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“You have a new message, Sir. Would you like me to play it?”
“Nah, just give me the juicy details,” Tony said distractedly, elbow deep in Iron Man's chest piece. He always loved when he got to blowtorch stuff.
“The Council has courtly invited you to the annual –“
“Delete,” Tony cut him off with a frown. “Fucking bastards. You'd think they'd take a hint already.”
“What's the Council?”
Tony yelped, whipping around with his blowtorch raised – only to find Steve sitting on the workshop couch, not even looking at him. “Fucking hell! When the fuck did you get here?”
“Two hours ago,” Steve said calmly, flipping a page in his book. “What's the Council, Tony?”
“What have you been doing for two hours?”
Steve raised an eyebrow along with the book in his hand. Right, stupid question. “So what's the Council?”
Tony waved his free hand. “Oh, you know. Secret underground clubhouse. Vampires only though, so I don't think you'd be welcome there.”
Steve frowned. “And what do they want with you?”
Tony cocked an eyebrow, gesturing at himself.
“I'm aware that you're a vampire,” Steve said a little testily. “I'm asking what they want with you.”
“Wow, hurtful. I'll have you know, people generally enjoy my compa–”
“Tony.”
Tony sighed, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. “It's like a conglomerate of all New York vampires. They want me to join their secret boy band.”
“So it actually is a club?” Steve asked and Tony snorted.
“No. More like every vampire in New York that's not part of the council is considered rogue.”
Steve's brow furrowed. “Rogue?”
“Yeah, you know.” Tony shrugged. “I guess they don't like vamps running around without a council leash. To which I say thanks but no thanks.”
“Are they – Tony, what do they do with rogue vampires?” Steve asked with a hint of tension in his voice, and Tony wrinkled his nose.
“I've heard stories. But don't worry, I'm Tony Stark and an Avenger to boot, they can't spirit me away in a dark alley without raising hell. It's fine.”
“It's not fine if it puts you in danger,” Steve said sternly, his face hard. “How long have they been trying to get in touch with you?”
“Oh, since like a week after Afghanistan.” Tony scoffed. “Bastards couldn't wait to get their hands on me.”
“Since – Tony, that was four years ago!”
“Yeah, they're getting a little impatient.” Tony twirled the blowtorch in his hand. “Then again, when you're immortal I guess time loses a bit of its meaning.”
“Tony.” Steve was sitting up so straight that Tony's back hurt in sympathy. “If not being in the Council makes you a target, then why –“
“There's a ritual, okay?” Tony glared at him. “They have this – well, I guess all vampires have... a thing.”
“A thing,” Steve echoed, and Tony grimaced.
“A plus one thing.” He could see that Steve didn't know what he was getting at so he elaborated with a sigh. “All vampires are required to bring a human to those meetings. I think they call it a bond mate or something.”
Steve's eyes went wide. “What – Tony, do they –“
“Not as a snack,” Tony said quickly, brow furrowing. “At least I sure hope not. I don't really know the rules to be honest.”
Mostly because after Tony got turned into a vampire in Afghanistan he'd avoided anything even remotely related to the topic like a plague. By the time curiosity took over it had taken a backseat to being Iron Man. And after flying a nuke into space it just didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.
He knew he didn't burn in sunlight and that blood bags did the trick. Anything else was not worth dwelling on.
“So the reason you haven't been to one of those meetings is because no human ever wanted to go with you?”
“I never asked. And it's not like –“ Tony heard the implications a second later, whipping around to glare right at Steve's innocent face. “No.”
“I haven't even offered yet.”
“Answer's still no. I'm not taking you.”
Steve sighed. “Look, Tony, it's not a big deal. They want a human to be there? Fine. If it means that you won't have to look over your shoulder anymore, then that's okay with me.”
Tony frowned. “You understand that coming along means they might want me to drink from you, right?”
Steve's stance faltered for a split second before he squared his jaw. “That's not a problem.”
Tony stared at him. “How is that – Steve, I could kill you!”
“You're used to drinking human blood.” When Tony just looked at him incredulously Steve nodded towards the fridge in the corner. “I can smell it.”
“That's different,” Tony said a little defensively. “I don't drink it from the source.”
“I didn't mean it as criticism. I'm just saying you're used to it so you're not going to lose control.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Tony asked and Steve smiled.
“Because I know you.”
