Think About Us

"And three, two, one!"

The sound of his instructor's almost all-too familiar voice echoed around the well-lit studio as Peter started his most recent routine by slowly shaking his hips. He didn't know how many times he was supposed to redo it until it was as perfect as he wanted it to be, and by experience, he knew it was going to take at least a few more tries. 

The music was playing for the sixth time since this morning, and Peter was absolutely sure that his moves would still be in his memory even if he wanted to forget about them one day. The music was getting the blood in his veins to pump faster and the rhythm was turning exciting once again.

"Yes, Parker, that's the dance I wanna see! That's the moves I'm looking for, sweetie!"

Encouraged by the hard-earned compliments he got from his usually moody instructor, he gained his focus once more and moved his feet in rapid attention. This was one of his favourite routines to perform by himself lately, he knew he could pop it. Of course he was going to, he told himself, because this song and routine had feelings, ones that he was very familiar with and he had to do them justice, he had to be confident. He turned on his heel. He shut his eyes momentarily against the sudden light from the window reflecting on his face.

The sound slowed down and he touched his torso slightly in a way that he knew was teasing. It was the goal of this dance as it often was for most of his dances; to light that fire in his audience's whole body. He shook his hips again, lost in the rhythm.

Peter was almost sure that he looked the way he dreamed of looking when he was planning this routine for the first time. Well, maybe not completely yet, but he was very close. He always felt it when he was. It was one of the greatest feelings he got to experience and one of the rarest, which was one of the first reasons he chose this profession. He was in love with the thrill from the first second.

"And that's a wrap. Thank you, Peter, this was certainly more pleasing than what we did this morning," his instructor, Mr. Barton said with a slight smile as the song ended and Peter was curled up on the floor as part of his routine. He was breathless but still managed a smile. Who couldn't when Mr. Barton, probably the sharpest instructor in the entire world was smiling at him? Some probably wouldn't even survive it.

"Thank you, sir," he answered. "Are we… trying again, or?" he continued, trying to look like he wasn't dying to quit practicing for now.

"No, that's enough for today. I want to see you on top of your game tomorrow, Parker. Same goes for Steve. Do not disappoint me." 

Who could even dare, he said to himself. He chose "Yes, sir," for the outside.

Mr. Barton left soon with a goodbye. Peter contemplated hanging by himself in the studio for a while because that's what he normally did. He decided against it in the end because he was so tired. He changed quickly, pulling on some sweatpants and a hoodie instead of the shirt and shorts he had on. It was a sunny day but he wasn't fooled. He was at least a little bit cold even on the warmest of the days.

He dialed Steve as he left the building with his bag slung over his shoulder. After a few rings, his best friend's high voice was on. 

"Well hello, Petey-Pie. Are you dead yet?"

"Almost, I think," he answered, laughing. "I'm leaving now. You home?"

A snort came through the speaker. "Where else would I be?"

"Okay, I'm gonna come straight home. I won't be able to do the grocery shopping right now," he groaned. "But tonight, I promise, okay?"

"It's no problem, Petey. We can even do it together tonight, if I feel up to it." 

Steve's heat had ended just a couple days ago and even though he had already started practicing at home, he was not completely okay with going out right now. He didn't have a mate at the moment and as it did on most of unmated omegas, the heat took a toll on him. 

"Sure, sweetie," he told Steve sympathetically. "I'll be there in ten." 

"Alrighty, see you."

He hung up the phone and put his hand in his pockets. His legs were aching. The thrill was not completely gone but despite that he still knew he was gonna sleep like the dead tonight. He kept walking the same path he took almost every day of the week until he was at the door of his shared apartment. He hurried inside.

It was still remotely cold, the way Steve wanted it to be when he was in heat. The omega couldn't really function when he was already so hot himself, so he had asked Peter to turn the heat down. Even after a few days, the desire for a slightly chill house still wasn't gone, apparently. The brunette shivered slightly.

"I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!"

The house smelled great. This was one of Peter's favourite things about his roommate's heats. He got an intense craving for cooking right after it ended, and there was no one else to eat it besides himself and Peter. He was greeted by the heightened smell in the kitchen and took a deep breath, savouring it.

"Yes, Stevie," he hissed. "I love you!"

Steve chuckled from his place at the counter, whisking something that looked suspiciously like pancake batter. At four in the afternoon. 

"Is that cookie dough?" Peter said, his eyes wide. "Is it chocolate chip? Please tell me it is, omega."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Of course it is, omega. I know you wouldn't eat it otherwise. And there's no one else to feed it to, so."

"Hey!" The other boy whined, finger already sweeping a bite of cookie dough. "Tell me you cook it 'cause you love me so."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"Okay, okay. I cook these," he pointed to everything laid out on the table, "because I love you so much, and not because I don't have an alpha to feed it to."

"That's better, sweetie, thanks," Peter said teasingly. The cookie dough was honestly great.

They kept bickering and mostly Peter stealing bites of food. It was moments like this Peter was glad to have a friend living with him. The boy couldn't imagine spending long nights without anyone to keep him company because if he wasn't overly tired from practicing he was usually very bubbly. His maximum not-talking time was probably like fifteen minutes or something. Steve was very good at keeping him company with them being in the same profession, having the same interests and all. Besides, he was an omega. An omega should have another omega close to him at all times.

After everything was put into the oven and Peter nearly finished the cookie dough, they cleaned the remnants of cooking and went to the living room. It was a tiny but tidy one and more than enough for the two of them as they didn't take much space anyways. Steve was currently lounging on the burgundy-colored soft couch with his foot up on the armrest. He was nibbling on a biscuit and looked way better than Peter had seen him this morning. His cheeks were rosy, eyes lively and under-eyes nearly gone. Peter understood. He knew how hard it was to go through a heat alone. The boy was glad his friend was finished with his.

He didn't even wanna think about his own one.

"Hey, you know Michelle?" Steve asked, mouth full of biscuit.

"Yeah, she's from Potts' class, right?"

Steve nodded. "Mm-hm. She's gathering a get-together this week. She apparently got accepted into an internship program for a world-famous company or something. She's celebrating." He paused. "We're invited."

Peter thought about it for a moment. He had met Michelle before, she was nice enough. 

"She must be inviting everyone around her, if she is inviting us," the omega points out. Steve raises a perfectly-plucked single eyebrow at him.

"Actually, we do kinda talk from time to time. She practiced with Mr. Barton before."

"She did?" That was surprising. Peter was Mr. Barton's student for a long time, he thought he would have known if Michelle was with him before. 

"Yeah. She dropped it after Potts came in. Said she is a family friend, I think."

Pepper Potts was… nice. Peter liked the beta. He had joined her class a few times before, when they were doing conjoined dances and had the thought that she was much more elegant than Mr. Barton in some parts of the routine. That was understandable since Mr. Barton was an alpha but that didn't mean he couldn't have the elegance he needed to have in order to perform correctly. Despite all that, Mr. Barton was arguably better than Pepper Potts in terms of teaching -though he was much more rough- and he was a perfectionist. Peter was one himself, so it did him good to have his instructor the same way. 

Still, Miss Potts and her class were nice enough that Peter didn't shy away from talking to them occasionally.

"Should we go?" Peter asked the omega hesitantly. "I mean, I'm okay with it as long as you are, too. It's just that there are going to be a lot of people there."

Steve kept on chewing his biscuit. He looked thoughtful. 

"We should go. It would be good for us, if everyone's going to be there. Besides, we couldn't really make up an excuse, we have to go into practice eventually, Mr. Barton would skin us alive," he murmured.

"I wouldn't wanna miss practice anyway," Peter added.

In the end, they decided to attend the gathering. They didn't go out much besides of people from their class which generally only included Darcy or Tay. It would be good for them to go out more and make more friends. They both had a small circle for their 22 years of age. 

The gathering was on Saturday. Peter wondered what kind of money one would have just to have a party for a new job and stood up from the couch. 

"What time should we go shopping? Honestly, I'd say just fuck it and go tomorrow but I used up what was left in the fridge and now there is nothing," Steve pouted.

Peter giggled. "It's okay! We should go after I practice a bit more, how about that?" 

Steve nodded at that.

He bid Steve a goodbye, and went to his room down the hall to practice for the last time that day.

The next day started off usual for the brunette omega. He sleepily combed through his locks, unsuccessfully tried to style his hair, brushed his teeth and after showering for a good fifteen minutes, he left the bathroom feeling refreshed.

He had a three-hour shift in the morning and then he had practice with Mr. Barton for about three more hours. After that they were planning on movie night with Steve.

"Good morning," he grumbled to Steve, who was already up and cracking eggs. The boy had a serious problem about cooking. 

"Good morning! I'm making pancakes." The blonde omega looked even better than yesterday. He had a proper glow now, seemed healthier. Peter exhaled. He went through this worrying process for his best friend every three months as Steve did for him but it was always good to see him get better in the end.

"You look better, sweetie," Peter told the other softly. 

Steve's eyes softened, he stopped with the eggs for a second. "Yeah, I feel better. Thanks." He turned back to the counter. "It would be way better with an alpha, though."

Peter bit his lip. It was what he also always thought right after his heats ended, but it wasn't easy to admit to your inability to take care of himself fully. He went over to where Steve was standing, took an egg in his hand and cracked it against the edge of the bowl.

"Yeah…" He paused and looked at Steve's face. He was indifferent. "It's okay, though, Stevie. We'll find them someday."

"Or be like my uncle Sam and never find your one," Steve laughed slightly. He wasn't actually entertained, Peter knew that.

"I doubt it. We're way too pretty to never find our soulmates," Peter said, giggling over his shoulder. The blonde boy rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face. 

"Well, you're not wrong about that."

The air became lighter after that. They cooked eggs together, ate quickly and both left the house for their respective jobs before it was nine o'clock. Peter chose to walk the short distance to the coffee house instead of waiting for the bus. He liked to take some time to himself to think or put on his headphones and planning of dance figures while listening to all kinds of music. Today's topic was soulmates.

Or the lack of one.

Peter pulled his hoodie tighter around himself. It wasn't like him to feel insecure about his soulmatelessness unless he was in heat or just starting to get out of it. Of course he occasionally thought about how nice it would be to be wrapped up in big alpha arms when he was sleeping at night, or how he would love to make a family someday. He didn't say it much, but he craved a family. He had lost his own one way too soon. He would love to teach his children his dancing and for his alpha to teach them whatever he did. Mating with someone other than your soulmate was also an option, but it wasn't one that worked very well. Peter and Steve learned first-hand how bad it could end. A few years ago Steve's uncle Sam had finally given up on waiting for his omega and mated someone else after a year of dating. Peter seriously couldn't blame him and he knew that Steve didn't as well. If heats were as hard as they were, ruts couldn't be any easier. Uncle Sam did start spending his ruts with another omegas after a while according to Steve, but it wasn't the same as your mate. 

The mating had ended badly. Uncle Sam was 36, the woman was 32. She found her mate. Uncle Sam was left behind and Steve tried to cheer him up by cooking for him from time to time. Needless to say, it would be better if he had just stuck to spending ruts with omegas. Peter had heard countless stories like this and he wasn't about to mate with anyone other than his soulmate, anyways. Everyone secretly feared waiting forever and not feeling the electricity run through their veins at some point in their life, but Peter was still young. He liked to think he had time.

He hoped his soulmate thought the same thing.

His little inner-turmoil finally ended him in the warm coffee house. The bell rang as usual as the small omega stepped into the large, already-busy shop. Melissa waved at him from the counter. He waved back and quickly got to the back where his green apron was hung up. He tied it behind his back tightly.

"Hey, Peter. You in full for today?"

Quentin Back. The alpha from Peter's nightmares.

"Hey. No, three hours only." He smiled tightly at him and went back to hanging up his zipped hoodie and putting his sports bag, which contained his practice attire, in the back.

