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Chapter Text

Tony's and Bucky's relationship was... what should he call it?

...

Complicated. 

A very convenient yet lazy word to describe something one does not know how to describe in a short and simple sentence. But what other word could he use? Difficult? Complex? Convoluted? Those were just synonyms, so the old fashion 'it's complicated' worked just fine.

To Tony, Bucky was a lost hero from a time before him. He was Captain America's right hand, his best friend, someone Tony imagined to be nothing but honorable. An idea that was only strengthened by the stories Aunt Peggy used to tell about the heroics of the Howling Commandos during World War II. 

James Buchanan Barnes was a man Tony would never get to meet.

Until he did. And Bucky almost killed him.

No. Not Bucky... The Winter Soldier.

Learning the man was alive did not shock Tony. After all, Steve himself had 'traveled' about seventy years forward in time. And after everything that had been happening the last few years, like old gods that were actually aliens with a very long lifespan; a man that would turn into an indestructible destroying green giant; an army of aliens (not the gods) flying through a wormhole into the midst of New York City killing everyone in their way... They even had giant worm like creatures going through the wormhole. Talk about being literal.

What was surprising was learning that Bucky was not really alive anymore. He was not even talking about the Winter Soldier personality here. Bucky, as himself, was not the man from Aunt Peggy's stories. Nor the man from Steve's descriptions. That man was lost.

It was very hard, from the beginning, to know how to feel about Bucky. 

The events went by extremely fast. The soldier from the past had been brainwashed but Steve managed to dig out some of his memories. Then he was being hunted for the bomb in Vienna with a shoot to kill order. Steve got himself into trouble, trying to help Bucky, and Tony had to double his effort in dealing with Ross. 

Tony understood that Steve wanted to save his friend. He truly did. But it was hard for Tony to make him see how fragile their situation was. Not only Steve's and Bucky's, but all the Avengers'. Steve was so fixated in doing the 'right thing' that he was failing to grasp the complexity of the entire situation. 

Of course it was all about politics. Of course it was about the people in power guaranteeing they kept their power. Tony was not stupid. He had been naive once, but not anymore. Not about this subject.

And yes, Tony also cared. He was the one who shut down his company's weapon division after he found out, the hard way, that his products were being sold in the black market to terrorists. So, of course he did not want to be a puppet in the hands of people who wanted to use them for their own, and many times, twisted agendas. 

That was why he was fighting so hard for the accords. Why he was putting up with Ross of all people.

The sooner the Avengers would agree to sign, the more flexibility they would have in order to prevent undesirable scenarios. 

Tony could imagine the most probable outcome if they kept refusing to sign so adamantly. They would be given an ultimatum where they would either write their names on it, or those names would instead be filling their designated spots on their arrest warrants. By that time, the content of the accords would not be as pleasant, nor as negotiable.

It was an incredibly stressful time, but Tony managed to convince Steve. He was so relieved to finally make the Captain see reason. 

Until he mentioned Wanda. 

Tony then felt betrayed. After that conversation, was Steve really going to refuse the accords because Wanda was being temporarily confined to a very spacious and comfortable facility? Did Steve really think it would be okay for Wanda to illegally wander around the country? That they would let her? She did not have a visa, nor it seemed like they were soon allowing her one. Not to mention that people were not regarding her with good eyes, after what happened at Lagos. They feared her. And that made them dangerous. Hateful. Was it that hard to understand that this confinement was for her own protection as much as others?

"She's just a kid."

She was young, true. And so what? Would that make any difference to a court in a country where some states would judge minors as adults? Wanda was an illegal immigrant and an adult. What mercy would they have on her? 

How could Steve treat him like he himself agreed with what was being done to her? To them? Was Tony not his friend? Was he not doing everything in his power to help salvage anything he could?

Then everything escalated.

Wanda escaped with Clint's help. Seriously? They did not even try to solve the matter peacefully, by having a conversation as the adults they all were. No, attacking Vision was the first choice.

Zemo activated the Winter Soldier inside Bucky who attacked them. If Tony did not have his gauntlet, or did not use it in time, he would be dead. Shot by the Winter Soldier. 

Steve went after Bucky, naturally, but did not return with him.

It fell on Tony, once again, to try to stop Steve from making it worse. They were getting out of options.

Then the fight at the airport. It was one of his worst days of his life. The frustration and despair of not being listened to by people who were close to him. Of having no choice but to fight his friends before he lost all the then frail power he had to save them. Of being betrayed by Nat, whom he thought to understand the whole situation. Of Rhodey's fall...

Even then, Tony did not give up on Steve. Nor on Bucky. So, he went to help them behind Ross. It was not just because he had seen the evidence on Bucky's innocence. It was because there was nothing else he could legally do. Not anymore.

Learning that Buck- the Winter Soldier killed his parents, his mother, and that Steve knew about Hydra's involvement in the murder and did not tell him about it... He had never felt so betrayed. Not even when Obie tried to kill him. After all his efforts, all the headaches, all the anxiety and sleepless nights caused by this whole story while trying to save his friends who then betrayed him, sue him for snapping when he was presented with his mom's murderer. 

He was sorry for it, later. He knew his reaction, considering everything that happened, was not that unjustifiable. But after that terrible fight, after he calmed down and had time to rest, he understood. It was not Bucky who killed his parents. The man was just another victim. 

He was still pissed at Steve, though. But Tony knew with time he would forgive him. 

And so, he kept helping them.

The evidence in favor of Bucky was made public, together with evidence incriminating Ross for the less than human conditions the prisoners of the now not-so-secret ultra-maximum-security prison they were being held on. Sure, the higher ups knew about it, but they had to pretend they had been misled and had to send Ross away for good. 

With that came the demands from the general public for a pardon for the rogue Avengers.

After that it was easy to bring everyone back.

It took time, but eventually they forgave each other. Tony found out that resentment was corrosive, and he hated it. They saw pass each one's mistakes and soon after they were a team, once again. 

A family.

Except for Bucky.

Tony forgave Bucky. Hell, Bucky had nothing really to be forgiven for. Of all of them, he was the less at fault, if he had any. 

Bucky clearly did not feel that way. The guilt in his eyes was heavy every time he looked at Tony. And Tony... he had to admit he did not help much. He did tell Bucky that he did not hold him accountable for his parents' murder. But something else unexpected happened. 

Each day that passed, Tony felt himself falling for the broken man. What could he do? Broken things were his weakness. Usually he would know how to fix them. But Bucky was not an object. He was not a machine. A broken body? That he could help 'fix' to a certain extent. A broken mind? Not so much. He could not even fix his own.

Tony did not know how to approach him. His usual way of picking on people's weaknesses, to show them they could be strengths, did not always work. And this was a problem he was very involved in, so it could have backfired spectacularly. He would not risk it. 

Behaving normally was proving to be ridiculously hard to do around Bucky. He tried, though. He was a good actor. It was getting easier, each day, to pretend he did not have a massive crush on the super soldier, even though said crush kept growing with time.

Tony could not help but feel ridiculous and a coward, for not confronting Bucky for once and for all, and tell him everything in his mind. Maybe then Bucky would change the way he looked at him. Even if instead of the guilt for himself, disgust for Tony took its place, Tony would count it as a win.

Maybe one day he would gather enough courage to do so.

Or maybe one day Bucky would approach him himself, wanting to talk to him alone, all seriousness showing on his face. Just like it happened.

Maybe, after that day, they would even become good friends.

Maybe...

If they did not get engulfed in a magical barrier together with weird magical creatures that did not hesitate to attack them.

Chapter Text

It came out of nowhere.

They were outside at the Avenger's compound when a sort of barrier was lifted around them and the chaos began. A freaky visual spectacle that put any drug he had tried in his youth to shame. There were weird creatures of all shapes and colors, striking everywhere with clear intention to harm them.

Tony gestured to call his armor, but nothing happened. It was inside the compound so it should have been quick.

"Hey guys, I don't know if you have noticed, you being otherwise occupied and all, but I am NOT suited up!" Tony said while trying his best to avoid being caught by a... was it a plant that resembled an octopus, or an octopus that resembled a plant? He did not know. What he knew is that it was big and was coming for him.

"I thought you could summon your armor from wherever you were," He heard Clint say through the comms. 

"I can. Generally. But the LSD magic here must be interfering with the sig- WOAH!" 

Vine like tentacles sprung from the creature once again, almost grabbing him by his legs and waist. Tony barely managed to avoid it, but in doing so he lost his balance and fell, butt first. The creepy thought of being picked up by the tentacles and ripped in half passed through his mind but, before he went into a panic attack, the creature was being made into Swiss cheese by Bucky's gun.

It was super effective! He was so glad his teammates were more paranoid than him and always carried some gear with them. Then again, the others could not expect their weapons to fly to them at their call.

Fortunately, normal weapons were enough to defeat these monsters, or at least this one, if the shrieks of pain coming from it were something to be considered.

"Damn! Octobanshee here did have a good set of lungs," He said as he went up on his feet, a hand appearing in front of him.

"You okay?" Bucky asked.

The display of concern almost made Tony blush. Almost. And he was glad he did not. The terrifying circus that exploded around them was enough to help him keep focused.

"I'm swell, Buckaroo! Thanks for the hand," He replied with a grin to hide his nervousness, hoping it was believable enough. 

"Good! If you can't defend yourself at the moment, then you should stick with me," Bucky said with a firm voice but soft eyes. 

Cute. 

Damn! Focus, Tony!

"Oooh! My knight in shining armor," Tony said because he just cannot shut up, "Oh, wait! Isn't that supposed to be my role? I mean, I'm not exactly a knight but I do have a shini-Shit!"

What the hell was that creature?

"That thing looks like a giant worm fucked a rainbow!"

Seriously, Tony could not find another way to describe the slimy beast.

While he was distracted by the sight, Bucky moved to attack. Surprisingly, the giant worm was extremely fast and its tail slapped Bucky's gun away, lunging at them right after. 

Tony jumped to the side, trying to dodge the thing. This time, he almost went face first to the floor. When he got up, the creature was going still on the ground with a big slash in its body and bubbling black and white goo bleeding from it.

"I have to admit," Tony started, "That was awesome! Geez, even its blood is on drugs."

He was prepared to let out a breath of relief when the wormy thing started convulsing like crazy. 

"The fu-", Tony gasped when it started to curl on itself and glowing in a blinding light.

"Run!" Bucky shouted.

"No shit!" He said as he turned and started running. As if he would stay there waiting to see what would happen. As a man of science, he was very curious and all but, no.

A deafening sound was heard and suddenly he was surrounded by a blinding light. Tony was thrown forward like the explosions in the movies do to the characters. When he noticed he was not meeting the floor and kept flying, he knew there was something wrong...-er.

Was that it? Was he dead? Should he expect to fall forever through a white blindness?

He never really believed much in life after death, but that did not mean he never thought about it. What was happening was far from what he imagined it would be. 

When Tony was close to accept the idea he was dead, everything stopped.

***

His body was hurting everywhere but the disorientation made his head win the attention through the pain. He must have hit the ground hard. 

Tony tried to move so he could check if anything was broken. It did not seem to be the case. His case, at least. He did feel like he was laying on something that was indeed broken. 

As he opened his eyes, the idea that he was in his afterlife came back to his mind. That or he was really lucky to survive being thrown so far to the bushes and trees around the compound. 

The daylight told him he was out for several hours and that was worrying. Why did anyone not come find him? Were they in trouble? That thought made him rush to get up, the sudden vertigo making him grunt.

When he managed to wobbly get out of the bushes, he saw Bucky who also seemed to share his confusion. These were not the woods around the compound.

"Whe- where the hell are we? Shit, did Dr. Houdini send us through a portal or something?"

"That would make some sense," Bucky said, "But how did he know we were in trouble?"

"I don't know. Maybe he could sense the magic or something. I cannot say it's my area of expertise. Although, Thor does say that magic and science are the same thing," Tony tried to reason, "But that level of crazy is beyond what we, humans, can explain."

Tony stopped talking when he noticed Bucky just staring at him. Yeah, he knows he cannot shut up. So what? Call it thinking out loud. Sharing information. It is a good strategy when trying to find a solution for a problem. 

"By the way, what is that smell?" Tony asked when a heavenly scent hit his nostrils. Or at least when he noticed it did.

"I've noticed it too when I woke up," Bucky replied, "It is strangely sweet and alluring and not what I would expect to scent in a forest."

"Sweet?" Tony laughed. What a weird concept, "It's not sweet at all. I mean, it's nice and it actually fits a forest. I would say it's woody and grassy, mixed with sweat. But somehow... musky?"

Bucky looked at him with a very confused expression and that was when Tony realized. 

"Is it coming from you?" Tony asked, surprising himself when he unconsciously reached for Bucky to sniff him.

"What?" Bucky said as he tried to smell himself. "It seems so. But," he sniffed back at Tony, "The sweet scent comes from you."

"What?" Tony said incredulous and quickly sniffing himself too, "The hell, you are right! Did the portal made us pass through some other strange places and the smells got stuck on us?"

"Dunno."

"Humph. Doesn't matter," Tony waved his hand in dismissal, "We need to find where we are," he continued while taking his smartphone from his pocket.

He noticed right away that JARVIS was unavailable. He did not have any offline version of the AI in this phone. Great.

"I got no signal. How is this possible? My satellites should reach everywhere on the planet. Unless that weird magic is still affecting my tech. Or Strange sent us to another planet."

"Well, in that case we should try to at least find civilization. And then go from there," Bucky said.

"Yeah, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. I do hope we are not many miles away from another huma- AH!" Tony cried as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"What? What's wrong?" Bucky asked worriedly.

"Geez, I just had a painful cramp. I hope I won't be needing to go to the toilet anytime soon," Tony tried to joke. He hoped it was just a joke.

Tony's attention went to Bucky when the latter looked away and froze, as if he heard something.

"Hear that?" 

He did not notice it until he heard the question, but the sound was unmistakable.

"Horses!" 

They immediately ran in the direction of the sound, feeling very hopeful. Even if the horses were wild, which Tony was not really expecting them to be, he would bet Bucky could at least do something in that respect. He did not know why he thought so, but he could picture the super soldier going all sexy horse whisperer. 

"Hell yes!" Tony almost yelled when they found a dirt road.

The horses came into view, as well as their riders. About a dozen of them.

"Uhm. Are they using medieval armor?" 

The armor looked real. As in, it did not seem like cheap cosplay. He tried to take a better look, but Bucky blocked his view when they came close and one of the riders shouted, "Halt!"

That was an odd thing to do, from Bucky's part. But then again, Tony currently had no way to defend himself if they were hostile and armed.

"Tell us who you are, alpha, and what business you have here," said the man who spoke before, "The same goes for your part-" his eyes went wide when he looked at Tony, "Good Lord!"

