Id love to hear about Moggie! She looks cool and absolutely intrigued by the criminal underlord thing. What crimes is this cat snapper committing
Moggie is a sphinx who lives in Gladeveins City and is the current highest ranking criminal in the city. All large-scale smuggling operations answer to her, and she keeps tabs on the smaller groups like pickpocket gangs, hex circles, and, of course, the Magical Drug™ markets. She has a loyal following that keeps her in power, as well as relationships with several politicians and business owners that keeps the guards away for the most part. So basically she does Most crimes, at least by proxy. Her specialty before rising to her current position was poison.
Who by Water – Reiner Braun x Reader / Porco Galliard x Reader
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MULTI CHAPTER (not rated) ━ CHAPTER 2 ━ DOWN BY THE DOCKS
-⟢ Summary: First unit meeting. Going out with Porco.
-⟢ Pairings: Reiner/Reader | Porco/Reader
-⟢ Word Count: 4,7k+
-⟢ Warnings: Referenced death, Grief
-⟢ A/N: Took me forever to edit this bcs I have no time to write atm.
If you see any mistakes or inconsistencies be sure to let me know and plz don't mind it as I am literally running on no sleep /ᐠ - ˕-マ｡˚ᶻ 𝗓
Also available on ao3
You woke up slowly as the sun's rays filled the room around you with a soft light. You could feel their soft warmth pushing ever so slightly on your skin. The sense of tranquility and peace it brought to you made you linger in bed a moment longer than you usually would have before you finally decided to get up and out of bed. It was usual for you to have a harder time being active in the mornings, you had never been too eager to start up a new day. The silence that often accompanied the early hours of the day made it even harder too. Not that you hated the silence, on the contrary, but you had to admit that this specific kind was not the one you preferred, even finding it somewhat overwhelming in its quiet.
You opened your curtains, fully letting the sunlight shine through the window. Somehow the hardest part was always to get up, after that was over you always found your limbs took a life of their own and guided you through this part of your day.
Faced with the bathroom sink, you decided to go ahead and splash some water on your face, trying to force your body to wake up fully before you could start to get ready. When you went over to your kitchen to check out your pantry, you realized it was almost empty, forcing you to add yet another unwanted task to your to-do list for the day. The only thing left for you to eat were leftovers from the day before. You weren’t too happy about having to eat them but you needed sustenance if you wanted to be able to think clearly, however unappetizing it might have been. After you finished eating, you got dressed and arranged your hair. It was a little early still, your meeting wasn't for another half hour. Still you decided to head out, you figured you would catch up on your reading in the meeting room while you waited for the others to arrive.
The halls were mostly empty in the mornings, though you did run across a group of soldiers. Surprisingly, among the group of fully grown men, was a blond boy who looked about twelve years old. His yellow armband was a heavy contrast to the sea of grey ones he was surrounded in, it instantly caught your eye. When the boy noticed you were looking at him, he simply smiled and offered you a little wave. You thought he seemed nice, innocent somehow. It was a shame he would probably soon come to lose that innocence. Being a candidate didn’t leave room for children’s dreams to prevail, that much you knew.
When you got to the meeting room, you opened the door to find it was completely empty, the breeze coming from the open window the only presence in the room. You set your things down on the table before going to close it, barring entrance to the violent chill that had settled in the room overnight before heading over to the kettle. You made yourself a cup of tea, regretting the fact that there was no honey available to put in it. When you sat down and opened your book of the moment, it was as if you were immediately absorbed in it. So absorbed, in fact, that you didn't notice how the door creaked open as Reiner entered the room.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, seemingly trying to get your attention, which he did as you looked up at him. He was standing by the table, his back straight, shoulders square and a serious expression on his face. The dark circle under his eyes made it obvious that he did not sleep much since you saw him last night.
"Oh hi. You're early." You said, unsure what to make of the look in his eyes.
"Sorry, who are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He seemed genuinely curious, something you had rarely seen him express before, though you wouldn’t be able to recognize it anyway, now that he had changed so much.
"Ouch." You responded, mimicking pain. "We met yesterday? Though I guess you didn't stay long and you did seem pretty lost in your head, so I won't blame you for not remembering." You said, trying to chase away the grim atmosphere that his presence brought to the room with light teasing. "I'm sort of... the new member of your unit? I believe Zeke may have told you about me?" You were still unsure what your exact role in the unit was since you had not been able to work much when your direct supervisor had been out ever since you had arrived. Nonetheless, it seemed your words were enough to content Reiner, as you could notice his face relax ever so slightly when they left your mouth.
