Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Word Count - 4144

Fic Detail - Omegaverse, Everybody loves Tony, OT6 with a focus on TonyThor

in all of the universes

The team were acting weird.

Whenever Tony walked into a room that hosted more than one of them, the conversation seemed to stop, and the air automatically seemed awkward. He knew they had to be talking about him, and honestly, he was used to that, he was used to the whispers behind his back, but he couldn't deny that it hurt.

He… he'd grown comfortable enough with the team to expect them to be different.

To be honest with him.

…

"Your heat is due this week, right?" Pepper asked, eyeing her schedule critically. "Do you need me to sit in with you?"

Tony shook his head. "It is, but you're fine. I know you're prepping for the meeting next week, Pep. Don't worry about me."

"I'm not just going to leave you on your own," she replied, shaking her head, her eyes soft. "Is Rhodey—"

"He's on assignment," Tony interrupted, sighing. Whenever Rhodey was available, he stayed with Tony through his heat. He cuddled Tony for the whole three days, fed him finger foods, and helped him sip at fruit juices as he rode it out.

Tony wasn't like most Omega's. He didn't feel the all consuming lust that most of them felt during a heat. He wanted comfort instead, wanted to be doted on, loved and adored by someone he trusted.

Pepper and Rhodey were the perfect heat partners for him, because he knew that they both did love him, albeit in a familial way.

"The team—"

Tony shook his head, and something must have shown on his face because Pepper frowned. She was already irritated with them at best, since the rest of them had begun to form a pack bond without inviting Tony to join them. Any kind of distress from Tony only made his distrust them more.

"What's going on with the team?" she asked, frown deepening when Tony looked away. "Tones? What's going on, sweetheart?"

Tony swallowed hard and shook his head. Being this close to his heat was making him more emotional than usual, and he was embarrassed by the tears pricking behind his eyes.

"I don't know," he admitted. "They've been acting weird. Talking about me, you know? I don't know what I did, Pep."

A growl left Pepper's chest, a low rumble that Tony only ever heard from her when she was enraged. He looked up, but she was already rounding the desk and wrapping her arms around him, her Alpha nature disliking the distress in his scent.

Tony settled into her arms, comforted by her familiarity and the love she so obviously displayed for him.

"You haven't done anything," she told him. "Your team, on the other hand, better have a damn good explanation for why they're upsetting you in your own damn home!"

Tony pulled back, alarmed. "You can't say anything to them!"

When she arched her eyebrow at him, Tony continued, "Please, Pep, you can't! It's probably nothing and you know I get more sensitive on the run up to my heat. Don't go and be mad at them, please!"

Pepper stared at him for a long moment and then deflated slightly. "I hate that you put up with shitty behaviour, just because you don't want to lose people. You deserve better, Tony."

"Promise you won't say anything to them," Tony asked, and she sighed but nodded her agreement.

"Fine, I won't say anything to them—for now. If this continues, I'll kick all of their asses."

Tony snorted, because he didn't doubt her. Looks were certainly deceiving when it came to Pepper, and she was a badass when she was feeling protective. The team wouldn't stand a chance, super powered or not.

Perching herself on his knee with her arms still wrapped around him, she said, "Back to the original point, I'll set aside three days to see you through your heat, okay? Prep the penthouse, I don't think it would be a good idea for me to be around your team right now."

"You really don't have too, Pep. I can manage a heat alone, I'm okay."

Her arms tightened. "Hush."

…

"Tony?"

Tony swept past the team, who were gathered on the sofas on the Avenger's communal floor, and stepped into the kitchen, ignoring them. Emotional as he was, he knew that Pepper was right in that he shouldn't be made to feel uncomfortable in his own home.

He busied himself with gathering his heat supplies for the penthouse, his bottled water, fruit juices and pre-prepared finger foods, placing them all on the counter.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked, leaning against the counter, while Tony shuffled through the contents of the fridge, looking for something to snack on.

"Fine."

