A/N: This is a self-indulgent RivaMika fic as I noticed there is very little by way of alpha/beta/omega (ABO) stories involving Levi and Mikasa. This is also my first foray into ABO dynamics so please bear with me! I've tried to retain as much non-fluff/smut-related plot in this as possible, as I notice the ABO concept tends to overpower most storylines.
I'm also working on some longer stories but am going through a bad case of writer's block, so I thought I would post this in the meantime. Happy reading and please let me know what you think!
Rated for language, warnings on the subject matter/nature of ABO fics. Also of note: characters are generally the same age, though Eren and Jean are slightly older and the veteran survey corps are also slightly older than the 104 training corps characters. Everything in this story is consensual.
05/05/2021: Edited for plot inconsistencies.
Levi
It is 7:20am. Levi walks into his office and sets his briefcase down on the table, rubbing his eyes. This is the fifth day in a row that that infernal cock his neighbour insists on keeping in the middle of the fucking city has woken him up at an ungodly hour. Normally, Levi is fine with getting up at the crack of dawn, and he has just about come to terms with living the manic lifestyle of an insomniac. But the last two weeks have been hell as he has been pulling all-nighters reviewing the patent application for their latest product. They are in a tight race against their competitors, and they are woefully behind schedule. Which reminds him, he needs to give legal another good dressing down.
"Good morning, Levi!" Chief Technology Officer Hange's brash, sing-song voice rings out as she bounces into the room.
"Get out. I haven't had my fifth cup of tea yet," Levi grumps.
"Cheery as usual. Why did Erwin put four alphas at the top?" Hange sighs melodramatically.
"So he could watch us tear each other's throats out," he states matter-of-factly. "Returning to important matters, we have a meeting in five."
"Yeah, with legal. We need to review progress on the patent. Anything I need to know before we head in?"
"It's all peachy." He pauses, then wrinkles his nose. "Who am I kidding. The quality of the application is so shit it could give someone a heart attack."
"I sure hope not, because that's what our product is supposed to prevent," Hange laughs nervously as they exit his office.
Levi bounces from meeting to meeting throughout the day.
The morning meeting, initially scheduled for three hours, lasts a solid five hours. To his and Hange's horror, the idiots in legal barely remember the unique selling points of their product after three months of working on the patent. He had had to remind them that their product is a microchip built out of unique materials that uses novel methods to monitor and regulate blood flow and heart function. After that, they had had to whittle down myriad secondary claims that had magically appeared within the document that were either completely irrelevant or technologically unfeasible. After resurfacing for a fifteen-minute tea and snack break, Levi had plunged into another set of meetings with the marketing team. In contrast to talking to the legal team, which had been frustrating but straightforward, talking to marketing was like fishing marbles out of a cloth bag with a pair of chopsticks whilst wearing a blindfold.
"You said you held five focus groups, but I see data on only four," he had observed during one presentation.
"We excluded the last one."
"Why?"
"They were being vague."
"How?"
"They used odd language and behaviours."
"That's not helpful," he had spat at the presenter. The omega, who at this point was oozing pheromones of fear under Levi's frightful gaze, remained unspecific as ever. Mike, the chief financial officer, had given a weak sniff of disapproval. This was his way of giving Levi permission to pursue his hard line of interrogation.
At the end of the day, Levi returns to his office thoroughly exhausted and exasperated. Plopping himself down in his chair, he leans forward and rubs his temples. Today has been particularly trying. Maybe he will call an early one and do some light dusting at home to relax.
He is pulled from his thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Erwin Smith enters.
"Got no one else to bully, huh?" Levi asks dryly.
"I'm just dropping by to see how you're doing. I know you've been working late, and I really appreciate it. But you need to stop working long hours and relax every now and then."
"I was about to before you came in."
"Sorry. You can leave if you want to." They stare each other down in an alpha-to-alpha challenge. Finally, Levi clicks his tongue and looks at his computer, feigning interest in the text on the screen.
"You know how much we still have to do. We have the quarterly review coming up, R&D has the safety inspection next week, recruitment for clinical trials is finishing up, marketing needs more data from focus groups to identify additional markets for our product, and our patent application needs to be submitted pronto," he mutters. "I heard that Marley Therapeutics got good preliminary results from their clinical trial – if they couple that with their patent and submit before we do, they will blow us out of the water. So even though I want to throw my hands up and hunker down until this shitstorm blows over, I can't."
"This is why I asked you to be my chief operating officer. You dedicate your heart no matter what."
"We really need to rethink our motto at some point," Levi says acidly, finding little comfort in Erwin's words.
"Mm," Erwin muses. "So, I heard from Hange that the meeting with legal didn't go so well this morning."
"We made some progress, but sometimes I suspect that everyone in legal has an identical twin that swaps places with them every week. You tell them something one day and they seem to forget it the next," Levi mutters. "We really need to think twice about who we hire." As COO, this is really his job, but with all the tight deadlines, he has been so busy taking on others' workloads that he has barely had time to notice the comings and goings of hires across the departments.
"You're right. I'll review our employees' progress with human resources tomorrow and see where we can be more efficient. But don't expect overnight change. You know how time-consuming and expensive firing and hiring people is."
Levi nods. He expects Erwin to leave with this statement, but the CEO stays firmly planted to the ground like a tree.
"You trying to turn into my new coat stand?" He asks wryly.
"No. Actually, I came to tell you this. Eight new employees joined FlowHeart this week. I hate to add another task to your to do list, but I would appreciate it if you could send them all a welcome email." Erwin places a list of names and email addresses on Levi's desk.
Levi rubs his temples for the nth time that day. "Why do I not know about these new employees?"
"You signed off on them a while back. I'm sure you'll recall eventually," Erwin says. "Please reach out to them today or tomorrow – the sooner the better, as they have been here for almost a week already. We have enough difficulty retaining employees as is, and a personal greeting from the higher-ups is an easy way to boost morale."
"Why don't you do it?"
"I always send one out on the first day, but it's common courtesy for the CEO to do so and nice to show that we go beyond that. Mike sent an email to the batch before, and Hange to the batch before that. It's your turn now."
"Fine." Accepting Levi's disgruntled assent, Erwin finally takes his leave.
Levi sighs. Eight people. A small enough group to send personalised emails to, yet large enough to be a headache. He glances at his clock. It is just past six, and he wants to get some personal time in before reviewing the latest patent draft legal sent him. After considering using a boiler template, he decides to go for a compromise and drafts a short but personal email that he schedules to send to the new starters first thing the next morning. Work finally concluded, he stands up, stretches, and leaves for the day.
Hange
An hour after Levi's departure, Hange, as the last person in the office, goes around to check everything is in order. She notices the lights in Levi's office are still on, but to her surprise finds it vacant. He must have been so tired that he forgot to switch them off, she thinks sympathetically. As she flicks the switch by the door, she notices the glow of his monitor against the glass windows. Curiously, she steps around his desk. A glut of glee spreads across her face. The sucker forgot to lock his computer! And what is this…a semi-tailored email to greet all the newbies with? Outrageous!
