Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Characters introduction:

Eren Jaeger, 33, newly married, a successful surgeon nicknamed "The Sniper" due to his precise and steady hands.

Mikasa Jaeger, 28, Eren's wife, an interior designer.

Reiner Braun, 35, married for two years, an obsessive journalist who tracks down new politicians or candidates.

Historia Braun, 24, Reiner's wife, recently graduated from university.

Historia sighed boredly, flipping through videos on her favorite app recently. It was almost midnight, and she was still alone in this big bed.

She believed she would live a happy life after marrying Reiner but it seems she was a bit naive. Her marriage to him was her own choice, and she made it with full conviction after 3 months of their official dating.

She understood his absence and accepted the nature of his work. He might spend hours in his office in front of his computer trying to finish his articles or conduct investigations into the new person whose news he would track down, but the matter had become a little more extreme than she thought.

She almost forgot the last time he touched or kissed her. She was upset with him, as soon as his orgasm lifted, he rose to his office at home to complete his work, as if she's one of his forced homework assignments. She no longer saw his desire and need for her.

During this period, Historia was spending her time studying for job interviews until she got a job for the next school season. She has a few months before she starts working.

A comments notification arrived on a post she had published on the online marital problems page, which she had certainly posted on an anonymous account.

She was very desperate when she wrote it, hoping to find someone who shared the same situation as her or who might help her with something she didn't know.

@Marie, the twins' mother : "Dear writer, it's normal for the flame of love to fade over time in marriage, even if it's been a long time. When he gets home from work. Prepare dinner and a drink. Liven things up and surprise him with a stunning appearance. If men are predatory by nature, be a bold prey to your husband, Don't worry too much; most of us have been through this situation before.”

Historia said to herself, “Be a bold prey for your husband.” She snorted sarcastically before saying : “This is interesting. She must have gotten the twins this way... Let’s see the next comment..”

@Lara : “I'm afraid to say your husband is going through a period of regret or reversing his decision. He may feel like he rushed into marrying you, and to be honest, if he hasn't asked you to have sex with him, there must be someone out there doing it, so he doesn't feel a need for you. No matter how ugly you are, a man won't resist the idea of sharing his bed with a woman, so wake up and see if you're really interested in your marriage."

Historia closed her phone and spread her arms on the bed, frowning. How did things get this bad? She lived the most beautiful love story with Reiner in America. She wasn't the type who preferred men her own age or younger. Men older than her excite her. They understand the nature of life and relationships, and most of them don't enter into a relationship until they're well convinced of their partner.

It was too late to take Marie's advice, but Historia decided it was a good idea. She opened her closet and chose a dark red lace nightgown with details that showed off her body through the slits. She was excited to see his reaction. She applied matching lipstick and styled her blonde hair, curling a few strands. Then headed to the kitchen to get a drink and some cups when she heard the door open.

Excitement was evident on her face as she leaned against the wall separating the kitchen and the dining table. Reiner passed by her and... went into the kitchen, filled a cup with cold water from the outside tap in the refrigerator, put it in the sink, and paused for a moment, looking at her from afar.

Historia bit her lower lip seeing Reiner's gaze fixed on her, his eyes roaming her body from top to bottom. But he said nothing, standing still, his eyes fixed as if trying to get a better look. Historia smiled at the thought that his gaze was a good sign.

He exhaled a long breath before speaking in a deep voice, "It's late, Historia. Go to sleep and don't wait for me." He then added, heading to his office, "I'm tired, and I still have a few pages to write."

Historia postponed her disappointment for later and followed him carrying the drink and cups. She placed the bottle firmly on his desk, a sound coming from it, followed by the clinking of cups. She decided to follow the twins' mother's plan to the end.

She walked behind his chair and hugged him from behind, placing her head on his shoulder and her hand gently caressing the side of his cheek. "I don't feel like sleeping, Reiner. Actually, I was waiting for you. I missed you, love."

He sighed helplessly, taking her hand and kissing it. "I know, I miss you too, sweetheart. But... I'm SO busy with work lately.. Uh.. the selection of the new Minister of Justice is coming up, and I have to keep an eye on it. Maybe I'll get a lead that will lead me to a scoop."

Historia placed her fingers on the corner of his lips, making him silent for a moment. "Shh… Don't exhaust yourself with explanations now, I want you to exhaust yourself while you are on top of me~" She leaned down and whispered to him as she opened the first button of his shirt. “I cannot resist the desire to feel you inside me.."

She was excited by his response to her when he started kissing her knuckles, so she straddled his thighs, placing her hands on his chest, moving them up and down, until she reached his neck. "I was hoping our night would be wild in bed, but the office is okay too haha~"

He quickly interrupted her, grabbing both of her hands and standing up. Historia thought he was going to pick her up, kiss her, and then apologize for being busy in a way that would please her, but instead he pulled her out of the office and kissed her shallowly.

“I-I'm sorry, Hisu, I can't get carried away with you and I can't drink because I'm going to wake up early tomorrow... Come on, darling, go to sleep and I'll come too right away when I'm done... Good night.” He closed the door slowly with a awkward smile.

Historia stood outside, trying to process what had just happened. Her husband had just rejected her and pulled her out of his office, smiling sarcastically as she headed to her room. She looked in the mirror to check herself. Her self-confidence was a little shaken before today, but after what happened a short while ago, she thinks it will takes a lot to restore it. She ran her fingertips over the skin of her face and negative questions began to creep into her mind…

"Maybe I lack feminine qualities? Maybe Reiner didn't like the dark red color of my nightgown, white would have been better? Or...Or maybe my hairstyle looks too random!!"

She moved closer, contemplating her features. Perhaps she was ugly or had she gained weight after marriage? "I was rejected… My husband refused to spend time with me after he abandoned me for a long time!"

Historia sighed, trying to control her feelings, then she began to wipe off her lipstick and change her clothes into comfortable pajamas. Finally, she buried her body under the bed sheets, closing her eyes, hoping that sleep would spare her from blaming herself and overthinking.

The morning sun came out, disturbing Historia with its rays seeping in through the window. She pushed the blanket away with difficulty and looked at the clock. It was late. She lived in an empty house, with nothing to do except cleaning tasks, in which she can vent her anger and waste some of her time. She prepared her juice, ignoring every thought running through her head about last night.

She sipped her juice while watching the series ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ This series gives her the amount of energy she needs for each day. She was engrossed in her sweet world until she heard voices in the corridor outside the house.

Her curiosity led her to the kitchen to watch the cameras screen and get a closer look. She knew that the house next to her had been empty since she moved. Apartments in this building are expensive, as its location is convenient and lively.

"Oh.. I'll finally have new neighbors. I'm tired of being the only resident on this floor." Historia mumbled to herself, drinking from her cup and trying to separate the transport workers from the owners of the house. “Oh, she must be the owner of the house, she looks young, she must be rich, she was able to cover the costs of-”

A woman with long black hair who looked to be in her mid-twenties raises her hand to hit a man’s palm, and they smile at each other. Historia knew that spying was not a good habit, but she pressed the volume button so that she could hear what was going on between them.

“We did it, honey, it was very stressful. Let’s go inside,” the woman said softly. She entered first and he grabbed the upper end of the door, stretching his huge body before entering and closing the door behind them.

"A Couple…" she muttered with interest as she left the kitchen. She continued her series, and at every cute shot that took place between the two heroes, she would sigh and complain about her luck and situation to the table.

"What is this drought that I am experiencing because of you, Reiner…”

She then completed cleaning the last corner of the apartment after her series ended. She won't rest until she sees the sparkle of the floor and the marble in the kitchen. "Perfect perfect peereffect !!"

She was now in the kitchen. She prepares her favorite vegetable salad and swore not to prepare anything for that computer worm (Reiner). "Let him eat his computer buttons if he is hungry. Who does he think he is? Tch~"

She suddenly heard the sound of the doorbell and turned lightly to the camera screen in the kitchen. “They are the neighbors… Oh, my neighbors, it is a new word to me..”

She stopped halfway when she realized that she was still wearing her ugly pajama, so she quickly put her robe over it. It's not an appropriate appearance for the first meeting with new neighbors, but it is better for them than to wait a few minutes until she's ready. She tied the belt of her robe, quickly checking her hair and practicing a smile before finally opening the door.

Her neighbor was wearing comfortable home clothes, which made her feel at ease. She smiled politely and said, "Hi ! I'm Mikasa Jaeger, your new neighbor. I wanted to introduce myself and apologize if we caused any chaos during our move."

Historia smiled back and returned her greeting with respect, "Oh, welcome, Mikasa...I'm Historia.. Historia Braun, and please don't apologize. I didn't hear any noise, and I wasn't doing anything important...so come in!" She stood aside and let her in. When she entered, she closed the door behind her.

As soon as Mikasa entered, she looked around the apartment, inspecting it silently before returning her gaze to Historia, placing a rectangular cake box on the table. Then they both headed towards the kitchen and Historia began preparing two cups of coffee.

“Actually, I don't like formalities very much. I just wanted to leave an impression on my first meeting with you,” Mikasa said as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Historia smiled at her, placing the cup in front of her, then replied: “Then we will come to an understanding on this point. I don’t even wear what is appropriate for meeting guests, so please feel comfortable with me…"

“So how long have you been living in this building?” Mikasa asked after taking a sip of her cup of coffee.

“About two years ago, did you come from another city?”

“No, I lived in the suburbs, but my husband moved to work in a hospital near this area, and it would be tiring with berlin’s heavy transportation to move from our old house to here.” Mikasa paused for a moment before adding: “Oh and speaking of my husband, he wanted to come with me to say hello... But he had to do something important at the hospital so he quickly went, but he'll say hello later."

Historia put down the cup of coffee after sipping a little, then said, "That's okay, his work must be very hard."

Mikasa sighed slightly, sipping her cup as well and taking a look at the place. “Your house is very comfortable, do you live alone?”

“No, I'm married, and I also moved here right after my marriage. He is also at work, so I'll have him introduce himself later.”

Time passed and both women exchanged conversations in which they learned a little about each other, their preoccupations, and their interests. Historia introduced Mikasa to some nearby malls, and before she left, they exchanged phone numbers to agree on a date to go out someday.

Later, Historia was drying her hair after her long bath, wearing comfortable home clothes, when she heard the doorbell. She left the dryer and headed to the screen before heading directly to open the door.

A large man was standing majestically filling the space at the door, carrying a small box in his hand and wearing an imposing gray suit while gathering his hair in a man's bun. He extended his hand and Historia quickly shook hands with him.

  When his eyes fixed on her face and their hands touched, her brain short-circuited, it felt like she was in a romantic film. His gaze was intense and intense, as if he was studying every detail in her. Historia had not seen a man like him before, he was handsome, well built, and had a charming body, and he appeared to have a mature personality. It took her a few seconds to realize that he was still shaking her tiny hand while his huge hand engulfed hers…

"Eren Jeager, your new neighbor and Mikasa's husband, I apologize for not coming earlier."

Historia looked at him spontaneously. “O-Oh No No ! That's okay… I'm Historia Braun, it's nice to meet you, Mr.Jeager !”

A faint dimples appeared on his cheeks as he smiled slightly, adding to the charm to his handsome face as he looked at the pretty woman infront of him and noticed how flustered she got after greeting him. He let go of shaking her hand and then offering her a small wrapped box.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too Mrs.Braun… Here's a little gift, I hope you like it."

Historia took the wrapped box and smiled softly as she held it in her hands. "Ah, you shouldn't have."

He chuckled softly and shook his head." It's just something small really.” He gave her a friendly smile and it made her heart skip a beat, her throat suddenly feeling very dry. She wasn't sure if the heat she felt in her cheeks was from embarrassment or attraction.

"Thank you so much" she managed to say, her voice sounding a bit hoarse.

“You’re welcome” he said softly, his gaze lingering on her face for a few moments before he looked away. "So… I hope we can get along well and be good neighbors."

"Yeah… of course," she said a soft smile on her lips. Then Eren left and she closed the door behind him.

Chapter Text

Historia frowned after receiving a message from her husband Reiner telling her he'd be late getting home. Here he is, making the situation worse with his actions, oblivious to the difficult situation between them. She's not looking for trouble, but it was becoming unbearable.

It wasn't just the lack of bed sharing, but even the food, the pleasant conversations after waking up, and the lunch break they used to have together at the restaurant near her university. She wandered through her memories of him, and it felt like it was so long ago. He hadn't been so obsessed with his work before. How their situation had changed to become what it was now ?.

He wakes up early and leaves for work. He either comes back late or stays in the office and comes back early. He sleeps a few hours to complete his work in the office at home. They barely have a short conversation, and he even eats his meal on his computer. He has been like this for months, but she didn't notice it because she was busy studying.

She sighed, trying to forget about it. She decided they would have a long talk about it when she felt the time was right and there was no way he could refuse. She got up and headed to her room but she paused when she noticed the small box her new neighbor had brought her a few days ago. 

Historia remembers that she had placed it next to the shoe cabinet. She must have changed its place when she was cleaning. She carried it, walking to her room and shaking the solid object inside it. When she opened it, she found a Glass snow globe with a small galaxy inside, nice gift.

