Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“W-what did you just say?” Erwin breaks the silence in the ultrasound room. Everyone who knew the couple that stood there was in visible shock just as much as the omega. “You have to be reasonable; this pup may very well – “

Levi cuts him off before he could get another word in. “There’s no way that our pup could have survived that amount of trauma.  The chances are so infinitesimal that I want to vomit. Please do not make me have to raise another alpha’s brat.” He grits through his teeth, just barely avoiding a growl. “Not his, Eren. Not after what he did to you, to us.”

Never has he ever seen Levi so visibly angry, this scared Eren to no end. His scent, now souring in fear, the room, now a battleground of pheromones. “L-Levi,” Eren straightens himself on the bed, pulling himself away from Erwin. The tall blonde tries to scramble after him only for Eren to turn his head to him as he snatches his arm away. “I’m fine.” He says in a whisper to the man before turning back to his alpha. He slips off the bed and approaches slowly. “Please, Levi, calm down. If you would just look at the sonogram again, you’ll see that it has to be your baby.”

Eren reaches for Levi’s hand slowly and clasps it with his own. A low growl escapes his lips before it’s cut short. The brunette brings the hand to his neck, rubbing the man’s wrist over the scenting gland there. “Please, Lee. I can feel it in my soul. In our bond, can’t you feel it?”

Levi doesn’t know what he’s supposed to be feeling; the only thing he feels is intense, primal anger to the dead alpha. He felt the man’s laughter from the grave. Even from hell, the bastard wins. He growls to himself. “What do you want me to do then? Wait for the brat to be born to get a paternity test? Then what? Do you expect me to raise his pup? Would you be that cruel to me? To yourself?”

The last two questions came out sharp from the raven, stinging Eren into shock again and dropping his hands. I know this is our baby, why can’t he feel it? Tears well up in his eyes again, “Can we at least talk about this at home and not make a sense at your place of work?” Eren says in a hurt, clipped tone.

“Fine,” Levi says blankly as he turns to the door, passing the onlookers of his personal tragedy.

The ride back to their apartment was tense and silent. Erwin had been reluctant to allowing Eren to go home with Levi after his outburst. Eren reassured the taller man that he was fine and to trust that Levi would never do anything to hurt him, no matter his rage at the missing alpha.

Eren hoped anyway that Levi wouldn’t lose his cool again. He knew that if he could make his lover see to reason and tap into his instincts that he would see that there’s no way possible that this child growing inside him is anyone else’s but his. His inner omega wanted to beg and plead for the man’s understanding. He would put his pride aside and make him see. He couldn’t abort this pup; this was something they created together. There was no way he would give up on raising this undoubtedly beautiful child of theirs, even if he had to do so by himself.

However, for now, Eren’s mission is to convince his mate. No one has ever said with a straight face that Levi wasn’t a stubborn, hardheaded shit. Eren sighs internally as they pull into their parking spot in the garage. Looking over at the alpha as he turns the vehicle off, he doesn’t hesitate as he unbuckles himself and exits the car with a slam of the door.

Eren hiccups and swallows the sob that is bubbling up in his chest. He wipes his eyes of the tears that are sure to fall before he unbuckles himself and follows the older man silently. He hears the beep of the car locking behind him as they make their way to the elevators.

The ride up is filled with more tense silence. The elevator ding comes all too soon and not soon enough for the pair. Without a word, they exit from the lift and walk the short distance to the apartment that they call home. The place that is supposed to bring comfort to them both, now full of anxiety and heartache.

Once the door is closed behind them, Levi removes his coat and toss that and his keys to the side, barely paying attention to where they fell as he walks to the kitchen. Eren sighs deeply in his chest as he picks up the discarded clothing and keys. He puts them into their rightful places before following the other male.

Levi leans up against the countertop as he pours himself two fingers of whiskey in a glass neat before he huffs and swallows it down. He pours himself another before Eren could get the courage to say anything.

“Levi – “

“I don’t want to hear it, Eren.”

“Levi, you have to believe me.” Eren steps closer to his mate; he stops three feet away from Levi. He doesn’t want to crowd him. It would only cause the man to get unnecessarily defensive. A cornered alpha is a dangerous alpha, even if they are your other half. Eren knew that all too well from his experience with Jean. “If you would just look at the sonogram again or even feel for yourself, I know you would be able to see that this pup is yours.” He digs into his pants pocket, pulling out the slip of paper with their little pea that rests safely within him.   

Levi shakes his head as he slams back his second drink. “No, the trauma that you suffered – “He pauses as tears begin to well up in his eyes. How can Eren not see the logic behind this? There’s no way possible. “There’s just no way that our pup could survive that. No pup can, dammit!”

Levi slams the glass against the counter, causing it to shatter under pressure. “Shit,” Levi growls out. Small slivers of glass protrude from his right hand, he growls again in his frustration.

Eren stops Levi before he can try to pick up the more significant shards of glass from the counter. “Lee, don’t. Get the first aid kit from the bathroom, and I’ll get this up.” The only response he gets is a grunt before Levi leaves the room. Eren makes quick work of the cleanup, spraying everything down with a bottle of cleanser to clean up the splattered liquor.

Once done, he wipes his hands on a tea towel before heading over to the bathroom. It’s been a few minutes since Levi’s been in there, and he is worried about him. Glancing into the room, Eren sees the alpha struggling with tweezers. How could he forget that his mate was right-handed?

“Here, let me help.” Eren steps into the bathroom only for Levi to turn away from him with a grunt.

“I’ve got it.”

“Levi, I know you’re a righty. Just let me help you.” He steps closer and grabs for the tweezers.

“I SAID I HAVE IT, GODDAMMIT!” Levi roars before he huffs in frustration again. He focuses his attention back on his hand. His left and tweezers covered in blood from his right. “Shit.” He says lowly to himself, turning on the faucet. Sticking his hands and utensil under the spray, he watches as the crimson washes down the drain. “Fuck it, fine.” He hands it over to Eren. “Just get it out already.”

Eren suppresses the sigh that was building in his chest as well as the eye roll that he so desperately wants to do. Taking the tweezers and quickly removes the slivers from Levi’s palm, disinfects, and wraps it up.

“Thank you,” Levi grunts out before he sidesteps around Eren and walks back to the kitchen to get himself another drink.

Eren follows him, standing at the entrance of the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest. “So, you’re just going to drink and not even talk to me?”

“That’s the plan, Eren.” He gazes at the omega from over the top of his new glass full of whiskey. “If you don’t like it, you can go to bed or something.”

“You know what…I can’t deal with you right now. We can’t talk this over if you don’t want to, you know, talk. I’m trying my best here, Levi. I know for a fact that this is our baby. If you don’t want to talk now, then fine.” Eren walks into the kitchen to stand in front of him. “But know this, I cannot, will not get rid of this child. I know, Levi. I feel it in my soul, just as I feel you there as well. There’s a connection, and I will not sever that tie. I fucking refuse to!”

Levi growls deep in his throat at the omega as he gets into his face. He knows that he doesn’t want to provoke him into a fight, but damn does it feel like that. “I can’t believe that you’d do this.” He says with a shake of his head. “You’d really keep that rapist baby and expect me to be ok with raising it?” He scoffs as he pushes himself away from the counter, he steps around Eren and walk into the living room and heads for the couch.

Eren follows close behind him, Levi feels him there. He knows he’s there without even having to turn around. God, he doesn’t want him there. I just want to be able to breathe, dammit. He feels a hand on his shoulder, turning quickly he grabs it in his hold. “I said I don’t want to talk right now, Eren. For fuck's sake!”

Eren screams out in pain as his bandaged wrist gets caught in the iron grip. “L-Levi! Let go; you’re hurting me!”

Levi releases him with a gasp. “Just, go away – “

Before he could get another word out of his mouth, a loud and fierce slap lands across the alpha’s left cheek. “You fucking asshole!” Eren sobs, tears rolling freely down his face. He turns on his heels as he runs to their bedroom, he slams the door shut and locks it.

Leaving the alpha standing in the living room in shock from the hit, he snaps out of it and rubs his smarting cheek. “Shit!” He flops down on the couch with his drink. He can’t believe how shitty this day has become. He sighs to himself as he runs his hand through his hair, “How the fuck am I going to deal with this shit?”