Part of her insists that Levi has enough going on in his life, but her mischievous side insists on having fun. After dithering for five minutes, Hange gives in to her whims and makes some cheeky changes. No harm will be done at the end of the day, really. Levi will find the email the next morning, realise she pranked him, yell at her for a bit, then delete her edits and send it off. She locks the computer and leaves the office, humming.
Mikasa
Mikasa wakes to the sound of incessant beeping; from habit, she swings her hand down hard on her alarm clock, silencing it. It is the one little bit of violence she is allowed in her day, and she doesn't miss the chance to take it.
The next thing she registers is her tiredness. She stumbles into the bathroom and splashes water on her face, but the feeling remains. What had she done last night? Oh yeah, Eren came over. He had had an argument with his mate, Jean, and he had stayed over with her because Armin was on a date with Annie. Then he had proceeded to detail every little aggravating thing Jean had said and done.
Mikasa was fascinated with Jean. As an omega, she was painfully aware of the social mould an omega was supposed to conform to: soft-spoken, demure, obedient. But Jean defied all these expectations. He was loud, assertive, and sometimes even defiant in the wake of her alpha brother's occasional stupidity. He also worked in finance, a high-stress environment that most omegas could not thrive in. Mikasa had found it difficult to understand how Jean had learned to be so outspoken and assertive, even when surrounded by a pack of dominant alphas. But one day, he had imparted his secret to her and taught her how to train herself so that she, too, could thrive in an alpha-dominated society.
Although Mikasa knew that Jean and Eren loved each other very much, their fiery tempers meant that arguments periodically flared up in their house. Eren would get kicked out, and he would then go to Mikasa's or Armin's to complain about Jean. Last night, Eren had whined so much about so little that she had ended up getting only four hours of sleep.
She pads quietly into the kitchen-cum-living room. She peeks stealthily over the couch, noting her adopted brother's mess of brown hair and his slow, steady breathing as he sleeps. She allows herself a moment to drink in the sight of his peaceful face. Despite the sub-optimal circumstances surrounding his sleepover, it has been a while since they have had a heart-to-heart, and she has missed her brother since he moved to the other side of town to be with Jean. When she is done feeling nostalgic, she reaches over and gently picks his hand up until it hovers just above his face. Then she lets go.
Fwap.
"Ow!" Eren shoots up, rubbing his smarting nose aggressively. "What was that for, Mikasa?"
"It's morning. I need to get ready for work, and so do you," Mikasa states. "You want coffee?"
"For that antic, you owe me one," Eren growls.
"I owe you nothing. You went on and on about Jean last night and now I've got bags under my eyes."
"But he was so aggravating! I can't believe he said all those things to me."
"Don't be so melodramatic," Mikasa sighs, putting the kettle on. "You had an argument over why he doesn't put the toilet seat back up after going number two. You'll both get over it." Until now, she had thought that kind of conversation only happened between boys and girls, not boys and boys.
Eren ignores her unsympathetic remark. He moves over to the kitchen island and plonks himself down on a bar stool.
"I'm so tired! Why do jobs have to start so god-damned early," he whines.
"I like it. It's routine," Mikasa says.
"Yeah well, give your new job another week or two and you won't like it so much anymore," Eren says dryly. As the kettle begins to whistle, he peers over at Mikasa's phone on the counter. "Hey, you got an email!"
"Work or personal?"
"I dunno," Eren scowls. "It's just a notification on your lock screen."
Mikasa hurries to her phone and unlocks it. Despite only having started this week, the clinical department has been extremely busy recruiting volunteers for the clinical trial, and she fears for a second that she has mixed up an appointment time. There is only one new email in her inbox. She breathes a quiet sigh of relief when she skims over the subject header.
"Welcome to FlowHeart," Eren reads over her shoulder. "Is that from the CEO or something?"
She looks at the sender. "No, it's from the COO, Levi Ackerman."
"Ackerman – any relation of yours?" Eren teases, and Mikasa glares at him.
"No, big brother. Otherwise I wouldn't have needed Carla or Grisha. Or you, for that matter."
"Chill," Eren laughs. "Anyway, it's nice that they send these welcome emails out. When I started working, I didn't even get so much as acknowledgement of my existence."
"You work in a morgue," she points out. While Grisha had hoped Eren would follow in his footsteps as a medical professional, Eren had, as always, put an unexpected twist on things by taking up an apprenticeship as a pathologist doing autopsies.
"Yeah well, someone's got to talk to the dead. So, for the part of me that yearns for a normal life, tell me what it says."
"You read it. I'm making breakfast." She pours out two cups of coffee and pops slices of bread into the toaster as Eren opens and skims the email. His eyes go as round as saucers.
"M-Mikasa, you have to read this," he whispers quietly. Almost reverently.
Scowling, she moves back around the counter. Eren can be such a distraction sometimes.
Dear Mikasa,
At FlowHeart, we do not give up. We do our breast, work our breast, and strive for the breast. I am proud to have you on board as my bosom buddy.
Please accept a warm welcome, from the heart of my bottom.
Yours sincerely,
Levi Ackerman
Chief Operating Officer
FlowHeart
Hilarity bubbles in her chest.
"Is this guy for real?" Eren's eyes remain glued to the screen.
Mikasa bites her lip, suppressing a laugh. "He must have had a wild night out." The toast pops out of the toaster, perfectly crisped, and she moves to retrieve it.
"You have to reply to this," Eren demands jokingly.
Mikasa's hand freezes over the toaster. She will later blame her actions on lack of sleep, but the more she considers the idea, the more she likes it. She returns to her phone, hits the 'Reply' button and types a short message. A few short seconds later, the sound of a message flying into cyberspace is heard.
"Oh no you didn't," Eren breathes.
A grin tugs at the side of her mouth. "Oh yes, I did."
Levi
After a therapeutic cleaning session, Levi had made good headway with the patent in the evening and gotten in a few hours of restful slumber. And he could really feel the difference. This morning, he had woken up just before the infernal cock started crowing to go for a jog. The exercise had energised him enough to drive him into the office half an hour earlier to prep for his meeting with legal. For once, the guys in the team were in complete agreement with his suggestions, and there was a glimmer of hope that the patent application would be submitted within the month.
Levi is in the break room brewing his mid-morning cup of tea when Hange flounces in. He notices the nervous look she gives him and cocks an eyebrow.
She blanches at his poker face expression, then stutters under a nervous laugh. "H-Hey! You're in a good mood today, huh?"
"You could say that. Managed to sleep at midnight." He pulls the strainer out and tips the used leaves into the bin. Hange eyes his cup of tea and reaches for the fridge.
"Milk?"