She smiled and quickly went back to the kitchen, hanging it on the refrigerator door with the rest of the pieces, but its shape looked really special. The other pieces looked messy and kind of cheap, so she removed them, leaving this one there by itself, as it should be because it was different, and then she went to sleep.

In the morning. Historia woke up at Reiner's annoyed voice coming from the bathroom, and checked the clock, it was a quarter past nine. She didn't feel him coming at night, so she pushed the cover and went to him, stretching her body lazily.

“Uh...Good morning, love. Why are you complaining so early?”

He was standing in front of the sink, trying to balance the faucet so as not to splash him with water, and it seemed that it had broken down. “I lifted it too hard and broke something inside. Be careful with it. I'll inform the building assistant on my way.”

Historia hugged his arm, surprised by what he said. “On your way? On your way to what, Reiner? Today is the weekend.” 

He blew air out of his nose, narrowing his eyes in annoyance at her question. She knew by that he was going to work again. She left his arm in annoyance and headed to the kitchen with annoyed steps, so he followed her.

"Historia, please, I don't have time to argue with you."

She turned around and hissed angrily, "You basically no longer have time to do anything with me, Reiner. I'm not in your daily plans. I've been banished like one of your books among the shelves, waiting for one day to pay me some attention."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as if her words hurt his brain, he was really exhausted today, the situation was overwhelming him and he would burst at any moment. 

"Listen, I won't repeat my words so please listen to me, I'm really busy these days to have time for anything other than work. I understand that you are missing me but I can't do anything about it!"

He came closer, holding both of her hands between his palms and kissed them. She looked to the other side, expressing her dissatisfaction.

“Listen to me, Historia. All that matters is that I'm interested in deals concluded by important figures. If I am the first to give the news and arrive before the police intervene, the news will be mine. I'll become the most famous journalist in Germany. Believe me, I'll ask for a leave after that and devote myself to my sweet wife. As a simple apology for my absence… And now I'll prepare for you…your favorite breakfast. Rest easy, my princess."

His eyes were shining dreamily, and Historia didn't want to prolong her dissatisfaction with him or disturb the peace and this beautiful morning. Reiner offered to open the refrigerator to take out the ingredients needed to prepare her favorite vegetable omelet. He was somehow good at making it, and no matter how much she tried to follow the steps of preparing it, it didn't taste the same. She sat and watched him while he was busy washing and cutting vegetables. She missed this sight.

"I've never seen this piece Historia. I don't remember when we got it? It looks beautiful." 

"No, it's a gift from our new neighbors. You've been busy for days and haven't been able to meet them." She said as she walked up to him until she was behind him and embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hmm," he hummed slightly disinterested while chopping the rest of the vegetables, but he leaned over the slightest bit towards her when she hugged him, she looked so small behind him and he secretly felt warmth within himself.

"Then who are they?"

“A couple, The woman visited me, she never stopped bragging that her husband was a surgeon.”

Reiner laughed sarcastically, then said: “Doctors are devoid of compassion and mercy. I must devote myself to them and expose their dirty maneuvers and their dealings in the lives of innocents. These people only help owners Power and influence, our neighbor must have money too.”

Historia bit his shoulder and broke the embrace, “Is there nothing to talk about? Other than your investigations, Detective?" 

He mumbled his words and continued preparing her omelet while she was cutting the soft fruits. It was a quiet breakfast. Historia was able to spend a little time with Reiner and a lot of talk about work as usual.

Then he kissed her cheek and left. She had forgotten to confirm that the faucet was broken. She was calling the building's help center but the line seemed to be disconnected so she decided to report it herself.

She headed to the office downstairs, there was usually a worker receiving notices to send help later but she found no one this time. She stood anxiously, intending to return when she heard a voice and someone approaching her.

“Good morning, Mrs. Braun.” Eren called in his manly voice. Historia furrowed her eyebrows suspiciously before turning to see who was talking to her

It was her new neighbor. The last time he'd visited her, it had been at night, and all she'd been able to make out was their height difference. But now she'd never forget the details. He was wearing dark blue cotton pants and a long-sleeved white shirt of the same brand.

He was carrying a sports backpack. There was no doubt that he was in the gym ; his long hair was pulled back into a messy bun, with a few wet strands hanging over his forehead. Finally, she couldn't see his shoes; if she had, it would have been obvious she'd been checking out him and his clothes.

"O-Oh… Mr. Jeager, Good morning!"  

He smiled brightly and turned to the office before speaking, "Is something wrong?" 

Historia denied it with both hands before answering him quickly: “I just wanted to report that I need someone to fix the bathroom faucet. It broke this morning, but it seems that no one is there right now.” 

He looked at the office blankly, thinking about something, then said: “Oh, Unfortunately, but if Allow me, I can help you with that.” 

Historia would have refused, but she doesn't know how long the helpers’ presence may be delayed, and a large amount of water will then be lost. She knew she was talking to herself for a long time when he put his hands in his pockets and looked at her expectantly. 

“Ah.. I would be grateful to you for that.” This was her agreement, and here they were entering the elevator together. The atmosphere was quiet except for the sound of their calm breathing. She decided to break the calm of the situation. “You can stop by your house first, I can wait.”

Eren smiled slightly and shook his head. "That's okay, I'll finish the matter quickly.” As she opened the door of the house and he went inside, he said : “I just need some tools.” 

“I’m not good with the names of those tools.” she said smiling awkwardly.

“That’s okay, bring the bag and I’ll handle it.” 

She showed him the way to the bathroom and placed the bag in front of him. He knelt in front of her, bowing his head and turning between the tools, and strands of his dark hair hung smoothly, and she loved it for a reason she didn't know.

“Let's look at what we have here~” He stood tall, placing what he needed next to the basin to roll up his sleeves, and his arms, which were in proportion to the size of his hand, appeared before her. Some of the veins were prominent, making them more attractive.

She folded her hands to her chest, staring at the details of his face and neck. She didn't want to appear obvious with her stares, so she changed her position, watching him from the reflection of the mirror. He furrowed his eyebrows from time to time while he was repairing. His hands were really good. He was fixing the faucet, but Historia was having an interesting display of a different kind. His features while he was busy were seductive, and his surrounding aura was majestic, even the width of his shoulders was very worn. She was inspecting his body as if it were a complete piece of art.  

She kept looking at his handsome face, his evenly lined jaw, his thick, dark eyebrows that accentuated his features, making him look annoyed or angry, his nose matching the outlines of his face, a pair of carefully drawn lips, and his bronze-coloured skin.

"Oh God… His wife is so lucky."

Historia didn't realize that she was contemplating him until he clapped his hands and opened the faucet and closed it successfully again. She walked over to him while he bent down and put the tools back into the bag with dedication. 

She inspected the faucet and smiled thankfully. “It didn't take you long, Mr. Jaeger, you saved me.” She sighed dramatically.

“Don't mind it” He chuckled lightly at the way she was exaggerating like a theatrical artist and at her way of showing enthusiasm. She was such a pure and positive person, just like a little kid. He looked at her, smiling sideways, as he washed his hands. “I thought you were living with your husband. It was easy for him to fix it.”

She turned around and offered him the towel so he could wipe his wet hands. She replied with a hint of a frown in her voice: “He hurried to work in the morning. He didn’t have time to fix it. He wouldn’t have overlooked it if he was free.”

“Is that so?” He took the towel and wiped his hands while his eyes wandered to her neck and a little below it. “He seems to be oblivious to fixing a lot of things...”

Historia stared at him, searching for the hidden meaning behind his sentence, but he passed by her and hung the towel in its place. “let me offer you fresh juice for this morning service.” She said, breaking the silence.

He hummed contentedly, so she preceded him to the kitchen. She was preparing a cheese sandwich while she heard his movements. In front of the entrance to the door, she thought he had left, so she left the kitchen to check on him. She was a bit surprised when she saw him fixing the door of the shoe cabinet. 

"He must have noticed its imbalance earlier, that's what he meant by his statement." she spoke to herself, then smiled and went back, enjoying the accuracy of his observation of things. "For the second time, I think that his wife is so lucky."

She wanted to express her sincere gratitude to him with a fresh and refreshing juice, and she prepared some vegetables next to the sandwich for decoration only. She heard his steps approaching the kitchen, so she carefully prepared his tray of food.

“You had a hard time with me on the morning of your weekend.” she said looking at him with gratitude. 

He was wandering around the kitchen. She hadn't had time to clean up the remains of her breakfast since she'd left the house shortly after Reiner. He pulled his long hair back and approached the refrigerator after spotting his gift hanging on it.

“It looks beautiful. Please keep it.”

Historia shook her head in agreement with him. “it is truly charming, and I'm a fan of snow globes.” 

She picked up the tray, intending to go to the dining table, when he stepped a little closer and clearly shifted his gaze to her cleavage, engulfing her in his tone. When he said, "Delicious," Historia was completely shocked by his explicit… Provocation ? Flirting? Harassment? Unable to think of any response, she took a few steps back nervously.

He quickly added with a smirk. “The juice !...it looks delicious.” He took a sip of the juice in one go. His eyes didn't indicate that he was referring to the juice, but didn't show any hesitation or confusion in front of him. She would definitely think about that when he left. 

With the back of his hand he removed the traces of the juice from his lips as he stared at her through the darkness of his eyes. She was confused for a moment and said quickly, “I made you a cheese sandwich, too.” 

He extended his hand and picked it up from the plate, continuing to stare at her.

“Please sit down and rest while you finish your sandwich.” She pointed at the chair, avoiding his prolonged gaze that almost made her lose her senses. As soon as he looked away, she pulled her shirt up a little to hide what was visible, holding a long, suffocating sigh of tension in her lungs.

Eren sat at the empty part of the table, and Historia began moving the dishes, emptying the table completely, while he ate slowly, as if he didn't want to finish his sandwich quickly.

“It's strange that I haven't met your husband yet. It's been about a week since we moved.”

“He's been busy with his work lately.” She shortened her answer, not wanting to give him any other details.

He continued while she made herself a cup of coffee : "This is not appropriate."

She brought her hands to her chest, waiting for the cup to be filled, then asked: "What is not appropriate?"

“No, I mean your husband's work. A man must not neglect his wife.”

She smiled, holding her hot cup and walking to the chair opposite him. He was tracking every step she took until she was right in front of him, and he had the opportunity to contemplate her closely while his head rested on the palm of his hand.

“It's okay to wait sometimes.. Uh… never mind, I can't believe that now I have a friend who is a surgeon!"

His shoulders rose as he tapped the table with his long fingers. “Yeah, and he just fixed one of your shoe cabinet's door.”

Historia laughed at his arrogance, and Eren smiled back at her. She said while taking a sip from her cup, “And humble too! You must love manual labor.”

His smile widened with the irony in her tone. Her sweetness and innocence looked like they were from another world. Her blue eyes and blonde hair suited her in this atmosphere, and her body too-

He cleared his throat, looked at his hands carefully and replied, “Part of that is due to the nature of my work, as it depends primarily on the stability and dexterity of my hands.” He turned his scrutinizing gaze towards her, then added: “They're admirably skilled at everything.” There was no hint in his words that recalled what Historia was feeling now, but his gaze was frighteningly suspicious. 

He inspected her as if he was getting used to her features. His green eyes alternate between her lips and the bottom of her neck while he caresses his ring with his thumb and pushes the inside of his cheek with his tongue slightly. 

Historia doesn't know if her distraction in the bathroom led him to misunderstand her, but he doesn't look at her as his married neighbor, Rather, as a female, he fell in love with her by chance and the fact that this situation happens to him and he is married, which aroused within her some desire to fool around. 

"If he wants some play, i'm good at it."

She reciprocated him defiantly, even as she sipped her coffee. They never broke eye contact. She was in control of the situation externally, but her panties were now very wet.

Right after Eren finished his sandwich, he left. Historia found herself alone. His presence didn't last more than half an hour, but he filled a large void deep within her. It awakened feelings inside her that she thought wouldn't be renewed after her marriage, feelings of attraction to another man.

Chapter Text

As soon as Historia finished the housework, she was ready to take a bath. But she suddenly received a text message from her neighbor Mikasa, inviting her to go out shopping together in the mall that Historia had previously suggested to her, so she agreed anyway.

She pampered herself with a warm bath and then went out getting ready. She dried her hair first, then put on a gray cloth skirt that reached above her knees and a white sleeveless shirt that stuck to her details. Then she put on only blush and lip gloss. Finally, she went down and waited for Mikasa for a few minutes before arriving. catch up with her.

"Hey Historia, have you been waiting too long?" She said anxiously.

Historia smiled at her and replied, “No, I just arrived, don’t worry.”

“Then let’s go! The car is in front of the building.”

Historia knew that they were well-off, but she wasn't expecting to see Black BMW XM.

They got into the car and Mikasa started the engine, and Historia heard a luxurious sound that made her heart beat strongly. 

"Your car is so cool.”

