CW: Mentions of depression, suicide, DID, PTSD, self harm, and other sensitive mental health subjects. Please use discretion when reading!
A/N: Thank you all for being patient with this. Due to the sensitive nature of what I’m writing about, I wanted to take more time and do more research to talk about this the best I could, to learn things other than my own experiences with certain things. Thank you so much to @marvel-starwarsfangirl for helping me with all of that 💙
“I should have time to go home and put the groceries away before the ambassadors get here,” you murmur, carrying two paper bags full of groceries.
Years after the traumatic event that was the Rumbling, things finally started to slowly go back into a sense of normalcy. Though not perfect, homes were being built again, crops were starting to grow, and families were finally able to relax.
Today was the day that the ambassadors were coming back from a nearly seven month trip around the world, going to the countries that weren’t as affected by the rumbling; building relationships and volunteering to help restore what they could; for the damage was so severe it took years for things to start growing again.
It was very sudden when one of the paper bags ripped open, the apples and oranges in the bottom of your bag spilling onto the ground in front of you.
“No!” you whine, setting down the other bag and bending down and settling on your knees to pick them up.
“Need help?” a dark timbre voice calls from behind you.
Your head whips around and you’re met with a tall, muscular figure with blonde hair standing there. Having seen his picture plastered on posters in the city center, you recognize who it is immediately.
“A-Ambassador Braun!” you squeak. “I-I…um…”
“Stay here, I’ll go get you another bag or two,” he chuckles, walking past you to go back to the town center.
You stay on your knees, gathering your now mostly bruised produce in a small pile around you. Not only was your produce all banged up, but one of the ambassadors saw the entire thing happen…how embarrassing.
He comes back a few minutes later, holding a full grocery bag. “Here. I’ll take those ones and give them our horses at the stables. I got you new ones.”
You look up, eyes wide. “You didn’t have to-”
He smiles, bending down and grabbing your other bag. “I know. But why not?” he looks over to you, his golden eyes filled with kindness and charity. “Here, gather up the bruised fruit in this bag, and I’ll help you take your groceries back.”
You shake your head, cheeks flushing. “No, you really don’t have to, I promise that I can do that on my own.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer, this is my good deed for the day.” he hums, walking forward. “I’ll need directions so you’ll have to tell me where to go.”
You huff, unable to stop the smile that eats the corner of your lips. He walks slowly to match your smaller strides.
“So what’s your name?” he asks, looking over at you.
“Oh, it’s Y/N.” you hum, giving him a small smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Reiner.”
“Can I call you Reiner, or would you prefer Ambassador Braun?” you ask.
“Reiner, since I introduced myself as that,”
“Okay,” you smile. You look ahead, jutting your chin out in front of you. “My home is just around the corner on the left.”
He nods and follows alongside you, humming a small tune.
The two of you walk around the corner, and your eyes land on your small brick home. “This is mine,” you smile, pulling your keys out of your pocket and walking up to the door.
“Nice place,” he smiles.
“Thanks,” you grin. “It was my parent’s place, and they left it to me.”
You open the door and walk in, letting him follow behind you. He steps in and looks around, taking in the living room. There’s a large fireplace, with a mahogany coffee table a few feet away from it, with a deep red velvety couch sitting behind it; with a large Persian rug underneath the two pieces of furniture. There’s also a large walnut cabinet full of teacups and other pieces of glassware.
You walk into the kitchen; it was much more compact, only a few cabinets along the walls, a small stove and countertop rounding a corner in the middle of the space, jars of food and breadboxes in another large cabinet that stands across from a small dining table.
“Thank you again, Reiner,” you smile, setting the bag of bruised apples on the table.
“Anytime,” Reiner purrs, setting the other paper bags down.
There’s a small bout of silence before he clears his throat and looks up at you. “Well, I should be going. They’re having a welcoming celebration in town square for us…” he pauses, “are you going to come?”
“Maybe,” you say softly, grabbing the bag of unbruised fruit.
“You should. Don’t think I’d mind seeing a new and kind face there,” he admits quietly. “It would be…nice.”
The soft tone of his voice makes your heart skip a beat. “What time is the celebration?”
He pulls back his sleeve to check the time. “In about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll put my groceries away first, then I’ll see how I’m feeling” you respond.
Reiner walks up to you and takes your hand, bringing it to his lips. “Either way, I hope to see you again soon,” he murmurs against your knuckles.
You can feel your cheeks heat up as his soft, lightly chapped lips brush your skin. “Y-yeah,” you squeak. “You too.”
He pulls away from you and grabs the bag of bruised fruit and walks to the door, turning around one more time to give you a smile. “Bye, Y/N.”
“Bye, Reiner.” you wave gently.
Your heart pounds as he leaves, leaving you in a state of awe. The two of you met what, twenty minutes ago? And…he was flirting with you? Maybe?
You put away your groceries and quickly fix up your makeup a bit, wanting to look a bit nicer for the handsome man that helped with your groceries.
You walk out the door and begin the short, ten minute walk to the city plaza. Your mind is still replaying the moment when he kissed your hand, the way his lips felt on your skin. You just met the man! Just because he flirted with you does not mean that you can act like this already!
“Get it together!” you think to yourself, pinching your arm. “A proper lady doesn’t fall so quickly.”
The closer you get to the town center, you can already see most of the town gathering around a makeshift stage in the middle of the plaza. Reiner and the other ambassadors are already on stage, and you squint, trying to see the rest of them. You recognize them from their faces being plastered from all over the papers: Annie, Armin, Pieck, Jean, and Connie.
The crowd goes silent as Queen Historia gracefully walks onto the stage, a beautiful smile on her face.
“Citizens of Paradis, welcome to this celebration! For seven months, these brave ambassadors have been going to other countries, forming new relationships and trade deals all around the world. Please, give them a round of applause!” she beams, clapping her hands.
Everyone joins, sounds of applause echoing in your ears. You can’t help but look at the stage, eyes flitting back to the handsome Ambassador. And it seems his eyes are doing the same, scanning the horde to find you; and once his eyes land on you, a pink blush paints his cheeks and he waves. Girls cheer and scream as they think he’s waving to them, but you know it’s for you.
As the applause and crowds start to fade, you make your way to the front, only to see Reiner with an older blonde woman.
“Could have fixed up your jacket a bit more. When was the last time you ironed this, huh?” her voice nags as she brushes out the coat.
“Mom, please-“ he whines softly, brushing her hands away. “It looks fine!”
You giggle softly to yourself at the interaction.
Reiner rolls his eyes and they land on you, causing a smile to creep upon his lips. “Oh! Hey, Y/N!”
The older woman turns her head, raising her eyebrow as she looks at you. “And who might you be?”
You walk up to them and hold out your hand to her. “I’m Y/N L/N. I met your son earlier today; he helped me with my groceries.”
The older woman turns to Reiner and gives him a small, approving nod before turning back to you. She takes your hand and shakes it gently. “I’m Karina Braun, Reiner’s mother. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” you smile.
“Would you like to join us for lunch, Y/N?” Reiner asks, holding out his arm.
You take his arm and smile. “I’d love to, Reiner.”
Karina clears her throat, raising her eyebrow at Reiner.
Reiner laughs sheepishly and holds out his other arm to her. “Sorry, mom.”
She takes his arm and starts walking with the both of you.
“So you only met today?” Karina hums.
“Yep,” Reiner nods. “her grocery bag split open and I helped her.”
“Mhm,” you affirm. “It was very sweet of him,” you say, giving him a small smile.
“Yes…how sweet.” Karina hums. “And you’re already inviting her to lunch,” she murmurs to herself.
Reiner leads the two of you to a small diner, where you’re sat down across from the two of them.
“So…Y/N. Do you have a job? A husband?” Karina asks the moment you sit down, her tone short
“Mom, be nice!” Reiner hisses. He turns to you, a sheepish smile on his face. “Sorry. But I was wondering the same thing.” he murmurs, not bothering to clarify about which question.
You give Karina a polite smile before clearing your throat. “I do have a job, yes. But I do not have a husband. Or a boyfriend…I-I’m single.”
You watch as Reiner bites back a small smile at the revelation that you’re single.
“And what do you do for work?” Karina asks.
“I work with children who have severe trauma, and help them work through it.” you say fondly.
“That’s really honorable of you, Y/N.” Reiner says softly.
“Thank you,” you smile. “I absolutely adore my job and the children I get to meet through it. It’s horrible though, the things I have to help these children through. Some children are put through so much at such a young age, and it really does take a toll on them.”
Reiner stiffens for a moment before relaxing, though still a bit more tense than before. “Yeah…they really do.”
Karina looks away with guilt ridden eyes.
“Is everything alright?” you ask softly, eyes filled with concern.
Reiner’s face goes blank.
—————————-
His mind is filled with memories of childhood. Marcel telling him he wasn’t worthy, days of running, training, fighting. Days of his mother telling him this was the only way that they could be accepted, the only way things would work out.
All these years later, even after the Rumbling, these things still affect him.
“Reiner?” he hears her voice call out his name, waking him from the trance he was in.
“O-Oh. Sorry…just thinking.” he murmurs.
She tilts her head, looking at him the way a teacher would patiently look at their student who’s struggling. “It’s alright. Should we order?”
He orders a steak for himself, while his mother orders a salad, and she orders herself some soup.
“So, Reiner. What’s it like being an ambassador?” she asks.
“Keep me busy, that’s for sure,” he chuckles, though his laugh is hollow. “I’ll have to tell you about our seven month journey another time, since it’s a lot to talk about.”
“Another time?” she smiles.
He feels his cheeks heat up again.. “Yeah, another time. Now that we’re here for a while, I’m sure to see you again soon, yeah? And now that I know where you live- actually, that sounds creepy when I say it out loud-“
She giggles, reaching out to playfully tap his hand. “It’s alright, you can stop by whenever. I’m usually home after four on the weekdays, and all day on the weekends.”
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” he winks.
“Where do you live, Y/N?” Karina says, interrupting the flirting between you and Reiner.
“O-oh, I’m on Redwood street.” she says.
“Not too far from mom, then. She’s on Poplar.” Reiner smiles. “So just a street over.”
“Are you going to have your own apartment now that you’re back?” she wonders aloud.
“Well, I’ll live with Mom for a bit until I can find my own place.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
The food comes and the three of them eat in a tense silence. Reiner, who was more open mere minutes ago, was now closed off. He was trying to not be in his head, but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t her fault, though. How could she have known?
He picks up the bill and the three of them walk first to his mother’s house.
———————————
“It was really nice to meet you, Ms. Braun.” you say, smiling politely.
“Hm. It was nice to meet you, too. Come, Reiner. Let’s go.” she huffs.
“The sun is going down, Mom. The least I could do is walk her home. I’ll do that then be right back.” Reiner says gently. He looks to you and offers his arm again.
You take it and walk alongside him once again. “I enjoyed spending time with you and your mother today, So, thank you.”
“It’s no problem. I enjoyed getting to know you, too.” he smiles.
As the two of you walk together, you enjoy the comfortable silence.
It doesn’t take very long for the two of you to reach your front doorstep, and you find yourself not wanting the moment to end.
“So…will I see you again soon?” you ask softly, looking up at him.
He looks down at you, his cheeks flushing. “I’d really like that, Y/N.”
Gathering all your courage, you get on your toes and kiss his cheek.
“S-Stop by whenever,” you whisper softly. “please.”
“Yeah…yeah, of course.” he smiles. He once again takes your hand and kisses it. “Tomorrow at five?”
“Perfect. Dinner? I’m making salmon.”
“I’ll bring wine?”
“I don’t drink. Bring dessert? Don’t be late.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, beautiful.”
He winks, giving you a devilishly handsome smile as you open your door and go inside.
You place your hand on your heart and smile, leaning against the door after you close it. You’re so done for.
————————————
That night as Reiner walks home, his mind is filled with anxiety. What would happen if he got close to her? Would she run the moment she heard what he did all those years ago? Will she run when his nightmares terrorize him in the middle of the night?
“Maybe it’s best to cut her off before anything happens. She seems so sweet, I don’t want to hurt her,” he whispers to himself. “But on the other hand…wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who cares about me like that?”
His mind wanders a bit too quick quickly and he imagines a life with her: a cute little chapel wedding with her in a white dress, all his friends surrounding the both of them; her round with child, a cute little apron tied around her waist, welcoming him home from a long day at work; The two of them holding hands on a porch, surrounded by their children and grandchildren-
He stops and shakes his head. What was wrong with him! He just met her! He can’t be thinking like this already. He’ll scare her off.
“Hey mom,” he calls as he walks in the door.
“Reiner! How was work?” she calls, her voice sweet.
“It was alright. Can you help me make some cookies?”
“For what?” she asks, tilting her head.
“Oh uh…I’m taking them to work tomorrow. Work party. S-so I’ll also be staying late tomorrow. For that work party. So…don’t expect me home until late.”
“Uh…okay?”
That night as he sleeps, he’s riddled with nightmares. Though he didn’t know her during the Rumbling, he’s having nightmares of what could have happened. Nightmares of her being stomped to death by Colossal Titans, crying out his name, with him unable to help.
He gasps as he wakes up, drenched in sweat, tears brimming his eyes. “Y/N...” he whimpers out weakly, throat hoarse.
Karina bursts through the door, eyes full of worry. “Reiner? Are you alright?”
Reiner can hear her worry but it doesn’t register. “M’fine, mom. Don’t worry about it.”
“Reiner..”
“I’m fine!” he snaps. “Just…leave me alone.”
“Okay,” she whispers, slowly shutting the door behind her.
Reiner sits in silence for a few moments, his chest tight, before he breaks down, sobbing. He’d been going through a particularly bad bout of nightmares lately. Sometimes they weren’t as often, but recently he’d been having nightmares almost every night, leaving him exhausted during the day.
He looks over at the clock on the wall, it’s 2:30 AM. He needs to be up at 6, but he doubts he’s going to go back to sleep anytime soon. So much for being well rested the day he has dinner with her.
He lays in bed the rest of the night, falling in and out of a light sleep. He’s going to need a lot of coffee to get through the day.
When he leaves for work, Karina is still asleep. Feeling guilty from the night before, he leaves a small apology note:
Mom,
Sorry for snapping at you this morning. The nightmares have been really bad. Please don’t tell anyone, I’ll take care of it.
-Reiner
He tries to keep himself motivated through boring meetings at the thought of seeing her again. The two of them are having dinner tonight! Just what he wanted…right? He thought you were beautiful and I mean, she kissed his cheek! That’s gotta mean something, right?
———————————-
“Okay. Reiner should be here any minute now,” you murmur to yourself as you set the table.
The clock on the wall reads 4:56. You nod and hang up your apron, running to the nearest mirror in your living room and fixing up your makeup and hair.
“Cute,” you smile to yourself.
You hear a knock on your door and your heart jumps into your throat. You run to the door and open it. He traded his ambassador’s uniform for a crisp tan suit, and man, it looked stunning on him.
“Reiner…hi…” you say softly, your cheeks flushing.
He gives you a smile and checks you out. You’re wearing a soft yellow dress with blue flowers all over it, and it hugs your body in all the right places. “You look beautiful, Y/N.”
“You look dashing, Reiner,” you smile, shyly tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. “Please, come in.” You stand to the side, allowing him to step in. “I’ll take your jacket, go ahead and go to the kitchen.” you take his jacket and hang it up, and follow him to the kitchen.
He keeps his eyes on you as you hang up his jacket. He can’t help it. Seeing you like this only reminds him of the small dream he had earlier.
