Chapter Text
Tony still remembered when New York City hadn’t been lit up by electricity, many years before in his youth. He remembered the candles being extinguished at bedtime, the gas lampposts lining the streets, and most of all the, the stars. The bright, brilliant stars filling the night sky. And his favorite thing about being on the open ocean was by far the view of the sky reflected on the calm ocean water below.
It was no different on the Titanic and on the night of April 14, 1912, Tony Stark couldn’t sleep. Stephen hadn’t been feeling well and had retired to bed early that night. Peter had passed out on his bed, a spare which a steward had been happy to fetch for them, and Tony had gingerly picked up a book, a loan from Tony, from the where the boy had dropped it when he had dozed off.
Tony tried to read himself, but he proved to be too restless, and so he turned off all the lights and left his companions snug and locked up in the suite and made his way up to the deck. Of course, some of the elite gentlemen had spied him walking leisurely up the grand staircase and implored him to join them for a card game and a drink but Tony waved them off saying he had become a devout Christian and frowned upon both practices. Completely teetotal, sorry boys.
He got to the deck and sauntered along it, mostly solitary except for a few other night owls. He sat down on a bench and faced the ocean and thought about how he gotten where he was and what he wanted to do next.
He had many plans for his business of course, but what he really thought about was Peter. Peter was heading to Queens to live in a tenement with his aunt. He’d probably be mated to some factory worker alpha within a couple of years and then spend the rest of his life raising up babies. It was a fine life for many, but Tony knew the boy was capable of much more. And he wanted to help him.
Tony Stark had a lot of influence, he knew he could convince a school to take on Peter. A modest donation should do the trick. After all, Stephen got to be a doctor, if only officially for a little while. And that was without Tony’s help. It was a new century and times were changing. Tony was already helping things move along with his business in the technical side, he could help with the social side too, one omega at a time.
Him and Stephen had already talked about helping to create an omega health clinic, somewhere omegas could go if they needed to be seen by a doctor without their alphas’ knowledge. The idea would be controversial, but Tony wasn’t afraid of controversy. When he had shifted Stark Industries from making weapons to manufacturing new technology for the betterment of mankind, the public had been scandalized. But Tony didn’t regret the decision for a moment.
Suddenly the ship jolted though, causing Tony to brace himself against the railing. There was a commotion and people rushed to the starboard deck to see what had caused the jostling. Tony was no exception and he found people gathered around chunks of ice scattered on the deck.
“What happened here?” asked Tony to a young man standing next to him.
“We brushed up against an iceberg, a huge wall of ice just shot past us.”
The young man then stretched forward and kicked a piece of ice over to his friend, laughing.
Tony was concerned though. He had never bought the White Star Line’s boasting of their “unsinkable” ship. A big and long enough hole would bring down any ship. Tony Stark, out of all people, knew how basic physics worked and his genius brain was already doing the calculations concerning the speed at which they were going, the density of ice and the mathematical properties of the 2 centimeters of iron that made of the hull. And the results he was getting were not good.
Tony left the site and walked into one of the inner rooms of the upper deck and called to the first steward he could find, “What’s going on? I noticed we stopped. Is there anything we as passengers should do?”
The steward gave Tony a reassuringly look, “No sir, everything is fine. Now please return to your cabin and we will update you once the Captain has assessed the situation.”
The steward then hurried off past Tony. “Everything is fine, my ass,” mumbled Tony as he turned to go back to his room.
As he was walking past the other First Class rooms, he saw worried aristocrats peeking out of their suites, looking around for a steward to get the exact response that Tony got. Some of them called out to Tony to ask if he knew what had happened but he brushed them off. He only paused to duck into a lounge and grab a pool ball from a billiards table, before heading on.
When he unlocked the room, Tony was met with a curious Peter, who had gotten redressed. “I felt us collide with something, woke me right up. What’s going on Tony?”
“We’ve hit an iceberg, we scrapped right up against it. I’ll get you one of my thicker coats. Is Stephen up?”
“No, I don’t think so, I haven’t heard him stirring.”
Tony held up the pool ball calling “Head’s up!” as he threw it and Peter reached up and grabbed it. “Hold onto that for me, okay kiddo? And get Friday up and dressed!” he said as he ducked into the bedroom.
Tony went straight to the lamp on the side table, turning it on and sitting down on the bed. Stephen was asleep on his stomach and had his arms wrapped around his pillow. Tony put a gentle hand on his back, calling his husband’s name.
Stephen grumbled and blinked open his eyes, “Tony? What’s going on? Why haven’t you come to bed?”
“You need to get up, sweetheart. We’ve hit an iceberg and the ship could be damaged, so you need to get up and get dressed, okay? Dress as warm as you can.”
“Are we sinking?” asked Stephen as he got out of bed and started to gather items of clothing from the trunk.
“I don’t know.”
Stephen put his clothes on the bed and looked at Tony, who had moved to an armchair “Tony, yes you do. You’re Tony Stark, you know everything.”