"I like to think I'm good, although many say I am somewhat morally grey? I think I'm just misunderstood though," Tony joked, "But Lord? I don't have that title. I mean, an official title. That word has been used before to describe some of my skills, but-"

"An omega!" The rider said. Everyone else gasped and whispered between themselves.

"What?" Tony startled and looked at his watch, "No! This is a Stark watch! I sometimes use Bvlgari but-"

"Silence!" The man ordered, "You will come with us, omega!"

Tony was frustrated. He was not understanding the situation, at all. He usually liked challenges and was a fan of mysteries to be solved. But at the moment, he and Bucky were in a hurry. They had to know what happened to the rest of the team and get to them as soon as they could.

"Okay, you know what? We are not here to role-play. We need to get back to our base that is being attacked at this very moment."

"Beta team, get the omega. Alpha team will deal with the alpha if he gets in the way."

They took their swords out. By the sound of it, they were heavy and very probably real. Tony had been getting better and better at hand-to-hand combat, but he was at a disadvantage at hand-to-swordS combat. 

"Are they fucking serious?" Tony flinched and tried to hold a whimper. He was easily scared of dangerous situations, especially if he felt he had little to no control over them. But hell, he would not let others know that.

He had faced many dangers in his life. He almost died while doing so, several times. It would not be a bunch of wannabe knights that were going to take him down. Not to mention, he still had a killing machine at his side. 

Winter Soldier or not, Bucky was a BAMF!

---

The soldiers climbed down of their horses. Some had their attention on him, while the others on Tony. That made him pull Tony, who had come to his side again, behind him. He was seeing red at the thought of those people touching his mate-teammate...

"You have a spare knife for me, Dollhouse?" He heard Tony ask.

He wanted to think that he was enough to deal with all their opponents, but Tony was right. He should have a way to defend himself. Still, he only had the one knife since the other was used to kill the strange worm monster and he dropped it when he was hit with the explosion.

Bucky attacked. He targeted the 'alpha' team. The way they spoke, they did not seem to want to harm Tony, at least not at the moment. And since the smaller team was there to make sure Bucky did not interfere, it meant they would have their attention on him. Good luck with that. 

He quickly took out a soldier and tossed the fallen man's sword to Tony, who thanked him for it.

Then he went to the rest of the team.

"Beta-A team with us!" their leader screamed, "Beta-B team on the omega."

As it seemed, they quickly learned not to underestimate Bucky. They were now around ten men and women, trying to kill him. 

These were well trained and coordinated soldiers. The first one was caught by surprise, but the rest knew not to take chances. He would also not take chances, even if he was in a hurry to help Tony who was having trouble using his sword. 

Still, ten or one hundred, there was a limit to how many could attack him at once. Bucky took that into his advantage. Avoiding being in their middle, he made sure he would not have his back unprotected. The sounds of Tony's struggle were already distracting enough.

Soon, he started to take his enemies down, one by one.

"Barnes! They are taking me to the 'King', whoever that is," Tony's voice was heard, "Do try to hurry with your harem over the-."

Fuck, he needed to hurry.

There were still four soldiers to go, who looked and smelled as mad as he. 

He growled loudly at the group in front of him and blacked out for an instant. When he came to himself, there were no soldiers standing in front of him. All of them were laying on the ground. The latter group had been torn apart, limbs ripped from their bodies, their insides dripping out in pools of blood. As if they were attacked by a beast and not a man. 

Did he do that? Why could he not remember? Was it the Winter Soldier, again? 

Wait...

Where was Tony?

Chapter Text

The hand on his nape was almost as effective as a soft sedative. The feeling was so alien as he never had such reaction to this kind of touch before. 

Tony was trying his best to keep a certain level of awareness, no matter how hard and exhausting it was to fight the urge to just let himself into a state of unconsciousness. It was not like he was falling asleep. It just felt like he was losing his mind to something else that was trying to awaken in him.

But he would not give in.

They were putting a significant distance to where they left Bucky and the other soldiers, and Tony used that worry to form a plan of escape. He was gagged, blindfolded and his hands were tied to his back. He was also laying uncomfortably on his stomach, perpendicular to the horse's back. But, surely, he could come up with something.

Step one, pretend to be asleep. That made the woman let go of his nape. Good.

Not much after, they slowed down their pace.

"Should we wait for the others? Wilks did not order us to leave without them," someone asked.

"Yes, let us stop here. They should not need much time to take care of the alpha," Tony heard the woman that he was sharing the horse with say. 

More like, Bucky should not need much time to take care of the other soldiers.

Shit! He felt another strong cramp and could not help but let out a moan in pain, barely muffled by his gag.

"Good Lord," another man said, "is-is he in heat?"

In what, now?

"His scent sure has been getting stronger," the woman said, "Here. Let me get you down, sweetie."

"You sure it is wise to do that?" 

"If he is in heat, which I am sure he is, he will not have it in his mind to move around, much less escape," she replied while taking his bindings off, "And leaving him tied up like this is too cruel."

Step two, take an opportunity to escape when one reveals itself.

As soon as his feet met the dirty road, he used all the strength he got left to shove the soldier holding him and bolt to whatever direction.

He did not get far. 

Whatever he was suffering from did what his captor expected, and he soon found himself laying on the ground.

What was happening to him? Why was he hurting so much? Why could he not think straight, even now?

"Goodness, I hope he did not injure himself," Tony heard.

"Wilks would have our heads."

"And the King his. So, of course he would never let the King know about it. He would just report that the omega was already injured."

"And would the omega not deny that?"

"The omega will not remember a thing of what is happening right now, silly. He's in heat. And very high with it."

Tony was not liking where the conversation was going, even though he could not really understand it. 

"You know, they say that betas cannot mark omegas with their scents for long."

"Your point?"

"My point is, if we are quick, and depart after that-"

"Are you crazy?"

"He is right. Maybe it will help the poor omega a little bit."

"I have never been with an omega before."

"You have never seen an omega before. And no beta has been with an omega. Not in this Kingdom. Not for a awfully long time."

"What I mean is, he will not remember, right? Please, his scent is so strong, even a beta cannot be indifferent."

"Well, we could try to ease it down a bit."

"Wilks will know."

"So what? Like he said, he would never tell the King. And let us be honest. Wilks has been owing us something like this for a long time."

While they were arguing what to do with him, Tony was crawling away from the group. He was not expecting to get away, but maybe that would tell them that he was still well enough aware to try to escape. Maybe they would stop thinking he would forget what they planned to do?

"Hush, sweetheart," the insistent soldier cooed, "We know it hurts. We can help."

"Probably," another said, "But nothing is lost by trying."

Just leave me alone, you crazy people. Tony said, though it was just probably in his mind. 

He felt an arm going around his waist and turning him over.

"You smell so good, love," the man above him said, "no wonder they want to hide all omegas from the peasants."

He felt a hand probing the front of his pants.

"S-sto..." 

Damn, he could not believe he could not even say a word. Why was he so weak?

"I thought your clothes were strange", the other said while trying to unzip his pants, "Is this some sort of chastity belt? Oh, there you go!"

Tony was now trying to summon any sort of energy he had left to kick the other guy away from him. Curiously, he found that energy in the panic attack that was fighting to rip from his daze. Still, it was not enough. He only managed to make it worse for him.

"Shh! Keep still, honey."

He could not breathe. He could not think. His mind was closing itself to him.

Just before he passed out, he heard screaming.

---

They were touching him. How dare they touch his omega?

Bucky jumped at the closest soldier, using a newly acquired sword to sever his head with one strike. If he was seeing red before, now he was blind with it.

This time, he embraced that wild part of him that he did not recognize before. The one that made him black out before. Now, he was aware. Drowning in rage, but aware. 

Aware of the decapitated body falling on the ground. Aware of the screams of shock, and the following maiming that painted the area around him red.

Aware of the time he took slicing through the pig, who dared to touch his omega, piece by piece starting with that thing between his legs. Aware that he let the man bleed to death. 

When all of them were dead, the 'awareness' turned into true realization of what he did. For whom he did it.

He turned to Tony, who was lying on the grassy margin of the road. The man was unconscious, and Bucky did not know if he should feel thankful for it or not. Ultimately, he was worried.

"Stark!" he called has he brought a hand to his neck to check his pulse. He was alive, and seemingly uninjured, "Stark, can you hear me?" he tried again.

Why would he not wake up?

"TONY WAKE UP!"

Tony jolted awake and Bucky felt the relief relaxing him.

"Barnes?"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Yes, and no..." Tony said, his eyes wandering all over Bucky's face, "You are red!"

"Don't worry, it's not mine," Bucky assured, in part happy that Tony was worried for him. He knew he was worried, he could smell it.

"Y-you killed them all?" Tony asked when he saw the bodies of the soldiers.

"They were going to take you! They were touching you!" he said as if it was good enough of a reason for the displayed violence.

Tony's pupils suddenly went wide.

"You smell good, Bucky."

Bliss filled his body at those words. It was cut short when Tony curled on himself with a gasp and scent of pain.

"What's wrong, sugar?" 

He did not understand, he saw no injuries. Was it internal? Could it have been from when they landed in this strange place?

"I-it hurts!"

"Where? Where does it hurt, Tony?" His hands traveled Tony's body gently feeling it in search for something wrong. When they reached the shorter man's waist, a strong scent hit him, his own mind fogging to an unexpected arousal.

"Jesus, you smell like honey," he blurted as he continued his exploration, his original intentions lost to him.

"Alpha!" the omega moaned.

"Shh, I'm here, baby," He said while leaning his forehead into his omega's.

"Bucky," Tony sounded, pleading.

"I'm going to take care of you, Tony. My omega."

A loud purr erupted from Tony as he wrapped his hands around Bucky's neck. 

Bucky could not say he understood what was going on with his own body and mind, but he decided not to hold himself from it. Not when Tony sounded so desperate for him. After so long, after thinking the man hated him, first for stealing his parents, then his best friend, like Clint once suggested, Bucky came to realize what Nat meant when she told him Clint was wrong. The wink and smile she gave him when he asked why he and Tony not got along with each other like the others did. Her refusal to say anything else.

Oh, he wanted to be right about it. And so, he took a leap of faith and kissed the beautiful man who was still lying underneath him. When Tony did not recoil but instead invitingly opened his mouth, Bucky felt overwhelmed with joy and took the given opportunity. The small muffled moans, the gasps for air whenever they would let themselves be apart just long enough to breathe, only made him want more. Bucky could not help but continue to feel Tony's body with his hands.

"B-Bucky... som-something's not right..." the omega said.

"Not right-" Bucky panted, his thoughts almost frozen "perfect-"

"I-I think I-I'm bleeding."

Those words, together with a scent of panic made Bucky come down of his daze in alarm. 

"Where?"

His eyes followed Tony's hand sliding under his pants at the back and coming out with a white wetness around it. Its scent was maddening.

"Omega!"

Once again, Bucky gave into the strange instincts that he seemed to develop when they came to this world and took Tony's hand to taste the enticing slick.

"Alpha, please," Tony huffed and moaned.

"You smell like honey, but you taste like paradise," was Bucky's conclusion.

Tony then started clawing at Bucky's clothes, as if they were offending him, or harming him. He tried to calm the omega down while shifting him to what seemed to be a more comfortable spot, if there was any.

He then took Tony's pants and underwear off, as if they were offending him, and let his hand slide down to the source of the nectar he tasted before. 

Bucky knew it was not normal for it to be there, but he did not care. It could not be more convenient for what he had planned to do, anyway.

He easily slid his index finger in. It was tight, but the slick helped all the way. Tony was meowling now. What a sight! At the second and third fingers, Tony was getting louder. 

"Alpha, please!"

He screamed when Bucky finally found what he was looking for.

Bucky almost chuckled when he removed his fingers and the omega protested. Instead he just assured his mate that he would take care of him, not taking much more time to breach him and slowly push himself inside. He did everything he could to keep a certain level of control to not just thrust right away. 

As he fully seated himself in, he kissed the omega again.

"I want you, Tony. Please be mine," he whispered.

"I-I'm yours, Bucky. Yours."

He reacted to that with a shove. Shit. He had to take it slowly. At least at first. And slowly he took it, but always making sure he hit that spot he had found before. Each time, the omega screamed his name in pleasure, until Bucky could not hold it any longer and started thrusting in earnest.

Tony came untouched. That fact together with the resulting clench around his member made him go over the edge.

"Omega," he grunted and then swallowed his own scream.

He did not know if it was because it was Tony, or if it was related to the weirdness of that world, but the intensity of his release was something he never experienced before. He felt himself expanding as he kept unloading into Tony at a rate he never thought possible, all while he kept thrusting. And then came a sudden urge to bite the other man's neck. There was a spot that was red and pulsing.

He screamed.

Suddenly he could not move, and he felt so overstimulated he almost fell on his omega, struggling to breathe.

"W-What did just happen?" Tony panted.

"I-I'm not sure," he replied.

He tried to slip out when Tony yelled, "DON'T!"

"Fuck, we are stuck!" 

So, he was actually expanding before. What the hell?

"It seems so. Let's just hope it does not stay like that forever, hm?" Tony said has he tried to recover a bit of his usual self.

"S-Should we talk about this?"

"I'm not sure that 'this' specifically means, but right now, I rather not. Let us give ourselves some time to digest it, OK?"

"I almost bit you."

"What?"

"Just now, every part of me was telling me to bite your neck. What is happening to us?"

"Time to digest, Buckaroo."

"Yes, yes, sorry," he said as he hid his face on Tony's shoulder, "Hum..."

"What?"

"Not related to the weird stuff... and I know we will talk about it later, but... I want to say now that I meant what I said before," there, he confessed. After what just happened, why not?

"W-what?"

"That I want you. I have for some time, now."

Bucky would have found Tony's blush extremely adorable if he were not dreading the other man's reply.

"I-I also meant it. I am yours."

Bucky could not help but smile and kiss Tony. Or almost kiss him, as he stopped just an inch away, wondering if Tony was really himself, at the moment. Tony just rolled his eyes and then leaned up to meet him. 

It was completely different from before. Soft and slow, with no hurry caused by needy arousal.

"Yeah, we will have a lot to talk about other than what just happened," Tony said, "But more importantly... When the fuck is your weird thing supposed to go down?"

They had to wait around ten minutes before it happened.

Chapter Text

"I knew you were a horse whisperer!"

"Huh?"

"How else would you manage to get them back while you are covered in their masters' blood?" Tony said amused.

"I gather you are feeling well again, judging by your current liveliness," Bucky replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess whatever was ailing me went away after we...hum..."

They were currently avoiding talking about what happened. Not about their lovely love confession to each other, no, that clearly was something they were trying to keep reminding each other. Warm smiles, many jokes and flirtations. Not even about the fact they had sex. Tony had not been shy about sex for many, many years. 