"Your scent tells me different," Bruce replied softly. He was a beta, so he didn't scent Tony quite as well as Alpha's could, but he could still faintly scent the emotions of Omega's. "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Bruce simply arched an eyebrow, waiting, as Tony heard the others joining them in the kitchen.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Clint asked, and his usual teasing lilt had evaporated, leaving only worry in its wake.

Tony closed the fridge door, giving up his quest for food. There was nothing he fancied, and he didn't want to be around the team anyway. Ignoring Clint's question, Tony stacked the supplies he'd put on the counter and hefted them into his arms, before he faced the team.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm due to go into heat in a few days, so I'll be unavailable for any Avenger's missions until next week."

"Tony… we can smell your distress. Tell us what's wrong," Natasha coaxed softly.

Tony stalked past her as well as he could with his arms weighed down, and marched straight to the elevator. He shouldn't have to tell them why he was distressed! It was their fault, and they all knew that he'd been feeling the awkward tension in the air!

As the elevator doors closed, he saw them all peering through the door, watching him go with worry and concern in their eyes.

…

"We messed this right up," Clint muttered, slumping against the kitchen counter. "We should have just spoken to him."

"Tone down the self-flagellation would you," Natasha asked, stepping away from him.

Clint didn't bother to tell her that her own scent—and the rest of them for that matter—was just as pungent with self recrimination and guilt.

"We were just trying to make sure we were all on the same page before we spoke to him," Steve said, but he too was fiddling his fingers together. It was a nervous trait that Clint usually found endearing, but now couldn't bear to look at.

"There is an incoming call for all of you," JARVIS suddenly intoned, making them all jump. "Colonel Rhodes would like to speak to you."

"Oh, I'll just go and get Tony—"

"You misunderstand me, Doctor Banner," JARVIS said, and though he was an AI, Clint had never heard his tone so flat and cold. "He doesn't wish for Tony to be present for the conversation. It is the rest of you he'd like to speak too."

Clint noticed Natasha pale a shade, and Steve gulped audibly.

"Put the good Colonel through," Thor said eventually. "I am sure we have earned his recriminations."

There was a brief pause and then one of Tony's blue screens lit up, Rhodes' face filling the screen. He didn't even have to say anything to display his anger, and for a long moment, he just looked at them.

"You're very lucky that I'm on assignment right now," he said, when nobody else said anything. "And that Pepper promised Tony that she wouldn't pay you a visit herself."

Clint shifted against the counter. His Alpha nature demanded that he glare back at the screen, the feeling of being dominated uncomfortable. Only the knowledge that he deserved the glare aimed at him stilled him, and allowed him to remain silent.

"I don't know why you all thought that making Tony uncomfortable in his own home was a good idea, and I have no idea what it is that you're saying behind his back, but it stops. Now. You will all find a way to apologise to him for upsetting him, and you will damn well explain yourselves to him, because at the moment, he doesn't know what he's done wrong."

"He hasn't done anything," Steve was quick to assure. He was trembling slightly under Rhode's glare, and Clint wanted to reach out and comfort him. Thor beat him to it, stroking a firm hand down his back. "It was, there's been a misunderstanding."

Rhodes arched an eyebrow and Thor cleared his throat. As the team Alpha, it was for him to stand against Rhodes in their defense.

"The blame for this falls on me," Thor said softly. "I would have Anthony as my Omega, as the pack Omega, but the customs and traditions of Midgard are often different to those on Asgard, and I've been having the rest of the pack teach me the Midgardian customs. Unfortunately, Anthony walked in on a few of those discussions and picked up on the way we silenced ourselves."

Rhodes stayed silent for a long moment, and then seemed to soften slightly. "You need to tell him that, as soon as possible. He was already worried when he wasn't approached about joining the pack bond, and this has only compounded his fears that you didn't want him. Customs be damned, his well being is more important."

"We will," Clint promised. "We'll go and speak to him now, if he'll let us into the penthouse."

Rhodes sighed. "Stay where you are, I'll have him rejoin you shortly. He's preparing for his heat, so having you in the penthouse so close to it would be a bad idea since Pepper will be seeing him through it again."

