It was overcast outside as the 104th cadet corp ate their first supper together. The atmosphere was lively with chatter from the young teenagers finishing day one of training to overcome the titans and take back humanity.
Reiner Braun sat quietly beside Bertolt Hoover as they ate their food and surveyed the crowd.
"Anyone stand out to you?" Bertolt lowly asked his partner next to him.
"You mean besides the loud mouth kid over there?" Reiner agitatedly pointed with his head in the direction of Eren Jeager. "Not really." He shrugged and continued eating.
"What are the odds that the founder is one of these kids?"
Reiner eyed him quietly, but decided not to respond. There were too many things that had to be taken care of before they scouted out the Founding Titan. It was probably stuck in Wall Sina anyway.
"You got something to say?"
Reiner's train of thought came to a halt as his attention was directed towards the loud mouth kid picking a fight with some other guy.
"Give me a break. It's the first night and they're already fighting?" Bertolt wondered aloud, turning around.
"Just like the devils they are." Reiner responded under his breath, returning to his food and refusing to give them any heed. He managed to tune out the idiots until he heard a soft voice break up the fight.
"Eren, stop it."
Reiner couldn't stop his curiosity from getting the better of him – he turned around to find the owner of that mellow voice. The first thing he noticed was the impossibly dark black hair that fell past her shoulders. The way it sculpted her face seemed almost... perfect.
His eyes never leaving her, he whispered, "Who is that?"
"The girl?"
He nodded.
"Mikasa is her name I think."
Mikasa. Her name lingered in his head as rain droplets plopped onto the roof, drowning out everything else but her from his thoughts.
1.5 years later
Having his arm twisted in her hand, Mikasa targeted his shin and kicked Reiner onto his back. Dust settled around them both as he let out a few hoarse coughs.
"You caught me off guard that time." he said facetiously, flashing her a well deserved smirk as he slowly got to his feet.
Mikasa expressed an amused, albeit, small smile in his direction. "You said that the last time we sparred," she looked up at his defeated form as he stood, "and after the arm wrestling match as well."
Reiner let out an amused huff from his lips as he dusted himself off. She wasn't wrong, but far be it from him to admit defeat. "You cheated both times..." he sounded so uncertain that it sounded more like a question.
The dark haired woman looked at him with an unreadable stare and got into a fighting position. She fisted her knuckles and held them out, gesturing for him to spar her again. Even if he was joking, she would make sure her wins weren't simply flukes.
But as seriously as she took it, all Reiner wanted to do was marvel at her strength, her beauty and her immense resolve. There was no doubt in his mind that she was stronger than him, he knew that. He just wanted to interact with her.
Even if those interactions meant his ego would be destroyed in the process.
It seemed worth it.
Then a crowd started to form.
Oh shit.
"Beat him up, Mikasa! Woo-hoo! Girl power!" Potato girl yelled out, raising her hands in solidarity.
"My bets are on Reiner, he's way bigger!" one retorted aloud.
"Are you crazy? Mikasa beats Reiner 100% of the time!" another called out.
Mikasa stared over Reiner and couldn't help but internally smirk at his disheveled appearance. He was usually a well kept and groomed guy, so seeing him like this was different... in a good way.
The blond let out a haggard breath but decided to take the bait. He got into a fighting position and went in for a right hook. She dodged and repaid him in kind with a punch to the gut—Reiner, not being able to dodge the lightening speed at which she came at him, blocked it with his elbow.
This opened his face to some blows, with a few landing successfully. Feeling the raw punches from her, Reiner favored incapacitating her arm by using the maneuver she used on him earlier. Of course, she saw right through it and ducked; she followed by sweeping her leg along the ground.
He let out a pained hiss, but it didn't stop him. He used the opportunity of her leg retracting to catch it and instead twist it so he could pin her to the ground. However, Mikasa anticipated this as well and twisted her body in the direction he was going in; using his body as an anchor to lift and gracefully spin herself as she brought her fist up to attempt to knock him unconscious.
However, with her leg still stubbornly in his hold and her arm outstretched, Reiner quickly grabbed her right wrist to subdue her and try to wrestle her to the ground. His move blindsided her and with both her leg and arm in his hands, she had no way of escaping.
