The only sound in the room was the steady scratching of Steve's pencil as it moved across the page. Every few minutes it would pause and he would look down at where she was curled next to his side, her hand resting on his leg.

Wanda had done what she could to retroactively set up a tether between Ellie and him, but they wouldn't know how useful it was until she came out of the drop. If she came out.

He shook his head to dispel the thought. She would be fine. Fate wouldn't be cruel enough to bring an omega into their lives that seemed perfect for the pack only to yank her away. He wouldn't accept any other thought.

Steve's eyes returned back to his sketchbook, bringing the image more alive with each stroke. He glanced up as the door opened and Clint walked in, tread light and quiet. The archer crouched at the side of the bed, arms resting on his thighs as he balanced on the balls of his feet.

"How is she?"

"Still in it." Steve responded as his eyes dropped back down to her and he reached out to brush a few strands of her silky hair out of her face.

Clint looked down at her, feelings shifting inside him as he studied her face. He knew very little about her, but he felt drawn to her with a kind of intensity he wasn't used to or sure about.

"Did you need something?" Steve asked after a moment and Clint shook his head.

"I just wanted to check on her."

"Mhm, not much to do but what for her to come out."

"Yeah, I know…" Clint trailed off as Ellie shifted and made a soft noise.

Their eyes dropped to her, watching as her eyes opened and she shook her head and pushed to sit up. Steve set aside his sketchbook and reached out, his hand resting on her arm as he said, "Hey, easy."

She blinked confusedly, looking around the room and said, "What…happened?"

Steve and Clint shared a look before he said, "You experienced an Omega Drop."

She shook her head like the words left a bad taste on her mouth and looked around the room again, "I did? Where am I?"

"Your room." Clint answered.

"What are you talking about?" She looked between Steve and Clint, her confusion becoming more pronounced and a sense of distress starting to deep into her scent. Steve's hand squeezed her arm, trying to reassure her as he said, "Tony set it up. We wanted you to be comfortable."

"I…," her shoulder slumped suddenly and Steve worried she might drop again and he was shifting to pull her into his lap when she said, "I'm tired."

Nodding, Steve started to gather his things to leave and said, "We'll let you get some sleep."

"No! Don't go. Please. Stay, please." There was a whine in her voice.

Steve immediately stopped moving, settling back down and nodding quickly, "Yeah, I can do that."

Clint started to stand to leave but her hand darted out, and she whined, "No. both of you stay with me? Please? I don't wanna be alone."

Surprised, Clint's eyes darted up to meet Steve's. He hadn't expected her to want him to stay. But her distress was plain and Steve said, "You better stay too."

With a sharp nod, he stood to slip out of his shoes before he climbed down into her bed. She hummed even as she was already curling back against Steve's side, her face running against him as she settled. After a moment of hesitation, Clint moved over until he could wrap an arm loosely around her waist, a soft soothing purr coming out of him as she sighed and relaxed.

Ellie was still asleep when Clint woke up, which gave him time to study her. She was small for an omega. Lush, soft and delicate, and all Clint could think was that she was perfect. She shifted closer to his chest, rubbing her face against him, it took everything in him in that moment to stay still, to keep his hand resting gently on her waist.

She shifted again, and looking down he watched her eyes flutter open and blink to focus on his face. Her smile was almost shy as she said, "Oh. Hi."

"Good morning, omega," Clint said as he ran his thumb along the exposed skin where her shirt had pulled up. She shivered at the contact, her scent getting a little sweeter.

"You stayed?"

Clint stroked his hand up and down over her hip and said, "You wanted me to stay, so I stayed."

A soft purr sounded in her chest and she surprised him by leaning up and pressing her lips to his, sweetly. Clint shifted, pulling her closer against his body, hand sliding down to pull her leg over his hip as he changed the angle of the kiss. She opened for him, her scent sweetening even further as one of her hands curled around his neck.