"Oh," Quentin said. He sounded disappointed. "Mine started just now, but I get out at seven today. I thought maybe if you did, too-"

"Oh, I have practice today," Peter interrupted quickly. "Sorry," he added, suddenly embarrassed that he turned him down so quickly. Could anyone blame him, really? Quentin didn't take no for an answer. Peter wasn't opposed to dating but could never bring himself to see Quentin in a way other than a friend.

Quentin furrowed his eyebrows. "We could always do it tomorrow."

Peter sighed. "Look, Quentin, I-"

"Peter, come here! We need some help on the front!"

Peter looked at Quentin one last time, almost apologetic. He wasn't sorry for saying no to an alpha he didn't want but still, it wasn't a fun thing to break his heart.

(Even if he knew he occasionally asked some other people out and probably wasn't heartbroken by Peter's rejection by any means.)

The front was, expectedly, very busy. This hour of the day was the shop's busiest one. Customer after customer would come in, the baristas writing names on cups like crazy. Melissa was not working the counter anymore so he took her place. 

"Hello ma'am, what would you like to order today?"

He took orders for the next hour. All kinds of dressed people were coming in and out, giving all kinds of different orders. The omega was nearly tired of pronouncing coffee names by the end of it.

"Hello sir, welcome. What would you like to order today?" He repeated for the millionth time. He kept his eyes and pen-clad hand on the cup and waited for the answer. 

"A venti Americano, please," a deep voice murmured. 

"What's your name, sir?"

"Tony."

Peter lifted his eyes.

Standing before him was the definition of alpha god. He had brown hair that begged to be touched, slightly graying around the edges. He was older and his shoulders, arms and chest looked strong. He held an aura of dominance around him that made Peter want to tilt his head to the side and show his neck immediately, but he refrained from doing so. His eyes were careful and he was frowning a little bit. He was, undoubtedly, an alpha.

Peter pulled his eyes away from him before it became creepy. The man wasn't looking at him, he was chewing out the day-specials written out on the board behind the omega. Peter wrote his name, Tony Stark, with slightly trembling hands. 

There were a lot of alphas going in and out of the coffee shop all the time, but none of them had affected him like this. Get a grip on yourself, he told himself. The man was a lot older than him by the looks of it and didn't even look at him anyways.

"Coming right up," he mumbled, not trusting his voice. He shouted the order and took a deep breath before waiting for the man to slide to the left and taking the next order.

Oh, how hard it was to be an omega.

The man took his coffee, his expression never changing and his hand constantly in his pocket. He was the epitome of dominance and Peter could not handle this. Oh god, the alpha was probably making every single omega in the shop want to submit to him, that's how expensive and strong he looked. Oh god.

Peter told himself to remember about his soulmate the rest of his shift. Somehow, it didn't help.

Melissa came up to him when he was hanging his apron back.

"Hey," she greeted him softly. "Quentin asked you out again?" 

Peter looked up at the beta from where he was tying his shoelaces on the floor. He sighed. "Yeah."

"I figured as much, when I saw your face at the front."

The boy got up, done with his laces. He slung his bag over his shoulder and shrugged. "It's the same thing everyday, anyways."

Melissa sighed, a slight frown forming on her pretty face. "That doesn't make it okay, though."

"Yeah."

Nothing was spoken for a moment and Peter decided he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So he smiled at Melissa, getting one back in turn, bid his goodbye and walked out of the backroom. He hurried out, worried that he would see Quentin and have to talk to him. Luckily, he was nowhere to be seen. 

He started walking to practice. Steve was going to meet him at the entrance. The other omega also had a shift today at the puppy shelter. 

They met at the entrance and quickly changed into their practice clothes. The changing room was empty aside from them because of the fact that they were a bit earlier. Peter and Steve both liked to stretch for a bit before Mr. Barton came. 

Steve was wearing loose pink shorts -Peter was sure it was from the women's section, as most of their clothes were 'cause they fit better and were softer, okay?- and a short sleeved small white t-shirt. He looked good enough to eat, the little cookie, and Peter was, well. Peter. 

The omega boy also had shorts but they were black, and a tight long sleeved black t-shirt. He tended to get cold easily. 

People started to get in after a while. The first to notice Steve's return was, of course, Darcy.

"Stevie! I missed you!" The girl threw his arms around the blonde, making him laugh loudly.

"I missed you too!"

Darcy pulled back enough to look at Steve's face. She grinned. "You look good, baby boy."

"Uh-huh. Ready to dance," he shook his hips. "How are you? How's Bruce?"

"Same as always," she replied, fondly rolling her eyes. Her reaction probably had to do with what a workaholic Bruce was and apparently that hadn't changed much in the time Steve was away. Steve grinned. 

"Well, that's always great to hear," he teased. Peter knew his blonde friend liked Bruce and looked up to him despite his workaholic manners. Bruce was, undoubtedly, a great therapist and had helped Steve so much when he had fallen at hard times. The boy was unfortunately a bit weaker than Peter in the sense that he was more akin to fall into depression when faced with difficulties related to being an omega without an alpha. It was hard for all the omegas in the states, hell, it was hard for omegas all over the world, Peter and Steve knew that. But it was still not the easiest thing to go to a hospital for the flu or before-heat cramps and get put on hold because mated omegas came first. Or when trying to travel to another country was literally a nightmare without a 'legal guardian'. Their social circle was usually all omegas and betas so they didn't experience sexism much in their private life but the outside world didn't treat them as fair. Being as sensitive as Steve, Peter could totally understand it. There were a lot more times when Steve wasn't smiling as full of life as he was now, staring at Darcy with attentive eyes. 

Peter took a deep breath. He was ready for an intense but enjoyful session. His arms and legs shook with pent-up anticipation and he slightly swayed on his toes. Knowing that Steve was joining him in dancing again was also comforting. 

An image of the unknown alpha in the coffee shop suddenly entered his mind, delving into the deep, deep corners of his mind he only got in touch at night when he was alone. It was distracting for only a minute before he shook himself out of it and followed his classmates out into the studio. This was not the time to think about attractive strangers who made him tremble even without any eye contact. This was the time to practice, where his eyes and mind would be closed to everything but the rhythm. 

The night of Michelle's gathering had Peter trying to make himself feel cute in front of his vanity mirror in the bedroom. His tries consisted of countless changing of clothes which was still not looking like it was going to end soon, and a detailed make up routine applied after moisturizing thoroughly. His curls were somewhat tamed, looking soft and neat. Peter was glad it wasn't one of the days his hair absolutely refused to agree with him. 

Steve was also getting dressed in his own room but he was doing it much quicker. The brunette wasn't surprised at all, his best friend was great at fashion as if cooking wasn't enough. He was literally the epitome of omega.

"Steve!" he shouted towards the hall, still holding his make up brush in his other hand. "I can't decide which highlighter to put on, come here, please?"

Steve shouted a hoarse 'okay' and not even a minute later he was walking into Peter's room. 

"You look amazing, it's not fair," Peter grinned. He only had his pink panties on. The whole closet of his was laid out on the single bed positioned at the centre of the small room.

Steve had probably chosen his outfit in, like, five seconds. 

"Don't worry, babe, I won't let you go out with an outfit you chose yourself. Even I wouldn't do that to you."

"Ha-ha," he rolled his eyes. "I tried on almost all of them, but I can't choose between these three," he said walking over to the dresses laying on the bed. The three of the said dresses were separated from the rest of them. 

Steve eyed them carefully. "The black one might be a better option. You go out in pastel colors way too often.”

“I like my pastel colors, thank you very much,” Peter murmured. The other omega was right. Darker colors did look good on him, he had to take advantage of it. “But I’ll listen to you. What about shoes?” 

The dress was tight and it ended at about Peter’s kneecaps. He wasn’t overly fond of wearing dresses, only simple ones like this one at special events, but he wouldn’t be exaggerating if he said he didn’t look hot in them. His much preferred shorts and t-shirts were going to be forgotten for the night. 

“Just wear your white sneakers,” Steve shrugged. “They look good with anything anyway. How do I look?” 

Peter wriggled his eyebrows. “You look good enough to eat, mister.”

His friend giggled and answered with a “you flatter me”, pretending to be flustered. The blush that was lightly dusted on his cheeks only added to the look. 

They chose the light pink highlighter for the brunette omega despite his protests. The light pink was almost completely untouched while the champagne coloured one already had a deep dent in it. Peter wasn’t very into taking risks, so he always went with the one he knew would look good no matter what he was wearing. Pink, though, was a brave choice. He was glad Steve had forced to put it on his face in the end, though. The contrast of black fabric and glittery pink looked good on him. Steve told him he looked both innocent and hot, which was a good thing, he guessed. 

The blonde let him borrow his lip gloss and that was it. Peter was ready to tackle the night. With no heavy concealer or foundation to hide his freckles, Peter felt soft and pretty. It was a nice change from the practice attire that had consumed his whole wardrobe as well as his daily look. 

Steve took one last look at himself in Peter’s mirror and deemed the both of them ready before asking the question Peter was expecting. “Do you think there are going to be alphas there?”

“I really don’t know,” Peter answered. Michelle being a beta, her party thing meant every person of gender could be invited. Betas had the same distance to everyone. “Why? Are you planning on bringing someone home?”

Peter looked worried. He didn’t like being in the same house with an alpha he didn’t know and most importantly, didn’t trust. Call it paranoid, but Peter had enough experience to know that it was never too obsessive to take precautions against strange alphas. You could never know which one of them planned to take advantage of you.

Not that Steve had brought many alphas home before, he too, like Peter, was waiting for his soulmate. Even if he did, he made sure he wouldn’t hurt him in any way and that someone from his friend circle knew the alpha so he wasn’t entirely unknown but still, Peter didn’t like the idea of another guy at their house. He struggled not to show it on his face in case Steve was desperate.

“I don’t think I will,” Steve answered. He was putting his coat on. “The heat smell still lingers. It might trigger someone.” 

Peter put on his sneakers after he also put on his coat. It was getting chillier outside. He exhaled discreetly, glad that he wasn’t going to deal with alpha pheromones tonight.

“Alright then,” he said, already dialing for a cab. “Let’s go.” 

The drive to Michelle’s house took a little less than fifteen minutes in which Peter thought about someone throwing a party just because they got an internship. A party, by all means, wasn’t the easiest thing to afford. In Peter’s opinion, you had to have got the internship at a very big company if you had to go throw a party to celebrate it.

Boy, was he right. Michelle had got into Stark Industries.

“In here?” Peter asked incredulously. “In New York, at their headquarters?”

“You don’t have to repeat everything she just said,” Steve rolled his eyes. He had gotten over his shock much quicker than his omega friend did. He halted and looked at Michelle carefully. 

“Does that mean you get to see Tony Stark?”

At the mention of the man’s name, a hundred alarms blarred in Peter’s head all at the same time, every single one of them telling a different story about the same situation. Up until this moment, the omega hadn’t really come to terms with the fact that he had seen Tony Stark in flesh, too caught up in the effect he had on him and busy trying to convince himself he could get over it. It was true that the man was attractive and had pulled a ridiculous reaction from him but other than that, he was Tony Stark. He was Michelle’s boss’ boss’ boss’, probably, and he was the owner of the biggest tech-company America had ever seen. He was the first person young alphas thought of as an example and most omegas didn’t even dream of having him as he still didn’t have a mate. Peter had practically met him. 

Well, maybe not met, but something fairly close to that. 

Steve’s question had Michelle smirking and downing the rest of her pinkish-purple drink. It was probably her fourth or fifth one, if the way her eyes didn’t seem to be able to linger on anything for more than ten seconds was anything to go by. Peter would have most likely passed out by the second one. 

“I mean, it’s not like I’ll see him at every lunch break or something. I heard his office is on the top floor and one of the other interns told me that he’s seen him maybe twice the whole time he worked there.” 

Steve seemed disappointed while Peter tried a more hopeful approach for her. “I got to see him at the coffee shop this week, Michelle. I’m sure you’ll find a way to meet him considering you work at-”

“What?” Two pairs of shocked eyes turned to him as a result of his confession. Peter drew his eyebrows together in confusion. It wasn’t that shocking to have seen Tony Stark before, right? The alpha wasn’t like, the God or something. 

