One Year After Joining the Cadets...
Iris dragged her feet through the thick snow, and was cursing the cold weather as she did it. She hated the cold, and she hated snow, having to live in the Underground, the only thing she knew was cold and darkness. So, when she came to the surface, she loved the hot summer days, while she dreaded the cold winters.
"You know, dragging yourself through the snow won't do you any good." Leon said.
"It's not like I could do anything about it." Iris muttered under her breath.
"Shadis won't be pleased if we're late to class again, you know." Leon sighed. "Remember when Connie and Sasha were late?! He had them running in the field in the fucking cold!"
"You don't have to remind me." Iris said.
"THEN PICK UP THE PACE, WOMAN, USE THOSE LEGS!"
Iris glared at Leon. She knew that he was teasing her on her height. When they were children, she remembered being taller than Leon – a few good inches – but when the moment they turned fourteen, a huge change happened. It was as if Leon suddenly had a growth spurt that he grew taller than her, or maybe it was because she was left behind? It irritated her since her height would only be up to Leon's shoulders, and she had to look up just to meet his eyes when they talk. And most of all, she hated Leon's teasing – sure she teased him when they were kids, she would call him "midget" from time to time just to rile him up and get a reaction from him, but when Leon finally towered over her, his jokes and name-calling were almost the only things she would hear from him.
"I'm going to kill you." Iris said through her gritted teeth.
"You're so cute when you get angry!" Leon laughed, teasingly, as he patted Iris' head.
He's fucking dead.
Leon suddenly felt a hard grip at his wrist, looking down his laughter died when he saw the glare that Iris had on him.
"Hey, it was just a joke! Come on!" Leon said as he tried to get his hand from Iris. "IRIS! HEY! LET GO OF ME!"
~*~
"Man, sure is cold outside." Connie said.
Almost the whole 104th cadets were inside their classroom, waiting for their Commander for their morning lecture about ODM and 3DM Gear. After breakfast, almost everyone ran to the building just to get out of the cold, while some took their time and had a little fun in the snow – Sasha, Minna, and Thomas.
"Who do you think will be the unlucky guy that'll have their asses by Shadis?" Connie smirked.
The 104th laughed as they looked around the classroom, seeing the empty seats.
"Well, I'm not!" Sasha yelled from her seat.
"Hey, Leon and Iris still aren't here." Krista said.
"So, they're the unlucky bastards, huh." Jean smirked.
"Well, they better hurry if they don't want Shadis to have them running laps." Eren said, smiling.
Just on cue, the sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention. They all sat up straight in the chairs, expecting Shadis to enter, to their surprise, it was just their two missing comrades. But just wasn't the sudden entrance of Iris and Leon that had them appalled, but how they looked: Leon was covered in snow – head to toe – and his hair was all messy as if it were pulled, and he was glaring at Iris; while Iris had no care of Leon's glare and was spotless. The two walked inside as if nothing were nothing – well, Leon was glaring and muttering under his breath, and was leaving a trail of snow as he went to his desk – and sat down on their respective chairs.
"You better clean that." Iris said, nodding at the trail of snow.
"Like hell I would!" Leon snapped at her.
"You're the one who made the mess."
"Who was the one who made me a human-rug?!"
"Make fun of my again, and I might use your face to get rid of the mud under my boots."
"Fucking bastard..."
Everyone was confused to what the two were talking about, but they were sure that it had something to do with Leon teasing Iris that had her beating him up. It was a common thing between the two; once, they even saw Iris pin Leon to the ground when he teased her about her height by calling her "short-shit". But that didn't stop him from teasing her. They didn't know why he would even continue to call her names when Iris would always beat his ass, they just settled to the conclusion that that was just how their friendship works, besides, it was always amused them to see the two go on each other because of their antics.
"Hey, Leon, mind me asking?" Jean said with a teasing look.
"Just try, Jean, I will throw you out the window." Leon said through gritted teeth.
"Like you could try." Jean said.
"You want me to do it, Horse-Face?" Iris spoke.
