A/N: As you can see I'm making use of flashbacks, this is for two reasons: the first being that I am thirsty for the OTP getting to interact in a significant way and I'm sure you are too, the second reason being these are what I consider something of 'test runs' for the rewrite to include in the proper chronological point, with some adjustments to a flashback so it's not 100% the same. OK I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN ALRIGHT? So that means in a way I'm also making potential progress on the rewrite while still moving forward. I dunno, makes sense to me. Enjoy and may Prissner be with you.

Chapter 33: Normal things are treasures

The Earth turns, the sun rises

And you smile

Priscilla was hunched over with her hands on her knees, panting and sweating heavily after her punishment laps; but today was a little more intense than usual. On her own, she would slack on them when she started getting tired, but that day Reiner decided he would run along with her. However, it was more like sprinting than running, which is what got her more tired than usual.

"Wait, what?" She asked when he informed her of his intent, "You weren't ordered to run any laps."

"I don't think it's fair you're the only one getting punished," He replied, "I think I deserve my own share of it, so I'll do it with you."

Trying to keep up with Reiner was a task that exhausted her since he had a much easier time full on sprinting, he would constantly look back at her and shout words of encouragement to try and get her to catch up with him. Priss didn't want to disappoint him, so she pushed herself to the limit to keep up, but he was always faster. Eventually, he would slow his pace so he could run beside her, letting both of them ease up on the intensity of the sprints. In truth, he preferred it that way – he would rather be beside her than leading the way for her to merely follow. Priss found no insult in Reiner taking it slow so they could get a reprieve from the running following their usual daily activities. Still, the whole thing left her beat; Reiner was more capable physically than she was, but he still found himself breathing a little heavy and with sweat drops dotting his face too from the more intense periods of running he did to encourage her to give it her all.

"You doing okay there?" He asked with am amused smile. Without lifting her head, she merely raised an arm and gave him a wordless thumbs up as she continued to catch her breath. He chuckled as he started to approach her where he scooped her up in a single fluid motion into the way he would always carry her after her laps.

Her head installed lolled back and she let out a tired groan, all her limbs going limp as well. Reiner cocked his head to look down in the general direction of her face, which did have the bonus of having a view of her rising and falling chest and the shirt she never buttoned all the way.

"Shower time?" He proposed.

Priscilla slowly lifted her head and deeply exhaled before replying with a smile, "You bet."

He nodded back at her and then straightened out to keep his eyes forward as he marched towards their preferred showering spots. Night was quickly approaching at this point, but there was no reason to even suspect any danger lurking on the training grounds.

"Down ya go, princess."

Reiner was careful in making sure she got back on her feet properly, and even though she was still recovering, she somehow maintained that subtly graceful nature of her movement he was so used to seeing from her. With her standing on her own again, the two of them turned away to undress themselves before stepping into the stalls and starting up the water. Priss closed her eyes and let the hot water drench her from head to toe. The water soaked her hair and she kept her head down so it dripped from her bangs down her face. Reiner quickly got to properly soaping himself up to take care of the sweat build up from their joint running efforts. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her slowly raise her head up to look towards the clear night sky. The water pushed her hair from her face, slicking it back and revealing her green eyes and the light of the full moon reflected in them. Something about her seemed oddly disconnected from their current situation, prompting Reiner to try and get her attention.

"Priss?" He said, taking a break from washing himself and turning her way. His voice snapped her out of whatever strange trance she found herself in, shaking her head as if it rid herself from something that possessed her.

"Hmm?" She replied, turning to look at him, "Something wrong?"

"You just looked a little weird is all," Reiner explained, "Like you were lost in thought or something like that."

"Huh... I don't remember really thinking about much of anything..." She responded softly, and without much thought put into it, she dismissed the idea with a shrug, "Ah well, couldn't be that important then, right?"

"Right," Reiner agreed, "Just making sure everything's alright."

She let out a simple 'mhmm' as he returned to giving himself a thorough washing, however, he didn't touch his hair since he expected the focus of his affection to want to do it as she often did. Yet still she was oddly motionless until she started to start to get herself soaped up, but mere moments after she started to wash herself, the shower head sputtered and stopped working; the best it could manage was an impotent thin stream that would slow to a drip, and eventually ceasing to release any water at all. It was impossible for Reiner not to notice this too, Priss turned her head and looked towards him with a shrug.