“I brought dessert, as promised.” he smiles, holding up a bottle. “I hope you’re fine with simple chocolate chip cookies?”
“It’s perfect.” you smile back. “Go ahead and sit down, I just need to pull the salmon and vegetables out of the oven. There’s also some rice on the stove.”
“You sure? I can help-“
“You’re my guest! I insist," you huff, waving him away.
He sits down, his mind going crazy again just watching you be all domestic.
“Dinner’s ready!” you beam, turning around and setting the steaming dish on the table in front of him. “Go ahead and dish up, Reiner.” you smile.
He dishes up the food: salmon with carrots and asparagus. He can’t deny that it smells delicious. It looks just as good plated in front of him.
You sit down across from him, heart racing a bit more than you would have liked it to.
“This looks wonderful, Y/N.” he smiles
“Thank you, Reiner.”
—————————————
His gaze keeps drifting back to her as they eat. The food tastes delicious, and knowing that it came from her made it even better.
“I know it might not go with the dinner, but I’ve some lemonade, if you’d like some?” she asks, gesturing to a pitcher on the counter.
“That sounds wonderful, Y/N.” he smiles.
He watches as she gets up, grabbing the pitcher with an adorable smile on her face.
She pours him a glass, then herself before sitting back down.
A comfortable silence settles between them for a few minutes, filled only by the sounds of their forks clinking against their plates.
“This is really delicious,” Reiner smiles, looking up at her.
“Thank you, Reiner.” she smiles, a pretty pink blush blossoming across her cheeks.
Throughout dinner he talks more about being an ambassador, unable to stop the smile that creeps on his lips as she asks him question after question; her eyes full of wonder.
“So you’ve been like, all over the world?” she asks excitedly, scooting her chair closer to his.
He nods, chuckling softly. “We’ve been to a pretty large portion of it. Being an ambassador has its perks. It’s beautiful. Have you ever been out of Paradis?”
“Well…I didn’t really know the rest of the world existed outside of Paradis before…y’know…” you murmur.
His face fell slightly. “Oh…yeah.”
“But I’d love to see the world one day,” she quickly says. “Where’s your favorite place you’ve been?”
He leans back, the look on his face contemplative. “
He lets out a sigh of content as they finish eating, lightly patting his belly. “Let me help you clean up,” he hums, gathering your plate.
“You’re my guest, let me-” she starts, reaching out to stop him.
Reier stops her, grabbing her wrist gently. “Please, allow me.” his voice is soft, yet insistent.
She nods and stands up with him, cleaning up the leftovers while he washes the dishes. A calm feeling of domesticity settles around him, and it makes a heart skip a beat, once again filling his brain with thoughts of a future between the two of you.
“I hope you like the cookies, my mother helped me make them,” Reiner admits bashfully.
“I’m sure they’ll taste wonderful, Reiner,” she smiles, gently squeezing his arm. “Do you want some milk to go along with them?”
“Sure,” he smiles, his voice fond.
“Why don’t we sit on the couch? Get comfy?” she asks while pouring glasses.
He nods, bringing the tray of cookies over and setting them on the coffee table.
She joins him, handing him a glass of milk. “Here!” she chirps happily.
His fingers brush hers as she hands over the glass, and he notices that her cheeks flush just a little bit as they do so.
—————————————
“Are you comfortable? Do you need a blanket? Or should I throw more firewood in the fireplace?” you ask, tilting your head.
He chuckles, the sound deep. “I’m alright, but thank you.”
“More for me then.” you smile, pulling one of the blankets on the couch up to your chin.
“You’re a wonderful host, very thoughtful.” he smiles.
“Well thank you,” you hum, grabbing a cookie and taking a bite. Your eyes widen. “This is yummy, Rei! Can I call you that? Anyways, this is really good! You said this is your mother’s recipe?”
He smiles, letting a small laugh out at your rambling. “You can call me that if you want. And yes, it’s my mother’s recipe. I’m glad you like it.”
You giggle, “Rei. Reminds me of rye bread.” you gasp, grabbing his arm. “Rei bread! I’m calling you Rei bread.”
Reiner barks out a laugh, throwing his head back against the couch. “Y’know, I’ve heard myself be called a lot of things, but never Rei bread before. I like it.”
“Good. Because that’s what I’m calling you from now on.” you don’t let go of his arm, opting to stay close.
The two of you talk late into the night, eventually falling asleep next to each other on the couch, your head on his shoulder. You’re awoken by soft murmurs and Reiner twitching in his sleep.
“Bert…no…’m a warrior…not a scout…no…’m a scout…” he murmurs, eyes furrowed shut.
“Rei?” you ask sleepily. “Are you alright?”
“I’ll do it for us…mom…” he whines, a tear escaping his eye.
“Rei!” you whisper, worry filing your voice.
Reiner gasps, sitting up and panting heavily. His eyes are wide with fear and watering as he looks over at you.
“Reiner…are you okay?” you whisper, resting your hand on his arm.
“I…I need to go.” he says suddenly, nearly knocking you off the couch with how quickly he stands up.
“W-what? Reiner!” you stand up, watching him rush to the door, grabbing his jacket and shoes. “Where are you-”
He quickly opens your door, not even looking back as he leaves. “Goodbye, Y/N.”
He nearly slams the door behind himself as he leaves, making you flinch. You stand there, feeling bewildered. It seemed obvious that he was having a nightmare, something maybe to do with his past as a soldier? You’d seen the children in your clinic have nightmares often, maybe this was something similar.
—————————————
No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Reiner barely hears the door shut behind him as he runs down the stairs of her porch.
The way her voice cracked with worry when she called his name made his heart clench.
But she’s seen too much. She saw what his nightmares look like.
He ruined it already.
Hot tears welled in his eyes, threatening to spill down onto his cheeks. He coughs, choking back a sob. “I can’t believe that happened. She’ll never want to see me again.”
He fumbles with his keys, hands shaking, gasping for air as he stumbles inside. He shuts the door and locks it, taking off his jacket and throwing it on the couch as he walks to the bathroom.
He shuts the door behind him, running over to the sink and stopping as he looks in the mirror. He’s pale. Sweating. His chest tightens as his breath quickens. His shirt now feeling too tight, he grunts as he tears it off, buttons clacking as they fall onto the floor and the sink.
He looks down at the small set of drawers on the cabinet that sits under the sink. He opens his drawer, shifting things around until he finds it. A small razor blade, taken from a shitty razor he bought months ago. His mind is hazy as he looks at it, a small, broken smile creeping on the corner of his lips.
Taking the small blade in his right hand, he lifts his left arm, looking at the raised scars already decorating his forearm. He pushes the blade into a blank spot on his forearm, wincing at first from the pain, before releasing a sigh. He pushes the blade deeper before dragging it across his arm, watching the blood start to leave the wound. The pain is soothing. The pain is expected. Deserved.
This is what you get for causing harm. Remember what you did. Take the pain. Take it, you weak, pathetic man. Take it. Take it.
The mantra repeats in his head as he repeats the process. Take the blade. Press it into his skin. Drag it. Watch the blood flow. Each cut gets longer and deeper, crimson dripping in the white porcelain sink. Small sounds of pain escape his lips, but he doesn’t hear them. Take the blade. Press it into his skin. Drag it. Watch the blood flow. Take the blade. Press it into his skin. Drag it. Watch the blood flow.
The sink is stained with red when he stops. Eight new cuts adorn his forearm, eight new reminders of all the sins he’s committed. Eight reminders of how terrible of a person he is.
His hands tremble as he reaches for gauze and bandages, the blood still flowing, although lighter now. His breaths are a bit more even. The pain soothed the panic he had been feeling.
Cleaning his wounds, he wraps his forearm, a deep crimson quickly blooming onto the white bandages. He’ll have to change it in the morning.
He looks back to the sink, turning on the faucet, rinsing the sink of the evidence of his sins. He looks at the small blade sitting on the counter, wiping it off and setting it back into the bottom of his drawer.
He looks to the torn and destroyed shirt on the floor of the bathroom, shakily picking up each button and taking them to his bedroom. He walks in and sets the torn clothes on his dresser, his arm throbbing from the pain he put upon himself. His atonement.
Shedding his pants, he falls into his bed, the adrenaline from his self-harm and panic attack wearing off slowly. He doesn’t even remember falling asleep.
He wakes up to his arm throbbing. He looks over, eyes widening. “No…not again.” he whimpers, throwing his other arm over his eyes.
The last thing he remembers was being at Y/N’s house. When did he get home?
He gets in the shower, the hot water stinging his arm. He carefully washes the dried blood off of his arm, eyes widening at the number of wounds on his arm. Last night must have been bad. Very bad.
He rewraps his arm as he gets ready, packing extra gauze and bandages just in case he needs to change them throughout the day.
He fixes his hair as he looks in the mirror. Good enough. It’ll be another day at work. Another weekend to distract himself with.
“Reiner? I didn’t hear you get home last night,” Karina says as he walks into the kitchen.
“Hey mom,” he murmurs, not wanting to admit the same.
“I made you some eggs and toast. Eat up before you go.” she says, pushing a plate towards him.
He places the fried egg on the piece of toast and picks it up. “I’m gonna be late, mom. I’ll eat on the way.” he places a kiss onto her cheek before grabbing his jacket and rushing out the door.
He barely turns the corner to get onto the main road when he hears his name being called.
—————————————
“Rei bread!” you call out the moment you see the tall tuft of hair walking in front of you.
Reiner turns around, a smile creeping onto his lips. “Y/N! How’s it going?”
What? The chipper tone of his voice makes you stop. Why is he acting like nothing’s wrong?
“I’m…uh, fine. Are you okay? You left in such a hurry last night.”
His face drops. “What? I don’t even remember leaving, much less getting home.”
You tilt your head, brows furrowed in confusion. “What? W-we were asleep on my couch, and then you started having a nightmare, then you woke up and just left!”
He looks at you in horror, as if you told him that you had just killed someone. “N-No…”
“Yeah. That’s why I wanted to ask if you were okay…” you say, reaching for his hand slowly. Your fingers brush his own, and he jumps.
“I-I…I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” the smile on his face is gone, the light in his eyes that was there yesterday is gone, too.
“O-okay. If you ever need to talk, you can-”
“Have a nice day, Y/N.” he says, pulling his hand away and swiftly walking away.
Your heart drops to your stomach. What on earth?
Throughout the day, the kids at the clinic are the only thing helping you somewhat keep your mind off of him.
But seeing some of the children, the distress and silence, the nightmares during naptime…it reminded you of him.
A few days go by before you see him next. You’re at home making dinner when there’s a knock on your door.
Not expecting any visitors, you wonder who it is as you walk to the door.
You’re surprised to find Reiner on your doorstep, holding a bouquet of orchids and sunflowers.
“Hi, Y/N…” he says quietly, meeting your gaze before quickly looking away.
“Rei bread?” you hum, still amused at the nickname you gave him.
“Listen, I…” he pauses and looks up at you. “I uh…I’m sorry for the way I treated you this morning…and last night. That wasn’t okay. I-I know the date was going really well before that and um-” he stops himself, heat creeping up his neck. “I-I think I’d really like to spend more time with you.”
“You think?” you tease, leaning against your doorframe.
His cheeks heat up and you can’t help but giggle as he stammers out, “N-No! I know! I do wanna spend more time with you! I wanna take you out and make up for it-”
You smile and take the bouquet from him. “I’m teasing you, you silly loaf. But you’re planning it this time.”
An adorable smile creeps onto his face. “Yeah…yeah I can do that. Um…” he pauses, pulling out his planner for the week. “Saturday…are you free next Saturday?”
“I am,” you smile. “Lucky for you, I don’t work on weekends.”
“Does seven work again?”
“It does.”
“Cool,” he smiles, looking at you with dreamy eyes. “I’ll make it up to you.” he says, taking your hand.
Sinking your teeth into your bottom lip, you try and bite back a smile, but fail. Despite what happened, he’s still just as handsome and charming. Why not give him another chance?
“Yeah?”
“Mhm,” he says, nodding insistently.
“Sounds good,” you giggle.
You watch as his gaze shifts from your lips and then back up to your eyes. Smiling, you turn your head and point to your cheek. “Not until you take me out.”
You hear him let out a small huff of amusement, before feeling his lips on your cheek, dwelling a bit longer than most cheek kisses would have. You turn your head to look back at him, and his eyes are half-lidded, his gaze hazy.
“Greedy loaf of bread,” you whisper, smiling.
“Whatever you say,” he hums. “I’ll see you around?”
“Mhm,” you smile, squeezing his hand gently.
He lets go and waves goodbye, walking away, and you notice a little pep in his step.
Over the next week, the two of you see each other more often, exchanging small flirtatious remarks each time.
But then it’s time for the date. You’re in your bedroom taking one last look in the mirror. You had asked him earlier that week for a dress code, just so you don’t make a fool of yourself. You were wearing a nice purple gingham dress, perfect for the casual vibe he gave you. “Looks pretty with my pearls,” you giggle to yourself.
Hearing the knock on your front door, you giggle and rush over to it, swinging it open. Reiner was wearing a yellow dress shirt, tucked into khakis. The first few buttons were undone, showing off the beginning of his toned chest.
“Good heavens,” you murmur as you eye him.
“Well good evening to you, too.” he chuckles. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” you smile. “Purple and yellow,” you murmur. “Two colors that look nice together.”
“Indeed they do.” He offers his hand and you quickly shut and lock your door behind you, before taking his hand. He leads you down the porch where a beautiful mare is waiting for the both of you.
“A-Ah! A horse!” you whisper nervously. Having had bad experiences with them in the past, you’re more scared of them than most people are.
“You okay?” Reiner asks softly.
“I-I um…I’m just scared of horses, that’s all.” you confess under your breath.
“Well this is Peaches, and I promise she’s not gonna hurt you. Besides, I’ll be right behind you,” he whispers.
You nod and he gives you a comforting smile as he helps you on. He jumps up behind you, allowing you to feed the toned planes of his chest against your back.
“This feel better?” he asks, resting a hand on your hip.
You nod and lean back against him, letting out a sigh as he urges Peaches forward.
The landscape of Paradis looks beautiful as the two of you ride together. The island hasn’t thrived this much ever. It’s beautiful.
You’re so caught up that you don’t even recognize when he stops. “We’re here, pretty.” He jumps off, holding out his hand to help you off.
You don’t get off as gracefully as he does, making you stumble right into him, his arms wrapping around you to catch you.
You let out a nervous giggle, “S-sorry.”
“It’s alright. You okay?” he smiles, not letting go of you at all.
You nod, looking up into his eyes. “Yeah…I’m okay.”
He pulls away, but still keeps one arm around you as he leads you to a small clearing, where a blanket waits, a picnic basket waiting gently on top of it.
“Hope you like picnics,” he smiles.
“I do! Oh, Rei!” you squeal. You sit down beside him, leaning up against him as he settles. He doesn’t reject this, in fact he pulls you close. “Did you make all of this food?” you smile.
The tips of his ears turn pink and he gives you a small bashful smile, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Well, my mom and some friends helped, too.”
“You put so much thought into this,” you say softly, looking at the arrangement of food he pulls out: sandwiches, fruit, cookies, drinks, snacks; anything and everything you’d need.
“I told you I wanted to make it up to you. And look, we’re getting here just in time for the sunset,” he points out as he unwraps the sandwiches he made.
—————————————
He looks over at her as she gazes at the sunset, her eyes filled with awe. “It’s so beautiful, Rei bread.”
He lets out a huff at the adorably ridiculous nickname. “It is, isn’t it?”
