Chapter Text
„Eldian!“
The simple word, spoken with such disgust and condescension threw a wrench into their negotiations. Jean frowned at the officer standing opposite him. Even the Marleyan’s own comrades glared at him.
Only when Eren’s burning eyes fixed on him, did the officer realize what he had done.
„Apologies.“ He bowed ever so slightly, though Jean could see his Adam’s Apple move as he swallowed his own degradation for the sake of the greater good. Jean had no illusions that to their negotiation partners his people were still seen as lesser, and yet it was bad manners to make it so obvious during diplomatic meetings.
„He isn’t talking about you Paradisians, friends.“ General Calvi smiled at them, deliberately ignoring his subordinate. „Our Eldians…“
Jean was somewhat placated at that, only to feel fresh fury, when he realized what was happening. The war was over. The Marleyans were here to surrender and offer agreeable terms, and yet they seemed to not have learned at all. Rather than revising their prejudice against Eldians, which had caused them to subdue those living in their own land and send their children to Paradis to attack the population there, living peacefully and oblivious behind the walls, they seemed to simply elevate Paradis Eldians to a higher status, still treating their own the same.
He glanced at Eren and General Pixis, but before he could gage his companions‘ reactions, there was a knock at the door.
„Sir, you called?“
None other than Reiner Braun stood at the door. He had grown tired and weary in war, his formerly burly statute having shrunken to a wiry skeleton from hunger. The beard covering the area around his mouth and jaw helped cover sunken cheeks and yet, he should be not much older than Jean, but looked at least a decade his senior. Just like during the entire course of the war, when his Armoured Titan had wreaked havoc among their men, he was still wearing the Marleyan Uniform, his red armband exchanged for a grey one. He had lost the Armoured Titan, yet on his shoulders, he still wore the insignia of a Vize-Chief on his coat.
The entire Paradis delegation was staring at him. Jean only noticed belatedly, that his comrades were glaring at Reiner as if wanting to burn him with just their eyes. General Calvi and the man sitting next to him seemed unhappy at his appearance. It made Reiner’s golden eyes race from one face to the next, almost panicking, as if he feared he had misheard and interrupted where he wasn’t supposed to be.
Finally, Calvi gave a wave toward the officer who was standing calmly at the wall, having given no indication that it had been him calling for Reiner—having not moved at all after his apology. Calvi’s gesture made both the officer—who had been introduced to the Paradis delegation earlier as Lieutenant Masser—and Reiner’s shoulders drop.
„What can I do for you?“ Reiner asked the Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Masser waved him closer. With a fleeting glance at the Paradis delegation, Reiner stepped away from them and to the corner of the room. „It’s been three hours already,“ Lieutenant Masser whispered, though if he meant not to be heard, he was failing. The conversation in the room had died down the moment Reiner had entered, and now Masser’s voice was the only thing to be heard.
„Sir?“ Uncertain golden eyes switched toward Jean. Reiner didn’t quite meet his eyes, quickly looking further to Eren, then Pixis.
The Lieutenant’s hand shifted toward his belt. Jean just thought he was putting his hand in his pocket or maybe pushing a thumb behind his belt in a way to rest his hand more casually. In front of Jean’s widening eyes though, Lieutenant Masser undid the clasp of his belt.
Reiner didn’t move. There was a cough from General Calvi.
„Let’s go outside,“ Masser grunted with an apologetic glance toward the Paradis delegation.
