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a/n: All my hockey pads are Warrior brand I couldn't miss the opportunity 😅 -- Pieck x Porco mention 🤪
Part 2
Playlist
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You woke up to the sounds of voices from your living room, hearing your name get brought up in conversation. You rolled over, checking the time, your head still pounding from the party last night. You groaned. 11 a.m. You reached for the painkillers next to your phone, downing a dose before swiping, still trying to listen to the conversation outside.
“She really said that?” Mikasa’s voice became clear to your foggy brain first.
“Yes, that’s what Reiner said.” Eren was here. You scrolled through your notifications, a few new follows since last night: Porco, Colt, Reiner, Jean, and Bertholdt all showing up. You smiled, recalling some of the pleasantries from your night as you followed each of them back.
“I’m gonna kill her,” Mikasa went stern. Your conversation with the girl must have been the topic.
“Mikasa, please, she can clearly handle herself.” You looked next to you, your souvenir waiting at the edge of your bed, the black hat, embroidered with a round logo surrounded by the words Warrior Hockey.
“Not if she keeps spewing that shit,” Mikasa groaned.
“The guys have her back, alright, lighten up,” you slowly opened the door at Eren’s words, trudging out of your room. Your door creaked; you stopped dead in your tracks as their attention shifted to you.
“How much did you hear?” Mikasa’s eyes grew at the sight of you.
“Enough,” you said, staring her down. “Thank you, Eren, for trusting me,” you smiled at him. You made your way to the kitchen, pouring yourself a glass of orange juice to help with your hangover.
“You know what you said is everywhere,” Mikasa said.
“About sleeping with the team? It was a damn joke; that bitch was pissing me off.” You scowled, slamming the carton of juice on the counter.
“Yeah, well, she didn’t think so; now the girlfriends are talking about you,” she waved her phone in the air.
“The guys know you were kidding Y/N; I’m sure they’ll-” Eren began.
“What business does she have talking to them?” You rolled your eyes.
“It’s not all of them,” she assured you, but still the hardness in her face hadn’t gone.
“She’s a bigger threat than me; let’s be clear here.” You were appalled, leaning over the counter, looking through the messages on Mikasa’s phone, strangers taking words from another stranger; no one even knew you.
“Sash is fine, Pieck is fine; does anyone else really matter?” Eren said. You made your way around, joining them in your living room.
“No,” Mikasa admitted quietly, “but-”
“Fuck it, she’s fine,” Eren sighed. “This will be gone in a week,” his eyes filled you with more hope than Mikasa was giving you. She excused herself from the conversation, accepting defeat, making you some breakfast for your hangover. You smiled at the gesture, slowly eating.
“Y/N, I want to know everything. How’d you like your first hockey party?” Mikasa watched the two of you talk, judging from a distance.
“It was fun,” you nodded, trying to keep it brief to prevent Mikasa from tensing any more than she was.
“And the guys, what’d you think of them?” Eren continued, as your headache slowly started to fade.
“Jean is a handful, isn’t he?” you laughed. He nodded. “Colt is so sweet; you guys need to treat him better,” you grinned.
“He will be, once he’s no longer a rook,” the word you remembered hearing that night that had you confused; you cocked an eyebrow. “Rookie, freshman,” he clarified for you.
“Porco’s fun, mid at beer pong though,” you smirked.
“Ah, yes, you have been deemed the beer pong queen,” Eren grinned.
“Bow down,” you jokingly demanded. “Bertholdt’s cool.”
“You talked to him?” Now you had Mikasa’s interest.
“And he answered?” She continued.
“Made him laugh,” you said. They both looked at you like that was the greatest achievement you ever accomplished.
“Shit, Y/N, you gotta come more often now,” Eren smirked at Mikasa; her attention went right back to her task in the kitchen.
“Why is that so surprising?” You leaned back on the couch, letting your head rest on the back, your eyes shutting.
“Because Bert barely talks to anyone besides Reiner, let alone a girl,” Eren said, rubbing his forehead, in awe of your actions. You smiled to yourself, accepting your momentous achievement.
“Well, he talked to me, played me a special song,” you said, “and Reiner he’s-” you stopped; you didn’t really know how to describe him, other than that you definitely wanted to see him again.
“He’s what? What did he do?” Mikasa said from behind you.