He knows he shouldn’t be getting attached like this. She’d be better off without him. But he can’t help it. Something about her just draws him in.
Her stomach lets out a little growl and she giggles nervously, flush creeping up her neck. “Heh…sorry.”
“All good, pretty.” he smiles, handing her the sandwich he made for her. “I didn’t know what you liked so I just made a PB&J…I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s perfect, Rei bread.” she leans her head on his shoulder, making his heart skip a beat. How was he not supposed to follow her when she does things like that?
“I wanna know more about you, Y/N. Will you tell me?” he asks, putting an arm around her.
She starts going off, telling him how she likes to crochet, and to cook; telling him about the dogs and cats she wants, how many kids she wants in the future, too.
She’s perfect. How is he not supposed to dream about her? Not imagine a future with her?
“I want to stay in my field, too. I love the children I work with. I know it’s hard but these children have been through so much, and they deserve all the help that we can get.” she says softly.
“That’s honorable of you. I’m sure they love you,” he smiles, finally resting his head on top of hers.
“I hope so. A lot of those children’s parents leave them behind, not wanting to deal with them, even after what their children have been put through.”
Reiner freezes. He’s had that fear. Getting sent away for his thoughts and what he does to himself, only to be locked up in some institution where the staff will only hurt him, do horrible experiments on him to make him ‘better’.
“The place where you work…it’s not like those other places…right?” he gulps, hoping she’ll catch his drift.
“No, not at all.” she says quickly. “We would never, and I mean never do anything to those children. We’re trying new methods of therapy, but not anything physical. They don’t deserve to go through that…nobody deserves to go through that.”
He nods. She really is a good person, passionate about healing the world, healing the children in it.
“I hope you can do it forever.” he whispers, his voice genuine.
“Me, too.” she whispers.
They watch the sun set together, holding each other in silence. He just wants to stay here with her. He feels…like himself. He feels content. He realizes that he hasn’t felt it since…since the Rumbling happened.
They sit there for hours, watching the sun finally set as the moon rises above them, constellations filling the sky.
“Rei bread…” she says after a while.
“Yeah?” he whispers.
“I’m getting sleepy.” she murmurs.
“I can take you back if you want.” he smiles.
She nods sleepily, holding onto his arm. “I wanna go back but I also wanna stay here with you,”
He buries his face in her hair, lips brushing the top of her head. “Me, too.” he pulls away and lifts her up, walking her over to Peaches. “Up you go,” he says gently, helping her sit up on the horse. He runs back and packs everything up in the picnic basket. “Think you can hold this while we ride?” he smiles, setting the basket on her lap. She nods, smiling. “Atta girl,” He jumps up onto Peches behind her, feeling her settle back against his chest.
The ride home is quiet, the only sounds being Peaches’ hooves trotting on the ground, and her pants.
When they get to her house, he gets off first, and carefully helps her off. She’s still sleepy. It makes him want to take her into his arms and never let her go.
When they make it up to her doorstep, she gives him a sleepy smile. “I’m gonna keep the picnic basket so I have an excuse to come see you.” she swings it around a bit before setting it down beside them.
“Yeah?” he chuckles, placing a large hand on her hip.
“Mhm…and I wanna do one more thing before you go.” she giggles, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“And what would that be?” he smiles, pulling her closer. “Cuz I wanna make sure you mean it, and you’re not doing it just because you’re sleepy.”
“Oh I am sleepy,” she confirms, “but I feel more than awake enough to do this.”
She pulls his head down, pressing her lips onto his. Gods, they feel better than he ever thought possible. She’s so soft and sweet, being ever so gentle as she moves her lips against his. Their lips fit perfectly together; it’s like they were made for each other. It’s not a kiss that’s rushed, but one full of a soft desire, one that had been building up over the past few weeks.
The moment feels like it’s gone too soon as she pulls away. “I like the way your lips feel.” she giggles.
Heat crawls up his neck and onto his cheeks, and he looks away. “You can’t just say stuff like that.”
“Goodnight, Rei bread. I’ll see you soon.” she smiles, pressing one final kiss to his lips before pulling away. She grabs the picnic basket and unlocks the door, waving one final time before shutting the door behind her.
“Goodnight, pretty.” he hums. He makes sure he hears the lock on her door latch before he leaves, skipping back down to Peaches before hopping back on.
He can’t stop thinking about her lips as he rides Peaches back to the stable. He loved everything about them, and he wanted more of them. Maybe in the future.
When he goes to sleep that night, he sleeps peacefully, and without nightmares for the first time in weeks.
—————————————
“I’ll bring him banana bread. Everyone likes banana bread,” you hum, pulling everything out from the picnic basket, already planning on what to bring him.
You haven’t been able to stop thinking about the kiss. You wanted more. You giggle, knowing that you’re going to see him again. Maybe you can bring the picnic basket to the embassy and say hi to him. Bring him lunch, too! Yes, you’ll do that.
It’s a few days later when you walk up to the embassy on your lunch break, wearing a nice light blue dress, holding the picnic basket in your hands.
“Hi,” you smile at the security guard. “I’m here to see Ambassador Braun?”
“What is your business?” the guard asks.
“Uh…just bringing him lunch?” you chuckle nervously.
“What’s your relationship with him?” the guard asks suspiciously.
“Uh…we’re seeing each other…?”
“Alright,” the guard nods. “Down the hall, last door on the left.”
He lets you through, and you thank him with a small nod.
You walk down the hall, humming to yourself, when you hear a pair of voices, both different than Reiner’s, coming from a connected hallway further down the way.
“No, dude, like I said-”
“Connie, you’re still wrong, I don’t know what point you’re trying to prove!”
The bickering continues until you’re met with two tall men, one with an ashy brown mullet and a goatee, the other with short gray hair.
“Well who might you be?” the brunette purrs, looking you up and down.
“O-oh um..” you trail off.
“I’m Connie, and this is Jean!” the one with gray hair says energetically.
“I-it’s nice to meet you,” you nod nervously.
“What’s a pretty thing like you doing here?” Jean purrs.
“Oh, I uh-” you start.
“Y/N?” a familiar deep voice calls from behind you.
You turn around, a bright smile lightening your face. “Rei bread!”
A smile crawls upon his lips as he sees you. “What are you doing here?”
You rush over to him, leaving Jean and Connie a few feet behind.
“I told you I’d return your picnic basket.” you giggle.
—————————————
Reiner smiles, looking over at Jean and Connie for just a moment. Did Jean try flirting with her? On his way out of his office he heard him talking in that familiar tone he used when flirting with girls.
Jean would be better for her than he would be.
“Well I’m glad you’re here,” he smiles, wrapping an arm around her.
“Yo, Reiner! Is this your girl?” Jean calls.
His heart skips a beat. “Yeah. She is.”
He notices her looking up at him with a bright smile as he calls her his girl.
“Whoa! How long have you been seeing her?” Connie beams.
“She’s gorgeous, man.” Jean whistles.
Reiner’s gaze hardens and he pulls Y/N flush against him. “I know. Thanks.” Looking back at her with a softened smile, he says, “Let’s go to my office, yeah?”
She nods, smiling. “Okay!”
He turns back, throwing a half-hearted glare at Jean before turning back and leading her to his office.
“So you really came here all the way to see me?” he smiles, wrapping both arms around her waist after he closes the door.
“I told you I would.” she giggles.
He presses a kiss to her forehead before leading her to his desk, setting a chair next to his.
“I brought you lunch! And some banana bread.” she beams.
“Thank you, pretty.” he hums.
She sits down beside him, taking two sandwiches, some fruit, and a small loaf of banana bread out.
“Now we’re having another picnic.”
“Indeed,” he hums.
They happily eat next to each other, leaning against each other as they do so.
“So how’s work been today? What do you do normally?”
“Been good. Normally it’s just a lot of paperwork and meetings,” he hums between bites of food. “Lots of treaties and stuff.”
She nods, smiling. “That’s so cool. You’re cool.” she giggles, nudging him gently.
He throws an arm around her shoulder. “Well thank you, pretty.”
She looks over at his desk. “Marley? I think I’ve heard of that place before. Have you been there before?”
Reiner freezes. Well of course he’s been there before. That’s where he truly endured the hardest years of his life. Being a literal child soldier and nothing more than a weapon of war.
He doesn’t notice his grip getting tighter as he dissociates, memories running through his head again of everything he suffered on Marley; as an adult and a child.
Bert…Marcel…Porco…Colt…I should have done better. I’m so sorry. All of you should still be here. You can yell it me in hell, torture me all you want.
“Reiner? Reiner!” she cries out.
His grip on her loosens and he looks at her in horror.
“A-are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” she asks softly, tears watering in the corner of her eyes.
“N-No!” his eyes are wide with horror. He cups her face quickly with his hands. “You did nothing wrong. You’re perfect.” he whispers. He can’t blame her for him thinking about all of that suddenly. They’re all things he did. She was just asking a simple question. He can’t get mad at her for that.
He pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her. He did it again. She saw.
“It’s okay,” she whispers, pulling him close, burying her face in his chest.
“I’m so sorry.” he whispers.
“Don’t apologize. I’m gonna stay here, okay? Let’s finish eating and calm down.” she says softly, almost like she’s talking to a child.
They eat in a slightly uncomfortable silence, but she acts like doesn’t mind. Maybe she is pretending, maybe she is not. But he doesn't know. His mind is being loud, and he can’t tell what’s going on, unable to think about anything other than what just happened.
An hour later, she looks over at him resting her hand on his. “I need to go back to the children. I was only able to come here for lunch.”
He looks down. “I see. I appreciate you coming here to see me…I…I enjoy spending time with you.”
She gives him a small, gentle smile. One full of patience and kindness. “I know. I enjoy spending time with you, too.”
“Let me walk you to the door,” he says quietly, standing up and offering her his hand.
She stands up, his hand engulfing hers.
They walk out of his office, hand in hand as he walks her to the main entrance, the two of them passing a pair of blondes whose jaws are dropped.
“I’ll see you soon?” he whispers, squeezing her hand gently.
“I’d love that, Rei bread.” she smiles.
He watches her gaze go to his lips and then to his eyes.
A soft grin blooms on his lips as he cups her face with his free hand, leaning down and pressing his lips onto hers. It was just as comforting as the first time. Their lips moved in harmony, allowing him to tilt her head, deepening the kiss just a bit. Her hands travel up to his chest, grasping the fabric of his dress shirt tightly as they kiss.
They finally pull away, panting softly.
“Get to work safely,” he whispers.
“I will.” you smile.
He watches you leave, his heart a bit lighter than before.
“So you finally got a girl, huh?” Annie calls.
“Thought you were gonna be single forever man,” Connie snickers.
“Oh shut up,” Reiner huffs, quickly walking back to his office to hide the flush creeping up his neck.
Months go by with casual dates and hang outs. No feelings confessed yet, but you both know there’s something there.
After visiting him though, he became increasingly busy with work, only able to meet once every few weeks. But it was enough for now. Stolen kisses and small meetings, letters written when they weren’t able to meet. He’d even given her a key to his house so she could come over and hang out with him, to have dinner with him and Karina, who slowly but surely came to like her.
—————————————
Hearing a knock on your door, you giggle and run over, throwing it open. Standing outside is Reiner, smiling widely.
“Hey, pretty.” he grins.
“Rei bread!” you beam. You jump up and throw your arms around him, kissing his cheek.
He laughs, wrapping his arms around your waist.
You pull back, noticing how nicely he’s dressed up. A black suit and tie, a dark green tie around his neck. “Whoa, you look really nice. Where are you going?” you ask, tilting your head.
“Hopefully dinner with you tonight. I have reservations at eight.” he smiles.
You look at your clock, right now reading six-thirty PM. “Wait, really?”
“Yes, really. You wanna go?” he asks softly.
“Only if you stay here while I get ready.” you giggle.
“Deal.”
You grab his wrist and pull him inside. “Help me pick a dress?
“Absolutely.” he purrs, shutting the door behind you both.
You smile and lead him to your bedroom. It’s nothing fancy. Your room is decorated with more pastel colors, along with a walnut dresser, nightstand, and cabinet.
“Very pretty. Suits you.” he says, taking a seat on the edge of your bed.
“Why thank you.” you press a kiss to his temple before walking over to your cabinet.
You hum as you open the cabinet. “Hmm…what color, what color…”
You pull a muted grey dress out of your closet, and a dark blue A-line dress out along with it.
“What do we think about these two, Rei bread?” you ask.
“Hm…I like the dark blue. I think it’ll look wonderful on you, Y/N.” he smiles.
“Then blue it is.” you put the grey dress back in your cabinet. “Now be good and stay here while I go change, m’kay?”
“Okay,” he chuckles, leaning back on the bed.
You come out a few minutes later, now with your hair done, your makeup touched up as well.
“How do I look, Rei?” you smile, swaying softly.
“Beautiful, Y/N. So, so beautiful.” he whispers, standing up and walking over to you.
He places his hands on your hips, pulling you close. “Thank you, Rei bread.”
“Of course, angel,” he whispers. “I mean it.”
“Ready to go?” you whisper back.
“Mhm. Let’s go. Peaches is waiting for us again.”
He takes your hand, leading you out of your house. He stands idly for a moment as you lock your door. “Okay! Let’s go!” you beam.
He leads you down to the familiar mare, helping you on. “Hi pretty girl,” you smile, rubbing her neck affectionately.
Reiner hops on behind you. “Shall we?”
You lean back against his chest and nod. “We shall.”
The two of you chat casually as Peaches trots along. It takes about thirty minutes to get there by horseback.
You arrive at an intimate fancier restaurant, one that you’ve been wanting to visit for a long time. “Reiner! You didn’t!” you squeal.
He chuckles, pulling Peaches to a stop. “I did.”
He hops off and leads her to a stable hand, so he can take her around outside the restaurant while the two of you eat.
He helps you off gently, pressing a kiss to the top of your head as he sets you down on the ground. The two of you aren’t even official yet, but you’ve already shared so many kisses! How scandalous! But also absolutely wonderful. You can’t help but giggle to yourself at the thought.
He takes your hand, interlacing your fingers together. “I hope you’ll enjoy the food here. I’ve heard it’s really good.”
“Well as long as I’m with you, I think I’ll enjoy it even more,” you beam, swinging your intertwined hands.
“Cheesy.”
“Just a little.”
The two of you walk in, and the hostess beams as she sees Reiner. “Ambassador Braun! It’s an honor to have you here!”
He nods shyly. “Uh…thanks.”
“Do you have a reservation then?” she smiles.
Reiner nods, squeezing your hand gently. “Yes, I do.”
“Right this way, then.” she smiles, leading you two to a table in the corner of the restaurant.
As you walk in and sit at your table, you can’t help but notice a table with around six men and women, whose eyes are on the two of you.
You try to shake off the uncomfortable feeling they’re giving you, wanting to focus on your time with Reiner instead.
—————————————
Reiner notices a table full of men and women. He recognizes them. They’re part of the Yeagerists. They’ve gone to the embassy many times, yelling and protesting, trying to get in. They’ve long been a problem for him and the others. But he’s going to ignore them and focus on her. She’s what’s important tonight.
“Have you been here before, Reiner?” she asks as he sits down across from her.
“A few times with the other ambassadors. We like it here, it’s pretty nice.” he smiles.
“What would you recommend then?”
“The pasta is always good. The steak is, too.”
“Those both sound really good,” she whines.
“I order one, you order the other, and we share?” he shrugs.
She gives him a fond smile. “You’re a sweetheart, y’know that?”
