Not exactly part of the WINGS timeline and story, but after rewatching the OVAs, I wanted to make a fanfic of a couple of its episodes with reimagines of "what if Iris and Leon were there wrecking havoc?". So, I hope you enjoy this couple of AoT/Wings OVAs!
~*~
It was unfair that Jean got to visit his family while in the middle of training and gets to sleep in his own room while the rest were bunked in the barracks. If only their field training were held in Regalado, then Iris would certainly rub it in their faces of getting delicious meals three times a day, and the luxury of a hot bath - even if she had to heat the water for a long time before jumping in. Leon too shares her thoughts about it, he misses his bed and his mom's cooking, and - while he won't admit it - he misses hearing the smell of his father's wood carving. The man would always wake up early and start with his wood carving at the front porch, and Leon would sometimes join him and watch as his father made intricate designs with a knife while listening to his story about his time as a Scout.
It was one of the reasons why he wanted to be a Scout. The stories of adventure, danger, and the idea of seeing the world that was not behind those Walls.
Most of all, if they were to sleep in their own home, they were sure that Commander Shadis would host their training at the Kirsch farm, with Joseph's approval, and they would get a few more hours of sleep before dragging their feet for training. Alas, here they were, dressed in uniform with their backpacks, and dragging their boots across the stone pavement of Trost with still droopy eyes.
Maybe staying up all night and scaling the walls of the barracks as a race wasn't a good idea. But it was worth it since Iris won a Leon's dessert for later's dinner.
"Hey, Leon, come on, you're heavy, man!" Connie whined as the red-head clung to his backpack and used him as a guide to the venue.
"Five more minutes, Mom." Leon yawned.
"Hey, Reiner, help me out over here! Can't you carry his ass?"
Behind him, Reiner already had his hands full. Their comrade was carrying his bag in his hand while giving Iris a piggyback ride. The girl was sound asleep on his shoulder, and was drooling even. "Can't, I have this midget to worry about."
"What the hell did you two do up all night that got you too sleepy to walk?" Connie questioned.
"Now that you mentioned it," Sasha joined their little talk. "I did hear footsteps on the roofs last night."
Armin turned to Leon and then Iris. "Please don't tell me that you both climbed the roof of the barracks."
With her eyes still closed, Iris said, "I won. Leon owes me dessert... it was worth it... and this wouldn't be a problem if..." a yawn "we just had training at Regalado. Joseph has a big ass farm there that we can use for field training."
"Yeah, and Dad would do anything to help out the military," Leon added. "He'll take arms and march with his one leg if they tell him too."
"You mean when Eyebrows tells him to," Iris pointed at him.
"Yeah."
Eyebrows? They all thought. It was expected that the two would have their little inside jokes as Leon and Iris were raised under one roof. According to Leon, his family started fostering Iris when they were young because there wouldn't be anyone to look after her, not after her mother died of an illness and her father became a Scout. Her father still sent money for her daily living, but that was all they knew about the girl's background. And the fact that she was originally from the Underground.
To wake the two from their sleepy state, Armin bought them something to eat - there were apples being sold, so he got them that. While Leon was up and walking, Iris remained riding on Reiner's back as she ate her apple.
Walking past a couple of more stalls, they notice a few notices pinned to the wall and people crowding around it. When they passed one that was yet to draw attention, Iris had Reiner to the direction of the poster and ripped it from the wall to read it.
"I don't think its yours for the taking." Reiner told her.
"Yeah, like they'll arrest me for taking a poster that won't be blown away later by the wind or get wet by rain." She said. "Come on, catch up to them!"
"I'm not your fucking horse!"
Joining with the others, Iris finally jumped down of Reiner's back and joined Leon's side. Fully energized for the day.
"This is the first time I actually went to a Walled District," said Connie.
"The food here is delicious!" Sasha said.
"Bet this meat is even more delicious," Iris showed Leon the poster of the wild boar causing havoc in the forest.
"Please don't tell me that you plan to hunt it down after curfew." Leon sighed.
