"Do you want the bed or floor this time?" Reiner asked as he and Bertholdt entered his bedroom.
The taller male shrugged. "It really doesn't matter to me...I'll...uhm...take the floor I guess."
Reiner nodded with a smile, "Captain Axel will be happy about that." He teased, "All your stuff is in the bottom drawer of my dresser by the way."
Bertholdt smiled and rolled his eyes playfully at Reiner's remark. He knew that the dog would be very happy. He turned his head to face his friend, "Thanks."
"No problem." Reiner kicked off his shoes and shoved them under his bed, "So what do you wanna do tonight?"
"Hmm...I don't know...umm...what do you want to do?"
'How about watch a movie? My dad rented a few yesterday and told me I could watch them." Reiner suggested.
Bertholdt nodded. "S-Sure! What kind of movies did he rent?"
"Freddy vs Jason, Orphan, Chucky, Bride of Chucky and I think that's it."
Bertholdt's face nearly lost all its color. Oh no...Horror movies. "O-Oh...uhh..cool." He nervously chuckled.
"So what one do you want to watch?" Reiner asked pulling a pair of shorts out of his dresser.
"U-Uh...um...It-It really doesn't matter...y-you can pick the film we watch." The taller male stammered. Ever since he was a little kid, horror movies were the films Bertholdt couldn't watch. They just scared him too much. Yet, this was for Reiner and he didn't want to be a bad guest.
"Alright, let's go for Freddy vs Jason." Reiner decided. He knew his best friend wasn't too fond of horror movies, but that one wasn't too bad. A little bit ridiculous in Reiner's opinion.
"O-Okay..." Bertholdt's lips formed a small smile, followed by another nervous chuckle. "Are we going to watch it downstairs?"
"If you want to. My parents won't be back until later. They went out for a little tonight." Reiner shrugged, "We could watch it up here I just have to hook up the DVD player."
"Either way is fine with me Reiner..."
"Downstairs then." Reiner grabbed a blanket for Bertl and then one for himself.
"O-Okay." Bertholdt grabbed a pair of his clothes from the bottom drawer of Reiner's dresser. "I-I'll meet you down there, I'm going to go change." He said.
Reiner nodded and made his way to his living room where Captain Axel was relaxing on the couch. "Hey buddy! Be sure to sit next to Bertl tonight okay? He might need it."
The Saint Bernard glanced up at his owner and answered with a gentle bark.
Meanwhile, Bertholdt was in the bathroom. He had changed into a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. "Alright Bertholdt. You can do this...It's just a movie...It's not real...Don't be a burden..." With a deep breath, he exited the bathroom and made his way downstairs.
Reiner had already put in the movie and sat in one of the chairs with the remote. "Hey, you can share the couch with the Captain."
"A-Alright." Bertholdt nodded. The gentle giant made his way over to the couch and sat down on the other side, making sure that the dog had room.
Captain Axel gave a small groan and turned to rest his head on Bertholdt's lap gently. The tall v-fringed male glanced down and began to pet the dog's soft coat. Having the dog by his side had really calmed his nerves. Reiner waited a second before pressing play. Once the movie started, the blond settled into the chair occasionally glancing at his friend to gauge whether he should turn off the movie or not. Bertholdt was taking small deep breaths as the movie began. He had to stay calm. He was sixteen years old, he could conquer his fear of horror movies. How hard could it be? The boy bit his bottom lip as sweat formed on his forehead. His hands were trembling a bit, but it wasn't bad...yet.
As Reiner observed, he kept his hand on the remote just in case. Captain Axel placed his paw on Bertholdt's knee and huffed pressing his head against the boy's stomach. The v-fringed male looked away from the TV to gaze down at the dog, carefully scratching Captain Axel behind the ears. He looked back up at the screen just as one of the characters just got murdered by Jason from bed-sandwich. The boy's heart skipped a few beats, and his eyes widened with horror. Yet, he remained calm, thanks to the dog. Reiner allowed himself to relax slightly sure that his friend would be okay as long as Captain Axel was there. The film continued and Bertholdt still was taking deep breaths. He had calmed down mostly, but his heart was still pounding fast regardless. Sweat began to roll down his tanned face.
