blank open eyes | reiner braun x reader

chapter three

After your meeting with the Commander, Zeke, and Reiner, you had been full of nervous energy, your body hardly relaxing, even with conscious efforts. You'd headed home immediately after—the had sun already set by the time you left.

Even though you'd been exhausted all day, you were unable to settle down once you'd gotten back home. You'd changed clothes before eating a warm dinner, hoping that the cozy atmosphere would relax you enough to fall asleep. You tried to read a book, but your thoughts were racing too quickly for you to focus. It sat on your lap for nearly an hour, only a few pages farther along than before.

When reading did nothing to quiet your mind, you'd decide to tidy around your apartment, cleaning your bedroom and bathroom in the hopes that by the time it was all said and done, plain boredom would put you to sleep.

Unfortunately, you had no such luck. The hours flew by, and by the time you realized it, the sun had already begun to rise, peeking out from behind your thin curtains.

You leaned against the wall, sighing loudly. There was no way you could go to bed now, not when you would only get about an hour of sleep, but it wasn't like this was the first sleepless night of your life. Unfortunately, they were starting to become more and more frequent. You could only hope that you'd get more sleep over the weekend.

With a groan, you lazily stood, stretching out the knot in your back. You weren't sure if it was from bending over to sweep for so long, or from resting against the wall, but the pain didn't seem to be going away any time soon. Perhaps, of course, it was even a by-product of your training sessions the past few days.

You decided to head to Headquarters early, hoping to get ahead on your work before you met with Commander Klein in the afternoon. There wasn't a lot to be done today, thankfully—you weren't sure how productive you would be in this dazed state—but you and Reiner and planned to meet later this morning to go over some additional information regarding your update in status. Your conversation yesterday had been brief, as it had already gotten so late in the evening. There was apparently more to discuss than you'd been able to cover.

You threw on your usual attire and got ready for the day, freshening up a bit and hoping that your exhaustion wasn't too evident on your face. As of late, you'd had trouble dealing with your stress, as well as managing the difficulties that your studies and the military demanded of you. It was, seemingly, starting to take a toll on you, no matter how much you tried to deny it.

After about twenty minutes, you were ready to go, and you started your walk across town. The morning air felt nice on your face, snapping you a bit more awake. Although the sun had not fully risen, there were many people out and about, heading off to work as well. You mustered a tired smile to the people who waved at you, even though you couldn't match their enthusiasm.

Headquarters was eerily quiet when you walked into the building, though it wouldn't be for much longer. Everyone would be arriving soon, for meetings and their usual morning routines. You were somewhat surprised that the Warrior Candidates' training hadn't started already, but you figured they could have been out on a morning run. Or, perhaps, it was just one of those gracious mornings where the young kids weren't required to get up at the crack of dawn.

To your surprise, when you reached the main room, Reiner Braun was already there, bent over a stack of papers, his eyebrows pinched together in what you could only decipher as concern. His posture was tight—he seemed as if he'd been without sleep for as long as you had. There was a teapot on the table with him, and a newly filled, steaming cup beside him.

Although the door had been rather loud as it clanged behind you, Reiner gave no sign that he'd heard you come in at all. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing loudly as he leaned back in his chair.