Levi's eye twitches. Hange knows he doesn't like milk with his tea. "Did someone hit you in the head?"
"A-Ah no, sorry! I just forgot you didn't like milk with tea." The nervous laughter is unmistakable now.
He whirls on her and pins her with a glare. "No, you didn't forget. What did you do?"
The CTO takes a deep breath. "Did you send the newbies a welcome email?"
"Yeah, Erwin told me to. So what of it?"
"D-Did you check it for mistakes?"
"No. But that's moot. I never make mistakes."
"Maybe you should," Hange looks hopeful.
"It was just a simple email, for crying out loud," Levi growls. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now. I scheduled it to send first thing this morning."
Hange's face turns white as a sheet. "Maybe you should check it anyway," she croaks. Levi stares at her for a moment before storming to his office, his mug of tea all but forgotten. He brings up the email in the sent items list and stares in horror at it. It is almost unrecognisable, with 'best' substituted for 'breast', 'bosom buddy' inserted into the sentence, and the organs in the phrase 'bottom of my heart' swapped around.
When he goes to his main email, he notices a response to his welcome email from Mikasa Ackerman, one of the new starters. He recognises her name only because she just happens to share his last name. He opens the email and his heart sinks at three little words:
I can't even.
I can't even…what? Believe? Comprehend? Stop laughing? His mind whirs into overdrive. None of the fill-out options he comes up with are satisfying.
He glimpses Hange rounding the corner into his office and flies at her as she enters.
"What the fuck did you do?" He snarls. A few heads turn their way.
"I-I'm sorry!" Hange says, slipping in and closing the door. "I assumed it was just a draft you were going to check before sending out!"
"Don't you bloody scientists always say to never assume things?"
"Well, actually, scientists make assumptions all the time, especially when they create scientific models to estimate real biological phenomena – "
"Get to the point! How did you access my email?"
"You didn't lock your computer and you left your lights on yesterday. I found it when I was closing up a-and thought you would notice the obvious differences…look, I'm sorry! I never intended for that to leave your inbox! I'll apologise to the newbies, buy you dinner and some high-quality tea, dust your home down – "
"No, I don't want any of those things. Okay, maybe the personal slave cleaner bit. But you should get out while I'm still clinging onto my last shred of civility, because I might just decide to let go of it," Levi growls. Hange, despite desperately wanting to correct Levi on his interpretation of her offer, decides that leaving and risking the misunderstanding is still better than getting hit by the hefty paperweight he is currently clenching. She makes her escape.
Seething, Levi falls into his seat and spins around to hide his expression from the rest of the office, for the walls of his office are made of glass. He mentally curses Erwin for insisting on the fishbowl design.
He massages his temples. The damage is done, but he can still take some steps to keep things under control. He will need to apologise to every one of the new starters and assure them that the email was some stupid prank. As much as he wants to just point the finger at Hange, he knows that doing so would make the leadership team look even more incompetent and lower morale. No, he figures some personal reason will be a good enough explanation. Above all, he needs to talk to Mikasa Ackerman. Although he is going to apologise regardless, he needs to know if those three little words indicate offence or amusement. He has a spotless record when it comes to office relations, and he doesn't want a harassment complaint filed against him any time soon.
Levi spends time in between meetings and work searching for the new starters. He finds three in the next hour and four during lunch. By some miracle, they had all kept quiet about his gaffe and been completely amiable and understanding when he had apologised. But Mikasa Ackerman remains frustratingly elusive throughout the day. Before lunch, she is in a safety and regulatory compliance induction. At lunch, she is running some errands in town. After lunch, she is busy helping with volunteer recruitment under the watchful eye of another team member. The woman is everywhere and nowhere at once.
Finally, Levi tracks her down at her cubicle in the open-plan office. He assesses her from afar. She is uncommonly pretty. Loose strands of hair escape from her ponytail and fall about her delicate face. She sits straight in her chair, and the neat lines of her collared shirt accentuate her strong frame and good posture. He thinks how geometrically perfect Mikasa is, then promptly shakes the thought from his mind. Inappropriate advances after an inappropriately worded email would trigger the harassment complaint he very much wants to avoid.
He makes his move. He strides towards her cubicle, and despite his very conscious revelations, unconsciously stands taller and smooths down his suit as he does so. His confident gait catches her attention, and she looks up as he approaches. He almost melts into her eyes, lovely steel-grey orbs captured within almond-shaped frames, and subtly inhales the clean and classy scent of sandalwood. He also catches a subtle musk…an omega? But the scent passes, and he figures it belongs to someone else in the office.
"Mikasa Ackerman?" She nods. "A word in my office."
He turns and hears her follow him. He leads her to his office and moves around to his desk so that they face each other.
"How can I help?" She asks demurely, tilting her head ever so slightly. An omega trait, in the absence of an omega's scent. Levi rubs his eyes, a calculated move to show weariness.
"I wanted to talk about the email I sent out this morning," he begins, mentally rehearsing the explanation. He was taking care of his neighbour's fifteen-year-old son, and the kid had snuck into his office while his back was turned and had made grossly inappropriate changes to his email that were not caught beforehand. He prepares to launch into the story but is suddenly interrupted.
"I can't even." Her eyes are a cloudy grey. Within their depths is an expression that he cannot decipher. He errs on the side of caution.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of the things in that email. My neighbour's son, he – "
"You're blaming this on your neighbour's son?" She looks incredulous.
He crosses his arms. "Yes. His parents were out of town and he stayed over with me last night. The brat stole into my office and changed some words. Made it inappropriate. I would never have written those things."
"Why didn't you notice the changes?" She looks suspicious. None of the other newbies had thought to question this far; frankly, they hadn't had to. They had just let him explain from start to finish. A vein pulses in his forehead as he realises that this surly upstart has somehow put him on the defensive.
"It was scheduled to send off first thing in the morning. When I write emails, I don't expect to have to protect them from my neighbour's bratty offspring." He knows he has stumbled, and she jabs at his opening with pinpoint precision.
"You should be more careful. You never know what others will do with your data, even if it's just your neighbour's son."
"Fair point." He takes the hit and goes on the offensive. "So what did you mean by your email reply, and your words?"
"What?"
"'I can't even.'" he quotes. "You're not offended by it, are you?"
She gives him a perfect poker face. "Why do you worry about that, if you didn't write it?"
Somehow, he is on the defensive again.
He hears a knock on the door and looks around Mikasa to see Hange's questioning face outside. He motions for her to enter, at once relieved by the distraction and irritated by the way his subordinate is effortlessly backing him into a corner.
"Hey you two! I thought it would be nice for us all to go for drinks at the local pub after work tonight, seeing as it's the end of the week and all. Mikasa, are you up for it?"
"Yes," Mikasa says, flashing Hange a small smile. Her head turns to glance at him. "How about you?" He notices the fiery challenge in her eyes. An alpha's challenge.