“If you say so, then I’ll believe it.” he smiles.
He reaches across to hold her hand, brushing his thumb over her knuckles.
She gives him a smile so fond that it makes his heart skip a beat.
A waiter comes over, a polite smile on his face. “Good evening! My name is Paul. I’ll be your waiter this evening. Is there anything I can get started for you both?”
“I’ll just have water and um…I’ll have the pasta! With the meat sauce please!” she smiles.
“I’ll have water as well, and I’ll take the steak.” he hums.
“Will that be all?” Paul grins.
“For now, yes.” Reiner says.
Paul nods and walks away, leaving the two of them again.
“So how was work today?” Reiner asks her, squeezing her hand gently.
She beams, immediately starting to ramble off about one of the children she worked with today, and the progress she’d been making. “Oh, Reiner! It’s wonderful! She’s so much happier now than when she first started. She’s making so much progress. I am so incredibly proud of her.” she wipes a tear from the corner of her eye.
HIs gaze softens as she goes on about the progress the child had made. She really loved her job. He admired that about her. She really is an amazing person, isn’t she? Seeing her talk with so much passion is making Reiner want to give her the world.
“It makes me happy to hear how much you love your job. Does the place need anything? Funding or otherwise?” he asks softly.
“We could always use more funding,” she chuckles. “But we could also do with a few more beds for the children. Some toys as well.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he whispers.
Her eyes widen. “You’re joking.”
He chuckles. “I’m not.” he takes her hand, pressing it against his lips. “I’d never lie about something like that to you, Y/N.”
“Reiner…” she whispers.
“Alright! I have your drinks and food!” Paul suddenly announces, startling the two of them. He sets the dishes and drinks in front of both of them. “Enjoy!”
“So…you said you wanted to share?” he smiles.
Her face lights up and the two of them split their food, him placing some of his steak in her bowl as she sets some of her pasta on his plate.
He watches as she takes a bite of the pasta, then the steak, her eyes lighting up. “They’re both so good, Reiner! You were right!”
His gaze grows fond, a gentle smile crawling on his lips. “Yeah? I’m glad you like it.”
She watches him eat with the same fond smile, making his heart skip a beat. “What’re you looking at me like that for?”
“Just because I want to. I’ve noticed that when you eat, you scrunch your nose whenever you take a bite. It’s…really cute actually,” she murmurs bashfully, her cheeks heating up.
Heat flushes his neck at her words. He had no idea he did that. But the facts that she had noticed despite them only being on three dates made his heart skip a beat. She was really paying attention to him. “O-oh, um…thanks.”
They’re just about to get dessert when they’re interrupted. “You…Ambassador Braun,” a man says in a mocking tone.
He’s clearly drunk, holding a glass of wine, and swaying slightly. “You killed Eren. You helped kil our only hope for this world.”
Reiner freezes, his blood running cold.
A woman saunters up next to him, just as drunk. “You and all your dumbass little lackeys killed him! It should have been you! You should have gone through with it and just put a bullet through your head, you piece of fuckin’ shit!”
“Reiner…?” she says softly, her voice trembling.
The drunk man turns his attention onto her. “Oh, look. You managed to get a pretty little girlfriend, didn’t you?” he slurs, his voice getting louder. More and more people were turning their heads, looking over at you.
“Leave her out of this,” Reiner immediately says, his voice trembling.
“Yeah? You gonna lie to her? Just like you lied to all those people you called your friends? Don’t think we didn’t hear about that! The Armored Titan! Killer of tens of thousands, standing in ranks with the scouts and being all buddy-buddy.” he cries out.
Reiner is frozen, guilt washing over him. He knows what he did. He knows what he deserves. He looks up at her and his heart drops when he sees the horrified look on her face.
“Yeah!” the woman continues, looking to Y/N. “Didn’t you know? He’s the reason the wall fell all those years ago. Why twenty percent of the population was killed. Do you still want to be out here with him?” she turns her attention back to Reiner. “Everyone else might have forgiven and forgotten, but we never will. The Yeagerists wish on your downfall daily. Kill yourself, you piece of shit!” she screams, hurling her glass of wine at him, splashing it all over his white dress shirt.
The two are hauled out of the restaurant by security, the rest of their party leaving their table and following them out, sending deadly glares to Reiner and her.
She’s trembling, tears threatening to spill out of the corner of her eyes. “R-Reiner-”
“Let’s go.” he says stoically. He stands up and throws money enough to cover their meals on the table.
She stands up, her eyes wide as she follows him to the door.
“A-Ambassador Braun, I’m so sorry-” the hostess starts.
“Don’t. It’s fine.” he says coldly. His voice and even his eyes are devoid of emotion. Like he’s dissociating.
“R-Reiner!” Y/N cries out, choking back a sob.
He gets out of the restaurant, walking over to the stables, and grabbing Peaches. “Go home, Y/N.”
“W-What? I’m not leaving-”
“Go! That’s an order from the Ambassador.” he snaps.
She takes a step back, surprised by his tone. “R-Rei…”
“Now.” he says, his voice cracking.
He helps her onto peaches and watches as she goes off, hearing soft sobs as she rides away.
“Dammit!” he cries out.
It’s over, Reiner. She won’t want you. This is the end. Any chance you thought you had with her is gone. And it’s your fault. Because you deserve to die for what you did. Garbage. Worthless. You don’t deserve anything. Maybe you should get her to fall for Jean. He’s a better person than you’ll ever be.
He walks home, feeling like he’s gonna throw up. He doesn’t even realize when he starts running, wanting to get home as soon as possible. When he can’t run anymore, he stops on the side of the road, heaving up everything that he had just eaten. Even after everything is gone, he stays there on the side of the road, dry heaving.
He weakly stands up, walking the rest of the way to his house. He finds Peaches tied up. At least Y/N left her there. “I’ll take you back in the morning, girl. I..I’m sorry.” he whispers, giving her some feed that he always kept on hand.
He stumbles into the house. He knows what’s going to happen. He goes to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Wasting no time, he tears off his shirt, pulling his drawer open, grabbing that same razor blade he had used only a few weeks ago.
But this time it’ll be his right arm. Press and drag. Think about what you did. Nobody will ever love you because of what you’ve done. She will never love you. You deserve to be locked up for what you did. You don’t deserve kindness. You don’t deserve help. You deserve to be tortured.
He watches each blood droplet drop down into the sink with each cut.
Less than last time. Only four. He’ll need more room. But this pain is enough for now.
—————————————
You sit in bed, unable to stop thinking about what happened. The way they were yelling at Reiner, and the way he just…took it. You’d read interviews form the ambassadors and Reiner had been very open about how he was the Armored Titan, and how much guilt he feels for what he did daily. You remember crying as you read that interview. It was the longest out of all the ambassadors’ interviews, and it was full of him constantly apologizing for what he did, and how he wanted to atone for his sins.
You also remember reading it and thinking about it from the perspective of your job. A child soldier who thought he was doing what was best for his country; what he thought he had to do. A child who didn’t fully understand what he was doing, being pumped full of propaganda. A child who had to act..developing two distinct identities to keep himself safe.
It made sense. When accidentally bringing up the Rumbling, or when the Yeagerists brought up Reinner being the Armored Titan, how he shut down. Became an emotionless soldier, an officer giving commands.
You couldn’t be mad at him. He’d been through some horrible things, and he needed help. But she remembered the look of fear on his face when she had brought up people being locked away in places like where she worked, left to be taken care of by those who didn’t understand their minds, people who tortured them.
But…despite it all, you still cared for him. How can you be mad at him? He was such an amazing man to you. So kind and thoughtful. You don’t want to give up on him, you want to help him. You want to hear everything he's been through. You want to care for him. It had only been a few months, sure, and nothing serious had happened yet but…you wanted to help him. You wanted to stay.
—————————————
He’d been avoiding her for days. Careful to make sure he never runs into her, taking precautions to even make sure she can’t pop up and visit him randomly again. She deserves better. She deserves anyone who isn’t him.
His arms and legs constantly throb. He’d been cutting himself every night, moving from just his forearms to his thighs when he ran out of space. The cuts did little to soothe anything now, they were just a distraction. He didn’t even cut just at home now. He was cutting at work, too, the garbage can under his desk full of bloody gauze.
Every day was the same. Wake up. Eat. Work. Cut. Sleep. Repeat. It became monotonous. Acting like everything was fine. Perfect Ambassador Braun. Charming, hard working, smart. Nobody knew about the Reiner that hated himself, threw up every night, especially now, thinking about what he had done. Nobody knew that Reiner wanted to kill himself every day. He thought about doing it. I mean, who would miss him? He knows that not everyone has fully forgiven him. There’s enough ambassadors, so what’s one less? They can always hire another one.
Maybe…maybe it was time. He’d lived long enough. He can’t atone for all of his sins, but killing himself would get rid of some of what he’s done. It might make him a coward for not seeing everything through to the end, but he can deal with that in hell.
He goes into his room, grabbing a small pen and notepad. Tears silently flow down his cheeks as he writes notes. One to his mother, apologizing for not being able to deal with his demons, not being the son he should have been, and for failing her. One to the ambassadors, his friends, apologizing again for all he’d done before, telling them that he’ll always remember everything they did for him. And one for her. Y/N. The woman he realized he came to love. Pouring his heart out and apologizing for never making things official between them, despite months of them seeing each other. He told her how much he adored her, how much he came to love her, and how he regrets not telling her, and especially how he regrets not being honest with his struggles.
Karina isn’t home. She won’t be for a few more days. Hopefully she won’t be the one to find him. He drags himself to the kitchen, setting each note on the countertop.
There’s a shotgun he keeps in his room, deep in his closet. He hasn’t touched it in months. Going back to his room, he heavily walks back, throwing open his closet door.
“This all seems a little familiar to me.” he says softly, his voice trembling as he chokes back a sob.
—————————————
Something felt wrong. You knew it did. Something had been eating at you for days, telling you that you needed to check on Reiner. It became nauseating. You hadn’t seen him in days, and you were worried sick about him. It was basically the middle of the night, would it be insane to go check on him?
But something in your gut told you that you needed to act now. Not wanting to ignore the feeling, you grab your keys and sprint out the door, tears spilling out of the corner of your eyes.
“Reiner!” you call out, disturbing the silence the night brings.
Coming upon his house, you try and steady your hands as you use the extra key he gave you, cursing at yourself as you struggle to get the key inside.
You finally get it unlocked and throw the door open. “Reiner!” you sob, calling his name throughout the house, throwing open every door.
You throw open his door and let out a scream. The sight in front of you is one that you’ll never forget: Reiner is in a chair in the middle of his room, shotgun balancing on the ground, the barrel in his mouth. “Reiner, no!”
You run to him, pushing the gun away from him, the loaded gun going off as it hits the ground, shooting a hole through the wall of his bedroom.
He looks up at you, utterly defeated. “Y/N…?” his voice is soft and weak, barely there
You throw your arms around his neck, sobbing into his hair. “What were you doing?!” you cry out, holding him.
He sits weakly in your arms, tears filling his eyes as he lets out a heart-wrenching scream.
You can’t do anything but hug him tighter, so terrified of letting him go. “No! NO! What were you thinking?” you pull away just enough to cup his face, looking at his eyes, so devoid of any light.
“I..I’m so sorry…Y/N…please…I’m so weak,” he cries softly. Tears are streaming down his face. He looks so vulnerable, so tired and weak.
“I’m here, I’m here!” you sob, pulling his head to your chest. “Please don’t do that…I don’t want to lose you.”
He sinks onto his knees, collapsing next to you.
You cry out again, cradling him in your arms. “Rei bread! Hey! No! Stay with me! Please!” you sob. “I-I’ll call someone, okay? W-we can get you some help!”
His eyes fly open and he shakes his head urgently, grasping onto you suddenly and tightly. “No! Don’t send me away! I don’t want to be alone! Y/N, please!” his chest starts heaving, beginning to breathe erratically. “I don’t wanna go!” he sobs.
“Reiner…” you pull him close. You understand now, the hesitance and how uncomfortable he looked when you mentioned people getting sent away to mental institutions. “I’m not gonna let you go, okay?” you whisper.
You look down at him, he looks so small. Upon further inspection, you see the red staining his arms. Had he…? “Rei…my pretty loaf, did you…?”
“I’m so weak…I’m sorry!” he sobs. He pulls off his shirt, showing the blood soaked bandages on his forearms.
Your heart breaks even further, and you press kisses to the top of his head. “You’re not weak. You’re so strong, my love.” you whisper. “Don’t say anything…don’t apologize. Just stay here with me, you’re safe with me.”
You continue to hold him for who knows how long, waiting until the adrenaline from this situation wears off.
Once he’s finally calmed down, you help him sit up, leaning against his bed.
“Please don’t leave me alone,” he cries softly, grasping your hand.
“I’m going to stay. Let’s go get you cleaned up, okay?” you say, giving him a soft smile.
He nods, and you help him up, leading him to his bathroom. You help him undress as you start a bath, looking at the fresh cuts on his thighs and forearms. He had done even more than you thought.
You help him get into the bath, watching it turn a light pink as you wash all the dried blood off of his arms and legs. The moment is so intimate, full of love and trust.
You help him back to his bedroom, getting him dressed.
“Y/N…I’m so sorry. I-”
“Shh…don’t apologize. We’re not gonna think about it anymore,” you hush him softly, pulling a t- shirt over his head.
Grabbing his hands, you turn his arms over to look at his forearms. Red, irritated cuts surrounded by raised scars. “Oh, my love.” you whisper, looking at the injuries.
You lift his arms, pressing a kiss to each cut and scar. “You’re so pretty, Rei bread,” you whisper between kisses. You look up at him, smiling gently. “Now, into bed.”
You help him into his bed, crawling in beside him. “I meant it, you know.” you whisper.
“What?” he asks, resting his head on your chest, the sound of your heartbeat calming him down.
Throughout Time and Tide, My Will Shall Not Falter
A Baldwin IV X Reader Fic ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Chapter Two: A Lady's Lost Ring
summary— going back in time is no easy task, especially when you are tasked to change history. this time around, on your second trip back in the past, you need to stumble on Baldwin IV's court. how will you achieve that? ⸝⸝
wc: 4.7k ⸝⸝
a/n— to everyone who was waiting on an update for this story: here it is at last! i apologize for the long wait ⸝⸝
Sooner or later, it does come.
It sucked that they couldn’t give you more information than the very few misplaced pieces you already had. Though when you got sent back, the thing they strained for you to remember was to get to Bladwin’s Court.
Who that was, you assumed the king, but how he looked, his personality, or his morals, you did not know.
If you managed to get to court, the SQI told you to just hang around there and familiarize yourself with the people and the castle. They advised not to speak with the king right away nor to try to get his attention.
You don’t see it as a hard task. At least that’s what you tell yourself; if it’s hard and you start doubting yourself now, you might screw up the whole trip, and also blacklist yourself for future ones.
When you wake up, you find yourself in the same position you left this world in: curled up in a fetal position. You don’t even find a blanket on top of you, and you remember that you didn’t even take your shoes off.
Behind you, the window remains closed. Just as you left it. Yet through the split of the shutters, you see the dim light wanting to break into your side of the room.
You push out the shutters, allowing the sun to swallow you whole. Out on the road, a tranquil scene is painted before you, just like the night before.
The corners of your mouth slightly curve up. As it reminded you of the humanity in your mission, the small things in life that connect you with any soul here.
You finally get up from bed, unsure about your goals. However, thankful for some anchoring in this life, you know you need to meet up with Maryam as soon as possible.
