A Beautiful Façade┃Reiner X Reader

Chapter 20: Cupid's Pitiful Embrace

You step into your shared bedroom with a robe against your skin. It's funny, how much it mirrors the moment you walked in there as well- right before you made love for the first time. In the aftermath of that same, insane encounter, you feel completely at peace.

Reiner lays his back on the bed, watching you as you walk into the room. "Good bath?"

"Mhm," you giggle, nodding your head as you do so. "You need a bigger tub, though."

"Here comes my criticism," he grins before patting the mattress beneath him. "Lay down, we should be asleep by now."

"Yeah. Okay."

You crawl on top of the bed, nestling into a spot against his chest. It's as comforting as ever, feeling your head against his heartbeat.

"That was... incredible, by the way."

The man sounds oddly surprised, "really?"

"Fuck, yeah. I just... hah, I don't have words for it. It's crazy that this all happened because you came back to me, begging," you state with a slight smile. A sudden thought comes to mind and you can't help but ask it, "hey, Reiner?"

He mumbles a soft, "mhmm?"

"Why did you come back that day?"

You expect him to pause in considering his words, yet the response comes out quite fast.

"Like I said, I wanted to sleep with you," Reiner states nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but why?" you give a confused expression. "What made doing it with me such a top priority? Like me specifically, you hated me."

An amused smile grows on his face, sudden, so it is. "Yeah, that's why I came back, actually."

"Huh?"

"Okay, okay, here comes the story. Buckle up, it's a pathetic one." He lets out a calm exhale. "When I asked you if you liked pain, I was simply asking about biting you, nothing more. Only after you passed out did it really hit me- you were a masochist."

"So?"

"I've never met one before."

You take a sharp breath in, surprised. "Oh."

"Until you, I've always felt unsatisfied. No one that slept with me wanted what I wanted to do to them. I... love control. I love watching my partner submit, suffer, cry, beg, do everything I ask, treat me like I'm worth more than I am- it's what I've been interested in since I left Paradis. With the guilt and shame of the war, I picked up this fantasy of dominating another, having them give me real respect. But I was never able to actually explore that. No one I met wanted to go through that level of pathetic submission. And yet, lo and behold, I finally meet a masochist to fill that void."

"And they just so happened to be an egotistical bitch," you grin snidely. "Ah, your life sucks."

"It does, doesn't it? But honestly, that just made it better," he states with an inflection that sounds passionate, alive, like he's always wanted to say these words. "Not only did you enjoy pain but our relationship made it so I didn't feel bad about hurting you- the hatred only made the fantasy so much better. And yet..." after a moment's pause, he sighs. "... I still, still refused to sleep with you. I can't explain why, maybe my pride got in the way, maybe I was too angry to do it. That night I went insane with regret."

"You could've just come back straight away," you say with a shrug. "My door and legs were open."

"Well, I guess it sounds silly now but to me, I had lost my chance at that. I knew how terribly the night ended and that I'd have to come crawling back apologising if I was ever going to have another chance. And that was too humiliating to consider. So, my full week of self-inflicted torture began as I jacked myself off every time you came to mind. It was honestly like I was addicted to you. But, after the week ended, I swallowed my pride and visited you."