Chapter Text
Leigh entered the small room where Annie and Reiner had been placed to recover. She could feel the hum of the engines of the ship as it headed away from the shore toward Odiha. The bloodshed back on the docks was fresh in her mind and she staggered a little then leaned against the doorframe for support. She covered her mouth with her hands as she could feel the bile rise in her throat at the horror of killing her fellow comrades, mostly kids she had helped train.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at the two occupants of the murky room. There was only a little light in the small room, coming from a lantern on the table between the two cots. The two titan shifters were unconscious, lying on the cots as steam rose from their many wounds. In her mind, she could still see the way their titans stood guard, using their bodies as shields from the Jeagerists’ guns and thunder spears. The Armored Titan and the Female Titan, two forms from her nightmares, taking hit after hit protecting their ragtag group until they couldn’t move anymore. Leigh gripped her head in her hands as she bent over double, trying to reconcile her feelings. Working with Reiner and Annie these last few days, she thought she had overcome her anger and moved on, understanding that they had been brainwashed children sent by a twisted government to commit mass murder. She still believed that, intellectually. But seeing their titan forms again brought back so many horrific memories. She still woke up occasionally in a cold sweat, remembering the final battle with the Armored Titan in Shiganshina, while Erwin was riding to his death against the Beast Titan. And she had been part of the crew that retrieved the mangled bodies of her fallen comrades in the Special Ops Squad after the Female Titan had taken them out during that failed expedition. Gods, the blood and gore.
Looking at them now, she noted that Reiner definitely looked worse. But then she recalled how he had stepped in front of Annie to take the brunt of the thunder spears. Heroic or suicidal? Both seemed to apply to the young man whose blood was dripping on the floor under his cot, the puddle gently steaming in the gloomy room. What was left of the Survey Corps were happy to leave these two alone, unforgiving of their traitorous actions. They were more accepting of Pieck, Falco, and even Gabi. But the fact that Reiner and Annie had once been one of them, trained with them and fought beside them, cut deep into the heart of what the Survey Corps stood for. Leigh got it. She understood their anger. However, there was a bigger picture here and Leigh decided their small band needed to work together if they had even the slightest chance of success. Resolved, she spun on her heel and left the dingy room in search of supplies.
She returned fifteen minutes later and set down her armload of supplies. Even knowing the blood and gore would evaporate over time and disappear, Leigh felt she had to do something for the two shifters, so she started wiping Annie’s face with a wet cloth, cleaning away the blood as best she could. As she worked, she noted how pretty Annie was when she wasn’t being withdrawn and sullen. Unconscious, her face appeared so young. She was also smaller than she looked, seemingly lost under the thin army blanket thrown over her slight frame. Leigh watched in fascination as her superficial wounds were closing up and her breathing got easier. She was rinsing out her rag when she heard the door open and Gabi looked in.
“How’s Reiner?” the girl asked as her eyes sought out his unconscious form. Leigh knew she had been in the next room sitting with Pieck as they watched over Falco. He had had a rough time for his first transformation and Leigh could tell the girl was worried for her friend as well as her cousin.
She smiled reassuringly. “He’ll be fine. I’ve seen him recover from much worse.” She paused for a brief moment, recognizing the irony of that statement. “I’ll sit here with them both to make sure they wake up okay.”
Gabi smiled shyly, for once looking her young age. Her large eyes were luminous in the lamplight. It was hard to reconcile this sweet girl with the fanatical soldier who had killed Sasha. Leigh felt a pang for the loss of the quirky girl from the 104th. But they had traveled so far beyond blame and finger-pointing, thanks to Eren and his genocidal mission. And Leigh had a new understanding for these young Warriors and their lost childhood. They were victims as much as the inhabitants of Paradis were. Gabi waggled her fingers in a small wave at Leigh before retreating back out the door.
