Pieck

"Tobias"

"Here."

"Mohamed"

"Here Miss."

"Elizabeth Anne."

"Here."

"Right," Pieck mumbled as soon as she was finished with the morning call roll and placed the year - seven names' file in the far end of her desk before she pulled her lesson sheets out of her satchel bag.

"Alright, everyone! Today, we're going to continue where we left off last week with Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 5 – Mary Bennett ..." She skimmed through her copy to the required page "Kelvin?" She searched for the thirteen-year-old boy in question before she spotted him on the far end of the classroom "Would you please read for us?" She asked in a gentle tone, smiling encouragingly.

Kelvin was a smart but, very timid boy whose parents have confided in her at the beginning of the school year about his reluctance when it came to speaking in front of an audience. Pieck asked then, with a bit of hesitation, if their child had social anxiety. She wasn't surprised when his father firmly shook his head in response before providing her with a curt "No." Pieck didn't miss the way his wife's mouth opened momentarily, as if to contradict her husband's statement, but refraining from doing so upon seeing the change in his demeanor at the sensitive subject. Pieck decided then that she didn't need to have an exact diagnosis to know that she had to educate herself on how to provide a safe learning experience for her student. That included her making sure to mention to him beforehand each time she intended for him to read in front of the whole class and check whether or not he would be alright with it. She was relieved to see him responding gradually but surely to her encouragements and so, such situations didn't end up with him feeling overwhelmed as often as they did the first weeks.

She nodded softly to the young boy as he held his own textbook with slightly trembling hands, assuring him in the process that it was okay to take his time. He tried to breath normally for a few minutes before beginning to read in a steady voice.

"Pride...is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have ever read... "

As Pieck heard the familiar passage that she had already memorized by heart after having taught it to multiple classes throughout the last two years, Pieck allowed her mind to wander a little bit.

It was still the beginning of the week but, she was feeling oddly tired. She didn't remember doing anything during her weekend that would be considered physically exhausting. As a matter of fact, she would consider it a pretty chill weekend, seeing as she spent it snuggled in front of the TV, a mug of hot cocoa clutched in her hands. She'd been done with her markings earlier than expected on Saturday night, the wine she had had that night relaxing her enough so she didn't end up sending the pile of sheets flying each time she had to correct a quote or fill a sentence with a missing preposition – a habit she realized that most of her students shared and that even after a whole semester, they showed no intention of fixing it. Her night only got better afterwards, or at least she hoped it would, at the time, when Reiner came back home earlier from his...date.

"You're...back," she said then, barely hiding the questioning tone from her remark. "You've barely been gone for two hours."

Reiner was silent for a few moments as he proceeded to shrugging off his jacket and peeling off his boots, each hitting the wall with a loud thud – something that Reiner would never usually do, as he was the most organized between them both. That observation alone made her feel wary and her mind instantly thought back to that time he came back home, an angry bruise on his neck and his face contorted with rage. Her eyes instinctively went to his neck that was well exposed then by the lack of a jacket and, she felt relief wash over her as she noted the absence of any mark on his pale skin. However, she couldn't help but feel worried that something might've had happened. She was briefly reassured when Reiner turned to look back at her, a smile plastered on his face.

"Did you eat?" He asked her before walking to the kitchen without waiting for her answer and seconds later, she heard him pull the fridge open.

It took her herculean, mental efforts to not comment on how utterly rude his date was if he didn't bother to take him out for dinner or at least offer him anything for the sake of being courteous but, she had a feeling that her catty observation wouldn't be well-received.

"Yeah, I had tofu Chow Mein. I've put the leftovers in a Tupperware and left it to cool on the countertop." She said instead and soon after, she heard the sound of the container popping open followed by a rummaging through the kitchen's drawer for clean utensils.

Reiner soon reappeared by her side, a carton plate in his hand and a glass of wine held in his other. He plopped down unceremoniously on the couch by her side, cursing under his breath as he spilled a bit of wine on his jeans.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, the only sounds that could be heard were of chewing and the show that Pieck had been trying to focus on, albeit to no avail. How could she when her racing thoughts all revolved around her friend's evening and the reason for which he was adamantly refusing to talk about it.

Reiner had long been done with his dinner, the clinking of his fork on the wooden coffee table jarring her from her anxious thoughts. She gave him a side glance and watched as he sunk back into the cushions, still nursing his half-finished glass of wine in his hand, swirling the liquid while he stared at the screen in front of him without apparent interest.

Pieck returned her gaze to the show playing on their TV, fruitlessly trying to remember the prior events that led to the main character being covered up in blood and sobbing uncontrollably before she decided that it was no use to watch any further, not with her current state of mind. She debated whether or not she should turn off the TV, so she could have a heart-to-heart discussion with her unusually silent roommate despite the seemingly intense, and gory events happening in front of him but, she decided that the background noise would serve as a good distraction in case the conversation went south.

She wanted so badly to ask him to give her every detail of his evening – not the salacious ones, despite the temptation – but those that could tell her explicitly whether or not something, anything bad had happened. She realized then that she'd been in a constant state of anxiety ever since she and Reiner had moved to New York, especially every time he went to meet a guy. She knew he could well take care of himself – anyone would think that as soon as they looked at him but, something about the whole affair unsettled her. She could never know how truly safe he was and, whenever she was sitting idle in their apartment while he was out for one of his dates, she often found herself trying her hardest to not pick up her phone and call him just to make sure he was okay. She even asked him once to text her as soon as he made it to his destination and on his way back home, to which he stared at her incredulously as if she'd grown a second head. He asked her then if he should start calling her "Mom" too.

