"Eren!"

The boy in question froze at the urgent call of his name and took a deep breath before turning around to face Jean. "What is it, horseface?"

Jean rolled his eyes at him but the uneasy expression adorning his face didn't disappear. "The commander is calling you to his office."

"Thanks, I'll go right now," Eren announced without any emotion before sidestepping Jean and heading to the commander's office.

At least that was his intention but Jean's hand on his arm stopped him. He shot the other boy a questioning look.

"Wait. Tell me something; do you know what this is about?"

Eren didn't say anything and Jean frowned. "You do, don't you? It seemed pretty serious to me; what the hell is going on?"

Eren looked Jean in the eyes and was surprised to find concern in the soft browns. But all he could muster was a half-smile and a whisper of, "Let's hope you will get to find out."

Jean frowned even more. "What's that supposed to mean? Hey, wait!"

Eren only shook his head before leaving his friend standing there, confused and deeply concerned. This didn't look good.

Eren sighed, resigning himself to his fate before he knocked sharply on the office door. A call of "Come in" came immediately. They must have been waiting for him.

The boy saluted immediately after entering the room while he assessed the situation. Commander Erwin was sitting behind his desk, hands folded in front of his face sporting a grave expression. Standing a little behind him was Hanji, missing her usual smile, looking somewhere ways left of where he was standing. On the other side of the desk sitting in chair, back towards Eren was captain Levi, his bangs hiding his eyes and expression.

There was one empty chair next to the captain, one to which Erwin gestured for Eren to sit down, a silent command that Eren obeyed immediately.

Erwin leaned back in his chair giving Eren a calculating look. "Eren, do you know why I called you here?"

Eren's eyes momentarily veered towards Hanji who still refused to look at him, but now they looked slightly guilty as well.

"I have a feeling, sir," Eren finally replied.

"Hanji informed me," the commander sighed, "that you are... in a certain condition."

"I don't know if I would call being pregnant 'a certain condition,' but that is correct."

"So you knew about it?"

"I am a male omega, sir. Of course I knew."

"And why didn't you inform anyone?"

Eren shrugged. "I figured Hanji would find out soon enough."

Erwin sighed deeply. "Your behavior and speech right now is honestly on the verge of being classified as insubordination."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I am well aware my child's life is at stake here. I think I have every right to be defensive."

Hanji interrupted before Erwin could say anything else and probably only succeeding in pushing Eren further. "You're right Eren, you have the right and it's to be expected. But you are still a soldier talking to your commanding officer so please, try to keep calm, okay?"

Eren shot her an unimpressed look but said nothing.

Erwin took his silence as a cue to continue. "First. Eren, who is the father and does he know about this?"

Eren stared into his commander's eyes for a long moment before stating unwaveringly, "He does know and I am very sorry, however, I am not telling you who he is."

"Since he knows, he has to be present for this, Eren, or it will only... well, complicate things."

"With all due respect, sir, I'm not telling you no matter what," Eren growled, baring his teeth, obviously getting angry.

"Okay, Eren," Hanji interrupted again in a gentle tone. "You don't have to tell us. But I think you know where this is heading. We're going to have to ask you to abort. It would be better for everyone."

Eren flashed his teeth again, instinctively shifting so his stomach was more protected. "How. How is it better for us or our child."

"That's..." Hanji didn't know how to say it gently. There was no way to do so and Hanji couldn't bring herself to say it. She looked to Erwin for help but he was intently studying Eren.

"Moreover," a new voice added, speaking for the first time since Eren arrived, "are you willing to deal with an enraged alpha, when he finds out you killed his child?" Captain Levi's voice sounded a little too emotionless to seem unconcerned. He obviously didn't like the situation that somehow came to be.

Erwin raised his hand to show Hanji he'll take it from there. Hanji could only sigh with relief. "That is why I asked Eren who the father was, to minimize the damage. And Eren, I can only imagine how this makes you feel and I completely understand you don't believe us when we say this, but it really would be for the best. You are a titan shifter, an important asset to our war with the titans. Who knows how your shifting could affect the baby, which means we would have to halt all experiments and training, even drastically reduce your normal physical training. That in itself is a problem but most importantly, people would notice the change. Then your stomach will start growing and people will connect the dots. I don't have to say that if the government or the Military police find out they will either tell you to abort anyway, or try kill you and the baby. In the worst case, they will take the baby as soon as it's born to use for experiments. And when they are done with that, they sell him or her to some rich noble as a trophy - if your child survives at all. It wouldn't be the first case of a 'Titan child' but since yours would be much more closely connected to the titans, it would suffer much more than what I heard about the first one. And no one here wants to see that." The last part said in a sad whisper.