"Right. Sorry about that. I wasn't in the best headspace to meet people yesterday." He said. It was quite obvious, despite the indirect implication of his words, that his headspace hadn’t changed much overnight.
He sat down in the chair next to the one opposite to you. You weren’t sure whether it was deliberate or not but you definitely took note of it. Not in front of you, not next to you, but still close enough that you could talk. As if he didn't want to openly invite you in but he — perhaps unconsciously — still sought some company.
"It's okay, I didn't take it personally." you said, smiling kindly at him before looking back down at the book in front of you. Of course that was a lie, obviously you'd taken it personally, it stung a little but it's not like you really, deeply cared about it. In truth, this kind of thing didn’t mean much to you most of the time. People often forgot your name or presence entirely. But this time was somewhat different. Even though you had not seen this boy in half a decade, in the few weeks since you had gotten back to Liberio you began to harbor some hope that he would recognize you when you met again, or at least remember you when he heard your name for the first time in so long. And it had to have been the first time, since no one knew of your past friendship — though you were not even sure you could even call it friendship.
You didn't notice the uncomfortable silence that filled the room as you read through each line with undeniable focus. Reiner's fingers were crossed on the table, his gaze fixated on it. When you finally got up to use the bathroom before the meeting started, you noticed his position hadn't changed. His shoulders seemed tense, like he was frozen, barely even blinking at all. You weren’t sure exactly how you were supposed to feel, seeing him like this. He looked like only a broken shell of the boy you used to know. Feeling his despair, his anguish, it became obvious what you felt, the only emotion he left room for anyone to feel around him; pity.
"Are you okay?" You asked hesitantly. Wondering if he would even hear you.
He looked up at you and put his hands on his lap quickly, as if you had startled him. "I'm fine." He said, clearly not convinced by his own words. He paused, looking down again for a moment. "I didn't get much sleep last night is all." He sighed.
You figured it was only a natural reaction to losing a friend. Especially when he had been so close to that one. You could only imagine the kind of pain he was experiencing. You had never had the displeasure of enduring grief in that way. Of course when your father was sent away all those years ago you knew he was being sent to his death, he made sure you knew. But to be honest you never really had the chance to learn to care for him. He didn’t take care of you very much, not in the “caring” sense anyway. The two of you had never been close. It’s not that you resented him as much as you just didn’t know him well enough. On that day the most you grieved was the stability of your life. And besides him, you had never really made friends either, even less lost one. Still, you could tell how devastating this kind of even could be, even though it was hard for you to express it properly now.
"Yeah, I can tell." You said, the words rolling off of your tongue before you could even process what you were saying. He raised one of his eyebrows at you. "Wait no, sorry, I-I didn't mean it like that..." You felt your heart start beating a little faster as the panic took over. Your body tensed up in an instant. Before you could start to visibly unravel over the embarrassment, Reiner spoke up again.
"It's fine." He huffed, what would have been a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "No need to apologize."
You sighed, your shoulders dropping as you turned around, going for the door. As you reached for the handle, you stopped yourself, turning back toward him. "You know... I understand that we don't know each other anymore, but I'd still be happy to listen, if you ever needed to talk. I think maybe it would be easier to talk to someone you're not close to." Your voice was calm as you said this, steady.
When you turned back around, you realized what you had just said, what you'd let slip. You hated how careless you were, how little you thought about the things you said before you said them. Your lack of social interactions during your time away wasn’t much of an excuse anymore and you were starting to believe this was just who you had become now. You didn't give him time to answer before exiting the room, leaving him to his thoughts.
When you got back, the rest of the unit was there. You sat back in your seat as the meeting started, and it seemed like time was passing slower than usual. You could feel Reiner's eyes on you all throughout. You didn't look at him yourself, trying to focus on Zeke's words as he explained in more detail the battle they had just gotten out of and where they should go from here. It was obvious they were all in bad shape. Pieck was so tired she couldn't stop herself from yawning, trying to find a comfortable position to sit in. She had just spent weeks in her titan form. You couldn't imagine how uncomfortable and exhausting that could be. The debrief came to a wrap after an hour. The warriors were given two days off to rest before coming back to work. Zeke dismissed both Reiner and Pieck, asking Porco and yourself to stay and talk with him for a moment.