When the door fell shut, Jean finally blinked, realizing he’d been staring. Had he just seen what he thought—
„I apologize for the interruption,“ General Calvi swiftly brushed what had happened under the rug. „My soldiers sometimes forget…Be that as it may, we have been talking for a while. Are we in agreement then, about the lump sum payment in reparations?“
General Pixis gave a gracious nod, though he too seemed taken aback by what had happened. „It is a generous enough offer. There are just a few more details. As we agreed to let go of the Titans, we need a guarantee.“
Just as Reiner had lost the Armored, Eren, Armin, and everyone else had lost their Titans as well. They still had a failsafe. A fracture remained of the parasite that had made them Titans in the first place. If given no other option they would restart the curse. Pixis and Calvi seemed to think they could come to a more amicable solution. Eren had only come along, because being the one to hold the parasite and refusing to hand it over, he refused to believe the Marleyans blindly. Jean thought they had good chances of solving the situation without further bloodshed, though. Marley had been defeated and then surrendered in the face of the Rumbling. They had no other option but to move along with whatever Paradis demanded. The fact that these negotiations took so long was only thanks to the fact that every now and then they tried to push small advantages through that they could feasibly sell to their public.
„We can offer weapons‘ technology. As our own…armories have been left empty after months of bloodshed, we won’t be able to send any over, but we can share our technology.“
Jean knew it wasn’t necessary at all. Hizuru had already offered much more valuable help. The truth of the matter was that the Marleyan military had relied just as much as the Paradisian military on the power of the Titans. Without it, they had little left to lead a war with.
„I want him.“ Eren’s voice was cold and unflinching. He’d been quiet during the entire meeting, only sitting there and glowering as if he constantly wondered if he shouldn’t have just gone through with the Rumbling after all, and spared them all this waste of their time. At times, Jean almost forgot he was there, if not for the terrible, angry aura exuding off him, that had wrapped the room into an oppressive tension from the very start.
„Excuse me?“ General Calvi looked perplexed.
„Bertholdt is dead,“ Eren growled. „Nobody knows where Annie’s been hiding. That leaves only Reiner.“
For a moment it seemed as if Calvi didn’t remember the names of the kids who had torn down Wall Maria.
„You want Vize-Chief Braun?“ he asked eventually, sounding unsure about whether he had heard right.
„Is that so surprising?“ General Pixis smiled. „He has crimes to answer for on Paradis.“
Jean nodded in agreement, yet he couldn’t help but wonder. On Paradis, Reiner would be taken apart. He deserved no less, but if it was justice Pixis sought by means of a trial, as it sounded, he’d be more likely to receive a just trial here on Marley with Paradisians watching the process.
„I don’t want him in front of a judge,“ Eren growled, talking right against Pixis. The old man was looking at him. If he had hoped differently, that he could punish Reiner in a civil manner, he didn’t know Eren, hadn’t yet seen his anger the way Jean had. „My mother died in the attack. My friend lost his family. Thousands died and many more when we couldn’t feed the refugees.“
General Calvi seemed intrigued. „So, if it’s not a trial you seek, what do you need him for?“
Eren glowered at him. „Retribution.“
Next to General Calvi was Vize-General Magath who as far as Jean had been informed, had been the leader of the Warrior Program. He had indoctrinated, trained, and ultimately ordered Reiner to take down Wall Maria. And yet, it wasn’t him whose life was being negotiated. Still, he seemed to recognize his own role in the event, though Jean had no illusion that all the officers in the room had their hands in their suffering one way or the other. Wisely, they didn’t remind Eren of that. Nor did they remind him of the fact that he had attacked Liberio and killed thousands in his first attack on Marley as well. Marley was not in a position to shift the blame game around.
„Reiner has always been loyal,“ Magath muttered.
„An Eldian rat,“ another of the minor officers in the room seemed to forget who they were talking with. Jean was very annoyed, yet it appeared Eren didn’t even notice.
„I’m sure we can part with one man,“ General Calvi told Magath.
Magath opened his mouth, then closed it again. He nodded in agreement.
„So, now that that is done…We will have to collect the weapons designs to send to you. I think for now it is…“
At that moment the door opened again. Quietly, Lieutenant Masser snuck inside, back to his earlier position. Reiner stood behind him, waiting outside, obviously happy to just remain there, when Calvi turned to him.
„Good timing, Braun,“ he waved him in. „We’re just about to take a break. Masser, I need you to bring me the documents we talked about.“ He pushed his chair a bit away from the table and stretched his legs to make himself more comfortable.
