Y/n stopped in front of the familiar house. Looking around, she noticed the different flowers her mother had planted in the front. It's really been a long time, huh . . .
She took a step closer to the door. Raising her fist, she was about to knock when the door suddenly opened. Her eyes widened and she quickly looked down. ''Y/N!''
Stella stood at the door, her long hair pulled back in two low ponytails. Her smile was missing a tooth, but it was just as big as Y/n remembered. ''Stella!'' Crouching down, Y/n hugged her seven-years-old sister tightly.
''Y/n?'' Her mother suddenly appeared at the door, a towel in her hands. ''Oh my! Y/n!''
Letting go of Stella, Y/n quickly hugged her mother. ''Hey, mom.''
''Oh, dear, I missed you so much! Come in, come in!'' Her mother ushered her in, closing the door behind. ''I just finished preparing lunch. Go on and sit down, I'll bring you something to eat right away!''
''Thank the walls, I'm starving,'' Y/n said, following her mother in the kitchen. ''Let me—''
''I told you to sit down, young lady!'' Her mother said. ''Stella, dear, take out one more plate, will you?''
''Yes, mom!''
Her mother rushed to the stairs. ''Leo, come downstairs!''
Y/n was surprised — she couldn't remember the last time she was home and didn't have to help with something. She moved back to the table, sitting down on her designated chair. Just then, loud footsteps thudded down the stairs.
''What is it?'' Leo suddenly appeared at the stairs. He tiredly looked at his mother before his eyes moved to Y/n. ''Huh? Y/n!''
Y/n got up again, smiling at her brother. "Are you too grown up to hug your sister?"
Leo scoffed, rolling his eyes at her before hugging her. Y/n realized how much taller he'd gotten; soon enough, he was going to surpass her in height, wasn't he? He's growing tall, just like dad.
No. Y/n shook her head. Don't get depressed now, Y/n. You can do that when you're back at camp.
The four sat down to eat, Y/n telling them about her time in the Cadet Corps, Shadis, flying with the 3DMG. About how stupid Connie and Sasha are, what an angel Marco is, and how Jean was slowly maturing. ''I don't know what's up with him today, though. He was refusing to visit his parents.''
''Maybe he's just tired from training, honey. You're both working hard and that's stressful,'' Y/n's mother said as she was putting the dishes away. ''Besides, Mrs. Kirstein left earlier, saying she would go visit him at your base. She had a feeling he wouldn't want to visit, either.''
Y/n spent the rest of the afternoon with her family, but she couldn't stay there forever. She decided to visit her room one last time before she left — she was sharing with Stella, who's side was messy. Y/n's side looked lifeless, except for the small framed picture on her bedside table. She picked it up, sitting down on her bed.
It was a family portrait from a few years ago. Before her father had . . .
It was rather detailed, despite it's small size. Y/n had been about seven then. Leo had been four, and Stella had been still a newborn. The artist had captured all of their smiles perfectly, as well as Stella's closed eyes. Her eyes fell on her father. She traced her thumb over his face. She felt like she was about to tear up again. ''Why did you have to . . .''
''Are you talking to yourself?''
Y/n's head snapped to the door. Leo stood there, his arms crossed. Sniffing, Y/n wiped her eyes and put the small frame in the inside pocket of her jacket. ''Shut up. What is it?''
Leo pursed his lips. He looked down the hallway before he entered the room and closed the door, taking the two steps he needed to sit on Stella's bed. The two were face to face, staring at each other as Leo said, ''I'm joining the Cadet Corps next year.''
Y/n blinked once, twice. Three times. ''I'm sorry?''
Leo nodded. ''I've been thinking about it for a while.'' His eyes fell to the floor. He looked almost shy. Y/n hadn't seen him like that since he was six.
''. . . And why do you wanna join?'' Y/n asked, suddenly interested.
''Well, maybe I wanna live in the interior, too, you know?'' Leo said, throwing his head back. He squeezed his eyes, refusing to look at Y/n. ''And, uh . . . I just . . . don't want you to be the only one having to support the family . . .''
Y/n's eyes widened. Was this the same Leo she left behind two years ago? The one who would trick Stella into doing his chores because he was too lazy? Her baby brother wanted to join the army? Y/n grinned. She moved over to Stella's bed, wrapping her arm around his neck and messing up her hair. ''Aw! Look who finally grew feelings again! That's so sweet of you, Leotard!''
''Stop calling me that!'' Leo said, pushing her off and getting up. ''I knew you would make fun of me! I shouldn't have told you!''
''Hey, I make fun of everyone! You're not special,'' Y/n pointed out. She crossed her arms and stood up to face him. ''Really, though. That's nice of you. But you don't have to put yourself through that, really. The army isn't all sunshine and rainbows.'' She paused. ''. . . Mom will miss you.''
Leo pursed his lips. ''I know. But I've made my mind already.''
Y/n grinned again. ''Well, then, dear brother, I hope you enjoy eating stew and stale bread every day for three years straight.''
———
She almost wanted to hum out of happiness on her way back to HQ. The sun slowly starting to set — she wondered how Jean and Sasha's cooking competition was going. She'd heard people talking about a brunette girl catching a massive boar and parading it through town. She had her guesses about who that might've been.
The mess hall door suddenly opened, a familiar yelling filling her ears as she walked down the hallway. A woman was pushed out before the door slammed right in her face with one last yell, telling her to leave. Y/n furrowed her eyebrows. What kinda moron—
''Y/n?''