“Nothing, he’s nice,” you said, looking back towards your room, trying to hide your blushing.
“He’s great.” Eren continued, “he liked you,” he smiled.
“Spill, Yeags,” you teased the nickname he was being called the whole night, “what did everyone think of me?” Mikasa looked at him warningly; he shook her off.
“You are definitely invited back; that’s all I’m saying,” he shrugged.
“Eren, please,” you begged, “I told you; now you have to tell me.” He sighed, giving in quickly.
“Okay fine, Jean, the horny ass, said he couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he impersonated Jean’s voice as he said it; you sighed, face palming. “Colt says a big thank you for saving him from another insufferable round of beer pong. Porco is sorry for thinking you would be bad. Bertholdt said nothing, shocker; Reiner said he’s looking forward to seeing you again at the game next week. Are you satisfied?” he grinned. You nodded, remembering each of his words. Oh Jean, you poor guy, you thought. You’re welcome, Colt. I’ll save you from any task you need. Porco, eat all of those words because you’re going down next. Bertholdt, you said all you needed to my face, and Reiner, I hope to see you again before then. You got lost in your thoughts, your phone vibrating in your lap interrupting them. Your heart jumped at the notification,
Rei14braun sent you a message
You sat smiling at your phone, putting it quickly back in your lap as Mikasa rejoined the two of you.
“Just thinking,” you smiled, standing up. “I’ll be back,” you said.
“For real this time,” she said sternly.
“Yes, Mom, I’m just going to change,” you rolled your eyes. You shut the door to your room behind you, flopping back on your bed, phone in hand. You looked at your ceiling for a bit, trying to calm your pounding heart. It was just a message, probably about his hat; keep it simple. You grabbed the hat, resting it on your stomach as you lay staring at your phone above your head, shutting your eyes, breathing deep, before opening the message.
Guys and I had fun with you last night, hope to do it again soon 😎
You sat wondering: if you answered, what would happen? More drama, not really something you wanted, but if you didn’t, well, you didn’t really want to take that option. You sat staring at the message; he sat on the other end waiting, gritting his teeth, wondering if he really should have sent it or not, especially knowing everything that was going on.
“Yeager’s gone?” Jean yawned, trudging down the stairs, meeting Porco, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Colt, who sat in the living room.
“Left early,” Colt said, handing him a glass of the liquid concoction they named “the penalty kill”, their hangover cure. Jean took the glass, climbing over the side of the couch, joining the others in the makeshift conversation pit.
“How come?” Jean’s curiosity continued as he swished the liquid around the glass in his hand.
“Something about needing to talk to Mikasa,” Colt continued.
“Oh shit, guys,” Porco said, tapping away at his phone.
“What?” Reiner leaned in closer to him as he tilted his phone his way. “Oh no.”
“What, Gally?” Jean groaned, sliding across to meet the other side of Porco. You. You were the ‘oh no’; your little conversation last night had gotten around fast.
“Did Y/N actually?” Jean laughed.
“Actually what?” Colt chimed in; Porco turned his phone, revealing the same messages Mikasa showed you of your ‘little joke’. Colt covered his mouth, hiding his small smile.
“She told me and Bert,” Reiner said quietly. Bertholdt nodded in agreement.
“No fucking way,” Jean continued laughing, “who’s the lucky guy that gets to go first?” He smirked.
“It was a joke, dumbass,” Reiner said, “that bitch was saying shit to her.”
“And I thought I was getting lucky,” Jean sighed.
“Drink your damn smoothie, or would horsey like some carrots?” Porco rolled his eyes. Jean scowled, drinking his smoothie with his face puckered.
“Pieck doesn’t believe that, does she?” Reiner asked, opening his phone, scrolling to your name hesitantly.
“Of course not; she hates her too. I told her Y/N is chill,” Porco continued texting away. Bertholdt nudged Reiner next to him, a look telling him not to worry.
“I’m gonna kill Floch,” Jean became serious.
“You already beat him last night,” Colt said.
“And I’ll fucking do it again; he’s done,” Jean cracked his neck; his attention shifted to Reiner, still staring at your name on his phone, sitting in his hands, typing out many different messages he could send to you right now and deleting them over again.
“So I guess that’s why Yeags left,” Porco sighed, rubbing his head.
