The day for Eren begins very early.

So early that the sun hasn't come out.

He rolls off the blanket he and Mikasa use as a bed and pulls on his thin clothes, pants, shirt, what used to be a jacket and by now hs been turned into a vest, and a pair of shoes.

The fact that he has a pair of shoes to call his own is something the other newsies envy.

Eren kept his trumpet a secret, otherwise it'll get stolen in no time. Mikasa rolled over with a groan, she's always been able to wake up at the drop of a hat regardless of how quiet Eren was being in the mornings, "Eren, you're leaving for the newspapers' place already?"

"Mikasa it's 6, the place opens at 7 and I need to be at my corner no later than 7:30 at the latest." Eren got lucky in his corner of choice, it helped that he was nearly an adult to get preffered treatment. She was silent at that and Eren took that opportunity to pull out the trumpet case he kept nearby in their shabby little room the pair of them called home. "Could you do me a favor later on today?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"I need you to take this to a barber shop that's on the corner of Maria street and Stohess. It has a french name, you can't miss it." He patted the case fondly, thinking about the regular use it's going to get soon. Being a newsie was better than nothing, but not by much.

Mikasa was silent a moment, sitting up on their bed watching him. "This is about last night, isn't it?" Her words brought him back to when he crept in later than usual, Mikasa sitting up waiting for him to come back. He couldn't hide anything from her even if he tried, she'd see right through any poorly constructed lie he tried to tell her, though he did try to play down that what he was doing was technically illegal.

"Yeah."

"...You're sure you want to do this."

Eren paused a moment, wondering if she was trying to warn him about something or if this was just Mikasa being over protective as per the norm. "Yes," He answered after his moment. "I'm sure."

"Alright, I'll take your trumpet there." Eren smiled to her and stood up, grabbing his cap and placing it over his mess of an excuse for hair. By now he was unsure if his hair was always this shade of brown or if it was all the dust, dirt, and other things floating around in the air to make it that color.

"Well I'm off! See you whenever I get back tonight."

"Are you going straight after your job?"

"Yeah, don't wait up for me okay? I don't know how long I'll be there."

"...Eren should I go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine, stop worrying about me. I'm not your little brother Mikasa." Honestly why he had to have this conversation with her every time he tried doing something new was beyond him.

She was quiet, and Eren had just turned away to head out the door when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned partway around to see Mikasa gripping the edge of his shirt, her eyes avoiding his. "Don't take wooden nickles, alright...?"

He was silent as he pulled his sleeve from her grip, of course he wasn't going to do anything stupid, Eren considered himself many things but a fool was not one of them. The city was quiet for this early in the morning, the street lamps had long since burned out and the shops had closed their doors. He was sure even Levi's place had shut down by now. A few other kids joined him as they went to the newspaper distributor, nodding silently along as they trumped their way along the streets, ignored by any would-be muggers, they were newsies, they were lucky to have made a single penny in the course of a day, no one bothered the newsies for change.

Some bothered Eren though, they quickly learned doing so was a bad idea. Mainly because Mikasa was usually somewhere near by watching out and if things got hairy she'd step in.

Eren hated it every single time she did that, he'd be called a piker or a nanny or some other such thing. Until, of course, Mikasa would lay them out.

By the time Eren and the few other kids got to the papers a crowd of kids had already gathered, Eren was still the eldest at 19 years of age. Another job was necessary, he couldn't keep being a newsie for the rest of his life, it grated on his nerves every time he saw the sneer from their boss's face when he came into view. He grabbed his stack of papers, reading the headline and a few of the other minor stories to see which ones he could talk about during his day-long shift.

Another successful raid the other day, an officer got shot, stuff about sports, guests at the White House, nothing major but still decent enough to work with. Eren trotted off with his stack of papers down to his corner, his because he's the oldest and, if he needs to, can easily force the other kids out of his turf. A few people were headed out already to open up their own shops, but it was too soon to actually start yet, they wouldn't be interested. A bit of a crowd first, not much, but more than just people who look like they could use another hour of sleep.

