City of Walls and Secrets

The list is short," he assured them.

Jin made a sound that was between a snort and a grunt. The barber tied his apron properly, opening his kit and drawing from it a pair of silver scissors, placing them on the table.

"I'm sorry, Armin," Jin laughed, trimming the side edges of a young man whose eyes had closed in bliss. "We love you, but you're the pickiest person we know."

"Am I?"

"Fifteen cuts to three inches to the right side, fourteen and a half to the left, four snips off the top, but never in the center. Fade. No blades that have not been prior sharpened nor blades that have been used more than nine times in one week, and never, ever, do work while feeling at anything less than your absolute best."

"All solid advice," Armin said. "There is a difference between pickiness and meticulousness."

"The spelling?" Jin wagered.

"The Price."

Jin giggled like a preteen girl, one hand casually covering his mouth. The effeminate man glided his fingers across the hair of his client, snipping away with diligence while coyly eyeing his partner. Jin washed and dried his hands with paper towels before picking up his scissors once more.

"Most Soldier aren't able to afford a twelve-thousand-Valtz haircut."

"Scouting Regiment."

"Ahhh, I did hear you guys getting paid Very well," Jin said. "So you eating good?"

"Tell me, Jin, do I look like that sort of individual to no eat good?"

The boy in question was taller than most his age. Smarter. Too smart. It unnerved Jin. Such sharp eyes placed upon a face that certainly several mothers could love, each one more unnerved by that realization than the last. His blond hair was smooth. Silky. Every tilt of his head brought Jin closer to feeling he was watching one of those princes that his mama used to read to him about.

"Of course you don't," Jin found himself saying, if only to regain his focus. "You look more like someone with more money than sense"

"Jin-chan, Jin-chan," Wilhelm wagged his index finger back and forth. "Our little Armin is growing up all too fast. We have to remember that and support him—especially when he doesn't realize he needs it."

The boy sighed, chin landing smoothly into a waiting hand. "You're talking about my list, aren't you?"

Wilhelm nodded vehemently. Jin scratched his head at the scene, watching his partner once more wag his finger up and down as if talking to a student. "Armin, that list is atrocious."

"Everyone has preferences, Wilhelm."

"Preferences usually aren't several paragraphs long, Armin!"

"Then I suppose the fault lies with their lack of standards."

There was, of course, nothing wrong with his list, Armin believed. A rather short list of things he liked and disliked about people. People he wanted to be friends with.

He admired the ambitious, the strong, and the courageous. He disliked selfishness, ignorance, and cowardice. He was not keen on cruelty for cruelty sake, and blind obedience. Case in point, he didn't speak to Dumbasses.

"On the topic of standards and preferences," Armin said. "You both have been in this location for a long time now, haven't you?"

"Born and raised," Jin identified.

"It's been six years since I moved here from Sina," Wilhelm said.

"Have either of you noticed anything particularly odd going on lately?"

"Well," Wilhelm began, "There is this rather odd Nineteen-year-old boy who insists on befriending people who meet his standards…"

"Hilarious," Armin intoned. "I can see that you left Sina to pursue your god-bestowed gift of comedy."

Jin snorted. "You have to be more specific about how odd things are."

"The Police," Armin said, his voice dropping slightly. "Talks of things shifting. People vanishing. More military presence. You know? Out of the usual thugs of course"

Wilhelm and Jin exchanged a look as the barber dropped his scissors into the sterilizer. "What are you talking about?"

"Some noisy people have been asking too many questions lately," Armin said. "Rocking the boat, so to speak."

Jin frowned. "Ah, so just because Prometheus is helping the local economy, it becomes the subject of investigation. what do you suppose is the reason for that?"

Armin tilted his head, his eyes gleaming. "That's what I intend to find out."

Jin and Wilhelm exchanged another glance. The young blond had always been intelligent, but this was a different level of inquisitiveness. He was onto something—something big.

"Perhaps after you're done for the day, we can discuss it over a round of drinks at your place." Armin's gaze shot past the duo and landed at the woman in the back. "Sasha's coming along too."

Jin rubbed the side of his head. "Why do you have to bring her Armin?"

