Levi had been too unsure to ask any questions regarding what Eren had meant when he said he'd find out he wasn't alone, and also a little fearful that perhaps he had been found out about his desire for the boy. But then again, was that really such a bad thing? Wasn't his deepest fantasy for Eren to return his affections? Then again, he supposed he didn't know what was scarier; finding out that Eren liked him as well, Eren rejecting him, or finding out that he was interested in men in the first place. But he was also growing very tired of being afraid, of fighting who he was, yet habit dictate that he should. He just…didn't know what to do anymore.

Either way, he waited until he and Eren were riding into town towards the Laughing Fox one warm night on their horses to finally ask his friend to explain where exactly he was leading him. Not that he didn't trust him of course, but he was more than a little curious.

"So," he finally began in a low voice, wary of the people passing them on the cobblestone streets. But none of them were paying the two young men any mind, as they didn't stand out from any of the other dozens of people roaming the streets, even at this late hour. "The Laughing Fox isn't just a pub, I'm assuming? I mean, I've never even seen it anywhere in time before."

Eren laughed. "No, you probably wouldn't have. It's tucked away on a corner most people don't pass by. I'm not saying there's a lot of crime there, but it's a bit out of people's way. However, it's a very nice establishment with high paying customers and it regularly gets refurbished. Modeled after the gin palaces in England and such, so really only those means can afford to get in. It doubles as a gentlemen's club for those that can afford to rent it, and for people like me, as well as for those in the know, it's a makeshift molly-house."

Levi blinked. "A what?"

"A place where other inverts, or mollies I suppose they're called sometimes, can gather and meet partners of the same sex. Though the clubs are only supposed to accept men, we've welcomed more than a few women as well who share our mindsets."

The older man processed this, feeling his heart hammering the more he thought about it. A place where men could find partners of the same sex? This was exactly the kind of thing Levi had been avoiding for his entire adult life. Wait, did that mean Eren suspected he was…he swung his head around, looking up at him with wide eyes, but the boy assuaged his fears by saying, "Not every man that's been in the club has been a mollie. Some are just simply very good, trustworthy friends that support us, though those are few and far in between. In the end Levi, they're not going to care whose genitals you're attracted to in there. They're all good, kind people who really helped me to realize that what I was feeling was okay and that I was only as crazy as they were."

Levi sighed deeply. So this was what Eren meant when he said he'd see that he wasn't alone. Though he was still too scared to admit it out loud to himself, that he was an invert. Maybe…maybe being at this place though would help him get over that fear, at least a little? Enough to grow closer to Eren and-

His face grew very hot then. If the boy ended up returning his feelings by some miracle, he might explode. Baby steps, he told himself. First, he'd see if he could overcome his own self revulsion, at least a little bit, first.

The further they road, the darker the streets began to get, and the fewer people surrounded them. That was when Levi began to get a bit nervous, as before visiting that brothel, he had usually stayed away from the seedier parts of town. His parents had raised him to be a gentleman and stay away from that sort of scene, and being as small as he was, the thought of running into anyone that could hurt him made him extremely nervous. But he supposed being on the back of a horse and following Eren, he was as safe as he could be for the moment, and Eren would never lead him into danger.

Soon enough, they were coming up to a building next to a darkened, slightly dilapidated apartment complex that only had a few small lights in the windows, dim enough that they were easy to miss but bright enough so that those looking for it knew that it was open. Levi chanced a look up and saw a hand painted sign of a realistic looking fox grinning slyly holding a mug of beer, and knew they must have reached their destination. Only more so when Eren stopped his horse and hopped off, landing with a light thud on the cobblestone.

"Alright, this is it," he told him. "There's a stable out back where we can put our horses for now. So dismount and we'll put them away before we go in."

Still uneasy about getting off such a tall animal, Levi slowly did as he was told, Eren helping him slide off by holding him around his trim waist, and was he just imagining things or was the boy standing closer than usual? Close enough that he felt his breath on the back of his neck? It made all of his hairs on his neck stand up, and Levi had to bite his lip to keep any embarrassing sounds from escaping. Instead he followed Eren meekly into the stable where they both untacked and settled their horses.