"No it's not mine, my car in the parking downstairs,” she said, fumbling for the steering wheel, then adding, “I’d rather drive Eren’s car more, he’s kind of obsessed with cars.”

“Oh.. He has good taste,” 

Mikasa nodded her head with some pride. They arrived after a short time and have been shopping for more than two hours. Mikasa was buying everything she set her sights on, so much so that they had to go back to the car to unload the bags there. As for Historia, she only bought some necessary things. 

They clasped their hands together, hiding their excitement after they found a store that sold dresses, They didn't hesitate for a moment and found themselves surrounded by hundreds of choices, all with limited designs.

“It is heaven, Mikasa!”

“You're right, we must find what we want amidst all these choices.”

Historia began flipping through the pieces, looking for the dress, which in turn searched for her until she found it.

She looked around, looking for Mikasa to consult. But seeing her deep in conversation with an acquaintance, she didn't want to interfere, but Mikasa quickly called her name from afar. "Historia, come here."

Historia came forward and greeted the woman standing there with Mikasa. “Hi.”

The woman was slender in stature and was very charming. She wore a beige sweater and a pair of jeans. Her light blonde hair fell on her shoulders in a wavy style, and her eyes are blue as the color of the ocean. And her lips were glossy and shiny.

The blonde woman returned the greeting to Historia politely. 

Mikasa said: “This is Historia. She's my new neighbor, and this is Annie, my childhood friend.” 

“Oh, nice to meet you, Annie!”

"Nice to meet you, too." Annie smiled. She was a little stoic, but she wasn't unfriendly.

Annie took a few seconds to look at Historia before adding: “...So, since you're here, I think you have to buy the best pieces for a party the day after tomorrow. You'll be my guests,”

Mikasa said excitedly and cheered for her. "A Party ? For what?"

“It's a party for the new project. Don't worry, it won't be like boring indoor parties. Rather, I'll hold it outdoors under the moonlight.”

Historia liked the idea too. It would be an opportunity for her to get away from home and meet new people. “M-hm… sounds good.”

“We’ll have fun.” Annie smiled again, but it was a little more sly than before.

Mikasa agreed, "Oh yes, it's been a long time since I attended a party. I've almost forgotten how we danced.”

"Your husband is also invited, Mikasa. Armin will be sad if he doesn't come to encourage him." Annie said with a frown. 

Mikasa laughed a little and nodded her head affirmatively. “Oh, he will come."

"Good..I'll leave you two then and I'll send you a text message with the address of the party, Mikasa. I'll see you the day after tomorrow, bye~." She said goodbye to them and left. 

Mikasa pulled Historia inside again so they could busy themselves with their own mission. They put every choice they liked in front of them. 

“Okay, you should get dressed first, and after you choose, it will be my turn,” Historia said to Mikasa, so she started changing her clothes.

The first dress was a short silver dress with a bare back, which she liked very much, but it was necessary to try on the rest of the pieces. As soon as she finished, she stood confused between the first dress and another, dark red, both of which suited her.

“My God, I'm confused to choose between them. You know what? I will send pictures to Eren, as he has good taste in choosing evening dresses.”

As soon as she said his name, she had Historia’s full attention. Not a few moments passed until his answer was the first gray dress, so Mikasa accepted his choice without hesitation.  

"I also loved the gray one from the start...you'll look gorgeous, Mikasa."

Mikasa agreed immediately. Then it was Historia's turn to try on the pieces. The dress was black, long, with a slit extending to the middle of her thigh. It looks simple, but it has details that she liked. As soon as she left the fitting room, Mikasa looked at her with admiration..

"My god, you look stunning. Wow," she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand as she did.

"Your husband will be speechless when he sees you wearing it." She added with a sly smile.

"Wait... I'll take a picture of you. Maybe you need your husband's opinion as well." Mikasa said excitedly, taking Historia's phone.

Historia smiled awkwardly, then answered hesitantly: "Ah... Yeah, i think it's a good idea." 

Mikasa took a few pictures of her before she tried on the bright sky blue dress. It showed the middle of her chest completely bare, which she loved but thought was exaggerated.  

“Now send them to your husband to see which one he liked.” 

Historia sent the pictures to Reiner, hoping for a response from him, but she didn't receive any response. She spoke with some embarrassment. 

“Uhm, he..he must be busy, he usually doesn't use his phone at work.” 

Mikasa nodded in understanding. Historia didn't want to sound pathetic so she added quickly. I'm gonna choose the blue one. I liked it more than the other one.”

Mikasa smiled warmly. “I think you will look pretty in it, the colors suits you. If you like it, that's what matters”

The two women left the store with hearts full of joy. It wasn't a lie when they said that women get high just from shopping. Hunger was starting to get to them, so they stopped at a restaurant to rest and recharge their energy a little. They exchanged some passing conversations until the discussion settled on men. This is what women usually do, they go out to get away from their men and talk about them in their absence.

Historia was munching on her salad while Mikasa sipped on her soda. She put her drink aside and said to Historia with a slight frown on her face. 

“Eren was going to take me on a date this morning, but he suddenly changed his mind. I really resented him.”

Historia blinked in surprise. "Don't let this spoil the fun of the dress. After marriage, all men are like this. When they get what they wanted, they become lazy and lethargic."

Mikasa chuckled. "No it's different from Eren, at least when it comes too...well, intimacy." Her eyes drifted into the distance as if she was recalling memories.

Historia chuckled hastily. With her head slightly distracted by the conversation, she said: “I have hardly seen my husband lately. Don’t say anything that turns me on."

Mikasa happily palmed Historia's hand while she laughed out loud and added, with overflowing malice: "I'll make sure to be noisy next time so that you can hear us from your apartment and forget being alone with us." 

Historia laughed sincerely at what she said, her personality is cheerful. Mikasa let out a long sigh before saying: “Speaking of that, I'll buy some underwear to refresh my red nights with Eren~.” 

After they finished eating, they headed to their destination. Mikasa was choosing her underwear carefully, because after all, she knew her husband’s taste.

Historia didn't feel like buying anything, it would just be a waste of money. While Mikasa was acquiring the pieces with apparent enthusiasm. 

She was looking at her with some envy. She has a tempting husband with all the meanings of the word temptation. He cares about her even when he's working, and most importantly, he's observant even though he seems a little playful.

What she's thinking seems superficial and the least required between couples, but she lives in another reality, a reality in which she was rejected by her husband under the pretext of work.

Moments later, Mikasa wrapped her hand around Historia's arm and they walked out, continuing their tour after exhausting themselves wandering from one store to another.

They decided to finally return home. Historia sighed in relief after they got into the car and put on her safety belt. 

"It was worth it."

Mikasa began to drive. "Yes, it was really a pleasant day. We managed to spend most of our time, and the time flew so fast,”

After a few minutes, Mikasa's phone began to ring, and she took it from her bag, checking the caller's name on the screen.

“Oh Eren's calling,” She quickly answered the call and put the phone on speaker.

"Eren…" This man invades Historia's thoughts even in his absence. 

As Mikasa turned on the speaker mode, Historia could immediately hear his tired, deep voice.

Mikasa quickly responded to him. “Hey~”

"Hey," He said, "Where are you?"

“I went out shopping with my neighbor Historia...But I'm on my way home, darling,” Mikasa replied softly.

"Oh, that's great. I'm waiting for you.” He paused briefly before adding: "Come home quickly."

Mikasa chuckled shyly. "You miss me, don't you?" 

“Yeah...Also, my work appointment is in an hour...You shouldn't be late."

"Relax~ I'll be there soon," she said in a soft voice. "I love you, honey."

Eren was silent for a few seconds and replied with a slight tiredness in his voice: "I love you too."

When he hung up, Mikasa smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "I think he's going to devour me when I get back."

Historia was listening silently. “He didn't sound in a good mood.”

“No, it's not a bad mood, it's a mood he gets when he hasn't seen me for a good amount of time. Usually he ends up getting frustrated and taking it out on me in a good way.” Mikasa spoke with a naughty smile.

"Oh, really? We must hurry, then," Historia responded with a joke that reflected the lack of patience and irritation she was feeling.

Mikasa laughed and increased the speed of the car. They arrived at the building and said goodbye to each other, and each one of them went to her home.

As soon as Historia entered the house, she was overcome with a desire to cry, feeling terrible weakness and loneliness. She decided to sleep immediately after changing her clothes into comfortable ones.

Historia didn't feel time passing until she woke up to the sound of a text message notification. It was ten o'clock at night, as usual, a message from Reiner, and Historia was starting to get used to it a little. The busier she got, the more she forgot about his relatively frequent absence. 

She picked up her phone and decided to take a short walk in the park next to the building. She put her hands into her jacket pocket, and her steps were almost lifeless. Very slowly, as are the events of her life. The night wind blew her face, blowing her blonde locks back, a little cold but refreshing. Surrounded by dim lighting lights that do not illuminate the darkness of the road on the other side, the place is almost empty, and only the sound of the scraping of tree leaves can be heard.

She approached one of the empty seats, raised her head, and looked at the sky a little, contemplating it. There's always something new to see in the unchanging night sky.

A sound of a branch breaking startled Historia, so she turned to check what was coming. It came a little closer and it became clear that this person was none other than Mr. Jaeger. 

"This evening is going to be interesting."

As soon as Eren saw the familiar blonde, his steps slowed down a little. He was going to take a small walk and clear his head, but it looks like he's not the only one who had the idea this night.

“Did i disturbed your privacy Mrs. Braun?” He said without introduction, walking towards her, then sitting next to her, a few inches apart. 

She returned her gaze to where she was looking and said, “...It's okay, the sky is big and I need someone to share it with me.” 

He let out a light chuckle that could barely be heard. A long and somewhat annoying moment of silence passed. Eren sat up straight, resting his elbows on his knees and holding a bag of tobacco in his hands.

Historia couldn't deny that she was amazed by this sight of him so she gave herself the chance to bask in it.

He took out a white piece of paper, placed it in the palm of his hands, then placed the bag in the space between them. He took out a little bit of tobacco from it, pressing it between his fingers before turning it over with the paper. He turned to her without stopping what he was doing. 

"It's an imported tobacco. Do you smoke?"

She denied it with two shakes of her head, then answered calmly: “No, but the smell doesn’t bother me.”

He hummed in understanding, then raised what he had in his hand to his mouth to remove the transparent tape. He licked the area lengthwise, then twisted it. He held the cigarette between his lips, then put the tobacco bag back in his pocket and took out his lighter…

He covered the end of his cigarette with his hand and lit the flame of his lighter with the other, illuminating his face for a moment.

At that moment, Historia felt a loud pulse in her heart, his gravity weakening her. She was distracted by it for a long time and it became embarrassing for her. She wanted to act quickly and not seem obvious.

“I thought doctors hated smoking.”

He exhaled his smoke, letting it stream out of his nose while his mouth still maintained his previous position. Then he answered, “I don’t smoke regularly. Rather, it comes between every time I crave it or have a moment of weakness.” 

“And which one is this time?”

“I crave it.”

She just noticed that he was wearing his gray work suit. This means that he didn't stop at his house to change his clothes. Her curiosity prompted her to ask him if there was a problem between him and his wife, but she decided not to.. 

“It seems that you want to spend this time alone...I'm leaving," she said, and was about to straighten up, but Eren pushed his hand, holding her wrist somewhat firmly, blowing the scent of his smoke onto her face.

“I don’t want to be alone.”

His words surprised her and her body was fixed in its position. 

She sat back on the chair, but her arm remained in his grip, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry to release her. Historia didn’t want him to let go of her wrist. She liked his grip. But unfortunately he let go of her wrist away in the end.

She continued asking curiously : "Have you had a disagreement with your wife?"

He shaked his head in denial, "No...Mikasa is peaceful. I'm here because she doesn't like the smell of smoke."

Her stomach tightened at the thought of him holding on to her despite the presence of his wife.  

He lowered his head, looking at the ground, looking broken. A dark silence prevailed between them, which ended when he stepped on his cigarette, leaned his back on the chair, and stared silently into nothingness.

“I thought you didn't want to be alone.” 

“I said I didn't want to be alone, but I didn't say I wanted to talk, but that's okay if you have something to entertain.”

The wind blew Historia's locks away, so she tucked them behind her ear and said, "I don't know, why did you come here?"

He brought his hands to his chest, and the muscle in his arm appeared, and he met her eyes. 

“My steps led me here. Something like intuition told me that I would like this place.” he spoke with solemn voice that resonated in Historia's ears. 

She tried not to look too long at the muscles in his prominent arms, but her eyes were just as treacherous as she was. 

“Does your intuition always come true?”

“My thoughts sometimes alert me that certain things will happen. They usually actually happen.”

“So you predict fates, Doctor Jeager?”

Eren's features suddenly shrunk and he looked forward, separating the conversation between their eyes. 

“I don't believe in fate, but I believe in reality. My beliefs do not include variables. I only believe in everything that is constant and fate is variable.”

His speech caught her attention. She placed her arm on the back of the chair and rested her head inside her palm, looking at him from such great closeness.  

"Actually, I don't agree with you on this. Doesn't reality change if fate changes? They both change."

