tushanshu_logs | [closed] This blood on my teeth is far beyond dry

[Reiner snorts. What a handsome sight. He is swooning, someone catch him. Still, he lets Bertolt have all his food, getting up himself to get a second glass of milk, leaving the carton of it out on the table, meanwhile grabbing some more bread and fruit too.]

Don't choke yourself.

[Bertolt will not be catching a swooning Reiner; he's too busy snagging that carton of milk and forgoing a glass to chug it all down. Who knew that sleeping for three days straight would make you really, really thirsty when you woke up?]

[It also makes you really really smelly. Seriously, Reiner is used to the smell of Bertolt's sweat but this is rank even for him.]

If you choke on it, I'm just going to say I told you so.

[He leans his chin on his hand, watching Bertolt devour everything in his path like a very hungry, hungry giraffe.]

[A hungry giraffe that smells like it's been dead for about a week.]

[Bertolt just grunts, setting down the carton of milk when it's empty, completely oblivious to the fine, milky mustache he sporting, and attacks the food in front of him. Holy god, sausages, he can't remember the last time he ate sausages!]

[Someone open a window. Or just dunk Bertolt in a bath. Or five.

Despite the fact that he is not getting any responses, Reiner keeps chatting anyway. The last few days he only got to talk to Annie, or rather he got to say words and sometimes Annie was in the general vicinity to hear them, and he'd much rather chat against Bertolt's wall of silence.]

You slept for three days. I was getting close to making Annie kiss you awake.

[Except even he doesn't dislike Annie enough to inflict that sort of torture on her.]

[Take him out back and hose him down, then burn everything he was wearing. This is clearly the only solution.]

[Bertolt glances up from his destruction of all things edible, a little surprised at what Reiner just said. He… doesn't quite know how to respond to that, beyond being all but certain that Annie wouldn't try and kiss him, awake or otherwise. He noisily swallows the mouthful of food he has before responding.]

… what?

[They may have to burn the bed as well.

Reiner lifts his head off his hand a little, taking a swipe at one of the apples Bertolt now got piled up in front of him.]

You know, like the story.

[They hadn't been told a lot of stories growing up, because stories didn't prepare you for killing the way training did, but he can remember this one.]

The princess fell asleep and needed a prince to kiss her awake. Come on, you gotta remember.

[He takes a bit of his apple.]

Remember how Berwick tried to kiss hearing Annie after that story? I think she practically broke his nose.

[He's grinning. It's good to share these old memories with one of the only people he can share them with. It's like it keeps Berwick alive when it seems no one else will ever remember him.]

I remember.

[Both the story and what Berwick had tried to do. Bertolt smiles, the expression soft and a little sad, as he remembers their friend.]

She would have just let me sleep.

[And now it's back to stuffing his face, so he can avoid discussing this further. He doesn't know what brought on the sudden bout of shipping him with Annie, but he hopes it ends soon. This is just uncomfortable for everyone.]

[Excuse you, Reiner Braun is an expert on heterosexuals and their love lives. He sees the things you will not see.

(but honestly, he simply wants them to be happy, to share that sort of thing with someone else. And it is not like anyone else could understand them.)]

Yeah. And she'd punch me.

[Which wouldn't be the first time since they got to this place, but he doesn't have to talk about that.]

And you'd deserve it.

[He doesn't like seeing Reiner hurt, but he also knows that he usually deserves it when Annie goes after him. He just can't keep his damn mouth around her, or show any kind of tact.]

[What is tact, can Reiner eat that?]

It's not my fault she doesn't have a sense of humour.

[Exactly.]

It's not her fault your sense of humor is ridiculous.

There's nothing wrong with my sense of humour, maybe the two of you just don't get a joke until it bites you on the ass.

[ Reiner can then enjoy a distinctly flat look from Annie as she finally drags herself out into the more common parts of the house. She's a mess, still in her long nightshirt with her hair tangled and thoroughly mussed. She can hardly bother caring, she just wants a glass of water.

And she's clean, at least, unlike some people. ]

You think so?

