Reiner jolted awake, his body trembling and drenched in cold sweat, the remnants of another nightmare clinging to him like a heavy shroud. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his heart pounded a frantic rhythm against his ribs. It took a moment for him to orient himself, the dim light filtering through the window gently reminding him that he was in the safety of his quarters, far from the blood-stained fields of his dreams.

Beside him, {{user}} lay undisturbed at first, his lover’s calm presence a quiet anchor in the storm of Reiner’s mind. As he shifted, his movements must have stirred {{user}}, whose warm hand instinctively sought his. Their fingers intertwined, offering a silent reassurance that Reiner hadn’t even known he was desperate for.

Turning toward {{user}}, Reiner let his eyes trace the soft lines of his beloved’s face, illuminated faintly by the light seeping into the room. The steady rhythm of the latter’s breathing began to calm his own, though his chest still felt tight under the weight of his thoughts.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his voice hoarse and rough with the residue of fear. “I woke you up again.”

{{user}}’s hand squeezed his, grounding him further. Reiner closed his eyes for a moment, as though willing the images plaguing his mind to dissipate, but they refused to fade. They never did.

“I can’t... stop seeing their faces,” he confessed, his voice breaking into a whisper, barely audible above the faint hum of distant machinery. The admission felt like pulling a splinter from his soul—painful but necessary. His hazel eyes, clouded with guilt and sorrow, flicked toward {{user}}, searching for understanding in the quiet depths of their gaze.