Chapter Text
"Come on guys, we need to go!"
Seconds later, Levi appeared at the top of the stairs pulling the cuffs of his shirt straight. "Calm it brat, a few minutes ain't going to change nothing".
Eren rolled his eyes as Levi began walking down the stairs. "It could, you realise how many people are going to be there?"
"Exactly! I'm going to be surrounded by hundreds of people and their dirt for most of the day" grumbled Levi, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "So forgive me if I don't hurry".
"This could be the most important day of our lives! You could at least try to be excited!"
"Brat, the likelihood of us finding our mate first time at The Meet is practically zero!"
"Optimistic as always Levi" chuckled Mike as he came out from the lounge, Jean a step behind him.
"I'm being realistic Mike. And trying to reduce the inevitable whining that's going to come out of Eren's mouth when it doesn't happen".
Mike smirked, waiting for Eren's reaction. Eren however was currently glaring at Jean's head where he was bent tiring his boots. He then turned his glare onto Mike.
"Have you two been ready and just lounging in their whilst I've been waiting!"
"Pretty much" said Jean as he stood.
"Am I seriously the only one who wants to meet our mate!"
"No dickhead, but somehow we've got to find an Omega who we all like and who likes us. So we're pretty much screwed considering your part of that equation" said Jean smugly.
"Me! I'm not the one with the horse face" snapped Eren.
"Anyway" interjected Mike before Jean could reply and the pair get into their stride. "I'm excited, I've been waiting four years for you to grown up Eren".
"Only benefit to being the youngest" said Eren, smile bouncing back into place.
"Brilliant, everyone is excited, no one is under a delusion that we are actually going to meet our mate, can we get this over with now" groused Levi.
"We might still meet our ma-"
"Where the hell is Erwin? I swear to God, if he's working up there I'm going to take his pen and shove it up his-"
"There'll be no shoving required Levi, I'm here" said Erwin with a smile as he came down the stairs towards his four younger brothers.
Out of the four of them, it was easiest to see that Mike and Erwin's were related by their Omega mother. They had both inherited her blond hair and blue eyes. Their Alpha fathers had passed on their height and broadness respectively. Distinctively, Erwin's eyes were a brighter blue and Mike's nose was larger (which Levi claimed was the reason he could sniff out Titans quicker than a wolf) and he had longer hair and a beard. Both had a calm temperament, although Mike was more readily affectionate than Erwin. Levi resembled the others the least. He stood below the shoulder of Mike and Erwin and came to about the shoulder of Jean and Eren, having inherited their Omega mother's height. He was also the fairest which made his black hair inherited from his Alpha mother stand out and had steeling grey eyes which he used best to intimidate his recruits. Eren and Jean both had brown hair, though Eren's was darker. While Jean's eyes were a light brown and Eren's a striking teal-green, both were often said to express a viscous look, most apparent when fighting with Titans or each other.
"Yay, we're all here, lets go, lets go" exclaimed Eren, moving towards the front door.
"Eren, we've got to be composed to set an example and even then the likelihood of us-"
"Yeah yeah Erwin, Levi's already given us the realistic speech" Jean waved off as he slipped on his jacket and chucked Erwin's at him, which was deftly caught. "Setting an example is hardly an issue anyway considering our surname! If we find an Omega we're all happy with, no way their family will say no".
"That's beside the point Jean. If you have a respectful surname, your behaviour must reflect it in order to retain that respect" stated Erwin.
"Everyone will be on their best behaviour Erwin" appeased Mike, before Levi or Jean gave a retort about sucking up and caused a full blown lecture. "And we really should be on our way if we want to get round to everyone".
"Precisely, so lets go, the carriage should be waiting" said Eren and indeed when he flung open the door, the stable hands were standing ready in the driveway. Eren piled in first, followed by each of his older brothers at a more sedated pace.
"You better calm down brat, we've got a three hour journey and you will be walking if you bounce about like a damn fool" grumbled Levi as he snapped the door closed and they set off.
"And you need to cheer up a bit or you'll scare every Omega to death" replied Eren, causing the others to smile (although Jean was trying hard to hide it, if only because Eren had said it).
"I'm not having some wimpy arse Omega as my mate, so if any of you even consider one, it will be a no!" said Levi, giving them each an icy stare.
"You can't say no to everyone Levi, you're going to have to compromise" said Jean with his own frown. Although he was showing more restraint than Eren, he had been looking forward to this for weeks as well.
"Indeed. If we're going to stand any chance of finding our mate today, we all need to compromise" stated Erwin. "The Meet has occurred for over a century and it works for most".
"And the ones it doesn't, is usually because the Alpha's of the family are too egotistical and try to monopolize the pick" said Mike.
"Exactly, so compromise" said Erwin. "I've been thinking ("Of course you have" muttered Levi) that the most efficient way to do this would be for each of us to state one thing we want, or don't want, our mate to have. That way we'll be able to narrow down our options to an Omega with a characteristic we each want".
