Yourself

A step at the time

Leda cleared her throat trying to snap back to reality, and looked away from Reiner's face slowly taking her hand away from his cheek.

"Uhm...sorry, i got carried away..." She sheepishly smiled at him, scratching her arm a little embarrassed

Reiner froze completely, his lips parted in confusion. He also looked away. He didn't get what has just happened, he was just following her touch, not thinking too much.

Reiner  hummed in reply. He even forgot why he came here in the first place. Just a minute before he was worried that she considers him insane and then this happens.

Doesn't make sense at all. At all - his sight got confused. But he smiled subtly anyway.

Whatever it was it helped him to calm down and get distracted for sure. And the other thing, that Reiner was even afraid to acknowledge is that... he actually liked that touch.

And how I should behave now? - he thought, still being frozen in the moment.

Reiner looked through the window, then to the floor, to the door, in helpless attempts to ease his mind and compose. I must say something just to ease the tension.

"So... You think... things are alright?" - he asked just for the sake of saying something.

His features, for the first time since return, softened.

She eagerly nodded in response, getting up from the couch.
"And even if something may go in the wrong way, we'll figure it out together and make it work. Deal?"
Leda extended her hand to him to officially seal the agreement.

She really wanted him to feel better and stopping stressing over things he couldn't control, despite not knowing how to do it. With regular patients it was easier, when she wasn't working with Croix's team all she had to do was nodding and listening, sometimes monitoring their treatments but with Reiner everything was...well, complicated.
Everything, even the smallest inconvenience seemed to set off a chain reaction and it scared her. She only wanted to help him get better and she would have done everything to achieve that.

"Do...do you want to stay here a little longer? I mean...you don't have to come back home right away if you want..."
She asked not knowing if this was the right thing to say, she just wasn't ready for him to leave yet.

I hope he doesn't think I'm trying to make a move on him... - Leda thought to herself pressing her lips together and looking at everything  but him.

Reiner looked at her. Emotions kept stirring in his head as if some kind of melting pot.

"I actually... Lied to mom that I just needed to pass you something. But I'd like to stay." - he said silently.

He felt like it might be a moment to joke.

"Just hope she wouldn't think we're bringing her plans into reality" - Reiner giggled.

Oh goodness, what have I just said. - he immediately furrowed and looked to the hallway just to look somewhere aside.

Out of all the possible jokes I just had to make this one, literally the worst. Didn't joke for few months already and shouldn't have started. Idiot - he scolded himself in his head.

"Just forget it. Stupid stuff." - he tried to somehow get out of the awkward situation he has driven himself into.

And how I am supposed to stay after such a stupidness I've just said.

"Well, maybe indeed I better go. So that... You know, no one would make inappropriate assumptions. Yeah" - he said and got up.

"Excuse me." - he added and grabbed his coat.