Like Eren, Reiner has no idea how to eat using chopsticks. At least he's seen other people doing it, so he doesn't stare at the wooden sticks in bewilderment as he did when he first ordered ramen. But he isn't about to attempt to use them while Eren is watching. A sense of pride compels him otherwise, a desire to not make an ass of himself in front of Eren.
Where does that desire stem from? Is it not wanting to expose an inadequacy to an enemy, no matter how small it might be? Or does it linger from their days as trainees, back when Eren looked at Reiner with stars in his eyes?
Things weren't bad back then. They were actually pretty good. So good that Reiner lost pieces of himself, fragments that remain elusive at best, stained with false memories at worst. At least he can identify those pieces now. Mostly. Sometimes. When he's having a good day.
(It would be so much easier if he weren't alone. So much easier if Bertolt was at his side or Annie was glaring up at him. So much easier if he didn't keep seeing half-familiar faces that could be enemies or allies depending on the day.)
But unlike Eren, Reiner digs right into his ramen, heedless of its temperature. He's not Zeke, who can't even handle hot coffee without complaining. If it burns Reiner's mouth a little, that's fine; it's not like any pain will last long. And he might as well start eating if Eren's going to sit in silence for a bit, not bothering to answer Reiner's question.
What an ass.
Eren does speak, eventually, and Reiner studies him, pleased when that stray lock of hair doesn't prove too distracting. (That damn hair…) Eren's stubborn insistence that he doesn't want to fight remains consummate bullshit. Reiner knows Eren too well to buy it. Knows that if Eren is choosing not to fight, it's for a reason. Maybe Eren really is holding back because of some promise he made to Captain Levi. Or, more likely, Eren is biding his time, ensuring Reiner's death with be the slow, agonizing one promised.
Granted, Reiner doesn't know where fucking in an alley ties into either scenario. Maybe it's a play on Reiner's mental instability. Eren was certainly angry enough when he discovered it.
He swallows his mouthful of noodles, then cocks his head slightly to one side.
"People keep asking me that about that," he says, not bothering to claim that he's not tense. Even if he isn't physically (at the moment), he sure as hell is mentally. "'What's the last thing you remember, Reiner'? What answer are you hoping to hear?" His eyes narrow slightly. "Or dreading?"
Reiner's suspicion may be unwarranted. Then again, a pattern is a pattern, even if it ends up innocuous.
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Where does that desire stem from? Is it not wanting to expose an inadequacy to an enemy, no matter how small it might be? Or does it linger from their days as trainees, back when Eren looked at Reiner with stars in his eyes?
Things weren't bad back then. They were actually pretty good. So good that Reiner lost pieces of himself, fragments that remain elusive at best, stained with false memories at worst. At least he can identify those pieces now. Mostly. Sometimes. When he's having a good day.
(It would be so much easier if he weren't alone. So much easier if Bertolt was at his side or Annie was glaring up at him. So much easier if he didn't keep seeing half-familiar faces that could be enemies or allies depending on the day.)
But unlike Eren, Reiner digs right into his ramen, heedless of its temperature. He's not Zeke, who can't even handle hot coffee without complaining. If it burns Reiner's mouth a little, that's fine; it's not like any pain will last long. And he might as well start eating if Eren's going to sit in silence for a bit, not bothering to answer Reiner's question.
What an ass.
Eren does speak, eventually, and Reiner studies him, pleased when that stray lock of hair doesn't prove too distracting. (That damn hair…) Eren's stubborn insistence that he doesn't want to fight remains consummate bullshit. Reiner knows Eren too well to buy it. Knows that if Eren is choosing not to fight, it's for a reason. Maybe Eren really is holding back because of some promise he made to Captain Levi. Or, more likely, Eren is biding his time, ensuring Reiner's death with be the slow, agonizing one promised.
Granted, Reiner doesn't know where fucking in an alley ties into either scenario. Maybe it's a play on Reiner's mental instability. Eren was certainly angry enough when he discovered it.
He swallows his mouthful of noodles, then cocks his head slightly to one side.
"People keep asking me that about that," he says, not bothering to claim that he's not tense. Even if he isn't physically (at the moment), he sure as hell is mentally. "'What's the last thing you remember, Reiner'? What answer are you hoping to hear?" His eyes narrow slightly. "Or dreading?"
Reiner's suspicion may be unwarranted. Then again, a pattern is a pattern, even if it ends up innocuous.