"Hey, we haven't had meat for months now, we need it - I bet they'll be praising us if we bring this wild boar... they might even exempt us from tomorrow's training."
Leon grinned. "I do want to get more than five hours of sleep."
"Huh, its nice to know that you still get five hours of sleep."
"Don't you?" Leon turned to her, concerned. This was the first time he heard about this. Ever since they joined the Cadet Corp, he hasn't heard much of Iris' sleeping schedule due to their separate dorms.
"Eh, my relationship with sleep isn't exactly ideal." She shrugged.
"Then what do you do when you're wide awake?"
"I exercise - do a few drills. Sneak into the kitchens."
"Huh, maybe that's why the cook is always out of cheese." Leon wondered aloud. He shoved the poster in his back and sighed. "Man, I miss seeing a town, it reminds me of home."
"Me too."
Right on cue, Jean made his presence known, "If you join the Garrison Regiment, you can stay here as long as you want. I'll come and see you sometime when I join the Military Police!" he laughed.
No one laughed with him. Under her breath, Iris even said, "horse-ass." And Leon snickered.
"Say, Jean, which part of town is your house in?" Armin spoke.
Iris muttered a reply to Armin's question to Leon, "between the cheeks of his ass." Leon choked on his saliva.
"Who cares where it is?" Jean said.
"I do," Iris mused. So she could put horse dung on his pillow before he goes to sleep. Or visit him in the middle of the night to give him a little scare.
"You're going to visit home, right?" Marco asked. "Thomas said he was going home."
"Your mom will be so happy!" Armin said.
"Enough, you people! Just shut up!" Jean snapped.
Iris and Leon exchanged looks. "I think we hit a nerve right there." the latter said.
"Now I'm really curious to know where his house is." Iris muttered. "Let's finish this defense drill quick so we could -"
"-- look for Jean's house and invade his personal space?" Leon finished. "I agree with that plan." He then craned his head back just enough for him to get a glimpse the top of Armin's head. "Say, wanna joins us after the drill?"
"Where?" Armin asked.
"Depends on what you plan on doing." Jean said.
"We weren't asking you, horse-face." Iris said, then she slowed her pace to walk beside Armin. "We're just planning on exploring the town, find some good food, look for Jean's house -"
"Hey!"
"-- and hunt for a wild boar."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Armin smiled timidly.
"All good ideas start off sounding bad." Iris shrugged. "So, I guess its a no, huh?"
"Sorry." Armin said.
"It's okay," Iris had an arm around his shoulder. As they pass a stall selling bread, she did a quick slight of hand and stole a good looking piece, then handed it to him just as they were away from the vendor. Armin tried making her to return it but Iris said, "yeah, and get into more trouble? Come on, just take it, its thanks for the apples."
"And what about for the one who carried you all the way here?" Reiner called out.
"Please, I'm sure the feeling of my breasts on your back was enough." She called out.
Many laughed, some blushed red in embarrassment, especially Armin, Leon, Jean, and Reiner. Especially Reiner.
"I didn't even feel a thing." Reiner said.
Their laughs grew and Leon and Armin had to drag Iris away before she could kick Reiner's ass. But that didn't stop her from cursing at him the entire way to the barracks.
~*~
Arriving at barracks, the cadets were only given a moment to settle their things in their dorms before reporting to the courtyard for their drills. For this activity, they were distributed into groups of four, and as much as the two tried their best to be placed in the same team, Iris and Leon were separated. Leon was placed with Mikasa, Eren, and Bertholdt's team, while Iris was with Jean, Armin, and Annie's team.
"Guess luck isn't at your side, huh." Eren laughed at them when they were separated.
"Well, I guess this is our chance to finally settle this tie we've had with the number of Titans we kill, huh?" Iris told Leon.
"What was our last count?" Leon asked.
"Eight and five." Armin told them. "Iris is on the lead.
"You keep their score?" Eren questioned his friend.
"They made me keep the record to prevent cheating." said Armin.