Oh. That moron.
''Mrs. Kirstein?'' Y/n asked, nearing the woman. She had a weak smile on her face, but Y/n could tell something was wrong. ''Are you okay? Did you get denied access? I can—''
Mrs. Kirstein shook her head. ''No, dear. The Garrison was nice enough to let me in. Jean-Bo didn't seem to appreciate that, though . . .''
Y/n furrowed her eyebrows. ''What do you mean?''
———
''JEAN FUCKING KIRSTEIN!''
Jean jumped out of his seat — he knew that voice, and he knew that tone. Looking up, he watched as a fuming Y/n stomped down the stairs, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Jean furrowed his eyebrows. What had he done now? ''Y/n, what—''
She shoved him back, causing him to hit his ass in the table, bumping over a drink and a bowl of soup. He used his hands to prop himself as his eyebrows narrowed. ''WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?''
''ME? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?'' Y/n yelled, throwing her arms around. Jean was aware of the stares from their comrades, but he didn't dare look away. ''HOW COULD YOU TREAT YOUR MOM LIKE THAT!''
Jean scoffed. He lowered his voice. ''She was the one who came here unannounced and embarrassed me!''
Y/n grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer, causing him to yelp. ''You fucking moron, she just wanted to check up on you because you keep refusing to write to your own mother! She's worried and you treat her like shit? What if—''
''Hey, Y/n.'' Eren suddenly appeared on her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. ''Maybe you should—''
''Stay out of this, Jeager.''
''Yes, yes, of course.'' Eren retreated, speed-walking over to Mikasa. Damn it, take me with you, Jeager!
Jean didn't speak. Y/n looked him in the eyes, hers filled in disappointment. She let go of his collar after about twenty seconds, scoffing. ''You haven't changed at all, have you? And here I thought . . .'' Y/n trailed off and shook her head. ''Whatever.'' She spun on her heel and started heading back where she came from.
''Y/n, wait—'' Jean tried to follow her, but Marco put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Jean looked back at him. ''Let me go.''
''She's right, Jean,'' Marco said, his lips pursed. ''Do you know how many of us would like to see our families right now?''
''Yeah, Horse-Face,'' Eren spoke. He'd stepped out from behind Mikasa now. ''Not everyone has the luxury of seeing their family.''
Jean scoffed. Look at Jeager, playing the orphan card. Despite that, Jean did feel a tight feeling in his chest. He really hadn't written to his mother in a while. He hadn't really read her letters, either, wanting to distance himself from his past life as much as he could. But she was just here to check on him, to make sure her only son was okay . . .
''Tch.'' Jean looked at Armin, who stood next to Mikasa and Eren. The blonde stiffened as their eyes met. ''Let's go, Armin. We still got a competition to win!''
———
Y/n stood in the crowd, right in front of the stage. Night had fallen and the two squads stood on each side of Commander Pixis, ready to present the dishes they'd prepared.
She wanted to scoff. This is ridiculous. Maybe she would've found it fun if she'd participated along her friends, or maybe if Jean hadn't acted like a douche earlier. It didn't matter, though. If anything, she was here to support Sasha and that was it.
''I hope you've prepared some amazing meals.'' Pixis grinned. ''We shall now commence the cooking contest between Jean Kirstein and Sasha Braus of the 104th Cadet Corps!''
The crowd burst in cheers. Y/n couldn't help but yell along. ''GO, SASHA!''
Sasha was called up first. She presented her meat dish and the crowd started whispering. Pixis froze as he took a bite, confusing the crowd. Was it that good? Or bad? Sasha called out Jean's turn. He wheeled his cart over to Pixis and set the dish in front of him.
Y/n couldn't exactly see what it was, but the cadets were quick to whisper. ''What's that, an omelet?''
It took a moment before Y/n's eyes widened, her gaze falling on Jean's stiff back. An omelet . . .
''Please, have a taste,'' Jean asked.
Pixis tried the omelet — then ended up finishing the whole thing. He got up, his hands behind his back as he faced the crowd. ''I've decided . . . The winner of this cooking contest . . .'' Y/n could feel the anticipation radiating through the crowd, but she still couldn't look away from Jean. ''. . . is Jean Kirstein!''
The crowd erupted in cheers again. Y/n bit the inside of her cheek, watching Armin gave a stunned Jean thumbs up. Sasha demanded answers as to why her meat had lost, though Y/n didn't care enough to listen.
Moving to the side, she climbed on the stage. She was about to approach Jean when Sasha suddenly collapsed in tears, holding tightly on the tablecloth. Jean walked over, extending a hand to her, voice gentle. ''Don't be ashamed. You're not the only one who cooked a simple dish,'' Jean said.
Y/n stood frozen in her spot. To be fair, as Jean helped Sasha up, she half expected him to laugh in her face and pull some hand-t0-hand move on her. He didn't, though. Jean really . . . has changed.
Jean looked back, his eyes landing on Y/n. He had a gentle smile as he walked over to her. His voice was still low. It was weird seeing him like this. ''Y/n, I . . . I think I'll swing by my home tomorrow.'' He told her. She couldn't look away from his pretty eyes, glistering in the sunrise. ''Will you . . . come with me?''
The longer she stayed silent, the more Jean's smile dropped. Her heart skipped a beat — why did he hold her gaze for so long? In the end, she couldn't help the upturn of her lips. ''Took you some time, Moron Kirstein.''