His own purr had started, low in his chest as he shifted again, pressing her slowly to her back as he explored every inch of skin he could reach under her shirt with his fingers. She was soft and warm and her purring was amping up as she responded to him.

A sudden knock at the door had her jerking back with a surprised gasp.

"Ellie? Friday said you were awake. Can I come in?"

A low growl rolled out of Clint as she pushed him away and sat up to look towards the door before quickly looking back at him. He shook his head and said, "Just ignore him. He'll go away."

She bit down on her bottom lip as Steve called, "Ellie?"

"Yeah, I'm up. I mean. Yes. Come in." Clint's frustrated growl was louder this time as she moved fully away from him, climbing out of the bed as Steve pushed through the door.

"Where'd you go?" Ellie asked as he set a bag down on the dresser.

Steve's eyes tracked to where Clint was still laying in the bed before he focused on her face, brushing the back of his knuckles across her cheek as he said, "I had stuff I had to deal with, I'd have stayed if I could, sugar."

"Oh."

Clint rolled his eyes, muttering "cockblock" under his breath.

It was too quiet for her to hear, but Steve, with his advanced senses, heard. He shot Clint a glare before focusing back on Ellie's and gesturing towards the bag, "I also brought you some clothes. There were some shorts in what I guessed was your size but no shirts. I hope you don't mind, I got one of my own for you to wear."

"You didn't have to do that." She looked up through her lashes at him.

Steve shrugged and said, "Well, we need to talk to you and I figured you wouldn't want to wear the same clothes you were wearing yesterday and last night."

Ellie's smile was dazzling as she bounced on the balls of her feet a little and said, "That's sweet of you. Thank you."

He nodded towards the bathroom door, "If you want to shower it's through there."

Steve looked at Clint and said, "C'mon Barton, let's go. Leave her to get ready."

There was a hint of an alpha command in Steve's voice and a low annoyed growl rumbled out of Clint's chest. But he climbed out of the bed, since he didn't want to issue a challenge. There was just enough defiance in him to be able to stop by Ellie's side. He curled his hand around her neck and pulled her to her toes as he captured her mouth in a searing kiss.

He broke away, smirking a little at the dazed look on her face when he heard the low warning growl issuing from Steve, "See you later El."

Sending Steve a smug smile, Clint strolled out ahead of him hearing as he told Ellie that when she was ready they'd all be on the common floor.

Outside the door to his room, Steve caught up to him, his hand landing on his shoulder to stop him from entering as he said, "You were dangerously close to disobeying there, Clint."

Clint jerked his shoulder, "But I didn't. You said nothing about not saying goodbye to her Cap."

The shower attached to the room I woke up in was beyond anything I'd ever used before. Multiple heads had the water cascading down like some kind of fancy waterfall. It almost felt like the water was silk as it flowed over me. It was glorious.

The body and hair products I found in a basket on the counter were a brand that I knew was extremely pricey. I used to think that just because something was expensive doesn't mean that it's any better than the less expensive option.

That opinion had literally been blown out of the water in the 20 minutes it took me to shower and wrap myself in a giant fluffy towel. Back in the bedroom I dumped the bag Steve had brought out, his scent hitting me hard.

I held the white shirt to my nose, sniffing lightly as I felt my body react to the scent. Intoxicating. Comforting. Arousing. It confused me.

I shouldn't be feeling anything in reaction to anyone's scent. I was a broken omega, a useless omega, I was DCI.

Friday's voice sounded suddenly, "Miss, I've been asked to see how much longer you think you might be?"

I jumped a little and glanced up at the ceiling, "Oh. Um. Like five minutes. I'm coming."

"Very well."

Slipping the shirt over my head, it was so large on me that the hem fell down my thighs. The shorts were booty shorts, not the style I usually went with but they were a pretty blue and soft cotton. There was a small shield on one leg but when I turned them over my mouth fell open in shock. Scrawled across the back in white script was the words, 'America's Ass'

"Why is this even a thing?!"

