A Beautiful Façade┃Reiner X Reader

Chapter 8: Logistics Of Humiliation

After such a jarringly unexpected sound, nothing follows except the captivating calm of absolute silence. It seems that both you and Reiner share the exact same thought. What now?

But, in such a moment, you are forced to rely on him and him completely, being the only one with power, autonomy, and even sight. Subconsciously or not, you surrender all your trust onto him, praying he'll make some type of responsible call.

Suddenly, he smacks his hand over your mouth and pulls your head back, such a move causing a muffled groan from your lips.

"I'll be a minute," he whispers in your ear. Your hair sticks up from such a statement.

In this situation, you aren't sure what exactly you are expecting him to do, yet, every idea you past had is shot dead when your eyes catch a belt in Reiner's free hand, raising it up to your face. Within an instant, he switches the hand silencing you with the thick fabric of his belt, pressing it in between your lips before quickly fastening the back of it.

Two more knocks fill the room, followed by a distinctly masculine voice. "You there, Reiner?"

You don't truly realise the weight of what he's done until he steps away from you and begins towards the door. Leaving you there. Restrained, ass-up, gagged, wearing an apron with clothes congregating at your ankles. And he's just okay with the idea of someone walking in on this.

Immediately, your heart begins pounding out of your chest, all anticipation before is replaced by the insistent, almost primal need for safety. Nothing about this is safe. Not the man standing a metre away from you in the most humiliating position of your life, not Reiner being completely capable of letting him inside and definitely not the fact that you allowed all of this shit to happen to you.

The instinctual reaction is anxiety; overpowering, messy anxiety that floods your systems with an intense shot of adrenaline. It calls for fight or flight, but there is nowhere to run and nothing to battle. Just an ignorant fool who put all her trust in the man who hates her guts.

As you have the intense war with your mind, the door makes a creaking sound from afar.

"Oh, Zeke. What's the problem?"

"Afternoon!" replies the eager voice of the bearded blonde. "Sorry to just barge in like this but I was wondering if we could have a talk about the Armoured."

"The Armoured, huh?" Reiner replies hazily, slowly, as if he's just woken up from a long nap. "What about it?"

"Well, it doesn't quite make sense to me, how the shifter with the most secure titan could be so prone to irreversible injuries. It makes sense that you wouldn't heal as fast as, say, the Colossal, but your case is extremely unique when directly comparing all the nine."

"Mhm."

"I brought this up with Magath and he suggested this may be a trend present in the shifters before you. Once we find a pattern, we can make Gabi's possession far easier in the near future, mayhaps some coaching or extra body uniform will help sustain the shifter."

"What action are you suggesting I take?" Reiner asks glumly. "I don't have any memories of the Armoured's predecessors. I'm afraid your research will be lost on me."

"Not quite." Zeke pauses for a reason you don't quite understand. It follows the soft sound of fabric. "My predecessor Ksaver wrote lengthy entries on the Armoured before you, I was offering for us to sift through the information, mayhaps find anything you see as similar to your own situation."

"I'm barely awake right now, Zeke, sorry," he says with a yawn for emphasis. "I'll be up for it at work tomorrow, though."

And with that, the man replies with a respectful goodbye and the door closes. Reiner turns to you immediately, pulling your head back as he takes the belt from your lips. A gasp escapes you when its gone. Finally, freedom.