"Oh, come on. You love her company" he replied immensely amused.

The barber shuddered at the weight of that response.

A sultry voice purred before Armin could answer. "Oh, Jin, don't be shy," Sasha teased, stepping into view from the sitting area with a wicked grin. She leaned against Armin's chair, her body pressing just slightly too close as she ran her fingers through his freshly cut hair. "You know, Armin, if you ever want someone to make that picky little list of yours a lot more... thrilling, I'd be more than happy to help."

Armin raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips tugging up slightly. "Oh? And how exactly would you do that, Sasha?"

Sasha's fingers lingered a little too long in his hair before she let out a playful sigh. "Let's just say… I have plenty of preferences myself. And I'm pretty good at making people loosen up."

Jin groaned dramatically. "For the love of the Walls, stop trying to seduce him, Sasha."

She smirked, eyes gleaming with mischief as she leaned even closer, her breath warm against Armin's ear. "What if he wants to be seduced?"

The barber shuddered at the weight of that response.

No, he did not like her coming here. She always raided the pantry.

Still, he had no doubt Armin would uncover whatever it was he sought.

A sudden noise from the back made Jin and Wilhelm pause. A loud thump, followed by a soft scratching sound.

Jin frowned. "Did you hear that?"

Wilhelm sighed. "Probably a rat. Let's check."

They disappeared behind the curtain, cautiously peering into the storage area. Another sound—something knocking over a tin can.

Jin tensed before spotting a pair of glowing eyes in the dim light. "Oh, for the love of—"

A scrawny black cat slinked out from behind a stack of crates, blinking lazily at them before meowing.

Wilhelm snorted. "That's your big intruder? A cat?"

Jin muttered a curse, rubbing his temple. "Damn stray must've snuck in again."

As he reached down to shoo it away, another noise—louder this time—filtered in from the front. Moaning. He and Wilhelm exchanged a look before rushing back out.

Wilhelm's eye twitched. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Jin threw his hands up in frustration. "Oh, come on! In my shop? Really?"

he cursed underneath his breath at seeing Armin with his tongue down Sasha's throat and his hand up her skirt. "I look away for one bloody second -" he cursed. "Armin! Can you not finger Shasha in my shop? And SHASH what-" A moan was the response. She cursed something under her breath, and shuddered.

"She did not just -"

"Oh, don't mind them darling." Wilhelm said with a sigh. It was not enough to deter them that they were back, of course, because the moans only continued to grow louder, and all he could see aside from Armin's back, were two legs in the air, black underwear on one ankle, and his buttocks bare as his hips thrust back and forth. "Oh, come on! " Jin knew Wilhelm was amused with the whole thing. Of course, he was not the one who'd have to clean up afterwords. "You can't tell me you weren't expecting this would happen. Remember last time." He said, wagging his finger.

At least that time he had the decency to pretend like nothing was going on.

"If you'd played along and pretended not to notice, Armin wouldn't decide there's no point to being subtle." He gave him a flat stare. "Whose side are you on?"

He wondered, at times, why he put up with the boy's antics.

perhaps, it was because the boy had not left upon introducing his partner, unlike several of his customers. There had been no tightness of expression, no faux politeness, no sudden distance upon seeing him with Wilhelm. In the boy's eyes, there was nothing different, or odd, or wrong about him because of his choices. He merely glanced once, nodded his head, and then asked if he could get tips for anal sex from an expert.

Jin remembered that day. Remembered laughing. Remembered the relief that came from the laughter. Remembered how the tenseness left Wilhelm's shoulders from hearing the question. The first person to accept him for a choice his own parents disowned him for, and it was that boy.

That odd, intelligent, observant boy.

As Armin and Sasha walked away from the shop, Sasha glanced at him, a mischievous but thoughtful look in her eyes. "You think they snitched?"

Armin didn't hesitate. "No."

She arched an eyebrow. "That confident?"

He shrugged, hands in his pockets. "If they had, they wouldn't have let us walk out of there so easily. Plus, they have no reason to. Honestly, I just came here for a haircut."

Sasha hummed, stretching her arms behind her head. "Guess that means we just have to keep our eyes open."

Armin smirked. "Always."