Reiner had it all wrong, of course. For all Bertholdt had followed and trusted his compatriot, his fellow warrior, he knew the Armored Titan was wrong an awful lot. God damn, it looked at this point like he was even wrong about continuing their mission after Ymir ate Marcel. After all, there was Reiner, armless and legless, and somewhere was Annie, being tortured, crying out for her hero. And here he was, her hero, her knight, with no dignity or limbs left to speak of. How terrible.
He was going to die today. It wasn't as if he was okay with it, but it was an inevitability. It wasn't as though he knew it from the start, but in retrospect, it seemed only natural. Of course he'd underestimated Armin. Of course he'd failed to consider Eren's human form.
'Although,' he smirked. 'It's not as if Reiner did any better. We're in the exact same situation.'
Bertholdt was a little appalled at his own train of thought. Reiner was his hero and his brother, and he'd never wished ill upon him. Not once. But damn it, why was he always so wrong?
"Give it a rest, Bert," Reiner chuckled as he sidled up to his warrior companion. "We'll see who's right or wrong when we're out there defending the walls." The 15-year-old tossed a wink at his companion.
"Oi, Reiner." Eren threw a piece of bread across the room, where it struck Reiner square in the forehead and dropped into his lap. "I always wanted to ask you. Are you going to join the Military Police Brigade? When you graduate in 3rd place, I mean." Eren added the little jab with a hint of a smirk; Reiner responded by tossing the bread back at the green-eyed boy. Mikasa laughed at the back-and-forth, even though it wasn't particularly funny. She was such a pretty girl, but she was so hung up on Eren. It was a real pain in the neck; she was so much stronger and smarter than him. Bertholdt didn't think he'd ever understand her heart.
Reiner's voice interrupted his train of thought. "I'm here to save humanity, Eren. If that means joining the Survey Corps, so be it. If that means joining the Garrison, so be it. If that means joining the Military Police Brigade, so be it." Annie, face nestled into her arms as she sat beside Bertholdt, snorted at Reiner's response.
Bertholdt felt the words well up from his throat; he spoke involuntarily, almost as if he'd been programmed to ask Annie: "Why is that funny?"
Annie seemed at a loss. Bertholdt understood why; he hardly questioned anything said by either of the other two.
But then, something magical happened: she smiled. "He's such a hero."
Bertholdt laughed. Reiner laughed. Annie laughed, a lovely little wind-chime laugh that seemed a little too feminine to be coming from her. For a moment, it was just the three of them in the world. And Connie. Connie laughed a little because he liked to fit in, but he stopped after realizing nobody else seemed to understand.
As the laughter subsided, Bertholdt realized he was reliving the last time he'd seen Annie smile.
As the laughter subsided, Bertholdt realized that dying meant he'd never see it again.
Right now, for the first time, he understood Mikasa. She was the way she was because of love. It wasn't the love that Reiner had suggested – he was wrong, as usual. Or at least it wasn't the kind of love that Reiner had in mind.
More than anything, it was freedom. It was the freedom to laugh with the people he loved, the people who knew him and loved him for what he was, even if only because they were the same.
He wished he could see her smile again because he wished he could feel, one more time, like he belonged.
Bertholdt summoned all of the strength in his body to open his eyes. It was too bright. The sun accosted his eyes, but they would not close.
Eren and Mikasa – his former teammates, his former friends – had seemingly coerced Levi into choosing to confer his colossal powers unto Armin. It was just as well; Armin was as clever and as rotten a person as Bertholdt had ever seen. It was he who'd exploited Bertholdt's passion for his friends; it was he who had precipitated his untimely demise. The Titan Shifter was not a hateful person, but perhaps there was nobody in this world whom he hated more than Armin Arlelt.
Nevertheless, Bertholdt hoped Armin gained quick access to his memories. As long as someone was around to cherish Annie's sweet smile, as long as there was someone around to feel loved like he had, there was something right in this cruel world.