Tony was struck silent for a moment before he turned away, busying his hands with the blowtorch he'd left on the table. “Fine.”
“Fine as in we'll go to the council meeting?”
Tony gritted his teeth. “I said fine. Get lost, I gotta finish this.”
He unconsciously counted five heart beats before Steve took a deep breath and started walking away. “Alright. I'll pick you up at eight next Tuesday.”
“You live where I live,” Tony protested, but Steve had already left the workshop, his lingering scent only cementing what just happened. Tony let his head drop onto the counter, a groan stuck behind his teeth.
This was going to be a disaster.
“So this is the place?” Steve asked dubiously, looking up at the gigantic skyscraper that couldn't look more bland if it tried. “I expected more... velvet.”
Tony snorted, smoothing down the lapels of his shirt. He hated to admit it, but being here where he could already smell the traces of dozens of vampires on the premises was making him twitchy with nerves. He felt like an intruder, and knowing that he had Steve with him, without knowing what he was bringing him for, wasn't helping at all. “Yeah, well. They have a flair for ugly architectural design.”
“Completely unlike anyone I know then.”
Tony glared at him. “I'll pretend I didn't hear that.”
“Suit yourself.” Steve opened the door without hesitation, stepping aside to hold it open for him. “Shall we?”
Tony rolled his eyes as he walked past, taking in the entrance hall. It looked just as boring as the outside, which he supposed was the point. A single concierge was seated behind a big, grey desk, standing up as soon as they entered the room.
“Mr. Stark?”
“That's me,” he said, and the concierge gestured towards a door on the far left with a slight bow.
“Follow me, please.”
They did, watching as the concierge pulled out a card and swiped it through the lock, holding his thumb up to the side of it. The light went green, and he opened the door, waving them through with a proper bow this time.
“The meeting room is just down the stairs. They are waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” Steve said, but the concierge didn't even look at him as they passed, just closed the door softly behind them. Tony felt a strong sense of foreboding as he looked down the narrow staircase.
“This doesn't feel right,” he hissed. “We should go.”
“Relax. We'll be in and out, and then they'll leave you alone, okay?”
There was no way Steve could know that for sure, but before Tony could voice his objections Steve started down the stairs, and Tony had to hurry to catch up to him. The staircase opened up into a big, open space that was already crawling with people. There had to be more than a hundred, and Tony was honestly a bit stumped by the number of vampires he counted. He didn't expect there to be so many.
“Hey, new blood.” Tony turned to see one of the vampires walk up to them with a giant grin that revealed his fangs. Real subtle. “First time, huh? Let me –“
He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes snapping over to Steve. Tony had to suppress a growl when he saw the vamp's nostrils flare as he took a deep breath, his eyebrows flying up towards his hairline.
“Steve Rogers,” Steve said, extending a hand, and the vampire's eyes only flicked up to Steve's face for a split second before they settled on Tony.
“First timers need to share a meal with the Great Council. I'll take you there.”
Tony looked over at the giant mahogany table across the room where five vampires in bespoke suits were chatting with each other. One of them was even wearing a cloak. Typical. “I think we got it, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” The vampire cast one more look at Steve before he turned and left them to it. Tony grabbed Steve's arm – as a warning or just to keep him close, he didn't know – and led them up to the desk. As they walked over Tony could hear hushed whispers all around the room, and he swore that they weren't directed at him. In fact it seemed like most vampires were staring and some outright pointing at Steve. Which was weird. Especially since bringing a human was a requirement for him to be here in the first place.
As they came closer he recognized the man sitting in the middle of the desk as Charles Winston, the vampire who ran the New York Council. Charles was actually a pretty well-known business man, CEO of Winston Enterprises, and Tony had known him long before he knew he was a vampire. He was pretty sure he'd complimented him on the fact that he never seemed to age at some point. The cheating bastard.
“Mr. Stark,” Charles said as soon as they approached the table, standing up to shake his hand. “We'd started to wonder if you would ever show up.”
“It's part of my charm. Always keeping you guessing.”
He was aware of the hush that had fallen over the room as Charles gestured at the two empty chairs on his right. Tony sat down, purposely relaxing into the chair as to not let on how nervous he was. Luckily he didn't have a heartbeat to give him away anymore. “Nice place you got here.”
“You could have seen it a lot sooner,” one of the older vampires said, and Tony waved him off.
