C'mon Rean!

[Syrin]

All these gals in distress giving him hugs, and he never hugs them back. WTF?!?

[butterbattle22]

Harem pimps gotta keep up appearances.

[BeastSlayer]

He would hug his sister all day long.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

He's too shocked by the revelations these young, prepubescent girls are giving him to consider hugging them back.

Alfin hugs Rean from the behind, leaning her head on his back
Alfin: "Your sister loves you so much, that she let you alone so that you could find your heart."
Rean's mind explodes

[bossmanham]

He hugs his waifu at the end.

Even gives her some head pats.

[Stabbey]

Originally posted by bossmanham:

He hugs his waifu at the end.

Even gives her some head pats.

Unless it's Alisa, in which case it's a kiss.

[Bravozuluf]

I know. It's ridiculous. It was cute during the first game when he kept his distance from all the ladies. But so many fine young women vye for his attention in the second game that it frustrates me when he doesn't do anything about them. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I wish he had just grown a pair and acted like a man instead of a friend. The writers were clever enough to expand on this point when Celine called Rean out on his bs, "Stop treating everyone nicely and start treating someone Special!". Even after those words of wisdom, he hardly treats the ladies any different. What? Does he have some chocolate-scented phermone or something?? Understanding his appeal to women in the second game is much harder than understanding it in the first.

Crow on the other hand.... He was a man's man. So amazing. I've got a serious man-crush on him.

[zfan121]

If he doesn't want laura, can I have her?
I have a great sword I could show her :P

[spectre199]

about Rean's sister who isn't even blood related to him at all, the only thing I will say is this if you pay close attention to what Elise says about Rean. You will see that she is far more interested in Rean than just brother and sister

Now the other girls out of all of them Sarah is my favorite and I have Rean pursue her out of everyone else.

[Stabbey]

Originally posted by Bravozuluf:

The writers were clever enough to expand on this point when Celine called Rean out on his bs, "Stop treating everyone nicely and start treating someone Special!". Even after those words of wisdom, he hardly treats the ladies any different.

That might be because even though Falcom lets you choose who you want to be closest with, they have a clear preference for the Rean-Alisa pairing. I haven't seen the endings for other characters, but the Rean-Alisa one had them kiss and declare their love for each other.

[Ellipsis]

Why does he need to give hugs? Headpats are the purest form of affection, after all.

[spectre199]

I hate Falcom's preference of Rean and Alisa when Alisa is the most boring character ever and she does nothing but whine among others. While the other characters don't whine at all.

[Bravozuluf]

I agree that Alisa never clicked for me in that way. She and Rean only struck me as a pair of friends, but nothing extra. I honestly didn't buy the trite suggestive instances when Alisa lands on Rean from the first game, or her tsundere act throughout the first game. I could clearly see how they'd grow into good friends; she's a sweetheart and Rean's a fun guy. But the two of them as a pair never fit.
Ohh... but, Rean and Laura? What a pair! Both noble, honest, swordsmen, athletic, leader-like, powerful, no pretentions. From the get-go they expressed to each other so honestly, no bars hold to the point that both were butting heads with each other for a moment. What impressed me was that Laura was a passionate individual, like Rean. Alisa couldn't figure out what she was passionate about, be it side hobbies like lacrosse, or archery, or engineering. Laura was much more straightforward because her key characteristic was that she was a swordswoman. That may strike us as Laura being a one-act character, but the catch is she has so much passion for it. That passion I saw spill into other aspects of her character, be it her sports, sparring, standing up for justice or what have you. Truly, the only woman (from Rean's age group) that I'd trust entirely to have Rean's back is Laura. To me, they were so darn natural together. Laura was definitely the most sheltered out of Class VII, but my Rean I'd have imagined would be up for showing her the ropes to life outside of Lohengrin Castle. Mind you, Rean was sheltered pretty much in Ymir as well. But Laura also had curiosity, trying to absorb as much as she could in her environment and try to fit it into her bipolar model (either you are noble, or you are ignoble). Sadly, her character wasn't expanded so much in CS II to make her expand her worldview (such as, actions often fall in between noble and ignoble without being either one).
The Rean-Sara pair also impressed me. Sara to me felt like the result of combining Schwartz's military skill with Schera's sex appeal. Sara was always so much fun to be around, and such a come-hitherish character that I was always curious what would happen one step further between Rean and Sara. The only reason they don't feel more natural isn't their lack of leadership or joi de vivre, but because Rean has so many other vying ladies closer to his age.
Another small detail I disliked about CSII therefore was that Falcom's insistence in the Rean-Alisa pair made them not invest much effort into the Rean-Laura pair. That means the few intimate moments they share with each other don't feel so fleshed out. So much not-fleshed-out it makes me want to write a fan fiction about it. This is a small fault in the writing that Laura's passion did not spill much into her infatuation with Rean, nor vice-versa. If both of them have so much zest for living, why would their characters not share that much with each other, more intimately? This is probably the case with how many other possible pairings, be it Rean-Sara, Rean-Towa, Rean-Alfin etc.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Originally posted by Bravozuluf:

I agree that Alisa never clicked for me in that way. She and Rean only struck me as a pair of friends, but nothing extra. I honestly didn't buy the trite suggestive instances when Alisa lands on Rean from the first game, or her tsundere act throughout the first game. I could clearly see how they'd grow into good friends; she's a sweetheart and Rean's a fun guy. But the two of them as a pair never fit.
Ohh... but, Rean and Laura? What a pair! Both noble, honest, swordsmen, athletic, leader-like, powerful, no pretentions. From the get-go they expressed to each other so honestly, no bars hold to the point that both were butting heads with each other for a moment. What impressed me was that Laura was a passionate individual, like Rean. Alisa couldn't figure out what she was passionate about, be it side hobbies like lacrosse, or archery, or engineering. Laura was much more straightforward because her key characteristic was that she was a swordswoman. That may strike us as Laura being a one-act character, but the catch is she has so much passion for it. That passion I saw spill into other aspects of her character, be it her sports, sparring, standing up for justice or what have you. Truly, the only woman (from Rean's age group) that I'd trust entirely to have Rean's back is Laura. To me, they were so darn natural together. Laura was definitely the most sheltered out of Class VII, but my Rean I'd have imagined would be up for showing her the ropes to life outside of Lohengrin Castle. Mind you, Rean was sheltered pretty much in Ymir as well. But Laura also had curiosity, trying to absorb as much as she could in her environment and try to fit it into her bipolar model (either you are noble, or you are ignoble). Sadly, her character wasn't expanded so much in CS II to make her expand her worldview (such as, actions often fall in between noble and ignoble without being either one).
The Rean-Sara pair also impressed me. Sara to me felt like the result of combining Schwartz's military skill with Schera's sex appeal. Sara was always so much fun to be around, and such a come-hitherish character that I was always curious what would happen one step further between Rean and Sara. The only reason they don't feel more natural isn't their lack of leadership or joi de vivre, but because Rean has so many other vying ladies closer to his age.
Another small detail I disliked about CSII therefore was that Falcom's insistence in the Rean-Alisa pair made them not invest much effort into the Rean-Laura pair. That means the few intimate moments they share with each other don't feel so fleshed out. So much not-fleshed-out it makes me want to write a fan fiction about it. This is a small fault in the writing that Laura's passion did not spill much into her infatuation with Rean, nor vice-versa. If both of them have so much zest for living, why would their characters not share that much with each other, more intimately? This is probably the case with how many other possible pairings, be it Rean-Sara, Rean-Towa, Rean-Alfin etc.

Wow, I love this! You've revived my lost love for Rean x Laura, my first Cold Steel ship.

I wonder if Hisayoshi Takeiri had put that much thought into Rean x Laura when Takayuki Kusano decided to allow the player to ship Rean with more than one woman. As much as I would've preferred there to be only one ship that was given quality development, I'll still hold hope that the next two games will give his relationship with the other women just as much as what you had described, at the very least.

[NisseDood]

Only man perfect for Laura is Gaius.

[Mr.Mostache]

I wish the game had predetermined pairings. Having you choose limits the romance options to the main character. The other male playable characters doesn't end up having any kind of affections (again, besides toward the main character). Hell, even certain NPCs have more romantic relations than the main cast.