Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Written for Auction Challenge, Prompt - Omegaverse.

Word Count - 3290

Any Idea (How Much I Want You)

Scent blockers were a marvelous creation. Tony lived by them, hiding his omega nature with one manufactured to smell like a beta to anyone that happened to scent him. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his secondary gender, because he wasn't, not at all. It was simply that in business, and life, people didn't take omegas seriously.

As the owner of one of the biggest companies in the world, Tony didn't have time to deal with that kind of nonsense. Not to mention that he was Iron Man, and was counted on to save the world on a semi regular basis.

If the public knew he was omega, there would be mass panic.

So, Tony took the blockers and scheduled 'meetings' occasionally so he could head out to the privacy of his Malibu mansion for his heats.

Except Thanos happened and destroyed half of the universe with a single snap. And then of course, Tony had to fix that mess, which meant Steve, and Nat and Clint and Sam. It had been a race against time and they had been so close, so close to missing it, but by the end, a very tired, bruised and broken Tony had returned to New York with the population back where they belonged.

They'd won.

That win had come at a cost for Tony. Them helping to save the world had earned Cap and his merry band the respect that they'd lost, and it was only weeks before pardons were granted and they were moving themselves back into the compound with sheepish smiles and awkward silences.

Of course, it was worth it, to have Peter back, and to know that Rhodey and Pepper and Steven and millions more were safe and sound and not a pile of dust.

It was worth it. But that didn't mean that it sucked any less.

Everywhere Tony went he met one of the people he'd once thought of as family. Even Bruce and Thor had stuck around, though Tony had no problem treating the two of them as he always had. When Tony went to the kitchen, Clint and Nat were sitting at the table, talking quietly. When he went into the living room, Steve and Bucky would be sitting on the couch, often with Sam, catching Bucky up on movies and TV shows he'd missed.

When he went to the gym, there were visible signs that the super soldiers were back in residence.

It was too much, and it didn't take long for Tony to lock himself up in his workshop where he could be alone. In peace.

Rhodey wasn't impressed.

"You can't let them run you out of your home, Tones," he cajoled, a note of anger in his tone. "This compound is yours. Let them feel like the awkward ones!"

"I'm just fine down here, honeybear," Tony replied, his own tone carefully casual. He knew that Rhodey wasn't buying it for a second, but his best friend didn't call him on it and Tony was ever grateful for that.

"At least come and watch a movie with me. Yes, they'll probably be there, but you can't leave me on my own with them."

Tony sighed, dropping the screwdriver he'd been fiddling with onto his worktop.

"This isn't going to be a regular thing," he warned, glaring pointedly at Rhodey because they both knew that when Rhodey used that tone of voice that Tony would give him whatever he was asking for. "I don't need them to think that we're all suddenly friends again."

Rhodey waited for Tony to stand before he spoke quietly. "Would that be such a bad thing?"

Tony's answer of, "the worst," was barely audible.

…

Fifteen minutes later, and the two of them settled themselves on the couch, spreading out enough that if the others did join them, they would be relegated to the chairs or the floor. Tony swiped at the sweat beading on his head and murmured to Friday to turn the heat down.

He didn't miss the concerned look Rhodey gave him, but he did ignore it.

Sure enough, as Tony told Friday to lower the lights for the movie, the others began streaming in. Steve looked like he was about to say something about the couch until Bucky shoved him into a chair and sat down on the floor beside it, shooting Steve a warning glance.

The others took their own seats and the movie began, drawing a groan out of Clint.

"We watched this a couple of weeks ago!"

"Tony and I haven't seen it," Rhodey replied blandly. "And since you're all invading our party, you can either watch or go elsewhere."

Tony just stared at the TV blankly, refusing to meet the gaze of anyone else. His stomach was churning uncomfortably, clenching and unclenching at random intervals, and he was getting hotter by the minute.

He felt like he was on fire.

