We can beat them, just for one day

[bertall]

Bertolt couldn't sleep.

It's been a good week, maybe two since he and Reiner had stumbled Marco and Jean, and he couldn't shake the feeling that things would go wrong. Terribly wrong. Even though he felt safe with Reiner sleeping two feet away, his thoughts kept wandering. If their new companions found out about their past, what would happen to them? What would happen to Reiner? He still remembers the young soldier that had been part of their group before Berwick had died. The kid had just turned twenty a month before the outbreak occurred.

Bertolt remembers the fear in his eyes as he was cornered by a mob on what should've been a simple scavenging job. They had found some supplies and were trying to trade with a small band of survivors when they recognized the tattered uniform top tied around his waist and the tattoos. Bertolt couldn't do anything but watch from a distance. His job was to keep an eye out from the rooftops for walkers. He went 'home' empty handed that day, rifle slung over his shoulder and the soldier in his arms. He refused to let the walkers make a meal out of his corpse. He deserved a proper burial.

The more he remembered, the sicker he felt. Part of him wanted to believe that Jean and Marco were good people. At the same time, he didn't know a thing about them - sure, Marco had been a teacher before the outbreak, but... Things change. Bertolt didn't want to lose Reiner to people like that. Not if he could help it. With Annie missing and Berwick dead, the blond was the only thing he had left in this godforsaken world. If he lost him...

Bile rose in his throat. One hand reached out to lightly shake Reiner's shoulder, his voice soft and urgent. He needed an excuse to get away from the others, so he fell back on the one he'd use back when they were all in boot camp; "...Reiner, I gotta pee."

We need to talk.

Comments

[bertall]

Bertolt doesn't hesitate. Ever since he was a little kid, he had a hard time falling asleep without something or someone familiar nearby. Before the military, it had been a stuffed bear from Christmas. As a soldier, it was Reiner's pillow. Now, it was Reiner himself. Once he scoots into the blond's arms, Bertolt twists their legs up and buries his face into the crook of his neck.

Nothing could hurt him like this. Not walkers, not humans, not even his own imagination. The only one capable of hurting him now was the man he loved, and he knew that would never happen. He stays like this for a few minutes and allows Reiner's heartbeat lull him to the brink of sleep, but there was one more thing he still needed to do;

"...Love you, Reiner."

[warrioreidlos]

"I know," he murmurs in return, turning his head a little to brush his lips against Bertolt's hair. His arm tightens around his shoulders pulling him a bit close . "Go to sleep, Bertl. I'll be here when you wake up."

[bertall]

With that little confirmation, Bertolt hums softly and finally, finally relaxes and lets himself fall back asleep. At least when he's being held like this, there's less of a risk of him twisting around and accidentally kicking Reiner in the face.