"She's No Tiger, Mr. Reinhardt."written by Ken Aurborum Giovanni
If it was one thing Annie hated, it was walking to work, at night, in 40 degree weather. Her bus pass cost her a fraction of what she would spend on gas a month but therein lies the problem of public transportation. Cheap but incredibly unreliable at times when you need them most (much like that cheap Chinese pistol which took her uncle's thumb off, but that was another story). The bus had missed her by seconds and the next one would be an hour before it came by, so Annie decided to trek the 1 ½ miles to work.
Annie cursed her luck as she strolled down the main street, trundling grudgingly to another night shift that was sure to be boring and a major waste of time due to the lack of customers (and therefore: tips). She reached inside her canvas messenger bag and retrieved a pack of cigarettes and her lighter. She tapped the butt against the flat of her lighter to pack it down, when she deemed it decent enough, she placed the cigarette into her mouth and opened her lighter with a satisfying clink. She struck the wheel against the flint and lit her cig unevenly. The partial cherry then fell and burned a small hole in her favorite white hoodie.
"Goddammit…of all the days shitty days I've had this week this has to be the shittiest…" Muttered Annie angrily.
Annie lit another cigarette properly and took a nice slow drag, bringing the smoke deep down into her lungs. She closed her eyes and let the nicotine flow through her synapses. She felt more awake after that, less shitty (but only by a fraction less).
After a few more minutes of walking she can to the back entrance of the small café she worked. She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples. Not only did she detest her job because of all the customers who made every single complaint possible, her co-workers (though she would admit there was a certain comradery between them) were (to quote her) "more annoying than a splinter under your finger nail".
She knocked on the door and in a few seconds a young man with brown hair and soft green eyes opened the door.
"Hey Annie! You alright?" Bert asked, holding the door open for her.
"Shut up fubar…" She muttered, walking past the poor boy who had no idea what he'd done to make her this angry this early into her shift.
To Annie's annoyance there were instrument cases littered everywhere in the already tiny break room, making it hard for her to store her possessions in her locker.
She pulled her black waist apron from her bag and tied it around her waist. Then she took her nametag off of the magnetic board and snapped it onto the upper right corner of her shirt.
She maneuvered her way out of the cramped room and over to a wall mounted time card machine to clock in.
"Oy! You're late!" Reiner yelled after her as she passed the counter.
"Not my fault! The damn bus was the one who messed up!" Retorted Annie.
"Hmph! Alright…get your ass on trash duty, there aren't any customers anyway." Snorted Reiner, failing to see Annie roll her eyes at him.
Annie sighed heavily as she heaved the customer area trash bag out of its can. She then proceeded to trash can in the kitchen (which was twice as heavy), all the while cursing Reiner.
After she was done, she made herself a cup of black coffee and stood behind the cash register. She slowly sipped on it savoring utter bitterness and kick it provided. She sat there in piece for a good ten minutes until a group of 5 people waltzed right into the café. They paid no mind to Annie…well all except for one. A short (but still taller than her) young man with shoulder length blond hair, lovely blue eyes, and a beautiful boyish face ever so slightly nodded and shot her a wide smile. At first she paid no mind, but that would soon change.
"Hey Rein!" A boy with black hair and freckles shouted over at the counter.
"Hey Brother! How'd it go?" Asked Reiner as he shook Marco's hand.
"Good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" Marco asked.
"Give me the good."
"We've got about 20 people coming over, but they're heading over here right now. I know you guys still have to prep and all that, but we might have to start early." Marco replied with a slight chuckle.
"No problem, we got this." Reiner said with a smile.
"Cool! We're just going to setup in the back." Marco told him, walking away to rejoin his band mates.
"Alright kid, be prepared for a rush, this is gonna be big." Reiner yelled across to Annie.
Just as Reiner finished a swarm of people flooded through the door and right to the cash register. Annie was slightly taken by surprise but she did her duty and filled each customers order one by one. After about 7 customers the band in the back finally emerged with 2 guitarist, a violinist, a trumpet, and a clarinet.
As the band walked out, the 20+ people in the small café cheered loudly, some even daring enough to wolf whistle at the young blonde on the clarinet (who Annie did admit, was quite beautiful).
The Band set up in a small cleared out space and tuned their instruments.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Said the young man on the violin, cutting off the applause and chatter.
"My name is Marco Bott and these are my 'band of brothers'…and sister: Jean Kirstein and Armin Arlert on guitar...Eren Jaeger on trumpet...and last but not least, Christa Renz on clarinet. She also does a beautiful Edith Piaf and she's single!" Large cheers followed each introduction, but somehow Christa's seemed just a tad louder than everyone elses'.
Armin stood up and began to speak. "Alright everybody! To kick tonight off, we're going to start with a French classic for a guitar duet and vocals. It's a small tune called Les Copain D'abord, celebrating friends old and new!" He said raising a hand to Reiner and Bert behind the counter.
