A Daathic Christmas
A Dist x Reiner Fan fiction
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The hallways of the cathedral were dim that day, but they always were; it was even darker then it was outside. The boy came down the steps two at a time to his destination, the tails of his uniform trailing behind him and a hand on his cylindrical hat so as not to lose it in his haste. He knew the maze of corridors by heart, easily finding the ones that lead him deeper and deeper into the bowels of the building. Finally, he met the last and opened the door without hesitation.
"Good morning, Master Dist!" he called cheerfully, his voice echoing off the copper and steel machinery that sat and hung of every available surface of the underground workshop, every surface except one desk that was instead covered in well drawn out blue prints. But the desk was alone, in fact there was not a soul in sight.
"Master?" he called again. A loud clunk of something dull striking metal came as a response. Reiner spotted a Kaiser Robot that had made the noise and quickly rushed over, knocking on round exterior.
On queue a hatch door opened on the top with a clang as it swung around to the other side, followed by a plum of black smoke. That didn't seem promising at all so the boy immediately scaled the ladder next to the large machine to pear inside the hatch.
A black figure popped out next, almost hitting the alter boy when he did. The stranger coughed a few times, then shook his head wildly, soot falling every where, revealing the snow white hair and pale skin it had coated.
"Are you alright, Master Dist?" Though this had happened before, Reiner was still worried one day he would kill him himself on one of his own machines one day.
"The engine needs to be remade from scratch." He grumbled, taking off his glasses and rubbing them in his shirt, only to find that the dirty cloth made it worse. Growling, he didn't even notice the boy until Reiner took his glasses from his hands to clean them in his own uniform.
"Ah, Reiner, where have you been?" he asked without much concern, his lavender eyes lost in his own thoughts about the problems of the blasted machine. "Didn't I call for you a while ago?"
The boy looked over the glass frames, checking his work before carefully sliding them back on the man's thin face. "I was shoveling the plaza outside, I apologize."
That caught the mechanic's attention, "In this weather? Who told you to do that?" Before he could answer Dist was already climbing out of the battle robot and touching a gloved hand to his cheek, "You're like ice; you're going to get sick. You have to learn to say no once in a while or they're going to work you to death."
The boy's smiles only brightened at the lecture, "That's so nice that you to worry about me, master."
The God General paused, then pulled away with a huff, "Well, if you get sick, you're no use to me." He gracefully pulled himself out of the failure of a machine and looked down with spite at his formally red dress shirt, now black as coal, before heading down the ladder. The boy followed loyally while his master rattled off a list of tools he needed to fix the "blasted pile of junk."
Reiner didn't mind the list or the errands he had to run; he had been working for Dist since the day he had come to Daath and knew the mechanic better then any one else. It had been a few years since the other flew in, begging to start research into fomicry for the order. He knew little about his past, just that he had some one very important to him named Jade, that was something he never feared speaking of… even if the rest was a mystery. Reiner could still remember how shy and remote the general had been when he first came, he was glad his master had gained such confidence as the years went by. Even if he was younger, he felt a kind of parental protectiveness towards him, and sometimes the same showed in Dist towards himself (even if he tried to hide it to protect his dignity). It was probably natural after all their years of working together.
"You seem more cheerful than usual, Reiner…" his master commented when the boy began to hum as he looked over his blue prints.
The boy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He hadn't realized he was so engrossed in his own thoughts, "T-that's because of the celebration tonight."
"Celebration?" His silk gloves thumbed through the papers as his lavenders eyes scanned over the words at fevered pace.
"Today is the eve of the anniversary of the birth of our savior, Yulia. Surly you haven't forgotten, Master? Van and the other generals are going to have a party and rest themselves after all they've been doing lately."
"Hmp…" Dist responded without looking up, "They're just lazy, using a holiday as an excuse."
"Not at all, Master. I think we've all earned some rest, just the fact that Van was able to form such an organization as the God Generals is impressive enough." The boy pushed the papers away from the Mechanic's calculating eyes, earning him a half hearted glare but he was willing to put up with it, "You need some rest more than anyone, Master! You've been working nonstop for days at a time; I don't even remember the last time I saw you sleep. If you collapse, it won't do your machines any good."
"If others want to relax, let them. I have work to do." He sighed and rubbed his temples, though he couldn't deny what the other had said, he honestly couldn't remember the last time he slept. "But I suppose it won't kill me. To take some time off down here… But I'm not going to any foolish party."
