HEAT

Chapter 1:Bakit?

A/N:

Hi everyone 👋

This story is really Tagalog (Filipino language) so I have a hard time translating it, but the title is still in Tagalog, you just ignore it or translate it just for fun 😁.

Anyway enjoy 😘

<(￣︶￣)><(￣︶￣)><(￣︶￣)>

The first practice of the year dawns on a muggy, still day. The rising sun looks like it's bleeding into the sky, promising another scorcher, and the air is motionless and heavy across Reiner's shoulders. It's the kind of day where he's grateful cross country practice is in the morning and not after school; running in this kind of weather at three o'clock, when the sun is just starting to sink back towards the horizon, would be suicide. He took classes over the summer in CPR and basic first aid, and knows how to treat heat exhaustion now, but he'd rather not have to use those skills.

Still, he's happy to be back, ready for another school year to start, and when he pulls up in front of Bertolt's house to pick him up, he's in high good humor.

He only has to wait on the curb for a few moments before Bertolt comes slouching out, his eyes half-closed and his hair standing up in cowlicks, sweat already beading on his skin. This is going to be a rough day for him, Reiner can tell already, and he glances at the backseat, where he has his trusty little cooler, freshly stocked with bottles of only slightly-expired Gatorade that he got for cheap at work.

Reiner grins as Bertolt climbs into the car, folding his long legs up and under his chin so they fit in the little hatchback. "Good morning, sunshine!"

Bertolt garbles something that is almost words, and Reiner hands him a thermos of iced coffee. Caffeine before a run is just going to make him have to shit, but Bertolt has been running cross country since middle school now and knows the risks. He'll be smart enough to go before they start.

Bertolt seizes the thermos, the first real sign of life from him all morning, and nurses it all the way to the high school. Reiner leaves him to his coffee, and sings quietly along with the radio.

The locker room at the stadium is already sweltering, stinking of sweat and socks moldering away in the corners, and Reiner is glad he decided to leave his school clothes in his car. They'll feel like a furnace when he puts them on, but they won't pick up the reek of the locker room and the stink won't trail him all day. He sits in front of his locker, Bertolt at his side-slightly more awake now, mumbling responses whenever someone talks to him-and greets the other runners as they come in. Most of them look at him askance, especially the freshmen, but the return runners all know about Reiner and how lively he is in the morning. They wave, or say hi, and a few even ask him how his summer went. Reiner answers all of their questions with a smile-he's good, thanks; his summer was fine; yeah, that's his car out in the parking lot; she doesn't look like much but she gets him where he needs to go.

One of the girls knocks on the locker room door, and Bertolt sits up straighter, swiping his hair out of his eyes, looking everywhere except at the girls as they file in after getting the all clear. Reiner grins and covers it behind his hand, giving Bertolt a little nudge with his elbow. "She looks really cute this morning. Looks like she got a tan over the summer."

"Shut up!" Bertolt hisses, his feet tapping nervously, out of control, his hands working over themselves from where he's got them clasped between his knees. He refuses to admit his crush on Annie Leonhardt, has been denying it for years, but all it takes is one look at him to know he's fallen, and fallen hard. Personally, Reiner thinks that if Annie doesn't notice Bertolt this year, she's not paying attention; Bertolt shot up another two inches over the summer and his legs go on forever under his shorts. He's also finally starting to grow into his nose, and, in Reiner's humble opinion, is one of, if not the, best looking guy in the junior year.