By the end of Erwin's speech, silent tears were streaming down Eren's cheeks, although he looked more furious than sad. His teeth were bared and he was growling loudly, that infamous maniacal look in his eyes. He still curled around his stomach protectively, clutching at himself desperately, trying to suppress his furious shivering. "No," he snarled venomously. "No, I won't let that happen. None of those things. I don't want to give up this child either. I don't want anything to happen to it. No."

Hanji, fighting back her own tears, walked over to crouch in front of the boy who was on the verge of a break down, putting soothing hands on his knees. "I know you're angry. Or sad, really, behind all that fury. It's a difficult decision. Probably the most difficult decision you'll have to make in your life. But you yourself know it's the best way. I promise you on my life I will put even more effort into my research, Erwin will put even more effort into his plans, Levi more effort into slaughtering everything standing between us and victory. We all will do our very best to win this war the sooner we can – and when we win, you can have another baby. And another after that. All the babies you will want. But now..." Hanji paused to wipe away her tears. "Now is just not the right time. You have to be strong this one time."

Eren started trembling even more but he raised his head, so, so fragile determination in his eyes, and nodded slowly, whispering a quiet "Okay, I understand."

Hanji smiled weakly at him, squeezing his knees. She went to hug the boy but was stopped by a single, ice-cold word.

"No."

All heads turned to Levi in surprise. His head was still angled in a way you couldn't read his expression at all.

"Levi?" Erwin asked in surprise.

"No. I won't let you do that. I don't doubt you don't have any idea, living all your life on the surface. Have you ever heard about an omega abortion?"

Hanji and Erwin looked at each other with confused but thoughtful expressions, while Eren continued staring at Levi.

"Well, now that you mention it... No, I suppose not."

"That's because no one does it on the ground. Why do you think that is? It's definitely not because no omega ever experienced accidental pregnancy. Or was raped resulting in an unwanted child. Whatever the circumstances, the omega won't ask for abortion. And no one forces them. Even miscarriages are extremely rare because everyone is instinctively careful around pregnant omegas. They get the best medical care as well."

"Is it dangerous? Do you think even with Eren's regeneration it would be too much?" Hanji asked, now obviously worried.

"No. That's not the problem. But you know, I've seen it so many times in the Underground. Pimps forcing their whores to abort because it was inconvenient. Pregnant omegas getting beaten up so bad they miscarried. Physically, the abortion or miscarriage is the same as every other one; it's just that for an omega, losing a child is such an emotional hit it practically breaks them. They die inside and continue living as empty shells. Not even another pregnancy can save them completely."

Hanji covered her mouth in horror and even Erwin looked very unsettled.

Levi slowly stood up, walking the short distance towards Eren. Hanji instinctively scrambled as far as she could before Levi got too close. As he took his place in front of his charge, the captain pulled out a short dagger he always carried hidden in his clothes and firmly held it in a reverse grip, before finally raising his head to let the whole world see the angry, glowing eyes of an alpha protecting his omega.

Hanji and Erwin both gasped as they realized the whole picture. Why Eren refused to tell who the father was. Levi's strange silence ever since the start of the meeting, even before the omega arrived. And... was that blood on his hands and uniform? Was he clenching his fists so hard trying to control himself that his palms started bleeding freely?

"I'll ask you again," Levi growled lowly and dangerously, taking a stance, ready to both attack and defend. "Are you willing to deal with an enraged alpha? Worse, enraged mated alpha, protecting not only his child but his mate as well?"

There were a few minutes of tense silence before anyone dared to move, much less speak. But it was, unsurprisingly, Eren who broke the silence with a quiet but firm voice. "Stop it, Levi. You're not helping anything."

"Shut up, Eren," Levi barked back, without taking his eyes off of the other two. "I'm protecting you from making the stupidest decision in the history of these damned walls."

Eren frowned up at the back of his mate's head but before he could say anything, Erwin started talking. And shocked them all. "He's right, Eren. It would be a very bad decision, after all. I'm sorry for almost forcing you to agree to it."

"What are you going on about, Eyebrows," questioned Levi cautiously, although his body visibly relaxed at the realization that he made his point heard.

Erwin smiled apologetically at the pair before explaining, "What you said changed the situation drastically. It never occurred to me that abortion could have such dire consequences but since that is the case, it can't even be considered an option. Humanity needs Eren to keep his sanity about him or else he can't control the titan. Again, I'm sorry for not taking Eren's mental health into consideration."

