Eren stood in the hallway, staring at the door like everything wrong with the world was its fault. Somehow, the longer he stared, the bigger and more intimidating it seemed to be. The hallway was closing in on him.

He didn't want to go in there.

He really, really didn't.

Honestly, he wanted to run and hide somewhere safe but he was pretty sure Hanji would hunt him down all the same. He had enough trouble escaping her the day before, when they left the Commander's office. He only managed so when he promised to tell her everything she wanted to know – within reason – when he comes for the checkup.

Now he deeply regretted his careless words. The Walls only knew what she was going to ask him and he was already embarrassed. But what was done was done and he had never been one to run away anyway.

But still. He so didn't want to.

He didn't know how long he stood there before he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

Hanji opened up immediately with a wide, manic grin on her face. "I was wondering if you were ever going to knock or if you'd just stand there until I came to get you myself."

Eren felt his ears heating up at being caught as he followed a cackling Hanji inside the lab. He automatically went straight to the examination table in the center of the room. He hopped on it and held his breath, hoping he was waiting for instructions and not a questioning assault.

Hanji rummaged in her things for a while, taking out some injections and vials, several bottles with different chemicals, a stethoscope, a big stack of papers that was Eren's personal medical records, along with the research done on him, before turning to face Eren.

She clapped her hands, smiling brightly and the omega only felt more unsettled. "Okay, you know the drill. Shirt off."

Eren gave her a suspicious look as he hesitantly took off his uniform jacket, undid the upper part of the gear straps and started peeling off his shirt. During the whole process Hanji watched him carefully like a hawk, seemingly vibrating in place and obviously trying to keep herself somewhat calm.

"Ahhh, I can't take it anymore!" Hanji cried before the boy even managed to pull the shirt over his head. She ran towards him with a squeal, hugging him around the middle and burying her face into his stomach. To say Eren was panicking would be an understatement.

He froze in place, in the awkward position of head stuck in shirt, arms raised and tangled into said shirt, letting out weird sounds on the verge of confused, questioning hums and shocked chokes. Meanwhile, Hanji just gushed on and on while rubbing her face on his abs. "Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet you, you teeny tiny human, you. We're gonna have so much fun together, you're gonna love my lab! I wonder, are you a girl or a boy? Is it too soon to ask? Well, it doesn't matter; I bet you're gonna be the most adorable little thing either way!"

Suddenly, her head snapped up, to look at Eren, who was apparently still in shock. "Say, Eren, can I name him? Her? Whichever? Pretty please!"

Eren blinked a few times into the green fabric, finally snapping out of the stupor Hanji threw him into at the sound of his name. It was a struggle to free himself of the shirt as he was still disoriented a bit, but when he finally managed, he looked down towards the weight hanging off his waist only to be met with sparkling eyes full of excitement and a grin so wide he briefly wondered how her face hadn't split yet.

"Umm," he started, decidedly uncomfortable. "Don't you think it's too soon to think about names?" The chuckle that followed was a little high pitched and tense. He didn't know how to tell her he didn't trust her to pick a name for his child. He didn't want them to end up with a weird name like... Pea... or Wheat... or something... in honor of the late Bean.

She wasn't deterred though. "It's never too early for names!"

Eren looked away for a moment, deciding to shift the responsibility of destroying this girl's dreams. It wasn't just his child after all. "Umm, try asking Levi?"

He wasn't looking but he still felt her smile drop a little. "The meanie will never let me, I know it." Eren was about to give in at the pouty, sad voice but luckily, Hanji was quick to recover. "Well, I'll do my best. I still have lots of time to convince him! And so many name ideas already, you two are bound to like some of them."

"Okay," the boy sighed in relief. There was silence for a few moments with Eren hoping she would finally let him go but Hanji seemed more than content squashing her face into him. "Umm, Hanji, you're kind off... suffocating me..."

"Oh!" Hanji squeezed him one last time, mumbling a 'Bye' to his baby and let the boy go at last. "Sorry, I'm just so excited! It's just great that the Corps are having a baby!"

Eren looked away. "The Commander doesn't think so, though. You didn't think so just yesterday," he remarked quietly, half hoping she won't hear him. He didn't really know how to feel about Hanji's excitement now, especially considering the conversation from yesterday. He was kind of happy that she was happy about it but he still felt wary. How could she make such one-eighty so fast? It felt weird.

On the other hand, this was Hanji. She was the definition of weird. Levi's words.

The woman gave him an understanding smile. "Oh, I was really happy right when I realized what was going on, I just didn't think it would be wise to keep it and that dropped my mood down considerably. Now we know we have to let you keep it, even if it won't be easy and we will have to be quite careful. But either way it means I can be excited all I want!" Her happy grin was back and Eren couldn't help but smile in return.