Levi does not like pubs because they are rowdy. Plus, he hates the taste of alcohol, not to mention the responsibility that comes with being the only sober guy in the room. But to decline the offer is to surrender to his insolent subordinate, and his alpha is having none of it. "Yeah, I'm coming," he growls, keeping his eyes trained on her.
"Good!" If Hange notices the tension between them, she mentions nothing of it. "We'll gather at the lifts in an hour and head off together. Later!" And with that, she is gone.
Levi glances at the clock; his eyes narrow. He has a briefing with Erwin in three minutes, and the CEO abhors tardiness. His eyes flick back to Mikasa.
"I have a meeting now. But in a nutshell, sorry if it caused you any offence. It wasn't meant to happen."
"I understand. It was a mistake anyone could have made." The words sound innocuous, but the thinly veiled sarcasm in her tone subtly implies her disbelief. His vein throbs again. He is thoroughly irritated, but he has no idea how to settle this uncomfortable conversation without getting on his knees and begging her to listen and understand. Paralysed by the inability to speak without danger of being misconstrued, he waves a hand at her in dismissal. He then realises that this, too, is a mistake, for the look of (mock?) outrage she sends him on her way out makes him realise that it now looks like he views her as an unvalued employee.
He bangs his desk in frustration. He can make neither heads nor tails of this girl. Is she offended or just teasing? Alpha or omega? No matter how he looks at it, the score is Levi zero, Mikasa one.
Mikasa
When Mikasa notices Levi Ackerman approaching her, she is starstruck. She has only seen his headshot once on the FlowHeart website, but in real life he is so much more. First, she notices his assertive, athletic, figure. Next, she notices the way his unconventional haircut accentuates his thin face and sharp chin, and under those hooded eyelids, the intensity and colour of his eyes – grey, with a tinge of cerulean blue – send shivers down her spine. But above all, she catches his sweet and spicy scent, charged with alpha undercurrents. Her omega stirs, excited.
"Mikasa Ackerman?" He utters her name in a low, silky, tone that purrs over her frazzled nerves. "A word in my office."
She recalls Jean's training from years ago, much of which she now puts into regular practice. Focus on your inner core and suppress your scent. Identify body stances and phrases that you feel uncomfortable with and practise them daily. Speak and act them until they become your bread and butter. These exercises had helped her hide her omega status and project a confident exterior that had allowed her to pave her way through college, land a respectable job, and cow all the territorial alphas and bold betas she had encountered in the meantime.
Without the added dimension of a secondary gender, Mikasa reflects, life is much, much, simpler.
But it is also clear to her on sight that Levi is not the average immature alpha with an inferiority complex the size of a football pitch. For one, he does not broadcast his pheromones across the room in a show of dominance and arrogance like most other alphas do. Nor does he crowd the immediate vicinity with his aura, like Erwin, or let it flow freely about the room, like Mike or Hange. Levi is somewhere in between. He is controlled, but his alpha aura is still present, crackling erratically like pure energy searching for a focal point. To Mikasa, Levi is less arrogant than he is self-assured. Within a few moments of setting eyes on this stupidly, incredibly sexy man, she finds herself wanting to dominate him. He is a new challenge for her training, and that excites her.
At that moment, her stream of thought is suddenly interrupted by the abrupt halt of his footsteps. Her omega side slips out momentarily.
"How can I help?"
"I wanted to talk about the email I sent out this morning." He says as she hastily checks her body language.
From her colleagues, she has learned that Levi is intelligent yet fair; by these accounts, the email could only have been the result of a wild night or a prank gone horribly wrong. And although she still has no idea why she responded to it the way she did, Levi clearly thinks she is more offended by it than she really is.
So, her parry is to hide the true intent behind her impulsive email. She applies Jean's lessons ruthlessly and flawlessly, twisting Levi's statements into aggressive challenges and turning his questions on himself. It was completely unplanned, but also completely satisfying. She smirks at the thought of Hange barging in there and then, asking them both out to drinks. Normally, she is not fond of drinking. It clouds her thoughts and makes her unfocused. But she had turned it into another opportunity to challenge the COO, who, to her immense satisfaction, does not back down. Now, she, a lowly omega, has won another chance to dominate the alpha, Levi Ackerman.
Levi
At 5:30pm, Levi and Erwin conclude their meeting and head for the lifts. Already awaiting them are Hange, Mike, and five of the new starters. There is Bertholdt, a timid man from marketing with a sharp mind, and Reiner, a blond from sales with a commanding presence and robust build. Each man's assets complement the other's deficiencies. There is also a skinny, sharp-eyed brunette from marketing called Ymir, and a pretty, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl from clinical who is even shorter than Levi and whose name he has forgotten. Standing behind them is Mikasa, who looks more interested in the lift directory than in the approaching party. Levi scents the air subtly, discerning the secondary genders of the new starters. Bertholdt is a beta, Reiner and Ymir are alphas, and the short blonde is an omega. But Mikasa's secondary gender remains elusive to him. Perhaps she is on suppressants?
"Where are the others?" Erwin asks.
"It's just us few tonight. No one else could join at short notice," Hange says.
Annoyance flickers in Erwin's eyes. He isn't pleased with the lack of team spirit. Hange lightens the mood with a casual laugh. "S'alright, it'll be a cosy one. Let's go!"
They set off for the Titan Arms. It is summer, and in the late afternoon the sun lingers on, setting a balmy temperature for the walkers. After quietly listening to Hange, Mike, Bertholdt, and Reiner chatter about everything and nothing, Levi hangs back with Erwin, whose imposing nature prevents the newbies from approaching him alone. They walk in silence, and Levi dwells on a certain newbie and the secret concealed behind her emotionless yet aggressive façade. He glances at said newbie; she is listening to the blonde girl's animated chatter and nodding and smiling every now and then. But then Erwin makes some idle yet loaded remark about the disappointingly small number of attendees at their social, and Levi is obliged to smooth the CEO's ruffled feathers by providing myriad silly reasons (besides lack of commitment) for their absence.
As he launches into the difficulties of maintaining a social network as a parent or carer, he feels a slight movement of air at his side and realises Mikasa has fallen back to join them. He finds himself uncomfortably sandwiched between her and the CEO but keeps talking.
" – and it's tough leaving the brats alone for a night when they might do something stupid."
"That's what the other partner is for," Erwin points out.
"But taking care of kids alone is tough, too."
"Levi would know," Mikasa cuts in. Levi glares at her. What is she scheming now?
"Are you a new father?" Erwin teases.
"No, just had the neighbour's kid over while they were out the other day," Levi grumbles.
"The same one with the rooster?"
"Yeah. I need better neighbours."
"Or you need to move," Mikasa says. "My landlord has another property going for rent. I can put you in touch if you're interested."
