IV.
Tony doesn't kill anyone.
(This may be because Happy grabbed him before he could.)
He does get in the ambulance with Loki because like fuck is he letting Loki out of his sight right now. There's blood all over him, but Tony can't smell anything uniquely Loki. He distracts himself by thinking about Loki's cologne-probably not a cologne, probably a drug, ingestible. Idiot, testing it on himself.
Loki wakes, once, panicking. Tony tells Loki they're going to a hospital, that he's okay, covering Loki's eyes. He had a cat that used to work on, when it was upset; it's stupid, but he can't think of anything else to do. He's fucking terrible at this.
Loki inhales (smells) and goes still.
Tony puts up with the surgery he can't get near by doctors he doesn't know. He's paranoid (of course he is), but he can deal with it (doesn't have a choice). He fills out forms, fills out more forms.
It doesn't pass nearly enough time.
He waits. He paces. People recognize them and he blows them off entirely.
Steve calls—"The police want you to come ID the shooter"-and doesn't immediately try calling back when Tony hangs up on him. Tony should take it as a sign, a need to reign in.
He just paces more.
The first thing, when he finally gets to see Loki (took long enough), is smell. He's never smelled Loki before. Dark, almost like bitter chocolate. Absolutely mouth-watering, no wonder he invented a drug to turn himself scentless. Loki's still unconscious from the surgery. Tony listens halfway as the doctor tells Tony how lucky Loki is, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
(He realizes later he's sitting between Loki and the door, unconscious alpha hormonal bullshit, but fuck if he's going to move.)
It's three in the afternoon.
People stop coming in and out every two seconds. He starts to think he might be able to breathe again.
Tony wakes up hard (common) with a crick in his neck (also common) not sure where he is (uncommon, mostly). Loki's skin under his hand is warm; Tony sits up, stretching, eyeing Loki, the light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
Tony leans over to hit the nurse call button-what if the wound got infected (then Tony's going to murder—
Loki whines, head tossing in his sleep and exposing his throat. Tony stops, hand hovering over the button.
(He knows that whine-not from Loki, no, but-)
Tony inhales through his nose, smelling. Musk, that almost chocolate smell, near floral hothouse heat-warmth and take, Loki murmuring in his sleep, uncomfortable, sheets rustling, aroused—
Tony nearly knocks the chair over bolting out of the room, slamming the door behind himself. He hates himself for it, hates (more) that he wants to go back in there, sight of Loki's throat as he tossed his head still fresh in his mind (wants to bite and mark and—). He's shaking as he gets Jarvis on the line, hand white knuckled around the door knob, hating that he can't quite let go
(that smell, and it's Loki, Loki he already wants, Loki who's been pushing, it'll be alright, absolutely, not like Loki will—
"Sir?" Jarvis asks.
"I need side effects of the drugs the hospital has Loki on."
"Would you like interactions of his heart medications as well?"
Right. He forgot-Loki usually takes another set at noon, doesn't he?
"Shoot."
Jarvis lists of a string of side effects, all minor for Bs. None of them should do… whatever the fuck is going on.
(He's not doing anything. He's not a fucking animal.)
He forces himself to let go of the doorknob, but leans against the door because like hell is he letting anyone else in there right now.
"What about for the other sexes? Commonalities, known interactions, that sort of thing." It's a long shot, doubtful. It might just be whatever cocktail Loki's cooked up to hide his scent—
(Musk, almost chocolate, sinful and subtle, dark-it wouldn't hurt just to-
"-suppressing heats."
"Stop, run that by me again."
"All three of Mr. Borson's heart medications are known to have the adverse effect of suppressing heats. Mr. Borson was started on them when he was eleven years old; his records indicate he was brought in for a high fever. Shortly after the incident, his heart condition was discovered."
Tony doesn't say anything, arousal momentarily forgotten in shock. He barely remembers sex ed, but he knows enough Os to know how fucking stupid it is to not go into heat on occasion. Before puberty, though? He can't even fathom what that would do to a person.
"Discovered my ass, get Bruce on the line, Jarvis, this is exactly why I don't trust doctors, you know that, I'm not fucking letting anyone else-Bruce, great, I need you here yesterday, yes, it's about Loki, I'll tell you when you're here, bring your happy thoughts." He stops, staring at the door.
(He could go in. It's not like—)
He takes a step back, turning away so the door is behind him.
"You aren't going to like this."
"Loki's an omega," Bruce says. He's got his tea, he's staring at the hallway floor. He stops. He breathes in, pauses, breathes out.
Tony doesn't interrupt because despite popular opinion he does have a sense of self preservation.
"Loki," Bruce repeats, almost like a mantra, voice zoned, "is an omega. He's positive for every test for a preteen with heat fever." Another pause, another breath in, another breath out. "You know the ones."
"False positive?" Tony asks. Bs get false heats, sometimes; it's why everyone always waits for that second heat before official declarations of sex.
(He doesn't have much hope. He knows that smell. False heats just... lack something, a topcoat without a base primer.)
"Doubtful. We'll know for sure in a few weeks. Probably sooner." Bruce waits a moment, takes a sip of his tea. His hands are shaking, slightly. "He doesn't have a heart condition, Tony."
Tony doesn't say anything, just stares at his phone.
(He wants to break—)
"I see," Tony says. He forces a smile. "Good thing we got his back, huh?"
Tony stays away. He let Loki push into his spaces before; he'll let him push now. It's not like Loki's shy.
Loki sends an email a day after he's discharged with a letter of resignation attached.
Tony replies with a different offer—trips anywhere he wants and indefinite medical leave
He can't talk to him, but he can make sure Loki knows he's still got a place. He's still pack.
A week later, Loki accepts-not by email, but with a one-way ticket to Tuscany on Tony's personal credit card.
(Tony sleeps for the first time in a week without waking up murderous.)
Handful of notes:
Omegas are the only ones who go into actual heat.
They're also the only sex that can't impregnate another.
Betas occasionally get false heats when they hit puberty; it's even rarer to get them later in life.
Tony says alpha hormonal bullshit because he has a Ph. D. in denial. Sitting between Loki and the door (aka people coming in) is more just him. (The reaction to the Loki's heat, on the other hand, is a combination of Tony's personal feelings and hormones. Tony's stance of them not meaning he should take advantage of Loki though he wants to is the commonly accepted one)
Because it's difficult to tell pre-puberty and the hormones kicking in, sex isn't declared until the person hits puberty. Seeing as everyone holds sex entirely separate from gender identity (and in fact neither construct has any of the same vocab), this isn't as big a deal as you'd think.
there's pretty excellent required sex ed taught to everyone-required as part of the health courses, and started early since puberty tends to happen for everyone at different times. everyone would have a general idea of how things work for everyone else (even tho most people tend to forget more than the basics beyond their own sex unless they have a reason not to)
I swear I'm done rambling about all this. For now.