Chapter Text
By the end of his heat with Wade, Peter was bruised from being held so tight and sore from being knotted and so tired that he slept for a full sixteen hours after it was all said and done. He woke up with a smile on his face though, glowing in the way that only post-heat Omega’s did, eyes shining and skin flushed and it was a vast contrast to how completely fucked out Wade looked– exhausted and dehydrated and worn the hell out because wow did heat take a lot of energy.
“To be fair–” he groaned when Peter jumped on the bed and clambered over to sit on Wade’s waist. “To be fair, Alpha’s gotta do all the work with this sort of thing. You just get to lay there and take knots. No wonder you aren’t exhausted.”
“I get to lay there and take knots?!” Peter’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious with that!”
“Don’t worry, baby boy.” A jaw cracking yawn, and Wade yanked the Omega down to snuggle. “You take knots like a champ. You should be real proud of that.”
“WADE!”
Even with Wade’s less than stellar conversation skills, it had been a good heat and Peter was a happy, satisfied Omega.
He’d be happier though, if the Alpha had finished what he’d started so many times, and turned the bruises at Peter’s bonding spot into a full fledged bite, finishing his claim.
In fact, Peter would have been happy if Wade had told him I love youback just once, but every time the Alpha had just tucked him close and kissed him breathless and left it alone.
It was fine. The Alpha wanted to take things slow and that was fine. Peter was a little thrown by just how quickly he was ready and willing to bond with Wade, considering how much he’d balked at anything resembling settling down with Harry, and maybe it was crazy but it was also easy, so easy to be with Wade that Peter found himself wondering why he’d wasted any time with any one else.
So they hadn’t bonded yet. It was fine.
Wade didn’t claim Peter the second heat together either, even though by that point he had moved the Omega out of the shitty studio apartment and into his shockingly nice place downtown.
“Uh yes, question?” Peter asked the first time Wade brought him home to the high rise complex. “Why the fuck do you hang out at Weasel’s if you have a place like this to come home to?”
“I dunno.” Wade shrugged and dropped the one measly box of Peter’s things in the bedroom closet. “Just didn’t feel right, didn’t really feel like I belonged.” His eyes flickered red then back to hazel as he looked Peter over with a possessive growl. “Didn’t feel like home yet.”
“Oh.” Peter’s hand went unconsciously to his neck, scratching over the disappointingly clear skin. “And now?”
“Apparently all it took is a hot Omega with legs that don’t quit to make it feel like home.” Wade held out his hand and pulled Peter close, burying his nose in the thick hair and rumbling approvingly. “M’glad you’re here, baby boy. Glad you wanted to move in with me.”
They’d gone shopping after that, shopping for everything from new sheets to dishes and curtains and then spent the rest of the weekend christening every available surface in the three bedroom apartment, teasing and laughing and saying “I love you” in a hundred different ways, but when Peter’s heat came on, Wade still didn’t bite him.
Well no, he bit him several times– at the juncture of hip and thigh just sharp enough to make Peter shriek, softer nibbles along Peter’s jaw, harder in the meat of Peter’s ass before Wade spread him open and took Peter apart with nothing more than his tongue and fingers–
But not where Peter wanted him to, not where the Omega needed him to.
So before his third heat with Wade rolled around, Peter sat his Alpha down and just asked him point blank– “Why won’t you bond with me?”
“What?” Wade froze with a sandwich halfway to his mouth, right in the middle of carbo-loading to prepare for the next few days since neither of them remembered to eat anything other than granola bars during heat. “What– what do you mean?”
“I mean, this will be our third heat together.” Peter pointed out. “And before this, you helped me through three other ones, even if you weren’t you know–helping me. And I thought you’d bite me the first time when you told me it wasn’t just a trauma bond between us but you didn’t.”
“I thought it was too soon.” Wade swallowed a big bite and cleared his throat. “Our first time– I didn’t want you to regret it.”
“Well what about last time?” Peter countered. “You moved me in here and I know you love me and I know you imprinted mate on me, and obviously I–” he blushed and Wade didn’t think he’d ever get used to how precious that was. “–obviously I’m fine with it. Omega’s don’t imprint like you Alpha’s do, but I always knew you were good for me, knew I was safe with you, right from the start.”
“That’s good, sweetheart.” Wade’s voice was a little hoarse and he cleared his throat again. “I’m glad you always knew you were safe with me.”
“I did.” The Omega bit his lip and peeked up from his lashes shyly, knowing damn well his Alpha couldn’t resist it, and Wade proved his point by just chucking the sandwich and grabbing Peter up into his lap. “So why don’t you want to bond with me?”
Wade sighed, sifting his Omega’s hair through his fingers for a long minute as he though. “Pete, you don’t want a mate.”
“Sounds fake, but okay.” Peter frowned. “Why would you think I don’t want a mate?”
“You left Harry because he wanted a bond and kids and all that sort of crap.” Wade shrugged. “I didn’t want to assume you’d change your mind for me. Just because you feel safe with me doesn’t mean you want to deal with the glitter covered trash party that is my general self forever. And you’re so incoherent during your heat, even if you asked me to bite you I’d always feel like–”
He stopped, shook his head. “–I’d always feel like I took advantage of you. You don’t know what you’re saying during heat, in fact you should hear half the shit you say. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of it but if someone was listening–”
“If someone was listening?” Peter interrupted, eyes sparking with laughter. “And who exactly would be listening to the nonsense I say during my heat?”
“Fuckin no one.” Wade snarled, eyes red at even the thought of anyone ever hearing the way Peter talked during heat, anyone else being privy to moments that were meant to be between him and his mate. “No one else listens.”
“Such a big scary Alpha.” Peter pushed their foreheads together and growled playfully, reveling in the freedom he had to tease and push and just be real with his Alpha. It was another thing he hadn’t realized he didn’t have with Harry and he loved that he had it with Wade.
“And by the way?” he continued. ““I left Harry because he refused to get me suppressants so I could continue school. He tore up internship papers because he didn’t want me working outside the home.”
“But you–” he inched closer, purring quietly when Wade put both arms around him. “–you’ve gone out and got me suppressants for over six months now. Yesterday you wrote out a ridiculous sized check so I can go back to school for the spring semester. I turned down a job last month because it meant an hour subway ride each way, so you offered to buy me a car instead.”
“You’re my mate, Pete.” The Alpha’s eyes shuttered a possessive shade of red again as he stroked his thumb over the bonding spot at the base of Peter’s neck. “And I’m gonna do whatever it takes to keep you happy, just like I did when we first met and just like I’ve been trying to do the last few months. You’re my mate whether there’s a mark on you or not, it’s enough for me Pete.”
“You’d make it that easy?” Peter whispered. “You’d give up the security of a bond if you thought I didn’t want it.”
“I’d make it that easy.” Wade confirmed. “I’m not going to try and tie you down like Harry did. I want you to be happy and that’s my entire extensive thought process on the matter.”
“And if I wanted to be tied to you?” There went Peter with that shy look again, all soft eyes and long lashes and hesitant smile. “What about then? Would you still tell me no?”
“The hell I would. If I knew you wanted me as mate I’d bend you over that chair and fuck you six ways to Sunday.” Wade confirmed. “And when your heat comes in a few days, I’m gonna bite the shit out of you.”
“You’re so romantic, you make my heart flutter.” Peter teased and Wade growled back at him. “I love you, Alpha my Alpha. Don’t you love me?”
“I love you, Pete.” Wade whispered. “I can’t wait to make you mine.”
“I’m yours, Alpha.” Peter whispered back. “I’m already yours.”
*******************
*******************
The internship at Stark Industries was everything Peter had ever imagined it would be, and he didn’t know how Wade had managed to even get him an interview, but Peter had been here for just over a month and it was everything he had ever imagined it would be.
And then it all got even better, when Tony Stark showed up at his desk one day to ask questions about the line of suppressants Peter was working on.
“So, no negative side effects?” The Alpha asked, flipping through Peter’s work. “Based off of blood types and specific biology markers? You know, this could be very expensive, manufacturing a different suppressant for every Omega out there. Expensive to the point of almost not viable.”
“It could be very expensive.” Peter nodded. “And lots of companies would take advantage of that, but a company as big as Stark Industries could afford to sell it at a lower price. Plus, if you provided it free of charge to the public health clinics and people on state insurance, then you’d get enough of a tax break as to make it affordable even for people who don’t have insurance, which means every Omega in the country could afford good suppressants which means we could work and go to school which only helps everything about the economy, right?”
“And also–” Peter took a deep breath and kept right on talking, taking the surprised smile on the Alpha’s face as permission. “– since suddenly having Omegas able to work consistently will raise the numbers of the work force, you could offer more scholarships and open up more internships to bring the best out of the bigger classes here to SI.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.” Mr. Stark said, scanning a few more pages quickly. “Right up into my financial issues, hm?”
“Oh well–” Peter flushed nervously. “I mean–”
“No, it’s good.” The Alpha handed him back the file. “My Omega Steve struggles with suppressant issues, mostly finding correct doses for his size that aren’t toxic. Your ideas could change his life, not to mention the lives of several other Omega’s that I personally know, and of course, literal millions of Omega’s if your ideas actually work.
“I–”
“Let’s have lunch.” Tony checked his watch. “I’ll buy, you can talk. Do you eat shawarma? It doesn’t matter, you’re going to love it. Come on, lets go.”
******************
Later that night over a dinner of steaks and vegetables, Peter was nearly bursting with information about his day, chattering as fast as he could and barely letting Wade get a word in edgewise, and Wade just grinned over it.
When he finally slowed down a little, Wade snarked– “Enjoying the internship, are you?”
The Omega launched himself towards his Alpha, burrowing into his lap and mouthing over his bonding mark and biting at him with soft trills and purrs. “I’m so happy.” he muttered, squashing even closer. “So happy, Alpha. My life is everything I could ever want right now.”
“Well that’s real good, Pete.” Wade pretended to think for a minute. “And all it took was bonding with me, right? We should bottle that and sell it on TV. Is true happiness just finding the right Alpha? Is really that easy?”
Peter rolled his eyes, but his smile for his mate was very very soft. “I guess it’s really that easy.”