Chapter Text
It had taken six hours of driving to get to the small lakeside town of Shiganshina, and everyone was beat.
Bertholdt lay upside down using Reiner as a body pillow. Feet beside the blond's head while his cheek rested on his ankle. He had slept long enough to assume that position, yet having gotten the futon in Zeke’s living room meant he had to deal with the man's nocturnal habits. Namely his vaping in the unlit kitchen. Bertholdt was glad he had stopped smoking cigarettes, but the artificial fruity scent turned his nose.
Hearing Reiner breathe out a sharp breath after Zeke took back to his bedroom, Bertholdt asked, “Are you awake?”
“Yeah, of course,” Reiner answered.
“You want me to move?”
“Nah. It’s too cute.”
Bertholdt smiled against his leg. Despite the sleeplessness, it was wonderful to snuggle with Reiner. No longer having to keep a certain distance. Instead he could shut his eyes and enjoy the warmth beneath him. To his almost shame, Bertholdt had often cuddled his body pillow at home and pretended it was Reiner. However, it was too squishy for him to believe as his friend’s firm physique. The real thing was better anyway. So much better. And he would have seven more nights to sleep beside Reiner. Paradise.
Pieck and Galliard had not been so lucky, the former made to share a bed with Annie and the latter with Marcel. Bertholdt figured Zeke didn’t think he and Reiner the types to fool around in the open. Which they weren’t, or at least Bertholdt wasn’t. He thought about it though, especially as he was lying halfway ontop of Reiner.
“Wanna hit that gin?” Reiner asked.
Marcel had swiped two bottles from his parents. It would cause trouble once found out, but they decided it worth the scolding.
“Nah, we should save that for tomorrow night.”
“Yeah, I know. I just wanna see tipsy Bertholdt so bad.”
“Tipsy Bertholdt is a disaster.”
“Tipsy Bertholdt says naughty words and I like it.”
He bit his cheek. “Yeah...”
A wave of guilt. Drinking with his friends while his mother was home beginning treatment? Though she had practically pushed him out the door, telling him he needed to enjoy himself and not be inhibited by her illness. Still he worried how she was doing. If she were wishing him there and regretting her insistence he go.
“Hey, Reiner?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you tell me I’m not selfish for coming even though mom’s starting treatment?”
“You’re not selfish for coming even though your mom’s starting treatment. She literally packed most of your suitcase.”
“Thanks.”
***
Bertholdt, Reiner, and Marcel had taken lunch at a lakeside restaurant. Seated outside on its wooden deck while the others enjoyed the shore below.
“I am so pathetic. I have never been this pathetic in my life,” Marcel proclaimed, head in his hand.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Reiner said, sipping on an iced tea.
“What the hell. You’re supposed to be encouraging me in your can-do Reiner-like fashion.”
"I'm on vacation."
“You’ll find someone,” Bertholdt assured him. “But do you really want a girlfriend, or do you just want to not be the only one single?”
“Both." He threw his head back. "Ugh, how fun would it have been to have Sasha along for this. Skimpy outfits, her big bouncy personality.”
Reiner snickered. “Heh, yeah, bouncy ‘personality.’ But I thought you were happy with being a gentleman and stepping aside.”
“I was until I got here and found out how pathetic I was. Although…” He scanned the shore below and fixed on a group of girls.
“We’ll help you scope out chicks.”
Bertholdt made a low sound in his throat. “We will?”
“If you want.”
“Uh, I’ll think about it.”
The waitress approached with their orders and a cheerful greeting. Reiner hated seafood of all kinds, which this restaurant’s—and everywhere near's—specialty. Though luckily there was an available turkey burger. Bertholdt and Marcel were thrilled for their shrimp scampi. As the girl leaned over the table and laid out Bertholdt's boat, his vision lingered down her shirt at her generous cleavage. Going white, he darted his eyes back to the table.
Once she left, Marcel erupted, “Did you see how she was looking at me?”
“You’re delusional,” Reiner said, taking a bite of his burger.
Bertholdt was hoping to god neither of them saw him ogling the waitress. Yes, ogling. That’s what he was doing. What was wrong with him?
Reiner. He loved Reiner. The apple of his eye. Gorgeous. His tight t-shirt illustrated his toned body and made Bertholdt want to stare at him all day.
“You said you were starving,” Reiner said.
“Huh?” Bertholdt realized he hadn’t been eating despite his rumbling stomach.
Marcel pulled over his boat. “Awesome, more for me.”