He takes another swig of his drink before he leans back against the cushions. The sobs from the bedroom are ever-present in the background. “Guess I’m banned to the couch tonight.” He sighs to himself as he gazes at the amber liquid in the glass. “Looks like you’re my only company for the night.” He scoffs as he takes a sip. “At least none of it spilled.”

Chapter Text

The next week passes much the same. Blitz arguments filling their days, with their nights separated with Levi in the doghouse on the couch. No one outside of the apartment knew the going-on’s of the couple. Carla, Grisha, and Mikasa barely knew what was going on and when they tried to call either Eren or Levi, it would either go to voicemail or when Eren would pick up, he would assure his family that everything was ok.

Armin and Erwin knew better than to believe the lies they were told. Armin gained the courage to stop by for a visit, dragging Mikasa along with him, only to be refused at the door by the omega. “We’re fine, I promise.”

They were far from fine, and Armin knew it. They could both smell the scent of distress and upset coming from the seams of the door. Eren’s unhappy appearance and the smell were plain to see. Armin has a hard time getting Mikasa to leave and allow Eren to ask for help on his terms. However, as soon as the door closes behind Eren, he sighs as he is soon dragged into another argument.

“If you want to go with them, then that’s fine.”

Eren turns and sees Levi walking into the kitchen as if nothing was wrong with a glass in hand. The same glass that has been cleaned over and over again, it’s only contents ever being his whiskey. Following him, he stops at the entrance of the kitchen. “I’m not going anywhere, Levi. I told you already; I’m determined to work this out with you.”

Levi scoffs as he pours his drink. “Nothing to work out if you’d just listen to me.” He takes a swig. If Eren weren’t such a stubborn shit, then they wouldn’t be having this problem now. Why couldn’t he see to reason and just get rid of the damn rapist kid? Why force them both to go through more pain than what they needed to go through. He could tell that Eren still wanted to cling to him; he could tell that he still loves him. However, everything just felt cold to the alpha. Their apartment was not their home anymore. It felt dirty, defiled; it wasn’t their safe haven anymore. Ever since Jean stepped his disgusting feet into their space, it felt tainted and…wrong.

Eren growls at the persistent man, “What the fuck is wrong with you?! I’m trying to work this out for the both of us, but all you want to do is bitch and drink!”

“Humm, I don’t know?! How about MY OMEGA being pregnant with his rapist child?! OH, or, how about the fact that MY OMEGA doesn’t want to get rid of the fucker?” He slams back the rest of his drink before turning to glare at Eren.

“You know it’s not like that!”

“Is it?” He pauses as his glare becomes deadly, his eyes narrowing into almost slits. The open room becomes heavy with the scent of an angry alpha. “Was everything I did all for nothing? Getting rid of his filth from this world? And now his filth will live on through that… thing inside you!” Levi snarls as he points his finger at Eren’s stomach, the omega gasps in shock at the name and holds his belly as a way to protect his baby. “Just do what I say for once and not do as you want. I’m saying this to help both of us, Eren. Neither of us will be ready nor stable enough to raise that man’s child. Do you want that connection for the rest of your life?!  I refuse for everything I’ve done to be thrown down the drain!”

“W-what do you mean everything that you’ve done? W-what did you do, Levi?” Eren asks hesitantly. “What do you mean, you got rid of his filth from the world, Levi?”

There is a pregnant silence in the apartment for several seconds before Levi heaves a heavy sigh.  “It means I called in a favor from my uncle.” He pauses to look Eren in the eyes. “I never wanted to ask for his help, Eren. I need you to know that.”

“W-what the fuck does that even mean?” Eren’s face pales, dreading this line of questioning, but he needs Levi to say it. Needs Levi to be straight with him and say it finally. No one said anything exactly about what happened to Jean, but with the silence that he got from everyone when he asked a few times when he was in the hospital, he kind of put the pieces together. However, he needed to know what his mate’s part in all of this was.

“Jean needed to be dealt with, Eren.” Levi leaves his glass on the counter and turns his full attention and his body to the brunette. “You have to understand that; I know you must.” He steps closer to his mate, his eyes wide, his speech picking up in speed with panic. “I know you what he did to you, and he needed to be punished. He didn’t deserve to live. Nothing connected to him should be allowed to live.” He grabs Eren shoulders, his thumbs rubbing into his skin with increasing pressure. “I know you understand, so please listen to what I tell you when I say this is all for the best, love. His brat, anything with his DNA, should be wiped out for good. That whole line is nothing but bad news, Eren!” He growls out, his pupils blown wide with emotion as he releases possessive and aggressive tones of his usually comforting scent.

Levi’s blunt nails begin to dig into Eren’s flesh, he yelps and try to pull away. “Ow, let me go, Levi. You’re hurting me!”

“Not until you understand that he needed to die, he deserved every bit of the punishment he received and then some.” He snarls out, “There’s no way that anything connected to him can be any good. So, please, please get rid of it!”

Eren fights against Levi’s hold. “I said get off me, dammit!” Eren pushes Levi back, causing his back to hit the countertop. “What in the literal fuck is your problem?!” He screams at the disgruntle alpha as he rubs his offended arms. “You keep snapping; you need to get under control of your alpha, Levi.” He says with a sniffle. “Maybe I should take your advice and give you some space.”

Eren walks out of the kitchen towards their bedroom. It takes a minute for what the other male said to register for the raven. When Levi finally comprehends what was said, he follows him into the bedroom. Eren dashing around the room with tears in his eyes, throwing clothes onto the bed from the dressers is what he walks in on.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing? You’re not leaving this apartment, Eren.” The words come out graveled by his attempt to keep the growl out of his voice, but failing miserably.

“I’m giving you some much-needed space. I can’t deal with this anymore, Levi. You need time, and so do I. I can’t keep putting myself and OUR pup in danger because of your anger. You’re so blinded by it that you can’t even see the signs that it’s yours.” He says, holding back a sob as he begins to throw what he’s taken out into a duffel bag. It isn’t all of his things, but it is enough for now. At least until Levi comes to his senses, hopefully. He laches the bag shut and throws it over his shoulder. He shoulders his way past the speechless man.

“Eren, wait – “

Levi grabs for the duffel bag only for Eren to be faster and dodge him with a quick side-step out of his reach. “No, Levi.” The tears are finally flowing down his face freely, “I-I can’t do this right now. I keep allowing you to hurt me just because you’re hurt. I refuse to fall back into another abusive relationship. Regardless if you’re doing it on purpose or not, Levi, that’s what this is right now!” He shakes his head as he wipes his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Call me when you’re ready to talk this out like adults.”

Eren walks towards the door, throwing on his coat over his t-shirt, retying his sweatpants to make sure they wouldn’t fall off him and slips into his sneakers. He grabs his keys from the bowl and sighs before he reaches out to grasp the doorknob, “Don’t you dare leave this apartment, Eren.”

Eren freezes in his tracks; a shocked tremor runs through his body. His body begins to comply with the order; his eyes widen in shock and pain as he has no control over his own actions. Tears rush anew from the omega’s eyes, his heartbreaking in his chest, his muscles ache as he strains to disobey the alpha command. He shuts his eyes, clenching his fists in the act of defiance, tears spilling over and running down his cheeks. Eren fights, digging his nails into the palms of his hands, grounding himself to gain control again.

Eren screams as he bites down on his bottom lip, the sudden increase of pain and cooper taste in his mouth is enough for him to break the command placed on him. He whips his head around and glares at the older male whose face has become pale even for Levi.

“How dare you?” Eren snarls at the man.

“Eren,” He holds out his hands in a placating manner. “I-I didn’t mean to use it on you. I’m sorry, please don’t leave.”

“Fuck you, Levi.” With that, Eren turns back around to the door and storms out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. 

Chapter Text

Carla didn’t ask any questions when her son came home crying; she already knew. She could feel that something was wrong, and the problem was Levi. She didn’t want to stress her pregnant son any further, so she leads him inside to the warm kitchen, sitting him down with a cup of hot cocoa — Eren’s favorite.

Eren sobs softly against his mother’s bosom as she releases calming pheromones, this is the sight that Mikasa and Grisha walk in on.

