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All of Tony’s concentration was fixed on sparring with Steve. It was no secret that the captain had a mean throw. Now he was using Tony’s new and improved magnetic shield recall system, his attacks were more devastating than ever.
Safely encased in Iron Man armor, Tony flew around the three-story open airplane hangar that the avengers used for their training, while Steve tried to knock him out of the air.
Steve had come a long way from when he wouldn’t even throw a fake punch at Tony during sparring. Back in the day, Omegas were to be cherished. Put up on a pedestal, like delicate china dolls.
Eventually, Tony had managed to annoy that perception out of him. Steve—figuratively—dropped his shields, and they became friends. In battle, they made a mean fighting pair.
But today was for fun and data gathering. Tony had a grand time throwing taunts at Steve, daring him to hit him. They were both laughing as Tony expertly evaded the shield and the rebound off the far wall before it returned back into Steve’s grip.
Then, abruptly, the world shattered around Tony.
Vaguely, he felt himself hit the floor. But that pain and shock of impact was far away. Everything else, every cell of him was focused on James.
Specifically, James screaming in his head. Wordless, full of fear and despair.
The link between them, which had always felt blocked by what Tony had visualized as a steel wall, was suddenly blown wide open. Sizzling arcs of electricity seared through Tony’s body. His limbs jerked and twitched, though his metal arm was locked in place — no, wait. Steve was yelling, pulling at the Iron Man armor — No, the technicians were watching him eagerness— No —.
Tony could feel himself, feel James, splintering. Falling away from him. Tony reached out, and felt the small bit of what was intact of his mate turn his attention Tony’s way.
A flash of love tinged with despair.
The bond snapped completely shut.
Tony was moving — was being moved. The world swayed back and forth under Steve’s long running strides. He was cradled in the alphas arms. The suit was gone, and the side of Tony’s cheek rested against Steve’s muscle shoulder. But he smelled wrong, not his mate. Not his alpha.
A door slammed open. Bruce sounding startled, asked, “Steve what’s happened?”
“I don’t know. We were sparring, and he just fell out of the air — looks like a seizure. Could it be his arc reactor?”
Tony felt himself being laid out on a hard surface. A table? He wasn’t sure, and he was too far away to care. He stared up, dazedly, at the lights overhead. Bruce and Steve’s face floated in and out of his view. A penlight light shined in his eyes.
“Think he’s in shock.”
“There’s no blood. I never hit him with the shield — you know I wouldn’t —“
“Mate-bond shock, Steve,” Bruce said in a strangely gentle voice.
An inhaled breath. “Tony’s… mated?”
That seemed to snap Tony back into awareness. He blinked and lifted a hand to his aching head. “Mate bond of convenience, Cap.” He meant his voice to come out as pithy, but his voice sounded reedy and very weak even to his own ears. “I know you’ve heard of it.”
Immediately, Bruce and Steve were hovering around him. Steve’s strong hands helped Tony sit up.
Bruce asked, “Tony? Is it James? Is he okay?”
“James Rhodes?” Steve demanded. Why did he sound angry?
“No,” Tony said to both of them. No, not Rhodey, and no his James wasn’t okay. Tentatively, Tony reached to the bond and found it utterly pinched shut. This wasn’t a steel wall between them, where sometimes muffled thoughts and emotions could be heard. This was an almost complete sundering. Why did James do this? He was out there, somewhere in pain, without Tony to help, and —
Tony felt like he couldn’t breathe. He inhaled gasping breaths. It wasn’t doing any good. Steve’s large hands rested on his back, but the touch wasn’t right. Not James’s touch.
James was alone, maybe dying, and there wasn’t a damn thing Tony could do about it.
To Tony’s horror, he burst into sobs. One hand over his arc reactor, where his heart should be.
Steve made sympathetic, shushing noises that Tony hated. But he couldn’t stop, it was like his body wasn’t his own. He had become stereotypical weepy Omega. And he just couldn’t stop crying..
Thank goodness for Bruce. “It’s shock,” he said, and pressed something warm into Tony’s free hand. “Drink this tea, Tony. Small sips. That’s right. I’ve seen this before, Steve. His adrenal glands are flooding his body right now. It will take a while to level out.”
“I didn’t know he was mated.” There was something in Steve’s voice that Tony wasn’t in the frame of mind to recognize. Jealousy, maybe? Sadness? Or just Steve’s old-fashioned values hating to see any Omega in distress? “What happened? Is his Alpha…”
“I don’t know,” Bruce said evenly. He bent to put his face into Tony’s view. “Tony? Can you tell us?”
A part of Tony resented the gentle, patronizing tone Bruce used. Another part of him recognized that he was literally rocking back and forth, shaking and sobbing in full Omega hysterics. But Bruce had presented a problem, and Tony was a problem solver.
“I —“ Tony shuddered and realized that he actually did know, somewhat, what had happened to James. The brief moment when their connection had opened showed him more than he expected. The knowledge was there, waiting. “He was captured, put in a chair.” He forced the words out from behind chattering teeth. “They were doing it again.”
“Doing what, Tony?” Steve asked, his hand warm on Tony shoulder. He, too, had that too–gentle tone of voice.
“I don’t know,” Tony said, tugging at his own hair in frustration. But his hands weren’t shaking nearly as much anymore. He was pulling himself back into control. “It—it felt like sticking a finger into my finger in a light socket. Someone had him strapped down and was doing it to him on purpose.”
“Torture?” Steve asked.
“Felt like it. The bond’s closed down.” Tony lowered his hands from his hair and looked into Steve’s eyes. “I don’t know where he is.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes,” Tony said. It was the one thing he knew for certain.
Tony went through two more crying jags that night, which was uncomfortable for everyone involved. Especially him. The next morning, he woke in his own bed. Steve, who had taken up guard duty during the night, snored in a chair a few feet away. One hand rested, loose, a few feet away from Tony as if he had reached for him in his sleep.
The bond was still shut down to nothing. But the shock had passed. Tony could think again.
And he could plan.
Reaching for his bedside tablet, he pulled up JARVIS’s OS system. He was disgusted with himself for all the lost time.
Sitting up, and propping the pillows behind him, Tony brought up every piece of information, real or speculated, he had gleaned about James. It painted a very thin picture. But it was something. It was a starting point, and come hell or high water, he was going to find his alpha.
Tony set to work.