Chapter Text
His hands were shaking. There was no way! He was on the shot! Right? Wait, when had his last dose been again? Oh, shit. Hadn’t the clinic called him to schedule another appointment recently?
The pregnancy test in Eren’s hands - the second one he’d taken, both of which told him the same thing - was the anchor weighing him down on his bathroom floor.
He couldn’t get up off the tiles. A late heat, inescapable fatigue and several trips to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach over the last week had brought him to this moment, convincing him to stop by the drug store on the way home from class. He wasn’t dumb; he knew what it could mean, but he had still been hoping it was a virus or something.
What was he going to tell his family? His friends? He was in college! Well, at least he only had a few months left. Maybe the timing wasn’t the worst thing in the world…
He’d always wanted kids someday, just not fresh out of college and with a drunken one-night-stand for a father. Eren didn’t even know how to contact him! All he had was a first name.
Titan, a popular club downtown, had been the location of Historia’s birthday night-out about a month ago. All of his friends had been there, drinking and dancing and having a fantastic time. The alcohol was flowing freely, and on one of Eren’s many trips to the bar, he met him.
The alpha was sitting by himself, nursing a drink. Eren had been the one to strike up a conversation with him, drawn in by his mysterious aura and attractive features, with his dark hair styled in an undercut, straight nose, chiseled jawline and eyes like clouds before a storm. That, and his scent was indescribably incredible, smooth yet musky, wrapping around Eren like a warm blanket. Forget the drinks - he was thoroughly intoxicated by the alpha’s scent.
He seemed closed off at first, but Eren was determined to talk to him. After all, who could resist Eren Jaeger, especially when he had taken such care to look nice for the occasion? He’d swept his long brown hair half-up, donned a sheer, sparkly top and tight black jeans. He’d even made sure to gloss his lips! He’d been determined to dance with the man who had caught his eye.
Eventually Eren had gotten his drinks from the bartender, dumped them at his table for his friends, and pulled the alpha off of the bar stool and onto the dance floor.
Then one thing led to another…
The alpha was gone when Eren woke up in an unfamiliar apartment, leaving nothing but a note telling him that he was off to work and signed with a simple “Levi”. Embarrassed, sore and hungover, Eren quickly got dressed, found his way outside and hailed a taxi to take him home.
He’d found himself daydreaming about Levi a couple times over the past month; the alpha was undoubtedly gorgeous and had left him with sinful visions of rough kisses, skillful fingers and powerful thrusts. He had plenty of memories to fuel him through his next heat. Well, would-be next heat, if not for his current predicament. But he’d found himself wishing over the past few weeks that he had gotten the man’s number or that the man had cared enough to leave it. Maybe then he could’ve gone on a proper date with the alpha and gotten to experience that night over and over again.
Maybe then he would have had an easy way to contact the man and tell him, “Hey! You’re going to be father!”
He had to tell him, right? Levi had a right to know, even if the alpha ended up wanting no part in it.
He didn’t even remember what part of town the apartment had been in. He’d spent most of the ride home with his eyes closed, leaning his forehead against the cold window in an effort to help cool his headache and ward off his disappointment. What was Eren going to do?
What was Eren going to do about anything, really?
He could have it terminated. That was always an option. He had options. Adoption, maybe? Or… he could keep it. Again, he’d always wanted a kid…someday. Well, eight to nine months in the future is a someday, he supposed.
He had options. He had time.
For now, he needed to get his ass up off of the floor, tell his roommate and best friend, Armin, and then make an appointment at the clinic to be extra, extra sure.
He’d wait to tell his parents and his adopted sister, Mikasa, he decided. Mikasa, who was studying at a different school in the next state over, was fiercely protective. If she knew, she’d be at his doorstep in an hour to interrogate him and track Levi down. He didn’t want to involve her, or his parents (who would likely be at least a little bit disappointed in him for being careless) until he knew for sure what he was going to do. Maybe, if he chose one path, they never even had to know.
For now, Armin was the only one who needed to know, and he took it as well as one can when they find out their best friend and roommate is pregnant after a one-night stand in college.
He’d sat the blonde omega down after he returned from class and broke him the news with the test. Armin thought it was a joke at first, then cried and hugged Eren with promises of being there for him throughout the entire ordeal. After being sworn to secrecy, Armin’s first step was to try and help him try to find out more about the mysterious Levi.
Eren called and made an appointment with the clinic for that Friday, squeezed in on his lunch break between classes and a shift at the cafe, while Armin began a search on Facebook.
