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You had been waiting for this day for a while now - in fact, you’ve been waiting years. The last time you saw Reiner was when you were both twelve years old, just before he left for Paradis island. You were meant to go with him and the others, but you were gravely injured not long before, making you unworthy to be one of the nine.
However, you grew up with the group that became the nine. You were close with all of them, going through hell and back in training together. But the person you were closest to was Reiner Braun. You did not know why the two of you got on so well, something just, clicked. Maybe it was because you always had a crush on him, always found yourself near him.
The last day you saw one another, you both admitted to having a crush on each other. But you were kids. You doubted that Reiner would still feel the same after nine years, especially after everything he had been through. But for you, he never left your mind. You tried to date different men, see other people, even got with a few women, but no matter how good the time you spend with them was, all you could think about was him.
How did he look now? How did he act? Did he remember you?
Those were the thoughts running through your head as you waited for the warriors to return. You stood with his family - yours had died just over a year ago, and the Brauns were nice enough to take you in, not that you needed it, but it was nice not to be alone.
Your foot impatiently tapped the floor as the warriors came flooding in. Gabi Braun was the first one to catch your attention, not that you saw her - for a little girl, she had a loud voice. You knew she was somewhere in the crowd with him. You bit your lip nervously as the soldiers hugged their families, tears of happiness streaming down their faces.
Moments later, Gabi emerged from the crowd, and just behind her stood Reiner. You felt your breath get caught in your throat. You knew he would look different, there was no doubt, but he looked so grown up, that it caught you a little of guard. Of all the times you envisioned how he looked over the years, you never really came close. His hair was nearly identical to when he was younger, and his golden orbs caught your attention like they always did. Though before they use to show a glint of mischievousness, but now they were hard and emotionless. His face was chiselled, though furrowed with deep lines. His goatee fit his face well, and you could not believe how handsome he had become.
“Reiner,” his mum called, catching his attention. He looked over. “You must be tired. Come home and rest.” His expression softened when he saw his family, though you were sure he had not seen you yet as you were standing behind everyone.
“Mom...I think I will.” Reiner walked over to his family, they greeted each other politely, but no big questions were asked as they started to make their way to the house. You swallowed nervously, still hidden anyway, he still had not seen you. You let everyone walk by, and as Reiner passed, you found your voice.
“Reiner…” His head turned, and instantly his eyes widened. You felt a weight off your shoulders - he recognized you. All the nervous worry you had been feeling that day washed away, and you smiled softly up at him. It was a first, to look up at him, when you were younger you were always the same height. But now he stood over six foot, and it was the first time you were happy you were on the taller side.
He stood a step closer to you and mumbled your name as if he was unsure it was you he was actually seeing. You nodded, suddenly, a different type of nerves filled every fibre in your body. You could not believe after nine years; he still made you feel like that.
“How are you?” he asked. You could see he was battling with himself whether to step closer or not, his arms were slightly raised as if he wanted to go for a hug, but decided against it.
“I’m good.” Your eyes glanced away, feeling slight heat rushing to your cheeks. “How are you?” you forced herself to look back up.
“Good,” the same soft expression from before returned to his face, “happy to be home.”
The two of you walked beside each other as you made your way back to the Braun household. Not many words were exchanged between the two of you, knowing that any questions you asked could lead to something far deeper than intended. You mainly glanced over to him multiple times, trying your best not to get caught checking him out, though you were sure he knew.
Reiner sat at the head of the table, you were to his left, slowly finishing your food as Gabi explained the events of what happened the days prior. You listened carefully, smiling softly, memories of training as a child flooding through your mind.
“She reminds me of you,” Reiner whispered beside you, catching you off guard.
“Me?” You chuckled lightly, and shook your head, “I was far off. Think your memory is a little off.”
“Okay, maybe you weren’t as loud, thankfully,” you both lightly chuckled. “But how Gabi goes around things, how her brain works in battle reminds me of how you were during training. Even though you were not as strong or fast, you would always win because of your plans.” You looked to your food, trying to hide your rosy cheeks, feeling touched he remembered such a small detail. “We needed your plans out there.” Your eyes widened at the last comment. You knew ‘out there’ meant Paradis Island.
Before you could reply, the conversation moved from Gabi to Reiner. Questions were asked about his time at Paradis Island, and you were surprised he was happy to talk about it. You kept your eyes on the empty plate as he spoke. With each word, your hand tightened into a fist. It sounded terrible. You should have been there to help Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt and Marcel. Suddenly, you stood, the scarping of the chair across the floor caught everyone’s attention.
“Excuse me,” you nodded, picking up your plate and heading to the kitchen. The plate clattered as you dropped it into the sink. Your hand gripped the sides of the counter, holding your body weight as your head hung low. Memories swamped your brain. After a moment, you lifted your left hand and balled it into a fist, before slamming it down onto the counter.
“What’s wrong?” Reiner entered the kitchen, seeing your actions. You jumped at his sudden presence beside you; you only met his eyes for a moment.
“Nothing.” You answered.
He huffed a laugh, making your eyebrows pull together. He leaned his back on the counter and brought his arms across his chest. “Somethings never change.” You looked up at him, your frown unchanging. “You were like this when we were kids. Stubborn-”
“I’m not stubborn!”
