Notes:

This was a trickier chapter to write, mostly because of the issues it deals with. I think I succeeded for the most part in painting a realistic yet hopeful situation. I'm guilty of liking happy-ish endings—not that this is the end of the story or anything.

"But, Levi..."

Levi leaned against the cold concrete wall outside his work and stared mindlessly as a guy in a corvette tried to park in between two enormous trucks. He hardly saw what he was looking at.

"I dunno, kid," he replied finally, shifting the phone in his hand. "It just doesn't seem like a very good idea to me. You said you haven't even come out to your parents yet. What are all your aunts and uncles going to think if you show up and your supposed date turns out to be a strange, twenty-six-year-old man—"

"I didn't tell them not because they wouldn't be cool with it or anything!" Eren blustered on the other end of the phone. "It's just, there was no reason to bring it up before—"

"It's a pretty big thing to leave unsaid."

"I didn't have anything to say in the past." Eren paused. "I didn't have anyone to tell them about in the past."

Levi sighed, long and defeatedly. In his heart he knew he was going to give in, but not without first voicing his very reasonable objections. Levi still wasn't convinced the brat knew what he was doing. Eren's parents were throwing an end-of-the-year party for Mikasa, who had recently been accepted into the honours program. All of Eren's extended family were invited, along with Erwin, Hange, and the rest of Eren and Mikasa's enormous friend group. Eren's parents had encouraged Eren to bring a date of some kind, and now, Eren was asking if Levi wanted to be that person.

The short answer was hell no.

Levi was terrible at family things. Fuck, he was terrible at any kind of social thing, so how was he supposed to pull off being Eren's plus-one at what sounded like a gigantic family reunion? Levi couldn't envision a better setting in which to become a public spectacle. If Eren's parents had encouraged their son to bring a date, and Eren showed up with Levi, that was sure to raise an eyebrow or two. Not to mention the fact that several of Eren's friends already seemed to suspect something. Jean's interrogations last month in front of the Tower were a shining example of why Eren's proposal was a horrible idea.

"So are you going to tell them I'm your date?"

"No. I'll just bring you."

"They're going to know!" Levi snapped, readjusting his work apron.

"How?"

"Well, who else could I be? Think about it. They ask you to bring a date and you show up with me. Then there are your friends to worry about. I'm sure most of them are wondering why I keep turning up at their parties, anyway."

"Because you're part of the crew."

"Am I?" Levi grimaced. "I met Hange through some online dating site. Apart from you, she's my only connection to the scene, and now that she and I aren't even dating—"

"I certainly hope you aren't."

Levi threw back his head and silently shook his fist at the sky.

"If you really don't want to come, though..."

"Nah, I'll come," Levi grunted. "But could you please at least give your parents a warning?"

"I'll try," Eren said doubtfully.

Levi could not for the life of him understand the kid's reasoning. Eren was too nervous to sit his parents down and tell them he was gay, but he was prepared to crash their family reunion with Levi as his date, in front of the austere gaze of his entire extended family. The kid recognized how easily Jean had become suspicious when Eren bailed on their party plans, yet contended that nobody would notice Levi standing by his side the entire evening at a formal event. It was idiotic. It was absurd. Levi almost wondered if Eren had some ulterior motive, but he doubted it. The boy was too bull-headed for such cunning. Whatever the case, Levi wasn't going to let Eren down. If Eren really wanted Levi there, Levi would go.

He just felt sorry for the person who decided to bully Eren for his choices. Levi couldn't care less about his own dignity, but if somebody decided to give Eren a hard time, Levi couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't lose his shit on them. He also sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that. Even though Levi was wont to treating domestic obligations with as much apathy as he could muster, part of him really did care what Eren's family thought. The kid was young. He still lived with his parents. If Levi became disfavourable in their eyes, it would make it hard for them to keep seeing one another. Levi didn't want that to happen. He also understood that in order to prevent it, he would have to put his apathy on the shelf for a change. He would have to care.

Put simply, Levi didn't want to fuck up.