“Hey—” He took it back.
“This still tastes like fish,” Reiner said with a swallow. “If I had an allergy, I’d be dead by now.”
Marcel licked his fingers. “If you had an allergy, you wouldn’t eat here at all.”
“Point still stands. They basically tried to kill me.”
After finishing and splitting the bill with their allotted money from their parents, Marcel said he was going back to the house to ‘make himself pretty.’ Whatever that meant. Reiner and Bertholdt strolled though the boardwalk. It was littered with kiosks for games, fare, and shopping. The balmy temperature and calls of seagulls helped calm Bertholdt’s unease. Reiner spoke to him about sneaking the gin bottles past Zeke when the group revisited the boardwalk that evening.
“I know you hate PDA,” Reiner began, “but is putting my arm around you okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” Bertholdt replied. “That’s fine.”
He wrapped an arm around him, letting his hand dangle casually over his shoulder. “So that waitress’s rack, huh?”
He came to a halt and froze stiff. “W—what?”
“You were looking right at ‘em.”
“They just—just got in my way. My eyes’ way, I mean.”
He laughed and shook his shoulder. “Bertl, I don’t care.”
“I—why not?”
“Because she had a nice rack.”
He scratched his neck. “....Yeah.”
“Just because you’re a vegetarian doesn’t mean you can’t admire the sight of a nice rack of lamb.”
He broke into a laughing fit. “That’s a great analogy.”
“Come on, I’ll buy you a cotton candy. I know you still have to be hungry.”
***
Bertholdt worried this vacation was turning into ‘everyone from home is here, but squished together in a smaller space.’ Eren, Armin, and Mikasa showed up to his surprise. Zeke never mentioned them coming, but of course they would, Eren was his brother. Bertholdt was very fond of them, and was happy Annie got to be with her girlfriend, but the place was getting too crowded for his taste. Though the trio was okay with cramming into the last available room and sharing its own fold-out couch.
Also, Eren and Marcel had a way of mixing that could be unpleasant. Not predictably volatile like Eren and Jean or Reiner and Galliard, but a grab bag. They might get along just fine, sharing jokes and achievements, or Marcel might wrap Eren in duct tape and throw him off the pier to prove he could. Or vice versa. No one could predict it—and Reiner would only lend encouragement.
“Okay, Pieck,” Zeke began, locking his black sedan's door, “I trust you’ll keep them all in line while I meet up with my bandmates.”
Pieck nodded. “I’ll gag and bind them, push them into the van, and speed back home if they misbehave.”
“Good,” he said, starting toward the lively boardwalk.
Is she really going to do that? She knew they were planning on drinking, though wasn't going to take part.
After they were left on their own, they ordered sodas at a kiosk and found a secluded spot to spike them. Marcel’s backpack held the coveted gin.
“Can I at least have a sip?” Eren asked Reiner as they started back into public.
“No,” Reiner replied.
“Please? I just want to know what it tastes like.”
“Double no.”
“Says the guy who helped me get around the parental blocks on my cable.”
“It actually tastes great,” Marcel said, licking his lips. “Guess I’m one of those people who likes the taste.”
Eren clenched his fists. “Oh yeah? I bet I’d like it too if you just let me have some.”
Oh no, Bertholdt thought. It’s started.
“Galliard? Annie? Please?” Eren pleaded.
Mikasa glared. “Eren.”
Armin placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll have plenty of chances to drink in college.”
Eren huffed. “Ugh.”
Bertholdt was offended Eren hadn't asked him for a sip. Why, because meek, obedient Bertholdt would never do such a thing? That was crap.
“Here you go, Eren,” Bertholdt said, handing him his styrofoam cup.
“Bertholdt!” Reiner exclaimed, and the others added protests.
Bertholdt waved them off. “Relax, it’s not gonna get him blackout drunk.”
Eren took a tentative sip and grimaced.
Galliard shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I’m gonna tell Zeke.”
“Snitches get stitches,” Reiner said, and Galliard rolled his eyes.
Eren handed the drink back to Bertholdt, straightening his expression. “It’s—it’s good.”
Marcel scoffed. “Liar.”
“It is! I like it!”
“Don’t think so.”
Eren stopped. “I can handle anything. Come on, I’ll order everything spicy and gross and bitter that they have here.”
“And so will I.”
Great. Now the night would end with the two getting their stomachs pumped.
Reiner pulled his phone from his pocket. “I hope this is charged enough to handle all the video I’m going to be taking of this.”