"Come on, it's New York and not really safe out there." She rolled her eyes in exasperation then, wishing that he wouldn't question her any further and just indulge her with that single request.

" Oh yeah? Well, maybe you should start texting me too every time you went to see a guy."

"It's not the same and you know it!" She had almost shouted then, at which he raised an eyebrow.

"Is it though?"

He knew she didn't have a valid answer to his question. "No one was actually safe, no matter who they were." He told her and back then, she somehow found it possible to believe it. But, that was before the deranged guy who nearly choked him.

A quick glance at the time made her realize that he would soon retreat to his bedroom since he had to keep a regular sleeping schedule whenever he didn't have to work at the bar. So, she decided that it was then her chance to broach the dreaded subject.

"Champagne and wine in only two hours? I don't think it would be worth tomorrow's headache." Pieck knew that if she wasn't subtle about her approach, he would immediately shut off completely and in the worst-case scenario, it would turn into a fight. Reiner was usually a friendly guy but even after knowing him for longer than ten years, she was often taken off-guard by how fast sometimes his mood seemed to sour.

Reiner jumped up a little at her question as if he forgot about her existence altogether for the last twenty minutes. He quickly composed himself though, as he brought his glass to his lips and took a long sip, as if stalling. Pieck was sure that he indeed was and it didn't help in calming her nerves about the matter.

"Well, it was cheap champagne and you know that there's one motto I've always lived my life by – Only the best or go without." He said after a while, in a faux-nonchalant tone.

"Special employer discount could come in handy in more than one occasion." She tried to lighten the mood and was promptly disappointed to see that it had no effect whatsoever.

"You know you got the best deal from it." He chuckled lightly, albeit without humor. Something was really off and she needed to get to the bottom of it.

"So... how was it?" She started, opting to be vague about it and hoping that he would make it easier for her.

"How was what?" No chance of that happening then.

"Your date?" She tried again "You haven't been very talkative ever since you stepped inside and I must admit you got me a bit worried because, Reiner Braun is everything but a quiet man." she tried to keep her tone playful - a fruitless effort by the look of it.

"Pieck, you know I would never give you any sex-related details. You have the internet for that, and most of the time it's for free. Although, make sure to lock your bedroom and preferably wait until I'm not home. Also, there's a certain site you shouldn't go to – videos aren't always uploaded with the consent of the two parties. Also, their policy about underage sex tapes is very questionable."

"Reiner," she said quietly, feeling that every patience she possibly had for the last thirty minutes had dried up "Please."

He went quiet for a few moments and, Pieck felt her stomach turn into knots as the silence grew heavier. Something did happen after all, right, Reiner?

He sighed softly before turning to look at her, a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes.

"I realized I forgot my Lithium so, I couldn't stay the night." A lie. A very blatant yet, clever lie. He knew exactly what she wanted to hear, but he knew that this particular lie would also reassure her that he was taking his mental health seriously.

"Promise?" She whispered, despite knowing that his answer would mean nothing to her.

"Promise."

Reflecting on that discussion made Pieck realize how much her friend's behavior made her feel emotionally and, as a consequence, physically drained.

Reiner retreated to his bedroom as soon as the episode they've been watching ended, muttering a weak 'goodnight' on his way. However, whatever way he was feeling that night seemed to vanish by the next morning as Pieck woke up to the smell of pancakes and to the sound of Reiner's soft humming of some tunes she didn't recognize. She even wondered if she simply dreamed the previous night's events as she took a bite from her breakfast, facing a very cheerful looking Reiner, who was giddy with excitement while he waited for her reaction. She couldn't help a smile of her own when she saw him grinning even wider when she hummed in delight at the heavenly tasting food.

Pieck still thought that there was nothing she could've really done, despite her brain continuously nagging at her ever since that she should've shook him by the shoulders until he told her the truth but, having known Reiner for so long, she knew that he would've done so had he felt that she needed him to know anything.

The rest of her day went in a blur as she operated on autopilot and explained for multiples classes what should be interpreted from Mary's speech and of what looked like mere definitions of what pride and vanity were. What started once as a passionate and meticulous analysis at the beginning of the morning, ended up sounding rehearsed and uncharacteristically soulless to her ears with her last class for the day. She didn't care much by the time the clock struck four in the afternoon, and she doubted her pupils did if the vigor with which they stormed off from the classroom the moment they heard the school bell's ring. She would remind them next time that they could only leave when she'd tell them that their class was dismissed.

Pieck stepped outside her school's building, pulling her coat tighter around herself as a gust of wind whipped at her face and tossed her long, dark locks into the air. She decided to make a stop at the café nearby for a cup of coffee, as the cold weather made her long for anything to warm her insides before she headed home.

As she made her way inside, faintly registering the sound of the bell ring softly above her head, she practically ran towards the cashier so she could order her drink.

"Pieck" She heard someone call her name, and she knew that it wasn't the barista that was making her coffee. She felt a smile tug at her lips and turned around to look at the man she knew the voice belonged to.

"Pokko." She said, giggling as she saw him roll his eyes in fond exasperation, having given up long ago on correcting her about his name but never failing to show that he really disliked the nickname she's only ever called him by.

"I was going to text you." He said sheepishly, as he rubbed at his neck – a nervous gesture she's long come to associate with him.

"What are you doing here? This is far from where you work." She said, genuinely puzzled.

"Well, like I said, I was going to text you, because you see – there's someone -"

"Pieck!" A voice behind him interrupted and Pieck felt her mouth fall open the moment her eyes fell on the person that was smiling warmly at her.

"Bertholdt"