They were avoiding talking about the... rest. 

"Well, ahem-" Bucky started, "That's good news. And another good news is that these horses do not hold many provisions each."

"How is that good news?"

"The soldiers didn't seem lost, nor coming from battle. So it means that perhaps they were just patrolling."

"We are close to civilization, if they didn't need many provisions," Tony then concluded.

"Exactly."

"Right now, I'm not sure if that is good or bad."

"I know what you mean, but I think it's good. We can gather intel on where we are and about the people that live here," Bucky said, in his hot soldier seriousness.

"Yeah, you are right," Tony agreed. He knew Bucky was making sense. He also came to the same conclusions, before they were spoken. But, somehow, he was still on edge. This strange world was not only different on itself. It was making them different.

But, ultimately, they had to learn all they could so they could return to their own world. If it was possible to return. No. No thinking like that. He was Tony Stark. He would always find a way. And he was not alone. He had Bucky with him.

"Here," Bucky said, handing him the reins of a saddle, "Hope you know how to ride," Bucky smirked.

"I can do anything," Tony scoffed, "and I can definitely ride," he winked back.

The blush on Bucky's cheeks was completely adorable. The man clearly had not flirted with anyone for ages and Tony would certainly take advantage of that.

"You say you can do anything, even ride, but I witnessed you having trouble with handling a sword, back there."

Tony's mouth gaped at that reply, "Oh, you. You sure are showing yourself to be the man Aunt Peggy used as an example to be careful with. All soft smiles and sweet words, until the accusations for terrible sword handling come through. How dare you say that after I handled your sword with perfection?"

Bucky laughed so loud Tony did not know if he should be concerned that they would be spotted by other strange people. 

In the end, he just joined in, blissed that he saw Bucky earnestly laugh for the first time.

***

They ended up dressing in whatever pieces of clothes of the bodies that were intact, and not spilled with too much blood. They found it important, in case they came across other people. Luckily, his clothes covered his metal arm quite well, as they even had gloves.

Following the road in the direction the soldiers were taking, it took them about two hours to reach what looked like a medieval town.

"Great," Tony sighed, "Of all planets or dimensions to travel, we had to end up in one so primitive."

"No technology here, right?" Bucky guessed Tony's problem was.

"If it was only just that. Believe me when I say I can do a lot of things from scratch, if needed. But public sanitation is something that would take a lot of time. And I really need a nice hot bath," he stopped to look at Bucky, "You even more so."

"Did people from medieval times not take baths?"

"Oh, they did. They were just not nice, and for many, not that hot. Only rich people had private ones. The common folk used public ones," he grimaced, "and after the way those soldiers were looking at me, calling me omega or whatever, I really don't want to risk putting myself through a public bath." 

"Right. How do you think they differentiate us? It's the scent, right?" Bucky asked, "For what we've seen, alpha, beta and omega have nothing to do with being a man or a woman. And if it was just a social status, then they wouldn't be able to look at us and say I'm an alpha and you an omega."

Well they did have to talk about it at some point.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it is related to our scents. As for what exactly the difference is, well..." he could only guess, but he did not like his theories, "If we take into account the fact that I went into what they called a 'heat', you know, like a bitch, and you basically popped a knot like, you know, a dog, and that back in our world we used the same terms, alpha, beta, and omega, to describe the social status of wolves-"

"You think people here are werewolves, or something?" Bucky gasped.

"N-no, not exactly. I don't think they shift, or something. Anyway, if the idea of the status is similar here, then I'm fucked, 'cos omegas are treated like shit."

"Well, they wanted to kill me and kidnap you."

"Yeah, because they saw you as a threat. And then there is the part where I was in 'heat'. I'm a man, a male. How could I be in heat?"

"I-I don't..."

"It doesn't matter, now. What matters is that they probably can tell alphas from omegas through smell. And that they take omegas away to their king."

"Right, so no going into the middle of the town without a plan," Bucky concluded, "Best thing we can do is for you to wait for me, while I explore the place and try to come up with a solution."

"Just make sure you come back before it darkens?"

"Don't worry, doll, I will not leave you here alone for the alternate universe night creatures eat you," Bucky joked.

"I appreciate that," Tony joked back, though hiding the fact he was really nervous about the idea of being away from Bucky for too long. Damn, he was being so dependent. Was it because of the alpha/omega thing?

Bucky seemed to notice, anyway. Right, the emotions can be scented, here.

"Don't worry, Tony, I won't be long," he said while bringing Tony's hand to his mouth so he could plant there a soft kiss.

"Thank you," was all Tony could reply.

---

Bucky was good at reconnaissance missions. Even before turning into the Winter Soldier. And that was what this really was. A recon. 

Observe, mingle, and gather as much as intel as possible.

And that he did.

He learned that there were people that had a strong unique scent while others did not. They still smelled but they just... smelled. The same was true about the soldiers from before. The ones of the Alpha team had their own scents while the ones from the Beta teams did not. They also called him alpha, and Tony omega. For now, he could observe that there were the three castes, Alpha, Beta and Omega, like Tony said. Also, that alpha and beta castes had people from both genders. He could not be sure about the omega caste, though. In this town, there was no one else that scented like Tony. Sure, Tony's scent was probably unique, but all the other people with unique scents were closer to his own. They were all alphas.

Another thing he could tell was that betas were the most common. At least amongst the commoners. Alphas were still in a significant number. Omegas were none. Bringing Tony here would be a great risk, indeed. 

Bucky was not sure what it meant to be an alpha or an omega. He knew they were different, physically, and probably also psychologically. He had never been that aggressive as himself, and even Tony was showing reluctancy in getting into dangerous situations. Tony. The guy whose plan of attack was 'attack'.

Anyway, conclusions of the analysis of the recovered data: No going into town with Tony before finding a way to block his omega scent. His physique could be easily disguised with the clothing he now had, plus a hood or something similar. Then he could pass as a beta. At the moment, all Bucky could do was use the money they recovered from the soldiers to buy more supplies.

If they were lucky, he would even find some gear so they could camp and be more comfortable-

"Oh. My. Good. Lord." Bucky heard a familiar voice say, very close to him, "Bucky!"

What?

When he turned to the voice, he saw Scott. Scott Lang, Ant-Man... how did he get here? He was not even with them at the time of the attack at the Avengers compound.

"Scott?"

"It's really you!" Scott beamed, "For a second I thought I was seeing a doppelgänger or something."

"What are you doing here?"

"What? That is my question! No, really! How are you even alive? I mean, I'm really happy you are, don't get me wrong. But they saw your head roll off your body, man. No one survives that! Was it magic?"

New information just gathered. There were other versions of them in this world. Tony said it could happen if they were in another dimension. 

"Listen, I have him with me," Bucky played along while testing something.

Scott lowered his voice, right away, "You mean omega Stark? He's also alive?"

Bucky growled at that. Of course his omega was alive. Did he die in this world?

"Woah! Calm down, I understand. You need to smuggle him in, right? Of course I can help. Just bring him to my house, it's isolated enough. You should have gone there right away and waited there for me to return."

"Remind me where you live, again," if Bucky did not play this well, Scott could get suspicious, "my memories are not the same after... you know..."

"Ouch. Yeah, I understand," Scott said sympathetically, "See the mill over there? Just follow to the North from there and you'll reach the place."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

There were many problems, but Bucky would get to them later. Tony would probably help with that too. At least he got them a roof to sleep under.

"I'll warn the others while you get him," Scott said before leaving.

Others?

***

Tony was bored. So bored he found himself making a slingshot out of twigs, leaves and other things he could get a hold of, while he waited for Bucky.

He was sitting on a tree he climbed after Bucky left him with his knife. If anything, or anyone would find him by his scent, the least he could do was make it hard for them to get close to him. It was safer, but way more boring since he was stuck there. 

The slingshot was not the typical one a child could make, of course. It was complex, well balanced, with great accuracy and could inflict a greater level of damage. He would have to destroy it after he was done needing it. Not going to let this lethal weapon fall into the wrong hands! Yes, lethal! Depending on where one's aim was.

He sighed. He missed his armor, his lab, his team, his family, his world.

Tony heard a rustle. Great, target practicing. 

Who was he kidding? He was not going to practice it on a non-threatening animal, and he was scared shitless it was a threatening animal that made that sound. 

Tony raised his slingshot, just in case. The scent hit him, before he could see the source of the sound. It was a threatening animal, indeed. Just not threatening to him.

"Up here, Bucksy!" he called when he saw the man.

Bucky looked up, "Thank God! I was starting to worry."

"Well, you should because I think I'm stuck here like a cat on a tree."

Bucky raised his eyebrows, "Are you just pretending to be scared of coming down?"

"No?" Damn, Bucky, just play along, Tony thought.

Bucky chuckled.

"What? Can't a man take the opportunity to experience a cliché situation from a romantic scene from a period novel slash movie?" 

"Are you my damsel in distress?"

"For you, of course!"

"I can't even imagine tha-AH!" Bucky shouted when Tony jumped right into his arms. 

Tony had to admit it was not a smart thing to do. But it was funny. Besides the bruises he was definitely going to have later, after crashing into Bucky's iron like body. Hah!

"Jesus, Tony! I almost didn't catch you!"

"Almost. Let's not dwell on the past, shall we?"

"Please don't try that again."

"Don't worry, my butt sure does not want to meet your knee again. I mean, not in a similar context. I don't mind if it is in some other specific context," he grinned and winked, because he could and would not let the opportunity to say such things pass.

"Is that a promise? Because I may have found a place to stay. Maybe we will even get the right to a bed."

Tony jumped of excitement at that.

"Do tell me!"

"Well, I think we are dealing with that 'other dimension' theory you had. And I just learned that our versions of this universe are dead."

Oh. There went his fantasy of meeting an alternate universe version of himself.

***

"You sure this is the place?" Tony asked.

Bucky tried to hush him down with a quick nod and a lack of verbal reply.

"So, Scott lives in a cottage away from the town? This is surely convenie-"

Bucky lightly covered Tony's mouth with his hand. His babbling was usually adorable, but right now it was extremely important they kept as silent as possible. They were at a significant distance and downwind, but one could not be too careful.

Still, Tony was right. It was too convenient. It could very well be a trap.

He could smell more than one strong alpha scent, so Scott, who was clearly a beta, was not alone. The other man did say he would call the others. Bucky guessed they were friends or allies of the other Bucky and Tony. Could they be Steve or other members of the Avengers? Was there any notion of the team, in this world?

A whimper escaped Tony's mouth and Bucky looked at him in alarm. Did he see anyone else?

After failing seeing anything odd around them, Bucky finally noticed Tony's hands on his stomach. Tony's eyes were trying to tell him something.

'Again?' he mouthed and Tony nodded with a small shrug.

He did notice that Tony's scent was a little sweeter and stronger, but he did not think much about it. Okay, he thought about it, but not about it being a problem.

Shit. If Tony was going into 'heat' again they would have to decide fast if they would risk going to the cottage or just leave. A part of him was telling him to trust this Scott while another was not found of the idea of taking the omega to a place with other alphas, while Tony was in this state.

"There you are," a familiar voice said.

They both turned their heads in the direction of the sound.

"Steve," Bucky and Tony said, at the same time.

"Captain Rogers, for now. At least until I know for sure you are who you seem and claim to be," this Steve said as he approached them.

Bucky could not scent him. Was he a beta? Everything inside of him was screaming that he was an alpha so why could he not scent him? Did they have a way to block their scents?

Bucky growled at Steve as he came closer, for his own surprise. And for his own surprise too, Steve stopped.

"Lord, is he in heat?"

At these words, Tony curled into himself has he leaned into Bucky, and he could not help himself but almost cover the omega with his size, so he could hide him from the other alpha.

"Alright, alright," Steve said, "You can come in and explain yourselves. I'll make sure Sam has his blockers, not to trigger something aggressive in you."

"Is there anyone else?" Bucky asked.

"Scott wanted to send for Thor, but I will only do so if I can confirm who you are."

All familiar names. This was good. Not one hundred percent safe, but it was something. Should they risk it, still?

"Let's go, please," Tony asked.

The decision was made with those words.

Chapter Text

"Take this, I heard it helps with the symptoms for a while," Scott said as he gave Tony a bad smelling brew.

"You heard?" Tony contorted his face.

"Don't worry, there's nothing in there that can hurt you."

"How about my taste buds? I think they'll get hurt," he drank the concoction anyway.

"It's like I'm seeing a ghost. Two ghosts, to be more precise," Sam said, the initial shock still visible in his expression, "Wait! Are the two of you ghosts?"

"I don't know, do ghosts feel pain or go into heat?" Tony sassed.

"Enough," Steve warned, "Explain me how you two are here, alive and well. Specially you," he turned to Bucky, "I saw them cutting your head off. No one survives that."

"I bet it was magic," Scott said, "some sort of illusion."

"Then why did they wait this long to find us?" Sam asked.

The three men looked at him and Tony, expecting a reply.

What should he say? How could he explain they were not the people they wanted them to be, without risking his and Tony's safety? Would they even believe if they were told the truth? Damn, he should have discussed this with Tony, before showing up here.

"We are not your Bucky and Tony," Tony said, ending the dilemma in Bucky's head.

As expected, the others went tense and defensive.

"But we are Bucky and Tony," his lover continued, "Just not from this world. Just like you three are not our Steve, Sam and Scott, but you are Steve, Sam and Scott."

"I'm so confused," Scott said.

Steve kept his trademark seriousness, hiding from them how he was feeling about what was being said.

"We are from an alternate dimension, I believe. We were having fun in our own world, defeating a horde of psychedelic magical creatures when -Boom!- we were blasted here. This place is completely new to us, as well as your customs. And, apparently, your anatomy. Talk about tough luck."

"Ah! I knew there was magic involved!" Scott almost shouted.

"Our anatomy? You are not humans?" Sam ignored Scott's antics.

"We are humans, yes. And although your anatomy is different from the humans in our world, it seems both our bodies adapted to your version of humans here."

"Do you have, like, extra body parts in there? Six eyes? Extra limbs?" Scott asked excited, believing everything it was being said. The same Bucky could not say about the other two.

"More like you have extra genders," Bucky said, participating at last.

"What do you mean," Steve finally asked.

"This alpha, beta, omega thing, it doesn't exist in our world. We just have male and female."

"Actually, it is a lot more than that, but mainly those, yes, at least physically," Tony added.

"Yeah, I know sugar, but I just didn't want to confuse the not-our-Avengers here more than they are."

The three men stiffened.

"What?" Bucky asked.

"You also have the Avengers there?" Steve almost whispered.

"Uh yeah, we were all part of the team. With an extra lot of others."

"Who are those others?"

