Chapter Text
It started on a surprisingly ordinary afternoon.
The day to day at Stark Industries was never smooth-sailing, even on the best days, but the early autumn cool had brought with it a calm to the purchasing department where you worked. Logistics costs always dropped as the summer ended and you were looking at a budget surplus for the first time in months. Even better, you’d scouted a new supplier for high capacity diodes that not only made the product locally but through an eco-friendly process; you knew Mr. Stark would be pleased.
You hadn’t expected to ever meet Tony Stark when you took the job in purchasing, coming off a too-long stint working in the same capacity at a small firm with an extraordinarily low glass ceiling, particularly for Omegas like yourself. You were surprised to learn that Tony insisted on approving every new component himself, much to his charming CEO’s chagrin. He’d cleared the diodes via email, but still wanted hard copies of the specs and a sample to peruse before the order was made.
You were on your way to the elevator, paperwork and sample in hand, when the first inklings of your oncoming heat began. You hadn’t even made it halfway down the corridor when you felt insatiably thirsty and had to stop at a nearby water cooler. After the fourth refill on your little paper cup and a noticeable increase in your body temperature, you realized.
“Shit,” you muttered, crumpling the paper cup and tossing it into a nearby wastebasket. You had wanted to be there when the first diode order arrived; the company had promised they would arrive within a day or two of placing the order, and if Tony approved the sample today, they’d be in before the end of the week.
But you hadn’t had a real heat in at least eight months, and there was no way this one would last less than a full week.
You sighed. Being an Omega could suck, to put it bluntly. Sure, there were parts of it that you loved; the idea that there might be someone out there for you, a perfect Alpha mate, was extremely appealing. Your own parents had simply been passing by one another when they realized and practically bonded on the spot.
But the heats -- god, what a pain in the ass. A week or more of constant sweat and sexual frustration, your body crying out for the mate that you didn’t have. Forced seclusion for your own safety, away from any knothead Alphas who viewed any fertile Omega as fair game and away from your own temptations to bed any appealing partner who glanced your way.
It always put you behind in your work, and then would come the lectures from your family about how it was time you started looking to settle down again, with a nice Alpha, or even a Beta if they struck your fancy.
All and all, your heats often found you wishing you had been born a Beta, and wouldn’t have to deal with any of it.
You pressed the button for the elevator, already planning the rest of your day in the back of your mind. You would have to send an email to HR and then tell your direct supervisor, Jack; your co-worker Michael would have to pick up the slack while you were gone, so you’d need to make sure he had all of the appropriate paperwork for the rest of the week. He was an Omega too, so he’d probably scent it on you as soon as you walked back into the office.
There’s no way you could take the subway home; you’d have to call for a heat-specific taxi, or maybe try the new Omega-centered rideshare program to get back to your apartment. You hoped you had enough groceries to last you.
The elevator doors opened and you stepped quickly inside, nodding at the sole occupant and going immediately for the touchpad beside the button console. To get to the upper floors, where Tony kept his office and private labs and he and his superhero buddies palled around, you needed special security clearance that require a thumbprint scan.
You had been kind of proud when you’d been cleared, only weeks after starting with the company.
“Ma’am?” a polite voice interrupted, and you glanced up as the elevator doors began to close. “You won’t need to bother. I’ve got clearance for all floors.”
You offered a smile and a nod, surprised that you hadn’t realized it was Steve Rogers standing in the elevator as you had entered. Even if he wasn’t something of a celebrity, the much lauded and recently returned to the land of the living Captain America, his imposing figure and handsome face would be recognizable enough. You’d only met him once before, four months back during a similar elevator ride, that time heading down to the lobby.
“Thank you, Captain Rogers,” you said, hoping you weren’t putting off too much scent as of yet. The Avengers team was, not surprisingly, chock full of Alphas, including the Captain; even if you hadn’t had a heat starting, your body would probably have started putting off a scent once you encountered his Alpha pheromones. It would only be worse with your cycle kicking into high gear.
“Please, ma’am, call me Steve,” he told you, flashing that charming smile of his. “I’m not too big on the formalities when I’m not in uniform.”
“Then I have to insist you not call me ‘ma’am’,” you replied with a laugh, doing your best not to sound flirtatious. It was difficult, to say the least; even if you weren’t an Omega, you were still human, and Steve was a very handsome, very attractive man.
He smiled in response and nodded, answering you with your name in renewed greeting. You tried not to look too surprised; you would never have guessed he even knew it.
Steve cleared his throat. “Bringing some paperwork up to Tony?” he asked, making pleasant conversation.
“Mmmhmm,” you replied, too distracted to elaborate. Just a brief moment in the enclosed space of elevator had your head swimming. The scent coming off of Steve was damn near intoxicating; it was clean and fresh, like newly-washed laundry hanging on a clothesline in a soft summer breeze or a cool stream of wild water, with undercurrents of citrus and the green scent of the deep woods.
You were so lost in the scent that you hadn’t even noticed the elevator stop, or Steve calling your name, until you felt a large warm hand on your shoulder.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly, and when you looked up, he drew in a sharp breath.
You weren’t sure what it was he was seeing, but you had to wonder if it was anything like the view you were being treated to. A thin sheen of sweat had broken out on the Captain’s forehead and his lips were plush and pink, like he’d been biting them; his pupils were so blown that you barely saw the sliver of blue that was left of the iris.
“You’re in heat,” he gritted out, biting his lip again. You didn’t respond, just pulled in another deep breath, wanting to press your face against his chest and just draw in breath after breath of his scent.