The whole time, Levi kept thinking about how one time when he had been visiting Eren and had loitered around the barn without the boy being there, how he had come across one of his sketchbooks that had been left on his easel. He hadn't gotten to look at much of Eren's artwork as of yet, and the opportunity was too good to pass up. So, carefully, he had taken the sketchbook and opened it, figuring he could put it back before Eren noticed.

He had found the sketchbook before his friend had told him he was one of those, so really, based on the contents of the sketchbook, he should have seen his confession coming. It was full of anatomy studies and figure drawings for the most part, a few of them being clothed women, but the overwhelming amount being naked men in various poses. The men were of all body types, Eren obviously trying to get experience with as wide a range as possible. Some were fine boned and pretty with cleaned shaven faces, others more stocky with quite a bit of hair on their chests. Some had impressive beards or moustaches, and they appeared to be range from teenagers to middle aged. Many of them struck him with just how normal they looked, how any of them looked like they could be his neighbor, or coworker, or boss.

But of course, he thought. Inverts didn't have a sign on them that labeled them so, if these men were indeed so. In the present, Levi shook his head with a soft smile, wondering if Eren had sketched all of those men here in this pub. He was so happy that Eren had people to tell him that what he was feeling was okay and were able to school him in the ways of being a proper mollie despite how wrong they were told it was.

Suddenly, Levi paused and gasped, faltering as he waked behind the boy. He had had the abrupt and disconcerting thought that perhaps Eren had sex with all the men he had drawn, especially since most of them were naked.

It was a vulgar notion, but not unheard of, he supposed. Eren was already a sinner, so he supposed it wouldn't make much difference if he indeed was sleeping around with many men. And well, he didn't know for sure, not unless he asked.

Levi shook his head. He couldn't think about this now, not when they were standing at the front door of the pub, ready to go in. He had to keep his wits about him. When he came back to himself, he saw that Eren was holding the door open for him, bowing in an overly dramatically matter, even removing his hat and gesturing for Levi to enter.

"After you, my dear," he said, a charming grin on his face and an impish sparkle in his eye.

Levi felt wonderfully warm all over at that, and did as he was told, dipping his head towards Eren. "Thank you darling."

The boy laughed in a way that made him very happy he had responded in the way he did, trying to get himself in the headspace he would need to be in while in the gentleman's club. It would be okay to be more affectionate with Eren, right? He hoped so, because though it still felt wrong, he still wanted to give it a try somehow.

When they stepped inside the building, he noticed that even in here, it was dimly lit, tiny lanterns and lamps interspersed on tables. There was barely anyone in the front of the actual bar except the bartender and a couple other staff members. It was much larger on the inside than on the outside, the ceilings moderately tall with hanging lamps that he could tell were very beautiful when lit up. He didn't get much chance to admire their surroundings here though before Eren was nodding towards the back, tipping his hat towards the staff as they passed.

"This way," he said in a low voice.

"So do they know why you're here?" Levi asked once they were far enough away.

Eren nodded, looking at him over his shoulder. "A couple of them are mollies too."

The older man's eyes widened, truly surprised at just how many of these people were all around them. Eren must have picked up on his expression and what it meant because he was saying with amusement, "Oh you haven't seen anything yet. This is only the front room. Just wait until we get into the back." Levi felt his heart begin to patter with anticipation. He already heard the murmur of several different voices beyond a large wooden door that was ornately trimmed, indicating that there were quite a few people beyond it. The familiar anxiety that he felt when he attended Dr. Jaeger's party began to settle on him once again, and he balked, stopping in front of the door.

Eren glanced at his face, seeing how drawn it was and how tense his shoulders were, and he understood just from that, bless him. Levi felt a warm palm on his upper back, supporting and firm, and then he said, "It's alright. They'll love you, and I'll be right by your side the whole time."

