Another new one. I really can't help myself. Sorry if you are waiting for other stories.
It has been said countless times that the tug of a soul bond can only be found in fairy tales. Fairy tales centuries old. They were the stories that were told to young, hopeful children; giving them hope that they would find that perfect someone, that someone who can balance them out, to let them know that they will stay close for as long as they live.
For one, Tony Stark never believed any of these stories. How could he? A father who spent everyday ignoring him; would never hug him or tell him that he was proud of his intelligence. He never even said that he loved him.
Tony grew up in a cold household. His father was constantly working and his mother was often out of country, socialising and gathering many admirers due to her crumbling relationship with Howard. At least when she was home she wouldn't ignore Tony. She would spend what little time she had partly with her son, taking him shopping or to the beach or the zoo.
Those trips were few and far between, but they were still something. His mother cared partly. It just wasn't enough for the naturally energetic little lad with a curiosity the size of a planet.
Tony loved to explore. He loved to learn- but mostly- he loved to create.
He possessed dexterous little fingers that had the uncanny ability to build anything he set his young heart on. Anything he made was of pretty good quality. As he grew older, that 'pretty good quality' turned into masterpieces.
Tony learnt to forget his need to garner his fathers attention. The man was too busy building, searching and building some more. He never put too much hope in his mother returning home. He gave up on waiting for those hugs he desperately loved but very rarely got.
And so, the young man, starved of love, learnt to live without any of that love he so deeply craved.
Love was overrated anyway.
The only thing about Tony that Howard seemed proud of was the fact Tony had gorgeous, show stopping wings. The young lad was always catching the eyes of others. His wings were the reason why Tony grew up so used to attention. Attention became all he knew.
Like his mother Maria, who herself had shiny dark blue wings, Tony had wings the colour of deep, Oceanic blue. The primaries were speckled with iridescent red spots that seemed to glitter in the sunlight.
Blue was a rare colour for wings, so rare that the gene was slowly dying out. Very few people possessed blue wing coloration. In fact, it was always a risk for anyone to have blue wings because they were highly prized. People with blue wings were often subject to being kidnapped and sold in collection circles.
Collectors of rare items and animals would happily imprison the owners of beautiful blue feathers. Their rights torn away from them.
Tony had heard about these horror stories, of people like him going crazy in their captivity, being used as sexual slaves, for breeding purposes even. There were even cases of collectors getting their prizes killed, preserved in specialised cases that could preserve the beauty of the victim for evermore.
Stories such as these absolutely terrified Tony. This knowledge lingered at the back of his brain all the time. Tony knew that this type of fate could in all actuality, happen to him. Tony had to hope that his father cared enough to protect him from people like this as he grew up.
So Tony, deciding not to simply rely on his father, gathered all his brain power, courage and easy bravado and carried on with his fathers weapons company after his death. The legacy of the man with brass wings would carry on, on the man with Oceanic wings.
Tony would build an empire so large and ferocious no one could ever touch him, for fear of being stricken down under the wave of Tony's power and influence. Much like a riptide, Tony would drown them before they could even sputter their cases.
Tony became almost untouchable. But then again, Tony could never escape the tides of fate.
The ten rings kidnapped him, blowing holes in his chest and causing metal shards to dig their way inside his closed off heart.
Luckily, the knowledge and resourcefulness of one man, also captured and held inside the mountains of Afghanistan, kept the man with the closed off heart alive.
The man, Ho Yinsen, had managed to hook up a magnet to Tony's chest, powered by a car battery. It kept the shards out.
"You are lucky they didn't cut your wings off. Wings that shade are worth a fortune."
Tony's eyebrow rose up on his sweaty forehead. His wings shuddered. Tony knew perfectly well how lucky he was. The fact that these beasts had enough pride to leave his wings untouched was a god send. It was a universal law that touching another's wings was taboo. Only the closest friends, lovers and family had the honour of touching another persons wings.
If you were lucky, you would be accepted into a familial clan after you left your family nest. Tony suspected he would stay alone for the rest of his life.
"What the hell is this thing?" He gasped after he felt the acute twinges of pain when he tried to sit up. He also noticed there was a tube sticking out of his nose. In spite of the acute discomfort it posed, Tony pulled the tube all the way out of his nose. It was really long, so it must have been lingering down his trachea. Once it was free Tony pinched his nose, willing he wetness to leave his eyes.