It would also be a lie if Levi said he wasn't at all curious about the event. When Levi claimed to never have had a family, it didn't mean his parents had been neglectful or cold. It literally meant that he had had no family. He had been given up for adoption as an infant and spent the better part of his childhood passed from one foster home to the next. Eventually he tired of the emotional roller coaster and ran away. One day he ended up in a police station after filching a box of taquitos from the local grocery store and just when it looked like he might have landed himself in juvie, a long-lost uncle showed up to bail him out.

The guy's name was Kenny and he was just about as warped as Levi was damaged. They made an okay pair—okay enough for Levi to stumble his way through the rest of his adolescence, emerging out the other side with a highschool diploma and a set of reasonable—albeit rugged—morals. Levi loved Kenny in his own twisted way, but Kenny was no replacement for an enriched upbringing. Levi thought it might be interesting to see what one of those was actually like. He also suspected Eren's family was more than qualified to assuage Levi's curiosities in the matter.

The way Eren behaved reeked of a good childhood. He had childhood friends. He had happy childhood memories. Maybe it wasn't all perfect, but to somebody like Levi, anything would have been better than his own situation. Levi had had to fight for every piece of merit he possessed. He had taken out student loans to go to art college and paid off his debts working service jobs. The only small piece of help he'd ever received was from Kenny, in the form of stale pizza pops, frosted flakes, and beer-infused advice. It was no wonder Levi detested junk food now. He had worked himself to the bone to extricate himself from the darkness of his past, emerging a functional clean-freak with passable social skills. It was actually a miracle. Many other people in his shoes would've ended up dead.

He didn't hold it against the kid, though. Eren's privilege was of the most palatable kind. He was generous, not snobby. He didn't have an arrogant bone in his body. All of his outbursts were driven by genuine emotion, with a ridiculous degree of passion. As a sulky teenager, Levi might have even looked down on someone like Eren. Blinded by his own insecurities, Levi might have mistaken Eren's openness for naivety, and he might not have been wise enough to see that his own derision was borne out of envy. Thank god they'd met when Levi was older.

As the day grew nearer Levi became increasingly reticent about attending. The event was to be held at the Yeagers' summer home just outside of the city limits. There were going to be hors d'oeuvres, musicians, and maybe even dancing.

"Why does it have to be so god-damned formal?" Levi asked one night, tracing circles on Eren's stomach with his finger. "It isn't like she's getting married or anything."

"Oh, it isn't just for Mikasa. We do this every year in June."

"Every year?" Levi questioned incredulously. "Why?"

"It's usually the time when my parents book time off work for vacationing. They like to spend at least some time at the cabin every year. What's the point in having one if you never use it?"

Levi smiled wryly. "I guess."

"It'll be fiiiiiine," Eren assured, patting Levi's head. Levi swiped his hand away lazily. "You'll get to see where I used to build mud pies by the brook. And it'll be so cozy sleeping in my old room together—"

Levi made a weird sputtering noise. "Sleeping in your old room—?"

"Of course," Eren replied simply. "It's a party, Levi. There's gonna be drinking. We always open up all the guest rooms so that people don't have to drive—"

"There's no way!" Levi sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Absolutely not."

"What's the problem?"

"Your parents haven't even met me and you expect them to be okay with you and I sleeping together in the same room?" Levi gasped. "Eren, you need to get your head checked."

Eren frowned. "I don't see what the big deal is. As long as we act natural about it everything will turn out fine."

Levi shook his head. He might have argued if they hadn't already had the same conversation three times that week. One thing seemed certain: the kid just wasn't going to face the facts. Levi had no idea why, but he knew it was too late to back out. He'd already agreed to drive out with Hange and Erwin. He'd already booked time off work. He'd already picked out clothes, and apparently, he'd already been added to the banquet list. He might not have cared as much if it weren't for the fact that he was steadily becoming increasingly infatuated with his younger counterpart. The stakes were high.

It's only two days, he told himself. No matter how fucked up it is, it'll only be two days...