He looked to her, his expression was exhausted. The dim lighting and the distance of the nearest lighting gave the place a dimly lit atmosphere, and the night's chill began to creep across Historia's body. 

“This is a serious question, but I'll keep it short when you answer my question.”

"Sure."

He raised his eyebrow, distracting her attention with his sideways smile. “Will you choose to take a road you know will end, or a road with an unspecified destination?”

A light wind blew his relaxed locks on his forehead, and Historia's heart moved with it. Her tone relaxed for a reason she didn't know as she replied : "Should I not use your intuition in my answer?"

Eren approached her with no space between them. His eyes alternated between her eyes and her lips. She could inhale his tobacco-tainted breath in the midst of this hot moment.

“My intuition tells me that you are choosing the unknown path... This is the reason you chose to walk in this dark side, as opposed to the bright side of the park. You don't know who you might encounter or what might happen to you in this corner, but you walked along it with satisfied steps and sat on a chair alone in the place.” 

Historia wanted to move a little away from him without his attention, so she placed her hand on the edge. She quickly met his hand that was stationary there. She quickly moved her own away, and he smiled at her confusion.

He chuckled, and it sounded like a pleasant song to her ears. Then he added : "This is how some people are. They believe in fate and blame it for everything that happens to them. They like the idea that they are restricted, don't have the right to choose so that they don't face the consequences of their choices. They're superficial and don't see further than the tip of their nose. Life is full of opportunities and paths, but they prefer to follow a path they call fate. The more their situation gets worse, the more they convince themselves that it is written and there is no escape from it! And you are not that type, Historia."

Historia swallowed hard at the attractiveness of his thoughts. She forgot the purpose of his speech and focused on the last thing he said. "And what kind of person are you, Mr. Jaeger?"

“…I am a person who thought he was good. He recently discovered that he had never found a reason to be otherwise.” 

His face was solemn and firm that didn't fit the meaning of his words. He captured her with his looks and restricted her with his words.

Historia’s condition was getting worse. "Are you saying you're a bad person then?"

“No... I wouldn’t describe myself as bad since I know what a truly bad person is, and I certainly know I’m not one...But good people are those who have control over their actions, thoughts, and feelings. I have the least control over my actions among these three.” he finished his speech, focusing on Historia's lips as if he was about to devour it.

She liked what he said, she liked the smell of tobacco from his mouth, And she liked everything about him. So she responded very numbly, looking into his dark green eyes. "Ah...I see." 

As soon as she finished speaking, her phone vibrated inside her pocket. She didn't pull it out immediately. Time stopped for a moment as she indulged in exchanging glances with Eren.

Then she pulled out her phone to reveal a call from Reiner. She moved away a little to answer. It wasn't a long conversation. He told her to prepare herself and he would invite her to dinner.

Historia felt like she needed to explain why she was leaving, so she spoke with a small, awkward smile: “That was my husband. I have to leave now. He’s waiting for me.”

When she mentioned that her husband is waiting for her, a strange look that didn't fit Eren appeared on his face. It took him a while to speak. "…You should go then."

“Y-Yeah.. And It was a really interesting conversation, Mr. Jaeger. I enjoyed your company. Good evening.” Then she left with some resentment because the atmosphere between them was excellent.

Historia thought it would be a couple's dinner, but she was disappointed when Reiner pulled her over to a table where four men and two women were gathered. As soon as they approached, they exchanged greetings and introductions with Rainer's co-workers.

They were talking nonsense that she didn't care about at all, so she was busy only eating her food. 

Reiner finally paid attention to her, poking her side lightly. "Is there something wrong, dear?"

“There's nothing wrong, Reiner, keep talking.” 

And just like an idiot, he keep busy talking to his co-workers, completely ignoring Historia. He exchanges laughs with his females co-workers, and his touches on the shoulder are responded to with touches on the thigh from them, with all lewdness and insolence, as if he wasn't a husband to a woman.

Historia is fed up and her pride is shattered. She felt as if she was an intruder and humiliated. She stood up from her seat in obvious annoyance. "Reiner, let's leave. I'm feeling tired."

Reiner's eyebrows furrowed in dissatisfaction, as if she had stolen the fun he was having. "What ?... But we have just arrived..." He grabbed her arm forcefully. "Come on, sweetheart. Sit back down," he said firmly with an irritated look on his face.

The grip on her arm was extremely painful, but she tried to maintain her calm. "But I'm really tired, You can stay but I'm leaving anyway." she repeated firmly in a low voice.

Their situation wasn't hidden from the others. All eyes were now fixated on them. Reiner was obviously angry. He was angry that she was standing her ground and he was even more angry that a public scene would be made. "Sit your ass back, I say. We're not done yet."

He tried to pull her to sit on the chair again, but Historia quickly snatched her arm from his grip then left the restaurant and stopped outside as she heard him following her. She angrily walked to the car and got in, closing the door forcefully.

Reiner came closer to the car and opened the door forcefully, looking furious. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He yelled. He grabbed her arm again and pinched it hard. "Are you stupid? You're embarrassing me in front of my co-workers!"

He continued to rant in front of her, "Why would you do this ?... Why are you trying to ruin everything for me?! Don't I have the right to have some fun, Historia? Why did you have to ask me to leave right away?"

Historia couldn't utter a single word in defense of herself as Reiner continued to squeeze her arm to the point where she felt a twinge of pain. Her features wrinkled in shock at his words.. 

“Are you calling me a spoiler of fun now? Why did you invite me in the first place? To listen to you talking about your fucking work again?!…"

He squeezed her arm even harder while his voice was rising even more, "... I invited you so that you would sit there looking pretty and be quiet. But instead, you made a damn scene in front of everyone !"

He let go of her arms forcefully, tearing the first three buttons of his white shirt angrily so that he could breathe and calmed himself down. Then he added: “But it seems that I am a fool for inviting you to spend some time together.” 

Historia looked ahead blankly, not believing that he was turning things around in his favor now after everything she had been through because of him. This was the point where she poured out the pain she was holding inside.

“Are you talking seriously now? It wasn't even a couple's dinner like I expected. You invited me to be an outsider among you while you brought up topics related to other people's lives and you call it spending time together?... Is this the job you left me alone for hours at home for?... Answer me, Reiner, aren’t you ashamed of yourself? I see that you find time to laugh with other women, more than you prefer to spend a good time with me.”

She didn't notice when a tear ran down her cheek, so she wiped it away roughly.

Reiner's face darkened with anger she had never seen before. He slammed the steering wheel so hard that Historia's body trembled at the sound.  

“What the fuck do you want me to do for you that will satisfy you then? Should I leave work so I can entertain Your Reverend Majesty in your free time! You are truly unbelievable!”

She looked at him with disgust, unable to stay with him or hear his voice now. She opened the door and quickly got out and quickly stopped a taxi before he could stop her. She could see his car from the rear view mirror, suppressing her desire to cry. 

"He's having fun with others and tells me that he's busy with the case of the Minister of Justice!...I hate you, Reiner! I hate you!"

The car stopped in front of the building and Reiner was right behind Historia. Her embarrassment was bound to be complete when she found Mr. Jaeger smoking outside and heading to his car. 

Eren looked at Historia passing by without speaking to him, and he must have seen Reiner getting out of his car following with her. It looks like a scene from a drama series as he quietly watches them.

As soon as she entered the house and closed the door, Reiner slammed the door with his hand and rushed inside. He grabbed her arm roughly, until her hands were on his chest as she tried to push herself away from him, but he held her arm tightly. His eyes were emitting a spark that Historia wasn't used to, and his eyes only looked at her with tenderness and compassion. 

"What did you mean by your damn words? Why the hell did you leave me and go away?" Reiner shouted angrily, not paying attention to the open door behind them.

"Let go of me, Reiner ! you're hurting me!" Historia said in pain and with some fear, trying to resist his grip.

He pulled her to him with such force that it hurts her more. "Damn it, do you understand the amount of rage I feel right now ? What will they say about me now, his wife is controlling him? What a shame !"

Historia gathered her strength and pushed him a little, but Reiner quickly pushed her and her back hit the solid wall.

"Ah ! Reiner, you're scaring me. Please stop.. I'm.. I'm only asking for a little attention from you, which you shared with your two fucking co-workers in front of me with all shamelessness, as if I were not there!"

His anger flared up and their yell echoed throughout the place. Historia can't finish her words after Reiner grabbed a vase, broke it forcefully next to her and its pieces scattered at the entrance door, causing her fear.

Reiner rebelled a lot and was not aware of himself when his hands rose directly into the air. Historia shrank around herself, waiting for it to fall on her cheek.

Second

Two

Three

“Oh, who the hell are you?!”

Historia slowly opened her eyes and saw Reiner turning to Eren who was holding his wrist that almost slapped her. He lowered it sharply and they met each other with looks that emanated sparks.

Chapter Text

Eren’s eyebrows were furrowed in anger and he had tightened his grip on Reiner’s hand with a strength that made Reiner shrink in spite of his build. 

“Is this your habit? Hit your wife because you are pissed off?”

Reiner snatched his hand quickly from Eren's grip, massaging it as it stung. He clenched his jaw and said angrily, "That was none of your business."

He was panting, his face was red with fury, and his fist was shaking in Eren's grip. Then he grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall, Eren didn't resist at all. 

Historia tried to push them away from each other, but she quickly received a push from Reiner that made her lose her balance and fell to the ground. “Get away!!” As a reaction to avoid the fall, her hands were the victims. Some scattered pieces of the broken vase entered her hands, causing blood to flow out. 

She painfully took out a piece of glass, then she heard the sound of a strong punch as Reiner hit the cold ground next to her. He put his hand under his head in pain. Eren got on top of him and pulled him off the ground again by his collar.  

"A-Ah...What's wrong with you? She's my fucking wife. Why are you interfering between us?"

Eren answered with provocative calm. "Be who you are. I won't allow myself to see a man abuse a woman without intervening."

Reiner grabbed his collar as well and shouted back at him. "And who do you think you are? A commanding hero?"  

He quickly responded with a punch that knocked him unconscious. Historia gasped in shock and leaned towards him, patting him on the cheek, hoping he would wake up. Her tears obscured her vision. The situation was very confusing. A lot had happened around her in the blink of an eye.

“No No ! Reiner, please wake up, don’t die.”

Eren watched the scene from behind, surprised at her reaction toward that bastard. 

“Don’t worry, he just lost consciousness. He'll wake up in two or three hours at most.”

“You..You shouldn't have intervened, things have gotten worse now.”

He leaned towards her and held her bleeding hand, ignoring her words. “The wounds aren't deep, but they need to be sterilized now. I'll be right back.” 

He stood up and quickly went his home, while Historia stared at the unconscious Reiner with a bleeding nose.

"Stupid !!"

Eren returned carrying the first aid kit, and closed the door behind him. He slowly grabbed Historia's shoulders and helped her stand.

They entered the living room and she sat on the sofa while he took the table as his seat. He sterilized her two hands and began cleaning each one one at a time. She spread her hand over his thigh and watched the chaos around her. He finished on her right and moved carefully to her left.

“We have met a lot today. I feel like this day is long as hell and doesn't want to end.” 

He didn't answer her, but continued his work while she looked at both sides of his face, suppressing the feeling of resentment inside her just by looking at him.

A tear fell from her eye and fell into the palm of her hand and Eren moved his gaze to her face and looked at her as if urging her to reveal what she was hiding.

"Reiner wasn't that bad, I swear. He's changed a lot."

He raised his fingertips and gently wiped away her tears, “Shh... calm down, you're hurting yourself like this. I am a man and I know what I'm saying. He's a violent husband. If he hits you once, that's just the beginning." 

His touch made Historia feel a warmth that she had not felt in a while. Slowly, the touch of Eren's fingers began to turn into a stroke of his palm on her cheek and she closed her eyes numbly and swayed on his palm. 

“You look very tired...I'll finish this quickly so you can go to sleep.” 

It's only a few moments before he finish applying some medical patches then he said: “Try not to use water tonight until the wounds heal a little.”

Historia nodded to him before he straightened up, so she followed him. "You'll help me carry him, won't you?"  

He poured himself a glass of water and walked past Reiner as if he were something thrown on the ground. This made Historia chuckle a little.

He sighed and rubbed Reiner's shoulder with his foot, pouring a little water on his face before bending down to carry him in his arms as if he were a new bride. 

Historia preceded him to guide him to the bedroom. He threw him sharply onto the bed, took off his shoes and placed them on the ground. His gaze went to the picture of their marriage on the table and he snorted a sarcastic laugh.

She accompanied him to the door, unable to express her thanks to him. She looked at him with obvious gratitude.

“You really took care of me today. A word of thanks won't do enough for what you gave me today, Mr. Jaeger.”

He smiled at her and patted her shoulder with sympathy that she felt: “Relax, Historia, and if something happens, call Mikasa, she will tell me.” 

She noded her head in agreement with his words, but he added. “It would be better if you slept with one of your friends, because he might wake up and hurt you,”

Historia let out a long sigh and then spoke: “Reiner isn't harmful, I promise you that.”