"Keeping you alive. The magnet prevents your heart gathering holes. It was tricky. I couldn't get all the shrapnel out." The man said after he watched Tony pull the tube out with a disgruntled look on his face.
"There is already a proverbial hole in my heart, but it is appreciated that there won't be any actual holes puncturing the muscle." Tony gasped again, but this time he managed to sit up. His legs dangling off the edge of the table.
Yinsen proceeded to tell him about their situation, his slate grey wings drooping low for the whole time. The mans vitality was evidently low. His rough time here reflected in his wings.
Often tales said that the wings of a person reflected the emotions evident inside the soul. The posture of those dark grey wings told Tony everything that he needed to know about this place. Soul draining. There was going to be a rough time ahead.
After the torture, the fear of getting his rings ripped right off his back and the understanding of what would happen if Tony didn't agree to their demands, the genius decided that staying alive was more important than playing hero and trading his life for not building their desired weapon. The Jericho missile.
Except, Tony won't build the weapon.
He built the first miniaturised arc reactor using scraps. It was just coincidence that the blue glow was similar in shade to Tony's lighter primary feathers. Yinsen said it meant Tony's fate was beginning to click into place.
Schematics for a suit came after the reactor. They both worked hard for weeks, using the scraps from old weapons to make a suit capable of mass destruction. A suit designed as a gateway out.
The day of escape came suddenly. There was talk that they would cut off Tony's wings after he built the Jericho and sell them for a tonne of money. Yinsen had listened to every word he could gather from the guards posted outside. Tony didn't want to stick around any longer.
They hid themselves in the cameras blind spot so that the suit could boot up. They were running out of time quickly, so Yinsen, in a fit of utter madness, picked up a gun and ran out of the previously exploded doors, shooting bullets here there and everywhere and screaming his head off. Strangely, his wings spread wide, excitable.
Tony called but the man didn't return. The suit finished booting up.
He walked through the tunnels, burning as he went. Men with their grungy grey and brown feathers screamed in pain as the flames licked up their bodies. Tony turned a blind eye to their pain, dealing the same pain he and Yinsen experienced during their time there. He was simply returning the favour.
He managed to blast his way through to a room with a doorway leading outside, pointing his flamethrower at the other men and their apparent leader. They dropped like flies, so Tony spent a moment glancing around.
There were sacks piled up against one wall, and laying across those sacks was Yinsen. He was covered in blood and his eyes were clouding over, signifying his coming death.
"Come on, the outside is right there. My wings can taste freedom already." Tony nudged Yinsen with his hands like a kitten asking its mother to wake up. Tears were moistening his eyes.
"We both know only one of us was going to make it Stark." The man weakly spoke, his breaths ragged. "This is what I want."
"What are you talking about? What about your family?" Tony almost shouted, the weight of the mans coming death heavy on his heart.
"My family is dead!" The man breathed out, years of hurt pouring out, all in that one word. Dead.
Tony felt his wings droop. "So there is none left from your familial clan?"
Yinsen shook his head. "Don't waste your life Stark. You have so much to give."
Tony felt frozen. He didn't think he had any love to spare. No one had ever spared him any love.
Ton reached out with his gloved fingers, finding dark grey feathers. The man shivered for a second, but then he closed his eyes, a small smile on his face. He died seconds later.
All Tony could give the man in his last moments was acceptance into his own familial clan.
That event started the sequence of the most important events of Tony's life. Iron man became a world wide icon. The death of Tony's business partner, Obadiah Stane began Tony's legacy, but also closed off his heart once again. The part that Yinsen managed to open was now clamping shut with the betrayal of the man he saw as a sort of father figure.
Then there was the Palladium poisoning, where Tony managed to push both Pepper and Rhodey away so that he could protect himself. The trouble with Vanko and Hammer meant those bonds were formed once again, especially when they all worked together, along with Natalie Rushman, or rather, Natasha Romanoff, to stop a bunch of evil suits.
Tony's life changed again with the Avengers, especially with the appearance of a certain person.
Tony stood on the stairs situated inside the penthouse at the top of Stark tower. A glass of bourbon clutched in his sweating hand. His wings held rigid on his back.
"Why put up such a ruse? You and I both know how much your wings are betraying your truest emotions." The dark haired man slunk closer. The man was all black leather, green material and golden armour. The staff clutched securely in his grasp.