“Ripper, you alright?” Jean asked. Porco glanced down at Reiner’s hands, seeing your name.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea right now?” Porco asked.
“I feel a bit responsible; I probably caused this,” Reiner said. Bertholdt nudged him again, harder this time.
“Hey, let him text her; probably good so she doesn’t think we believe this shit either,” Colt nodded firmly.
“Look what Mikasa said,” Porco showed his phone to Jean, who burst out laughing.
“Holy shit, thank Pieck for the morning entertainment,” he wiped the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, catching his breath.
“The two of them are handling it, and Sasha,” Porco added, “she’s sorry for missing such an insane night.” Reiner slouched back, dropping his phone in his lap, sighing, sending you the message.
“Good, then the girls are handled,” Jean said, chugging the rest of his smoothie. “Now I will be heading down the street if anyone would like to pay our teammate a visit,” he grinned.
“No, I’m good,” Colt sighed.
“Suit yourselves,” Jean went back upstairs, changing before heading out the door. Porco headed into the other room, leaping over the couch, taking a call.
“It will be fine,” Colt said, heading out to change himself.
“What’d you say?” Bertholdt asked Reiner quietly; he showed the message.
“I didn’t want to bring it up; she’s probably hungover, and if Eren’s there, well…” Reiner’s voice trailed off.
“It’s better he tells her,” Bertholdt smiled. Reiner looked down at the phone in his hands, making sure the vibration he just felt was real.
I had fun too, definitely again 😊
You sighed, taking the hat in your hands, staring at it, tracing the brim with your thumb, awaiting the next response. You had to see him again, even if those girls were making things messy for you. A knock on your door interrupted your thoughts. You shot up off your bed, tucking the hat away under your pillow, quickly throwing on a sweatshirt and leggings as proof you did, in fact, change.
“Just a sec,” You called out before opening the door.
“We’re going to help Grice clean,” Eren smiled.
“Taking my advice already,” You grinned.
“Do you want to come or not?” Mikasa sighed.
“I would, but I don’t want to make things worse.” She grabbed your wrist and pulled you out of your doorway; getting on her nerves was always your specialty. You glanced back at your pillow, knowing what was sitting underneath; it would have to wait.
“Just come,” she said. The walk was quiet; you lingered behind the two of them, back in touch with your thoughts. Hopefully Eren was telling you the truth about them knowing you were joking; you would melt into puddles in your shoes if you got to that door and you were a new pariah in the house. What if any of the girlfriends were there with the same idea to help out? You stopped walking.
“I’m not so sure about this,” you said as you were at the corner of the same street you walked last night, swallowing the lump of stress building in your throat.
“Y/N, it’s fine,” Eren said.
“No, it’s not. If she wants to leave, she can,” Mikasa said.
“You dragged her here,” Eren sighed, “and now you’re just letting her go.”
“Eren, this was your idea,” she snapped at him.
“I’ll go, I’ll go,” you put your hands up, “for a bit.”
“You don’t have to- don’t just go because of us.”
“No, it’s fine…I want to,” you thought back to last night. You had your group; if they were there, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It was the surprise of any other girls being there you were worried about, and you did just tell Reiner you wanted to see him again.
“You’re sure?” Mikasa asked. You nodded, picking up your pace. You took deep breaths as you saw the numbers on the houses get smaller: 439 breath…437 breath…435 breath… and here you were at 433, exhaling one final time as you followed Mikasa up the porch steps as you did the night before. The door opened; the lingering stench of metal and alcohol filled your nose, faint music coming from the basement.
“Hello?” Eren called out.
“Great, you’re here,” Colt dragged him inside. The two of you followed; Mikasa became Eren’s shadow while you slowly took in your view of the house under full lighting, the stairs to your left in the same skinny hallway you walked in the night before. You took notice of the door frame next to you, soft voices coming from the room that was covered in couches, blocking the other entrance to the room. Bertholdt sprawled across one of the couches, limbs bending in ways that couldn’t possibly be comfortable for anyone besides him right now, half-paying attention to what was on the TV.
“Hey,” you poked your head in; his eyes shot to you.
“H-hey,” he looked like he had just seen a ghost. “W-what are you doing here?”
“Eren invited me to help clean,” you looked around, various jerseys hanging on the walls above the couches, a shelf with an assortment of shot glasses and hockey pucks was on the wall you were leaning on now.
