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“Please come! I promise it won’t be as bad as you think!”
Reiner was fighting the urge to close the door on the two people that stood outside. He had been ignoring Ymir’s texts all week about a party Eren was throwing to celebrate the end of finals week. Tired of being ignored, Ymir showed up to Reiner’s dorm and banged on his door til he opened up.
“Wow. You look like shit.”
“Ymir!” Historia elbowed her girlfriend’s hip, “that’s so mean! Say you’re sorry!”
“Anything for you, baby,” Ymir smiled at the pouting girl, then turned back towards Reiner with a bored expression, “I’m sorry I said you look like shit even if it’s true.”
“What do you want?”
“Wow, so rude. Historia, baby, why don’t you hit him for being mean to me?” Ymir pouted as she wiped away fake tears.
“Because he isn’t being mean! You are,” Historia turned to face Reiner, “I’m sorry. We came here to check on you and invite you to Eren’s party. I hope you’ll come!”
Reiner sighed, giving a tight smile, “I don’t think so. I’m not really in a party mood.”
Historia frowned, her puppy eyes shining with tears.
“Oh, Reiner please come! We really miss hanging out with you, don’t we Ymir?”
Ymir shrugged lazily.
“Yeah, I feel really missed.”
Historia glared at Ymir, who looked down at her with an adoring smile.
“Fineee. Yes, we miss you, Reiner. Would I have texted you all week if I didn’t? And since, ya know, you didn’t respond to me, I’m here now. Still asking to hang out with you.”
Historia nodded eagerly in agreement.
“It’s been so long since you came out with us! And I know you needed space and time after- um..” she looked back towards Ymir, not sure if she should finish her sentence.
Ymir folded her arms across her chest, glaring at the door two rooms down from Reiner.
“After that fucking low life scum dumped you.”
Reiner frowned, looking like he was moments away from crying. Ymir softened her voice before continuing, "I know it messed you up, and I’m really sorry. But sitting alone all day and night isn’t gonna help you feel better. One night out with us, c’mon. And if you have an awful time, I’ll never invite you out anywhere again and you can rot away in this room alone forever. Deal?”
Historia held her hands up in a pleading gesture, eyes brimming with more tears.
Reiner debated saying no but didn’t want to make Historia cry or deal with what Ymir would do if she did. She was right anyways; staying in his room all day wasn’t making feel any better. He thought if could avoid seeing Bert that it would be easier to get over, but it only made him feel more lonely. He was done letting that man make him feel bad.
“Fine, I’ll go. But I’m not staying all night, and we’re leaving if he’s there.”
Historia jumped up and cheered. “Oh, Reiner thank you!” she threw her arms around his waist and squeezed as tight as she could, “you’re gonna have a good time, I promise!”
Reiner smiled down at the shorter blonde and returned the hug.
“Anyways! Be ready by 8:30-9, okay? We’ll walk over with you,” Ymir reached out to pull Historia off of Reiner, “Let’s go, baby! We gotta get you all dressed up.”
Reiner watched the couple disappear down the hallway before closing the door. He really didn’t want to go to this party.
~~~
At 8:26, Reiner received a text from Ymir.
{Historia had a wardrobe malfunction that totally wasn’t my fault so we’re stopping by Sasha’s dorm before we head to the party}
A minute later,
{just head there w out us & we’ll find u when we get there k?}
Reiner was not gonna do that.
{just tell me when u guys r done. i’ll meet u by sasha}
He received no reply for a while and it was 9’o clock by time he checked his phone again. He decided to text Historia.
{hey r u guys still by Sasha?}
{Oh, no! I thought Ymir texted you. We’re by Eren’s already. Come meet us! :)}
Reiner should have just stayed in his room since he clearly wasn’t missed. But he promised his friends he would try to have fun, so he put on some jeans and threw a hoodie over the shirt he was wearing and left.
He made it over to Eren’s quick and immediately wanted to leave. There were so many people here; this was not his ideal way of easing back into the world of socializing.
He stood off to the side to text the girls he arrived but was worried they wouldn’t hear the notification over the loud music, so he tried looking over the expanse of bodies to see if he could spot them.
He saw Ymir standing in the middle of a smaller group. She was shoving a cup in Historia’s face while the people around them cheered. Reiner rolled his eyes and moved to go meet them, but he bumped into someone walking past.
“Hey, watch it!” Floch whined, looking down at his shirt that was now covered in whatever he had in his cup.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t see you.” Reiner was regretting ever opening his door earlier more each passing second.
“Oh, it’s fine. I guess.” Floch looked up at Reiner frowning.
“Uh, okay.”
“There you are! Hey, what happened?” Eren came from somewhere in the mix of people holding a cup of his own. He saw Floch’s sweater and frowned, grabbing at the soaked fabric.
