This is both my first Avengers story and my first attempt at the A/B/O theme.
It was common knowledge within S.H.I.E.L.D that the Avengers were a pack. Coulson, their handler, was the pack Alpha. He made the decisions for the pack; made sure that they were well protected, saw to the needs of everyone within the pack. Rogers and Romanov were his Betas. Romanov had been part of the original pack, with Coulson and Barton, but when the Avengers were brought together, Rogers had clicked with her as though they were always meant to be Betas together. Between the two of them, they oversaw the health of the pack, made sure that everyone in the pack was as physically capable of taking care of themselves in any situation as possible. Thor and Banner were both Betas as well, but quite easily submitted to Romanov and Rogers, looking to them for direction. Rather than making sure that the others were capable of taking care of themselves, Thor and Banner were always there when one of the others needed strong arms to curl up in, quiet understanding to sink into, the no nonsense advice the others relied on so heavily. Barton was the pack Omega, submissive to all the others in bed, in the heat of battle. The rest of the team protected him when they were off the field, treasured and loved. Then there was Stark. Tony Stark was an Omega just like Barton, but his place in the Avengers pack had yet to be determined. He fought the orders from the rest of the pack, pushed away their attempts to treasure him as they did Barton, shied away from letting any of them close. It wasn't until the pack started presenting him with courting gifts that the rest of the Avengers learned why he insisted on pushing them away, why he denied his desires to form a pack with them.
It was a tradition that had started long before history could remember. If a pack or a single Alpha was interested in an Omega, then the Omega was courted, given trinkets to wear and show their acceptance. In modern America, it was less regulated than it had been in the past. Packs no longer needed permission from an Omega's birth pack to start courting, no longer needed to express interest to someone of authority over the Omega before they could start giving gifts. Very few pack traditions had failed to evolve as time went on and society changed. Only two rules of pack life remained from the early days. If a pack or an Alpha was interested in an Omega, the exchange of gifts must happen before the Omega could be brought into the pack. And, if an Omega had been excommunicated by his or her birth pack, they could not be assimilated into a new pack, they were, by definition, lone wolves, and were to remain that way for the rest of their lives. It was so rare for an Omega to be kicked out of a birth pack anymore, practically unheard of. Omegas who were kicked out of their birth packs were unworthy, were looked down upon by the rest of society. None of the Avengers had ever thought for a second that one of their own might have been excommunicated, at least not until they'd all watched as Phil placed a small box in front of Tony only for the Omega to pale and run out of the room, not stopping for any of them when they called out to him.
"Well, that didn't go the way I imagined it would." Everyone looked at Bruce, frowning in confusion. "Tony panicked. The last time I saw an Omega react to a courting gift like that; it was because she'd been excommunicated from her birth pack. She couldn't join the new pack even if she wanted to." He shrugged and grabbed a coffee cup, "I think Tony was excommunicated."
"What is this excommunicated?" Thor tossed his empty box of Pop Tarts onto the counter and leaned over Clint's shoulder, grabbing one of the archer's muffins and eating it with a grin. "I have never heard of this tradition."
"Get your own food, Thor." Clint stabbed his fork into Thor's hand, leaning away from him and huffing. "Didn't Tony buy you like ten boxes of Pop Tarts?"
"I ate them all." Thor rumbled, reaching for the plate of muffins that sat in front of Steve and putting three on Clint's plate. "Eat, liten fugl. You must eat more."
"Maybe if you would stop stealing my food then I would." Clint glared at the god before grabbing one of the muffins and stuffing a piece in his mouth. "Anyhow, an Omega who's done something to displease his or her pack Alpha can be excommunicated, removed from the pack forever. If an Omega is excommunicated, they cannot join another pack."
"Then the man of iron cannot join our pack because of this tradition?" When Thor received morose nods from the other members of his pack, he let out a low growl of thunder. "That is foolish. On Asgard, an Omega may always join a pack if they desire to do so. To say that Anthony cannot join our pack because he was excommunicated is something I cannot agree to. We want him. That is enough for me. I will go and speak to him. Our pack is not complete without our geni. We will have him."
"Thor," Phil's authoritative voice rang out in the empty kitchen, stopping the god who had turned to follow Tony to his labs. "You cannot just walk down there and demand that Tony ignore the things he's been taught his entire life. We were all raised knowing that an Omega who has been excommunicated must have done something horrible. Knowing Tony's past, I believe it is probably a safe bet that Stane excommunicated him when the Ten Rings failed to kill him. That isn't Tony's fault, of course, but he has still been excommunicated. He won't go from thinking he has become a lone wolf to accepting our courtship overnight."
Natasha slipped between Steve and Phil, facing their Alpha and grabbing the box Tony had left behind on the counter. "So we're still going to court him?"
"Yes. We still want him in the pack, don't we?" Phil watched the rest of his pack nod at him before taking the box from Natasha. "We're still going to court him. We'll just have to take a different approach. Thor, if an Omega is not excommunicated on Asgard, what does happen to Omegas who shame their pack?"
"The Alpha may choose to give them to another pack." Thor picked Clint up, ignoring the indignant exclamation from the smaller man, and sat on his stool with Clint in his lap. "The Allfather chose to give Loki to another pack when he shamed our birth pack. Loki is now the Omega of Sif's bonded pack. He simply has no courting jewelry. It is the punishment for an Omega who has been given in shame."
"No jewelry?" Unconsciously, Clint reached for his first courting gift, a simple leather bracelet Phil had given him when the Agent had first approached him all those years ago. "That would be-"
"It would make his heats extremely uncomfortable." Bruce sighed. "The jewelry provides a calming effect for an Omega during heats, even if they are not being shared with any member of their pack. If Tony was excommunicated by Stane, he's spent his heats alone for four years. He would have been miserable. I'm actually surprised he's lasted this long without going insane. Most lone wolves go insane after two years." He placed his coffee cup down on the counter. "Thor, is there any way for a pack to court a shamed Omega?"
"Of course there is. If an Omega was wrongly accused of shaming their pack, they may still be courted by a new pack but first the Alpha of their former pack must grant permission."
"Who took over when Stane died? JARVIS do you know?"
"Of course I do, Master Rogers. Miss Potts succeeded Mr. Stane as the Alpha of Stark Industries corporate pack."
"I'll talk to Pepper." Natasha grabbed an apple off the counter and turned to head out of the kitchen. "We have a better history than the rest of you do with her."
"No!" Thunder rolled behind Thor's exclamation, leaving Natasha frozen to the floor. "The Alpha must be the one to approach his former pack. It is an insult for a Beta to approach an Alpha on a manner as serious of it. The Son of Coul must be the only one to approach her."
"I'll arrange a meeting with her. Until I talk to her, no one says anything about this to Tony, understood? I will handle the situation." Waiting for his pack to acquiesce to his request, Phil set his dishes in the sink and straightened his suit jacket. "I have business at S.H.I.E.L.D. today. I expect all of you to give Tony his space. Bruce, use the S.H.I.E.L.D. labs today."
"Of course, Alpha."
Pleased that his pack would follow his directions, Phil left the building, pulling out his phone to call Pepper on his way to the elevator. When she answered, Phil gave a slight smile. "Miss Potts, what are you willing to do to see the wrongly excommunicated Omega of the SI pack redeemed and placed in a loving pack? I have a proposition for you."