"Thor, Nat, Clint, Bruce, Wanda, Vision, not sure if I should count the kid-"

"No, Peter is not officially an Avenger. Not yet, nu-uh. He's to stay fighting small fry in his friendly neighborhood for a while."

"Then that's about it, right now?"

"Yeah but we have many other allies, like Rhodey, T'Challa, Okoye, Dr. Weirdo-I mean-Doctor Strange, Carol, etcetera, etcetera."

"Strange is an Avenger?" Steve growled.

"Damn your world is messed up!" Sam joined.

"What? Is he a bad guy here?" Tony asked somehow not too surprised, "Wait, you believe us?" he then asked, surprised.

"If Strange is involved, I daresay what you told us is possible and believable," Steve concluded.

"I didn't say Strange was involved in this."

"Has to be. The one from here, I mean. He was probably trying to find a way to bring you back," Steve said motioning his head to Tony.

"Me?" Tony pointed at himself, "How so? Why?"

"For the King, naturally."

"What does this King want with Tony?"

Steve sighed, "Scott, prepare the underground omega room for our guests," he said, "Tony's heat will probably be getting stronger soon and we should not risk it being scented by someone just passing close."

"That's another thing we need an explanation for. This 'heat' thing," Tony said a bit nervously.

"Very well. What do you want to hear first? About the Alpha, Beta, Omega dynamics or about how you died?" Steve asked as he sat down.

Bucky got defensive at the idea of Tony's death, yet again. Steve frowned at him, "If you are reacting like this before knowing the story, then I suggest you do something to calm yourself down while I'm telling it."

Bucky just grunted and shifted on the chair he was sitting on.

"Long story short, since we don't have much time. Tony was from the Stark family, a well-known noble family and he was to be bonded to the King. Problem was, Tony and Bucky -who belonged to the King's guard with me- were secretly a couple. The King found out about it, arrested Bucky before confronting Tony and killing him in his rage. It was not intentional. No matter how much I hate the man, I believe that to be true. You see, the King was always greedy for power, metaphoric and literal power. Strange, who is the court's sorcerer, helped him get physically stronger and practically immortal, by using his magic. This happened very shortly before he found out about the affair and he had not yet learned to control his new power.

"Those who saw Tony's body were horrified at the burnt marks on his neck."

"Like extremis," Tony whispered.

Bucky was gripping at his knees to avoid lashing out.

"So, my other self died of asphyxiation either by strangling or burning," Tony said, as he laid his hand on Bucky's, telling him he was very much alive.

"Yes," Steve said with grief in his voice.

"And your Bucky was executed. Decapitated," Bucky added.

"Yes. Not many hours after Tony's death. The King even blamed Bucky for it."

"He may not have killed him with his hands, but he was responsible for it," Bucky spat.

"Hey, come on now, Bucky!" Tony said a bit surprised by the words.

"What do you mean? Bucky did nothing wrong," Steve said as his frown went deep.

"He should not have put Tony in that kind of dangerous situation, and then let himself get caught."

"We were very careful," Steve now growled, "I, myself, helped make sure they were safe."

"You did a great job, no doubt."

"Buckaroo stop, we don't know what really happened," Tony tried.

"He is right, you do not know what happened. And I'm not going to take your words to heart since you are, for all effects, a newly presented alpha. I know it may be hard to control your emotions. 

In any case, it was Strange's doing. He was new in court and we had no idea of his great powers. The previous sorcerer was a clueless child compared to him. He was the one who exposed the affair. He was the one who gave the King his devilish powers."

"Never really liked that man," Bucky said with contempt.

"Although our Strange can be an asshole he is not the one described in this story." Tony said.

"Still don't like him," Bucky insisted.

"Is it because he flirts with me, from time to time," Tony asked.

Bucky grunted, "You call that flirting?"

"Guys! Focus," Steve interrupted. 

"Wow, it's like they just forgot they learned about their other selves' deaths," Sam said.

"I didn't," Tony rushed, "and I want to hear the rest of the story."

"The rest?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, what exactly happened next? You said something about Strange trying to bring my other me back."

"Right. So, the King has an obsession with you. I mean, the other you. He went mad- I mean madder- after he killed you. Instead of finding another omega to bond with, he decided that all omegas would belong to him, but he never bonds with any. Which means, his men snatch them away when they present, he uses them as his personal harem, and then, when he's bored of one, he gives or sells them to some other noble alpha."

"So, Strange wants to bring me back to stop the madness? Sounds to me he may be trying to fix what he helped messing up."

"I would suggest you stop defending the sorcerer, while next to your alpha," Sam warned.

Once again, Bucky had to contain himself from start breaking things. Sam was almost right, he thought. Tony should not defend Strange neither next to him nor far from him.

"So, what are the Avengers, in this world, anyway?" Bucky tried to change the subject.

"Should we really tell them?" Sam asked Steve.

Steve nodded, "Odd as it seems, I do believe them. But first, I must ask, what are your Avengers about?"

"We are a team of superheroes who work together to defend the planet. Either from hostile visitors from the outside or from hostiles from inside," Tony explained.

"With visitors from the outside you mean?"

"Aliens."

"Aliens?"

"Extraterrestrials. Beings from other planets."

Steve and Sam eyes were open wide as they were incredulous. Bucky almost laughed at the picture.

"What? Is your Thor from this planet?"

"Maybe in this dimension he is human," Bucky said.

"Not so sure, now. The man sure seems more than human to me," Sam said.

"He deals with magic, that's not the same thing," Steve counteracted.

"Let me guess, he summons lightning?" Tony asked.

"Y-yeah," Steve said surprised, "Yours too? Is that what makes him an alien?"

"No, that's not what makes him an alien, but yes, he also is a battery charger."

"What's a battery?"

"Right. Listen, I'm going to show you something, but promise me you will not try to burn me at the stake, ok?" 

"Tony, are you sure?" Bucky asked.

"Why not?" Tony said while he put his hand under his shirt and took his arc reactor out.

Steve and Sam flinch.

"You are a sorcerer too?" Sam asked.

"No! That's what I meant with the stake thing. I'm an engineer. Hmm... an inventor, say," Tony replied and turned to Bucky, "I showed them mine, now show them yours."

"You are also an inventor? What do you got?"

"I'm not an inventor," Bucky said, "And I got this pretty much against my will," he continued as he removed his shirt and showed them his highly advanced prosthetic arm.

"You have a metal arm? Did you invent this too, Stark?" Steve was eyeing the arm clearly wishing he could touch it.

"I tinkered with it a bit, but, and I must say unfortunately, I did not make this one. Not that I couldn't do one. Actually, I've basically already did a full body prosthesis and my first was with scraps not with oh so amazing vibranium. Anyway, that one was also made by a brilliant mind of our world. It hasn't been in need improvements per se, just some adjustments from time to time, after battles and such. And please don't call me Stark. Hearing that coming from someone with your face brings back not so fond memories."

Steve chuckled, "Our Tony also talked a lot and as fast. I always struggled to keep up."

"Yeah, me too," Bucky said playfully, "I usually just pretend I am listening and nod from time to time."

"That's it, mister. From now on, if you want some action, you got to take a quiz to test if you were paying attention to what I say to you."

"You don't badmouth your mate right next to them," Sam nods, "It's bedroom suicide."

"See? He gets me! Oh- by the way, are your Avengers also similar to our Avengers?"

"Well our mission does not cover as much threats nor as much territory as yours, but the idea is that we want to fight for what is right. To protect the people. Right now, we wish to overthrow the King, and make sure no Omega has to suffer at his or anyone's hands," Steve explained with no reservations.

"Sounds like a good enough cause. Scratch that, that is a great cause. I'm in."

Wait, what?

"You are in?" Bucky frowned.

"Yeah, Memento, our best lead to find out how to return to our word seems to be this world's version of Doctor Rabbit Hat. This person is apparently located in the same castle slash palace as the King whom the Avengers from here want to ass kick. So, it will be in our greatest interest to help them. Therefore, I'm in. I will see what I can come up with to prepare them better for battle."

"Is that the only thing you wish to do?"

Bucky knew Tony was not one for watching from the bench.

"Oh, come on, Total Recall, don't tell me you don't want to do the same?"

There was no arguing with that. He knew Tony was not useless in combat. Far from it. But something inside him was screaming at him not to let the omega dive into danger.

"You two clearly speak your own language," Steve interrupted, "Our Tony was also good at improving weapons, though he was not really allowed to do such. If you have a way to recreate the technology from your world in here, then we are more than grateful for what you can offer us"

"Deal! I may not be able to recreate many things, for I doubt you can supply me with the necessary materials, but I am still very resourceful. Now, moving on to the next topic, because, speaking frankly, I started freaking out a little bit after you said something like the other me being promised to 'bond' with the King. Is that like, marriage? How can the King, a man, marry another man? I mean, isn't the royalty here all about carrying on the royal bloodline? Or they just have children outside the marriage?"

"Oh right. If your world doesn't have omegas than this is going to be a shock to you," Sam said with some amusement in his voice.

Bucky was shocked at the implication indeed.

"No, don't, forget it! I don't want to hear it," Tony put his hands over his ears, "Nope. That is insane."

Then he gasped.

"Bucky! Do you think..."

"What?"

"You know, since we..."

Oh.

"You two are hilarious," Sam laughed.

"You are still in heat," Steve also chuckled, "So you are not what you don't want to hear."

"Yep, your scent is starting to spice up again, so you are clearly not that," Sam added, "Don't you growl at me, newbie alpha," he turned to Bucky who did not even notice he did such thing.

"You should head for the omega room," Steve said, "I believe you know what to do to really calm down your symptoms, since you have done it before."

"No, no, no!" Tony shook his head, "Not when there is a chance that..."

"Do not worry, Scott should have something here that will prevent that."

"You have medieval condoms?" Tony blurted out.

"I have no idea what that is, but what we have is another brew. Don't worry, it is safe."

Bucky was now too dazed with the idea of repeating the experience from before in the woods, this time in a -most likely- more comfortable place. 

"Alright, I accept then," Tony said as his scent got really strong from a sudden. Sweet with a hint of excitement but also pain.

"Tony, are you sure?"

"I'm always sure for this kind of thing, Bucky. And definitely with you," he winked. Then grunted, "And even more so if it will stop the pain, ah-" he curled around himself, "ASAP, pretty please?"

Bucky rose right away and picked Tony up, bridal style, "No need to beg, sugar doll. Where exactly is that room?"

How could anyone even think he would deny such request?

Chapter Text

Bucky wanted to take it as slow as he could. He wanted to take his sweet time loving every bit of his lover's body. But Tony's wishes were different.

"Please," the omega panted, "I promise you that when this 'heat' goes away, I will be more than willing to make it last all night. But right now? Right now, I'm freaking burning up."

As much as it pained him, he had to understand. He did not know what Tony was going through, but it did sound painful. It smelled painful.

And so, he followed Tony's direction about the pace. He kept his thrusts fast, hard and precise, the omega mewling under him, making him lose himself into the new but now somehow familiar wild sensations. 

***

Tony did not know if would ever get used to the fullness when Bucky started expanding again, locked into him, filling him with his come, but he kind of wished he never did because it felt so goddamn good.

And the sensation of peace and relief that came afterwards? Addicting.

They were lying in bed, still locked to each other, after the third round of sex rougher than a wrestling match, in this 'omega' room that the others quickly explained as a room prepared so that the omega heat scent would not be sensed outside. They built it for occasions where they might need to harbor an omega on the run. 

In other words, they were in a room underground. A comfy room underground that Tony had felt the need to arrange to his own liking, before pushing Bucky down to bed. It had been a weird behavior, now that Tony thought of it.

After minutes of pressure and occasional pumping that made them both see stars, Bucky slid out and they fell asleep. Unfortunately, Tony's proneness to insomnia woke him up, now filled up with energy. 

He got up and looked around. There was nothing exactly useful for him to put his hands on. Great, he would be again stuck in a boring place. 

Waking Bucky up was out of the question. Just because he could not sleep, it did not mean he would make his mate suffer the same. Eh. Mate. He never used that word before in a similar context. Not that he had been in a similar context.

Oh well.

He wanted to get out of the room so bad. He was not in heat at the moment, right? He did not smell as sweet as before. Scratch that, he reeked of Bucky's alpha smell. Perfect!

Quietly he got out of the room and went up the stairs that connected to the backroom of the cottage. Peeking through the trapdoor, he saw that no one was there so, he climbed up to the main floor. 

It was nighttime and the only light came from a half-melted candle in the living room, where Scott was asleep in his armchair, barely holding a book. Steve and Sam were nowhere to be seen.

The scenario was not promising but he still wandered a little around, trying to find something he could use to tinker and something to tinker. Something that would not be loud to wake up everyone. He recalled seeing some logs outside. Maybe he could use Bucky's knife to sculpt some tools that he could later use during the day. At least it would keep him occupied for a few hours.

He slowly went to the back door, opening it as silently as he could, after peeping and finding none of the other alphas there. It was odd, but when he saw the jacket Sam had been using lying on the bench, he suspected the man had been there, and probably would come back soon. 

He had to be quick.

Luckily, the moon was high and bright enough for him to see his way to the small shed where he saw the wood logs. Unluckily, it was too dark for him to notice anything suspicious. Just a few seconds after he reached the shed and started wondering which pieces were the best for what he was planning to do, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. Not even one second later, he felt nothing.

***

Bucky rose in alarm when he felt the empty space on the spot right next to him, where Tony should be.

Tony probably just got up before him and decided to let him sleep in, he told himself, trying to relax.

Still, he could not do it and he found himself rushing up the stairs and into the living room.

The smell of eggs being cooked filled the air. Damn if he was not hungry after all this ordeal.

"Look who's up and about," Sam said from the small kitchen at the corner of the room, "I thought you would sleep more, after the activities of last night. And, you know, the wandering around outside after that."

"What?"

"You should avoid going outside without telling us first," Steve said. He was sitting at the table in the middle of the room, Scott next to him, "Waiting for Sam to not be around is at least suspicious."

"I was in the underground room all night," Bucky said, confused.

"Come on, man. Your scent was everywhere."

"I was in the underground room all night," Bucky repeated, now with a growl.

He was starting to panic. He trusted these guys enough to believe that they believed what they were saying. So, who exactly could have been leaving his scent around?

"Where's Tony?" he asked with a low, almost murderous voice.

"Isn't he still in your room?" Scott asked.

Bucky darted to the back door, red tinting his eyes.
His own scent was there alright.

"TONY!" he screamed from the top of his lungs.

Behind him, the others were pleading for him not to shout, but he did not listen.

"TONY!"

Beep-Beep-Beep-

That was the typical annoying sound of an alarm clock. A sound that did not belong in this world.

Beep-Beep-Beep-

It was coming from the shed.

Bucky ran towards the sound. Tony's watch was lying on the ground, its protecting glass broken. 