Shaking my head, amused even if it was ridiculous, I slipped them on and quickly braided my hair back. Stepping over to the mirror I took a quick look, the shirt looked more like a mini-dress on me, the shorts having disappeared completely under it.

Looking around the room, I spied my bag and grabbing it up I stuffed my clothes into it. It felt a little odd not wearing any underwear or a bra, but the bag hadn't included anything like that so I would have to make do.

As I stepped off the last stair and onto the common floor, I paused and swayed a little as the mix of scents hit my nose. Every single one of them were pleasing to me and that was making it a little overwhelming. Someone called out my name, and I moved over towards where everyone seemed to be spread out around the living room.

Every pair of eyes settled on me and I felt immediately self-conscious, these people were literal superheroes. These were The Avengers . And here I was, a simple useless omega. Steve's eyes raked over me and I swore there was a momentary flicker of smugness. It came and went so quickly I figured I had imagined it. After all, what would he have to be smug about?

"Well, don't just stand there princess, take a seat," Tony, who was lounging with his feet up on a coffee table nodded at me.

My eyes darted around the room quickly, deciding where to sit. My gaze landed on Clint, who had an oversized mug in his hand as he sat on the back of a chair with his feet on the seat instead of in the chair. There was a smirk tugging at his lips before it was hidden behind the mug as he took a long sip.

For a moment, my mind wandered back to the bedroom; to what had nearly happened. I couldn't understand why I had felt the urge to kiss him. But it felt right and it felt good. In the omega house, part of what they taught us was that one of the many ways we were broken was that we would care too much about our own needs. Omegas were only supposed to care about the needs of the alpha and their pups when they came along.

Someone cleared their throat and I yanked myself back to the present. Dropping my bag for the moment, I moved to the only open spot in the area, sitting down next to Bucky. The moment I did, I noticed a change in his smell; that woodsy fall smell sharpening in a pleasant way.

Once I settled, Steve started talking. Explaining the reason I was there, since Tony's party planning was nothing more than a ruse. They wanted me to bond with them and fill the role of pack omega; to help balance out the strong personalities of the pack.

To be a pack omega was an illustrious position, especially for a pack as well known as The Avengers. They were literally telling me they wanted me to do what countless omega pups dream of doing. But, I couldn't do that. I was DCI, I couldn't be a pack omega. I couldn't be omega to a single alpha.

Steve had finished talking and seemed to be waiting for me to say something. I rubbed a hand over my face and took a deep breath before I said, "Like I started to say last night before I…fainted or whatever."

"Omega drop," Bruce said.

I was trying not to think about it. Fact was, I'd experienced an omega drop only a few other times in my life and they terrified me. It was like being lost and you didn't know if you were going to make it back or not. Though last night it had started out like that, something changed and suddenly there was a sense of comfort, but I wasn't ready to examine that right now–I had more important things to get across at the moment.

"Yeah, right. Whatever. The fact is I can't do this. I'm…"

"Broken?" Tony supplied, standing up to walk over to me.

I stared up into his brown eyes, stubbornly refusing to accept what I saw there, "Yes. Exactly."

Tony held his hand up to stop Steve from speaking as he continued to focus on me, his hands sliding into his pocket and pulling out a bag of something that he started nibbling on. Then he said, "Okay. You are pretty sure you can't be the pack omega and we are pretty sure you can. So, how about we make a deal?"

I was confused, "I'm sorry?"

"Princess, I'm Tony Stark, if there is one thing I'm good at it's making deals. So, let's make a deal."

I looked around at the others, but they seemed to be letting Tony take the lead with this so I looked back up at him, "What kind of deal?"

"Give us a month. One month to see if you fit in."

I scoffed, my eyes rolling, "I can't just take a month out of my life. I have a job. I have bills."

