Moblit drank steadily and as he did he noticed his companion, Nanaba's, furtive glances toward the bar. He knew who she was looking at. She was staring at Mike Zacharias who had had a crush on her for forever. The whole town knew it and that towering oaf had been dancing around the subject and concept for months now.

Moblit took a sip of his drink. He should just ask the damn girl out. Zacharias was a good man, an excellent carpenter and a great businessman. He'd built up his father's tiny carpentry business into a full-blown construction business and was making a good living. Moblit wholly approved of the match. Now if the two of them would just get off their asses and do something about it.

"You're just going to have to make the first move there, Nana," he said

Nanaba startled a bit and became aware that she'd been admiring Mike. Again. "Was I staring that badly?"

"Yes. Go do it. What's the worst that could happen?"

Nanaba blushed and sipped at her drink as well.

A loud braying laugh sounded and Moblit's gaze turned to the brown-haired woman he'd been watching. Nanaba turned to look and smiled. "Well, she's having fun." She looked at Moblit speculatively. "I've not been the only one staring, Mobe."

It was Moblit's turn to blush. "Aww, come on, Nan."

"I'll turn your words back at ya: just go ask her to dance or something."

"You know I can't dance."

Nanaba ran the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass. "I'll bet she doesn't care."

Moblit looked at the brown-haired woman again. The man she was with, the black-haired short dude with all the tattoos and the piercings was returning from the bathrooms.

"I think she's with that guy."

Nanaba turned again and boldly studied the man. "He's cute, I'll admit. Not my type but cute. You know just because they're sitting together doesn't mean they're on a date."

Moblit looked at the man with narrowed eyes as he spoke with the waiter. Hmm. His gaze flickered over to the bar where Erwin Smith and Zacharias sat. Smith was staring at the stranger's table too. Was he checking out the brown-haired woman, too?

Something flashed through him then. Something unkind. That was odd. Odd because Moblit was really a very nice guy. He didn't have an unkind bone in his body.

"Now what are you staring at?" Nanaba asked, amused. She followed his gaze. "You checking out Mike, too?" she asked playfully. Moblit pulled a face at her then smiled.

"It's just Smith over there."

"Oh, Mobe, you have to just let that go, you silly thing. It's just a school board seat."

"It isn't just a school board seat. It would be so good for the business if I could get it. Smith has been there for a hundred years."

Nanaba laughed, a high, clear, delightful sound. "You're just silly. The business is booming and you know it. Whoever wins, wins. Don't let it bug you too much."

She scooted out of the booth.

"Gotta go pee," she said, standing.

"I'll get us some more drinks," Moblit said.

Nanaba hesitated. She locked eyes with the tall man at the bar and smiled. "Nah. I think I'm done."

"Yeah?"

Moblit was disappointed. He didn't want to leave but they'd driven there together.

Nanaba patted his hand. "You keep drinking."

She straightened and made her way to the bathrooms.

"Be right back," Mike suddenly told Erwin, standing. "Gotta drain the main vein,"

"Oh, just say you have to go to the bathroom!" Erwin laughed.

"Gotta go shake hands with the wife's best friend. Gotta go shed a tear for Ireland. Gotta go bleed the lizard, bless the porcelain …"

"Oh, for goodness sake, GO!" Erwin threw pretzels at him.

Levi watched, fascinated, as Erwin laughed loudly and heartily and threw pretzels at Zacharias. He was amused at the antics and disgusted at the waste and mess. Still, it was cute. It seemed to show that the rather serious-looking man had a funny, playful side. Zacharias slid off his stool and left for, presumably, the bathroom, laughing.

Just then the petite blonde woman who had been sitting with Berner walked by. Hange perked up. She grabbed Levi's arm painfully.

"I'm going over!"

"Jeez, Hans, you sure? What if the two of them are together?"

"Then he can tell me to my face. I'm an adult, I can take it."

"Well at least fix your hair." Levi reached over and tugged at and attempted to maneuver the wild strands and Hange submitted impatiently. "And clean your glasses, shit."

Hange fumbled the things off while Levi continued to try and sort out their mass of hair. They swiped haphazardly at her lenses and perched them back on their nose. "Good?"

Levi sighed in defeat. "I think that's as good as it gets." he favored his best friend with a tiny crooked smile. "You look good. Like a Hange. Go get 'im."

Hange stood and without even an attempt at straightening their shirt, strode toward Berner's table with barely a stagger. They could really hold their alcohol.

Oh hell, oh damn. The brown-haired woman was walking right toward him. Moblit tossed back his current drink and brushed at his hair in a fit of extreme nervousness.

The woman was wearing a very very short leather skirt. How had he not noticed that before?! And her legs were very nice, long and slender and surprisingly muscular. Moblit just stared.

Erwin had taken a drink of his beer and ordered another when the brown-haired woman who had been sitting with Levi got up and tacked across the booths and between the frenzied dancers towards … Berner's table? Erwin watched closely. What was she doing? He had come to the tentative conclusion that the two of them might be together as a couple. They hadn't done anything romantic but they were obviously pretty intimate with each other. The woman touched him often (but she might just be a touchy-feely person,) and they frequently had spoken to one another while leaned quite close over the table. Then again, it was loud in there.

Erwin chewed his lip. Levi was alone at the table, drinking his drink and ignoring the room.

Erwin watched in fascination as the woman with the glasses approached Berner and spoke with him. After a few moments she slid into Nanaba's spot in the booth opposite him.

Moblit cleared his throat for the third time. He wasn't a forward person, despite being a nice guy, and he often fumbled when talking to the opposite sex, especially if he found them attractive. "What … what did you say your name was?"

"Hange. Hange Zoe. I'm in town with the film crew." Her smile was blinding and beautiful and wide-open. She seemed like a wide-open sort of person.

"Ah. I wondered that I'd never seen you."

"Yeah. We just got in."

"Is your date OK with this?" Moblit, who was facing Hange's and Levi's booth shot a glance at the small, rather scary-looking man. He was ignoring them.

Hange laughed and her laugh was wide-open as well, loud and bold and full of delight. "No! We're not together together. He's my best friend. His name is Levi Ackerman and he works on the movie too"

"Is he an actor?" In Moblit's mind Hollywood was a mysterious place full of weird people.

Hange's laugh boomed out again. "God, no. He's our Set Designer. I'm the Art Director. So …" she placed both palms on the table. "What do you do Mr. Hometown Realtor?"

"Ah, you've seen the billboard."

"Yep. You look good on it." She smiled wolfishly and Moblit blushed.

"Well … I'm a realtor. I own a realty company. We sell houses for people. Nan, Nanaba Schultz, the woman who was sitting here, works with me."

"Is it interesting work?" She seemed like she genuinely wanted to know.

Moblit immediately decided that he really liked this woman. He warmed to the topic.

"It is. You get to meet new people and help them. It's also nice because a lot of it is done outside of a stuffy office."

"That's great," Hange murmured, cradling her chin in her hands.

"I guess working on a movie is really exciting."

"Yes! I love working with the sets and costumes. Levi and I work closely together. We're actually roommates."

That odd, ugly feeling went through Moblit again and he brushed it off. Hange had said that she and Levi were not together.