“It smells like sad Christmas in here.” Mikasa stops short at the entrance of the kitchen.

“What are you talking about?” Eren sits up and tries his best to wipe his face on his jacket sleeve, which he has yet to remove during the almost two hours that he’s been in his family home — only having unzipped it during that time.

“Well, you guys scents combined reminds me of Christmas, but it has sour notes in it of depression,” Mikasa explains as she moves in front of her brother and crouches in front of him. “What happened?” She asks with a serious expression on her face.

“So, you smell the both of us?” Tears well up in the young man’s eyes once again.

“Yeah, why?”

Eren stands up, “Nothing, excuse me, please.” Mikasa steps back reluctantly to allow him to pass her. He dashes upstairs to his old bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. He flops down on his bed, face first into his pillow. It smells of laundry detergent and his parents, it smells like home. Tears burst from his eyes anew.

Before he falls asleep, curled up into a tight ball with his coat and sneakers on the floor by his bed, Eren can’t help but wonder one crucial thing. If Mika can smell both of us, why can’t he?

Eren’s mood spirals further down, and his depression spikes at it’s worse a week later when his birthday comes and goes without so much as a text message from his mate. The omega can’t help but feel the sharp sting of rejection from Levi, and he wanted to die.

Mikasa and Armin try their best to cheer up the brunette. The only bright moment for him was when he received two gifts from the pair. One is a decent-sized rectangle box wrapped in bright blue paper with birthday cakes, streamers and poppers on it, the other being a large envelope. Eren quirks an eyebrow, clearly not in the mood for their shenanigans.

“Open the big one first,” Armin says excitedly.

He shrugs and does as he’s told. Tearing open the present, Eren finds a large box with a plastic film cutout displaying a helicopter drone and controller inside. “Umm…guys, while I do appreciate the kind gesture, I don’t think this baby is going to play with this thing for many years. Also, I haven’t collected models in years, so I doubt this is meant for me, right?” He asks, befuddled.

“Just open the other one,” Mikasa rolls her eyes as she sits across from him in an armchair in their living room. Their mother next to her on the couch in the middle with Armin at the other end. Grisha stood off to the side of Mikasa with a coffee mug in his hand, wondering along with his wife, what exactly were these two up to.

Eren opens the envelope and peers inside. There is only a single sheet of paper inside with four large block letters printed on it boldly in black. The brunette snorts, bringing his hand up to his mouth as he chortles into it. He looks over to his best friends, his siblings. “I fucking love you guys.”

Mikasa smirks while Armin grins, he holds out a roll of tape out to his fellow omega. Eren takes it with a soft laugh and tears in his eyes. He opens the helicopter, putting in the batteries and then proceeds to tape the piece of paper to the landing skids. Eren can’t help but smirk as he hears his mother gasp at the crude joke now coming to light in front of her.

Mikasa smiles at her brother even as she gets hit in the arm by the appalled omegan woman in between her and her co-conspirator, neither escaping her wrath. Her attention is brought to her father, who offers his fist to her, she smirks as she bumps it with her own.

They are soon outside in the front lawn, Eren happily flying his helicopter. The second gift flapping in the wind as the motors whirled.

“You could have at least flown it in the backyard,” Carla sighs heavily as she glares at the four-letter word glaring back at her.

“Nah,” Grisha says with a smile as he looks on his son, who for once this past week did not smell of sadness. “He needed this; we all did. Look how happy he is to give a flying fuck.”  

Carla groans as ‘FUCK’ fly overhead; she sighs half-heartedly and smiles at the expression on her son's face. “I’m glad he’s happy, but something has to be done.” She says more to herself than her husband, her smile slowly melting away again.

A gentle kiss is pressed to her temple as she’s drawn to his side, “I know, honey. Let them work things out first. If things get too out of hand, we’ll be right there with a helping hand and advice.” His breath warms her skin as he speaks against it.

Against her better judgment, Carla nods her head. She knew what was best for her son, and what was happening was not best for her baby boy and her grandbaby.

Another week passes much the same for Eren. Eren spent most of his time locked in his room, curled in his makeshift nest. It felt weird and wrong without his big comfy pillows and soft blankets, but in his rush to leave, he was unable to disassemble the large construction and pack it away. Even with being royally pissed off at his mate, the omega still missed his scent. It was slowly getting to him that he hasn’t been scented in the past two weeks.

His morning sickness was only giving way long enough for him to have swift mood swings. He never knew when it was going to happen to him. All he knew was that he felt like shit, and he didn’t know how to fix it.

It is a Wednesday when Armin decides it is time for his best friend to venture out into the world and get some fresh air other than sitting on the porch of his parent's house. Taking him into the city in the blondes car, Eren can’t help but scrunch up his nose at the scent in the vehicle. Armin notices the look on his face and regards him with a quirked brow. “What?”

“Why does your car smell like Levi and Erwin?” He pauses to sniff a bit more, turning his head to chase the scent, he follows his nose to the back seat. “It also smells like stale sex, Armin.” The omega growls.

Armin pulls the car over suddenly, throwing it into park. “W-what?” He says with wide eyes, his face red as a tomato, mouth hanging open in shock as he stares at his growling friend. “W-wait, wait, Eren! You know I would never do anything with Levi, I have Erwin!” He says with his hands out between himself and the angry omega. “I would never do that to you! Erwin borrowed my car the other night because Levi was dodging him, so he used mine to follow him and to make sure he was ok. He ended up taking him back to his place to get him sober.” He sighs slightly as he watches Eren physically calm down, his scent reeling in from a heightened state in the closed space. “A-as for the sex – “the blonde blushes furiously as his hands drop into his lap he turns his head to the side in an attempt to hide his face. “M-me and Win…well – “

Eren can’t help but laugh at his stupidity. Of course, Armin wouldn’t do anything with his alpha when he had one of his own. By the looks of the love bites around the smaller male’s neck and collarbone was any sign, it was clear that the older man wasn’t going to allow his omega to wander. Erwin’s claim on him clear as day even without a bonding mark. “I’m sorry, Min, I don’t know what came over me.” He says as he sits back in his seat heavily. “I don’t know why I acted like that; it’s not like he even cares enough about me anymore. I shouldn’t have acted possessively.” He rubs his neck, his fingers grazing over his bond. They linger for a moment with a feather-light touch before jerking back like he was electrocuted.

He looks up at their surroundings spotting the building, noticing that they haven’t moved from the spot that Armin had pulled over. “Where are we anyway?”

“O-oh, Ummm…” Armin looks out of the passenger window past his friend. “I think she should explain.” He says with a shy smile.

“Huh?” Eren turns to his window, and sees the bubbly brunette walking up to the car with his mother smiling beside her. He whips his head to his friend, “Et Tu Armin?!”

“Sorry, this is for the best, Eren. Both you and Levi need counseling – “

“Is he inside?!”

“N-no, this session is solely for you, Eren. Please don’t be mad at me for help, your mother.” Armin pleads as a tap on the window, sounds out in the car.

Eren sighs as he opens the door and steps out. He wasn’t going to like this, but at least he would have someone to talk to who wasn’t family. Hanji was a professional. He knew he could trust the woman even if she was one of Levi’s best friends.    

Eren had to admit, talking to Hanji did leave him feeling slightly better after he left her off-campus office. After promising the beta that he would see her later that week and to call her whenever she wasn’t in class, or text her whenever he wanted to talk, he left with a slightly lighter heart than when he had entered the office reluctantly.

He still has many questions that he wasn’t ready yet to ask or even hear the answers for, but he had high hopes that he would be able to figure things out for himself. He wanted to be able to provide for himself and his pup even if that meant giving up his dream of finishing college at the moment. He would push through and take care of his child, with or without his mate.

Upon leaving the office, Hanji kind of rushed him, and his mother outside without much of an explanation and a quick goodbye. Thinking it weird, but no way to talk it over with the energetic woman, he follows his mother to her car. Inside he pulls out his phone as an idea dawns on him.

“Buckle up, Eren.” Carla says to her son, who is stuck in the device in his hands, “Who are you texting so furiously?” She asks as he finally pays attention long enough to get the seat belt on.