The older man felt his words wrap around him, and the heat of his palm helped to dispel some of the anxiety. Eren knew exactly how uncomfortable large social situations made him after, and he would never bring him somewhere where he wouldn't be able to cope. So, he looked up at the boy trustingly, and allowed him to push open the big wooden door.

The first thing that hit Levi was the smell of cigars and mulled whiskey, and part of him was blasted back to when his father would entertain company in their small home. Smoke was rising towards the ceiling, and as he looked around he saw that he was in a rather large parlor. There was a gramophone playing off in the corner, giving the room some ambience. There were also several large sofas and rich, plush armchairs. The walls all had huge portraits hanging from them, as well as a few stained glass windows, but none of them revealed the outside. The room was completely cut off from the outside, which he supposed it would have to be. Couldn't have anyone peeking in and seeing what was going on. There were a couple dozen people all sitting on the sofas and armchairs, even a few on the floor between the feet of the some of the guests. There were even some rooms beyond the parlor, though what they were for, Levi didn't know. For the moment his gaze swept over the actual people there to see just what kind of crowd visited a molly-house.

Oddly enough, he kind of expected a bunch of people that looked similar to Eren, all young and pretty things, and while there were a few boys here like that, there were many that weren't. In fact the vast majority were adults at least in their thirties and forties. There were some that Levi recognized from Eren's sketchbook as well, such as a larger blond man that looked like a military general, and a younger man with brown eyes that Levi supposed were both handsome enough. And as he let his eyes roam even more, he was shocked beyond belief to find that there was indeed someone he recognized.

"Hanji?" he said loud enough for others to hear him without meaning to.

Sure enough, not just her, but several others swung their heads around to look at the newcomers by the doorway. Several of them lit up with recognition, a couple even getting up to welcome them, one of them being Hanji, the other being a young man Levi didn't know, but obviously Eren did, embracing him warmly.

"We missed you, darling!" the young man said over Eren's shoulder.

Eren laughed, "Sorry! I've been a bit tied up. Have a new charge to take care of."

He looked over at Levi, a kind smile on his face as he pulled out of the embrace. "This sweet little thing here?"

"Haha! Yeah this is Levi. I met him at a party a few months ago, and we've been friends ever since. Levi, this is Marco. He's about our age, been coming to these for the last couple of years."

"And you've been keeping him all to yourself since then?" Marco said, aghast. "Eren you beast."

"I'll say," said another young man that approached them from behind and stopped beside Levi. There was a cocky swagger to his steps and he was wearing a smirk. This was the young man from before with the brown eyes, one of the ones he had seen in Eren's sketchbook. It was definitely odd to look him in the eye when Levi had seen his erect, bare cod resting against his thigh via Eren's sketches. Now he was looking at Levi like he was something to eat, and the back of the older man's neck felt uncomfortably prickly under that stare. "Methinks you have a type, Jaeger. Pretty little doll-like things."

"He's beautiful," Marco gushed, clasping his hands in front of him.

The boy with the brown eyes took Levi's chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it slightly, Levi freezing, unsure of what he should do. He seemed to be scrutinizing his face, pointing out, "Well darling, if you ever get tired of Jaeger, I'd be happy to"-

"Hey," Eren growled warningly, though he was still smiling. His chest puffed up as he placed himself between Levi and the other boy, looking like he would love nothing more than to trade fists with this interloper. Levi would be lying to himself if the thought of Eren knocking someone out to protect his honor didn't make him feel more than a little hot. "Back off Jean. This boy belongs to me."

Hanji cackled next to them, "Oh aren't you the naughty one, Eren."

He snorted, "Yeah yeah, don't make me punch you in the fucking head."

She gave him a look that said "just try it" before turning to her friend, taking his hands and exclaiming, "This is amazing Levi! I never thought I'd see you here, of all places. I feel like I should bake Eren a cake just for getting you to socialize."

Eren was currently in a spat with Jean while Marco was trying to calm them both down, and Levi glanced over at him fondly. "I mean, he tends to take me to fun places. Hasn't let me down yet, you know?"

She raised an eyebrow, analyzing his expression, and asking him conspiratorially, "So then this means that you're…?"