But that was not the only surprise they had, because sitting beside Commander Pyxis was a person Leon and Iris last expected to see. Joseph and Sarah, wearing their best frocks, were on the platform with the Commander of the Garrison, their reason:
"When we heard that the wild boar was lurking in the forest near Trost, we decided to stop by and see how you are and give the Cadet Corp a hand with rations." Joseph told his son and foster daughter when they asked why they were there.
"I guess our wishes of eating corn from the fields was finally answered," Iris told Leon. "We're glad to see you both here."
Sarah smiled and wrapped her arms around Iris. "We simply couldn't miss the opportunity to see you two. We sent word to the Scouts about our visit and invited your father to come, but it seems they were busy planning for the next Expedition." she smiled sadly.
Iris swallowed the sting of pain of knowing that and just smiled. "You're here, so it doesn't matter. So, you plan on hunting the boar?" she turned to Joseph.
"Yup, got my bow and good old Penny to help me out, that is if the Missus would let me." Joseph laughed.
"I highly doubt it." Leon winced.
Though many were teasing them for having their parents in the barracks and to watch their training, Leon and Iris were not embarrassed. They were thrilled to have Joseph and Sarah around, especially when the latter promised to give them their favorite meals before heading to bed. Also, it was their chance to show Joseph what they've learned for the past two years of training. It was an honor to have the old veteran to watch them train.
When the drill started, everyone when to their stations. With Iris being in the same team as Armin, Jean, and Annie, she had to follow her team's position, which was to guard the evacuation. As they waited, Iris thought it would be a good idea to play swing with her gear, so she had two of her grapplings latched to the clock tower's walls and swung to and fro, to make things fun, Armin even helped with giving her a slight push.
"So, Squad 21 is to only engage when there is a Titan nearby," Iris spoke. "Great, Leon's gonna win this time..."
Armin laughed lightly. "I'm sure you'll be able to catch up.
"I'm not exactly complaining about this either."
"Would you stop that!" Jean snapped at her. "We are going graded, you know, and I don't think the Commander would appreciate seeing his soldiers playing while on a mission."
Iris didn't stop. "We have months before we graduate and start being glum and serious soldiers, at least let me enjoy the little time I have of fooling around."
"Didn't you have your childhood for that?"
"No. I didn't." She remarked. Well, she didn't have it for the most time, she only got the joys of running around under the sun and being with a family at a later time. Her remark fell deaf ear, and soon Jean had their team engage, leaving their post to look for a bit of action.
"Jean, should we be this far forward?" Armin asked. "Our mission is only to engage Titans that pass the front -"
"Don't just sit on your heels! Soldiers need to kill those Titans!" Jean argued.
"You just want to look good," said Annie.
They jumped off the roof and launched their gears.
Iris scoffed. "I thought you want to be an MP? MPs don't deal with Titans, they deal with humans. And trust me, we're far more annoying than Titans." When she was beside Armin, she said, "and earlier he told me to stop playing around, now he's disobeying orders."
They swung past houses and towers, and just as they found a dummy Titan to kill, a flash passed them and made the kill. It was Mikasa, and if she was there then Leon was too. And as expected, the red-head came in loud and annoying as he made another kill.
"That's eight for me! Armin, make sure to take note of that!" Leon called out. "I am going to win this shit!" He then swung away, following Mikasa's lead.
Clicking her tongue, Iris turned to Jean. "Hey Cap, you had us for insubordination, you better get us a Titan to kill or else!"
"Two o'clock!" Jean told them and made the turn.
There were two Titans in the middle of the way, and just as Iris launched her grappling to the nape, angled her sword to a different position - the blade at the back of her fist - Reiner arrived and killed it before her. With her momentum, she proceeded with the technique and made a clean cut on the nape. She landed on the cut and glared at Reiner.
"I had that!" She told him.
"Too slow," Reiner told her. "I guess you better learn how to hold your swords properly."
"If another word comes out of your mouth, I will shove this fucking sword up your ass!" She told him, pointing her blade at him.
"Iris," Armin tried to calm her.