Finally the sun crested over the roofs of the buildings, glinting off the windows on the other side of the street, and Eren got his voice ready. The first people out where the Business folks, the ones off to whatever firm or branch they were apart of and he called out figures from the business section, a few headlines that had to do with the news that happened just the previous night, and by the end of the first "rush" as he called them he had made about 15 cents. A steady trickle of people came even after the rushes, there was always someone around who wanted a newspaper even if they didn't want to read it. Hell sometimes they couldn't even read it but there they were, sitting around looking at the words as if for all the world they meant anything.

The second rush came around noon, for the lunch hour and the late comers just starting the day, the streets were heavy with people and cars choking the air of its oxygen but he yelled over the din anyway. Eren stuck to sports calls about how the Pirates are looking great and might even get into the World Series this year, the officer getting shot went over pretty well; it was always a good day for the newsies when someone got shot, and other such headlines. Another 20 cents to pocket, at this rate he might actually have some money left over for himself and Mikasa.

Speaking of her Eren's mind wandered toward her, remembering how he had asked her to drop off his trumpet and that he hoped she didn't run into trouble or that Levi wasn't giving her a hard time. Maybe that other woman, Petra, was there and had taken care of it.

Eren shook his head to get rid of those thoughts, he didn't have time to waste he still had another thirty papers to sell.

Evening rush came, the last stretch before maybe going into the night to sell the rest of his papers should he need to.

A man came up to Eren, already shouting out other headlines from the other day, the police raid, that bull getting shot, the White House thing, and asked for a paper. Eren thanked him heartily, tipping his hat to the blond man as he was paid his penny for the paper. Eren felt a separate coin in the mix and found a nickel alongside the penny, he looked up to see where the man had gone but he had already disappeared into the streets. Odd enough by itself, he was tall enough he could have stood out nearly anywhere. By the end of the day he had made a solid 50 cents worth of papers and tips and so long as nothing weird happened during the day he'd get to keep at the most two pennies. More than could have been said yesterday, yesterday he just barely managed to break even with the newspaper distribution.

Eren filed back to the building with the other newsies, a few unfortunate saps walked back with papers in hand; they must be new, you never walked back with unsold papers. You chose a new corner, stood outside, and sold until they were gone.

Everyone's got to learn some time. He handed the money he made to the seller and was handed back a penny after all this math was done, a penny was a penny, and for Eren and his prospects it was nothing to sniff at.

But, his day was over, now he just needed to get to that barber shop and do his new night gig and maybe make a bit more money. Having a bit of fluff would definitely not be amiss.

He turned around, heading out from behind the buildings onto the street in the general direction of where he remembered that barber shop being. He remembered how to get there from his usual hangout with his trumpet so it wouldn't be too hard to figure out how to get there from here. Eren paused as he saw a familiar body in front of the newspaper distribution. "Petra?"

The woman turned around at the name, her face slightly confused but broke into a smile when she saw who it was that was calling her. "Eren!" She hurried over and clasped his arm. "There you are!"

"What are you doing here?" How did she even know where to look for him? He didn't say anything about what he did during the day when they last met, they didn't see each other at all today either.

"I came to pick you up for tonight. Levi asked me to, 'Go make sure that brat is spotless' is what he said." Petra nodded sagely, her voice dropping down into an octave that didn't fit in her range as she impersonated him. The look broke and she giggled, voice returning to normal. "So here I am."

"But... How did you know where I was..?" By now a few of the other kids had seen the pair of them and were whistling and shouting encouragements at the pair of them. Eren sighed and pulled Petra away from the gaggle of kids before anything else could be said, but not before one of them managed to shout over "Attaboy, Eren! Finally getting some cash eh?!"

Petra looked shocked at what was said and made a move to head back over to them, the boys whistled some more and scurried off, one shouting behind him "Good luck with your bearcat, Eren!" He sighed and glanced over to Petra who still had a rather scary look in her eye. She stared after them as they ran off, as if daring one of them to try and say anything else. Once they were out of sight the scary look faded and she turned back to smile at him. "Lets go, Eren."

Eren dumbly nodded and followed, allowing her to take the lead as they followed the streets. "So...How did you know where I was?"

