Chapter Text
Levi was confounded, to put it simply.
He was twenty-two years old, living in an apartment he had made his own and surviving on minimum wage. That sounded about right. Levi was a beta in his prime, ready to party with his fellow college "buddies" and get drunk off his ass all at the same time.
He was currently sitting in his bed, bare back sweating against a pillow in his too-hot apartment. The thermostat said it was in the mid seventies but he didn't give a flying shit, it felt well above a few hundred degrees to him.
This was the second time he had woken up to a fever only to feel perfectly fine throughout the day. Well, that was sugar coating the few cramps that twisted his gut up into knots. Yes, perfectly fine if he were to overlook those. He dealt with this only once before; a few months ago when he had the exact same symptoms but they were more subtle and he ended up chalking it up to a few sick days, but this was pushing it.
His immune system was fine, he drank water and ate well; hell, he even spent the money to go to the gym every day. Cleanliness was top priority for him, so the argument that he could be sick by contamination was outright absurd. He couldn't find a single reason why he would possibly feel this way.
It didn't matter, anyhow. Beeping sounded from his bedside table, an alarm he was too busy worrying over damp sheets to remember to disarm. If he didn't get over it soon his boss would have his ass on a silver platter.
Begrudgingly, he got up. It was a slow process. Going to the bathroom, brushing his teeth, putting decent clothing on; it felt as if his arms were too heavy to move and his head was foggy.
Levi all but skipped fixing his hair. He ran his fingers through the back and ended up quitting after that, choosing instead to spend his time boiling water for tea.
Ah yes, because whenever someone feels as if they are burning in hell all they need is a hot cup of tea.
Levi was quite salty today, if he were to say so himself. If any Alpha were to piss him off he wasn't sure whether he would challenge them or not. Hopefully not, he barely had the strength to pour the water into a cup. Heaven help him.
By the time he walked to work, got behind the counter and turned on the coffee machine, he felt as if someone lit a match in his belly. It didn't help that he got stared at by complete creeps on the way there; he was about ready to beat someone up. If he could move.
At that precise moment he was enduring a gut wrenching cramp near his belly button, and at that precise moment a certain blond Alpha decided it would be a good time to stroll into the place late for work. Erwin Smith, Levi's excuse for burning himself on the coffee machine more than once and usually there whenever he went through his worst cramps. Did his body just hate the man? Perhaps. This was probably god smiting him. Let it be the one man Levi gets to work with and be interested in cause him the most pain. It sounded like a shitty soap opera.
Levi couldn't say anything to him about being late, of course. Erwin and Mike, their boss (as well as another Alpha), went far back; so any complaints he had would either end with a roll of the eyes or a laugh. Usually the latter.
They had shared banter and some interesting conversations; Erwin even joined Levi and Hanji on their special drinking day once.
Erwin seemed to be about to greet him, a pleasant smile on his face as he strolled up to the counter; only to stop the second he was within a couple of feet of Levi, his nostrils flaring.
Well, that wasn't a very flattering expression. Levi almost considered reevaluating his taste in men.
"Levi," oh, so he was still greeting him. He always liked hearing the blond say his name. "You smell that?"
Levi wrinkled his nose. Did he mean the god awful smell of far too much coffee or the smell of those who regretted having day jobs?
"What smell?" He questioned. There was nothing out of the ordinary that he could sense. Then again, Beta's usually had a shit sense of smell.
Erwin looked confused for a moment, his eyes boring holes in Levi's head. He was getting uncomfortable at this point. With so many people staring at him on the street and now Erwin, perhaps there was something wrong.
Not knowing what else to do, he cleared his throat and spoke with whatever confidence he had left.
"Well, are you going to order something or actually get to work?"
That seemed to snap the Alpha out of his trance, a line still prominent between his brows. Levi had never seen him like this; he hoped it didn't last. A cheery Erwin was far better than a strict one.
Throughout the day he continued to get strange looks, he was hit on by at least six people, one person actually had to be escorted out of the store by Erwin and the rest was mostly a blur. At one point he remembered Mike coming out due to the fact that he also smelled something strange, but Levi chalked that up to his sensitive nose.