Before Jean could call his team to look for another target, the flare was fired. The drills were over and it was time to gather in the courtyard for evaluation and for their break. Leon happily claimed the win for today, having killed four Titans, making his score a point higher than Iris, and to congratulate them, Sarah gave the two a couple of sandwiches she made.
Joining the others, Iris and Leon muched their lunches with joy and made sure to rub it in the faces of the other cadets of their nutritious meal. They soon joined their respective teams as Leon was called by Eren and Mikasa, and Iris saw Jean nagging over Connie and Sasha. Coming to Armin's side, she offered Annie and him a bite from her food, which they both accepted.
"What now?" Iris asked them.
"He's making a scene," said Annie. "Telling Connie and Sasha that those Titans were his for the kill."
"Yeah, like those Titans had his name carved on its heads." Iris finished her food.
"All is fair when hunting!" Sasha told Jean.
"Keep your hunter's logic to yourself, Potato Girl!" He snapped at her.
"I thought everyone forgot about that - that's crossing the line!"
"Hey, you better apologize to her!" said Connie.
Iris sighed and squatted on the ground to watch.
"That was our post in the first place," Reiner spoke.
"That's right, and you're acting pretty weird today. Why are you so mad?" Connie questioned Jean. "Do you really want to see your Mommy that badly?"
"Do you?" Sasha gasped.
"Not a chance in hell!" Jean exclaimed, having a fist ready to strike. And foolishly, Sasha and Connie made a fighting pose that was neither balanced or serious to take at all.
"That's enough you two!" Reiner finally joined the three. "You too, Jean. You'll lose your chance at the Military Police."
Jean clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he dropped his fists and said, "we'll settle this at tomorrow's drills. We'll see who takes down more targets."
"Interesting!" The voice and the sound of Commander Pyxis' boots had every cadet in full attention and gave their salutes. Iris too rose from the ground and had her fist to her heart until the Commander nodded their way. "I will judge this contest. I am impressed by your strong competitive spirits. However, treating a drill as a competition is unacceptable!"
In the background, Leon and Iris hid behind their squadmates' backs. Guilty.
Pyxis continued after a drink. "You'll compete in cooking."
"What?" Everyone asked.
"You'll be competing in cooking!"
"He's joking right?" Armin asked.
"Nope." Iris said. "He is dead serious."
"You will be settling this dispute with cooking!" Commander Pyxis repeated.
"But we're soldiers, Sir, we don't -" Jean tried to reason out but Sasha blocked his view of the Commander and and said, "Jean, what do you know about cooking?"
"I bet your mommy made everything for you!" Connie mocked.
"Ouch," Iris muttered. While she does know how to cook, she admits of lacking the skill and instinct to make food taste like... food. Growing up in the Underground their meals were always blant, and it would be rare to have a bit of salt and pepper.
"I'll teach you what cooking means, Jeanie-boy!" said Sasha.
"Fine! Cooking or cleaning, it doesn't matter! If I win, you'll never interfere again." Jean told Sasah.
"Alright! This competition will happen at midnight. Bring me the best midnight snack there is!" Commander Pyxis commanded.
Many cheered for this utter nonsense. Even Leon was cheering at the sidelines with his parents, who found the competition... childish.
"Well we are totally going to lose," Iris told Annie. "Might as well call it out."
~*~
Was is childish to have a cook off to settle a dispute between soldiers?
Yes.
But as they rode across the fields in Wall Rose, Iris was thankful of the contest as she got to enjoy the feeling of riding freely without a formation and pace to follow. She could remember the times she and Leon would race on the horses at the farm, they would do all kinds of stunts, standing, firing arrows, and even jumping over streams and small cliffs.
"Why are we hunting?" Annie asked.
"We have no choice, Annie." Armin began. "The squad must help each other, it's part of the rules."
"Just enjoy the limited time of freedom you have," Iris told her. "It would be a long time before we could ride this fast on an open field without a nagging officer."
"I used to play in that forest there, its famous for a colossal boar." said Jean.
"I think colossal is an overstatement now," said Iris.