“I'm here now, aren't I? Let's get right to it, I have somewhere to be.”
Charles frowned for a moment before he smiled and patted Tony on the shoulder. “Business calls, huh? Well, we won't keep you long, Mr. Stark.” The man next to Charles slid a paper across the table, and Tony looked down at it, quirking an eyebrow because it was... surprisingly short? “Just sign your name here and register your status as a Council member. Ignacio will handle the rest.”
Tony read through the paper, trying to find the catch – but there was none. At least none he could see.
“It's that easy?” He asked dubiously, and Charles smiled at him.
“We're not forcing you to actively participate in our Council duties, Mr. Stark. All we want is to offer the vampires of New York our protection in case they run into trouble with the more... discriminatory parts of society.” There was something dark in his eyes as he looked straight at Tony. “We can't do that if you aren't registered in our program.”
Huh. “Alright then,” Tony said, reading the paper one more time for good measure, flipping it over to check for any sign of tempering or an unfortunate footnote, before he signed his name with a flourish. “There. You want me to make it out to you? Or any of your buddies here?”
“That won't be necessary,” the vampire across from him – Ignacio? – said flatly, taking the paper from him and stuffing it in a folder. “Welcome to the Council, Mr. Stark.”
“Alright. It's been real, guys, hate to leave so soon, but I really do have a –“
“You're not staying for dinner?”
Tony put on a wide grin, standing up from the table and patting Steve's shoulder to prompt him to do the same. “Already have dinner plans, sorry. Maybe next time.”
Ignacio frowned, but Tony's eyes were drawn to Steve when he suddenly jerked, his right arm firmly held in another vampire's grip.
“Excuse me,” Steve said tightly, but the vampire didn't let go, looking Steve up and down.
“Where are you going?”
Tony grabbed Steve's other arm, tugging him a little closer, but the vampire didn't take the hint, staring up at Steve with huge, hungry eyes. Dread sank like a stone into Tony's gut. “He's coming with me,” Tony said, but one of the older vampires huffed, giving him a stern look.
“That will not be possible. We've already accepted your offering for dinner.”
Tony froze. “Whoa whoa, wait, what? No, nothing's on offer here!”
Charles sighed, crossing his arms as he tilted his head to the side. “It is a very old tradition. Perhaps Mr. Stark wasn't aware –“
“The ritual feeding is sacred,” one of the older vampire sneered. “Mr. Stark has brought an unclaimed human into our midst. He is not leaving without providing for the Council.”
Tony's stomach dropped.
“You're all going to feed on him?” Tony asked, barely suppressing the fear in his voice as Steve stiffened at his side. “What, are you going to kill him?”
“Of course not,” another vampire said with a hint of disgust. “An untimely death would sully the festivities of your joining.”
“Right.” Fucking vamp priorities, seriously. He pulled Steve's arm hard enough to dislodge the other vampire's grip, not so subtly stepping in front of him. “I can't allow that. Sorry. Maybe some other time.”
One of the council members stood up, his cloak billowing behind him. “You would dare insult the council like this?”
“Yup.” Tony tugged on Steve's arm, slowly pulling him away from the crowd of vampires that suddenly looked a lot more hostile. “Sorry, but I'm just gonna take my bond mate and get out of your hair. See you neve–“
“He is not your bond mate,” Ignacio said, a frown marring his otherwise flawless face. “You have laid no claim on him.”
Tony quickly pulled Steve into his side with a firm arm around his waist. “I have! He's my –“ He glanced at Steve for a second, hoping that he wasn't overstepping here. “Well, we're together. Have been for a while.”
Steve made a muffled choking noise as Ignacio tilted his head. “And yet you have not claimed him as yours? Why is that?”
Tony could feel the presence of other vampires at their backs, and he didn't need to feel the sudden tension in Steve's muscles to know that they were in danger. They had to get out of here before –
Tony's head snapped up. “Mine!”
Charles blinked, and Tony could feel Steve's eyes on the side of his face. “Excuse me?”
“If Steve was my bond mate he'd be mine, right?” he asked, his fingers clenching on Steve's waist. “No one else could feed on him?”
“What are you doing?” Steve hissed even as several members of the council nodded grudgingly.
