Author's Notes:

First foray into this fandom, here goes nothing. Please keep in mind that I've bumped their ages up to 17-ish to make the spiciness a little more acceptable (although nothing too explicit), and that **SPOILERS** are inevitable, so read at your own risk. This chapter is seen through Reiner's eyes so some events may come off odd for you readers, but will be elaborated in later chapters when the perspective changes (hopefully). As always, please enjoy, and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Reiner's Mission

The mission is priority.

Nothing else matters.

"I'm here to save humanity."

Everything they do is for the sake of that vow.

And Reiner meant every word.

The rain poured relentlessly on the recruits as they trudged through the mud. Shadis was currently atop his horse marking their endurance during the exercise, eyeing them critically and with open derision. Reiner soldiered on with relative ease, the Marley Warrior Program was much more grueling that he considered the current training to be child's play. Of course his natural strength and stamina also played a part.

He watched as Armin lagged and panted with exhaustion while the instructor berated the weak boy. Weak he may be, Reiner had to give him credit – he wasn't a quitter. Once Shadis moved to the head of the group and away from the smaller blonde, the warrior slowed his pace enough to meet up with the trooper.

"We're being graded on this," the muscled boy grunted as he took Armin's pack, "focus on keeping up."

"Thanks Reiner, but wouldn't you get in trouble?"

This much is nothing, as a warrior, I have to play being a soldier. This is exactly the type of comradery and teamwork that's expected of us.

"Only if they find out. Just make the cut and we'll call it even."

He advanced several paces ahead of Armin despite carrying twice the burden, when he suddenly felt one of his packs being wrenched off his shoulder.

"I'm no one's burden!" And with a strength that surprised Reiner (and Shadis), the diminutive blonde ran to the head of the formation with reckless abandon.

Shaking his head, the taller blonde increased his pace and caught up with Armin, pushing him with his right shoulder to offer support, A soldier indeed…

Reiner glanced quickly behind him to monitor his fellow warriors and saw Bertholt keeping pace. He continued scanning the group and eventually caught sight of Annie, who seemed to be running alongside Eren Jaeger. He probably imagined it, but he saw her give the hothead a challenging look before sprinting and leaving him behind.

Eren's groan of frustration was heard clearly over the torrential downpour.

X X X

With a shout Reiner Braun charged at Eren, wooden knife poised to strike in a stabbing motion. Despite knowing the exercise and what it entailed, the large boy was still surprised when he suddenly found himself flipped off the ground and tossed into the dirt very roughly. The wind was knocked out of him and his back gave a very painful throb, How strong is this guy?!

Eren helped him up, "Jeez, how can you toss around a big guy like me?" Reiner said with a grunt.

"Sorry, I'm not good at holding back."

That doesn't really answer my question, "You're pretty familiar with brawling aren't you?

The boy in question shrugged, "Back in the day there was a bunch of bullies that always picked on Armin, as his friend I'm obligated to kick their asses on his behalf."

Reiner admired that, although his back disagreed as it gave another painful throb, "Alright, my turn to throw your face in the dirt."

As Eren prepared to attack he voiced his doubts regarding the training, "What's the point of this anyway? First of all, we're supposed to be learning how to fight titans, not other people. Second, only an idiot would fight someone else unarmed."

"Hey, don't let the instructor hear you," the blonde glanced around nervously, "and you won't always have a weapon you know, what then?"

"You run away. In real life…" Eren's eyes gave a faraway look of reminiscence, "this hand-to-hand technique wouldn't really work, I know."

Reiner chose to ignore the last statement, "I get where you're coming from," he sympathized, "but as soldiers," – I'm a warrior – "there will come a situation where retreat isn't an option. One day we'll be forced to fight with whatever we have; our bare hands, a cannon, the 3DMG, in order to protect something or someone. Because that's the responsibility of the strong. A soldier's responsibility…"

I've said too much, I'm a warrior. A WARRIOR!

"Urgh, I'm being a preachy smartass, let's get back to training." Reiner took a stance to prepare for Eren's attack when he saw Annie within his periphery, We're both warriors, it's our job to complete Marley's orders, and to do that, we need to blend in as soldiers. Forming a plot to force the girl into integrating herself within the 104'th Trainees, he grabbed Eren and roped him in the plan.

They seemed to get along during that marching exercise in the rain. The muscular blonde caught up and blocked the slacker as she snuck around the enclosure, "If Shadis sees you lazing about, he'll headbutt you and make you even shorter than you already are."

The murderous glare Annie Leonhart sent his way almost scared him off the plan. Almost. Grabbing Eren by the shoulders he placed the unsuspecting boy in front of him. Reiner knew the petite girl's close combat prowess – she was granted her titan powers because of it after all – but he felt that it was only fair considering the boy's inability to hold back.

