Dances and Ruin// Reiner Braun x OC

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Author's note: This chapter is meant solely for audiences 18 and up. Please kindly skip over this chapter if you do not fall into this criteria. 

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There was a time not very long ago when Peri could only dream of a moment like this. She still remembers, all too vividly, how much it used to hurt, how much it used to leave her feeling empty. Whether it was because she hated herself for longing for it or because she just aches for it so badly, the thought always left her wishing she'd never met Reiner at all. She used to think so intently about how Reiner's hands would move over her body, the feel of his skin against hers, so much so she'd often trick herself into believing she could actually feel it. Even at times when Jean held her in his arms, she would close her eyes and try to convince herself it was Reiner. She always felt dirty in those moments— dirty and overwhelmingly heartbroken. Even so, she knew that both she and Jean knew the other's heart would always belong to someone else. He'd always love and long for Mikasa the same way she did for Reiner. They both knew it. So, why did it always feel so haunting that she longed for Reiner while finding something similar yet so different in someone else?

"Persephone," a voice beckons, bringing her back to the present. She looks up to see Reiner hovering over her, leaning lower to place another kiss on her skin. It all started very feverishly, almost like a phenomenon in its own rite. The initial collision reminded her of something she'd read about on an expedition, volcanic lightning. Compressed particles that linger under the surface and eventually erupt, kicking up a plume of debris and ash. Those same particles, once compressed and shoved deep beneath, now high above the ground and colliding so much that it causes the sky to roar with thunder. So much that it causes the sky to spark with light, electricity. The phenomenon, fascinating and captivating as it may be, has always been something that puzzled her.

How could things that start so deep within spark such a reaction?

That is, until now. With Reiner's lips against her skin, it seems to make sense now. It all falls into place, one little bit at a time. A process once so benign, now something so deeply personal and inescapable.

Slowly, almost unbearably, Reiner's mouth trails kisses from between her breasts, along her collar bone, up her neck, on her cheeks, barely to the corners of her mouth before finally latching onto her lips. Her arms wrap around his neck pulling him closer. He's so close their teeth collide briefly before finding a pattern they're both comfortable with. His tongue moving over hers, his lips so perfectly capturing her own, the two of them perfectly in sync.

More, more, more. I want more. I need more.

Peri rolls, moving Reiner with her, an effortless task thanks to years of brutal physical training so that she's on top of him. Reiner's eyes grow wide as she sits up, straddling over him, just low enough to brush over the rise beneath his belt. Her arms fall to the hem of her shirt, pulling it off masterfully before reaching back for the clasp on her bra. Reiner mumbles, "No, let me."

"Think you can handle that?" She smirks.

He chuckles, sitting up so that his chest is against hers. "I'm sure I'll figure it out." His hands move behind her, gently beginning to unclasp her bra. The article of clothing loosens and his hands move to the straps, gently pushing them aside.

"Tsk, tsk, not so fast," Peri says, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "I only let you do that because I hate that part. I've been undressing myself long enough to know where to take it from here."

"And that's why I should get to do it. You get to do it all the time, so give someone else a chance," he gulps, his eyes fixated on her face, but his hands still resting firmly on the straps resting upon her shoulder.