General Pixis stood at this blatant interruption of their meeting. „I shall get some fresh air then.“ He nodded at Eren and Jean, then checked with Calvi for how long he assumed the break to last. When he left, he passed Reiner, who had entered the meeting room, gaze fixed on the ground in front of his feet.
Jean followed him with suspicious eyes, as Reiner stepped next to his General, then, without warning, knelt between his legs. He squeezed between Calvi’s knees and the table and only now did Jean realize that Calvi had undone his belt and zipper. Before Jean could see anything obscene though, Reiner’s head obscured the view. He stared right at him.
The way his head moved. The sounds he made…
„Did I surprise you,“ Calvi smiled at Jean as he gradually relaxed into his subordinate’s blowjob. „Sorry for not giving you a warning, I understand this might be a rather…new practice for you.“ His tone was slightly haughty as if to say you better get used to it, this is how we do meetings. „I apologize. But I hope you don’t mind. After what we just talked about, I figured you wouldn’t.“ Calvi’s eyes traveled from Jean to Eren, his smile broadened.
„What…“ Jean must have gone mad and surely was just imagining this. Maybe all that stuffy office air wasn’t doing him any good, and he should get some fresh air like Pixis.
„We’re the first you’re having peace talks with, I see,“ another Lieutenant still standing next to where Masser had stood earlier said in an amused tone. „Not yet used to the finer parts of continental peace negotiations.“
„The finer parts?“ Jean squeaked, feeling he and the Lieutenant had quite different ideas of what the word fine meant. It hadn’t looked like Reiner enjoyed being here. And yet, as he thought back on his face when he entered the room, he hadn’t seemed surprised either, just embarrassed, mainly.
„We’re always willing to share our Eldian whores.“ The Lieutenant smiled at Jean as if he had interpreted his squeak as jealousy or something of the kind.
Eldian…whores?
Was this a new development after the Titans had vanished, leaving the Eldians with little to protect them from their master’s fury and nothing to give them further worth to them? But it couldn’t be. Like Eren, Reiner would’ve just lost his Titan power only a week ago, and yet he had seemed neither surprised nor taken aback by the command, though not willing either. Worse, the Lieutenant clearly made it seem as if this was perfectly normal, if not even traditional behavior during peace negotiations on the entire continent.
„Eren…“ he turned to his friend, wanting to ask him to help him understand. To explain or to—if they both came to the same conclusion—protest in unison. Yet, as he for the first time looked at his friend, Eren’s hateful gaze was fixed on Reiner, burning a hole into the back of his skull, a slight smile—ever so delicate—on his lips.
„Do you want one too?“ Calvi asked, knowingly.
„Him,“ Eren demanded.
Jean couldn’t believe it.
Calvi smiled. „Just…hah…“ He groaned as Reiner moved a little faster, the bobbing of his head betraying what he was doing. Jean looked pointedly away, yet still heard the sounds of saliva on skin, and the smacking and suction of lips. Calvi’s moans increased, though he wasn’t very loud. Then…quite anticlimactically…he must have spilled. Reiner stood. He was wiping his lips, face turned toward the ground. Calvi tugged himself back in, then pointed Reiner at Eren opposite him.
Reiner didn’t even hesitate. He must have heard their conversation earlier, must have had time to prepare, yet if he feared this or wanted to fight it, he made no indication of it. Quietly, he walked around the table, standing next to Eren, patiently.
Eren stood. His hand suddenly flew out, slapping Reiner in the face. Jean jumped to his feet from surprise, yet he made no move to stop Eren. He was sure—certain because this was Eren of all people—that Eren would probably only humiliate Reiner and not do something he would later regret. It left a sour taste in his mouth, considering what Reiner had just been through, to be humiliated further. But no doubt, he deserved all the punishment Eren could heap upon him.