“I’m seeing several people named Levi that live in the area… but none match your description,” Armin sighed after Eren got off of the phone. “You don’t remember anything else? Nothing in his home clued you in to a possible profession?”
“It’s not like I rifled through his personal belongings! I was trying to get out of there as fast as I could,” Eren explained. “But just to reiterate: grey eyes, black hair, pale. Undercut. Shorter than me…”
“Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m not seeing a Facebook. I will look through Instagram. You said he was older than us, right?”
“Not much older. He might be twenty-six? Twenty-seven? His apartment was way too nice and far from the university for him to be student.”
“If only you would have paid attention on the way home,” Armin said, exasperated.
“Well, it’s not like I thought I’d ever have to track him down!”
“Touché.”
*************
“So!” Doctor Zoe exclaimed, tapping their pen to the clipboard in their hands. “We’re here to confirm a pregnancy?"
“I took two tests - both were positive - but I’d like to be sure,” Eren nodded.
“Of course, muffin!” He’d been seeing Dr. Zoe for the three and a half years that he’d been in Trost for university and was used to their antics (and pet names) by now. If anything, he found the pet names and the doctor’s subtle, calming beta pheromones comforting. “Now, you missed your last contraceptive shot that was scheduled for December?”
“Yes,” Eren frowned, remembering the cause. “It was during the finals for the fall semester. I had a huge paper due. I must’ve canceled but never rescheduled. And then the holidays… I completely forgot.”
“These things happen,” the doctor mused, flipping a to the next sheet on their clipboard. “The urine sample that the nurse took at the beginning of your appointment did yield a positive result. We will send your blood off for a test to 100% confirm it and get back to you within a few days, but the urine test is rarely wrong. Now, given this result, we can discuss your options.”
“I…” Eren began. He’d been up the past two nights thinking it over. “I’m leaning towards keeping it.”
“Okay,” Dr. Zoe smiled. “Well, if you change your mind, there is time. Given the date you provided for conception, January 16th, you’re about four weeks along. That puts your due date on or around October 23rd if you continue with the pregnancy.”
“Happy Halloween,” he replied sheepishly.
Dr. Zoe laughed. “Happy Halloween, here comes a little ghoul to keep you awake at night! So, Eren, do you know anything about the other parent’s medical history? We have all of your records here already. It could be useful for knowing any possible risks to test for.”
“I, um,” he started, looking down at his feet, “I don’t know much, if anything about the father other than he is an alpha. It was a one-time thing.”
“Nothing to be ashamed of,” Dr. Zoe assured. “If anything changes, just let the office know. I know it’s scary, but you will be a great parent to this little one all by yourself.”
He grinned. “Thanks, Dr. Zoe.”
“Now! Onto business,” they said, spinning back towards their computer. “We can schedule your first ultrasound for between seven and eight weeks, so you’ll be back in about a month for that. I will schedule that now - does March 19th work for you?”
“I can make it work,” Eren assured.
“Perfect, I will see you on Friday, March 19th at noon.”
Eren clutched the pamphlets and brochures to his chest as he left the clinic and made his way to his car. With so many thoughts swirling around in his head, he barely remembered the drive home, driving the familiar route entirely on autopilot.
“How did the appointment go?” Armin asked from the couch as he walked into their apartment.
“It was fine,” Eren replied, letting himself fall into the cushions. He held up one of the brochures that Dr. Zoe had given him. “I’m pregnant.”
“Big surprise there, I’m sure. I think your scent has changed the slightest bit, now that I’m looking for it,” Armin mused. “A bit sweeter.”
“It doesn’t feel real, yet,” he said, dragging his hand across his stomach. “Or maybe I’m just subconsciously in denial. Dr. Zoe said I can see them in a month on the first ultrasound. Maybe that will be when it sinks in.”
“Do you know what you’re going to do?”
“I’m thinking that I’m going to keep them,” he admitted, ducking his head. “Is that crazy?”
“You’re always crazy,” Armin softly replied. “But it’ll work out. You graduate soon, and maybe you can quickly find a position with maternity leave? Do you think the company you did your internship with last year would still hire you?”
“Maybe,” Eren said, drawing his knees up to his chest and settling into the cushions. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe I could go live with my parents for a bit to save money? I don’t know. I know that I’ll probably need my own place once the pup comes… having a kid here isn’t exactly what you signed up for when we became roommates.”
“Eren, you don’t have to move out just because you’re having a baby. I can handle noise.”
