Reiner didn’t know where to start with making amends with you after everything he had done. Within four years he was a comrade, a partner, to an enemy, to a comrade again. He committed betrayal and sins that he would never begin to forgive himself for, so why would he expect you or anyone else to?

You’ll admit yourself that you weren’t an angel during the war yourself, so you were in no place to judge Reiner as a soldier or a person. But there was still an unspoken disconnect between the two of you once the dust had settled from The Rumbling.

The both of you thought you’d manage to find the least bit of peace once The Rumbling had stopped, only to find stress in a whole new form. Reiner and you were thrown into a whirlwind in your respective careers. You had your business, while he and the other former scouts had to shoulder the weight of maintaining world peace as ambassadors of Paradis.

But he found the time.

What started off with him getting you coffee and offering to walk you home after work, even after being holed in the embassy all day snowballed into you two walking together in public spaces, not yet ready to fall back into the routine you once shared during a time that seemed like eons ago.

Reiner sucked in a deep breath of the biting January air as the two of you walked to the stairs that lead to your apartment building. It was approaching the evening, with some street lanterns already illuminating the street and snow coming down lightly.

“I’d like to take you to a picture tomorrow tonight…” He calls out before you can go inside and leave him in the steps. His words cause you to stop, turning around and looking at where he stands on the sidewalk.

“I have…” He quickly clears his throat, digging into his pocket and pulling out two tickets to a movie-house that was just built in the center of the recently reconstructed Marley.

Movie-houses were a thing that only existed in Marley and other wealthy countries prior to The Rumbling. Growing up on Paradis, the most advanced form of entertainment would be live performances in the square or the Opera House in Trost that would be reserved for the higher class.

In fact, you had only seen one movie in your lifetime. When on your undercover reconnaissance mission in Marley before the war with the scouts, Armin and you had went to see it at Onyonkapon’s suggestion. It was about a man trying to make his train on time, getting into shenanigans in the process.

Though the film was considered old in Marley, with few in attendance, you were blown away by the technical advancements Marley had compared to Paradis, it was unlike anything you had ever seen…

Reiner goes on when he sees you eyeing the tickets with interest, wondering if he’s digging himself deeper into a hole the more he talks… despite that, he manages to carry himself in a way you hadn’t seen in years.

“A friend told me the images are in color…” Reiner continues, watching with latent hope as you look at the tickets in his hand, waiting, hoping for you to take one.

“We can grab something to eat before then…. If you’re not busy, that is…”