Even Reiner seemed to think that way. His head had snapped to the side at the assault, but he didn’t move away nor defended himself, even when Eren slapped him once more, trying to coax a reaction out of him. Then he grabbed Reiner by his collar. „You murdered my mother, Reiner!“
The two men were staring at each other, then just when Jean thought they’d be locked in an eternal battle of wills, Reiner averted his gaze, staring at the wooden surface of the table. „I’m sorry.“
„Sorry’s not gonna cut it, I fear.“
„I can’t take it back…“ And the way he said it, Jean believed that he genuinely regretted it. It didn’t undo anything, but one only needed to look at Reiner Braun nowadays, to realize hunger and war alone couldn’t have diminished him so. Even at the start of the war, when Eren had told him about how he had met Reiner, it had been obvious Reiner had been wrecked by guilt. And yet, it hadn’t made him turn his back on the nation that had ordered him to commit the atrocities he felt guilty for, it hadn’t made him stop fighting Jean’s friends, and it certainly hadn’t left enough of an impact on him to let actions follow his bad conscience. So, Jean was shitting on Reiner’s grief.
„Damn right you can’t.“
Reiner ground his teeth. Then, daringly…stupidly almost, he closed his eyes and said: „You told me you’re no better than me, Eren. Do you still think so?“
„Can I only take his mouth?“ Eren asked Calvi.
The question froze the blood in Jean’s veins. He was playing, right? He had to be. Just joking around to scare Reiner.
Calvi waved dismissively. „You can take whatever part of him you want.“
Eren smiled, clearly liking the response. The same response that made a shiver of hatred run down Jean’s spine. How dare Calvi!?
Eren pulled on Reiner’s collar, then pushed his head down aggressively. The amount of force was entirely unnecessary. Reiner didn’t fight back. It made his head smack against the table.
He’s joking…
Eren reached around Reiner’s hips, rudely opening his belt, then pulling at his pants until the button snapped off. It clanked on the floor, so loudly in Jean’s ears, that he flinched away from it.
„You’re joking, right?“ Jean stared, dumbfounded.
Reiner’s ass was suddenly exposed to him. The cheeks were pale and smoothly shaved, which somehow didn’t seem right to Jean. His crack was darkly exposed to the air. His ass still showed some of the contours of a once well-trained man, though now, there was a certain softness to it. It made Reiner seem more vulnerable.
„Eren…“
But Eren ignored Jean completely. He pushed his fingers in between Reiner’s cheeks, and pulled them apart, brutally. He only needed a second to push one finger inside Reiner. Jean was frozen where he stood.
No…
This couldn’t be. This wasn’t right.
He must be dreaming, he concluded. And the physics of his dream world ruled that at this very moment, he was not allowed to move. He couldn’t. His body didn’t listen to him. His tongue was tied into a knot.
Eren spat against the entrance, providing no further lubrication, as he pushed two fingers in, pistoning fast and rough and with no regard for Reiner’s well-being. Then again, one wouldn’t expect a rapist to care about that…
Reiner made no sound. When he was first entered, his hands had flimsily reached across the table. Then he found one edge, and now he was clinging onto it for dear life, knuckles white with the force of his grip. Jean’s heart seized, as he realized Reiner was staring at him, looking right into his soul, almost expectantly. Jean could see the lines of pain around his eyes, digging slightly deeper with every thrust.
Do something!
Jean wanted to yell at himself and yell at Reiner all at the same time. How could he not defend himself?
But then Reiner turned his face away, looking to the other side, and as he discovered the Lieutenant standing there, he pushed his forehead and nose against the table, staring at the wood. He looked so alone then, surrounded by enemies and predators and cowards. His body rocked with the force of Eren’s hands. When Jean looked back at his friend, one hand was undoing his fly.
It was all so hard, so rough, so brutal. It would be over before Jean would ever find the courage to step in.
„You will want this,“ Calvi interrupted, just as Eren lined his bone-dry cock with the poorly prepared anus of their former friend turned traitor.