"And trust me." Suddenly, there was a mischievous spark in her eyes. "Erwin might look like he's anything but happy about the little one now, but once he actually sees them, he's gonna melt straight down into a big, blond puddle of goo. Only the eyebrows will stay." She laughed in amusement, more when she noticed the doubtful look on Eren's face. "No, really. I've known him for a long time and I can guarantee he's going to gush and spoil the kid rotten. Even more than Levi."

Eren still looked like he didn't believe her. He shook his head with a small smile. "If you say so."

She just stuck her tongue out at him, "Of course I say so. And I'm always right. Just you wait a few months and you'll see."

Eren chuckled at her conviction and it struck him how Hanji really didn't feel like his superior officer. By now, he saw her more as a friend than anything. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was a strange realization.

Luckily, he didn't have to dwell on it for too long since Hanji suddenly jumped and exclaimed, "Anyway, we have gathered here today for a reason and it's not to talk about Erwin, nor his eyebrows. Let's get down to business." She turned around, grabbing the stethoscope from where she left it, taking a few steps to get behind Eren.

The boy felt Hanji put the contraption on his back and started breathing deeply, just as was always required for this.

"So," Hanji drawled casually, "how is Levi in bed?"

Eren choked.

It took him a while to stop coughing but when he did, he only felt his whole face turning red. "Hanji! What the hell?"

"What? You promised to tell me everything!"

"Within bounds! This is definitely outside those bounds! And I thought we were done talking!"

"Done talking about Erwin," Hanji pointed out. "What's the big deal anyway? Come on, tell me! Please!"

"No. You have no need to know about... that!"

"But I'm curious! I was so sure Levi was gonna die a virgin and now he's having a baby! How can you deny me this?!"

"I don't care! No!"

"Fiiiine," the scientist pouted, a little whine in her voice.

Eren huffed, satisfied with his win.

There was silence as Hanji listened to his lungs, then his heart, and soon putting the stethoscope away and writing some notes at her desk.

"So what's your favorite position?"

"HANJI!"

Hanji was still coming down from her laughing fit and Eren was still beet red 5 minutes later. They didn't get any work done since Eren came into the lab. It looked like they were going to take a while and he was starting to worry he'd miss the afternoon training too, as if the morning one wasn't enough. "Can we move on?" he barked at the still-occasionally-snorting woman.

At his annoyed voice, she straightened up and coughed a little to bring herself under control. She found it particularly difficult, though, as every time she looked at Eren's scrunched up, red face, she felt ready to burst into laughter all over again. The boy was just too precious in his embarrassment.

It still took her another few minutes to be able to talk seriously again. "Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing now. I'll leave your sex life be. I'll go harass Levi later though," she added with a smirk and Eren groaned.

"Please, don't."

Hanji smiled fondly as Eren hid his face in his hands in despair, even though she could hear the faint smile in his voice. She bet he wanted to witness her driving his alpha crazy with intrusive questions and in her mind she swore to do her best to assure that he did.

"Anyway, I'm going to take a few vials of your blood. I have to do some tests, see if there's something that shouldn't, and everything that should. We should try to see if we can find out how far along you are. Do you have an estimate?"

Eren shrugged. "Not really. I've known for sure for about a week and I started noticing the changes a week before that, I think? But I don't really know exactly when it happened."

Hanji hummed a little as she started thinking, tapping a pen on her lips. "So about three weeks, I'd say. I'm no expert on omegan pregnancy, much less a male one, but from what I gather from the one book we had here for some reason, you're supposed to be able to tell just in a few days. Your body stops producing eggs pretty much immediately and as a result, your testicles start shrinking and withdrawing back into your body. That process should be noticeable in about four days since conception or so. I suppose you realized this happening sometime two weeks ago?" she shot a questioning look at the boy, who only nodded, a little pink back in his cheeks. "And then your nipples started getting more sensitive and pronounced, slight pressure appeared in your abdomen from your organs repositioning. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Eren nodded again, blushing a little more still. It felt weird, talking about this.

"And what convinced you that you knew for sure? You said it took you another week to know for sure, even though all the signs were there," Hanji asked curiously.

Eren shrugged a little helplessly. "I didn't want to believe it at that point, you know? But then... I don't know, I guess it was more instinctual than anything in the beginning? Like, I would mess up in training, nearly hitting a tree mid-maneuver, and instead of covering my head I covered my stomach, stuff like that. So coupled with the... physical stuff, the idea went through my head weather I might be pregnant. I just started to seriously consider the possibility, when..."

The omega looked unsure as he trailed off so Hanji gave him an encouraging nod.

"Um, do you remember? A little over a week ago, Levi and Commander Erwin left to go to the town for some meeting with the Military police there. They stayed overnight."

Hanji furrowed her brows at that. Could it be...? But she never saw the mark, neither on Eren nor on Levi. And Eren was sitting half naked right in front of her. It didn't make sense.