“Keith,” He answers her shortly. “I’m asking him for my old job at the restaurant.” He looks up at his mother, “I want to save up enough money for a place of my own and as much baby things as possible.” He looks down at his lap, his hand grazing along his still flat stomach. “I want to give this child as much love and attention as possible. I will make sure that they know that they are loved – “He pauses and finishes his sentence in his head, even if their sire doesn’t.

Eren didn’t have to finish his sentence, Carla knew. She didn’t like where her son’s head was, but she nods. “Ok, I’ll talk with him as well. I am still the co-owner after all.” She smiles as she pulls out into the late afternoon light traffic. “I am so proud of you, sweetheart.” She looks over at her son with eyes shining with pride. She reaches over the middle console to grasp his hand in her while at a stoplight. “You do know your father, and I will help with as much as you will allow, right?” Squeezing his hand with all the love she possessed for the beautiful person she sees before her.      

Eren squeezes back before Carla lets go to pay attention to the road again. “I know mom.” He says with a slight smile before he looks out the window, watching the city go by.

Hanji sprays down her office as quickly as possible before her next patient comes in. She curses herself for allowing the brunette’s first appointment to go so far over. She only had a few minutes to get the smell of distressed omega out of the room before her next appointment walked in.

A knock sounds on the door, “Shit.” She growls under her breath as she turns around, scenting the room with her nose to the air to make sure Eren couldn’t be smelled before answering. “Come in.” She calls, sitting in her comfy high-back rolling desk chair with her note pad in her lap, straightening herself before the door opens. She smiles at the dark-haired man before her with slumped shoulders as he closes the door and flops down on the sofa, “Hello, Levi. It’s good to see you again. Now, where did we leave off earlier this week?”

Chapter Text

Levi could sense Eren’s pain, and it only deepened his despair. Levi could feel his mate still. He could sense the rejection through their bond. He was still mad; he wasn’t pissed anymore. That was something, at least, to say the least for him. However, he did miss his mate. He wants his omega back in his arms. The only problem is, he doesn’t know how to go about doing so.

Eren’s birthday came and went by without him getting in contact with the other male. An unsent text wishing him Happy Birthday still sits in his phone from his attempt to reach out to him, even for that little. But he couldn’t bring himself to hit the send button. He ends up spending the night drinking himself into a stupor once again in their nest; that is slowly losing his mate's scent and beginning to stink of alpha rejection, depression, and liquor.

How long was Eren going to be gone? Couldn’t he feel how sorry he is? Did he even want him anymore? We’re they even mates anymore? Would Eren want to dissolve their bond? Just the thought of Eren wanting that hurt his heart. It physically hurt him to think of losing Eren forever, all because of his stupidity.

He wants to reach out to his mate; he wants nothing more than to hold the omega in his arms. He feels so naked without his scent fresh on his skin.

Erwin comes to visit him more times than Levi can count. He loses track of days soon enough. The only thing marking the time passing for him is his phone, which mostly stays on the charger. He knows it sounds creepy, but he can’t help watching Eren through his social media. Levi reads the few status updates that the omega has posted since leaving. It telling him that his omega was alive and well, he could feel what Eren didn’t say online though. He knew how he felt and what he was hiding from his friends. Eren was depressed and feeling rejected. This was all his fault, and he didn’t know how to fix it.  

A rap on his bedroom door pulls him from his torment, Levi turns his head slowly as he watches it open. He gazes on the tall blonde with disinterest, his eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. He hasn’t been sleeping well, and while he is still currently drunk, he doesn’t feel the blissful numbing anymore, only the agony. “What do you want?” He rasps out as he lays his head back down, curling up into a ball on his side.

“Check-in,” Erwin says as he flicks on the bedroom light, stepping into the room he scrunches his nose in disgust. He brings his hand up to cover the lower half of his face. “Dear God, man. When was the last time you showered? You smell like a brewery, forty-year-old virgin, and rejection.” He doesn’t wait for his friend’s answer as he walks over to the bed and kneels on the side of the nest. Not daring to spur on the other alphas rage for entering his territory, he doesn’t need to be bitten…again.

“Fuck you, shitty brows.” Levi grunts as Erwin reaches in and grabs him by the shoulders. He turns him onto his back without a fight from the smaller man. He drags the raven up and out of the nest and sits him up on the edge of the bed.

Erwin steps back from Levi once he has his feet on the floor. He places his hands on his hips as he looks down on the pitiful sight of his longtime friend. “Look here; we are going food shopping for you today, you need to get up, shower, and get dressed so we can leave.”

Levi sighs dramatically and pushes himself onto his feet. “I don’t see the point in doing this. Not like I’m going to eat it.” He shuffles his feet as he makes his way to the bathroom. Stripping and getting under scolding hot sprays, he lays his head against the wall. “I fucking hate myself.” He says as he shuts his eyes tightly as a single tear gets washed away.

*

Dressed in sweatpants, a long-sleeved shirt under his jacket and sneakers on, they leave the house, and Erwin drives to the neighborhood grocery store. Levi grunts as he squints his eyes against the bright sunlight. He drops the vizor to shield them, “You hate me, and you’re trying to kill me.” He says begrudgingly.

Erwin chuckles as he leans over to open the glove box while at a stoplight, “Use my sunglasses, big baby.”

The rest of the drive is silent, Erwin leaving Levi to his thoughts. He pulls out his phone out of his pocket. Pressing the button on the side to see his lock screen, he sighs as he gazes upon the picture there. The emerald green eyes of his love stare back at him squinted. The picture had been taken in mid-laughter; he can almost hear Eren’s golden giggle in his ears.

It doesn’t take them long before they are parked and making their way through the aisles of the supermarket. Erwin pushes the cart through the store as Levi shuffles behind him, wallowing in his self-hatred. A woman catches his attention as she moves her son behind her, her eyes never leaving him as they walk by. He doesn’t get the reason why until they are in the next aisle, and the tall blonde sighs loudly.

“Can you please at least try to control your scent?” Erwin scowls down on him, “You’re making everyone uncomfortable, and you scared that poor omega woman back there.”

Oh, that’s why. “Tch, if I’m such a problem, why take me outside where I can offend people's delicate sensibilities?

Erwin pinches the bridge of his nose as he struggles with the sudden urge to knock his best friend out and attempt to beat some sense into the man. Truth be told, the blonde was battling every instinct that told him to throttle Levi into next week. He had an almost constant migraine from being the go-between Levi and the outside world. Armin was a nervous wreck every time he came home smelling of the distressed and most times, violent man. They had to keep a can of scent canceller by the front door and a miniature one in his car. His patience for Levi was, unfortunately, running low.

“Levi, you know good and damn well why I’m taking you out.” He glares at the shorter male. “You need to get your act together. I understand the situation all too well, but it’s been two weeks since Eren left. You need to get some help, climb out of the bottle, and dry up. Do you think Eren wants an alpha like how you are now?”     

Levi sucks his teeth at him before turning away from him to grab a random bag of chips from a shelf before walking away from the frustrated blonde. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew Erwin was right. Who would want him as he was now?

*

A few nights later, Erwin isn’t surprised at all to receive a call from Rico. The beta woman sounded irritated and concerned at the same time. Erwin groans as he rolls himself to the edge of the bed, he hadn’t heard from Levi since he went over to take him shopping, a pale arms sling itself around the alpha's waist. He rubs it instinctually in gentle circles as he answers the phone. “Hello, Rico. What’s wrong?”

“Funny how you automatically assume that something is wrong.” She chuckles darkly through the line.

“Well, I haven’t heard from a certain Grumpy Bridge Troll in a few days, and you’re calling me at,” Erwin pulls the device away from his ear to look at the time. He sighs when he sees, “1:30 in the morning, that this has something to do with an intoxicated Levi.”

“Yes, apparently he built a tab at the bar, and when he told my new hire bartender that he was to charge it to the house,” Rico pauses, and Erwin can hear her sigh heavily on the other end. “Let just say there were words exchanged, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be putting up an ad for a new Bartender by tomorrow morning.”

He could tell that Rico was pinching the bridge of her nose by the stressed tone in her voice. “I’ll come and get him now.” Erwin begins to uncurl the arm wrapped tightly now around his waist when he hears a person speak to the woman in the background after asking for a moment.