"Well, guess I'll try another one..." She said. Priscilla didn't get super soapy – enough to want to rinse off but also a small enough amount that she could just wipe off with a towel. She spoke again, preceded by a defeated sigh, as she exited the stall and grabbed a towel, "Then again maybe that's a sign to forget it. If you don't want me sleeping in bed with you since my shower was... lacking. I'll just head to the girl's barracks."

Reiner turned around, resting his muscular arms on the top of the stall door, "Well first of all, I would never kick you out of bed for any reason," He began. Reiner noticed she looked pleased with a tiny smile, having already covered herself. While she was casually rubbing the remains of the soap from her body, something struck Reiner. His conscious mind told him what he was about to say was an obvious joke she would just laugh of, but there was surely some deeper layer of his mind lusting after something and it was manifesting is an all too real way... and before he could even consider stopping himself, his words fell from his mouth with no hint of irony as she had begun to walk away to dress herself.

"And second, why walk off or go into another stall when you can join me in here?" He asked with a confident smile, "How am I supposed to go on with my night without my girl washing my hair? And I'd be able to do yours too."

Priss slowly turned, only half way though, to look at him with a curious but devilish expression. It didn't take long for Reiner to realize what he told himself was a joke completely backfired; it was made all the more clear once she quickly dropped her towel, leaving her stark naked in the moonlight, which highlighted the wetness that remained on her skin.

"Yeah?" She asked, although it was more rhetorical than her actually asking him if he was serious. The grin on her face showed that she had no intention to turn him down.

The girl walked with an exaggerated swagger towards his stall, swaying her hips in an over the top way before she stopped in front of him. Reiner had frozen where he was, still leaning his arms of the door, but now they were practically nose to nose since she had closed the distance between the two of them. Once more all that separated them was some kind of divider, but this time, the way forward could be opened.

"Am I still invited in?" She asked quietly. Reiner kept his eyes locked on hers, just motionless for a moment, before he nodded to confirm and she responded, "Just making sure."

The blonde took a step back to allow Priss room in the stall, not that there was very much to begin with; they were intended for single-person use.

"So who goes first?" She asked as she closed the door and turned to face him, "For the hair I mean."

"I think doing mine first would be quicker, I've got a lot less of it," Reiner reasoned, glancing to the side while trying to keep his cool. Priscilla nodded and reached past him to grab the shampoo so she could get to work.

Despite their current unorthodox situation that would normally lead to something far more than just hair washing, Reiner found his gaze fixated on her face and nothing below that. Her own eyes were fixed on her task of squeezing the shampoo into her hand and then returning the bottle to where it sat before. Priss then reached up and started to lather his hair.

"This is way easier than how we usually do it," She said as her eyes kept on following what her hands were doing, "Maybe we should make it the norm."

Reiner hummed and let his eyes close as the suds started to make their way down his face. Her hands moved around from the sides and top of his head then reached around to the back of it. Reiner instinctively moved his head forward some, even though she didn't request him to, but he knew it'd make it ever so slightly easier on her. The sensation of her fingers running through his hair was so relaxing that his head ended up drifting so far forward he ended up resting it on her shoulder. Still, she said nothing, but her insides were twisted into a nervous knot now that she felt his warm skin against hers in an unexpected way.

"Can I ask you something?" He heard her murmur.

Reiner lifted his head again, "Yeah, of course."

"We're gonna be graduating before we know it," She began, still working her fingers through his hair gently, "You said the other night you were gonna join the Scouts with me. You said you wouldn't let me be alone... is that because you don't think I can manage that kind of life myself?"

Reiner quickly stepped back and furrowed his brow; he didn't expect such a wild question from her.

"No, of course not!" He insisted, "I want to move forward alongside you, I know you can take care of yourself."

"Oh, no no, you'd be right to think that I can't. It's like Sadies always says, I'm better off as Titan fodder or bait with how useless I am compared to anyone else in the 104th."

Reiner frowned at her bringing up how Sadies cruelly berated her whenever she performed exceptionally poorly; the fact that their fellow cadets picked up on it and would say that about her too made it all the worse. He cursed their commander under his breath for ever uttering those words. As he dwelt upon how terrible other people could be, Priss reached over and laid her arms across his shoulders, lacing her fingers together behind his neck.