"Your sister, Mikasa right?" Eren nodded, remembering what he had asked her to do this morning and thankful that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Stopped by earlier asking if she could leave your trumpet at the shop. That it apparently would be safer there?" She looked at him as if asking just how poorly did they live if it would be safer at an illegal bar than in an actual home, but didn't say anything. "I asked here where you would be tonight so I could prepare you and she told me to wait in front of that place."

Eren was silent as she spoke, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye looking at him with curiosity written on her face. "Is... Is there something on my face?" He finally asked. The look vanished, leaving one that Eren couldn't read in its place.

"Yes, Levi is pretty particular about cleanliness..." She looked off to one side with a more gentle expression and Eren wondered just what they were to each other. "Here." She reached into a handbag that had been strapped over her shoulder for a handkerchief, holding it out to him. "Wipe your face with this, it's got dust and dirt on it, make sure to wipe your hands as well." She paused for a moment, looking at him up and down as they turned a corner. "We really can't do much..." Petra sighed and waited for Eren to finish cleaning his face and hands as best he could.

"Ah, Miss Petra...?" He held the soiled handkerchief with some confusion, he knew he should offer to wash it, but funds being what they were he doubted that he'd manage to be able to afford soap after everything else was bought and the bills were payed.

"Oh, here, give that back, I'll take care of it." Petra showed no signs of exasperation at Eren's hesitation, plucking the piece of fabric out of his hands as they crossed the street together. "We're almost there, now remember, you don't ask questions, you're there to play your instrument." Eren nodded, already having figured as much from everything he's heard about speakeasies from the people on the street not speaking near as easy as they should have been. They turned the final corner to see the shop, Levi sweeping up clippings from the last person who was just leaving, Hanji thanking him for his patronage and taking whatever money was owed.

Hanji noticed them first, opening up the door for them as they approached with a smile. "Welcome back, Petra, Eren!"

"Evening, Zoe." Eren smiled to him, Petra said nothing but nodded in greeting and headed in first. Hanji waited until Eren was inside before letting the door fall shut.

"So what were you up to today?" He asked, his face strangely animated for being the end of the day.

"Busy," Eren confessed, trying to ignore the almost glare he was getting from Levi for daring to trod on his clean floor with dirt and dust and muck from the outside world.

"What do you do all day? Petra wouldn't say anything after your sister dropped off your trumpet. It's safe by the way, hidden away behind the curtain." Hanji smiled and nodded at his own ingenious hiding place.

Eren was conflicted with telling them just what he did, he knew being a newsie was a thing younger kids did to help out tight houses financially, but to be a newsie at his age was unheard of. It was an embarrassment to be a newsie at his age. "Ah..." Might as well be honest, there was no point in lying. "I sold newspapers on a street corner."

"As a..." Petra trailed off, why though? She probably could have guessed that that's what he did since he came from around the back of the building.

"Newsie. I'm a newsie."

"How old are you, again?" Levi spoke up for the first time since he entered.

"I'm nineteen, sir." Eren wasn't really sure why he called Levi sir, but it just fit he supposed.

"And you don't have a real job because...?"

"Well, sir, I go to the owners looking for help, I tell them my name, and they proceed to kick me out the door." That's happened often enough that Eren has really just stopped looking, why bother since he's got such a German name.

"What's your name, then?" Right, Hanji knew but the others didn't.

"Eren. Eren Jaeger." He knew they understood what that meant when Petra looked a bit shocked and Levi fell silent again. The only person who didn't seem surprised was Hanji.

"Well then, Eren Jaeger." Levi spoke again, breaking the silence. "Congratulations on your first real job. If you can call it that. Now go downstairs and get ready, we're opening soon. Hanji, show him." Hanji nodded and pulled Eren along into the back and behind the secret door before anything else could be said. Once downstairs Hanji let go of Eren's wrist to go behind the bar and pick up the trumpet case, leaving him to look around at what will be his place of operation for the foreseeable future. The few tables around the room had the chairs flipped over on top of them, the lights were dim from the sides of the room, and the bar seemed to have only a small selection of alcohol.

"I always thought speakeasies were bigger..." Eren muttered as he gazed at the rather tiny room, comparing it to the rather grandiose version he'd imagined it to look like.

