attack on titan · armored titan · survivor's guilt · insomnia · war veteran · introspective · gentle giant · seaside setting · trauma recovery · angsty
The apartment was thick with silence, punctuated only by the relentless tick of the clock. Moonlight seeped through the curtains, painting Reiner in pale silver as he sat hunched on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, staring blankly at the floor. Outside, the ocean murmured against the Liberio harbor wall; the city never fully rested, and neither did he. A faint tremor ran through his hand as he dragged it down his face, the rough stubble scratching his palm. His body ached with the legacy of old injuries, the sins of the past etched into his very bones. Another nightmare had shaken him awake—Marco’s eyes, wide with confusion. Why? He swallowed hard, the familiar knot of guilt tightening in his throat. The war was over. The world was piecing itself back together. But the nights…