"See you later?" Pieck asked the both of you. You weren’t sure how you had so quickly become someone she would include in her plans but you weren’t about to complain about it. "I've got things to do now but we should catch up later."
"Fine, see you later." Porco answered before you could even finish your trail of thought.
“Yeah.” You completed. You didn't even notice your bland tone, too focused on what Zeke could possibly want to talk about. Porco frowned at your response, clearly noticing how tense you had gotten.
Reiner had left before any of you realized it. The door closed behind Pieck as she went, leaving the two of you to face Zeke.
"So," He sighed your name. He stood up and faced the window before calmly placing his hands on the windowsill. "How was the move?" his shoulders moved back, as if he was loosening up a bit more.
"Good." You responded, surprised by the question. He didn't seem like the type of person who would worry about details such as this. A chill ran down your spine as silence filled the room. Porco’s presence seemed to have been forgotten by the both of you.
"Good." He said, dropping his gaze to the floor. You crossed your arms over your chest as you leaned back in your seat, looking at him more intensely. You wondered what he was truly thinking about. The sound of your movements prompted him to look your way. "You do remember why you're here, don’t you?" He inquired. His question seemed to pique Porco’s curiosity as he looked at you confused.
You had been briefed by the commander on the very day you moved here, how could you not know why you were here? "Of course I do." Your voice was steady. He leaned back against the window and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his coat’s pocket. He silently offered one to Porco, which he refused.
“I don’t smoke.” He was obviously somewhat irritated, but you weren’t sure by what exactly.
"I'm counting on you. We need this now more than ever." He said, looking back at you, a stern look in his eyes. The solemn tone he employed surprised you. You straightened your back. The silent nod you gave him seemed to be enough of an answer to satisfy him.
Porco cleared his throat aggressively next to you, starting to grow impatient.
“Right.” Zeke exhaled smoke before continuing, “So, you two have been... acquainted?” He asked, uninterested.
“Yeah.” / “We have.” you both answered at the same time.
“So you won’t mind spending some more time together then.” You weren’t sure if the man in front of you could seem any more disinterested in the conversation happening in this room. “I’ve been asked to make sure you are trained... Physically, I mean. Your intellect is one thing, your strength is another. I don’t have any interest in it but it is required that you are properly trained if you are to be apart of the military.”
Noticing the confused look on your face, Zeke continued, “Galliard here will be making sure you are apt to pass the physical test. I’ll leave it to the two of you to agree on a time and place to train.”
Porco crossed his arms over his chest, clearly perplexed. “When is this test?” He asked.
“In a month.” Zeke answered before stubbing out his cigarette. “Why, you got something better to do?” He ran a hand through his hair, slightly combing through the overgrown blonde strands.
Porco looked down, thinking. You on the other hand, were still in your head, pondering what Zeke had said. Did your superiors really need this kind of guarantee from you? You weren’t here to fight, why would your physical strength need to be assessed? Would you really lose your too-recent position over it if you failed? Not that you necessarily would but still, you didn’t know what kind of standards the military had. Was your orphanage training sufficient? It would have to be, either that or you would have to give your all into training with Porco, assuming he would accept.
“You shouldn’t have too much work with this one, I hear she has a good training already. Also you don’t have a choice.” Zeke’s words pulled you out of your thoughts. He seemed sure enough that you would pass. After all, why would he even have bothered bringing you here if he thought this kind of test would knock you out.
“Yeah. Fine.” Porco said, looking back at you. You were at least glad you could enjoy the privacy of training with the person you had grown closest to here. It’s a kind of freedom you never enjoyed back at the orphanage. Of course you also weren’t exactly sure what kind of teacher Porco would turn out to be but he couldn’t be any worse than what you had already experienced.
Zeke nodded, sighing slowly. “You two should take the next couple days off along with Pieck and Reiner.” He walked to the door, opening it before turning back to you. “Enjoy it, it’s the last bit of rest you’ll be getting for a while.” After saying this, he left and closed the door behind him, leaving you alone with Porco.
The interaction left you a bit confused. As short as it was, the conversation somehow had you feeling like you had been left with more questions than you were given answers. The awkward silence Zeke left behind after imposing your company upon Porco was taking up all the space in the room.
