Mr Kruger (Eren x Reader)

VIII

☆☆☆

FAMILIAR NAMES

"There we go... just like that..." You use words of encouragement, concentrating on keeping Mr Kruger balanced while he followed your lead. At some point a few other nurses around the area had also cheered when they noticed Mr kruger attempting to get better and performing well while doing it.

He would grip your shoulders every so often when he felt he was becoming unstable and then when the said pain would shoot up his thigh, you'd squeeze his wrists in return, making slow, subtle caresses to keep him calm then you'd encourage him to take a breath and try again.

"You're doing great Mr Kruger. Why don't you try to stand by yourself?" You suggest. Feeling like he could handle taking the next step.

"Okay- " When he's ready you begin to take one of his hands from your shoulders, immediately intertwining your fingers with his for support then did the same with the other. You kept his weight steady with the hold you had on him as he hopped on his good leg to try and get into a more comfortable position.

"Ready?" You look up with just your eyes. A few bangs of hair falling over your forehead. Much like how Mr Kruger looked only most of his hair covered his whole face.

"Yeah." He nods.

"Okay, I'm going to count to 3 then I'm gonna let go. 1, 2, 3!" You let go of both his hands and he was successfully standing on both his legs with zero support! The brightest grin was making its way onto your lips, many people around you had begun to cheer and you swear if his face was not covered by his hair, you would have seen an inkling of a smile, but then he grunts under the pressure, immediately lurching forward for your support again to alleviate the pain that surely must have shot up his missing leg. On instinct you step forward to catch him, not anticipating how close he would be as both his arms draped right over your shoulders, completely hiding you underneath his figure, but that couldn't stop the small rupture of laughter that echoed from your lips. Vibrating against Mr Kruger's chest.

"That was so good Mr Kruger!" You praise him for the achievement. It was honestly such great progression. Not many people got this far after only 3 days of physical therapy and as a fellow nurse you couldn't help but want to praise him for it.

But Mr Kruger suddenly drops even more of his weight onto you, bending down just enough for his head to rest on your shoulder while his hands grabbed fistfuls of your coat. Your peppy tone immediately stops and worry began to take over you as you looked him over. You could hear small groans of pain coming from him and put two and two together pretty quickly.

"You're having phantom pain." You said while trying to keep him steady with your hands on his forearms. It was a pretty firm hold and you were incredibly shocked to note how firm he was. He was practically rock solid. You found that to be insane considering every war patient and you meant every single one was as malnourished as you could get when coming back from the battle field. You thought maybe he had more fat than your usual veteran, but no, he was covered in muscle.

You were quick to take him to the closest bench and helped him sit down. He falls with a groan, his one eye squeezed shut as he grips his thigh, enduring the horrible sensation. It was the most emotion you had ever seen on him since being admitted, but it was the worst one it could have been. You took off the wooden leg, had him grab your hand to squeeze and gently applied pressure on his leg. Letting him sit it out. Its all he could do at this point. He already took his meds so he just had to wait for them to work.

He leans forward to alleviate some of the pain, but now he was just a hair away from you, resting his elbows on his knees while covering his eyes with his one hand, while keeping a firm hold still on your hand with the other. He wasn't making any sounds anymore but you knew he was still in pain. Just another reminder of how unfair life can be for Eldians.