Annoyed, Eren glared at the Marleyan. Jean looked at him too, praying, that the General had found reason, and would now put a stop to this savagery. Yet all he did was hold a little container of translucent gel. Reluctantly, Eren pushed two fingers into the jar, scooping some of the gel, and spreading it on the tip of his penis. It wasn’t much, and Eren clearly not the patient type. His penis was thick and long, the tip flaring and the shaft getting thicker at the base. He didn’t even seem fully hard, yet.
That fact helped Jean realize that this was not at all about pleasure, but purely about power, about wanting to hurt and demean Reiner who wasn’t even defending himself.
Despite the bad preparation and semi-hardness, and an insignificant amount of lube, Eren somehow managed to push the head inside. He didn’t seem to like the feeling himself. Something almost like pain passed his features. He grunted a disgusting sound of anger, as he pushed deeper in. Reiner’s body was pushed forward, his hips hit the table. A sound escaped his lips.
It was this, that finally saved Jean from his terrified inaction. Not a cry. Not a moan. Not a sigh of pleasure, certainly, but not of protest either. Not even of pain, truly, though he had to be in pain, Jean couldn’t imagine how he couldn’t be. What it was, was a groan of effort.
As soon as he got control of his body back, Jean pushed Eren away. The tip of the cock slipped free. Sluggishly, it dangled between Eren and Jean, the patchily applied lube, glistening in the light from the ceiling.
„The fuck are you doing?“ Jean growled at Eren.
Eren looked back at him, with a dead expression. „You can wait outside if you can’t stomach it.“
„If I can’t…“ Jean couldn’t believe it. „Do you even realize what you’re doing?“
„Get out of my way!“ Coolly, Eren tried to push past him, but Jean pushed him away. „Step aside!“
„Or what!?“ He’d been afraid of Eren during the war. He still was. You’d be an idiot, not to be. Still, he didn’t think Eren would ever hurt him, just to hurt Reiner. At least he hoped so. Though with the way Eren was staring at him, he feared he might have miscalculated. And after all, not in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined Eren to be capable of rape.
„Him!?“ Eren hissed, disbelieving. „You’re protecting him, of all people?“
„If this is what you want to do.“
„Jean Kirstein with a heart for the weak…But he doesn’t need your help. He’s a monster. He deserves worse than what I could do to him.“
Jean crossed his arms. He knew that well enough. Reiner was the last man he’d ever wanted to protect. And yet, he couldn’t let this pass.
„Think about what he did to Marco.“
It was like a curse. Like a flash of lightning, year-old anger flooded him. Eren used his moment of inattention to push him aside.
If Reiner had ever trusted in Jean’s ability to protect him, it didn’t show. He had raised from his position on the table and yet hadn't even pulled up his pants. As Jean was pushed aside, he didn’t even look disappointed. Willingly, he turned back around, lowered his chest over the wood, and accepted Eren’s hatred without complaint.
This time—and that was Jean’s fault—Eren was even more brutal. Cruel hands grasped around boney hips, digging nails into Reiner’s sides, dragging red marks wherever he scratched over delicate skin. His thumbs reached into Reiner’s crack, exposing the anus. Then he pushed inside, with one rough, brutal thrust.
Reiner’s whimper was drowned out by Eren’s angry groan.
Someone put a hand on Jean’s shoulder.
„You might want to wait outside, boy.“
He didn’t even look at who was speaking. His eyes were transfixed by the sight of Eren thrusting into their former friend, hand now reaching for his head, pulling his hair. Reiner’s face, shamefully turned against the table, was pulled up, so, he was staring right at Calvi.
The hand on Jean’s shoulder stirred him in the opposite direction, around the table, toward the door. He wanted to shake it off, to run to his friend’s defense, but then he reminded himself that this was no friend at all, that this monster had murdered his best friend, in fact, and hidden among his fellow cadets, murdering thousands and betraying his trust. Once, Jean would’ve died for him, but now, he didn’t even move to help him, when it could’ve been so easy.