"Having you as my protector is perfect, no way could any Titan gobble me up with you around. I need you, Reiner. What good am I without you at my back?"

Her viewpoint was rather baffling, but Reiner could tell she was serious and not just pretending she was okay with the idea that she needed protecting. Priss was always pretty self aware of where she stood in the rankings, but she never had her sights set on the military police anyway, so whether she ranked high or low didn't matter – she just had to make it through and graduate no matter where she was among the rest. Still, it did hurt a bit to hear her beat herself up so much – so harshly too.

"We'll have each other's backs," Reiner corrected her, "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Mhm, me neither..." She agreed with a loving look in her eye, one of such sweetness that Reiner's sense of being undeserving of it started to hit him harder and harder, "So anyway... didn't you say you were gonna do my hair too?" She added with a smirk.

Of course Reiner hadn't forgotten, but he had gotten caught up with that curve ball of a question she threw at him and all that followed. He quickly rinsed all the suds from his blonde hair that still lingered, then the two of them switched positions. Priss stood facing the shower head so he could properly get at all her hair while Reiner moved to where she previously stood: on the side of the stall door. It went surprisingly fluidly all things considered. With her back to him, Reiner got the bottle of shampoo and looked at her long, luscious hair wondering just how much he would need for her – he didn't have experience washing anyone's hair but his own.

Ehh... How much is too much? He wondered.

Reiner didn't want to keep her waiting, so he squeezed a liberal amount into his hands and set the bottle aside. The blonde then applied it to her scalp and started to lather it in from there, moving down the length of her shining locks that sparkled beneath the stars. Having spread it as much as he could, Reiner grabbed the bottle again to squeeze out some more. However, he paused for a thought for just a moment, before he held the bottle over her head and just squeezed with all his might.

"Ah!" Priss was shocked by the surprise amount of shampoo abruptly dumped on her head and jumped backwards in fright, bumping into Reiner who caught her to make sure she didn't fall and hurt herself. The now empty bottle fell to the ground.

"Haha! Did I scare ya?" Reiner laughed.

"Juuuuust a bit," She admitted, then added a slight bit of clarification, "Caught me off guard."

"You start zoning out again on me?"

Priscilla shrugged, but she was more focused on how she was casually leaning into Reiner and how nice it was to feel his strong body against her. She felt a certain something pressing up against her, but she chose to ignore it and sadly tore herself away from him as much as she'd rather linger there. She took a step forward back to her previous position and Reiner reached over to her head and started spreading the exorbitant amount of shampoo down through her hair, still putting in attention to her scalp too.

Probably over did it, He thought, But she seems fine with it.

It didn't take too long for Reiner to finish up with her hair, running his fingers through it to make sure the suds were gone from it's length; Reiner also thought he might find knots, but the fact that her hair was exceptionally smooth and silky left it tangle-free, for that evening at least. What he was most thankful for, was that Priss clearly took to pretending his wasn't aroused since there was no way she didn't notice.

"Think we should head back?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah, probably a good idea. But uh..." Reiner replied with a touch of awkwardness, "There's something I need to take care of first. I'll meet you back at the barracks once I'm done."

The girl turned her face forward again silently, but Reiner was positive she knew exactly what he meant – she wasn't stupid enough to miss something so obvious.

"Right," She murmured, "I'll have something to deal too with once I get back anyway. Shouldn't take me long."

"Same here," Reiner responded, not thinking much of what she said.

She spun around to face him, "Don't think I'll be going to sleep without you though," She added with a playful tone, "You know I can't anyway. So I'll be patiently waiting for you to... finish up."

Reiner couldn't be sure if he caught her winking at him or if a drop of water too close to her eye made it twitch, either way, when she made her move forward Reiner instinctively stepped aside so she could get out. The blonde's eyes lingered on her as she stepped away to get a towel to dry off and then move onto getting dressed – he had a strange fondness for how she had to do little hops while pulling up her pants to add force in getting them past her thighs and hips; it was just one of those cute things she did that he couldn't get enough of, though he felt a bit bad about it since clearly she had to do it due to the difficulty of what should be a simple task. He took note of the curious pace she took when departing, speedier than regular walking but not as much as jogging. Reiner hadn't put much thought into what her 'something' to deal with was since he was more than a little distracted with the business he had to deal with, so it was only occurring to him at that point that she was intimating she would be masturbating as well.