“Uh, Steve?” a voice interrupted, and you cast only a short glance at the elevator doors, to where Clint Barton stood, eyes flicking back and forth between you and the Captain. Clint was a Beta, but you knew the elevator must be saturated in scent by now, from both you and Steve; there was no way he didn’t notice.
Steve took the folder and pouch full of diode samples from your hands and pressed them into Clint’s chest, with a quick mumble that he should bring them to Tony, before stabbing the ‘Door Close’ button on the elevator with his index finger. His eyes never left yours.
“Tony has safe rooms,” he told you as the elevator started its ascent. He cleared his throat and pulled his gaze from you, hands fisted at his sides. “There’s no way you’ll make it home with your heat this far gone. It’ll be better if you stay here.”
“M’sorry,” you muttered, leaning against the elevator wall. “It never comes on this fast, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Steve gave you a bashful smile, and you had to grip the side-rail hard to keep yourself smiling.
“Don’t apologize,” he told you, and reached with one hand to wipe the sweat from his face. It only managed to tousle his blonde hair, make him look all the more appealing. “I know how it goes. Ruts aren’t any more controllable. Hell, the last time I ran into you I was already halfway gone with…” He trailed off, suddenly sheepish as he realized what he was saying.
You offered a commiserating smile and nodded. The elevator seemed to be going slower somehow, almost at a crawl; surely you should have been at the safe room floor by now? Too much time in close quarters with a virile Alpha, especially one as handsome as Steve, one who, you had to admit, you’d had a bit of a crush on since first seeing his image in a history book years and years ago, was making your inner Omega voice started whispering things to you that became harder and harder to ignore.
He was rutting when you last saw him, it told you. You were in close quarters with a rutting Alpha and what happened? You had that mini-heat. That little three-day hell that kept you indoors for the long weekend, biting your lip and trying to get yourself off with no satisfaction because it was him that did it, him that set you off, and only he could have abated it.
It was him. He was your Alpha. He was your mate.
You shook your head, trying to fight your own thoughts. “Sorry,” you mumbled again, realizing that he was standing a little closer now but trying to pretend he wasn’t.
“God, you smell amazing,” Steve mumbled, biting his lip again. “Like honey, and ginger. And cinnamon. Jesus, I bet you taste so…” He took a step back, eyes widening. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry… I never get like this, I never… I’m so sorry.”
You shook your head again. “S’not your fault,” you told him, leaning against the cool metal wall of the elevator in hopes to glean some comfort from your spiking temperature.
“I should have better control,” Steve told you. He took a deep breath, seemingly trying to clear his mind, but your mingling scents had so filled the small elevator that he received a lungful of it and bodily shuddered in response. When the elevator door finally opened, you heard him mutter a strained “Thank Christ” beneath his breath before stepping out and gesturing for you to do the same.
He seemed careful to stay a few feet away from you as you walked, though when the haze of your heat made you stumble, he was quickly at your side, a stabilizing hand at your hip and an arm offered in support.
“No one without full security clearance can get to this floor,” Steve told you, clearing his throat. It was clear he was working hard at maintaining his composure, and though you wanted to help him by keeping your distance, you couldn’t deny that the feel of his arm at your waist and his free hand in yours was comforting you better than anything else had ever done during a heat. “Tony has instructions with all of the HR people to call him or Pepper if someone needs to come up. You’ll be safe here, for as long as you need.”
“Not many workplaces are this kind to Omegas,” you told him softly, feeling grateful that you’d found such a progressive company, and that it had been Steve that came across you in the elevator. If nothing else, it gave you something to think about and the memory of his alluring scent to carry you through what you feared would be a long, miserable heat.
“Here we are,” Steve told you quietly, stopping at a door not far down the corridor. He opened the door and said,“Should have everything you need in there. Just ask JARVIS to keep the door locked and you can adjust air temperature and everything the same way. I’ll make sure Tony knows you’re here.”
You peeked inside, surprised to see what looked more or less like a small apartment; everything was pristine, as though it had just been waiting for a guest’s arrival. You took a step inside, noting that the air was already blessedly cool, and turned back to face Steve, who was still hovering in the doorway.
“Thank you for all of your help, Captain Rogers,” you said, the distance from him allowing you a moment to compose yourself.
“Steve,” he reminded, with a small, roguish smile. It sent fireworks alight inside you, the flames of your heat licking at your skin from the inside out. You felt yourself flush and knew he must have sensed the sudden arousal in you, his eyes darkening impossibly further.
He licked his lips.
“I should go,” he told you quietly.
You nodded. “Yes,” you agreed. “Just… before… if I could…”
You could hardly believe yourself, how quickly you stepped forward. The way you stood up on your tiptoes, even in heels, to reach him. The way you pressed your face into the crook of his neck, taking a long, deep breath of his scent. Just a little, that’s all you wanted; something to focus on, keep you sane for the next few days.
Steve groaned deep in his throat at your action and it was all you could do not to drag him inside with you.
You pulled away glassy-eyed and embarrassed. “Sorry,” you muttered, for what seemed like the dozenth time in just a few short minutes together. You closed the door quickly and muttered a short directive to the building’s artificial intelligence system, asking that it be kept locked until you asked for it to open.
“Of course,” JARVIS replied politely. “Please enjoy your stay.”
You gave a short, humorless laugh and leaned your back against the door, wondering how you were going to last the next few days alone.
On the other side, Steve pressed his forehead against the wall, thinking much the same.