The faint sweet scent of Tony was lingering around. It was not at the back porch, so why was it here?

He went pale when he found out why. When he saw the few drops of blood close to where he found the watch.

They took him. He was gone, probably for hours, and Bucky was just happily sleeping while the ones who took him gained distance between them.

The red in his eyes made him go blind.

***

He was so, but oh so stupid. How the fuck could he be so stupid? He wanted to blame this new part of him that had proven to make him useless at times. But he knew it was not because he was now an omega in heat. His head had been clear at the moment of his stupidity. Hell, if he had been in his omega mindset, he would probably not be that stupid, as he would not want to leave the safety of Bucky's arms for anything in the world.

"You know, I was really lucky," the man in front of him said, "If I had not gone relieve myself at the woods, I would now be lying in several pieces together with my fellow soldiers."

Great. He got caught because this man had to take a piss or a dump.

"I am sorry about the head. Do not worry, though, it will not leave a mark."

Meaning you will not lose your head, Tony thought. He wanted to say it, of course, but he could not. He was once again in binds and gagged, now a little more comfortable at the seat of a carriage, most likely headed to the palace.

"Sure, the King must not know I was the one hitting you, you understand? If you say something, I have people who will kill everyone in that house I took you from."

Yeah, right. As if anyone had the skills to do such. Still, he just nodded. Let the man think what he wanted.

"Pretty little thing! The King will be so pleased. I bet he will keep you for a long time. You must behave, though. He is one to have your head if you annoy him too much."

Oh, Tony was so good at annoying people. Specially if he meant to do so. Anyway, 'pretty little thing'? Before it was 'sweetheart' and 'sweetie'... Were omegas always treated like little children? Even those on their forties?

It took them hours to arrive at their destination. He was exhausted, but not as he expected to be. Fortunately, he was not feeling the cramps he came to relate with the heat again. Bucky's scent still lingered and although his own was becoming more prominent, it was nothing like before. Maybe it went away. Or maybe Scott's brew did not do what it meant to, and he now was... no, no, he refused to believe that. Not that he disliked children, or something. He just never really thought about having them. Actually, he did think about it, but he always ended up concluding he would not be a good father. The closest he got to fatherhood was with the spider kid. Well, he liked to think himself more like a mentor, a godfather, or something like that. In any case, he surely never considered the idea of being a mother. Why would he?

They were at the gates. The soldier explained why they were there, and the guards did not even need to look at Tony to let them in.

He was rushed through several corridors by whom he believed to be beta women. He did not have any bindings at this point. They were not needed. What could the 'little' omega do, at this point?

They left him in a room and asked him to wait. Looking around, he understood he was there so they could make him presentable. A steamy bath had been prepared at the center of the room, a great number of clothes were hanging along the walls, shoe cabinets, a few dressing tables. All of what they needed to pretty him up for the King. 

The King...

He already had suspicions of who this king was. True, it was very unlikely that he would be meeting here many people he knew from his world. But they did run into Steve and the others on their very first day. And if Strange is also here at the palace...

The doors opened and a tall lean woman, omega if he could tell, entered in a haste. Her face was covered. Probably something related to her status here.

"Hello. I am Omega Potts and I am here to help you. I am sure you know why you are here. I am sorry if you came against your will. And I am also sorry that, right now, I cannot waste a lot of time explaining things before we start. You can ask me what you want to know while I help you prepare yourself."

Tony was frozen. Potts... He could not see the woman's face, but he knew that voice for many years now.

"Pepper?"

"What?" she said, confused, "You want pepper? That is an odd request. If you are hungry, I will ask for something light for you to eat. But right now, I need you to undress and get into the bathtub."

Of course, she would not recognize the nickname. He was the one who gave it to her. By the lack of recognition on her part, his other self never even met her before he died.

"Hurry please, the King does not like to wait, and the less you displease him, the easier your life here will be."

He would follow her instructions and let her do anything she wanted to him. Wash his hair, dry and comb his hair, help him dress the ridiculously complicated garments, add make up, anything. All while she talked about what he should expect in the omega harem, now with her face uncovered. Seems like it was acceptable between omegas.

Omegas that caused trouble were sold quickly, usually to shady alphas. With causing trouble, she meant the ones that displeased the King even if not intentionally. Boring omegas, read with no apparent personality, were also quick to go to another alpha, usually from the nobility. Interesting omegas were kept longer, or at least, for as long as they remained interesting. After that, they were given to the alpha allies the King wanted to keep close.

In summary, he was already working on an escape plan. One that also involved bringing Pepper with him. He could not stand the idea of her being a prisoner. Even if she was not his Pepper.

"For how long are you here?" he could not help but ask, though not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"I am an interesting one," she said, "I have been here since the King called for all omegas."

That did not answer the question all the way, but he did not dare to ask how long that was exactly.

"Please seat by the dressing table so I can apply some light make up and do your hair."

He did what she asked of him. As soon as he sat in front of the mirror he froze again. He... he was younger. Hell, he was young. Like, in his twenties. It all made sense now. He did not only assume this world's version of himself gender, but also his age. How did he not notice before? Why did Bucky not say a thing? Did Bucky also get younger and Tony did not notice? No, Bucky was already -apparently- young from the start. 

"Are you alright, Anthony?"

"Y-yes, yes. And please, call me Tony."

"I am afraid I will not do that. And my advice to you is that you also avoid that name in front of the King. Or anyone in the palace."

"Oh, right. It makes sense."

Something told him that he would soon be called Tony all over the place. If the theory that Strange was the one responsible for his presence here.

"That is it, you are ready," Pepper said after making sure everything was perfect, "I will call the ladies who will take you to the throne room."

She gave him a soft smile as she put his veil down. She then picked his hand with hers.

"Good luck, and please do avoid displeasing the King. Later I will tell you how to survive this."

"Thank you Pe-, Omega Potts."

The beta ladies were soon guiding him out of the room, along more large corridors, until they stopped in front of very tall and large doors.

"We are here to present the King with his new omega."

One of the guards nodded and entered the room, announcing his presence.

The doors were open, he was guided in. The throne was far, but he could well see the man sitting on it.

Just as he expected.

Killian. Aldrich Killian.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Some years ago

Tony was working on his new side project. He believed he was close to revolutionize public sanitation. No more trips to wells and carrying buckets of hot water around to draw a bath. No more smelly chamber pots or outside restrooms. No more smelly unsafe sewage systems. Seriously some places still used uncovered ones. He was done with that.

He would had been done with that sooner if Howard did not enter their home with the news.

"Pack your bags, Tony! We are going to the Capital!" his father said.

"Wait, does that mean?" Did they?

"Yes! They have approved of our military project and they are expecting our presence at the Palace as soon as possible."

Tony was excited with the news. They had worked hard on that project and it being acknowledged by the higher ups in the Capital was too satisfying.

***

The shock and indignation in the omega's expression made Bucky's heart ache a little.

"What do you mean I cannot go in?" the omega asked.

"This is a meeting of great importance. Our generals will be present and this is no place for an omega," Rumlow said with indifference.

Bucky always suspected there was something wrong with the man. How could he be able to act in such cold way in front of such -beautiful- omega.

"Howard!" the omega protested.

"It's okay, Tony. I will sort this out," The Viscount assured. 

Bucky doubted the beta would be able to do anything in that regard. It was apparent that 'Tony' did some of the work they were there to present, but unless that work was really relevant, the generals would not care less about an omega's opinion. And even then, there was a chance that they would just pretend his father was the sole author. It was unfortunate, but it was how this society worked. They would rather hide the truth than have to admit that omegas could be skilled enough to do their own jobs.

"Please, come with us, Omega Stark," Steve said, "I am Steve Rogers and this is James Barnes. We are in charge of accompanying you to your and your father's accommodations."

"Go with them, Tony," Howard said, "I will meet you later."

Tony stood there, watching him and Steve with narrow eyes.

"Do I really need two alphas to guide me to my room?" Tony sneered.

"Behave, Anthony! We will discuss the situation later." his father said and followed Rumlow inside.

"This way, please," Steve said to an adorably frowning omega. It made Bucky feel bad for wanting to coo at that pout. Or even calling it 'pout' since the man was being discriminated and had every right to be upset.

"I wish I could travel back in time and find whoever decided that omegas were not meant to be intelligent and kick them in the face," Tony started protesting while they walked through the corridors and paused before continuing, "and in some other more sensible areas."

Bucky tried hard to keep himself from laughing.

"What?" the omega asked when he noticed his and Steve's expressions, "You think I could not land a good kick?"

"Oh, I'm sure you do, do- hum, Omega Stark," Bucky replied almost calling the omega 'doll'. He was not sure the shorter man would appreciate it, "But what do you mean by someone deciding that?"

"Because it is obvious that that is not true. True, if you fail to educate an omega, they might not develop cognitive processes as well as an educated beta or alpha and thus appear to be lacking intelligence. So yeah, 'someone' had to 'decide' that omegas would not be allowed access to said education. But the truth is, those who have said education and still 'believe' that bullshit are the ones lacking intelligence."

"Most people might also believe it because they never had enough interactions with omegas," Steve said.

"Yeah, the odds are totally against us Os," Tony agreed, "They want rarity. They love it. But they want it to be meek, to possess it. They do not want a threat to their ego."

"Sugar, you could step on my ego a thousand times and I would still find you fascinating," Bucky blurted before he could catch himself.

Steve looked at him. His eyes were asking him why he would say such thing. And Bucky believed he himself was showing the same expression back to his friend.

But Tony... Tony's eyes were open wide but instead of offense there was incredulity. Then a blush covered his sweet cheeks.

"W-well," the omega stuttered and looked away, "that may mean you have no ego from the start."

"Who? Barnes?" Steve chuckled, "If there is something he has is a gigantic ego."

"Thank you so much for your amazing friendship, Rogers," Bucky complained with no heat in his words and turned to Tony, "But he is right. I just know there are people worth more than my ego," he continued with a wink.

"Oh," Tony's face went even redder, "T-that's a good thing, I guess. Yep, that is very healthy. I hum-"

"We have arrived," Steve said, saving Tony from coming up with an awkward reply. The omega had probably lived his entire life having to prove his worth to others and find a lot of resistance, so he was a little lost at words when he found none with Bucky and Steve.

"Right," Tony said, "Well, thanks for the escorting. It's good to know there are some intelligent alphas at the Palace."

The smirk-turned-into-a-genuine-smile from the omega made Bucky go speechless.

"If you need anything you can ring the bell, and a servant will come to you," Steve said promptly, noticing Bucky's mental block.

"Sure, yeah, hum, thanks! Have a nice day."

"Have a wonderful day, doll," Bucky blurted again and turned to run walk away.

"Nice you meet both of you too," Tony shouted, "Maybe one day I will also meet your ego, Alpha Barnes!"

"I would not be so sure," Steve replied laughing and Bucky just gestured goodbye, "That went well."

"What do you want? How could one be indifferent to that? A gorgeous feisty omega who imposes his opinions on two strange alphas without fear?"

"Don't forget he's also funny," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah he is funny," Bucky chuckled, "He kinda reminds me of Peggy."

"True. They are very similar in what you described. Except she's a beta. Though beta women also have it bad in terms of respect and discrimination."

"How are things going with her?"

"Great, just like yesterday, so don't change the subject. We are talking here about how you promptly offered your submission to Omega Stark, back there."

"Oh, shut up."

Bucky would probably offer it again to the omega. But he did not have to admit it so easily to anyone else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today

The metal door to his...room, cell, whatever -he was still in heavy chains no matter what you called it- opened. 

He kept himself from snarling at Steve or the door would close again, and they had already wasted too much precious time.

"Have we calmed down, yet?" Steve asked, his voice stern.

"If you are asking if I am going to jump at you if you let me go, then yes, I am calm, and I won't do it. But I still don't understand why you are wasting my time."

"Really? You think that planning for a rescue is wasting time? Did you guys just go all suicidal into missions in your world?"

"Tony is not a mission," Bucky could not help but growl.

"No. More the reason to be more careful not to let our own personal issues cloud our judgement. You are no use to Tony if you get caught or killed."

Bucky knows Steve is right, and he is still not sure if what is driving him into a careless desire of just jumping into action without any plan was really him or this new alpha part of him.

"Okay, I'm listening," he finally ceeded, "I suppose that you used all this time you had me here chained to the wall to actually come with a plan."

Steve sighed, "I'm sorry we had to lock you here. And yes, we already have been planning in how to help your Tony. But we still need to wait a little longer."

"Seriously? You, who are supposed to be this world's Avengers with the main mission of overthrowing this place's King, you still do not have enough information and resources to rescue a single man?"

"We have the information," Steve said, not able to completely hide the annoyance in his voice "and we have the resources, but these resources are not exactly here. We had to send for them."

"And when are they coming?"

"We are going to move close to the Capital where we will meet the others. Wanda is already there, she is in charge of contacting those whose whereabouts we do not know. Some might not be able to arrive in time, but I will not risk going without Thor."

"Thor? He is not really a stealth type in our world. Are you planning on making a full-on assault?"

"No, if we did, we would have to use this opportunity to take down the King, " Steve paused, and sighed again, "But for that we would need everyone and some more. We are still on the process of gathering allies. I need Thor to be with us just in case something goes wrong."

"Okay, and how long will Thor take to meet with us?"

"Tomorrow. It will take us about six hours to reach the Capital."

Fuck!

His chains rattled violently.

"I think I should let you cool down in this room while we finish preparing the horses and provisions," Steve said, stepping back towards the door and closing it.

"WAIT!"

He then noticed his left arm was free.

***

Tony thought the reveal would take longer. He had a veil covering his face and a considerable distance between them. But he forgot about a very important detail. The detail that made the man with Killian's face turn to him, not much after he set foot into the throne room.

"Come closer," Killian said with a low growl.

Tony did not really want to obey, but his feet started moving by themselves. There was something in the man's voice that Tony could not ignore.

"Closer," Killian warned when Tony still stopped several feet away.

Tony walked a few more feet before Killian rose to meet him. His nostrils flared and the man's expression screamed offense. Maybe this would not go as Tony expected, after all. Maybe Killian's murder of the other Tony was not so accidental, and he hated him as much as the Killian from his world did.

His veil was removed aggressively, and Tony had to swallow a whimper that threatened to escape his throat. Like hell he would show any fear to this man. Killian's eyes went wide and his mouth agape.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" he snarled.

"I hum. I-"

"Silence!" The King shouted and grabbed him by his collar, "Do not dare to speak with that voice. It is already insulting enough that you are showing that face and presenting that scent."