Tony sighed and massaged his forehead, “Possibly. I don’t have all the information. But we need to get up on deck as quickly as possible.”
Stephen was tugging on his trousers, “Tony, there aren’t enough lifeboats.”
It wasn’t a secret, it was within code to only have enough lifeboats for half the passengers, otherwise the decks would look too cluttered. And after all the ship was unsinkable, why did they need more than 20? Tony simply responded with, “I know.”
“The water is freezing.”
“I know.”
Stephen and Tony held eye contact for a moment before Stephen broke away and continued to get dressed.
The couple walked out into the sitting room and were met with an anxious looking Friday and Peter. Peter had had on one of Tony’s coats, its pockets bulging, but Friday looked ill-equipped for the cold so Stephen ducked back in grabbed one of spare coats, tendering wrapping the maid up in it. “Are we in some sort of danger sir?” asked Friday.
“We don’t know yet, but we need to be sure,” said Stephen.
Friday nodded, “Yes, I’m ahead of you sir, I already filled Peter’s pockets with the rest of the biscuits and oranges.”
Stephen looked amused and Friday shrugged, “Wouldn’t do to make them go to waste.”
“We can get a good idea of what is going on,” said Tony and walked over to Peter and took back the pool ball from his hands and placed the ball in the middle of the floor. When Tony let go the ball rolled without hesitation against the wall. “The bow is already listing, that’s not a good sign,” said Tony grimly.
Peter turned pale and grabbed the sleeve of Stephen’s fur coat. In response, Stephen reached up and put his arm around Peter telling him, “It’s okay, Pete, we said we’d look after you and that’s what we are going to do.
“We need to get to the deck and get lifejackets on posthaste, chop chop,” said Tony, leading the way out into the hallway.
Others were standing out in the hallway looking concerned and some approached the Stark party, all completely dressed for the weather with coats and hats and gloves, and determined looks on their faces. “By Jove, Tony, do you know something we don’t? We’ve been told to stay in our cabins,” said a man Howard used to play poker with and who had known Tony since he was small.
“The crew wouldn’t tell me anything, but I think it’s serious, so we are going above,” said Tony curtly, not waiting to answer any more questions. Luckily the man didn’t have any and he turned back into the room and called, “Abigail get dressed!” before shutting the door.
When they arrived on the deck, Tony was proven to be correct about how serious the situation was because, even though less than a half hour had passed since striking the iceberg, the crew was already starting to uncover the lifeboats.
One crew member walked up to the Stark and handed them four lifejackets. “So, it’s serious then?” asked Tony, not really expecting to get any new information from the young man and he was not surprised when the man simply said, “Captain’s orders, it’s just a precaution.”
Friday and Peter helped each other tie their lifejackets onto their torsos and Tony got to work tying one over Stephen’s fur coat, and Tony took the moment to speak quietly to his omega, “There doesn’t seem to be much demand to get on the lifeboats, when they start loading them, I want you, Peter, and Friday to be on the first one.”
“And what about you? Are you unsinkable, unlike the ship?”
“They’ll be calling for omegas, beta women and children first.”
Tony turned around so Stephen could tie the lifejacket onto him, Stephen’s hands were shaking more than usual and he said “I’ll say I’m pregnant, that I need my alpha with me.”
“Stephen.”
“There’ll be a lot of noble fools going down with this ship, if it goes down. I don’t see why you should be one of them.”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Yes, let’s,” said Stephen, “You promised me a lifetime, Mr. Stark. Not one bloody year.” The omega walked around to face his alpha and Tony took him in his arms, hugging him tightly.
The group went to go and sit in the gymnasium to get out of the cold, Stephen and Tony sitting on a plush couch, while Peter and Friday lounged on the exercise bikes. Tony would go out every five or so minutes to observe the situation and note that the angle beneath his feet was getting slightly getting more and more steeper. Without a doubt in his mind the bow was filling with water. It’s true that the Titanic could remain afloat with four airtight compartments flooded, but they wouldn’t be prepping the lifeboats so early if that were the case. Tony’s mental calculations were all proving to be true.
It wasn’t long before a crew member was calling for volunteers to get on the first lifeboat, and indeed they were calling omegas, women and children. Tony rushed back and told his group to follow him. When they got to the lifeboat there was only a few people on it, as the rest of the possible passengers were too anxious to get on the little boat hanging on the side of the ship. They thought they’d rather take their chances on the ship they were already on.
Tony walked up the crew member, “I have two male omegas and a beta woman here for boarding.”
“Yes, sir, the lady can go ahead, but the unfortunately I will have scent the gentlemen. Just to make sure of their omega status.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Tony. Scenting someone else’s partner was highly inappropriate.
“Captain’s orders, sir. I just need to see their wrists.”
Stephen was already pushing up his sleeve before Tony could get any more flustered and he thrust his wrist under the man’s nose. The man seemed satisfied and nodded and Peter came up, lifted his wrist, his face blushing. He couldn’t make eye contact with the alpha officer. The crew member nodded again and seemed satisfied, and he stepped aside so they could board.