Her words throw Levi off. He had anticipated her pushing him to reveal his email gaffe in front of Erwin, but instead she had offered him a chance to move out of the hovel is he currently stuck in. The proposition is more appealing than he cares to admit.
"Yeah, that would be nice, thanks," he mutters.
"You're welcome." Mikasa gives him a small smile. At that moment, the strong and unmistakable scent of an omega assaults his senses. It is intoxicating, like nothing he has ever smelt before. The alpha inside him bucks with primal need.
Mate! Claim!
Perturbed, he turns to Erwin, but the CEO seems to have noticed nothing. He looks over at Mikasa again, but the omega scent has dissipated as suddenly as it appeared, taking his urge along with it.
"We're here!" Hange blares from in front. Mikasa and Erwin move ahead, leaving Levi confused as to Mikasa's endgame but crystal clear on her secondary gender.
Two hours in, and the evening is progressing like every other pub night he has ever gone to. To Levi's irritation, they have skipped over food in favour of drink, and people are getting tipsy faster than he likes.
"I think we should get food," he says, sipping his Appletiser. He scowls as the blonde girl he now knows is called Krista leans into Reiner's broad chest, red-faced and giggling. His stomach gives an unappreciative growl.
The menus are brought before them, and Levi's face turns stormy as he remembers why he hates pubs. Almost all the food is greased to high heaven and back. Tonight's dinner is going to be a cold, drab, salad.
"Come on, Levi, I know you eat more than that," Hange moans when he places his order. "Add some chips on or something!"
Mike sniffs with disapproval. "She's right. You're going to starve."
"This food will give me a heart attack," Levi growls.
"That's what FlowHeart is here for. We'll make it better!"
"I'm already contributing to the cause by working. I don't need to turn myself into a patient as well." He leaves his order unchanged, and Hange is down one extra portion of chips.
Shortly after everyone is watered and fed, Erwin makes a small welcome speech and then takes his leave. To Levi's chagrin and dismay, the others take this as a sign to commence their night of drunken debauchery. Pint after pint is placed on the table, and as the pub grows rowdy with Friday night revellers, the room inevitably fills with the wholesome stench of greasy food and spilled alcohol.
" – so the barmaid said to me, 'If you keep making a mess I'll have you lick it up!', to which I replied, 'What are you waiting for then? Bend over!" Reiner roars. Krista gasps and pulls away at the crude joke, but Reiner reins her in with one strong arm.
"Please don't be mad Krista, it was just a joke," he murmurs repentantly in her ear as she wriggles. "I promise I'll behave."
Aside from Bertholdt, who has turned away embarrassed, the others are pre-occupied with their own conversations and don't seem to notice Krista's discomfort. Levi gets to his feet to give the drunken idiot at the other end of the table a piece of his mind when a shadow flies over his head.
Thwack!
"Get off her," Ymir demands as a large lump starts forming on Reiner's head. The large man tumbles forward, rubbing his sore spot.
"Ymir, that wasn't nice," he whines, looking up at her pleadingly.
"What you said to Krista wasn't nice, either," Ymir growls, flexing her fingers. Reiner tries to stand, but Levi, who has now moved over, places an immobilising hand on his shoulder.
"Ymir's right," he growls. "Play nice, or you'll get a bar of soap shoved into that filthy mouth of yours."
"Boss – " Reiner rumbles, but he is drowned out by Hange.
"Now, you newbies must undergo a rite of passage: the drink down!"
"Bullshit," Levi scoffs. There is no such rite of passage. It is just Hange's poor excuse to get them all wasted.
"Mr. Dirty Mouth over there has disqualified himself as a devout drinker of Appletiser, but this quality also commends him as a just and fair judge," Hange proclaims. "But now that I have seen you all imbibe with no moral or religious qualms, the rest of you must try to outdrink Mike and me."
"But we're starting from different baselines!" Krista protests.
"You are quite right, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that this – " Hange waves her napkin, "Remains tucked in the front of your shirt to show you're still in the game. If you lose this, you're out. Same goes for if you surrender or pass out first. Push yourself hard," she winks, "but not too hard."
Levi sighs. Given the inebriated state of his colleagues, it is moot to point out the many flaws in Hange's improvised game.
"Hange, sorry, but count me out," Mikasa says. "Drinking games aren't my thing."
"Aw, you're no fun!" Hange pouts. "But I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. That's not how we work at FlowHeart. Mikasa, you can be a stooge and judge with Levi." She pauses, then giggles. "Is being boring an Ackerman thing?"
"No!" They protest in unison, and then turn away, Levi glowering, Mikasa blushing. They miss each other's looks. Everyone else is too tipsy to notice.
"Right, right. Anyone else not interested in competing?" Hange takes the silence around the table as a negative. "Then contestants, tuck your napkins in. As our illustrious CEO once said: dedicate your hearts!"
"With the hearts of our bottoms!" Reiner roars, and everyone except Mike and Levi laughs at the inside joke.
When he has regained his composure, Levi observes Mikasa discretely. With the deliberate and strong pulse of omega scent she had sent him earlier, there is no way she is on blockers or suppressants. Rather, he is quite sure that she is an omega who has learned how to hide her secondary gender through sheer willpower and concentration. He has read about this skill once before – it is a technique called scent control. He had practised it before as an exercise in discipline but found little reason to use it, as there was no incentive for him to hide his secondary gender. But Mikasa's apparent preference for wielding this skill beyond the more accessible scent blockers and suppressants speaks to her strong mind and discipline. He thinks of her relentless plays at dominance throughout the day, and his eyes narrow predatorially. Although he is rusty with lack of practice, he now knows the game they are playing, and he is more than happy to show her how a real alpha asserts dominance.
He sidles up to Mikasa. "Why aren't you drinking as well? You could easily win this whole thing." He has seen her down six beers over dinner and is surprised by how unaffected she looks.
"The competition should be fair. Also – " she points to the others, who are busy renewing their orders, "someone has got to make sure they all get home safely."
Levi pats her on the back. "Good girl," he croons, sending out a small pulse of alpha pheromones.
He notices her almost imperceptible shudder and smirks at the dirty look she throws him.
She is strong, but not insensitive, he concludes.
Mikasa
Mikasa balls her fists under the table, keeping her flaring temper under control. She had gotten careless. When she had been walking with Levi and Erwin, she had meant to push the former into admitting his gaffe to the latter. But after her uttered reference to his neighbour's son, the spike of apprehension she had caught from him had grated her so much that her omega had taken over. To her horror, she had offered to put him in touch with her landlord and even sent pure, soothing, omega pheromones his way. Thankfully, they had arrived at the pub, and she had taken the first chance to distance herself from the dangerous alpha as quickly as possible. Now he knew what she really was, he was emitting exploratory pulses of scent and feeding her tidbits of meaningless praise. That she had almost collapsed under it all was mortifying.
One of her conversations with Jean from many years ago suddenly comes back to her.
