Chapter Text
Reiner sat down on the park bench that looked over the river. Next to him was Eren, frowning like most of the time and holding a sad hotdog that would probably taste as depressing as the pale skin his friend was having lately. “God, this is absolutely sad.” He mumbled and Eren hummed back an agreement. There's so many things they could be doing.
“What is taking Falco so much?” Eren complained.
“Who knows," Reiner shrugged, "when you’re a kid everything goes at a different speed.”
Eren hummed again before finally eating the hotdog. “True, but he’s been taking twenty minutes off my lunch time and Levi wants me back at three.” Reiner rolled his eyes, as if Eren hadn’t broken enough rules at the firm already. Levi would kick his ass, yes, but that wouldn’t fire him. No one would think of firing the hope of the criminal area.
“At least you’re having a hotdog, shut up.”
“You are the one who wanted to go outside so Falco could talk, in the coldest day of the year, mind you.” Eren said with food in his mouth. “Why are we here?” Reiner shrugged.
Falco ran into Reiner’s and Eren’s office a few minutes before lunch with a glint in his eyes that Reiner had only seen once in Eren. He guessed whatever Falco wanted to tell them was something his friend could help with. It looked good, in his mind at least. “I shouldn’t even have bought this, I brought lunch.”
“Mikasa made it?” Eren nodded.
“Yeah, it was her turn.”
Falco came running and stood in front of them, he looked like he was about to cry, his brows knit together in a frown, looking annoyed at whatever made him take long. “Sorry I dropped my hotdog and had to get another one.” The kid wasn’t so tall but his uniform made him see lanky as he was wrapped in too many scarves that probably Colt had made him wear and his cheeks were red from running.
“Okay,” Eren raised a brow after fnishing his hotdog and throwing the cardboard plate on the trashcan next to him. “Why are we here?” He crossed his arms on his chest and chanced a look at Reiner and then back at Falco who seemed to have gotten shy. His cheeks were furiously red and his eyes looked at the snow that had piled through the day.
“I think I’m in love.” Reiner blinked. He what? Eren looked confused. What made Falco think they were both the adequate people to tell? Reiner, at the very least, asked himself that.
His love life had been a mess, he had dated a few girls and boys here and there, had crushed on his lesbian friend and then nothing. Eren wasn’t even better than that. The fucker was oblivious as fuck. For what he had heard from Jean, Eren just wasn’t interested. Ever since he had known him, Eren hadn’t mentioned another girl other than Mikasa or his mom and hadn’t really shown interest in any other girl. Jean and Connie called him the 24-year-old virgin.
“Oh you’re fucked.” Eren declared and Reiner punched his arm before turning to Falco. “What, it’s true. You know the whole Annie love story.” He whined.
“No, that’s an exception to love rules.” Reiner replied, because It was. Eren laughed ridiculously loud.
“Love rules? How old are we? Twelve?” Reiner punched him again side eying Falco who only crumpled again. “Sorry.”
“Don’t listen to him. You’re in love, that’s nice.” Falco looked horrified at the sort of comforting words Reiner was trying to give. Eren just looked disgusted.
“It’s not.” Both Eren and Falco said.
Reiner guessed it was normal for a twelve year old kid to say such thing, not from someone twice as old. He rolled his eyes and groaned, Eren could be such a kid sometimes. “Why? Is it a problem?” He looked at Falco, ignoring his friend for the sake of the kid.
“Of course it is!” Falco took a bite from his hotdog before angrily shoving it into a small delivery package from the store. “She’s! She’s! Ugh!” He stomped his feet as he looked at the sky. “She’s really really annoying! Like yesterday she spent her whole evening playing and today she had an A+ on her math test and on her biology test. How can she be literally perfect at literally everything?! It’s absolutely annoying.”
“And… you’re in love with her?”
“I think .” Falco corrected. Eren seemed deep in thought to actually correct the kid about his love interest. “I mean, I really can’t stop thinking about her and every time she calls my name or comes over to do whatever she wants to do I get pretty nervous and I could listen to her talking about how Star Wars is the best and- and- I don’t know, she’s crazy but I’m crazier because I really really just want her to be happy.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“That sucks.” Eren said behind his black scarf, putting his hair in a bun. “you really like her."
“Eren, you're not helping. At all.”
Falco groaned. “I just wanted you guys to help me out. I want to date her, I want to be with her.” Reiner had never seen the kid so worried about something and Eren was definitely not the guy Falco needed. Maybe the kid should tell his big brother rather than the bosses of his brother. Well, maybe Reiner was the only adult he could trust aside from Colt, Eren was just tagged along.
“Okay, we’ll help you.” Eren raised a thumb up and laughed. “By the end of winter you will have your first girlfriend.”
For fucks sake.