Tony shifted uneasily, fabric shifting as he moved. “JARVIS?” he asked softly.
“Yes, sir?” the AI replied, as concise as ever.
Tony swallowed, his face flushing as he thought about what he was about to do. “Is this…will this work, do you think?” He’d been thinking about it for months now, ever since he’d met the man waiting for him outside, but he’d been hesitant. He didn’t like the idea of opening himself up like that, making himself vulnerable. And if he went out there, right now, and actually went through with the dance, there would be no going back. Not unless Bruce rejected him, of course.
He winced, subconsciously taking a step back, away from the curtains that were all that were standing between him and his potential Alpha.
There was a low whistle from behind him, and Tony twirled around, the arm scarves swirling with the movement. “Clint!” he hissed, his hands clenching into fists on his hips. “What the hell are you doing back here?” It wasn’t like it was a rule or anything that his alpha would get to be the first to see him dance, but it was understood nonetheless. The fun-loving beta shouldn’t be back here. Especially not without his mate.
“If I didn’t think Nat might kill me, I’d totally hit that,” Clint told him, grinning widely as his swept an appreciative gaze across Tony’s form. “There is no way that Banner’s gonna be able to say no.” The omega blushed at the attention, a small part of him pleased with the flattery. Still unmated at forty-two years old, and with the arc reactor and the surrounding scarring, Tony was well past his prime for mating and building a family. Clint’s words helped bolster his wavering confidence.
“Clint is right,” Natasha agreed, slinking out from the shadows, her arm curling around her mate’s waist possessively. “You worry too much. He loves you.” Her words were blunt, but her eyes were sympathetic. She understood all too well what Tony was going through right now. If it hadn’t been for Clint bringing her into SHIELD, she likely would have died young and unmated herself. Clint had taught her to be human, to be the type of alpha that was both strong and kind. People in general disapproved of Alpha-Beta pairings, but even Tony could see that the two of them were perfect for each other.
In an effort to cover up the emotions that he knew must be showing on his voice, Tony smirked. “Who’s coming next? Captain America?”
Natasha shrugged. “He really wants to draw you like this sometime,” she replied seriously. “But he felt that having another unmated alpha in the room might cause…complications.” Especially with Tony so close to his Heat, though the words went unspoken.
Tony nodded his thanks. “Yeah, good thinking,” he agreed softly. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to face the curtain. “All right, JARVIS. Start the music,” he ordered softly, walking on bare feet into the connected room, the jewelry around his throat, wrists, and ankles jangling softly with each step.
The room filled with slow, careful music, and Tony stilled as he came into Bruce’s line of sight. The other man had been sitting cross-legged on one of the barstools in the kitchen, turned to talk to Thor, who was seated next to him. Since the thunder god didn’t have Alphas or Omegas in his homeworld, it had been decided that he would be the best one to both distract Bruce and to mediate between him and Tony if necessary.
As soon as the music had started, Bruce had turned to look towards the wall, his eyes widening as Tony stepped down into the sunken living room, careful to put just enough sway in his hips to entice the Alpha to pay attention. He came to a stop on the thick carpet in the center of the floor before lifting his eyes to meet the other man’s. Thor just smiled and shifted out of the way; neither man noticed.
“Alpha Bruce Robert Banner, I offer to you this dance as a gift, an invitation, and an offering.” Tony spoke the formal words carefully, feeling them out. He had practiced the simple sentence over and over again, but with Bruce’s eyes boring into him, he suddenly found it much harder to remember what he was doing. Still, he was determined to get this one thing right, even if the rest of it was a bit off the cuff, less traditional and more…him.
“JARVIS?” he murmured, and the music obligingly flowed into a strong beat, fast and a bit wild. Tony’s feet moved automatically, the rest of his body following as he started to dance, each twist and turn and dip designed to show off his physical appeal, as well as his flexibility and stamina. The scarves on his arms that were connected by cuffs at his wrists and biceps flowed out from his body like the wings of a bird, crimson silk and gold plating flashing in the light. More scarves circled his hips, dancing around him as he leapt and writhed, his body undulating to the beat of the music. Lastly, two wider cuffs covered most of his shins, all of it done in the red and gold of the Iron Man suits.