As you peek through the wall barrier, splitting your side of the room with that of Fatimah’s and her family, you find the beds empty and well-made.
Were people accustomed to waking up before sunrise?
Never mind that, right now you decide to go down and see if there is anything you might need to help them with before you go and meet up with Maryam. A way to thank them for their hospitality.
As you descend the old but sturdy wooden stairs, you finally see the inn in all its glory… fully lit, that is.
Off into the stables, you are able to see Faisal tending to the horses and handing one of them off to a traveler. So, you wait for him to finish with the man before you go and approach him.
“Hello, Faisal, good morning.”
He turns his body around to face you, cheerfully, he starts, “Ah (Y/N), g’morning. I hope everything has been to your satisfaction.”
Even though he says it more so as a statement, you reply to him as if it were a question, “Yes, of course. I couldn’t be more thankful for what you and Fatimah have done.”
He nods in agreement.
“By the way, do you know where I can find your wife? I want to thank her personally before I am off to meet up with Maryam.”
“Oh yes. She should be indoors taking care of breakfast.”
He points you in the direction of the inn, to where you had first come from looking for Fatimah, and you start making your way.
Surprisingly enough, the morning vibe of the inn isn’t as bustling as the night was. Perhaps it’s because everyone's heads ache to the point that speaking is too much for them to bear.
However, you do hear the occasional chatter: “I’ve heard the troops got a whole lot on their hands now,” or “That poor Lord of Toron, may he rest in peace.”
Those murmurs certainly intrigue you, but you know better than to go down a rabbit hole when you clearly have a task to do at hand. Plus, it’s not like you have enough context or knowledge about the topic to go and ask random ass strangers about their private conversations.
As you reach the bar top, you see Fatimah and her children running in all sorts of directions, attending to their customers.
“Fatimah, do you need some help?”
“Oh, (Y/N). I- No. You are a guest here, please just sit down.”
A smile appears on your face; she was truly hospitable, but you in no way wanted to take advantage of that. So you insisted, “Please, let me help you, you’ll finish faster like that.”
You could see her thinking about whether or not to accept your request or not.
She leaves, handing a plate to a man. When she comes back, she has two more orders in her hands, and she answers, “Okay… I do need help, come, let me tell you what to do.”
Having finally finished helping in the busy atmosphere of the inn, Fatimah and the rest of her children wave to you as you are off to see Maryam. In turn, you wave back to them as enthusiastically; not only are you happy to have helped, but you are also looking forward to what this new day has in store for you.
It comes as a surprise to you that you still have plenty of time to meet up with Maryam, as the sun has still not fully reached the top of the sky. So, you decide it is best to walk around the places you already know and start venturing from there. After all, you do need to reach the court before nightfall.
Perhaps someone might be looking for maids to help around the court?
Coming to assess what you have available, you remember that you have all but one coin. The value of it, you are still unsure about, and you don’t want to risk asking anyone about it.
Anywho, you tell yourself to keep your eyes peeled in case anyone you come across is as kind as Maryam, or at least takes enough pity on you to steer you in the right direction and into court.
As you continue to walk, you find yourself in the same busy atmosphere: people living their day to day life. While some are simply waiting for customers to arrive at their stalls, others are walking around seeing what items they can purchase.
You do have to admit, in at least every stall you see, there is at least one item that has you admiring it from afar. The quality, you're sure, is not as good as modern day objects (being that they are made from machines and not human hands), but the craftsmanship is undeniably impressive.
Upon seeing a stall for cloths, linen, and veils, you decide to make a quick stop, not necessarily to buy anything, but just for your curious eye to see.
You fixate your eyes on this one specific veil. Its embroidery is very elaborate, especially taking into consideration the fragility of the cloth it belonged to. Taking the neatly folded veil from the table, you pass your hands underneath it, faintly seeing the outline of your fingers.
While tracing the shapes of the embroidery, you were caught off guard when a projected voice right behind you states, “Dear heavens, these are the customers you waste your time on?”
At an instant, you turn around and see a merchant arguing with one of its employees on the other side of the street you were on. Looking around, you assumed this was a common occurrence as everyone seemed to continue on with their duties.
“Don’t mind him, he usually gets like that but calms down in an instant.” Said the lady in charge of the stall you were at.
“Oh- Mmh. I figured, by everyone's reactions.”
She simply smiled and continued, “Are you thinking of buying that one? It’s a very unique handcrafted piece.”
“It’s very beautiful.” After a short pause, you place the veil down. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to afford it today.”
“It’s a shame, you’re probably the first one who's picked it up ever since I made it. Something tells me that you’ll be back soon, though.”
“Hopefully.” Nodding, you step away from the stall and start back on Maryam’s place. That is, before you got stopped by that same loud merchant from earlier, “Oi, you, girl. Come here. Are you looking for a job?”
Raising an eyebrow, you say, “Me?”
“I am talking to you, aren’t I?” He waves a dismissive hand towards you, “Agh, forget it. You don’t seem quick enough to see a good deal in front of you anyway.”
“I’m-”
“I had a pretty good deal too for today's pay.” He takes out a small bag from his griddle and swings it around. “Wouldn’t you like to know what it contains?”
Not sure if to spend time here any longer, you just reply, “Not really.”
He insists, “Hey, girl. Wait.” In the bag that he was swinging around, he takes out a silver ring adorned with small emeralds all around the rim. “This ring could be yours, if only you spend a day tending to my stall.”
“I have somewhere to be, sir.” And in the driest tone you could muster, “That ring isn’t worth dealing with you screaming into my face anyway.”
You turn around and disappear into the sea of people. Deciding to head over to Maryam’s, you headed in that direction, telling yourself no more detours.
The work day had a lot in store for you. Having shown up just a tiny bit late, Maryam makes sure you make up for it by cleaning out the old herbs in her entire store.
In your eyes, however, it’s a blessing in disguise. See, the day before, she had you packaging up the new stuff. Which is good if you're up to date with all sorts of herbs Jerusalem produces. In your case, you aren’t; cleaning out her bad herbs means that you start at the basic of basics for apothecaries.
“This herb, Meramieh, is most known as Sage. It’s very good for digestion, colds, and skin wounds.” Maryam points out.
“Are teas the common usage? Or do you ingest it orally just like it is?”
She answers, “Mostly used in teas,” and goes off to attend to a customer.
“Mhm.”
Later, when you finish the main cabin, you start on the pantry. You have to say, even if you aren’t sure how the economy here works, you know that if you could sell these herbs right here and now, you’d be able to make millions.
The pantry, or more so a room, is filled with shelves from top to bottom of every wall. The front wall, side walls, and the wall with the door are all filled to the brim with herbs. Some, of course, smell spoiled, ready to throw away, but others look expensive. There are even small containers on the floor, and you are careful not to accidentally knock something over.
You start from your left and work right. And just as you were getting into a rhythm of cleaning out the bad herbs, Maryam jumps into the room to check on you, causing you to knock a small jar over the floorboards.
“Jesus Christ!”
You reach over to the jar and find relief when the lid remains on, securely tight.
“I hope you weren’t doing anything you shouldn’t have.” She says with a playful tone.
Maryam reaches over to take the jar away from you, inspecting it. “Ah, this here is very popular. Care to take a guess?”
You hover over the open lid of the jar, taking in a whiff of the oil. “Oh, it’s quite woody. Strong woody smell.” You step forward again, taking a deep breath of its aroma. “A bit acidic too. Is it an anti-bacterial oil?”
She nods her head, “I often find myself making tons of batches of this oil for the Order of St. Lazarus every month.”
When you stare at her with confusion, she explains, “The Order of St. Lazarus is a group of people outside of the walls that care for lepers. Recently, they’ve gotten bigger due to the King’s influence, as he himself is a leper.”
After a small pause, she adds, “Allegedly.”
Mmm, interesting.
“You don’t happen to know anything more about his majesty, do you?”
She shakes her head.
So that’s who I’m working with. A leper.
It wasn't until a later time, when you probably should’ve inquired about a herb, that Maryam speaks up again.
“Pry, tell me, is there something wrong, child?”
Your eyebrows shoot up. “Mm, no? Why…?”
There was a pause.
“I just- I have a dilemma on my hands. Maybe you could help me soothe it.”
And with that, you went on to explain your goal of wanting to go into court, without giving away the exact reason why you needed to go. You also explained everything that unfolded with that merchant man, especially that part where you found it odd that he wanted to get rid of a beautiful ring so eagerly.
Her expression simply grew thoughtful. “Dear my…”
“What is it?”
“It’s just that, recently, I heard that a noble was to come near this area of the city. And many ladies belonging to the prominent nobility houses are very fond of emeralds.”
Your heart starts to beat faster. “You really think the ring could be from a noble?”
“I believe it was… Lady Agnes of Sidon and her husband, Reginald, that were in the markets today.”
Truth be told, you could take a gamble on those folks. All you knew was that your mission was tied to the fate of the king who ruled this land. Baldwin. Was his fate also tied to the fate of Reginald of Sidon? Perhaps Agnes?
You also knew Maryam was quite considerate, and by the look on her thinking face, reflective. However, entrusting her or anyone from this year with the knowledge that this is the past and you basically could know all that's going to unfold within the future wouldn’t benefit anyone. In effect, it would cause panic, something you don’t want to deal with.
So under no circumstances are you going to tell anyone that you are from the future. No matter how close you get with them.
You simply need to complete the task you were told to do to the best of your abilities. If that means doing a favor to the nobles from Sidon, then you’ll do it.
When she finally spoke, she carried a serious tone with her, “So then, what will you do? Especially knowing that the merchant might have stolen the ring.”
“I- I’m not sure, I could get the ring from him and give it to the rightful owners.”
To that, she only shakes her head, “The only problem would be that they might take you to be the thief of the ring.”
“So what do you think I should do then?”
“Well, for starters, you don’t know if the ring is truly stolen or if it belongs to the Lady of Sidon.”
Desperate for a solution, you say, “What if I seek them out and directly ask them?”
She wipes her hands on the apron she has on and sits on a nearby stool, “You could take my place with a delivery I had scheduled tomorrow. It’s around the castle, but you shouldn’t need to go in. Once you finish your delivery, you are allowed to stay in the vicinity in case any nobles walk past.”
“So I would need to wait them out?”
Noticing your furrowed eyebrows on your face, she soothes you, “I have seen you work thus far, and you have wits. If it is entering the castle you want, I know you’ll be able to get it. Once you see the Lord of Sidon, you simply give him the respect he deserves, and he’ll listen.”
All you do is give her a small nod; you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding in. “Thank you, Maryam. For everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know how to ever pay you back, truly.”
“For starters, you can help me by packing that delivery I’m sending you to do.”
You start walking back to the inn as soon as you’re both done with the cleaning, palming your pockets, being satisfied by the thought of getting paid 2 coins. To be frank, you found it as motivation, in this era, to be paid day by day rather than every week or even bi-weekly. It allowed you to plan every day and not waste a single second to make sure you worked efficiently.
However, as you make your way back to the place you call home, at a distance, you see an older man. He and his wife are standing in the middle of one of the intersections you have travelled in the recent hours.
They seemed to be looking for someone… or rather something? Their eyes constantly go down to the dirt path, and their fingers point downwards.
You approach the couple, and you see that these aren’t regular commoners. Their robes are filled with handcrafted details, accessorized with griddles of high quality. The woman’s veil seems on par with the quality of the veils you saw at the market not too long ago. Her sleeves make it hard for her to adequately point to where she wants to, as they are quite big, certainly in style.
You see the man carries with him a sword, perhaps he is a knight, you tell yourself. That is, before you remember that Maryam said the Lord of Sidon was here.
Oh?
When you are all but an arm's length away from them, guards that were on their sides are suddenly in front of you, backing you away from the couple.
“I- My lord!” You manage to let out before you are fully blocked by these guards.
It is the guard on your left who speaks, “Girl, state your business.”
You remind yourself to give the lords the respect they deserve. After all, you are a simple commoner; they are nobles in this world.
“I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused my Lord and his knights.” You bow your head, “I couldn’t help but wonder if there is anything I can do for him or my Lady, as this is no place for them.”
At the mention of his wife's title, the man steps forward, “What is it you seek from my wife?” His tone being a bit hostile.
“Nothing, sir. I was all but wondering if you need help finding an item? I was walking back to my quarters after a day at work and came across what I’m seeing now.”
He studies your posture, your bowed head, and takes a deep breath. “My dearest wife has lost her ring, a ring she cherishes the most. It’s been gone quite a time now, and seeing as the sun is about to set, I doubt we’ll be able to find it.”
“May I ask where she lost it?”
“She isn’t sure where exactly, but we were travelling around these grounds.”
His wife approaches now, curious to see what you are talking about with her husband.
“Can I ask my lady what her ring looks like?”
The woman replies only after her husband gives her a nod of the head, “It was a silver ring. Very beautifully made.”
“Was it by any chance adorned with green stone?”
She gives a sad smile, “Yes, Emerald stone.”
Her husband, quicker than her, asks, “Have you seen such a ring?”
You nod slowly. “I remember going near the cloth stalls earlier today. A merchant had it; he was flaunting it around. He even offered it to me as pay for a day’s work.”
The lady’s eyes widen in horror. “Where is he?” She grabs you by the shoulders in desperation, “Show us where my ring is, dear.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
You lead the lord’s traveling group to where you were in the morning, the avenue in which most stalls would normally be open. Right behind you are the knights that pushed you away initially, walking behind them are the lord and his wife.
Seeing as the work day was almost over and the sun was setting, you had little to no faith in finding the merchant still in his stall. But at last, you catch him in a heated discussion just like the one you observed earlier today.
“Ha. You really thought I was gonna give such a ring to you? Look at yourself.” His hands waved in front of the man he was bickering with, “Perhaps if you work with me a whole year, then I can start to even think about letting you have this ring.”
As the man in front of him was about to open his mouth to reply, the knights of Lord Sidon quickly pass you right up and flock to the merchant's side. One of them holds his arms behind his back, and the other searches his griddle and the sacks he has on it.
“Hey! Get off me, wh-” The man starts to object, but is cut short when the Lord of Sidon stands in front of him.
His face pales, eyes widen, when the knight searching him pulls out from one of his pockets the ring belonging to the Lady of Sidon. Evidently, the ring is hers, and the man responsible for the robbery of such a ring was apprehended.
You watch as the scene unfolds off to the side.
The lord says, “State your name and business,” in a voice so calm, you could almost believe the two men are friends.
“I- My I-” The merchant is let go, still, he remains surrounded by the knights and the lord himself. “I beg of you, my lord, please have mercy on me. I didn’t know who the ring belonged t-”
“Silence.” The lord’s voice is authoritative, even makes you slightly jump back. He continues, “Are you aware of the punishment that is given to people who steal from the nobility?”
The merchant, now too cowardly to speak, only nods in response.
“I have more than enough proof that not only did you steal my wife’s ring, but you were planning on making business with it. Either way, if you admit to your crime or not, death is waiting for you.”
Stealing— punishable by death.
You stand in shock, even pity for the merchant. You thought that stealing often led to mutilation of a body part, but you never thought that such a crime could lead immediately to death.
Thoughts of how this merchant's life will ultimately end because of your choice start running through your head. You didn’t sign up for this. You weren’t sent to cause suffering. What if this merchant, as arrogant as he is, is simply ambitious in his career affairs because of his family? Would you have done things differently if you were in his shoes?
“Wait!” You scream out before your brain makes the decision to speak. All eyes are on you now, even the bystanders who initially ignored the lord, punishing the merchant, start eyeing you from a distance.
