(Discontinued) AOT Boys x Reader; A Relaxing Vacation?

Departure

The whiny of horses greeted you as you walked through the entrance of the stables. Shafts of sunlight stretched through gaps in the ceiling rafters and struck the ground in front of you. You crossed your arms and sighed.

"You almost ready to go?" a voice called from the right of you. You turned to see Eren Jaeger with an armful of hay.

"Yup." you replied. "Just gotta feed (Horses's Name) over here and I should be good to go!" You glanced at the bundle of hay in his arms. "I see you're here to take care of your horse, too."

"Actually, this is for Jean." you both laughed.

"I HEARD THAT, JAEGER!!" a voice complained somewhere outside the stables. You both jumped and giggled under your breath.

"Well I better go...ACHOO!" Without warning, your face crinkled up and you sneezed mid sentence.

"Allergies?" Eren asked, a little startled by your sudden action.

"Yeah, the hay always gets to me. It's not that ba...ah...ah...ACHOO!" you sneezed again, this time the force of it threw you off balance. You hated how your sneezes sounded. They always were high-pitched and girly.

Eren's eyes were wide. You saw him looking at you and your face reddened.

"Heh...sorry my sneezes sound stupid..." you began speed walking to your horses's stall. Eren immediately dropped all the bundle he was carrying, a twinge of pink on his cheeks.

"Y-you're c-cute..." mumbled Eren, his teal eyes still wide.

"What?" you asked. You turned and looked behind you, still walking.

"(F/N)! LOOK OUT!" Eren yelled, but it was too late. You had absent mindedly stepped on an upturned, metal rake. Before the wooden handle came up to smack you painfully in the face, you were tackled to the ground and landed in a large pile of hay. Once you opened your eyes, you looked to see Eren lying on top of you. One arm was wrapped around your waist and the other was near your head, supporting him by his elbow. His face was literately inches from your's. You stared into each others eyes for a few seconds. Eren's face turned bright red as he processed the situation both of you were in. For some reason, you could feel your face begin to heat up as well.

"S-s-sorry!" he stuttered, scrambling into a sitting position. You were blushing now (but not as near as much as Eren) and sat up. You glared at him angrily and crossed your arms. You opened your mouth about to yell at him, but upon seeing the terrified look on Eren's face, you looked at at the ground and sighed loudly.

"It's fine. Thanks for saving my face from being smashed." You stood up and extended your hand to a still sitting Eren. He reluctantly took your hand and you hauled him off the ground with surprising force. He almost stumbled into you a second time before you grabbed his shoulder and steadied him.

"And quit runnin' into people, you dork." you chuckled, affectionately punching his arm. This time he smiled back at you, face still a little pink.

"Says the clumsiest scout in the legion." he retorts.

"Shut up." With that you left to care for your horse. Pulling a bucket of oats from the storage room, you placed it in front of (h/n) and glanced back at a staring Eren.

"What are you staring at? Aren't you going to feed your horse?" Eren, finally returning to reality, quickly nodded and retrieved the bundle he had dropped earlier. The both of you continued to ready your horses, chatting about the your upcoming break with untainted enthusiasm. By the time you mounted your horses and trotted out the door, the rest of the squad was about to move out. You and Eren steered you horses towards the rest of the guys.

"Well it's about time!" Reiner complained, pulling his horse to your left side. "We were about to leave you!'

"Yeah!" Connie said, smiling "That would have been a shame since you would have missed all the awesome games we have planned!" You rolled your eyes. Normally, when Connie said "games", he actually meant pranks. You scowled, remembering how your entire squad had to clean the HQ top to bottom twice after one of Connie's pranks had ended up falling on Captain Levi. Although Levi was not the respective target, he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shaking the memory from your head, you looked at Connie and smirked.

"However awesome your so called games may be, as long as it doesn't get the rest of us cleaning duty for the rest of our lives, count me in!" Connie's eyes lit up at your response.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. He looked at you with mischievous eyes."Who knows! Maybe you will be the victim of one of my ingenious pranks!"

"In your dreams, Springer! Plus your pranks aren't that ingenious unless I help you!" You haughtily stuck your nose in the air.

"Ha! Don't worry! We will let you have plenty if opportunities to help me with my schemes!" You and Connie continued talking as the rest of your friends pulled up beside you, joining in on the conversation.

""Move out!" Hanji called from the front of the carriages. Slowly but surly, the line of horses began to advance along the gravel pathway and into the canopy of trees beyond. Light and dark patches dappled the ground as the sunlight shone through the leaves of the oaks and maples. You purposely removed yourself from the chattering of your accomplices and gazed into the undergrowth, drinking in the beauty around you. A wave of sadness swept over you. How could a world surrounded by so much pain and despair be so beautiful? You thought as the memory from the last expedition refreshed itself in your mind. You remembered the friends you lost that day, you remembered how the light of cremation fires danced across faces of people who watched the corpses of others they knew burn. Emptiness had bored a hole inside you and a lump formed in your throat as you stared into the green expanse slowly passing by.

"(F/n)." A voice broke your train of thought. Startled, you looked towards the source of the voice. A tall, dark haired male stared at you with concerned eyes. "Are you ok?'

"Oh, hey Bertholdt. Don't worry, I'm fine." He looked at you strangely. You suddenly felt something warm trickle down the side of your face. Am I...crying? You quickly brushed the tears away, feeling quite stupid and weak. You couldn't remember the last time you cried, you didn't even cry when you watched the bodies of your friends being laid to rest in the bonfire. You just felt...empty. You averted your gaze from Bertholdt and lowered your head, hiding your face from him behind your (h/l) (h/c) hair. You felt a shaky hand grab yours.

"It's ok for you to cry. I know you try to act tough when you don't want others to know how you feel. But sometimes it's just better to let go." Bertholdt mumbled. You looked up at him, startled by the normally quiet boy's heartfelt remark. He was staring at the ground, avoiding contact with your (e/c) eyes. You saw the crimson shade his face held and wondered why he was so nervous, then again, Bertholdt always seemed to be nervous. You felt him try to pull his hand away, but you gripped it tighter. Finally, his eyes met yours in surprise. You smiled warmly, making Bertholdt's heart skip a beat.

"Thanks, Bertholdt. You're a good friend." You released his hand and grabbed the reins of your horse. You turned in your saddle and resumed riding, your spirits lighter. Bertholdt smiled softly, realizing that his short statement had dissipated your melancholy. Although, for some unknown reason, he was a little disappointed at your "friend" comment. He tossed aside the thought. All that mattered is that you were happier.

------------------------------------------------

(A/N); This chapter was a bit more serious towards the end, but still cute.

If anyone has any ideas about future chapters, please don't hesitate to comment! Thanks guys!

~BookPhantom