Armin started off with the beginning riff while Jean played harmony. Then Armin began to sing.
Non, ce n'était pas le radeau
De la Méduse, ce bateau
Qu'on se le dise au fond des ports
Dise au fond des ports
Il naviguait en pèr' peinard
Sur la grand-mare des canards
Et s'app'lait les Copains d'abord
Les Copains d'abord
Annie at that time was still wrangling with the large line of customers, but she liked what she heard. They definitely not some hacks you picked up off the internet, or a bunch of hipsters holding instruments, they were the real deal…but she would have time to enjoy the music later.
The line dissipated only after the band had finished their first set (which ended with a swing remix of Fur Elise, which coerced a tiny small from Annie).
"Take 15. You've earned it." Bert said
Annie nodded and took her break. She walked past the crowd and the band to go to the patio tables. She took her cigarettes and packed one down, and then she reached for her lighter which seemed to be running out of fluid.
"Shit…" Annie cursed.
"Here." Armin appeared right by her side and pulled out his own lighter.
"Thanks." Annie Said flatly.
She was mildly surprised…she hadn't heard the door open, nor his footsteps. Annie gave him a thorough scan, starting from his black patent leather shoes, moving up to his black suspenders and white dress shirt, then finally lingering just a tad longer on his face.
"You left the door open…" Armin said timidly.
"What?" Annie asked, not knowing what he was talking about.
"You looked a bit surprised when you saw me...the door was open so you probably never heard the hinges creak…" Armin said with a slight nervous chuckle.
"Oh…" Replied Annie, staring off into the quiet, nearly deserted street.
"How are you liking the music?" Armin asked, taking a seat next to Annie.
"I'm pleasantly surprised. You sang George Brassens." Annie said giving Armin the slightest of smiles.
"Surprised somebody got that! It's Armin...by the way…" Armin extended his hand as if to shake Annie's.
"Annie Leonhardt." Annie returned the gesture and reached for his hand, only to be taken by surprise as he kissed the back of her hand. The touch seemed to burn where it landed, highly contrasted with the cold weather. Now it was Annie's turn to blush.
"Sprechen sie Deutsch, meine Liebe?" Armin asked.
"Uhh…" Annie said, face slightly reddening.
"Non? Peut-être que votre nom pourrait être Français…" Armin trailed off with a slight but innocent smile.
"Non, je ne parle pas allemand, mais mon nom de famille est française, meine liebe plutôt, jolie fille." Annie smiled back.
"I...uh…" Armin reddened. She completely understood what he had said…
"Do you try to impress all the girls like that?" Annie said, who surprised herself as Armin's facial expression coerced laugh from her.
"Never to impress, mon cher, only to entertain." Armin replied with a smile.
The cold was seeping through Annie's hoodie and she was starting to show it. Her teeth chattered slightly while taking a drag from her cigarette.
"Here. I can't allow my garçon to catch a cold." Armin took his coat off the post it was hanging on and draped it around Annie's shivering form, failing to see her face redden as he did so.
"Hey Armin! You can talk with your girlfriend later! We're on!" Shouted Jean from the entrance of the cafe.
"Till we meet again, my dear." Armin said with a curt nod as he turned on his heels and went back to the stage.
Annie couldn't help but feel comfortable in the man's coat. Firstly it was too big on her, blanketing the entirety of her upper body, secondly it was still a bit warm, and thirdly it smelled like good whiskey and tobacco leaves. The barrage of warmth and scent and sensation made Annie feel something she hadn't felt in her adult life...Loved…
But that was stupid...he probably just thought she was cute (which she couldn't believe because people simply did not find her attractive) and wanted to hit on her. That was it...she would go with that…Besides his coat smells like whisky...he probably had the biggest set of beer goggles possible.
Annie enjoyed it nonetheless. The warmth and the nicotine worked wonders in incredibly cold weather. Annie took a little bit longer to finish her cigarette than usual but she knew she would have to go back eventually, so she did, though she might have been 5 minutes late heading back from her break. Annie Navigated through the crowded tables. It was now Christa who was singing while the others played back up, her clarinet hanging from her neck via a thin leather strap. True to Marco's word, she sang Edith Piaf like an angel...Annie would have proposed right then and there if it weren't for the blonde guitarist clearly enjoying himself.
"Hey! Pipsqueak!" Reiner called from behind the counter.
"Take the night off! We'll pay you full time but you're off the clock." Reiner was now slowly swaying to Christa's rendition of La Vie En Rose.
"So what...do I just go home now?" Annie asked a bit bewildered.
"Ideally you'd return that coat first, but you can go home now if you'd like." Bert said from the kitchen.
Annie Blushed a little at the thought of facing Armin again.
"I think I'll stick around for a little while…" Annie decided, walking towards a table in the corner, still having a good view of the band.
"Coffee's on the house." Called Bert as Annie went back to "join the crowd".