"I wonder if I should have asked her to..." He started, but quickly stopped himself and shook his head as his moral side quickly kicked in, "No, I can't get more involved than I already am. I'm in too deep as it is..."

Priss didn't know about him and his secrets, he knew it would break her heart and hurt her beyond belief if they were to really become a couple and have her find out what he is after the fact. She would hate him, they would be enemies without question once his secret was out, and there was no way it wouldn't come out in some way at some time eventually. As much as he wished he could keep her at a distance, Reiner was selfish and wanted to indulge in every drop of love she would pour out to him and but she was so fond of closing the gap between them anyway, and he ended up eagerly welcoming it due to how undeniably in love he was with her. Through all these conflicting thoughts, one ended up as his main focus as he started to jerk off: what would have happened if he asked her to stay and join him? The idea of it was exceedingly erotic, but also arguably inappropriate with him in the position he was in with his life.

...Still didn't stop him from thinking about her being the one to 'help him out' as he went and stroked himself, closing his eyes and envisioning her as he pleasured himself.

Back at the barracks Priscilla had decided to make quick work of her own need for release. She didn't even know why she bothered to put her pants back on since she knew they were coming back off and nobody else should have been awake anyway to see her walk in with no bottoms on. As much as she wanted to take her time and enjoy herself, she knew the better option was to finish herself off fast in case Reiner came wandering in before she was done; there was a thrill in the idea of him finding her in the throes of lust or even mid-orgasm, but she managed to take a reasonable stance on it.

Thinking about her beloved, especially in the steamy situation they were just in, made it effortless for her to climb and reach her climax swiftly. Priss was a real champ with knowing how to get herself off, and her fantasy that time was them back in the shower together, but instead of leaving she would get on her knees and suck him off instead of just leaving like she did. Her body shivered as her orgasm ended and once the waves of pleasure ceased, her body just went limp. Her panties hung from one of her ankles and in her post-orgasm haze she didn't feel like putting them back on properly yet – that is, until she eventually heard Reiner enter and head towards the bed they would share.

Priss scrambled to get her panties back on before he climbed up and saw her, and thankfully she managed it. She may not have looked very casual, but the panties were back on at least.

"Did I keep you waiting too long?" Reiner asked.

"Oh no, not too long at all..." She answered.

As he climbed into bed, he removed his green shirt that he knew she would happily grab – and she did – along with his other restrictive clothing in favor of his looser fitting pants he slept in. He did have a night shirt, but he had grown far too used to Priss nuzzling up to his bare chest to really use it when she was around. Priss made quick work of throwing her own shirt and bra off to the side and slipping into his green shirt. The two of them plopped down onto their backs and stared at the ceiling for a quiet moment, before being broken by Reiner.

"So did you have a good night?"

"Definitely," Priss instantly responded, "A little out of the ordinary, but it was the fun type of out of the ordinary."

"Just a little?" He said with playful disbelief, turning his head to the side. As he did, she shifted her whole body to face him, propping herself up slightly with her arm.

"Ok, more than just a little..." She conceded with a smile that was to die for.

Reiner chuckled then unexpectedly grabbed her, quietly uttering a "c'mere you" under his breath while she had to stifle a burst of laughter as he pulled her in close. Priss didn't want to end up waking everyone up, so she kept her mouth tightly shut while she was at the mercy of the man she loved so dearly. Reiner held her firmly, but not too tightly, he had her in that 'just right' spot of making her feel secure. His head came to rest near the top of hers while her face found it's home in the crook of his neck.

"Hey Reiner?" She whispered sweetly, holding him tightly too, "Are things always gonna be this way?"

He responded without hesitation, "Yes, of course." Following it with a kiss on her head. A kiss on the head or cheek here and there was innocent enough, at least that's what they told themselves.

However, Reiner knew he shouldn't have said that, and then in retrospect he had to wonder if she meant if things were always going to be stuck in this at times frustrating limbo state where they had very clear feelings for each other but never shifting into something more. If that was the case, he would feel pretty stupid for responding the way he did. He figured she was expressing a fondness for their exact moment in time, her tone of voice seemed to imply that, but now he wasn't sure. The wiser move would have been to ask her what exactly she meant, but he was caught up in the sensual moment and wrapped up in thoughts of romance.

