Loud screaming woke up Tony in the middle of the night, and as soon as he opened his eyes wide, he brought one hand over his heart by instinct. The arc reactor wasn’t there anymore, but he still had a mild heart condition, and being woke up by baby yelling didn’t help his disease.
With his heart beating loud in his ears, he focused on the devastating loud crying, sitting down with a gasp, searching for his husband with the other hand without even thinking. They’ve slept together for so many years, he didn’t notice right away the mattress wasn’t curvedunder the weight of Steve, and he wasn't tangledin his strong arms.
Not finding his Alpha, combined with screams of their six-months-old baby, was the perfect mix for a panic attack. He stumbled leaving the bed; it was 3:28 in the fucking morning which meant he slept for barely two hours, but he had to be ready to deal with anything.
Maybe he shouldn’t have done it barefoot, wearing sweatpants and an old AC/DC long-sleeved shirt, but that was his husband’s fault, who didn’t let him install an Iron Man armor inside their bed!
“Steve? Steve?!” His words raised above the loud crying; his heart was racing as fast as his steps. He was in Peter’s room in less than two second, already reaching out with one hand to get the first gauntlet of the most reachable suit JARVIS should’ve just sent.
“Alpha?” He asked again, sounding breathless, panting for the terror more than for running. “What- What’s going on?” He raised his voice, since Peter was still screaming his head off in his papa’s arms.
Standing in the middle of the room, Steve was rocking their son, murmuring shh, praying him to stay calm, to stop yelling, and even in the dim lights Tony noticed big teardrops falling from their eyes.
“He won’t stop crying,” Steve said, voice broken, vulnerable like Tony hardly remember having ever heard. It made his heart hurting more, seeing his husband in that condition: messy hair, with puffy red eyes and the most wet-puppy expression that would’ve melt the coldest soul. “I didn’t mean- I had to make sure he was fine, I didn’t want to wake him up, and now, now he just-”
Only a beat later, Tony closed the distance between them, removing his shirt and tossing it on a dresser. His previous panic already forgotten, replaced by the need to quiet his child and support his worried husband before a complete meltdown.
“Hey, don’t say more, give him to me,” as soon as he took Peter from Steve’s arms, he started gently cradling him, leaving kisses on his soft head and purring quiet and steady, soothing him with little bumps, whispering sweet words. Skin-to-skin contact always helped to reassure the baby.
“There, there, everything’s fine my little prince. You’re just scared, aren’t you? Papa didn’t wanna frighten you, you’ve heard him. Come on baby, daddy’s got you. I’ve got you,” he continued for a few minutes, finally getting results: Peter’s crying regressed down to sighs and sniffles, followed by the last big tears falling down his chubby red cheeks.
Tony didn’t stop smoothing his back and kissing him, keeping his little head under his chin where the purrs vibrated, until all he could hear were innocent hiccups. Peter’s small fists relaxed, then his entire body, and with extreme carefulness Tony put him back in the cradle, between his favorite stuffed toy: a golden pup, and a bear with a red and gold metal arm, made from an old iron man suit.
In any other time, Tony would’ve smiled at the bear, remembering that funny little story behind its arm. That night though, he stroked his baby’s head one last time, beaming at the view of him sleeping quietly, before turning toward his husband.
Steve had his fists clenched, his expression ruined by guilt and remorse. He wasn’t looking neither at Peter nor at Tony; he moved a little further from them after the Omega took the child from his arms, and stood there, looking down at the floor, his square jaw clenched, and shoulders tensed.
“Honey?” He stepped close, cupping one of Steve’s cheek, making eye contact. His Alpha looked hurt, lost, like the day he lost Peggy for the second time, like he had been after the first battle against the person he once considered his best friend. “What happened?”
Tony run the fingers of his other hand through Steve’s hair, smoothing the back of his head, while raising on tiptoes placing a light kiss on the corner of his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” the Alpha whispered, clenching his jaw again, like the words were too difficult to tell.
It wasn't much, but Tony understood. Steve’s path to learn how expressing emotions, rather than repressing them, was still long, travailed. His selfless Alpha spent too much time thinking he couldn’t lean on people, he only had to protect them. He was showing them at least, while only a few years later he would’ve vented all the rage and frustration at the gym.
