Surprise? (Bertolt AU) (Contest Entry)

Bertolt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was how he wanted to do it. He just had to get over his fears and go for it.

He knew she didn't want a big proposal, but he still wanted to make it special. So what better way than a casual surprise on their anniversary?

Smiling at his own idea, Bertolt reached in the fridge and took out a loaf of white bread and placed it on the counter, followed by a jar of mayo, a head of lettuce, and deli sliced turkey.

One whole year together... it had only been one whole year since the day he'd gotten the nerve to ask her to officially be his girlfriend. He smiled at the thought as he pulled out four slices of bread. He remembered how nervous he was that day, even if they had already been on a few dates. It took weeks of coaxing from the guys, but after the girls had assured him she'd say yes there was no longer anything holding him back.

He began dressing the bread with mayonnaise as his mind wandered to their past year together. He chuckled as he thought about the night after they came home from the beach and how the whole evening he had to rub aloe on her red back while she wailed and moaned into a pillow. Then there was the time they nursed a bird back to health after finding it in the park with a broken wing. He remembered how her eyes sparkled in delight when it was finally strong enough to fly away.

The tall man began to stack lettuce and turkey on the bread. He thought about their first kiss...

She was so much smaller than he was and so much more confident. Her eyes had gleamed up at him from behind a few strands of hair. He had noted just how much he loved her eyes before his line of sight trailed down to her full lips. He'd felt a deep hunger to taste them, but before he could do anything about it her hands grabbed his collar and pulled him down to her, their lips molding together.

It's now or never.

He took a shaky breath before pulling a silver ring adorned with a bright diamond and two smaller gems out of his pocket before placing it in one of the sandwiches. This was it.

He placed the two sandwiches on a plate before turning around and digging in the pantry for some chips. He heard the kitchen door open and shut, but shrugged it off as he pulled out a bag of potato chips and walked back to the counter.

Before he could set the chips down panic struck him.

Where was the sandwich??

Bertolt looked around the counter and at the fridge before flinching in ugly realization. He heard chewing.

His eyes gazed over at the kitchen door where he saw his roommate Reiner swallow the very last bite of the sandwich.  All he could do was stare.

The blond blinked at Bertolt's look of horror.

"What?"