He didn't hide his disagreement and spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child: “I don't think words like 'I promise' or 'I swear' mean anything after what I saw tonight, understand?”

He waited a while, but she didn't say anything, so he added: "If you want to stay and face the consequences of your choice, that's your business. I have no right to stop you from anything, but if he hurts you one more time, I won't forgive him." 

Historia stayed quiet for another long moment before nodding her head and thanking him again, and he left the house. She closed the door and leaned her back against it, absentmindedly looking at the glass in the middle of the hallway.

She bent down carefully, picking up the large pieces of glass with her fingers, trying not to bend her palms. She swept the rest with hands spread around the broomstick, fearing that Reiner would wake up and hurt himself.  

Finally, she pulled back the cover and went to the sofa, curling up around herself, lost in nothingness, passing by as the snapshots of what happened in front of her were like a movie, repeated quickly.

She wants to sleep and wakes up to find that what happened is just a nightmare, as she will find Reiner in the kitchen preparing her breakfast with a lovely face. He will kiss her cheek and recite to her the words of his morning love. But the sound of the clock is annoying, as if it reminds her of the truth about what happened.

She wanted to sleep, but her eyelids didn't move, so she sat with her knees crossed, thinking and thinking until the thoughts consumed her, and she fell asleep, resting her head on the back of the sofa..

Historia felt his fingertips caressing her, waking her up, and soon she saw Reiner. She sat upright, turning her face away from his hand. The side of his eye was swollen and he had a medical patch on it.

He wanted to sit next to her, but she moved away from him. So he sat cross-legged in front of her, trying to look into her eyes, but she turned away, refusing.

“Historia, please forgive me. I beg of God, forgive me.” 

Hearing the tremor in his voice made Historia’s heart tender for a moment and hardened at the next moment. He held her hands and felt the plasters on the wounds, remembering what he had done. He lowered himself until he placed his head on her knees, holding her hands to his chest.

"I regret it, Historia. I'm a morally corrupt bastard... May I be cursed wherever I go for my actions against you! Forgive me, for I wasn't conscious !"

She removed her hands from him and pushed his shoulders to get up. He looked at her withering and brokenness and said "Don't do it. I'm begging you. Scold me !! Your silence is destroying me."

She suppressed her tears, he remains her husband no matter what. She stood up and looked through the window, crossing her arms over her chest.

She swallowed her sadness and said, “I cannot imagine what would have happened to me if our neighbor, Mr. Jaeger, had not intervened...You even attacked him. What curse would have befallen me, Reiner?”

He stepped forward to stand in front of her and tried to grab her shoulders, but she stepped back away from him. She wouldn't let him touch her with the same hand that tried to slap her.

“You were looking into my eyes while shouting those words, Rainer... You were looking into my eyes while raising your hand to hurt me, my husband!”  

He lowered his head, rubbing between his eyebrows intensely. He looked at her, biting his lips until they turned white. His eyes will fill with tears.

She didn't stop, but added, rebuking him with brokenness: “How insulting to you to hurt the love of your life so easily?” She asked, and in all calmness, she removed their wedding ring from her finger, then took his hand and placed it on his palm.

His eyes widened and his lips trembled as he said: “I-I have no right to justify my actions, but I'm sorry really sorry!”  

“Out of every bad moment I went through, the last thing I expected to happen was for you to hurt me, Reiner. You hurt me.”

Reiner's voice sounded weak and trembling as he spoke: “I know I am in the wrong and I hurt you. This is enough for me to hate myself. I was out of my mind, out of myself and did not know what I was doing. So please forgive me, my love. Just a moment of weakness and that was it, I know the weight of my words… I only acted out of anger.”

Historia ignored him and turned to go to her room, he followed her, collapsing on his knees, begging her. 

“Don't turn away from me, Historia. I won't forgive myself for losing you. I feel like I will die right here. I am begging you, do not leave me, I will do anything you want... I will leave, I will disappear from your sight until you think carefully... Please."

He returned the ring to her finger with a tremor in his hand. 

She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, feeling his weakness and the sincerity of his words, but she had to think about it. 

Historia is now sitting on the bed after Reiner has packed some of his belongings and left. She sits alone, crying like a little girl, tears streaming down her cheeks. She knows that if she forgives him, she might be stuck in a cycle of wrongdoing and forgiveness forever, without consulting anyone. 

Fortunately, God responded to her and she heard a light knocks on the door. She wiped her eyes and went forward to open it. It was Mikasa, so she allowed her to enter.

As soon as she closed the door, Mikasa noticed the sorrow in her eyes and the redness in them. She entered and sat silently next to her. She gently placed her palm on her shoulder and said : “Oh my dear Hisu… Eren told me what happened last night.”

They separated the hug and sat in the dining room near the kitchen. Historia began to complain to Mikasa about everything that happened last night. She measured her words so that she wouldn't seem pathetic, because she's actually pathetic.

"...Then he left, asking me not to rush my decision."

“I think he did the right thing. Do you understand the seriousness of the matter?”  

Historia nodded in agreement.

“This is just the beginning, think carefully.”

They kept talking, and Mikasa insisted that she spend the day off with Historia. 

"It's not right to miss your husband's day off. I'm fine now, don't worry." 

"What? Are you kicking me out now?" she said playfully.

“It's not like that, but you spent all yesterday with me, and today your husband might be upset too.” 

"Don't worry about that, he took turns with one of his colleagues so he can attend the party tomorrow." 

"Oh... the party... I forgot about it, I don't think-" 

She interrupted her reproachfully, "You'll go and have fun, and maybe get drunk. You need that!" 

Mikasa was being honest, Historia needed to think about anything but Reiner. They stayed together all day, ordered food, and watched variety shows until nightfall, and then Mikasa left for her home. 

Historia slept alone in the apartment. She didn't receive any calls or messages from Reiner. She laid her head on the pillow and drifted off into dreamland, she didn't wake up until the middle of the next day. It was a long and restful sleep. 

She took a long shower and prepared a light snack, despite all the circumstances she had to eat. She stayed in her bathrobe until it was time to get ready for the party. Since she didn't know where the party was, Mikasa would drive her. 

She opened the door after knocking and immediately Mikasa made a sound of admiration, "Wow, where did you hide all that beauty, girl?"

Historia smiled and returned the compliment, "You're no less than me, you look absolutely stunning."

They completed the compliments and headed to the elevator. Historia was checking herself out in the mirror when Mikasa added, making her feel strangely nervous.

"Eren is waiting for us downstairs."

They walked to his car in front of the building, he was leaning on the door with his hands in his black suit pockets, his perfume preceding him, so luxurious !.

He straightened up as they approached, taking turns looking between them, then opened the door for his smiling wife and held her hand helping her enter, saying, "If you weren't my wife, I would have married you again by now." 

Historia looked at them asking God for forgiveness for her jealousy, but the fire ignited inside her and she couldn't help but wished he had said those words to her. 

"After you, my lady," Eren said, opening the door for her after Mikasa and extending his hand to help her, but she ignored him and got into the car without his help, he smiled sarcastically and returned to the driver's seat. Their scents mingled, but his was the dominant one between them. 

Historia was sneaking glances at him as he put his hand on the ignition, and Mikasa put her hand on his, so he lifted her gently and kissed her and looked at Historia from his rear-view mirror, and she looked away.

"Is he trying to make me angry on purpose? Does he know I might get angry in the first place? Huh ? Why would I?"

He started driving and Historia resolved not to look at him even though she felt his gaze following her.

They arrived at the party venue, just as Annie had said, an open mic party, a large house that looked like a palace surrounded by a huge garden separated by walls by a dark forest, dim lights and tables here and there decorated with uniform blankets, waiters carrying trays of food and drinks between the guests and a table with different types of food and drinks for anyone who wanted something. 

Eren, Mikasa, and Historia each took a separate table and Annie quickly saw them and walked over to greet them with a smile. "You didn't disappoint me, thank you very much for coming." 

"Don't say that, it looks like a classy party." 

"People from all our acquaintances will be coming out, very excited to promote my product... Come on Mikasa, our high school friends are all here." 

Mikasa turned around to ask her husband's permission to leave, and he nodded in agreement.

"Excuse me, Historia. I'll go say hello and be back. Stay with her, dear. I won't be long."

And she stayed with her husband, her heart dancing with joy that she concealed with the seriousness of her expression. 

He moved behind her as if inspecting her from all sides, then settled in front of her, looking at her proudly and asking, "How are your hands?" 

"Fine," she answered briefly. 

"You look fine too. Would you like something to drink?" 

"A soft drink, maybe."

He gestured to the waiter with the drink tray to choose for both of them then handed her the drink and took a sip of his own, "So what have you decided with your stupid husband?" 

Historia glared at him. He was indeed stupid, but she wouldn't let him call him that in front of her freely. 

"What ? Do you think I'll back down? He's stupid, he's the stupidest of stupid, and I'll make him realize his stupidity soon." 

"What do you mean?!" 

He approached her and secretly ran his hand over her bare back, lifting it up and stopping. "You're a Bugatti, everyone dreams of having you. Let's say I found it while I was walking, the doors unlocked, the key in the ignition. You think I'd report it lost?"

He pulled her by the waist, closer to him, causing her to panic and almost spill the drink on his shirt and he added, "I'd steal it from its owner, take it away before anyone else finds it, drive it and tame it until it's mine."

Historia let out a sarcastic chuckle at his comparison that triggered her, she placed her hand on his chest adjusting his tie, under his watch and tugged it a little, pulling him closer to her and whispered in his ear.

"Your hand off me, Mr.Jaeger, your hand off me.."

Eren bit his lip, smiling and removing his hand but Historia could still feel the heat left in its place. She placed her glass on the table and flicked her fingers against his shoulder, pulling out a long black hair that belonged to Mikasa and blowing it away in front of his face, then narrowed her eyes, pretending to think.

"But you already own a fancy car."

He stared at her with his dark eyes, and she stared back. Every detail about him appealed to her. She knew he was attracted to her and he knew she was attracted to him, inviting him in with her looks but rejecting him with her actions. 

"It's okay to change, I'm a car buff." 

Historia held her glass, sipping half of it, leaving a little to spare until Eren added, "So how about a short drive ? We press the button and the contents of the EDR will be erased and I'll take you back to where you were?"

She looked aside and saw Mikasa approaching the table, but she didn't answer him. He was still looking at her with a passion, wanting to engage with her, but she didn't alert him to the presence of his wife, wanting her to see how her husband looked at her.

“Sorry for being late,” she said quickly. Eren’s expression didn’t change as she walked up to him, kissing his cheek softly.

 "It's okay, you all must have talked about the past for a long time."

"Do you know the first thing they asked me?" 

He put his arm around her waist and held out his glass for her to drink, letting out a hum.

“They asked me if I was pregnant. I quickly denied it, and I was told to hurry up and carry your child, Doctor Jeager~" Mikasa said with a laugh as she looked at Historia, who chuckled a little at her situation but it only made her want to see Eren submit to her more and more. 

"Do you think we should hurry up, Historia?" 

She drank the rest of her glass and looked at her with a half smile. "Don't rush it, you have a lot of time ahead of you. Maybe you'll change your mind about children eventually.. Uh.. Um.. I'll go get myself a drink.."

Without hearing their response, she went to get herself another drink, closing her eyes as the moment of them together assailed her. 

She watched him caress his wife's arm as she looked at him with a satisfied smile, "They look happy. I want to be happy like her. Am I not worthy of happiness, or is happiness not worthy of me?!"

Wanting to change the atmosphere a little, she walked around until she heard a voice calling her from behind, 

"Historia ?! Is this you?" 

Her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw, "Hitch?!" 

They threw themselves into each other's arms, Hitch and Historia, college classmates who hadn't seen each other since graduation as she had traveled. 

"How could you come back without telling me, you damn girl!"

"I came back yesterday, the host of the party is my cousin," Hitch replied as they walked together to her table, which was a few meters away from Eren and Mikasa's. 

"How come you were invited?" 

"Through my neighbor, she and your cousin are friends, just a coincidence."

"When did you get so pretty, girl? Marriage must really suit you! Is Reiner here too?" 

Historia rolled her eyes, "No, we're at odds and don't ask another question about him. Tell me about France, have you settled in?" 

"Ah... No, that's a definite return, I'm never going back there, and also I just met two businessmen." 

They were lost in conversation until the two men walked up to them, introducing themselves and exchanging pleasantries. Historia looked away to see Eren who was already staring at her, following her every movements, and an idea popped into her mind.

The lights dimmed and the music lowered to a classic tone, and the DJ said, "Come on, everyone, take your loved ones by the hand and share a dance."

Each couple approached each other, each inviting the one they liked to dance.

Marlo asked Hitch to dance with him and Porco approached Historia asking her to be his dance partner. She saw this as her opportunity to annoy Mr.Jaeger and get back at him. 

He took her hand and folded the other behind his back very politely. They passed the couple's table and Mikasa winked at her proudly. She smiled and saw Eren push the inside of his cheek with his tongue and look away.