“Downstairs,” he said. They were right; last night was a rare occasion; now he could barely say a word to you. You nodded; that interaction didn’t help your doubtfulness on the way over. You continued down the hallway, finding Jean in the kitchen, running his hands under the sink, humming along to the music you now recognized as Billy Joel; the floor, just as creaky as the stairs, gave away your location. His focus turned to you as you caught a glimpse of his bruised knuckles.
“The woman of the hour,” Jean smirked.
“Stop,” you said, muffled as you covered your face.
“Don’t want to talk about it, I get it, a hard decision I’m sure,” he grinned. You froze. “I’m kidding, loosen up, I think it was great.” You sighed in relief, thinking Eren had told you some bullshit. He faced you fully now, wiping his hands with a towel, blood speckling the white fabric.
“Are you okay?” You pointed at the stains.
“It’s nothing new,” he smiled. “Come on, the others are downstairs.” He handed you the roll of trash bags that was resting under his arm. You clung to the banister the same way you did the night before, the step gaps still uneven, and the sound of bending wood. Jean made trumpet noises with his mouth, announcing your arrival; you blushed as the whole room turned to face you at Jean’s fanfare.
“Hi, Y/N,” Colt smiled, looking back from the wall he was wiping, Reiner by his side, letting out a small smile. You waved shyly as you continued to scan the room; Eren and Mikasa were scrubbing the floor near the speaker, and Porco was under the stairs, accompanied by a girl with long black hair pulling the covers off the couch cushions. You panicked, as your eyes met hers quickly before you darted away. You ripped one of the bags out of the roll, putting the rest on the step behind you, shaking it out and starting with the empty cans scattered around the floor.
“Are you going to be helpful or just stand there?” Porco said to Jean, watching you get to work.
“I’m on supplies,” Jean said, leaning against the stairs.
“Pack mule, I get it,” Porco smirked. “Well, giddy up and put these in the laundry,” he shoved the couch covers into Jean’s chest. Jean shook his head, but did as he was told and brought them upstairs. You heard another bag rip off the roll, and soon you were joined by the girl.
“Y/N?” she asked. You nodded. “I’m Pieck, Porco’s girlfriend.” You didn’t look at her; that word was dangerous for you.
“I’m not mad at you,” she smiled. “I wish I was there with you, actually,” she laughed quietly. You looked up at her now, her smile genuine, with a pair of tired eyes.
“Really?” you said softly.
“Yes, really, I’ve been dying to see her actually shut up for once,” she grinned. You sighed. She continued, “I’m sorry I missed last night, late shift, but Pock tells me you were quite the beer pong player.”
“Oh really,” you smirked back at him. He shook his head; you were already feeling a little better talking to her. You learned she was a waitress at one of the bars on campus, which made her frequently unavailable to attend hockey events, explaining her missing last night.
“Can I ask you something?” you said.
“Why are you being so nice to me? I mean I said I would-”
“Stop. I’m being nice because I know how you feel,” she put her hand on your shoulder. She waved toward the couch; the three of you sat, Porco slinging his arm around her shoulders.
“Remember when you first invited me?” she smiled at Porco.
“What a mess,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair.
“What happened?” you asked.
“She was all over me in an instant, ‘you're so pretty,’ ‘god he’s so lucky to have you,’ gross, then I came to a party afterwards and as soon as she saw the two of us together well…” You smiled as she continued explaining her story. You weren’t alone, and they knew, but you still wondered how things like this keep happening.
“What’d you do to get her to stop?” The question was burning inside of you; if Pieck found a solution, surely you could. Pieck blushed; next to you, Porco pulled her closer to his side.
“We fucked,” he said. You blinked slowly at his bluntness, your face turning pale.
“Galliard!” Pieck scolded.
“It’s true,” he laughed, pecking her cheek. She shook her head, resting her red face in her hand.
“Sorry, Y/N,” she giggled.
“I did ask,” you glared at him, still laughing next to you. You looked back at Eren and Mikasa; seeing you smile was all they needed; the tension in their faces from their argument earlier released. Colt and Reiner had gone as Jean returned; your curiosity got to you. You stood up, leaving the two, taking both of your trash bags up the creaking stairs. You looked around for a place to deposit them, but the can in the kitchen was full.
