History
Arriving at S.H.I.E.L.D, Tony's breath was almost knocked out of him when a little body jumped into his arms. Wrapping his arms around Tony's neck, Peter almost barked in happiness at seeing him again. His tail would be wagging back and forth in excitement had be been in wolf form. "Hey, buddy!" Tony laughed, hugging the child close to his chest. "Man, what's the rush?"
Steve chuckled at Peter pulled him into the hug, and he could tell the child - or at least his wolf - could smell that the pair had joined into a relationship.
"Just missed you lots Tony, " Peter proved his point by kissing Tony's cheek, making the adult giggle a bit.
"Well, aren't you cute." chuckled Tony as he ruffled the mop of brown hair. "And I missed you too, buddy, a lot. How was school?"
"Not been yet!" Peter replied. "Uncle Brass teaches me, he's just having dinner!"
Tony hummed, small smile plastered on his face. "I hope you had your nap, buddy. You ate yet?"
Peter nodded.
"Don't worry tony... He knows what he's doing." Steve reminded him.
"Yeah, " Peter nodded, happy his father recognised his skills, "I'm a big boy! I can take care of myself!" Tony laughed. Peter was adorable.
"are you too big for tickles, then?" The baker asked.
"He's never too big for tickles." Steve said casually as Peter was about to protest, and walked past to go ask Peggy how Peter had been, and of course have the conversation he knew was coming from Bucky. Bucky would instantly tell that there was a tether between Tony and himself.
"Well, well, well, " with a smirk full of teeth, Bucky crossed his arms, words almost covered by Peter's laughter as Tony tickled him. "If it isn't the alpha bringing his pretty brand new boyfriend to our doorstep. Tell me everything!" He said, as he sat down and patted the seat next to him.
'Different room, Buck.' Steve telepathically told the other, trusting Tony to watch Peter for a while.
Nodding, the brunette jerked his chin towards a different room, where he practically ran into, eager to find out the details from his best friend. "Alright, tell me! How did'ja put your paw on Tony, huh?" He smirked "Was there any tongue involved in the process?"
Steve rolled his eyes fondly. "No tongues, but uh... We are tethered now, so... I guess we're kinda dating." He couldn't help smiling. "Which means no more obvious attempts at flirting!"
"Shame, I was just about to steal him away too." He snorted "He was so cute, I don't know what he's doing staying with you. Bet it's probably Peter." he was teasing, obviously. "No, but in all seriousness, I'm happy for you. I haven't seen you this happy in a while."
"I haven't felt this happy in a while... While I didn't want to be Alpha... I feel like everything's finally falling into place." He smiled. "Only issue is..." He looked back over to Tony, through the door, obviously scared of the other man finding out about his other side, though he would have to, it wasn't a law but it was needed.
"...Yeah, I know." Bucky squeezed Steve's shoulder in sympathy. He never had a human partner before, but he guessed it must be hard. "Look, time and patience solve all problems. Just wait and see. What does your wolf tell you?"
"to mate." Steve grumbled.
"I feel like that'd be something you both would enjoy, if the way you ogle Tony's legs is anything to go by."
"BUCKY!"
"Alright, alright I'm serious now." he raised his hands in mock surrender. "Listen, I get he tells you to mate. That's normal. But does he tell you Tony is your MATE? As in, you should bond with him?"
Steve blushed sightly, giving a small nod instead of trusting his voice.
Bucky whistled. "Damn. That's rare, Stevie. And maybe you should listen to him. If your wolf tells you he senses a connection, you don't ignore it."
"I know that, Buck. I don't... Wanna rush into anything..." Steve sighed. "Don't worry, I can handle it." he chuckled.
''Whatever you think is best, man." Bucky shrugged "Go at your own pace. But hey, listen to your wolf sometimes too, that guy's fun to be around." he snickered. "Take the pup home, punk." Bucky said more softly. "He has classes off today. Take it as a, congratulations on the relationship gift from me."
