Hey! Just a quick hello here. It's been years since I posted anything at all and I apologise for that. Life got in the way. Anyway please enjoy my new fic :) At the moment I don't intend to put in any spoilers from the manga as this isn't set in a Titan world. So anime watchers please read with enjoyment! I know it's very short but this is just a small starting point/story explanation chapter for you all. Other chapters will be much longer.

Eren closed the door to his apartment and let out a big sigh. Another day done. He placed his coat on its hook and walked into the kitchen, placing down his bag. He looked at the clock on the wall as it read out 4.14am. He was deciding if working two jobs was good for his health but he had no choice. Now that he was looking after Armin he needed the extra money. That's right, he better check on him. He walked down the corridor past his own room to one further down. He noticed the door was ajar and gently pushed it open. Armin was sitting on the floor, leaning on his bed, hugging his legs to his body. Eren couldn't see his face as it was buried in his knees.

"Armin?" Eren walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. Armin slowly looked up. His eyes were all red and he had bags under his eyes indicating he once again had barely slept. "Armin let's get you into bed"

"I had another nightmare"

"I know. But let's get you back into bed" Eren pulled him up and helped him climb back into the bed. "I told you to call me whenever you couldn't sleep"

"I'm enough of a burden as it is"

"You're not a burden. You never have been an never will be. I want you to be here understand?" Eren didn't know why he bothered ever explaining anything to Armin. Nothing he ever said sank in. But he knew he needed to keep saying these things, hoping, praying, Armin would at some point understand. "Want to talk about anything?"

"No, I just want to sleep. But my head won't let me" Armin started to cry. Eren pulled him into a hug. This sort of thing was nothing new and he knew the best way to handle this was to let Armin cry it out. Eren closed his eyes as he felt his heart wretch like it did every time this happened. His best friend had been reduced to a trembling, mentally destroyed mess. Eren still remembered the phone call he got 4 months ago, still remembered thinking it was a joke, a bad joke. Armin and him, now both 20 years old, were studying in university. Eren wanted to become a doctor just like his father had been and Armin was studying criminology. Mikasa, who lived in an apartment not far from them, was also studying and shocked them saying she really wanted to be a vet. But her not being a 'people' person, prefering her own company more than social gatherings actually made her career choice not so surprising.

They were all already several years into their studies when Armin's incident happened. The police contacted Eren as Armin has no family. His parents died when he was very young and he was raised by his grandfather. But his grandfather had passed the previous year due to poor health. Eren and Mikasa were noted as Armin's emergency contacts. They were all emergency contacts for each other, none of them having any living family. Mikasa's parents died in a car crash when she was 10. Eren's parents took her in as they were good friends with Mikasa's parents. He remembers his mother crying on the couch after hearing the news that her good friend was gone. Eren's mother passed a few years after that and his dad passed a year before Armin's grandfather. All they had was each other.

Eren noticed Armin had fallen asleep and lay him down, placing the bed sheets over him an slowly leaving the room. He left the door ajar and walked back to the kitchen, feeling his stomach demand to be fed. He started making some food despite the fact he was so tired he felt like he was going to pass out. Eren hated working so late but he couldn't fit in two day time jobs. He worked in a coffee shop during the day and 3 nights a week he worked in a bar. He enjoyed working in the coffee shop, it was a much more relaxing atmosphere compared to the type of people he had to serve at the bar. And being an Omega made that even more difficult.

He hated himself for being born the way he was. Hated it. Being an Omega was a curse. You were seen as nothing but toys for Alphas. And the bar he worked in was always full of Alphas. They would catch his scent and instantly smell his Omega pheromones and watch his every move. It made him feel dirty, unclean. He always made sure he never worked during his heat. Working during that time would be too dangerous. If an Alpha got wind he was in heat it would be a disaster. Of course Beta's (the term they used for normal people) didn't even know they existed. They believed they didn't exist and were made up for children's stories. It was better that way Eren believed. Then his only problem would be keeping horny Alphas at bay instead of having the whole world see him as the freak he was. Only Armin an Mikasa knew he was an Omega. They were both Betas but he never let them see himself in heat. He always dreaded it, knowing he would turn into a pathetic mess of pheromones.