Reiner paused the movie mostly to give his friend a moment to calm down, "You want popcorn, or a drink or something?"
Bertholdt glanced at his best friend. "Uh..Some popcorn would be nice..and maybe some water..please."
Reiner nodded and made his way to the kitchen. He made two bags of popcorn and got Bertl a glass of water. He walked back into the living room and handed a bowl and the glass to his friend. "Here ya go dude."
"T-Thanks Reiner." Bertholdt politely took the bowl and the glass of water. He took a sip of his water and placed it on the end table on his side of the couch. He also placed the bowl of popcorn there as well, taking a few and popping them in his mouth. He hummed contently for the popcorn was very good.
Reiner fed some of his popcorn to his dog and settled back down into the chair pressing play on the movie once more. A good fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie went by and Bertholdt didn't freak out once...that was all until the character Mark entered the bathroom in the film. Gurgling was heard on the screen as Mark turned to see a red-headed man in the bathtub full of blood. The scene continued and Bertholdt's heart beat faster and faster.
"SOMEBODY WAKE ME UP! PLEASE!" Mark screamed to the heavens, hoping the nightmare will end.
At that moment in time, Bertholdt's hands clasped over his eyes, but slowly peeked through them. He had to be brave. No being scared now. Bertholdt bit his lip from inside his hands. Come on...stay calm...stay calm. The boy thought to himself. The scene continued as Mark was being murdered by Freddy. He got set on fire as his friends watched and screamed. Bertholdt let out a small uncomfortable muffled sound and clamped his fingers back together, shielding his eyes.
Reiner paused the movie, "We don't have to watch this if you don't wanna."
"N-No! We can still watch it...I...I...um.." Bertholdt stammered, removing his hands from his face. Sweat was pouring at an alarming rate, his hands as well as his entire body was trembling.
"Don't be afraid to say no to me dude. We've known each other for years. I'm not gonna get mad because you don't want to watch something that makes you uncomfortable."
Bertholdt swallowed gently. He looked at his friend as he tried calming himself down again. He sighed sadly. "I-I'm sorry....I just feel bad...I was doing so well too...and I blew it."
Reiner got up from the chair stretching, "Don't feel bad. You didn't blow anything. Horror movies make a lot of people uncomfortable. We can always find something else to do."
The lad gave his friend a little smile. He was grateful to have a friend like Reiner. Ever since they were kids, the blond was so understanding of the taller male. He still felt bad that they had to shut off the movie. Suddenly, Bertholdt had an idea. "Hey Reiner, do you think we can still watch TV at least...um...maybe something good is on."
"Of course dude." Reiner took the movie out of the DVD player and handed Bertholdt the TV remote, "Here. You can flip through the channels."
Bertholdt took the remote from Reiner, thanking him. The boy flipped through the channels: Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, ABC. Nothing was on....until he reached FXX. There was an ad for perfume and then the screen went black. Suddenly, a blue sky appeared on the screen with a few clouds parting away as golden letters zoomed in. A heavenly choir soon followed, singing the words on the screen.
"Don't you dare change the channel!" Reiner suddenly exclaimed.
"I-I wasn't planning to Reiner." Bertholdt placed the remote down on the armrest of the couch. He knew that The Simpsons was Reiner's favorite show.
To be honest, the v-fringed male liked it too. He never got to watch it that much as a kid, but when he did, he enjoyed it. The theme song played while Bertholdt hummed along with it quietly. It was a pretty catchy opening, he had to admit. Reiner smiled lightly and bobbed his body along with the theme song. It came to a close as the Simpson family sat on the couch as some wacky thing happened.
Bertholdt popped some popcorn into his mouth as the episode began. "I don't think I've ever seen this one.."
"Really? This one is 'Deep Space Homer'." Reiner told him.
"Oh..." Bertholdt thought for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've never seen this one...is it good?"
"I like it, the 'insert brain here' joke is great!"
