That dieter hellstrom fic was an actual masterpiece woah😭
Little request because omg are you good- hans landa or dieter hellstrom x wife reader who was actually in the war as a combat medic. I feel like the dynamic would be so angsty but interesting with either character having to watch the direct effect of their compliance on someone close. Ugh maybe i just love angst. Do your magic author, mwah❤️
warnings: mentions of blood, injuries
a/n: i don't know if the plot is clear or not but basically the third reich would instruct nurses to kill off soldiers who were "lost causes" to maintain supplies and not waste them over soldiers who couldn't fight and the reader is trying to keep them alive instead of obeying
it's kinda tough to establish landa in a lovey-dovey setting and i didn't want him too ooc so i tried to make it realistic for his character
the infirmary is cold- and your thin nurse garments do nothing to help shield you. the sounds never seem to cease- you hear multiple at a time. the sounds of soldiers screaming, cries, the occasional thud of a door slammed shut and sometimes even shatter as fresh-faced nurses accidentally drop glass bottles.
the door doesn't close quietly. it never does.
not when your hands are shaking like this.
they hit the frame harder than you mean them to, the sound echoing through hallways before you can stop it. for a fraction of a moment, you just stand there, your back pressed against the cold feel of the door; breath uneven as if you ran the whole way home.
your sleeves are damp- coated red. you didn't notice till now, but the scene painted on your hands seems to represent bloody murder.
you peel your gloves off slowly, one finger at a time- they stick to where the blood has already dried. it itches at your skin as you rip them off, and you swallow hard, staring at the faint smear left behind that runs along your palm.
its not yours of course- never yours.
you gaze around the darkened room with tired, distant eyes before you start to move near the sink without bothering to turn on the lights. the tap stutters before it comes to life. cold. obviously, they always seem to run cold forever.
but you don't wait. your hands go under the water stream immediately, methodically as you watch as the water hits the blood crust around your hands as it turns pink, then red, and then thinner as it drains down the sink like spirals. you scrub harder than you need to- nails digging into your own skin harsh enough that you see the indents.
your trapped in your own head; your own thoughts, until you hear the sound of the door opening once again. slower. quieter. you don't turn around, you already know who it is.
footsteps, sharp, calculated yet familiar.
and they stop just behind you.
for a moment, nothing happens.
its just the water- the cool water running against the palms of your hands, and the sounds of your own shallow breathing.
then his hand reaches past you, before he turns the tap off.
your hands still move around even when the tap turns off, like you haven't noticed it yet. and it does take you a few more seconds until you realise the tap has already been turned off as your hands hover over the sink- useless.
hans landa doesn't say anything.
he simply takes a towel from the side and reaches for your hands.
your hands stiffen on instinct, yet you don't pull away.
he wraps the soft fabric against your hands, firm: not rough but not really gentle either. but enough pressure to still them. enough for you to stop moving.
your fingers twitch against the fabric of the towel once, before going completely still, as if your surrendering.
he guides you slightly, guiding you away from the sink. landa's hands move automatically, examining your hands with caution: your wrists, palms, pushing the blood stained sleeves, almost as if to throughly inspect you to establish injuries.
you have none. the blood isn't yours, he could have asked, but he opted not to.
his grip pauses for a split second, before releasing.
you sink down in a chair without being told to, utterly exhausted.
the room feels small, quiet- as if almost unholy to utter words. you feel like the room is suffocating you- the walls pushing in inch by inch.
your hands are still resting and wrapped up in that stupid towel, sitting in your lap uselessly. the white towel is now slowly bleeding through and turning red as you realise you missed a spot whilst rinsing.
you stare at it- at how familiar it is- at how fast it seems to spread.
yet, hans moves around the room like nothing is wrong.
coat taken from your shoulders. folded, and set aside. medical hat taken off gently and placed on top of the white coat. gloves that were once resting on the sink counter now discarded.
everything is in it's place- neat and orderly.
like, almost as if hans landa can organise it into something clean. something pure, holy.
and you watch his hands more than his face, always steady, and always precise.
like he isn't part of the same world your living in.
your voice comes out meekly, thin and worn down.
" i couldn't leave him there."
your words hang in the air.
almost as if they were wrong the second they were uttered.
your guessing you just weren't supposed to say anything.
but he doesn't react immediately.
he simply finishes what he's doing, adjusting the sleeve of your coat where they had twisted, smoothing the lines flat like it mattered.
then he looks at you. not sharp nor accusing.
your hands tighten inside the towel instinctively, as you look away first.
"i tried." you add, although more quieter now.
"I-" you pause, and the rest of it doesn't pass your lips.
you knew you weren't meant to keep him alive for as long as you did.
because the more you explain, the worse it sounds.
because theres no explanation that fixes it.
hans steps closer. his hands reach for your wrists once more, before unwrapping the towel from your hands.
ah- and theres still blood under your fingernails. you missed it.
this thumb presses lightly against your fingers, turning your hand towards light, examining it as if it were porcelain. something that was fragile.
but the grip he has on your hands? its firmer now.
"you are not careful, mein schatz." he says.
its not loud or harsh, it's certain.
your throat constricts around itself.
"i am.." you try, and yet it feels flat, even to your own ears.
"nein. you are trying to be kind." he murmurs.
the words sit...almost wrong in the room.
and you don't answer, because you know if you do, it becomes something real.
and instead, he pulls away slightly,
he doesn't really let go, no- as for a second theres a resistance, before he does let go.
he releases your wrists gently.
you stand fast with meticulous movement, and the chair scrapes against the cold tiling of the floor.
"i just can't-" you start- once again, but then stop, pressing a cold hand against your face, smearing what little blood was on your fingers around your cheek without noticing.
"i just can't stand there and do nothing."
your voice breaks at the last word, not loud, as he watches you silently, not moving and not interrupting.
" i know what happens," you say, lower now, "because i see it. i see it every time."
your hands drop down again, quivering like the flame of a candle.
"and i can't just pretend i don't."
silence drops down on the room like a thick curtain. one made of thick velvet.
"you cannot keep doing this to yourself." hans says, his voice dropping a octave.
and theres something different now, it's controlled, but tighter, held back.
you let out a shaky breath, and before thinking you say
it comes out sharp, and it stings. the second the words leave your lips- you regret it. you regret it badly.
because now? it's his choice.
hans landa doesn't reach out for you this time, doesn't move.
he just stands there, looking at you like he's weighing something that you cannot see.
the seconds stretch out, and your heart shatters. because you already know. you know he won't stop you- and you know deep inside you cannot stop unless someone else stops you.
instead, he reaches out to the sink again, turning the tap on once more.
the water spurs out again, like nothing happened.
he takes your hands back and pulls them gently under the stream.
you don't speak this time.
you just let him clean whats left.
he keeps your hands clean.
and you know- tomorrow, they wont stay that way.
and you also know, he's actively letting you get away with it.