At those words Levi finally relaxed his stance completely, putting his dagger away. However, instead of sitting back in his place, he grabbed the chair and put it as close to Eren's as possible, figuring there was no reason to keep his distance anymore. He flopped back into it, crossing his legs and grabbing his mate's hand, holding it firmly in his. Or he tried to, but Eren jumped a little at the wet feeling of his palm, finally noticing the bleeding.

"Levi, you..." he was lost for words.

Hanji, her attention brought back to the self-inflicted injury, however jumped up and took off towards the nearest first-aid kit.

Eren had so much to say to his partner – scold him for hurting himself, thank him for protecting them both, seeking comfort – but knew he now he had other matters to focus on. He opted to send him a disapproving but loving look and leave the conversation for later. Instead he looked back at Erwin and asked the question burning at the tip of his tongue, "So... We... Do we... Do we get to keep the baby?" He clutched Levis hand in a death grip, as he waited for an answer, momentarily forgetting his mate's injury and that he was probably only causing him more pain. Levi squeezed his right back.

Erwin gave them a contemplative look, taking a few moments before giving a final answer. "I don't see any other option since Eren's full control of his titan is essential to us. So yes, you get to keep the baby."

Eren sighed in relief, slumping in his seat. He almost cried again.

"But," Erwin continued firmly, "some extreme measures will have to be taken. Absolutely no one outside the Survey corps can know about this. So don't tell a single soul, at least for now. I'll have to think about how we will go about this and then we'll talk. Think very, very carefully about who you can trust with your – all three of yours – lives in the meantime."

He was interrupted by a knock on the door and Hanji slipping back inside with a first-aid kit in tow. She headed for Levi at once and started disinfecting his palms.

For a moment the three watched her in silence before Erwin directed a question at her. "Hanji, how long do you think we can hide Eren is pregnant?"

Hanji tilted her head in thought, not ceasing her work. "You mean visually or practically, with training and not carrying things and stuff?"

"Visually. The rest we can probably work around, with some difficulty."

Hanji ran her eyes up and down Eren's form, even though Eren had no idea what she could read from that. "Hard to say. Usually, male omegas don't show much. Especially the ones with some muscle on them. So the odds should be on our side. If we're lucky with the baby's position, Eren might show so little you won't be able to notice unless you're looking for it even close to birth. But we might not be lucky and it will become obvious a few months in."

"So you can't really say for now. But we still have a few months before potentially getting a heads up if it's not in our favor."

"That's about it, yes."

"Okay, thank you. Hanji, I want you to give Eren a full checkup and I want an estimate of what i can expect in what time frame by next week. I expect you all here on Monday at the same time to discuss how we're going to proceed. You're dismissed after Hanji is done with Levi."

"Yes, sir," the three of them replied in unison, Eren being the only one who bothered to get up and salute his commander.

It took Hanji only a few more moments to fasten the bandages on Levi's hands so they all got up and went for the door, saying their goodbyes to Erwin. After Hanji left first, Erwin quickly called out, "Levi, Eren, wait a second."

The two exchanged a quick glance, then looked back at the commander.

Erwin smiled warmly at them, catching them both off guard. "The two of you, take the rest of the day off. You both look like you need it."

Eren took a breath but before he could protest, Erwin continued, "And, putting aside just how against the rules this whole thing is, congratulations."

Eren shut his mouth and gaped for a second in shock. "Th-Thank you, sir," he stumbled over his words, blushing a little and bowing his head bashfully, having no idea how to react to something like that. "For everything."

"You're more than welcome, Eren."

The two mates made quick eye contact, coming to an understanding practically immediately. Eren saluted once more before taking off.

Levi lingered a few more moments before breaking eye contact with his friend and superior and turning to leave as well, mumbling a quick thanks.

Erwin only laughed, calling after him, "We're still having a long talk later!"

"Fuck you!" Levi called back, allowing himself a small, relieved smile.

Everything was alright. At least for now.

A/N: Okay, so here's the deal. The only reason I'm posting this now is because I want to know whether it's worth even pursuing this AU. I wrote this two days ago and I loved it beyond words. Then I wanted to write more today, wrote two paragraphs before realizing it's all complete shit and having to physically stop myself from deleting the whole thing.

So. It's completely up to the feedback this chapter gets. It's entirely possible I'll never write a new chapter and delete this in a few days, never to open the document again. Or if I feel like I don't completely fail at everything and people are somewhat interested, there might be more. (Even though I don't have any real, actual plan for what it would be about.)

Let me know how you feel about this, please.