#crusader-down

@crusader-down  

  “ I told you to be more careful but, of course, you did not listen. “

Both men were seated in the armory with a first aid kit between them. Reinhardt had done something stupid and, as he always did, Balderich came rushing after him without pause. The injuries they sustained would heal just fine but it sure was embarrassing trying to explain the toppled over shelves, spilled paint, and strewn about tools. So they sat and helped bandaged their wounds and vowed to tell no one of the debacle.

Reinhardt sucks a breath in between his teeth as he tweezes a small chunk of debris out of the collection of largely superficial cuts on his forearm. Thankfully the wounds look much worse than they are. The rest of the workshop, however, hasn’t been quite so lucky.

That’s fine, though; it’s not like he had had any plans for his afternoon.

The antiseptic from the first aid kit stings though not quite as badly as the gentle scolding Balderich is giving him, to say nothing of the humiliation of having an audience witness his ambitions so spectacularly outstrip his expertise. The fact it was someone he respects as much as his mentor is just salt in the metaphorical wound. He slumps under Balderich’s glare, deflated.

hey wanna see the softest thing ive ever scibbled

puts a ‘hug me’ sign on his back

crusader-down answered: Here

What a surprise! Seeing such a treasured treat offered to him was heartwarming and kind. He took the dish and clapped a heavy hand against the old Crusader’s back, a broad smile shaping his lips. He was glad they had finally taken the time to reconnect and bridge the gap torn by time, by the crisis. It was nice having someone so close by his side again. He’s missed that familiar comfort.

    “ Danke, Reinhardt! I was worried you were          going to gobble it all up and leave me hanging          yet again! “

Reinhardt couldn’t think of a better way to connect but over some classic German food and beer. So taking a plates over the man smiles and sets one down for his old friend and partner in battle, receiving a heavy hand to the back, a sign of appreciation, great, appreciation. Can always tell by how big of pats one gets. But being it was from Balderich, was a high honor and appreciation to Reinhardt. Sometimes he forgets how much of a emptiness was inside of him from the pain of loosing his dear friend, but having back by the man’s company, truly filled the older looking Crusader’s heart with joy.

[manhandling starters] accepting

The takedown happens fast, shocking the assembled spectators in both its speed and utter savagery. Somewhat artless, in Reinhardt’s admittedly slightly biased opinion; It can be difficult to appreciate the poetry inherent in perfect brutal efficiency when it’s just been used to lay you out flat inside of a time that can only be described as deeply, profoundly humiliating. His General is a great many things but at heart he is an engineer and by gods he fights like one.

Reinhardt can easily lift more than Balderich weighs but that’s of little use to him now; this is the Old Griffin himself, not just another green recruit he can toss around like a sack of potatoes. The thick arm that hasn’t snaked around him to pin his forearm to the floor is hooked through the elbow on his other side, pulling his shoulder back with enough force that Reinhardt feels like even breathing too deeply might be enough added strain to dislocate it.

Ah, there he is. Who would have known finding Reinhardt could be so difficult sometimes? The young man was loud, wild, and almost always gave his position away. This time he appeared to be tinkering with his rocket hammer; probably trying to customize it further or touch up some minor damage. Whatever the case may be, his ass was on full display and he had absolutely no clue Balderich was coming up behind him.

A hand reached out and squeezed one of the lieutenant’s cheeks as a chuckle escaped von Adler’s lips. The surprise was clear to see upon the red flush of his apprentice’s face and the smirk he tried to use to hide it. Reinhardt was never subtle, didn’t care to be, that much he could count on.

   “ And just what are you up to now, hmm? “

_________________________________________________

The sound squeezed out of Reinhardt by the sudden appearance of a large, paw-like hand on his ass was... Somewhat less than dignified. Doubly so when weighed against the fact it was coming from seven plus feet of highly-trained Special Forces soldier and not, say, a startled 13-year-old girl. As if to add insult to injury, the mechanism he had been preparing to fasten back in to place exploded in his reflexively tightened grip, spraying coolant and tiny parts across the armory floor with a sad splat and a series of expensive-sounding plinks.

He hoped whoever his mysterious assailant was that they’d enjoyed the grope, because as he whirled around to face them he had every intention of guaranteeing they’d be paying for it with a couple of their teeth. But if anything could strip the wind right out of his sails it’s Balderich and his smug, shit-eating grin. Just like that his flush of surprised anger gives way to one of flustered embarrassment and Reinhardt can’t help but feel, on an instinctual level, that it really ought to be illegal for a man that huge to move that silently.

                                                      10. desperately | 50 ways to kiss someone

He’d stayed hidden from sight over the last few days, isolated in the quiet of his small study without any word as to when he’d return to the others. Silence helped him gather his thoughts and confront them ; he could let them engulf him without fearing consequences, in one extended moment of weakness. If asked, the monks who’d already seen him disappear before would say he was taking a meditative retreat. Perhaps they weren’t wrong, in a sense – even if they were, it still was usually enough to drive visitors away. In theory, being left alone was what he needed. Yet in practice, it felt like drowning. 

Seeing Balderich’s shadow in the door frame made him break. 

He kept his head low as his fist clenched over the desk, crumpling a paper he hadn’t managed to fill out. He bent further down as the other approached him, feeling the shame and guilt tighten his throat and flush his cheeks ; he hadn’t been able to release his emotions yet, and they were welling up as tears that he could not explain as Balderich knelt next to him. He instinctively pulled the monk in to lay against his chest. Mondatta didn’t push him back. 

       “ If you are going to stay, please at least           close your eyes. ”