Saturday morning came and Levi awoke to a chipper knock at his door.

"What the fuck?" he groaned, dragging himself out of bed. As he passed the counter he flicked on the coffee machine. Something told him he probably wasn't going to be sleeping any longer that morning.

"Hi," Hange said, waving unnecessarily in his face. Levi groaned once more and turned around, stumbling back into his apartment. His only courtesy was that he hadn't shut the door in her face.

"Got a nice place here," she remarked cheerfully, assessing the environs with her hands on her hips. "It's a little minimalist for my tastes, but each to their own..."

"It's definitely too minimalist," Erwin interposed, stepping through the doorway with his usual cavalier air. "Almost barren, if I may—"

"If you're going to come inside my apartment," Levi breathed through gritted teeth, "take off your god-damned boots and put them on the mat."

Erwin snickered. "Somebody's in a good mood."

Hange helped herself to Levi's dishware and served them three cups of Levi's coffee. Meanwhile, Levi prowled back to his room and began getting dressed. Thankfully everything else was already packed. As usual, his facility in organization grossly outweighed his facility in socializing.

"Hurry up," Erwin whined from the kitchen. "We're going to be late."

"You were supposed to arrive one hour from now," Levi countered.

"Yeah, well plans change."

"A phone call would have sufficed." Levi would have to remember to reprimand Eren for giving those two his address. "How did you get into the building?"

"The usual way," Hange said. "We snuck in."

Levi emerged and the two of them turned around to appraise him.

"Well that looks nice!" Hange exclaimed. "Where did you get it?"

Levi shrugged. He didn't feel like talking about the past just then. The suit was something he'd been forced to buy for his college graduation and it was the only one he owned. He could see such an admission paving the way for dozens more annoying questions.

"You do clean up well," Erwin remarked with genuine surprise. He didn't seem to realize that his disbelief could have come off as mildly offensive to someone who actually cared about their fashion. Thankfully Levi didn't give one fuck.

"Can we leave?" he asked annoyedly, snatching up the coffee mugs and placing them in the sink with care. He would have to rinse them when he got home, whenever that was destined to be.

The three of them piled into Hange's jeep. Levi hung behind so that Erwin could jump in the front. Levi just wanted to hide in the back and listen to music on his phone. To his chagrin, the university TA seemed hell-bent on making Levi's morning as unbearable as possible. Erwin slipped into the backseat like an eel and rolled down the window, fixing Levi with a smug grin. Nothing would have convinced Levi that Erwin didn't know what he was doing.

"How far away is it?" Levi asked once they made it to the highway. The coffee was beginning to take effect and he felt slightly more inclined to correspond with fellow members of his species. It also helped that it was a stunning morning. The sun had risen, casting roiling pillars of light throughout an ocean of listless clouds. Hange rolled her window down and the air smelled like freshly-cut grass.

"About an hour," Hange replied.

"Are you excited?" Erwin asked.

"Sort of," Levi allowed, folding his hands in his lap. "It should be fun."

It was actually amazing he wasn't losing his shit at that moment. In the past, if two people had called upon him before he was ready, without warning and at his own apartment, he would have completely shut down, but here he was riding along in the same car as them in generally good spirits. Maybe something about Eren was beginning to rub off on him.

"We're happy you could make it," Erwin said simply.

Once again Levi was taken aback by Erwin's kindness. He genuinely didn't know how to respond. Fortunately he didn't have to. Hange smiled and turned up the radio, cranking some alternative rock station, and the three of them sunk into a comfortable silence. Levi was suddenly glad to be riding out with those two. As much as he adored Eren, he didn't know if he could've handled an entire hour confined in a small space with all the brat's friends. It was nice being around people of his own age—at least while he was feeling so delicate and sleepy. He wagered the atmosphere in Eren's car would've been a little less serene.

He began to become so attached to the tranquility in Hange's jeep that when they turned off onto Eren's road, Levi almost felt disappointed.