Friday scrambled on first, helping Peter after her, but Stephen told them he needed to talk to Tony first. The omega made sure Peter and Friday were situated before turning to this husband.
“Tony, must I get on the first available lifeboat? It pains me to leave you so soon.”
“And it hurts me to think about putting you in needless danger.”
“Maybe the officer can be reasoned with? You are Anthony Stark, after all,” said Stephen desperately.
“He smelled your wrists, I think they are taking the order of no alphas or beta men quite seriously,” said Tony. “No Stephen, you will get in that lifeboat and you will keep Friday and Peter safe until I can join you again.”
“I’d rather I kept you by my side to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.”
“Hey! I’m a genius remember?”
“You’re Tony Stark.”
That quieted Tony for a moment before taking Stephen’s hands and looking down at them in his grasp. “I love your hands, they are such good hands, I hate how you hide them.”
“They are unsightly Tony.”
“No they are not, they are my favorite hands in the whole world,” said Tony kissing them fiercely before gathering Stephen up in his arms, the omega easily laying his head on the shorter alpha’s shoulder. “I love you, and I just found you, and I don’t want to say goodbye,” said Stephen into his ear.
Tony pulled back so he could kiss his husband, reaching up to cradle the back of his head in his hand. When he pulled away he whispered again Stephen’s lips, “Then don’t.”
Tony led Stephen to the edge of the ship, helping him step into the boat. Stephen gingerly stepped in and stood next to where Peter and Friday were sitting together.
“Now Tony, I only made my wedding vows 6 months ago and I seem to remember quite clearly something about ‘til death do us part’?” said Stephen.
“Yes, and only death will part us, and I will find you, on another ship, in New York, wherever, I will find you.”
“You better Tony Stark, or I’ll come looking. And I won’t be happy. You use that big ole genius brain of yours to work something okay, darling?”
“I’ll do my best, and Peter and Friday, I expect full reports on how brave you were when we are reunited okay?”
“Yes Mr. Stark,” the pair said in unison.
Tony stood close by as they loaded more passengers onto the boat. The crew member was very strict about the omegas, women and children rule, and had to get loud with a few pushy alphas. At one point he ever tried to separate an alpha boy who looked to be barely a teenager, maybe twelve or thirteen years old, from his omega male mother but the man had particularly growled when the officer tried to pull his child away from him. “You said children,” said the man, “And this a child, he ain’t even got his whiskers yet.” It was the only pass the crew member was willing to make.
Soon though, there were no more volunteers and the man was calling for the boat to be lowered. Stephen looked around him in confusion, “But we could fit twenty more grown people on here.”
“Sorry sir, we need to be brisk and get these boats in the water.”
“But can my husband come then?”
“No sir, if I let an alpha male on then they will all be swamping the boats.”
Stephen wanted to protest again, but Tony called his name, urging him to let it go.
“Tony,” said Stephen reaching out his hand to lace his fingers with Tony’s as the pullies started to lower them down. Tony held on as long as he could and keep his eyes locked with Stephen’s as eventually their hands had to slip from each other’s grasp.
Tony wanted to look at Stephen’s eyes as long as he could. His husband’s eyes were probably the most remarkable thing about his appearance and Tony was constantly remarking about how fascinating they were: their shape, their ability to be blue, green, or grey at different times or all three colors at once. Tony had told Stephen that he was lucky that someone with those eyes had even dared look his way. Stephen had merely laughed and admitted that he had faced bullying about them in the past.
“They are too small and far apart, Tony.”
“Who told you that? I’ll bankrupt them.”
Tony just wished that if this was last time he was going to see those eyes, they wouldn’t be brimming with unshed tears.
****
Once the lifeboat was far enough away from the ship and Tony couldn’t bear to keep looking anymore he wandered back into the inner area of the ship and started to think about his options.
He could try and get on a lifeboat that was true, he could go to each one as it was loading and ask if they would let him on. But Tony knew how that would look, and his pride told him that there must be another way. The clock on the wall above the Grand Staircase said it was almost 1 am and by the way the floor continued to list, he knew that he was running out of time.
As he walked down the Grand Staircase, he saw some of the First Class alphas standing around in their finery. Top hats and coats and tails and canes. They looked more like they were going to an opera than going down with the ship.
“Good morrow, Stark! Have you already tucked away that omega of yours on a lifeboat then?” called one man, sipping on a glass of brandy.
“Yes,” said Tony, not really interested in talking to them, “Where your lifejackets?”
“Oh, Stark, if the good girl is going down then we intend to go down with her as gentlemen!” said another alpha, voice full of pride.
Tony thought they were immensely stupid for a moment, until he realized that he also wasn’t desperately trying to get on a lifeboat. An embarrassing and possibly futile venture, but nevertheless really the only smart one left.
But then another idea came to him, “Where are your lifejackets then?”