A plan to solidify Annie's position as a soldier and give Eren a taste of his own medicine? He deserved medals for this! "C'mon, let's get started."

The petite girl took a stance unrelated to the exercise which caused the oblivious attacker to question whether she'd succeed or not, but Reiner knew better, and all he could do was watch in anticipation. Within the blink of an eye Eren was on his knees, clutching his shin in pain.

"Can I go now?" Annie asked with annoyance.

That's barely any interaction, you're not doing a good job being a soldier, "Not yet! The drill is to get the knife and he's still holding it." She sighed and approached Eren with determined strides.

"Hey, wait!" Eren's panicked pleas was testament to the warrior's strength and intimidation, "Wait, Annie, there's a proper way to do th – GUH!"

With a sweeping kick the once aggressive boy was flung into the air and dropped to the ground, he landed in such a way that his legs were above his head. Good, good, Reiner thought, these two people that can't hold back should be able to bond over this and –

He instinctively caught the wooden knife that was thrown his way, "Your turn." The two words from Annie Leonhart put the fear of death into the towering form of Reiner Braun.

He tried to mumble an excuse, a reason to be spared, when Eren sealed the nail on his (proverbial) coffin, "Do it, Reiner. It's your responsibility as a soldier to teach her, isn't it?" He spoke from his awkward position.

"You're right, there are situations where a soldier can't walk away." He gripped the wooden knife tightly, "This is one of them!"

And he was flipped in a similar fashion as his predecessor.

Reiner's head was spinning and his ears were ringing slightly, having landed on his head harder than anticipated. He watched Annie and Eren talk but couldn't make out the conversation in his delirious state, although it appeared that they were speaking very intently with each other – mission accomplished.

The pair eyed the rest of the recruits when the girl suddenly lunged at the surprised soldier with the wooden weapon, which Jaeger was able to hold at bay; proof of his aptitude in hand-to-hand combat. Applying a learned technique, Eren pulled and it looked as if he was about to win, until Annie reversed the roles and flipped him on his back once again. She straddled his torso quickly and pushed the wooden implement down his exposed throat, which the boy struggled against.

The bulky warrior fought to stand up, That's excessive, I found you camouflage, don't go scaring him off!

"I'm not stupid enough to derive amusement from playing soldier in this shitty world." She stood up and walked away from the defeated two.

"You're definitely not cut out to be a soldier." Reiner said to her retreating form as he nursed his sore head.

X X X

Dinner that night was an exciting affair as Eren and Jean looked very close to trading blows. Reiner continued eating but kept a close eye on the situation, prepared to stop them if it got too serious, Fellow soldiers shouldn't be fighting each other after all. Punches were about to be thrown when he noticed a glint in the hothead's eyes, before witnessing Annie's earlier technique in action. Eren didn't flip Jean excessively like she did earlier, but it was enough; the latter was silenced long enough to be lectured and humiliated in front of the entire group of recruits.

"Anyone care to explain what that loud noise was?" Keith Shadis' sudden and menacing entrance brought the room to a sudden hush. No one had an answer for the strict instructor.

Except for Mikasa that is, "That was just the sound of Sasha farting, sir."

Reiner nearly spat out his drink and everyone else struggled with trying not to laugh, "You again… Learn some self-restraint will you." And Shadis was gone as quickly as he came.

The din returned and laughter finally reigned free, the listless Mikasa appeased the slighted girl beside her with an offering of bread, which she gladly stuffed into her face. The muscular warrior returned to his meal, glad that the situation was defused successfully. Jean and Eren continued bickering, but he knew that no more violence would ensue for the rest of the night.

He noticed Annie step out of the mess hall and moved to follow her, when Eren beat him to the chase. Heh, guess the boy's not easily scared…

X X X

A few days later, Reiner watched with amusement as Jean applied himself to hand-to-hand combat training against Marco, knowing full well that he wants revenge for the humiliation Eren bestowed him. He was currently training with Bertholt while keeping an eye out for his fellow warrior, whom he hadn't really spoken with recently. Mildly surprised, he saw Annie standing alongside Eren having a seemingly polite conversation.

Good, with this, we've solidified our positions as soldiers, glancing at his friend, he noticed a look of suspicion in his eyes directed at Annie's companion. Reiner nudged the boy and beckoned him to continue their training as a distraction; he knew that the quiet warrior was infatuated with the petite blonde. Unfortunately, he also knew that Annie wasn't interested, but held on to hope on behalf of his taller friend.