The cabin turned out to be more of an estate. It rose through thickets of birch and willow, a creamy off-white colour that reminded Levi of old castles. There was a legitimate port at the front where supposed limousines could drop off wealthy guests before their arrival was announced by a stoic doorperson. To Levi's relief, Hange pulled around back instead to a small lot and parked beside a garden.

"You've been here before?"

"Every year," Hange replied blithely.

"And is it..." Levi cleared his through. "Okay?"

Hange and Erwin exchanged a look. After a moment, Erwin leaned forward between the seats. "It's an experience," he said, raising an eyebrow, "that is not altogether unpleasant."

Levi didn't know what the hell that was supposed to mean, but he didn't have too much time to mull it over. The three of them were soon wandering up the garden path to a back entrance, where a butler awaited them in uniform. He took their bags and directed them to a gallery up the stairs, where the guests were enjoying tea. Levi willed himself to stop worrying about the whereabouts of his personal possessions. It didn't help that he'd packed condoms and lube just in case. If the butler were as audacious as to go rifling through Levi's bag, he was sure to form some rather interesting opinions of his first-time guest.

"Wait for it," Erwin muttered into Levi's ear.

"Well hello there!" a man exclaimed as they passed through an archway into the gallery. He approached them with a bright smile. "Hange, Erwin, and you must be—"

The man was about Eren's height, with glasses and a moustache. He searched Levi's countenance for some identifying characteristic, an expression of friendly bewilderment decorating his middle-aged face. Even worse was how the expression persisted even after Levi had provided his name.

"Levi? Levi Ackerman? I'm sorry, I'm afraid—"

"He's Eren's friend, honey," a woman cajoled, appearing from behind a table of dainties. "You know, one of the ones from his band world." She had dark hair and thick eyebrows.

Levi knew those eyebrows. In one instance he put together who these two people must be.

"I'm so very sorry," the man said. "My name is Grisha and this is Carla, my wife. We aren't always as fastidious as we ought to be with introductions."

"No problem," Levi said awkwardly. The two of them appeared to mean well, but their eloquent way of speaking was throwing him off.

"Do make yourselves at home!" Carla exclaimed. "Eren and his friends are set to arrive any minute now."

She'd hardly finished her sentence when the sound of raucous voices was heard echoing from the hallway. Seconds later Eren gambolled through the archway, a bottle of champagne in his hand. Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and several others followed closely behind.

"Honey, is that open?"

"Maaaaybe," Eren said slyly, hiding the bottle behind his back.

"We only just opened it when we arrived, Mrs. Yeager," Mikasa said politely. "We weren't drinking on the road."

"Well get yourselves some proper glasses!" Grisha exclaimed, motioning towards one of the tables. "And some wine, too, for the rest of you."

Eren was mid-laugh when he spotted Levi. The boy's mischievous expression transformed into one of shameless wonderment. Levi nodded clumsily and Eren dropped his gaze, his face plastered with a silly smile. Both of them were blushing. Levi prayed nobody noticed.

That moment turned out to be the emotional apogee for the rest of the afternoon.

Levi had been dreading feeling stressed when he really should've dreaded feeling bored. There was only so much that could be spoken of in the pleasant settings that Grisha and Carla had so finely crafted. First there was tea. Levi didn't know why they called it that when everyone was actually drinking wine. Around noon the pastries and cookies were replaced with miniature sandwiches and cutlets, a modification qualifying as 'lunch'.

The afternoon pushed on and guests continued to arrive. Levi began to understand how the event went beyond a mere celebration of Mikasa's academic success. This thing was a fucking gala. He spent most of his time hanging out with Erwin and Hange, who thankfully didn't mind. They appeared to get a kick out of taking care of him. Levi kept thinking about how the dynamic felt oddly incestual, like they were his fucked-up parents and he was their problem child.

Curiously, he and Eren spoke very little. Levi didn't trust himself to be around the boy with so many people around. The alcohol was aplenty and the guests were no strangers to imbibing, but even so, the bright, sunlit gallery felt much more revealing than the cozy confines of a rock bar. Eren was caught up with his friends and family anyway. Levi might have questioned why he was even there if he wasn't already a little tipsy from the claret. That was the one thing that could be said for the Yeagers. They definitely knew how to keep their guests fed and watered.