His eyes transfixed on the terrible scene, he caught one last glance of Reiner’s face, as he reached the door. Just a quick glimpse, before he couldn’t bare it anymore. In that instant, he thought, Reiner’s face looked passive, resigned maybe, despite the pain so clearly written around his tightly shut eyes and clenched teeth.
The door fell closed behind Jean. Only now, he could breathe again.
„What was that?“ he gasped.
He felt as if he'd run a marathon. He felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. His fucking hands were trembling. There was a horror in his heart, comparable only to when he had searched the ruins of Trost for bodies. It felt absurd to him, that he reacted that way. He’d seen so much worse—death and torture and humans being eaten alive. And yet, somehow what had happened in that room to a man he had every reason to hate, had made him feel more helpless than most of the things he’d experienced at war with the Titans or the whole world. It was only Reiner fucking Braun!
„A rather distasteful tradition.“ It was Vice-General Magath who had dragged him out. Jean had no friendship for him, in fact until a few days ago he would’ve aimed true at his head, if he’d seen him on the battlefield, and yet, now, he was incredibly grateful, as if the man had saved him.
„Distasteful…“ he spat. The understatement of the century! „I don’t understand…“
Magath’s lips pinched, not explaining anything. Maybe he thought what had happened had been self-explanatory. It fucking wasn‘t!
„He’s one of your subordinates. He’s your officer, even.“
Magath sighed. „He’s our Vize-Chief.“ He nodded along as if that didn’t mean anything. „The highest ranking Eldian, currently, considering Zeke is most likely dead. But as there are no more Titans, it isn’t worth much currently. And even before,“ Magath shrugged, „he’s still Eldian, no matter his rank.“
Jean jumped at the man. In blind fury, he grabbed for his collar. Magath was staring him down.
„I’m Eldian too! Are your people going to rape me too, if…“ Now he had said it. „Fuck!“
Slowly, kindly almost, Magath pulled Jean’s hand from his collar. „I don’t like it, I’m simply telling it how it is. You should get used to it. It is a simple fact, that while your people have been secluding on Paradis, the Eldians on the continent bore the brunt of the people‘s wrath.“
He said it, as if Jean and his friends, his whole nation hadn’t suffered immensely, because of them. Because of people like Magath, in positions like Magath's, sending endless waves of Titans against them, and then four child soldiers to destroy their protective walls. „We’ve suffered too,“ he growled. „You attacked—“
„I’m not denying that, boy!“ Magath seemed frustrated, rubbing the bridge of his nose. „I’m just trying to explain it to you.“
„There’s no excuse for this!“ What was he even arguing with this man for?
„I’m not saying there’s an excuse. But if you don’t want an explanation, by all means, remain ignorant, and return to your island. It’s not like it concerns you.“
But Jean thought differently. „We’re Eldians. Of course, it concerns us if you’re…“
Magath was entirely unimpressed. Not even letting Jean finish, he interrupted coldly. „So, I’ve been sitting in this meeting for three hours, you’ve been there, too. Didn’t you listen?“
Jean didn’t know where this was going. Suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.
„It’s the third meeting, and I’ve been sitting in all of them. It’s only the first for you, so let me explain. We’ve had almost fifteen hours of negotiations. Before that, when we declared the armistice, we exchanged basic demands. In pages upon pages of documents and hours upon hours of negotiations, this right there—your friend asking for Braun to be handed over for whatever dubious form of vengeance your people have in mind—was the first time any of these negotiations turned toward the fate of the Eldians living here or elsewhere on the continent. And it was only so you could punish them also. You’re not one people anymore. The Titans don’t connect you, and thus, there is nothing connecting you. Whatever shared history you once had, you have long forgotten and never claimed. The people on Paradis and the Eldians in Marley are two entirely separate people, and during these negotiations, your people couldn’t have made it more clear, that they want it that way.“
Jean shook his head, unwilling to believe it, and yet, he couldn’t deny it. He had sat there for three hours and not even thought about the Marleyan Eldians or those in the other countries, some of which they still fought against. He hadn’t cared then, and as he'd set with some of the most high-ranking military and political commanders of Paradis around the table, counseling Queen Historia on which path to take, nobody had even mentioned the Eldians of Marley apart from Eren’s continuous demand to punish Reiner.
