[Modern!AU] Kissing Booths [Bertholdt x Reader]

Lantern lights flashed across the pavilion and the soft romantic music began to flow through the park followed by the sweet scent of freshly cooking chocolate and sweets. The sight of romance and love decorated the festival with bright pink and red hearts while the words of affection were scribbled in white lettering on the various brick walls that bordered the entire area.

You pressed the bright red stick against your lips and carefully painted them in the color with the help of your compact mirror. Smacking your lips together, you clamped the compact shut. Just because you thought no one would kiss you and that Valentine's day was a waste of a holiday, didn't mean you didn't want to look pretty for the occasion.

Hordes of people soon poured into the festival, more than you expected. The event was supposed to be a city-wide festival hosted by the school and volunteers alike to raise money for charity. Tickets were sold for a very reasonable price and the rides were free, but the majority of money was to come from food sales and the student ran booths, like yours.

Resting your hands in your palms, you leaned against the counter top and waited for the festival to get into full spring. As you saw potential customers, mainly teenagers around your age and their friends, you would draw your lips into a false smile as a gentle way to beckon over people.

The first person you saw was a very tall blonde with pale green eyes standing in the center of the plaza while throngs of people passed him by. He looked quite lost, not to mention alone. After much pacing, he finally sat down at the frilly decorated fountain, and you could practically sense the opportunity for a dollar.

You suddenly wondered if this was how escorts felt, but you shook the thought from your head and wave to the boy as his calm green eyes caught a hold of your [e/c] ones. He smiled back faintly and shook his head before standing up.

“No?” You thought to youself in confusion.

Who would turn down a kiss? I mean you didn't think you were the prettiest girl, but you definitely weren't completely repulsive. But as a brunette female skipped up to him and clutched his arm in a strong embrace, you realized why he had turned you down.

You sighed and rested her head back against her palms, pouting slightly. “Oh well, the night's still young,” you thought casually, watching as more people went by.

“Of course, people wouldn't come to a kissing booth when most of them were with their significant other,” you deduced as more people passed you by. Then, you saw it a group of guys coming along together, probably there for the festival food no doubt.

As they came closer, you couldn't fight the sudden burst of anxiety rushing through your body and the increased rate of your heart beat. You didn't understand exactly why you suddenly felt so flustered, but the prospect of someone actually wanting to kiss you, and pay to kiss you, made you feel excited and dare you say attractive?

“Hey, kisses are only a dollar it's a good cau-” You tried to advertise the booth, but it was futile as they walked past, as if you weren't even there. Once again, you found yourself leaning against the counter. The empty glass jar stared back at you, and the upset sigh you tried to suppress left your lips.

The night continued on like this. There were plenty of potential customers to pay for just a small peck; however, it seemed no one wanted to stop or be bothered with your booth, not even for the second it would take to get a peck on the lips.

Each time the excitement of getting kissed rushed through you and disappeared with the steps of the boys. You tried to shrug it off as being that they either had girlfriends or that maybe they just didn't notice your booth.

As the last hour pulled near, many of the booths were starting to close down, but there were a few people who remained. Everyone had deserted to go view the fireworks that ended the festival.

The empty glass jar with nothing but the word money labeled on it continued to mock you down to the last minute. “Why am I still here...” you thought miserably to yourself and sunk down behind the counter, all the way to the ground while your back pressed against the wooden board that made the front of it.

You drew your knees to your chest, supporting your arms on them before smothering your face in them. “Who am I kidding. I knew no one wanted to kiss me, but I got excited anyway.”

Tears began to pull at your eyes, causing mascara to run down your cheeks in a thick, chalky flow. You buried your face in your [s/t] arms, not bothering to muffle your sobs of disappointment. This was all a waste of time.

“How am I going to face the class, without any funds to donate.” You sulked in a cloud of self pity. “I don't even want to show my face around that school.”

“Uhm, [Name] is that you...”

Suddenly, you froze. The stress piling up on your shoulders had brought you down and the pounding of your heart against your chest was enough to imprint a tattoo, leaving you barely able to breath and unable to speak.

“Is anyone there?” You brought your fingertips to your cheeks and softly wiped away the smudged make-up.

“Y-Yeah, I'm here,” you mumbled weakly standing up to, instead of being greeted by eyes like you expected, you were met with the broad chest of the gentle giant himself.

You shifted, still hiding your saddened face behind your [h/c] bangs, bringing your gaze upwards to look into his face. Bertholdt was broken out in a cold sweat and his cheeks were crimson red as he held out a shaking hand to you.

“U-Uhm... this is for you,” he blushed harder, covering his face with his free hand to block you from seeing his burning red cheeks. There, in his hand, was a crumpled green dollar. Your [e/c] eyes widened as you quickly looked back to him, not bothering to hide your tear stricken face.

“Wait... you would really pay to kiss me...?” you said in disbelief while your lips slowly began to curl into a optimistic smile.

The boy turned away from you.“It was, Reiner's idea. He said you were...running a kissing booth,” he explained in a quick and flustered manner while still managing to keep his quiet voice in check.

Your hopeful smile faded into a damaged frown as you felt the last sharp knife plunge and twist into your heart. Your eyebrows furrowed together angrily and you scoffed at the tall man, slapping his hand away from you.

“Well, I don't need your pity. I'm closed anyway. Now, excuse me!” you huffed and snatched the empty jar, stepping out of your booth door in a angry flurry.

“Wait!” he managed to yell at you, breaking his usual demure demeanor. He grabbed your arm firmly, but you shoved him away from yourself once again. You picked up your speed to escape from him, but he repeated to grab your other wrist more firmly before.

“Leave me alone!” you screamed, but he pulled you towards him and softly pressed his lips against yours in a sweet, yet nervous kiss.

You stood shock as the boy stared at you with a shy blush sketched on his cheeks. “I want to kiss you because...” he mumbled, returning to his soft-spoken nature. He blushed further when he noticed your shimmering [e/c] irises focused on him.

You smiled once you realized how nervous he was. You knew exactly what he meant. Slowly, you wrapped your fingers around his.“Do you want to watch the fireworks together?” you smiled at him, only to cause him to become more flustered as he tried to breathe a response.

“Say yes! Who knows the next time you'll be able to get some!”

“R-Reiner!”

“Get the hell out of here, Reiner!” you yelled at the chuckling blonde, ready to pummel him until a pair of soft lips touched your cheeks.

“Only, if you'll be my girlfriend...”

I will.