Tony leaned back on his heels, a grin spreading as if he felt like he already won. His hands slid back into his pockets and he said, "I get that. Which is why I'll pay you triple your yearly salary."

My mind ground to a halt as the words seemed to ring in my ears. Triple my yearly salary. Triple. Tony was talking again and I struggled to focus on what he was saying.

"…for a month, do the things an omega would do for the pack, and if at the end of that month you still think you can't do it? Well that's that then and you can return to your life as it was."

"Tony…" there was a warning note in Steve's voice

Tony flicked a hand at him without taking his eyes off me, "Relax Capsicle….well? What do you say?"

"If I stay here a month, you'll pay me triple my yearly salary at the end?" I asked, wanting to make sure that I had heard right.

"If you agree to stay here a month, you'll get the money today."

My eyes swept across the room again and I tried not to squirm under all the attention. My eyes settled on Clint, who hadn't moved much from his original position but whose eyes had heated as he examined me. I nibbled on my lip for a moment before I asked, "What kinds of things would I be doing?"

Tony turned to look at Steve, obviously giving control back over to the head alpha. He leaned forward in his chair and said, "Well, in general caretaking duties–you cook?"

I nodded, "Yeah, and bake. And I enjoy both."

"We'd like you to take over meal planning and all that entails. But you don't always have to cook, we are fine with take out and delivery and all of that," Steve said, several of the others nodding along, "And Tony probably already told you that a lot here is run via automation, so things like cleaning is pretty much taken care of."

"Doesn't seem like there is actually a lot for me to do," I pointed out.

Bucky chuckled and when I looked at him he said, "Doll, I think you are seriously underestimating just how much the team eats."

I hummed and then focused back on Steve as he continued, "But your biggest duties to help everyone regulate. We have intense, emotionally high stress jobs. We need someone here to make sure we are taking care of ourselves properly."

Opening my mouth, I intended to once again point out that I didn't have those abilities as an omega, that I couldn't regulate anything but instead I asked, "What does that mean?"

"Take Tony for example," Nat pointed at the man, "He has a really nasty habit of staying up for days on end and not eating or sleeping. You'd nag him to take care of himself."

Tony rolled his eyes and said, "I don't need that much sleep…"

Steve spoke over him, "Right, things like that. We can work out more details as we adjust and you get to understand the way the tower and the pack runs. Tony, is she added to the system?"

Tony nodded, pulling out his phone and tapping on it for a moment before he looked up and said, "You've got full access to the tower, including each person's rooms without needing to be let in. Friday will help you. She'll let you know when or where you might be needed."

"Um. Right. Um…." I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted.

"Go on, ask what you want to ask," Steve nodded in encouragement.

"If I'm going to be here for a month, um, I kinda want to bring some of my own stuff here. Can I do that?"

Bucky followed Ellie up the stairs of the unassuming brownstone. He recognized it as one of those apartment complexes set up for unclaimed omegas; set up with things like extra security to protect them when they went into heats but didn't want to go to a clinic for aid. So, naturally, the delta that was at the front desk stopped them.

"Elizabeth. You have an alpha with you. You know the rules…"

"I know Tommy, he's just here to help me pack up some things, I'm going to be gone for a month." Ellie said as she leaned on the counter.

He watched as the man studied him long and hard with narrowed eyes before he said, "I know you…"

Ellie shot him a look before she turned back and drew the man's attention back to her and said, "Like I was saying, he's just here to help me pack up some stuff."

"Are you going on a trip? I thought you just started working at Stark Industries, you know it doesn't look good when you take a vacation this soon."

"It's not a vacation, it's…complicated. Just, can you let him through? I imagine it won't take more than a couple of hours tops and probably less than that."

The delta studied him again for a long moment before he said, "Very well, have him sign in as a guest. If you are still both up there in two hours I'll be coming to toss him out."

