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Stephen is in his office, reviewing the file for an upcoming surgery, when Obadiah Stane knocks and then walks in without waiting for Stephen to answer. Tony had warned Stephen to expect this, but even if he hadn’t, Stephen wouldn’t have been surprised. Stane is one of those betas who simultaneously believes that alphas are inherently superior to all other dynamics and also that his own dynamic was some sort of clerical error. It shows in every press conference he gives. Not to mention the way he tries to bully Tony about company matters.
Someone like Stane will be incensed by Tony’s relationship with Stephen. Not only because Tony hasn’t chosen an omega—the rightful property of alphas, from Stane’s point of view—but also because Stephen is somehow betraying alphakind by bending over. Not that Stane knows anything about their sex life, but of course he’ll assume Tony tops. That he’s correct is immaterial, since the whole premise is bullshit.
So when he walks into Stephen’s office like he’s entitled to it, Stephen ignores him, instead focusing on his computer.
It only takes Stane a few seconds to break, too used to people kowtowing to him. He wouldn’t last ten seconds in a real dominance contest. “Doctor Strange,” Stane says sharply. “I need to make some things clear to you.”
“You must not need it very badly,” Stephen says, still not looking up, “because you failed to do anything that would ensure the conversation actually takes place. Like make an appointment. I’m busy.”
“Blowing me off doesn’t say much for Tony’s importance in your life.”
“Tony is aware of his importance to me. Anyone else is irrelevant.”
“Look,” Stane says, thumping his hands onto Stephen’s desk and leaning down into his space, “I—”
“You are interfering in essential work,” Stephen interrupts, finally looking away from his computer to lock eyes with Stane. “My familiarity with these records can make the difference between life and death in an operating room.” Slowly, Stephen stands, holding Stane’s gaze as he does. Stane straightens up with him, refusing to look away and not seeming to realize that letting Stephen control how he moves is one of the oldest dominance plays in the book. “You are not entitled,” Stephen says, circling his desk without ever breaking their gaze and stepping into Stane’s personal space, “to come into my territory and presume on my time.” Stephen pushes closer to Stane, forcing him step back, and back, until Stephen backs him right out the door. “If you want to talk,” Stephen says, “make an appointment.”
Finally breaking their gaze, Stephen catches the eye of the security guard down the hall, and then the neurosurgery department’s secretary. He looks back at Stane and smiles when he sees Stane has absorbed just how public his defeat has been. “Melanie can assist you.” Stepping back into his office, Stephen closes the door.
The ‘inherent superiority of alphas’ is bullshit, but it can still be used against the idiots who believe it.