The dust settled around them; with everyone's breath hitched, and with the sound of wind whistling in the air, the world stood still around them. What seemed to be an ear-splitting gulp from one of the spectators broke the heavy silence.
"Shit..." someone whispered lowly.
"Who do you think is going to win?"
Mikasa stood at the mercy of her opponent. Her left leg was at a 90 degree angle caught in his strong grip. Her right wrist was also held firmly in his hand.
Smirking, Reiner was just about to claim his win—when he suddenly, and embarrassingly, lost his footing in the sand. Shit. His shin took more damage than he thought. With Mikasa's limbs still in his grip, she was haphazardly pulled on top of his fallen body, lazily half-straddling him and half-spilling onto the ground beside him.
Mikasa's right leg fell between his thighs and her right hipbone roughly aligned in the center of his stomach. The rest of the left side of her body lay in the dirt and her head under his chin. The blond caught his breath while bringing a hand up to his face to wipe off all the dust and dirt.
He felt Mikasa's lean body on top of his before he could register anything else; they both rose their heads simultaneously and caught each other's stare. Their faces just inches apart from one another, Mikasa could feel his heavy breathing cascading her face while Reiner felt the soft puffs escaping her lips.
Reiner watched her body silently move up and down atop of his chest with each rhythmic breath he took. Mikasa could feel the sculpture of his muscles—the sharp contour of his abs did not go unnoticed by her. Blinking slowly, she quickly came to her senses and placed a hand on his chest to lift herself off of him.
But not before the brilliant sheen of his golden eyes caught her attention.
He noticed the petite soldier studying his features; he tried containing the warmth that threatened to creep upon his cheeks as he himself searched deep into her cloudy grey eyes. They contained hidden fiery and passionate streaks of dark blue around the iris, which uniquely contrasted from her pale skin tone.
He was mesmerized.
What else was she hiding within those elusive orbs?
He needed to know.
A loud throat clearing brought them back to reality.
They turned and looked up at the 104th cadet corp blushing and sweating incessantly.
The clumsy sparring duo quickly got up.
"Tie?" Reiner asked hoarsely as he dusted himself off.
Mikasa quickly nodded. She then turned and limped away.
She didn't want anyone to see the deep pink blush on her cheeks.
The next night
The cool wind of the night went right through her as she slowly limped down the steps from the girl's quarters and onto the dirt path. Mikasa was one of the few who couldn't sleep; even with her injury, walking around was better than tossing and turning in bed.
With makeshift crutches assisting her, she quietly passed by the boy's quarters before hearing a familiar voice.
"Was that my fault?"
Mikasa turned around to see the blond man only a few feet behind her. The full moon sat in the sky right behind him, so he appeared as a tall and muscular silhouette.
She won't lie. After the sparring, she accidentally-on-purpose avoided him. Not because she was upset at him or scared of him, but because he was so different from everyone else. For the life of her, she couldn't put her finger on it; but the proverbial wall he kept up around others seemed to crumble around her. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was a fantasy. Either way, she wouldn't admit that she probably maybe sort-of secretly liked it.
"This?" she gestured to her swollen ankle, "I'm starting to think I should lay off the kicks."
Reiner eyed the rare glimmer of humor in her eyes. Even from far away, she had a way of piquing a certain type of interest in him. One that—without fail—allured him every time.
"That move almost always knocks the wind out of me. It'd be best if you retired that all together." he cheekily retorted.
Mikasa couldn't stop the sly smile that crept onto her face. She looked up at him with rose tinted cheeks. Since the moonlight was the only thing illuminating her presence, Reiner really couldn't tell if the cute hue on her face was due to exhaustion or something else.
He did know, however, that she continued to take his breath away.
6 Months later
The cadets were tasked to go hunting for meat. Something about Commander Pyxis ordering a food competition between Jean and Sasha to settle a fight they had. With no volunteers, the scouts looked up to the two strongest in the class.
"Where do you think the hog's den could be?" Reiner lowly wondered, breaking Mikasa's train of thought.
"I'm not sure. The map they gave us isn't very helpful." his partner pointed out, following the trail outlined.
Reiner looked up at the setting sun. "We should get back soon, I have a weird feeling about this forest."