“It would exempt him from the ritual, yes.” Ignacio didn't sound very happy about it. “But since he is not, I'm afraid we can't let you just –“
“Sorry about this,” Tony whispered, unsheathing his fangs in the desperate hope that this was what he was supposed to be doing, and Steve stared at him for a long moment before he nodded and tilted his head. For a split second Tony thought of just making a run for it instead because this was a horrible idea, but then one of the vampires moved forward and Tony reacted on instinct, turning his head to sink his teeth into Steve's neck.
The room disappeared.
Tony's vision went dark at the edges, all sounds dulling as his focus honed in on that one spot where he was connected to Steve, his teeth aching in a way they never had when he drank a dead man's blood. He had no idea what to do, but his body knew it for him, sealing his lips over his teeth and pressing his tongue to Steve's skin.
Then he sucked.
His first thought was that it was hot, Steve's blood almost scorching his tongue, warm and heady and alive. The blood bags were always cold after being in the fridge, but this was – this was –
Tony grabbed Steve's hair to tilt his neck further, pulling him close, and Steve followed without struggle, his body going lax under Tony's hands as Tony drank and drank, feeling a warmth tingling under his skin that he hadn't in years.
He was distantly aware that he should stop, and so he did, pulling his teeth out of Steve with a groan, instinctively licking the wound to seal it shut. Steve's taste lingered on his tongue, making his skin buzz with a restless energy that prompted him to bite him again, on the other side of his neck this time. The sound Steve made at that was like music in his ears, and as he drank Tony suddenly noticed that he was hard, almost unbearably so, his arms clenching tight around Steve's shivering body.
He didn't know what made him do it, only that he needed to. Tony's teeth lengthened to a point he hadn't even known was possible, and something inside them just – gave way, like a dam opening that let whatever it was spill forth, and Steve groaned like he was dying, his hands scrabbling all over Tony's neck and shoulders like he was desperately trying to hold on.
The change was gradual, starting with a tingle at the base of his spine that quickly spread to the rest of Tony's body as Steve's scent changed, turned into something utterly enticing, and Tony realized that he could smell himself in there, his essence mixed with Steve's until they were almost indistinguishable.
Tony retracted his teeth, completely out of breath as he kept nuzzling at Steve's throat. Steve whimpered with every touch, his whole body jerking when Tony licked his neck to suck up the last traces of Steve's blood. There was an overwhelming buzzing in Tony's ears that only seemed to get louder when he pulled Steve fully into his arms so he could –
“Interesting. So he really was your intended.”
“Huh?” Tony could barely pull his focus away from Steve to acknowledge the rest of the room, his thoughts moving slow like he was treading through molasses. Steve made a soft noise, and Tony honed in on it like a beacon, desperate to do something, but he wasn't sure what –
“James, take them to the suite. They're going to need it.”
Someone grabbed Tony's arm, and he snarled, suddenly seeing red because Steve was his, no one else could touch him –
But all they did was push him forward, so Tony held Steve tightly in his arms, stumbling in the direction they pointed him until he walked through a door that fell shut the second they were inside. Tony couldn't stop kissing Steve's neck, huffing desperate breaths of Steve's scent that felt almost heavy, but in the same way a blanket felt heavy when it settled over him and pushed him snugly against a bed.
Steve jerked in his arms when Tony scraped him with his teeth, his hips dragging against Tony's, and Tony suddenly realized that he could feel Steve's rock hard cock through his pants, rubbing up against him with sharp movements. Tony pulled back just enough to look at him, and –
Holy shit.
“Steve?” he asked, his voice rough, and Steve's eyes opened, dazed and downright desperate, his pupils blown so wide that his eyes looked black.
“Oh,” Steve whimpered, and Tony caught him when Steve's knees suddenly buckled, his hands coming up to cling on to Tony with trembling fingers. “Oh my god.”
“Are you okay?” Tony asked, concern cutting through the haze in his mind, and Steve groaned, sagging even further into his arms. Tony was very glad that being a vampire had granted him super strength, or they'd both be lying on the floor by now. “Steve, talk to me.”
“Fuck,” Steve said emphatically, rolling his forehead against Tony's shoulder. “Oh my god.”
Tony looked around the room, noting that there was a giant, lush bed and a table filled with water and chocolate for some reason. “Come on. Let's get you horizontal.”
Steve didn't resist as Tony carried him over to the bed, but as soon as Tony tried to untangle their limbs Steve whined and pulled Tony back on top of him, his hips hitching up against Tony's thigh.