“I understand what he did is inexcusable. No one in your place, my lady, would’ve liked to have had such a ring stolen, especially if it means a lot to you.”
You hesitantly continue, “When I made the connection between your ring and its thief, I wanted to do the right thing and help you find it. However, I cannot, in good conscience, also be the reason why a man dies. I want justice to be served, but I also don't want to be responsible for the suffering of his family and the people whom he takes care of.”
Everyone around you is still. The knights look to their master for instructions on what to do next. The Lady of Sidon looks moved by your statement, and she glances at the ring already in her possession again. The Lord, in turn, simply looks up at the sky. You see a smile on his face.
“It is getting dark now, your family ought to miss you if you get home late, isn't that right?” Reginald asks the merchant.
“Ye-Yes, my lord.”
“You are to say your goodbyes to your family, and come turn yourself in tomorrow morning at the castle. I care for the safety of this city just as much as I care for my own family. I’ll see that you do your side of the bargain."
His words become final; everyone around seems to start moving to go home. You don’t dare to say anything further. Perhaps he is going to deal with the merchant's fate in secret; that way, his family doesn’t have to suffer with the mystery of his disappearance. What can you, a mere girl with no real power in this kingdom, do to help him further?
You’re still to the side, with your eyes glued to the dirt path, when you hear the footsteps of the lord and the lady approach you.
“He cannot be fined; that punishment is too easy for him to pay, as he is a merchant. You reminded me that justice and mercy must walk together.”
Your body relaxes as you hear his sentence. You’ve avoided blood on your hands for today.
He gives you a pat on your shoulders, an endearing way to say thank you. “Tell me, what is it that you do?”
“Sir?”
“Your way of living.” He says simply.
“Oh. I am an apprentice to a master apothecary. I was on my way back home when I saw you both.”
Agnes, his wife, looks at you curiously.
She asks, “What is your master's name?”
“Her name is Maryam, she’s not too far from these stalls. She’s a wonderful woman, truly. I can’t give her enough praise through mere words.” You smile as the memories of when you first met her flash in your mind.
“Maryam? I think I have heard about her. Is she Muslim? My husband knows a great deal about these Arabs in the city. Don’t you, Reginald?”
He nods his head, “Yes, in fact, I’ve recently been doing a lot of research about the latest medicinal herbs. That is, in fact, why we have come to Jerusalem.”
Having put together what Maryam told you about the King being a leper (a possible one at the very least), and the fact that a lord has travelled all the way to Jerusalem in search of the latest in terms of medicine, you deduce that he is probably here to help the King himself.
“I don’t want to impose on your official business, but would you like to come by her stall? I’m sure she would be thrilled to have both of you there.”
The Lady of Sidon, finally acting as the lady she is, answers first, “Lord knows I don’t want to spend another second outside of the castle’s walls. I cannot risk the chance of another incident happening simply because I accompanied my husband to his bidding.”
He chuckles in response, seeing his wife in distress over a ring, “Well, I actually had a different thing in mind.”
You look at him puzzled, “And what is that, sir?”
He holds the words in his mouth for a beat longer than usual, making you panic, “I have to say your behavior is quite unusual for a girl your age.”
“I apologize-”
“I wasn’t finished.”
Right.
His presence, as it is, feels very overwhelming; to add to it, his voice is very cut and dry now in comparison to when you first met him. Hell, even when he was talking to the merchant. You suppose that’s why he is Lord of Sidon in the first place.
“As I was saying,” he clears his throat. “You spoke of justice as something you frequently think of. You act as though knighthood were within your grasp. And know I am aware that you study medicine.”
No wonder they chose a man for this trip. I’ve been acting too recklessly, and now it’s caught up to me to bite me in my ass.
“I should like to ask you some questions. I’ll be at the castle first thing in the morning, as you know, we shall speak then.” He bows his head very slightly before taking his wife’s hand.
And just like that, they leave.
You are simply left standing there, unsure what exactly you’ve been drawn into.
tag list: @celestesapphireblue and @jack-of-all-trades-696
if you want to be added, comment down below :)
I know I haven't been active in a while, I'm just currently going through some family issues. That being said, I'm not entirely sure when I'll be back to posting regularly. I have been writing in the old fashion way (with paper and pencil), so the upcoming fics, which include the Baldwin chapter 2 and Reiner's date, are being worked on. I have also started on some new ideas I have.
However, putting a date to when those fics will be transferred onto my Google Docs, edited them, and actually posting them, I can't know for sure. By the time I get back, though, everything will be sorted out. So for now, just bear with me. Thank you :)
Tags: Fluff, lovesick Erwin, slight mention of mpreg & Jean/Marco. Sweet, tooth-rotting fluff, suggestive at the end!
Art credit to @/maino_merry on X!
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃
“Are you ready to go, Winwin?” you call out to your husband. “I don’t wanna be late for the picnic!”
“I’m coming, darling, go ahead and head out to the car.” Erwin calls back, straightening out his hair.
It was the day of Paradis’ engineering annual company picnic. Erwin, being the CEO, would reserve one of the Trost’s biggest parks and hire a catering company, allowing everyone to join together for a day to relax. He’d also of course pay his software engineers overtime for coming.
When Erwin gets into his sleek black Mercedes, you’re already nestled in the passenger seat, a small smile on your face.
Erwin starts the car, and his hand immediately drifts over to your thigh, squeezing it gently. “Shall we?”
You nod, starting up your shared playlist. “We shall.”
The drive across the city was quiet, but comfortable. Your music playing softly in the background while Erwin traces small circles on your thigh with his thumb.
When you arrive at the park, most of the employees are already there, blankets laid out with families sitting on them, children running around the park, adults sitting and watching them while keeping an eye on the kids.
“Erwin!” a cheery voice calls. You’re greeted by Zoe and their partner, Moblit. “Thought you’d never come, since you’re usually pretty early.”
“Zoe,” Erwin smiles, giving them a small nod.
“He was taking time getting all pretty,” you giggle, wrapping your hand around his arm.
“Well, sure looks like it,” they snicker.
“Oh hush,” Erwin huffs, unable to resist the small smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
“They’re all waiting on you to start.” Zoe says, ushering the two of you over.
You and Erwin walk to the pavilion, the chattering of everyone mixing with the soft, 2010s pop that was definitely put on by Zoe.
Standing beside Erwin, you watch as he grabs the microphone. “Welcome everyone!” Erwin says, his voice booming across the park. “Welcome to the fourth annual Paradis Engineering company outing! I want to thank you all for coming here. You all know how this goes, so I won’t keep talking any longer. Enjoy!”
You and Erwin sit back, watching happily as all the employees and their families get in line for food.
Resting your head on his shoulder, you can’t help but smile. You remember fondly when he started the company, with all the confidence in the world. Of course there were ups and downs, what new company doesn’t have them?
It’s then that you see some of Erwin’s newer employees, including a boy named Jean and his husband, Marco, holding a small bundle in his arms.
Your eyes widen and you quickly go to wash your hands before walking over to the boys.
“Hi boys,” you coo gently.
They turn around, the two boys looking tired.
“Hi, Y/N.” Jean says softly.
“Oh, goodness. Are you alright?” you ask, eyebrows quirking in worry.
“Just tired is all,” Marco says wearily. “He keeps us up at night.”
You watch as Marco bounces the baby up and down. “Do you want me to take him for a bit? So you two can relax?”
“You don’t have to-” Jean starts.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” you say softly, gently holding out your arms.
Marco looks at Jean worriedly for a minute before nodding, turning back to you and setting the sleeping infant in your arms.
“What’s his name?” you ask softly.
“Luca,” Jean smiles.
“Luca,” you repeat softly. “He’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Marco hums, resting a hand on his stomach. “It was a hard pregnancy. He was very…rambunctious.”
You chuckle fondly, looking back down at the baby. “I’ll keep an eye on him, you two go relax. You deserve it.”
“Thank you so much, Y/N.” Jean sighs.
“Anytime.” you smile.
Unbeknownst to you, Erwin was watching the whole interaction fondly. The way you were holding the baby, gently rocking him in your arms…
“I brought us a guest,” you muse, interrupting his thoughts as you walk back and sit down beside him again. “This is Luca, Jean and Marco’s baby.”
Erwin looks down at the baby. He’s got such a round, chubby face, with Jean’s hair and Marco’s freckles spread across his cheeks.
“Ah, I remember. Jean’s still on paternity leave if I remember correctly,” he hums, gently bringing a finger to the baby’s cheek. It’s soft and squishy.
Erwin gulps, words stuck in his throat. When the two of you had gotten married, you had both mentioned wanting children, but never agreed on a specific timeline.
But now sitting next to you, watching you so carefully hold Luca…maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the two of you finally started talking about it. Sure, you might be on the older side as parents but…that shouldn’t be a problem, right? The idea of seeing you round with his child brought up feelings that he hadn’t really felt before.
During the picnic, Luca rarely left your side. Jean and Marco would change and feed him, but give him back to you right after, seeing how happy you were to take care of the baby.
The feelings of wanting children only grew as Erwin sat with you. You were able to easily make the baby laugh, soothe him when he started to cry…you were just a natural.
At the end of the picnic, you said goodbye to Luca with a pout, along with telling Jean and Marco that you’d be more than happy to babysit if they ever needed it.
Little did Erwin know that you were also having similar thoughts, though not as intense as his. Why not start trying? You were already a homemaker, you and Erwin were financially well off…no reason to not to.
The drive back was full of contemplation between the both of you, your hands holding each other’s a bit tighter than usual.
As the two of you walk inside after getting home, and Erwin grabs your wrist, preventing you from going any further.
“My love,” Erwin croaks, his eyes wide with desire. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“What is it, darling?” you ask softly, tilting your head.
“I want to try having kids.” he blurts out, his mouth moving faster than his mind. “B-But only if you want to as well…” he says, straightening up. “Seeing you with Luca earlier…”
“Are you serious?” you ask, your voice breaking softly.
His eyes widen at your soft tone and he nods, letting go of your wrist to cup your face with both of his hands. “Yes. Yes, my love. I am. I know we never talked about children in the timeline but…I want this now. I’d love to have a mini you, or a mini me running around. I want to see you round with our child, so I can pamper, take care of you more than I already do.”
You nod, eyes darkening with the same desire he had in his. “Erwin…you’re talking my language right now…” you bite your lip, looking at your husband.
He groans and lifts you up, your legs wrapping around his waist. “Well, Mrs. Smith,” he starts, walking you to your bedroom, “let’s see how many times I need to fill you up so you can get pregnant tonight.”
⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃⋆。゚☁︎。⋆𓂃 ོ☼𓂃
been feeling a little crazy about erwin recently...i blame @marvel-starwarsfangirl
Letting Choso use blood manipulation to keep his cock up
You promised your sweet Choso you would be able to handle it if he went a little bit harder on you during sex.
He was just so reluctant, deciding he would rather die than hurt you during something that should be intimate and personal. Plus, Choso liked it best when you went hard on him.
Then, you brought up him using his cursed technique to keep his cock up longer during sex. If he wasn’t sold on going harder on you, at the very least he could fuck you for even longer than usual.
Initially, Choso said no. He was worried that something might go wrong and hurt you.
The thought of it, however, stayed on his mind over the course of the next week. Having you bouncing on his dick for hours on end, pretty pussy squeezing him into his tenth orgasm? That sounded like heaven.
He just couldn’t sit around any longer without making this fantasy come true.
So as soon as you got home from work, he pounced.
Now, Choso has had his cock in you for you don't even know how long. Every position, every angle--and he hadn't gone soft once.
"F-Fuck, 'Cho!" You cried out, bouncing up and down on his rock-hard dick. Choso was a whiny mess under you, a few tears slowly rolling down his face. Using his technique hadn't made him unable to feel pleasure after a while; in fact, it only made the sensations more prominent.
His large hands gripped your waist, guiding you up and down, back and forth. The slowed to roll of your hips, then sped you up, making sure you would be able to feel every vein against your gummy walls.
A loud, high-pitched moan came from your mouth when Choso slammed you down onto his cock, tip kissing your cervix with every rough bounce.
Cunt gripping him tight, the feeling turned into one that was mixed with an undertone of soreness. After being fucked all evening, it was surprising your pussy hadn't fallen apart.
The all-too-familiar feeling rose in your lower belly again, the same one you'd experienced at least five different times earlier.
"Baby, I'm gonna... shit!" Choso grunted, cumming in you again without warning. Strings of cum pulled from his skin to your every time you rose, a sticky mess piling under you.
He couldn't just leave you without another climax. Choso thrusted his hips upwards, heavy-lidded eyes watching your tits bounce and face contort.
Your orgasm ripped through your sore cunt, milking Choso's spent cock. Coming to a slow, Choso lifted your hips, helping you off his dick.
You hissed, hole feeling stretched and empty without Choso inside of you. Completely drained, you collapsed onto the bed next to him, watching his cock go soft as he released his technique.
"We should do this more often." Choso mumbled.
Turning your head to look at him, you raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're so cautious, I assumed this would be a one-time thing."
"I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would." He blushed, looking away from you with a soft grin.
The whole crowd was on their feet. If your school won this game, it would be the first time in 10 years that your football team would make the playoffs. It was one of the last few regular-season games of the year, and your team was on a roll, up 21-14 in the third quarter, everything was going smoothly. You stood with your friends, cheering and shouting, with your face painted with school colors, sporting your boyfriend’s jersey. He was running with the ball, the announcer counting down the yards he had left until the endzone, when a huge hit came.
“And down goes Braun, that did not look good,” boomed over the loudspeakers. You stood there frozen. The player who took him down was celebrating, dancing over him, and the crowd went berserk, screaming and booing.
“Fuck you, 31!” You turned to see Annie’s hands cup around her mouth, joining the riot of the crowd, you remained frozen.
“He’ll be alright,” you felt a hand on your shoulder, turning to see Bertholdt, you felt a little better, but not much. The player 31 got surrounded by your team, being pushed and shoved, all while the man you loved was just lying there motionless. The crowd died down as the coaches rushed over to him, breaking up the fight, then kneeling down, the rest of the team joined in kneeling. You could feel your face heating as the coaches started poking and prodding at him. You ran down, pushing through the crowd of people, to the front fence; your friends were on your tail. You screamed his name at the field.
“Get up, damn you,” you choked out through tears, “get up!” The whole crowd fell silent as paramedics made their way onto the field. You ran over to where the paramedics were entering, but security stopped you.
“Let go,” you squirmed in their grasp. He made his way to his knees, throwing off his helmet, staring at the ground. He buckled under his arm quickly after, as it bent in a way that was definitely not normal. You couldn’t hear it, but from looking, you could feel the snapping of the bone. You saw blood trickling down from his temple as he made his way back to the ground. He shouted in pain, breaking your heart, clutching his arm as he lay on the ground. Fuck you mumbled to yourself before shouting at the field again.
“You need to calm down, miss,” security barked at you as your movement didn’t stop.
“You don’t understand, that’s my boyfriend,” you cried. The paramedics loaded him onto the stretcher, draping his mangled arm over his chest, wheeling him into the emergency vehicle. It made you feel sick and angry that you couldn’t be there with him in this moment. You looked back at your friends once more before breaking through the grip of security. You ran over to the vehicle.
“Where are you taking him?” you cried to the last person as they entered the vehicle.
“I’m sorry, we can only disclose details to family right now,” the man said while shutting the door. You stopped it with your hand.
“That’s my boyfriend. We live together; his family is out of state, and I’m all he has here. Please just give me something,” you cried harder.
