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[He's even worse at it than he thinks. Gabi grimaces a little as she remembers the time he managed to apologize his way into catching a beating from Jean, buuuuut they don't need to talk about that now.]

I...I think it'll go really well! I think everybody wants it to!

[She looks off to the side and rubs the side of her head a bit.]

Sorry if I uh. Made things worse. Stuff with Zeke is just kinda.... [She puffs out her cheeks and lets out a long breath, slowly deflating them.]

Coooomplicated.

[ Everybody wants it to? Somehow, Reiner doubts that. But he doesn't argue the point. No need to dash Gabi's hopes—or his own, for that matter. He genuinely didn't think things would go so well with Hange; it's hard not to feel a bit of hope. ]

You didn't make anything worse, Gabi. I should be the one apologizing. I didn't know that would come up.

[ How could he have known? He's operating on bits and pieces of information, a patchwork of suspect intel and guesswork. It's like trying to assemble a jigsaw while blindfolded, using pieces from seven different puzzles.

He starts tugging off his armband, no longer needing its support. ]

And you don't have to explain, either, all right? What Hange said about asking you—I'm not going to do that. Not about any of it.

I mean, it's not like I'm in a hurry to talk about it - it really sucked.

[Her eyes hang on his headband for a moment. The feeling of needing to keep it on for support is one that's...very familiar to her. So she doesn't say anything about it.]

...but I don't want you to just. Be wandering around in the dark, either. I know there's stuff that must really have you confused.

… Some stuff, yeah.

[ Understatement of the century. He averts his eyes as he says it, tugging his armband the rest of the way off, then rubbing the fabric between his thumb and forefinger. If he were to ask Gabi anything, where would he even begin?

A slight furrow forms between his brows, eyes still on the red armband he quartered his life to earn. ]

My last memory from our world isn't great. People keep asking me about it, like it matters precisely when I'm from. So, I figure something must've gone—must go wrong right around that time.

[ He folds the armband neatly: first in half, then into quarters. Then he unfolds it again, idly fidgeting. ]

That's obvious, though. If things went right, then… [ He trails off, then shakes his head. ] There's no reason for them to want me alive. No reason. They sure as hell shouldn't trust me. You heard Hange: they don't trust me as I am now. Implying that, eventually, they will. Or maybe that they could have…

[ He's rambling. Shaking his head again, he stuffs the armband into a pocket and raises his chin, meeting Gabi's eyes. ]

It's fine. I'll figure out what went wrong and fix it once I go back. Right now, it's not a priority.

A lot of stuff goes wrong.

[And not just at that time, but uh, pretty much constantly for the next few years in a row.]

But...also, some stuff goes right. It's honestly....not all bad.

[That may just be trying her hardest to find the silver lining in the eventual situation they wound up in, but. It's also something she genuinely believes. She rubs her wrist absentmindedly.]

So, uhm.

When you're thinking about..."fixing it". What do you think that looks like?

What would. You like to do most after you get back?

[ "Some stuff goes right," huh? Reiner doesn't argue with Gabi. He lacks the information to do so, at least meaningfully. And besides, one thing did go right: Falco inherited his Armor. Even if it didn't happen the way that either Reiner or Falco must've wanted, their mysterious promise still held.

But in other ways, things are wrong. Blatantly, laughably wrong. Gabi shouldn't be on friendly terms with Hange, let alone Levi. She shouldn't know them at all.

So Reiner equivocates, one hand resting on his hip. ]

That's hard to say without knowing where things went wrong. But I'm sure I'm from far enough back to change things. [ He makes a vague gesture, seeming to dismiss the issue. ] I'll talk to Bertolt when he shows up, see what he knows.

[ "When," not "if." ]

[When Bertolt shows up......rrriiiiiight.....]

[Gabi tries to stop any uneasiness from appearing on her face and mostly succeeds - it's not like it's impossible Bertolt would show up, it's not like him being dead would be an imposition to that, because, well. Look at Hange and Eren. It's the same reason Gabi is kinda worried Zeke will show up and bring all the problems that entails...

One way or the other, she ain't gonna be the one to break that particular piece of news to him.]

I think it's more..."if", then "when"? At first I thought we were being chosen from our world to come to Nightwake, 'cause, I mean - y'know, look at us, who else would you ask first if you were looking for heroes to save the world, right? [She gestures to herself. Look at her. Look at her. Obviously, she's a first round draft pick when it comes to heroing.]

But uhm. I'm pretty sure it's actually random? So I dunno if Bertolt is ever going to actually show up.

[She lets out a huff.]

Sure would be nice, though. Imagine all the quests we could get done with the Colossal....

...

...I guess we wouldn't be able to use it on anything. Y'know. In the city.

[ Reiner smiles as Gabi gestures to herself, fondness shining in his eyes. He doesn't know what his cousin is capable of in combat. But she became a Warrior Candidate; he knows how much skill and effort that entails. Besides, she's got more fight in her than most people he's ever met. ]

You don't know Bertolt too well, huh? [ He tucks his phone into his pocket and takes a seat again, making himself comfortable. ] Trust me: now that I'm here, he won't be far behind.

In the meantime, we could tackle a few quests ourselves if you want. I'm not quite as impressive as the Colossal, [ he admits, voice taking on a teasing lilt, ] but you know, I'm pretty awesome.

[Gabi smiles a little bit. Maybe Reiner has a point. There's quite a few of them here, now and a lot of them seem to have arrived in the city around the same time, even if they came from wildly different points in time. Maybe their presence here is attracting other people from their worlds...? Maybe her being here is what led to Reiner being here. And maybe Reiner being here will lead to Bertolt being here one day.

...Gabi kind of hopes that's right, she realizes. She would like to be able to meet Bertolt.]

Ehhhhh? You didn't think that's what I meant, did you?! [She waves a hand, picking up on Reiner's teasing tone.] No way! The Armor is the most awesome of all, of course! It's got maximum defense and offense all at once! Nothing can stop that!

[Except for all the stuff that stopped it, but that's neither here nor there.]

Let's do it! We can totally clear out a bunch of quests, just the two of us!

[ Reiner laughs, low but genuine, his lingering tension draining away. Obviously, things went wrong in their world, and this 'different times' business remains confusing as hell. But having an opportunity to spend time with Gabi? To get to know his cousin at this age? It's a silver lining like no other.

Plus, teasing or not, it's pretty nice to hear her say that about the Armored. (He has his pride! Or ego, as it were.) And it's good that Gabi knows Falco is safe inside it. Because as far as Reiner is concerned, the Armored is unstoppable, or as close to it as anything in their world can come. ]

Those quests won't know what hit 'em. [ He grins at her. ] We'll pick a location we wanna explore and start knocking them out.

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