They approached the stage and she rested one hand on Porco's shoulder and the other over his hand while he put his arm around her waist and they paced in time with the music.

Historia knew she had gotten the better of him when he too advanced with his wife, dancing beside her with resentment. She glanced at him slyly, a smirk plastered across her expression as he glared at her, clenching his jaw. They stayed like that until the music changed and the DJ spoke again, "Let's give it a chance to change partners, let each change their partner." 

Everyone stopped, changing partners with the two closest, and here she was, holding his outstretched fingers, resting her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes, satisfied with their closeness.

He pulled her towards him, her chest pressing against the hardness of his, protruding more, feeling his heartbeat from this closeness. His hand roamed the curves of her waist, resting it on the small of her back, as their steps moved in harmony. 

Historia separated his gaze from hers as she tilted her head to the side, resisting the urge to rest it on his shoulder and surrender to his being that was tiring her, but she wouldn't, she wouldn't give in.

He whispered to her softly, and she was absolutely certain that he could feel her racing heart, "So you prefer winding roads?" 

She knew what he meant, but she wanted to play dumb. "What?" 

"Who's that guy?" 

"And what does it matter to you?!" She replied, feigning amazement.

Their steps moved in harmony with the music as Eren grabbed her hands, turning her around and hold them in front of her with her back against his chest, whispering next to her ear as his warm breath fanned her neck, "Who is that guy, Historia?" 

She wanted to free herself, but he pulled her closer to him, and she swore she felt the belt of his pants against her lower back. She didn't answer, tilting her waist, savoring this forbidden closeness to him, and no one seemed to care, everyone was deep in their partners' arms anyway.

"Wouldn't it be better for you to be jealous of your wife while she's dancing with a stranger this close to us?" Historia said, turning to him, hanging her hands behind his neck, staring at him playfully as she added, "Why would you care about me?" 

Eren rested his hands on her waist, feeling it longingly, looking at her chest and whispering to her in a lewd tone, his lips touching her earlobe, making her body shiver when he said, 

"Because you're driving me crazy... I made love to my wife, but I pictured you in my mind, Historia. I made love to you in my mind!"

Chapter Text

Historia's eyes widened as she swallowed hard upon hearing his words, she couldn't deny that he had aroused her insides and she felt shivers in her lower abdomen, but he didn't know that and he won't know. He pulled her waist tighter, allowing that filthy friction between them, but she wouldn't submit to him.

She faked a smile and stomped on his foot, deliberately trying to hurt him, but he showed no reaction at all. 

“I didn’t hear anything, Mr.Jaeger, I didn’t hear anything, understand?!” 

“You don’t have to pretend anyway,” he answered confidently. 

"What makes him so sure? What if I told his wife what he said? Is my desire for his touch that obvious?"

“The drink seems to have gotten the better of you, Mr.Jaeger, you don’t know what you’re saying.” She spoke somewhat sharply, trying to put it in her favor. 

A dark half-smile appeared on Eren’s lips, but before he could tell her what he wanted to say, the music stopped and she quickly broke up the dance.

"I enjoyed dancing with you!"

"Me too, my lady." 

As soon as she turned around, her expression changed, realizing that he had just revealed the secret behind the looks he'd given her every time they met. She hurried to the bathroom, wanting some time to sort out her thoughts and her heartbeat.

While she washed her hands, looking at her reflection in the mirror, her mind filled with questions. She won't pretend everything is fine after hearing what he said, and she couldn't allow herself to fabricate answers that suited her. She had to hear the truth from him.

Historia intended to go to him and clear her mind of questions, but he simply complied with her request when she found him standing in the corridor that separated the bathrooms from the rest of this large house.

When she saw him, she couldn't start talking to him and changed her mind about asking him, taking several steps past him, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, so she stopped, facing him with her back.

"Why are you getting in my way?" 

"I'm not getting in your way, we're just taking the same path," he said, loosening his grip and letting go of her wrist.

He moved closer and stand beside her, she sighed angrily, looking at him with her hands folded across her chest. "What makes you so sure I won't tell Mikasa what you said to me, and your hints since the day before yesterday?-" 

"You want me, even if your actions are saying the opposite, I know that," Eren said a bit sharply, as if trying to force his point on her.

"Maybe you're wrong and interpreting things only the way you want!" 

"Then why didn't you tell her? It's not too late, tell her."

Historia froze, not expecting his response. He approached her and she took steps back until he cornered her against the wall, placing his hands on both sides. 

"Because you enjoy being close to me... you crave me without me touching you and the desire radiates from your eyes whenever I'm next to you..." He whispered directly in front of her face in a heavy tone that weakened her.

The smell of the drink from his mouth intoxicated her and numbness swept over her eyelids for a moment. His words were true and she couldn't deny her attraction to him, but she swallowed hard after he almost convinced her with his words then pushed his hand away, freeing herself from his siege, pausing for a moment trying to calm her racing heart.

A shiver ran through her at his words, as if she was hiding the truth from herself, knowing what her corrupt self wanted, desired, and wished to sin with him.

"You're wrong, Mr.Jaeger. Your thinking has gone too far. I looked at you the way any woman would look at her neighbor's husband... You helped me, and I thought you were doing it out of principle and morals, but you let me down !"

Eren threw his head back, laughing sarcastically, then looked back at her, saying defiantly, "Then why don't we go together now and tell Mikasa that her husband molested you?" 

"Because.. Because I'll forgive you, and you won't do it again." She replied nervously, cursing her way of answering, which seemed childish and unconvincing. How could she expect him to be convinced by these words when she wasn't convinced by them either!.

She couldn't look into his eyes after he exposed her. He approached with heavy steps, pushing his hair back.

"No, it's because you wanted to be alone with me, and perhaps you imagine what you want, but you deny it, however, you won't do it for long! 'cause eventually you’ll submit.” 

With the darkness of his attractive eyes, he lifted her chin with his fingers, making eye contact between them, gently caressing her cheek as if he was planting in her mind the idea of submitting to him. 

"You’ll submit!"

Historia's cheeks flushed red at his warmth, and her feelings were mixed. They were in their own world for a moment when footsteps stopped beside them. As if fate was sending someone to save them from their sin, her heart pounded with fear when his friend stood looking at them silently, and in his surprise, he lightly hit Eren's shoulder, pulling him out of his reverie with her.

“Eren, what the hell are you doing?” 

He turned quickly, recognizing his friend’s voice. Historia couldn’t read his expression, but he didn’t give any suspicious reaction. Eren blew on the sides of his fingers before firmly shoving his hands back into his pockets. 

“Here, I took it off.” 

It took her a moment to process what he was implying, then realized he meant her eyelash and she chimed in, “Oh yeah thank you, Mr.Jaeger. It really bothered me!"

His friend looked at her suspiciously, so she smiled awkwardly, hiding her panic. 

Eren stepped between them, playfully hitting his friend on the back and started talking to him, "How are you, Armin? I've been waiting to meet you all party long." 

They left the hallway and Historia took advantage of their preoccupation with conversation to calm herself down, "God, nothing is going on between us, but the feeling of doing something wrong tells me that I'm exposed to everyone.."

Armin wondered, looking at her with a bit of suspicion. He must not have bought into that eyelash removal lie. 

"Won't you introduce her?" 

“She's my neighbor, Historia. This is Armin, my best friend and Annie's husband, the party host.” 

Fear swept through Historia’s heart once more. “What if he suspects us and tells his wife and she relays the news? Oh my god, we’ve been exposed!"

“Nice to meet you, Armin.” she said politely.

"Nice to meet you too.. Historia." 

"If you think about it, Historia, there's nothing he could tell her anyway! Nothing serious happened... Mr.Jaeger was just trying to remove an eyelash on my face.. Yes, that's it.. that's the truth!" she tried to convince herself helplessly.

They continued their conversation as they walked to the stage. The product presentation ceremony began and the host of the event took to the stage to give her speech. At that moment, Historia was a little out of her mind, sipping her drink and thinking about everything that had happened. She felt very lost and no longer knew what she wanted. A lot had been happening to her lately and it wasn't good! She couldn't wait for the event to end so she decided to leave early.

She called a taxi and left without anyone noticing and sent Mikasa a message telling her she left the party because of a headache and needing to sleep. And as she staggered into her house she went straight to her bed.

A day, two days, a week and a half passed. Now Historia was sitting in a cafe, enjoying the smell of delicious pancakes, waiting for her friend Hitch to arrive. Throughout this period, she had been receiving calls that she didn't bother to answer. Some came from Reiner, some from her mother, from Mikasa too, and some from an unknown number.

Hitch finally joined her table and they started talking. Despite their closeness, Historia feared that if she told her the truth about what she was facing, the situation would get complicated.

"So what are you going to do now? Are you going to avoid him for the rest of your life?" 

"I..I don't know, Hitch, it's not easy, you know..." 

"You have to make a decision, he also has the right to-" 

Before she could finish, she interrupted her angrily, “What right does he have, Hitch?! The guy almost slapped me! This waiting is the least punishment I can do to him, so he should be grateful!”

She crossed one foot over the other, shaking it nervously before adding helplessly, "What would you have decided if you were in my situation?"

"I would have forgiven him for once," she said gently, running her hand over hers, "I know it's hard, but we make mistakes, Historia, and everyone deserves another chance! Another and last chance !"

It wasn't as if her words were new to Historia; the thought had been on her mind ever since he left home that day, but she needed to know if he deserved that chance after all, so she nodded convincedly, "True... Another and last chance."

Soon it was getting late and they had to leave, each of them took her own way and Historia had to stop at the nearest grocery store to the building to buy the vegetables she needed.

She bought what she needed, and before leaving, an advertisement for a piano training course caught her attention. She took a picture of the advertisement with her phone.

Mastering the piano had always been an unfulfilled dream in her teenage years, but it wasn't too late.

She gathered her things into a large paper bag and made her way back home. The elevator had left by then and she had to wait for another one while clutching the bag in her arms which almost bursting with the amount of things inside.

As soon as she entered, she saw Mr.Jaeger standing at the doorway as if he was hesitant about sharing the elevator with her. If her hands had been free, she would have pressed the door's close button without waiting for him.

She hadn't spoken to him since that day, and this wasn't the first time they had met. She had seen him once while leaving as well, but she didn't greet him and simply walked past him, ignoring him.

The tension between them was palpable; he was fully aware that what he did was wrong. He had gone too far that night. 

Eren suddenly spoke breaking the silence, "Do you need help?" 

"No," she answered him with full confidence, and the bag in front of her suddenly exploded, spilling all the items it contained onto the ground. Which made her lost the last two healthy cells in her brain, not changing her previous position of holding the bag, staring in disbelief as if time had stopped.

"Am I cursed? Why did this happen to me in front of him exactly?!"

Eren alternated looking between her and the sight of the items on the floor and without embarrassing her further, he bent down to pick up the vegetables in his arms.

She tried so hard to move on, but it was a bit difficult. She opened the door and let him in. He placed the things on the kitchen counter and she did the same. She didn't want to thank him and didn't want to seem rude either, so she took a deep breath and said, "You can leave."

She preceded him to the door so he wouldn't stay too long, she still hadn't gotten over what he'd said so clearly. He faced her, licking his lips as he prepared to speak, but he backed away and left without her hearing a single word from him.

The moment she closed the door, she let out a silent scream, cursing her bad luck.

"Don't worry, Historia. A lot of things happen in this life, you experience a lot of emotions, and what happened is very common! It's not like I did it on purpose!" She told herself as she put every thing in its place. Then pulled out the bag of chips, intending to watch the TV, but she remembered the piano lessons.

She browsed the website in the ad and the offer seemed tempting. “I hope I’m not being scammed, but the idea of mastering the piano in as little as four weeks is exciting! Plus, I still have six weeks before I start my new job,”

A few clicks and the registration process is complete, the first lesson will be tomorrow evening and Historia was very excited.

The rest of the evening passed so peacefully that she'd forgotten about her trouble with Reiner if it weren't for the text message notification she received from him.

"Honey, I missed you so much."

Historia sighed, throwing her phone away so she could go to sleep. Despite her loneliness the past few days had been helpful, she'd come to terms with the fact that she didn't have to wait for anyone to care, that she could move on with her life independently.

The next morning came and passed quietly as usual. Historia got ready to go to her first piano lesson full of excitement.

The instructor was a woman in her forties, very professional. She chose her words skillfully and was able to convey their meanings smoothly. Her way of speaking captivated the listeners. 

Historia didn't feel the time passing until she stopped explaining, announcing the end of the first lesson. She distributed music notebooks to her and the trainees, as the first thing to master was solfege.

It was very exciting, Historia placed the papers on the table and rested her back on the couch and the clock was 6:00pm, until she heard the doorbell ring.

She rolled her eyes after checking the security camera screen, dragging her steps to the door lazily hoping not to stumble this time. Who knows what might happen to her again in front of this devil? 

She opened the door hesitantly and folded her hands on her chest as she looking at Eren. He was carrying a bundle of water bottles in one hand and a bag in the other. He was wearing his work suit and his stethoscopes were wrapped around his neck in a cute way.

