reiner is the type of guy to bring home roadkill and use it to cook.
(sound alarming? i know. hear me out.)
reiner didnโt have amazing access to food when he was younger, being from a single parent household and living in what was basically a ghetto. when reiner saw his mother at the kitchen table, her brow furrowed and hands raking through her hair trying to figure out how she was going to feed her son for the next week, an eight year old reiner would scamper into the nearest wooded area or major road and forage for a rabbit or deer carcass. heโd place it onto the kitchen table, a huge smile on his face, proud of the fact that he and his mother would eat for another few days thanks to him.
this skill wouldnโt exactly help with his marriage later on in life.
youโd come home from a long day at work to a pleasant smell coming from the kitchen. the aroma of various spices and vegetables wafted through your house, and placing down your bag, reiner comes through the doorframe.
โhey thereโ, he said, smiling at your tired face. โi made something for you โcause i knew youโd be home on the later side.โ
you hug reiner, and feel his arms squeeze around your waist in return. getting on your tip toes, you place a kiss on his cheek, and you feel the muscles in his face flex into a grin.
โthank youโ, you sighed. โwhatcha cookin?โ
reiner walks into the kitchen as you follow. โoh, just a stew that my mom taught me to make when i was living in liberio.โ taking a bowl out of the cupboards, he serves you some soup. you can see chunks of carrot, potato, tomato, and meat floating in the stew. you take a bite.
โthatโs nice, actuallyโ, you reply, swallowing your food. โi wasnโt aware that youโre such a chef.โ
reiner chuckles. โone of the few things i know.โ
you bite into a piece of browned meat. โis thisโฆbeef? no, itโs too lean for beef. pork? veal?โ
โrabbitโ, reiner replies. โor maybe squirrel. i donโt know. i couldnโt tell.โ
you squint, and abruptly stop chewing. โwhat do you mean you couldnโt tell? donโt they label them at the market?โ
โdidnโt find it at the marketโ, says reiner, grabbing himself his own bowl of stew. โwent walking along one of the backroads today and found it.โ
โhow cuteโ, you squeal. โyou killed a rabbit just for me!โ
โit was already gone by the time i got thereโ, reiner replies, putting a spoonful of soup in his mouth. โthink it got hit by a car or something.โ
you suddenly feel your airway constrict in shock, and choke up some of the stew that you abruptly spit into your napkin. coughing, you run to the sink to pour a glass of water and begin to chug. reiner watches in slight horror as you struggle.
โtoo spicy?โ he asks. โsorry. i think i put too much pepper in there. or maybe it was the onionโฆโ
you cough another time, and look back at reiner with a scarred expression on your now pale face. โare you telling meโฆyou put fucking roadkill in my soup?โ
โis there something wrong?โ reiner retorts. โhey, gotta use what ya gotโโ
youโre hit by a wave of nausea and run off to your powder room. reiner looks in your direction, shrugs, and continues to eat his roadkill stew.