Mikasa stopped her horse, turned around and gave him a credulous look. "What feeling is that?" her voice was so low with tinges of feigned caution and genuine curiosity; Reiner didn't know if she honestly wanted to know what made him feel such a way or if she was teasing him.
Just another quality of hers that he found interesting.
"Reiner?"
"Never mind, let's get back to the scouts." He turned his horse in the other direction.
"You're not the leader here, Braun."
Reiner was taken aback, she was not one to be confrontational. He turned around and caught that mischievous look in her eyes again. It was almost a mocking look that he'd see from the likes of Jean or Connie.
So teasing it was.
"All right, captain. In that case, I'm right behind you."
Even though it was getting dark out, she was able to make out the uptick of his mouth, and it resulted in the pace of her heart quickening ever so slightly.
She turned her attention back to the trail and smiled to herself. She continued to lead their team deeper into the forest and after several minutes of riding, they found the den of the pig. It snored loudly, indicating that not only was it in there, but it was also asleep.
They got off their horses and approached the cave. Reiner walked closely behind Mikasa, clutching onto his bow and arrow. "You sneak up onto it and try pinning it down. I'll kill it with one hit."
Mikasa gestured that she heard him and they continued their trek. They came upon the sleeping boar; they both looked at each other and nodded in agreement. The Ackermann stealthily crept over and grabbed the boar by his horns, startling him awake.
Reiner quickly loaded his bow and shot for it's head.
It missed.
Mikasa was then thrown off of the pig and into the wall of the cave with a heavy thud. The boar viciously howled and ran towards Reiner. The blond soldier loaded his bow again and hit the boar deep in the eye, killing it.
The animal's velocity couldn't be stopped however, and Reiner was trampled by the 500lb pig. He could feel his bones crack under the weight of the thing.
Letting out a pained hiss, he groaned out for her.
"Mikasa?"
Reiner called out from under the boar for his teammate, but by the lack of a reply, Reiner concluded that the hit into the cave's wall rendered her unconscious. The titan shifter dropped the act, regenerated his broken bones and effortlessly pushed the boar off of him. He quickly got up and glanced around the dark den for Mikasa. He stepped over the pig carcass and saw her lying a few feet in front of him.
He walked over and looked at her unconscious form. Kneeling down, he parted the sprawled black hair from her pale face to see if any damage came to her. She looked so tranquil, so calm, so beautiful. She was unharmed.
Just unconscious.
He put one arm under her neck and the other under her knees. Reiner lifted her limp body and left the den. He walked out into the dark night but couldn't find their horses in sight. Sighing in frustration, he noted that the howl must've scared them off.
Realizing that he'll have to walk all the way back, he tiredly looked down at her but realized he couldn't possibly pity himself. Reiner simply couldn't help but note how uniquely the moonlight accentuated her qualities—her facial features softened even more as she laid limply in his arms.
He held onto her firmly as he began walking back.
.
.
.
Halfway back to the barracks, Mikasa felt the strong muscles of someone carrying her. She opened her eyes and looked up at her teammate's face. He seemed so determined with brows furrowed as he navigated the rough terrain at night.
"Reiner?"
He looked down at her. "Hey. You got hit pretty bad." He said nonchalantly, holding onto her tighter as he crossed over a log.
Mikasa blinked once then twice, then three times. She couldn't believe she was being carried by him. The way his strong arms gripped onto her, the way he held her so close to his body, the way she could feel his heart beating...
Carrying her felt like second nature to him. And it felt normal for her too; it seemed like Reiner was the only person who made her feel some sort of security in such a vulnerable position.
Her heart did that flutter thing again.
"You okay?" He asked, breaking her thoughts.
His voice was so deep, so velvety. It was laced with serious tones of concern but also with undertones of reassurance. It was almost like being reprimanded by a lover when you did something wrong or went somewhere unsafe, but only because they care about your well-being so much.
"Mikasa?"
He interrupted her thoughts again. She didn't know if it were possible to feel even more lightheaded when being held in the arms of someone like him. But by the lack of words forming in her throat and the imminent brain fog accompanied by the flushing of her face, she could attest that it, indeed, was possible.
"I..." she stuttered. Mikasa could feel the cooling breeze of the late night flow through her hair and the strong pulse of her heart pumping through her veins; she even felt her chest moving in normal, rhythmic motions... yet she felt paralyzed.