“WHAT?!”

Armin shoots up in the bed, startled from the scream that made Erwin yank it from his ear. The smaller blonde whimpers for a moment, not knowing what had abruptly woke him up. Erwin sends calming tones to his omega as he draws him in close to his side. “Rico, what the hell happened?” The alpha rubs unrecognizable patterns into the clothed shoulder of the younger male.   

“I was just told that Levi left a few minutes ago. They don’t know where he went!”

“Rico, calm down,” Erwin lays Armin down and rises from the bed, he reaches over to the armchair to grab his sweatpants and the t-shirt he was wearing before bed. “I’m leaving now. I think I know where he would go. I’ll get the dumbass.” He sighs after reassuring the frustrated woman down enough to hang up with her. He looks to his omega with a sad smile. “I have to go, sweetheart.”

Armin opens his arms wide to his bulky lover. When Erwin leans over him, he sits up with his arms around his neck. “Go get that idiot,” He says as he rubs his neck along the alphas, he can’t help the need to scent the man before he leaves the bed to grow cold without him. “Take my car. He doesn’t know what mine looks like.”

Erwin nods his head with a smile. He tucks his nose into the crook of the omegas neck that he offers so beautifully. Taking a deep breath, he nuzzles there for a second longer before he pulls away to place a kiss to Armin’s temple. “Good idea, thank you. I’ll try to get back quickly.”

Armin hums into the embrace before letting his alpha stand up to his full height. “You better,” He lays back down and shuffles under the covers to get comfy.

Erwin chuckles as he throws a hoodie on, “I wouldn’t dream of making such a gorgeous being wait for long.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Win,” Armin says with a yawn. He watches as his boyfriend walks out of the bedroom, soon after hearing the door close and lock behind him.

It doesn’t take Erwin that long to find Levi; he is right where he thinks he will be. Where he will always go if he has something he needs to think about.

On the old pier that had withstood the damage of time near the neighborhood that Levi used to live in when the second tragedy of the alpha’s life happened. The wooden and concrete structure clunk under Erwin’s footsteps, alerting Levi of the man’s presence. Levi sucks his teeth once he recognizes who is approaching him. He grumbles to himself as Erwin takes a seat next to him on the wooden planks at the end, their feet hanging off the edge.

“I figured you’d be here, but the question is, why are you here?”  

Levi sighs heavily; he was not sober enough for this kind of conversation. He was barely sober enough to think about this subject by himself silently. He scratches the slightly longer hairs of his usually well-kept undercut. He’d let himself go. He was wallowing his depression and misery, leaving himself wide open to Eren’s emotions that he knew were killing him slowly.

“I don’t want to lose him, Erwin,” He hangs his head. “I’m going crazy without him.” He looks at his hands as they tremble, tears welling up in his eyes. “I hurt him, Erwin. H-how could I stoop so low as to be on the same level as that fucking prick?” He brings the heels to his face and grinds them against his closed eyes. “How could he ever want an alpha like me?!”

Levi struggles his way onto his feet, swaying slightly, but Erwin is right there when he thinks he’s about to faceplant. The taller man holds him with a hand of his chest and one on his back. A sickening spinning of the world has Levi knows it doesn’t sit well in his poor inebriated stomach. Without warning to Erwin, Levi upchucks the little food that the raven had consumed and a large amount of what smelled like a sour bar rag all over the blondes sneakers and his boots.

Erwin grimaces and throws his head back and stares at the sky for a moment, asking whatever deity to give him strength — moving his feet away from the spreading mess. He pats his friends back and rubs circles along his spine. “There you go, buddy. Let it out.”

Levi retches, while his best friend rubs his back. The raven soon finishes with a few more spits before he rights himself and looks to the blonde. “Thank you, Erwin.” They begin to walk back to Erwin’s car.

The drive back to Levi’s house was filled with silence, Erwin having to look over quickly to check if the man had fallen asleep. Levi sits there in silence, looking at his hands in his lap with sorrow. With his eyes back on the road, Erwin knows just who he has to call in the morning to help him with this. She was going to love this.

Chapter Text

The call went as expected, Hanji more than willing to help Erwin with his plan to get their irritable and depressed friend back on track. The news was received as expected as well, Levi was not happy when he was awakened up early, considering he was hungover and told where they were going.  

Erwin had to fight the smaller alpha tooth and nail to get him showered, dressed, and out of the apartment. It didn’t help that he hadn’t had much sleep in the past 24 hours, so his patience just wasn’t how it usually was. The drive to Hanji’s office is filled with Levi’s curses and foul scent. Arriving at the beta’s office, Erwin glares at the man to start moving, “If you don’t get out of this car, I swear I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you in myself.” The blonde says as he leans into the car from the open passenger door. Levi glares back at him in a clear challenge. “You know I’ll do it. Stop acting like a snot-nosed brat and get your ass in there.” A deep growl rumbles in the taller man’s chest.

“Fuckin, fine, asshole.” Levi sucks his teeth before he climbs out of the vehicle.

“Takes one to know one, asshole.” Erwin locks the car before they walk into the building. Hanji meets them at the reception desk with a smile that soon disappears from her face when she sees the looks on their faces. Erwin sighs heavily, “Fix this piece of shit, please.” Hanji nods her head, and he turns to Levi before the pair move behind the door to her office. “You’re not coming out until you’re fixed or at least have talked to her about your problems and Eren. Do you I make myself clear?”

“Sure, dad.” Levi rolls his eyes before following Hanji, his fate sealed once the door is closed behind them.

*

Hanji sets Levi’s net appointment for later in the week, condemning the man to two sessions a week. He is to stay dry, and with a few weeks of intense sessions, he should get the ok to go back to work without much of a problem. Erwin begins to guard the door to make sure that the man doesn’t try to pull another escape attempt. However, after getting his ass tossed back inside when he first tried, the raven sulks. Levi, of course, threatens murder, but his threats have no real bite to them as he is just tired of dealing with life and somewhat surrenders to his fate.

However, upon coming to his appointment, Levi can’t help but smell a very familiar scent reach his nose. It smells faint, but god does he know that scent anywhere. Except for one thing, he has no clue where it’s coming from.

Levi knocks on Hanji’s office door, there is a slight pause, and he looks over to Erwin when they both hear a shuffling and a few bangs before muffles call of, “Come in!” with slumped shoulders Levi opens the door and walks in before flopping down on the couch. A muddling of scents hit his nose; he scrunches it before he identifies the main one that assaulted it. There was just no way that he was smelling who he thought he was smelling.

“Hello, Levi. It’s good to see you again. Now, where did we leave off earlier this week?” Hanji greets him.

Levi sighs through his nose before he begins to speak, “I was saying how much of a scumbag I’ve turned out to be. That I think I’m a product of my shitty upbringing.” He looks away from the beta to glance at the floor.

“And do you still feel that way even after what we talked about?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s not like it’s going to go away overnight.” He scowls at the bespectacled woman.

“This is very true. We only spoke on Tuesday, and it is now Friday. I have to ask, though,” She pauses as she fixes him with a meaningful glare, scrutinizing her friend and trying her best to remain professional. “Have you had a drink since Erwin picked you up from the pier on Monday?”

“No, he threw out all my liquor and has given me breathalyzer tests daily,” Levi grumbles as he scratches the back of his head in frustration. He wanted a drink, no, needed a drink. No! You have to do better for Eren! He berates himself internally.

Hanji beams at the news of his sobriety thus far. “Good, good to hear. Now, what is it that you want to talk about today? Do you want to pick up from where you left?”

“I-I,” Levi doesn’t know what to say. All he did earlier in the week was confess how useless and powerless he is and how hopeless he is. She told him he has to work on himself, that they needed to first work on getting sober, then they could officially address the mess he has made of this situation and finds a way to address all the matters at hand in time. He knew she was right; how could Eren ever rely on him as a mate when he was too busy getting drunk? “I don’t know, Hanji.”

He shifts on the couch but catches a whiff of sour apple pie. It smelled like a distressed Eren. He leans over to the arm of the furniture and sniffs, yes. He whips his head to the left to the back cushion, he could tell, just barely, but it was there. EREN. He looks to Hanji with a suspicious look.

