Reiner's room was suddenly filled with a deafening noise, as the sound of his door being broken down reverberated through the room. Lost in his thoughts, his grip tightened around the gun, oblivious to the shattering of the door just a few feet away.

Mikasa charged in and damn nearly materialized the door. Quickly getting up, and merely running off adrenaline with no plan, she ran over and yanked the gun out of his mouth.

The blond titan shifter jumped out of his chair at the sudden movement of the barrel being pulled from out of his throat.

His eyes shot open as he stood up.

He immediately drank in the smaller figure's appearance.

"Mikasa" He breathed out her name lowly. He could feel his heart pound against his rib cage. His eyes widened a few degrees as he stepped back further into the dark room.

Mikasa stared him over and glanced down at the gun in her palms. She defiantly threw it down onto the ground and crept towards him. Before Reiner could register what was happening, he felt a stinging sensation on the left side of his face.

The force of the slap turned his cheek bright red; he could feel the blood vessels burst underneath his skin. She didn't hold anything back from the hit. It would've concussed anyone else.

The echoing sound of the slap reverberated in the dimly lit room, freezing both of them in place. Slowly, Reiner raised a hand to his face, his eyes wide with shock as he looked down at Mikasa.

Mikasa let her hand rest to her side, with narrowed eyes and venom lacing her words, she looked up at him and whispered "Don't you dare."

But her eyes betrayed her intent, because as her voice was steadfast with determination, her eyes were glossy with tears.

She let her head down and blinked them away. She couldn't think straight—she didn't know why she just blew her cover to save him. She didn't understand what was going through her head. She didn't understand why her eyes...

Reiner couldn't believe what he saw before him. His attempted suicide had been halted by an old, unrequited love. His mind spun as he struggled to make sense of it all. However, within seconds, clarity emerged, and he silently regained his strength, inching closer to her.

He had never forgotten her, nor the way her eyes had pierced through his heart.

Straining his vision as the sunlight dimmed, Reiner gently held her chin with his calloused hand. When she didn't pull away, he lightly pulled her head up just so he could take a glimpse into the milky depths that were her grey eyes.

Only they were just as he left them the last time,

Red with tears...

Now with the sun completely set, darkness engulfed the entire room. They could barely see each other; the only thing that signaled the two of them being there was the sound of sharp, quiet breaths.

Mikasa let him hold her chin only because of how it reminded her of the safety and security she so deeply craved from four years ago. Coming back to her senses though, she tore away from him and took a step back.

She won't be fooled again.

Reiner let his hand fall to his side. He knew that they both had to let go of the past, but really, how could they? Evidently, the past was the one thing that kept him sane up until this moment. Yet, he had some many questions.

How had she found him? How long had she known about his place?

How long had she been watching him?

Why—

Why did she stop him?

As the adrenaline subsided in both of them, Reiner composed himself, and a heavy silence settled in. Mikasa glanced down at the silhouette of her open palm and felt the stinging sensation left behind: she's been wanting to do that for a very long time.

Reiner was vaguely able to make out the silhouette of her... she seemed exactly as she did when he was still on the island. The past flooded his memory. But she flooded his memories even more.

Shaking off his thoughts, he focused on his injuries, causing a loud hissing sound to break the silence as he tended to his wounds.

"I..."

Mikasa stuttered her words. She had no explanation for him, no understanding of why she had intervened. In the chaos of the moment, she hadn't even considered the consequences. She no longer cared if he lived or died, yet...

"Mikasa."

Him saying her name a second time cut her out of her thoughts immediately. His voice was different yet still so familiar. She hadn't heard him say her name in years—it was like pouring salt in an open wound hearing the silky and soft words coming from his mouth.

He had no right having so much power over her still.

"I have many things I need to answer to," the hissing stopped and he sat down on his bed. "After everything I've done to everyone... to you," a pained sigh escaped his lips.