“Oh. Hey, Eren. It was just an accident. I bumped into Reiner.” Eren looked up from the sweater at Reiner and smiled, like he only just noticed he was there.
“Hey, man! I’m glad you’re here,” he clapped a hand over Reiner’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze. “There’s beer and other shit in the kitchen, help yourself!”
Eren turned back towards Floch, lips pursed in thought.
“We gotta get this off you. I’m sure it’s uncomfy.”
A vibrant blush spread across Floch’s face, a shade matching his hair perfectly.
“Um it’s okay. I can just go change in my room really fast.”
“No way you’re missing any more of my party,” Eren smirked and grabbed his hand, pulling Floch along w him as he walked away, “you can just borrow one of my shirts for now.”
Reiner shrugged off the interaction and went back to go find his friends, only he couldn’t see Ymir anymore. He was gonna just leave before anyone else saw him but decided to grab some alcohol before he did. Might as well reap the benefits of this wasted night out.
He went into the kitchen where it was much less crowded and grabbed a can from a cooler that was sitting on one of the counters. He popped open the tab and went to take his first sip when he heard a laugh he did not want to be hearing. He gulped down his beer in almost one go and closed his eyes, willing this all to just be in his head.
“Oh my god is that Reiner?”
Reiner peeked his eyes open when he heard another voice mention him. When he looked for where it came from, he saw Bert standing across the kitchen looking right at him. Next to him stood Armin, the source of the voice.
Bert looked at him with disgust, a complete contrast to the way he looked down at Armin when he turned away from him.
“I’ll be right back. I’ll meet you in the main room, okay?” he gave Armin a quick kiss before turning to walk towards Reiner. Armin ran off into the next room laughing like a fucking maniac.
Reiner tried to stand up a little straighter, making himself seem as tall as he could.
“Reiner, I didn’t know you were here! What a sight for sore eyes.” Bert’s words were dripping w exaggerated enthusiasm.
Reiner didn’t reply, any confidence he thought he had, dwindling fast.
“Hello?? Are you deaf or something?”
“What do you want, Bert?” Reiner struggled to keep his voice from cracking.
“Pff, can’t blame me for being curious, can you? Rumor has it you haven’t been out much lately. Something about you being sad and heartbroken, I think?”
Reiner’s hands were in fists at his side, he was trying so hard to hide that they were shaking. Bert laughed when he noticed.
“Jeeze Reiner, if you’re still this much of a wuss, what are you even doing at a party? All alone on top of it. So sad.”
Reiner went to turn and run away right back to his room but was stopped by someone else stepping next to him and throwing their arm over his shoulder.
Reiner looked up, expecting to see Ymir coming to his rescue, but instead found it to be someone he didn’t recognize.
“Hey, babe,” the stranger beamed at Reiner, & leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek, “this guy giving you a problem?”
Bert’s grin fell from his face, his brow raised in surprise.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Name’s Porco Galliard,” Porco held out his other hand to Bert to shake, “I’m the lucky fella that’s dating this hottie right here.”
“You’re joking,” Bert ignored the outstretched hand in front of him.
“You know, we get that a lot. And honestly, I get it, he’s so much hotter than me. But nope. No jokes here, he’s my guy.”
Porco brought his hand back from the rejected shake & placed it on Reiner’s cheek, turning the taller man’s head to face him, and leaned up to place a quick peck on the bridge of Reiner’s nose. Bert’s eyes widened and he scowled at the affectionate look Porco was giving his ex.
“You’re either desperate or a complete idiot. Why would you go out with him?”
Porco glared up at Reiner, all the warmth & fondness he directed at Reiner moments ago, gone.
“You better watch your mouth, sasquatch. I’ll break your fucking kneecaps so I can reach that ugly mug of yours and stomp it in.”
Bert’s took a step back, eyes widening at the threat.
“Whatever. Have fun dealing w the neediest, most insecure person you’ll ever meet!” Bert turned away and stomped out of the kitchen.
“Hey, thanks! You have fun being a giant ugly asshole, and probably dying young cause you’re so freakishly tall!” Porco yelled after him, then turned to face Reiner, who was still looking at him w bewilderment.
“You okay, man?” After a moment of no response, Porco snapped his fingers in Reiner’s face, breaking him out of his trance.
“Um, yeah I’m fine. I think.” Reiner glanced towards the direction Bert walked off in, not yet processing what just happened.
“So that guy was a giant asshole. Emphasis on the giant.”
Reiner snorted, turning back towards Porco.
“Yeah, he can be pretty mean, I guess. Wait, you know Bert?”
"Nope. Which is fitting since I don’t know you either...” Porco took a step back, moving the arm that was around Reiner’s shoulders to rub at the back of his own neck. A faint blush spread across his cheeks, the lighting in the room making it appear much darker.
