Lies
In the meantime, Peter was currently laying on the ground staring at a ceiling to the other's amusement. "I'm dying," the pup deadpanned, which made Bucky laugh out "Uncle buck don't laugh! I starve!"
"You aint starved kid, you've had plenty of food. Buuuuut, I did get a surprise for you~" Tal smirked, watching Peter look up excitedly.
Running circles around his friend, Peter excitedly shouted. "Gimme gimme gimme!"
Tal smirked and pulled a package from their bag, freshly made loaves of bread from Stark's bakery inside with a new toy for Peter. "You better give me a hug for this, kiddo~"
The toy was a small fluffy wolf and Peter loved it already. It had blonde fur, just like his daddy in his own wolf room which made Peter feel even better. It was like a mini Steve. Giving Tal a quick hug, Peter ran to his father as he walked in, excitedly showing him the present he got. "Daddy look at what I got from Tally! It looks just like you, right?"
"It does, Peetee, say thank you to Tal."
"Thanks!" Peter called back before running back over to the bread.
"No probs kid, tony sends his regards~" Tal smirked. "He said he'll drop by later once he's finished work." They told Steve, who nodded.
"I don't want to bother him while he's working." Steve explained. "Plus I think everyone needs space from time to time." He added.
"I get it, bro." Tal rolled their eyes. "Hey, Peter, if you're feeling better once you've ate we can go for a walk in the field room! There's lots of grass to run around in~"
"Can daddy come play, too?" Peter asked them, really wanting to stay by his father's side. Ever since he became the new Alpha Steve barely had the time for him anymore and he missed his daddy very much, even it it had only been a day. Wolves were very close after all. "We never get to play anymore..." He added, puppy eyes full on display as he looked up at Steve.
Steve chuckled. "It's been a couple days, Peetee, but of course I'll play with you."
Peter beamed, dragging Steve to the field room where he lost no time into tackling Steve onto the ground in play, so of course Steve let him. Though he had to fall on his own because Peter was too small to actually move him. "Why you little!" Steve laughed, as he tickled his baby, finally having a moment of relaxation ever since this whole mess started. "Loki taught you to play dirty like that when I'm not paying attention, hmm?"
"Of course." Loki smirked, high fiving Tal.
"Hey Peetee, check it out!" Tal called, turning them and Loki into cats.
Steve involuntarily growled at them, then stepped back with a sigh, hissing at his wolf as he scratched their ears. "Sorry guys. My stupid wolf still doesn't like felines, apparently."
Tal gave the cat equivalent of a shrug, they knew Steve's wolf didn't like cats but also knew that they still had the same scents and Steve's wolf liked them.
Huffing, Steve's wolf snarled. 'You're calling ME stupid? I'm not the one who turned our mate away'. Wincing, Steve replied firmly.
'I did it for his own good. He's a human, he needs sleep and you know that. It wasn't meant to be hurtful. I just needed space and Tony understands that.' Stubbornly, the wolf didn't want to back down.
'Doesn't matter what it was meant to be or not, he is gone and will never come back and we'll be alone forever with Peter because you're an ass hole.' Rolling his eyes, Steve continued to play with Peter.
'You're being dramatic right now.'
He turned into his wolf form and played with the kittens and his son for a while, happy Peter was playing better. None of them knew Tony had finished his shift early and handed the last couple hours over to Pepper so he could surprise Steve. He pulled into the S.H.I.E.L.D car park and headed in.
Quirking up as a familiar scent filled his nostrils, Peter excitedly jumped up and down, climbing on Steve's back "Daddy, daddy, daddy, Tony's here, Tony came, can we got to Tony, can we can we, pleeease!" Peter pleaded, wanting to go at Tony as fast as possible.
Steve was about to stop him, turning back to human to do so, when he turned and saw Tony had walked into the observation area and seen him change.
Blinking rapidly, Tony rubbed his eyes twice, staring at Steve before laughing, picking Peter up, who was standing petrified, waiting for his reaction. "Steve..." he took a big breath. "You were right about the rest thing. My brain is playing with me." In the background, Loki was using his powers as he signalled for Steve to agree with him.
Loki sighed in relief when Steve nodded and chuckled, heading over to Tony and pulling him into a hug. "Hey, what are you doing here, Ii thought you had work for another couple hours." He pecked him on the lips. Loki used his powers to change Peter back into a human in a way Tony wouldn't notice.
