the other side of the sea - reiner braun x reader.

Be Careful.

I'm sitting in a meeting surrounded by Marylean army generals. They are complaining that anti titan technology has advanced to far and that even with this victory, soon enough our battle titans will become obsolete. Zeke and I are the only Eldians in the meeting and it shows. Every time I try to speak up, I am promptly shut down. I'm not sure why Magath even asked me to be here. I work much better when all I do is receive the information without actually going to the meetings.

"Begging your pardon, general. If you'd forgive my boldness, I have some thoughts on this." I perk up at the sound of Zekes voice, but internally cringe at the fact he has to be so formal. Us Eldians must act like bootlickers lest we not be heard.

Zeke quickly gains the attention of the crowd when he suggests resuming the operation at Paradis island. I sit up straighter in my chair and listen closer. He wants to go back to try and reclaim the founding titan. I see the jaws of some of the men around me drop open and I hide my smirk. After Zekes spiel I am excused and I already know exactly where I'm going.

It's been a couple days since we won the war, but I haven't had a chance to reconvene with my friends. Or to ask Reiner what the hell his problem is. The way he acted on the battle field was insane. He had no regard for his safety or his own life. I head to the warriors barracks quickly. Once I make it up the stairs and to the main room I stop for a second outside the door, remembering the last time I was standing in this spot. Right before everything went to shit. I inhale deeply and open the door.

I walk in and Reiner is sitting up in bed, Porco at the desk. I am pretty sure I heard Porco say 'my brother' before I walked in, but I don't want to get into that right now. Reiners eyes meet with mine. I haven't truly looked at him in so long, i'm scared to let my gaze linger so I look away quickly.

"Do you have a death wish?" I ask. Porco smirks, I roll my eyes in response. "Who? Me?" Reiner asks. "Yes you, idiot. What the hell were you doing out there on the field?" I take a step closer. "You could've gotten yourself killed!" I hear Porcos chair slide out from underneath him. "That's my cue. You two have fun." He pats me on the head as he walks out of the room.

Reiner stands up from his bed and walks over to the window. "Funny." he says. "What's funny?" I ask, now realizing that we're alone in this room together, and that we haven't been alone together for years. "I didn't think you cared if I lived or died, Y/N. I thought I was dead to you." He throws my words from 4 years ago back in my face. I feel the weight of my own words hit me like a train.

"Give me a break. I was 17 and heartbroken." I wave him off. "You've done a good job of acting like I'm dead to you every day since." He spits. We haven't spoken this much about anything not related to work in years. I almost don't know how to do it, I take a step towards him. "Regardless! You acted like a jackass on the battlefield! Running in front of all of that canon fire! Do you have no regard for your own life?!" Reiner steps closer to me.

"I'm Marley's shield. In case you forgot. I was just doing my job, shielding." I roll my eyes and take another step closer. Our chests almost touching. "Lose the attitude, Braun. We may have won this war but we will sure as shit have to fight in another one, so don't go off killing your self before then." Reiner scoffs. "We will have to fight? I don't think I've see you out on the field, Y/N. but correct me if I'm wrong." I furrow my brow, but don't reply. I'm suddenly hyper aware of how close we're standing to each other, I can hear the sound of Reiners breathing, if I leaned forward I could probably feel the beat of his heart. I notice Reiner steal a quick glance at my lips. I inadvertently suck in a breath. "What's the matter Y/N? Nothing to say?" Reiner asks, a self satisfied smirk on his face. I huff out a breath and take a step back. "Just- be careful." I say. I catch Reiners eyes widen slightly before I walk out the door.