Ellie nodded seriously while Bucky stifled a grin at the idea of being thrown out by this middle aged delta who looked like he spent more time sitting then any kind of physical activity. As Bucky signed into the tablet filling out the information he vaguely heard Tommy reminding Ellie of the rules before there was a buzz and Ellie was leading him through a set of doors and into an elevator.

"What rules?" Bucky asked curiously as they rode up to the top floor.

To his surprise, she dropped her eyes to the floor and a flush creeped over her neck as she said, "Um. Mostly things like how alphas can't spend the night and all that."

He felt like there was more she wasn't telling him, but considering how uncomfortable she seemed to be he didn't press it. In the hallway, he caught the faint scent of two other omegas that must live on the same floor. Nice smells but paled in comparison to Ellie's scent; both comforting and intoxicating by equal measures.

When they walked into her apartment, it slammed into him. Layer upon layer of her scent, sliding into his system and gripping hard at his heart and loins. She was talking to him, but he couldn't focus on what she was saying as she moved through the small living room. Already in packing mode as she pulled a box out of a closet and set it on the couch and started to put things inside it.

It took him long minutes to be able to focus enough to hear what she was saying as she moved around the place, "I guess today, I'll just take what I think I absolutely can't live the month without and if I find other things I suppose I can always come back. Right?"

She was looking at him and he grunted in response, not knowing exactly what it was she was asking but that was the only response she seemed to need as she nodded and clicked the lid on the box into place.

Ellie moved through a fabric curtain, back to what he suspected was probably her bedroom. Nearly in a trance, Bucky followed her back, pushing through the fabric in time to see her standing on her toes as she tried in vain to nudge something from the top shelf of her closet. Her fingers just ended up nudging it back instead of forward and she let out a frustrated sound in the back of her throat.

Bucky stepped forward, placing a hand on her lower back as he reached up easily to bring the duffle bag down for her. She turned towards him, his hand sliding along her waist as she did.

"Thanks," she said with a bright smile.

He hummed in acknowledgement, or at least that was what he had intended. Instead, it came out somewhere between a hum and a growl and to his surprise, her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as she looked up at him. Seconds later, the sweetening of her scent reached his nose and he closed his eyes to inhale before a low rumble sounded in his chest.

Bucky's hand smoothed up her back as he leaned down so that he could take her mouth. She froze for a moment before she relaxed in to him, her small hands anchoring in his shirt as he tipped her head back further. Stepping back, bringing her with him, he shut the door on her closet before he pressed her back against it.

Running his nose over her neck, inhaling deeply, Bucky pressed his lips against where a mating bite would go. She shuddered, small sounds escaping her as her fingers tightened in his shirt. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than her. To take his fill; to surround himself in her and drown.

His phone went off.

Groaning, Bucky pulled away, fishing the damn thing out of his pocket and seeing Steve's name on the screen. Ellie was looking up at him with a dazed look on her face as he hit answer and held the phone up to his ear.

"What?"

"Are you on your way back?" Steve asked, as Bucky looked back down at Ellie, running his hand slowly up her side.

"No."

"Well, hurry up will you? You've got training in an hour and a half."

Frustrated, Bucky bit back the retort he wanted to throw at his best friend and instead said, "Yeah. Right. We're almost done here."

He hung up the phone without bothering to hear if Steve had a response. Ellie seemed to be coming back to herself some as she started to push lightly at his chest, "I just need to pack some clothes…"

"It will keep for a few more minutes," Bucky nearly growled the words out as he tipped her head up, letting his mouth trace over hers before he sunk into the kiss. She melted against him again, her body giving so easily that for a moment he considered just screwing the potential consequences and taking her on the floor of her room.

With a low growl he pulled away, stepping back and breaking contact with her completely as he shoved his hands through his hair. He could handle the consequences of disobeying, whatever they may be, but he didn't want her to get in trouble so soon at the start of things. Besides, he suspected that one of the others had a stronger claim on her than he did and he shouldn't interfere with that either.

"C'mon, pack what you need, we have to get back."