„So, Braun is an Eldian and will remain an Eldian, for as long as he lives on the continent. And I doubt the fate awaiting him on your island will be any kinder.“
The implied accusation was unfair. „Aren’t you the one who turned him into a monster? “
Magath looked at his feet. „Which is why I am talking to you now. I’ve wasted years of my life training little children for war, indoctrinating them, and using the age-old crimes of their ancestors to guilt them into committing even worse atrocities in the name of retribution. These children I raised, they are no monsters. Maybe that is why I feel responsible. But my hands are tied. In a way, though I am Marleyan and my fate will be much kinder, like Reiner, I too lost my purpose with the disappearance of the Titans. There is little else I’m qualified for and I am too old to retrain, so I will likely retire as soon as this war ends. It means I have no more say in shaping this nation. I fear the Eldians‘ fate will be much harsher.“
„The Eldians‘ fate?“ There was a part of him, insisting annoyingly, that he had no reason to care. And yet, wasn’t that which Magath had just told him, and hadn’t Jean just denied it? How could he have insisted that they were one people, and already forget about it, the next second?
„Their worth to us has always been defined by their Titan powers. They were monsters, whose ancestors had massacred our own. But their power made them useful to us. Decades of hatred and indoctrination, discrimination and propaganda against them…“
Jean realized where this was going before Magath finished his point.
„And now they are useless.“ Destroying their Titan powers hadn’t made them human in the eyes of the people of Marley and other nations on the continent. It hadn’t made them equal. It had simply wiped away the only use they had for the people in power. Now, all they were was a bunch of useless eaters in a post-war time, when resources were already limited. „Why are you telling me this now?“ It wasn’t like he could do anything against it.
Magath sighed. „It might be presumptuous of me…But Vice-Chief Reiner will be going to Paradis with you. That much is clear to me. And he won’t have it easy there. In my eyes, it is anything but fair.“ Jean’s eye ticked in annoyance. What did this man know about fairness? „While I acknowledge that he hurt your people, he did so when he was still young, he did it on my command after I had indoctrinated him for years. And I acted upon Calvi’s command, who in turn acted due to demands of our leadership. I’m not saying, the boy is innocent, far from it, but certainly, he is not more to blame than the rest of us. And yet your nation is willing to offer us peace, yet not him. As someone who was once responsible for him… Paradis will rip him apart, I’m sure of it if the anger of your people is anywhere close to what I see reflected in that boy.“ Magath indicated the door. „He will need someone to defend him.“
Jean snorted. Preposterous. He would rather die! „Reiner murdered my best friend. I’m the last one you should ask…“
Magath sighed. „As I said, I’ve been sitting at every one of these meetings. I’ve been watching the delegations from Paradis. Reiner was not supposed to serve at these meetings.“ Serve. Jean scoffed. „Calvi feared, seeing him might worsen our chances to achieve what we want. Yet ever since the first day, he appeared, despite Calvi’s explicit command to send someone else.“
Jean wanted to ask why, but he stopped himself. He knew the answer, and he didn’t want to hear it. It would remind him too much of the Reiner he had known back with the 104th. That Reiner would have sacrificed himself rather than let his comrades bear the brunt of his enemies' fury. That Reiner had been the furthest from monstrous. But that Reiner had never been real. Jean didn’t want to be lectured differently.
„Surprisingly, or maybe we should’ve seen it coming, seeing him humiliated, raped even, bettered our chances. Most of the members of your delegations seem to enjoy it, and many eagerly participate. Your General Pixis seems to have a distaste for it, though he too simply opts to step outside when he can.“
Pixis had known…and he hadn’t warned Jean, or Jean would’ve left with him.