Hanji cocks her head to the side at Levi’s odd behavior. No, there was no way he could still smell Eren’s pheromones. She’d spent almost a quarter of her can to rid the space of the scent. She’d sprayed the couch! Wasn’t it enough to get rid of the apple cinnamon smell? Maybe it was more on a mated pair level. They were true mates; after all, maybe it had something to do with that? Her attention moves back to Levi when the man springs up from his seat and begins to pace. “What’s on your mind, Levi? Talk to me.”

Levi walks his path back and forth in front of the couch, his mind restless as could be. He had to be going crazy. “I’m off my fuckin rocker! I must be!” He says with his hands to his head, his fingers locking onto the raven strands in his fists. “I have been smelling Eren ever since coming in. I-I don’t understand. Do I miss him that much that I am now going to smell him everywhere I go?” He looks to Hanji in a panic.

Hanji’s eyes widen at her friend's declaration. I guess it does have something to do with him being his mate. I can’t smell anything other than the antiseptic smell of the scent canceller spray. “Levi, I don’t smell anything. Maybe you should sit down and put your hands in your lap.” She gets up and crosses over to the man. She slowly works his fingers from his hair. Hanji guides him back down to the couch, seating him away from the spot the omega had occupied during their session. Once Levi calms down enough to sit, still. Hanji sits back down in her chair.

“Hanji, I don’t know what’s happening to me.” He reaches into his right pants pocket, pulling out his phone. Levi sighs to himself as he gazes at his background picture. He can’t help but think back to a better time where Eren was by his side.

Eren, as he lays in his arms at their apartment, at the hospital. The most random conversations fall between their lips in hushed tones in the middle of the night when they couldn’t fall asleep. Levi’s hands would wander lightly along the omegas body, giving off comforting waves of pheromones as they lounge around, basking in each other’s presence.

“Do you think we’ll ever have pups?” Eren had asked once while still in the hospital.

“I don’t see why not. We’re healthy, and we’re- “Levi pauses for a moment and looks down on his mate and smiles at him before running his hand through his hair. He had found a single silver hair, and it depressed him. “Well, you’re young anyway.” They both chuckle at this before snuggling down under the covers for the night.

“I hope our babies have your looks. They will be THE best-looking kids ever.” Eren hums into the crook of his alphas neck, taking his scent in.

Levi chuckles into Eren’s chocolate tresses. “I think they would be better off if they looked more like you.” He kisses his hair before nuzzling there, loving the younger male’s natural scent mixed with his honey shampoo. “Now, THOSE would be some beautiful pups.” He hums as they cuddle each other contently.  

A hand touches his own and pulls him from his memories. Levi looks up into Hanji’s eyes, “Huh?”

“You’ve been staring at your phone for the past ten minutes, Levi.” She says, he looks down at the device to find it dark in his palm. The timer has long passed. “Levi, do you need a moment to collect yourself?”

Levi nods his head without looking back up at the woman. He watches as Hanji’s feet move from in front of him, her hand leaving his after squeezing it reassuringly. “I’m going insane, I fucking swear.” He whispers to himself as the door closes behind the beta.

*

Hanji sighs to herself once she is on the other side of the door. She hears someone clear their throat and jumps to the right. Erwin chuckles as the woman holds her chest, “Dammit, Erwin! I thought you were kidding when you said you were going to post guard during his sessions.”

“No, I thought I made myself clear.” He shakes his head at his friend. “Is everything ok in there?”

Hanji shakes her head and sighs, “I didn’t take into account that they are fated, mates.” Erwin cocks his head to the side in confusion. Hanji forces herself not to sigh at the man; not much is known on the subject still. Fated mates aren’t that common, and some believed it mainly a romanticized myth. “They are more attuned to each other’s scents than normal alpha/ omega pairing.” She folds her arms over her chest, staring at the other wall in thought as she leans against the one behind her. “Moving forward, we have to keep their sessions on separate days.” She says in a much lower voice so only the blonde could hear her.

“He thinks he’s going crazy because he can smell Eren’s scent. I feel like shit that I didn’t tell him.” She says as she hangs her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She hears Erwin move on her left before she is held tightly to his broad chest. She turns into his embrace and buries her face there.

Erwin can feel the small drops of wetness on his shirt, but he doesn’t say anything. He presses his cheek to the top of the woman’s head and rubs small circles in the middle of her back. The alpha shushes her as she hiccups, “It’s ok, Hanji. If anyone can help that stubborn ass, it’s you. I believe if we both work together; we can help him get back on his feet. He needs to speak with you for a few more weeks before I can bring him back to work. He needs something to focus on to get better.” He looks down on Hanji as she steps back to gaze up. Tears stream down her face in thick lines, Erwin takes the sleeve of his sweater and wipes her face with it before smiling at her. “I know you can do it because you are the best psychologist in the country. You even have plaques to prove so.” He smiles once again when she chuckles wetly, wiping her face anew with her sleeve. “Don’t doubt yourself or blame yourself for today. We’ll figure this out for both of them.”

Hanji nods her head and takes a deep breath before she steps away and turns back to the door. “Ok, it’s showtime.” She knocks on the door before she cracks it to stick her head into the room. Levi sits on the sofa; he lifts his head towards her. “Everything ok in here?” Levi nods his head at her. She steps into the room with a small smile, trying to fight the emotions that were struggling to make themselves known again. closing the door, she crosses the room and sits back down in her chair, picking up her pen and pad. “Now, where were we?”

Chapter Text

Eren walks into the family restaurant, his large jacket hiding the small protrusion easily. Now two months along, Eren could see in his mirror that he was pregnant. He was able to hide his condition from others with slightly larger clothing and scent dampener patches over on his scent glands whenever he left the house.

He had soon realized that leaving his parent's house without his glands covered brought on too much-unwanted attention. Omegas looked at him in pity when they smelled the small hint of rejection in his pheromones, while alphas were giving him bedroom eyes. Eren was hit on, subjected to subtle scenting, and talked dirty to.

Needless to say, the brunette is sick and tired of the rude treatment, and whenever he now went outside, he carried a can of pepper spray.

The bell above the door jingles, announcing his entrance to the few waitresses and his uncle who were currently working. Keith looks up with a smile on his tired features at his nephew. He’d been up the night before working the books and trying to keep his business afloat. While they were doing good in sales, bills did tend to backup some months more than others.

“Hello, Eren,” Keith greets him. “How is everything today? Better, I hope?” He asks with concern evident in his voice, features, and scent.

Eren removes his coat and hangs it up on the rack by the door before he moves to sit down at the counter, the tables and booths where a few customers ate were behind him. He smiles at the older man’s concern for his wellbeing. “I’m ok,” He says after a short time. “Some days are better than others, but I need to keep moving forward, right?”

Keith nods his head with a gentle smile. This young man before him has been through so much in his life, and yet he was still able to smile. It wasn’t his signature blinding one, but it was still a step forward in the right direction. It appeared to him that Eren had found a reason to reclaim his life for him. He couldn’t be prouder of his nephew. Proud to call him family, glad that he was able to witness his growth. “You’re absolutely correct.”

Eren nods with a smile. Both of their attention is soon dragged from one another as the bell rings again. Keith sucks his teeth upon seeing a slim blonde woman with blue eyes with a laptop back slung over her shoulder walks into the establishment, followed by a tall skinny man with a fedora that covered most of his black hair. Eren glances at Keith and watches his reaction to their new customer; something was wrong with the pair who walked in. Keith knew them.

Turning his attention back to the newcomers, “Welcome,” Eren chirps his greeting. The raven-haired man snaps his head up towards him and pauses in his task of removing his long black trench coat. Eren didn’t know why, but for some reason, this man looks oddly familiar to him. He couldn’t place him, and he knew this was going to annoy him until he figured it out.

The lanky man smiles as he makes his way over to the counter, he nods his head politely to Eren before regarding the older man behind the structure. “Good afternoon, may I have a word, Keith. As well as a cup of your best coffee.”

Keith crosses his arms over his chest, “You’ll have to settle for the same cup of Joe that everyone else gets.” He sighs as the other man chuckles then glances at Eren. “Eren, do you mind getting these two degenerates some coffee while I get a few things ready in my office?”