Just as soon as Reiner said that, the joke appeared on the screen. Bart had just written the words on Homer's head as Marge scolded him. Homer, being not the sharpest tool in the shed, began to spin around on the floor like a dog chasing his tail. Bertholdt chuckled at it. Reiner was right, the joke really was funny. The episode continued as Homer and Barney participate in going into space. Bertholdt proceeded to eat his popcorn. He had just grabbed another few from the bowl when he remembered that Captain Axel was on his lap. The tall lad gently patted the dog's head as he lowered his hand down with the popcorn in his palm. Captain Axel looked up and ate the popcorn out of the boys hand, leaving behind drool. Bertholdt, although a little disgusted with the drool that Captain had left on his hand, smiled slightly. He couldn't be mad at the dog.
"Good boy." He whispered as he stroked the dog with his other hand. He brought the hand he fed the dog with back up and gently wiped the drool on his shirt. He would've wiped it off with a napkin, but Reiner had not given him one.
The episode proceeded with Homer, Buzz Aldrin (to which Bertholdt found very surprising ) and Race Banyon in the space ship.
"Hey guys, look what I smuggled aboard?" Homer Simpson said as he pulled out a bag of potato chips.
"Homer, no!" Buzz cried out, but Homer opens the bag nonetheless. The chips float about the cabin.
"They'll clog the instruments!" Race rued, looking angry.
Buzz held out his hands, leaning away. "Careful! They're ruffled."
"Don't worry guys! I have an idea!" Homer proclaimed as he unbuckles his seat belt, floating in the zero gravity. Suddenly, to the beat of The Blue Danube Waltz, Homer eats the chips.
"I love this part." Reiner laughed even though he had seen the scene a million times before.
Although his friend was enjoying it, Bertholdt could only watch in utter confusion. His one eyebrow was raised and he kind of looked uncomfortable. He didn't know what to think.
Time passed and the episode ended. As the credits rolled, Bertholdt stretched his arms above his head. He couldn't move his legs for the dog was still relaxing on his lap. He didn't want to be rude to the dog. "T-That was a good episode." A slight yawn escaped the lad's lips. He had begun to grow a bit tired near the end of that episode.
"I hope you're ready for another one." Reiner grinned, "There's a marathon on."
Bertholdt slowly turned his head towards his friend, his eyes widened. "Marathon?"
"Yup, FXX shows like 10 episodes every Friday night."
"O-Oh, cool!" The taller male forced a smile. He turned to the clock that hung on the wall behind him. It was nearing 11:00...He wanted to go to bed, but he was too shy and too nervous to tell Reiner, even though they had been friends since they were practically in diapers. It also wasn't that he didn't want to watch The Simpsons either. Far from it actually. He was just exhausted from being at the theater since lunch. Nonetheless, he would try and stay up for as long as he could to watch the marathon; For Reiner.
"Yup!" Reiner grinned and leaned over to grab the remote and turn up the volume.
The next episode started all normal until Bart received a letter saying 'I'm going to Kill You' written in red. Then menacing music started playing, Bertholdt recognized it instantly. "O-Oh! I think I've seen this one before! Isn't this the one where Sideshow Bob tries to kill Bart?" The taller male asked his friend.
Reiner chuckled lightly, "You might have to explain that one more. He tries to kill Bart a lot."
Bertholdt blushed a tad. "Oh yeah...umm...don't they parody a movie though while doing it?"
"Yeah." Reiner smiled at his friend and nodded.
"Ah okay." Bertholdt smiled back.
The episode was full of jokes that hit bullseye: The Radio Joke, Die, Bart, Die and all the moments with Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob. Yet, the best joke was yet to come. The family had been sent to the Witness Protection Program:
"Tell you what, sir." One of the agents said, "From now on you'll be,uh, Homer Thompson at Terror Lake. Let's practice just a bit, hmm? When I say, 'Hello Mr. Thompson,' you'll say 'Hi.' "
"Check." Homer replied.
"Hello Mr. Thompson."
Homer just stares blankly, not responding.
"Remember now, you're name is Homer Thompson." The agent repeated.
"I gotcha." Homer nodded.
"Hello Mr. Thompson."
Once again, Homer stared blankly at them, still not really getting the concept. The scene cuts to what seems like the family had been there for hours. The agents have their suit jackets off and are smoking cigarettes. Bart, Lisa, Marge and Maggie look extremely bored as they sit on the other end of the long table.