Steve raised a brow "how did you swing that with Uncle Brass?" he asked, though probably knew it was to do with Brass following whichever Alpha there was and wouldn't question if the Alphas kid wanted a day off from the learning.
"Told him we need to give the pups a break after what happened," Bucky shrugged, but Steve could tell he was too troubled by what happened not too long ago. "He agreed. Said some of them are still a bit shaken up and need some time."
"That makes sense." Steve agreed.
After a moment of pause, Bucky looked down, whisper barely audible. "They're really scared." he sounded upset on the behalf of their pups. Poor things couldn't sleep right after what happened "Today we debated whether or not to hold classes because they were too tired from not sleeping. They can't. Nightmares give them problems."
"It is terrible to be scared of something you don't understand purely because the adults are so scared... But they'll be OK. They know we're safe now, they've been playing, they're going to be OK. And so are we."
"I hope so, Stevie. I hope so." sighing Bucky hanged his head down. "I'm just glad we took them away from that sick fuck... It's just- he used to be so cool when we were pups, you know? What the fuck happened?" He hissed, fists clenched, hurt and betrayal from his Uncle pooling in his chest. "What changed? What happened, Stevie?"
"War happened." one of the elders, Lucian, spoke in a soft voice from where he sat on the floor, watching the two young man with gentle eyes. "Young man, war changes every man. Taints him. Gil saw what can't be unseen, and brought it with him after it was over. Your Uncle is a soldier first, man second."
"It's not easy, leaving behind what we lived." Claus, another elder agreed, though his eyes were hard. "But that doesn't excuse anything he did. The deal is done, and the sin is committed."
"And I thank you all for coming with me, I know it was difficult to leave behind our home for now, but I appreciate everyone's acceptance of me being the new Alpha. I won't let the group down." Steve stated. Bucky could see that he wanted to believe what he was saying, but Steve had always been terrified of being Alpha and though he knew how to act the part, he was shit scared when it came to having everyone's trust and loyalty to him.
"I am not denying that." Lucian said quietly "I am simply stating that a soldier isn't a regular person. Soldiers don't have the luxury of stepping out of the battlefield and forgetting everything they went through in a matter of seconds. The war may leave them behind but they can never leave the war. It hangs off their backs like a dark shadow and it can't be shaken off. I know. I tried."
"He's a monster." Claus hissed "And you know that."
"He was my FRIEND." Insisted Lucien, more firmly this time "You don't know him as I do, C, you don't know what it's like to go to battle with him and you just KNOW nothing will happen to you because he's there. I've spent enough time around him to know that Gil is a man who hurts. And when he doesn't know what to do with that hurt? He projects it on others."
"Look at what he did to us!" Claus gestured around them. "You call that a friend?! You excuse that behaviour?!"
"Not at all." Lucian growled softly "I am just saying, that we should have learned from our mistakes, then, maybe, this wouldn't be happening! First, it was other clans, then, it was vampires, then humans." he shook his head, "I am not asking for you to forgive him, because he did the unforgivable and I can't change that. I am just... Asking you to remember that no matter what, he's your Uncle. And he loves you. Even so little, he does."
"Love and abuse are often misjudged. I have been in battles, I have been saved by friends such as you say, Uncle. And I am sorry you have had to go through that as well." Steve told the man. "I do not doubt he loved the group, but what I do doubt is everything he did regarding it. The wars are over, and we should not excuse his actions towards us simply because he is angry. What a man does with his emotions is up to him, but as soon as it jeopardises the rest of us, it is stopped. That's the way it's always been." He spoke calmly, calculated. He knew what to say to help ease the other mens minds. "I know it will take a while to get used to me as Alpha as well, I'm sorry that it's ended up this way..." He sighed. "As you said, we've managed to form alliances with other clans, with the vampires. A person on my team is one, humans are our next priority, imagine..." He wanted to paint a picture of what they could have if it all went right, if they could all live together without fighting. He knew he couldn't do it justice, but he could try explaining it. "Massive nature parks for the wolves to roam on full moons, for us to hunt and be free WITHOUT fear of humans attacking us.