Deciding there was nothing else to be done for Annie, Leigh moved over to Reiner’s cot. His wounds were deeper and more severe, but the blood had already stopped dripping and the puddle under his cot was starting to evaporate. Like she had mentioned to Gabi, these wounds were not as bad as some she had seen him take in the past, inflicted by the Survey Corps, herself included, as they repeatedly struggled to take down the Armored Titan. She gently wiped the blood from his cheek, noticing how his face had matured since he was a young trainee at seventeen. Rinsing the blood from her cloth in the bowl she had brought, she returned to wipe at his strong jaw, smiling at the thin goatee he grew, now becoming obscured by a couple day’s growth of beard, the dark blond whiskers rough under her hand. He had grown into a handsome man. Unconscious, his face was relaxed and peaceful, without the weight of guilt and responsibility. Even the space between his brows had relaxed its permanent furrow. She briefly touched her fingers to the spot, gently smoothing the warm skin there. Lost in her musings, Leigh failed to realize that his breathing had stabilized and his wounds were closing more rapidly. So she was surprised when she turned back from rinsing her cloth again to be greeted by a pair of piercing gold eyes.
“You’re awake. Do you need anything?” Leigh asked him as she ran the cloth over a bit of blood still on his forehead.
Reiner closed his eyes at the feel of the warm cloth over his skin. He couldn’t recall anyone ever tending him, post battle. Warriors were usually just settled in their barracks and left to heal on their own until they were ready to fight again. He could still feel her gentle hand as it had stroked along his jaw before he opened his eyes. He was very aware of the heat of her thigh where it pressed against his shoulder as she sat next to him on the small cot.
“Could I have some water, please,” he croaked as he opened his eyes again. Healing always made him dehydrated.
Leigh’s face lit up as she reached for the large canteen on the little table. “I thought you might want that. I figured you guys would be thirsty, with all the steam you emit.” With that, she poured him a generous amount into a metal cup.
Struggling to lean up on one elbow, Reiner winced and shook out his other arm before reaching for the cup. “Thank you. How is Annie?” He looked over at the still form lying in the other cot, concern drawing his brows together. Leigh noted that the furrow was back. She gave a small sigh.
“She’s fine, healing nicely. I’m actually surprised you are conscious before her. Your wounds were much worse.”
“I’m used to it,” he said matter of factly, groaning slightly as he sat up and carefully swung his legs over the side of the cot. He needed to put some space between himself and Leigh. “I appreciate your concern, Lieutenant Strahan.”
Leigh smiled at him. “Call me Leigh. It seems ridiculous for us to stay formal, when there are so few of us left. Besides, I think you now outrank me, Captain.”
At her gentle teasing, he swung his gaze back to her smiling face and felt his breath catch. Gods, she was still beautiful. He remembered being infatuated with her when he was a young cadet. She was a total badass member of the Special Operations Squad, trained by Captain Levi himself. She was an expert horseman, skilled with a blade, and especially good at hand to hand combat. He remembered his first time sparring with her. In spite of his obvious advantage in size and strength, she had kicked his ass. And it had turned him on.
But she had been the Commander’s woman, so even an arrogant asshole like his younger self knew to keep his hands off. However, the Commander was no longer here. He let his gaze linger on her for a moment, wondering, while she wrung out her cloth before he dropped his eyes to the empty cup in his hand. Leigh turned back in time to notice his cup was empty and reached over to take it to refill. When she handed it back to him, their fingers touched, sending a frisson of electricity along his nerve endings.
She must have felt it too as she jerked her hand away as if burned, then clumsily started putting up her supplies. Reiner watched her over the rim of his cup as he took another long drink. Her long dark hair was in a ponytail, revealing her soft nape. For some reason, Reiner couldn’t take his eyes off that tender spot, imagined putting his lips there, tasting her. Heat bloomed throughout his body, and he felt his heart rate accelerate, blood pumping heavily in his veins. Thank gods he was still healing or he would be having a more obvious reaction to his wayward thoughts.
Leigh couldn’t believe her reaction to the simple touch of his fingers. It had been so long she had forgotten what it felt like: desire. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she fiddled with putting up her supplies to collect herself. Desire. Hunger. She couldn’t believe she was feeling these things again, after all this time. For Reiner. Gods, she helped train him when he was a teenager. But it was not a teenager sitting next to her now, rather a man. Full grown. A man with unfathomable power and strength running through his veins. A man who had been at war most of his life, and forced to do unspeakable things. A man whose broad shoulders bore the weight of too much guilt and too many responsibilities. She took a deep breath to get a grip on herself and turned back to Reiner. She caught the heat in his gaze as he watched her, before he lowered his eyes back to his cup. The desire in her belly was turning to liquid and definitely moving lower. She took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair to try to control her thoughts.