Letting his head fall back against the couch, Tony closed his eyes. Rhodey wouldn't mind if he fell asleep, and he really did feel wretched.

…

Tony woke suddenly to the feel of arms beneath his knees and back as he was scooped up into a firm embrace.

"What-?" he murmured, confused, his mind cloudy.

He received no reply, just the shuddering feeling of the person holding him taking fast steps. He struggled against the hold to no avail, and eventually, he gave up and slumped against the chest of his captor.

The scent was incredible.

He knew who it was, of course, he just didn't understand why.

Until he was shifted suddenly and the movement sent a jolt of arousal through him and shit, he'd gone into heat.

That explained the way he was feeling, he supposed. His mind still cloudy, he struggled to put together the pieces of what was happening, but by the time the elevator opened to his private rooms, he knew that he was in heat and Bucky, alpha, was holding him securely against his chest.

"Why did you keep it a secret so long?" Bucky asked gently, clearly not expecting an answer as he placed Tony gently on his bed.

Tony whined when Bucky pulled away, reaching for him when he stepped back from the bed and left the room.

Rejection flooded his veins, and Tony curled up in a ball, whimpering against the sudden loneliness that threatened to overwhelm him. He didn't want to be here, in the compound, while he was in heat.

He wanted to be at home, with his comforts and his tools and his nest.

Bucky pushed the door open quietly, walking back into the bedroom with a tray filled with bottles of water and ready to eat foods. He placed it on the bedside table and toed off his boots, laying down beside Tony on the bed, pulling him close.

He stroked a hand through Tony's hair, making Tony push closer against his chest, the scent of Bucky easing the cramps in his stomach and making him feel just a little less lonely.

"I'm gonna stay with you, Doll," Bucky promised gently, his hand never stopping it's soothing movements. "Friday has us on lockdown so the other's can't get in unless you want one of them, okay? I'll keep you safe."

Tony didn't reply, just nestled deeper against Bucky's chest. He needed… he didn't know what he needed but he needed.

When he tried to articulate that in halting whimpers, Bucky sat them both up, pulling off his own t-shirt and then helped Tony pull his own off. The skin to skin contact was effective immediately, and Tony sighed with relief.

"I'm not going to knot you," Bucky murmured. "Not until you can tell me that you want me like that when you're not in heat. You smell devine, Tony, but I guess the Winter Soldier has finally proven himself useful, because I'm not out of my mind like any other Alpha would be. I can control myself."

Tony didn't know whether to feel disappointed or relieved, but he couldn't stop the irrational sting of rejection from hurting. He knew that Bucky was only trying to do the right thing, but… was it really too much to ask that somebody would want Tony?

Even in heat, Tony couldn't entice someone to want him.

With that sad thought in the back of his mind, Tony gave himself over to his heat completely, promising himself that as soon as it was over, he'd leave the compound for a while.

…

That didn't go to plan, because while Tony was enjoying his first post heat shower, the Avengers alarm went off and there was a hasty rush to dry himself and don his suit.

Bucky had stayed with him for his entire heat, feeding him sweetly and carding his fingers through Tony's hair, or stroking along the bare skin of his back. They hadn't spoken much, there wasn't really much to say and Tony was struggling to sting a thought together never mind a conversation.

Only when Tony had woken that morning, heat free and smelling like a beta once more did Bucky leave; with a promise to see Tony later for a chat.

Not if Tony could help it.

He'd planned to be far away from New York when 'later' came, but this had put a kibosh on that plan.

Slipping into his undersuit, he headed into the elevator to take him down to the base level where he kept his suits. It would save him from having to get on the Quinjet with the others.

Suited up and flying Tony had Friday key him into the coms.

"Goddamn fucking doombots," Clint was complaining, and Tony barely suppressed a groan of his own.

Where were the Fantastic Four to deal with this crap? Assholes.