Bertholdt frowned. He had hoped to take a walk with him alone. This was a challenge. Going out with friends never made him worry how much time he got to spend with Reiner. As a couple—is that what they were?—he was uncertain how to proceed.
“Your Lumia is trash and has trash video quality,” Galliard said, taking out his shiny black iPhone. “I’m doing it.”
Annie cocked her head. “Yeah, besides, Reiner and Bertholdt need to go and be all gross and coupley like they are.”
“We’re not gross and coupley,” Reiner said. ”It’s just because you and Mikasa don’t even look like one.” Mikasa smirked and wrapped an arm around Annie. “Oooh, how risque.”
“Ugh, do something with him, Bertholdt.”
Bertholdt smiled. Thank you, Annie. “I will.” He hooked an arm under Reiner’s and urged him away.
Reiner puckered his bottom lip. “But—but… Marcel versus Eren disgusting eatathon.”
“Heh, you heard Galliard, your phone is trash.” He sipped his drink and scrunched his face. “I’m sort of with Eren, this is not pleasant.”
“You poured out like half your Sprite, how much gin did you put in?”
“Made it about half-and-half.”
He bowed his head and laughed. “You idiot, oh god, you idiot. Oh my god.”
“What? What?”
“That kind is so concentrated, if you drink all that you’re going to get so blitzed.”
“Oh well.” He took another long drink.
“Haha, that’s it.”
They found a bench facing the lake and sat down. Moonlight reflected off the crashing waves and Bertholdt continued to nurse his cocktail. His skin warmed and his surroundings grew more colorful. He and Reiner discussed music and TV, each one of Reiner’s humorous observations striking him as oddly hilarious.
“Do you hear that song in the distance?” Bertholdt asked.
Reiner put his hands behind his head. “Not really.”
“It’s a love song from the 80s. It’s so pretty, makes me think about you.”
He grinned. “You finish your drink yet?”
He tossed back the last few drops. “Have now.” He gazed across Reiner’s form, licking his lips. “I love that shirt. You look so hot.”
“Yeah.”
“Ah! You’re supposed to be all modest.”
“Says who?”
“I don’t know. Like… people.” He pulled Reiner’s shirt up an inch and exposed a stripe of toned flesh.
Reiner nudged his hand away. “Control your whore-mones.”
“Fine. Let’s go, I need to like throw this away anyway.” He stood up with a wobble.
Reiner rose beside him. “You really are shitfaced. Let’s go back to the car.”
“No, I need to throw—I hate littering.”
“Right there, buddy.” He pointed to the trash can right beside the bench. Bertholdt dumped his cup in the bin, and Reiner picked up his own from the bench.
“Fancy meeting you here,” a monotone voice said from behind. They turned to see Levi standing alongside their science teacher, Ms. Zoe, and principal, Erwin Smith.
“H—hi,” Bertholdt said. “What the…”
“You following us?” Reiner teased.
“Popular vacation spot,” Ms. Zoe said, adjusting the rim of her wicker sun hat.
Bertholdt giggled under his breath. Why was she wearing a sun hat at night?
“How do you know my—my Levi?” Bertholdt asked.
“We’ve been friends for some time,” Erwin answered.
“I never knew this!” His voice came out louder than he intended. “Do you talk… talk about me?”
Levi raised an eyebrow. “My, my, I believe my star student is inebriated.”
“I ought to report you two,” Erwin warned. “Underage public drinking—”
Ms. Zoe smacked him on the back. “Leave them the hell alone. They’re kids, they’re on vacation. You were a teenager once, or at least I think you were.”
Bertholdt gave a nod. “Yeah, totally, you so didn’t just hatch out of a super serious principal man egg all authoritative with scary eyebrows.”
Reiner buried his face in his hand and Ms. Zoe cackled. Levi's lips formed a small smile.
“Well, do you at least have an adult nearby?” Erwin asked.
“Yeah,” Reiner answered.” Zeke.”
He tensed. “Mm.”
Bertholdt glanced around. “And Marcel, and Galliard, and Eren, and Mikasa and everyone is here too. Pieck is here somewhere also, not drunk ‘cause she only does peyote? She’s so weird.”
Reiner dropped the remains of his drink into the trash. “I’m just a little buzzed, so I’ll take him somewhere safe, guys.” He linked arms with Bertholdt and dragged him toward the parking lot. Zeke had entrusted him the second key to his car.
