"We will take turns keeping watch. Be ready to leave four hours shy of daybreak."

While the veteran Survey Corps members were keeping watch outside the tower, the group from the 104th Training Corps sat around a small fire in one of Utgarde castle's many rooms. Reiner, Bertholdt, Krista, Ymir, and Connie discussed the strange events that had occurred that day. "We couldn't find a single survivor..." Connie was telling Ymir and Krista about the state of his village, about his hope that everyone had made it out without getting devoured.

Reiner felt sick, hearing Connie speak about his village with such hope. He needed to walk away. Of course, he couldn't tell Connie how futile his hopes were. He couldn't tell his friend that he would never see his entire family ever again. Frustrated, he got up from his seat and began walking around the castle. Perhaps he could find something they would be able to use. After climbing a few flights of stairs, he found a room with several crates and determined they might be worth searching.

He had begun to open one of the crates when he heard a voice. "Reiner?" He looked over his shoulder, not realizing that he had been followed. He relaxed when he saw that it was Krista.

"Oh, hey Krista. I didn't hear you come in," Reiner said as he watched her as she crossed the room to him. She moved slowly, without making eye contact.

"I saw you come up here alone, and I thought you might want some company," Krista stopped a few paces from him. She had always been especially kind to him, and he considered the possibility that maybe she was the one who wanted his company. He thought to himself that that was a wildly-optimistic hope to have, but he couldn't help it. He loved having her around.

"Do you remember Hannah and Franz?" She looked at him then, but when their eyes met she averted her gaze so that she was looking at the floor.

"Of course," he replied hesitantly. "They were inseparable when we were all in the Training Corps together." Reiner thought about them for a moment. He tried not to think too often of their fallen comrades. Hannah, Franz... Marco... and all of the others who had perished. He found it was easier to keep moving forward if he didn't think of his crimes - if he pretended they had never happened.

"I think about them a lot," she started softly, almost as if she was talking to herself alone. She met Reiner's eyes before continuing. "It's really such a shame what happened to them...They were never honest about their true feelings for each other. They died – without ever getting to really be together." He remembered seeing Hannah desperately trying to revive Franz' corpse despite it being a lost cause, whisperingfeverishly. Franz never heard her words though, he was already dead. It was only hours before all hell broke loose that they were blushing and giggling while fervently denying their feelings for each other. They had all laughed then, he remembered. Reiner shuddered. They had both died at Trost. He had been at least partly responsible for their deaths.

"I..." Krista continued shakily "I don't want that to happen to me... I want to be honest for once in my life. All of us may die tonight, here in this castle if titans have really breached Wall Rose."

This took Reiner off-guard. He had never thought of her as dishonest. Krista had always been the kindest member of the cadet corps, the most selfless. He had been in awe of her for years now, as long as he'd known her. To him, she was a goddess – perfect in every conceivable way.

Before he could think more about her words, she had closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her head to his chest in an embrace. Initially, this shocked him and he didn't know how to react, stammering awkwardly. After a moment he settled his arms around her, trying to remain calm. There had been moments during training that Reiner had wanted to kiss this girl, but it had never happened. The opportune moment had never come. He brought his right hand to her face, tilting her chin up to look at her eyes. His heart froze with the realization that she was crying. Tears were streaming down her face, some falling onto his shirt. 'She is so beautiful,' he thought. He was only partially aware of himself as he leaned down, and pressed his lips to hers. An indescribable feeling rose within him when he realized she was kissing him back – the girl of his dreams was in his arms, holding him – kissing him. He began to lose himself in the moment.

There was a sudden commotion downstairs, breaking the silence that had engulfed them as their lips locked. It sounded like the others were getting into an argument, and Ymir could be heard laughing hysterically. Reiner and Krista broke from their kiss for a moment as the muffled laughter from downstairs startled them. How long had they been here together? Reiner looked down at Krista and his spirit soared at the sight of her smiling – at him. Her face was still tear-stained, but the tears were no longer falling from her eyes. Almost instinctively, he wiped his thumb across her right cheek- and then the left, erasing the remnants of her fear and sadness. He smiled down at her wordlessly. The look she had in her eyes could make him crazy.

In response to his smile, she threw herself at him again. Their lips locked once more, in a kiss that was far less chaste, less measured and careful. He was overwhelmed by the sweetness of her, her taste in his mouth. This kiss seemed to last an eternity, and he didn't want it to end. In this moment he didn't care about home, or whether he would ever return. He didn't care about the future. He would be perfectly content to stay in this moment for the rest of his life – her mouth on his, her hands in his hair, his hands on her waist.

Lost in the moment, he came back to some kind of awareness when Krista started to kiss his neck. He felt his hunger for her enflame as her lips touched his skin. Every nerve in his body was lighting up in ways that he had never experienced. He pulled away, breathlessly whispering "Krista... we-"

"No." She interrupted him firmly. "Reiner- I want you to know who I really am," she paused, considering something. "My real name is Historia... and I want..." She paused again, finding the words she we would use. "I want to be yours. I don't want to have any regrets about the things I never said or actions I never took. If I die tonight, tomorrow, or in a year... I want to have been honest with you. You are so dear to me Reiner... I can't bare to leave these things unsaid any longer. Neither of us is invincible, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you – and you never knew what was in my heart - or how much I care for you."