Tony felt his breath escape when the man flared his deep emerald wings. They were wide, with a span of about twenty feet. There were rose gold stripes fringing silver colouring running through the primary feathers. Beautiful wings, flashy and proud.
Tony swallowed and stepped forward, leaving the stairs behind. He neared the alien, but stopped about five meters away. His heartbeat fluttered when the man also neared. It was a predatory stalk, meant to intimidate. His eyes were intense, his long hair spiked up in a wild style.
Tony stood his ground.
"This thing you are acting out. Why not just admit that the war is going to happen whether you want it to or not. There is no preventing the dominion of your kind."
"Yeah, no." Tony took a tiny sip. He was only holding the glass because it was acting as a kind of lifeline. When his fingers were busy it created the illusion that his brain was calm. "The Avengers won't take kindly to bowing down and submitting to your," Tony gestured around with his hands, "supposed army." He made air quotation marks with his fingers.
Loki smirked and switched the staff into his right hand. Tony supposed he was getting ready to use it. "Oh, where oh where are your team now little mortal. The avengers have scattered, the beast has fallen to earth, that oath is no doubt denouncing his worth. What have I to fear from a broken down little bird like you."
Tony growled when Loki neared too close to his vicinity. His wings flared out on instinct. They said, 'go back now, or I won't delay in hurting you.'
The man raised his staff, the stone glowing an eerie blue. He raised the tip to Tony's chest. The sharp edge clunked when it hit the surface of the arc reactor. Whatever was meant to happen didn't.
"Was that meant to happen?" Tony said, ignorant of the rising anger. "Performance issues aside, that didn't quite meet the demands of the consumer. You may need to take..."
Tony was grasped around his neck with an iron grip. He was forced onto the floor. His legs buckled, unable to hold his body up, which was being power forced towards the stone tiles.
"Get your pretty little self onto the ground mortal." Loki sniped, crowding Tony with his wings.
Loki kept his span out in a sign of dominance. It was an action that demanded absolute order. It was the actions a dominant usually performed when they needed their submissive to listen.
"What are you..?" The fingers around his neck tightened nastily. They would leave vicious bruises in the morning, if he lived through this.
"You fascinate me whelp. Never has anyone below me stood up with such defiance. I will show your your place, Hen."
Tony's eyes widened. This mad God meant to mate him. 'Hen' was a word used to denote the submissive roll in the partnership. Tony never suspected that he would get a submissive roll.
Tony couldn't move or speak. The grip was so tight he struggled to draw breath. Tony was forced to manoeuvre onto his belly. Loki lay his bulk on top, meaning Tony couldn't move an inch. His wings were pinned to the sides.
"Behave and this shan't be as painful as it could be." Loki stroked along his blue feathers, causing Tony to gasp loudly. Where were the others? He needed help now, before it was too late!
Loki forcibly ripped the back of Tony's black Sabbath t shirt where the wings exited the slits at the back. In no time at all, Tony felt Loki sink his teeth into the skin just above his right wing joint.
Blood welled up and Tony could hear Loki sucking it up. His canines sunk in further, creating the bruising that would mark Tony as a bonded party.
Usually the bonding acted out as a kind of ceremony between two lovers. The lovers knew they were meant to be together as the bonding was meant for life. One partner with no going back. Repercussions were rare as both parties were doubly sure about their choice.
In this instance the bonding was forced. It was as bad as rape, actually it was worse. With rape, there was the hope that things would get better. Your loved ones would surround you, help you get through the dark times.
Tony didn't have anyone except Pepper and Rhodey. Tony didn't think they would be enough. A new submissive needed many loved ones to surround them.
There would be no going back now. Tony was bonded to someone he didn't love; didn't even know except for his megalomaniac tendencies. He couldn't escape.
Suddenly, remembering why Tony was there in the first place, he screeched.
"Deploy Jarvis!" He hoped the prototype was ready. He tried to flap his wings, but Loki's entrapment was too strong. His apparent fangs were dug in deep. Tony knew the bonding fangs of a dominant wouldn't retreat until the process was over. They had to mark the blood as the liquid flowed around them; mark him as the dominant's property.
Jarvis, deploy!" He cried, the fire flaring up in his shoulders and wings. He wriggled, causing the pain to flare up further. Loki growled low, annoyed at his submissive's struggles.