“Have fun!” Ms. Zoe called.
“Why are you doing this?” Bertholdt asked, leaning into him. ”You wanted me drunk.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you to embarrass yourself too much. Or have Zeke get mad. He’s not as cool as he used to be.”
“You’re not as cool as you used to be. Asshole.”
“Oh, it’s naughty words Bertholdt. Been waiting for him.”
“Fuck you.” He laughed.
“Yeah, yeah.” They reached the car and climbed in the back seat. They sat opposite from one another with legs crossed. Reiner clicked on the overhead light. “How about we play a game?”
He clapped. “Yes, yes!”
“Truth or dare? Cliche and classic.”
“Yes!”
“You’re so cute. So you want to go—”
“I’ll go first. Truth or dare? I choose definitely truth.”
“Okay…” He pursed his lips. “What was your last internet search?”
“Ugh. That’s boring.”
“I want to start easy.”
“I think it was… ‘Yahoo mail login.’”
“You don’t have that bookmarked?”
“It’s a new lap notebook. Didn’t do the bookmarks yet. Okay, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Text Galliard, ‘I huff your dirty sheets.’”
“No, no way.”
He threw up his hands. “Okay. Game over.”
“Fine, fine.” He pulled out his phone and typed a message. “Okay. Done.”
“I don’t believe you did it. Lemme see.”
“I did.”
He grabbed the phone. “This says ‘Bertholdt huffs your dirty sheets!’”
“Hah.” He reached for his phone but Bertholdt held it away. It dinged. Galliard had replied with, '...the fuck?’
Bertholdt held it out. “Let’s not tell it’s a joke.”
Reiner reclaimed his phone. “Oh, of course not. Imagine his face right now.”
“Hey, but you should have to go twice now ‘cause you cheated.”
“That's fair. I pick truth.”
He sucked on his tongue. “How big is it?”
“That is incredibly dirty.”
“Answer, damnit!” He hiccuped.
He stretched thumb and index finger as far apart as he could. “That big.”
“No way. I’ve seen the—the bulge in your—yeah.” The blush paired with his drunken flush had him sweating. His clothes clung to to his skin.
Reiner’s phoned chimed. “Get this, he says, ‘I’m ninety-nine percent sure that text was a joke but that one percent is really scared. Does he really?’”
“Don’t answer.”
“Wasn’t gonna. So truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“How about you… see how far in my mouth you can stick your tongue.”
“'Kay.” He leaned forward and cupped Reiner’s face before snaking a tongue in his mouth. His lips didn’t move, instead focusing on extending his tongue as far as possible.
Reiner backed away with a laugh. “You taste awful. And I didn’t mean stick your tongue in like you’re a frog and there’s a fly in my throat.”
He licked throughout his mouth, spreading the sour aftertaste of soda. “So mean.”
The car door swung open and Zeke announced, “Eren and Marcel are sick. I need to take them home.”
Reiner groaned. “Aw, man, what’d they eat? What’d I miss? Are they okay? Is there video?” He shuffled out of the sedan alongside Bertholdt, keeping a grip on his shoulder.
Bertholdt kept himself quiet as not to give away his state. It was easy as he was more focused in staying balanced.
A green-faced Marcel and Eren stood hugging themselves. “Don’t wanna talk about what we ate,” Marcel murmured. "And I think Galliard got video."
“What about everyone else?” Reiner asked Zeke as the older man climbed into the driver’s seat.
“My friends have an eye on them for now,” Zeke replied.
Bertholdt’s head grew light and his stomach twisted. He lurched for the back of the car and hunched over before throwing up. His head throbbed and he leaned against the back of the car, heaving for breath. Eren and Marcel said his name in vain before retching themselves.
“On my car and in my car!” Zeke shouted in a tone that Bertholdt briefly thought sounded like a chimpanzee.
Reiner held his sides, laughing uncontrollably as he moved over to where Bertholdt knelt. “Hey, you—you okay?”
He wiped his mouth and started to reply when he spotted three blurry figures several yards away. One short, one tall, and one with a sunhat.
Oh no… no, no, no, no.
***
So this was a hangover. He had hoped since he sobered up a bit before passing out he would avoid its brunt, but he awoke with a splitting head and queasy stomach. Which was unfortunate since Galliard made banana walnut pancakes from scratch paired with a side of cantaloupe and honeydew. Yet the thought of eating it made his insides roll. He sat on the now folded up futon nursing a glass of ice water while everyone ate at the table.
