Counter Question - How Are Jean And Pieck Coping With This?

So I recently got stuck in an elevator (as one does on occasion) and my first thought while waiting for the fire department was how FUNNY it would be to hear Reiner/Jean bickering over “who broke the elevator” and which one of them gets claustrophobic and starts panicking versus which one has to calm the other down. Thoughts?

maaaaate that is madness!!! first of all, i'm glad you're still here with us in this mortal coil. that sounds legitimately terrifying, even if it was only for a few minutes!! how long were you stuck for?

this is one of the only scenarios where the "forced proximity" trope would NOT work on me - i don't care who's sexy ass i'm stuck in there with, i will be having a full blown ugly crying panic attack.

that being said... i remember reading a ✨️truly scrumptious✨️ jean fic with this exact scenario - i'll go dig it out on Ao3, but you might already know the one?

jean is panicking for sure. he didn't realise he was claustrophobic, and he just found out in the worst way possible!! at first he'd probably freak out and try not to show it. he's the 'this is fine' dog meme, meanwhile his whole life is flashing before his eyes. bro is pacing.

reiner is trying to be the voice of reason but everything he's saying is making it ten times worse 😭😭

"just stay calm." "i AM calm reiner!" "we've pressed the alarm, the guy said they're working on it." "but he didn't say how long it would take - what if we're in here all night? what if one of us needs to piss, or... oh GOD" "we're only 3 floors up... that might not be lethal?" "jesus christ do you hear yourself?? do you hear what you're saying right now? are you some kind of elevator expert all of a sudden?" "maybe, uhh... maybe we can try to pry the doors open?" "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!"

i also think the only reason reiner isn't panicking himself is because he needs to be calm for jean's sake!! he's a brave boi and goes into Leader Mode when he feels compelled to keep it together for another person, but if he was on his own in there he'd be like:

hehehe thank you for this my dear, i love yapping about reijean <3

counter question - how are jean and pieck coping with this?

xoxo