“Please,” Steve gasped, his eyes squeezing shut when Tony settled down on top of him. “Oh god, Tony, please –“
Tony bit his lip, feeling his own cock twitch as he watched Steve rub up against him. It was probably immoral to try anything with Steve right now when he was clearly under some form of influence, maybe a side effect of the whole bonding thing. Tony couldn't take advantage of him like this. As much as he wanted to. “Steve, listen, you're not –“
“Bite me,” Steve said, grunting when Tony twitched at his words, desire burning up in him like a stick flame. “Bite me again, Tony, please –“
“I don't –“
“Please,” Steve whined, throwing his head back to bare his neck, and Tony only had that much self-control.
He pushed Steve back into the mattress, a shock of lust trailing down his spine at the noise Steve made when he ground their cocks together, leaning down to touch his lips to Steve's neck. The warmth of Steve's skin paled in comparison to the heat of the blood pumping right underneath, making Tony's head spin with the knowledge that in a few seconds he would be able to taste it again –
“You sure?” Tony asked even though he could already feel his fangs protruding from their sheaths, and Steve groaned.
“Yes. Please, just –“
Steve choked on the rest of his sentence when Tony bit down, sinking his teeth into the spot just below Steve's ear. He could feel Steve's veins pulsing against his mouth, and he thrust his hips in time with that rhythm, feeling his eyes roll into the back of his head at the friction combined with Steve's taste, coating his tongue in thick ribbons.
Steve was shouting something, but Tony couldn't make out the words over the ringing in his ears, his mind quieting down until there was only the beat of Steve's heart, pounding through him with every suck, leaving him breathless.
He could smell how turned on Steve was, feel the tremors that shot through his entire body and ended in a stuttering motion that pushed his cock up against Tony's, rubbing them together. Tony could barely think past the need to make him feel good, make him come, give him everything he could ever possibly want –
Tony pulled his teeth out, haphazardly licking the punctures shut before he slid down Steve's body and clawed his pants open. Steve was pushing up into his grip, his whole body tense like he was poised to snap.
“I've got you,” Tony panted, gripping Steve's thighs with both hands, probably hard enough to bruise.
And then he swallowed him down.
Steve screamed, his legs jerking on either side of Tony's head before they started shaking uncontrollably as his back arched and his head snapped back –
Tony groaned when Steve came, just like that, letting Tony suck his orgasm right out of him as if it was nothing. He stuffed a hand down his own pants, jerking himself off furiously, and with the taste of Steve still on his tongue he followed him right over the edge, his whole body slumping with relief.
It took a long time before Tony felt like he could move again, heaving himself upright until he could shuffle up the bed and flop down on his back next to Steve, staring up at the ceiling. Steve didn't say anything, and so Tony didn't either, just tried to catch his breath as his limbs melted into the mattress and awareness slowly crept back in.
He couldn't look at Steve. Now that the haze was – well, not gone, but pushed to the back of his mind, he realized what a huge breach of everything this had been. He'd bonded Steve without knowing any of the consequences, without even asking for his permission. Tony had taken advantage of him, claimed him in a way that may be irreversible, and now they were stuck like this, changed, without a single clue if Steve even wanted it –
“This is probably a weird time to ask you out on a date, isn't it?”
Tony's head snapped sideways so fast he felt a crick in his neck as he stared at Steve in astonishment. “What?”
Steve shrugged, his face bright red, and Tony's eyes were immediately drawn to his flushed cheeks, to the blood gathering underneath there because he knew how that tasted now – “Yeah. I, uh. I've wanted to. For a while now.”
“Huh,” Tony said eloquently, and Steve grimaced, looking off to the side.
“It's stupid. You don't have to say anything. Sorry.”
Tony looked at him for a long moment before he cleared his throat. “Well. Why don't you ask me now? See what happens?”
Steve's eyes locked on his, widening for a moment before they softened, crinkling at the corners. “Does tomorrow at six work for you?”
“I haven't even said yes yet,” Tony said haughtily but broke into a grin when Steve pinched him in the side. “Where are you going to take me?”
Steve hummed, answering Tony's smile with one of his own. “I guess you'll have to wait and see.”
“Yeah,” Tony said, turning over to his head down on Steve's chest so he could listen to his heartbeat as it slowly sunk in that this was really happening. “Yeah. I guess I will.”