“Okay,” Galliard began, standing up after Pieck excused herself to call her parents, “as you may know, tomorrow is Pieck’s birthday. It has go perfectly. So no one better upset her so help me god.”
“Pieck is the most unflappable person I’ve ever known,” Zeke said, nibbling on his cantaloupe. “I think she’ll be fine.”
Eren smirked. “Yeah, I think you mean, ‘so no one better upset me so help me god.’”
“Says ‘The Scream,” Galliard retorted.
“Hey, everyone agreed to drop that stupid nickname!”
Zeke raised a hand. “Children, children.”
Bertholdt lay down on the sofa, grateful the aspirin was kicking in. His headache and sore muscles dissipating into a faint thrum. The rest finished breakfast and cleaned up before preparing for their next outing.
Reiner crouched beside Bertholdt. “Still don’t feel good?”
“Not really.”
“Against the aquarium then?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll stay here if—”
“No, no, no, I’ll feel better later. Go.” Reiner nodded before biting a laugh into his cheek. “What?”
“I’m sorry, I’m thinking about it again.” Bertholdt frowned. “Hey, hey, like I said, I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at Marcel and Eren and Zeke yelling.” He began a laughing fit.
“And the fact Ms. Zoe, Principal Smith, and Levi saw it. That’s sort of at my expense.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“‘Don’t want you to embarrass yourself,’ huh?”
“Ah, hey, you got your first drunken humiliation out of the way and you survived. Remember mine?”
Reiner had crashed Pieck’s little brother’s tricycle against her fence in front of said brother as well as Pieck’s parents. It was amazing it supported his weight at all.
Bertholdt chuckled softly at the memory.
“There we go. Laugh at me.” He kissed him on the temple and stood up. “At least you don’t have to steam clean his car for him. He’s making Eren and Marcel do it before we leave.”
“Lucky me.”
After the others left, Bertholdt listened to the clock on the wall tick. His phone rang from beneath the couch with the ringtone for his mother. How it ended up there he didn’t know. Fear flashed through him when he answered it, worried something awful had happened.
“Hello?”
“Hi, how’s it going?” his mother asked.
“Great. Really fun so far. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. Have—”
“You don’t feel sick yet?”
“No, Bertholdt, I called to ask about you.”
“Well, there’s really nothing to say other than it’s been fun. Pieck’s birthday tomorrow oughta be intense.”
She laughed. “I imagine Galliard is preparing hard for that, huh?”
“Heh. Yeah.”
“Okay, well, I’m actually in line at the store so I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”
“Right. Bye, take care.”
“Bye-bye.”
“Momma’s boy,” Annie said as she strolled in from the hallway.
“You didn’t go with them?”
“Why the hell would I want to see a bunch of fish?”
“They’re kinda cool.”
"Eh." She sat down on the coffee table across from him. “You want to hear a bit of gossip?”
“I don’t really like gossiping.”
“This is incredible though.”
He sighed. “Yeah, alright.”
“Pieck and I were talking late last night and she told me before Zeke moved here, he had a thing with her mom.”
“That’s awful.”
“No, it’s not because her parents have an open marriage.”
He blinked. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Her parents have this... arrangement and we’re only just hearing about it now?”
“Well, it’s not something you really want broadcast around town, is it?”
Considering how unconventional Pieck’s parents were, it wasn’t that surprising.
“Did she want you talking about this?”
“She said she didn’t care.”
Bertholdt was silent a moment. “Did… did Zeke like stay over at their house?”
“I don’t know the nitty-gritty details. And frankly I don’t want to.” She looked him up and down. “Pervert.”
“What, no I was just—you must be thinking it too.”
She gave a tiny smile. “I know. I was just giving you a hard time.”
***
Zeke's punishment for their drinking—along with the gin's confiscation and his own consumption of it—was help cleaning around the house. Bertholdt expected tidying up, laundry, sweeping, not scrubbing the kitchen floors and walls. Though he thought it fair and had recovered from his hangover so he was up to it.
Bertholdt, Reiner, Annie, and Mikasa worked the kitchen walls while the rest worked the bathrooms. Mikasa and Annie were nearly unrecognizable in the white t-shirts and denim cut-offs offered by Zeke so they wouldn't get bleach stains on their black wardrobe.
Reiner ran the brush back and forth across the wall and Bertholdt couldn't help staring. His sleeveless shirt showed off the arm muscles as they flexed which each scrub. And his sweaty scent, while objectively unpleasant, was making Bertholdt a bit faint.