“I brought you some clothes to change into, if you wanted. I didn’t know what shape your clothes were usually in after shifting. I apologize for rummaging around in your pack. I just grabbed the first thing I found.” She tried to disguise the breathless note in her voice with a slight cough as she cleared her throat.
Reiner could only nod as he bowed his head at her considerate action, unused to anyone looking after his comfort. The titan blood and gore evaporated off his clothes eventually, but he had soaked his shirt through several times over in sweat from his human body’s exertions while in titan form. In truth, he felt disgusting and that probably helped dampen his ardor even more than his healing body. As he began to work on the buttons to his filthy shirt, a wry smile twisted his lips as he wondered how she could possibly tolerate sitting this close to him. He really needed a shower.
Leigh turned to rummage around in the bag she had brought, searching for the set of clothes she found in Reiner’s pack. Turning back to him with a clean shirt in hand, she froze as Reiner was painfully attempting to slide his shirt off his shoulders. Even wincing and moving slowly did not detract from the perfection of his body. Smooth tan skin slid over hard muscles. Everywhere. Leigh was mesmerized.
The sound of his breath hissing between his teeth shook her out of her stupor as she realized how much he was struggling to get his shirt off.
“You should really just lay back down until you heal some more,” she admonished as she rose up to help him, gripping the back collar of his shirt and gently pulling it down his arms. She avoided touching him as much as possible, but realized what a mistake it was getting this close to him. She could smell his sweat mixed with his own spicy scent and feel the incredible heat rolling off his body. The raw masculine power of him was about to bring her to her knees. Perhaps if it hadn’t been so long for her she wouldn’t be having this visceral reaction to him, she tried to justify to herself.
“I’ll be fine,” he replied softly as he eased his body back to lean against the wall his cot was pressed against, closing his eyes for a moment.
Leigh took advantage of his inattention to gaze upon him as he sat on the cot, leaning his head back against the wall. He really had grown into a beautiful man, she thought, as she admired his square jaw, with his sharp nose and chiseled lips. Her gaze followed the strong column of his throat where she saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, down to his broad shoulders, padded with muscle. Veins roped around the defined muscles of his forearms and biceps. The hard planes of his chest were lightly dusted with dark gold hair that matched the trail of hair that swirled around his navel and traveled south over a ridged abdomen before disappearing under the waistband of his trousers. It wasn’t just that he was an amazing physical specimen. All of the men she worked with were in great shape as the physical nature of their job demanded it. And she had seen all of them in various stages of undress over the course of working so closely together these many years. But something about Reiner was so compelling, drawing her to him, making her want to touch all those glorious muscles on display. She gripped his shirt tightly in her fist to keep her hands from reaching for him.
Reiner knew she was looking at him. He could feel it. The heat of her gaze was almost a physical touch as it traveled over his body. He fisted his hands at his sides to keep himself still under her perusal, attempting to appear unaffected.
Leigh let her eyes travel back up his body, admiring the dips and hollows created by the evidence of his strength until she reached his face and met the molten gold of his gaze. Her breath caught in her throat at the heat in his hooded gaze. This time he didn’t drop his eyes to hide from her, but held her gaze and she was hypnotized by the sensual promise she saw there. Her lips parted and her breathing increased in tempo as the tension between them escalated. She wanted him. And he knew it.
The spell was broken by a sudden noise from the other cot in the room as Annie bolted upright, gasping. Leigh jerked as if burned and she could feel a blush stain her cheeks as she moved to help Annie.
“My shirt,” Reiner whispered hoarsely as he tried to bring his raging body under control.
Leigh realized she was still clutching his clean shirt tightly in her fist and awkwardly handed it to him before getting up and bolting to the other side of the room where Annie sat panting.
Reiner watched her pour some water for Annie as he painfully pulled the shirt on.
What the fuck had just happened?