Jean continued. "With its meat, victory is surely mine."
"What about cooking practice?" Armin asked.
As they rode through the fields, the sound of Sasha calling for them caught their attention. Not far, Sasha's team was at their tail and were catching up.
"It seems we're not the only ones after the boar." Iris mused to Annie.
"What are you doing here?" Jean questioned them.
"Sasha smelled meat," Reiner answers.
Iris sniffed the air. "I smell grass and horse shit, how do you smell meat?!"
"You're not hogging that meat for yourself!" Sasha told them, and had her horse speed up.
They rode into the forest until the terrane can no longer have the horses going in. On foot, they proceeded into the forest and continued the hunt.
"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Iris asked. "Or how to hunt?"
"I know what I'm doing!" Jean told her.
"I think we passed this again," Armin said.
"Look!" Jean pointed to the wounded tree. "We passed an exact mark like this earlier. We're definitely close."
As Armin had a deadpan look on his face, Iris decided to launch her ODM Gear and use the cables to have her swing around. Better to be above than on the ground when the boar arrives, besides, with how Jean was having them go in circles, it was most likely the boar would find them, than them finding it.
And just as she thought, the boar found them, and dragging with it was Sasha and her team. She quickly launched herself after the boar when Armin and the others did, and as they tried to lure it to their favor with a bunch of radish... or was it potatoes? Sasha managed to place a killer blow with an arrow to the head. Once again, Team Jean lost.
~*~
In the mess, Leon sat with Iris and her team as he gave her another meal made by Sarah for them both. It was chicken, grilled with vegetables, and a slice of cheese and bread at the side. When Sarah placed it on their tables, the two turned to - as Armin called it - little angles and thanked the woman.
"Thank you, Mom/Sarah!" Leon and Iris said as Sarah patted their heads and wished Iris and her team luck on the competition.
As it turns out, Sarah and Joseph were leaving that night and were heading back to Regalado. But before they left, Sarah asked if there was anything she wanted to tell her father, but all Iris said was, "I already sent him a letter." A lie, but it was the only way to not catch anyone's attention.
Though, she was sure Sarah could see through it. "I'm sure your father is proud of you." she said then left.
As Iris and Leon happily ate their meal, Jean had a scowl on his face as he worried about the competition for later.
"Say, did Mr. Kirsch leave a chicken around that we could use for the competition?" Armin asked them.
"Not that I know of," Leon said. "Dad usually delivers them dead and defeathered, and is sent to the officer's pantry."
"So, unless we break in and get a few ingredients, we're done for."
An officer called for Jean's attention had them watching their comrade. As it turns out, Jean's mother was there to visit him. Maybe his mom got tired of waiting for him to visit that she finally came there, Iris thought. Jean's mother was just around Sarah's age, or maybe younger. She had dark blonde hair, a round face, and had the same eyes as Jean.
While others snickered when the woman called him by the nickname "Jean-boy", Iris didn't laugh. In fact, she found it nostalgic to hear such an endearing nickname. Back in the Underground Isabel would call her "Lil' Sis", and Farlan would call her "Bug", and her mother had a list long of endearing nicknames but two always stuck in her mind: "Iri" and "my sweet girl." She loved those nicknames and she missed hearing them, but it seems she won't ever hear them again.
"Jean-boy, why didn't you come home to see us? Thomas went to see the Wagners!" Jean's mother said. "What will we ever do with you? Did you spill soup on your pants?"
When the woman tried to clean his pants, Jean snapped and even pushed his mother away. "Whatever! Just get out of here!" he told her.
Quick to her feet, Iris went to catch the woman before she stumbled. "Are you alright?" She asked the woman.
Embarrassed by her son's actions, the woman started placing apples on the table to offer for them but Jean shoved them off. "They don't want them!"
"Jean!" Eren gasped and went to pick them up.
"Jean-boy! Everyone, he may be a little rough, but I hope you all can get along... Oh right, Jean-boy, I made your favorite -"
"Just leave already!" Jean marched his mother up the stairs and slammed the door after her. Silence came to the mess as they watched him.