Steve looked like he didn’t even think his best friend would keep something like that from him, and he made it clear, too.

“Pete, you met Tony Stark and didn’t care to tell me? How?!”

“Oh, come on, it’s not like we actually met. He gave me his coffee order-”

“He talked to you?!”

Dear baby Jesus. The brunette wouldn’t hear the end of it, he was sure of it. 

“How did he look? Was he smiling, frowning, what?” Michelle asked curiously, uninterested in Steve’s disappointment over not being told about Peter meeting the hottest alpha on the planet. “I’m sure he was frowning. He looks like such an asshole -I’m sorry, Stevie, okay?- that I wouldn’t know how a smile would look on him.” She seemed to suddenly get an idea and stopped. “But he has, like, pictures where he’s smiling on Google, though, right?” 

“I don’t know, does he?” It wasn’t like Peter googled him regularly, though he was sure a smile would look horrendously handsome on him. 

The blonde omega, even though still not over the shocking news, seemed to agree with Michelle. “He’s a pretty private person. I’m sure I’ve seen him on the news before and he didn’t even smile once.”

“Michelle! The food is here!” 

Their beta friend left to pay for the arrived food after giving them a hurried goodbye. Steve got closer to Peter and gave him a pointed look which Peter tried his hardest to pretend like it wasn’t directed at him, looking around at the abundance of people scattered around Michelle’s living room. 

“You traitor!” Steve hissed. “You should’ve told me straight away!”

“Okay, okay, I didn’t think to tell you, I’m sorry!” Peter flailed his arms around, giving up. “He only gave me his coffee order, a venti Americano, and didn’t even look me in the eye. It’s not a big deal!”

“A venti Americano? How the hell do you even remember that?”

His friend looked very suspicious, and really, Peter didn’t even really stand a chance. Steve knew him like the back of his hand, he would’ve understood the situation just by looking at his face, anyway. He was never very good at hiding his feelings. 

The boy licked his lips and exhaled. “Yes, he came in, walked like he owned the place, didn’t even look at me, ordered a venti Americano.” He looked at his best friend in the eye and put his hand right over his heart, hoping he didn’t look too much like a lovesick fool. “He smelled so good and almost made me friggin’ cry and wither and die-” “Peter!” “-and he was the hottest alpha I have ever seen in my life even though he didn’t even look me in the eye, Steve!” He was literally whining at this point but who even cared anymore. Right at that moment, as Peter was finally opening up to someone about his two day crush on someone he would never have a chance with, he was actually understanding how saying something out loud made it realer than it seemed in your own head. It was easy to convince himself it was nothing to worry about when no one knew about it. Having Steve knowing it meant it was real.

“I felt- I felt really different, Steve.”

His friend, bless his little heart, didn’t comment immediately. He was aware that this was a sensitive subject and didn’t want to accidentally touch a sore spot. 

The blonde boy’s eyes softened. “Pete…” 

“I know, I know,” Peter interrupted. “I know I can’t be sure until I actually touch him, but you know me, Stevie, I’ve never felt like this.”

“Sweetie, could you be making it… bigger than it is? Don’t get me wrong, your feelings are absolutely valid and it is a different reaction than what you normally give to alphas, but that still doesn’t mean he’s your soulmate.” He paused. “It could just mean that you like him. He’s a very attractive alpha.”

None of the things he said were wrong. Hearing it now, it took only a second for it all to make sense in his head. But still, he couldn’t help but feel deep in his heart that no other alpha could ever affect him like this. Make him tremble like a leaf.

“I know,” he mumbled, reluctant to continue talking about it and understanding more about his overreacting to the man. “This is not the place to talk about this, though. Let’s celebrate for Michelle.” He tried to cheer himself up by smiling -probably unconvincingly, but it was something- and picking his forgotten drink back up from the table. There were people having decent fun around them and Peter didn’t want to spend his time mulling over his feelings instead of getting to know the others.  

Steve looked hesitant. He reached over and squeezed his hand for a second. Peter already felt better at having him by his side. 

Two hours and endless encounters with strangers from Michelle’s social circle later, Peter found himself getting drowsy with his need of sleep. He liked talking to the people at the party, had met a lovely beta named Claire, drank lots of beer, tried to talk to anyone and everyone, had a brief talk with Darcy who arrived at the party much later than everyone else due to work. Despite having an older alpha who had the refreshing income of a successful therapist, Darcy wasn’t too keen on the idea of being bound to someone else in the sense of money. It was one of the many reasons Peter and Steve liked her so much. 

“Steve,” he murmured to his friend who was talking to another omega boy from Potts’ class. Steve turned his attention back on him upon hearing his voice. 

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Should we leave soon? I have a six hour shift tomorrow morning.”

Steve nodded, pushing a half-eaten cookie into his mouth and throwing a kiss to the omega he was talking to. He also looked sleepy but Peter knew he could stay up all night if he wanted to. 

They said their goodbyes to everyone, wished good luck to Michelle on her internship and left before it was midnight. Despite not having done much physical activity besides walking around and talking to people, Peter felt bone-tired and wanted to sleep away the whole night. 

“I hope Michelle does good in her internship,” Steve said right as they were getting into their cab. “She wants things other than dancing in her life. She said she might even drop out of dancing and look into another course if this goes well.”

Peter didn’t think he would ever give up his dancing career for anything, but then he’d never been at the receiving end of an internship acceptance mail from Stark Industries. His only answer was a slight smile and a nod, too tired for a more complicated reaction. 

The next day, the omega was feeling rested and the exhaustion that came with drinking didn’t stay with him, most likely because it was only a few beers. Steve was apparently in the same boat because when Peter awoke his senses were immediately bombarded with newly cooked bacon and eggs. Quickly pulling on some sweatpants, he left his room to find the blonde already munching on breakfast.

“Morning,” he greeted. “You made bacon?”

“That’s right. Figure you’d need it, seeing as you get drunk on wet wipes.”

“Ha-ha.” He rolled his eyes. The food looked too tempting to spend time on bickering and so he started eating. The coffee was also ready, and once again, it was unbelievable how Steve managed to pull all of this in a very limited time. Peter guessed it had to do with how much his friend liked to experiment with food and how it was actually something he very much enjoyed doing, so rather than focusing on finishing it as soon as possible, Steve tried his best just for enjoyment of some sorts.

A few minutes passed before Steve dropped the bomb.

“Are we going to talk about your crush on Tony Stark, Petey-Pie?”

Oh god, not this again, he thought. It wasn’t even noon and he was not ready to talk about Tony Stark while stuffing his face with bacon. His cheeks burned unintentionally.

“What about Tony Stark? And no, it’s not a crush,” he denied bashfully. “I told you I felt some sort of connection.”

Steve flicked an eyebrow. “Well, that’s what’s attraction is.” The boy didn’t seem like he would let it go anyways, so Peter let him have his part. “I never thought I’d see the day you develop a crush on The Tony Stark, my little snowflake. We have been proudly blessed. The man is like, more than twice your age.” A sudden thought halted his talking. “And, correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t he mateless?”

That would be outrageous. If someone as perfect and put-together as Tony Anthony Stark was left mateless by the universe then that was solely the universe’s fault because that would just be a crime. Steve had most likely heard it wrong while listening to the other omegas in their class gossip about it.

“Of course not. He’s probably hiding it.” He shrugged. “Maybe didn’t want to put them in front of the entire world. That pressure shit and stuff.”

“Um, I’m actually almost sure that he is mateless,” Steve answered in a confident tone. I’m-actually-never-really-wrong-Steve was seemingly back. “I heard him talk about it on a talk show.”

Jesus Christ, was his best friend stalking Tony Stark in his free time?

“Are you stalking Tony Stark in your free time?”

“No, I just came across it on TV! I don’t even remember when I watched it.” He paused, pushing a piece of egg in his mouth. “Look, anyways, does it really matter? Maybe he will visit the coffee house again, who knows?”

Peter laughed wholeheartedly and nodded sarcastically. “Yeah, he will, for sure.”

After finishing their breakfast the pair finished getting ready and parted their ways for their shifts. The only thought in his mind was to finish this day that had not even started because it already looked so tiring for him. After his six-hour shift which he picked up on one of his mostly free days because he kinda needed the money, a class consisting of practicing his recent routine and working on some of his still weak moves was waiting for him. He would be dead by then. How enthusiastic, he thought bitterly.

With his thick pink scarf and beanie protecting him, he was ready to face the hell that was the coffee shop he worked in. The bell chimed as he stepped into the warmer air and greetings were exchanged between him and his co-workers -that didn’t include Quentin today, thank god- before he quickly tied his apron at the back of the store and got ready for the front. It was just a little past nine, which meant he was later than he should have been, which meant there were lots of customers already piling up.  It was boring and it was familiar, until it wasn’t anymore.

Almost one hour into his shift had the customers lessening by minute and his pen working a little slower on the cups. The clock getting closer to noon meant just a short while of nice and calm scribbling, no rude people demanding their coffee done right at that moment because work was almost starting and no crazy name-writing for Peter. He was giving the macchiato order of a woman in sportswear that seemingly took a break from jogging when his eyes caught the familiar movement that had almost had him going into heat a few days ago. There, stepping into his disgustingly familiar little workplace, was Tony Stark. Again. Even though he was absolutely certain that time would be the first and last one he saw the man in flesh, burning into his mind as a memory that would remind him of his desperate attempt to fulfill his hunger for a soulmate by thinking he had a connection with a man like him. So out of reach it couldn’t even be talked about and so beautiful that Peter felt ashamed to look at him. Even now, holding the same aura he had days ago and walking straight ahead, he had Peter’s breath stopped. He had tinted sunglasses accompanying another dark suit. The alpha looked every bit of the title he carried; there was no doubt he was very strong, he looked even bigger than the last time. Years had him roughed up and a little menace voice from his own imagination whispered in Peter’s ear about how well he could protect his omega, how well he would hold them and love them and do other unspeakable things to them. Needless to say, he stopped that train of thought before it became more distracting.

Tony stopped in front of the counter, eyeing the options displayed much like the last time he was here. Peter held his breath and tried to look like he wasn’t thinking any of the things he was thinking. Probably wasn’t very successful but what could an omega do?

“Welcome back, sir. What would you like to order?”

Shit, welcome back? Who the hell even greeted a customer that had come in almost three days ago? 

Oh god. It was now undoubtedly clear that Peter had been paying way too much attention to the man’s visits. Before he had a chance to freak the fuck out, the alpha turned his dark eyes to him, staring right into his eyes. Right at that moment the brunet learned how fast his heart actually could start jackhammering and making him think it could be heard beating right across the shop. These beautiful, beautiful but distanced eyes were almost staring right into his soul, demanding he give everything he ever owned and felt to him, belong unconditionally; feel what it was like to give in to his biology. Kept safe in strong arms and under a heavy body, no doubt of tomorrow. 

He was feeling so much so sudden that reminded him of the fact that the tremors secretly going through his body were unnoticed by the alpha. These feelings couldn’t have held over him at least at that moment. He could cry about it all he wanted when he was alone.

The omega had no idea what was going on on his mind.

“Hello back,” his deep voice murmured and Peter thought for a second that there was an alpha timbre in the man’s voice. “I see nothing has changed since I last visited.”

“Um,” Peter said stupidly. What did that even mean? “I- I hope it’s been… it’s been to your, uh, liking, sir.” 

That was probably the stupidest answer anyone could ever give to Tony Stark. Well done, Parker, he thought to himself. Luckily the man didn’t seem put off by it and only smiled in answer and went on about his order while Peter tried to regain his senses. It was surprisingly very hard to keep control of his emotions when you were in the presence of an alpha as strong as Tony Stark because the man reeked of intimidation even when he was walking. Which was the opposite of what Peter’s type was, really.

“A venti Americano, coming right up, sir,” he croaked out, cheeks on fire. Tony Stark was going to forget about embarrassing a little barista boy to the point where he could barely talk as soon as he stepped out of the cafe but the omega was probably going to blush every time he even thought about this moment. 

