Reiner - Payback

“What are we going to do with the fish? Will we eat them?” I asked, having mixed feelings about this.

“I’ve packed lunch so the fish will be for dinner,” Reine replied as he busied himself preparing the fishing rods.

I looked down at the clear water in the stream and I could see a few fishes swimming by. Seriously, I’m having very mixed feeling about fishing for them and then killing them for dinner. It’s true that I’m not vegan and I’ve eaten fish before many times in my life but I guess fishing for them and eating them feels a little different than if they were just served to me cooked on a plate.

“Pay attention, Natalia. I’m going to teach you how to fish,” Reiner said as he came to stand next to my side.

“Ok…” I murmured softly in response.

…

Clearly fishing wasn’t a thing for me and I had never expected that I would excel at such an activity. Not surprisingly, I was right. It was just boring, and I didn’t quite know what to do. Soon, I lost interest in fishing all together. How am I supposed to pay attention to fishing when all I’m interested in is the man next to me?

Everything he did caught my attention and I found every single detail mesmerizing. The way the sun shone on his red hair from above. His blue eyes as they focused on the task at hand. The way his hands moved about. The way his brows creased slightly in concentration. I couldn’t keep my eyes, or my mind off him.

“R…what are you plans for the future?” I asked while I watched him fish.

“You’re not paying any attention, are you?” Reiner asked rhetorically.

“Just answer my question…” I said.

“I don’t have any,” Reiner replied blankly.

“How can that be?” I questioned.

“What about you?” He asked instead of replying to my question.

“Umm…I’m not sure to be honest. Getting a job that is interesting would be a good start. I want to feel like I’m making progress in life and not just depending on other people for help all the time…” I replied after thinking for a bit.

“Sounds tough. Good luck, Natalia…” Reiner said encouragingly.

“I want to be more independent…and have a normal life…” I said seriously.

“You’ll be fine…” he said before turning to smile a little my way.

“Why did you…choose the job that you chose?” I asked, obviously not referring to his job as my butler.

Reiner was silent for a while as he seemed to ponder his answer. I waited patiently as I stared up at his face. I really wanted to know why someone would choose a profession like his…

“I’m good at it,” Reiner replied matter-of-factly.

“That’s it?” I asked in disbelief. There’s got to be something more to it, right?

“My family…they all have the same job…” Reiner said softly.

What did he just say? His family…

I knew that he had just told me that his whole family were in the same profession but what I really cared about was the fact that he had finally told me something about himself. That’s a first.

If I recalled correctly, he told me that he had normal parents and no siblings before. Now I guess I knew a little more about them.

“So, you basically decided to follow in your parent’s footsteps?” I asked, curiously.

It was hard to imagine that his entire family were trained soldiers or mercenaries. Well, I guess these families really do exist…

“I’m just good at it…” Reiner repeated.

“If you have children, will they have to take up the same profession?” I asked, fully interested to hear his answer.

“I don’t know…” Reiner replied passively.

“But you do want to have children, right?” I asked, further pressing the matter.

“I don’t know…” he replied once again with the same response.

“I do. I want to have a few kids. Maybe one that’ll look like me and one that’ll look like his or her father…” I said dreamily.

“Then you should start by getting a job first and then finding a suitable husband for yourself,” Reiner said, sounding very serious.

I looked at Reiner with wide eyes before blinking rapidly in disbelief. Did I hear him right just now? Is this man really clueless or is he just trying to piss me off?!

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a very funny guy?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him.

“No…” Reiner replied cluelessly.

I should have known that dropping hints like that wasn’t going to work on this solid brick wall. Now that our conversation came to a pause, Reiner returned his attention to the fishing rods. He still has completely no idea about what he just said. I watched him silently as I started getting more annoyed at his carefree behavior.

I bent down and dipped my hand into the stream, feeling the slightly cold water run through my fingers.

I smirked as a slightly mischievous thought entered my mind. Payback should be sweet…

“R…look this way please,” I said sweetly.

“What is it?” Reiner asked as he turned to look my way.

At the same time, I scooped up water with both of my hand and splashed it on him. His eyes widened in shock at my action and the water that had splashed onto his face and shirt. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and started laughing loudly. His surprised expression was absolutely adorable. It’s so fun to see the usually calm and stern Reiner so stunned.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Reiner asked in confusion as he stood up.

“Splashing water on you…” I replied while still laughing.

“Stop playing around like a kid, Natalia…” Reiner said before he sighed.

“Why? It’s so fun!” I said while still laughing.

I reached into the water and started splashing more water onto Reiner while I laughed. He brought his hands up to block the water from getting onto him. It wasn’t every day that I could act carefree like this.

Being in the mansion or being outside, I had to always live up to the Rosenhall name. Splashing water around in the middle of the mountain like this wouldn’t quite fit the image.

--To be continued…