"Priss? How did you...?"

The white haired girl was on her knees outside of Reiner's cell, gripping the bars tightly, where on the other side of the bars he knelt down to be at her level.

"Zeke distracted the guards and I snuck through," She panted, overwhelmed with anxiety over this stealth mission, "I don't think I have much time until he runs out of bullshit and the guards come back."

"Priss, you really are out of your mind sometimes," Reiner said, looking more concerned than anything.

A grin broke through her expression of panic, "When have I ever been one to follow the rules?" She replied, "If the military wants to punish me then they can go for it, I had to see you before you leave."

"You know about the war?" Reiner asked. He raised his hands up to the bars as well, slipping his fingers between the spaces of them. Her face was close enough so he could just barely brush his fingertips on it.

"Zeke told me. He's been giving me updates about what's going on with you when he can," She confirmed with tears starting to well up in her eyes, "I'm scared, Reiner. What am I supposed to do without you here? In this weird new place?"

"Listen, everything's gonna be alright. I promise," Reiner assured her in a soothing voice, "Knowing you and our little family will be waiting for me to return, I'll be able to win this war."

"You better... You better come back," Priss swallowed hard and started to weep. The word 'family' hung over her head like a storm cloud since she knew there would be no child, but as she discussed with Zeke, telling Reiner before he left seemed like a bad idea.

"I'll come back to you, I swear it."

As the first tear started to roll down her flushed cheek, he was just able to wipe it away with his fingertip. Priss then took one of her hands off the bars and carefully clung to the length of his fingers he was able to slip through the bars now that she'd made more space by moving hers away. She closed her eyes and rested her head against their fingers – the last real form of physical contact they would have for who knows how long. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"I know," Her voice was shaky as she tried to hold back her crying, "It just fucking sucks. We were supposed to always have each other's backs, and now... and now this is gonna keep us apart."

"Priss, you're a stronger woman than you give yourself credit for," Reiner urged, "And I know you'll be able to power through whatever comes your way, even if I'm not watching your back for a bit. I know you've got what it takes to stay strong without me physically here beside you. And you'll be able to write me letters, so we won't be entirely disconnected... That's, uh, kinda beside the point I'm trying to make, which is that you can do this, we can do this. We can both make it through and I believe in you... Just like I always have."

The white haired girl sniffled loudly, "I really should learn a thing or two from you. I've talked about it before, how I need to be better and grow up, but I haven't been doing a very good job yet. Here I am, crying like I always am, when I should be as much as a pillar of strength to you like you are to me. Times are desperate, I need to be strong for you. I'll write you letters and keep in contact like you said, and I'll do everything I can to make things the best they can be for when you come home. I don't know what you could possibly need from me when you'll be so far away, but if you think of something..."

Reiner laughed, "Send some photos with those letters."

Priscilla's face contorted in confusion as she asked, "Photos?"

"Remember that picture we found in your old home? A picture that wasn't a drawn or painted portrait, but a 'capture' of reality?" Reiner began and, after a moment of recollection, Priss nodded, "Photography is normal in the outside world you're in now. I'm sure someone will help you get your picture taken."

"Right, right... photo, photo..." She repeatedly mumbled the word a few times to plant it firmly in her memory.

As she murmured to herself, Reiner finally took notice of the red band on her arm, "So... You've got your mark as an honorary Marleyan."

Priss looked down at her left arm, almost as if she still needed to see it to believe it, "Yeah. It's hard to get used to wearing it. I forgot to wear it outside before, so Zeke and I had to go back home to get it before coming here."

"You got away with it without anyone reporting you?" Reiner asked.

"Yeah, honestly thanks to Zeke," Priss admitted, "He gave me his. Home wasn't far off, and he said that he'd be less likely to be reported due to his status as Warchief than a commoner like me."

"Still, that was pretty damn risky of him to do..." Reiner said, "I'll have to thank him for that."

"He's been acting very strange lately..." Priss added in a hushed voice, "I don't know what's gotten into him, but-"

"Oh, there she is!"