Fortunately, the alpha’s drink took a few minutes to make in which he could calm himself down. He didn’t understand why his fingertips trembled the way they did or why his instincts were screaming at him to submit. Unlike lots of omegas he befriended or contacted regularly, he was always the one most unimpressed by alpha pheromones. Apparently, this was not the case this time.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the man standing in the same posture, hands in his pockets and his head high. The drink was finished without less clumsiness than he expected and he turned around to serve it, trying not to meet his eyes. 

“Ah, thank you,” he said approvingly. Such a good boy, Peter thought to himself and then immediately scolded himself for it after.

The boy nodded once in answer, biting his lip. Tony reached a hand out to grab the cup from his fingers; and that was the point Peter Parker was too late to react. That was the point he unknowingly gave in to his omegan urges even if it was only holding his hand out for more than a second, but it was enough for sparks to fly.

Their hands touched on top of the hot container of coffee, both knowing the warm electricity spreading through their veins wasn’t caused by that. The smaller lifted his eyes in shock; surprised to see the man looking much more put together than you would expect for a man who just found his soulmate to be, but the tick in his jaw was clear enough for anyone close to see. His eyes were locked on the cup as if it held all the answers. 

“Sir- I-” Peter stuttered. What was he supposed to say? 

This was, undoubtedly, the most shocking thing Peter had gone through in all of his short life. It did not add up to the dreams about his soulmate at all. This situation was much more beyond that, it was impossible to acknowledge that this person could be his soulmate. His mind wasn’t working anymore.

“Oh my god- sir, I’m…” 

Tony finally lifted his eyes, his awe only clear to the eye if you looked very closely. Peter shut his mouth closed -nothing useful was coming out of it at the moment- and looked at him helplessly, warm brown eyes wide. 

“You are my mate,” he breathed. “You are my omega.”

Peter could only look at him, speechless. This was going to be very, very interesting.

Peter wasn’t sure his heart was beating the same way it did seconds ago.

Still in denial that Tony Stark had turned out to be his mate, he was pulled to the side by Melissa once she had seen the tension between the two and then later sat down on one of the tables outside. His mate was sitting in front of him, much less dreamy and floaty then himself. 

The omega inside of him had never resurfaced as much as it did that day besides his heats.

The small omega chewed inside of his lip as he observed his hands in his lap quietly. Frankly, he didn’t know what to say. You didn’t know what to talk about with Tony Stark normally, let alone talking when you figured out he was your mate. Peter could only hear the beating of his own heart; his alpha sitting comfortably with his thighs apart and his big watch shining in the sunlight. Jesus, what had Peter gotten into?

“What’s your name?” Tony asked softly. Peter gulped. 

“Peter, sir,” he answered. “I’m Peter Parker.”

“Well, Peter Parker, you can look at me, you know. We are soulmates, after all. You have to look me in the eyes at some point.”  His voice was teasing and was so far away from the stone cold aura it held moments ago. This gave some sort of relief to the young boy and he breathed slightly. 

“Yeah,” he laughed breathily and shyly lifted his head to meet their eyes. Tony didn’t seem too uncomfortable and he kind of looked excited. As unbelievable as it was, he was much older and probably waited his whole life for a soulmate, who was Peter. 

Peter. Peter Parker who came from nothing and tried to be something.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m just really shocked, I guess.” His voice trembled. “Wasn’t expecting to meet my soulmate.”

“You don’t need to apologize. You don’t get to meet your soulmate everyday,” Tony shook his head. The man, bless his heart, was still trying to console Peter even though it was obvious who was more deserving of a soulmate. Peter had waited so much less longer than him.

“I can’t believe you are my soulmate.” He paused. “You were always someone I looked up to.”

Tony now had a weird glint in his eyes. The corner of his lip curled up. He looked so handsome that Peter didn’t know what to do with himself. 

“I’m glad you like me, pup. There are too many people who don’t. I guess you know a little bit about me, then, but I know nothing but your name. And the fact that you’re way, way too pretty.”

Oh god, Peter was sure even the tips of his ears were red by now. He wished there was a cup of water with him so that he could do something else other than looking straight into the man’s eyes. Handling this was so much more difficult than he thought.

“O-oh, I- thank you,” he stumbled. “Um, I live pretty close to the shop. With my best friend Steve and we both dance. We’re still training but we hope to be professional trainers when it comes to that.” Tony was listening with rapid attention as if this was something that truly interested him which Peter couldn’t fathom because according to him, it was silly stuff. Tony was probably swamped with important work everyday and couldn’t be bothered to learn about some twenty two year old’s daily life but he was listening so closely that Peter couldn’t help but go on.

“Um, and I’m twenty two. My parents live in Brooklyn. Aand- that’s about it.” He smiled sheepishly. His mate nodded approvingly. 

"You dance? What kind of dance?"

"Well, Steve and I both started with ballet but it got mixed up along the way. Our instructor, Mr. Barton mainly does modern dances so we've mostly been focused on that lately." 

Tony seemed impressed and that made Peter even more red, if that was possible. He tried hiding his eyes once again, gaze turning back onto his lap. He felt so silly talking about his life to Tony Stark.

Figuring it was only polite to ask about the man in return even though he knew of most of his life. Well, most of what he offered to the public, anyways.

"What about you, Mr. Stark?"

Tony laughed heartily, throwing his head back. Peter was mesmerized. "Stop with the 'Mr. Stark', kid. You are my one," he scolded gently. The omega's heart stopped. “Just call me Tony.” 

Mesmerized, Peter could only nod in return.

"The main SI building is located here now so I'm mostly around here. Didn't notice this coffee shop until recently but I'm very glad that I did. Normally my driver Happy gets these kinds of things for me, but I guess I had a feeling ‘cause I wanted to do it myself for a few times. I am certainly having a hard time believing that I've found my soulmate. I waited… a long time."

Peter felt a wave of sadness hit him upon hearing his soulmate talking about waiting so long. It almost made him feel guilty despite knowing it had absolutely nothing to do with him or his actions. Making them meet earlier was impossible. Still feeling like he had to console him in some way, he hurried to comfort him. 

"Well, we did meet at the end, didn't we? We- it's not, it's good that it's not even later, right?"

There must have been some kind of urge in his attempt to make his mate feel better because Tony was smiling sympathetically, hand reaching towards his on the table.

"Hey, of course it's not, darling. It couldn't have been better, believe me. I'm very lucky to have met you and that you are my mate. You are certainly pretty but also seem like such a good omega. Everything's alright."

Hearing this lessened his concerns regarding making his alpha wait for a lifetime as well as lightening the insecurities pushing at his omega to be better. It was undoubtedly one of the most common omega traits to be insecure of certain things such as not being good enough for their destined alpha or making unnecessary mistakes. Now that he knew there was no wrongdoing on his part, he let himself smile a little bit. 

The alpha sitting in front of him looked… unworldly. And not just in the case of looks, his position was something unreachable for Peter; who had struggled just to get by all his life. Choosing a proficiency that guaranteed nothing more than unstable paychecks and promises of unemployment for long periods of time didn’t help his case, although it did make him feel like he had control over his life. Being an omega meant most of the things he desired most likely wouldn’t happen, so it was in his best interest to at least achieve to do something he enjoyed. Steve being in the same path had helped him so much and was probably one of the main reasons he could take it this far.

But he was, literally, nothing more than that. Sure, he did read sometimes; when he wasn’t aching all over from the constant pressure his body endured and he cooked with his amazing roommates’ help if he had to. He lived a normal life and he had friends; he had anxiety much like his peers and facetimed his family regularly. He wasn’t terrible, but he could hardly be described as fit for Tony Stark.

The omega shifted uncomfortably. He wondered if Tony was thinking the exact same thing or if he was genuinely glad he had found a mate in Peter. He wasn’t unhappy by the look of his face but Peter still wasn’t very sure. 

“Um, just so you know… If you, I mean- if you did not want to go on with this, ‘cause I can totally understand that, don’t worry! Uh- it’s- it’s okay and I wouldn’t be offended at all. It’s not like we have to,” he laughed humorlessly, just to seem like clarifying this wasn’t hurting him to the very core. Stop being a baby, he told himself. Give him the chance to leave.

“And maybe we could, you know, we could make an arrangement; I could q-quit here, if that would make you more comfo-” 

“Peter, stop,” the alpha interrupted firmly. “There’s no need for you to speak like this. I don’t want you to do anything besides what you want to and frankly, there is no need for an arrangement.” He seemed to think over what he was going to say for a moment, then continued. “I have been very patient in my waiting, but even I have limits. I couldn’t be happier to find you and see all of this was worth waiting for. Wasn’t expecting the universe would give me a small little boy cuter than a kitten, and he is the politest omega around!” He flailed his hands as if to say he couldn’t believe it. “You are better than my dreams and I can’t wait to get to know you and to mate you. Unless you don’t want to, of course.”

Feeling just a bit breathless from being called cute, Peter could find his voice with some difficulty. “Of course I want to.”

His alpha flashed him a smile some would pay thousands for and reached his left hand towards him, encouraging his new omega to take it. “Good, then. Let’s get to know each other, shall we?”

Peter nodded his head, overwhelmed, before taking the hand offered to him. His delicate fingers felt tiny between the man’s hand, undoubtedly an alpha’s hand. 

A few pinches would be necessary to convince himself this wasn’t a dream. According to the warmth radiating from where the man was touching his hand, it wasn’t.

They sat there for a little while, talking about Peter’s parents whereabouts and the fact that his friend MJ had recently started working for him. The boy was hesitant about talking about it at first because he was sure Tony had no contact with the interns whatsoever but after much encouragement from the alpha, he eventually told him all about it. 

Melissa told him to take the rest of the day off, thankfully. Being this overwhelmed surely couldn’t mean good work etiquette and he was afraid he would start whining at some random mishap that could happen. Tony was waiting for him when he took his things from the back in front of the store and despite feeling his knees weaken at the sight of him he still walked towards the alpha. Now that they were standing side to side and the omega wasn’t in shock, their size and age difference were much more clear. His cheeks darkened with color.

It was still hard to look the man in the eyes. Sure, maybe only a child would be shy enough to miss their alpha’s gaze intentionally but he wasn’t ready at all. It would make him melt right on the spot.

“Would you like to go somewhere more comfortable to talk? I’ve got some work I unfortunately can’t afford to delay, but you are more than welcome to come with me to the office, if you like.”

Peter’s thin eyebrows rose at the mention of his office. “Your office? As in the Stark headquarters?”

Tony chuckled before unlocking his car’s doors, which was, wow, Peter’s own two eyes had never witnessed something so luxurious before, and stared at him as if he was telling a joke. 

“Of course, darling. Did you think I would make you wait in the lobby or something?” He gently put his hand on the small of his back and pushed him towards the passenger door. He waited patiently until Peter sat himself down and before he could reach for his seatbelt, the alpha was already leaning down and securing it at its place. Heart beating wildly, Peter slightly pulled himself back from the man standing very close to him and tried not to inhale too deeply. Now that he was as close as he was, his scent was everywhere. Wide-eyed and tense, the omega attempted to breathe through his mouth. The alpha was turning back to the driver seat in a second in which Peter exhaled and let the tension bleed out through his body.

They drove in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Peter could never understand the phrase seeing as silences were mostly the most uncomfortable periods of time he had to go through. He never knew what to do with himself or if he was expected to say something to fill it. Except this time he knew he wasn’t offending anyone, Tony was simply watching the road and driving.

Which, oh my god. If he didn’t look hot before, he certainly did now. Thighs apart comfortably and hand solid on the steering wheel, he looked like he was born to carry the alpha title. Peter suddenly felt so very lucky to be sitting beside this man.

“Hey, Tony…”

“What is it, darling?”

Peter cleared his throat. “Um, if you have to work today, maybe we could meet up at a better time? I have practice in a few hours, anyway, and we wouldn’t be able to spend much time together. I wouldn’t want to distract you from your work.”