You were still curious about Zeke but you could see why he was given the highest rank within the unit. A charismatic leader, you knew that already but spending a whole hour listening to him talk only confirmed it. Your interest in him grew after this meeting, though you were still unsure about how you two would work together.
You deflated in your seat, giving up trying to figure everything out for the moment.
“So, are you coming or what?” You pulled your head up to look at Porco who was now standing in the doorway, looking at you and waiting for an answer.
“I’m...” You weren’t sure what to say, you just knew you couldn’t deal with the noisy headquarters cafeteria right now. “I didn’t sleep well last night, I’m going to go rest a bit. See you later?”
“Fine, suit yourself.” He groaned before going out into the hallway. Frankly, you were too out of it to care at that moment.
-
The sun was at its highest when you decided to go out. Its hot rays pressed against your skin as you walked through the narrow streets of Liberio. Your steps were heavy on the pavement as you let your legs carry you to Porco's house. You had nothing in mind when you went to look for him, you just... did.
When you arrived at his door, you knocked softly. Too softly. Perhaps you were still thinking about the conversation you two had shared with Zeke earlier. No one answered. You knocked again, harder this time. And finally , after a few moments, the door opened.
"Didn't think I'd see you again today." Porco sneered.
He was dressed more casually than you were used to. Only wearing a simple white T-shirt. The short sleeves clung closely to his triceps and you found your gaze lingering on his muscles for a moment too long before remembering yourself and pulling your gaze away. You pinched your eyebrows together in a frown as you tried to gather your thoughts.
"What do you mean? We agreed to meet, didn't we?" you were genuinely confused, wondering if you had missed something.
"I didn't think you were serious earlier," he replied. "It seemed like you were trying to blow me off more than anything else." His eyebrows raised as he realized how clueless you were.
"I'm sorry." A heavy sigh escaped your lips. "I've just been focusing on Zeke all morning. I didn't mean to be rude to you Porco.
"It's fine. You're here now I guess." He shrugged and stepped out of the doorway, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
You walked down to the docks together and sat on the edge, letting your feet dangle over the water. The sea brought a nice chill to the air and strands of your hair danced gently in the wind, it was refreshing. The sight of the ocean brought you a deep sense of serenity. Like witnessing it was a blessing, like it meant you were free.
You could feel Porco’s eyes on you, "What?" you asked, chuckling lightly.
"What did Zeke mean when he asked you if you knew why you were here?" His gaze shifted forward as he stretched his arms out behind him.
"I’m not sure. It confused me more than anything else to be honest. Asking if I remember what I’m here to do as if I haven't been training for this moment for a third of my life. To be honest I don't think I was supposed to understand what he meant, it just seemed weird." you answered, shrugging your shoulders as you turned to look at him. "Why?" you tilted your head slightly.
"Just curious. I never really understand him either. A little intense for me."
"Intense for you?" you laughed.
Porco looked at you, the confusion evident on his face as he pursed his lips in a deep frown. "What does that mean?"
"Just- you're- well, you know." He looked even more baffled than before. "Never mind, sorry." you chuckled, laying down on the platform as you let your body succumb to gravity. "Did you see Reiner leave?"
"No I didn't, I don't really pay attention to that guy." He said. His voice was cold and his tone uninterested when he talked about Reiner. It seemed to you like he was trying to act like he didn't exist.
“Sure you don’t.” You smiled. Porco huffed next to you, as if to tell you you were wrong.
You closed your eyes and let out a deep sigh. For a moment you felt the world disappear beneath your breath. You could have stayed like this all day, just enjoying the afternoon weather. The temperature not too warm or too cold, just right. You felt a light breeze brush against your skin. Everything was so still. The noise of the water beneath you made you feel like your thoughts were being pulled away with every passing wave, effectively silencing your mind. You had spent so long away from the sea, you didn't even realize how much you had missed it before this moment.
"We should come here more often. It's nice." You said, your voice barely above a whisper. You two hadn’t hung out down here before, you had mostly stayed close to Headquarters because you wanted to get acclimated to the building before the others got back.
Your eyes were still closed but you could feel Porco shift his head to look down at you. He positioned himself the same way you did, almost mirroring you. He didn't answer you right away, looking up at the sky, trying to feel what you felt, see what you saw. His body relaxed more and more with every breath.