Just when Levi couldn't fathom consuming one more thing the guests were shepherded into an enormous dining hall for supper. Several maids were showing the guests to their assigned seats at long, narrow tables. Hange and Erwin were led away to a spot at the far end and Levi was suddenly petrified. Did that mean he wasn't going to get to eat with them? Who, then? What was he going to do without his mommy and daddy?

"Just over here," somebody said, taking his arm. For a moment he thought it was an overzealous maid, but then the voice processed in his woozy mind.

"Where are we going?" Levi muttered, allowing Eren to lead him through rows of chairs and guests and butlers and maids.

"To the head table," Eren replied. "It's where all the Yeagers sit."

"What?"

Before Levi could object he was positioned neatly in between Eren and Carla at the very head of the centremost table. Somebody refilled his wineglass and an appetizer materialized in front of him, both of which he highly doubted he would be able to swallow, what with his constricted throat and his churning stomach.

What was Eren thinking?

It was just too obvious. Not only was Levi Eren's main guest, but he was sitting where Eren's fiancé would have been if they existed in olden times. If people didn't notice now...

"Eren, honey, why didn't you tell us you weren't going to bring a date?" Carla inquired. "We wouldn't have set a spot for one and Levi could've eaten with his friends."

Levi stared. Was this woman truly that clueless? Or was she just playing dumb in order to pry?

"I wanted him to sit here," Eren said obstinately. "He's my friend."

"Well, sure, sweetie, but it does seem a little odd. You have so many friends, why should you privilege one? I'm sure Mikasa would have loved to sit beside you, but—"

"Where are you going?"

"I was just going to sit somewhere else," Levi mumbled, hovering above his seat like a startled rabbit. Eren's hand was hot on his forearm, gripping tight like a blood pressure monitor. If it had of been one, Levi was certain its readings would've been off the chart.

"Sit down," Eren muttered with a clenched jaw.

Levi complied, mostly because he couldn't see anywhere else to go. Every seat in the hall appeared to be reserved for a particular guest. He caught sight of Jean, one table away, whispering something in Armin's ear. Both of them were staring at Levi.

"Eren is right, please sit," Grisha said with a sigh. "All of the other places have been occupied and there is nowhere else for you to go. I just wonder how we could've mixed this up." He eyed his son dubiously. "Eren, did you do this on purpose? Was this some kind of a joke?"

Eren glanced nervously at Levi. Levi widened his eyes as if to say, there's your chance, idiot! Take it! Doubtless the matter of their son's sexuality was an important conversation to have, but not here in front of dozens of guests, and not with Levi serving as the primary symbol of their son's rebellion.

Eren hunched over in defeat. "Yeah, maybe."

Grisha appraised Levi with disapproval. "And I'm supposing you were in on this as well, Mr. Ackerman?"

Eren and Levi responded at exactly the same time.

"No he wasn't."

"Yes I was."

Grisha raised an eyebrow.

Levi was suddenly grateful that none of them knew his age. Such tomfoolery was much more acceptable when committed by someone who was not yet over the age of twenty. Hopefully Eren's parents would simply equate Levi with all of their son's other rowdy friends. Unless, of course, Eren had already told them how old Levi was—in which case it was a lost cause. Levi lowered his gaze in a similar fashion as his accomplice.

"So," Carla sighed, as though these kinds of things happened all the time and she was so used to being abused by her wayward son she'd forgotten how to properly reprimand him. "What do you do, Mr. Ackerman?"

The rest of the dinner was awkward. Levi felt so ridiculously out of place that he could hardly eat. Sadly the alcohol wasn't helping. Several times Eren tried to hold his hand under the table and Levi shook him off in disbelief. He was beginning to wonder if the kid's explicit wish was to torment him. At last it was over and the guests were directed back to the gallery, where the evening's entertainment was soon to commence. Levi slipped away to the washrooms to regain some of his shattered composure.

