Freedom: Levi Fanfiction

| Confrontation

16

Another sigh left her mouth when she entered her home. She and Levi already had enough of playfully arguing like children. Iris was sure Levi had gone back to the headquarters. She was conflicted. Should she trust Erwin again? Even if he was worried, why couldn't he just talk to her personally? Thinking about it gave her a giant headache.

Carla welcomed her back, only to raise a brow after seeing there was nothing in her hand. "Iris. Where's the flour?"

Eh? 

Crap. She forgot. "T-the store owner said they ran out of stock," Iris laughed awkwardly and avoided her mother's piercing gaze. Crossing her arms, Carla walked toward her and immediately got a whiff of the strong alcohol scent. 

        "Have you been drinking?! I cannot believe you right now!" She frowned, disappointed at her step-daughter's choices. Iris reeked of alcohol and that alone was surprising and shocking enough. Carla placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "We won't have any dessert for today. Seriously, what's gotten into your head?!"

See that's the thing, Iris didn't know what's gotten into her head. Her lips pulled into a pout as she apologized, hugging her mother. "Sorry, Mother. I was just too stressed." She rested her chin on Carla's shoulder. The sweet gesture made her look past everything and smile.

          "I can't do anything about you anymore. You're too hard-headed that I'm starting to think that's where Eren got it from!" Iris grinned awkwardly, not arguing with what Carla said.

The two looked around when the door opened, catching their attention. It was Grisha and he finally arrived from his trip. Iris always noticed the same look on his face: exhaustion and sadness. She wasn't sure if it was because of his monthly trips as a doctor but his eyes were always tired. 

         "Welcome home, father." Iris greeted and her face was serious. She thought about what Levi said earlier, could there be something that Grisha wasn't telling her? The ends of his lips curved slightly, placing his briefcase down before he enveloped his wife into a hug. 

         "Let's eat, dear. Iris and I cooked dinner. We were supposed to have dessert but a certain someone forgot to buy flour." Carla smiled teasingly. Soon enough, all of them were seated at the dinner table. Eren and Mikasa sat together, their faces tired even after waking up from an hour-long nap. The silence in the air was astonishing; no one spoke a word or two. 

Iris cleared her throat and looked at Grisha. Their utensils clicked awkwardly between each second. "Can I ask you something, father?" He stopped in his tracks while everyone looked at her. 

         "My friend told me something. Those who are found outside the walls are put under arrest for quite a while. Is that true?" 

He stared blankly at her, hesitating. "Not sure." Grisha continued to stuff his mouth in silence while Iris watched in confusion. "Though I'm sure they wouldn't arrest a fifteen-year-old."

         "But what about my parents?" He and his wife stopped. It's been a long time since Iris had mentioned her real parents to them. Grisha pursed his lips together, his patience slowly running out. 

        "I don't know, Iris."

She insisted. There was something off about it-- living life outside of Wall Maria, that is. The more she pondered about it, the weirder she thought it was. "Did they know about Paradis? Why couldn't we just live here from the start?"