He bit his tongue every time the impulse struck to bend down and lick his neck.
“Does this violate any labor laws?” Reiner asked, inching over beside Bertholdt. “He said only after we’re done do we get dinner.”
Bertholdt took a step back. “I’m gonna take a break.”
“Lame,” Mikasa said, stepping over to rinse her brush in the sink.
Bertholdt rinsed his hands as well before heading outside to the back patio. Pieck and Armin sat at the metal table both staring at a laptop screen.
“You done cleaning already?” Bertholdt asked.
“He didn’t make me clean,” Pieck replied, keeping her eyes on the screen as she typed.
Because he and your mom used to— He shook the thought from his head. Maybe it was because she hadn’t drank, but neither did Armin and still he had bathroom duty.
“I’m on break,” Armin said, taking a bite of a granola bar.
Bertholdt sat down at the third chair beside them and checked his phone. No calls or messages. He then inquired the two what they were doing and they told him of preparing for something called a hackathon.
He was about to ask if they would help him learn more about technology since he found it interesting, when Pieck asked, “So have you and Reiner made love yet?”
Armin nearly choked on the last of his granola and Bertholdt went red.
He shouldn’t have been surprised, no topic was ever off-limits to her, but that? “I—that’s... what?”
Armin leaned further toward the screen, focusing on it like if he stopped he'd drop dead.
“I saw the way you were looking at him is all. So have you?”
“That’s not really your business,” Bertholdt replied.
She leaned back in her chair. “That means you haven’t.”
They hadn’t.
“Like I said, not your business.”
“You should do it here. It’d be romantic.”
“Can we change the subject?”
“Yeah,” Armin spoke up. “Like uh, you think you and I an switch jobs? I can't reach the top of the wall in there even on a chair."
"It's all been decided, Armin. Zeke was pretty adamant."
He pouted. "Yeah."
Bertholdt stood. “Okay, well, I'm gonna get back to it."
"Think about what I said," Pieck added.
***
Bertholdt lay in bed on his side against Reiner's chest. Arm around him and enjoying his heat. The desire to lick his neck remained, but his tiredness made him content to drift off to sleep. Besides, Zeke had been skulking about, staring out the window while he vaped and threw back a few shots of gin.
“I’m glad everyone shut up,” Reiner said, carding his hands through Bertholdt's hair. "I thought they would never sleep."
Eren, Armin, and Mikasa had been listening to songs by Zeke's band, Rebellio, in their room and trying to match their vocals. They did so in hushed voices, but the sound carried.
He cracked up. “I'm surprised Eren actually sleeps at all.”
"Yeah." He was silent a few moments. "Are you weirded out by the whole Zeke and Pieck's mom thing?"
"Who isn't?"
"Pieck apparently."
A door in the hall creaked opened and footsteps neared. Bertholdt shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep when there was a weight on the bed.
“The hell are you doing?” Reiner asked. Bertholdt turned his head to see Marcel.
Marcel inched back. “Uh… Porco was eating a can of tuna in bed because he’s an awful human being, and then he spilled it all over my side while I was changing and I hate him.”
“So cover it with a blanket.”
“There are none and it smells like tuna all over and it makes me wanna puke. Please? I’ll stay on the far side.”
“What about Annie and Pieck? They’re super tiny, there'd be plenty of room for you.”
“It’s just less weird sleeping out here in the open than in their bed with them.”
Bertholdt rolled into his back. “Of course you can.”
“Yeah, alright,” Reiner said.
“Thank you.” Marcel lay down on his side at the bed's edge. “I won’t even get under the covers.”
Bertholdt realized that If he and Reiner were not together, this would be a non-issue. Several years before, the three of them piled into a tent on a camping trip with no issue. Now it had become ‘weird.’ He hoped Marcel wouldn’t start feeling left out. That was the last thing he wanted. He had seen too many people start a relationship with someone and lose interest in their friends.
“No,” Bertholdt said, sitting up on his elbows. “You can. It’s fine. We don’t want you to feel left out because we’re a couple now. We won’t do that to you.”
Marcel was still a second before sliding his legs beneath the blankets. “...okay.”
“Yeah,” Reiner said, tone heavy with a smile. “You can hop into bed with us anytime if you’re ever feeling left out.”
Bertholdt grit his teeth. “You know what I mean.”
Marcel laughed. “I know what you mean, Bertholdt.”