-flashback
"At some point, you may be drawn to an alpha and want to court them," Jean says.
Mikasa frowns fiercely. "I don't need an alpha. I just want to control my own life and be my own person."
"Atta spirit. I don't need to tell you how shit being an omega can be sometimes. But remember that scent control gives you the power to choose. Instead of submitting to the first alpha who takes a fancy to you, you have the power to choose an alpha. You have the power to claim."
"I don't want a mate," she insists. "I'll just hide my scent forever and ever."
Jean's eyes narrow. "Remember the first rule of scent control."
"Scent control is about how others perceive you, not how you perceive others," she recites, rolling her eyes.
"Exactly. Obvious as it sounds, that is an important distinction. You can influence how others see you, but you will still be receptive to others' signals. There may come a day when you feel strongly attracted to an alpha or a beta and want to take them as a mate. You need to decide whether you want it badly enough, and if so, you will need to adjust your scent accordingly."
"Were you attracted to Eren?"
"Of course I was," Jean flushes darkly.
"Did you manipulate him to get his attention?"
"Yes. No. Okay, well, maybe a little," he looks less sure of himself. "Look, alpha-omega dynamics are tricky to navigate because there is always the threat of dominance. It's either dominate or be dominated. But just because we are the so-called weaker gender doesn't mean we should hate ourselves for it. Scent control is important for protecting yourself against shithead alphas. But equally, you need to know when to tone it down and embrace your omega side."
"You sound like a line from a self-help book," Mikasa teases.
"I do not."
"Do to."
"Do not!"
"Do to."
"I'm not telling you anything ever again!"
"No Jean, I was just kidding! Please – " And the mood is broken.
-end flashback
The timing of the flashback throws Mikasa. She is attracted to Levi; she has known that much from the moment she laid eyes on him. But attracted enough to choose him as a mate? Jean had never quantified the level of attraction, but she had never felt that strong a pull from any alpha or beta she had dated in college before, either.
Mikasa breathes deeply to calm herself down and fights down the surge in scent that accompanies her dizzying thoughts. She pointedly ignores the soothing alpha pheromones rolling off in waves from the man beside her. Apparently, he is no stranger to scent control, either, and now that he knows they are playing a game, she needs to be careful. She distracts herself by watching her colleagues down their pints. Despite their tipsiness, they remain civil, waiting for everyone to down their pints before going for the next round. She is grateful when Levi watches with her in stoic silence and his pheromones slowly dissipate.
Krista is the first to drop out. "I'm good," she mumbles as her head sinks into the table. Mikasa pulls her colleague back in time to avoid hitting a puddle of water and tugs the napkin from her neck, signifying her surrender. Reiner reaches for her, but Ymir plants herself in between them and pulls Krista away from the other alpha. The omega sighs contentedly and snuggles into Ymir's shoulder, pleased at being close to a protective alpha. Reiner glowers, but lets it slide.
A few rounds later, Mikasa feels an itching sensation at her neck. She is startled; her heat cycle isn't due for a few weeks yet. She subtly scents the air and is hit by a wave of heady alpha scent from her right. To her rage, she realises that Levi has been sending low-key pulses of pheromones towards her, building them up so gradually that she only now noticed the change in air. Without her noticing, the crackling energy of his aura has somehow turned into a stormy nimbus. Although she has duelled with a few alpha scent controllers in the past, she has never met an opponent as formidable as this one. Her omega keens for attention, and she desperately fights the urge to scratch her neck. She is losing control; she needs to get out of range.
"I'm going to get a drink," she says, rising to her feet. She hears his chair scrape against the floor.
"I'm coming with you."
Levi's scent hangs thick and heavy over her, and Mikasa realises the futility of trying to fight it with alpha-based behaviours. But then she remembers the cardinal rule of scent control and changes strategy.
"If it pleases you," she purrs, brushing her hand over her exposed neck. His eyes darken, and he stiffens with attention. She cannot compete with him as a pretend alpha, but she can counter his strong pheromones by expressing her omega. Even so, she grimaces at the warm, fuzzy, feeling inside her that can only come from receiving the attention of a strong, disciplined alpha.
Levi
Levi inhales the intoxicating scent that belongs to Mikasa. He had stealthily wrapped her in his thick and heavy musk until it had been too late for her to escape. Then she had thrown him off with the barefaced reference to her scent glands. Although the action suggested submission, he knew his dominance would have been more complete had she tried to fight back as an alpha. Well, the night was still young.
He follows her to the bar, noticing how elegantly she slips and glides past the throng of revellers. She is now letting her sweet scent flow in a thin thread, alerting him to her whereabouts and creating an enticing path for him to follow. One of the men, a beta, suddenly tries to grab her, and Levi growls in warning. The beta scents the danger and moves away, but his hand is caught in place and twisted. His arm jerks forward painfully.
"Agh!"
"Want to try that one more time, beta?" Mikasa threatens silkily, tightening her grip as the man whimpers. As she lets go, she shoots Levi an unspoken warning. Do not coddle me. Levi's eyes darken. It is rare to see an omega shift so effortlessly between alpha and omega behaviours. He loves her versatility. He flows with it.
After that, the men part for Mikasa like the red sea. She reaches the bar and catches the bartender's attention. Levi hangs back a little, observing the interaction. "A vodka martini."
"That's a pretty strong drink, hon," The bartender says. Levi catches a strong whiff of alpha and suppresses another urge to growl.
"I know. I can handle it," Mikasa says casually. "You give me a drink, I give you money. Isn't that how a transaction works?"
"Sure. But you smell like you've been harassed," the bartender leans forward and catches Mikasa's arm. To Levi's rage, he sniffs along her neck. "I can smell alpha all over you, but it seems like you're unattached."
"I'm with some friends, of course I'm going to smell musky," Mikasa rolls her eyes. "Now my drink please?" She tries to pull away from the bartender but fails.
"That's not just the smell of an alpha friend – "
"Oi, bartender," Levi pushes forward, knocking the bartender's hand away roughly. "Make that two vodka martinis, will you? I'm her alpha." He pushes Mikasa back so he is standing in front of her and tries to ignore the fact that he is short for an alpha. But he is an alpha, and that's all that matters to this troll of a bartender.
"Oh really? Why isn't she claimed, then?" The bartender asks stiffly.
"Do you live under a rock? Two people can be in a relationship and not be mated. Now where are those drinks?" The bartender glares at Levi, who returns it with equal venom. Their stare down is eventually interrupted by angry customers at the other side of the bar.
"Hey boss! What's taking so long!"
"Hurry up, we've been waiting for ages!"
The bartender fills two vodka martinis and plonks them down on the counter. Levi shoves the money at him and takes the glasses. Although he is glad the stand-off did not devolve into a bar brawl, he is also unsurprised by the angry look in Mikasa's eyes.
"I could have handled that," she snaps, taking her drink.