Reiner's heart leaped every time she said his name. "...Historia..." he repeated, feeling the name roll off the tongue pleasantly. "It's beautiful." He swallowed nervously. "I... care for you as well, Historia. I never thought you... cared for me in that way... but I always wanted to tell you..." He was a stammering mess. Guilt struck him with the realization that she had no idea who he truly was, that he was a traitor – someone who had infiltrated her home and brought hell with him. She wasn't a monster, or a devil - as the people back home would have him believe. She was an angel, one whose character could only be described in a positive light. 'I may be a traitor,' he thought. 'But my heart is still mine to give.'

Historia smiled up at him, and quickly kissed his cheek before turning around and walking away from him. Reiner felt panic rise up within him and wondered if he had said something wrong. 'Wait...' He pleaded silently. Historia walked only a few more paces until she was at the door to the room, lowered the bar on the door, and then turned back around, blushing, "I figured we would want some privacy".

A deep blush crept across Reiner's face and neck when he realized what she was implying. "I..." He was at a loss for words. He had never been with a woman... he had never even kissed anyone before tonight in this castle. "Historia..." He remembered her words, 'We could die tonight' and 'Neither of us is invincible' and the fear left him entirely. They lived in a cruel world, and taking anything for granted would be foolish. He couldn't assume he would have a tomorrow, or that she would be safe. The thought of Historia dying simply destroyed him. 'I can protect her,' he thought to himself. With that in mind, he took her into his arms once more. 'I will protect her.'

They were both broken, each in their own way.

Together they were whole.

Afterward, the two of them lay on the floor for some time. They had redressed, in case they needed to move quickly, but they were content to just lay in each other's arms, talking, finding comfort in one another.

"Why have you been calling yourself Krista all this time?" Reiner asked, twirling a lock of Historia's hair between his fingers. Contentedness like he had never known had washed over him, and he was no longer troubled by the thoughts that had haunted him.

"It's a long story...and pretty terrible..." She hesitated, looking conflicted.

Reiner felt guilty for asking, as he observed her face take on a dark expression.

"I was never supposed to exist," she continued, her voice just above a whisper. "I was born a bastard of who I assume was some wealthy nobleman. He was already married when he met my mother... I ruined her life the day I was born... I was a burden to her, one she could never love."

Reiner was pained to learn this... it didn't make sense that someone like Historia could come from such an unpleasant upbringing, devoid of love. He wanted to provide comfort, but he didn't know what to say. "That's terrible... are either of them still a part of your life?"

"I never met my father," she stated emotionlessly."My mother is dead. She was killed in front of me when I was a child. I still don't really understand.. I was just a kid... but a tall man from the government came to us shortly after Wall Maria fell, and killed her... he slit her throat... They were going to kill me too I think... I don't know why they didn't. That's when I was given the name Krista, and sent off to enroll in the Training Corps. I suppose they figured I would be no trouble to them if I was out-of-sight in the military. They probably hoped I would get myself killed on my own," Historia stared off at nothing in particular, remembering.

"I'm sorry Historia... I am so sorry," Reiner was at a loss, and didn't know what to say. It dawned on him that he could relate to much of what she had said. "I was also born a bastard..." He had to be careful about what he revealed here, but he needed her to know that she wasn't alone, that he understood. He wished he could tell her everything. "My mother was the one who raised me." He thought of being a child, in his old room and sitting on his mother's lap. He remembered the stories she would tell him, the promises she made. "My mother would always tell me that someday, my father would come back to us and that then we would get to be a family again," he paused, pained at the memory. He had loved his mother dearly then. She had been his whole world, the one person he knew he could always count on- but those were a child's thoughts. "She made me believe that if I became something worth a damn, my family would be whole again... but it was never that simple."

Reiner had never told anyone about his mother, and the things she had said to him, the things she made him believe. He had tried not to think about her for the last five years that he had spent in these walls. He felt a sadness deep within him - he would likely never see his mother again at this rate. He wondered what her life was like now.

"I found my father a couple years before enlisting in the cadets," he continued. "The reunion was... well... underwhelming... He didn't know I existed... and he definitely preferred that I didn't exist."

Historia was staring up at him with sympathy now, her beautiful eyes filled with concern. "Is your mother still alive?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, aware of the fact that he wasn't entirely certain it was a lie. "With what happened to my village, I assume she isn't... but I have never seen anything to make me think she is dead or alive. Though, I am beginning to think I am better off without a family."

"Reiner, you do have a family," Historia's eyes were aflame as if she knew for certain that there was no questioning her words. "You have a family that loves and respects you – they are my family too. Bertholdt obviously cares for you, and then there's Eren, Armin, Connie, Sasha, Jean – they all look up to you like a brother and respect you a great deal. They may not be your blood, but they are your family" she stopped for a moment thoughtfully, "And you have me. You have my heart." She rolled over so that she was leaning over Reiner, who was laying on his back. She squeezed his hand and pressed it to her chest, as she kissed him once more.

While Reiner found immense comfort in Historia's arms, her words hurt him more than she could ever know. He was a warrior, masquerading as a soldier. His so-called family would label him a traitor if they knew even a small fragment of the truth. Historia would see him as a traitor, a betrayer. 'She would despise me' he thought mournfully to himself. He could almost feel his heart freeze over at that realization. No matter what he did from this point, he would still be a traitor.

"EVERYONE WAKE UP! GET TO THE TOWER IMMEDIATELY!"

"That was Lynne! Let's go!" Historia exclaimed, as they both leaped to their feet and rushed out to meet the others at the top of the tower.