"Yeah? Last I checked I was brought here against my will, and it was you who freaking uncovered my face," Tony could not help but snarl back. Okay... he could help it. And maybe -definitely- should have helped it. But he was who he was, and that person was Tony Stark, a man who answered to no one he did not deem worthy of such. Damn the consequences to himself. Would that get him killed one day? Most likely. Would he do anything different. Fuck, no.

To his surprise, something sparkled in Killian's eyes before he frowned again, his right hand finding Tony's throat.

"How dare you speak to your King in such way?" Killian said and Tony started feeling his neck growing hot.

"What are you going to do? Kill me again in the same way?"

Killian quickly dropped his hands from Tony, as if he burned himself.

"Who are you? Tell me right now or I will kill you. Because I do not believe you to be him."

"And you are right, I'm not him."

Perhaps Tony could have started explaining his presence in this world in a different way. One that did not confirm a murderous man's suspicions and give him enough motivation to act on it.

"Wait!" A familiar voice sounded as Killian's hands started glowing with a power too much like Extremis, "Your majesty, please wait."

"Strange," Killian acknowledged Strange who put himself between him and Tony.

"This is my doing."

"Explain yourself."

"I tried to find a way to bring Omega Stark back to you. I know how much you still miss him."

"You said there was nothing you could do. That not even the most powerful sorcerer could bring back the dead."

"And that is still true. You see, this man is Omega Stark and is not at the same time."

Great. Tony forgot how Strange was as good as him at making people confused and annoyed while explaining something they are eager to understand.

"There are infinite worlds that are parallel to ours. And in these infinite worlds there are another infinite number of worlds that have another Anthony Stark. I looked into these worlds until I found some with a Stark that was close to this world's one. It took me some time, but I manage to bring a Stark from one of those worlds."

"Why didn't you say something," Killian asked, now calmer but not giving anything away about his position on the matter.

"Truth be told, I was not sure I would be able to succeed. I have never tried such magic before. And even after I did bring him back, I did not know I was successful since I did not manage to bring him to the place I wanted to."

"So you expect me to just replace my Tony with a random one from another world, that is somehow 'similar' to him?"

"No, your Majesty. This was simply a test. I just wanted to present you the change to start over. But I always assumed it would be your choice. I do feel the need to warn you that I may not be able to bring another one here. Not only this magic required resources I am not sure I can get ahold again, it was already next to impossible to find an opportune moment to bring this version here. Because for this to work, similar magic must also be involved on the other world at the same time."

"So I'm a 'take it or leave it' experiment? That's just great, I feel so honored," Tony sneered, "Does the 'leave it' involve neck barbecue?"

"As you can see, he is very much alike," Strange pointed out.

Killian chuckled and then laughed, "He is indeed."

The man then grabbed Tony's collar again, this time to pull him in gently. Tony stiffed when Killian buried his nose in his neck.

"Oh, I have missed this scent," the alpha said.

"I'm sorry I cannot say the same of yours. Not only I could not really scent someone, we were not exactly best palls."

"And I missed the nonsense," the other man chuckled as he raised his head to look Tony in the eyes.

"I thought I lost this opportunity. Thank you, Strange. Tony and I will be bonded after all."

Yes! No!!! Tony was glad Killian accepted him, because he still had a chance to run away and live. But no, he was not going to bond with Killian. Nope. Nu-uh.

"Shall we arrange a date for the bonding ceremony, your majesty?" Strange suggested.

"Sure, a ceremony should always be preformed to keep tradition and the nobility and allies in the loop."

"Your majesty?"

Strange's confusion put Tony on alert.

"But I will not wait for it this time."

Killian gave no warning as he lowered his head once again and sank his sharp teeth in Tony's neck.

The pain made him scream.

Chapter Text

Some years ago

The hot springs around the Capital were a popular place between royalty and nobility. They were beautiful, relaxing and conveniently close to the Palace. What they did not know was that there were more spots than the ones than were generally known. Bucky did not know of that fact either, before Tony came with the theory that there should be others hidden more deeply into the woods.

As a member of the Royal Guard, Bucky was sometimes assigned to escort the Viscount or his family (Tony) whenever they left the premises. Whenever it was just him and Tony, Tony would be highly creative in finding a way to go somewhere where they could have some privacy without raising suspicion.

Just like today. 

Today Bucky was enjoying a piece of heaven on Earth. Oh, and he was also enjoying a beautiful place and what could have been a relaxing bath if he were not otherwise occupied.

"What are you thinking about, soldier?" Tony, who was on Bucky's lap, asked while rolling his hips and making Bucky see stars. The heat and wetness both inside and outside Tony were just overwhelming.

"Just how perfect all this is," he managed to reply after letting out a loud moan of surprise.

"Hmm, you don't have to think about it. You have to just enjoy it," Tony said, starting to move again on Bucky's lap. It was slow and torturous, but Bucky still felt like he wanted it to last forever.

"I am, sugar," he said, restraining himself from just thrusting up hard, "though sometimes I think it is too good to last."

"We'll make it last," Tony said between his own moans, "Right? We will find a way to make it last."

"If you want it to last, doll, I will make sure it will."

He kissed Tony slowly and passionately. He would never let his -not official- mate doubt his resolve.

They kept at it, the water always comfortably warm even as the sun started to hide behind the mountains. They would start slow, fool around teasingly and increase their speed until Bucky knotted Tony and filled him up more and more each time. 

"I wish we could stay," Tony said while they waited for the knot to go down so they could leave the place.

"Me too, sugar, me too."

"Maybe we shouldn't wait for something to happen to come up with a solution for our arrangement. Sooner or later, Howard will want me to bond with someone. That someone will have to be a royal or a noble of at least the same rank as him."

Bucky growled at the thought of Tony bonding with someone else.

"Easy buddy," Tony chuckled, "See? We should just find some place where no one will follow us."

"Yes," Bucky agreed, still trying to avoid the red tint in his eyes from the previous thought, "Yes, let's find that place."

He kissed Tony one last time. This time it was hungrier, like he never wanted to let it go.

***

"The King wants to meet you!" Howard said, excitedly.

"W-What?" Tony was not prepared for that news.

"Yes, the demonstration of the artillery went better than expected and I managed to pass the information that you were to be credited for half of the hard work put into this project."

"Probably even more," Tony joked, although it was true.

"Please give your father some credit or I may end up out of the job."

"Don't worry. No one will believe an omega to be that smart," he patted Howards shoulder.

"Not if they don't get to know you."

"Okay, no one will admit that an omega can be that smart," Tony snorted.

"That I believe you may be right," Howard agreed, a hint of sadness disguised in his also joking tone.

"When am I supposed to meet the King?"

"Tomorrow."

Tony gasped. He was not expecting for the King to give him recognition at all, much less be so eager to meet him.

"I know!" Howard beamed up.

All his dreams were close to come true. If the King acknowledged him, not only he would likely be free to work on his projects and take credit for them, there was also the chance that people started seeing omegas in a different way. 

He should be ecstatic. He was feeling happy. But part of him was telling him this would not going to go well. Before he had only one option: elope with Bucky to somewhere secluded where they would not be found. He could still find a way to do some work, but he would not have access to half of the resources he would have in the Capital.

Now there was a chance he would have to choose between a dream career or a dream family. Whatever he chose, he would end up hurting someone he loved. Either Bucky or his father.

He decided not to think too much about it before the meeting actually took place. There was still the chance that the King would only call him to laugh in his face and ask him to stop pretending he could be the inventor his father said he was.

No use thinking about the worst right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today

He was not understanding what was happening.

One moment, Killian was all thrilled and talking about weddings or something like that, and the other, he was biting hard down on Tony's neck. 

It hurt like hell. Of course it hurt. Was this some sort of vampire kink? What was wrong with him?

Tony then felt something changing in him. The pain was gone, for the pressure of Killian's teeth were no longer there, replaced by his tongue that was licking the wounds. Tony would think this was a fucked-up behavior if he had not felt himself going numb. He was only half aware of what was happening around him. He believed he heard Strange saying something. Was that disapproval in his voice? 

Killian reply was something around, "It is done. Open a portal to the main chambers. I do not think I can hold it all the way there, otherwise."

Hold what? Wait. Not-a-Doctor Strange was doing the arm-go-round thingy that made orange firecrackers go wild.

Tony was then floating. Wait. No. It was Killian who picked him up. He giggled. They have not wed yet, he should not be being picked up bridal style, he said. He did, did he not? Did he really say it? He did not know.

In a flash, his alpha's arms were replaced by a soft mattress. He was impressed. Such high quality in such period of time. Should this be considered the past? When they travelled to this dimension, did they end up in the equivalent of their present? 

Who cares, really? 

Hah! 

How did he get naked? There were many times he found himself naked without remembering taking off his clothes but that usually happened after he woke up after a night of partying. Not while he was awake.

The scent of his alpha got stronger and more enticing. 

"What the fuck?" Tony came to himself for a brief moment. 

What the fuck was happening? Killian was not his alpha. If anything, Bucky was. He had to get out of there. He was not in a good situation.

"Hush, little one," Killian said as he pushed Tony down again when he tried to get up, "We have to finish the bonding process."

Killian's touch made him go pliant again. The alpha positioned himself above him while spreading his legs. He wanted to protest but all he managed was a pathetic whimper.

"Do not try to resist or you will not enjoy it as much," Killian whispered in his ear. Soon after he felt two fingers probe him. He grunted at the burning pain of the sudden stretch.

"See?" Killian continued, "If you were relaxed, you would have gotten more slick."

"Fuck you," Tony barely managed to say.

A third finger joined in and Tony wished he could say the shout he gave was also of pain and not pleasure of being touched at that spot.

"There you go, my love," the alpha said, removing his fingers.

Tony was now out of it. Of himself. He could feel something was wrong, but he could not care much for it. He was craving for what his alpha was about to give him.

The feeling of Killian entering him in one slow slide made any doubt he still had vanish. He wanted more. He wanted it all. And Killian was giving it to him. Hard and fast as if the alpha wanted to reach the end as quickly as he could. Tony was not complaining. His alpha was making sure his prostate was being hit with every thrust. Was he not so considerate?

Tony came first. He had to. He was high as hell. It was not like when he was in heat, but it was not too far from it. He came as soon as he felt the pressure of the knot swelling more and more.

Then he passed out.

****************************

Tony woke up alone.

The memories of what happened were vivid in his mind, yet he still could not fully understand wha- how it happened. How did he go into that state that felt like he was high on drugs, that made him accept and even enjoy what Killian was doing to him? He did try to resist, but the alpha scent was too strong. The need was too great. And he did not even know why. 

Oh, it had something to do with the bite, he was sure of that. But how? 

He got himself up, looking around the enormous room -even for him it was big- and finding a mirror in a slightly hidden corner where he also saw a basin and, was that a chamber pot? Seriously, he would have to think about creating a plumbing and sewage system for this place.

No.

No, he would not. He was not going to stay here for long. He would find a way to leave this stupid palace and find his way to Bucky, so they could return to their dimension and pretend this was all just a terrible nightmare. Okay, not all. What happened between him and Bucky would stay real. Not the alpha/omega part. The them being together part.

Tony winced at the ache and soreness he felt when he walked towards the mirror. Not the first time feeling like this, but most of the other times he kind of relished with it. Today the feeling was the opposite. Still, it did not stop him. He would not feel ashamed of it. He did nothing wrong. If he seemed pliant it was because of these ridiculous traits that omegas had. So, he walked, still naked as he woke up. Still dirty.

The first thing he noticed when he reached the mirror was the bite mark. It was as visually noticeable as he felt it to be. It was red but surprisingly in an advanced state of healing. Since Tony did not remember it being disinfected from the moment he was bitten till he passed out, he was almost sure it would look nasty. Even if someone had indeed used any kind of medicine on him, afterwards, it would still look different. This wound was practically closed, already scarring. Did Strange applied some sort of spell on it? Was it supposed to be like so, when an alpha bit an omega? Now that he thought of it, he recalled that he also felt something when he was with Bucky. A need he did not understand. The pulsing sensation on his neck. 

Fuck! 

Why did Steve and the others forget to mention about this biting detail? Why did he not pushed for more information about it? Well, he knew why, but if only he could have held it a little longer, he would not be starting to hyperventilate with the possible scenarios that were coming to his mind.

After the bite, Killian was able to do whatever he wanted with him, and he let him. Did that mean he could control him, now? Did Killian have to bite him every time he wished to control him? At what extent could he be controlled? Was it a one-time thing? 

He needed to know if he were to come up with a plan to escape. To know if he would even be able to plan an escape.

Tony's panic attack was draining all his strength. He only managed to keep on his feet due to the sound of knocking on the door, that put him on high alert.

The door opened, after just a few seconds, presumably to give him time to compose himself if he wished so. When Pepper entered the room, Tony felt relief.

"Oh! You are there!" She said after she initially failed to locate him when she looked towards the bed.

In any other occasion, Tony would say something snarky. This time, he could not even find his voice.

"Come," she said with a gentle voice, "we have to get you to a bath."

She froze when she saw the mark on his neck.

"So it's true," she whispered in shock, "he actually claimed you."

"Y-yeah, about that," he managed to say, "I think I need to ask you some questions."

"Sure," she said sympathetically, "though I cannot be sure of what this will mean to your future. I'm not even sure what this will mean to my future, along with the other omegas in the palace."

"I guess there is a chance you will be let go?" 

"Perhaps, but I still do not know what that might entail."

Of course, just because Killian decided to settle with him, it did not mean he would let go of the others. And even if he did, it did not mean they would just be given their freedom and not given old sold to other alphas.

Pepper put a robe around Tony's shoulders. Her expression sad and unsure.

"I'm sorry," Tony said, feeling somehow guilty, though he knew he was not at fault.

"Me too," she said as she gently guided him out of the room.

Chapter Text

Some years ago

Tony did not know when and how everything started going wrong.

At first, everything was going so well, Tony dared to hope he might get it all. A life with Bucky in the Capital. Being seen by alphas as a peer and not a helpless omega. 

The King was nothing he expected the man to be. While he imagined a severe and imposing looking alpha who would not care to listen to an omega's opinion (the same old 'seen not heard' story), the man was the opposite. He did not look like an alpha, at all. He was short, even shorter due to his bad posture that seemed more like a problem related to his spine than to lack of training in manners. He did not have the bulk often seen in alphas, especially those who carry great expectations upon their shoulders. His face was ... asymmetric. He did not want to think of it as 'crooked' because it sounded so harsh and the man certainly did not deserve such word. In other words, the King suffered from the alpha curse. It was a disease that affected only alphas and was once thought to be the result of a curse cast upon the alpha children of the parents who had offended a witch. Of course, it was no such thing. 