Tony pecked him back with a small giggle, covering Peter's eyes as he did so. Wrapping his free arm around Steve's neck, Tony raised on the tip of his toes as he gave him a kiss on the cheek. He knew it hadn't a lot of time since they last saw each other, but he missed him and Peter. "Got out early. Thought about seeing you guys before going to the grocery store. I'll probably go home after." he shrugged. He remembered what Nick said about being forceful and he made sure to give Steve his space. He didn't want to seem clingy. "Is Peter feeling better? I was worried and left him some soup before I left last night. Did it help at all?"
"He is, thank you. I'm glad you're here." Steve smiled, kissing his boyfriends head. "Thank you for giving Tal the bread and stuff, it was very nice."
"He can't say no to a new customer~" Tal smirked, laying their arm over Tony's shoulders. "Can't say no to anyone, apparently." They smirked at Tony, in a -yes I saw that guy earlier, yes I want to talk about it - kind of way.
"Hey, I can say no to people!" Tony argued softly, which made Natasha snort. "I can!"
Lifting an eyebrow, Natasha replied blandly. "One time, I wanted to make a joke and asked you if you wanted to play knife target practice with me. You said yes instantly. You were the target."
Lips thinning in a line, Tony pouted and hid in Steve's chest, as he insisted. "I can be harsh and stern, alright? I can say no like it's nothing. Right, Steve?" Tony asked, looking up.
Steve couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Of course, baby..."
"Bull~" Tal giggled. "Come on, Tones, I need a word with you." Before he could protest the lanky person who should not be as strong as they looked was dragging him from the room. "I PROMISE TO RETURN HIM IN ALMOST ONE PIECE!" They called back at Steve, who could do nothing but chuckle. He had known Tal for ages and trusted them.
"Tal, what's up! my boyfriend was just validating me!" Tony whined, proud to call Steve his boyfriend. "He's such a good guy, honestly. He's so sweet, god, you don't even know. I'm so lucky..." sighed dreamily, Tony placed a hand to his chest. "Anyway, did you need something?"
"I need to ask you about that dude I saw earlier just before I picked up the bread. What the dealy, man?" They rested against the table, folding their arms.
Good mood slightly faltering, Tony also folded his arms, eyes going downcast on the ground. "Oh, that's... That's just Justin." Tony sighed, leaning against the wall, unfolding his arms to play with the material of his shirt. "He's just some guy who's been visiting the bakery a lot lately and... likes me? I guess? He's harmless. A little creepy, but harmless. You don't have to worry."
"I'm not worried about you cheating, I know you don't have it in ya. This guy however needs taking care of." They turned serious. "I can sort it if you promise not to ask any questions." their serious face turned into a smirk. Tony knew that look, he'd seen it before when Tal was offended by something someone did and decided to 'handle it'. "I'm only half joking. Anyway, it does need to be sorted."
"No, Tal, leave it alone. Really. Justin's gonna get bored eventually when he sees I'm not interested." Tony sighed, eyes pleading as he finally looked up "Please don't tell Steve, Tal. For me? This is troublesome and I don't want to stress him out. Please?" He begged, not wanting to create trouble for them or Steve. He knew it wasn't right to keep secrets from the ones you care about, but he didn't want to add more weight onto Steve's shoulders. He didn't sign up for that, and Tony knew it even if he didn't say it. Tony's problems were his own, and he would deal with them alone, just like he always had.
"I wasn't gonna tell him." Tal rolled their eyes. "BUT, you need to make sure next time you see him that you finish what you started to tell him, trust me, he won't get bored. He'll keep trying until he eventually forces something on you. You need to put your foot down and tell him straight, before he can interrupt you again. Speak over him, make your stance, got your point across. Or I'LL do it for you." They warned him, seemingly speaking from experience.
"You'll do no such thing, " Tony replied to them, more firmly this time, uncharacteristic of him. "I appreciate that you're worried about me, Tal, and it's good to know I have someone watching my back, but my business is mine. I don't pry into your trouble, you don't pry into mine. Okay?"