A low growl rumbled through Thor's chest before he could get himself under control, and he smiled apologetically at Rhodes' raised eyebrow.

Rolling his eyes, Rhodey rang off. The team looked at one another.

"We'll await him on the sofas," Thor said, nodding his head to the doorway. "Perhaps, if the discussion goes well, he will remain with us to watch one of those delightful animations."

…

Tony stepped into the elevator, ringing his hands as he felt the small jerk as it moved downwards. Rhodey said that there was a misunderstanding, and that Tony should talk to the team.

Tony didn't really understand what he could be not understanding, but Rhodey would never send him into a situation that could be bad. Tony knew that. No matter that, in a general sense, he got on with and liked the team, Rhodey was Tony's.

Rhodey loved Tony.

The doors slid open, to reveal the team sitting on the sofas once more. Where they'd been relaxed and sprawled over them earlier, they were now sitting stiffly, and the guilt and fear in the room was stifling.

Thor held his hand out to Tony. "Join us, please," he asked.

Tony ignored the offered hand—Thor's face fell slightly—and perched himself on the edge of the sofa, as far from Thor as he could get without falling on his ass.

"We're sorry," Thor said, after a moment's pause. "That we allowed you to believe you'd done anything wrong. That was not the case at all, Anthony, that I swear to you."

Tony nodded slightly.

"You know that we are a pack," Thor continued softly. "And you know that a pack requires an Alpha and an Omega to take the lead of the pack."

Tony nodded again, sad once more at the thought of the pack bond that he hadn't been invited to join.

"Anthony, I would have you as my Omega," Thor said, reaching his hand out once more, this time to rest it on the sofa cushion between them. "I was discussing the Midgardian customs of asking such a thing to the others, and they were explaining traditions to me. That is what you walked in on those times when you were upset with us."

Tony blinked. "You… you want me? To be the pack Omega?"

"Who else would we have?" Steve asked, smiling softly. "You house us, Tony. You take care of our needs, you look after us. Nobody would be better than you."

To hear those words from another Omega, one that led the team on the battlefield, made something warm in Tony's chest.

"We all want you, Sweetheart," Clint said, leaning over from the closest sofa to stroke a hand through Tony's hair. "But we wanted to do it properly, and Thor needed to be caught up for us to do that."

"I—"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know what to do with that. I thought…"

"What did you think?" Natasha asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

Tony flushed and looked away. "I thought you were going to kick me off the team completely."

There were gasps, and then Thor's arm was around his shoulders, pulling Tony against a firm chest.

Steve shuffled forwards on his knees and leant against Tony's carefully. "Even if we didn't want you as our Omega, Tony, you're still an integral part of the Avengers. What is Captain America without Iron Man by his side?"

Tony's lips tilted up slightly, and Steve tugged him into a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't see how much you were hurting."

"Will you stay here with us for a while?" Thor asked. "We thought to watch an animated creation, and I know you enjoy those as much as I do."

Tony met the eyes of each of them, and then nodded. "I'd like that."

…

"Do you want them to see you through your heat instead?" Pepper offered, when he spoke to her the day before his heat. "If they want you to be their Omega, it would make sense for them to do it."

Tony shrugged. "They didn't offer? I mean, I'm sure if they go through with it they'll see me through future ones, but…"

Pepper smiled. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning then, okay, sweetheart?"

"Thank you. I know I don't say it very often, but I love you, Pep. Even if I join their pack, you and Rhodey are always going to be mine, right?"

"Oh Tony. We've been yours for a long time, and that isn't going to change because of anything, never mind because of them. Just like you might be joining them, but you're still ours, right?"

Tony nodded. "Right."

"I love you. Take it easy tonight, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kay. Bye Pep."

The screen blinkered out, and Tony sat back in his seat.

"You know we'd never try and take you away from Pepper and Rhodey, right?"

He jumped and turned around, relaxing slightly when he saw Bruce leaning against the doorframe.

"I know," Tony admitted. "I just… I guess I wanted to confirm with her that if I accept, she'll still be there, you know? Pepper and Rhodey were all I had for so long that I don't know what I'd do without them."