"I'm…" It took a minute for her words to process, before Levi exploded into a blushing mess, waving his hands in front of him in a gesture of denial. "No! I mean, well, I don't- Hanji you can't just"-

She laughed, placing her hands on top of his and stopping his wild flailing, before saying gently, "Levi, it's alright if you are. You're literally in the only place in the city where it's okay to admit that you're an invert." She glanced over at Eren. "And well, I must say, if looking for someone to court, you can't do much better than a member of a wealthy family like the Jaegers."

His face remained cherry red, and he found that he couldn't meet her eyes. He couldn't deny what she was saying because it would have been a lie, but he was terrified to confirm it out loud as well.

Even though…he would be safe doing it in a place like this, wouldn't he?

Levi followed Eren and Hanji over to one of the sofas and sat down, placing himself between them. His anxiety kicked in again and he made himself as small as possible, placing his hands in his lap between his thighs, too nervous to meet anyone's eyes at first. He saw out of the corner of his vision Marco and Jean sit back down on the sofa as well. Yet, there was only space for one of them, so Jean sat down, and to Levi's utter surprise, Marco sat down in his lap, holding him around his waist and kissing his cheek affectionately. But they weren't the only ones in such a position. Many of the men and women that were seated had paired off, their partners in their laps or between their feet on the floor, or just cuddled up very close to each other. They were all being very tactile, kissing and caressing, some of the affection sweet, some of it more raunchy. All of it was done as easy as breathing, and it made Levi feel so many things that it took him a moment to discern them all.

First of all, he was beyond shocked. He barely saw this kind of affection between couples of opposite genders, and even then it was very subdued. So to see this between couples of the same gender, and see it so casually displayed was something he was going to have to get used to. Second of all, he felt jealousy. These people were completely comfortable with who they were and unafraid of who might see, while Levi had beaten himself up so much over feeling any kind of desire towards men that he was ashamed of who he was. The last was longing. For the first time in his life, he wanted nothing more than to be like these people. Eren was right, he wasn't alone. Though his feelings were wrong and sinful, there were others that felt them as well, and there was a huge comfort to that.

And perhaps if these people could be brave in accepting themselves, maybe Levi could be as well?

For the moment, Eren was chatting with the huge blond man sitting in the large armchair off to their right, probably figuring that since Levi was next to Hanji, socially he'd be okay for the next few minutes. So that was when he turned to his old friend and said, "I must say I'm a little surprised to see you here, but also not, knowing you."

She laughed. "Yeah. I do fit right in here, I find, because I don't care if I'm seen as a man or a woman just as long as I'm seen as a good doctor. People here call me Hanji and Harry and I don't mind which they use. I've also met and had relationships with both men and women here. It's very freeing and liberating."

"It certainly seems so."

She studied him for a minute, before asking, "So, you're very sure you're not an invert Levi? Because you know here, it's alright if you are. No one will care. And I must say, I've kind of expected it for a few years."

His eyes widened in shock, surprising himself when he didn't deny anything she said and instead simply said, "You have?"

"Of course. What with you getting married, and you wouldn't believe how many men here are librarians. Very few men who work in that profession that aren't mollies."

"I…really? I never…"

He went quiet while she just smirked at him knowingly. If that was true, it would explain a lot, such as why he got so many judging looks from his patrons, and perhaps why most of the staff was female. How had he never put it together?

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter what you are," Hanji eventually reassured him. "We're all seen as oddballs to everyone else here. So in that case, you'll fit right in here."

He didn't know how to reply to that, so he kept silent, awkwardly scanning the room to get a closer look at just who was here. There were almost as many men here as there were women, many of them dressed in suits and ties. He supposed that made sense, as this was supposed to be a gentleman's club and he doubted they would be let in if they didn't look like, well, gentlemen. But being back here, many of them had let their hair down so that it would flow over their shoulders, a couple of them being just as raucous as the men, laughing uproariously and slapping each other's shoulders.