"He was an ignorant alpha. He wasn't going to listen to you," Levi points out.
"Well, you sure shot my credibility down by wrapping your stupid scent around me. And why did you say you were my alpha? Did it inflate your stupid ego?" She hisses at his back.
"That is beside the point. Of course I'm not 'your alpha'." That being said, the notion of being Mikasa's alpha is nicer than he cares to admit. "We just needed the drinks, who gives a rat's ass what the bartender thinks."
They return to their table; Mike has just returned with another round of beers for the others. Levi extends an olive branch.
"So," he begins, "how do you drink this thing?"
"You've never tried one?"
"No. I've only ever tried beer, and that was awful."
She indicates sullenly. "Put it up your ass."
He nods, then raises the glass to her. "Welcome to FlowHeart, from the heart of my bottom." The self-deprecating jibe seems to mollify her slightly, and he takes a sip.
Although the vodka is bitter, it is good quality and slides smoothly down his throat. He downs the rest of the drink and devours the olive.
"Not bad."
Her eyes are wide. "You weren't supposed to down that!"
He shrugs, enjoying the cocktail's savoury aftertaste and the soothing warmth in his throat. "I'll drink it how I want to."
Suddenly, there is a commotion next to them and a loud cry. Levi shoots up and pulls at Reiner, who is grappling with Ymir and Mike. Mikasa checks on Krista, who has slumped onto the seat and is snoring blissfully. There is a flurry of fists and hands, and when the bodies are separated, Reiner is sitting in his seat, his shirt looking devoid of –
"My napkin!" Reiner howls. Levi glances over to see Mike waving it triumphantly.
"Not so 'in it' now, eh kiddo?" He slurs.
"That was unfair!" Levi demands. "Give Reiner his napkin back." He can barely believe the inane statement he has just uttered.
"I think it's fair." Mikasa says unexpectedly. Levi whirls on her, glowering.
"Fair? They were using underhanded tactics to one-up each other," he seethes.
"Yes, but that's not against the rules. Hange said if the napkin 'was lost', they would be out of the game. She never stated how," Mikasa says. Levi turns to Hange, who nods, red-faced and beaming.
"Righto Mikaso!" She whoops.
Although he knows it is stupid, Levi's alpha is annoyed at being corrected by Mikasa. He swallows his pride and turns to Reiner, who is staring haplessly at him. "Sorry, you're out."
"B-But boss – " Reiner wails.
"No buts," Levi says firmly. "Those are the rules."
Reiner crosses his arms and sinks back into his chair. He sulks at first, then chuckles. "Well played. Ymir, Bertholdt, give Hange and Mike hell from me." Then he stumbles off to the toilet.
As the empty pints stack higher at their table, Levi and Mikasa fill them with water, force some down their colleagues' throats, and use the rest to play a sober version of beer pong. Reiner never comes back, but when Levi goes to check, he finds the newbie chatting up a sweet-faced beta by the pool table. They look content with each other, so he leaves them be.
When he returns, he finds Mikasa at a neighbouring table with ten vodka martinis arranged in a pyramid shape and a small plate of olives. He arches an eyebrow.
"I thought drinking games weren't your thing."
She shrugs and he catches a glimpse of her scent glands, red and swollen. Despite her façade of control, she is still suffering from the after-effects of his earlier assault. "One can only drink water whilst watching people drink beer for so long. So I adapted our beer pong game a little," she says, tossing the ball from hand to hand. "You game?"
Levi smirks. "Fine. If I land more shots than you, you will tell me what you meant in your email?"
Mikasa assesses him. "Sure. And if I win, then you, an alpha, must accept defeat under me, an omega."
Levi scowls. "I have no idea why you're so obsessed with asserting dominance, but you won't get what you want from me. You're on."
Behind them, Mike tosses his napkin on the table, complains that all the alcohol he has imbibed has caused him to lose his sense of smell, and bids them all goodnight. Around the same time, Levi spots Reiner leaving the pub with the beta girl. Krista, Ymir, Bertholdt, and Hange remain.
Mikasa
"Bulls-eye." Levi exclaims triumphantly as the ping pong ball lands in a vodka martini. Mikasa picks it up and downs it. She looks at the COO and drinks in the sight of his glittering eyes and slightly parted lips. He has unbuttoned the highest button on his collared shirt to cool himself down, giving her a glimpse of the toned muscle underneath. His scent burns wild and raw about him; he has clearly relinquished control of it and is letting it diffuse freely about the room. Not that she is wholly unaffected by the drinks, either. She feels giggly and her scent glands are itchy. If anything, the game has made the itch worse than before they started playing.
"About time."
"You haven't landed one for a while. I've landed five."
"But I've landed seven. That's two more than you," she points out. "I would have scored more, but given you don't normally drink, I've been going easy on you."
"That's my line. Now watch as I – "
Levi is interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing. It is the server.
"Sorry, we need to close now. It's almost three in the morning."
"Guess that means I win," Mikasa purrs as the server retreats. Levi curses.
Mikasa looks about, startled by the emptiness of the bar; she had been so wrapped up in Levi and in vodka pong that she had completely lost track of the time and of their surroundings. Then she remembers the drinking game. Krista, Ymir, Bertholdt, and Hange are gone. She rises to her feet, but the alcohol suddenly rushes to her head, and she stumbles. Levi is at her side almost immediately.
"You've had too much to drink," he says.
"No, I haven't," she retorts, even as her stomach churns.
"Bullshit," he glowers. "You had six beers and six vodka martinis. Given your omega disposition, I'm surprised you haven't keeled over by now. Sit down."
The last command is uttered with alpha authority, and although she grumbles, she complies. Levi asks the server for a glass of water, which she drinks slowly. "So where are the others?" She murmurs when she recovers a little.
"They must have gone home. Looks like they left us a message." He walks over to the table and skims it. She notices his eyes darken.
"What?"
"They declared a tie and went home. So much for dedicated hearts."
Suddenly, she shivers. The alcohol has been in her system long enough to make her feel cold. Levi notices and, removing his suit jacket, helps her into it. It is a little tight under the arms, but it warms her.
She inhales his soothing scent, and the corners of his mouth twitch as she does so. "In the message, they also called us lovebirds."
Mikasa's mouth falls open, but the shock of her conscious mind is overwhelmed by the happiness of her omega at being associated with a strong, protective alpha. She is too tired to suppress her scent, but blushes as it escapes her. If Levi notices her arousal, he pretends not to. Instead, he appraises her with a critical eye.
"You're in no state to walk home alone. Whereabouts do you live?"
"Just a few minutes' walk from here." She tells him her address.
"I'll take you home," he says decidedly. Although she wants to protest, she knows he is right and is grateful for his help.
Suddenly, he is kneeling before her, presenting his strong, broad, back to her. "Hop on."
"What?"