Tony seemed to ponder over the offer for a moment, brows furrowing. It must have seemed to make sense to him, he nodded while still watching the road. “Reasonable. We should set up a certain time, just in case.” He turned to look at the omega sitting in the passenger seat. He looked so small in the big, shiny interior of the car. “I want to make sure I always have time for you. Never want you to feel neglected,” he admitted, tilting his head slightly. “Well, work can be hectic from time to time, but it will never be busy enough for me to ignore you. I want you to know that, alright?”

The omega nodded his confirmation, feeling defenseless under the watchful gaze.

Tony dropped him off in front of his building. It had taken some time to convince him that yes, he could walk to the studio when the time came and yes, it was close enough that he wouldn’t need any transportation. He couldn’t see the problem even if he did need it but he still comforted his alpha that it would be okay. They also exchanged numbers for further communication.

He caught the businessman throwing a worried look at the entrance but it was gone in a second. Telling himself not to worry about it too much, he said his goodbyes to the alpha and stepped into the building. He quickly opened his door and closed it before the cold got into the flat.

Oh, Jesus, now that he was alone it was so much harder to hold in his squeals. What now? he thought. Who was he supposed to tell first? Well, his parents had to learn sometime today, but would Steve be a better choice? Holy crap, how would his best friend react? He doubted the blonde would even believe him. 

Undressing himself of his coat and scarf, he quickly washed his hands and threw some water at his flushed face before taking his phone to his hand. His last call history included Steve, Darcy and his mom. Ignoring Darcy for now was already decided on but the lingering thought that Steve wasn’t gonna believe him refused to go away. It was understandable, really; no one could ever anticipate this.

While trying to decide on what to do, he jumped around to burn some energy. He could barely hold the screams waiting to be let out in his chest but the threat of his crazy neighbours disrupting his newfound happiness was enough to calm him down a bit. The water most likely didn’t help at all because he still looked like a little tomato. A very excited, very energetic tomato.

In the end, he called his mom.

“Hi, sweetie,” Mary greeted him with a bit of confusion mixed in. This wasn’t the usual time he called his parents. 

“Hey,” he answered with a voice much higher than normal. Not like it was very deep before, but, well. “Hey, mom. I’m sorry to bother you, is this not a good time?”

“Of course it is, baby, why wouldn’t it be? I was just watering the plants. It’s time I paid more attention to them, you know. They’ve been getting lonely.” She paused. “Is everything okay?”

Here it was. He had to break it slowly. “Everything’s alright, mom. I just got something to tell you. I, um…”

Should’ve probably thought about what to say beforehand, he thought. Now it was too late for that. “I have some good news, actually. I met someone today.”

Yes, yes; this was a good way to say it slowly. His mom could get used to the idea of there being someone first. Everyone in his family knew he was keen on waiting for his alpha and didn’t really question him about his dating life. It was enough of a shock to hear there was someone he was interested in, let alone his soulmate.

“Is that so?” his mom gasped. “Oh, that’s wonderful news, sweetie! Who is it? Is it someone from the studio?”

“No, not exactly. It’s… promise you’re not gonna freak out, though.”

“Pete, who is it?! I promise, I promise!”

Peter smiled. “I found my soulmate.”

Nothing was heard from the other side for a few moments in which Peter frowned, trying to decipher if it was a bad reaction or not. He gulped. Was she in shock? Should he have waited to tell her to make sure there was someone there with her?

“Mom? Are you there?”

“I’m- I’m here, Pete.” She sounded incredulous, voice barely above a whisper. “Are you sure, baby? You don’t want to figure it out after, Pete, it could really hurt you-”

“I’m sure, mom. I’m absolutely sure,” he laughed in happiness. “I really found him! Found my alpha!”

Soon, his mother was also laughing along with him; both of their eyes filled with tears. Just like Peter, his mom also worried from time to time about how his son would do all alone in a world where he needed a mate the most. It was the same for an alpha because the emptiness a mate’s absence caused was one like no other. No one else could really fill the void. Every mother who had an omega child started to get worried after a while because they knew they couldn’t always be there with them. Sure, the pain was the same for alphas but the world was much more accepting to them than it was to omegas. They knew it was going to be harder for their children.

But now, a relief like no other settled upon both of them. Peter had finally found love.

“Tell me all about it, sweetie. Oh, I can’t wait to tell your father, he’s gonna be delighted about this! Should I call him right away, you think?”

“Mom, calm down! Okay, let me just tell you about him a bit, ‘cause you know dad’s gonna pester you with questions.” 

He was now reminded that the scary part wasn’t over. In fact, it was only starting because while love-drunk on his soulmate, he had forgotten about their age and status difference. While his mom was the sweetest woman he had ever known, he knew it was still going to be difficult to accept it. It was going to be hard for him, even, how could it not be for his parents?

“He’s- he’s actually a public figure,” he carefully started. “He’s very sweet and also has been waiting for me for a long time. He assured me that we would get to know each other first and he made sure to drop me off at my house. We didn’t talk much because obviously I was in shock but he was really gentle with me and he seemed to know what he was doing.” He was rambling. Okay, okay; he could do this. “He’s really great, mom.”

“Darling, you don’t know how happy I am to hear this.” Mary let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god he’s so understanding as you said. Believe me, Petey, I already feel like you were a match made in heaven.”

Peter scrunched his face up. He wondered if his mom was still going to be thinking the same thing when she heard about his age.

Not that that would stop him. Yes, he thought the world of his mother and her blessing meant close to everything to him but there was no power in the world that could stop him from loving Tony now. His need for him wasn’t even close to what he thought it would be before. It was impossible to think about a life without him even though they had just met and knew just a little bit about each other. 

“I do, too, mom. It’s… I can’t even describe it, really. It’s such a good feeling. Feeling him, knowing that he is the one for me for the rest of my life… Nothing has ever felt so assuring, mom. I’m sure you know all this, already, but,” he wiped his eyes and giggled. “I mean, I’ve never been more attuned to somebody.”

“I’m sure it is, baby, and I can’t wait to see your future with him. He sounds great. But you said he was a public figure? You think I might have heard of him?”

“You… did, actually. Um, it’s Tony Stark.”

Whelp, there goes the bomb. 

The omega held his breath and shut his eyes closed as if waiting for a bomb to explode. “Tony Stark, you say?”

“Yes, mom.”

“That’s… slightly inconvenient.” 

His heart dropped but before he could helplessly try to make her see the reason, she was already cutting him off and filling his heart with hope again. “But as long as he treats you as you said he did, then I guess it’s alright. There are too many alphas out there who would abuse the opportunity of having you as long as they got a hold of it but it seems like Mr. Stark, Tony, thinks highly of you. Doesn’t hurt that you knew him and looked up to him, either. I'll still need to meet him and see for myself, though. Your dad would probably want the same.”

The omega sighed in relief. The hardest part was over in his opinion. Even if his dad was slightly less understanding than his mom, he believed in her to make him see the reason. “I love you, mom. Thank you for being there for me.”

“Of course, baby.” She sounded like she was smiling. “I can’t believe you’re all grown up with a mate. Oh god, how the time has passed.”

Peter giggled. It felt like years had gone by until he met Tony but apparently that wasn’t the case for his mom. 

“Mom, I want to tell Steve, too. But… do you think, do you think he’d be upset about it? I mean, I’m sure he’s going to be happy about it but I don’t want him to feel bad because he hasn’t found his alpha yet. Do you think maybe I should wait to tell him?”

“No, no; I’m sure he’s gonna be nothing but very happy, sweetie. He loves you like a brother, it wouldn’t even cross his mind to make this a reason for grief. It would upset him more if you waited to tell him. But maybe wait for him to come home so he doesn’t do anything stupid,” she chuckled.

Yeah, that made sense. Peter could work with that. 

Hanging up the phone after saying goodbye to his mom, Peter decided to tell Steve when they both went to practice today. He figured it was best to reveal it face to face and he wasn’t about to ruin the opportunity just because of impatience. 

This day was still feeling like a dream. He couldn’t find any words to express how grateful he was to have met Tony; a missing piece of himself he didn’t even feel the lack of until today. Happiness was warming his body from head to toe, and he didn’t ever want to let go of this feeling. Nothing could have made him feel as accomplished and whole as this did.

After taking a shower and eating only a bite of food because he couldn’t stomach anything bigger than that at the moment; he sat down in front of his laptop and sighed. He blushed while writing his mate’s name on Google but it wasn’t like someone could see him, right? Besides, knowing a little bit more of what everybody already knew about his alpha couldn’t hurt.

Most of the search images consisted of Tony attending various gala nights, charities and introducing new tech he improvised. His alpha looked to be in control of whatever room he was standing in; whether it be a conference hall full of curious engineering students, a hotel garden where a charity event was held, or in front of a big screen displaying the pieces of new Stark technology. He truly was the dream alpha. Peter couldn’t believe his luck.

Of course, in the end, what really mattered was the fact that Tony hadn’t treated him as an inadequate person; in fact he had been very careful with his words as to not say the wrong thing. Peter was charmed by him already. The person standing in the coffee line and not looking at anyone as if they didn’t deserve to be looked at by him wasn’t the same as the gentle alpha hanging on to Peter’s every word, but the dancer would take him in any way. 

The search of his name also included some photos with girls and boys hanging off of his arm. They all seemed to be omegas by the look of their build and soft features. Even if the businessman looked indifferent in almost all of these pictures, the people that accompanied him looked like they were all some kind of model. For example, there was a tall girl standing next to him in his dark green suit; she had blonde hair and blue eyes and was wearing the sexiest dress Peter ever laid his eyes on. The important thing about it was that she could carry herself very well while posing, though. One almost could say that the dress was made to be worn by her. The other people at Tony’s side were all similar but they could hardly be called a couple. It was very clear that those people were there solely because Tony wanted company or because the events he was invited to encouraged a plus-one. 

Peter was suddenly struck by the thought of having to accompany his alpha through these kinds of evenings but quickly avoided the idea. Everything was stressful enough, anyways.

He scrolled down continuously for a while, finding out that Stark Industries was managed by Tony since his father died in 1991 and he had flourished it with his genius in time. The company was arguably one of the best ones out there and according to some people on the internet, it actually was the best.

Not wanting to delve even deeper into learning about his alpha through the internet, he shut his laptop after half an hour and urged himself to do something useful until it was time to leave for practice. Despite his hands still slightly trembling and his excitement absolutely refusing to settle down, he decided to dedicate his energy into cleaning the house. He wasn’t sure it was the best idea considering a full body workout was already awaiting him at the studio but it was impossible to sit still. 

He spent the next few hours cleaning every little corner he could find in the house, tiring himself out in the process. His mind never wandered away from Tony for one second.

His chance to catch Steve alone at practice was offered to him on a gold platter when he arrived at the studio and Steve was the only one there. They hadn’t spoken on the phone after Steve got off work but he must have been there earlier because his clothes were already changed.

“Hi!” Peter enthusiastically greeted him. Steve looked up from tying his shoelaces on the floor and gave him a big grin.

“Hello there, Petey-pi- oh, hey, these are not the clothes you were wearing earlier,” he muttered, confused. His friend was the most attentive person there was, it seemed. Peter hadn’t even thought of that. 

“Oh, yeah! I actually got out of work early today and went home for a bit,” he explained. “Hey, look; I’ve got something to tell you before anyone else comes in.”

The blonde looked interested. “Yeah? What is it?”

“Okay, are you ready? You are totally gonna freak out, oh my god. You could never guess what it is.”

“What? What is it? Now you got me excited, you prick! Tell me!” he demanded, wide eyed.

Peter took a deep breath, laughing lightly. “Okay, okay. I’m not gonna make you squirm but just because I can’t wait to tell you. I’ve met my soulmate today.”

Steve, expectedly, went into shock the second he heard the words come out of Peter’s mouth. Not really having time to prepare him for such surprising news, the omega had to tell him very quickly and get it off his chest. Steve was probably going to scream once he was over the shock, he only had to wait. 