The agent sighed in frustration. "Now when I say, 'Hello Mr. Thompson,' and press down on your foot, you smile and nod."
"No problem." Homer said.
"Hello Mr. Thompson." The agent grits through his teeth as he stomps on Homer's foot a few times.
Homer looked up and stared blankly for a good four seconds. Then he leans towards the other agent, placing his hand over one side of his face, "I think he's talking to you." He whispers.
Bertholdt laughed at this joke. This episode was a lot funnier than the first one. "It's been so long since I saw this show...I-I forgot how funny Homer was."
Reiner laughed as well at the joke, "Yeah, he's pretty great."
The episode continued with more laughable jokes: The drive through the Cactus Patch, The infamous rake scene, Homer scaring the daylights out of Bart with both a butcher knife and a chainsaw and finally Side-Show Bob singing the entirety of the HMS Pinafore. The episode finally came to a close and Bertholdt smiled. That one was a good episode...so far that one was his favorite.
The third episode began to play and it was Lisa's Substitute. The episode was basically what the title said: It was about Lisa and her relationship with Mr. Bergstrom, her new substitute teacher while her teacher, Miss Hoover, is out sick. It didn't have that many jokes in it, but it was very heartfelt. Especially the scenes near the end. Lisa finds out that Mr. Bergstrom is leaving and they have a heartfelt talk at the train station.
"I...I understand." Lisa sniffled. "Mister Bergstrom, I'm gonna miss you." The young girl embraces her substitute teacher tightly.
"I'll tell you what." Mr. Bergstrom said, pulling out a notepad and a pen. "Whenever you feel, like you're alone, and there's nobody you can rely on...this is all you need to know." He rips off the piece he wrote on, folded it and handed it to Lisa. A tear rolled down her cheek as the girl took the folded paper.
"Thank you Mr. Bergstrom." She whispered.
"All Aboard!" The off-screen conductor called.
Lisa looks back up at Mr. Bergstrom. "So...I guess this is it." She tries to stifle her sobs. "If you don't mind, I'll just run alongside the train as it speeds you from my life."
All the while Bertholdt was tearing up, though they didn't roll down his cheeks. He was trying so hard not to cry. His favorite character was Lisa, so seeing her in such sadness made him sympathize with her.
"Goodbye Lisa honey!" Mr. Bergstrom said as the train sped away. "It'll be okay! Just read the note!"
Lisa watched as the train went out of view and unfolded the paper. On the paper read the words: You are Lisa Simpson.
Bertholdt sniffled and wiped his eyes with one hand. That scene had really touched him. "D-Does Mr. Bergstrom ever come back in another episode Reiner? You..um..know more about this show than I do..."
"Uhhh, I don't remember. Maybe in a later season. There are like six hundred episodes. I don't remember them all." Reiner shrugged. He couldn't bear telling his friend 'no'.
Bertholdt's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Six hundred episodes!?"
"Yep, and counting!"
"W-Wow." Bertholdt said nearly breathless.
The fourth episode had begun. After faking his own death, Homer meets his mother in the cemetery. She had been involved with the law and had to leave Homer and his father when Homer was just a kid. There were some jokes in it, they weren't as good as the ones in Cape Fear, but they were good:
Mr Burns emerges from a war tank. "I've been waiting 25 years for this moment." He puts a tape into a tape recorder and presses the play button. 'Ride of the Valkyries' begun to play as he placed his hands together, smiling menacingly. Just then, the tape scratches and 'Waterloo' by ABBA begins to play instead. The older man looks to the tape player confused, then quickly glares at his assistant, Mr. Smithers.
"I'm sorry sir, I must have taped over that." Smithers chuckled nervously.
Bertholdt snickered at the joke. The other scenes had nearly made him cry again, but this just lightened the mood. The end of the episode neared as Homer and Mona (Homer's mother) are sitting by the desert road.
Mona looks over at the van that pulled up behind her. "Well, there's my ride." She sighs. "The underground awaits."
Homer sniffles. "At least this time, I'm awake for your goodbye."
At this moment, Bertholdt felt tears welling up in his eyes again.
