Height Difference [Berthold x reader]

The passing soldiers turned their head and cocked an eyebrow as they came along the boys’ barracks. What was going on there? Why was it so loud in there?
The source of the loud chatter and laughter was Berthold. Blushing he burrowed his head in his hands, hoping that his hands would be able to cover his embarrassment, the only thing that betrayed him though were his sweating armpits, the shirt under them already soaked to the point where it would fill a bucket with his own sweat when he would have squeezed it out. Grabbing his friend’s shoulder, Reiner raised his voice to silence the other soldiers, which were laughing so hard that they weren’t even able to stand anymore and rolled all over the floor, their shirts soaked too, but not because of sweat, because of the tears that rolled down their cheeks while they were laughing.
With his legs propped up in front of his chest, Berthold laid his head on his knees, his hands covering his ears from their shameless laughter.

“ENOUGH!” Reiner eventually yelled. “How can you laugh at him? Just because he asked for our advice? It’s not easy, not at all! So stop laughing at him!”

Collecting himself and raising to his feet, Jean smirked at Reiner, Berthold’s face still hidden in his knees.

“Oh C’mon, how difficult can it be to ask a girl out? It’s so easy, especially when you are me.”
“Says the guy who got rejected the first day by Mikasa.” Reiner retorted. Shutting his mouth Jean stomped out of the barrack, dragging Marco by his collar along with him. Their leaving was accompanied by the frightened gazes of the other soldiers. Reiner was a good friend to all of them so when even he was to the point where he insulted them, they really must have taken it too far.
Raising to their feet the soldiers quickly exchanged abashed looks, before they mumbled an apology to Berthold, who at least let his arms fall to his sides.

“Soo..” Connie began to speak “what exactly do you want to know?”
“How can I ask her out?”
“Be confident.” Eren shouted from the back of the crowd.
Easier said than done.
After some other ‘highly intelligent’ advices, like: talk to her, don’t punch her or don’t appear naked on your first date, Berthold had to realize that his friends weren’t any more experienced than himself. Politely nodding to his friends whenever they have had a new idea, Armin sat on the edge of the bunk bed, a concerned expression on his face before he let his question get passed his lips.
“Berthold, that’s not the only thing that bothers you, does it..”
Grunting Berthold’s head sank, playing with his hands that rested in his lap before he looked up at his friend, struggling with his own words.

“It’s..you know...I’m too tall. I’m sure she hasn’t even seen my face yet because she can’t look that high up.”
“Carry a ladder along with you when you ask her out!”
Slapping the back of Connie’s head, Eren pushed his fellow soldiers to the side to get in front of the crowd. Finally facing Berthold, Eren opened his mouth once again.
“Berthold, I’m sure she does. Just go ask her out, if she doesn’t like you, you will know it and you aren’t a whiny little kid like you are now, and when she does like you, you know it and everything is alright. But...I have to ask you one question...please don’t tell me that you want to give her that bag..”
“Why?” he timidly asked the smaller soldier.
“Because it’s too much. It looks like you want to marry her.”
“Maybe I want to.” Before he could have swallowed those words he already blabbed them out, blushing as he noticed everybody staring at him.
With a loud creak the door opened, revealing Jean, Marco and Christa in the doorway. Gently pushing her inside the room, the boys stepped aside as she made her way towards the blushing soldier.

“Berthold, the two in the doorway already told me what’s going on here. Is it true that you want to ask (f/n) out?”
Glancing to the side he nodded before he side-glanced at her smiling figure.
“That’s wonderful!” Christa cheerfully shouted in the room. “She likes you too!”
“She does?”
“Of course! She’s just too shy to tell you. Go on and ask her out! Sooo cute, we are going to have a Valentine’s couple!”

Burrowing his head back in his knees he pointed with his index finger at the bag that stood at the end of his bunk bed.
“Don’t you think it’s too much?”

Crawling to the end of his bed, your blonde friend opened the bag and as soon as her eyes caught sight of what’s inside, her eyes shone brightly like a diamond, her smile nearly teared her face in two.
“IT’S PERFECT! I’m sure she’s going to love it!”

