Author's Note: Hello everybody! This is a new story and I hope you like it. If there is any bad grammar or misspelt words, please feel free to correct me. I know things may look as if they are going slow at the moment but never fear, things will pick up, I promise! I got this idea on a mashup in my brain of Newsies, Billy Elliot and Les Miserables. Enjoy!
Warnings: Rated T for bad language. There may be the mention of an odd pairing or two but it is definitely not a central focus of the story. Another kind of warning, I am taking my A levels so therefore updates may be inconsistent so please be patient! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of it's characters this is purely a work of fan fiction.
Summary: Chaos hits the Survey Corps when the Government of Wall Sina cut the wages of the soldiers under the Wings of Freedom. Eren and his friends must not only fight for their rights as soldiers but also fight for the respect of the people within the walls. Will they succeed or end up a homeless and jobless snack for the titans?
The Dignity of a Soldier
"Jean! For fucks sake get out the way. Your hair looks shit either way!"
"Keep talking Jaeger, you'd pay to look this good!"
The life of a soldier was not a particularly glamorous existence by any means, however, Eren supposed he was just used to the quite frankly rambunctious nature of military life by now. Beginning at the tender age of thirteen he almost can't remember a time he wasn't in the military. Unfortunately, that had made him blind to all the things people normally found unacceptable. Whether it be mud, blood or sweat it really wasn't an issue any more. However, despite this, there was one place he could still admit to being an absolute atrocity. The collective features of foul language, foul odours and foul clothes all came together in a place of sick, sick harmony. The boy's bathrooms. When you've been around the same people for the however many years of your life you get to know a person fairly intimately, especially when you're very quickly forced to share everything. Eren had witnessed his comrades go from boys to men with more and more places in the shower room becoming empty with each expedition returning. This day, however, the bathroom was empty at six O' clock in the morning, which was a ridiculously unusual occurrence. Not one that should have even happened in the first place. Soldiers usually wake at the crack of dawn and Eren could still hear Keith Shadis' booming voice in his head telling him to get his ass out of bed. Eren could think about how well he knew the men around him but some things never changed even from his time with Shadis and basic training. There was a strict unwritten code of who did what. Jean always shut the windows before bed, Armin blew out the candles and Eren himself mopped the floors. There was only one fatal flaw in the plan that would otherwise work like clockwork. Connie Springer. Whoever the bloody hell let Connie Springer inadvertently take charge of wake up for all these years wanted them all dead. Today in particular it would deem rather costly. Why? Today was the day Corporal Levi wanted them up and about at five in the morning for his new cleaning rota…and here they are an hour later sound asleep. Upon awakening they had leapt into action the moment they saw the sun dial as they knew the only reason Corporal Levi hadn't come up to wake them as rudely as possible was to beat them more when they finally came down to breakfast.
The men all made their way through the ancient castle that created the comfortable base of the Survey Corps. Well, as comfortable as it can be with holes in the walls and creepy old paintings. They walked, Connie still with a toothbrush half hanging out his mouth, and Armin's hair sticking out in every direction. When they made their way through the twisting and winding corridors to the kitchen they weren't any more awake than when they had first woken up. The girls had been on kitchen duty this week. It was honestly sad how much more organized they were compared to them. They looked somewhat akin to humans even at this ridiculous time in the morning. Eren scanned the boys briefly and then the girls. The girls all had clean hair and undershirts, chatting idly and laughing with each other. The boys on the other hand were truly baring a resemblance to the titans that was far too creepy for Eren's liking. As they each grabbed a bowl the girls served them food with a joke about their appearance and they made their way towards the connecting door to the dining room.
Upon entering the dining room, the usual noise of the other Survey Corps soldiers went silent at their presence and an uneasy aura made itself known. Eren wondered why for a moment but his question was answered when his gaze drifted to the top table. Corporal Levi was cold, hard staring at them. There was nothing behind his eyes, not even the tiniest flicker of emotion, not even anger or irritation. It was like staring into the eyes of a starving wild animal who had just found easy prey. That's when the male members of 104th squad knew they had majorly screwed up.
Levi pushed his chair backwards to stand, the scraping noise deafening in the silence, as were his footsteps. He approached the boys slowly but his aura radiated murder. He stopped just in front of Armin and his poor friend's eyes went wide with fear. Yes, the man was short but damn was he intimidating.
