Honor

Robert Stendahl had a scowl on his face that was so fierce even Levi had no idea what to make of it. Sure, he'd seen people that pissed off before, chief among them Commander Shadis, the Ripper whenever some asshole or other annoyed him, and his own mother when he discovered the joys of dirt at five years old. But on carefree, jovial Stendahl's face, anger was just about as natural as black pepper in a cinnamon roll.

"Everything all right?" He ventured warily.

The man took a swig of beer-twice the amount he typically ordered, Levi noted-and began furiously, "It's all these damn Interior MPs."

Levi privately admitted the Winged Sister had been more crowded and a contained a more boisterous crowd than usual lately. At first, he hadn't really paid attention, but it was half past noon, and the place was packed with soldiers, a lot of them MP soldiers he didn't recognize now that he thought about it. Plus, he had been breaking up a few fights here and there in the tavern, and one up in the upstairs corridor, involving two MPs and one of the serving girls. And yesterday, he'd stepped into the old landlord's office to find him calculating the cost of new dishes. "Why are there so many here?" He asked, cleaning out a mug with a rag.

"Inspection of the outlier districts." Stendahl groused. "Commander Lennon comes to Shiganshina every winter, bringing two units from the Military Police in case 'reforms' need to be made. They're meant to help maintain order, yet more often than not, it falls to the local Brigade to handle the disruptions they cause." He added a few more words under his breath, which Levi didn't understand but figured they were best not repeated in polite company.

He really seemed to despise them, despite being an MP himself. Levi opened his mouth to ask about that, but he closed it before he could form the words, concerned the man might take offense to being compared to the Interior soldiers. He had no reason to aggravate the man. So there are even members of the Brigade who can't stand the corruption. That was almost as surprising as learning there actually were decent people wearing the Guardian of Humanity. He'd met Stendahl about a week after taking up residence in the Winged Sister and found him to be an honest, hardworking, and overall likable fellow who liked talking about his baby daughter. If by baby, he meant a girl of eight or so. Levi smiled to himself, turning his back to put the mug away, then took up a glass. "How long are they expected to stay, then?"

"Eh, couple weeks." Stendahl shrugged. "But enough on them. I came to thank you for defending my wife yesterday."

"Ethne?" Levi asked, immediately recalling the incident in the upstairs corridor.

Stendahl nodded, clenching the handle of his mug. "She told me what happened when we went home last night. Course if I'd been there, I'd have killed the bastard, but really, thank you for helping her in such a situation."

Ah, so that's why he was so angry. He was frustrated he couldn't protect the woman he loved. Levi snorted and turned back to cleaning glasses. "What was I supposed to do? Just leave her at their mercy? I'm not an animal."

"All the same, thank you." The man shook his head. "Ethne's the love of my life, and the idea of those men just….just thanks."

What else was he to do but help her? Levi frowned. He certainly couldn't have left her like that, trapped against a wall with her arms held protectively in front of her and two MPs leering at her. Was he supposed to leave her in tears and pleading for them to leave her alone, that she was married and had a daughter, and 'Please, no!' She'd slapped one of them, which almost earned her a returned smack before he'd intervened, twisting the man's arm to the point of nearly breaking it. The encounter had left him with a humiliating black eye, though he blamed that on the close quarters, lack of maneuverability in the hallway, and his intent on shielding Ethne. But he didn't regret leaving those two pigs with worse.

It was inexcusable behavior for a man, and he held it in the highest disdain. Kuchel had been the same way, except she'd preferred more….permanent methods, even going so far as to cutting off a man's ear after he beaten one of her 'sisters'. She was deadly with that knife of hers, he remembered, and half the Underground knew it, too. Wonder how she would've fared against Smith. He thought with some amusement, then cringed at the the idea of his mother defeating the man when he hadn't been able to. That was certainly a level of embarrassment not worth speculating.

"Makes me ashamed to be in the same regiment." Stendahl murmured, breaking him out of his reverie. "Don't get me wrong. I don't exactly love what I do as an MP, but I enjoy at least trying to improve the lives of Shiganshina's people. And that goes for a lot of us here. Then these….apes come swaggering in here like they own the place, making a mess, eating our food, harassing our women, and generally thinking they can do whatever they damn well please. It's people like that who gave our branch a bad name."

Levi was silent, eyeing the clientele of the Winged Sister. Men drinking, women gossiping, civilians discussing their plans for spring and the new year, soldiers reminiscing old stories, children playing between tables and chairs. He saw Ethne weaving through the crowd, expertly balancing two trays in her hands and one more on her head. Petra was less mobile, having been stopped by Smith and Zacharias and was nodding to whatever they were saying. Erikas had claimed his usual chair by the empty hearth and was scratching away at his tablet while a teen boy watched over his shoulder. The Winged Sister's old landlord was mingling with the crowd, shaking hands, sharing jokes, and clapping old friends over their shoulders. Meisner and the local doctor came through the front door, brushing snow off their respective coats, followed by the old landlord's grandson and his two friends. The three of them hurried through the tavern, the grandson pausing to wave. Quirking his mouth a little, Levi waved back. "It isn't so bad. It's people like me who give my branch a bad name."

Stendahl shook his head. "You're looking at it all wrong, my friend. Bastards, heretics, and freaks are some of the best people I know. But there is something I believe."

"Hm?"

"No matter where we find ourselves in the military, whether maintaining the Walls, protecting the people, or fighting our enemy, I don't believe one endeavor is more important than the other two because in the end, it should be all for their sakes, isn't it?" He gestured toward the gathering before him, smiling fondly. "Ensuring their lives are happy ones. I believe there is nothing more honorable than remembering that."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: The Military Police gets such a bad rap. They can't all be corrupt. There's Marlo, of course, but….yeah, where is he exactly? Have Marlo and Hitch totally dropped off the map or something? But even Nile isn't that bad. There are certainly more despicable characters in the series. Granted, there was the incident with Marie, but there aren't very many details on what exactly happened. Besides, there's a part in 'Sungeki no Kyojin' where Erwin tricks Nile into going drinking with him, which was pretty funny.

About Kuchel's character, I kinda have it in my head she 'awoke/snapped' like Levi, Mikasa, and Kenny all did (since that appears to be a genetic thing), and therefore was just as proud and violent as the rest of them.

Since I'm considering Chapter 20 a milestone as far as Tavern Ventures goes, I want to take a moment to thank all my reviewers, followers, and favoriters(?). Thank you for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy these one shots. And thank you to my private messenger for the suggestions circulating in this chapter (I know it's not the full suggestion, but there's another venture coming.)

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama.