Chapter Text
Tony was lounging on a bench in the waiting room when Pepper entered. She didn’t knock, and he never expected her to. He had an arm flung over his eyes, but he lowered it as the click of her heels alerted him to her approach. He peeked an eye open and grinned when she towered beside him. She had a pair of red pumps on, one of the many she owned. She caught him eying them.
“I’ll buy you a pair if you win this match.” She offered. Tony’s grin turned into a smirk. He breathed in the clean air in the room. The privacy was a perk, and he was glad he didn’t have to wait with the other Alphas. Pepper’s soothing Beta pheromones comforted him, and Tony rolled over on his back and sat himself upright.
“Hmm,” he mused. “I’m not sure if I have anything that will match. Do you think they’ll go well with my red gym shorts?” He asked, leaning back on his forearms and plucking up a chic brow.
Pepper played along, taking in Tony’s muscled thighs and even thicker biceps. “You’d look nothing less than fabulous.” She let him know, not a trace of doubt in her conviction.
She grabbed a roll of tape discarded on the bench and took his hands in hers. She deftly taped his fingers, going through the motions on autopilot.
“How are you feeling?” She asked him, her tone deceptively light. She cocked her hip to the side and her eyes searched his own.
Tony grinned at her, all teeth. “Fabulous darling, very excited to go up against Detroit’s top fighter in the ring.” He wriggled his fingers at her, “Who knows, I might find love in a hopeless place.” He looked at her, almost eagerly and Pepper responded with a snort that was more endeared than amused.
“Of course.” She replied, because Pepper was more than kind.
Tony hummed, eyes crinkling with mischief, “Do you think I could agitate him enough to sneak in a win if I arrive late?” He teased.
“With your reputation, he’d be more surprised if you arrived on time, Mr. Stark.” Pepper told him, matter of fact as she wound some tape around his fingers, thumbing at his numerous callouses.
“Ouch,” Tony winced, his eyes shone with mirth. “That hurts, it really does. You sure know how to keep my ego in check, Ms. Potts.” Pepper huffed, “I’m not sure if I should be worrying about your ego, or your pretense of having one.”
The smile froze on Tony’s face for a moment, and his next laugh was softer. Pepper paused in her motions and adjusted her white button down. “Do you need to scent, Tony?” She asked him.
Tony shook his head, “You’re a doll for asking, Beta pheromones are always a good time, but I think I can manage.”
Pepper sighed and palmed his cheek, “You know that it’s okay to need help. No one will judge you for this.”
Tony covered the hand on his cheek with his own, “No one except me. I appreciate the offer, Pep. Thank you.”
She pressed her lips together, a little quirk that let him know she had more to say, but she didn’t push it further. Instead, she straightened her back and cleared her throat. “Mr. Fury has brought a guest to the match.”
Tony raised a brow. “Oh?”
“Yes. He seems to be related to the legalities involving this building’s contract. He’s-” Pepper hesitated. “ Caporegime.”
“Oh.” Tony repeated, this time with more interest. “So he’s one of them. Fury’s little backdoor trouble.”
Pepper ran a hand through her hair, “You know he hates it when you call it that.”
“All the more reason for me to do so.” Tony cheeked.
Pepper frowned. “All the same Tony, it might be better to lay low with this one. The rumors about him, they are...”
Tony kicked his heels into the floor and leaned forward, “Are they bad? No, what am I asking, of course they are bad. It’s the mob. How bad are they?” He asked, ducking his head to meet Pepper’s eyes.
Her mouth twitched at his obvious excitement, “Really bad. He single handedly managed to take down the little gang that was brewing up-street. Hill says he didn’t any have help. Landed thirty of them in the hospital with just his bare fists. Law enforcement had a field day with that.”
“That’s something, alright.” Tony whistled.
“Yes, but what’s more confounding is that despite everyone else calling the man a beast, Ms. Parker thinks he’s a perfect gentlemen.”
“A gentlemen? Are we talking, a smooth talker who charms you before blowing your brains out?” He prodded, a little confused.
“Tony!” Pepper chided, but then continued. “I’m really not sure. You remember Ms. Parker and her boy Peter?”
“Sure, they run the little laundromat across the street.” Tony shrugged, not bothering to extrapolate that young Peter Parker considered himself Tony’s protégée. Tony wasn’t sure what to make of it yet, but it didn’t take much out of him to show the child a few moves now and again.
Pepper nodded, “Yeah, we send a lot of our towels and other laundry to them- the salvageable things at least.”
Tony had always wondered if Fury was joking when he said he wanted to keep the gym ‘clean and beautiful’.
Guess not.
“Anyway, Mr. Rogers, or Cap as he’s known as around these parts, seems to have accumulated a bit of a reputation.”
Tony raised a brow, “What did he do? Halve their weekly payment?”
Pepper shook her head, “No. Ms Parker doesn’t have to pay anymore, and well-“
“Well?” Tony prompted.
Pepper looked at him incredulously, “He does their weekly grocery runs.”
Tony’s eyes widened in surprise, and then his expression morphed into something else.
Pepper shook her head at him, “Tony, no.” But she realized it was too late. If there was anything that attracted Tony Stark more than danger, it was a puzzle.
......
Jean Drew was just what Tony expected. Huge, buff and reeking of Alpha aggression. Tony kept to his toes but stayed back. Drew seemed like someone who preferred a one punch knockout, and that’s exactly what Tony wouldn’t give him.
Drew knew Tony was Omega. He didn’t bother to hide that, fought better when people knew exactly who was handing their ass to them in the ring. It would play to his advantage if it got Drew to underestimate him a little. Tony’s best shot was in getting them to the ground and gaining a win by submission.
Drew’s fist shot out at his face, and Tony dodged it neatly. It was still early in the match, but Tony could feel the sweat building up as they kept moving around, Drew’s frustration increasing as all Tony did was dodge the slew of punches and kicks being aimed at him. The kid was good, Tony’d give him that. He just needed to add a few more skills to his arsenal and iron out the predictability factor. He remained patient, and when he saw his chance he took it. In a quick, and well practiced move he had them both on the floor.
Drew was a little winded from the force of Tony’s tackle - and his grips were clumsy as they grappled. Tony grabbed his arm and pulled it under his armpit, he grunted as Drew found the strength to land a punch to Tony’s side. He didn’t let go of his hold however, letting the pain from the hit reverberate through his body and then flipped himself to wrap his thighs around his opponents neck.
Drew put up a valiant struggle, attempting to twist himself out of the hold. It was futile however, and soon he was tapping frantically against Tony’s thigh. Happy, the ref for the match, called it and pried Tony off the Alpha. Tony rolled off his back panting, the adrenaline always picked up quick in a fight, even ones that ended relatively quick.
The rest of Tony’s matches passed by in a blur after that, and he forgot all about Fury’s guest. Until, of course, both men came to find him in his private waiting room after the day’s matches were done with. Tony was chugging down a bottle of water, sweat still dripping down his chin when Fury knocked.
It had taken Tony a while to get Fury to agree to do that, but by Tony’s third year at the gym Fury had softened up.
“Come in,” He welcomed, Fury’s scent preceded him.
Fury entered with a silent flourish. Tony always marveled at how the man managed to be both dramatic and subtle all at once. Fury scanned the room before his visible eye rested on Tony. “Good fight.”
“Of course.” Tony agreed, and then angled his head towards the other occupant of the room. “You’ve brought me company I didn’t ask for. How unusual.”
Fury rolled his eye, he was used to Tony’s behavior and was probably aware that Pepper had briefed him in advance. When Tony had run away from home as a teenager and found his way to the gym, Fury had spend all of five minutes trying to be a father figure, before he gave that up and decided being a mentor suited him much better. “This is Mr Rogers. For some reason, he was interested in meeting you.”
“They are always interested in meeting me.” Tony grins, eyeing Rogers’ stiff form near the door. Everything and nothing about the man said Criminal. He had a big, bulking frame not unlike many of the Alphas Tony had fought in the ring today (bigger than most, maybe) but his countenance was subdued, and his bright blue eyes darted around the room like he was disturbed. His clothes were a fancy echo of a life Tony himself once had, and in his appraisal he glanced at Tony as well, but his eyes widened and then shot to the opposite wall when they met with Tony’s own.
Well, Tony thought. Whatever he had expected, it wasn’t this nervous, fidgeting Alpha.
“Until they know better.” Fury agreed. And Tony tossed his bottle to the side where a pile of his gym-mate Carol’s discarded pile of clothes were. Carol was the only one who Tony shared his space with. The Alpha’s aggression was never off putting, instead, Tony enjoyed the tough excitement he always scented off her. So he let her leave her things lying around.
“Mr. Fury,” Rogers interrupted. Tony and Fury both turned to look at him, but he kept his eyes on Fury. Tony narrowed his eyes, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like whatever was going to come out of his mouth next.
“I’m not sure if it is respectable to enter an Omega’s nest like this.” He said, for all purposes sounding earnest as hell.
Fury’s falter was full bodied, and Tony didn’t have the time to appreciate that uncharacteristic reaction because he was too busy assessing his own startled shock.
Rogers was still not making eye contact, and Tony threw his head back and laughed, low and gruttal. “What the fuck are you talking about? There’s no nest here.” Tony hadn’t nested in years, not since mother passed away and Howard turned into a drunkard.
Rogers looked confused, but he collected himself quickly. “I apologize. The scents in here were- no matter. It was rude of me to assume, Mr. Stark.”
“It was.” Tony didn’t bother to mince his words. Rogers looked truly apologetic, and Tony wondered how this man managed to achieve anything underhanded. “Well, it’s of no matter.” He rolled his shoulders and tried to pretend that Rogers words hadn’t affected him as much as they had. “I heard you wanted to meet me, Rogers,” he eyed the man’s broad shoulders, the Alpha’s scent wasn’t overpowering, it was almost Beta like, but it managed to blanket the whole room like a reassuring hand on his back. “Though I’m not sure what a man of your stature would want with someone like me.”
Rogers took a step forward into the room, and his scent thickened. Tony’s lips parted a little, the scent of anticipation was heady.
Rogers’ blue eyes glowed with a challenge as he looked down at Tony, unintentionally blocking out both the door and Fury as he slowly extended a hand towards Tony.
“If possible, Mr. Stark. I’d like to have a match against you.”
What was left of Tony’s self preservation told him this was a bad idea, something Pepper would probably warn him against doing, but Tony hadn’t gotten this far listening to that kind of sense. He clapped his palm on Rogers’ shoulder with a grin, “I’ve been told you’re quite the beast,” he said, almost coy, and Rogers leaned forward a little, like he wanted to hear Tony better, so Tony beamed a puckish smile at him, “I think I’ll enjoy taking you down.” Then he hopped to his feet and smacked a friendly pat on Rogers’ back.
He wriggled his fingers towards Fury before he left the room. Before he rounded the corner he heard Fury ask, “Need a minute?”
“No.” Rogers sounded a little breathless. “I’m alright.”
“Sure you are.” Fury replied cheerfully.