Eren smirked kind of wryly, raising his right hand to massage where his neck and shoulder connected. "The mark healed but the bond is still there, thank god. At least something stayed."

Hanji grinned. This was the most interesting. It didn't even occur to her that the mating mark wasn't visible thanks to Eren's regeneration skills. But now that she heard it from Eren, it made sense. She also suddenly remembered Levi mentioning they were mated yesterday; it must have slipped her mind in all the confusion.

It explained how Eren got convinced through his denial also.

Generally, bonds worked as immediate SOS signal for mates to know the other was in danger. But sometimes even long separation, the strong feelings of missing the other got through. Male omegas were usually stronger, physically as well as emotionally, then their female counterparts. And Eren was especially independent even for a male omega. That meant his and Levi's bond needed a lot stronger stimulus to act up on the base of loneliness than was the standard. But pregnancy puts a lot of stress on the body as well as the mind and it causes omegas to need their mates as close to them as possible. At the same time, alphas aware of their omega's pregnancy feel an intense need to protect both their omegas and their children and they don't want them to leave their sight if at all possible. All in all, pregnant mated pairs of alpha and omega don't handle separation well. Comparatively, betas have much easier time with pregnancies.

Last week's trip wasn't Levi's first one since last month nor was it the longest. If Eren and Levi never felt the pull of the bond during those longer separation periods, there was logically no reason for them to feel it this time. Unless there was someone else needing extra protection.

"How long have you been bonded?" Hanji inquired. It had to be quite recent since she never noticed Levi wearing the mark. He didn't have Eren's titan regeneration, so it had to be there.

"Oh, well, since right after we returned from the female titan expedition."

Hanji's jaw dropped. That was what, three months, three months and a half? How did she never notice before?

Eren laughed at her flabbergasted expression, immediately understanding the source of the shock as her eyes travelled to his neck. "It's under his cravat. He wears it just high enough to hide the mark completely."

Hanji blinked a few times before her head dropped on her desk with a loud bang. She didn't move at all for several moments before she started laughing hysterically. Eren could only laugh right along with her. When he thought about it, it was a pretty ridiculously convenient coincidence that Levi liked wearing an accessory that could pretty much specifically hide incriminating evidence of his illicit relationship.

But somehow, Eren was grateful to that stupid piece of cloth; he was glad he couldn't normally see Levi's mating mark. That way it didn't constantly remind him his own lack of it. The lack that made him feel angry, regretful and guilty. He didn't have anything to show the world he was taken, anything to show for his love. He couldn't give Levi the feelings of pride and warmth in his chest that Eren always felt when he could admire his own mark on Levi's neck. It was beautiful. Levi was his and he was Levi's. But Eren couldn't give Levi the satisfaction for having a visible proof of that fact and that made him angry at himself. He wanted that mark but he could never have it.

Levi often told he didn't mind Eren's mark evaporated off into nothing. That as long as the bond stayed where it was supposed to stay, he was more than happy. But the words didn't change Eren longing for Levi's mark, any mark to stay longer than a few minutes. It made him sad, like nothing ever happened between them. He knew he was being stupid, that he wouldn't be able to show off the marks anyway, but he wanted that feeling of looking at himself and knowing he belonged to someone.

It was only Hanji's voice that snapped him out of his melancholic thoughts. "Eren, are you okay?"

Eren shook his head, "It's nothing, just lost in thoughts." He grinned at her to assure her he was okay. And he really was, he loved Levi and he knew Levi loved him. And that was all that mattered in the end. "Anyway, shouldn't we continue with the examination?"

Hanji slapped her forehead. "Right. We should, that's why we're here after all." Eren snickered. It was obvious Hanji completely forgot their actual purpose today. "Lie down on the table, I'll take that blood from you and then check your stomach and stuff."

Eren complied, watching Hanji disinfecting her needles with alcohol, then moving on to disinfect his arm where she was going to stick the needle as well.

She gave him a sly grin as she worked and Eren's heart dropped. Obviously, the interrogation wasn't over just because they returned to work.

"So, Eren," she sang sweetly, "I told you I expected Levi to go to his grave without ever knowing one of the pleasures of this world. I just can't imagine how you managed to persuade him. I know for a fact you weren't the first to try."

Eren turned red once again and refused to look at the nosy maniac.

"Come on, spill. You promised!" She started persistently poking him with an empty vial until Eren had enough and opened his mouth.

"Well... I wasn't... the one who started it."

A/N: Hope it was okay, this chapter turned out a little different than I originally intended... ^^;; Also sorry for how it ended? I wanted the flashback to have it's own chapter ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

Anyway, school started this week and it's pretty much a rollercoaster for me (and it's only the third day). I hope to keep up the weekly updates but it really depends on how I hold up in the future OTL