"And if there isn't an Omega with these five characteristics?" demanded Levi.
"We'll compromise some more but it's a starting point Levi" replied Erwin. "So what's your one thing?"
Levi rolled his eyes but said "Same as before, they can't be some wimpy arse Omega".
"So you don't want them to be a coward?"
"More that they don't just bow down and grovel like most Omega's are expected to do".
"Okay, so you don't want a submissive Omega" said Erwin, to which Levi gave, what appeared to be, an uninterested shrug of agreement. "Right, Mike?"
"Honestly ... They've just got to smell right" said Mike, causing both Jean and Eren to promptly burst out laughing and Erwin to smile. Levi just rolled his eyes again, although his lips did tilt upwards slightly.
"We should have guessed that" chuckled Eren. "I'll guess that Erwin doesn't want an idiot then".
Erwin's smile sobered slightly, "It's more that I want an Omega who I can have a conversation with, so intelligence, that's what I would want. Eren?"
"Conversation would be good, so would being able to have a laugh once and a while. So I want someone who isn't boring, someone funny who can cheer us up after a shit expedition".
"I'd like that" said Mike softly, thinking back to the last expedition where he had lost two squad members.
"Okay then, funny" said Erwin. "Jean?"
Jean looked uncomfortable for a second before his face hardened and said "Fine, I'll be the shallow one then, seeing as no one has said the obvious. They've got to be attractive. At the end of the day, once mated, this is the only person we'll be allowed to sleep with, I want to enjoy it!"
Levi gave a noise of disgust.
"What!" snapped Jean, turning on Levi with a furious face. "You can pretend all you like Levi that you'd be cool with fucking an ugly-"
"Shut it brat" cut in Levi with a growl. "I'm not saying I'd be happy fucking some ugly arsehole. I'm just still disgusted by the fact that I'll be fucking the same person you four will be".
"Levi, we've been through this" said Erwin, calmly as always. "We'll set down rules. It's the way its been for over a century".
"I'm well aware of that, thanks big brother" said Levi sarcastically. "Doesn't mean I have to like it".
It was over a century ago, after the war between humans was over and the remaining survivors sort protection behind the walls from the titans that The Meet was organised. It was organised to combat the problem of mates and procreation. By the end of the war, Omegas were extremely rare, clearly outnumbered by the number of Alphas and Betas. Whilst Betas can mate with an Omega or Alpha, they cannot produce offspring. Two Betas can produce offspring, though it is rare as their fertility is low. Consequently, extinction other than by the titans was a real possibility for humanity as there were not enough Omegas for every Alpha to mate. The possibility of selecting certain Alphas to mate and others not, was quickly eradicated as this would have led to anarchy as Alphas fought to mate. Thus, The Meet had been organised.
The Meet occurred every year. Omegas of an age to mate would be brought to The Meet by their parents or guardians, to be displayed to the Alpha members of a family. As a single Alpha could not mate with a single Omega, it was declared that a single Omega would be selected by a family and mated to all the Alpha siblings in that family. The ties between Alpha siblings was deemed to be strong enough, that they would not fight for the Omega but learn to live in harmony and all have the opportunity to produce. Alpha siblings who were unable to control themselves would not mate. In the beginning, Alphas who had no siblings of the same orientation, were given the opportunity to join with other Alphas to form a pact to mate and share an Omega. This opportunity was still available although rarely exercised as most Alphas usually have at least one other Alpha half-sibling due to the amount of mates their Omega mother/father has in the form of their uncles/aunts.
The age an Omega can mate and brought to The Meet was initially fourteen due to the demand to procreate but was increased to sixteen as the demand eased slightly. Alpha also had to be of a certain age before attending The Meet and therefore older Alpha siblings had to wait until their youngest Alpha sibling was of age. Twenty-one was the age decreed for Alphas to mate. This age was deemed old enough for the Alpha to have matured enough not to stray from their mate, having allowed time for them to play the field. Tight restrictions were placed on Omegas ensuring that they had no opportunity to sleep with or accidentally mate with others, before attending The Meet and being chosen.
Eren was the youngest of his half-siblings, having turned twenty-one that year. Jean was a year older, Levi two years older than him and Mike a year older than Levi. Erwin was the oldest at twenty-seven and had been waiting to attend The Meet for over six years as his half-siblings came of age (not that he had minded the wait - it had allowed him time to focus on the Survey Corps, becoming Commander at the young age of twenty-five).
It was unclear why Omegas were the minority following the war. Some said it was because they were the weakness orientation so had been picked off. It was more likely, in Hange's opinion, that due to the need for the strongest warriors during the war, there was genetic pressure to produce Alphas and Betas over Omegas and therefore it had been out of human control. On the other hand, Hange and Erwin also heavily suspected from scientific and literature research done by the pair respectively, that part of the titans make-up was to target Omegas specifically. This would have been a sure way to defeat another; cutting off their ability to reproduce. Little publication or head way had been made proving this theory however, despite Hange's persistence, as the government and other military divisions were strongly opposed to testing it; Omegas were deemed to precious and fragile.