“We have his records. When we know more, if you are his emergency contact, we will give you a call.” The man slammed the door as security pulled you away, guiding you back to your friends.
“Jerks,” Annie glared at the two officers. The three of you walked back towards the stands, but you couldn’t make your way up, not like this, not after this had happened.
“I’m just gonna go home,” you told them.
“Not without us,”
“No, stay, I just need to be alone,”
“Keep us updated,” you nodded before taking off. You walked back to your apartment in the dark, clutching the oversized jersey on your body. Your phone buzzed, a number, caller ID showing medical. You picked up quickly, almost dropping the phone from shaking.
“Hello?” you said quickly, freezing in your path home.
“Hello, is this Y/N?” the voice on the phone spoke, crackling.
“Yes, this is Y/N, is he okay?”
“I think you should come down here.” Your heart sank, and the person on the phone began reading you the address. You quickly punched it into your phone; it was a 30-minute walk from where you were. You began to run, glancing at your phone every so often to make sure you were still heading the right direction, your heart was guiding a clear enough path for you. When you arrived, you texted your friends quickly, letting them know where you were. You burst through the hospital entrance, dashing to the reception desk.
“You visiting a patient or you have an emergency?” she had an attitude. You glared at the young woman sitting in front of you.
“Visiting, I’m visiting, staying, I don’t know anything, just take me to whatever room Reiner Braun is in,” you huffed. Her eyes shot you a wide glare.
“Just wait here, someone will be out to get you. Can I ask your name to get you a tag?”
“Y/N, L/N,” you pouted.
“Are you family?” she said, typing your name.
“No,” you rolled your eyes, “but I got a call telling me to come to this location, so I don’t really feel like getting my time wasted right now.” You were making a scene, steaming, but you didn’t care, not in this moment.
“Well, unless you’re family-” just then, someone came in from the hall.
“Are you Y/N?” the person in front of you asked. You nodded. “Follow me”. You followed the man down the hallway, shooting the woman at the desk a cocky smirk as you went past her.
“Sorry about the confusion,” the man said, “she’s new.”
“It’s fine,” it wasn’t, but you wanted to try to calm down before going into the room.
“He’s just come to his senses, he has a major concussion, and a break in his forearm, standard football injury; however, I would advise that after this concussion, he not play again for a while.”
“What do you mean, like ever?” You asked, voice shaking.
“It’s likely, but hard to tell right now, he didn’t even remember getting hit, he remembered being wheeled into the van, and then being here, nothing before nothing in between, we may have to keep him here just to find more details, depending on the severity.” The two of you stopped in the hallway, and he pointed at the door next to you.
“He does remember you, however, that was the first thing he asked after what happened.” You felt the tears swelling in your eyes, you peeked through the window of the room, seeing him hooked up to all these tubes, and the bandages on his arm felt like a knife to the stomach. The doctor opened the door for you,
“Look who I found,” he smiled. He pulled up a chair next to the bed for you to sit in. Your boyfriend slowly turned his head to face you in the chair you were sitting in; he was smiling with sleepy eyes.
“Y/N,” he sighed in relief.
“Hey, you,” you smiled, running a hand over his hair, before reaching the bandage where he was bleeding, fighting back tears. The doctor left the two of you alone. You took his hand in yours, tracing circles on the back of his hand with your thumb.
“Are you really here, or are the pain meds tricking me?” he laughed. You knew it was the meds talking, but how could he be so happy in this instance?
“No, I’m here,” you wiped your eyes.
“What happened to me?” he said, moving his hand to your face, wincing as if it took all his effort. You fell into his hand, sobbing.
“What’s important is it sounds like you’re gonna be okay.” His fingers started playing with the ends of your hair.
“Please just tell me, I remember getting up, hearing your voice, then all of a sudden I was here,” he heard you, over probably all the other noise in his head, he heard you.
“You heard me?” Oh god, I probably embarrassed him, you thought.
“I did, I think I did, you were yelling something…” his voice trailed off, furrowing his brows.
“Yeah…” you were regretting it now.
“Tell me what happened, Y/N.”
“31's an asshole, that’s what happened…I tried to get to you, but they wouldn’t let me. I was so scared. You were just lying there, motionless…” your voice was breaking.
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” How could he be sorry, after all he had been through, he was apologizing. You felt sorry more than anything. After hearing what the doctor said, you should be apologizing to him.
“Don’t be sorry, you’re okay, and that's what matters,” you said, sniffling sternly. The doctors interrupted,
“Sorry to break this up, but we do have some work to do to get the two of you out of here as quickly as we can,” you nodded at the doctor, pulling Reiner’s hand away from your face.
“You can wait here, Y/N,” the other doctor echoed. You kissed your boyfriend’s hand goodbye as they pulled his bed through the doors. You felt your phone buzz in your lap, and you opened it to a message from Annie, saying an image was attached. You sighed, then opened the photo. It was her, with that jerk pinned under her arm,
You: Kicked his ass?
Annie: Something like that, is he okay? You: Concussion, broken arm, but they are with him right now, trying to get us out quickly as long as it’s not too severe
Annie: Well, that’s a relief, isn’t it? You: Doctor told me he might not ever play football again…”
Annie: Oh…how are you going to tell him?
You: I can’t do that…not now
Another message lit up on your phone: your Dad. We were watching the game, hope the big guy is okay :)
More and more messages kept flowing in checking on him, a few from your family, your friends, and then ones from his family started flowing in. You provided as much detail as you could to his family as possible and ensured you would take good care of him. It had been a while, and you started drifting off to sleep in the chair.
You woke up early the next morning, 5 am to be exact, fresh out of a dream reliving the nightmare you experienced the night before, you stepped into the hallway looking for the cafeteria, when the doctor came by, handing you coffee,
“We handled everything last night. He should be good to go; however, he needs to take it very easy, which I’m sure shouldn’t be a problem with you around,” he winked. You two walked back into the room, and you sat there for a few more hours exchanging care directions until he woke up. Your friends were waiting outside the hospital to drive the two of you home.
“There he is,” they exclaimed as he got into the car. He scrunched his face, rubbing his head.
“Sorry, we are just excited to see you,” Bertholdt smiled, pulling out of the parking lot. The four of you made your way up to your apartment, and you were greeted by all of Reiner’s favorites, snacks, drinks, games, and even some flowers.
“You guys,” you smiled. The two exchanged a high five, with smirks across both their faces. The two left you to your business.
“Well, what do you want to do first, food, drink, game, sleep, whatever you want,” you smiled, tucking him in on the couch.
“Definitely sleep,” he sighed, nestling into the blanket you draped over him. You gathered some nearby pillows to prop his arm on. After taking care of him for the weekend, everything was going smoothly. The doctor said it would only take a few days for some of the concussion symptoms to go away, and he could start living life somewhat normally, but the time for you to tell him what the doctor said to you was approaching fast. Monday morning, he woke up later than usual without having a morning practice to go to, his mood was off, he didn’t want to go to class, so you gave him the day off, emailing his professors explaining the situation and getting some makeup notes. Tuesday, same deal, walking around groaning, flipping through old game footage, when Wednesday came, it was time you ripped the bandaid off; you couldn’t deal with him moping anymore.
“Rei, maybe you should head back to class soon,” you said, rubbing his shoulders.
“Give me until next week, then I’ll go back. It’s over for me, Y/N, isn’t it?
“Shit,” you said under your breath, hoping he wouldn’t hear.
“What-” you cut him off
“Well, the doctor doesn’t know if you can play football again,” it just exploded out of you, and you covered your mouth quickly after saying it. Your head shot down to the floor...
___________________________________
Stay Tuned for Part 2 ;)
I've spend majority of my time cleaning up my drafts and getting started on the layouts for my upcoming fics— ch.2 baldwin fic and the date with reiner fic.
Rest assured, I'm posting them all within the month (pls hold me accountable if I don't).
Summary: Being the tutor of frat boys Eren Jaeger and Satoru Gojo has gotten you quite a few jealous stares, but they were nothing more than hot acquaintances to you. That changes when they both invite you to a frat party they're hosting.
Content: College au, fratjo, frat!eren, fem reader, alcohol usage, characters are tipsy, making out, oral sex, spit, cum eating, choking on dick, penetration, no condom, kind of an Eiffel Tower?, positions are weirdly placed, yumihisu mentioned, mostly proofread
A/N: Art by @mochikuyo on Twitter!
WC: 3k
Eren Jaeger and Satoru Gojo—two of the most well-known men throughout your entire college campus. The reasons for their popularity weren't all good, but most were decent.
The two were notorious frat boys, ones that would throw parties that would have students talking for days after they took place. Having attended a few, you could admit they were pretty exciting. Eren and Satoru were both fun and pretty nice, at least to you.
To be fair, they sort of had to be nice to you. You were their sweet tutor who took time out of your day to help them in categories they struggled with academically. The pay you received from them was pretty nice as well.
Eren on Tuesdays, Satoru on Thursdays. Maybe an extra day thrown in if either one had an exam coming up.
Now, both men were seated in front of you, personally inviting you to their frat party on Friday night to make certain you would show up.
"I'm confused." You started, crossing your arms. "Why are you inviting me in person? People usually just show up to these things."
"Because inviting you in person would make you feel for compelled to attend." Eren answered, leaning forward in his chair. Satoru nodded in agreement.
After taking a moment to recall on whether or not you had anything planned tomorrow night, you sighed. "Alright, I'll be there. Do you mind if I bring a friend?"
"Not at all!" Satoru clapped his hands together, a small grin on his face. "The more people, the better. Bring whoever you want."
Starting to slide your textbooks into your bag, you gave the two a small nod.
"Okay, then. I'll see you both tomorrow." You exited the library after giving Eren and Satoru a wave, heading to your dorm. It felt a bit odd to you that you got some special, personal invitation. Perhaps you were overthinking the whole thing; it was just a party.
"Ymir!" You called to your roommate as you entered your dorm. She was by herself, which was a shocker; she was almost always with her girlfriend, Historia.
Ymir looked up from her phone, turning it off. "What's up?"
"Do you want to come to Eren and Satoru's frat party with me tomorrow? You can bring Historia if she wants to come."
Ymir raised an eyebrow, lips turning up into a small smirk. "Eren and Satoru? Those two boys you tutor? What, did they personally invite you or something?"
"They did, actually." Leaning against the wall, you give Ymir a look. "Do you think I'm some loser with no social life?"
"It's not that, it's just they don't really invite people. They just go around advertising their little party knowing people will come."
Ymir was right about that, no doubt. "Whatever. Are you two going to come with me or not?"
Ymir stands up, turning her phone back on. "I'll text Historia about it right now. The answer is probably going to be a yes."
"What do you think I should wear?" You say after a beat of silence. Ymir shrugs, not looking up from her screen.
“Wear something you’d wear to a party, I guess.” She said it like the words seriously provided some form of help. “That little tight minidress seems fitting.”
That was a good option, also one of your only few options. You would opt for it, though.
“Historia’s going. She’s going to stop by here tomorrow so we can all go together.”
“Alright, nice.” You go to sit on the edge of your bed. Ymir glanced over at you with eyes that said your conversation wasn’t over yet.
“So,” Ymir says, as if reading your thoughts. “You have to like one of the boys, no way you don’t. Do you like both?”
“What? Of course not. They’re nice friends, of course. But I can’t see myself getting into anything intimate with them.”
Ymir chuckles, but that quickly turns into loud laughter—an obvious sign she thinks you’re bullshitting.
“I promise you, tomorrow night you’re going to be getting undressed by at least one of them. Go to their dorm, though, because I’ll be in here with Historia.”
“Do you seriously think…?” Your voice dies down; you’re not in the mood to argue with Ymir and her delusions.
She doesn’t budge on the matter. “Twenty bucks says you don’t sleep with one of them. Forty if it’s both.”
It’s not a good idea to feed into Ymir and her stupid little bets by any means, but part of you wants so badly to prove her wrong. “Fine.”
“Your poor wallet.” She frowns sarcastically, laughing to herself as she goes back to texting Historia, probably telling her about the whole bet.
It didn’t matter; Ymir could tell whoever she wanted. You were going to win this bet.
The air was buzzing with the faint scents of alcohol and weed, the bright, colorful lights so flashy you swore you would have had a seizure if you were epileptic.
Ymir had an arm slung tightly around Historia's shoulders, keeping her smushed against her side as she eyed the crowded party, as if she was searching for any danger.
"Glad you made it!" A deep voice rang out from your right. It was Eren; he was heading over with Satoru, who was clenching a cold beer in his fist.
It was now your noticed how absolutely ripped they were. I mean, you acknowledged it before, sure, but something about this stuffy, hot setting made their biceps look more appealing to the eye.
"I swear you guys made this bigger and louder than all the last." You snap out of your daze, scratching the back of your neck, awkwardly looking to the side. "Oh! I brought my friends, Ymir and Historia."
Moving to the side so the boys could get a better view, you notice Ymir glance warily at Eren and Satoru.
"Hi! I think I've only ever talked to you both once before! This is great!" Historia was practically beaming, giving them a wave that was much too friendly for Ymir's liking.
"I'm glad you think so!" Satoru smiles, and Ymir rolls her eyes.
"Alright, Historia and I are going to go get drinks." Ymir starts to leave but pauses to say something to Eren and Satoru first. "By the way, I'm marrying her. So back off."
The three of you laugh simultaneously, watching the two girlfriends walk off; Eren directs his attention back to you.
"Nothing study-related tonight, got that? You're here to have fun." Satoru nods in agreement.
"Fine by me, as long as you two stay by my side. It's quite rowdy in here." You gesture to the loud group of partying kids.
Satoru slings his arm over your shoulders, starting to walk with you while Eren trails next to him.
The music became louder the further you got in, to the point you were wondering how such a loud sound came from one speaker. Eren has a drink in your hand before you even think to ask for one.
After two beers, you slowly started to become looser on your feet, gently swaying to music while Eren and Satoru danced with you, encouraging you to move more.
The room started to become hotter and somehow even more crowded, but your mind was starting to fuzz--you didn't even notice more people joining the party.
Two drinks turned into four, four turned into who knows how many. The only thing your mind is currently processing is the two hot, ripped men in front of you, sweaty and just as drunk.
Eren's hands are gripping your waist from behind, grinding your ass against the bulge in his jeans. Satoru in front of you both, phone in hand, recording the whole interaction.
"You're so warm." Eren breaths into your ear, lips faintly touching the skin. Despite your sweat, his words send a shiver down your spine. Eren gives you a gentle nudge away from his crotch, wanting to save cumming for later.
"Go give Satoru some love, babe." Satoru's phone is in his pocket as soon as he sees Eren nudge you towards him.
He pulls you into his chest, and now your lips are on his. The kiss is bitter-tasting and messy, spit pooling at the corner of your lips while Satoru's tongue works inside of your mouth.
You moan into Satoru's mouth, arms wrapped around his neck. Your head is pounding; you don't know if it's because of the deafeningly loud bass in your ears, the alcohol, or the sudden desire for sex. What you do know is that it's becoming hard to endure.
"My head..." pulling away, you point to your skull. Satoru takes the hint, motioning for Eren to come closer.
"Our girl has got a little bit of a headache." Eren looks down at you, taking another sip of his beer.
"Let's get her out of here, then." Eren grabs your hand, leading you and Satoru to the exit.
The pounding throughout your head comes to a still once you step away from the party. Eren's hand is still gripping yours, Satoru taking the liberty of placing one on your back.