****
Stephen certainly wasn’t the only omega in the boat who had to leave their alpha behind on the ship and so he calmly dealt with his anxiety, all the while Friday assuring him that if anyone could survive this situation, it was Mr. Stark. Peter agreed, saying that Tony was the smartest man in the world and if he can do all that he had achieved so far, he certainly could make it through this.
After about thirty minutes on the ocean, the Titanic’s bow was getting dangerously low in the water and the crew members had been firing rockets into the night sky, desperate for any boat to see them at all. Each burst of the rocket, frayed their nerves even more and one woman had burst into tears after the fifth one fired.
Peter had volunteered to help row, trying to encourage others to join him so they will stay warm in the frigid April North Atlantic night. Stephen admired the young omega, trying to keep good spirits while others were panicking around them. He had even passed out the oranges that Friday had stuffed into his pockets to the children in the boat. But as the boat continued to slip further into the water, he had started to falter in his rowing, and a crew member told him to switch out with another passenger. He slipped off the bench and went and sat beside Stephen, and the older omega put a comforting arm around his shoulder.
The ship slipped lower and lower into the water and more and more and people spilled out on the deck. But the lifeboats were full and people had arrived on the deck to find that there wasn’t anything to save them. There were still two collapsible lifeboats on top of the officers’ quarters but there wasn’t enough time to get them maneuvered correctly and a group of men were struggling to get them into the water.
Cries of panic reached them, though most of the commotion was shallowed up the vast endless sea. They could hear the faint siren song of a lone violin on the air, and a few of the lifeboat passengers sang along with the hymn under their breath. One omega woman furiously prayed her rosary, the beads clutched in front of her face in a fist.
Then finally the bow slipped under and people started the frantic scramble to keep out of the water as long as possible, making a mad dash for the stern. Peter let out of a broken, “Stephen” as the air around them was filled with screams. Stephen grabbed Peter closer and held his head against his shoulder, “Don’t look Peter, don’t look.” Peter clutched Stephen around his middle as tight as he could. Friday was doubled over, her arms wrapped around her knees and her face hidden in her skirts.
The violin was drowned out and then stopped.
Meanwhile, Stephen couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene and they searched for Tony as passenger after passenger jumped or was pushed into the freezing water. But they were too far away and he couldn’t distinguish one person from another.
A scream went through the lifeboat when the first funnel fell and then the stern started to rise up in the air. Then with a loud explosion, the weight of the submerged bow made the boat snap in half and the stern came crashing down before slipping into the water.
And just like that, the largest ship the world had ever seen, slipped beneath the waters and disappeared from this world. There were groans and moans as the bulk sank to the sea floor and pieces of it were torn off and crushed by the pressure. But then all that was left were the screams of the people left in the water.
Stephen was stunned, still cradling Peter to his chest, but Friday was on her feet. “We have to go back!” she called desperately, “We have to save some, we have plenty of room!”
Peter peeled himself away from Stephen and he managed to choke out an agreement, “That’s right, we need to help them!” Stephen was stunned from what he just witnessed but he managed to get out a warbled, “Yes.”
But the crew member shut them down, “And have the boat be swamped and overturned? I think not! We have to think for ourselves, there’s no helping those poor souls.”
“How can you say that?” cried Friday, “Those people are dying! The water is freezing!”
“Look, how about we take it to a vote? Those in favor of going back and risking our lives, raise your hand.”
Friday and Peter’s hands shot up quickly, with Stephen raising his shakily.
“And all those in favor in making sure we get through this and don’t sacrifice ourselves in some foolhardy venture?”
The rest of the hands were raised timidly. The passengers kept their eyes trained downward, filled with shame at their self-preservation.
“Well there you have it, now sit down you bloody Irish she devil or I’ll toss you over the side, seeing as how you are so keen to get in that water.”
Friday wanted to argue more, but Stephen snatched her skirt and looked up at her with pleading eyes, imploring to her to sit down. Friday sat down with a huff and ground out, “I don’t know how you will sleep at night.”
The crew member laughed. “Oh trust me, miss, my days as a seaman are over, and I’ll probably never have a good night sleep ever again.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and some matches, pulling out one of each and lighting it in a swift motion. “But I’ll take the nightmares over dying, any day.” He stuck the cigarette in his mouth and the discussion was over.
****
Meanwhile, Tony Stark was trying his hardest not to die.
He had collected the First Class alphas’ discarded lifejackets and a large piece of empty luggage from one of the suites and had managed to sling together a sort of raft. When the bow had become submerged, Tony had taken it to the water, and had paddled out as far as he could, knowing that the suction caused by the sinking ship could suck him under if he was too close. He also wanted to get away from the bulk of people that would be in the water, knowing that he makeshift raft could only hold him.
Now, with the ship submerged and people’s cries dying out around him, Tony lay on top of the trunk in the fetal position, knowing any sudden movement could compromise the luggage’s buoyancy and send him toppling over the side into the icy water, where hundreds of people were succumbing to hypothermia and were going still.
