Chapter Text
Eren Jaeger; Twenty-five-years-old.
He had bright, blazing green eyes that could turn cold and hard at the turn of a second and light up with laughter and mirth just as quickly. His brown hair, reminiscent of the fur that covered him when he shifted, was always shaggy and unkempt which gave him a rough appearance. Add these things to his tall, attractively muscled form and you've got one hell of a scary wet dream.
He was the youngest captain the Garrison had ever seen; Spending merely a year as a new recruit before commandeering his own squad and single-handedly turning it from the worst to the best. With sixteen arrests and ten assists in the past year since, they were one of the most sought-after squads in Trost.
Just in the past year, his team had gone undercover for nearly a month, gathering intel that they would eventually use to take down one of the most troublesome gangs in Trost, The Female Titans.
Despite all of that, Eren was still called the sweetest captain in the Garrison. His bedside manner was impeccable, he could calm any child with just a wag of his tail, and charm any adult with one of his toothy grins. He was the one first-responders sent out to calm wounded and distraught people in the midst of disaster and the last to leave the hospital the night after.
Eren Jaeger, in a corrupted place like the Garrison, was somewhat of a rarity.
A hidden gem, if you will.
~
Jean Kirchstein; Twenty-one-years-old.
He was tall with slim muscles and he had bleach-blonde hair with a rusty brown undercut that was kept purposefully choppy. He had dark, narrow eyes that were more often irritated or angry than happy or joyful, his unamused nature giving him the, not really funny, title of 'Lone Wolf' ; These things added to his prowess as the most promising recruit in the Survey Corps, and you might say he didn't have many friends.
Despite his grumpy, unapproachable look, Jean Kirchstein had shown time and time again to work best when working with a team, working well as a vice-captain -despite never having been given the official title of vice-captain in any of the three teams he worked with. He'd made twenty-three arrests in his time of 'Ghost-riding' teams 4AA, 6A1, and, most notably, 2A3.
During his time with section squad 2A3, Jean Kirchstein assisted in protecting Wall Rose during a terrorist attack and earned himself a high honors award.
Jean Kirchstein was average.
But also...kind of not at all.
~
Levi Ackerman; twenty-eight-years-old
Levi Ackerman had officially been a part of the Survey Corps for ten years, not having been in recruits' training the years before. He was, perhaps, the most outstanding person the Corps had to offer.
The fact that he joined under suspicious circumstances quickly faded from his superiors' minds the second they saw how he handled the MP Massacre in his first two years of employment and then, just two more after that, He'd taken down the Ackerman drug ring and got himself promoted to captain of his own squad, the first captain in the Survey Corps to reach their title at just twenty-two. The Corps expected a lot of him.
Oh, and he delivered. Not without his own...personal touch, however.
He insisted, for reasons unknown to all but Erwin Smith himself, that his first job as captain was to take down not just one more of Kenny Ackerman's operations, but two. In one fell swoop, he had taken out Trost's most prominent underground criminal overlord, swiping his human-trafficking ring and his shifter-fighting ring right from under his feet.
To add to that, he'd had a large hand in arresting fugitive terrorists who had bombed Wall Rose, taking thousands of lives including one of Rose's most loved Monarchs.
Levi Ackerman had rightfully received five highly regarded awards for his noble deeds.
He hated all of them.
~
Eren, Levi, and Jean stood in a line with their backs straight and their faces expressing a variety of thinly masked expressions. Erwin Smith stood in front of them, similarly postured and scanning each of their faces in an uncomfortable silence.
This had been going on for three minutes and counting.
This, inevitably, made Eren sweat through his freshly-ironed shirt. (Sorry Armin.) Having been in the Garrison for the whole of his three years as a soldier, he'd never had to step foot in the Survey Corps buildings. He'd never even wanted to, not when he'd heard the stories of how things went when they were sent in to see Commander Erwin Smith.
