The Prey And The Hunter
(Reader X Bertholdt Hoover)
SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 OF AOT
After waking up in the middle of the night, you find yourself at a makeshift camp surrounded by familiar faces. You can't remember how you got there, but something's off...and it doesn't take you long to figure out why.
Tags: Angst, Major Injury, Canonverse
Words: 2.1k
Authors Note: This has been sitting in my documents forever! So I decided to finally let this out into the wild cause it ain't doing anybody no good just sitting there on my harddrive. Idk if I'll continue, but here it is.
Extra: Song that gives me major Bertholdt vibes, and to go along with the fanfic :)
× × × × × × × × × × × × × ×
The first sense that came back was touch. Feeling cold air hitting your face, after a few seconds, a slight warmness to your side. That warmness exploded into intense pain as it rocketed up the side of your body, ending at your shoulder. It felt like you had been kicked all over, every breathe making it worse causing it to shoot all over your ribs. That wasn't the last of it, unfortunately, as your head throbbed and ebbed like a heartbeat, sending a loud knocking against your skull.
Due to all the pain, you thought it had damaged your eyes. Darkness surrounded you, your left eye seeing nothing. After a while though, your right eye caught the soft glow of a small fire. Rolling towards it soft groans escaped your lips
As you tried to rub your eyes, something restrained you. Glancing down, you saw some sort of cloth over your body, used as a blanket. Your wrists rubbed softly against each other. Someone had tied them together tightly, enough to cause chaffing as you moved your hands around. If you had been more alert this would have concerned you more, but the nauseousness of whatever caused your head injury made you too weak to even think.
As your eyes got used to the dark, they noticed figures. Three of them in fact, all surrounding the campfire near you. The shadows seemed to blend and wave, the closest one to you not even a meter away.
Another shock of pain went through you, making your head loll and throat groan louder this time. It caught the attention of the shadow near you and it quickly fell to its knees, lifting your body into a sitting position. Its hand fell on your lower back and it felt somehow...comforting.
'Y/N? Are you awake?'
That voice was instantly recognizable, even in the state you were in.
Bertholdt Hoover.
I must be okay.
'B..Bertholdt?'
'Don't speak, you had a pretty bad fall'
Carefully he leaned you against the rock he had been sitting on, pulling down the cloth that covered you, bunching it up at your waist. Before you realized it your hands were also cut free, them falling to your lap limply.
Your senses were coming back slowly and with them came a small amount of strength. Fingering the sores the rope made around your wrist, you looked at the other shadows. They were coming into focus but still not entirely recognizable.
'Is that...Reiner...? Why was I tied up?'
If it was, he didn't move at the sound of his name. You looked back to Bertholdt still on his knees at your side, his huge form putting down the knife he had used to cut your ropes.
Something seemed wrong, out of place.
'Your bandages slipped', the boy said next to you, ignoring both your questions. There was concern in his tone mixed with something else you couldn't pick up.
Sadness? Nervousness? Regret...?
Bertholdts hands came up, fixing the loose bandages on your temple. They were just as warm and firm as you remembered, a bit dirty it seemed as grit rubbed your forehead along with his fingers. Vision came back to your left eye, head throbbing a bit less with the bandage now tightened securely.
'What do you remember?'
Twisting your fingers around the sores on your wrist, you thought.
'I remember...we were returning back from the outpost with Krista and Reiner...Ymir had been injured...because she...'
Eyes went to the third shadow sitting at the fire. Ymir sat staring into it as if tired of everything.
'Because she's a titan', eyes widening in remembrance.
She didn't even glance your way at the mention of the fact, though she huffed as if to say yeah, I know. No sarcastic remark, no offhand comment, no nothing. Ymir acted as if you weren't there at all.
'Do you...remember anything else?' Bertholdt asked nervously. There was a shake in his voice and you could see the perspiration on his skin even though it was freezing.
'We climbed the lifts on Wall Sina to meet up with Eren and the others...but...'
You gripped the cloth on your lap in sudden realization. Jaw set and strong, you looked at Bertholdt in the corner of your eye.
'You’re the colossal titan'
It had come back in a flash.
Meeting up with the rest of the Survey Corps, Reiner wanting to talk to Eren about something.
Talking with Berholdt as Reiner said that, the expression he made was one of fear and anger as if he was going to kill Reiner right on the spot.
Reiner explaining that -
'And he's the armored titan'
Silence.
Reiner finally looked up, acknowledging your existence, his expression unreadable, firmly gripping a blade he had in his fist. Bertholdt opened his mouth as if to speak, but you wouldn't hear what he was going to say.
Because you ran like your life depended on it.
+ + + + + +
Even though you hadn't seen the extent of your injuries, you knew you wouldn't get far. Your leg hurt like nothing you ever felt before, the bones grinding together making your eyes water. The adrenaline in your system helped though as you ran as fast as you could through a rolling field of grass, belining to a forest that lay ahead. Quickly your vision started to blur again as blood from the injury on your head dripped into your eyes and your mouth tasted like coins, but that wouldn't stop you. You had to ignore everything.
That included the overwhelming feeling of betrayal in your heart.
Stopping at the edge of the forest, you listened.
It was hard at first, your laboring breaths made enough noise to alert anyone in the immediate area, but a second set of footsteps could not be heard.
The run had taken a lot of strength out of your system. Too much, in fact, it made you wobble and tetter on your feet.
But you had to keep going.
