Heat and Heart

Sir

~Several hours later~

JARVIS had come back online after five hours and alerted Steve as to where Tony was, the blonde having been searching for the other man after arriving home from the meeting. The Blond had completely forgotten to check the Workshop. It honestly should have been the first place he looked for the genius.

The large Alpha skid to a stop in front of Tony who was dozing, head on a cushion. He crouched down and shook Tony's shoulder gently, regretting their argument. "Tony, wake up. We need to talk."

"Hm?" Tony mumbled, yawning and rubbing his face tiredly. "Steve! You're home!" The smaller brunet launched himself at Steve who caught him while looking very confused.

"Are you feeling okay?" Steve held Tony with one arm and pressed the back of his hand to the other male's forehead. "You do feel a bit warm. JARVIS, where are the thermometers?"

"I'm fine!" Tony squirmed slightly, reacting to Steve's pheromones once again and going into the half dazed state. The suppressant had left his system out of whack after he missed quite a few doses. "I waited like Alpha said."

"What? Who told you to wait and what were you waiting for?" Steve shifted, sliding himself onto the couch and holding the now identified as Omega in his lap. He knew contact was important, especially to Omegas who had been touch starved as children.

"I dunno. But he told me to wait for you!" Tony was proud of himself for having waited for Steve but frowning when praise wasn't forthcoming. "Was I bad? Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no! You didn't do bad. You were a good boy." Steve praised quickly when he saw how Tony looked upset. This whole personality switch had thrown him off slightly. "What did the man look like?"

"Dark haired, pretty blue eyes and stubble. A metal arm." Tony nuzzled into Steve, legs on either side of the super soldier's hips and arms around his torso. His face was buried in the crook of Steve's neck, enjoying how Steve let him keep his head there.

"Mm..." Steve frowned, realizing who had been in the Workshop with Tony. It made him very uneasy. "Why did he tell you to wait for me?"

"Cause he had to go. He looked like he was hurting." Tony was also frowning, holding tighter to Steve for a moment. Steve's agitation had him feeling agitated now, shifting around.

"Good boy, Tony." Steve smiled at the Omega, pressing a kiss to Tony's cheek gently and getting the Omega to relax. "Are you ready to eat now?" He was trying to distract the other man.

"Yes, Steve." Tony didn't let go and Steve simply carried him up to the penthouse, setting him on the couch gently. It was going to be a hard time while Tony's body functioned without the Suppressants.

"I'm going to be right back, don't move." Steve watched Tony who was strangely docile and meek which was unlike the spitfire he knew. He walked downstairs and called Bruce who joined him on Steve's floor. "Something is seriously wrong with Tony. He's an Omega though. But anyways, something is wrong."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked, ignoring that he always insisted that he was not that kind of Doctor. "What is going on?"

"I couldn't find him for a few hours once I got back from the meeting and JARVIS was offline so I figured he was doing updates. But JARVIS directed me to find Tony in his Workshop. Bruce, he was so happy to see me that he jumped on me. And was talking about an Alpha with dark hair and blue eyes telling him to wait for me. And that the alpha had a metal arm." Steve hoped he was wrong and that the Winter Soldier hadn't been in Avengers Tower.

"The Winter Soldier?" Bruce had the same horrified thought. "But why would he leave Tony alive? Or rather, not harmed if he wasn't the target?"

"I don't know... But I need to get back to Tony. I told him I was getting food." Steve ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"There's pizza in the common room. We saved you guys two." Bruce texted Clint who ran up the pizzas and handed them to Steve.

"Thanks, Clint." Steve was grateful for the help. He also explained the situation to the Archer, hoping the more experienced Alpha could help him.

"Listen. If he's acting like that, you need to put him in a nesting room and stay with him. He's overloaded with his instincts and it's best to play along until he calms. Otherwise he may have a breakdown because you 'rejected' him. I sincerely hope he hasn't been taking suppressants long enough to put him in this state but it's looking more and more likely." Clint sighed, knowing the suppressants could mess up an Omega both physically and mentally. It scared him but it put Tony's behaviors into an entirely new light that made sense.

"Thank you." Steve hugged Clint with one arm and went back to the penthouse. "Good boy. You waited where I told you." He had set the pizza on the counter in the kitchen.

"Mhm, Alpha." Tony's entire body squirmed until Steve nodded and then he came to the Alpha. He tilted his head back and exposed the tanned column of his neck, whining softly as Steve lightly ran a finger down.

"Let's eat now, Tony." Steve kept his tone soothing, leading the way with the Omega dogging his steps all the way to the kitchen. "Sit down, Tony."

"Okay, Steve." Tony watched Steve closely, seated on a chair. His brown eyes were focused intently on the blond Alpha, tapping his fingers until Steve was close to him and the other man had placed a plate in front of him.

"Eat up." Steve ordered gently, carding his fingers through the soft dark curls and then seating himself to eat his own dinner. "You have to eat at least three pieces, Tony."

Tony nodded and started eating, still looking at Steve occasionally and then back at his pizza. He finished all three pieces along with an additional two before getting off his chair, sliding into Steve's lap and curling up to the Alpha's chest.

"Sleep now, my good boy." Steve murmured gently, holding Tony carefully and watching as the genius fell asleep. He set the dishes into the sink and the pizza into one box in the fridge before heading where JARVIS directed. He found a fully stocked nesting room yet dragged Tony's own duvet into the room and wrapped him up before leaving to get his own blankets and some of his clothing. He laid the blanket over Tony who had been looking upset and then put his clothes in a corner of the room for later.

Tony relaxed as he inhaled the scent of his Steve, cuddling the blanket and sighing in his sleep. All was well for the moment and Steve thanked his lucky stars.

~Four hours later~

Steve had been dozing on and off but woke up fully when he felt a weight settle on him. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing dark curls. "Tony? What's the matter?"

"Needed you." Tony's voice was muffled as he buried his face in Steve's shirt. He was upset by a dream he had had and needed comfort. His dreams had been disturbing thanks to the lack of Suppressants allowing the Omega side of Tony free.

"I'm right here, Tony. Alpha has you." Steve remembered Clint's words that he needed to play along. He was not going to be responsible for Tony having a breakdown. The blond settled back in, closing his eyes as he felt Tony's body go limp on his chest. He slowly fell asleep, knowing he was going to be needing it in the upcoming days.