His best friend looked straight at him for thirty seconds; mouth agape and not saying a word. In a minute his eyes were filling with tears and he was throwing himself at his roommate who had finally found what they were both searching for.

“Oh my god, Peter… Congratulations, oh my god!”

“Yes, I know!” Peter laughed. “I can’t believe it! And wait, it’s Tony Stark, dude!”

Steve pulled back from hugging him. “Now you’re fucking with me.”

Peter shook his head, smile never even wavering. “I’m not. He came to the shop today and just like I told you I felt the same thing all over again, man, it was like I couldn’t even breathe properly. That’s how bad he made me. He ordered a venti Americano just like last time. I made it and when I was giving it to him our hands touched and boom! Just like that we were soulmates.” He got that dreamy look in his eyes again before focusing on the mirror behind Steve’s back. “He’s such a great alpha, Stevie.”

The blonde omega looked like he wasn’t believing one word Peter was saying. His eyebrows shot up. “Dude, are you fucking serious? Is Tony Stark seriously your alpha?”

“Yes he is!” he exclaimed. “I still can’t believe it. He dropped me of at home. Gave me his number and I gave mine, we’re going to talk about setting up a time to meet. He told me he was waiting for a long time- oh god, I have so much to talk about to you, Steve-”

“Well, if it isn’t the hottest omega couple in the neighbourhood! Guys, did you practice your solos? I need you to tell me if everything’s correct with mine,” Darcy interrupted him, storming into the studio with her bag hanging off of one shoulder and one of the other girls in class trailing behind her. She looked like she had rushed there. “Bruce and I went to visit his mother and sisters because apparently they had no other free time.” She rolled her eyes while taking out her practice clothes from her pink bag. “I didn’t have the time to perfect it. Did you guys do it?” She repeated her earlier question, finally looking them both in the eyes.

The omegas stood there wide eyed, not answering for a few seconds before Peter eventually figured out Steve wasn’t gonna talk anytime soon. Frankly, he couldn’t blame him. He was the same way when Tony first touched him.

It was understandable, really.

“Um, yeah- we did. You should- you should show yours before Mr. Barton comes in,” he squealed out. 

With that, they were off to watching Darcy perform her homework for the week after she changed into the appropriate attire for practice. Soon, the studio was filling up with other dancers; most of them lightly bouncing on their toes in excitement much like every time there were solo performances. Mr. Barton took these very seriously, "what you learn means less than what you make with it" he had told them, and perfecting their solos had become almost essential to the students of Clint Barton's class.

All through class he caught Steve's gaze directed at him; still mostly in shock but overall shining with happiness. Peter could feel himself settling down into the reality of having found his soulmate as the solos went on. Especially since now there was someone who had the same excitement as him, it had become even realer than it was a few hours ago. He couldn't even find it in himself to be scared of making a mistake during performing, and that was saying something. Barton's approval meant so much to him in all aspects of his life; whether it be dancing or even walking correctly. But he was feeling so blissful and somehow satisfied that it was nearly impossible to be nervous about anything else. He knew he wouldn't make a fool of himself in front of the whole class and shockingly, that was enough for now.

Steve also seemed distracted, looking at Peter in excitement occasionally instead of studying the routines displayed before them. The omega winked at his friend in return, barely holding his giggles in.

The last one to dance before it was Peter's turn was a boy named Jake and Peter got up to do his piece after the applause died down slowly. He chose the correct song from the playlist and stood in the middle of the studio, waiting for it to start.

It was quickly found out one minute into the song that Peter was a dancer that did amazingly better when he wasn't feeling nervous. Dancing like it was just for fun and not being over-careful about his moves actually added much more emotion to the routine and he was sure that his happiness could be felt by all the people in the room. He didn't mind it at all and kept on moving accordingly to the routine. 

A dance performed when one had found his soulmate felt a lot different, apparently. He gave it his all and didn’t really feel exhausted afterwards as he always did.

He completed the routine with minor mistakes and bowed slightly while his audience clapped. His teacher had been taking notes all through the performances and he eyed him slightly before looking at the ones he had taken during Peter’s routine.

“Well, that chasse could certainly be done better than that- I’ve seen you do it with much more flexibility before. I feel like you lost focus now and then but overall, I think your energy was great and even managed to cover up most of your mistakes regarding it. Maybe your mind has been somewhere else, Parker, is that it?”

“Um, no, sir. I’ll try my best to correct them.”

The scolding could be much worse, everyone in the room knew that by now. That being the reason, Peter still felt he accomplished his goal very well- not to get slammed by Barton. Energy was one of the top factors in remaining successful at dancing and without it, you’d be lost even if you perfected everything else. So it was still all good for him.

His teacher nodded his head in return and nodded at him to return to his seat. Peter sat down panting, once again locking eyes with Steve and smirking at each other.

After everyone showed their pieces -including Steve, who had possibly gotten a much higher review judging by the approving nods Barton sent his way during the performance and the lack of scolding in his tone- it was time to get back to the usual practice. Peter thought that even though he couldn’t wait to tell Steve all about his extraordinary day, it was still his best option to try to burn some energy out or else he wouldn't be able to sleep much at night. And then that would lead to a disaster the next day. A sleepy dancer was of no use.

That evening, as soon as they got home, the best friends sat down to talk. Peter told everything from the start and made sure to not leave out any details upon the blonde’s request. They spoke about everything: how kind Tony was, Peter’s worries about not being enough for the alpha (which Steve answered saying it was Tony who was the lucky one in this relationship because an omega like Peter was almost impossible to find nowadays) and how he was supposed to act on their upcoming dates.

Steve mostly worried about Tony trying to overpower him but the omega assured him that Tony never even tried to initiate something like that and had even become softer upon meeting him. He told him that he was already feeling treasured because Tony had waited so long for him and wasn’t about to lose him by mistreating him. At least that’s what Peter thought Tony did.

“Now you get to live the good part of your life, Peter Parker,” his friend told him before they parted their ways to sleep. “It’s gonna be amazing. Oh, even I can’t wait for it!”

He laid in his bed and thought about Tony’s eyes. Then his mind drifted to his hands and his lips and his thick thighs- stop right there, Peter, he scolded himself, and turned to his side with a smile on his face. He curled in on himself in happiness, never before having thought that he would like someone so much that even squealing with his best friend wouldn’t be able to settle down his excitement. The wait for meeting with his alpha suddenly seemed much too long for him. But he would wait and he would be patient as to not look like they wanted to jump over the man at every chance. They would go slow and they would go certain.

His phone dinged with a text message on his bedside table. It’s from the number he had saved earlier as Tony.

Hello, Peter. It’s Tony. Did you get home well?

The omega felt a big grin splitting his face in half and quickly wrote back a reply.

i did, thanks! practice was over a few hours ago.

did you?

He added the last part at the last minute, feeling like not asking it back would be rude. The bubbles indicating that Tony was writing back appeared for a few moments before a new message came in. Peter read with wide eyes in the darkness of his room, the only source of light coming from his screen

I did, pet, thanks for asking. 

Did it tire you out?

yeah, a little. i’m used to it by now 

today wasn’t even very busy anyways. just performed our weekly solos and then some practice

The previous feeling of boring Tony with his mildly uninteresting school life came creeping up on his chest again but he ignored it in favor of watching Tony’s bubbles. It felt like he was once again a teenager waiting for their crush to text back, heart beating wildly.

Well then, I hope your performance went well. I didn’t cause a distraction, did I?

“A very good one,” Peter mumbled breathily to himself.

of course not

don’t worry about it! i got a pretty good review

well not that great but

it still works

Jesus Christ. Was he ever going to remember English around this guy?

I’m glad then, darling. 

Do you have any plans for Saturday? I thought we could grab lunch and spend some time together.

Peter quickly tapped his fingers on the screen but before he could reply Tony wrote again.

I would like to take you to dinner for our first date but I’ve got a meeting I have to attend that night. I’m really sorry but I promise I’ll take you out for dinner as soon as I can, alright?

He couldn’t believe the man thought he would be upset because they had to go to lunch instead of dinner. Just sitting in the living room together would be enough for Peter.

i would love to go to lunch! it’s no problem at all. i like lunch better than dinner anyways lol

Grimacing at his weird preferences of meal times, he watched for the bubbles to appear.

Still keeping my promise for dinner.

no objections from me haha

i just want to see you thats all. doesn’t matter where it is

The omega was sure that his blush reached to the roots of his hair. Despite all his embarrassment, the urge to let Tony know he wanted to see him as soon as possible and missed him already was too strong to refuse. 

I do, too, sweetheart. I wish I could spend more time with you today.

I was really happy all day

He felt something warm growing inside his chest. Being the reason for this man’s happiness and the fact that it affected him all day made him so unbelievably satisfied. He didn’t need anything else other than this, knowing that he caused this man happiness was enough for him for a lifetime. Of course Peter wasn’t the only one who had found his soulmate and of course he wasn’t the only one happy about it. Considering the long years Tony had spent searching for him, it was a greater experience to him than it was for Peter.

i was, too. i’m so glad that i found you

Now they were texting like lovesick teenagers. It was great.

You can’t even imagine how it feels to finally have you, pet. I can’t wait to see you again.

You go to sleep now, alright? I don’t want you to be sleepy tomorrow. 

okay i will

will we talk later?

The assurance was much needed on his part.

We will. Take care of my soulmate, sweetheart. Sweet dreams.

sweet dreams, tony. good night

After waiting for a few minutes and making sure that Tony didn’t have anything to add, he finally put down his phone and got under his covers for the most peaceful sleep of his life.

It turned out that waiting for their date wasn’t a complete misery. He got the chance to talk about his mate to his dad, who wasn’t very keen on the idea of his only omega son getting mated to a man closer to his own age- but he softened towards the end of their conversation as a result of Peter promising they would meet as soon as possible. Parental instincts were very hard to ignore and the omega was willing to give his parents the time they needed. Tony was, in all ways, impossible to not respect and he was very likeable even if he didn’t know him very well. 

All in all, he didn’t have any concerns about his parents refusing to allow their mating because one way or another they would see that Tony meant no harm. Despite having found something very precious to him he was still very calm and collected about it and didn’t pressure his newly found omega about anything. That was saying something about the man’s manners. 

Knowing that Tony probably needed to move a lot of things in order to set up a date in such short notice and didn’t intentionally put it to a few days later comforted something in Peter. Besides, it gave him the time to reflect on their meeting and come to terms with the fact that he was the soulmate of a billionaire known by probably everyone in New York. 

The morning of their date had him feeling restless and like he had no clue how to act- to dress, even though him and Steve had spent the large portion of their evening putting a nice combine together- soft leggings that was just on the edge of too comfortable and could be worn anywhere from class to work and a big soft cream sweater Peter felt himself get sleepy in. They decided that a dress would be too much for a lunch date so they had to do with what they had in hand. Peter was, undoubtedly, going to look like Tony’s assistant or something whatever he chose to wear anyways. The alpha always looked like he came straight out of a magazine page with his neat suits and perfect hair and amazing face. It might just have been the way he carried it with power, though. 

“You’re going to be okay, Petey. It’s gonna be amazing and you’re going to make him fall head over heels for you, trust me,” Steve cheered him on as they left for practice at nine in the morning. They had no idea what Barton was thinking when he put a three-hour lesson in the weekend but that was their teacher for them, they guessed.

“You think so?” Peter questioned worriedly. “I wouldn’t bore him too much, would I? I feel like all I talk about is dancing.”

“Well, you’re a dancer, of course you’re going to talk about dancing. Besides, you aren’t the only one who is going to speak of their occupation. He has lots of things to talk about, remember? I’m sure it’s gonna be super fun to learn all about Stark Industries’ company secrets,” he pointed out. He nodded his head in agreement, not even finding it in himself to laugh at the joke and pulling his coat closer around himself. 

Steve squeezed his arm in reassurance. “You’re going to forget all about worrying as soon as you two sit down to talk, believe me. We’ve known since forever that your soulmate is the easiest person in the world to talk to.”