"Hey," Erwin called over from a urinal.

For once in his life Levi was relieved to see the asshole. "Oh my god," was all he said, shaking his head as he unzipped.

"I know." Erwin strode over to the sinks. "Like I said: not altogether unpleasant."

"Fuck that. It's extremely unpleasant."

"What, to be on display like a new toy in a department store?" Erwin smiled somewhat apologetically. "Best get used to it if you plan on sticking around."

Levi whirled around, almost flashing Erwin with his dick.

"Whoa, watch it, cowboy," Erwin said, holding out a hand to block the view. "No need to be so hasty—"

"What do you mean if I plan on sticking around?"

"Come on now." Erwin rolled his eyes. "While I am one, it doesn't take a genius to put together the pieces. But I'm not your enemy. You should know that."

Levi groaned. "I didn't think it was that obvious..."

"It doesn't really matter because love always prevails."

"Excuse me?"

Erwin smiled enigmatically. "Sorry. It was just something that slipped out of my drunken maw. Now shall we get back to the party?"

Levi and Erwin returned to the gallery only to find Eren and Jean in a shouting match in the centre of the dance floor. Even from afar Levi could see that Eren's face was flushed with anger. The musicians played on regardless, drowning out the yelling with lazy horn lines and double bass licks. Levi doubled his pace, overcome by a surge of protectiveness.

"Well there he is now," Jean cried, motioning sloppily in Levi's direction. "Go to it!"

"Shut it!"

"Aren't you going to ask him to dance?"

"Shut up, Jean!"

"Aren't you going to ask your boyfriend to dance? He is your faggot boyfriend, isn't he?"

"I SAID SHUT IT!"

Eren's fist collided with Jean's jaw before anybody could stop him. Jean toppled backwards, crashing through several vases of lilies, and the musicians finally stopped playing. Mikasa ran forward and restrained Eren, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to pounce on top of Jean and do to him what Godzilla might to a skyscraper.

"Get out of my house!" Eren shouted, spit flying from his open mouth.

Jean groaned, rolling onto his side.

"What is going on?" Carla demanded, hurrying up to the scene. "Oh my goodness Eren, did you hit him?"

Eren made a sound, something between a growl and a sob. He thrashed one more time against his restraints to no avail. Mikasa was too strong for him. Defeated, he looked up and met Levi's eye. Levi didn't know what look must've been on his own face, but the moment Eren saw it, he burst into tears.

Eren wriggled away and ran for the door. Levi spun around and followed, in spite of Carla calling after them. He pursued Eren up two flights of stairs to a long hallway, where Eren rushed into one of the rooms and sprawled onto the bed, burying his face in a pillow.

"What happened back there?" Levi demanded, joining Eren on the mattress.

Eren continued to sob.

"Did Jean say something?" When Eren failed to respond, Levi grabbed his shoulder and gave it a rough shake. "Speak to me!"

"All I wanted was for it to work out," Eren wailed, rolling over abruptly and hurling the pillow across the room. "Jean is such an asshole!"

"Is that why you hit him?"

"I hit him because he said it was wrong for you to sit beside me at the banquet," Eren wept. "He should keep his thoughts to himself. He should be grateful for even being invited!"

Levi sighed. "I don't get it. Why did you bring me here if you weren't prepared for this to happen?"

"I don't know," Eren sobbed. "I just wanted it to work out. I thought maybe if I acted natural nobody would say anything. I just wanted us to have a good time."

Suddenly Levi understood, and the moment he did, his heart sunk with shame. Here was a kid who had a good family and nice friends. He'd grown up in wealth. Because his life had been so easy, he wasn't used to dealing with conflict. In his mind there was no way to overcome the insurmountable obstacle of his own sexuality because he didn't have the skills. Instead of broaching the issue directly, he'd pretended it didn't exist. He'd invited Levi as his date and said nothing to his relatives in the hope that things would go as effortlessly as they always had. If Levi had been a girl, they even might have.