The only thing Tony had to focus on was his wedding ring on his ring finger, glinting in the moonlight. He had just gotten accustomed to wearing one again.
“I’m sorry, Tony, but it’s not going to work out.”
Tony squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to think of his first marriage at this time. He didn’t hold any ill feels towards Steve but if this is how he died, then he didn’t want his first husband to be the last thing he thought of.
So his mind mercifully gave him another thought.
Tony had finally let Rhodey convince him that he needed to get out of his New York mansion and do something. So he had contacted Pepper, the trusty alpha female handling all of his companies so he could “sulk” as the people around him put it.
It had been weeks since Steve’s things had been put on the train that would join him in California. Weeks since he had kissed Tony on the cheek and thanked him for everything and he hoped that he found someone that suited him better, like he had. Weeks and everyone knew that Tony would go mad if he didn’t get out and get some sunshine and some fresh air.
And so, he reluctantly agreed to make a charitable appearance at an Omega Home he had financed. The facility helped house omegas had lost the support of their families for one reason or another. Some were pregnant, others had fled abusive alphas, some were former prostitutes tired of that lifestyle, others had some disability that kept them from working. They all lived under the roof, cooking and cleaning and doing small projects to make money.
The managers of the complex were two older stern omegas, a man named Frank and a woman named Cecile. When Tony had entered the front parlor of the large house, Frank had taken his coat and hat and Cecile had immediately directed him to the omegas dutifully lined up to meet him, all primped and clean in the best clothes they had.
Tony walked down the row, shaking hands as each omega introduced themselves. One teenage omega, his belly rounded out in front of him, could barely look him in the eye. An omega girl, her face burned from what he had been told was a factory accident, nearly took his arm off by shaking it excitedly.
Once he got to the end of the line though, Frank looked at them up and down and asked the omegas pointedly, “Where is Stephen? Wasn’t he here before right before the car pulled up?”
The omegas all looked at each other, before one spoke up, “He heard Lila cry out sir, and he ran upstairs while you and Miss Cecile had stepped outside to greet Mr. Stark.”
“Who’s Lila?” asked Tony.
Cecile turned to Tony with an apologetic look, “One of our girls. Her labor started an hour ago, we have her in the birthing room. Stephen was very concerned about her and must have run up to see to her.”
“And has a doctor not been sent for? You should have called off the visit.”
“We checked her dilation and she’s not very far along at all, Mr. Stark. It’s very early yet. We sent for the doctor and she won’t even come, seeing as it’s Sunday afternoon and she’s spending time with her family. Her son is in town. But anyway, we thought a short visit could go forward.”
“I want to see this young woman.” Tony was concerned that the young lady was suffering needlessly and that conditions in this Omega Home that was named after him were not up to code. He wasn’t going to be tricked by some smoke and mirrors.
On the lifeboat, the crew member was mocking some praying women. “Prayer didn’t do much for those poor souls out in the water. And our situation is bleak, out in the vast ocean. No food, no water, we don’t even have a compass to determine which way is what. We’d need a lot of praying to get out of this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Peter suddenly spoke up, a bite in his voice, “There’s the North Star right there, and when the sun comes up we’ll have East and West. Plus, I’m sure the wireless operators were frantically sending messages out, there’s probably several ships heading this way this very moment. We are the lucky ones, we will get to go home.”
The crew member just huffed and blew out some smoke, staring out over the water.
The omegas were told to go to the living room and occupy themselves as Cecile and Frank brought Tony up to the birthing room. They knocked on the door to announce their presence and lead Tony into the room.
Tony was relieved at the state of the room. It was spacious and clean, obviously having been just disturbed by the current birth. There was plenty of shelving and storage and clean linens. There was a bed in the middle of the room where a heavily pregnant woman sat on her knees as a man in a surgical apron and gloves held her hand, helping her to breathe.
The man looked up and his pale blue eyes locked with Tony’s dark brown ones. “Is he a doctor?” asked the man to Cecile.
“No Stephen, this is—”
“Well is he an alpha?”
“Yes,” replied Tony, intrigued by who this Stephen may be. He hadn’t been told there was any more staff living here at the Home.
“Good, come and hold her hand. Some omegas are threatened by alphas in the birthing room, while others find them a comfort. Lila is the latter, she’s been crying out for her alpha. Your scent may be enough to calm her.”
Stephen watched a young woman stare out at the still water, her eyes heavy lidded and empty. The woman hadn’t made a sound as the ship sank, hadn’t shed one tear. That didn’t stop her child from trying to ask her what was happening, and where was daddy.
The young mother was in a grief fueled catatonic state and her child was getting more distressed over his mother’s inability to comfort him.
I won’t ever be like that when I’m a mother.
You’ll never be a mother.
The two thoughts hit Stephen quickly and made him catch his breath.
Stephen wasn’t the only one who had been watching the interaction, or lack of one, though and Friday called to the young boy. She reached over into Peter’s pocket and brought out a biscuit. “You hungry? We can split it if you come and sit by me.”