[ This distinctly grouchy sounding mutter is legitimately the first thing she's said in days. ]

[Reiner jumps a little at her voice. The things that make her such a valuable ally and spy -- her near silent tread, the measured way she can carry herself with -- make her one horrendous room mate. He shakes his startled reaction quick enough though, not deigning to answer her, instead reaching over to lay an arm around Bertolt's shoulders, as if to present him. As if Annie could've possibly missed his stin-- presence.]

Nevermind that. Look who finally bothered to wake up.

[Being this up close makes it hard to ignore the elephant in the room however. And by elephant we mean Bertolt's odor. Turning his head to him, Reiner gives him a flat look.]

You really gotta wash.

[Bertolt looks over at Annie as she enters the kitchen, and his eyes roam up and down her form. It's not perverse, not a lecherously gaze; more like he can't believe she's actually here, whole and safe and unfrozen.]

[He jumps a little when Reiner puts an arm around him, jostling and dropping a spoon on the table. Then Reiner tells him how much he stinks, and Bertolt flushes, looking down at the table in shame.]

As soon as I'm done eating.

[ Briefly, Annie meets Bertolt's eyes before turning her attention towards the glass she'd come in there to get. Appropriate emotional responses to people are challenging sometimes. ]

[When Reiner notes the little downcast, shamed look, he sighs, settling for ruffling Bertolt's hair.]

Ah, nevermind that.

[Still, now that they are all three together here, there's probably a few things they should discuss. Which is why he is turning his attention to Annie.]

Hey, don't go anywhere. There's some stuff we should talk about.

[Bertolt's hair is sticking up in wild tufts now, but he doesn't bother to smooth it down. Annie has seen him looking worse over the years, after all.]

[He goes back to quietly eating his breakfast, but he takes an apple and sets it across from him, near the only empty chair at the table.]

[ Reiner has a point, Annie realizes. Any two of them here didn't require much coordination, but all three would require some sort of baseline to work from. She pulls herself up to sit on the edge of the kitchen counter, settling in.

It's not like she was going to sit with them like a perfectly normal person at the table, after all. ]

We need a new plan?

[Annie, get some manners, you beast.

Scooping up the apple Bertolt had set aside for Annie, he tosses it at her in a lazy arc, shifting in his seat until he could easily see both her and Bertolt.]

We need to figure out what story we are going with. Get our details straight.

[He turns his head and now he is looking straight at Annie.]

We're not separating this time. Sorry, you'll have to be a team player for a while.

[Because he already punched Eren for you and he'd do it again.]

[Dammit, Reiner, that apple was bait! It was going to lure her to the table like a civilized person! Now she has no reason to not stay on the counter!]

[Bertolt thinks about kicking him under the table, but decides it's not worth it. Reiner would probably just jump and then ask why he kicked him, which would ruin the whole effect. Bertolt turns back to his breakfast; he's starting to get rid of some of the vast emptiness, but he's not sure fruit is going to fill him up. He wonders if they have any eggs.]

[ Annie catches it, directing her gaze down at it instead of her two comrades. Her expression, if anything, suggests that she's entirely aware that he's not actually sorry about putting her in a position where she had to operate as part of the team.

Or maybe the very existence of the the apple-like (but not quite, not exactly as nothing in this world was ever the same as theirs) fruit offended her. It's always hard to tell with Annie. ]

Three people will draw too much attention. There's no reason not to fragment.

[ Which doesn't mean that she wants to separate. ]

[There is every reason not to separate, but Reiner also knows that most of his reasoning is emotional rather than tactical. Which are exactly the sort of arguments that won't win over Annie.]

If we play it safe and stick to our cover stories, there is no reason why we'd draw too much attention.

[He crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair a bit.]

We have Armin and Eren to consider too. If we separate, there is the chance they might be able to corner one of us. They won't attack if the three of us stick together.

We look military.

[For all intents and purposes, Bertolt might as well be talking to his breakfast.]

One soldier draws more attention than a group.

[And really, they've had three years of practice pretending to be soldiers.]

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