Hanji noticed where his eyes were traveling because she said, "The dark haired girl over there is Ymir, and the blond girl on her lap is Christa. Christa is part of the Reiss family, and Ymir is a maid in the Reiss household. The two of them have been romantic friends for years and they were the first women that were accepted into this club."

The two of them did indeed seem like they were ridiculously in love, Ymir kissing Christa on the nose and stroking her thighs soothingly while Christa kept her arms wrapped around her neck. They were holding court with a couple more girls and some men, Hanji pointing out who they were.

"The girl with brown hair and eyes is Sasha. She's also from a family of maids and oh heavens is she a church-bell, but she says a lot of interesting things, and the young man next to her is Connie, who comes from a family of farmhands. As far as I know Connie isn't a mollie, but Sasha has expressed interest in both men and women, and Connie is here to support her, and he told us he's willing to share her with whoever he has to so he can stay close to her. Then you have Reiner, Bertholt and Annie. Annie is stuck in a marriage she hates and she actually just told us last time we were here that she's pregnant. But she's a real bricky girl, I'll tell you. Reiner and Bert are set to inherit their fathers' businesses. They've also been together for several years, and the two of them are also married to young women so they can produce heirs. And Jean and Marco next to us here are friends of Eren's. Both of them are engaged to be married and they both work for good companies, but they're so madly in love with each other it's disgusting."

"They're all so young," Levi pointed out.

"Closer to our age, yes," Hanji agreed. She then nudged him and directed his attention towards the other end of the room. "These folks are all older and have a lot more experience being mollies. Eld, Gunter and Oluo are all married as well but they all prefer the company of men and they were among the first folks that started this club. That girl with them, Petra, she's such a sweetheart. Lovely little thing, just as cute as Christa honestly. I swear, whenever she touches the ground a rainbow appears under her feet and lights up the whole street. A real bang up to the elephant."

The wistful look on her face made Levi snort a little bit, and he said, "Sounds like you fancy her quite a bit."

Her cheeks turned pink and she touched one of them, as if to ascertain that the heat she felt was really there. "I might have been planning to see if she'd be interested in courting."

Levi nodded with approval. "You absolutely should. You deserve some happiness. And I'll bet you could even get away with courting her in public, if you remained dressed as a man."

"That's what I was thinking. But hey, I'll tell her how I feel about her if you tell Eren how you feel about him."

He sighed. "Hanji…"

She just laughed, nudging him with her shoulder playfully. He rolled his eyes; he knew she was just joking at this point, but it still made his heart race for more than one reason when she said it. He nudged her back, saying, "Yeah sure. Go talk to your lady love and give me some peace. I'm sure she'd be delighted by your awkward attempts at flirting."

"More than Eren will enjoy yours," she teased as she stood up from the couch. Levi watched her plop herself unceremoniously down on the sofa next to Petra, a crooked smile on her face. Petra immediately brightened up at her approach turning towards her.

Before he could focus in on what they were saying however, Eren got his attention by placing a hand on his knee and placing himself in his line of vision with an excited, toothy smile. Levi straightened up much in the same manner Petra had, not even thinking how silly it was that he was practically a mirror image of the girl who also had her crush coming over to speak with her. Of course he was.

"How are you doing?" he asked gently. "I saw you were talking with Hanji."

"Yeah," Levi replied, returning his smile and relaxing his shoulders. "She was telling me who everyone was. They all seem like really nice people."

"I told you," he insisted. He nodded over towards the large blond man in the big armchair next to them. And now that Levi looked closer, he saw that a smaller blond boy closer to their age was squeezed in the chair next to him, nearly disappearing against the bulk of the other man's body. "Did she tell you who Erwin and Armin were?"

"Oh no, she didn't." He looked over Eren's shoulder to take in this stranger fully, and noticed he was very handsome, but more than that, he also recognized him from Eren's sketchbook. Well, not only was he a good specimen to draw, but if Eren had slept with him after the fact he supposed he could understand why.

Eren explained cheerily, "Erwin Smith is the richest man in the club here. He's the reason we can afford this fancy room. He's an oil baron, and a self-made man. Armin Arlert is his lover and one of my very good friends. I hear he's studying to be a librarian as well."