Imagine being treated as more than mere monsters, imagine us working together with the humans, getting real jobs and real houses and real beds, not simply surviving... It can happen. But with Gil in charge? It never would have. We need to bring this tribe into the new centuries like the other tribes and the council have been trying to do. I don't know how Gil managed to convince the council that what he said was right but... I suspect it had something to do with his mind powers..." He paused. "We need you, the entire group, to help us bring in a new era between werewolves, and humans."
"And then all we have to do is help the vampires be announced to humans!" Bucky joked.
"I heard that." Tal grumbled, coming in and getting Bucky into a headlock. "Haven't seen you in ages, fluffy!" They grinned, slightly pointed teeth showing.
"Be nice, little one." Loki followed, smirking slightly with his arms folded.
Peter noticed Tal from the other room and came running over, jumping on them, them catching him with ease. "Hey munchkin!" Tal greeted him.
"Hiya, Tally!" Peter smiled, happy with all the people he could play with.
"Wouldn't it be, Lu." Lucretia whispered, looking at her friend with soft eyes as she wrapped her arm around Lucian's neck. The old head Beta was known to be a wise woman, often involved in the pack's operation system, the circle of the elders, often helping Gil in how to lead. Some say she was around ever since the first war. Some say she ended it herself. Others say she's simply a mad old wolf, but she was a great member of the pack. "Look at them," she whispered, gesturing to the younger people fooling around. "They're our future, Lu. What Steve said? That can be possible. Finally, it actually can be. We can leave war behind now, can start the lives we always wanted. Being equal to the humans? To the others? That's all we ever hoped for. That's all we ever fought for. And now... Now I can finally see it happening. As long as I'm still alive, I know that we can do something while we still can and it's the greatest feeling in the world."
"We planned that with Gil." Lucian whispered back, even if he knew she was right. "That's, all that, what Steve is saying? We've heard that from Gil before too. Before..."
"I know." she said, sounding choked up. "I know, but Steven isn't Vegrel. With him, all of that can come true. I believe in him, Lucian. He can do what Gil never could and you'll see I'm right."
"I hope you are, Dandy." he looked down "For once, I actually hope I'm wrong."
Tony smiled as he watched Peter play around with the others. He really was a cutie pie, and Tony couldn't help but feel fatherly affection for the boy "Someone's feeling cute today." he chuckled, ruffling the toddler's hair ''You having fun, buddy?"
Tal tried to ignore the fact that their vampire hearing could pick up what the two elders were talking about, it wouldn't be polite to eavesdrop. Not that they usually cared, but it was a sensitive subject, they knew of the war and had been forced to fight in a few battles - since vampires tended to live a lot longer than wolves - and it was a dark time. They certainly did NOT want to think about it. "Hey Peetee, why don't we go find a different room, there's one with an obstacle course! I think the adults need a rest." They suggested, resting the young boy on their hip.
"Can Tony come?" The young boy asked.
"Of course, pup!" Tal grinned. "We can show him how to do an obstacle course properly, considering how bad it went for him last time~" They smirked at Tony lightheartedly and nodded when Steve and Bucky gave them a thankful look. Getting the kids away from the talk of the older times was a good idea, and they knew Tal didn't like talking about it either.
"I was NOT that bad!" Tony laughed "And I'm in a dress, so that'll be a no thank you for me, but I'll be there to cheer on Peter." he smiled down at the boy in question, taking the small hand into his as they both started going to the obstacle room. On their way, he couldn't help but notice the load of tired kids who could barely keep their eyes open.
Tony wondered why their parents didn't put them to nap time, assuming they were in night school too. He thought it was weird, but decided it was none of his business.