Everyone in he class laughed, making Jean blush in embarrassment. But just before anything could happen, Shadis came to the door and everyone – but for Iris – sat up straight. The trail of snow did not slip Shadis' eye, he followed the trail and saw it ending at Leon.
"I see you had your little fun in the snow, Kirsch." Shadis began.
Almost everyone was snickering, trying their hardest not to laugh.
"Sir!" Leon said. "It was –"
"After class, you'll be moping the whole vicinity!" Shadis yelled. "And Reed will be looking after you."
Iris smirked, while Leon had a horrified look on his face.
"This better be spotless, Leon." Iris said with a teasing tone.
Everyone was laughing at this point.
"ALL OF YOU, PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER OR YOU'LL BE ACCOMPANYING KIRSCH WITH CLEANING!" Shadis said when he saw the faces of his cadets.
Everyone immediately stopped. If there was one thing that Iris was known for, it was how organized she was with her things and how she always kept her place clean. They didn't know why the girl had some kind of cleaning fetish, but according to Leon, she was always like that even before they came to Boot Camp. He would see Iris cleaning their house every now and then, dusting, sweeping, even though she already did it the morning prior.
"Let's begin..."
~*~
Years Ago...
"Iris, I think you already cleaned the whole house." Maria said.
Five-year-old Iris didn't listen to her mother and continued with her sweeping. She has been cleaning since that morning, she dusted the shelves, the table, swept the floor, and scrubbed them, and now she was sweeping again.
Maria slightly frowned at her daughter's actions, this was what Iris would do twice a month, she would sweep, scrub, dust, clean every corner of the house, just for those two specific days. At first Maria thought that it was just Iris lending her a hand with the cleaning, but after a few months of noticing the pattern, she realized why her daughter was making such an effort in cleaning.
"I'm almost done..." Iris said.
A knock at the door caught Iris and Maria's attention. Turning to the door, Iris felt her heart race.
I'm not yet done!
Maria went to answer the door and invited the person inside. She frowned the whole time as she and the man entered her home.
"I came to give you this." Levi said, placing the bag of food, and the envelope with money on the table.
"Thank you, Levi." Maria said.
"Papa!" Iris went to her father's side. She was just finished with her sweeping and hid the broom at the corner. She was a bit dirty due to her cleaning, and a smudge of dirt was at her cheek. "Are you going to stay? Mama's going to make dinner, right Mama?"
Maria saw the hope in her daughter's eyes. She couldn't say no.
"Yeah... Levi, you should stay." Maria said, with begging eyes.
Levi sighed.
"I can't, Farlan, Isabel and I have a job to do." Levi said, turning away and heading to the door.
Iris looked down, hiding her teary eyes.
"Alright..."
Enraged, Maria followed after Levi, she closed the door just as he were to leave.
"Don't you fucking dare." Maria said in a harsh whisper.
"What?"
"Didn't you at least notice something different?" Maria asked. "Can't you at least give your daughter a few minutes of your time?!"
"I have to work, Maria." Levi said, looking away from her.
"You just finished a job!" Maria yelled.
Levi said nothing. He just stared in to Maria's furious eyes. What was he to say? He didn't want to intrude? That she should just think of her and Iris? That he didn't know this whole family thing works? That he still felt guilty on never reconciling with her after she told him that she was pregnant, that he didn't know his daughter and that he was afraid that he might do something wrong?
"I have to go." Levi said.
Maria didn't move.
"Maria..."
Finally having enough, she moved aside and lets him leave. Once the door was closed, Maria locked it, but she didn't let go of the door just yet. She was still furious and sad at the same time. She didn't know what to do.
"Maybe I missed a spot?" Iris spoke.
Maria turned to her daughter shocked. She saw Iris wiping her teary eyes, smudging the dirt at her face. Holding back tears, Maria went to her daughter and knelt before her, with the sleeve of her shirt, she wiped her daughter's face, clean.
"You did a great job, sweetheart." Maria said. "Papa just have so much to do... remember, he's not just working for himself and us, he has people to look after."