"I don't deserve to be alive anymore," he continued in a low tone. "The events in Shiganshina, nearly a decade ago... they replay in my mind." Torment laced his voice as it trailed off into a whisper.

Everything he's done has messed him up in more ways than he'd liked to admit. The one place that treated him like an equal didn't matter anymore. His old comrades, her... they all thought he was lower than dirt.

He had to remind himself of that constantly.

"You and everyone else deserve justice. I will willingly face the consequences."

Mikasa couldn't believe what she was hearing; this wasn't the Reiner she knew. "You'll..." Mikasa started, but she took a few steps back. "What?"

Reiner let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes. "Then just end my suffering now if you won't take me." He expected a swift reckoning with everything he's done, especially from her. So when he opened his eyes, he expected to see the end of the barrel aimed toward his face.

Instead, all he saw was her silhouette fade deeper into the darkness. Her receding footsteps weren't something he expected from this encounter. He heard her stumble as she reached what used to be the door... and leave.

If she wasn't there to capture or at the very least vengefully kill him, why did she bother saving him?


Mikasa left Reiner's complex at a hurried pace. What the hell was that?

She ran back to her neighborhood and hoped that no one saw her leaving his place after sunset. Though the stares she felt proved her wish to be fruitless.

Not only did she just reveal herself and jeopardize the entire mission, she undoubtedly warned Reiner about the other islanders being in Marley as well.

But that wasn't even the problem, she thought. It was the suicidal actions that worried her most. The blatant disregard he had for his life, there was still something wrong with him and she just found out the hard way.

The worse part about it all was she blew her cover, the cover of her teammates, and the entire operation.

But she wouldn't have done it if it wasn't essential. There has to be a reason why she ran in there. It wasn't just to save Reiner. He didn't matter to her anymore... it was... the titan!

Saving the Armored Titan for another Eldian to eat was the entire point, it would be an essential tool to save Eldia and free her people. She almost forgot about that. That's why her instincts kicked in... she just didn't know at the time.

Right?

Saving the titan was most important. Regardless of anything else, all her feelings for him vanished once she found out who he really was. He killed so many of her friends, he shattered so many of her teammates' hopes and dreams.

Mikasa mourned that Reiner years ago. He's gone; in fact, he never was.

She had to remind herself of that.

Mikasa got back to the small neighborhood where her house was. She quickly walked inside and slammed the door shut. Sinking to the cool wooden floor, she put her head in her hands.

Why did she find herself thinking about his self-destructive behavior?


Reiner sat on his bed in a trance. His fists clenched harder in his lap, depriving his knuckles of blood flow.

He was so mad, but he didn't even know why. His life was just saved by someone that shouldn't be here, so shouldn't he be telling someone? Why isn't he getting up and informing his superiors about the city being under siege?

Shouldn't he be sounding some kind of damn alarm? All he did was sit. and. clench. his. fist.

But the reason he's still even sentient or alive or thinking is because ofher.

She came in and stopped him from killing himself. He was seconds from pulling that trigger. He could still do it, the gun was still loaded and it's right in front of him on the floor.

He stared at the menacing silhouette of the large weapon. It was right there, he could still go through with it.

Get up.

Do it.

Then her face found its way into his head. Again. Just like it always would.

Blood started to spill from his clasped fingers on his lap, mixing with a stray tear from his eye. Mikasa saved him from himself. He can't end it without an answer from her.

Did she...

No.

Everyone hated him. He hated himself too. But did his hatred for himself supersede all of his common sense? Anyone else would have stopped her; turned her in. Find her co-conspirators. But all he could do was sit and pity himself.

Yet, the slightest bit of curiosity nipped away at him.

Reiner got up and walked over to what used to be the door. He picked up the broken pieces of the obliterated thing and tried to think of all of the reasons why she would risk everything to prevent him from killing himself.

Maybe to save the titan.

But then why didn't she bother taking him with her as a hostage?