Tony followed the trail of the Quinjet to the location and started shooting out reactor beams immediately, blowing the robots up on impact. Hopefully this would be a relatively easy fight and he could escape before Cap decided they needed a thorough debrief.

…

Tony's luck was not playing in his favour. Not even a little bit.

Clint had messed up which meant a debrief was inevitable and now Tony was sitting in the meeting room in his undersuit, doodling on a pad of paper to save himself from boredom. Not that it was helping much.

They'd already been there for almost an hour, and Steve was showing no signs of easing up on going over every single move they all made.

"Tony, are you even listening?"

"Not really," Tony replied blandly, looking up to meet Steve's eyes. "Clint fucked up. It was rectified. Job done."

"Maybe if we could function as a team, these mistakes wouldn't happen!"

"Are you actually finding a way to blame Clint making a mistake on me?" Tony asked, amused despite himself. "Jesus Christ on the cross, could you hate me anymore, Steve?"

Steve looked taken aback. "I don't hate you, Tony, far from it. I just want us to be able to function as a team again… to be a family again."

"We don't need to be a family to be a team," Tony replied evenly. "And as far as my fight out there today, I was fine. Not even a scratch on me. Can I leave now?"

"We can't be a team when we're not being honest with each other," Steve replied, his tone hard.

From the corner of his eye, Tony saw Nat facepalm and Bucky wince. He sat up in his seat, glaring at Steve.

"You really, really, wanna talk about honesty in the team, Steve? Are you sure about that?"

"C'mon, Tony. It's a pretty big thing to hide, that you're omega," Sam butted in, his tone soothing.

"It's none of anyone's fucking business," Tony growled standing up and hunching to lean on the table. "My gender doesn't stop me being able to do my job, and that's all any of you need to worry about. I've been Iron Man for years, and me being an Omega has never stopped that. It won't stop it now."

"You still should have told us," Steve replied stubbornly. "It's something that, as your team, we should be aware of."

"Yeah, well, I should have been made aware of a lot of things, Steve, but that consideration was never acknowledged. On that note, I'm out. If you don't want an omega on the team, kick me off."

Tony rounded the table towards the door, slamming his way out. He was so, so angry. This was exactly the reason he didn't want people to know about his gender, because as soon as they heard the word omega, they automatically thought weak.

Besides, he'd managed plenty long enough without the Avengers. He could still help people on his own, a freelance hero instead of having to deal with a group of people he could barely tolerate.

Except that was a lie because he'd missed them. Squaring his shoulders, Tony shook his head as he stepped into the elevator. He really wasn't here to deal with this.

…

"Where are you going?"

Tony straightened up from where he'd been throwing tools into a travelling case.

"Home."

"This is your home," Bucky replied, stepping closer. "With your family. If this is about Steve, he regrets what happened up there. He doesn't always… he doesn't know how to talk to people. He can make inspirational speeches til they're coming out of his ass, but dealing with actual people has never been his strongest skill."

"My family is Pepper and Rhodey," Tony replied quietly. "And the two of them have access to my home."

"Tony."

Tony shook his head. "Thank you," he murmured, turning around to look at Bucky. "For staying with me during my heat. You didn't have too, but I do appreciate it. I just… need some space from this whole situation. Being around… them, is a struggle at the moment. A lot happened in a short space of time, and it… threw me. I need time to decompress."

Bucky nodded. "When you come back," he began, as though there was no doubt that Tony would return, "I'd like to court you properly."

Tony frowned. "You… don't have to do that. That's… not a thing."

"You don't want me to?" Bucky asked, his expression crestfallen.

"It's not… I don't need an alpha to look after me. I've got my cycle back on track, that… mishap won't happen again. I don't… you don't…"

Tony flailed as he looked for words that didn't sound like an accusation.