"We really should." He said softly. You felt comforted by his tone suddenly. You had found it weird he didn’t mention anything about training but you understood now that you barely needed to speak to be understood by Porco. It was nice.
You both lay there for a few hours. The calming sound of the waves, soft heat of the sun, it all made you fall asleep so quickly. When you woke up, you noticed Porco fell asleep as well.
You sat up, looking forward at the sky and how it seemed to melt into the sea. This was the first time since their return that you had allowed your mind to go to that place. Usually you preferred not to think too much about the future. Though now that you thought about it, there hadn't been much to think about before. It was as if you had spent six years in a bubble, away from the world and from reality. It was all real now. The thought made you shiver.
You felt a hand fall on your shoulder. "Are you okay?" How long was I out?" Porco asked, wiping his eyes with his other hand. You remained silent, offering him a gentle nod as a sign of acknowledgement. Suddenly, he noticed that the sun was setting before him. The sky was fading into this beautiful shade of orange you loved so much. His hands fell to his lap.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" you said, letting a light smile reach your lips. You felt Porco stand up next to you.
"Come on, we should go." He said quietly, offering you his hand.
You looked to him and took his hand as you got up. You put your jacket back on, noticing the air was a little colder than it had been moments ago. Your steps felt lighter than they were when you first got out earlier. On the way to Headquarters, Porco mentioned that he had plans to meet with Pieck for drinks tomorrow evening. He invited you to join them and you happily accepted. You got a little excited at the thought of getting to know Pieck better.
-
When you got home, you remembered your pantry was still empty. Grocery shopping was probably your least favorite task but it was one you needed to partake in if you wished to eat anytime soon.
With a sigh, you put your shoes back on your feet. You also made sure to put your armband back around your arm and checked yourself quickly in the mirror to make sure you didn't look like too much of a mess before you went out.
You placed your hand on the doorknob and twisted until the door opened. When it did, you were confronted with Reiner.
You found him standing there as if he were about to knock before you opened the door. His lips parted in surprise when he saw you. He quickly drew his hand back, a hint of panic showing in each of his movements. It was quite intimidating for you, this tall broad man standing unexpectedly so close to you. You both took a step back after an instant.
"Uh... What can I help you with?" You were confused as to why he was even here at all.
You could see him try to regain his composure, his face returning promptly to its natural serious expression.
"I wanted to talk to you." He said, clearing his throat. His voice was still a bit hesitant but you could tell he was trying not to let it show.
"Okay, well now's not really a good time, I have an errand to run. Can we talk at another time? I know you're not working tomorrow so...” You felt anxious talking to him after your slip up this morning. You walked up to get through the door as you spoke, closing it behind you and heading for the stairs. “Maybe the next day?" Reiner followed in your steps.
"Wait." He said. The hint of despair you heard in his voice made you stop instantly. You turned to face him. "I really want to talk. About this morning, what you said?" You felt your chest tighten. "I know this isn’t a good time but... maybe you could meet me when you’re done?"
You thought about it for a minute. It was inevitable, this conversation. You would have to eventually address the issue no matter what. At least this way it would be done, you would get it over with and not have to spend another day with this issue twirling around in your mind.
"Fine. I'll try to be there but I can't promise you anything." You replied. You felt bad about how indifferent your tone was but you couldn't manage anything else in that moment. He nodded before turning around to leave. "Wait," you stopped him, "Where am I supposed to meet you?" you asked, confused.
"Um... Since I don’t know how long you’ll be gone you can come meet me in my quarters after you’re done. I'll wait for you there."
You accepted his invitation with a nod before walking away.
You weren’t exactly sure what to expect from this encounter. What would he even say to you? Maybe he still didn’t remember, even after what you said. Maybe he just wanted to take you up on your previous offer. Or maybe he thought it unprofessional of you to bring these kinds of matters up to him now.
All sorts of anxious thoughts were rattling around in your mind. A tinge of embarrassment had wiggled its way through your system and now you were unsure you even wanted to talk with him at all, the only attractive activity right now was hiding under the covers for some time. As if that would save you from any consequences. How stupid were you that you had to go and talk to him about that. What a careless mistake you had made.
In any case, that would have to wait. For now the only thing that matter was the task ahead.