Eren rises from his seat to move around the counter, as Keith begins to make his way to the back of the restaurant. He busies himself with the mindless task of preparing and pouring the coffee for the pair. He can’t help but notice that while he is doing so that the raven-haired man was staring pretty hard at him. While this isn’t new for the omega, it still feels awkward, and he wishes his uncle would return to collect them sooner rather than later.

“So,” The deep voice draws Eren from his thoughts as he places the mugs in front of what he now sees is an alpha. Eren can’t help the shiver that runs up his spine as the man looks him with interest. “You must be the Eren that I’ve heard so much about.”

Eren laughs nervously, “All good things, I hope?”

The alpha nods his head with a widening grin. The omega concludes that he didn’t and shouldn’t trust this man. There was something…off about him. Eren shoots a glance over to the blond seated next to her companion. She hadn’t said a word since entering the establishment, now seeing that she was beta only helped slightly to put him at ease with the pair. However, there was still an air of danger around them. He wants out, a way to remove himself from this situation.

His way out is thankfully given to him in the form of a customer across the restaurant motioning for more coffee. Eren excuses himself and makes his way to the booth where the customers were sitting along the wall. It must have been a signal for a few different tables to ask for refills, which the brunette does so with grace. Upon reaching the counter again, he finds the pair is gone. Under the mug where the suspicious alpha had sat lays a folded $100 bill. His eyes widen at the currency.

There was no way that the man meant to leave this much for two cups of coffee. He must have mistaken it for a $10 bill. Yeah, that must be it. I’ll just keep it to the side and bring it to his attention when he came back from the office.

The trio sits down in the office in the rear of the building. The small room was only used when he was doing the books, payroll, and small meetings. Keith sits behind the wooden desk; his laptop pushed to the side. The visiting pair in chairs in front of him.

“You have what I asked for?” Keith asks.

Kenny smiles and nods to the blonde, “Of course I did. I wouldn’t be a man of my word if I didn’t.” Traute pulls the laptop bag from her shoulder and places it on the desk in between them. Kenny motions with his hand at the bag, “You’ll find it is of the best quality on the market. This isn’t even a product that a normal business can afford, let alone even see on any site.”

Keith reaches for the strap and pulls it to himself; he opens it and sees the security system lying inside. He glances over it before he closes it, “The same price?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of inflating the price for such a good friend. I still owe you for saving my hide a few times.” Kenny smirks as he leans back in his chair.

Keith hums as he zips the bag back up, placing it on the floor net to his feet. “If you owe me so much, you should just gift it to me for old times sake.” He smirks at eh shocked look from the other alpha.

“Now, now, Keith. You’re like family to me, but even family can’t get things for free. Are you trying to bleed me dry, man?”

Keith snorts at that as he opens the draw to his right and pulls out a manilla envelope and tosses it over to the woman. “It’s all there.” He nods his head over to the corner where a filing cabinet sits with a money counter on top of it. “She can count it over there if you want.”

Traute doesn’t waste time as she rises from her seat to do as she knew Kenny would want without even being told. Keith watches her out of the corner of his eye before regarding his friend once again. Keith cocks an eyebrow as a small bag is placed on the desk, a metallic thunk sounding against the wood. He points at it, “What’s this?”

“A much better form of security free of charge for a certain omega,” Kenny says as he slides it over. “I have a feeling things are only starting for him; I fear.”

“What do you mean, it’s only starting for him?” Keith asks as he opens the bag to see a .9mm Ruger. It was a beautiful piece with some weight to it. Something that Eren already knew how to use from when he had taught the young omega.        

“The hospital that that omega friend of his is held isn’t very secure. Low security, someone could walk right out of there.” Kenny looks over to his friend with concern in his eyes. “I have eyes and ears everywhere, Keith. I am only trying to help where I couldn’t before. And since my dumbass of a nephew apparently can’t take care of his omega at the moment,” He pauses to sigh heavily and rub his right temple. “I am trusting you with the future of my family.”

“He was my family before he was ever yours, Kenny.” He takes the firearm and places it in the top draw of his desk, “I will do anything for that boy.”

*

Eren waits for the alpha to come out from his meeting with his uncle. He cleans the counter and runs orders out to patrons and greeting new ones. It is a busy thirty minutes until he sees the lanky man walkout. He dodges out from behind the counter to stop the man before he leaves.

“E-excuse me, sir?” The tall alpha stops in his tracks as the blonde woman moves to the door to gather their things. It doesn’t pass Eren’s observation that they now no longer have their bag. Maybe it was something for Keith.

“Yes?” The taller male quirks a brow very familiarly, giving Eren pause for a moment.

The omega holds up the $100 bill and holds it up for the man to see, making sure the extra zero was visible for the man. “I believe you made a mistake when you paid for your coffee.” He holds it out to the man. “Both mugs together are only $4, and you didn’t even get a refill.”

“Thank you for bringing it to my attention, young man.” Kenny smiles. He pushes the brunette’s hand back to his chest. “However, I do not have anything smaller than that.”

“Oh, then allow me to get you your change,” Eren says as he turns around to walk to the cash register. He is stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

“You keep the change, sweetheart.” He says with a gentle smile. “You deserve it.”

“W-what?” Eren stutters as he realizes what the man just said to him. “I-I couldn’t take that as a tip.”

“Then think of it as a family friend helping out in the time of need.” Kenny takes his coat and hat from Traute with a bow of the head to Eren. “Until next time Eren.”

Eren stands there dumbfounded as he watches the two leave the restaurant. It isn’t long before Keith comes up behind him with a concerned hand on his shoulder. “Are you ok, Eren? Did something happen?”

Eren holds up the money for the older man to see, “He left me a tip.” He says in a low and squeaky voice of disbelief.

“Holy crap, put that in the register, and take your tip quickly before the other wait staff sees.” Eren snaps his head to Keith wide-eyed. Keith shrugs his shoulders, “You’re going to need every penny, remember? Put it to the side for your pups, raising kids is very expensive.”

Eren nods his head as he does what he is told, but he can't help but feel like he didn’t earn it whatsoever. Who gave someone a $96 tip anyway?

Jinae county medical facility is a low-level security mental hospital. The patients there have free range of the common rooms when they are not in therapy or their rooms. The mail is mostly read to the patients as well as searched before being presented to them.

Their largest room is the main common room. There are two televisions, one at each end in the vast space that spans most of the building second floor. Chairs, tables, couches, and armchairs scattered around the room for the use of staff, patients, and visitors alike.

In the corner of the room next to a large window sits the freckled brunette omega. Marco has kept mostly to himself since coming to the facility almost two months ago. There are a few omegas that he speaks with from his therapy group, but other than that, he has taken up residence in this corner waiting for his alpha to get him.

He knows what he has been told is a lie. Jean would never leave him, he promised. He was an alpha of his word. Jean had promised Marco that they would live with their pups and Eren’s as a happy pack. He and Eren would be brother omegas together with their shared alpha between them. They would have litters together, and everything would work out for the better. They would be happy, that’s what Jean had said to him only two months ago.

Jean wouldn’t leave him; he was snatched away. He was taken away from him, and his omega mourned his broken bond with his mate.

He sits there wrapped in a blanket that has now long since lost the comforting scent of home. A staff member sits down next to him and informs him that he has gotten mail. He barely pays attention to the words that they read to him. The only thing he can focus on now is that the paper near him has the scent of pregnant omega. He knows this scent.

My pups.

Chapter Text

Levi’s first week back on the job was a horror show. He was fine when he came in that Monday morning, in the afternoon a crash case had come into the emergency room. The patient crashed; Levi’s team was able to bring them back. However, it took him longer to do so than he would usually have.

Later on, in the week, an omega patient came in due to domestic violence. Erwin had to quickly take Levi off the case when the alpha tried to burst in through the emergency room doors then into the operating room. Levi had to be pried off the man by security. The blonde took over and sent the raven home for the day.

The surly man attends his sessions with Hanji without having to be dragged by Erwin. He gives up the bottle, but he still doesn’t call his mate. He has tried to reach out to his omega through their bond but feels a firmly placed wall where it was once open.