The boy smiled at the others submission to the request. "Yulia's birth is a time of celebration, she will be honored you took time out of your work for her."
Dist adjusted his glasses, a look of superiority shining through the lenses, "All this rubbish about Yulia and Lorelei and the score this time of year. It pains me the fools who put all their faith and hope into something that can even be explained. The world needs something more solid, something built on research and science, not all this religious ranting and raving, its going to get us all in trouble one day."
He halted in mid rant and looked at the boy with caution, as if he had just accidentally shot him or something of the sort. "Of course I didn't mean any of this with you, Reiner… I mean… you have dedicated yourself to the teachings, not the score, you're different. Besides as long as it doesn't interfere with my own research people can destroy themselves for all that I care, but still…"
"I know Master Dist." He tried not to chuckle at how awkward one of the great God Generals was acting. He had always known his master put his faith in science and machinery, he was opened minded enough to accept almost anything, as that was what he Yulia taught… but…
"Does this mean you don't celebrate the birth of Yulia, Master?"
"Not really, why?"
Now that was a disappointment, he had it all planned out so well. "Nothing, nothing… could you just… wait here for a second?"
Before Dist could question him the boy's boots were already franticly clacking on the metal floor as he sped out of the room.
"Reiner?"
The boy returned after a few minuets, a light pant to his breath. Dist was now sitting at his desk, going over the blue prints of his machine, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He looked up at the other with concern.
"I think you did catch something while you were shoveling snow, you're delusional." He commented, "Why did you run away?"
Reiner looked at his feet for a moment, shifting them as if they were fascinating to watch. The mechanic sighed, whatever was wrong with him, he obviously wasn't going to get an answer. His chair groaned on the metal floor as he got to his feet, but as soon as he faced the other he shoved something into his hands, almost making him stumble with the surprise.
"What's this?" he looked down at the bundle in his hands, a black, leather bound book with a red ribbon. He pulled off the sash and opened its gold leaf pages, flipping through them only to find each and every one blank.
"It's a journal." Reiner's voice was low, he hadn't expected to give the present to his master in person, but just have it anonymously delivered at the party. He had never felt so nervous about giving a gift before. He couldn't even meet the others eyes and just continued to stare at the floor. "It was supposed to be a present for the celebration. I know how much you enjoy talking, I thought you might want to write some of it down…"
Dist wasn't entirely sure how to respond, he hadn't received a gift since he was young. "Um… well… Thank you, Reiner."
But when he looked up the boy was gone again.
The Eve of Yuliea's birth was a time of great celebration and prayer all over Aldraunt, and that was never truer then in Daath. After a long service, the members of the order were free to do as they pleased, given a rare time of rest. With this extra time, a traditional part took place in the meeting hall so that friends among the order could enjoy each others company and the food provided by the church itself.
Usually Reiner looked forward to this day for weeks. He rarely left Daath so he enjoyed when visitors from all the branches of the order would come and tell him stories about heroes and inventions in far off lands. But this year, all the noise and laughter was dim in his ears. The nervous feelings in the pit of his stomach he had felt earlier still tugged at his mind. Rarely did he ever feel uncomfortable around his master… While others may have avoided the somewhat strange man, he had followed the mechanic long enough to know there were reasons behind his actions… even if he didn't know them himself. He had never giving Dist a present before, perhaps being so personal with someone so high above his rank made him uncomfortable, but he wasn't sure.
"Ooooh, what's got your face so flushed, Reiner?"
The boy noticed a short figure hopping next to him, "Oh, happy holidays, Miss Anise." He tried to smile but he was too distracted. Anise was new to the order; Mohs had brought her for some reason or another. She was lively and cheerful, quite a breath of fresh air in the stuffy order and they had become friends in her short time here. "I'm sorry, I just have something on my mind…"
"Ah, a holiday romance!" She bounced cheerfully, then crossed her arms and pouted, "Wish I had one."
"I'm sure it's nothing like that." He waved it off. It was true, he cared for his master, but more as a son, or father at times, it got hard to tell. Besides, an alter boy was not to let such matters interfere with his pious life, and to fall for someone of such a higher rank was almost laughable.
"Don't deny it, I see it in your eyes." Anise teased, "If you have something bothering you, you should go tell your special someone." She hugged herself to express what she was daydreaming, "And then you can snuggle and kiss in the snow."
He laughed, but it was dry, the fantasies of a young girl were something he did not want to be part of. Trying to change the subject he looked to the stain glass windows to see if it really was still snowing. A light gasp escaped his throat; silhouetted in the colored glass was an unmistakable shape.