Suddenly Tony could hear the mechanics inside the tower heralding the approach of the suit. The rocket thrusters kickstarted and Loki threw himself off the blue winged man as the suit formed around his body.
After Tony blasted Loki away with a repulser beam, it was utter pandemonium. The portal opened and aliens surged through.
The battle lasted about half an hour. It was short but intense. With the aid of the Hulk and his 'smashing talents,' Thor with his lightning and strength, Captain America with his fighting skills and courage, and the two master assassins with their eye for noticing even the most obscure moments and sheer skill, the aliens went down.
Tony flew a nuke through the portal and tasted the utter terror and loneliness of the void. To a social creature such as Tony, the void was utter horror.
Loki was captured by his brother. He had been smashed into the floor of the penthouse by the Hulk and left there for the duration of the battle.
Tony hung back as the others apprehended him. Tony was too terrified to go anywhere near him. Steve was confused as to why, but Tony just stated that he would get in touch with Fury.
Tony simply wanted to retreat into his own space and tend to the fire lingering inside the bonding mark.
Loki was taken back to HQ whilst Tony and Bruce created a kind of amplifier that could switch on the power of the Tesseract. They spent three days designing with added help from Thor, who overlooked the process, explaining how the power flowed.
Once it was time for Thor and Loki to return to Asgard for judgement Tony hung close to Bruce, whom he quickly built up a kinship with in those three days. Bruce didn't question why Tony was practically brushing his feathers with his own dark maroon. He thought the man was simply affectionate and loved touch; which was half true.
Tony couldn't cast his eyes away from the dark younger brother, with his gorgeous emerald wings. They contrasted strongly with Thor's shimmering golden plumage. Loki stared at Tony right up until they activated the Tesserract's dimensional abilities to take them home.
Once they were gone Tony let loose a big breath of air. Bruce gave him a strange look, but he didn't say anything again.
Tony proceeded to ask the others if they wanted to move into the tower after it had been refurbished. The glass needed replacing at different levels where the Chitauri soldiers decided to have a nose around, and the floor at the top needed replacing.
They actually said yes, much to Tony's relief. His new submissive tendencies naturally gathering possible flock mates. Tony felt he needed protection.
He knew that one day his dominant would be back for him. He had to be prepared.
The building took about a week, but creating suites for each Avenger took longer. Tony had to create a rec room so that they could hang out as a group. It contained an added kitchen, along with a large dining table, a small bathroom and a home cinema, complete with gaming consoles.
Tony, along with help from Pepper, designed the layout of the suites, deciding on simplicity mixed with enough room to spread their wings. They each had a balcony where they could take off and land with ease. There were two suites on each floor.
Soon after their completion, the Avengers moved into the newly dubbed Avengers tower. All except for Thor, who was still in Asgard.
If Thor returned, he would share a floor with Steve. Natasha shared hers with Clint and then Bruce's floor was below theirs. The man appreciated privacy, and he felt better knowing that he had a floor to himself, even though there was a room ready for another person if needed. It could stay as a guest room for now.
Above their floors, Tony shared with Pepper, but only when she had work in New York. She still had offices at SI in Malibu.
On days where Pepper was gone, Tony often organised play days in the rec room where they could watch movies and eat together.
Tony very quickly made friends with the others, even Steve. The two upon meeting didn't really see eye to eye, but they were mature enough to put all past grievances behind them. Steve had comforting silver wings that glistened like Christmas. They were tipped with bright red markings that created mottling on his primary feathers.
The two assassins were rather private, but Clint, with his cheerful mint green and cream wings would often play some games with Tony when asked. Too bad he was really damn good at playing them, and often left Tony in the dust.
Natasha was a great cook, and would gather them for dinner about twice a week for her homemade culinary delights. Talk often flowed after a good, hearty meal. Her deep Obsidian wings would often poise proudly when someone commented on something particularly delicious.
Bruce often joined Tony in the workshop. Tony had created a lab space for Bruce, so that they could share information and work on different things together. Bruce became the closest person to Tony sans Pepper. Tony would often touch his wings to Bruce's every now and then, taking warmth and comfort from the action. Bruce never told him no.
Even a couple of months later, Tony still hadn't told them about his mating bond with the mad God.
It became even more of a problem when he started to get a crush on Bruce.