Bertholdt x Reader [Oneshots]

Flower Buds

A/N: Dedicated to all the late bloomers out there~ ♡

Her chest heaved heavily as she struggled to even out her breathing. Her fists were clenched tightly together, the skin on her knuckles an angry red as she let them fall to her sides limply.

‘Why am I not getting any stronger…?’

Squeezing her eyes shut, she inhaled deeply. Letting out a shaky breath, she calmed herself down, and brought her fists back up, ready to continue training. But before her knuckles could come in contact with the coarse punching bag, someone’s hand shot out, easily absorbing her blow as fingers encased around her fists. Her eyes trailed up the intruder’s arm, till they met with familiar forest green orbs that were glazed over with concern.  

“[Name]… Stop. You’re bleeding…” His voice faint, as he carefully examined her battered knuckles, bruises already starting to form and blood seeping out from where the skin had split.

What was that tone in his voice? Pity? Sympathy? At that point in time, she didn’t care. All she knew was that she didn’t want him to see her at her lowest. A lump grew in her throat as she ripped her hand away from his hold, shifting her body so she wasn’t looking at him.

She didn’t even realize she was crying until a long finger wiped away the wayward tear, which managed to fall. His digits lingered against her cheekbones, trailing down her chin, as he tilted her face upwards till her eyes met with his.

“Bertholdt,” She finally whispered, her eyes dull with despondent as she stared at him.

His heart ached as he took in her crestfallen expression, and he pulled her in for a hug, knowing that in that moment, explanations could wait. It was comfort that she needed the most. A soft whimper escaped her throat as she buried her face against his chest, her hands fisting against his back as she held on to him, seeking the comfort he never failed to provide.

Not a word was uttered as they held each other in their embrace. Minutes passed, as muffled crying became soft sniffles. His chest vibrated gently as he spoke, “shall we go get you cleaned up?”

“Yeah…”


~~


The corridors were empty, since everyone had ended training, and were probably resting up in their rooms before dinner. Entering [Name]’s room, Bertholdt gently shut the door behind him, only to see her sitting cross-legged on her bed. Her hair was still damp from the shower she just took, the smell of her shampoo wafting to his nose as he sat down beside her. Opening the first aid kit, which he had just retrieved from the infirmary, he took out a tube of medicine and applied it on her knuckles, apologizing softly as she winced at the pain. His fingers worked deftly as he wrapped the cotton bandages neatly around her hands.

“A-Are you alright?” He asked warily, as if he were afraid she would burst into tears again.

She turned to him, her expression unreadable as she said, “I… I don’t know…”

“I’m going for a walk,” she muttered. “Will you come with me? I don’t want to be alone…”

They ended up in the flower meadows not too far off from the HQ. A comfortable silence engulfed them, [Name] gazing out at the horizon serenely while Bertholdt kept his eyes on her, feeling somewhat relieved that she wasn’t feeling so down any longer.

“Bertholdt? Do you think I’m weak?”

“W-What? Of course not! Why would you think that?”

A frown etched into his face as he stared at her. [Name] sighed, running her hand through her hair. “It’s just that, today during training, I was sparring with Armin, and I realized how much better he’s gotten, while I haven’t been improving at all…”

“Where are you going with this?” Bertholdt asked, scooting closer to her.

“I feel like I’m stagnant… Not improving at all, not growing, while everyone else is getting stronger and stronger.”

The brunette took a second to mull over her words before his eyes soften when he caught sight of a particular patch of flowers in front of them.

“You know,” he muttered gently, “this flower bud reminds me of you…”

[Name]’s head snapped up at his words, looking at Bertholdt, whose attention was focused on the patch of brightly colored cosmos. Amongst them was a tiny flower bud, its petals still wrapped tightly around each other.

“A flower bud eh…?” She sighed, pulling her legs even closer to her chest.

Glancing at her, Bertholdt gave her a small smile. “It’s not a bad thing, [Name]. Just because you’re a late bloomer doesn’t mean you’re weak or useless. It just shows how much harder you work to keep up with everyone. It shows that you’re diligent, and you’d know how to appreciate every single success, no matter how trivial it may seem.”

Her lips curved upwards at his words as he took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together as he continued, “And sometimes,”

“Even the smallest flower bud may bloom into the prettiest flower yet.”