Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 1141

Fic Detail - OT6, Omegaverse.

Pack Life

Tony hated Alpha's.

Okay, he didn't hate all Alpha's, that was a sweeping generalisation that he didn't mean, but he hated a lot of Alpha's. The ones who didn't have the slightest measure of control over their hormones or instincts.

It was tiring to deal with.

He might be an Omega, but that didn't mean they were allowed to be all aggressive or try and hump him. That was just bad behaviour, it didn't matter what your secondary gender was.

And yet, wherever he went, there was always at least one Alpha who did exactly that. They called themselves traditionalists, when really, they were just assholes who though they had the right because they were born into the strongest gender.

Fuck that noise.

Tony supposed that he'd been spoilt by spending so much time around Alpha's that did know how to behave; particularly now, since he was most often with Pep, Rhodey and his team. Steve, Nat and Thor were all Alpha's, and Clint and Bruce both Beta's and yet, they were all treated the same.

Just as Tony was.

To his team, being an Omega didn't make him a liability. It was just a part of his genetic make up and that was that.

Simple.

Of course, spending so much time with them just made it that much more distasteful when he ran across an alpha with less than appropriate manners.

…

"Stay away from me," Tony growled, stomping away from the Alpha who'd just propositioned him. He was an absolute pig, and Tony was a ball of rage.

"Tony?"

Disregarding decorum, Tony pressed his face into Thor's chest, inhaling gulps of his comforting scent to try and get a hold on his anger.

"Tony, are you quite alright?"

Tony nodded against Thor's chest in reply to Steve's question, and relaxed even more when Steve's large, warm hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Nat is taking the man you were speaking with outside, Sweetheart. She ask's if you'd like to deal with him or if she can do the honours?"

Tony smiled and turned his head so he could look at Steve. This was why he loved these people. Natasha knew that if he wanted too, Tony could have kicked the guy's ass, Alpha or not.

"She can do it with my gratitude," he replied. "Tell her not to leave a body, the press are always assholes when there's a body."

Steve snorted, but took Tony's request as it was meant, and quietly told Nat over their comms not to actually kill the guy.

Thor rubbed a hand up and down Tony's back in a soothing motion, and soon after, Tony felt calm enough to pull back and straighten his suit.

"I think I must give off a scent that just… attracts assholes," he muttered, rolling his eyes. He stood quietly while Bruce and Clint checked him over to reassure themselves that he was okay.

"You smell beautiful, Tony," Steve murmured. "I can't imagine anyone not being attracted by your scent, it's just that most people have got a certain level of decorum about themselves."

For the rest of the night, Tony stayed with his pack. Pepper and Rhodey both joined them shortly after, and Natasha a few minutes later still.

Asshole forgotten, the rest of the evening was spent laughing and joking and when Tony looked back at that particular gala, he could only be grateful that he'd managed to build himself such a perfect family.

…

"You are a fierce Omega, aren't you?"

Tony spat in his attacker's face. He was being held against his will in a dungeon and he was so far over it. He knew the team would be on their way, but seriously! Why was it always him? It didn't make sense.

Sure, he was seen as the weakest because of his secondary gender, but the absolute worst thing to do to a pack was to hurt the pack Omega. And a pack like the Avengers? It was a suicide mission at best.

He was beaten some, and he hammed it up, playing up the stereotype of weakling. It worked and they didn't do him much damage at all before they were leaving, cackling to themselves about a job well done.

Idiots!

Didn't they know who he was?

Now he just had to wait for the team to arrive, because even though they were idiots, they were the kind of idiots that chained people up in handcuffs tight enough that even Tony couldn't wriggle his way out of them.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Alright there, Shellhead?" Steve asked, as he broke through the wall into the cell. Tony raised his eyebrow.

"Make yourself useful, Muscles, break me out of these things."

Steve did as Tony requested, and, rubbing his wrists, Tony followed behind Steve as he left the cell through the hole he'd made in the wall.

"How hurt are you?" Steve asked, checking around them for signs of more bad guys. In the distance, Tony could hear the bangs and shouts of the rest of the team having a grand old time.

"I'm very hurt, Steve! They didn't even let me powder my nose in the bathroom! Heathens, the lot of them!"

Laughing, Steve shook his head. "Injury status, Tony."

"Bruises mostly," Tony replied, sobering. "A few cuts."

"They didn't—"

Tony shook his head. "They didn't, I promise."

Satisfied, Steve led the way to where the rest of the team had finished… apprehending Tony's kidnappers.

"Can we go home now?"

Nat wrapped her arm around his waist. "Yeah, Kotenok. We can go home now."

…

"I do not appreciate heats," Tony grumbled. He was wrapped in blankets on the sofa with a hot water bottle on his feet. Steve and Thor sat on each side of him, and Nat was kneeling in front of him, feeding him chocolate and water and fruit slices.

Clint lay along the back of the sofa and played with Tony's hair, while Bruce puttered around, preparing the nest for when Tony's heat actually hit. While only the pack Alpha's could knot him, Tony liked to have his whole pack in attendance for his heat.

He was in preheat, which for Tony was always worse than the actual heat, which tended to only last about two days for him.

"We know, Sweetheart," Steve replied, stroking his hand. "It'll be over soon."

Tony nodded and pressed his face into Thor's shoulder. "I know."

"We love you," Thor said, pressing his lips to Tony's head. "We'll take care of you as you take care of us."

Buried in his blankets, feeling miserable about his preheat, Tony felt a warmth envelope him.

He'd never felt safer than he did with his pack surrounding him, and he'd never felt more wanted. Even dealing with miserable preheats was worth that.

Written for:

North Funfair - Splash A Mod - Lo - Found Family

East Funfair - Petting Zoo - Graphorn - Hump / Aggressive / Powder

South Funfair - Test Your Strength - Weakling Level - "Stay away from me."

365. 320. Fierce