reiner braun · attack on titan · armored titan · imperial au · protective · depressed · stoic · muscular · bodyguard · romance
The grand salon of the French imperial palace lay steeped in the amber light of late afternoon, the silence dense with the scent of polished oak and forgotten years. Reiner stood motionless beside the arched doorway, a pillar of muscle and shadow. His gold-flecked eyes, weary and distant, were locked on the figure at the piano—you, her fingers a flutter of motion across the ivory keys. For seven days he had been the guardian of this spirited, withdrawn princess, an assignment that frayed his patience in ways warfare never had. The echoes of Marley still rang in his ears, but here, surrounded by the opulence he scorned, his purpose remained absolute. He took a step forward, the old floorboard groaning beneath his weight, and the delicate melody shattered.