"Excuse me, Miss Anise." He said quickly and headed for the door.
Reiner flung open the door to the balcony, he wasn't sure why he had been in such a hurry, the figure he had seen before was still there. Now he felt rather embarrassed at his rushed actions and his steps were much slower.
"I… I thought you said you weren't coming Master."
Dist glanced at his minion, then returned his lavender eyes to grey sky he had been staring at so intently. "I just wanted to watch the snow." He sighed quietly, not the drama filled way when he was trying to express how over worked he was. "I grew up in a place where it snowed often…"
"Snow can be very beautiful… It must have been a wonderful place to live."
"Snow can also be cold and destructive." His master's voice was a low monotone, which confused the boy as Dist usually wore every emotion right on his sleeve. He tried to change the subject, to get his mind off whatever painful events it was dwelling on, but what could he say?
"You look very handsome tonight, Master Dist." He said without thinking. The memory of Anise's teasing him about love immediately stuck back and a light blush came to his face. That should have been the last thing he said.
Thankfully his Master's vanity kept him from noticing, "Of course I do." He stated with a flip of his silver hair, "I always do, it is my nature." He was decked in a black suit with a bright yellow tie tucked into the font and violet tipped petals he had recently come accustom to wearing.
Reiner smiled, not wanting to remind him that just a few hours ago he had been covered in grease and soot from his machines. Besides he had noticed Dist was holding something in his other hand when he made the display. "You brought the journal I gave you." He stated cheerfully.
The god general looked down at the book in his hand, "Oh yes, I've already written quiet a bit. You left before I could thank you, Reiner. I wish I had gotten you a gift as well."
"I am just happy that you find it useful" His grin was now from ear to ear. He couldn't remember the last time his master had thanked anyone.
"No, you have been a very good companion to me for all these years. Even now, you could be celebrating with the rest of the order but you're out here talking with me." He glanced over his shoulder at the stained glass that separated the bustle of the church from the muffed silence of the falling snow. Reiner watched in slight confusion as he seemed to notice something about the window arch they were standing in, something that made him smile. A true smile on his master was such a rare event, it made those usual calculating eyes of his seem soft behind his lenses, he hoped one day that expression would be directed at him.
While he was distracted with his thoughts, the god general slowly strode over to his companion and with one quick, graceful motion, took his chin in his gloved hand. Slowly he raised his gaze up to meat his lavender eyes. Before Reiner even had a chance to blush, he gave him a light kiss, their lips barely meeting for but a second, but he was sure for that little moment his heart stopped beating entirely. When it was over, all he could do was look at his master in confusion, trying to ignore the butterflies that had suddenly took flight in his stomach.
As if to respond, Dist pointed upward, "I may not celebrate the holiday, but isn't it tradition to kiss under the mistletoe at this time of year?"
Reiner followed his lead and looked up. Sure enough, there hung the inconspicuous little piece of mistletoe, strung up by a red ribbon in the window arch that kept the snow off of them. He mentally cursed himself for not noticing it sooner, his eyes had been on his master all night.
"We should go inside; you're going to get sick in just that uniform." The god-general began to leave, but the boy franticly grabbed the sleeve of his suit, pulling him back. Acting quickly so his mind couldn't ponder if this was the right thing to do or not, he stood on his toes and returned his master's kiss with one of his own. He lingered, surprised the other didn't just push him, but had to leaving him quickly as he was sure the heat in his face would cause him to explode.
"H-Happy Holidays, Master Dist…" he said shyly, looking into the face of the mechanic for any signs if what he did was right or wrong.
Dist the Rose stared at him for a second, obviously thrown off by the pious boy's spontaneous action. After a moment, he smiled at him, an action that made those stirred butterflies do back flips in the other's stomach. "Happy Holidays Reiner. Next year I'll make you a proper gift."
As his master headed back for the door to the balcony, Reiner followed like a loyal pup. He didn't need a gift, as Dist had already given him one: his first kiss. The thought put a skip to his step, his first kiss was with his master, the person he cared for more then all others. He would probably remember this moment for the rest of his life, the moment he first realized he was falling in love.
Hey Mel here, This is just something short and cute I did for the holidays, for those who read it , I'm still working on "For A Foolish Dream" but my computer was fried for about two weeks so I'm a little behind, don't worry though . If you haven't read it and like Reiner or Dist, you might think of checking it out 3 Thanks again to My Jado for editing thins, Saphir is very happy