Commander Erwin Smith was said to be ruthless. He didn't take imperfection within his ranks and he made it explicitly known. It was actually the main reason Eren decided to join the Garrison, though he liked to think that didn't make him the coward one of his squad mates had once said he was for it. It wasn't that he didn't want to, though. In fact, when he was young, all he'd ever wanted to be was a member of the Survey Corps. However, even if the Survey Corps was all he ever dreamed of when he was little, at eighteen he just didn't think he could handle the pressure of having to be perfect for a Commander that was so fond of holding others under his thumb; he was too wild for it.
Little did he know that the Commander liked to snoop around in the matters of the Garrison and the MP as well, holding close ties with Commander Pixis and Commander Dok.
Luckily, Eren had never had to meet the Commander.
Not until now.
They waited another minute before the door to their right opened, Commanders Pixis and Dok stepping through the doors and coming to stand by Commander Erwin.
"Well?" Commander Pixis prompted.
After a tense second, Commander Erwin pursed his lips and gave a firm nod, "They'll do."
Eren could feel the question thrumming through his veins. We'll do for what?
But he didn't dare voice himself out of turn and risk disrespecting his superiors.
The short, dark-haired man with an undercut to his right had no such boundaries, however.
"For what, Eyebrows?" Eren blanched at the blatant disrespect but was surprised to see the sandy-haired man next to him act unsurprised at the display. Eren watched carefully for any sign that the Commanders were angry at the man's disrespect, but Commander Pixis and Commander Dok just looked at the man with exasperated irritation while Commander Erwin with smirked knowingly.
Commander Erwin ignored the dark-haired man, setting his sights on Eren. He then turned his head towards Commander Pixis and Eren felt his throat seize. Without taking his eyes from Eren's, Commander Erwin mumbled, "I'd like him transferred to the Survey Corps as quickly as possible."
Commander Pixis gave a short nod, "The papers are all in order."
Eren's heart sped up and, this time, he couldn't keep silent, "Transfer?"
Commander Pixis looked at him for the first time, "Is there a problem, Captain?"
Eren swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing. "No, sir, just... what about my team?"
"Armin is more than ready to take on a squad of his own," Commander Pixis said, as if that was the concern Eren had brought up.
"Yes, sir, I know that sir, but...why?" Eren stuttered out, his eyes fluttering around the faces of the Commanders in confusion.
"We believe that you and your skillset are far better equipped for a squad of a different kind, Eren," Commander Erwin spoke.
"What kind of squad, sir?" Eren asked hesitantly, an uncomfortable feeling building in his gut. He didn't like being made a part of plans without his knowledge.
"Tell me, Eren," Erwin said in a conversational tone, "How many other shifters do you have on your squad?"
Eren swallowed. "One, sir," Mikasa.
Erwin nodded, moving onto the blonde to his left, "How about you, Jean, how many?"
"None, Commander," The blonde, Jean, answered curtly.
"Levi?" Commander Erwin prompted the dark-haired man.
"Two, Eyebrows, you know that, stop beating around the bush, we don't have all fucking day," The man snapped. Eren's eyebrows rose. He'd have surely been booted if he had spoken to Commander Pixis like that. But, damn, three shifters on one squad? Wow, they were probably a powerhouse. Which was probably why he got away with speaking to his commanding officer like that.
"So, as you can see," Commander Erwin continued on, "the Corps has a very distinct lack of talented shifters within its ranks. Beyond yourselves, the shifters we've recruited within the Survey Corps, Garrison, and Military Police are above average at absolute best and far below average at absolute worst."
Eren saw Levi cross his arms over his chest, a snarl on his lips. Eren figured he was feeling insulted at the insinuation his squad was incapable, and Eren had to say he felt the same, defensiveness rising for his adoptive sister.
"We've been keeping a careful eye on all of you and deduced that your progress has been stilted by non-shifter squads," Commander Pixis said, "We've decided it would be mutually beneficial for all of us to create a new squad, one just for specialized shifters like yourselves so you don't find yourselves being dragged down by-" Commander Pixis cleared his throat, "-lesser individuals."
Levi scoffed. "Please, my squads the best damn squad there is. You've got your shit mixed up, a squad of three with two recruits that're still wet behind the ears? I won't be leaving my squad for this stupid, dysfunctional shit."