Peter felt a pang in his heart at his best friend’s words. Steve, bless his heart, hadn’t shown an ounce of sadness from the moment he found about Tony until now. It was all about supporting his best friend for him as it would be for Peter had they changed places; but it still bugged him that he was the only one who got to experience this. Now that he knew what it felt like, he wished Steve had gotten his soulmate already. 

But Steve wasn’t Uncle Sam. He would find his in no time and his alpha would be worth waiting for just like Tony was. 

Peter suddenly felt bad about making Steve comfort him about a date with his soulmate when his best friend didn’t even have one. It was disturbing how self-centered one could be in times of crisis, he thought.

“You’re right,” he mumbled while he resumed his walking. “I shouldn’t be so anxious about this.”

“Exactly! What could ever go wrong when it’s your soulmate? And don’t get me wrong but I’m sure Tony Stark knows how to wine and dine someone at least a little bit.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m also sure he does, considering he has all these pictures with every single attractive omega in the world on the Internet.”

“Don’t be jealous, Petey,” Steve laughed at him. “You mean so much more to Tony, you know that.”

Peter made a sound in agreement and avoided thinking about all these people hanging off of his alpha’s arm. Tony couldn’t have been very happy about the pictures, either. That conclusion was based on his own judgement, of course, for all he knew Tony could be proud of them but he felt like that wouldn’t be the case.

They completed their short walk to stumble across MJ smoking on the steps leading to the entrance. She seemed happy to see them and stopped them to banter for a while before it was time to go in.

When Steve asked the girl about how her internship was going and if she was enjoying it, Peter felt himself freeze. Now that he had seen his friend he remembered that the beta was basically working for his alpha. 

Decidedly keeping his mouth shut, he listened and added his insight every now and then to the conversation. MJ said that it was great and SI was the most prestigious company she had ever seen. They apparently treated workers with utmost respect and made it clear every step of the way that they were the ones making the company work as well as it could. The omega felt pride bloom in his chest upon hearing this; he would hate it if his alpha turned out to be an asshole of a boss.

“You’re not gonna tell anyone?” Steve asked him in a hushed tone as they made their way inside. “I don’t think anything’s wrong with telling people.”

“No, I don’t think there is. It’s just that I haven’t really spoken to Tony about it and I don’t wanna tell anyone before I’m sure that’s what he also wants.” He shrugged. “I mean, I’m sure he wouldn’t object, but still.”

“Yeah, you’re right, definitely,” Steve affirmed. “It’s best to talk about it first.”

They dressed into shorts and t-shirts before putting their normal clothes back in their lockers. Peter folded his leggings and sweater with even more care than usual. 

Mr. Barton had called them in despite it being weekend because apparently he had an assignment for the class that could absolutely not wait until Monday. He felt that they needed to start getting ready for the end-year performance in July. This year Peter’s class was the one leading it with the other classes having small parts in it. Every year, one class led the performance for the whole night. The other classes that joined usually did so because it gained them experience but the main show belonged to whoever was in charge. Peter and Steve had been in one of them twice, since it was their third year in the academy. Because Barton wanted it to be an individual experience as well as collective work, they were assigned with working on it separately from the start of the year. In the end they would study a routine that included all of their imagination and work. Now that it was getting closer, it was time to start to put it into practice.

First, they were supposed to research the roots of the dancing style they were thinking of. Peter was more leaned towards ballet as well as Steve; they were both more experienced in that area and thought that the best of them only could come out in ballet. Peter’s inspiration for the assignment was The Firebird. He was going to research about its history and make his routine based on that piece.

They now had until next Saturday to complete it. Barton also announced that because of the extra work they were burdened with, they would take three hours on Saturdays to work just like they did today. 

After that, they practiced as usual and soon it was time for them to leave. Peter preferred to take his shower at the studio today because Tony was picking him up directly from practice. 

Oh, yes. Tony. Tony was picking him up.

Saying goodbye to Steve and getting a wink in return -stop, Stevie!- he quickly showered and blow-dried his hair. Fortunately his curls seemed to be friendly to him today so he could brush them back with minimal trouble and get them to settle. He moisturized and put the littlest amount of perfume on his wrists before getting dressed. Deeming himself ready and giving himself a little pep-talk in the mirror, he was ready.

He took his bag and opened the door to come face to face with Darcy.

“Oh, hey!” he quickly exclaimed. The other omega was still practicing; her feet up on the barre. She turned to him and her face lit up with a smile.

“Hey! Didn’t realize you were still here. Is Steve in the shower, too?”

“No, it’s just me.” He smiled. “I have a friend picking me up, so.”

Darcy’s eyebrows wiggled suggestively. “What kinda friend? Alpha kinda?”

Peter felt his cheeks warming. “It’s just a friend. What about you, anyways? What sane person practices on the weekend?”

He occasionally did, actually. But only when he was in a really bad mood and there was nothing else that could distract him as well as dancing did. But he’d never seen Darcy stay around, let alone on Saturday. Even he didn’t go on Saturdays.

Darcy’s smile slightly wavered at that. “I just wanted to practice a little more. Things aren’t, you know, great at the house.”

So it must have been a fight or something that involved Bruce. Darcy was living with him so that only meant one thing.

It was hard to fathom that Bruce Banner could be anything other than absolutely loving to his soulmate; though Peter didn’t really know where his patience ended.

“I’m sorry,” Peter frowned, sincerely sad for his friend. “I hope you two resolve it soon.”

“Yeah well,” Darcy said, turning her attention back to flexing her leg. “Sometimes I feel like it’s better if it doesn’t and I just stay out of his way.”

“Don’t say that!” Peter objected. “You are thinking like that just ‘cause you’re mad at him now. When he explains himself about whatever he did and you talk it out, it’s just gonna be plus one thing you learned about each other. Nothing about that is upsetting, is it?”

Peter was relieved when he saw Darcy smile again at his words. “That is right, but sometimes it is very difficult to have energy to keep being enough for a man like him.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Anyway, don’t bother yourself with my problems when you’ve got a date, young man. You go and impress that alpha.”

The omega didn’t have the heart to leave his friend all alone when it was clear she was openly upset about something but he didn’t have anything to do when he’d promised Tony. He was probably already here and just waiting politely instead of calling him. 

He smiled in a way that he hoped was reassuring and swiftly hugged her. “You’ll be alright, trust me.”

“Not like you have an older alpha to deal with,” she answered teasingly but upon hearing the little amount of serious in her voice, he pulled back. “It’s the most difficult thing I ever had to endure in my life.”

Peter thought it was kind of mean of her to talk about her soulmate in such a way but he tried to understand that sometimes relationships could be difficult. He also tried to not get affected by her comment about older alphas. He hastily bid his friend a goodbye and made his way out the door.

Everyone had different relationships. This didn’t imply his mating with Tony was going to be difficult.

Tony greeted him with a big smile as soon as he got in the car.

“Hello, darling,” he said, flashing him a smile. “Got to practice well?”

He turned on the engine and the car roared to life. Peter put his seatbelt on. 

Today, Tony was wearing tinted sunglasses that looked like they were made to be worn by him -which they probably did- and a sleek suit that fit his frame very well. He made sure to look at Peter in between words while they were talking which made Peter feel warm and mainly watched the road.

“Yeah, I did. Mr. Barton gave us an assignment for the week.”

“Is that so? What’s it about?”

And so they got lost in conversation for the rest of the drive. Tony was as attentive as he was the last time Peter had seen him and tried to answer with all he knew about dancing (it was close to nothing). The alpha also talked about how he was swamped with work because of a new product launching soon and how his co-owner Pepper was always on his ass about it. 

“The meeting I talked about is about that, actually,” he said. “The one I have tonight. My head of design James and I will meet with the company that produces the bits we need. Not that we depend on other companies for that; we mostly make our own but it was a useful partnership, I guess,” he explained.

“Oh,” Peter replied, nodding. “I hope it all goes well. I doubt anything you put out would be disliked, tho.”

Tony smiled. “Thank you, darling. I work hard for it to not be.”

The omega blushed at the pet name. No one had ever called him pet names besides his mom; not even the silly dates he had gone out with in high school. Hearing those words from this amazing man was doing things to him. It was hard to see how he was deserving of them.

"So, where are we going?" Peter asked curiously.

"Uh, it's a cafe James recommended to me, actually. I don't really go out to eat lunch. But he says it's good and modest so I'll trust hım."

"James? The head of design James?"

"M-mhm."

"You must be close then, if he's suggesting you places for a date," Peter commented, watching Tony interestingly. The man seemed unsure of what to answer for a moment before speaking.

"Not really," he admitted. "But he's a good worker. He gets the job done; so I appreciate him."

"That's nice. So he's not one of your best friends?"

Tony laughed. "Oh, no. No, sweetheart.”

Peter nodded in understanding. They maintained small talk until reaching their destination, which was pretty much just what Tony said it was. Despite being modest and small it was still wandering around the lines of high end: instead of chairs they had placed some couches, some lightbulbs dangling comfortably from the ceilings. Peter had certainly never been in a cafe like this before.

His alpha gently put his arm around him as they walked to the back of the cafe. There weren’t many people around despite it being lunch hour and Peter was grateful for it. He wasn’t sure he could bear being in a crowd right now because he was already overwhelmed enough with Tony’s scent clouding over his senses.

They sat down in one of the booths located at the back and soon a waitress was there to hand them their menus. Peter skimmed over his but didn’t pay much attention to it, instead asking his alpha to choose for him. Tony accepted, smiling in return. 

He ordered something that contained lots of red meat in it for himself (typical alpha behaviour) and some basil pasta he insisted tasted like heaven itself. Peter was a fan of pasta, anyways. 

“Do you have work today?” Tony asked as they were nibbling on the appetizers while waiting for the food.

“No,” Peter murmured around a mouthful of bruschetta. “I do tomorrow, though. From five to nine.”

“I’ll pick you up. Or send someone to pick you up, I’m not sure I’ll be available tomorrow night,” the alpha frowned. 

“Oh, no, don’t disturb your work because of me, please. I’ll be fine to go home on my own.”

Tony frowned even more. “No, darling. I don’t want you going home alone anymore. It's way too late for that. Understand?”

He didn’t seem like he would take no for an answer, face shadowed with protectiveness. 

Peter stared at him, baffled. It was really nice to be cared for like this. Someone worrying about him enough to stop him from going home alone in the dark was new and flattering but it was still shocking. He got himself together and nodded; agreeing it would be much better if he had someone accompanying home at night. It was safer.

“Okay,” he said softly. “But don’t try to push back your work for me.”

“You’re more than worth pushing back for. But okay, I’ll do as you say.” There was now a cheeky grin adorning the man’s face, all traces of nervous protectiveness gone in a second. Peter giggled and blushed, entertained by the change of his alpha’s moods.

The same waitress from earlier (who was eyeing Tony the second they stepped foot into the cafe, by the way) soon came with arms full of their orders. The girl doesn’t interfere in their conversation and just places the delicious-smelling food in front of them quietly. Peter waits for his pasta to cool down a bit before eating, unlike Tony who just dived right in. Even though eating a lot, he was eating gracefully and Peter felt small with him for the umpteenth time. He shook his head and focused on his alpha sitting in front of him. His soulmate was here with him and he was gonna enjoy it. 

“Is it good?” Tony asked after Peter took his first bite and licked his lip. He nodded enthusiastically; it was much better than what they made at home -sorry Steve- but that was probably just because of the quality of the pasta. When grocery shopping, they were forced by their limited budget to pick the cheapest thing almost all the time, so it made sense.

“Thanks for choosing for me.”

“Anytime.” 

Halfway into the meal, Tony decided that this date would not be complete without even the littlest bit of wine. So they ordered some, Peter taking only a few sips with the reason being he couldn’t stomach alcohol very well. Unless it was beer, no more than a few cups settled well with him.

“What alcohol do you like, then?” Tony asked him, cutting a piece of meat. He was about to finish what was on his plate whereas Peter wasn’t even halfway done.

“Um, I like champagne,” he answered. “And some beer. But if I drink it too much I get really nauseous the next day.”