He wasn’t watching Bruce now, concentrating on keeping his feet when all he wanted to do was drop to his knees and coax Bruce to mate with him. The thick choker wrapped around his throat served as a sharp reminder of his purpose for doing this in the first place. The Dance might not be traditional, but the spirit behind it was the same. He was essentially proposing to Bruce, asking the other man to take him as a permanent mate, and to accept no others in his – in their – bed.
A low growl filled the room, and Tony felt his eyes widen in surprise at the possessive sound. “Thor. Out. Now,” Bruce ordered.
The blonde looked between the two of them – his job was technically to make sure that neither of them was hurt if Bruce lost it – and Tony offered him an encouraging smile, which only made Bruce’s growl deepen, the Alpha stalking towards him. “It’s good, Thor,” Tony murmured as he tossed his head back, showing off the collar around his throat. “Thanks.”
The Asgardian nodded. “Very well, then,” he agreed heavily. “But I shall be right outside your chambers. Please do not hesitate to call should you require my assistance.” Both men ignored him, their eyes on each other, Tony’s movements slowing in reaction to Bruce’s obvious interest.
Bruce’s hands reached out, gripping the bare skin at his waist above the hip piece, digging in sharply and stilling Tony’s movements entirely. A thrill shivered up the omega’s spine as JARVIS obligingly ended the music, leaving both men panting.
“What is this?” Bruce murmured, his voice hoarse as he pressed his face into the bend of Tony’s shoulders, as close as he could get to the omega’s scent glands while Tony wore the choker.
Tony’s arms wrapped around the other man’s shoulders, nuzzling against Bruce’s neck, his body slowly relaxing as it received signals telling him that he wasn’t going to be rejected, that the Alpha he had chosen had also chosen him. “A Dance,” he murmured, carefully enunciating the words, though they were muffled against Bruce’s skin. “A proposal. I thought that maybe…maybe it would be something you’d like.”
He felt his face heat up at the blatant plea in his voice, his need to know that he’d made the alpha happy. He wasn’t normally this obvious about his omega instincts, but this was something that had been drilled into him since he was a small child. If he wanted Bruce to accept him as his one and only Mate, then he had to be willing to show the alpha everything, even the things that he’d kept hidden for years.
“Like?” Bruce chuckled, pulling back just enough that he could press their foreheads together, the scent of their mixed arousal slowly filling the small space between them. “It was gorgeous. You were gorgeous.” His voice was nearly subverbal now, and Tony shivered, his knees finally giving way. Bruce lowered them both to the floor, careful not to drop his precious burden. “And yes. It was always yes,” he added.
Tony groaned, lifting his chin so that Bruce could find the small latch in the collar and remove it, his mouth seeking the revealed scent gland. “Please,” Tony murmured, his hands lifting and coming to rest in soft curls. A part of him still couldn’t believe that Bruce was actually agreeing to this, that he’d accepted Tony as his partner. He wanted his bite with an almost vicious ache, the one thing that would take them from sometimes-lovers to Mates.
When Bruce set his teeth into Tony’s neck, the omega whined, his grip tightening as the other man bit down, the room flooding with the scent of an omega in heat. Bruce bit down until he drew blood, Tony writhing beneath him, caught between pain and ecstasy. “Bruce,” he chanted. “Bruce, Bruce, Bruce.”
“Tony,” Bruce answered back when he finally pulled away, his tongue licking at the blood on his lips even as he started stripping them both, bearing Tony to the ground until he was flat on his back, Bruce crouched between his spread legs. “Mine.”
Tony smiled happily, reaching up for his Alpha. “Yours,” he agreed, drawing Bruce to him for a kiss. In the corner of his eyes, he saw the brilliant crimson and gold of his dancing outfit, and he smiled. Maybe performing Dances wasn’t so bad, after all.