...am falling for you—
"What... about the boar?" she abruptly and quickly whispered up in his direction, cutting out the intrusive thought.
"Between the pig and you?" Reiner questioned her sarcastically. She knew that he was someone who tried to find humor in everything, making jokes out of anything. Expecting something witty to come out of his mouth was a given.
So when Reiner stopped walking and gave his undivided attention to the woman in his arms and curtly said "Not even a question." with serious golden eyes piercing into hers, she felt a shiver travel down her spine and into her bones.
3 days later
Reiner and Bertolt walked behind Eren and Mikasa on top of Wall Rose, with Reiner's arm wrapped in a sling from a titan attack. With his dissociative identity disorder reaching a breaking point, he didn't know what to believe anymore. He had enough, Reiner didn't want to lie to himself anymore.
"Hey Eren," Reiner yelled out for him. Mikasa's ears perked up. She didn't want this to be true.
Please. She thought as she stopped to listen.
She wanted Armin's hypothesis to be false. Mikasa didn't want to believe anyone who claimed Reiner or Bertolt were horrible people. That Reiner would willingly betray anyone's trust... willingly lie to her.
She didn't think it was true.
"I'm the Armored Titan and he's the Colossal. If you come with us now, no one has to get hurt."
And yet it was.
She just heard the man who managed to make her feel so secure and safe—the guy that made her feel things she never had before; the one who made her heart flutter at the sound of his name... she heard him say what they were all dreading.
So damn nonchalantly.
She shakily clutched onto her blades, gripping them so tightly that her knuckles went pale. She couldn't keep back the emotion that flooded her, she didn't want to.
How could she be such a fool.
Her eyes welled with tears as she unclasped the blades from her gear. She turned around and ran over to both of the titan shifters.
"Eren, get out of here!"
Reiner almost didn't see her running towards them; he was blindsided once more by her high speeds.
He thought about all of this—leaving her presence for a long time, maybe forever. He knew today might've been the last day he'd ever see her. Reiner didn't make this decision lightly, because even though he had trouble understanding what was real and what wasn't, he knew that the one thing that stayed consistent was his fondness of her.
He noticed the flash of sadness encapsulate her eyes, and watched as her deadly focus shifted from him to Bertolt.
Everything felt like slow motion; Reiner ran in front of Bertolt to be on the receiving end of her sharp blade. He blocked it with his "injured" arm, grunting at the force she put behind the hit. Mikasa's once innocent grey eyes widened as she saw who she pierced.
Her shaky, pain-filled gasp shook him to his core.
But it was what he deserved.
He caused her so much pain; the woman he felt so much for held back tears for him. He'd never be able to forgive himself. He'd never see her beautiful grey eyes—those that he fell head over heels for—hold anything but hate for him from this day forward.
So he didn't mind letting her attack him so long as she gave him the pleasure of glancing into them one last time.
Even if they were swollen red with tears.
As his eyes softened with regret, Mikasa's narrowed with a vengeance. She twisted the blade in his arm and heard him groan out in pain. Her blade went deeper and deeper until it began stabbing his chest, drawing blood.
Reiner's pained hiss visibly disturbed her. He looked on as her face contorted in confusion and anger.
Just a little deeper; she could kill him so easily, just one more inch and his heart would explode from the steel of her blades. His skin was like butter in her hands, just a little more...
...just...
a little...
...
Tears cascaded down her face as her hands uncontrollably trembled. She couldn't do it. She could never bring herself to do it.
He wished he could hold her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. He wanted to engulf her in a hug and tell her that everything will be fine; that he's right here and not going anywhere.
But bringing his free hand up to steady the trembling blade piercing his chest would have to suffice for now.
"I didn't want it to be this way. I'm sorry." He spat out the taste of metallic blood from his mouth as he flashed her a tiny remorseful smile.
Mikasa's world stood still as she blinked at him. His voice was so tender that in the moment she hesitated, she was knocked off of him by Bertolt, nearly falling off of the wall.
Everyone in the vicinity then witnessed their transformation, including Mikasa. The strong gusts of wind from their towering titans swept the tears from her face. She watched as Reiner's Armored titan looked down at her for the last time before turning it's back and leaving.