"You're too drunk to even walk," he tuts. "So I'll just have to carry you."
"You're smaller than me," she points out.
"So? I'm strong. You just have to be light enough. Get on."
Hesitantly, she clambers onto his back and wraps her arms around his neck. As he stands up, she feels his muscles rippling under the thin material of his dress shirt. Her omega purrs contentedly. Strong alpha, caring alpha. She rests her cheek awkwardly on his shoulder, steering clear of his scent glands.
For Mikasa, the journey home is slow but comfortable. The chilly night air revives her a little, and Levi's body keeps her warm. They say little, and she almost drifts off when she hears him mutter to her.
"Don't you think this is much better? Us as equals, with no strutting around or meaningless displays of dominance."
"What do you mean?" She murmurs into his ear.
"All day, you've been in my face shouting 'Alpha, alpha, alpha', and tonight it's been all 'Omega, omega, omega'. You're a damned handful when you're putting on an act. But the drink seems to have loosened you up. I like you better like this: comfortable in your own skin and unafraid to do things, or let me do things, for you."
His words strike a strange chord within her. It is true; right now, she feels much happier and less stressed than before. With her previous alpha boyfriends, the reason for their breakups almost always related to power dynamics in some way or other. But with Levi, she feels none of that. When he had realised she was actually an omega, he had continued to treat her as an equal. Sure, he had enveloped her in his scent at one point and called himself her alpha, but he had wanted to test her limits as a scent controller and only intervened when she had tried her best and gotten nowhere with the bartender. He had made no further assumptions or expectations about her behaviour, and that was extremely unusual for an alpha.
"Maybe it's because we both know how to control our scents, so we know what 'normal' feels like," she says. "I've always found life is much simpler without having to worry about being an omega."
"So do I. Life would be a lot simpler if alphas, betas, and omegas didn't exist at all."
"You really think so?" She is learning more and more about this strange man every minute.
"Yeah. I don't really need to control my scent – tonight was the anomaly – but the few times I did so I found it was easier to interact with betas and omegas. They became less timid."
"You don't look like the social type," she points out.
"I'm not. But it's useful for making new collaborations. Being successful isn't just about puffing your chest out and looking big."
"I bet. You're pretty small for an alpha."
"And you're pretty heavyset for an omega." She whacks him lightly, and his rumbling chuckle travels to her core, soothing her. Her heart feels light.
They turn up the road towards her building. "That's the one," she says, pointing. When they arrive, Levi sets her down. She turns to face him, reinvigorated by the night air and clearer-minded.
"Thanks for carrying me all the way here," she says. "How far away is your home?"
"Forty minutes' walk from here. Less if I can catch a cab."
He speaks with nonchalance, but she notices the rings under his eyes and the slight sag in his shoulders. She feels bad leaving him to walk home on his own, and it is difficult to find a cab in a residential neighbourhood at this time of night. But at the same time, omegas do not invite alphas into their homes unless they are intimate. Suddenly, she giggles.
Levi scowls. "Alcohol gotten to your head at last?"
"No." She shakes her head, recomposing herself. She has spent her entire life defying expectations; why should she stop now? "Stay with me. I have a couch you can sleep on."
He cocks an eyebrow at her. "You sure?"
"Yeah," she says. "I don't want you walking home at night."
In the starlight, his grey-blue eyes glitter as they stare into her own. "Alright."
She feels her omega stir within her.
As they make their way into the lobby, up the lift, and down the corridor, Mikasa withdraws into herself. She feels the way her aura twists and curls at her fingertips, calm, playful, and teasing at once. In a world without alphas, betas, and omegas, she might have displayed these traits without a second thought. But instead, she has turned out paranoid and high-strung.
She steals a glance at Levi and shivers with delight when she finds him looking back at her. She inhales his sweet, spicy, scent and lets it permeate her senses. In the hazy candour of drink, she comes to the startling realisation that she is strongly, irrevocably, attracted to Levi Ackerman. Had she not been so obsessed with asserting dominance over him, she might have recognised her attraction from the start and begged him to take her as his omega instead of fighting with him for a whole day over the meaning of three silly little words. She finally understands what Jean had been trying to tell her. Do not let your omega define you, but embrace it, because it is a part of who you are.
Would it really be such a sin to surrender? Stealing another glance, she finds her answer in his intense, grey-blue eyes.
"You know," she begins awkwardly as she reaches into her bag for her keys, "I think we just need to learn how to manage our secondary genders better. Because despite everything we've said about them, I think it's nice that we live in a world where alphas, betas, and omegas exist."
"You think so?" Levi asks skeptically.
"Yeah," She says, turning to him. "Think about it. If I weren't an omega, I wouldn't be able to do this – " she takes a step towards him, placing her hands on her chest and purring, " – or this." She sends out a pulse of soft omega scent and feels him melt into her arms.
"Mm, perhaps you're right," he agrees, his voice low and seductive with want. "And if I weren't an alpha, I wouldn't be able to do this – " he strokes her hair and rumbles, relaxing her tense muscles, " – or this." He nuzzles her.
Her omega uncoils and keens for its alpha, releasing a wave of pure, unadulterated scent. Levi groans with pleasure, burying his nose deeper into her neck.
"It's a good thing you know how to suppress your scent, or I would have pounced on you in the office," he growls.
Her hand finds the door handle and turns it. They fall into her apartment as their lips crash hungrily together.
Levi slowly wakes to the sound of animated chatter of people on the streets. Prying open his groggy eyelids, he notices a clock on a nightstand. Eleven am. That bloody rooster had the compassion to keep its trap shut today. Either that, or his neighbour had turned it into soup. Suddenly, he realises that is not his clock. Nor is that his nightstand.
He next registers a shifting bundle under his arm and suddenly finds himself gazing into soft, grey eyes framed by a shock of silky, black, hair. His alpha rumbles with pride at the sight. My omega.
He frowns. My?
Suddenly, flashes of the previous night return to him. The swirling scent of sandalwood combined with needy, omega musk. Hot, swollen, lips. Passionate lovemaking. Fangs sinking into delicious scent glands. Searing, vision-blurring pain. His hand flies to his own neck, feeling the scabbed over puncture marks and the sparks of energy crackling around the newly formed bond. He reaches through it, feels his omega's warm satisfaction, and growls possessively when she shifts to reveal his mating mark on her own slender neck. Although it is normal for just the alpha to mark the omega, it seems she has marked him, too.
"You said you would submit to me if you lost our little game of vodka pong," she purrs.
"I suppose I did. But I still got the better end of the bargain."
"No, I did. Here, let me show you," she says, batting her eyelashes coyly.
He leans into his new mate, admiring how relaxed and natural she is underneath the mask of power and dominance. He muses on the strange events of the past twenty-four hours and smirks at the answer to the stupid question that in his mind brought them together.
Offended or amused?
Just amused. And powerfully attracted to boot.