He wasn't exactly sure what happened, but Bertholt's eyes widened with shock while staring at the pair, and felt compelled to observe what caused the reaction. But Reiner wouldn't be given any answers, because as soon as he turned around to look, all he saw was Eren being kicked in the legs and being flipped once again. Shrugging, he signaled for his partner to start.

Bertholt Hoover charged at him with the wooden knife.

X X X

It's been several months since Reiner enacted his plan and lately, it appeared that when one saw Eren Jaeger, Annie Leonhart was soon to follow and vice-versa. One day he was able to question her discretely after 3DMG practice.

"You know, you didn't have to agree to train with him."

Annie sighed in frustration, "First you want me to blend, now you're berating me for following through?"

"Just remember that we're warriors. Remember what the plan is."

The girl zipped away without a word.

Hours later, after they were dirty and sweaty from maneuvering all afternoon, Reiner and Bertholt saw Annie and Eren sitting on the fence conversing, although about what, they didn't know. They continued walking and paid them no mind, She's doing a good job fitting in after all.

X X X

He never meant to eavesdrop, Reiner just wanted to speak to Annie and suggest that she befriend more people and not get too close to Eren. However, in the end, he did exactly just that, hiding behind a large tree while the girl was speaking to the very person he wanted her to distance herself from.

"All I want to do is go back to my hometown." The blonde said in a forlorn voice.

Eren replied with such gentleness that Reiner wouldn't have believed who spoke if he didn't know better, "I'll help you with that, even if it's the last thing I do."

Annie chuckled, "Weren't you going to destroy all the titans? You'll probably get killed helping me out."

Now it was the boy's turn to chuckle, "I'll kill all the titans inside Wall Maria first, it's only logical, so that'll let you go back home, then the rest of the titans outside the walls."

"Logical," the normally quiet one laughed, "sure, I'll hold you to that." Mirth was evident in her voice.

"You should." He replied with a whisper as he moved closer to the petite girl.

"Eren…"

And Reiner ran away as silently as he could, leaving the two to their own devices. She's solidifying her position here, it's fine.

X X X

"They're too close." The tall warrior complained to Reiner.

"She's blending in, stop worrying."

Bertholt was currently carrying a large bundle of sticks while he himself carried a pail of water in each hand. Off in the distance they spied Annie and Eren sparring, although it was more along the lines of the boy getting knocked flat on his back and Annie straddling his bruised body. The recruits recently finished training for the day and tomorrow was a rest period, which meant they were free to do what they wanted: Bertholt and Reiner chose to prepare a hot bath for the group, while everyone else was lounging and relaxing.

Testament to his leadership skills, the muscled blonde was able to persuade everyone to gather broken basins (there were quite a lot scattered throughout the camp) and jury-rig a pool, so long as he took care of the filling and heating of water. Agreement was unanimous and Bertholt dutifully aided Reiner in his endeavor, although with the constant stream of complaints regarding Annie and Eren, the leader was slightly regretting roping him in.

"Where's Mikasa and Armin anyway?" The former griped, "Shouldn't they be hanging out with him?"

Reiner did his best to ignore the grumbling and continued the arduous task of filling the large makeshift pool with water. Grabbing the sticks from his friend, he threw them into the already burning pile underneath the water and tested the temperature, Just a little bit more.

"Look! His hand is practically between her breasts!" Bertholt growled.

This Reiner had to see, "I don't know if you're looking at the same thing as me, but Eren's currently trapped in an armbar. His elbow's so close to snapping that Annie's chest is definitely the last thing on his mind."

The boy's howl of pain was enough to appease the tall warrior's complaints.

The muscular blonde made his way to the dorms to announce that the water's good enough to swim in, causing everyone in the 104'th to cheer and sprint outside where the makeshift pool was. They all stripped down to their undergarments and hopped into the warm water, followed with a chorus of loud contentment. It also gave them a view of Annie and Eren's sparring session, with the latter getting soundly beaten and sporting a bloody nose.

"Oi, stop with the foreplay and come join us!" Connie shouted just as Sasha dunked his shaved head underwater.

The comment made Bertholt seethe and prompted Reiner to take action, "He's kidding, let's just enjoy swimming, alright?" With a nod the tall boy ignored Connie's comment.

With the pool warm and the swimming pleasant, everyone largely ignored the bloody pair except Reiner who was prepared to intercept his friend and divert him should things get too suggestive. Despite the self-imposed responsibility he was enjoying the entire affair, Krista's just too damn cute, even with Ymir constantly blocking me from getting a good look at her, it's not hard to see that she's perfect.

The adorable girl's momentary distraction was enough to make his vigilance slip that the next time he observed Annie and Eren, Reiner nearly had a heart attack. There, against the tree, the boy had the blonde pinned, her arms above her head, usually pale cheeks flushed – whether from exertion or otherwise he didn't have a clue – while his own face hovered a little too closely to hers.