"The rules we'll make will ensure that it's fair to each of us and our Omega" said Erwin. "Beginning with looking for these five characteristics when we get there".
"Great, so we're looking for an attractive, intellectual, funny Omega who doesn't grovel at our feet and smells good, among a bunch of Omegas who are taught from birth to be submissive to all, quite and obedient and not peruse education as their primary purpose in life is to produce our offspring" ranted Levi. "Well at least attraction and smell won't be too much of a problem - excluding the fact that we all probably have different opinions on what is attractive and smells good!"
Erwin's and Mike's expression had hardly changed during Levi's exclamation, although Mike looked as though he was struggling to hold back a smirk. Jean's frown had deepened and Eren looked ready to push Levi out of the door.
"Finished?" asked Erwin.
"Just stating facts" shrugged Levi.
"And I'll repeat, that it is also a fact, that The Meet works and even more importantly, we don't have a choice" said Erwin. It was compulsory for Alphas to attend The Meet once the youngest Alpha in the family reached twenty-one. The more years of attendance it took a family to choose an Omega mate, the greater shame was attached to that family. It was even worse for the Omegas, and their families, who were not chosen. Consequently, although an Omega's parents have a choice of when to display their child between the age of sixteen and eighteen, most do so straight away, so as minimise the risk of their child being an unmated, over twenty year old. Ideally, Erwin would like for them to choose their mate today, as it would undoubtedly impress the higher-ups who may sponsor the Survey Corps. Unfortunately, Erwin practically knows that Levi is right; the chances of choosing a mate on first attendance is slim. Most families take two to three years to pick a mate and usually the pick is forced out from a fear of ruining the family's reputation. Erwin was fairly confident that they would be able to at least choose a mate next year if not today as despite Levi's grumbling, he often thought closely to Mike and himself. Jean and Eren would rarely openly agree with each other but neither would likely oppose if everyone else agreed. "When we get there, we are going to separate and try to locate an Omega as close to these five characteristics as possible, meet back up and take each one of our considerations seriously!"
"Yes! Positive thinking guys, I feel like today is the day" said Eren, already happy to let what Levi said slide.
Levi and Jean rolled their eyes (for very different reasons) but did not contradict him. Silence fell within the carriage as it trundled over the beaten road running through the farms between the inner and outer walls. The Meet took place in the inner walls and consequently was completely under the Military Police Brigade jurisdiction, which was even more reason to give off the right impression in Erwin's opinion.
Little more was said for the rest of the journey; a merciful thing considering Eren and Jean had to sit beside each other for three hours. The weather looked good as well when they approached the gates, which was a bonus considering The Meet was held outside in the main square. Another piece of luck was when the Military Police guard at the gate approached the right hand carriage window where Mike and Eren were sat, saving Erwin from counteracting Levi's blatant disdain. Mike was professional as always and Eren was excited enough not to be unpleasant.
The carriage was directed to the centre of the square via the main road. On arrival, the five brothers got out and the carriage carried on down the main road towards the parking and where the horses would be tended to. Branching from the centre of the square were multiple make-shift alleys separated by wooden fences. Each alley was labeled with a letter; A to J. Along these alleys were make-shift rooms, made up of two fences separating one from the other but open at the front. Each of these make-shift rooms were numbered and dedicated to an Omega and their parents/guardians to sit and talk with interested Alphas who had walked past. Although not explicitly acknowledged, the lower the number of the room, the more prestigious the Omega family was, hence their room was closer to the centre of the square. All five brothers were silent at first as they all turned and took in the area (scanning bred into them from training).
"Right" said Erwin once everyone had had their fill. "Everyone take two alleys, walk up one and back down the other so that we all meet up here again and then we'll go together to the Omega's rooms that caught our interest".
"Right you are boss" said Mike with a smile. Despite the overwhelming smells that were already assaulting Mike's senses, now that they had arrive and he could possibly be meeting his mate, he had grown excited. "I'll take C and D".
"E and F for me then" grumbled Levi unhappily, arms tightly crossed and glare in place as though he could ward off the invisible germs he knew where everywhere.
"Great, G and H for Jean and I and J for me," said Eren, lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "Can we move?"
"All just remembered that you are representing the Survey Corps and they'll be a lot of important people here, so best behaviour" said Erwin.
"Got it Dad" said Levi sarcastically. "Lets get this over with!"
With that, Levi marched off towards his first alley. Taking that as his cue Eren was gone in a flash. Jean swaggered off towards his, leaving Mike to give Erwin a reassuring smile and slap on the shoulder before striding off towards his. Becoming aware that he was starting to attract attention (being the Commander of the Survey Corps had its drawbacks), Erwin quickly strode into alley A and merged into the masses of other Alphas.
**