"What time do you call this?" Levi spoke in a calm voice but that just unnerved them more so. Eren knew a false sense of security when he felt one. When no one went to reply the silence was once again deafening. Levi raised an eyebrow before turning to Hanji at the head of the table.
"You still need to feed your pets don't you? Human flesh is ideal, yes?" Eren had never moved so fast in his life. The very real threat of being fed to Hanji's test titans making him feel physically ill. Connie dropped his bowl of food in the stampede which only made Levi scowl even more so than he had already.
"Someone clean that up".
Eren picked up his sanitation headscarf at the door to the courtyard and fell into the ranks already formed by his comrades. They chatted amongst themselves until Levi shut the door with a slam. It was cold outside as it was spring and everyone was desperate to get back into the warmth, but no one moved a muscle. They stood to attention while he addressed each soldier individually. He stared Connie in the face first.
"Springer, I want this courtyard so clean that even the bullshit of the Military Police would slide right off it. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Sir" came the reply. Levi's little metaphors never got old, they were just part of what made Levi the person he is. All the soldiers accepted this. As Connie scurried off for the mop bucket Levi gave Armin his task.
"You're a bookworm. I want the library to look like Hanji had never been in there"
"Yes, Sir" once again, the reply was automatic. Drilled into you at basic training, Eren was sure that someone could ask him anything at this point of his life and on and he would reply with 'yes, Sir'.
"Kirstein, horses seem like your forte. Stables, now" Eren cursed himself momentarily. Why was everything funnier when you're not allowed to laugh?! There was a fleeting moment of hope where Eren thought Levi had not heard his chuckle. Why did he even hope any more? Levi's head snapped around at the sound, his gunmetal eyes piercing almost as if he could burn a hole through his skull.
"Was something funny, Jaeger?" As Eren looked down to meet Levi's stare he was reminded of just how much his relationship with his corporal had changed over the years. Fear and hero worship turned to mutual respect and actually being able to talk about their days and mundane things like that. But at moments like this he was reduced to his quivering teenaged self again. As if they had never been able to see eye- to- eye… in this case quite literally.
"Depends how you look at it, sir." He could get away with being cheeky. They were grown adults after all.
"Do you want Jean to clean the stables or his own bunk? Can that be classed as a stable seeing as Jean and horses have an uncanny resemblance? You'll confuse the poor bastard." They spent a moment both staring at each other and Eren wondered whether he'd be punched for his back talk. He knew all was okay when the smallest of laughs peeked through the corporal's lips, confirming that Eren was also okay to laugh softly.
"Just get to work on the dungeon, Jaeger. Don't think you're being let off because I find your comments mildly amusing" Eren smiled and nodded before getting to work on the dungeon that served as his old sleeping quarters.
Eren taught himself to like cleaning. They did it often enough and it wasn't like mandatory physical training. There was something about a mindless task that somewhat soothed his often rampant brain. The repetitive motion allowing him to be with his own thoughts for a while. He remembered when he used to sleep here. It was cold and dark and smelt a bit like mildew. Eren had been so happy to move out of it when he had proved his control. As far as life in the Corps went he was actually fairly happy. He got along with his comrades the majority of the time, he had won over his superiors and shared great moments with them. Hanji had almost wet herself laughing when Sasha had decided to braid Armin's hair. Eren smiled at the memory. He had finished just over half the room when he began to hear commotion upstairs. Screaming, shouting, and swearing. For a minute he had thought one of Hanji's titans had escaped. He popped his head out the wooden doors leading to the courtyard. Since he was cleaning the dungeon there were steps leading from the outside going underground, like a pantry would. He made his way through the crowds to see Mikasa with a shocked expression gracing her features. He placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, she turned to face him.
"What's going on?" Eren shouted over the other soldiers. Mikasa did not reply, just held a finger out towards the commander. Through the chaos Eren could just about see Erwin was standing on a nearby log holding a small telegram in his hand, trying to get his soldiers to calm themselves down. When he managed to silence everyone with a sharp whistle he glanced at the telegram and then back to the soldiers and sighed deeply.
"Yes, it's true. The Wall Sina government have cut our wages. We are no longer being paid" There were more cries out outrage. No way in hell was anyone fighting titans for free. That money went to feed families.
"Our wages are now going to fund the Sina festival". Anger stirred within Eren and he made a promise to himself there and then. No rich man would have the money he worked hard for, no Lord or Lady would dine on food bought with his wages, and most importantly, if the Big- Wigs wanted their pay, they were going to have to fight for it.