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It started when Petra Jinn, the English teacher at Levi's school, announced that she was pregnant.
Petra and her mate Eld had been trying for a year, she had said, placing a hand on her slightly rounded belly.
She had smiled so widely, face lighting up when she talked about her baby, and Levi had felt a sharp ache settle deep in his gut.
She smelled happy, the faint scent of pup mixing in her her normally sweet smell, and Levi longed to know what it would smell like mixed with his and Erwin's scent.
The missing piece that would make their house a nest.
They had never talked about it, but with his job and Erwin getting a permanent station on base that offered no threat of deployment, they could handle a child.
And Levi hadn't wanted anything more in his life.
"Hey, Erwin," he started nearly a month later, lifting his head up from where it was resting on Erwin's shoulder.
Erwin hummed, turning a page of the book he was reading.
Levi swallowed. "Would you, eh, ever want to have kids?"
Erwin stopped, page half turned, and looked over at Levi.
"Yeah, I've always wanted kids."
Levi felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, a rare smile breaking out across his face.
"Yeah?" he laughed, pulling back a little more.
"Why do you asked?" Erwin said, brows furrowed.
Then his eyes went wide. "You're not?" he asked, trailing off as his eyes dropped down to Levi's flat stomach.
Levi laughed again, and Erwin loved hearing the sound of it.
"No, no. But, I think I want to try. If you want to."
Erwin dropped his book, cupping Levi's face and pulling him in for a kiss.
"You're sure?" he asked, voice belaying his excitement.
"Yeah, Erwin. I'm sure."
He kissed him again. "There's no one else I'd rather have kids with than you."
Levi sat on the edge of the tub, staring at the little white stick that was sitting on the edge of the sink.
He had stopped taking his suppressants and birth control the next day, and they had been trying for a baby for six months.
Levi's stomach knotted as he waited for the five minutes to be up, and he thought he was going to be sick.
He'd felt sick for close to a week, and could hardly leave the house for work, the smell of gas and smoke on the street taking his stomach churn.
He hadn't even thought of morning sickness at first, then he read one of the what to expect books that he'd picked up, and five minutes later Erwin was kissing him goodbye so he could go to the store.
A knock at the door made him look away from the test as Erwin called through the door.
"It's been five minutes."
Levi stood up, and he could hardly look.
Taking a deep breath, he glanced down, and promptly deflated.
Negative.
Levi knocked the test into the trash, and when he opened the door he didn't even have to say anything, the tears gathering in his eyes and the sharp scent of disappointment enough for Erwin to know.
He sagged against his Alpha when he wrapped his arms around him, sure that Erwin could feel the dampness on his skin.
Erwin rubbed at his back, swaying them from side to side.
"We'll keep trying Levi, it will happen."
Levi took in a ragged breath. "What if it's me, Erwin? What if I can't-"
He took a shuddering breath.
Erwin hugged him tighter.
"We can talk to a doctor if you want," he offered, willing to do anything to put his Mate's mind at ease.
Levi stared at the doctor disbelieving. "Possible infertility?" he repeated numbly, hoping he had heard wrong.
The doctor sat back in his chair. "The suppressants you were taking can cause infertility in some cases, and when that's coupled with birth control the chances do go up. We can't know for sure until we run a few tests, though."
Something must have shown on his face because she leaned forward, sympathetic. "I'm sorry, I know that's not the news you were hoping for."
Levi was kind of happy that Erwin had gotten called into work last minute, so he didn't have to hear it.
He could almost feel their dream of a baby slipping through his fingers.
"Is there anything I can do? To boost my fertility?"
Nodding, the doctor handed him a pamphlet from the corner of her desk.
"I can prescribe you a hormone supplement. A fair amount of people your age take them to help conceive."
Levi tried really hard not to be offended by that, reading over the pamphlet carefully.
He passed it back to her when he was done.
"I would like to try that before I take any tests, if I can."
