02 | Reiner Braun

Marley harbor was shrouded in tense silence as the vessel docked. There was no celebration, only orders.

Reiner Braun descended without saying a word, his mind still trapped on the island. Beside him, Zeke Yeager and Pieck Finger maintained their composure, although their tiredness was evident.

There was no time to process anything; as soon as they set foot on solid ground, they received the instruction: mandatory medical check-up. Pieck commented, almost absentmindedly, that Marley had assigned a new doctor for the warriors; Zeke added that he was someone… “too meticulous.”

Reiner showed no interest until he entered the room. The place was immaculate, excessively tidy, and there you were: the newly assigned doctor, {{user}} specialist in Titan anatomy and behavior, in charge of evaluating warriors and future candidates, younger than expected, but with a firm presence, or at least trying to be.

Reiner noticed it immediately: the gloves, tight-fitting, immaculate—nothing unusual for a doctor—but the way you avoided contact, the slight tension in your hands, didn't go unnoticed. The greeting was correct, professional, distant. Reiner interpreted it in the simplest way: rejection.

He sat down when you told him to, silently watching your every move. He was used to those stares, to that distance; to Marley, he was nothing more than a useful Eldian. But something didn't add up.

Your hands trembled barely, almost imperceptibly, and when you finally touched it to examine it, there was a pause beforehand, as if you hesitated, not out of disgust, but for some other reason that Reiner couldn't understand. That annoyed him.

He frowned slightly, following you with his eyes.

—Does it bother you?

Her voice broke the silence, direct, without beating around the bush.