„And then there was you. The first to show obvious disgust at it. The first to try to stop it.“
He hadn’t gotten very far, had he? Like a coward, he had allowed himself to be pulled away. He should’ve fought against Magath or returned as soon as he could, to stop the madness behind that door. Instead, he was still standing in the corridor like a pathetic piece of shit, talking as if there wasn’t a man being raped just behind the door.
„I’m not asking you to be his friend, I know that would be asking for too much. I just need someone by his side who hasn’t buried his heart in hatred.“
Jean scowled. „I’m no different than Pixis. Or you.“ Accusingly, he glared at the man. If Magath cared, why didn’t he do anything against it? „Standing out here, doing nothing.“
Magath hung his head. „I needed to talk to you.“
„That was more important than stopping his rape?“ Jean shook his head in disgust.
„In the grand scheme of things…“ Magath started, pathetically.
„Is that how you reasoned the attack on Wall Maria?“
„He’s been dealing with this abuse ever since his return from Paradis,“ Magath tried weakly, talking himself only further onto Jean’s bad side.
„And that makes it better!?“ he snapped. Reiner's return from Paradis had been five years ago. „In the grand scheme of things, a few more rapes are not that bad, because he’s already been assaulted so many times before!?“ He was yelling now. The fuck was he saying? This was Reiner Braun they were talking about! The Armored Titan. Vize-Chief of the Warriors. The man who had murdered thousands and many more who had died as an indirect result of his actions. A quarter of a million lives lost. Then the attack on Trost. Marco’s death. Commander Erwin and their entire Scouts unit. And now he found out... How was this reality? Jean couldn't even fathom it. Five years. How many assaults would that have been? Truly so many, that Magath thought a handful more or less didn't matter?
And why was he still standing here, doing nothing!?
Jean suddenly snapped himself to action. He stumbled to the door and reached for the handle, but before he even touched it, the door swung open.
There he was. Hair slightly disheveled, lips bruised, but apart from that, seemingly no worse for wear, the man himself. Reiner Braun stood in front of him, looking surprised. For the first time, Jean could stare directly into his golden eyes. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Then, Reiner came out of his shock. His eyes immediately shifted to the floor. Humbly, he stepped aside, to let Jean in.
Dazed, Jean came through the door, standing uselessly in the room. Nothing betrayed the horror that had occurred here. The table was clean, everyone had their pants on. Eren had kicked his chair back, balancing on the hindlegs. The only thing that might give a slight hint at past events was Reiner himself, still standing at the door. But even on Reiner's face, if Jean hadn’t known, he wouldn’t have found the signs.
And why was Reiner still standing there?
He had been about to leave, hadn’t he? Now, he hovered uncertainly next to the door, too close for comfort, eyes fixed on the ground in front of Jean’s feet.
„Weren’t you about to leave?“
Reiner visibly deflated. It was only when he hurried away, that Jean realized, Reiner had been waiting for his dismissal…or his command...Whether Jean wanted to Reiner to…serve him as well.
He felt like gagging. He wanted to run from the room, hug himself in his bed, sleep, and wake up to find out this had all been a terrible dream. But he hadn’t even turned, when Magath and Pixis entered the room, blocking the way.
„I see we’re ready to continue,“ Pixis smiled.
Mutely, Jean went back to his spot, throwing a glance at his watch. It was too late. They were twelve minutes past the time Calvi had told Pixis. And yet Pixis had come right when…
The sly fox had waited outside, Jean realized with disgust. He’d been sitting there just outside view, waiting for Reiner to leave. General Magath had been right. Pixis had known. He had known from the start. Like Magath, he'd been quietly tolerating it for days. And he hadn’t warned Jean.
Jean wondered what that meant. Had Pixis thought him so monstrous that he might enjoy the sight? Had he known Eren would so eagerly participate?
Did Jean want to know the answer?