Bruce nodded and stepped into the workshop until he was behind Tony's chair, his hands resting on Tony's shoulders.

"Do you think you will accept?"

Tony shrugged but leant his head back against Bruce's chest. "It's different, Brucie. I thought… you know what I thought, and now this and it's a big one-eighty, and my head is a bit of a mess with it all."

Bruce nodded. "There's no rush, Tones. Take your time to make the decision that's right for you, okay? And even if you don't want to be the pack Omega, you can still be pack. You are pack, even if it's not quite official yet."

"Yeah?"

"Of course."

Tony nodded. "Kay. Thanks Bruce."

…

Pepper strode into the room, her red hair flowing loosely behind her, no heels adorning her feet. It was a little odd to see her dressed so casually, but Steve wasn't surprised to see that she looked quite tired.

Seeing an Omega through a heat wasn't easy on anyone.

Oddly though, Steve couldn't smell Tony on her in the way one usually could after an alpha saw an Omega through a heat. Sure, Tony's sent lingered on her skin, but it was an innocent scent, one filled with love and appreciation and fondness.

There was no hint of lust on Pepper at all.

She smiled slightly at Steve. "Tony hasn't told you what his heats are like, has he?"

Steve shook his head.

Pepper smiled. "Well. If it all goes as well as you're all hoping for, I'm sure you'll find out in due time. He'll be down in about an hour, and if you want to do something nice for him, he likes hot chocolate during his last hours of come down."

Grinning, Steve replied, "Thanks Pepper. Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head. "I'm on my way out, I just stopped in for a coffee," she replied, holding up the travel cup that Steve hadn't noticed. "I've got work to be getting back too."

"Okay. It was nice to see you."

Pepper nodded, and then tilted her head. "I do hope it remains nice, Steve. Fair warning, I don't like Tony being upset without due cause. I understand that this last… misunderstanding wasn't really anyone's fault, but I do hope you're all going to try and ensure it doesn't happen again regardless?"

"We will," Steve assured her, bowing his head in deference. "We would never want to hurt Tony, not for anything."

Pepper smiled. "Good. Have a good day, Steve."

Steve watched her go and felt something tense inside him release. He didn't realise how much he'd wanted her approval until he'd seen it in her smile. Pepper and Rhodey were the most important people in Tony's life, and if they said that they didn't think he should join their pack…

Steve had no doubt whatsoever that Tony would listen to them.

He lay back on the sofa, his mind on the other Omega. When they'd first met, Steve hadn't thought Tony was a good omega. He rubbed Steve up the wrong way with his brashness and his refusal to show respect to others.

It hadn't taken long for Steve to realise that Tony did show respect to people, but only when they'd earned it. He fought for his own respect at the same time, and he never expected anything to be handed to him.

Tony was one of the strongest Omega's Steve had ever met.

And his instincts were even stronger. The way he constantly worked to keep them safe, to make sure they were settled and happy and had everything they could ever need.

Steve had worked for the respect that Tony offered, and he hoped that they'd made it up for their rough start. Most of the time, he thought they had. Tony often gave him that adorable half smile that he only ever let out when he felt comfortable with the people around him. It was as far from his press smile as he could possibly get, and Steve loved it.

"Sir will be coming down in five minutes, if you'd like to follow Miss Pott's advice."

Steve nodded, thanking JARVIS quietly before he got up and padded into the kitchen. By the time Tony exited the elevator, Steve was just placing two mugs of hot chocolate on the table. Sure enough, Tony's eyes lit up when he saw them, and he grinned at Steve, flopping down on the sofa.

When Steve sat beside him, closer than necessary, Tony let himself fall against the larger Omega.

Cautiously, Steve wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders and tugged him closer still. Tony stiffened for a brief moment before he relaxed, pressing his face against Steve's neck and inhaling.

"Can I ask you something?" Steve asked, looking down at Tony.

"You just proved you can," Tony replied with a cheeky smile, but then he softened and nodded.

"Pepper didn't, uh, scent like an Alpha after a heat," Steve muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up. "She said that your heats are… different?"