Armin was attacked by a group of Alphas. They had been following the scent of an Omega in heat and somehow mistook Armin for that Omega. Driven mad by the smell and the urge to reproduce they raped him. Dragged him down a dark ally and did horrible things to him. Eren knew it was Alphas who raped Armin because of the smell emitting from him when he arrived at the hospital. He had multiple different scents on him, all strong indicting Alphas. Armin was only walking home late from work one evening. Minding his own business when they jumped him. Armin was still grieving for his grandfather at the time and then to have this happen to him pushed him over the edge. He had been diagnosed with depression and had already tried to take his own life twice. Eren and Armin's psychiatrist had decided that it was best Armin move out of his apartment and live with Eren for the time being. To this day Armin still hasn't told anyone exactly what happened to him. His weight had dropped and Armin was already slim so his new figure was one of worry and stress. Eren's main worry was he was going to come home one day to find Armin had succeeded in taking his life. He put all types of medication, including Armin's own pills, sharps knives, anything Armin could use in a special locked box that he placed in the kitchen cupboard. Armin had overdosed twice so he had no choice but to hide anything he could swallow. The knives were added to the box later after Eren had come home to find Armin in the bathroom cutting his wrists.

For the first few weeks it was like Armin's body had just shut down. Eren had to help him get dressed, force him to eat and even bathe him. The first time he undressed Armin Eren nearly fell apart seeing all the scars on his body. His back was a mess from being dragged along the ground, he had cuts all over his hands from trying to fight them off, teeth marks on his chest and neck and more cuts an bruises on his legs. He had a cut lip and a serious head wound which needed stitches. Eren thought of his best friend trying to fight them off but even Eren knew he wouldn't have stood a chance. Alphas gain incredible strength once they catch the scent of a heated Omega. They lose control of all their actions and just follow instincts. Omegas are similar but find they can control their urges better than Alphas. Eren came across times when he had to find himself, stop himself going out onto the street and mate with the first Alpha he came across. But he would rather die than stoop so low as to do that.

Eren carried his sandwich and drink through to his bedroom and sat on his bed. He only ever ate in his room when he was working late. He took one bite out of his sandwich and out of nowhere he felt his stomach churn. No, it couldn't be, no no no no...

He felt a rush of heat come over him and quickly put his sandwich down. He couldn't be in heat, he couldn't. It was 10 days earlier than normal. He felt his body get aroused and started finding it harder to breathe. The beginning of heat was always the hardest part. He felt himself get hard and his chest tighten. "No...please no..." He placed a hand between his legs and tightened his grip. Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it. It will go away, it will. He knew that was lie, heats lasted anything between 5-10 days. He reached for his bedside drawer and opened it, frantically searching for the pills he knew should be in there. He felt something in his hand and pulled out 2 blue pills. Just enough to last him the night. He popped them in his mouth, took a sip of his drink and swallowed them whole. It would take at least 15 minutes for them to kick in. He could feel himself unzipping his pants and placing a hand into his underwear. He couldn't stop. He started touching himself, precum already flowing out onto his hand. This is why he hated himself. Hated every inch of his being because he was born with this curse. Being an Alpha or an Omega ran in the family. His father was an Alpha and his mother a Beta. He had a 50% chance of being born a Beta, normal. But he was born like this, pathetic. He had lost all control of his hand and fell backwards onto his bed. He couldn't stop, his instincts wouldn't let him. He needed this, his body needed, his mind needed it. He worked himself faster, feeling himself near his peak. His breathing became harder and he placed a hand over his mouth to stop the small moans escaping or getting louder. Waking Armin was the last thing he wanted to do. He cried into his hand as he felt himself release. They were also so powerful when he did this during heat, he felt drained after each one. He removed his hand from his mouth to catch his breath. He looked down at himself and groaned. He didn't plan on showering until the morning but he certainly wasn't going to bed like this.

Standing under the heat of the shower he washed away the evidence of his sinful act. It's how he saw it. As a sin. He was hard again but refused to do anything about it. He fell onto his knees and cried silently before finally getting out and making his way to bed, letting peaceful sleep overtake him.