Iris nodded.
"Come on, why don't you help me with dinner?"
Outside, Levi leaned on the door, thinking about what his daughter and Maria said. He didn't understand why Maria would still try to defend him to Iris when all he does was act like a jerk to her. Cursing, Levi walked down the stairs and walked back to his house, the whole way, he was thinking about paying back the guilt he was feeling.
~*~
A Few Weeks Later...
"Your task is to get to get to the cabin at the other side of the mountain," The officer said. "This test will help with your endurance and strength – especially in cold weather, like this. There's no time limit, but you will be graded on how fast you could complete the task."
Iris remembered the words of the officer in her head. She knew the moment she heard the words "other side" and "mountain" she was going to hate the task, and she did. She didn't mind climbing mountains, she found it peaceful, but she hated climbing mountains when the snow was almost eating half of her leg.
I can't feel my feet!
"Here."
A sudden weight was lifted from her back, looking up, Iris saw Leon carrying her bag with one hand, and his at the other.
"What the hell are you doing?" Iris questioned, panting as she did.
"It's called helping out." Leon said. "Now come on, I don't think Captain Levi would appreciate if I let you die in the snow."
Iris glared at him, but she forced her legs to move and climb the mountain, keeping up with Leon and the others at the front. She hated it when Leon would use her father as a way to fuel her and get the job done, but it always worked.
"You freezing there, Reed?" Jean teased.
"Shut up, horse-face." Iris snapped.
"Leave her alone, Jean." Leon sighed as he placed himself between the two, acting as a barrier.
"Hey, I can see it!" Reiner spoke, pointing down at the cliff where a cabin was being lit by a bonfire. "Just a few more steps."
"I don't think I can take it anymore." Sasha panted.
"I wish there was some way to get there faster than climbing down this mountain." Connie sighed.
"I could push you off the cliff." Iris said.
"WITHOUT DYING!" Connie said.
"Come on guys, just a few more and we're done." Eren said.
"Someone's optimistic." Iris muttered.
"You should try it sometimes." Leon elbowed her lightly at the shoulder.
Iris hummed in amusement and elbowed Leon at the side.
"Ow!"
"Let's go." Iris said as she took her bag from his hold.
~*~
"Come on! The goal is right here!" the officer called.
Iris and Leon walked a few steps behind Eren and Mikasa. She glared at the female officer, who kept on yelling at them to hurry it up.
"Why don't you walk in the fucking snow." Iris muttered under her breath.
"They didn't become officers for nothing, Iris." Leon chuckled. "Come on, the fire's not that far."
"Nine hours and twelve minutes, not bad, considering the weather." The other officer said.
Iris settled by the fire, she brought her hands close to the fire and lets the heat melt her freezing fingers. Leon settled beside her and got warm as well.
"Thought we were gonna die out there." Eren said. "I never thought winter training would be this hard."
"Damn it, I can't feel my legs." Jean said.
"I wish they'd let us inside already." Iris said.
"I bet they're busy putting together a huge feast for us!" Sasha said.
"Yeah, that's exactly what they're doing." Leon, sarcastically, said.
"Hey!" Reiner came to the ground. "Krista is missing."
"She was sticking with Daz since he wasn't doing so well." Mikasa said.
"Daz isn't here, and so is Ymir." Reiner said.
"Maybe they're with the last squad." Marco suggested.
"It's impossible. The last squad was led by Thomas, and they never saw those three."
"You don't think... they got lost?" Armin said.
"They don't stand a chance if they're stuck in this blizzard." Iris said.
"Shit!" Eren said. He got up from the ground, about to leave, but Mikasa stopped him. "I'm going back and look for them!"
"Me too!" Marco said.
"Then you'll all be goners." Iris said, as she stood from her place, "You've barely rested, if you go out there, you'll be as good as dead."
"SO, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET THEM DIE?!"
"Everyone, get in the cabin!" The officers called.
"But what about Krista and –"
"We'll send a rescue team first thing in the morning." The officer said.
