AHHHHH IM SORRY FOR THIS CRAP AND HOW LATE THIS CHAPTER IS ALSO NEXT CHAPTER YOU'LL FIND OUT WHO BEAT UP FOSTER. Also do you guys like Foster? Should I keep him in the story?
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The Mess Hall was dark, darker than usual. Candles were scattered here and there on the worn tables, but the warm orange glow could not expel the gloomy shadow that hovered over each and every soldier that lingered here.
Everyone spoke in hushed whispers, afraid of speaking to loudly. Talia couldn't blame them. The wounds, mental and physical, were still too fresh to pretend they never happened.
Talia clenched her arm hard enough that she surely left bruises as she glared into the scratched wood of the table.
She felt sick to her stomach yet again after glancing over to her uneaten meal. Talia couldn't stomach anything lately, not after the Expedition. Not after what happened to you and her brother.
Though, she slept easier knowing that her brother only broke his collarbone and a couple of fingers. You however were a different story.
Talia remembered finding you, soaked in blood and barely breathing when the Survey Corps returned home. She was too shocked then to react as the famed Corporal and Eren Jaeger wheeled you off to some secluded area of the castle. And that was the last Talia saw of you; half dead and drenched in your own blood.
But now, now she was reacting. Every time she tried to choke down a spoonful of stew, flashes of you and the images of grinning titans flooded her mind. Talia couldn't escape it no matter how hard she tried.
It didn't help either when she found out exactly who caused your injury.
Foster Lyndon, the preppy boy from Stohess.
Now when she heard his name or caught a glimpse of his fiery red hair and freckled face, she had to resist the urge to punch his pretty white teeth down his throat. Although, it seemed like someone else beat her to it. And she had and inkling to who did it.
The said boy currently sat alone, at the end of Talia's table, picking at his stew with his spoon, eyes trained on his food. His tongue ran over the painful looking split in his lip and sighed deeply. A deep purple bruise circled his left eye and Talia would have felt bad for him if she could forgive him for what he did to you.
The red head must of felt Talia's hateful stare and glanced up at her. His lush green eyes shone with guilty tears then looked away from her, his brows furrowing.
Talia bit her lip, tasting the coppery taste of blood, and snatched her tray from the table. She couldn't bring herself to eat it anyway and Foster sparked her growing rage.
As she passed him, she stopped behind him, acidic words forming on her tongue.
"(F/n) should of let you die."
Foster cringed and curled further into himself. Oh, he knew that long before Talia and others hissed those words to him. He himself even began to believe it.
"Im sorry." Was all he could mumble in response as the blonde stated daggers into the back of his skull.
Talia huffed and stomped away, her boots clicking loudly on the stone. She dumped her tray and the ceramic utensils into the washing bin, causing a loud clang and left the spacious room without looking back.
Foster chewed his lip and sighed. He wished Talia would forgive him.
Never had he been this isolated from others before now, all because of a mistake he had no control over. It didn't seem to matter what actually happened- his black eye was evidence enough.
Though, he'd never blame you for it. He knew he deserved it and Foster let him punch him into the ground, just for your sake. And he would let it happen again if it meant you would pay even the smallest bit of attention towards him.
Foster sighed again and buried his freckled hands in his hair. Here he was thinking about forming a friendship with a girl he nearly killed and barely knew while that said girl was recovering from a wound he inflicted.
"Gods, I hate myself."
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The first thing you noticed when you woke was the near smothering heat surrounding you. You definitely were not used to waking up like this normally, and so when you tried throwing back the sheets, you were greeted with a surprise.
Your nose was buried into a certain someone's shirt. His now familiar scent of fresh laundry and hints of a sugary substance flooded your nostrils, sparking your memory of where you were.
You blushed scarlet as the boy you currently were cuddled against shifted, one of his arms wrapping under your head and throwing his other across your back to drag you coser to his chest. A quiet squeak left your lips as you tried squirming away but he only held you tighter.
A heated flush blazed through you as you felt his leg brush against your bare ones. In fact, Bertholdt's leg was directly between your shorter limbs and it took all your willpower not to scream in utter embarrassment.
The idea of punching him in the gut seemed like the best option as your emotional distress worsened. Or maybe flicking his nose?
You screamed internally and attempted to wiggle away once more.
It didn't work.
Your heart fluttered as a quiet groan reached your sensitive ears after your failed attempt of escaping.
Bertholdt shifted, his leg rubbing up closer to your inner thigh and exhaled deeply. His long fingers curled further around your back and held you even more securely before.
You balled your fists against his shirt, the cotton fabric soft against you knuckles. You inhaled and breathed in, calming a few of your frayed nerves.
It wasn't like you hated this, you realized. It was just the taboo of it.
If Raven and Anthony saw you now...
You shuddered and subconsciously pressed your head against Bertholdt's sternum, the warmth of his skin seeping through the fabric of his thin shirt. If you listened closely enough you could hear his heartbeat and a strange calm came over you.
You felt...safe. Yes, that was the word. Safe and blocked out from a cruel world.
And you weren't willing to escape from Bertholdt's embrace now. Although it was a bit too hot for your liking, you settled down anyways and relaxed further into the semi-hard mattress.