As they say: speak of the devil and he shall appear. Zeke had rounded the corner with the Marleyan guards who he couldn't hold up any longer. Both Priss and Reiner whipped their heads in his direction and wondered what the hell he was up to.

"See, that's my daughter. I brought her to Warrior HQ to show her around a bit like I mentioned, but then she goes and runs off..." Zeke spoke as he approached her and pulled her up from the floor carefully by her arm, "She's a real troublemaker. As soon as I turn away, she wanders off on her own."

As Zeke started to guide her away, his hand shifted from her arm to her hand, which made Priscilla's stomach turn in the worst way. She looked back at Reiner, who still was just as confused as she was. They weren't far apart yet to not be able to hear quiet utterances from the other, so they whispered 'I love you' to each other before she was lead away by an awkwardly laughing Zeke.

"Come on now, sweetie, daddy's been worried sick about you..." Zeke continued, speeding up his pace so they could get out of there as fast as they could.

Priss kept looking back to Reiner, who had gone from confused to defeated. To see her again was a great feeling, but to have her torn away again hurt him even more than he already had been. She reached out, continuing to mouth 'I love you' and he would mouth it back – which, while they wished they could have said it while closer together – felt like the perfect final words for them to exchange. Soon enough, Priscilla and Zeke rounded a corner where neither the watchful eyes of the Marleyan guards or Reiner could see them. They both remained silent until they were out on the streets again, where Priss furiously tore her hand away from his.

"God!" She exclaimed, holding her hands close to her chest as if that would protect them from Zeke, "Laid it on a bit thick, didn't ya?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Zeke asked as they walked.

"Yeah, which is weird because you're... how old again?"

Zeke looked beside him to the scowling girl, "I'm 25." He reminded her.

"Hah!" She laughed loudly, "Those guys must be new or not know that much about you. You're way too young for you to be my dad, so it really goes to show how you look more like a hard 50 than a proper 25..."

Zeke stopped and stood in front of her to keep her from walking ahead of him and said with utter embarrassment that he did his best to conceal, but he couldn't hide how much she just utterly ruined him, "I don't look OLD!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, you do actually. We all can't be blessed with graceful aging so you just gotta accept it," Priss spoke matter of factly, side stepping him and continuing on her way. However, after only a few steps she paused to look back at him with whimsical contempt, "And just so we're clear, don't expect me to ever call you 'daddy.' Besides..."

"Besides what?" He pressed.

"I mean, who's really gonna believe a woman would ever go near your nasty looking ass anyway? Best you'll ever get is that punch in the dick I gave you."

Zeke's head fell to stare at the ground which made Priss think she'd absolutely destroyed him, as immature as it was. However, she noticed him chuckling quietly.

"You know..." He began, slightly lifting his head again, revealing a smile, "You're definitely starting to sound like your old self again. Oddly enough, that puts me at ease."

Priss gave him a look of disgust before she declared, "That's because you're fucking weird and you make it too easy to pick on you."

Zeke straightened out the rest of his body and smoothed out his clothing, picking back up with walking. Priscilla followed him with her eyes as he passed her by, not knowing what to make of his response, which by his own admission was very strange.

"So tomorrow I'll take you out." He spoke.

"Excuse me?" She sneered in response, causing him to turn around to look at her again.

"You said you'd let me help you however I wanted if I got you to Reiner," Zeke reminded her, "I held up my end of the bargain, and your side of it is simple enough. The burden is still all on me when you think about it actually."

Priss narrowed her eyes at him, "Just being around you is a burden itself sometimes."

Again, her remarks amused him, "Keep that up, it's good progress."

With that, he escorted her back home where she gave him a curt good bye and good night with how baffled she was by how he was responding to her now. Zeke lingered outside her door after she shut it quickly behind her; he too wondered why he felt the way he did when she was cruel to him like their time being reaching Marley. He came back around to his original idea that there was some comfort in the behavior from her that used to be the norm before his newfound feelings sparked up thanks to a grievous tragedy. As Zeke turned and walked away, he pulled out a cigarette and lit up. It had been an eventful day and a cigarette to help him relax was a welcome treat for him now that he was alone. He convinced himself that he deserved it, indulging in the comfort of a habit, since he soon knew he had to meet with Anteros.

And Anteros was quite eager to see Zeke.