaring at Annie every now and then. Annie ignored all her glares and didn't even recognize her presence. This made Mikasa livid and Asriel had to head pet her to calm her down. Annie seeing how Mikasa was enjoying his petting, also wanted to be petted and see how it feels but decided not to.

One time, Annie opened up a bit to Asriel as she talked about some of her background to him. She didn't tell him all but only a small bit of her father and what he's like. Asriel told her his background, about how he was an orphan while leaving out a few 'facts'. Afterwards, they were interrupted by Mikasa who hugged Asriel from behind with a smug smile and looked at Annie provokingly. Annie didn't know why but after seeing Asriel and Mikasa like that she felt annoyed and wanted to separate them. She was a bit jealous of how Mikasa and Asriel were so close to each other and thought what it would be like if she was in Mikasa's place instead. She blushed a bit and she quickly snapped out of her thoughts, said her goodbye and went away. Asriel didn't see her blush as he was too busy pampering Mikasa who was now like a kitten nuzzling into his neck.

" Woohoo, alright!! With you carrying us we will definitely be the first to reach the training grounds! " said Eren excitedly.

Mikasa who was dashing together with Asriel was glaring at Annie and was secretly jealous of her. [I want to be carried by Eru too!] thought Mikasa.

" Mikasa could you please not grip us too tightly? I'm glad that you are taking us with you but.....oof....Mikasa....too...tight!" (Armin) Christa was also jealous of Annie and she thought how it would be like if she was carried by Asriel too before she was taken out of her fantasy by Mikasa who was gripping them too tightly because she was jealous of Annie. Mikasa got out of her thoughts when she heard Armin groaning and Christa trying to get her attention. She apologized to them and continued towards the destination. Asriel seeing her reactions couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

[Hm....warm....] thought Annie as she unconsciously held tighter to Asriel. They finally reached their destination and Asriel gently put the two down on the ground. He had trouble when he wanted to put down Annie because she was holding on to him tightly but she realized what she was doing and quickly got off.

" Thanks, Mikasa if not for...." before Christa or Armin could thank Mikasa, she instantly went towards Asriel and hugged his arms while ignoring everyone. Everyone else except Asriel and Annie had a helpless smile on their faces seeing Mikasa like this. Annie seeing this was extremely annoyed for some reason so she looked away and started to go off towards the seniors who were waiting for them with amused smiles on their faces. The others also followed Annie and left the two alone. Christa was staring at the two for a while but Armin rushed her towards the seniors. Asriel petted Mikasa for a few seconds before following the others. They gave their name and was told to wait on the side for the rest of the trainees. Keith soon arrived on the horse and saw that Asriel and the rest were resting on the side happily talking with each other. He wasn't surprised that Asriel and his gang would reach here first as it was expected. They waited for a while and soon they saw a beast with red eyes rushing towards them, followed by Reiner and Bertholdt. They were trying to overtake the beast to get the last place since they saw there were already 6 people present in front of them. The beast also seeing this exploded with more energy and rushed towards the finish line which is the entrance to the training grounds. It managed to get the last place and when it knew it made it, it instantly fainted on the ground. This beast was nonother than Sasha who went berserk when she heard of the rewards that will be given. The rest of the trainees soon trickled in and some of them fainted because they were too exhausted. Keith seeing that all the trainees have arrived made them go freshen up and eat their dinner and rest for the day. It took them a whole day to reach the training grounds. At first, the trainees were surprised and exhilarated that Keith didn't asked them to do the running until he said that they would be punished tomorrow. The first 7 didn't need to join the running and they were allowed free time until midday.