From the moment they met, Tony's image of the King dissipated from his mind as shame took its palace. For someone who always had to fight against the stereotype of omegas, he sure entered the war room with prejudice against an alpha he had never met before. Not that he did not have good reasons for it. But he still believed the just should not have to pay for the sinners and so, he was ashamed to form a negative opinion of the King. The man was nothing but respectful of Tony. He silenced the generals who were outraged by the omega's presence, urged him to speak his mind and applauded his genius. After that day, Tony's presence was requested not only for matters involving engineering projects, but strategic plans of all matters, from civilian to military. Just today he met with the new Supreme Sorcerer, Strange. His name was Strange. Like literally Strange and not that his name was weird. And that was weird.

In any case, Tony could see it. With King Aldrich's approval, maybe Tony would not need to bond with an alpha of equal or higher status than him to keep his own. Maybe, just maybe, Howard would not oppose for him to be with Bucky. He had never allowed himself to be so hopeful about his future as a noble omega until this happened.

But, of course, everything shattered into millions of pieces like a broken glass when Howard came with the news, that day.

"No," Tony said, more out of being incredulous than assertive of his position.

"Yes! Tony, this is the highest honor we could ever hope for," his father pressed.

Oh, Tony knew that. Knew that very well. That of all potential candidates for a mate, the King was of the highest rank. But this only complicated things. He was not going to bond with the King. That was final. Question was, could he just reject the man with the highest authority in the Kingdom? Or would he and Bucky have to run farther than he expected? Hell, would Bucky even agree to go with him, being this their situation? Would the alpha betray his King for Tony?

"I know," Tony finally replied, "but if I judged the King's character right, he asked you for my hand, not demanded it."

"Are you saying you want to reject the King's proposal because you believe him to be graceful about it?" Howard's face was then reflecting Tony's previous expression of surprise.

"Yes?"

"Why?" Howard asked, clearly confused, "Tony we have talked about this. I know you are not keen on bonding with someone for their status, but we agreed it had to be done. This is the only way to assure your future. And, if you believe the King to be able to accept rejection than you know he is a good man. He is an alpha that will not mistreat you. You know that is very rare to find within our ranks."

Tony went silent. His father's logic was sound as it usually was. But Tony was getting used to the idea of a life with Bucky. To hear Howard's words about the King's request was like ripping all his hopes from him, like punching him out of his dreams so he could wake up to the not utopian reality. 

"Please," Tony's voice was almost a whisper, unsure if he should just tell his father his true feelings, "I-I have met someone."

"What? Someone else is courting you already? Without me knowing? Tony, this is highly inappropriate," were his father's words, though his tone was not condemning. "Alright," he sighed at Tony's silence, "if we make as if you were just offered to be courted by this alpha noble and you accepted, then I am sure the King will understand. It is a shame though."

Tony just kept silent. How could he tell his father the truth?

Howard, of course, caught the meaning of the silence, "Tony, who is this alpha?" he asked.

"Tony?" he pressed when he got no answer.

"Let's say he is of a lower rank than I."

The bitter silence returned, and Tony only wished he also had disappeared with the sound of their voices.

Many thoughts were sure passing through Howards head, if the different emotions expressed in his face were telling. Shock, incredulity, hurt, betrayal, anger, disappointment, maybe a hint of sadness. Tony just stood there frozen in the middle of their quarters living room as Howard left it, slamming the door shut with such force the omega was sure part of it got broken.

"That went well," he said to himself, "Shit!"

***

It was his fault. Tony knew that. Who or what else could have been the cause?

There was no denying that his father was dead because of him. His heart gave out, they said. They just did not know what made it to fail. But Tony knew.

He never thought Howard would take the truth so badly. What pains him even more was realizing this would most likely happen still, had Tony kept silent and leave with Bucky. He was fated to indirectly murder his father.

The funeral was greater than usual for a man of his status. By no means Tony was expecting it to be an unimportant affair, but still, the King's hand in it was clear. If Tony had not been closed inside himself due to his guilty feelings, he would not have been surprised when the King took the first opportunity to announce their engagement to the present royal court.

"Your father came to me, the day he died," The King told him solemnly, "He told me how much he was looking forward to our union."

It felt like a dagger was being stabbed into his chest, incessantly twisting to make sure it would cause the most damage possible. And, in the end, he could not blame the hand or hands that held the blade.

He deserved it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today

They were in a hideout located in a village close to the Capital.

Thor was already there. And thank God he was. When Steve said he was waiting for the man he thought he meant just him, one man. It seemed that this version of the Lightning God was also a prince of his own Kingdom. A Kingdom at the verge of war with the one ruled by Aldrich Killian. 

Killian... Bucky did not get to meet the man in their world, but he knew the guy had history with Tony. Actually, he knew the history he had with Tony. 

"You brought so many men with you," Bucky said, still baffled with the number of soldiers that were outside, "How did you manage to travel with them without calling attention?"

"Strategy, my friend. And some magic, of course. I also brought many women," Thor said proudly, "Do your people only allow men into war?"

"No, it is just a figure of speech. Although there was a time that only men were allowed, yes, maybe that is why it is still used."

"Only alpha males or did you also allow betas to share the honor of battle?"

Okay, so when Thor meant men and women, he meant alphas and, probably, betas. 

"What do you mean you are all betas?" Thor asked perplexed after Steve explained him what Bucky was not in the mood to.

Bucky sighed and turned to Steve, "We have who we were waiting for. Are we ready to get Tony back?"

"Actually-" Steve began but could not finish before he was interrupted.

"There is one thing left for us to do," a familiar voice said as she entered the room, with the same beautiful red hair he was used to see at the compound.

"Wanda," Bucky whispered, "You were the sorcerer that served the King before Strange."

"Yes, you are right. I was young and blind back then," she chuckled with no mirth, "As blind as most who served him, though I did have the responsibility to have my eyes open." 

"As you said, you were -and are still- young," Steve said, "And the King has made a fool out of all of us."

"That he did," she agreed and turned to Bucky again, "You look almost exactly like him, only older, as if he were never dead and the years got to him."

"Wait until you see Tony," Sam said, "He looks good in his twenties. Still a little thing, though."

"Twenties? Tony is way on his forties. Almost fifty, I dare say since he is not here, though he does not look as such. Still, twenties is stretching it."

"What? No way! He could not be older than twenty-five!"

"Maybe the King prefers a version of Lord Stark that is not close to an age he cannot conceive and Strange saw to that," Wanda concluded.

"Careful, we have a newly presented alpha here, and you are talking about his mate," Sam said at the scent of bloody murder emanating from Bucky.

"Why haven't I noticed?" Bucky asked, trying to ignore the probable reason Tony was turned into a younger version of himself.

"That I cannot say. I mean, it is likely that it was how Strange made it be, but I fail to understand the reason for it."

"It matters not, I should say," Thor said impatiently, "We shall ask the wizard himself, after we rescue your omega and lay siege to the palace and take these villains out."

Bucky could not agree more.

***

After his bath and a light meal Tony was led to another bedroom. This one was smaller but impressive still. Probably "his" room, for the time being. He just hoped that it meant Killian did not want anything else from him for, at least, that day.

Good, he thought as he sat at the edge of the bed.

If he was indeed granted with time for himself, then he was going to use it to make is escape plan. From the moment he stepped into the palace, he had been memorizing every detail he could from the labyrinthian corridors of the place, the guards and type of -archaic- security, to the usually invisible servants. It was still not enough information to know his way around. He could not even trace the way back to the same doors he entered through. He knew he could find a way, sure, but it would take guesses and wrong turns. After all, just after he got bit, he was carried through a portal form the throne room to the room where it happened. 

No. Do not think about it right now. Save it for later.

In any case, he would need more time to study the environment, come up with a plan and execute it. 

Note to self: next time he got to be in his workshop he would have to work on a suit that would always stay with him. Maybe he could tinker with nanotech this time. 

He did not have his suit, though, he was not in his world, nothing here to access FRIDAY from, nada.

He only hoped he could manage to sneak around. Surely Killian had people watching him. Maybe Strange was in charge of it, since he was the one who was responsible for this whole spectacle, anyway.

As if his thoughts had the power to summon the devil, a portal opened at the center of the room and Strange came through. Tony was on his feet in a flash, baring his teeth to the sorcerer with a snarl. Wow, he did not know he could actually snarl.

"What the fuck do you want?"

Chapter Text

Some years ago

Bucky was confused. 

A tiny part of him, the humble and self-doubting part of himself, was hurt. The other part, the one sure of his beliefs, being Tony one of them, was worried. And all of it made him very confused.

After Tony met the King, the talks about them running off to some remote place were becoming less and less common. That little annoying voice that sometimes would invade his mind was telling him that now that Tony got recognized for the genius he was, he was starting to find the idea of leaving less appealing. And why would such independent omega trade his dreams for an alpha, right? Of course that, in the end, he believed in Tony and so, he believed that Tony would at least tell him if that was the scenario that was being played. It was the omega's idea to run so they could be together, after all. And yes, Bucky had thought of it before too, but did not propose it himself because he was a little afraid of how Tony would take it at the time. Again, that voice that enjoyed clouding his thoughts from time to time.

He believed in Tony. He believed that he would not stab him in the back by accepting the King's bonding proposal while saying 'I love you, let's be together forever' to him. So, why did the King announce his engagement to his omega? Would the King just suppose Tony would accept it and did not even care to ask? Did he come to an agreement with Lord Stark, before the man died and assumed Tony knew about it? Whatever the reason, he needed to talk to Tony and soon.

With the preparations for the funeral and the event itself, he got no change to talk to the omega in private. He barely had the chance to offer his condolences.

He did not expect, though, that the omega was the one that first found a way for them to talk. One night, just a couple days after the funeral, Tony called out to him, while he was making his rounds on a currently empty wing of the palace. That gesture alone shut up the irritating little voice from before for good.

So, Tony was also caught by surprise. He had a fight with his father about the subject the day the man died, but he had not known that Lord Stark had gone and accepted the proposal on Tony's behalf. He came to know about it when the King made the announcement.

"Bucky, I need to know," the omega said with a trembling little voice that spoke more of fear of the answer than being caught conspiring with a member of the royal guard in the dead of the night, "With all that happened, are-" he paused as if to think how to phrase his next words, "would you still come with me? I know it is a lot to ask. If before I was asking you to abandon your post, break your vows, which is a grave crime by itself, now I am practically asking you to bluntly betray the King. And I want you to know, I would never hold it against you if you decide you cannot do this anymore."

As it seemed, he was not the only one with stupid self-doubting voices in his head.

"Tony, right now I would betray anyone to be with you. Of course I will go with you."

Tony relaxed at this, "Don't say it like that. It would break your heart to hurt Steve. Or Sam."

"Yes, yes it would. Luckily, they are on our side. And although I can't think of a scenario where I would have to do it, I would do it still."

"I would not advise it. I would help you find another way to avoid it if it ever came to it." Tony paused and turned his head away, "My dad..."

Bucky understood then that Tony was blaming himself for what happened to his father.

"Your dad definitely had gone through enough 'scandals' caused by you for him not to be used to it. It was not your fault, doll. Your father cared too much about you to let this affect him as you think it did. I am not convinced that this whole engagement story is not the King's misunderstanding about the conversation he had with Lord Stark before he came to you with the news."

Tony gave him a small smile but did not comment. 

"We need to leave as soon as possible, then," the omega said, determination emerging in his eyes, "It pains me that the King might get hurt in all this, but if we make it so it does not seem we eloped maybe his dignity might still be saved." 

"Yes, yes you are right. Know of any place to go?"

"In matter of fact I do. I just hope we will be accepted there."

"Where?" Bucky asked surprised. Until then, they never really discussed where they would go, precisely. He just assumed they would find themselves in the heart of a deep forest, with a small cabin, away from all civilization.

"Wakanda."

"Makes sense, it is a Kingdom that many here don't even know about."

"Yes, and I have reasons to believe there is more there than meets the eye."

"Hmm. And here I thought you wanted to be just the two of us."

"Well, we can't just run to the middle of the woods and hope to find a conveniently abandoned cabin for us to live in," Tony joked.

"No, but we could build one," Bucky retorted. Having a place with people around did sound nicer, though.

"We'll keep that as plan B, then."

"Plan B it is."

***

The thunder coming from the doors to his quarters being opened ripped of their hinges made Tony jump off his armchair.

He was lost in thought, trying to come up with a good way to leave the palace without causing too much damage to anyone that stayed behind, when a strange alpha busted in smelling of pure rage and betrayal.

"How could you?" the man roared.

Tony was first confused. Then he was terrified. He was caught by surprise, with little time to process what was happening and, before he could react and run to grab any kind of weapon to defend himself, the alpha's hands wrapped around his neck.

"Do you think you could fool me forever? Use me for status and laugh behind my back with another alpha?"

He was suffocating. He was feeling hot. Burning. He could not speak. Could not voice his confusion.

"Your Majesty, please calm yourself!" An urgent voice said. Was that Strange, the sorcerer?

"I tried to be nice with you," the alpha kept shouting, "I did my best to show how much I respected you! But it seems omegas do like to be shown their place, so I will show your place! We will bond and that traitorous alpha will be gone."

Majesty... A-Aldrich? Why does he look... Air... need...

"Stop! You're killing him!" was the last words Tony heard.

***

Steve was talking, pleading even, but Bucky was not listening. He could not hear him.

Tony was dead and he let it happen. He could not even protect his omega. That screeching voice was right all this time. He was worthless.

The walk from his cell to the execution block passed with a blur. The only words he caught from the outside world was the King's accusation that Bucky was the one who killed Tony.

The King was not entirely wrong.

Bucky only wished the man would also join him at the block.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today

"I do not come here to harm you, on the contrary," Strange said raising his hands to accentuate his words, "I have come here to help you, actually."

"Explain clearly and briefly, and then I will consider if it makes sense or if I believe you or not."

"Very well, you were always a person of logic."

"Tick, tock, bunny-in-a-hat."

"First point I can make is that you really don't have a choice but to listen to me. So, you may be in a hurry, but I am not."

"Amazing way to convince me you want to help me."

"Second. The reason I am helping you is because I do not condone the King's actions. Not for a very long time. Still, if I am to make it so his cruelty stops, I have to be smart about it."

"Okay," Tony scoffed, "Let me guess, you came here acting all high and mighty, proved yourself the best by giving the man the power to spontaneously combust and then realized you messed up after he roasted my other self's neck, Marie Antoinetted the wrong man for it, and decided to gather all omegas in the Kingdom for his trading cards collection."

"I do not know enough of your world's culture to understand all your silly metaphors but seems about right. Of course, the King's atrocities do not summarize in the way he treats omegas."

"Of course not. Killian was more of a super villain, in my world."

"Look, I was young, and the King was known to be fair and just. He suffered from an illness that very few alphas are unlucky to endure. It was known he was trying to overcome this. Before Wanda, the previous sorcerer I succeeded, Erskine, another sorcerer, was working in a spell to cure his malady. And he found a way."

