Dances and Ruin// Reiner Braun x OC

Chapter Thirteen

Peri is hanging her head off the edge of the bed, her feet propped against the wall as Reiner sits across the room, reading some old history book. His furrowed eyebrows and solemn frown make it clear as crystal that he's fully focused on whatever he's reading. Peri hasn't seen Reiner read much during the time she's known him, but every time she catches him in the act, it's a history book of all things. She sighs dramatically, her eyes scanning him in hopes of catching a reaction. His own eyes remain fixated on his book. She tries again, giving a louder attempt at her exasperated sigh. Reiner glances up ever so slightly and smirks, "Can I help you?"

"You've been reading all morning. Are we going to do anything fun today or not?" Peri asks.

Reiner looks back down at his book with a shrug. "It's not like we can really do much, now that we're on lockdown. Do you have something in mind or?"

Peri sits up and catches an eye full of the bare wall before looking back at the blond boy sitting against her other wall. "I don't have any ideas but anything has to be better than nothing," Peri says turning around and rolling off the edge of her bed. She walks over to his side and slides down the wall so that she's sitting next to him. She rests her head on his shoulder and skims over the page briefly before speaking again. "I've hardly seen you take your nose out of that book since the meeting yesterday. Surely, you've thought of something else to do."

"Not really," Reiner says, turning the page. "We can't really go down to the puddle I'm sure you've figured out by now, and the building isn't exactly empty today. Bertolt did invite me to play a game of chess in the mess hall after lunch today, though. I guess we could go to lunch and I can take Bertolt up on his offer."

Peri whines, "It just had to be Bert."

"Still mad at him?"

"Not really, but I didn't want him knowing that yet," she replies. "Can we at least eat on that one table in the back corner? Nobody ever eats there. It can be a weird little date or something."

"A date?" Reiner chuckles, finally closing that damn book and craning his neck to look down at her.

Peri feels her cheeks heat up the tiniest bit. She's never really understood what it meant to feel nervous and comfortable around someone, to feel accepted and like nobody else really matters. She always hated the idea of love, because it's what caused her father to die and it's what caused her biological mother to hate her. If love were something that could turn the tides in someone's life that easily, Peri was sure it was something she'd never want to be a part of. Even so, Peri can't stop herself from loving Reiner. She just hopes that she won't change because of that. "Uh, yeah. You know? Like getting dinner or going on a walk around downtown or something. I don't know, I just thought that--"

"I think that sounds like a nice time," Reiner says. "Let's do it."

"Really?" she asks, sitting up. "You sure?"

Reiner nods, "Not the ideal date. Always thought I'd do something a bit more interesting for you, but considering the circumstances, dinner at the weird table in the mess hall isn't a bad idea."

She brings herself to her feet and walks over to her bedside table again, reaching for her brush. "Alright, let me pull my hair back real quick and we can go," she beams, her fingers wrapping around the handle of her brush. She begins to fight with the tangles and knots in her wild curls, turning back to look at Reiner. He has a gentle look about him at the moment as he watches her try to tame her hair. "What's with that look?"

"Oh, just watching," he says, shrugging awkwardly. "I was actually wondering why you always tie your hair back though. I understand for missions and training, but on days like these, it kind of confuses me. It's not like it'll cause you to get hurt or anything."