"Satoru... come here." You mumble, attempting to bring Satoru's lips back to yours. He almost lets you kiss him, but is stopped by Eren.
"Slow down, both of you. Let's at least go back to my dorm."
Pouting, you let Eren pull you away from Satoru. The walk up to Eren’s dorm is a drunk mess, the three of you stumbling over nothing an embarrassing amount of times.
Breathing a sigh of relief when you enter Eren’s dorm, you kick off your shoes, inviting yourself to go lie down on his bed.
Eren and Satoru look down at you, hungry eyes roaming over your body, as if plotting how the rest of the night would go. Catching their gazes, you sit up.
“Come here, both of you.”
Both boys are sitting at your sides immediately, eager eyes boring into your face. Your gaze flicks between their faces as you decide which one you should go for first.
"Eren, stand up. You're going to watch for a minute."
Eren's mouth opened to complain, but he reluctantly agreed. He got up off the bed, arms crossed as he looked down on you and Satoru.
Tugging at your short dress, you pull it up and off your body, leaving you half naked for Satoru. He swallowed nervously, cocky demeanor from earlier gone once he saw you in nothing but undergarments.
You unclasp your bra, letting your tits fall free. Satoru and Eren's eyes are fixed on the soft flesh; Satoru wants to touch, but he doesn't dare to. Not yet.
"You have a good tongue." You murmur into Satoru's ear, moving to lay back on Eren's bed. His cheeks were bright red, understanding the task you wanted him to complete even with his hazy mind.
Swallowing hard, Satoru got down between your legs, staring at your clothed pussy.
"Come on, Satoru. Are you scared?" Impatience growing by the second, you tugged at your panties, egging him to pull them off the rest of the way.
Not wanting to hear shit from Eren, Satoru reached up, sliding your panties to the side; that was all that was needed for him to eat you out.
Satoru pressed his thumb to your clit, rubbing it in slow circles that had soft whimpers falling from your lips. Your noises gave him courage, and his mouth was latched onto your pussy just mere seconds later.
His warm tongue slid in and out of your wet hole, tastebuds tingling with the taste of your slick. Both of your hands were tangled in his soft hair, tugging every time his tongue did something right.
"Ngh... right there, right there..." You whispered, the pitch of your pretty voice growing higher with every skilled flick of Satoru's tongue.
Eren was watching with wide eyes, palming his erection through the fabric of his jeans. He was painfully hard, wanting nothing more than to fuck you full of his cum.
"You c-can take those off, E-Eren." That's all he needs to hear before his shaky hands are fumbling with his belt, tossing it onto the floor. Eren shoves down his jeans and boxers, hard cock springing free.
Satoru's mouth is still working hard against your cunt, tongue as deep as physically possible. He's nothing short of pussy-drunk, his eyes closed while he ate you out like it was animalistic instinct.
His hips were grinding down into the mattress in search for friction against his cock, while your hips were bucking up into his mouth. Eren's hand was working fast on his cock, languid up-and-down motions producing loud sounds of skin-against-skin.
"S-Satoru, I'm close, fuck! I'm gonna cum!"
Satoru tilts his head to the side at your words, giving himself a better angle to bring you to climax. Soft, small praises leave his lips, muffled against your folds.
"Cum for Satoru, baby." Eren mutters from the sidelines, hand coming to a slow on his dick. He didn't want to cum, not yet; he was only going to finish if it was inside you.
With a loud cry, your sticky cum floods Satoru's waiting mouth, coating his lips and chin. He pulls away when the pace of your breathing becomes steady again, his cum-covered lips a pretty sight.
Satoru licks his lips, savoring the flavor of your arousal. Eren walks over, running two fingers up your sensitive folds, bringing them to his lips. He sucks them clean, nodding at the taste.
"You taste as good as you look." Eren chuckles, obnoxiously smacking his lips.
"Eren, do you think we could all fit on your bed?" You sat up, raising an eyebrow. Eren shrugged.
"We'll make it work, sweetheart. Whatever you want."
Joining you both on the bed, Eren flipped you onto your stomach, grabbing your hips and pulling you onto all fours.
"Get in front of her, Satoru." Eren nodded up towards the top of the bed. It was a tight fit, but the proximity only added to the sexual tension.
Eren hoisted your panties from your side, down to your knees, leaving you fully bare for him from behind. In front of your face, Satoru was undressing his lower half, cock free and quite intimidating.
You could feel the fat tip of Eren's cock prodding your ass from behind, precum glistening on the skin of your ass. Satoru's erection only seemed to grow as he looked down at your dilated pupils and confident expression; you were certain you could take both boys at the same time.
Eren slid his large cock in between your asscheeks, waiting for you to take his best friend's dick into your mouth.
Satoru inched forwards, the tip of his cock barely grazing your lips. Eyes glazed over, you took his length into your mouth.
"Good girl," Eren smirked, deciding to let you have what you wanted. He slowly pushed into you from behind, fat cock filling you up.
Moaning around Satoru's cock, you bobbed your head up and down, hollowing your cheeks. Satoru tilted his head back with a groan, eyes squeezing shut.
Eren thrusted his hips forwards, starting slow before picking up the pace. He bit down on his lower lip, watching the flesh of your ass ripple every time it made contact with his hips.
Each thrust from Eren from behind sent you forward on Satoru's cock, forcing you to take him further down your throat. Already trying to stop himself from fucking your throat, Satoru shot Eren a glare; if he kept shoving you forwards, you'd suffocate on his dick.
Eren's fingertips dug hard into your hips, grip deep enough to leave marks that would be visible for days. Nothing but strangled moans could be made out from your throat while you struggled to take Satoru, choking on his dick.
Spit dripped from your mouth onto the bed, eyes starting to water as Eren fucked you harder from behind. Satoru was a moaning mess, too guilty to watch you struggle to take him and Eren at the same time.
"Eren... slow down, fuck." Satoru grunted. His pleas fell upon deaf ears; Eren gave your ass a hard slap, feeling you tighten around him already.
"Mmmphf..." you were close to cumming with no way of voicing your needs. The only thing left to do was let Eren fuck you until he came.
Something that didn't take long.
Eren's hips slapped against your ass, the lewd sounds of skin-against-skin filling the room. Satoru's hips rocked forwards in small motions, tip hitting the back of your throat. It was a miracle you hadn't puked by now.
He reached around, rubbing your neglected clit to bring you to your orgasm with him and Satoru, who was watching your fucked-out eyes roll back.
"Fuck, baby. I'm gonna fill you up, okay?" Eren's voice was strained as he spoke, movements becoming more rigid. With one final, hard thrust that sent your body forwards, Eren came hard inside of you, moans loud and pornographic.
The feeling of your mouth squeezing Satoru's cock sent him over the edge next. Hot ropes of cum shot down your throat, the burning sensation borderline addictive.
Satoru pulled out of your mouth immediately, letting you breathe for a second. Catching your breath was interrupted, however, by your orgasm ripping through your lower stomach.
A mix of moans and strained coughs poured from your mouth as you came, saliva dripping down your chin.
Eren pull out of you, giving you the freedom to collapse onto the bed, body spent and shaking. Eren and Satoru admired you from above; how your hair stuck to your sweaty forehead, how your tits looked all splayed out.
They were undeniably proud of their work.
The two joined you on either side, letting you rest in between their toned bodies, each one having an arm draped over your chest.
Shit.
The bet.
There was no getting past Ymir. She knew the morning-after expression of someone who had just gotten laid a little too well. Knowing you were about to lose forty bucks, you let out an exasperated sigh.
Ever wondered what type of bending your favorite AOT character would have? ⸝⸝ ATLA AU ⸝⸝ These are personal headcannons ⸝⸝Short explanations included!
Eren ⸝⸝ Firebending
I think his character goes hand in hand with the element. Throughout the show, he's very determined to get where he wants— just like fire is determined to burn everything in its path. To the people around him, he seems suicidal, locked in for his own goals, and even self-destructive in later episodes, but it's all to protect those around him. There is also that internal wildfire inside of him: he wants what is best for his friends but the only way to do it is by becoming the enemy, something he doesn't want to become but ultimately has to.
Armin ⸝⸝ Waterbending
He always dreamed of seeing the ocean— so duh I'd say waterbending. Water, as an element, goes with the flow of things, just like Armin followed Eren everywhere he would go, even if it meant getting into trouble. However, just as water can be seen as "harmless," it can pose a threat when bigger issues arise, and can even be seen as deadly (Armin, despite being a kind soul, was the cause of thousands of deaths in Marley).
Mikasa ⸝⸝ Earthbending
Earth is a very strong element; it often grounds the user while destabilizing the enemy. Mikasa was often grounded in the idea that she was alive in order to protect Eren and Armin. To others, she was an Ackerman— a bloodline that produced inhuman soldiers— and that in itself was scary to others. The only reason why I wouldn't categorize her as an Avatar is that she never wanted to be part of the fight against Titans or Marley; she only really wanted to protect Eren and Armin.
a/n— the inspiration came from my sister (everyone say thank you) she randomly asked me what element i thought the aot cast would be if they were placed in atla and i thought it would make a nice post. im making this have multiple parts since i didn't want to spend too much time on this today (i am BACKED up with other projects lmao). if you have different opinions i'd love to hear them <3 please be nice about it tho
I do apologize for being inactive for a couple of days. This is probably going to keep up until I finish finals 🥲 I haven't had the time nor the energy to finish the upcoming projects I have, but as soon as I finish the semester, I'll post the fics I've been working on!!
btw we are so close to getting 500 followers, I'm actually so thankful for all of you guys <3 I'm planning an event when that happens :]
ᦸ 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡 tends to get a bit lost in it... a solid 8/10.
She starts off by kissing your inner thighs and pulling your legs over her shoulders, teasingly breathing on you while whispering; it's always painfully slow before she gets to work.
You can never last long when she goes down on you, from the way she's trying to suck your soul out & her own little noises; who can even blame you?
She'll moan into you every time you tug her hair, sucking & slurping at your clit harder as your thighs curl tightly around her head.
She will lick her lips before kissing your lips after you finish on her pretty tongue.
ᦸ 𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐚 is a quick learner & practices often... hands down a 10/10.
She's always so patient with her teasing, because she knows once she goes all in, the sex won't last more than five minutes.
Her record for making you finish the quickest was three minutes, where she'd refused to break eye contact while eating like she'd been starved.
Katara's grown very in tune with your body, listening to what it's saying more than just going crazy; she'll be very tender with it, holding your thighs in place & taking breaks to whisper how pretty you look for her.
She always pulls back, slowly exhales & kisses up your stomach while asking if you're okay after she gets you to finish for her—like she hadn't just made you see stars.
ᦸ 𝐬𝐨𝐤𝐤𝐚 makes sure his girl is very satisfied... 8/10.
He'll get so into it sometimes he'll not realize how many times you've finished until your thighs are shaking against his skull, whining that you can't take anymore.
It always strokes his ego when you cum on his face, which is fine; with his skills, he deserves it. The only complaint you could even have about it is how fast he gets you there.
Sometimes, he'll use his fingers if his jaw needs a momentary break. But then he'll coo how pretty you look, & his tone doesn't help when you're trying to last long enough that it isn't pathetic.
He'll always be so proud of himself while cleaning you off after, too, sweet & gentle, but you can just feel that he's smug about it.
ᦸ 𝐳𝐮𝐤𝐨 eats for the love of the game... 9/10.
He's very thorough when eating you out. Patiently taking the time to learn everything that makes you tick & sticking with it.
Sometimes he'll stop and pull back just to lick his lips & stare at you before diving back in; that pause always feels more intimate than the build-up, with his long hair brushing your skin & half-lidded eyes.
He grips onto your thighs whenever you're close & holds you in place so you can't just squirm away, pulling back to rest a palm on your stomach and reminding you to stay still.
Zuko's always so sweet after you come for him, cleaning you up & offering to make you dinner, run you a bath, or just sit with you for a few minutes.
ᦸ 𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐠 does not play about his favorite meal... no notes, 10/10.
He moans like he's the one getting head—hands placed firmly on your stomach & he'll moan into you so desperately it's almost pathetic.
Aang uses his fingers on your clit, though sparingly, so he can focus on teasing you. He'll slowly trace around the sensitive nub while he gets drunk off your noises; any sound he gets out of you is such an accomplishment.
The fact that he's the avatar doesn't matter; the moment you're in bed, the only thing on his mind is how good he can make you feel.
Whenever he can tell you're close, he likes to intertwine one of his hands with yours so you can feel more comfortable.
Aftercare is good too; he'll carry you to the bathroom & run you a bubble bath while making sure you're okay.
a/n— A little something while you guys wait for your date with Mechanic!Reiner ⸝⸝
Mechanic!Reiner is a blue-collar man. You knew it when you met him, and he’s made it clear to you that he genuinely enjoys fixing any car, engine, or tire he comes across.
Sometimes you do worry that he might overwork himself, so anytime you bring up changing careers, his answer is the same as always—a big, clear “no.”
Mechanic!Reiner tells you he loves being a mechanic because he sees how those hard, long hours he spends in the shop pay off. The look on his face when he’s achieved something with his own hands is quite priceless— even if that includes opening a small jar of strawberry jelly early in the mornings for you.
Sure, he might be a mechanic, but he is also very handy when it comes to other types of hard work.
If there is a water leak underneath the kitchen sink? Mechanic!Reiner comes to the rescue. You mention you wanted a new desk? He insists on building it for you. Oh, and when you ask your husband for a shoulder massage? God, you are left satisfied, to say the least; his hands really do wonders.
You can say Mechanic!Reiner is a bit traditional when it comes to who the breadwinner is. Having been raised only by his mother, he thinks that, while women are more than capable of working and taking care of themselves, if a man is able-bodied, why shouldn’t he work to take care of his mother, cousin, and wife?
He’s very insistent that you shouldn’t worry about financial problems as long as he’s there, but under no circumstances does he tell you to quit your job, nor that you should become a housewife. He says that if you do decide to quit, he’ll support your decision no matter what.
When Mechanic!Reiner comes home from a long day at work, the first thing he usually does is wash his hands until all the oil and junk comes off them.
In special situations, where he seems to be in a particular mood, he decides to skip washing his hands and hugs you from behind— getting you and your clothes dirty— all for the sake of getting you to shower with him.
Mechanic!Reiner really is a golden retriever. You see this in the way he treats others like his friends, his family, and especially you. You see the way he has unwavering loyalty to everyone in his life, no matter the impact they’ve had on it.
Mechanic!Reiner enjoys going anywhere with you. If you tell him you want to hang out that night, he's down. If you don’t feel like going out and getting ready, he suggests staying indoors to cuddle and watch a movie. He doesn’t care what the two of you do as long as he gets to spend time with you.
And when you bring up the fact that you want to start a family, Mechanic!Reiner is ecstatic.
(If you prefer not to have kids, trust me, Mechanic!Reiner is just as content. If he has children or not, it doesn’t matter, as long as he gets to build a life with you).
When you are sick, unfortunately, Mechanic!Reiner isn’t the best nurse you could ask for. It’s not that he doesn’t want your fast recovery, it’s just that he doesn’t know what to do for you to get better; he is a mechanic and not a nurse.
In moments like these, he does panic and call everyone on his contact list. Usually, the first one he calls in situations like these is his mother, and of course, she is more than helpful.
You couldn’t be prouder of who you call your husband. Mechanic!Reiner wasn’t just some guy who helped you with your tire one day; he was a guy who didn’t mind letting his guard down around you. Someone who, despite being a big, strong man, is actually the sweetest, most caring husband who wants to be with you for as long as life allows.