"So did I, but according to Levi that whole 'huge underground speakeasies with a full band and excellent bar' thing is a gang myth." Hanji nodded, understanding what Eren had meant.

"Gang myth...?" What did Levi know about gangs?

"Yeah, here you are, Eren." Hanji smiled and turned over the case to him, which he gladly took, happy for a chance to get away from the conversation. Eren hadn't realized how anxious he'd been feeling about his trumpet being some place new until he actually held the familiar case and felt the weight in his arms again. He went back to the stage, sitting on the edge of the two-foot wide space and opened his case, the yellow metal of the trumpet gleaming out at him in a surprising amount of cleanliness, did Levi clean his instrument?

Probably, he probably didn't want something so dirty being shown in his joint. Well whatever, Eren picked it up, drumming the tabs with his fingers as he ran his tongue over his lips and put the mouth piece to them. He blew through it softly, getting his lungs back into the habit of his breathing technique. After a few moments of breathing he played a song Mikasa often enjoyed to hear. It didn't have a title, since he had made it up on the spot and even now it was still ad libbed or embellished in some way. But it had a more gentle sound than the usual dance songs played at clubs and was more than ideal as a warm up.

Hanji cooed from behind the bar. "Oh, Eren, you've got to play that when Levi's here." He smiled to him, even as the tempo sped up a bit and Eren went into a higher octave. He finished early, stopping at what would be about halfway through the piece, he couldn't have himself wearing out so soon, he had the whole night to play.

Eren was silent a moment before looking to Hanji. "How many people usually show up?"

"Oh maybe about twenty people in a night, sometimes thirty if someone started talking about us." He shrugged at the numbers. "But with you here now," A grin was forming on his mouth. "That number's sure to go up." The side wall opened and Levi entered, eyes never leaving Hanji's face as he strode over and behind the bar.

"Well, guess that's my cue to get everything ready!" Hanji slide out and went around the room, putting the chairs back upright on the floor, catching a damp rag Levi had prepared and tossed his way to quickly wipe down the tables. Obviously they have done this for quite a while

"Eren." Levi directed his gaze towards the young man. "Nothing too loud. I don't want any more attention drawn to this place than necessary."

Eren nodded his understanding, he had already thought that this place was far more mellow than the streets and so he would change his usual lineup of songs to mainly have a more calm feel to them. No one was here, but that's alright, he was more interested in actually playing his instrument anyway. Money helped keep his interest, but it wasn't the sole reason he played.

The tune he played was as smooth as he could make it, not grating on the ears, not some high pitched ditty, but a mixture of notes that had no real placement but still sounded good together. He jumped up an octave and felt himself get more into what he was doing, the song gaining more of a rhythm and beat to it as he sped up a little, the calmness leaving as a more jazz influenced tone came out. He finished on a major key, not really liking minors all that much, and only when he had to open his eyes did Eren realize that they'd closed as he was playing. Levi was watching him but quickly turned back to the glass in his hands as Eren put his trumpet down for a moment. A person had come in while he'd been playing as well, and was blatantly watching him.

Eren grinned to the man and put the trumpet to his mouth once more and began to play something with a bit more bounce to it, more staccato than legato and even managed to get the guy to crack a smile. He continued to play even as the man left, nodding his thanks as the man approached and dropped a few pennies into his open case. Eren stopped a few moments after the man left and glanced to the pieces of copper resting within the worn fabric of his case with some ounce of pride. Maybe he'd be able to keep those. He turned his gaze up to meet Levi's with a smile and was returned with a simple look before reaching under to produce a bottle of brown liquid.

"Don't get your hopes up, kid. Levi doesn't give alcohol away." Hanji said from the side of the stage, startling Eren with his sudden appearance. "Besides, that's tea. I don't think I've ever seen him drink the giggle water he sells." Hanji winked to him, cringing slightly as Levi spoke up.

"You know I can hear everything you say, Cheaters." He said, not looking up as he poured out some of the tea into a cup, clasping it... Oddly, to say the least, and bringing it to his lips to sip from.

"I know..." He laughed, looking back to Eren. "Are you going to play that thing you played earlier? That pretty piece?" Eren blinked a moment before remembering the exchange he had with Hanji before Levi had arrived.

