Chapter 13
"Tony," The older man called from downstairs. "You have a visitor."
When that didn't get a response, she frowned adding, "Sweetheart, it's me. Your aunt Peggy."
"Usually he'd be running down the steps by now."
"Maybe he's just not feeling well." She said noting the scent of a stressed omega. "Shall we go on up then, take the party to him."
Howard motioned for her to go first, as suave as ever. Had she been any younger she would've pretended to swoon, but time hadn't been kind to either of them. Things were different now. They both were. Old friends growing apart, year after year. It was a wonder they managed to keep in touch this long.
At the end of the hall stood a door just as grand as the rest, the only difference was the ostentatious "T" marking it. Tony had insisted on it one day after school, it had been up there ever since. Howard's fingers traced the letter before letting himself in the room. His son hadn't moved from the spot he left him in earlier that day. His nest in disarray and his room in even more chaos. And in the middle of it all was him, broken down and tired.
"Oh you poor thing." Peggy said lowly, taking a seat near his nest. She wouldn't dare enter it, afraid to offend either man. But she'd get close enough just to see him. "We're going to fix this, I promise."
His father had no problem coming into his nest, moving him around into his arms. He knew his son needed comfort now more than ever. It was his fault that he ended up in this mess anyway. Had he been smarter he wouldn't have invited that man into his house, someone he thought was a real friend. it was over now but the damage was done, and he made sure Stane paid for it. Regardless of his reaction then he knew now that he was wrong. Of all the things to protect his son from, he didn't think it'd have to be him.
"Tony," Howard tried again. "Your aunt is here to see you."
The little omega whined, curling in on himself in response. He was too sick to communicate properly anymore. In just days he had begun deteriorating, it was far too quickly for his father to handle.
"Howard, he needs help. Why haven't you taken him to a hospital."
"There's nothing they can do, not unless we find his pup."
"Ah,” The other alpha realized. "Bond sickness, it’s terribly frustrating to deal with. The baby’s probably just as sick as he is. They need each other more than anything.”
“We’re running out of time. We'll have to move fast.”
Peggy looked at her friend, shaking her head softly. “It’s not going to be easy as you think. We have no leads, nothing. Hell, he can’t even talk right now. We have no idea what we're dealing with.”
"I have enough money to talk for him. He's going to get his pup back, no matter who I have to go through." He growled, meaning every word.
The room suddenly seemed smaller than it was. For once Peggy, couldn't recognize her friend. She'd seen him through wars, alpha rage, and stressful nights. He was in no way the young playboy she'd met so many years ago. She didn't expect him to be, but this Howard was different—cold and calculating. But deep down there was a fire burning, just waiting to set the world aflame. Who knew it'd take his son's life on the line to ignite him? She wondered why she didn't see it before.
"Dear god, Howard." She muttered to herself. She could already tell this wasn't going to end well. "You've truly grown."
A dry chuckle escaped him as he realized it for himself. Never before had he been so affectionate, so passionate. Of course, he had always loved Tony. His son, his greatest creation. But he had done a shit job at showing it. It took nearly killing his best friend for him to see that he needed to change. "How could I not? My boy needed me and I wasn't there. But not this time. No, this time I promised to be right with him."
By nightfall they had a plan. It was risky and tedious, but they had enough sense to keep a lawyer on call. Once they got the pup, they could deal with the fallout. Whatever agency or adopted parents would be handled, most likely paid off to keep quiet. It didn't matter to Howard either way, they had no authority over him. Whatever he wanted he got. There wasn't a chance he wouldn't do the same for Tony.
Bucky had been sitting in the hospital waiting room for nearly two hours before Steve found him. He could sit next to Pete any longer and watch him waste away, it hurt too much. He felt like a coward but he knew that it didn't make a difference. He couldn't help his child and by the look of things, neither could his mate.
Steve stormed in, chest heaving and eyes watery. Had he known any better, Bucky would've suspected he'd been fighting. He used to always come home looking like that, pent up with frustration and anger. Bucky never was able to calm him down right, the alpha in him couldn't help but roar inside of him. The alphas always felt that imbalance, especially now. Silly things like biology wouldn't stop them though, they'd always get through it together.
"What happened?" Bucky asked patently after Steve took the seat beside him.
"Do you remember that omega?" He asked in return, dodging his question completely.
"What omega? Are you talking about the nurse?"
He watched as Steve sighed beside him, trying to get his breathing in control. "The one that babysat Pete a few weeks ago. The one that couldn't stop crying no matter how many times we tried to help. The one that held our son like he was the greatest treasure on earth. Him?"
"Oh yeah, that kid. Tony, was it? Did ya run into him or something?"
"Buck- I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. That kid is Pete's Oma."
His jaw dropped. But it made sense, they had seen the signs. Questioned it even. Yet they never put the pieces together. "M-Maybe he could help?" He hoped.
"That's another thing," Steve said refusing to meet his eyes. "Natasha had him taken away. She kept collecting his milk but then he disappeared."
"Whadya mean she had him taken away?" Bucky asked, his eyebrows furrowing at the thought of Natasha doing something so cruel. "Why would she do that?"
"She claims she was protecting us, figured he'd try something now that he knew where his pup was. I didn't really care all that much to listen for the reason, all I know is that she fucked us over. Our kid is sick because of her."
"Geez," Bucky said to himself, trying to keep a level head. "Where was the kid- Tony taken to? Maybe we can get an address or something?"
"Oh I've got an address alright. Get this, he's Tony Stark."
"No way."