“-and you would never admit when something was wrong.”
He gave you a knowing look. You sighed and looked back down to the sink. You closed your eyes, trying to relax. “I should have been there,” you said after a moment of silence. “I should have gone with you guys to Paradis Island.”
“Would have been useless with your injury.”
“I could have turned into a Titan and then healed!” You pushed yourself upright, unable to control your emotions.
“And then you wouldn’t be here right now!” He stood tall, towered over you with a hard expression. You swallowed nervously, but you did not back down.
“You said it yourself, with my plans maybe we could have won!”
“Maybe. Or maybe we could have still lost, and I would have lost you too!” You looked away, breathing hard. You did not know what else to say. You thought you were past the situation, that your anger had dwindled over time that you were unable to go to Paradis Island, but talking about it again relit the fire inside. “I’m glad I could come home to you,” his voice was softer. He placed his hand on top of yours.
You cheeks flared up again, and your heart was now racing for a different reason. You looked to him again; his eyes were soft, a touch of a smile on his face. You felt yourself start to calm. He always had that effect on you. Your temper was always an issue of sorts, mainly when it came to Porco. The two of you clashed like two bulls, and Reiner was always able to calm you down before any fists were thrown, the same way Peick was able to clam down Porco.
Suddenly, you stepped forward and wrapped your arms around his torso. He was surprised by the action; nevertheless, he returned it - wrapping an arm around your shoulders and his other hand on the back of your head. “I’m happy your home,” you mumbled into his chest, tears stinging your eyes.
“I’m happy to be home,” he replied, placing a gentle kiss on top of your head.
The two of you stood like that for a while, enjoying each other’s company. You looked up, placing your chin on his chest. “Want to go for a walk?”
“Sure.”
It was chilly as the two of you walked around. You knew Reiner did not want to talk about what had happened, so instead, the two of you reminisced as you recognized places you spent time together at as kids. The two of you talked and laughed. You were worried that with everything that happened, he would have PTSD, so it was nice to see he could relax and push away the horrible memories.
“Do you remember the one area where we could always hear music?” She asked. He nodded. “You still can hear it.”
“Really? I thought the woman would be dead by now. Wasn’t she like ninety?”
“Something like that, but still going strong.” You grinned, grabbing his hand and dragging him along. “Do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“How to dance! Don’t tell me you forgot all those hours of me teaching you.”
Reiner chuckled. “I couldn’t forget even if I tried.”
“Good.” You stoped, four buildings surrounded the area you both stood in. You faced him, the music already entering your ears. “Dance with me.” You expected him to argue against it - that he didn’t want to, but instead, he took a step closer to you, one hand on your waist and the other in the air, waiting for you to take it.
“If you insist,” he smirked. You felt your stomach flip at the surprising action. Your eyes glanced to your feet as you took his hand, your cheeks burned red, your other hand landing on his shoulder. After a few moments of moving gently to the music, you leaned forward and placed your head on his chest and closed your eyes, enjoying the moment. A few words were exchanged, though you mainly hummed in reply to what he said.
Suddenly, the music started to speed up, throwing you off your rhythm. Reiner took a step back, opening the gap between the two of you. You giggled as he lifted his hand and rotated his wrist, making you spin on the spot.
“REINER!” You laughed as he continued spinning you.
“What? I just want to see all of you,” he replied nonchalantly. You blushed at the comment.
“Reiner, please! I’m getting really dizzy!”
“Alright then,” he stopped you, and just before you fell, he grabbed your waist. You looked at him, and even with the dizziness, you found yourself unable to stop your smile.
“Now I see two of you,” you muttered, your hands raised, and before he could say anything, you planted your hands on his cheeks hard. He winced at the impact. “Sorry, I didn’t know which was your real face.”
Reiner said nothing, and to your surprise, he leaned into your touch. His smile was small when he turned his head and placed a gentle kiss on your hand.
“I’ve missed you,” he mumbled, his hand left your waist and placed it on top of yours. “I never stopped thinking about you. You kept me going. I wanted to come back to you.”
You met eyes, both a dash of pink colouring your cheeks. You swallowed nervously before leaning forward; you glanced down to his lips for a moment before back to his eyes. He did the same. You pushed to your tiptoes; your lips hovered over his. His hot breath mixed with yours, he did not move, so slowly, you closed your eyes and leaned forward, connecting your lips with his.
At first, he did not move, and you were ready to pull away before his grip on your waist tightened, and his other hand moved from yours and placed it on your cheek. It was as though a bolt shot through him, and suddenly he was awake and hungry for more. He pushed forward, harshly kissing you - not that you minded it, in fact, it made your stomach fill with butterflies. His mouth opened, you followed suit, feeling the same hunger he did, your hand now running through his hair.
A sudden squeal left your lips at it started pouring down with rain.
“Shit, we’ve got to go!” You tried to run, but Reiner held you in place firmly.
“Do we though? I was enjoying it.”
“Who said we’re heading back to the house?” You answered with a coy smile. His eyes widened, a smirk forming.
“Then lead the way.”