Wings : Attack on Titan x Reader Scenarios / Imagines ▼

Hold On [ Bertholdt x Reader ]

[ for :: awberthxoldt ]

It was a clear, cloudless, beautiful day. The sky had found itself in that elusive, impeccable state of hues, just darker than a pale blue but ever so slightly less saturated than a pure cerulean. Not a single puff of whiteness dotted the admirable air. A slight breeze blew now and then, gradually easing the sun's sweltering heat into a pleasant warmth that remained in excellent equilibrium with the rest of the environment. There was no remainder of the past few days' previous humidity. All in all, it was a day that you had dreamed for. Not just because of the weather, of course; no, it was far more than that.

Today was the 57th Expedition Outside the Walls.

Otherwise known to you as the first time you'd truly see the world for what it was: one unconstrained, unconfined, and completely free from man's touch.

For once you hadn't needed a roommate to wake you up. Your head had been the first one to pop up that morning, beating even the early-bird girl who lay in the bed adjacent to you, Mikasa. Ymir had even greeted you with a pat on the back, glad to have the time she usually used to shake you from your vivid dreams to Krista. At breakfast you'd wolfed down every morsel - something Sasha was not too happy about.

But no matter. That spike of energy still remained within you, even as you sat through about twelve repeated verses of the same instruction plan, over and over, again and again. The team you'd been assigned to - along with Ymir and Bertholdt - was led by Nanaba. And she was nothing if not thorough.

Just as Nanaba was about to dive into her final reiteration, Ymir's snores snagged her attention, and she sighed. "Ymir," she snapped, successfully startling the girl awake. You couldn't help but giggle to yourself. It was as though your roles were reversed - on any other day, that would've easily been you. Even Bertholdt seemed to have noticed. His eyes were rested upon your seated form for longer than you'd noticed.

"Sorry," Ymir muttered, narrowing her eyes and resting her chin in her hands. "But I think we get it. When are we leaving, anyways?"

Nanaba folded her arms, a smile growing on her lips despite herself. "As soon as Commander Erwin gives us the signal." She paused for a moment, glancing over at another group, one of whose team members' was not particularly pleased with his position and had entered a fit of shouting. Nanaba cast a final glance back in your direction, then ran a hand through her short hair and departed with a quick, "I'll be right back."

It was evident that Ymir had been trying to catch up on some sleep as she muttered, "Jeez...can't Daz ever calm down? There's no way he'll get out of here alive." Her tone was that of someone discussing the dirt on their shoe, not that of someone dealing with life and death.

"He's just afraid," you interjected softly, unable to suppress your pity for your poor teammate. He always seemed to have too many things on his mind...unfortunately, everybody else seemed to disregard that, and viewed him as pathetic. "And - considering everything, he has a right to be."

Bertholdt appeared as though he had been about to say something, but as your phrases drew to an end his eyes quickly settled on his feet as opposed to you, where they had been just momentarily. A small bead of sweat had formed on his forehead.

"No, don't tell me you're scared, too, Bertholdt," Ymir groaned.

"Hm?" Bertholdt tilted his head to the side, contemplating Ymir with a puzzled look. It took him a few moments for the question to sink in. "Oh - no. Just wondering why we were placed so close to the front." His last sentence was just barely audible.