"Do you have any idea how much I want you?" Bucky asked, his voice soft as he took another step forward. "I wanted you before your heat, Tony, and I want you now. I just… taking you during your heat when you would have submitted because of instinct wouldn't have been right. I could never have done that to you. To anyone. But… I'd like a chance to show you that… that I can be the alpha that you need. That wouldn't try and control you or dominate you."

The words were what Tony had always longed to hear, but the reality of them were much scarier than they had any right to be.

He shook his head, stumbling back away from Bucky.

"I can't… I need to go… I'm sorry."

Bucky nodded, holding his hands up. "I get it. You need space. Just… think about it. I'm not ready to give up on you, Stark."

…

Three months.

That's how long Tony stayed away. He caught himself up on SI designs, spent time with Pepper and Rhodey and Peter and got himself back into something that resembled himself.

When his next heat arrived, he spent it at home with his comforts and his space and his nest, and he ached. Spending his last heat with Bucky had messed with his comfort levels because he craved the alpha's scent relentlessly, unable to settle for the entire three days.

During his time away, he'd managed to settle into the idea that perhaps Bucky did want him, beyond just liking that he was an omega. Whether that would still hold true, Tony had no idea. Three months was a long time, and the radio silence from him on the few occasions that those at the compound had tried to contact him could have made them all angry.

He'd only find out when he went back, he knew.

Rhodey would be with him. They'd planned to move Tony back in that weekend, and Tony had packed up the things he wanted to take with him. It would be a lot he knew, but he also felt like he was in a much better headspace to deal with it.

There was only one way to find out if he was right.

…

Tony stood in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee as he read through his emails.

"You're back."

He looked up to see Steve leaning against the door to the kitchen, shock on his face. Nodding, Tony offered him a small smile. "I am."

"Good."

Tony raised his eyebrow as Steve further entered the kitchen. "Is it?"

"Of course it is," Steve replied. "You belong here, Tony. With us. With your…" He trailed off, seemingly unsure if he should finish the sentence.

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "With my family. You're right, of course. Families fight, right?"

Steve's lips turned up. "They do. But they come back together and they make up."

Tony grinned and nodded. "Right. Coffee?"

"Love some."

…

It started that very afternoon. The first gift was left for Tony in his private rooms, and Tony knew it was from Bucky as soon as he walked into his rooms from the scent he'd left behind.

A box of Tony's favourite chocolates had been left on the coffee table.

It continued from there, other food products, flowers, a t-shirt. With every present, Tony felt his hope grow. He saw Bucky from time to time, but the man was distantantly friendly. It was the traditional way but Tony hated it.

He wanted to talk to Bucky, to tell him that the traditional courtship wasn't necessary; they could just date like people tended to do nowadays. Still, Bucky was old school (literally), and Tony didn't want it to seem like he was refusing the courtship.

So he waited it out. Thankfully it only lasted three weeks until Bucky could come to him and see if his courtship was accepted, and they could then start dating.

On the day of, Tony couldn't keep still. He fidgeted about in his workshop, jumping from project to project, unable to concentrate.

Finally, mid afternoon had Friday announcing Bucky's arrival and Tony turned to see him standing by the door, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Hi."

Bucky's smile widened. "Hi."

They stood staring at each other like idiots for a few moments before Tony took a step forward. Bucky echoed the movement.

"Did you… do you accept?" Bucky asked shyly.

Tony nodded frantically. "Yes. Please. Yes."

They shifted closer again, and Bucky cupped Tony's cheek with a soft palm. "Can I kiss you?"

Tony repeated, "Yes, please. Yes."

Bucky smiled wider for a moment and then leant down to brush their lips together chastely, once, twice and then a third time. Tony pushed himself up on his toes to press them closer together and their lips met in a firmer kiss, Bucky's hand moving into Tony's hair, while his metal one moved to rest on Tony's him.

Tony gripped at Bucky's shirt, holding him in place as they kissed deeply.

When they parted, it was with matching smiles. "Go to dinner with me?" Bucky requested.

"I'd love too."