Nearing the end of his shift Levi had to ask Mike if it was alright for him to sit down due to how bad the pain was getting, to which Erwin said "to hell with it" and told Levi to take off his apron.
He almost wept with joy. The heat was getting so bad he was afraid he would faint, his cheeks bright red and sweat beading at his hairline. At this point he was relieved to take anything off.
"I'm taking you home," Erwin informed him, busying himself with taking care of the last few orders of the day.
"You don't have to," it was a weak argument, Levi knew. When an Alpha put their mind to something, especially when it came to someone of a lower dynamic, there was little room for discussion.
So, in a matter of less than five minutes, they had clocked out and were out the door.
Levi had forgotten where they were going half way through the journey, his mind being crouded by thoughts, pain, and just the fact that it was shutting down. He couldn't even tell that Erwin was talking to him till he felt an arm around his shoulders, steadying him so he wouldn't fall face first into the concrete.
"Are you in heat, Levi?" Erwin asked, a genuinely concerned look on his face.
The question sent Levi reeling. Heat? Was he in heat? Did he mean hot? Levi was well aware of how attractive he was, but this was a bit too much.
In all honesty, what kind of question was that? He was a Beta, the only dynamic that ever had heats were Omegas. If he were truly an Omega he would have come out as one in his mid-teens, almost like a second puberty; not in his twenties.
Then again, he had heard of those who had their heats later in life, though they were extremely rare. It would explain his short stature and obsession with cleaning, but he was still reluctant to accept it.
"The only other time I felt like this was a few months ago, even then it wasn't that bad." He explained, frowning as he reasoned it out in his head. Those in heat gave off very pungent pheromones; perhaps that was the smell they had been talking about. "Do you smell me?"
Erwin looked slightly uncomfortable, if he was being completely honest. He looked away, almost as if trying to distract himself. If there was any group of people that was more demanding of eye contact, it was Alphas. This behavior was unlike him.
"I can definitely smell you more than before," he replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. It forced Levi's eyes downward; that wasn't a good idea, for he could very clearly see just how much his newfound pheromones were doing to the poor man.
Levi was stunned. Was he really an Omega? He already reasoned it out; the timing made sense and so did his habits and stature. Well, he would need a new drivers license.
He spent so much time thinking that he barely realized where they were, which luckily was the front door of his apartment. How Erwin walked them up two flights of stairs to get to, he would never know.
It took far longer than it really should have to unlock the door; mostly because Levi forgot just where he left his keys and also the fact that his mind was still jelly.
In the end, they both somehow made it inside. It was Erwin who maneuvered his way around Levi to walk him inside, but the smaller man would still credit himself for opening the door. Yes, that was quite an accomplishment.
After about two and a half more agonizing minutes of fumbling, they both plopped onto the couch; one of Levi's legs draped over Erwin's lap while the blond still had his arm over Levi's shoulders.
They were comfortable with each other enough to be fine with it, in a normal situation. But Levi's pheromones accompanied with Erwin's semi was creating some unwanted friction.
Levi was at a loss for what to do. He had never dealt with this before. Sure, there were a few guys he hooked up with after highschool, but this was completely different. As far as he knew, Omega heats entailed four to seven days of torture if there was no one to mate with. But alas, he had someone to mate with right next to him. He was quite sure Erwin had the same idea.
As much as he wanted to throw all care out the window, he still had to think about how much mother nature was a bitch. They couldn't fully mate till he had the proper medicines to fend off unwanted accidents (honestly, he was only in his twenties), but the pain was getting to be too much.
Levi couldn't take it. He was hot and uncomfortable. There was an attractive Alpha right next to him, he might as well take advantage of the blessing that was bestowed upon him.
"Wanna make out?" Levi offered, turning his head to stare up at the blond with the last bit of strength he had left. His words were slurred as they would be if he was intoxicated; he would much rather be drunk then have to deal with a heat.
"Fuck, yes. Thank you, I was about to explode."
How sweet, was all Levi could think. He thanked him.
Erwin immediately got to work, and within ten seconds Levi was shirtless.
Heats were complete and utter agony, but if he could spend them with an Alpha like this he would be able to deal with them.