thirteen things | e. jaeger

8. Fold a Thousand Paper Cranes

a/n: honestly i should tag this story as a comedy i forgot how lowkey funny it was at times 😩

You weren't sure how long you had been sleeping, but you were awoken by an anguished scream and someone clutching your body to their chest.

"No, no, no, please," they sobbed.

"Huh?" you mumbled, head pounding. The person cradling you paused their rocking motions, though they continued to cling to you.

"You're alive?" they said.

"Should I not be?" you said, yawning and opening your eyes. Kruger was long gone, and you were met with the worried amber gaze of Reiner Braun. He pressed his face against your neck, and you were surprised to feel his tears dripping down your skin.

"You – I thought you had been killed. You're covered in blood. How did this happen? Who hurt you?" he said.

"This isn't blood, Reiner, it's...wine," you said, awkwardly stroking his soft blond hair.

"Wine," he repeated, doubt clouding his tone. You nodded.

"Yeah, uh, wine. Zeke gave it to me because I wanted to get drunk, just once, before I became a Warrior," you said, laughing nervously and massaging your temples to attempt to relieve your headache.

"Alone?" he said worriedly, rough fingers replacing yours, rubbing soothing circles on your forehead. You leaned into his touch with a soft sigh of relief.

"No, I had my friend from the hospital watching me," you said.

"You could have asked me, you know," he said, "I wouldn't have minded."

"Oh, I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of you, Reiner, not when we'll have to fight alongside each other in a year. Besides, Gabi or one of the others will get your memories, and I do not want them knowing what I'm like drunk," you said, shuddering at the thought. Reiner let out a bark of laughter, kissing your forehead and laying you back down.

"Fair enough. Here, let me get you some toast and tea. You'll feel much better then," he said, placing the blanket back over your body. You hummed, turning on your side. It felt nice to be the one getting taken care of, for it was normally the other way around.

Reiner brought you toast on a plate and a cup of tea, and as you nibbled at the bread, you began to feel a lot better. You weren't sure if it was because you hadn't had as much alcohol as Colt or if you simply didn't react the same as him, but you already were almost back to fighting form.

"You should probably shower and change. You're covered in wine. I'll wash your clothes for you while you get cleaned up," he said.

"You don't have to do that," you said, trudging over to your bathroom. Reiner clicked his tongue in irritation.

"No, I don't, but I want to. Come on, you're always fussing over Colt and the others. Let someone do something for you. I know how you always take everyone else's burdens on yourself – let me take this one from you. It's no trouble at all, I don't have any other plans," he said. You sighed and, shutting the bathroom door, stripped before opening the door a crack and tossing your crimson-stained clothes out into the hallway. Turning your shower on, you stepped under the stream of hot water and allowed it to relax your muscles. Once you had scrubbed yourself clean, you took your white towel and wrapped it around your body, using a different one to wring out your dripping hair.

Darting to your room, you dressed in a set of clean clothes before rejoining Reiner, who was hanging your clothes on the clothesline. He had miraculously gotten the red stains out of the white fabric of your shirt, and at your amazed look, he only winked and held a finger to his lips.