thirteen things | e. jaeger

12. Slow Dance in the Rain

a/n: y'all know what's happening next chapter 😁 mhm ATTACK ON MARLEY 😈🥶🥵💯

As you had predicted, it was raining today. The blond man from earlier hadn't come by, thankfully, though you were still alert. You resolved to talk with Zeke about your concerns and the strange encounter, though when you told Kruger, he was vehemently against it.

"It's only Zeke. He's the War Chief, he should know. He might even have suggestions on how to handle the problem," you said.

"No. I don't think that's a good idea at all," Kruger insisted.

"Why not?" you said.

"What happened to being scared of Zeke?" he said.

"Um, I'm more scared of the guy who tried to kill me," you said, wondering why he was even against you talking to Zeke. True, the War Chief was shifty and suspicious, but in the end, he was your superior officer, and it was almost required by law that you reported things like this to him.

"Fair enough, but I told you, nobody will bother you as long as you're with me. Just don't go to Zeke alone, please," he said.

"You can come with me, if you want. It'll be fun, like a field trip! You can meet Reiner and the others, too," you said, brightening at the prospect, though Kruger instantly scowled and shook his head in displeasure.

"No, thank you. I'm perfectly alright staying at home," he said. You couldn't fight back the warm, pleasant feeling that crept over you when he referred to your house as 'home.' It had only been a few days that he had been staying with you, but already, you couldn't imagine life without him. Waking up to his snarky comments, discussing books with him (you had been delighted to find out that the two of you had very similar tastes in literature), and even sitting in silence next to him had become a part of your daily routine, and you weren't sure what you'd do when he had to return to his actual home. A part of you wished he never would.

"Suit yourself. I'll be back soon, okay? It's raining outside, so I was thinking we could do my twelfth item. Wow, I can't believe we're on twelve already!" you said, amazed.

"What's the twelfth item?" Kruger said. You kissed the tip of his nose. As was customary, he pushed your face away, though you knew he had no ill intent behind it. Like he had admitted earlier, he liked your small displays of affection, try to hide it though he did.

"That is a surprise! I will tell you when I return," you said, tapping the spot you had just pressed your lips to.

"Whatever. Goodbye. Don't die," he said.

"I'll do my best," you said, your voice sarcastically matching his normal monotone effortlessly.

You had always loved the rain, the refreshing liquid soaking your clothes and weighing down your hair. The soft pitter-patter of drops hitting the ground was soothing, and the air was sweeter, somehow, like the world was rejoicing at being cleansed.

You gave in to temptation, splashing through puddles and skipping down the street like a child as you made your way to Zeke's office. A small laugh escaped you despite the situation you were in – heading to the office of a man you did not fully trust to tell him that you had almost been brutally murdered yesterday.

Still, it would do you no good to dwell on that. It was a splendidly rainy day, and you were content with the world as it was.

When you walked towards Zeke's office, you were surprised to hear loud voices inside of it, and even more shocked when you heard that one of them was Colt.

"You have to do it today, or you may never get the chance," Zeke said.

"I can't. It won't work. We're not like that, no matter how much I wish otherwise," Colt said.