“Understandable,” Tony nodded. “Omegas tend to be a bit more delicate, usually.”

“Yeah, I’ve always been that way. Obviously not physically, dancing toughens you up. But I can’t always eat everything.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to stock more champagne and beer, then.”

Peter felt warm. He nodded, turning his eyes to his food. 

They talked about their families and the alpha told him about his parents’ passing in 1991 and how he didn’t really have any relatives that close to him. He had lots of friends, however and he considered most of them family. Peter expressed he would love to meet them sometime which Tony answered with a big smile and nod. In return, Peter told him about Richard and Mary and their desire to meet Tony as soon as possible. Tony thought it would be no bother and he could always make time for his mate’s family. Peter was very happy upon hearing this because it settled his concerns regarding Tony being too busy for it. He guessed Tony was telling the truth when he told him he was never going to be too busy for his omega.

Right when Tony had paid the bill and they were standing to leave, Tony’s phone rang. One second, darling, he excused himself and picked it up. Peter looked around, waiting, as Tony held out his hand and intertwined their fingers together.

“Yes, James?”

Peter’s head snapped up. So this was the infamous James Tony mentioned. He didn’t know what he was saying from the other end of the phone but he saw Tony frowning as he listened. It must have been something unpleasant.

“Yes, I’ll be there,” he said shortly and hung up. He turned to Peter, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ll have to go back to work, something came up.”

“Oh,” Peter said quietly. To be honest, he was disappointed. He had hoped that they would spend a bit more time together, their late night texting implied so. Peter had said that he craved ice cream even though it was cold outside and Tony had replied with something along the lines of ‘we’ll definitely do that after lunch, pup’ and that was that. Apparently that was not going to be the case but he tried not to make it look like he was upset about it. He tried to smile. 

“That’s okay. We can meet some other time.” 

Tony didn’t seem very convinced. He squeezed his hand and pulled him towards the exit. When they were by the car, he put on his sunglasses. 

“Would you want to come with me to the office? I can handle whatever’s wrong and then I can get you some ice cream, huh? I’ll get some coffee myself because I feel like I’ll die if I don’t get a cup,” he joked, trying to lift his mood up.

The last time the alpha had asked him to the office he had refused, saying it would be better if they set up a certain time to meet. But now that they had gotten to know each other Peter felt like going to his office wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as it seemed to be a few days ago. He had no doubt that the man wouldn’t leave his side and frankly, he didn’t want their date to end just yet. So he shrugged, gave his alpha a mind-blowing shy little smile and got on the passenger seat.

It was no surprise to anyone that the SI building was a masterpiece of architecture. Peter didn’t know a lot about architecture, sure, but no citizen could easily find a building as striking as this one. The big letters spelling his soulmate’s last name now seemed bigger than ever on the building; reminding him of the insecurities and upcoming responsibilities future had in store for him. He would never, ever  even think about stepping a toe into this place because he wouldn’t doubt for a second that his presence would be the most out-of-place thing in there. Even MJ, who shared the same profession as him probably fit in much better than him. He still looked like a high-schooler.

And so it was no surprise to him that the building was amazing, either. But it didn’t change the fact that he felt really, really anxious all of a sudden. Tony must have felt it because his grip in his hand became tighter and his aura changed; it went even more dominating and closed-off as if daring anyone to ask about the omega on his side.

Peter followed behind him in quick little steps. Besides of a few heads turning their way, there was no encounter with anyone and Tony directly walked to the elevator at the end of the entrance hall. The omega risked a quick look at the people at the entrance just before the elevator doors closed; an alarming thought of MJ being there suddenly overcame him. But that wasn’t possible, there was no way interns were working down there. He didn’t need to worry.

“It’s… big,” Peter told his mate as the elevator climbed up to the 94th floor. His eyes were wide.

“Yeah?” Tony chuckled, bringing their hands towards his mouth to press a kiss to the back of Peter’s hand. “You’ll get used to it, baby.”

Baby. Peter blushed and Tony must have realized because he chuckled again. He didn’t lift his eyes up from the floor until the numbers on the little screen stabilized at 94 and the elevator stopped.

“Come on.”  

This floor didn’t have any people on it save for the secretary sitting on her desk in front of what he assumed to be Tony’s door. The whole floor looked very clean and very quiet; it wasn’t the usual workplace Peter was used to see. While they walked towards his office, Tony informed him that this floor only consisted of his office, his lab and his personal quarters in case he ever needed to crash here. According to him it was often because he frequently killed time in the lab without ever realizing what time it was. All departments owned their own floor and James’ design department was on the 89th one.

The secretary -whose name was Edith according to the greeting Tony gave her- smiled warmly at him before they entered the office. 

The whole thing was… windows. There was not a wall in sight; all that could be seen was miles and miles of city running below, tall buildings and cars and people scrambled together to make the mess that was New York. The sky was endlessly extending before them with its sunlight illuminating the top of Tony’s desk. It was brightening.

“This is beautiful,” Peter commented, breathless. It truly was, he couldn’t see himself ever getting bored inside this room with all this view waiting to be uncovered.

“I’m glad you like it.” Tony’s voice was now much closer than it had before. Peter’s next breath got caught up in the way, the hair on his neck standing upon feelin the alpha pressed against his back. His heart started to beat faster with the heat that was his alpha on his back.

“I-uh…” He stuttered, looking everywhere but the hands now wandering around his middle. They finally stopped at the crook of his waist, comfortably resting on the warm space. The alpha smell was everywhere.

Well, the view was forgotten.

“You were saying?” His low, teasing voice sounded just behind his ear. He pressed a little kiss to it before pulling away completely and ending Peter’s short-lived misery.

“It’s-it’s a lot of windows and the view is very nice and it’s really really big- I, uh, I like it a lot. Do you always work here?”

Nice change of conversation, Parker.

“I’m mostly at the lab but yes, the paperwork and so gets sorted here. Which, by the way, I need to let James know I’m here so that he can come up and I can sort whatever’s wrong.” He rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes for a moment. 

He seemed terribly troubled. It made Peter’s heart ache. “Is it… is it something important?”

As if realizing he was upsetting his omega for nothing, he opened his eyes and relaxed his posture. “No, no, sweetheart. I’ll sort it out, nothing that can’t be handled.”

Peter nodded, relieved. “Okay.”

Tony called James to call him up after he told Peter to take a seat on his own office chair. It seemed too comfortable and big to refuse so the dancer quietly sat down on it as his alpha took his call. It felt like it looked: big, fluffy and comfortable. He could see why Tony would want to work so much, even if he would work if it meant he got to sit on this!

He spinned around a few times while Tony looked over some files James apparently asked him to check over. In a few minutes, a knock sounded on the door before it opened to reveal the so-called James.

“Hey, Tony, did you look ove- oh! Oh, the date was today? I’m sorry, I completely forgot,” the alpha -judging by his intense scent- apologized, shutting the door behind him. Even if he didn’t look the least bit apologetic, Peter still appreciated it.

“Yes, it was, but it’s okay. James, this is Peter; love, this is James.”

Peter hastily got up to offer the man his hand which he eyed warily before shaking it in what seemed to be a reluctant way. “Nice to meet you. Congratulations, by the way.”

Besides his mom and Steve, this was the only person who was aware of their meeting as far as he knew and therefore the first person he got a congratulation from outside of his circle. He smiled bashfully. “Thank you. It’s very nice to meet you, too.”

James nodded once. “Shall we?” He asked Tony, who just put the correct files in front of him.

Tony was standing beside the chair Peter was sitting and held his arm loosely around his shoulders while the other alpha sat in front of them. They talked about work -someone had fucked something up, according to Peter’s limited understanding of technology- and the omega sat there, watching the view quietly and checking his phone now and then. He wondered if MJ was working right now.

After ten minutes or so, the alphas took the conversation to the long table on the other end of the office. Tony squeezed his shoulder briefly before telling him sit here, we won’t be long and sitting down with his friend. He nodded and turned back to his phone; deciding to answer the text message of Steve asking him about how his date was going and including way too many winky faces.

it’s going well!! we’re not at the cafe anymore tho we came to his office

steve!! it’s so! big

the whole room is just windows i swear

and one of his designers or something just came in they’re talking work

he was kinda cold to me tho but i might be being dumb and thats just how normal people talk lol

When it was clear after a few minutes of waiting that his friend wasn’t gonna respond, he quit the messaging app and opened Candy Crush. Just as he completed the level, a new notification by the contact Stevie came up. He quickly clicked on it.

What do u mean he was cold?? was he mean or smth

His office?!?! omggg did anyone see u

no nothing like that im probably misinterpreting loll

just his secretary. her names edith

Checking to see if the meeting was disturbed by the sounds of his messaging, he turned back to the app after realizing they were continuing as before.

No one saw u going into the building??

no i dont think anyone did

Probably getting busier after that, Steve stopped texting. Peter busied himself with playing Candy Crush, getting bored from that and mindlessly exploring Twitter. He found himself secretly checking out his alpha: the man was concentrated and the lines on his face were deepened with something akin to worry. Peter thought he looked so hot radiating power over something as simple as a fucked up part of a device.  

James, on the other hand, looked way too tense and if Peter wasn’t dreaming, it was even worse than fifteen minutes ago when they had just met each other. It couldn’t have something to do with Peter, could it? Perhaps not.

The alphas finished their meeting upon Tony insisting that the little omega waiting for him at his chair might be getting impatient and they couldn’t have that, to which Peter blushed immensely at. 

“It was nice meeting you,” James repeated what he said some time earlier. Nodding at him once, he said his goodbyes to his boss and left.

“What would my omega like to do now that his alpha can give him the attention he deserves?” Tony teased while wrapping his big arms around the boy’s waist and pulling him flush against him. Peter blushed even more if that was possible and hid his face against the large chest in front of him. 

“It doesn’t really matter,” he mumbled. “I’m just glad we’re finally alone.”

And wasn’t that the truth. Despite knowing the man only for a short amount of time he felt like all those times they’ve spent apart had to be redone, like he had missed him immensely. 

“I’m glad as well, love.” Tony grinned against the soft hair resting under his chin. “Let’s hope you don’t easily get tired of me sticking to you all the time. ‘Cause I can tell for sure that I will.”

“That’s no problem at all,” Peter responded eagerly. “I can get used to that.” He could, without any doubt.

Then Tony smiled at him and Peter knew that even without all the windows and the city surrounding them like this, everything his alpha had, he wouldn’t change this man for anyone else. No one could reassure him with just the curl of a lip like he did just now and the omega supposed was what being on top of would feel like.

“You know, I’m really thankful for you,” Peter admitted while looking deeply into the other man’s eyes, trying to make sure he conveyed all his feelings intensely enough. “I know now that a part of me has always been missing. I know I’m young and I could never understand what you went through all those years, but now that I experienced how having you in my life made me complete, I’m glad we haven’t lost any more time.” He couldn’t help but smile warmly. “Thank you, Tony. I’m forever grateful to you.”

A big hand gently caressed through the curls lazily sitting on his forehead. Tony leaned down and kissed his forehead lovingly, causing the younger to close his eyes in bliss.

“I am grateful for you, my boy. You don’t know how good you are, how you changed me for the better. Everything I have worked for, everything I have and I am is yours,” he clarified in a tone that left no room for argument. He was undoubtedly sure of himself, making Peter feel sure of everything he said in return. “All my waiting has been worth it, I know that now. Thank you, Pete. My lovely boy.”

Peter felt the familiar warmth he regularly took notice of since meeting his soulmate spreading through his whole body, reminding him of the arms tightly wrapped around him and swearing to protect him from anything that could ever happen. He could understand how people said they’d do anything for their soulmate. This safety and love was incomparable; it kept you from collapsing, filled all the spaces left. 

He thought about how he could get used to this very easily, kissing the man passionately. A life full of new steps and peace awaited them. But now, standing right here on his alpha’s office, he was content to just feel the bliss the two of them shared. There was no hurry to catch up to all the laughter, the tears, the ups and downs of life. It would all be worth experiencing slowly and powerfully.