“We’ll see.” Armin was too kind, Eren thought. He would feel terrible if Armin lost sleep during his upcoming masters program because of his child crying. This was going to be his responsibility, not Armin’s.
“It’ll work out,” Armin reassured him. “And who knows, maybe Baby Daddy can help you out."
“Armin!” Eren threw the closest pillow at him. “Don’t call him that!”
“What? It’s true!” He laughed. “Are you going to tell everyone or wait?”
“Wait. Dr. Zoe explained the chances of miscarrying in the first trimester; I don’t want to tell people and then have that happen. After twelve weeks, the chances are much lower.”
Armin hummed. “That’s a wise decision.”
*************
“You still seem on edge,” Erwin observed, leaning back in his chair. “You had your rut weeks ago. What has you so tense?”
Levi knew he had been snappier than usual lately. At first, he attributed it to his then-upcoming rut, but after the rut had passed in a frustrating and unsatisfying haze, the behavior had continued. He wasn’t the cheeriest person in the world to begin with, but he could feel himself growing more and more irritated by little things around him that he would have typically shrugged off.
He wouldn’t normally be so vulnerable with Erwin, but he was feeling especially drained today after another restless night. “It’s passed, but it was torture. My blankets still smelled faintly of him and it drove me crazy the entire time. My instincts absolutely refused to allow me to wash my sheets again until after it was over. Disgusting.”
“The omega from Titan?” Erwin inquired. “I’m sorry, Levi. It’s a shame that you finally took interest in someone just for them to disappear.”
“Don’t remind me,” Levi muttered. “Maybe if someone hadn’t called me in for an emergency procedure, I could have made him breakfast.” Maybe then he could’ve gotten his number and would have had a chance to court him. He’d never really been interested in finding a mate, but there was something about the omega that had him okay with being dragged onto the club dance floor. Levi didn’t dance, but he did for that sexy, bright-eyed omega.
It has been a more than pleasant surprise to meet Eren, the omega in question, at Titan that night. Levi had been convinced to go by Hange, Moblit, Erwin and Marie to celebrate the two year anniversary of he and Erwin’s practice opening. The couples had eventually made their way to the dance floor, leaving Levi nursing his drink and wondering how long he would have to stay before it would be acceptable to leave. Everything changed when a drop-dead gorgeous male omega sidled up to him at the bar, batting his long eyelashes and touching his arm. Levi couldn’t help but be completely enchanted by both his smile and his scent.
“But you gave him your number, didn’t you? And he didn’t call?” Erwin questioned, snapping him out of his reverie.
His heart clenched at the thought. Levi thought back to the notes he’d written - one on the end table, quickly explaining that he’d been called into work. Another on counter next to some headache medication and granola bars. If the omega woke up and had to leave, he provided his number so they could get together again. That note was still there when he’d returned - medication untouched, no omega in sight, apartment cold and empty.
“No,” Levi said quietly, thinking that he probably never stood a chance in any real capacity with a creature as stunning as Eren. “Whatever. I’m over it.” He would never admit that it had been nagging at him for the past month, likely the cause of his sour (well, more than usual) disposition.
“It’s not ‘whatever’: it’s clearly bothering you. Maybe we could try to find him?”
“In this city? Needle in a haystack. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Now, about this new x-ray machine you’re looking to purchase…”
“Okay, okay. But before we get back to work, please know that if you ever need to talk about how you’re feeling, let me know. I’m all ears. I get it.”
“Thanks, Erwin.” But Levi usually preferred to suffer in silence.
The past month had really done a number on him. He’d always been more of a loner, content to spend most of his evenings alone. He liked going home to his spacious, meticulously clean apartment and relaxing with a book after work. Sure, he occasionally hung out with his few friends, but he ultimately preferred his own company.
Until recently. Now, his apartment was too quiet. The silence burrowed under his skin, itched at his mind. It felt wrong, being there alone with only his thoughts: of turquoise eyes, plump lips, and the smile that lit him on fire. He could still feel it smoldering inside his head.
His instincts were relentless, calling out for someone that he didn’t even know. What was happening to him? It felt like he was falling apart. Was something wrong with him?
No, he could handle this, he assured himself. He was just upset at the missed opportunity. Levi wasn’t exactly a social man - he’d always prioritized school and work over dates and parties. He’d had a couple of hook-ups in college, sure, but he didn’t have a ton of experience with relationships.
Maybe this was normal.
(When it only seemed to get worse over a month later, he was doubtful.)