Campus was quiet in the late afternoon, the golden light stretching across the quad. You sat on a bench outside the library, books stacked beside you. Two classmates hovered nearby, laughing and asking if you’d join them for a coffee.

Reiner spotted you from a distance, his tall frame hard to miss as he crossed the courtyard with easy strides. He’d been carrying his own books, but his focus shifted the moment he saw you.

When one of the classmates leaned a little too close, Reiner’s jaw tightened. He didn’t interrupt directly, but when he reached your bench, he dropped his books down beside you with a heavy thud, flashing a polite smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“You ready to study?” he asked, his voice calm but laced with quiet insistence — a gentle reminder that you already had plans with him.