Mikasa's growl shook him out of his bewilderment and he tackled Bertholt causing both of them to sink to the bottom. The sudden act caused pandemonium within the group and questions were being thrown left and right, while Connie flailed his arms comically. The duo surfaced with a splutter, "What was that about, Reiner?"

Looking back at the tree he saw that the sparring pair disappeared and was nowhere in sight, his tall friend gave him a look of confusion. Reiner gave a sigh of relief, although Armin was panicking, "No, Mikasa!" The minuscule boy was holding on to one of the black-haired girl's arms and appeared to be trying to hold her in place, but to no avail.

"I'll kill her." The girl said with barely concealed malice.

"You can't!" Armin was dragged with ease as Mikasa attempted to exit the pool, all the while Jean looked on dejectedly.

Guess they saw it too, I can't let her destroy Annie's cover, "You guys saw that huh?" He announced loudly, causing all eyes to point at him. The sudden attention made him nervous but the raging Mikasa suddenly stopped, which meant he couldn't ruin the opportunity. "Eren used his environment to get an attack on Annie, that was creative of him."

Armin stared at him with disbelief, while Bertholt looked disinterested at the idea of Eren getting one over the person he was infatuated with. Most present didn't see what transpired and brushed off the odd event, they chose to resume swimming.

"Eren is getting stronger, that's good." And the Ackerman sank back into the water, while the blonde gripping her arm merely stared at Reiner with incredulity.

"He probably just got lucky, Annie's very strong." Bertholt mumbled just loud enough for the two warriors to hear.

Reiner gave a noncommittal nod and thanked the Walls the lie worked.

X X X

It was late into the night and Reiner hasn't seen either Eren or his fellow warrior. Bertholt was currently asleep with his legs propped up against the wall; it made for an interesting sight. Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy the oddity, currently suspicious regarding the whereabouts of Annie and her sparring partner.

Where the hell could they be? Has Eren discovered that Annie's a warrior? No no, Eren's practically in love with her, he wouldn't suspect her of anything! Maybe they beat each other up too much and they can't move?

His thoughts became more and more paranoid and he could no longer just lay in bed. Reiner got up from his bunk, donned his boots and a light coat, and exited the dorms as quietly as possible. The night was dark and the moon offered no help, being merely a very small fraction of what it could be. But it was enough for him and he trudged along in the dark, heading towards the forest where the two were sparring earlier.

What if Annie told Eren everything? What if she couldn't take being a warrior anymore and defected?

The muscular warrior broke into a cold sweat as his thoughts turned to exceedingly dire scenarios for himself and Bertholt. He nearly broke into a run until he saw firelight off in the distance, stopping him in his tracks.

Isn't that where we had our weird swimming pool this afternoon?

Sneaking closer to the source of light, he could make out two figures swimming and heard hushed conversations between them. Reiner dropped into a crouch and found a nearby bush to hide behind, repeating his actions from those weeks ago. From where he was he saw a pile of clothes down to the undergarments, meaning they were completely naked in the pool.

The pair was also much too close for his comfort.

Sighs and wet kisses were very audible in the quiet night, punctuated with the odd dialogue and splashing water. And because of the bush's proximity, Reiner could also see everything in greater detail; the way they smiled gently towards one another, how they closed their eyes before each kiss, and how their foreheads never left each other's contact. Both had luminescent blushes as they savored the intimacy.

Fuck… what should I do?

"Where should we do it?" Eren asked as he kissed Annie's exposed neck.

The girl moaned, "Here?"

"Nah, dirty water." He continued his ministrations, "My bunk?"

"We're not gonna have sex while surrounded by a dozen snoring boys." She nibbled on his ear.

"Your bunk?"

"Ymir's a light sleeper," she bit harder eliciting a groan from the boy, "she catches us and we'll owe her until death."

The couple continued their contemplation when the sound of a twig snapping put them on alert.

Shit, was that me? No, I haven't moved from this spot! Reiner was in a conundrum: should he stay and continue his observations to ensure that Annie didn't break cover, or should he leave before he gets discovered and be branded as a pervert?

"Just the sticks burning," Eren reasoned.

"Are you sure?"

"Nope." Their kisses increased in intensity and Reiner knew there and then that he should leave.

I'll trust her on this one, this is something I really DO NOT want to see. The warrior dropped onto his stomach and proceeded to crawl back the way he came, Still, her deception is more than sufficient, talk about dedication. A loud moan from Annie interrupted Reiner's thoughts, prompting him to increase the pace.

As soldiers, there will come a situation where retreat isn't an option – thankfully this isn't one of them.

FINI

Who should catch them next?