"Oh Homer," Mona takes her sons hands gently, holding them. "Remember, whatever happens, you have a mother and she's truly proud of you."
The tears began to fall as Bertholdt bit his bottom lip, keeping his sobs inaudible.
Mona and Homer share an warm embrace and Mona leaves. The music is somber yet hopeful, as Homer watches the stars on the hood of his car. As a flute and a harp begin to play, the credits started to roll.
Bertholdt hung his head as more tears rolled down his cheeks. He sniffled a bit. That ending really hit him hard. Reiner glanced over to Bertholdt and gently pushed a box of tissues towards him. The v-fringed male looked up towards his best friend and took the tissues. "T-Thanks." He croaked as he wiped his eyes with the tissues and blew his nose.
Reiner smiled lightly at his friend, "I get it dude. This show can get kinda emotional."
Bertholdt nodded. "I-I saw that in the previous episode." He chuckled slightly. "N-Not to mention, this scene...it um...kinda reminded me of...um...my mom and I..." He said choking up once more. "Except for..ugh..the leaving part that is..." He chuckled a bit again.
Reiner stretched over still smiling softly at his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder, "That's alright dude. You and your mom have an awesome relationship."
Bertholdt turned his head to look at his childhood buddy. All he could give Reiner at that moment in time was a tearful smile. Some more rolled down his cheeks as he grabbed another tissue and wiped his eyes again. He breathed a gentle sigh. His attention turned to the TV once more. "O-Oh...uhm...we're missing out on the next episode."
Reiner gave his friend a small pat on the shoulder before receding back into the chair. "We don't have to keep watching if you don't want to dude."
"No." Bertholdt said quickly, a small smile forming on his face. "I want to keep watching."
The fifth episode was about Ralph Wiggum receiving a valentine from Lisa out of pity. He takes it literally and forms a crush on her. The scene they were at now was when Ralph and Lisa are at the Krusty the Clown show.
Krusty walked over to where Lisa and Ralph were sitting. "What is your name son?" Krusty asked placing the microphone he held in front of Ralph.
"Ralph!" The little boy piped out happily.
"And is THIS your girlfriend Ralph?"
"Yes!" Ralph proclaimed. "I love Lisa Simpson! When I grow up, I want to marry her!"
Lisa had had enough. "NOOOOO! Now you listen to me! I don't like you! I never liked you! The only reason I gave you that stupid Valentine is because nobody else would!!"
The scene then cuts to Bart pausing the TV. "Watch this Lise, you can actually pinpoint the second his heart rips in half....annnnnnnnnd there!"
Bertholdt chuckled quietly. He had begun to grow very tired and his eye lids drooped heavily. The boy attempted to keep them open for as long as he could, but it was no use. As soon as the episode ended, he was out like a light. His head held up by his arm propped on the sofa. Thank god Captain Axel had his head on his lap, otherwise Bertholdt would've been in one of his wacky sleeping positions by now. Now, Reiner didn't notice a reaction from his friend due to him watching the show.
The sixth episode was 'Homer at the Bat.' It was basically Homer playing baseball with a bunch of baseball player guest stars. It had great jokes. The seventh episode was 'And Maggie Makes Three.' The story was about how Maggie was born and where her pictures are. As soon as that episode ended, Reiner glanced back at his best friend and noticed he was asleep. The blond turned off the TV and decided it would be better to just let Bertholdt sleep there for the night. Besides, Captain Axel seemed comfortable. Reiner squeezed himself into a sleeping position on the chair that was much too small to fit his body comfortably, but he would rather stay downstairs with Bertholdt. It's what best friends do for each other.
~~~~~~~~~~
This was by far the LONGEST chapter we've ever written. Almost 4000 words. XD
I got the idea for Reiner loving the Simpsons after some asked 'Who in the 104th would like the Simpsons?' (The answers were: Reiner, Connie, Jean and Ymir)
Episodes in order (so you can watch them yourself)
1.) Deep Space Homer 2.) Cape Fear 3.) Lisa's Substitute 4.) Mother Simpson 5.) I Love Lisa 6.) Homer at the Bat 7.) And Maggie Makes Three
Also, Reiner and Bertholdt are so precious: Protect them.