"I wouldn't mind if someone actually gave a damn about me and my life for once." They almost growled, staring at him. "I'm being nice. Trust me, if you let this continue then you're letting this guy keep on coming after you, and I know guys, he'll think he can get away with more and then you'll wish you have someone looking out for you." They didn't say any more, it took a lot for them to outright try to help and ask if someone needed help, and this was the reason why they didn't. They walked back out, not even giving Tony a chance to respond. Loki chased after them as they left.
"What was that about...?" Steve asked. "Is everything ok?"
Tony shrugged, guilt washing over him as he looked at them walk away. He'll make sure to set the record straight later with Tal. And make them their favourite pastry as an apology later. It was known they couldn't stay mad at people for long, especially Tony. "We just had a disagreement over something small. Don't worry about it, honey." Tony explained, as he clapped Steve on the shoulder with a small smile, not doing anything else. Space. "Well! I guess I'll see you later, then. If you need something, give me a call, alright?" Tony said softly, turning to Peter with a smile, who looked sad to see him sad.
Crouching down to be on eye level with the child, Tony ruffled his hair. "Aww, sweetheart, why the long face?"
"Tony go? You won't stay?" Peter asked in a small voice, cradling the wolf plushie to his chest. "Where you go?"
"Why don't you stay for dinner, Tony? Buck and Tal bought back some food from the market yesterday, I'm going to make us all a nice warm stew or something and teach Peetee here some more cooking." Steve suggested, though worried, feeling as if Tony was keeping something from him. But he knew he was just being paranoid - or more over his wolf was being paranoid.
Tony wanted to stay. He really, really did, but he didn't want to be clingy, leechy, to seem desperate more than he already had and chase Steve away. So instead he shook his head, giving Steve a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Thanks, Steve, that's really kind of you, really, but I don't think Tal wants me around right now. And I don't want to force them to be nice just because of us. Maybe another time, though?" He asked, hoping Steve would accept that.
'Mate is hiding something.' Steve's wolf thought, just as worried as Steve. 'Why is he hiding something? And why does he smell like that?!'
'I know, wolf... I know' Steve told his wolf. Something was definitely up. "Tal wont be back now, not for a while and they tend to stay away from everyone other than Loki when they come back..." He said softly, observing how Tony was acting.
"I just-I just don't feel like it right now." replied Tony, with the tenderest of gentleness. Only if Steve would know how much he wanted him to stay here with him and Peter, where he felt like nothing was wrong in the world. "Okay? That's all. Another time, I promise, alright?" he asked but didn't stick around to wait for Steve's answer, as he walked away.
'Mate smells like someone else.' the wolf snarled, getting angry. 'Someone... Rotten... We have to find out what this is about!'
Steve almost growled, listening to his wolf for once. "Ok, I'll see you another time!" Steve called after his boyfriend, not wanting to be clingy. 'Don't worry, wolf... we'll find out soon enough.'
He saw Loki bringing Tal back. 'And I'm pretty sure i know how...'
"Tal, what was that stuff from earlier? What happened?" Steve asked, trying not to seem too angry because of his wolf. "Is there something I should know about? Tony's acting really weird."
"Who cares." Tal grumbled, their teeth sticking out more than usual and their eyes glowing slightly.
"They won't even tell me." Loki added, looking worried for his best friend.
"I care." Steve proved his point by poking himself in the chest. "That's my boyfriend, and there's my friend hiding something from me. So I'd rather find out from one of you before I take the matters in my own hands."
"It's Tony's business not mine, he made that pretty clear." Tal growled, as fast as a blink and they were in front of Loki, ready to protect him. they knew Steve wouldn't do anything, but they got very defensive when they were upset, for good reason.
Steve's lips thinned in a line, keeping the snarl that threatened to spill over his lips. "Fine." Steve spat, maybe letting his wolfs feelings effect him a bit too much. Grabbing Peter from the ground, already calming down from the small Omega's presence, much more calmly, he said; "Bucky, take care of the pack until I come back. I have shopping to do." He didn't care if he seemed clingy, or creepy, he needed to find out what was going on with his boyfriend and he needed to find out now.
'Finally!' His wolf cheered. 'finally you're doing something right!'
Steve doubted that, but wolves were possessive and if Tony of all people was hiding something and had upset Tal, who he could only assume was trying to help, it must have been a pretty big secret. He didn't mind them having their own lives separate to each other, boyfriends should, but going out of his way to lie to Steve? He had been through this all before and he was NOT going to go through it again, especially if his wolf had anything to say about it.