Erwin leaned forward, extending his hand and flashing Levi a smile of greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Levi. Eren was right, you are one of the most beautiful creatures I've had the pleasure of looking at. Like you belong in a fairytale rather than in a parlor surrounded by cigar smoke."

Levi's cheeks filled with blood again, and after he let go of his hand his gaze dropped to his lap as he laughed uncomfortably. "I'm really not"-

"You are," Armin added emphatically. "Like a pretty, porcelain doll. Eren was lucky he found you before someone else snatched you up."

Levi just blushed harder, and seeing this, Eren placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly before admonishing them, "Alright, that's enough guys. He's still new to this, and he's definitely not used to receiving so many compliments at one time, especially from men. He'll explode if you're not careful."

"It's okay, Eren," Levi said. "It doesn't bother me. Really."

"Well that's…good," Eren replied slowly. "Because you'll probably be hearing lots of compliments like that while you're here. Especially since, well, they're all right. You are like a doll. My doll though."

And there it was, the blush again, lighting up Levi's face like a sunset, and it delighted the boy to see it. But he didn't expect him to come back at him shyly with, "You're um, pretty like a doll too, you know. So it's fitting. We match I guess."

Well, that certainly shut Eren up. His mouth hung open and his face was as red as Levi's, the cocky smile gone from his face. Erwin and Armin were cracking up behind him, Armin stage whispering to the other man, "You were right, he's got it bad for him."

Eren gaped like that for a minute, and Levi had to admit, being the one to make him embarrassed for once made him feel very good. He wondered if he'd be able to do it again sometime this evening? For now, he looked up at Eren with shining eyes, added, "I'm having fun, really. And I'm glad you took me here tonight. Everyone seems so happy, and it makes me feel more hopeful than I have in a long time. And you gave me that, Eren. Thank you."

He scratched the back of his head, looking off to the side and mumbling, "Um, no problem."

Levi couldn't help but breathe a laugh through his nose, gazing at him fondly. Based on what he was seeing here, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he tried to get a little closer to his friend. Touching him a bit more couldn't hurt at least, right? Everyone was so touchy here, so they wouldn't be drawing attention to themselves. So, when Eren turned back around and settled back in his seat, Levi scooted up behind him and gently placed his chin on Eren's shoulder, forcing himself not to hesitate. He leaned his head slightly into the boy's neck, quite enjoying the way Eren stiffened up, but he didn't move away of course, and to his delight, Erwin and Armin didn't bat an eye at his actions.

"So Armin, you're in school to become a librarian?" he asked. "When you get out, let me know. I'll see if we have any openings for you where I work. It would be nice to have a friend working there with me."

"That's so kind of you, thank you!" the boy said cheerfully.

And so the night continued like that, Levi settling more into the atmosphere, and once he got a bit of alcohol in him, he relaxed to the point that decided to make a point to keep some part of him touching Eren all night, whether it was leaning against him, casually touching his hand or his arm, or even nuzzling the side of his head so subtly he was sure Eren wouldn't notice. The warmth it filled him with was beyond anything he had ever felt before, and more than just reinforcing his feelings for Eren, it made him realize just how touch starved he really was; he simply couldn't get enough of all of this glorious physical contact, no matter how platonic it was. Eren would lean back into him as well, nudging Levi's cheek with the tip of his nose, whispering little things about the other members of the club conspiratorially into his ear, making Levi giggle like a teenage girl. He shyly called him "Doll" several times during the night, hoping Levi wouldn't get mad at him for doing so, but on the contrary, the older man quite enjoyed it. It was a sign of how pretty Eren found him, of his affection for him, and the freedom they had to call each other such things here when they couldn't do so anywhere else.

And by the end of the night, when Levi cuddled close to Eren on the sofa and, head leaning on his shoulder with his eyes heavy lidded and sleepy, telling him he definitely wouldn't mind coming back here with him again sometime, Eren felt like he could fly out the door, where he would soar into the night sky, dance among the stars and sit upon the moon.