You dozed off after calming your racing heart, breathing in Bertholdt's soothing scent and relishing in the sleepy bliss until another soft sound fell from the brunette's lips.
"(F/n)...?"
At first you thought you imagined it, but then he moved and lifted his arm to brush his fingers against your cheek. You shivered and opened a sleepy eye.
His brilliant green eyes slightly squinted as he gazed at you, his brown hair disheveled on one side of his head. His fingers brushed away one of your stray hairs, forcing a blush to bloom over your cheeks.
"H-hello."
A ghost of a smile formed on his lips as his own blush formed. "Hi."
You shyly glanced away and clenched his shirt between your fingers. His fingers still toyed with a strand of your hair, sending pleasurable shivers down your spine. Your breath hitched when he began playing with a bigger lock of hair, his nails brushing your scalp. You hoped he didn't notice the slight change of your breathing.
"(F/n)." He repeated, slipping his hand from your hair so his palm could cradle your jaw.
The redness in your cheeks worsened as you met his eyes again. Gazing at his tan face, you noticed the flecks of gold hidden behind the lush green of his iris. Light and nearly invisible freckles dotted his cheeks and his nose, tempting you to run a finger across them. You had half a mind to but didn't in fear of embarrassing yourself.
It seemed like he shared the same though and slipped his hand away from your jaw so he could gently pry your hand from his shirt and place it on the warm skin of his neck. Your heart skipped a beat when he returned his hand to its previous spot, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on your jaw.
Some type of invisible force, like a magnet, slowly pulled your heads closed together. So close that you felt Bertholdt's warm breath fan across your slightly parted mouth.
He mumbled your name, his soft lips just brushing yours. You whispered his name back and felt his mouth twitch as a tiny grin formed.
Your eyes fluttered shut as Bertholdt moved closer, expecting a warm pressure upon your lips. But for whatever reason, the world decided to punish you once again in the form of loud, jarring knocks on Bertholdt's door.
Startled, Bertholdt jolted, nearly falling off the bed and almost taking you down with him. Bertholdt flashed you an awkward smile, a red hue consuming his face. He threw back the covers and left you on the bed, stumbling over to the door.
"Bert, I know you're in there," the all too familiar voice of Reiner Braun chided. "We have drills in an hour and I'm starving."
Bertholdt ripped open the door, careful to leave it in a spot where you were invisible to Reiner. "I'll be o-out in a second, Reiner."
You heard the blond chuckle at Bertholdt's appearance, his thick finger poking at his friend's pijamas.
"You didn't set an alarm today?"
"N-no," Bertholdt responded, rubbing the back of his neck, "I forgot."
You tensed as Reiner huffed in suspicion. It was one thing nearly kissing Bertholdt in privacy, but someone like Reiner finding you here in Bertholdt's bed, was bound to raise questions. Of course you wanted to see the brawny blond, but not like this, not when you knew you shouldn't of been in someone else's bed.
"Right," Reiner said, seemingly brushing off his suspicions. "Hurry up then. I don't want Sasha to eat my breakfast."
You fought the urge to giggle and bit your bottom lip to suppress it. Bertholdt snorted in response to Reiner and shut the door, sighing loudly once he closed it.
The tall brunette glanced at you and looked at his toes. "Er, d-do you want me to bring you something? Y-you look half starved..."
You stomach answered in a loud rumble at the mention of food. You certainly had no idea how long you were unconscious for and the mere thought of the stale bread served here had your mouth watering.
"If it's not to much to ask..." you said.
Bertholdt waved away your concerns, abruptly remembering his blond friend outside his door, waiting patiently for him to dress. He tripped over to his drawers, momentarily forgetting you were there, and yanked his shirt over his head so he could grab a fresh one.
You blushed as your eyes scanned over his back, the muscles there moving smoothly and beautifully as he pulled down his blue shirt. The tall boy dashed over to the white pair of pants on the desk chair and pulled them on, quickly starting on the complicated straps and buckles of the maneuvering harness. Bertholdt, after muttering under his breath a few times when the difficult straps wouldn't work the way he wanted them to, finally finished and pulled on his knee-high boots.
"I'll be back soon, okay?" He promised, looking over his shoulder as his fingers brushed the door handle. "J-just, uh, just stay here."
Immediately after he opened the door, a question that made your blood run cold was asked.
"Who're ya talking to Bert?"
"No one," Bertholdt mumbled, trying to shut the door before Reiner could peer through it.
"Ahuh," Reiner snorted, "is it someone I know?"
"No one is in t-there, Reiner." Bertholdt insisted, smacking the blond's hand away from the brass doorknob.
"Yeah right. If someone wasn't in there, then you wouldn't be acting like a weirdo."
You cursed Reiner's ability to see through his friend. This was going south real quick and you had no place to hide. You bit your lip when Bertholdt yelped in pain as Reiner's elbow connected with his ribs. The taller boy swore as Reiner wrestled him away far enough to wrench open the door and barrel in.
Your limbs froze as Reiner's golden brown eyes met yours. His mouth parted in shock as he did a double take.
"(F/n)?"
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Next chapter to be out Friday ^•^