Tony nodded, snuggling closer. "I don't really feel the overwhelming lust that most Omega's feel. I, uh, I get more… clingy? All of the cuddles, you know? I just want to be loved and touched and—"

"I get it," Steve replied softly. "I, uh. I hope that one day, you'll let us be the ones to dote on you like you deserve."

He felt rather than saw Tony's smile against his neck, but that was okay. Tony was exactly where Steve wanted him to be.

…

"Beloved," Thor said, his booming voice quieted in deference to the exhaustion he could see in every inch of Tony's body. "Are you okay?"

Tony shrugged, stumbling over nothing. Thor caught him, lifting him carefully. "How long has it been since you've rested?"

"Don't know," Tony admitted. "Can't sleep, won't work."

Thor shook his head slightly, and glanced at Clint with a significant look before he carried Tony over to the sofa. He sat with Tony on his lap, resting against his chest, and after a few moments, Clint appeared with a glass of warmed milk and some of Tony's favourite cookies.

Thor hand fed Tony the cookies, interspersed with sips from the glass that Clint held to his lips.

"Come, Beloved," Thor said, lifting Tony ones more, in a bridal lift this time. "I will keep you safe from whatever is keeping you from sleep."

Thor took Tony to the penthouse, and placed him gently on his bed, glad that Tony was already dressed in his pyjama bottoms. He sat beside him on the edge of the bed, unwilling to climb into a nest uninvited.

Tony blinked up at him sleepily, as Thor petted his stomach absently.

"Sleep, Sweetheart. I will take care of you this night."

"Lie with me," Tony asked sweetly. "Please, Thor."

"You are inviting me into your nest?" Thor asked, wanting to be absolutely certain.

Tony nodded. "Lie with me, Alpha."

Thor took his shirt off and climbed into the nest beside Tony, pulling him into his arms. Tony snuggled against him, wrapping his lithe limbs around Thor until there was nowhere that Tony's body wasn't touching him.

It didn't take long for the Omega to drift off, his breathing slowing and deepening. Thor stayed awake, stroking a hand up and down Tony's back.

He'd never wanted an Omega to be his as much as he wanted this one. Tony was everything Thor craved in a partner, plus more than Thor had never thought to dream of. Upon their first meeting, the thought had been there, invading Thor's mind even as he fought against Loki.

Never had he imagined finding a pack in Midgard, and he was happier than he'd ever been—but still, something was missing.

Tony wasn't yet his, hadn't yet agreed to stand by Thor's side as his.

This, Tony inviting him into his nest and allowing Thor to hold him, it gave him hope.

Hope for a yes.

Hope for a future where he could fly the skies with Tony at his side, and know that he had the most precious being in all the universes.

…

Tony woke slowly, warm and comfortable. He felt safe, even as he became aware that there was someone sharing his nest, wrapped around him.

He shifted, and the grip around his waist loosened so he could turn over and face Thor.

"Good morning, Beloved."

Tony smiled shyly at him, even as he tucked himself closer to Thor. "Thank you for helping me sleep."

"It was my honour, Anthony."

Thor was looking at him like he was precious, and Tony could feel his cheeks heating slowly, even as he ducked his head a little against Thor's chest.

"What is it, Anthony?"

"You look at me like…" Tony trailed off, unable to bring himself to say it.

"Like you are the most worthy being I've ever laid my eyes on?" Thor offered, smiling slightly when the flush in Tony's cheeks intensified. "That's because you are."

"You uh, you really want me to be the pack Omega?" Tony asked, after a moment of hesitation. "Your Omega?"

"I desire nothing more than that," Thor confirmed.

"But, Steve could, should—"

"Steven is a formidable Omega, and a fantastic team Captain," Thor interrupted. "I have much love for Steven. And yet, it is you that my heart sings for, Tony. The others, as pack-mates, I could have no better, but my Omega… that can only ever be you."

Tony blinked up at him for a long moment before he nodded. "I want to be your Omega. I'd love to be yours."

"You will accept me? Us, the pack?"

Tony nodded again. "Yes."