Another person pushed their way inside the speakeasy, heading straight for the bar and successfully distracting Levi long enough that Eren could raise the instrument and begin his piece without feeling judged. The man sat down as Eren continued to play, gazing into his drink as he let the music wash over him. He drained his glass in one sitting, banging it on the table and ordering another.

He hadn't meant to stay longer than one drink.

He placed the money on the counter and looked over to the youth, still playing that trumpet as though it was the final hours of his life and he had come to terms with its end, and approached. Nothing was said that needed saying, Eren had his eyes shut and was gently rocking in time with how his music flowed through the body and didn't notice the man drop a dollar into the case. By the time Eren finished he had left and another pair had shown up, sitting at one of the tables playing cards, the drinks they ordered sat near their elbows. He took a breath and flicked his eyes over to Levi's once more, hoping to get more of a reaction this time, and locked eyes with him. He'd been watching too. Eren was the first to break eye contact, getting distracted by Hanji approaching with a glass of water.

"Here, for your throat. Can't have our trumpeter dying on us of dehydration, can we?"

"Thank you," Eren muttered, only now realizing just how dry his throat had become after all day shouting and then spending the last... however long he'd been down here playing.

The night continued in such a manner; Eren playing his trumpet, people showing up, playing card games, chatting, leaving tips, although sometimes they didn't, getting his glass of water refilled every few hours, sometimes meeting Levi's eyes. Each time they held an expression that Eren didn't understand. Until finally Levi kicked out the last person and approached Eren.

"You're done for the night, go home." He turned to help Hanji clean up from the night.

Eren reached down into the case to pull out the change and few bills he had and held them out to Levi just before he fully turned around. "My tips for the night."

"...Yes, they are." Levi turned to face him again, still not taking the money. "They're your tips."

Eren tilted his head to the left in confusion. "So here. You get the tips, right?"

Levi closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a sigh. "Do I even want to understand what you're saying? They are your tips." He opened his eyes again. "Yours. You earned them, you keep them. I'm starting to wonder if it was only your name that prevents you from finding a job." Eren glowered at the insinuation but clenched the money tighter in his hand.

The money was his? He clutched just over four dollars in his hand and it was his? Eren rarely had this much money even during what he had considered to be a successful day on the streets. "Thank you, Levi..." His expression cleared and he put a smile on his face for him even as Levi shook his head and turned back to the tables, noting that Hanji had already gone through and did clean up on them. "It's nothing. Don't you get to keep your tips as a newsie?"

"No, we buy the newspapers on credit and whatever we make selling the papers and make as tips go to the boss. He does some math that decides our wages against the cost of the newspapers and interest, most often we break even." He grinned at the memory of today though, the sight of that fat man's face as he saw that Eren had made a profit. "But today I managed to make enough to get some of it back."

"Really now?" Levi looked at him more fully, seemingly curious about his life. "How much?"

"A penny." Eren looked far more happy at that than nearly anyone else had they been in his shoes. Levi was silent, wearing another expression he couldn't read before turning away.

"I see. You can go now, go ahead and leave your trumpet, I'll make sure it stays safe." Eren thanked him once more before pocketing his money and heading out the secret door. "One more thing." he paused halfway through the panel. "Employees of mine get payed every week on Saturday, remind me to get you your cut then."

Eren couldn't believe it, he got to keep the tips and he got payed on top of it? He didn't know what to say in gratitude, opting for an affirmation that he understood instead. He let the door fall shut behind him, tromping up the stairs and waving goodbye to Petra as he left to show Mikasa their new riches.

"He grows on you, doesn't he?" Hanji said from behind the bar, gazing at the back of Levi's head. "Did his playing enchant you?" He didn't expect an answer and was satisfied that he received none, just a simple look from Levi that spoke more volumes than words ever could. "I see..." He sighed with a smile. "I look forward to seeing what becomes of him, he's got great talent. Just a shame he was born German."

"He'll be fine." Levi finally said.

"You sure?"

"...Call it intuition." Hanji sighed, knowing he would get nothing out of his friend to clarify his meaning. Still, if Levi said the kid would be okay in this world, then Hanji could do nothing but believe in his words.