Chapter Text
Aunt May was going to kill him.
That was the primary thought running through Peter’s mind as he sat slumped against the damp stone wall.
When Mr. Stark had called him in on a mission with the Avengers on the first of August, his aunt told him it was cutting it too fine. His two-week presentation isolation was due to start on the third. A week before his seventeenth birthday.
It was something that everyone went through. An extremely important time in a young person's life.
During those two weeks (the seven days before and the seven days after their seventeenth birthday) they would present as either alpha, beta or omega. The process itself could be taxing, both physically and mentally. It would leave the individual weak and susceptible to suggestion which was why they would retire privately to be with their family during the process.
It was supposed to be a time where the teenager and their family would quarantine together in their home and not surface again until it was all over.
May had been worrying about it for the past couple of years. Since Ben had died, she was the only person that would be with Peter, which was a lot of pressure. It also didn’t help that she was a beta, so wasn’t as knowledgeable about alpha physiology as Ben was.
Both Peter’s dad and Uncle Ben had presented as alphas. In fact, all their male bloodline, as far back as they’d investigated when looking into their family history, had presented alpha.
It wasn’t unusual.
In about ninety-five percent of cases, males would present as either alpha or beta and females would present as either beta or omega. Of course, there was always the exceptions but those were very rare nowadays.
Female omegas had finally been welcomed into most workplaces and were on track to have equal rights within the next ten years or so. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for female alphas or even worse, for male omegas.
Over the past month, May had been reading parenting books about raising alpha teenagers just to make sure she was ready. She had a ‘my first rut’ kit sitting in the cupboard ready to be handed over as soon as it was needed.
It was a time that was usually spent reinforcing bonds between parents and children. Given three of Peter’s parental figures had died during his short lifetime, she was understandably doing everything that she could think of to make sure it went off without a hitch.
She had spent the last week in July stockpiling food and drink to last them through the two weeks. With Peter’s increased metabolism, she had been worried they would run out and didn’t want to have to worry about leaving Peter alone during his transformation to make sure he was fed.
A checklist had been stuck to the fridge for a couple of weeks with the steps needed and the timeframe they would follow. So of course, an Avengers mission to check out yet another Hydra base on the first of August had not been on the agenda.
But what was Peter meant to do?
If Mr. Stark calls asking for Spider-Man’s help on a mission, he isn’t going to turn him down. Besides, it was supposed to be a quick in and out mission. Purely intelligence gathering. He’d be home the following day at the latest. That would be plenty of time to get back to the apartment before he started his quarantine with his aunt on the third.
It had taken some slight begging on Peter’s part, but eventually May had reluctantly relented and let him go. With the promise he would be back in time.
That had been three days ago.
Turns out their intel had been wrong.
The base that was supposed to be abandoned was buzzing with activity. Taking the entire team was just them being overly cautious and wanting to get more practice in the field with Spider-Man joining them. But even with all hands-on deck, they were overpowered.
Mr. Stark covered the skies with Clint acting as an arrow firing sniper. Natasha and Peter snuck in to retrieve intel and fight when necessary, with Bucky and Steve taking out the brunt of the soldiers on the ground.
The revised plan had been drilled into them on the approach when the scanners picked up on the motion of soldiers. Everyone knew who was going to be where but given the sudden change in plans staying in communication with each other was going to be more important than ever. Any information they could gather and pass on would be essential.
Of course, due to the necessity of communication during the mission, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when an EMP was set off which knocked out their comms. Cutting them off from the rest of the team.
Peter managed to hold his own against the highly trained soldiers for the first couple of minutes, but the hits were never-ending. He was quickly tiring from the constant movement. Unable to even stand still for a couple of seconds to catch his breath. Jumping from wall to ceiling to floor in random orders to evade attack.
Given it was about five against one, he thought he was doing okay. A couple of bruises and grazes from bullets, but no direct hits. He’d been ready to ask Natasha if she had a plan yet when he heard her let out a choked gasp from behind him.
Spinning round, he froze at the sight before him. Two of the soldiers had the superspy held tightly between them with a third man holding a gun to the back of her head. Others around them also had their guns aimed at her head. His eyes flitted around quickly, trying to think of any possible escapes that wouldn’t end in one of them dying but drew a blank.
They were outnumbered and the bad guys had won.
“Don’t try anything funny, unless you wanna see the inside of the bitches head,” smirked the man standing directly behind Natasha.
He could hear the men behind him shifting their aim to him as well. The slight widening of Natasha’s eyes the only confirmation he needed off their actions.
Closing his eyes and sending out a silent apology to May, Peter had raised his hands in defeat and allowed the men to manhandle him into a set of cuffs, supressing a wince when his mask was pulled from his face and shoved haphazardly into one of the men’s pockets. Following them as they led them down winding corridors and endless staircases, they eventually came to what could only be described as a dungeon.
A square room, about 12 feet by 12 feet. three walls made of stone and the fourth composed entirely of what appeared to be vibranium bars. Through the bars was the small door that led to the staircase they had been dragged down.
When the two of them had been guided into the room, he felt a shiver of fear at the sight before him. Clint was in the far corner, arms cuffed behind his back and attached the wall, watching them with concern as they were guided to their own wall chains. They obviously weren’t amateurs. Peter’s cuffs were attached to a set of thicker chains on the opposite side of the room to Clint and Natasha. He warily eyed the two other currently empty chains either side of him that he assumed were intended for the other supersoldiers.
His hopes that the rest of the team would come and rescue them all but diminished when Tony was guided into the room in a similar fashion, sans his suit. He was attached to chains beside Natasha and Clint.
Tony had quickly locked eyes with Peter. When the barred door had been closed behind the pair, his mentor had slid his foot out towards him, until they were just barely touching. Providing him with the only comfort he could offer.
A pair of guards had been stationed on the other side of the bars the entire time, watching the heroes. There was an unspoken rule amongst them not to speak while they were present. Except for Mr. Stark’s or Clint’s occasional snide remarks or questions that earned them glares.
The forced silence was also filled with concerned glances about the missing supersoldier duo who had still not made an appearance. A small part of Peter still held onto hope that it was a good sign, that it meant they were winning. But the more realistic side, acknowledged that if no one in the cell could make it out then the missing duo didn’t have much hope either.
It couldn’t have been more than another half hour before an unconscious Steve and Bucky were dragged into the cell and chained either side of him.
Once the soldiers were locked into place, the guards in the room left. The click of the lock echoing against the stone walls. A collective sigh was released, but Peter’s thoughts were too loud to let himself speak.
During that first day they’d remained mostly positive. It was an official mission, so people would notice when they didn’t return. Rhodey or Sam, who was visiting his sister, would launch a rescue mission and they’d be home by the following day. They’d kept conversation light and warily picked at the food and water that were given to them by their captors.
The next day the optimism wasn’t quite as pronounced.
They’d get there eventually. Given they had the good quinjet, it could take them longer to arrive. They’d be relying on the inferior jet. Peter knew excuses when he heard them. Could see the tension growing around their eyes as they assured him he’d be out of there and home before he knew it.
The minute they’d woken this morning the air had been thick with tension. They all knew what day it was. How important it was to Peter. He was supposed to be home with May. Supposed to be locking the doors for the next two weeks. But he was here instead. With no way of letting his aunt know.
“I’m sure it’ll be alright, kid,” Mr. Stark encouraged from his spot on the floor. “The seven days before hand are just a bit of overkill. We’ve still got time.”
“Yeah,” he breathed, his voice wavering. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, there’s no point in freaking out yet.” Mr. Stark shot him a knowing look.
They’d all spent some time that morning trying to stop him worrying about presenting. It's not something that’s supposed to be done in public. Around people who aren’t family. But it was looking more and more likely that that’s what would be happening.
“You know, I about gave my Ma a heart attack when I presented as an alpha,” Steve mused. “Everyone assumed I’d be a beta. I mean, I was a tiny build with more ailments than I had fingers and yet, I surprised everyone. Without it, I don’t think they would have chosen me for the serum.”
“True. The old man certainly wouldn’t have endorsed it without. He was a traditionalist through and through. He worked from his home office during my two weeks. If my birthday wasn’t publicly known, he probably wouldn’t have even bothered staying inside. He popped his head out each day to check if I’d presented yet but otherwise stayed out of the way.”
“Seriously?” Steve asked, his eyes widened in shock.
“Yeah,” Tony smirked. “Once he heard I was an alpha he breathed a sigh of relief before ignoring us for the rest of the time. Held a pretty press conference after however, with pictures and statements of how proud he was to have an alpha heir.”
“What would he have done if you were a beta?” Clint mused.
“Probably disowned me,” Mr. Stark scoffed. “Like I said, he was a traditionalist. Thought alpha males should be running the world, everyone else should just follow their commands blindly.”
“He’d have loved me,” Natasha smirked. She was a female alpha. Not very common but becoming more socially accepted.
Female alphas now had the right to work, and their human rights were almost at the same level as female omegas. They had more issues with accessing healthcare due to their intersex nature, but the attached stigmas were beginning to be addressed in the public eye – having one of the Avenger’s being one was definitely helping the cause.
“Oh, Lordy. He would have killed me if I presented omega. Like literally killed me.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Steve admonished.
“It probably is,” Peter whispered, his cheeks turning red when five sets of eyes landed on him. “Sorry, I obviously don’t know anything. I’ll just—”
“It’s okay, Pete. It is true, but how did you know?”
“I— um, I didn’t know about your dad, but MJs most recent cause has been fighting for male omegan rights. They have the same precedence as female alphas, but there are far fewer because almost half of them die. Either due to complications with the transition, suicide or murder by a family member in supposed ‘honour killings’. Your dad threatening to kill you isn’t out of the norm. You’d be unable to go to university or take over the company. I imagine he wouldn’t want the supposed shame of selling his son for sex.”
“They’re not sold for sex—”
“Then what are they sold for? Male omegas have the option to either be sold to a brothel or sold to the highest alpha bidder. The government will literally take away anyone who doesn’t comply with their ‘rules’, placing the omega into one of those places anyway and then imprisoning the family who tried to protect them.”
“It’s for their own protection, son.”
“For who’s protection? Did you know they have no more rights than a possession? They don’t have body autonomy. Their lives are ruled by their owners and in the United States alone, in the past five years, there have been at least two cases where an owner has bought an omega for the sole purpose of torturing them to the point of death. The police didn’t do anything because according to the law it's not illegal!”
Peter tended to keep himself distanced from a lot of these political issues, but male omegas were something he hadn’t been able to avoid.
He’d come to the realisation that he was bi, with a preference towards males a couple of years back but hadn’t opened up about it to anyone. Not May, not Ben, not even Ned. It was all but guaranteed that he’d present as an alpha which would come with its own list of problems.
Biologically speaking, omegas were the best pairing for an alpha since their bodies were designed to accommodate a knot. Betas could sometimes be stretched to take a knot, but it took hours of prep to prevent any tearing and wouldn’t be enjoyable for them. With the current attitudes towards male omega’s, he’d need to use one of the brothels that were dotted around the country. Something that he’s not sure he’d ever be able to do. It didn’t align with his morals.
Not that he had anything against sex work. But male omegas didn’t have a choice in the matter. They were sold into it like an object rather than a person volunteering.
“Kid’s right,” Clint nodded from his corner. “It’s absolutely ridiculous, but they’re not going to change the laws because its Senators and Governors that profit from the brothels. It's probably them using them each weekend.”
“Not all of them are treated badly,” Tony muttered.
“You have to think that since you worked your way through the male omegas in Malibu back in the day,” Natasha smirked.
He couldn’t stop the blush from spreading across his cheeks as he stared at his mentor across the cell. The man himself at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed. Over the years he’d been growing closer to Mr. Stark. He’d even go as far as to say they were now friends. As much as they chatted about anything and everything, Mr. Stark’s sex life had always been wordlessly kept off the table. Probably for good reason.
“I never did anything without permission – they all knew they could stay stop at any time and their pimps wouldn’t know anything about it. Trust me. No-one has ever left my bed unsatisfied.”
Peter couldn’t stop the embarrassed squeak from escaping his lips.
“Aw, you’re embarrassing the Spider-Kid,” Bucky teased.
“If you find that bad, how’re you going to cope when you hit MIT, kid?”
“I, um, I—” he sputtered. Blushing furiously under the number of smirks being directed his way. “I’ll be prepared for those. I just didn’t expect it... coming from you...” he trailed off.
“Coming from me? What? I’m too old for that sort of thing?”
“I never said that!” he defended. “I just, college kids you expect it from. But you’re…I’d just never heard that before. You’re you, y’know?”
“I’m going to choose to ignore that. You know when you’re starting yet?”
Thankful for the change in subject, he grinned bashfully.
“Nothing’s official yet since they need my designation on the paperwork, but they accept both betas and alphas so it’s just a formality at this point. I got the early acceptance so should be starting in January.”
“Wow, well done, Pete,” Steve awed from his side. “Bet May’s excited about that.”
“Yeah,” he blushed. Shrugging off the praise.
“Don’t be modest,” Tony interjected. “He’s the youngest yet to be accepted to the course and he has the highest marks. Hell, I’d employ him right now if he wasn’t so set on getting himself a degree first. Unfortunately, Pepper agrees with him. I can offer an official internship once he has his designation but no job until after he graduates.”
“Don’t sound so sad about it, Stark,” Clint taunted. “Someone might think you care.”
“Please, I just don’t want to lose him to the competition. Brain like Pete’s comes along once in a lifetime.”
Shifting for the umpteenth time in the past five minutes, he fought to remain calm. The others were all making a pointed effort not to look in his direction but that was just making it even more obvious that they were aware his transition was starting.
He’d been taught about what to expect in health class but that didn’t stop his nerves from taking over. When his temperature began to increase and the unbearable itch on his neck started, he was supposed to be curled up on the couch with May. Moving to his room when the tingling began elsewhere. Instead, he was currently shifting on the uncomfortable floor, trying to ease the suffocating heat bubbling under his suit and using his shoulder to itch his neck.
Their captors were due any minute for their daily food deposit. Earlier on, when Peter’s temperature began to increase and it became clear that he wasn’t going to be home before the transition, they had discussed the best way forward.
Peter already knew they’d seen his face, but they didn’t know his identity, which meant they didn’t know his age. They didn’t know what was happening.
They’d all acknowledged it may be difficult, but he was going to do everything in his power not to let on that he was presenting.
It was certainly easier said than done with the shakiness he could feel forming in his limbs and a tingling sensation starting in his groin. The shuffling of footsteps in the hall caught his attention. Shifting to lean more of his weight against the wall, he clenched his hands into fists before setting his face into what he hoped was a neutral expression.
“Show time,” he muttered under his breath. The others perking up at his announcement and preparing themselves for their captors' arrival.
Just like the previous days, the men didn’t talk as they unlocked the door. Two armed guards standing by the cell door while another three men placed plates in front of each prisoner. He breathed heavily through his nose trying to ignore the itching in his neck and the growing nausea swirling in his stomach.
A sudden piercing pain in his lower abdomen had him biting his tongue to prevent making a sound. He’d been taught and read about what to expect during an alpha presentation since he was a child. He knew it shouldn’t be like this. The itchiness on the right side of his neck where his mating gland would appear is correct, but everything else was wrong. He shouldn’t be feeling sick. Where he should be experiencing some light tingling and perhaps pressure around the base of his cock as his knot formed, he was instead having an intense tingling that was spreading from his lower abdomen round to the base of his spine.
If he were in any other circumstance his mind would have already formed the answer. As it was, about seventy percent of his focus was on remaining quiet and not giving any indication of his current state.
A quiet whimper escaped his lips when the door was finally locked behind the men once again.
“Chow time,” Clint exclaimed, pulling his own plate towards him.
The sight of his own plate caused bile to rise in his throat. Choosing to ignore the food, he curled himself back up against the wall, wrapping his arms as much as he could around his legs. The pain was slowly increasing between his legs, enough for him to bury his head in his knees to try and hold in his whimpers. The longer the others were oblivious the better.
“C’mon, kid. You need to eat,” Tony prodded from across the room.