The boy looked hesitantly at his mother and walked over to the kind-looking Irishwoman. Instead of splitting it, Friday held out the whole biscuit, saying she wasn’t hungry.
“My name’s Friday,” she said.
The boy scrunched up his nose, “That’s a not a name.”
“Sure it is, it’s mine.”
The boy wasn’t sure, but he held up his hand and said, “My name’s Benjamin, I’m from Wisconsin.”
“Well you sure are far from home, and cor! Isn’t it late past your bed time. Well Benjamin, young sir, I’m from Ireland. And I was wondering if you ever heard the story of Finn MacCool.”
The boy shook his head, sending biscuit crumbs flying.
“Well of course you haven’t! You’re from America, they don’t have giants in America.”
The boy rolled his eyes at her, “Yes we do, we have Paul Bunyan! He’s a lumberjack, and he’s got a giant blue ox named Babe.”
Friday laughed, “Well alrighty then, I’ll tell you the story of Finn MacCool and then you can tell me about your Mr. Bunyan.”
Cecile and Frank had to leave at some point to help oversee dinner, which left Tony with Lila and her attendant. Lila had indeed slowed her breathing some with Tony’s presence to soothe her. And Tony listened as she told him about her alpha, a young man who had died in a train accident.
“Lila’s an excellent baker, she could open her own cake shop one day, I swear,” said Stephen as he wiped her forehead with a damp cloth.
“Oh, Stephen stop it.”
Eventually the doctor came striding in with her bag. “I’ll take it from here, Stephen, thank you.” Stephen tried to ask her if she needed help and she replied no, that he could go on and join in with dinner. Stephen followed Tony out, slightly disappointed.
Tony watched Stephen walk down the hallway to the laundry chute, “We haven’t been formally introduced, I’m Tony Stark.”
Stephen opened the door the chute with a screech and asked, “Tony Stark? Like Anthony Stark the billionaire? Like the man who pays for this place?”
“The one and only. And you already know me, so may I ask who are you? Are you staff here?”
Stephen stripped off his apron throwing it down the chute and then off came the gloves. After he had closed the chute, he held out a hand, scars running up and down it, to Tony. “Name’s Stephen Strange, and I’m a resident here.”
After Benjamin had dosed off on Friday’s knee Stephen couldn’t help but notice how the girl rubbed and blew at her hands, sticking them into her armpits.
“Friday, here take my gloves,” said Stephen peeling them off.
“Oh no, Mr. Stephen, I couldn’t,” said Friday knowing how self-conscious the man was of his hands.
“Friday, please it’s okay.”
Friday took the gloves after another moment’s hesitation and slipped them on. Meanwhile Stephen looked at his scars, Tony’s words about them on the ship ringing in his ears.
“A resident? What’s your story then?”
“My, my, you pay for my meals and bed here and you think you’re entitled to hear about my past?” asked Stephen, putting his hands on his hips.
Tony was a tad flustered, something that didn’t happen often, “No, no I mean—”
“You’re cute when you blush.”
Tony stared at the forward omega in shock, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, I think you’re cute,” said Stephen walking off down the hallway, “Jonathan has made his stew and it is not to be missed. It was nice meeting you Mr. Stark.”
Tony stared after him, in perplexed amusement. It had been a long time since someone had spoken to him like that.
Tony walked back downstairs slowly and ducked into the dining room and pulled out Cecile, saying he would come back another day to get a full tour. Cecile seemed very relieved.
But Tony did ask about Stephen before he left. Cecile wasn’t surprised, saying he was an extraordinary omega. He had fought his way into medical school and had almost been an established doctor when he had been in a trolley accident, permanently damaging his hands and ending any aspirations of being a surgeon. Finally those stuffy old alphas had a reason to slam the down in his face, and they didn’t hesitate to do so. Stephen had fallen into depression and the drink and had used up all of his savings very quickly, eventually getting himself thrown out on the street. A policeman had found him sleeping half frozen on a park bench and had brought him in, and eventually he was brought here.
Cecile assured him that Stephen had become an asset to the Home, helping with minor medical concerns and of course watching over the pregnant residents.
Tony had thanked Cecile and was finally about to make his final exit when the door to the dining room opened and Stephen came hurrying out calling out to him.
“Mr. Stark, a word please!”
Tony turned to Cecile and excused her, saying he’d like a word with Stephen alone.
After they were alone, Stephen began telling Tony about supplies they needed, mostly medical supplies. Tony took mental notes and promised he would personally deliver them. Stephen was confused.
“Aren’t you busy? You could just send someone over with them, you don’t need to come personally.”
“I actually am not that busy, so it would give me something to do, and you?”
“Am I what?”
“Are you busy?” asked Tony.
Now it was Stephen’s turn to blush, “Are you mocking me? Of course I am not busy.”
“Then how about after I come back with those supplies I take you for lunch? Invite as many as the other omegas as you want, so it’s not inappropriate.”
