Work Text
If your father was the king, that meant you were the prince. Well, not like he was the literal king, but being the commander of the crusaders gave him status like a king. It had been quite a while since the crusaders had fallen and been rebuilt. Eichenwalde was semi-repaired except for the castle, now turned into a museum and memorial.You sat at your desk in your personal office, looking at the mountain of paperwork you had finished, and the mountain you still had left to finish. The day was already almost over and you weren’t even halfway finished with what you needed to do. And that loud thumping noise coming from who knows where drove you a bit nuts. You started at the antique wooden clock on the wall that just seemed to tick slower and slower. Right under the clock was a picture of you as a young kid and your parents happily holding you.“Oh, papa…” you sighed to yourself.Before you could continue your work you heard a very familiar laugh and a pair of heavy footsteps. The door swung open and Reinhardt burst in, ducking slightly so as to not smash his head on the frame. There were dents on both sides of the door frame for obvious reasons…“I can’t believe he did that…” Reinhardt sighed, wiping a few tears and getting himself together.“Who did what?” You asked.“Nothing mein Prinz-“ he said quickly before standing tall and clearing his throat. “You called me in here, was there something you needed?”“Some company I suppose. An open ear? I’ve been trapped in this office all day and I feel bad.” You played with your pen, spinning it between your fingers.“Of course!” Reinhardt pulled up a chair and sat right next to you. “What did you want to talk about?”You were quiet for a bit, not quite sure how to express yourself.“I feel like…” you took a couple of moments to think of what to say. “I won’t be able to live up to my father’s name. Everyone always tells me stories of how great my father was yet I feel like I’m lacking in almost every aspect. How do I even begin to compete?” You rubbed your temples and sighed.“Well, you don’t,” Reinhardt answered rather bluntly. He put a hand on your shoulder, his thumb rubbing in gentle circles. “There will never be another Balderich, but there will also never be another you. Comparing yourself to someone else will just make you depressed. Trust me I know from experience. Besides, you are doing just fine.” He kissed the top of your head. You felt your face get warm and your cheeks get rosy.You wrapped your arms around his muscular arms and sighed. You felt a bit better listening to his “words of wisdom”. Maybe your work was just getting to you.“Why don’t we get something to eat? I didn’t see you in the mess hall for breakfast or lunch. You haven’t eaten, have you?” He wasn’t wrong. You snacked here and there but no full meal. Reinhardt stood up and pushed your office chair towards the door.“Come on, let’s go eat! Hopefully, the wall in the cafeteria is covered up after earlier today…”