“Yeah, it might not be the most appetising but with your metabolism you can’t just skip a meal.” Steve’s concerned voice came from his side.
“I— I can’t,” he whispered, breathing deeply and evenly to control the rolling in his stomach.
“I know it’s weird, trust me, and you deserve to have your family here instead of us, but you can’t just stop eating. It’ll be over soon,” Clint spoke softly, his paternal side coming out.
Choking on a sob, he shook his head, refusing to look up despite feeling five pairs of eyes on him.
“Pete? What's wrong?” Bucky asked, worry evident in his tone.
“I—” he paused to groan as an intense pain spiked through his centre. “I’m not an alpha.”
“Well, not yet, but—”
“No,” he whimpered. “I’m... I’m a...” he shifted to run his hands through his hair, a sob escaping his lips before he managed to whisper the truth. What he’d been trying to avoid thinking. What he still wished to be false. “I’m an omega.”
If the room hadn’t been silent, they wouldn’t have been able to hear his confession. As it was, he could hear the echoed shocks of breath as they each took in his words.
“Are you sure?” Tony asked, before cursing under his breath. “Of course, you’re sure. Stupid question. Shit.”
Curling into himself he tuned the others out as they all started talking over each other. Breathing heavily through his nose, he couldn’t hold in his groan when the pain spiked again. He didn’t think it was possible, but the pain just continued to build.
He’d been injured plenty of times as Spider-Man, so he wasn’t a stranger to pain, but this was unbearable. He’d rather be shot multiple times through his stomach than suffer through this.
This felt like he was being stabbed repeatedly while also burning at the stake. It was like his insides were… Oh, God… Like his insides were tearing themselves apart.
The thought barely had time to cross his mind before he was lunging forward onto his knees to dry heave. The force adding to the pain as he spat bile out onto the ground. Coughing and spluttering he could distantly hear the others moving around him. He’s pretty sure he could hear his name amongst the words, but he could only focus on the knowledge of what was happening.
His body was literally tearing a new hole into his body. He knew the biology of a male omega but until this moment, he hadn’t realised the full horror of what presenting would mean. While he was writhing in pain, his body was creating its omegan hole and the connected vagina. The pain was centred around his perineum because that’s where it was created. Fit between the balls and his asshole. One of the most sensitive parts of the body.
Crying out in pain, he pressed his forehead against the cold ground. Choking on a breath, his hands scratched at his chest trying to remove whatever was causing the pressure.
A steady, repeated poke at his side caused him to jump, his attention shifting to the toe of a shoe tapping him. Furrowing his brow, he trailed his eyes from the shoe, up the adjoining leg to Bucky’s concerned face. Blinking past his tears he focused his gaze on Bucky’s lips trying to make out the words.
“—eathe, Peter. C’mon kid, just breathe. Follow me. In…. and out…. That’s it. Again, In…. and out….”
He’s not sure how long he stared at the man trying to copy his exaggerated breaths but the tightness in his chest eventually eased. His breath would still catch when the pain spiked, but he was fighting to follow Bucky’s instructions.
Once his breathing was under control, he became aware of the near constant whimpering that was escaping from him. Raising to sit on his knees, he bit down on his knuckles to keep himself quiet.
“You back with us?”
Sucking a breath in through his nose, he followed the voice to face Tony. His mentor was staring at him with worried eyes. Unsure he could respond verbally without embarrassing himself even further, he nodded.
“Okay. We’ll work this out. You just need to stay calm. Keep breathing. Maybe try to sleep? That might help.”
He highly doubted that he’d be able to sleep while his body continued to tear itself apart, but he nodded, nonetheless. He could at least close his eyes and pretend the team he’d always looked up to wasn’t watching him go through the worst moments of his life.
Twisting as much as he could in the chains, he curled himself into a foetal position facing the wall, his hands wrapped tightly around the chains to have something to ground him. Biting his lip until he could taste blood, he closed his eyes and desperately willed himself to fall asleep. Rocking himself slowly back and forth in the vain hope that it would lessen the pain shooting through his body, he focused on breathing slowly and deeply.
Eventually he fell into a restless sleep, but even that didn’t allow him to escape the pain.