By Dreamer's 2am closing time, the gang was past ready to leave. Levi had long since left with his date and it had been a subdued night out.

Hange and Moblit walked hand in hand across the road (both a bit wobbly but they made it safely) to Hange's motel and Hange let them quietly in the door. Levi wasn't back yet and they sat side by side on their bed and watched TV until they fell asleep.

Nanaba and Mike stopped by Erwin's house and let themselves in with Mike's key. Erwin was sprawled out on the couch, dead asleep, half on the floor, an empty bottle of bourbon held loosely in his hand. Mike picked his legs up and arranged them on the couch while Nanaba pulled his shirt down from where it had wadded up under his armpits. Erwin's head lolled and his mouth hung open as he snored nasally.

Mike stared down at his friend fondly. "Yeah, you're a real prize Erwin," he quipped.

Nanaba patted Erwin's shoulder. "Sleep well."

Levi awoke at 5:30 on the dot, like he always did, and sat up and stretched. When he groaned at the movement he woke Moblit, in the other bed with Hange. Moblit sat up and swung his legs off the bed, scrubbing at his face. He looked up at Levi. "What time is it?"

"5:30."

"Crap. I gotta go. I've got houses to show today."

Levi smirked at him just as Hange snorted awake. "You two have fun last night?"

Moblit looked briefly panicked and looked down at himself as if he might be unexpectedly naked. He relaxed. "We both still have our clothes on, Levi."

Levi crossed to the bathroom. "I don't know what you two got up to." Hange always packed at least one or two exciting toys.

"Well, we know what you did, don't we?" Hange said darkly.

Levi turned back around. "What's your malfunction?"

Hange opened their mouth to speak and Moblit put his hand firmly on their back. "Hange …"

Hange closed their mouth, something Levi had never seen. Moblit must have some real hold on them.

Levi stared them down for a few moments then went into the bathroom, closing the door a little too firmly.

Hange had gotten Sub Station II and they and Levi decided to eat outside. The film company always set up a few wooden picnic tables if the weather was good.

They unwrapped their subs and Hange tucked into her veggie immediately. Levi lifted the bread and inspected both carefully and put his pickle spears over on Hange's paper.

Behind Levi, where he couldn't see, Mike and Erwin appeared, lunch in hand obviously there to eat as well. Hange made eye contact with Mike and he changed course, heading right for the table behind Levi. Erwin spotted Levi at the last second and hesitated, but Mike charged on with long strides and took the seat away from Hange and Levi so Erwin was forced to sit right behind Levi, their backs to one another. Levi, oblivious, finally took a bite of his sandwich.

"So …" Hange said, her mouth full. "Yelena." She saw Erwin's shoulders draw up. Good. He could hear everything.

"Here it comes," Levi said when he'd swallowed his bite, "What?"

"Did you two do it?"

"Yep. It was pretty good too. She was very ...limber."

Anger and jealousy seemed to crackle beneath Erwin's skin like a wildfire. He gritted his teeth and Mike looked sympathetically at him, unwrapping his sandwich slowly.

"So, are you asking her out again?"

"Yelena? Nah. We have nothing in common and I don't wanna date. If you date then the other person thinks they've got a shot. And I'm not the boyfriend type."

Hange frowned at that. Not what she had wanted Erwin to hear.

"You gotta date tonight?" Hange kept eating their huge sub that spilled bits out around them every time they took a bite.

"Jesus, Hans, you eat like a fucking animal." Levi snagged a green pepper slice that had fallen onto their chest and ate it. "This tastes like nothing. You may as well get a loaf of French bread and a dry salad."

"It's a salad on bread, Levi," Hange said, spraying crumbs. "Efficient."

"Or you could go face down in the produce department of your local grocery store." Levi grumbled. He bit delicately into his ham and cheese sub and wiped his mouth on a napkin.

"You didn't answer the question."

"About what?"

"Date? You gonna get you some tonight, stud?"

"Tch. Not likely. What about you?"

Hange smiled. "I'm gonna send Moblit flowers to his job today. Try and coax him out of his shell. Poor thing, he's shy. We haven't done any of that yet."

"You probably scare him to death."

"I do not!"

"Does he know about your strap-on collection?"

Mike and Erwin both blinked at that.

Hange huffed. "You should try it sometime, Levi."

"Yeah, you keep askin' No way I'm letting you fuck me into the bed with one of those monsters. I wouldn't be able to sit down for a week."

"Hey, I'm willing to trade off. Quid pro quo."