Love

Hopping out of the room, she couldn’t suppress the giggles that escaped her pinkish lips as she made her way back to the girls’ dorm. Silently opening the door, the young soldier stepped back into girl territory, her new home with her new family, the face-tearing smile stayed on her angelic features.

“Aww, Christa you look so cute~!” Not before Ymir’s statement, non of you had taken notice of her. Raising from Sasha’s bed, where you could see every day after training the gossip-circle, all of the girls made their way to the smiling soldier.
“What’s wrong Christa?” Mina asked, her high voice matching her young features. Shaking her head, her golden hair dancing around her head, all of you exchanged puzzled looks before you turned back to look at her, each of you with the same questioning expression on the face.
“No no, I can’t tell you. It’s a secret!”
The interrogation began.
Loosing her temper, Christa extended her arm and grabbed your sleeve, pulling you out of the girls’ bunk, a yell of astonishment escaping your throat as you stumbled behind your friend, followed by the even more perplexed gazes of your friends.

Pulling you behind the dining hall you had to admit, right then she was really creepy. Throwing you against the wall you gasped as your back hit the hard wall. Opening your eyes you wished that you could have become a part of the wall so that her piercing gaze would have left you. These piercing eyes and then this smile......it really made you feel uncomfortable. Holding your hands in front of your chest to push her away she grabbed your hands, pulled them down and returned to her usual lovely self.

“(f/n), you like Berthold, don’t you.”
“What?! Why?”
“You like him, don’t you. You really like him!”
“Stop it Christa.” you raised your voice. Seeing how your friend backed away from you, her shining eyes turning dull as she heard you, you grabbed her shoulders in your hands, shaking them slightly.
“It’s not like I have a chance. I’m sure he hasn’t even seen my face yet because he can’t look that far down... Why is it important, anyway?”
“Gossip-circle, neither more nor less.” She purred at you, her lovely smile turning into a mischievous grin. Running away, without another word to you, you stood there for a brief moment, baffled about what had just happened.

Running over the trainee grounds she caught up to Reiner, panting heavily because of her short run.
“Reiner, I have an idea how we can pair them off with each other!”
“Fine, let me hear...”




-Evening-


“Why do I have to wear a dress, Christa?”
“You will see.”
Pulling at your hair to style them, cording up the bow behind your back so tight that you almost suffocated and even applied a little make up on your face, you were stunned that she even had some of it and then even wasted it on you, she smiled at you. It looked perfect, like a real princess.
Dragging you out of the girls’ barracks she made a beeline to the dining hall. As soon the doors swung open, your eyes scanned the room, in search for more soldiers in a special outfit, but there was no one and so you felt like a titan within a district, everybody gawked at you. But there was one person who looked like you, Berthold. He wore the same stupidly elegant outfit like you. Like arranged your gaze met, both of your cheeks bloomed a red colour. Christa nodded towards Reiner, he returned the gesture before you sat down at your usual girls’ table, without Mikasa, of course.

“Wait, why don’t I have any food?”

Quickly exchanging looks the girls pointed at Sasha who had her cheeks puffed out, filled with potatoes and bread. A shy smile spread on Sasha’s face, carefully not to show a too big smile, else the food would have dropped out her mouth and no one wanted to see this, her saliva already rolled down her chin and this was enough for the most of you.
Trying to steal food from other people’s plate, no attempt succeed and you ended up banging your head against the table because of your desperateness.


“What’s wrong with her?” Berthold asked his blonde friend, nudging him in the side to get his attention.
“I don’t know....”


Accepting your fate that you weren’t going to have dinner tonight, you rose from the bench an turned around, only to have two small hands wrapped around your waist and pulled you back down.
“Christa, why? I won’t get any dinner so why should I stay?”
“Because you..have to wait, as simple as that!”

Sighing you laid your head on the table, playing along with her childish game. The minutes passed and you already began to count the single notches on the wooden table.

“62, 63, 64, 60...dammit where was I?”
“(f/n)?”