“One alpha surrounded by a gaggle of destitute omegas, not inappropriate at all.”
Tony laughed, “Well, how about it?”
Stephen was inching back towards the stairs, “Maybe I need some time to think on it.”
Tony understood, nodding and donning his hat. "Then send me a telegram when you have decided, good night, Mr—"
“Strange. My name is Stephen Strange.”
How appropriate.
Tony moved to walk out the door but he suddenly heard
“Mr. Stark!”
“Mr. Stark!”
“Mr. Anthony Stark, sir are you alive? Get him aboard boys, quickly!”
“Thursday works best, it’s Dolores’ birthday, she’ll be tickled to go out to lunch with a billionaire.”
Tony blinked up at a blinding flashlight as he was dragged on board a lifeboat.
xxxx
“Don’t sleep, Peter, not yet, just stay awake for a little longer. You can sleep once the sun is the sky. It’ll be a brilliant sunrise, the best you’ve ever seen, I can guarantee it.”
“I’m so sleepy, Stephen…” mumbled Peter. Stephen was terrified that it was hypothermia making the boy so groggy and wanted to keep him awake just to be sure.
It wasn’t so dark anymore, dawn was coming and Stephen just wanted Peter to warm up in the light of the sun before sleeping. While he was shaking Peter there came the sound of a bang off in the distance.
“What was that?” asked an omega man.
Friday stood up, it was the same sound that they had heard last night. Then it had been desperate and disturbing. But now, now it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. “It’s rockets! Rockets from a ship! We are saved!”
*****
The crew of the Carpathia was very eager to see to every one of their needs, wrapping them up tightly in blankets and giving them bowls of soup to sip on. They had offered them a cabin to rest in but Peter, under Stephen’s arm, had begged him to let them stay on the deck, “I want to see the sun, Stephen.”
“Of course, dear, let’s sit down here and sit in the sunshine.”
Peter had laid on the deck with his head in Stephen’s lap and Stephen had finally let him drift off, all the while threading his scarred hands through Peter’s hair.
Friday had seemed jittery after their rescue and was going around talking to whoever would answer her questions. She watched families reunited and a woman have a breakdown crying for her son, even though her sister kept assuring her that he was safe at school at Cambridge, he hadn’t been on the ship. Others were crying over lost loved ones that had certainly been on the ship. Friday asked if they would be heading back east to Ireland or England and the crew member shook his head, “No, miss, we will be heading on to New York once we have rescued all that we can.”
Friday came back and relayed what she had heard.
“It’s unfortunate that we are heading west really, I wish we were heading back to Queenstown,” said Friday.
Stephen’s heart sank, he had just lost his husband, he didn’t want to lose Friday also, “Of course, I understand, anyone would want to go home.”
“Oh Ireland hasn’t been my home in a long time, not since mam died and my da got remarried. No, I want to go and see Kathy’s family. I’m mostly just seeing fancy folk about, Mr. Stephen, I don’t think she’s mingling around on ship somewhere. They deserve to hear about how their daughter died, I had dinner with Kathy last night, I’m probably the last person alive to see her. It tears me up that all they’ll get is her name in the paper.” For the first time since everything had begun, Friday’s eyes welled with tears. She rubbed at her face, forgetting that she was still wearing Stephen’s gloves, “Oh Mr. Stephen, I’m sorry, I got snot on your fine gloves!”
“Go ahead, I have more than one pair,” said Stephen, “And it’s a noble thing you want to do.”
“Problem is that after I get on solid land, I don’t think I’ll ever set foot on a ship ever again. And if I go to Ireland I would have to come back too. Do you think Mr. Tony will invent me a better mode of transportation?”
Stephen shallowed down his initial reaction to remind her that Tony had drowned or died of hypothermia, and he said in a strained voice, “Yes, of course, I’m sure he would be happy to do that.”
“They are making great advances with aeroplanes these days I heard. Now, how about I go and find us some tea?” asked Friday, not waiting for an answer before she was off on her mission.
Friday spotted a steward with a tea tray and took two from him with a thank you and then she saw that another lifeboat had pulled up and the passengers were being hauled up the rope ladder onto the lower deck. One man was so weak he had to be basically pulled up on deck and when he was, Friday dropped the tea cups she was holding, shattering on impact and splattering tea all over the wood.
There, looking cold and miserable but very much alive laying on the deck of the ship, was Tony Stark.
Friday didn’t even wait before she ran off back to Stephen, dashing through the passengers, knocking into rich ladies who let out indignant cries of, “Young lady!” One man even had his bowl of soup knocked from him, and Friday had the wherewithal to at least yell out an apology as she dashed by, her hair and skirts flying back behind her.
Stephen heard her coming and sat up, wondering why she was causing all the commotion. “Stephen! Stephen!” she cried as she came running up to him.
“What is it, Friday? Is this ship sinking too?”
“It’s, it’s,” said Friday, trying to catch her breath, “Mr. Tony! He’s here, he’s on the deck.”