"Certainly."
Levi smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time in weeks.
Four months later Levi felt like he either wanted to scream or cry, knocking the negative test to the floor.
Erwin found him ten minutes later, and took the upset Omega into his arms, rocking him until heaving sobs turned to sniffles.
"I can't take this anymore, Erwin," he said, voice broken."I want a baby so much, Erwin, but I can't do this again."
Each test had been a blow, chipping away at him until they got under his skin.
He would get his hopes up every month, only to have that hope snatched away. A candle blown out too soon, leaving him in the dark.
"Okay. We can stop trying for now."
He could tell that it pained his Mate to say so, knew that Erwin had been just as excited as he was every time his heat would come late or he'd get sick.
He pressed closer to his Alpha, and wondered how long it would be before Erwin decided that he didn't want a broken Omega.
Levi woke up a month later with a splitting headache, groaning when the sunlight streaming through the window got into his eyes.
He rolled over, grumbling, and hid his face against Erwin's shoulder.
"Mmmf, good morning, love."
Levi huffed, and Erwin chuckled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
Erwin tensed a little bit, pulling back, and Levi opened his eyes enough to squint at his husband.
Erwin lifted a hand to his forehead, brows furrowed.
"Are you alright, Levi? you feel a little clammy."
"I'm fine, just a head-" He stopped when his stomach lurched, face going pale.
He scrambled to get out of bed, running to the bathroom with a hand pressed over his mouth.
Erwin made it to the bathroom as he was sitting back on his heels and wiping his mouth, grimacing.
He poured his mate a glass of water to get the taste of bile out of his mouth, rubbing at Levi's back.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Levi glared weakly at him over his shoulder, head swimming.
"No. I need to call Mike and see if he can teach the brats today."
Erwin rubbed over his back.
"I'll call him," Erwin said, helping Levi stand on shaky legs. "Let's get you back in bed."
Levi gave Erwin a grateful smile as he lead him back to their room, and let Erwin put him to bed.
Once he was sure Levi was comfortable, Erwin closed all the curtains and went down to the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a glass of orange juice and two pain pills.
"Thanks," Levi said after he had swallowed the pills, leaning back against the pillows.
"Will you be alright here, or do you need me to call in today?"
Levi burrowed deeper under the blanket.
"Go to work, I'll be fine."
Erwin gave him a look, but got up to get dressed anyway, doubling back to the bed as he buttoned up his shirt.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"
Levi smiled up at him.
"Of course. I'll call you if anything happens, Okay?"
"Okay."
Erwin leaned down, kissing Levi's forehead.
"I'll be back tonight. Be sure to drink a lot of water."
"Yes, daddy," Levi said sarcastically, grinning when it got a chuckle out of his Alpha as he left the room.
Levi slept for most of the day, headache a faint memory when he woke up because his stomach was cramping up again.
He threw up three more times before Erwin got home, glancing at the pregnancy test they still had stocked in their medical cabinet.
Hands shaking, he looked at the calendar on his phone. Sure enough, his heat was a week late.
He tamped down the hope and excitement, reaching out to grab the box.
The front door opened and closed just after he had taken the test, Erwin calling out to him.
"It the bathroom-Holy fucking shit, ERWIN!" Levi shouted as he stared down at the test in shock.
Erwin ran through the house, knocking on the door.
"Levi, are you all right?"
Erwin asked through the door, opening it when Levi didn't say anything. He opened his mouth to ask what had happened when he saw the test on the edge of the sink, Levi's eyes were wide and glossy but he had a smile on his face.
"Erwin," Levi started, still staring at the test. "We did it."
He turned to him then, grin getting even bigger.
"We are going to have a baby."
As Erwin hugged Levi close to him, eyes trained on the test, he couldn't help but feel like those two lines were the most beautiful thing in the world.
After all the trying and waiting, they were going to have a baby, Erwin could hardly believe it.
"We're gonna have a baby, Levi."