With a tremendous limp, you slowly made your way through the forest, almost dragging yourself through it. Not a minute after that the leg gave out entirely, your body falling onto your side next to a small creek.
Tears filled the rest of your vision. At first, you tried to blink them away. You had to be strong, be tough and do all those things that soldiers were supposed to do, like fight until their dying breath or not give up until everything’s said and done.
But you were so fucking tired.
So the tears came. In huge weeping sobs, straight down your face and into the earth below. Crying out for the pain that you were now in, not just physically, but emotionally. So much weight was on you it felt debilitating, the grief, the sadness, the anger. How could this happen? Why did it have to be you? To be close enough to a person so vile, so disgusting, so abhorrent...the one who kicked down Wall Maria all those years ago and not know it? Not know the person sleeping next to you was a murderer? You had fucked the person who killed your friends. What a disgusting piece of shit you were.
So you crawled into a ball, crying and shaking in the middle of nowhere. After a long time, you couldn’t strum up enough tears to do it anymore. Surprisingly, it was even peaceful. The trees whispered to each other, their leaves swaying in the small breeze, stars shining through, fresh pine in the air. It was calming, enough so that your breathing started to slow down, back to normal. For you’re thoughts to leave you alone.
But the world was cruel.
A branch broke not even a meter away and with it came new strength. Not enough to stand, but enough to push yourself onto your back, a branch with a deadly tip poised between your fingers.
You weren’t going to die like a dog, covered in mud and blood and sweat and tears. No one was going to find your body broken and beaten if at all. This wasn’t going to be your last day fighting for humanity’s freedom, your future. So you aimed that makeshift spear in the direction of the sound, teeth barred and eyes aflame.
Only to be met with the boy who had broken your heart.
Bertholdt stood with hands raised, palms facing forward at the makeshift weapon you pointed at him. His shoes were covered in mud and his pants had gotten a few noticeable rips from the shrubs littering the forest, clearly in search of you.
That wasn’t what made your grip loosen though.
He looked so tired and sad.
For a moment you saw two people who stood in front of you.
The stone-cold killer without remorse, a being so powerful he could knock over houses like chess pieces and crush you under his heel like an insect. The person that was responsible for so many deaths it was impossible to remember them all, a living god of destruction.
But then you saw the softness to his face and remembered the warmness it brought. The way your hand perfectly fit in his, how nervous he got when he first kissed you. His body so warm and comfortable against your skin when you had laid next to him only the night before, revealing yourselves under the stars, talking of the future and sweet nothings. The caring, kind, and somewhat awkward Bertholdt you fell in love with.
The world was cruel and you hated it.
‘I’m not going to hurt you’
His jaw tightened and you saw him cringe as his eyes fell upon you. A beaten and broken body covered in dirt and sweat, eyes red-rimmed, face glimmering with tears and blood.
He took a step closer.
‘Reiner wasn’t going to hurt you either. You know he cares about you as much as I do’
‘Sure fucking looked like it’, you spat, words laced with venom.
Bertholdt grimaced.
‘That never was a part of the plan’
‘Then what was part of the plan, huh? Using me as a coverup so no one would suspect you as the titan freak you are?’
‘You know you mean more to me than that’
Another step.
‘Don’t come any closer! I’ll hurt you!’
‘No, you won’t’
Before you knew it Bertholdt had grabbed the end of the branch firmly, his strength overwhelmingly enough to pry it from your weakened hands and throw it away into the forest.
'C'mon, you don't wanna be here’
Squatting down onto his knees in front of you, he easily scooped your body into his arms, legs hanging limply over his elbow, back supported bridal style. Bertholdt showed little exertion from this task, even though he had exhaustion from the day’s drama.
'Put...me down'
Fatigue held you in its firm vice with all that happened since you woke, along with the continued throb of your head and discomfort of your side. You gripped Bertholdts sweater both in pain and anger, the blue fabric balling in your stained fist.
Bertholdt started to walk out of the forest and back to the group’s makeshift camp.
'When I transformed, you were so close to the blast it knocked you off your feet. I think you smashed into one of the cargo boxes and hit your head real bad', he said concerned. 'I think you might have an infection from shrapnel as well’
With one last attempt to make him put you down, you hit your hand limply against him. Your eyelids drooped and head curled into Bertholdts chest.
'Don't worry Y/N, you'll be okay. I'll take you somewhere safe. You'll like it, I promise'
Sleep took you into its loving embrace.
+ + + + + +
Reiner sat in front of the makeshift camp, thoughts plaguing his mind like flies. Ymir had long since fallen asleep since the little display you had put on, leaving the man all by himself.
Stewing in his feelings and thoughts.
You were going to be a problem.
Footsteps interrupted his thinking, breaching the soft crackle of the fire. Bertholdt had successfully come back with you, laying softly asleep in his arms. This time, instead of laying you down on the earth like before, Berholdt decided it would be best to have you laying down on him. Your body between his legs wrapped in a blanket, chest leaning on his torso and head snuggly on his chest.
Whether this action meant making sure you didn't run away again or simply to keep track of your unsteady breathing, he didn't know. But what he did know it would have been absolutely devastating to lose you now, especially after all the trouble he and Bertholdt had gone through to make sure that the rest of the Survey Corps didn't get their hands on you.
Thank God you were unconscious for that.
'When we get back home', Bertholdt spoke, 'I'm going to marry her'
Yes, you were certainly going to be a problem, but you were worth the effort to keep the small piece of humanity he had left.