Stephen clutched his hand to his chest, eyes wide, “Are you—are you sure? It’s Tony? For sure?”
“Swear on every Bible in Ireland, sir!”
“Take Peter,” said Stephen as he wiggled out from under the boy and Friday came to sit beside him, trying to wake him up to tell him the good news.
Stephen walked shakily along the deck, knowing he didn’t have it in him to run like Friday did. When he got to the stairs leading to the lower deck he quickly spotted Tony down below.
Tony was wrapped in at least three blankets and was barely standing, pale as a ghost. A steward was trying his best to get him to sip on some soup but Tony was demanding something. Probably information on him and the kids.
“Tony!” Stephen forced out and Tony’s head jerked to spot his husband on the upper deck. A hush fell over the whole deck as Stephen scrambled down the stairs, throwing off the blankets he was wrapped in.
Tony snapped out of his trance and he did the same, letting the blankets fall on the deck in a pile as he stumbled forward to meet his omega.
Stephen was quicker and grabbed Tony, clutching the alpha tightly to him, “Tony!” was all that he could force out before he dissolved into a sob.
“Stephen, Stephen, my beautiful Stephen,” said Tony as the omega cried into his neck. Tony breathed his omega’s hair deeply and he felt like he was coming back to life. “Oh, my darling.”
Stephen pulled back and kissed Tony fiercely, and the onlookers tried to look elsewhere so they wouldn’t seem like they were prying.
Then Stephen released him he gripped Tony’s arms and asked him, “How? How did you make it?”
“Stubbornly. I just, like my life for once in a really long time, and I decided I didn’t want to leave it so, I didn’t.”
“You found me,” said Stephen, bringing up a hand to stroke Tony’s facial hair.
“I found you, and I’ll keep finding you if I have to. But goddamn I hope I don’t have to. I’m so---so fucking tired Stephen.”
“Mr. Stark!” The shout made them turn and there was Peter and Friday, the two overjoyed to see the alpha again.
“Hey kids! Come on in here!” called Tony as he held out a hand inviting them into a hug. Peter hesitated, but Friday was off like a light, throwing her arms around the alpha. Stephen nodded his head to Peter, wordlessly telling him to join in. Peter walked up and was engulfed in the four-person hug.
They stood there, all just holding each other tightly as passengers and crew mingled around them.
****
1 Year Later
Stephen held Tony’s hand firmly as the flowers were thrown into the New York harbor. It had been a beautiful service in honor of the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, the pastor had done a good job. Gathered around them were some familiar faces from the journey, though not a lot of alphas.
When they are arrived in New York a year ago, they had been met with a frenzy of people, some of them journalists wanting a juicy interview with a survivor and others were desperate family members who refused to believe the published lists of the living and the dead. Jarvis had been there with the car and Rhodey had led them to it quickly, with the help of the police to fend off the crowd.
Now they could calmly walk back to the car, Peter in tow. Peter and his Aunt May had come to live with them. Tony had helped May get a nice secretarial position when she had insisted on working and paying some of their keep, even if Tony reassured her it wasn’t necessary. Peter was in engineering school, and he had class that morning and they would first drop him off before going home.
The mood after the ceremony had been somber, many memories being brought to the surface. Tony shivered as he sat down in the back of the car. Stephen looked over at his husband’s shadowed eyes and he grabbed Tony’s hands in his. He rarely wore gloves these days.
“You okay?” asked Stephen as Peter took his place in the front beside Jarvis.
Tony gave him a smile and nodded.
They drove through the ever-growing city to Peter’s school, Peter jumping out of the car before it had even come to a full stop because he had spotted his friend Ned. Ned was an alpha and Tony had voiced his worries that he had designs for Peter and Stephen agreed that Ned looked at Peter like he hung the moon, but Ned also liked Peter because he was so smart and ambitious. He wouldn’t dream of holding Peter back. It was quite a treasure to find an alpha like that.
Tony and Stephen were also happy to be home and they wasted no time getting out of the car and pushing into the large parlor, taking off their hats and coats.
A familiar young woman made her way down the stairs and Tony and Stephen turned to smile up at her. Of course they loved Friday, and Tony had even implored her to just become a member of the household, maybe he could put her through school too. But Friday wanted to stay a member of the staff and had been overcome with joy to become the head matron.
But really all attention was on the little being in her arms, a little baby girl blinking in the sunlight.
“She just woke up from her nap, sirs. Knew her parents were coming home and would need her, I bet.”
Stephen took the bundle from Friday, bringing his daughter close to his chest and Tony leaned down to kiss her on the top of her downy little head. The little girl let out a coo and a wiggle of joy.
Two weeks after the disaster, Tony had dragged a still ill Stephen to the doctor and found that it had indeed not been sea sickness. It was light cutting through the clouds of misery that that night left their life shadowed in. Their little Evelyn Bridget Stark.
Friday led them into the sitting room where she had stoked the embers, knowing functions centered around that night always left them chilled. She had tea and scones waiting for them.
Fin