"Ladies and Gentlemen. This next song is for all you swing kids out there. Now we may not have a full jazz orchestra but we do have a virtuosic clarinet player!",Jean finished while Christa raised her hand to the applause, "Here is Sing Sing Sing!"
"1. 2 . 3. 4!" Eren called out the cadence before Jean and Armin started drumming on their classical guitars.
It was an absolute riot. The crowd had cleared a space in front of the leveled stage and started dancing with each other, partners being a jumble of gender combinations and varying degrees of swing. Even Christa was putting on a good show as she nailed every single clarinet solo. Then the unexpected happened. Armin stopped playing and set his guitar down. The crowd gave him some leeway and he shot straight for a corner of the cafe. He found Annie with a bewildered expression on her face.
"You owe me for the coat!" Armin yelled over the music.
"What!? No! I don't dance!" Annie yelled back.
But it didn't matter. Armin Dragged her to the dance floor where everybody stopped dancing and made space for the 2 blondes. Armin took his coat off Annie and hung it behind the nearest chair. All eyes were on them now. It was funny. Any other guy would have earned a substantial wallop to the face and a kick to the groin if they even dared to drag Annie like that...but not Armin...she was dancing the swing with him...the crowds jeering, cheers, and whistles were testament enough...this was real...and Annie was actually having fun.
The song ended with a big finish and her dance ended with a magnificent spin and graceful catch, her apron perfectly mimicking the movements of a dress.
"You did amazing." Armin whispered in her ear.
She was breathless.
"Annie Leonhardt, everybody!" Armin Said Raising their held hands in the air, taking a bow together afterwards.
Someone in the crowd immediately started chanting "beso!" and pretty soon the whole crowd was chanting for a kiss between the 2.
"What!? I...but…wait!" Annie spluttered, getting as pink as can be. She looked over at Armin who was equally as flushed as her.
Even the band started chanting, much to Armin's dismay, and Annie swore she saw Reiner and Bert fighting back fits of laughter out of the corner of her eye.
When Armin signaled for them to quiet down, there was a collected "awwwww!" of disappointment. Armin sat Annie down on a table closest to the front where his coat hung.
"Enjoy the show." Armin whispered as he went to go sit back down next to Jean.
"Alrighty, guys...our second to last song for the night is a bit sadder than the rest of our repertoire. It's a song for all those brave men and women serving in the armed forces and for my cousin Thomas, who just this week was sent back home for burial. Cheers everybody…" Marco raised his glass and a solemn applause followed.
"Alright, give us the note Christa." Christa played a straight tone followed by a slight pause. then they began to sing in A Capella.
Heel y'ho boys, let her go, boys
Bring her head round now all together
Heel y'ho boys, let her go boys
Sailing homeward to Mingulay!
To Annie's surprise half of the crowd knew the song and started singing along. It was a sad but hopeful song...it was about going home...going to the people you love...surviving the strife of life. To her surprise Annie felt a slight tug in the pit of her stomach.
She sat there admiring their harmony and she eventually picked up on the chorus and sang along whenever it passed. When the song finally ended, some people in the crowd had tears streaming down their eyes, others were sniffling, some had puffy eyes which they vigorously rubbed. Even Annie felt the slight sting of tears.
"This song is for all the addicts...the booze hounds...and the thrill seeking adrenaline junkies, who've all found the one person they're addicted to more so than any drug, any liquor, or any fall. Armin, brother, take it away." Eren relinquished the attention of the crowd, bringing all attention on Armin.
My story is much too sad to be told,
But practically everything leaves me totally cold.
The exception I know is the case
When I'm out on a quiet spree,
Fighting vainly the old ennui,
And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face.
I get no kick from champagne.
Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all.
So tell me why should it be true
That I get a kick out of you?
Some, they may go for cocaine.
I'm sure that if I took even one sniff
It would bore me terrifically, too.
Yet I get a kick out of you.
I get a kick every time I see
You standing there before me.
I get a kick though it's clear to see
You obviously do not adore me.
I get no kick in a plane.
Flying too high with some gal in the sky
Is my idea of nothing to do.
Yet I get a kick - um you give me a boot - I get a kick out of you.
Annie had the faintest idea that Armin might have been singing about her. Annie got up and left taking Armin's coat with her. She shot him a glance as if to say: "You'll have to come get me if you want it back." to which Armin only responded too with a blush.
That night Annie walked home from work with a smile on her face feeling warmer than the sun.
A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed my little fic about my favorite blondes in all of SnK! The title was inspired by no other than Mr. Django Reinhardt whose song "Django's Tiger" was stuck in my head the whole day.
So this fic was written with you listening to the songs in mind! (Just like a movie soundtrack! cool right?)
So here is the playlist:
Les Copain D'abord by Georges Brassens
For Lisa by Brian Setzer and his Orchestra
La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf
Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman
Mingulay Boat Song
I Get a Kick Out of You by Frank Sinatra.
As Always Reviews are always appreciated and I will shine your dress shoes for a month if you do!