Dances and Ruin// Reiner Braun x OC

Chapter Twenty-One

Reiner's eyes crack open to the sight of the lake at the old training grounds. The water is more expansive than the pond he's used to visiting, and the sky is actually visible here. Why am I here? A roar of laughter rings in his ears and his head snaps in the direction of the sound to see fiery red hair peeking out from the surface of the water. "Have a good nap over there!?" She asks, playfully moving toward the shore where he sits.

"Nap?" He asks, "you sure?"

Peri throws her head back, her smile growing wider than before. I feel like I've been missing this but why? "I mean, I thought you might've been calling it a night earlier, but now that you're up, we'll call it a nap." She relaxes her body and begins to float freely on the surface of the water, "you gonna come out here and swim or not?"

Reiner shakes his head, a lump in his throat. I don't want to swim. I want to hold you again. Can we dance instead? The thoughts race in his mind ceaselessly but he can't bring himself to say what he's thinking. Of all people to be ashamed of speaking my mind to she's not it, and I know as much. So, why can't I say what I want to say? "I don't feel like swimming," he reasons.

Peri's relaxed demeanor becomes tense, "Why? Do you not feel good or something?"

"I don't think so, something feels off," Reiner realizes aloud. "Would you be okay coming to the shore?"

"I can't." Peri stands in the water, "The burden is too heavy over there. Come in the water. You'll feel better here."

I want to.

Reiner tries to move his feet only to find his feet won't even lift. He looks down to find himself submerged to the shoulder in the sand. His chest grows tight as he tries to wiggle himself free of the weight but it's all too much. "I can't move," he announces frantically.

"Can I help?" She asks.

Reiner shakes his head, "No! Don't come near me. There's so much you don't know about and it will trap you here. Stay out there."

"But it's too much. Let me help you," she pleads.

"I said no," he says sternly. "It might be too much but it's mine, so I'll bear it."

"So, what? I just let you do this on your own?" She asks. "And I have to go on by myself?"

Reiner feels tears stinging the back of his eyes. "I knew the bed I'd made when I decided to lie in it. I knew this would happen, even if I wanted to pretend it wouldn't." Reiner has to look away from her as tears spill over her own cheeks, the lake carrying her further away. "I'm sorry I didn't give you the goodbye you deserved!" He screams. "I'm sorry it had to be this way," he whispers.

It grows dark suddenly and Reiner tips his head back toward the sky to see clouds covering it completely. Thunder roars loudly as a crack of lightning illuminates the lake completely for a brief moment. Then comes the sound of rushing water, the shadow of an impossible wave preparing to overtake him.

He breathes deeply.

The sound of explosion booms around him, bringing him back to his senses. He opens his eyes slowly to see flames raining over the city, a result of Bertolt's prior transformation. Reiner tried to hone in on himself, first trying to ensure that he can move not only himself but his titan. He flexed his arm, clenching his fist and then the other. He groans as he brings himself to an upright position. What the hell happened? What hit me? What could they possibly have that obliterated my armor like that? Reiner's gaze shifts to see Bertolt's titan form in the distance igniting and scattering debris throughout the city. So the plan hasn't gone completely to shit, but still, I wonder where we stand in all of this. What can we do? What can we not do at this point? Where's Peri? Is she okay?