"You should be nicer to your mom, Jean-boy -" Eren began. "Er... Jean."
Ignoring him, Jean disappeared from the mess and the next thing Iris heard from him was when he called for their team to come together for a meeting. As it turns out, while he was gone, Jean stole the key to the officer's storeroom and plans to steal a bit of beef for the competition.
"I can't be a thief!" Armin said.
Jean turned to Iris. "Don't tell me that you don't want to be a thief either."
Iris glared at him. She got up from the wall she was leaning on, marched up at him, and with a flash, tripped him off his feet. "If there's one thing a thief hates is being called a thief by someone else who thinks they're better than them... and do you really think that after what you did earlier I'll help you steal from the officer's pantry?" she scoffed. "You're on your own."
"Then why are you here then?" Jean snapped at her.
"Mandatory attendance. I showed up to this stupid contest, but that doesn't mean I'm going to help."
"Fine, Armin then -"
"No, I can't!" Armin ran, heading to the stairs, but he slipped and broke his legs.
Iris and Annie brought Armin to the medic and watched over him as he lay on the bed with his legs in a cast. Iris had to sit beside him and hold the icepack on his head and keep watch before it melts and drowns him.
"Sorry, Jean, I can't help you while I'm like this," said Armin.
"Hey, don't apologize." Iris said.
"Well, I'm out too," said Annie. "I'm not taking the risk of being a thief."
"But don't you want to join the Military Police too, Annie?" Jean said.
"Sorry," Annie said and walked away.
Just as Jean left, Iris stayed in the room. She made Armin scootch over in the bed so she could lie down with him. Unknowing to her, Armin found their closeness too much and was blushing red. And it didn't help that she wasn't wearing her military jacket. And for a moment, he couldn't help but remember the comment she told Reiner about paying him with the feeling of her -
"Don't you have anything to do?" Armin asked.
"Nope."
"You can go rest in the barracks if you want. I can replace the ice when it melts."
"Do you want me to go?"
"No, no! I enjoy your company, it just seems like you're tired, that's all."
She shrugged. "Hey Armin, do you have a favorite meal that your parents make you?"
Armin smiled softly. "I was too young to remember, but there is this food that my grandfather would make me. It was a simple one but I enjoy it very much... it's buttered toast and eggs with a slice of cheese. What about you?"
"Porridge." She answered. "Just plain porridge... it's silly but back in the Underground we rarely have fresh food here. My mother was no cook but she tries, and whenever she would cook she would have me help with the flavor. There were times when we would end up with really bad combinations - either it was too salty, too sweet, or just wrong," she laughed lightly. "but then we managed to make plain porridge that tasted just right... Mom made sure to write down the recipe so we could have it again and again. I miss that."
Armin saw her sad smile. "Did you parents ever gave you a nickname?"
"Mom would call me 'Iri', but whenever its to cuddle she would always call me 'my sweet girl', which is ironic since I was far from sweet."
"I'm sure you were."
"Would a sweet girl threaten someone with a knife? Would she steal or beat someone up?" Or kill, she wanted to add. "I am far from being a sweet girl, but it's nice to know that someone still thinks that that is the case."
Armin reached to her and held her hand. "You should get some rest while you're remembering her so you could see your mom in your dreams."
"Alright, but you better wake me when you start to drown with that ice bag." Iris said.
Armin laughed and promised he will. As Iris slept beside him, Armin found the rise and fall of her chest and the peaceful look on her face to be some sort of lullaby and soon he too fell asleep.
~*~
Jean woke them hours before the competition to start cooking. Though Iris wouldn't call it a team effort as Jean was the only one doing all the work. When he was finished with his dish, he placed it on a plate and went to bring it to the platform where Pyxis was to judge.
Standing beside Armin, Iris waited for the contest to start. The first to show their meal was Sasha's team who served a perfectly cooked steak. Commander Pyxis was... in ecstasy and finished the entire plate, his comment and silence says it all. It was a sure win if they were asked, but then Jean presented his dish.