"Then it'll be too late!"
"We won't make any more victims! We'll send a search party tomorrow morning." The officer said.
A cold, strong wind blew, snuffing off the fire. Iris saw Eren look at her then at the ground.
"Shit..."
~*~
Iris lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep as her other squad members were busy talking about causing trouble, again.
"It's better if you guys don't come along." She heard Eren said. "Like our instructor said, you'll only end up becoming more victims."
"I'm going so that doesn't happen." Mikasa said.
"I'm not leaving Krista and the others." Armin said.
She heard Sasha grab her own things, sighing, Iris got from her bed and reached for her boots.
"IRIS!" Sasha exclaimed, shocked when the girl jumped from her bed at the top bunk and landed on the floor beside her. "What are you doing up?"
"I should be asking you that." Iris said, grabbing her coat, and bag. She opened the door of their dorm and found Reiner and Bertholdt in their snow gear. "Well, this is a surprise."
"What are you guys doing up?" Eren glared at her.
"If you're planning on doing something stupid, the least you could do is not get caught." Iris spoke, catching the three's attention. .
"If you're here to stop me, don't." Eren said.
"You're gonna need a lot more gear than that." Berthold said.
"Huh?" Eren said.
"If you go by yourself, you'll be in the same pickle as Krista." Reiner said.
"Well, he's not going alone." Iris said, putting her hands on her hips.
Reiner smirked and patted Iris at the head, "Yeah, I don't think you'd do any good as well."
Iris swatted his hand away and glared at him.
"Bastard." Iris muttered.
"In a search, the more eyes, the better." Berthold said.
"Thank you, we'll really need you..." Eren said.
"Hey, we're coming too."
Turning, Iris saw Connie, Marco and Leon standing by the door in full gear.
"Did you really think I'd let you leave me here?" Leon teasingly smirked as he knocked on Iris' head.
"We can do this, guys!" Sasha said. "I brought extra rations."
"You mean, stole some extra rations." Leon said.
Before they could even leave, an unusual sound came from the outside.
"What was that sound just now?" Armin asked.
Running outside, the group looked at the horizon to find what it was they heard. Iris kept her hood up to keep her eyes from freezing as she looked out for anything that caused that sound –
"There's someone out there!" Sasha yelled.
"What is it, Sasha?" Leon asked.
"I... I think it's one of ours!"
"Let's go, it might be them!" Connie said.
"It's gotta be them!" Marco said and ran to help. Leon followed after them.
As it turned out, it was Ymir, and in the bag that she was dragging was Daz. Armin called for the officers and told them of the situation, they immediately brought Daz to the medical bay to be taken care of, they were also going to help Ymir, but the girl didn't seem to be in need of it. Not long, the officers had them all back to their cabins to rest, and promised to take care of their comrades. Iris walked back inside, with Mikasa and Sasha. She laid down on her bed – at the top bunk – and stared at the ceiling, she listened to the strong winds that was causing the creaks at the cabin. She closed her eyes and forces herself to sleep. They had a long day tomorrow.
~*~
Levi lay quietly on his bed, his eyes fixed at the ceiling. The strong winter's wind did not help him with finding peace to fall asleep. Out of instinct, he reached for the necklace he always wore, feeling the cold stone in his fingers, letting memories of his deceased lover come to him.
He woke at the sudden shift in the bed, turning to his side, he saw a red head sleeping beside him. Memories of that night came to him, it wasn't his first time nor was it hers, but it was the first time that he felt something... it was different. He reached for Maria's face and softly tucked a strand of her red hair to the back of her ear.
As cliché as it sounded, but she as different... literally, she was different from all the women he met in the Underground. She wasn't from there, it was obvious in her appearance, her beauty, her intelligence...
"Levi..." Maria spoke.
Levi sighed at the memory. He wished to go back to that time and just stay there and not leave just as he did when she spoke his name.
I'm so sorry, Maria...
Seeing that the blizzard was not going to get any better, Levi closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep, hoping to dream of his Maria.