"That is exactly why you'll be the captain, Levi, although it'll be more in name than anything as Eren and Jean are very capable individuals, being captain and vice-captain themselves, respectively. You'll all be on equal ground when it comes to missions and, of course, amongst yourselves, but Levi being captain will show the absolute capability of the new squad to our superiors," Commander Erwin explained. He looked like he was getting a kick out of Levi's anger.
"Sir?" Jean stepped into the conversation, his eyebrows pinched together, "How would this even work? Squads are required to live near each other but the Survey Corps barracks are filled, Captain Jaeger lives with the Garrison, I'm assuming, and Captain Levi lives on the Captain's floors with his team."
Eren's lips turned down. That was this guy's problem with this situation? Their living arrangements?
"I've taken it upon myself to acquire all of you new housing," Dok said in his gruff, no-nonsense tone.
"Eyebrows?" Levi hissed, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you'll all be living together," Commander Erwin replied blithely. Then, he very nearly grinned, "Isn't that great?"
There were different reactions.
Jean didn't seem to care all that much, just shrugging, Eren was frozen, and Levi, well, he seemed to scrunch up in a ball of pissed off, his hands clenching tightly where they were placed on his biceps, his face scrunched into a snarl.
"No." The word was out of Eren's mouth before he'd realized it.
Five heads swiveled towards him and it was then that he'd realized what had just happened. "No what?" Commander Pixis asked, narrowing his eyes at Eren.
Eren took a shaky breath, steeling his nerves. He'd always been weak when it came to people in power. He met Pixis's eyes, "You can't bring this up out of the blue and expect us to go along with it, we have each made our success in our own squads, and you just want us to abandon it for an idea?"
Commander Pixis frowned, "Are you disobeying orders, right now, Captain Jaeger? I expected more from you."
Eren clenched his fists.
"The kid's right," Levi drawled, "We've got shit to do. Separately."
"And if we ordered you to?" Commander Erwin asked, his eyebrows raised in a challenge.
Levi ticked his own brow up, putting his hands on his hips, "You'll have to find a new Captain."
"Same here," Jean pitched in. Eren nodded his agreement.
Commander Erwin sighed and shook his head. Commander Pixis's lips twisted with a frown. "Then I'll have no choice but to punish your whole squad for your insubordination," he said.
Eren's eyes widened and his teeth mashed together, a growl building up in his throat. Was he actually blackmailing him? Was it really that important?
"I'll have to do the same to both of your teams as well," Commander Erwin agreed, nodding solemnly.
Levi's face turned feral, like a cat stalking its prey, "You wouldn't dare."
Commander Erwin met his glare head-on. "No? Then, please, feel free to walk out." He made a grand gesture towards the door.
Levi didn't seem amused with his theatrics. "This isn't what we fucking agreed on," Levi gritted out, his jaw clenched tightly.
"I don't recall having an agreement, Captain Ackerman," Erwin replied, a chill sweeping over his face almost as if he were warning Levi.
Levi held his gaze for a solid few seconds, searching.
Meanwhile, Eren couldn't tell if Jean was pissed off by his team being threatened or being ordered to do something he didn't particularly want to do, but, either way, his face was red.
Levi was the first to stop the stare-off, his head swinging down and his fist clenching, "Fine, I'll do this--stupid fucking thing. But don't give me shit when it blows up in your face."
Commander Erwin looked pleased and stared expectantly at Eren and Jean.
Eren stared at his feet hopelessly. "Okay."
Jean still looked pissed, tendons and muscle in his neck bulging. "I'll do it."
"Good," Commander Erwin said pleasantly, "then it's official, from today on, you'll be working and living together, so work on getting along, yes?"
"You forgot to tell them the best part," Commander Dok piped up, nonplussed.
"Ah, yes, the first ever squad with a special name," Commander Erwin said.
"A special name?" Levi asked incredulously, looking almost insulted.
"Liked a prized pony," Jean muttered under his breath.
"Well, Eyebrows? We're obviously on the edge of our fucking seats, out with it so you and your merry band of boy scouts can fuck off," Levi said, looking expectantly at Commander Erwin.
In that moment, Erwin looked like the cat that got the canary. "I'm glad you asked so kindly, Captain."
"We'll call it Humanity's Hope."