A simple home-made dish: an omelet.
A cute little omelet.
As the Commander ate his fill everyone was silent, waiting anxiously for his decision. Not that an omelet can compete with a steak -
"I have made my decision," Commander Pyxis rose from his seat. "The winner of this cooking competition is... Jean Kirschtein!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd, all in shock and for winning their bets. But it seems Iris and Leon lost this time and were paying Marco for the outcome of this contest.
Eh? Iris' brows rose at that. "Well, what do you know," she whispered. "I guess all it takes a bit of love to win a cooking contest."
"I can't accept this! How? How can meat lose?" Sasha said.
"What is the matter, young cadet?" Pyxis asked.
"Meat is meat!"
"Exactly, meat is just exactly meat. And that is why you lost."
Sasha broke down in tears. "I was wrong. I forgot about potatoes and the other vegetables! I tried to win by solely cooking meat!"
"No need to feel ashamed," Jean held out a hand to Sasha. "You're not the only one who only cooked it."
As the cadets celebrated the win, Iris jumped down from the platform and joined Leon. "Now I'm really hungry." she told him.
"I'll get some meat from the pantry, wanna cook that in the forest?" Leon suggested.
"I don't think meat is he best food for a midnight snack."
"Alright, how about some apples?"
"I was thinking of cheese."
"I'm sure we could find that in the kitchen." Leon said.
~*~
When morning came, the cadets gathered in the mess for their breakfast to prepare for their drill. It was the last day of their training in Trost, so they were making the most of the city before heading back to bootcamp.
Iris sighed at the sight of plain bread on her plate. Not exactly an appetizing meal but it'll do for the day. "They have a whole stock of boar meat and they won't even share," she grumbled.
"That's military ranking privileges for you." Leon sighed.
"It's unfair..."
"Come on, just eat up."
Eating the bread wasn't enough to fill her stomach or her cravings. But she needed to be satisfied with it, after all, food was food. Just as she was to get up, a bowl of porridge was placed on her empty plate.
"Here, I managed to talk to the cook, they didn't mind since it was just porridge." it was Armin, and with him was Eren and Mikasa who joined their table.
"You didn't have to," she said to him.
Armin shrugged. "It wasn't that hard to do, besides you need all your strength for today."
"What about you?" Iris asked.
"We have ours too, and we have Leon as well," Mikasa placed another bowl before Leon. "Eat up."
Taking the spoon, Iris took her first bite and -
Leon and Eren made a face. "It tastes nothing!"
"I still can't believe that Armin did all that just for plain porridge." Eren said.
Iris smiled and took another spoon and another and another until she finished the entire bowl.
"Seriously? It can't be that good," said Eren.
"It's perfect," Iris said, and for a moment, as she ate her porridge, she remembered her mother and how they happily celebrated on getting the taste just right.
"We did it, Iri!" Maria lifted her daughter off the ground and twirled her around. "We made porridge that doesn't taste weird!"
Iris giggled and cheered with her mother. "We should tell Papa about this! Maybe this time he'll join us for dinner!"
Maria smiled sadly, "Maybe, but Papa is busy, so he might not be able to -"
"Then we bring him his share!" Iris told her mother.
"Alright," Maria said, "We'll bring Papa, and Farlan, and Isabel our porridge." And they better eat every bite of it.
Back in the mess, after finishing their meal, Iris said her goodbye to Leon and the others as she and Armin joined Annie and Jean to their post.
"Thank you," she told Armin.
"How was it?"
"It tastes like home."
"I'm glad."
"Once we have a break, I'll make sure to give you the best eggs on toast and cheese." She told him.
"I'll be waiting for that." Armin said.
It took them a while to fulfill that promise, but when Armin and Iris found their home by the sea with their children, Iris made sure to cook his eggs on toast with cheese at least once a week, while he prepared her porridge. It was a promise they both kept until their last days, though even when she has passed, Armin still kept the tradition of making eggs on toast and cheese, and porridge every week for their family.