"My ass hurts just thinking about it."

"Like you've never taken it up the ass."

"Yeah, a long time ago. I like doing the fucking. Besides, I couldn't fuck you. You're my best friend. It'd be weird."

Levi imagined himself and Hange in bed together and shivered.

"What happened to Yelena?"

"Nothing. I never called her back. She never called me. It was just a hook-up."

"I swear you need to settle down. Find some nice pussy or ass that you can fuck every night. Your dick is pretty thirsty."

"My dick gets its fair share."

Erwin picked his sandwich up then put it back down. He fiddled with a napkin, then shredded it beyond recognition. He couldn't sit still. It seemed like Levi was fine. He was doing fine. He was working. He was socializing. Hell, he was dating. Him and his thirsty dick. Erwin's heart seemed to clutch in his chest. Oh, what he wouldn't give to see that dick, to touch it. Erwin squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

He liked a man. He needed to make his choice and tell the world. It was scary though. He was scared. Just a scared coward.

It was probably too late now, anyway. Levi had moved on—clearly.

While Erwin was thinking of Levi, Levi was thinking of Erwin—unaware that the man was right behind him—and his broad form. Now that's an ass he could get into. Literally. And he couldn't quite shake it, that feeling of longing. He'd never admit to anyone that he still thought of Erwin a lot, still fantasized about him, even pictured him when he was masturbating.

Well. Anything with Erwin wasn't happening now. That ship had sailed. He took another bite of his sandwich.

Hange had been eating in silence, watching him with gimlet eyes. Of course, she was unaware that Levi had just been thinking of Erwin.

"You know, maybe, just maybe, if you talk to Erwin—"

Levi, startled that Hange had seemed to read his mind, just stared at her for a second. "Jesus fucking Christ Hans!" He said suddenly, slamming his sandwich down, sending shredded lettuce everywhere. "Just let it the fuck go!"

"Jesus, Levi! Calm down, hun! It was just a suggestion."

Levi, red-faced and angry (angry or confused or guilty? He couldn't answer that himself) seemed to notice the mess he'd made and began agitatedly picking at the ingredients strewn around. He noticed several movie people staring at him as they walked by. He lowered his voice. "That's a dead end. It's over. He doesn't want me. He's too scared to admit that he …" Levi pinched up bits of lettuce and put them on his paper. He couldn't admit that he'd just been thinking of Erwin. That he thought of the man all the time. He stayed silent, cleaning up every shred.

"That he what, Levi?"

Levi shrugged. He refused to look at his friend.

Hange pressed. "That he what?"

Erwin was as stiff as a board and still as a statue, like an ancient tree that was too old and too big to sway with the wind. Neither Mike nor Hange was eating anymore. Everybody was listening.

"That he … might like me."

Tears slipped from Erwin's eyes unbidden and streaked down his face. He struggled to stay quiet. Mike reached out over the picnic table and gripped his hand, squeezing hard. Erwin squeezed back.

"Levi," hange said, "You know he has to deal with these …" she gestured around them, at the town, "...people."

Levi's anger swelled again, ugly this time. "Fuck! I know that Hans! You and I have had to deal with this shit all of our fucking lives! It's not perfect anywhere!"

"Yes, but Erwin has never had to do it before!' Hange insisted, "He's been in the closet! He has no idea how hard it is! You have to give him time!"

"Fuck! How much time? Do I pine away like a love-sick school-girl forever? Hell, I don't even know for sure that he's gay! He had a wife, you know."

"And we both know that doesn't mean jack shit. A lot of gay guys have had wives. He's bi, I know, Mike told me."

"Why didn't he tell me that, then?"

Hange shrugged, picking fallen bits of her sandwich up and eating them. "Maybe he assumed you knew. He came on to you pretty strong didn't he?"

Levi fiddled with his sandwich paper. "I'll admit that it seemed pretty obvious to me … but you know I'm shit at this social interacting stuff."

"OK, then." hange smiled. "Will you talk to him?"

"Will he run away again?"

"You're the one who ran away, Levi," Hange said gently.

Levi mulled it over, looking out over the town. "OK, I'll think about it. Let me think abou—"

"Mr. Zacharias! There you are. We really need you over here. We …"

Levi looked around, instinctively. If it was about Mike then it was about the set which was his bailiwick. Why did one of Mike's workers think Mike was here?

"Levi …" Hange began.

Levi turned fully around and stared straight at Mike … and at the broad back of a man who could only be Erwin Smith. He had been sitting, literally, only two feet behind him the whole time.