Reiner instantly missed the warmth the other’s arm enveloped him in, only now realizing how calm it had made him, so he shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself from reaching out to bring it back.
“Oh. Yeah, I don’t think I know you either actually. I thought it was my taller, lady friend who showed up to back me up.”
“God, what is wrong w me? I can’t believe I just came up to a total stranger and kissed him. Twice! Oh my god, I’m so sorry...” Porco ran a hand down his face, an attempt to wipe away the blush burning across it.
“No, it’s okay!” Reiner winced, lowering his voice, “I mean, it’s fine. It didn’t bother me. Plus, you kinda saved me from making a scene running out of here crying. So, thank you.”
“Of course, man. Doesn’t matter if I don’t know someone or not, I’m not gonna let a bully walk all over them. Especially such a grotesquely tall one.” Porco feigned a shudder, earning a small grin from Reiner.
“Can I hire you as my bodyguard whenever Bert’s around then?”
“What did you even see in that skinny ass beanpole? He’s mayyybe a 5, and that’s me being nice. And his personality only makes him uglier. No offense.”
Reiner threw his head back in laughter, leaving Porco the one to stare in awe now.
“None taken. I don’t know how we even ended up together to be honest. We were friends first for a really long time and then, something changed,” Reiner smiled fondly to himself, then he frowned, the change in expression giving Porco whiplash “and then something else changed.”
“We were good for a while, really good. I don’t remember being so happy before that. Then he got some new friends, but they weren’t my friends, so we started drifting apart. Then he just got tired of me I guess,” Reiner shrugged, turning his eyes towards the floor, “He didn’t even break up w me officially, you know. He just started dating someone else. And he thinks I’m pathetic for not moving on yet..”
Reiner turned back towards Porco who was staring at Reiner, jaw agape.
“Uhhh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump my sob story drama on you. God, we just met, you don’t need to know this about me yet. Or ever,” Reiner buried his face in his hands, “Please, can you just pretend you didn’t hear any of that?”
Porco reached a hand up to gently wrap around one of Reiner’s wrists.
“Hey,” he gave a small squeeze, and smiled when Reiner peeked out between his fingers, “I’ll kick his ass for you if you want?”
Porco gently pulled Reiner’s hands away from his face but didn’t let them go. Reiner looked down at their interlocked fingers and smiled.
“Don’t worry about it. He’s not worth the effort.”
Porco gave his hands a small squeeze before letting go, “Damn right. I don’t think I’ve met a bigger asshole in my life. Again, emphasis on the big.”
Reiner tried to cover his grin behind his hand, but it didn’t hide the glint of amusement in his eyes. Porco was proud to be the cause of such a pretty sight.
“Well, this night has been an absolute mess. I think I’m just gonna head home now.”
Porco’s shoulders dropped in disappointment.
“Oh. Yeah, man, go home and rest or whatever. Um, are you sure you’re okay, though?”
“Thanks to you, yeah. I really appreciate it,” Reiner held out a hand to the shorter man, “and it’s nice to meet you, Porco.”
Porco grinned, reaching out to grab his hand, “You too, Reiner. Too bad it wasn’t under better circumstances.”
Reiner breathed out a short laugh, “All things considered, it wasn’t a bad first meeting.” he pulled Porco closer to him by their clasped hands and leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek.
“Now we’re even,” Reiner teased, “I’ll see you around?”
Despite his brain short circuiting, Porco managed to tighten his grip on Reiner’s hand as he made to pull away. Reiner gave him a questioning look.
“Um, not to be too technical or anything, but I did kiss you twice, so if you really wanna be ‘even’…” Porco tried to give his best charming smile, but felt his confidence falter with each word he spoke, “Totally kidding, by the way. One kiss is good enough for me.”
Reiner blinked out of his trance and tried a charming smile of his own.
“Really? That’s a shame. I was kinda looking forward to maybe taking you out? As a thanks for coming to my rescue tonight, but if you’re satisfied after one kiss, I gu-“
“Hey now, I didn’t say I wasn’t interested in possible future kisses. I just didn’t wanna seem like a pushy douche bag. You’ve dealt with enough of that for the night..”
“You didn’t even know me, or Bert, but still stepped in to make sure I was okay. You could have just ignored us like literally everyone else was doing… So, you’re not a doucebag,” Reiner glanced down at their still joined hands, “you’re sweet. So, can I take you out sometime?”
“I’m free right now. Orrr whenever.” Porco shrugged, but the blush on his face betrayed his nonchalance.
“Great. So am I.”
Reiner lead Porco through the crowd of people, hand in hand, leaving the heaviness in his heart he came with behind.
He was going to have to thank Ymir for pushing him to get out, even if she would never let him live it down. If her teasing ever got too much for him, he knew a guy that would have his back.