Roman Holiday

Silence

The next few days were spent exploring things that Bertolt had never see n before. He was in awe, it was like a totally different world from what he knew, and seeing it with his best friend made it ten times better. Bertolt wasn't entirely sure why he felt so euphoric, like he was on cloud nine. He wanted to know that this was something that he would remember for the rest of his life, but he knew that one day he would forget it, as if it didn't even happen. He couldn't bare the thought of that. He was so sure, at that one moment riding in the passenger seat of that old beat up truck, that he was where he was supposed to be. No matter what, he wanted this to be his time where he found his calling. Right there, next to his best friend in the entire world.

Reiner pulled off onto a rough asphalt road, one that seemed like it hadn't been filled in in over forty years nearly, if asphalt was even a thing forty years ago. It was bumpy, and there were weeds growing all around as if it were a small forest trying to take over the road. As the truck drove further down the road, a building came into view. The roof had caved in, the courtyard was all grown up and graffiti covered the bricks. Windows had been knocked out, little pits where fires had been set by rowdy teens that had too much to drink. It was a mess, in all reality. Reiner came to a stop, turned the vehicle off, and got out. Bertolt followed close behind. Reiner stopped right in front of the steps and then climbed up not one, not two, but halfway up the third one and turned to Bertolt.

"This, this is the place that I confessed my love to Krista. This was where it all went to shit, this is where I lost everything I had ever known." Reiner said, his eyes were distant, like he was reliving the entire moment all over again. Bertolt hated it, he would soon come to realize, but the only thing he could realize right then was hurt. He felt the hurt of the past couple days come whirling in like a tornado destroying a town. He felt like he had been betrayed, in a way, like he had given himself up for nothing. He couldn't help but wonder, 'did it even mean anything?'. Bertolt was always an over thinker, a reason he couldn't make friends on his own.

"Can we go?" Bertolt asked quietly, and Reiner turned to look at him with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay? Are you hungry? I've got some snacks still if you are-"

"No, Reiner. Just take me home. I don't want to be here anymore." he snapped, and Reiner was so shocked the only thing he could do was stare at the brunet. Bertolt whipped around and swiftly walked towards the truck where he got back into the passenger seat and buckled up, ready to go. He was so confused about everything that had just happened, maybe he had fucked up somewhere along the way. And maybe, just maybe, he hadn't. He was just so lost, and he didn't dare to let Reiner see the tears that were welling up in his eyes for seemingly no reason when he cranked the truck back up.

And so, the blonde drove back to Bertolt's house with neither of them saying a word at any point because Bert would have had a mental breakdown had he tried to talk and lighten the mood, and Reiner had never been one to be good with words anyway. It was early morning, about twenty minutes past one in the morning when they arrived at the house.

"I had fun, Reiner. Thanks for showing me around and stuff." Bertolt said as he grabbed his bag from the back seat. Reiner went to speak but Bertolt cut him off. "I'm tired, I'll text you tomorrow, okay?" Reiner hesitated, but nodded anyway. Bertolt wasted no time in disappearing into the house before Reiner could try and say anything. He leaned against the cool material that closed him off from the world for at least a little while before he trudged upstairs towards his room. He heard a soft beat coming from Eren's room, and he stopped at the door. Eren looked up at him from his rolling chair and smiled.

"Hey big bro. Didn't expect you home so early." Eren said while swishing lightly in his chair. He stopped as soon as he noticed the boy trying so hard to be happy. "Hey, what's wrong? Come talk to me. I'll listen to anything you have to say."

And so, Bertolt told Eren everything. About the night in the hotel, about his strange feelings, about how Reiner mentioned Krista and everything went to shit. Eren listened intently, never once faltering or interrupting. He gave his full undivided attention until he was done.

"I just don't know what to do, Eren. I know this is all so wrong, but how do I change it? Mom and Dad are going to be do disappointed if they find out. I've never done anything this bad, so how do I fix this?" Bertolt nearly cried.

"Look, I gotta be honest with you. For the past like, three years, I've been dating Levi, you know Mikasa's brother. He and I, we clicked? I don't know how else to explain it. It was like one day, he just began to lean in and so did I. It wasn't something we planned, and I used to beat myself up everyday because I thought that Mom and Dad were going to be so fucking pissed, but then I finally got smacked by Levi and he told me that he went through the same thing. It's not something you make yourself into. It's who you are. And I'm gonna be honest with you, they're most likely going to be iffy about it at first if you ever tell them, but they'll come around because they're wonderful people." Eren explained.

"I had no idea, wow. Like I just thought you too were really close." Bertolt said and Eren shrugged.

"He's good to me. And look, bro, I want you to be happy. That's all I want. And I may not even like that Reiner kid, but hell, if he makes you happy then I'm happy for you. I want nothing but the best for you, and if he's what you think is the best then great! Levi's an asshole but he's good to me, and I'm sure Reiner is the same to you. Just do whatever makes you happy. Fuck everyone else." Eren ranted once more. "You're not just my friend, you're my brother. I love the fuck outta you. Don't ever forget that." Bertolt nodded with a smile and a sniffle, Eren giving him a hug before the two separated and went to sleep for the night.

Maybe the world wasn't falling apart for Bertolt, after all.