“Historia, we need to talk. I want to apologize.”

She stared at him for a while before helplessly letting him in. After all, this topic shouldn’t be discussed in front of the entrance. Someone might hear them.

Eren ran his hand along the marble countertop, lowering his head. 

While she waited for him to strike up the conversation, she made them two cups of coffee. He must have hesitated a lot before coming over today.

During the period when she refrained from seeing anyone, he was the main reason for that, but she wouldn't deny that she missed seeing him. She placed the cup in front of him and sat facing him while turning the cup with her fingers. He cleared his throat in preparation to speak.

“Okay, listen, I..I apologize for what I did that night. I drank too much then and I think I overstepped my bounds... I never meant to disrespect you but-" He sighed, rubbing his lips a little before continuing, 

"But your appearance and the effect of the alcohol that night didn't help me control myself and I said things too impulsively."

Historia nodded in agreement with him on the point of crossing the line, even though she was attracted to him, his behavior was completely inappropriate.

“I really don't want us to seem uncomfortable around each other again because of that situation, you know, everyone makes mistakes and they have to fix them, that's way I wanted to apologize to you,” he added.

She looked at him, feeling a little offended. He had crossed the line, but she couldn't deny that she liked it a little. Then she replied, "True, similar things happen in life. Next time, make sure you're not around anyone if your habits worsen from drinking."

Eren sighed in relief and extended his hand for a handshake, which Historia returned, feeling a sense of relief knowing that things had been mended between them in this way.

“I see you like to walk around in your work suit, you must have picked up that habit when you were a student, do you sleep in it?” she teased, trying to hold back a chuckle at his blank expression. 

He took off his stethoscopes and put them down on the counter, "Actually, I just got home from work. Mikasa is going to be late tonight so I thought I'd come over to apologize and get a free dinner too."

Historia shook her head in disbelief and headed to the kitchen, deciding to make a plate of pasta, "You can watch TV until I finish."

She was busy preparing the meal, checking on him from time to time in the kitchen. He was now holding the notes in his hands, turning them over. His aura seemed very soothing. There he was, doing nothing, but the feeling of him being with her under one roof made her feel reassured and comfortable.

He noticed her coming and put the papers aside. She placed the plate in front of him and a small plate of grated cheese in case he wanted to add some to his plate.

“You’re interested in music?” he asked, smiling lightly.

“I recently enrolled in a composition course, I had my first lesson today.” 

“Piano?” 

“Yes, how did you know that?” 

He pointed to the picture of a piano on the cover and she sighed, “I’ve always wanted to master it.” 

“I can help you if you want,” he said with a confident smile. 

“Can you?” 

“I told you before that my hands are skilled at many things.” 

"Woah very humble, but how can you help me? I don't have a piano."

He swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at her.

"I have one, I haven't been using it lately so you can borrow it, that way I can train you more between free times.. Consider it a token of my apologies"

Historia nodded at his offer and they shook hands again. She liked the way he was fixing things between them. 

Since things had come to this far, she decided to bring up Reiner's topic with him. "I think I'll call Reiner tomorrow," she said nervously, scratching the side of her neck.

Eren's expression quickly changed to an unreadable one. "About what?" 

"I decided to give him another chance." 

He frowned and his jaw tightened in disapproval. "You know that someone who is violent once will be violent twice or more?"

"And I also know that someone who cheats once will cheat twice or more, Mr.Jaeger." That's what she wanted to say to him, but she held back, saying in return, "But you said it before, everyone who makes mistakes has to fix them, right?"

"But this is a little different, you were lucky that time when I stepped in to help you, you never know what might happen next and how far he might go!"

"I will definitely talk to him about that and I won't hesitate to break up with him if he tries again."

He didn't seem convinced or satisfied by her words, but in the end, the decision was hers. He finished his plate and headed to the sink, his scent lingering in the place now. She couldn't get over her attraction to him, but things might take a different turn between them. It might just be a momentary attraction.

They headed towards the entrance and before he opened the door he looked at her with a smile that showed his dimples, and Historia's heart sank, but then his eyes darkened for a moment, and he seemed annoyed.

"Thank you for understanding.. Mrs.Braun, good night."

"Mrs.Braun? Wasn't he calling me Historia a moments ago!"

She was left alone again when he left, except for his scent that hung around the place, comforting her. She quickly finished cleaning and noticed his stethoscopes, "Oh God, he forgot them here."

She wanted to give them back to him, but she couldn't risk it. It was too late, and his wife must have returned. She might understand things differently. There was no reason for him to come to her if she thought of it from Mikasa's perspective. 

He would definitely come back for them, so she placed them on the shelf by the doorway.

The next day came and Historia finally mustered the courage to reply to Reiner's messages and asked him to talk. They needed to fix things anyway. 

A few hours later, she heard the door open, revealing his figure from afar. She didn't move and stayed where she was, waiting for him to approach.

She could feel her heartbeat accelerating with every step he took closer to her. He was carrying a bouquet of different colored roses in his hand, wearing a black suit. She looked at him from her seat, dark circles under his eyes and his weight loss was obvious.

"I missed you, Historia, I missed you so much, sweetheart." Reiner said, breaking the silence between them with a gentle smile before placing the bouquet on the table and sitting on the other side of the couch.

She didn't want to show her hesitation, wiping her palms on her thighs before speaking, "Reiner, you made many mistakes, and what happened that day was nothing but an accumulation of your neglect of me and your absolute lack of care."

He sighed, moving closer to her, taking her hand in his palm and stroking it with his other hand. “I know that, and I’m so sorry! I promise it was just one time and it won’t happen again.”

Historia looked at him, and he raised his hand to cup her cheek gently, which didn't affect her. She felt repulsed by him for a moment and was lost in her thoughts. 

"I'll change myself for you, and I promise you that no matter how busy I am with work, you will get my attention no matter what!"

She watched his lips move but her mind wasn't processing his words at all. She had always been desperate to have an intimate moment with him but now the opposite was happening, so she wanted to prove to herself otherwise then pulled him towards her and hugged him absentmindedly.

His body jerked back before he hugged her back passionately, running his hand up and down her back while inhaling the scent of her neck and burying his hot breath there.

She broke the hug and cupped his cheeks with her palms, "Kiss me, Reiner."

He smiled without objection and quickly captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Historia climbed on top of him and kissed him back passionately. Their kiss deepened and now their clothes were scattered everywhere. Then he carried her to the bed.

With each heavy thrust inside her, he apologized and kissed her, but she was staring blankly at the ceiling, and this time, not from the intensity of her ecstasy, but from controlling herself so as not to moan with Eren's name.

Chapter Text

Historia woke up before Reiner after their night, shuffling to the bathroom. She buried herself underwater, unable to believe what had happened to her last night, as if Eren had cursed her with his words during their dance at that party. 

She explained her attraction to him by the attention he held in his eyes towards her, and perhaps by his appearance that could seduce any girl, as he possessed the right mix of all aspects that combined to produce his perfect personality.

What she felt towards Reiner was a new feeling for her. She could compare it to the example of a little boy who insisted his parents take him to an amusement park and every time they refused and postponed it, until the day came when they finally decided to take him, but he refused on his own. This is exactly what she feels towards him now.

After Historia prepared breakfast, Reiner finally woke up. They sat at the table for the first time after their fight, and she didn't feel anything different. It was as if she had lost the passion for him, and this feeling was extremely unbearable.

“I signed up for a piano lessons while you were gone.” 

“Piano? Honey, did you miss playing that much?”

“You don’t understand art, leave it at that,” she said, rolling her eyes as she placed the cheese sandwich in front of him then added, “Don’t forget, I’m not the only one who owes you an apology.”

He gathered the bite of food with one side of his cheek, a questioning expression on his face, "Who do you mean?"

"Our neighbor Mr. Jaeger." 

A sarcastic laugh escaped his mouth, "Are you kidding? There's no way I'm apologizing to him, his punch hurt for a week, I thought my facial bones were broken."

"No, Reiner, I'm not kidding. You attacked him first, and let's not talk about that night. Without his help, things would have gotten worse."

He let out a sigh, leaning towards her and kissing her hand, then replied, "Okay, okay, as you say. Invite them over for dinner this weekend and I'll sort it out with him."

Historia nodded, hiding her excitement with a faint smile. A silence fell between them, which she broke, "I have a piano lesson today at four in case you don't find me when you get back."

He hummed, kissing her cheek before leaving to his work. After he left, she headed to the kitchen and put the flowers he had bought for her in a clear glass vase, putting some water in them so they wouldn't wilt too quickly.

"I take care of the flowers, but no one takes care of me~"

Even after they made up, Historia wished he would take some time off work and stay by her side. Maybe they could go on a trip for a few days together and rekindle the passion between them. She wasn't satisfied with her fantasies about Mr. Jaeger the night before. 

She shook off her thoughts and started getting ready for lesson. Just as she was about to leave, Eren's car was parked in front of the building, his arm outside holding a lit cigarette.

Historia hesitated whether to greet him or continue on her way, but the sound of his horn rang out, followed by the rolling down of the window. 

His car was tall, she didn't have to bend down to see him signal her to get in. She stared at him hesitantly for a few moments before looking left and right, then moving forward and getting into the passenger seat next to him.

"Good evening, Mrs. Braun," he said, scanning her over, his gaze settling on her neck where Reiner's marks were scattered. 

“Good evening, Mr. Jaeger... Are you going to call me Mrs. Braun for the rest of your life?~” She joked, but her smile faded upon noticing his dark gaze.

"Where are you going?" he asked, ignoring her question, 

"I was going to, you know, my piano lessons, are you free?"

His hand was on his thigh, the other resting outside, moving it towards his mouth, inhaling the cigarette and blowing it out the window.

"I finished my morning shift today; I'm free for the rest of the day, I'll drive you."

He extinguished his cigarette by pressing it into the built-in ashtray inside the car, turned the steering wheel with one hand while the other rested on the gear shifter, noted the address in his notes system, and drove silently.

His presence reminded her of a steamy scene from last night — she imagined him in an intimate touch. She drifted off, fixated on his long fingers and the veins on his hands. Her thoughts were interrupted when he said, "When do you want me to move the piano for you?"

He quickly glanced at her, then returned his focus to the road. In an unexpected move, he reached across her, pulled the seatbelt across her waist, and buckled it in place without looking at her — making her heart skip a beat and her breath catch from his action.

"Whenever you want, today if you're free."

He nodded in agreement and continued driving calmly until they reached their destination. Just as Historia was about to unbuckle her seatbelt under his watchful gaze, he asked, "When does your lesson end?"

"In two hours. Why?"

"Then we'll meet in two hours," Eren replied briefly, and Historia didn’t feel like pressing him further.

She didn’t know what had gotten into her — she couldn’t focus on anything the instructor was saying. She impatiently wanted the two hours to pass as fast as possible. It felt like she was going on a date with him, and that made her incredibly excited.

It felt like the longest two hours of her life, and she did nothing but spin her pen between her index finger and thumb, watching the clock hands sluggishly.

Once the two hours finally passed, she went to the bathroom before heading out, touched up her blush, and moisturized her lips. Holding her papers to her chest, she walked outside, recognized his car, and approached it with eager steps.

"Hello again, Mr. Jaeger~," she said cheerfully as she opened the car door and got in.

"Hello again, someone seems to be in a good mood," Eren replied with the same energy.

Historia buckled her seatbelt and rested her hands on her thighs.

"It was a really enjoyable class, I didn’t feel the time passing at all," she lied, clearing her throat and adjusting her posture. Then added, "So, Uh.. What kind of piano do you have?"

"I own two — one is old and the other is modern. The modern one would suit you better, and it's easier to move, too."

"And do you keep both of them at home?"

"No" He paused for a moment, thinking, then turned to her as if trying to read her reaction to his unexpected question. "Do you want to see the old piano?"

Historia couldn’t find a reason to refuse, so she shrugged nonchalantly, pursing her lips slightly. "Sure, why not? It’s still early anyway."

So he drove them to a place far from the city center. The car stopped in an upscale neighborhood about half an hour away from the city’s bustle. They got out of the car together, and she walked beside him, not knowing where she got this blind trust from.

The house was surrounded by a tall hedge of dense shrubs, with a garden encircling it on all sides and a few steps leading up to the front door.

Eren turned the lock with a key while Historia looked around, her eyes catching sight of a large swing.

"Welcome to my old home."

"So this is the house he used to live in before moving out."

She stepped inside, hiding her surprise at how spacious the place was. A long staircase stood in the center leading to the upper floor, but what caught her attention most was the marble flooring. Even though the house was unfurnished, it was incredibly luxurious. The chandelier hanging down and the ornate ceiling details made it even more beautiful. It was impossible for someone from a middle-class background to own a place like this.

"This house is nothing like your new one."

"It’s my favorite place, but Mikasa always refused to live here, saying it reminded her of horror movie houses."

"I’m in love with this house, I want to live here," Historia blurted out, overwhelmed with excitement and speaking her thoughts aloud without thinking. She quickly realized what she’d said and added awkwardly, "I..I mean who wouldn’t want to live here?! It’s perfect, haha!"