He wiped his nose wetly. "But then, you wouldn't hold my hand, and when you looked at me like that, I just couldn't take it..."

"Looked at you like what?"

Eren's face twisted with grief. "Like I was the most disgusting thing you'd ever seen."

Within seconds Eren was in Levi's arms, his shaggy head held tight against Levi's chest. He reached out and held onto Levi's shirt like a bat clinging to a sheaf of moss, shaking with sorrow. Levi scowled at the floor, thoroughly revolted with himself.

"I'm sorry I didn't hold your hand over dinner."

"It's okay," Eren bawled.

"I was a coward."

"I forgive you."

"I'll never do it again."

Levi knew it within the deepest fibres of his soul. Never again would he leave Eren to face this battle alone. It just wasn't fair; not as long as Levi wanted as much of Eren as he did. He tipped Eren's face up by his chin and kissed the boy's lips with uncharacteristic tenderness. Eren kissed back, rougher, pulling Levi in by the sides of his head, and it was at that exact moment Grisha, Carla, Mikasa and Armin walked into the room.

"Well, er, Mr. Ackerman," Grisha mumbled, handing Levi his bag. "It was very nice to meet you."

Carla gave Levi an awkward sort of bow. "Please come again soon."

"Thank you very much."

Levi bowed in return before scurrying away into the front seat of Eren's car. He suspected Grisha and Carla were just as happy as he to escape their awkward banter.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Armin asked cheerfully from the backseat.

"I told you," Mikasa said, crossing her arms. "It would've all been so much simpler if you'd just told them."

Eren scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Levi snapped. "These two knew all along?"

"We had a vague idea," Armin said, winking.

"I just wish Jean hadn't run off like that."

"Well, you did deck him across the face, so—"

"He didn't have to be such a dick about it." Eren sighed. "I wonder if we'll still be friends."

"We'll have to see," Mikasa said thoughtfully. "He does come from a different kind of family."

"You mean one that's bigoted and close-minded as fuck?"

"Yeah. That."

To Levi, the mishap with Jean seemed trivial in light of everything else that had happened. Levi had entered the weekend believing that his and Eren's amity was completely undercover. Now everyone seemed to know. Erwin, Hange, Mikasa, Armin, Eren's parents...

After he and Eren had been discovered macking on one another in the upstairs bedroom, the Yeagers had excused themselves to the private den for a talk. They had emerged thirty minutes later in preposterously good spirits. For some reason Grisha and Carla had both felt the need to shake Levi's hand again. They ordered a round of whiskey for Eren's friends and saw that Jean's bruises were tended to by a nurse. The moment he was patched up Jean disappeared to a guestroom and left early in the morning before anybody else had arisen. Much to Levi's chagrin, Eren asked him for a dance. He had no other choice but to comply, keeping to his promise from earlier. Hange and Erwin took him aside afterwards and fed him more liquor. Both of them seemed genuinely relieved that everything had worked out.

Even though Eren was trying to laugh it off, Levi could tell that what had happened with Jean really bothered him. Levi couldn't fully relate—to him, Jean had always been an obnoxious douchebag—but then again, maybe it wasn't about who Jean was so much as what his attitude symbolized.

Eren's coming out had gone well for the most part. His parents, though awkward, were adjusting. Their distaste surrounding Levi's placement at the banquet table seemed to have stemmed from misunderstanding rather than prejudice. If they had known Levi was actually supposed to be Eren's date, perhaps the whole thing would've made sense to them. Hange, Erwin, Mikasa and Armin were all supportive. It would've been perfect if not for Jean. Jean was the piece that rendered Eren's coming out bittersweet. His prejudice was the omen that foreshadowed a bittersweet life, and somehow, Levi was now profoundly intertwined in this complex state of affairs. To all of these people, he too was now gay. Was he ready for such a thing? Was he ready for a bittersweet life?

He reached over and took Eren's hand, ignoring Armin and Mikasa's awing from the back seat. For someone whose life had been nothing but bitter, bittersweet didn't sound half bad.

END CHAPTER 6