“I guess I deserve that.” He sighs to himself after one session as he lays on his bed. He reaches for his phone to look at the time. It reads 7:45 pm, he rolls over and throws on his shoes before getting up and walks out of his bedroom to grab his jacket. It was the first night that he would leave his house for something other than work. Grabbing his keys from the bowl near the door, he locks the door and proceeds downstairs to his car.

It doesn’t take him long to reach Erwin’s apartment. They had agreed to a small dinner at his house with Armin there as well. Levi didn’t know how to feel about the little omega being there. Did he hang out with his mate earlier in the day? Would he smell of Eren if he did? Would he pass a message to his omega if he asked nicely? Probably not, but it was something to think about.

Parking the car, he makes his way to his friend’s apartment. Once he is outside the door, he can hear a heated argument going on between the couple. He doesn’t want to eavesdrop, but he also can’t help but listen to the words passing the small omegas lips.

“How can you invite him here when he’s such a dick to his mate?”

“He’s a friend who needs help and support at the moment, Ar. I can’t just abandon him in his time of need.” They must be in the kitchen for him to be able to hear them clearly, Levi surmises.

“Look, I get that he’s been your friend for god knows how many years. I get that, but I have been friends with Eren since we were in diapers pretty much. I cannot and will not speak to that man while he treats my best friend like shit!”

Levi turns to walks away from with a sigh. Armin was right, he was a piece of shit, and he felt every bit as much. The alpha stuffs his hands in his pockets as he walks away from the door. It’s flung open just before he pressed the button for the elevator a short distance away. Armin has his jacket in his hand with Erwin behind him with imploring words dying on his lips.

The silence is tense for a moment before Armin shrugs the hand off his shoulder and shoulders past Levi towards the stairs. He glares at him as he passes and pauses with the knob in his hand. “Call Eren, you prick.” He opens the door and slams it shut, leaving both alphas in shocked silence.

Erwin doesn’t know what to say at first as he watches his boyfriend walk out of his house and down the stairs. He knows that going after him with Levi still here is no point and needs time. He doesn’t want to be bothered, but he knows where he’s going and knows he will be safe there. He sighs and dry rubs his face before waving the other man in.

Levi reluctantly joins his friend inside his home. The blonde takes his coat and hangs it on the back of the hallway closet door. “How bad is it?”

“How much did you hear?” Erwin asks as they make their way to the kitchen.

Levi leans against the counter as he watches him add the final touches to dinner. “Enough.” He says with a sigh before he continues, “I take it this isn’t the first argument with me as the forefront.”

“No, not in the slightest.” Erwin stops his stirring of the sauce for the baked chicken. He places his hands on the counter with his head down between his shoulders, looking like a man of the brink of defeat. “I don’t know what to do. I love him, but we’ve been more like brothers than friends. I honestly am trying not to choose sides, but I do see where he’s coming from, Levi.” He looks up at his best friend before he pushes himself off the counter to stand straight. “You have to call him even if he hangs up on you out of anger. I know that you’re scared of the rejection that is sure to come from your mate, but nothing but a try causes a failure, Levi. You must see that.”

Levi turns to place his elbows on the counter and rubs his temples. “I know, believe me, I know. I miss my omega. I want him in my arms again where he belongs. I miss his scent.” He says, holding back a silent sob.

Erwin closes the short distance between them and places a supportive hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to do it tonight, but you need to do it sooner rather than later,” Levi answers with a nod of his head. “Good, now let’s eat something, at least. Don’t want my masterpiece to go to waste.” He says with a small smile.

They spend the rest of the night eating and talking before Levi leaves a few hours later. He knows that he has to be the one to reach out to his mate, the one to make the first move and soon.

Eren climbs out of his new nest in the living room, watching television until he hears the knock at the front door. Looking over at the digital readout on the cable box, 8:30 pm. “Who the hell?”

He looks through the peephole, seeing a visibly upset Armin he quickly opens the door to allow the smaller male inside. Closing and locking the door behind them, he turns around to regard his friend. Being mindful of the belly, Armin throws himself into his arms and sobs into his chest. “What happened?!” Eren exclaims as he releases a calming scent to settle his friend.

“Alphas are stupid.” He says as he rubs his face into the other omegas shirt.

A growl rumbles in Eren’s chest, “Do I need to kill a dumbass?” he says before a whiff of a familiar scent catches his nose. He hesitates for a second before he presses his nose to his friend's shoulder. “Min? Why do you smell like Levi?”

Armin pulls away with tears streaming down his face. He doesn’t want to upset his friend, but he knows he has to explain this to him. “Let’s get out of the hallway first?” The blonde asks, Eren nods his head and allows his friend to take his shoes and jacket off. Eren grabs the coat out of his hands and presses the shoulder of it to his nose. “I know you’ve been scent deprived, Eren, but I would like my jacket back later, ok.”

Eren nods his head as the walk away from the door and back to the living room. The climb into his nest together, Armin waits for a moment before he begins his explanation. Eren listens carefully to the smaller males accounts of the evening and the last few days. The arguments, the fights, the disagreements, all the while, his alphas scent is pressed against his chest. “Levi’s been working like a dog since he’s returned to work apparently. Some good days, some bad. I know he’s been working on himself as well, but he should give you a fucking phone call or at least a text message.” He shakes his head against Eren’s chest as they cuddle together. “It’s not right what he’s doing to you, especially now. I don’t understand why he takes his side blindly.”

Eren soothes the smaller omega with his scent, coming off motherly as he rubs his hand up and down his arm. “I understand where you’re coming from Armin, but I don’t want you putting your happiness with your mate at risk due to my failed relationship. As for Levi,” Eren pauses, he has been thinking things over but has never spoken the words aloud. “I have an appointment with a caseworker at the WOCSS. I don’t think he wants our bond anymore.” He says as a sob rips from his throat. “It’s been two months with no word from him, and I am losing hope, Armin.”

“No, Eren, you can’t!” He reels back from their embrace. “You mustn’t break your bond; it's excruciatingly painful, it’s a high risk of you losing your pups if you do it now!” Armin knew about what the WOCSS was, everyone did. The Woman Omega and Child Social Services had different departments, but helping omegas end unwanted bonds was something they were widely known for.   

Eren sighs deeply as he shakes his head. “I only plan on getting information at the moment. I know the risks of breaking a bond now.” He places his hand on the rounding stomach and rubs it before he speaks again, his voice wavering. “I’m looking at all possibilities at the moment. I don’t want to abort, but maybe…” He trails off before he can speak the disheartening words. He wants to love his pups, but how can he give them a good life if he can’t even keep his life together.

He thinks back to one of his customers from the diner. The alpha wasn’t bad looking, and his mate was a wonderful woman. They couldn’t conceive but still loved each other very much. It pained him to think of not being able to have his pups in his arms, but if he could bless someone else with that opportunity?

“Eren?” His attention is brought back to the blonde in his nest. “Please think on things before you do something that can’t be reversed. Do not jump too soon, Eren.”  

Eren knew where his friend was coming from, but everything hurt too much. Still too raw to put a bandage over it. “Maybe,” He pauses for a moment to collect himself, his throat suddenly drier than the Sahara. He clears his throat before attempting to speak again. “Maybe I can look for benefits as an abandoned omega.”

Armin sees the broken person his best friend has become and pulls him closer to him and soothes his tousled hair down with a hand. Eren’s shoulders shake with silent sobs, Armin’s shirt dotting with teardrops. He releases a soothing scent to calm his fellow omega. He shushes him gently when Eren’s cries become audible, “You’re so strong, Eren. That’s how I know you’ll get through this and have your pups.” He nuzzles the top of his chocolate tresses, “I just know it.” 

Eren’s sobs heighten before they begin to diminish, “T-thank you, Armin.” His arms tighten around the smaller male’s waist. They snuggle against one another for a while longer before the blonde feels the even, gentle breaths as he continues to hold his friend in his arms.

He looks down between them and regards his jacket pressed against the brunette’s chest and under his nose. There is a mixture of tears and snot on the collar and shoulder. Armin grimaces and groans softly. I’m going to have to throw that in the washer before I leave. He shrugs it off for the moment to deal with it in the morning. Anything for my Eren. He thinks before he snuggles in closer and closes his eyes as well.