“I can take those,” Reiner’s voice came from behind you.
“Thanks,” you smiled, handing him the bags. You watched him head down the hall, towards the front door, before returning empty-handed a few moments later.
“Thanks for helping,” he sighed.
“Of course,” you said. He gestured toward the living room. You followed him; Bertholdt was gone, the TV still playing low, leaving the two of you. You sat staring at the screen, a good distance between the two of you; if only everything could be done over text, your awkward feelings could just disperse.
“How are you feeling, you know, after last night?” He asked quietly; your eyes shifted to him. You were both a ball of awkward emotions. You sighed, toying with your fingers. You were so comfortable last night; now your world had been turned completely upside down. You didn’t want to say anything else to ruin your reputation.
“Extremely hungover,” you rubbed your head, now sinking further into the couch.
“The queen is off her high,” he smiled.
“Something like that,” you said. Straight back to silence. Just say something- anything- you mentally yelled; biting your tongue was the worst thing you could do right now.
“Sorry, I should have brought your hat; I wasn’t thinking when we left,” you lied. It was all you were thinking about; you looked back toward your pillow, knowing what was under it.
“It’s alright, you’re coming again to the game Saturday, aren’t you?” His eyes were hopeful, but after everything that had gone on last night, maybe your performance should be just a one-time thing.
“Do you think I should, after, well…” you trailed off.
“Yes- I mean- if you want to,” he looked away from you quickly, trying to hide the pink tint covering his cheeks. He continued rambling, “I would like it if you were there; I’m sure the others would too.” he rubbed his neck, looking at you slightly.
“I would like it if I was there too,” you smiled before facepalming, dumbass you were literally just talking about being nervous to go.
“I mean-,” you started, but his laughter interrupted you. You made a gap in your fingers, peeking at him through, watching him grin, before a snort squeaked out. He froze; you began to laugh now, sliding your hand from your eyes to your mouth, trying to stop yourself from laughing, covering the smirk accompanying your noise. You pulled your hand away, showing your flushed cheeks. You sighed, catching your breath as the two of you sat now gazing into each other’s eyes, your heart thumping up into your throat, your head spinning, not from your hangover but from the way he was looking at you AGAIN, for the third time since meeting you; he was giving you this daring look.
“What the hell’s going on in here?” Jean grinned, leaning in the door frame; both of you snapped your heads in the direction of his voice, shifting your hands to your lap.
“Nothing,” you said in unison.
“Right…” Jean’s eyes narrowed, making his way over and sliding himself into the gap between the two of you on the couch. He stretched, draping his arms on the back of the couch behind both of you.
“What do you want?” Reiner sighed.
“Nothing,” Jean mocked the two of you, pulling his arms back into his lap. “Grice wanted to run some chel, but I can leave if-”
“You’re fine,” you cut him off.
“Come up,” Jean called out. You winced at the loud noise, looking down at your hands, balling them into loose fists. The others filed into the room slowly, occupying more of the homemade conversation pit, until it was full. You spent the rest of the day at the house, watching the guys play video games, ordering food in, talking to Mikasa and Pieck under the shouting of the guys at the game, at each other.
“Did something happen with you and Reiner?” Pieck asked you softly.
“What? No, not really,” you fumbled putting words together. She caught you flustered. “Why?”
“Because,” she nudged you, nodding towards him. You followed her eyes to him; he was looking at you, quickly looking away back at whatever was interesting on the TV in front of him.
“He’s been doing that this whole time while we’ve been talking,” she laughed.
“No, he hasn’t,” you went cold.
“Yes, he has, Y/N,” she was smiling ear to ear. You blushed, taking notice of him looking at you again.
“I get it now,” she said, “why everything happened- attention from Reiner like that; she would kill for it.”
“It’s getting late; we should go,” Mikasa said, approaching the two of you giggling together. You nodded, saying bye to Pieck and the others as you left. When you got home, Pieck’s words were lingering in your mind, attention from Reiner like that. You got ready for bed, lying on your pillow being reminded of what was underneath as you felt the hard brim poke at you through it. You pulled the hat out, tracing over the brim with your thumb like you did this morning, setting it on your headboard. You opened your messages with him from earlier, starting to type before deleting what you had just written, just like he did with you. You finally decided on a message before drifting off to sleep.
