Summary: After a long day of training, the soldiers-in-training of the 104th Trainee Squad would gather in the baracks and converse.

Warnings: Sweaty Prince being sad

Characters: Bertholdt Fubar, Reiner Braun, 10rth Trainees

Word Count: ~1,031

Notes: Whoopsie, I angsted again. This is short, but whatevah, whatevah, I do what I want. This is for day 3 of Reibert Week, so I hope you enjoy!


After a long day of training, the soldiers-in-training of the 104th Trainee Squad would gather in the barracks and converse. Bertholdt never joined these conversations, but elected to let Reiner speak for him. The blond was much better at making conversation and making friends than Bertholdt ever was.

It was simply a fact that Reiner was outgoing and friendly and brotherly, while Bertholdt was shy and reserved and painfully anti-social. Introversion had always been a problem for him.

However, there was one particular night when the trainees gathered that Bertholdt came out of his shell.

It had been Marco's idea to talk about their families. Bertholdt was sitting next to Reiner, muscles tense and eyes casted downwards. He couldn't look at any of them knowing that he was or was going to be the reason that they and their families would be dead. He bit at a hangnail near his right thumb when Eren told his story, about how his mother had been eaten by a titan, how Mikasa was his only family left since he had no clue what had happened to his father. He picked at his cuticles as Armin explained how his parents had died protecting humanity, and his grandfather had died when the Wall Maria refugees had been forced to try to retake their territory. He dug his nails into his palms they all sympathized with them and vowed that they would take down the titans once and for all, especially the Colossal Titan.

He did calm down considerably when Marco talked about his three younger sisters and two younger brothers, and Connie's loving mother and father. By the time they turned to Reiner, he had relaxed completely.

Reiner chuckled and crossed his legs. "This is gonna be a doozy. Okay, so my mom and dad have been together for about eighteen years, and they're still completely in love with each other. I'm the oldest of ten kids; six little sisters and three little brothers. They would follow me like lost puppies, I swear, I never have a moment alone when I'm at home. Not that I can really complain, I love them all dearly. They're a handful, but I really wouldn't change any of it. They all made it out alive when the titans invaded, thankfully. They're all living in a small village near Trost, healthy and happy."

They all smiled at him, happy that his giant family survived. Out of the corner of his eye, Bertholdt could see Reiner's hand feeling his pocket; the pocket where he kept the most recently taken photo of the Braun family. He could tell that Reiner was desperately missing his family at this moment.

Bertholdt let his gaze travel back to his lap where he lay his clasped hands. Thinking of Reiner's family made him think of home, and thinking of home made him think of his family.

"-tholdt? Bertholdt!"

The tall boy jumped and looked to lock eyes with Jean, who, along with everybody else, were watching him expectantly.

"S-sorry, I spaced out a bit. What is it?" Bertholdt scratched his neck in embarrassment, hoping the flush rising in his cheeks wouldn't be too prominent.

"We were wondering if you wanted to tell us about your family." Jean stated.

"Um..."

"Uh, guys, Bert's got a really complicated homelife, would it be okay if he passed?" Reiner, being the angel that he is, immediately jumped to his defence.

"No, no, it's fine," Bertholdt stated, trying to feign confidence. "I guess I can tell you guys about my family."

He still didn't meet any of their curious gazes. Eye-contact of any kind made him so uncomfortable that he could just shrivel up and die inside.

"M-my father died when I was younger, when I was ten. One of the old, abandoned barns had caught on fire while there were children playing inside. He burned to death saving those three kids' lives." He picked at a loose thread in his pants absentmindedly. "He had been a farmer making decent money and my mother had been unemployed. And with my father gone and my mother without a job, we didn't have any way to earn money. My family was already dirt poor as it was, but it only got worse from there. My mother fell into a depression after my dad passed; she never did anything, never moved, never said anything, never slept a wink...all she did was stare at absolutely nothing. No matter how many times I begged and screamed in her face, she never heard. Never said anything. The only other family that I had was my little sister Melody.

"Melody is fragile. Very gentle. She starts to cry at the sight of just a single speck of blood. Melody is...probably the kindest, most forgiving person in the world. She's everything to me. I joined the military to protect her."

Bertholdt sighed and shifted where he sat. "We had just gotten back on our feet when the titans showed up. My mom was finally starting to respond to us again, she was eating, I was learning how to hunt...but the titans ruined everything. They both made it out okay, and they're living with Reiner's family right now. So...yeah. That's my story, I guess."

The tall boy feigned a yawn. "So, uh, it's getting late, so I think I'm gonna...get to bed. Yeah. Goodnight!"

He didn't meet anyone's eyes throughout this entire exchange.


When Reiner climbed into their shared bunk, he found Bertholdt laying on his back, clutching a round silver pendant to his heart. Hot tears were streaming down tan cheeks, whilst pearly white teeth bit into his bottom lip to fight back his sobs.

The blond felt his expression soften. "Bert..."

Said boy turned to look at him, sorrow-filled eyes brimming with tears. The bulky boy crowded closer to the crying boy and lay on his side, snaking both arms around Bertholdt's waist to tug him close and press his face to his chest. He didn't care that there were tears soaking his shirt. He needed release too, just like everybody else.

Gingerly brushing Bertholdt's bangs from his eyes, Reiner leaned down to kiss the fresh tears away.

"You're not allowed to be sad," Reiner scolded, which earned him a half-chuckle-half-sob.

"I just miss them," Bertholdt mumbled miserably. "I miss home."

Reiner nodded in agreement. "Me too, Bert. Me too."

The blond slowly plucked the pendant out of Bertholdt's hands and opened the locket to peer at the old picture inside. Two girls and one boy, standing side by side, all smiling brightly. They all looked so much alike, Reiner mused, as he scanned the shared features in the faces of his lover's mother and sister. Same dark hair, tan skin, green eyes, long nose. The only thing not inherited was the height. Bertholdt's mom was tiny, just about the same height at Connie or Armin, and Melody was a tiny thing, tinier than Reiner thought possible for a ten year old.

The blond let his eyes wander over every detail of the picture; Mrs. Fubar's hands on the shoulders of both her children, the way Bertholdt was crouching down slightly so his head would fit in the picture, the delicate ribbons holding Melody's two braids together. He'd seen this picture so many times, but it always felt as if he was seeing it for the first time whenever he looked at it. There always seemed to be something new that he hadn't seen before.

Reiner felt a twist in his gut that he realized was homesickness. Sighing, he pressed his lips gently against Bertholdt's pulse point, glad that the boy had finally calmed down considerably.

"One day, soon, we'll be back there. With them. And we'll never, ever leave again. Right?"

Bertholdt gave him a weak, watery smile. "Definitely."