She walked up the stairs without even asking, running her hand along the solid edges. It was like a Disney movie castle — the exterior gave no hint of how vast it was inside. The rooms stretched widely on both sides, and at the end of the hallway was a massive glass balcony that overlooked the entire backyard of the house. It would look breathtaking with the moon high in the sky.

She drifted off, placing both hands on the glass of the balcony, when she suddenly felt him right behind her. There was no physical contact, yet she could feel his breath brushing the back of her neck, freezing her in place and sending a tense twist through her stomach just from how close his body was.

"Isn’t the view just perfect?" he said softly.

Historia wanted to turn around, but looking into his eyes from this distance felt dangerous. He was a dangerously intense man. She swallowed the tremor in her voice and replied, "Yeah, the view from here is absolutely stunning."

He extended his arm over her shoulder, spreading his hand near hers, almost as if comparing them. "They’re so tiny… everything must seem huge between them."

She quickly fixed her gaze on her hands, trying to shake off the filthy direction of her thoughts, and responded, "It’s not that my hands are small — yours are just unnaturally large."

"I didn’t know you had such a sharp tongue too," Eren said with a mocking grin, leaning in to her level.

Every word he spoke sent her mind spiraling into indecent places. She pulled her hand away, trying to shake off the thoughts and said with a bit more seriousness, "It’s going to get late like this. I’d like to see what I came here for."

Eren finally stepped back, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief that settled deep inside her. She followed him into a room on the same floor — to call it spacious would be an understatement. A bookshelf stretched across an entire wall, filled with books arranged like mosaic tiles, each title complementing the one next to it.

A human skeleton stood near the wooden desk, catching her attention.

Historia approached the shelves, trailing her fingers over the books in awe. “Have you read all of these?”

Eren walked beside her, exuding a strange sense of familiarity — as if she had known him for a long time, even though he was technically still new to her. But somehow, she wasn’t afraid of him at all.

“Not all, but I’ve read most of them. Some I abandoned midway.”

She pulled a random book and flipped through its pages. “Won’t this open a secret passage to some dark, creepy room?”

He raised an eyebrow playfully and hummed as if considering it. “Maybe. What do you think might be in such a dark room?”

She returned the book and leaned her back against the bookshelf, looking at him in silence before replying, “A torture chamber?”

Eren didn’t answer immediately. He had leaned against a nearby spot, eyes drifting to the marks on her neck. “Looks like things between you and your husband have been resolved.”

She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, resisting the urge to hide the marks.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

He licked his bottom lip slowly, revealing a dimple that added to his rugged charm. “Oh, it’s very good and I'm so happy about it."

She took a few steps back, watching the shadow in his eyes. “You don’t look very happy, Mr. Jaeger.”

“That’s just how my face looks when I’m happy,” he said sarcastically, stepping closer until they were beside the skeleton.

She played along, shaking her head. She hadn’t known that his version of a happy face made him look like he was about to rip someone’s throat out.

She touched the skeleton’s ribs with a fingertip, her gaze trailing down to its pelvis before whispering, “Poor female~”

Eren straightened and touched the spine with expert ease. “It’s actually a male.”

Historia didn’t think much before reacting. She drew an imaginary line along the lower region once, twice. “H-How? Where is it then!”

Eren burst into laughter that echoed across the empty room. “How can a married woman say something like that?”

“N-Not every married woman has a degree in biology, you know. For your information, I graduated in literature! You can imagine how much I hate science,” she shot back, clearly embarrassed by her own words. “A-and how do you even tell the difference between… you know… the reproductive parts?”

He began pointing to each part with an allure too precise to be accidental. That was the moment Historia realized — he was indeed a surgeon. 

“The shape of the ribs, bone length, pelvic structure—”

“What about the pelvis?” she interrupted, right at the mention of it.

“The female pelvis is more flexible to handle pregnancy, childbirth, and… sexual activity,” he whispered the last part like they weren’t the only two people in the house.

Historia swallowed hard and stepped away from him again, trying to hide the redness blooming across her face.

"Hah, his tongue is dirty in a respectable way.." she told herself.

She finally walked across the room toward the corner, where an old-fashioned dark red wooden piano stood. In front of it sat a matching velvet-upholstered bench in the same deep hue.

Admiration was evident on her face as she stepped closer, gently lifting the lid and carefully running her fingers over the ivory keys without pressing down.

She hadn’t realized how long she’d been standing there in silence until Eren gently pressed down on her shoulders from behind, guiding her to sit on the small bench. He sat beside her, resting one hand on the corner of the instrument.

“I didn’t expect it to impress you this much.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever touched real keys like these. It’s nothing like the one at the institute. I-I’m in love with it! Can I have it?” she said, interlacing her fingers in a pleading gesture, looking up at him with puppy eyes and pouting lips.

A quiet chuckle escaped him, and a shiver ran through her body when he reached out to tug her lower lip forward with his fingers before letting it snap back into place.

“You’re a beginner now. You can’t learn on this. Or well—you can, but it’ll take you longer. You need to take the shorter path.”

She didn’t fully catch his words—her focus returned to the heat rising in her cheeks. "He stirs something inside me, then acts like he’s done nothing at all!"

Trying not to show her reaction, she answered in a tone matching his, “Don’t you think you’re speaking a little arrogantly, like some kind of virtuoso? If you're really that good, then show me what you can do.”

She shifted aside to make space and patted the bench. “Come on then, Dr. Jaeger.”

His expression didn’t change as he sat beside her, pressing a few random notes before stepping on one of the pedals below — Which looked to Historia a lot like a car’s pedal.

Then his fingers began to glide over the keys with grace, the music swelling with both strength and tenderness, stroking both heart and thought. He closed his eyes, completely immersed in the melody.

“Absolutely perfect...” she thought.

In the silence between the notes, Historia’s breath grew heavier, contrasting with the hurried beats of her heart. Her feelings surged, her attraction deepening with every stroke of his fingers. Each touch to the keys responded with a captivating note that seemed to steal her reason.

The music finally ceased, and the pianist opened his eyes — those dark green irises now fixed on her. She looked back at him, no longer hiding what shimmered behind her gaze — clear, honest, shining like a lone star in a domesticated sky.

For the first time, she admitted to herself, She was truly taken with him.

She held her breath and smiled faintly, clapping softly for a few seconds while her voice’s tremor faded. "That was... mesmerizing! I’m honestly speechless... Will I ever be able to play like that one day?"

A smile no less enchanting than his performance spread across his face as he gently patted his thighs. "If you keep practicing, you’ll absolutely get there. You just have to stay consistent."

"I doubt that... It would take me years to reach your level," she mumbled, pressing a few random keys with a frown.

He leaned back slightly, creating a narrow space between his thighs, then gently patted it.

"Come here."

Historia glanced up at him, then down at the space between his legs. Her mind flooded instantly with indecent thoughts — as if he had strummed the strings of her imagination. Obediently, she moved into the space he made, her back pressing against his chest as his arms encircled her, hands resting once more on the piano keys.

"Lay your fingers on mine. Relax your hands — don’t be stiff," he whispered, his breath brushing through her strands of hair.

She couldn’t believe how close they were — her body tensed, and her palms began to sweat slightly. She discreetly wiped them on her pants before resting her hands over his, her fingers aligned with his, fingertip to fingertip. They soon found a comfortable posture, and the melody began once more — their fingers dancing in harmony.

"What do you feel right now?" he asked. "Do you feel like you’re the one playing?"

She didn’t answer, swallowing roughly. She knew their posture was far from appropriate — but she didn’t want him to move away. She wished this melody would last forever.

Historia let out a soft, dreamy sigh and tilted her head back until it rested against his chest. She didn’t try to find an excuse. She just listened — to the music, to his heartbeat, to the rhythm of his fingers.

Eren’s chest rose and fell slowly, his heart beating fast. She felt comforted knowing he shared the same emotions. Eyes closed, she surrendered to the sweetness of the moment.

Once the movement beneath her hands stopped, she became aware of the position they’d been in for the past several minutes. She lifted her head from his chest and looked down at their hands — how perfectly they fit together, like puzzle pieces. She slipped her fingers between his, and he gently closed his hand around hers.

Then, he lifted them and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, saying nothing — only running his thumb gently across her skin and exhaling deeply against her neck.

Their emotions took the lead, steering them toward a dangerous path. And yet, even as the boundaries of personal space disappeared, Eren made no move she could reject. Nothing that repelled her.

She let out a long sigh, cutting through the stillness. "This is so wrong, Mr. Jaeger... so wrong."

He rested his chin on her shoulder, then tilted his head, brushing his nose against her neck, sending shivers through her body and quickening her pulse. Her cheeks flushed as he tightened his embrace, burying her in his arms until she nearly disappeared.

"I called you so many times, but you never answered, Historia," he said in his deep voice.

She closed her eyes again, resting her head against him once more, basking in his warmth. She didn’t know what would happen next — maybe she’d never feel this closeness again.

"Why were you ignoring me? You have no idea what it did to me... seeing you walk past without even looking my way!"

He raised his hand to gently sweep her hair to the side. "You don’t know how many times I had to stop myself from showing up at your door… You're the only one I feel this need to be near."

His words struck her heart like lightning. They sparked inside her with terrifying force. Her mind was blank — this dangerous man was completely taking her over.

"Where did you get my phone number?" she asked, her voice trembling. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it so she could ask the next question.

His fingers traced the length of her neck, and her senses slipped away as she felt the moisture of his lips nearing her skin.

"From Mikasa’s phone."

She turned to face him, their closeness closing the distance between their eyes. "Didn’t you feel anything when you did that?"

With a steady voice that melted her heart, he replied, "What I feel when I’m near you is stronger than anything else — even guilt."

"But this is wrong. I don’t know what’s happening between us, but this pull, this desire... it’s a sin. We can’t let ourselves fall into it."

He kissed her shoulder, through the fabric, silencing her.

"That time, I said it under the influence of alcohol. But now, it’s your nearness that intoxicates me, Historia... You deserve a man willing to give everything up for you — and I’m that man."

Historia quickly pulled away, standing from the bench and walking a few steps, rubbing her brow in conflict.

"This is wrong, and we need to move past whatever we’re feeling, Mr. Jaeger. You’re married, and so am I! We’ll get through this only if we keep our distance. If either of us slips, the other must stay grounded."

He slid his hands into his pockets and replied with a hint of sarcasm — like he was referring to the way she melted for him just moments ago, "And is that someone supposed to be you?"

"Are we really going to argue about this now?" she replied, exasperated.

"I’m not arguing. It’s simple, this is just a feeling between two people. And there’s nothing wrong with being attracted to someone who isn’t your husband, especially when you barely even see him, Historia. You’re pushing yourself too hard."

"Fine, let’s say that’s true for me. What about you? What’s missing with Mikasa that you feel drawn to me?"

He closed the piano lid and stepped closer to her. "Believe me, I have my reasons."

That was the last thing he said before they left the house in heavy silence. The drive back was quiet. Historia stared through the window, lost in thought about what had just happened between them.

When they arrived, they walked in together, and she asked him to wait, making sure Reiner wasn’t home. Then, with a signal from her, Eren returned carrying a white piano in his arms. It looked heavy, but he carried it effortlessly, not a single sign of strain on his face.

This time, she initiated the conversation. "Alright, just set it on this table for now — it’ll look nice in front of the balcony."

After securing a few strings, he straightened up, ready to leave. She walked him to the door. "You must be exhausted from driving during rush hour. Thank you."

"It’s nothing. And you — don’t tire yourself overthinking. Don’t let it weigh on you. Everything’s going to be fine."

The days that followed — days when Historia didn’t see Eren, passed like weeks. She watched him through surveillance cameras, longing just to see him, even from afar. But that was okay. She knew she would see him again at the end of the week.

Historia had just returned from her piano lessons and thought today would be a good time to invite Mikasa.

She stood waiting in front of her house, but it seemed the place was empty. She hadn’t seen Mikasa since the party, though they had exchanged a few texts — mostly when she ignored her calls. They were never particularly close. Still, curiosity tugged at her about the true nature of her relationship with Eren.

Turning back, Historia scrolled through her contact list and called her. "Hello, Mikasa."

"Oh, hey Historia. It’s been a while~"

"Yeah, haha. I just stopped by your place, but I didn’t find anyone."

"I’m still at the office. Is everything okay?"

"I was hoping to invite you and your husband to dinner this weekend. Will you be free?"

"I’m not busy, and I don’t think Eren is either — but I’ll check with him and let you know."

"Alright, Mikasa. I’ll be waiting. Good evening."

"Good evening to you too."

Every night, as she curled up in bed, she battled the overwhelming urge to touch herself — imagining Eren’s fingers exploring her, teasing her skin. Her mind wandered back to the moment he held her from behind. She would suddenly kick the blanket off, pressing her face into the pillow to stifle the desperate little sounds that escaped her.

Then she'd sigh, long and heavy, reality crashing down on her. "I need to cleanse myself of this filth… I’m going to church tomorrow!"