Stiffening at the new voice you slowly turned your head to the side, meeting a masculine torso in front of you. Looking up, your gaze had to wander a few inches until you met his eyes.
Berthold.
Glancing around the dinning hall you had to declare that there was no one left anymore, only the two of you.

“Ehm..(f/n)?”

Snapping back to reality you sent him a coy smile, titling your head high up so that he could see your lips. Noticing the bag in his trembling hands you pointed your filigrane finger at it, cocking an eyebrow.

“Will you follow me?..I-I have a surprise for you.”

He offered you a trembling arm which you gladly took, hooked your arm around his and went connected by your elbows out of the dining hall. Neither of you looked at each other, both of you blushing and avoiding the other’s gaze, your cheeks saying enough about how you felt.
Promenading to a little grassy hill, his arm left yours, he placed the bag on earth and pulled out a blindfold.

“Will...you...please?”

Turning around you let him tie the dark cloth around your eyes, your body shook increasingly more by each second that passed. Hearing how he shuffled through the bag, your nose sniffled something incredibly delicious.
Carefully, not to tug on your hair, he untied the blindfold around your eyes and turned you around, revealing you his dear work.
Feeling how your eyes began to water, Berthold gingerly grabbed your hand and led you to the large towel on the ground. Sitting next to you, he placed your plate in front of you, the smell of your meal coddling your senses.
Sharing your meal he opened up to you. You learned a lot about him and he about you and by each word that left his lips, you felt more comfortable around him, like he would cover you with fluffy clouds.
Last but not least, the dessert.
Taking a strawberry between your fingers, you removed the stamp before you held it in front of his nose. Cross-eyeing the strawberry in front of him he looked down at you, the timid Berthold returned as you could already see the bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

“Bite.” was your simple response to his expression.

Unsure about what to do, he opened his mouth and carefully bite the strawberry in two. Smiling you put the other half in your mouth and kissed him on his reddened cheek. Realizing what you just did you immediately backed away, your face changed abruptly its colour, your (s/c) replaced by the colour of a tomato.
Looking back at him he had the same adorable colour on his face that adorned your features, as he held a strawberry in front of your mouth.

“Bite.”
Obeying to his simple request your teeth made contact with the soft pulp of fruit while your lips stroked the tip of his fingers.

No matter how much you loved this night, both of you got really tired and so you rose from the blanket and helped Berthold to put everything back in his bag.
Turning to the moon both of you spent a moment in silence, before you were confident enough and tried to kiss him, but you only reached his chin.
Furrowing his brows Berthold apologized himself for his height, which earned him a chuckle from your side.
Glancing around your surrounding you spotted a tall tree and ran towards it, your dress swaying behind you and soon enough, you were sitting on a branch. Following you, Berthold stood under the branch and smiled at you.

“Now I’m taller than you!” you said while you were giggling, Berthold’s cheeks increasingly reddened as he heard your melodic voice.
Bending down you steadied yourself with your arms that held tight on the branches, you placed a shy kiss on his lips. Not responding to your kiss you broke the kiss and were about to sit back on the branch as you felt his hands cupping your cheeks and bringing your face, more exactly your lips, back to his own.
Giving in to your weight, the branch broke and fell down, you along with him and nothing was there that could have cushioned your impact. But the impact never came, instead you felt his strong arms holding tight on your hips as he held you on his eye-level, your feet dangling back and forth in the air. Hooking your legs around his torso you felt his muscles stiffen as you were so close to him, but soon he placed his hands at your bottom, finally making a move on you all by himself, as you placed your hands on his shoulders.

“(f/n), do you wanna be my Valentine?”

Smiling, with tears of joy in your eyes, you nodded and leaned in for another sweet kiss.






-Extended ending-

“Aww they look so cute, Reiner, do you see them?”
“Yes, Christa, I see them.”
“They are so lucky.”
“Yes they are. Since we are already here..do you wanna be my Valentine?”

‘’Reiner!! Get your hands off my little Christa!!’’
“What the? Ymir?!”