"Shit, Steve?" Tony interrupted.

"Yes, Steven Grant Rogers also suffered from the same illness and volunteered to be the first to undergo the treatment. I believe you know it worked."

"And Erskine died before he could repeat the prowess with the King."

"Yes. Wanda was too green at the time to come up with a similar spell. And I... I was too arrogant to let it pass. I knew how to give power to the King. A power greater than Erskine gave Rogers. The same level of strength together with the spirit of fire and something close to immortality. I should have known not to give anyone such potential."

Strange stopped talking, the guilt strong in his features.

"Here," Tony patted a spot in the mattress as he sat next to it.

"Thank you," Strange said as he followed the suggestion.

They sat there for a moment, Strange's head lowered, thinking how to continue his story.

"I thought you were cheating on him," he confessed.

"Not me, Copperfield."

"Yes, not you. But... still you. I had my suspicions when I met you. The King was as if bewitched and you were reciprocating his affections. Or so I thought. Later I discovered it was just how you were, an atypical omega."

"Yeah, I've been known to reciprocate many people's affections, alright."

Strange gave Tony a small smile, "But you weren't. Not really. You were just being yourself. And I could see that this self of yours did not regard the King the same way as the man himself. I thought you were playing with his feelings and had you surveilled."

"That's how you found out about me and Bucky."

"Yes. When I told the King, I thought I was just opening his eyes. That you were not the omega for him. He did not take it well. He asked me to give him the cure, even though I told him his powers would be unstable if proper steps were not taken. And then- you know the rest, for what I could conclude form your earlier speeches."

"Yeah, I know the rest. Not to a great level of detail, but I'm not sure I want that."

"You probably don't," Strange agreed.

They were silent for a while, contemplating.

"I presume there is more you wish to explain," Tony finally spoke.

"Yes," Strange nodded, "The reason I brought you in."

"To stop Killian's monopoly on omegas, yeah, I know."

"No!" Strange said quickly, "I mean, yes but not by throwing you to the wolves. I never meant for this to happen to you," Strange's eyes were on Tony's neck, "I was not expecting you to get caught. That is why I did not summon you right here, in the palace. Why the portal led you close to the village where Rogers was currently in. Why I summoned Barnes too."

"You brought us to overthrow him," Tony concluded.

"Yes! I know that, in your world, you have defeated your version of the King."

"Ah! You should have brought Pepper for that."

"I also could see that you and Barnes were dancing around each other, waiting for the other to make a move," Strange continued.

"Were you even creepily spying the right dimension?"

"I timed it so you would encounter the soldiers. I did not expect them to be butchered. I hoped at least one of them would recognize you and survive to tell the King."

"Yeah, Bucky went kinda into berserk mode there."

Strange chuckled, "I should have predicted it, since the alpha instinct would be something new to him. In any case, I wanted the King's attention on finding you so, at least while you were preparing to take him down, the other omegas would not be in the scope of the man's attention. I am truly sorry for letting this happen to you."

"Hmm. Okay," Tony decided, "It was not exactly brief, but it was clear, and I believe you," he said honestly, "Forgive you? Let us see later. You had good intentions, but you need to work on their executions."

"Yes, I have been noticing. I have been finding that I have less and less control than I thought I had."

"First step, acceptance. That is good. Second step, telling me how exactly you have come to help me? Oh, and before that, why the hell do I look like I'm twenty again?"

"I am going to help you escape, naturally. As you know, I can make portals that can take you anywhere. And you look like you are on your twenties because I believed it would be easier for the King to accept you. But you only look it to the people of this world. You and Barnes were not affected by the spell."

"But I saw myself in the mirror and I looked young."

"Mirrors and spells can be very complicated."

"Really? Why?" Tony rolled his eyes, "It's just a surface that reflects all the light that bounces on it at the same angle they do so."

"It's complicated," Strange insisted.

"Code for 'I have no idea'," Tony muttered.

"I will not open a portal directly to where your friends are," Strange ignored him, "There is a group of people I believe that can help you and the battle that is to come."

"You sure you won't be messing up with your suppositions, this time?"

"No. I don't think I will be sure of anything for a long while. But these people, I believe they also need help."

"Okay, being mysterious and all. Just you being in character," Tony nodded, "I have one condition to accept your plan."

"What is it?"

"Pepper must come with me."

Strange gave him a confused look.

"Seriously, you spied on me on the other world, but you don't know who Pepper is? Fine. Omega Virginia Potts. Just in case something goes wrong, I don't want her to be left here. Unless, of course, she refuses to come. Though I must insist that you at least try to persuade her if that happens."

"I don't think there is one omega in this place that would not take on that offer," Strange said and pondered, "Very well, I accept your condition. We leave tonight."

Tony was glad he was leaving sooner that he thought.

Chapter Text

Tony had no illusions that he would be able to freely walk out his room and go anywhere he pleased without being watched. 

He had guards stationed outside and he soon came to know he could not open the windows, as they were locked. He did, though, believe he would be granted the chance to leave the room even if followed everywhere by said guards. As it seemed, he was not having such luck. When he tried to open the door, he also found it locked, and politely asking to open it to whomever was on the other side just granted him the information that the King did not allow it, for there was a high risk of escape.

Great. Now he had to wait until sundown without having anything to occupy his mind with. To distract him from the past events and the uncertainty of the future. He could barely even come up with plans of what to do when he escaped, since he had no idea where he was going to, who these people Strange mentioned were, and how they would be able to help.

A knock on the door made put Tony on high alert. Before he could reply, the door was open, and a beta servant came in with his lunch. Tony was not sure if that made him even more frustrated or relieved. Lunching out of the room would be preferrable unless he were to join Killian.

He spent the following hours inspecting every single item in the room while thinking about all the events that took place since the attack at the Avengers compound. These had been the weirdest days of his life and he had to deal with an army of aliens, flying through a wormhole, a murderous sentient AI, Captain America going rogue, et cetera, et cetera. Yet he could not take his mind of how his relationship with Bucky turned from awkward misunderstandings to something so intense. The desire, from his part, was there all along, even before they landed on this cursed dimension. But he did not expect the same from Bucky. If this ordeal was what they needed to reach this point, then he was somewhat glad they ended up here. He just needed to find a way back home and avoid the deaths of the good people of this place. If they ended up helping them get rid of Anger Management, even better.

Another knock woke Tony from his deep thoughts. He was being summoned by the King, the same beta servant said. Fan-fucking-tastic. He was really hoping he could get to nightfall without seeing the alpha's face. He was hoping that the next time he saw Killian again would be when he was literally and figuratively taking the man down from his throne.

Tony was led to what he believes to be the King's study. After being announced by the one of the alpha guards he was "invited" to enter the room, where Killjoy was awaiting him. When the other man's scent reached his nostrils, Tony had to make a great effort to keep his bravado. He was hating this new gender of his more and more.

"Tony," Killian said with a stupid grin on his face, "I'm glad you came."

Tony snorted. As if he had any choice in the matter.

"What is that you wish of me, oh my great master? Shall I recite the three rules of the genie wishes? I think you are trying to bypass two of them."

"You know, your other self had always amused with his rambling. I am happy to know you also have this trait," Killian said as he approached Tony.

"Well, that's news. I don't think your other self liked my ramblings." 

"You have been talking about me in the past tense. I take it I am dead, in your world?"

"Yeah, I think it is safe to say that," Tony said with a shrug.

"And we didn't get along, as I can take it from your speech."

Tony started to laugh at that.

"That's the understatement of the day, Fireworks. I think I can say that you hated my guts."

"I seriously doubt that," Killian said, his eyes showing said doubt.

"No, really. You tried to kill me several times before you decided you could use me, and also after realizing I would never let you. You were more into my ex. Though, you almost killed her too. You were quite the hot head."

"Your 'ex'?"

"Ex-girfriend?"

"As in mate? Who is she? Who dared to touch you besides me?" Killian asked, eyes turning red and scent going strong. Tony never thought he would be able to scent anger. Now he knew what it felt to be a synesthete.

"You, what? Want a list of names? Not sure I remember them all."

Tony knew he should not be poking the man. What could happen to him if he continued to do so. But, at the same time, he wanted to know how controlled the guy was. And, seriously, that kind of possessiveness could only make him roll his eyes in annoyance.

Killian, in his defense, did let himself calm down, before continuing, "Are you trying to make me disgusted at you by saying you were a whore in your world?"

"Well, in my world I was not considered a whore, you see, I am a man. We have the privilege there to be sexually active and free without being scrutinized. As long as we are not cheaters. Women, though? There are still a lot of douchebags who do give them the titles of 'whores' for the same behavior."

"You mean omegas are free to do whatever they please?"

"Oh, right, we don't have this alpha slash omega thing there. I guess you can say all humans there are your version of betas? Not sure if it is one hundred percent accurate, but I bet it's close. Travelling here changed my insides to match with this world's Tony," he explained, not containing himself to not to do so.

"All betas, huh? Then you never really have been with an alpha, before me," Killian concluded with a grin that made Tony tense.

"Easy there, Bomberman," Tony said, raising his hands as soon as Killian started moving towards him. 

"How could you, right? You haven't been here long enough," Killian continued, "And you were brought to me as soon as one of my men found you."

So, human torch wannabe does not know what really happened, huh? Strange must have had something to do with it. Keeping Bucky a secret. Tony thought.

Tony realized he was stepping back away from the alpha when the back of his knees collided with a sofa. The surprise made him lose balance and fall on it into a sitting position. Killian was on him, instantly. 

And Tony resisted. 

Not this time. This time he would put up a fight. Even if he had to get out of it with some nasty burns. 

Tony kicked Killian hard on the stomach, making the guy fall back. Not willing to wait to see the surprised expression on the bastard's face, Tony quickly rose and ran for the door. He knew there was little chance to get out of this. He would probably not get further than a few steps out on the hallway, with so many guards guarding it. That did not mean he would not cause havoc. Maybe he could steal a sword of a startled guard. Chop a steak or two from grill man. And would that not be funny.

As it was, he did not even make it to the door. The alpha was faster than he expected and before he knew it, a hand was pressing hard on his nape. The feeling of his body going limp as if exhausted with a growing need to relax and submit was still unfamiliar.

"I never had you fight me before," the alpha's voice said with a hot breath reaching Tony's ears and making him shudder, "but I like the idea," he chuckled, "Maybe next time, I'll give me a handicap."

Tony felt his body being lifted and short after being laid on his stomach on the sofa.  

"Right now," his alpha continued, using his body to cover the omega's, his mouth hovering the bite mark on Tony's neck, "I cannot wait."

The bite was not deep, it did not even break the skin. But it was enough for Tony to melt into the heat that came right away. It was similar to what happened before when Killian bit him the first time. He would panic if he could. Soon, that terrible feeling was replaced by the need of having his alpha inside him. Of having his knot.

"It is said there is a lower chance of getting an omega pregnant outside their heat," he heard his alpha say, "but we can still try, right, my love?"

Yes, yes. He wanted to try. Try as soon as possible, please.

"You are already so well prepared for me, aren't you? This time I don't even need time to slick you up."

There were no fingers, this time. Although he was still a little stretched from that morning, he was not ready for his alpha's cock so soon, so fast. He choked on a moan of pain and pleasure. Part of him wanting it to stop, part of him wishing for more.

Above him, he could hear his alpha panting and grunting, as the man moved fast in and out of his body. 

The pace was brutal, but Tony started welcoming it more than not. A small shift of the alpha's angle made Tony see stars, loud moans escaping his mouth as if to ask to keep going.

It lasted for a while. Tony was close for a few times but never got there. Only when he felt the extra pressure of the knot growing inside him did his alpha touched his cock to pump it at the same rhythm of the thrusts. Tony came with a shout, clenching on the now locked knot and making his alpha come right after.

A few more uncoordinated thrusts and his alpha almost collapse above Tony, both breathing hard. Both blissed.

The bliss did not last long for Tony. As the minutes passed, he became more and more conscious. What he tried hard to forget was now revived. Relived. And having the culprit of his trauma still connected to him did not allow him to hide the memories away.

"Breathe slowly, Tony," Killian whispered in his ear, making him shiver with repulse, "It's almost over."

The "almost" still lasted for another few minutes. Went the knot finally deflated, Killian slid out and helped Tony to redress. Tony let him, feeling numb and without energy to avoid the other's touch.

"You are going back to your room," the alpha said, "I'll send someone to get you, at nighttime."

And with that promise, Tony left, accompanied by someone Killian asked for.

It was only when he was sitting on "his" bed, after a long, long walk back, he noticed that that "someone" was Pepper.

"I'll prepare you for another bath," she said softly, understanding his need to clean himself.

"Thank you," he replied as softly.

While she walked back and forth, asking other servants for hot water, fetching towels and such, Tony finally got himself to ask, "Did he came to you? Did he explained and asked what I asked him to?"

Pepper stopped for a moment, before continuing her tasks, "I'm sorry. I can't leave with you."

"Why not?"

"The other omegas. I can't leave them behind. Not when the King might harm them when he learns of your escape," she explained.

"But then you'll get harmed too."

"Yes, that's true. But I have better chances of de-escalating the situation than the other omegas. I understand that another version of me was, is very dear to you. But I cannot abandon the others."

Tony sighed. He got it. Even in this world Pepper was great at dealing with douchebags better than anyone else. And he understood she felt responsible for the other omegas. 

"Okay, look," he started, "Right now, me and the other guy that came with me, are the best chances this place has to get rid of Killian. I have gone against him before, and he ended up dead. Well, actually, although I did most of the fight, you were the one who killed him and-"

"I did what?" Pepper asked, shocked at the words.

"Yeah, it's a long story. You didn't really mean to, but he was about to kill me and you kinda had the same powers as him at the time. Long story short. I need you, okay? You may not know me, you may not be my Pepper, but your presence helps me. A lot! So, do not see it has abandoning the others. See it as helping me overthrow the King. If you are worried that the guy will lash out on them then I'll ask Stranger to avert his attention from them."

"I-"

"I'll do everything I can to take Killian out, and I have already some good ideas about how to do it. Hell, if you are still doubting it, then I promise, I'll turn myself to the King if I fail."

Pepper stayed silent, for a while, considering.

"Okay," she said reluctantly, "Okay, I'll go. If my presence will help."

Tony's face lit up.

"But you have to promise me that you don't expect me to kill anyone."

"I promise I won't have you kill anyone, nor I expect you to."

"Very well, then. I will go with you. Now, come into the bath."

Tony let out a sigh of relief. He followed Pepper's instructions and welcomed the hot water that soon surrounded him.

"There is one other thing I must ask you," Pepper said, as she began to carefully pour water on Tony's hair.

"What is it?"

"Why do you call me Pepper?"

Tony laughed, forgetting, for a moment, the day’s events.