His Alpha was doing something about it: group session, they worked according to him; Tony himself had his huge share of issues, but he chose a private therapist to set them straight.
“A nightmare?” A sharp nod from Steve, who added, “I needed to make sure you were both safe”.
The Omega kissed him on his lips, and as Steve leaned over, they rested their foreheads together, looking at each other from the close distance. Thousands of thoughts swirled in Tony’s head, but he held them to let Steve talk.
He resisted for fifty-five seconds, feeling all the tiredness coming back. Steve’s hands found the sway of his hips, the curves he once said were madejust for him: they curved right for his hands to rest on them. The Alpha still didn’t talk; he needed to do something about it.
“Come with me,” Tony took one of his hand and pulled, bringing him to the rocking chair present in the room. “Wait a little, hm? I’ll be right back”
His Alpha didn’t sit down, he stared at Tony reluctantly, blue eyes sharp and forehead furrowed.
“Trust me,” the Omega whispered again, shaking his head with a bit of exasperation, pushing him down. Steve Rogers was the most stubborn Alpha, and that only get worse when he was under his instincts.
When he finally sat, straight-backed, eyes still fixed on the Omega and wary, Tony wiped his knuckles on his right cheek, where tears have fallen earlier, giving him an affectionate look. It was a rare sight, his Alpha so openly hurt, heartbreaking but still beautiful.
He left to return in their bedroom, where he changed his shirt in favor of one of Steve’s big hoodies - big for Tony - rolling up the sleeves that finished well over his wrists anyway, and then he wrapped himself in a blanket. A long yawn accompanied him while he dragged himself back to his husband; being a superhero, an inventor and a CEO was less tiring than having a little child, that’s for sure.
“’m here, no need to stand up,” he blinked slowly, his long lashes fluttered, as he approached the blurry figure on the rocking chair.
He plopped down on Steve’s lap, purring as soon as he could curl against his chest, wrapping the blanked around them both and lifting his legs on one armrest. Steve welcomed him in his embrace, letting him nestle in his arms, hugging him tight with one arm secure and solid around his waist, while the other one enveloped his legs, holding him still.
“Good?” The Alpha asked, looking down at him. Tony was a second away from dozing off: Steve was warmer than the blanked, his chest was soft but also super-toned, his whole body was solid, powerful, and all for him. Also, he smelled great, he smelled like Tony, or maybe it was him smelling like his Alpha. He didn’t want to remember a time when their scents weren’t mixed.
“Great,” He murmured, nuzzling into Steve’s neck. Stay awake, he told himself, rubbing his nose against his husband’s throat, where a guttural rumble vibrated in response to his cuddles. Steve was the biggest teddy bear ever, who could transform into a grizzly if he had to protect his family.
“Sleep, I’ll bring you to bed later,” the Alpha talked, sounding more imperative than tender. Unfortunately for him, Tony has never worked well with authorities, he was aimed at proving them wrong.
To keep himself awake, his slid his fingers through Steve’s hair, playing with them. “Tell me what’s botherin’you first,” he slurred a little, collapsing with his head on Steve’s shoulder.
He felt his husband sighing before hearing him, his chest raised and lowered a few times before he answered. “It was war,” he started, voicedeep, low enough to not wake Peter up again. A muscle of his jaw twitched, while sadness crossed Tony’s face.
“We were there, you and me, and all the other Avengers. There were hundreds of us, faces I couldn’t recognize, fighting by our side,” his arm tightened around his waist, his lips placed a kiss on the top of his head. Tony paid him back kissing him under his ear, stroking his hair to comfort him.
“I knew we- that we won, but I lost everything,” he breathed, holding Tony closer to him, hiding him completely from the rest of the world. The Omega had nothing to complain about it, he was in his favorite place, surrounded by the two people he loved the most.
“I can’t have that again, Tony. I can’t lose you,” the last words were so intense, Steve could’ve actually screamed them.
“You won’t,” Tony urged answering, cupping Steve’s face with one hand, “You won’t Alpha, I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured, looking directly at him. The room was dark, they couldn’t look at each other in the eyes, but the movements were so familiar they didn't really need to see.
“We’re not at war, honey,” he kissed him again, on the lips that time, as sweet as he could. “And even if he were, and one of us... Alpha, if one of us didn’t make it, we’ll never be alone”
They stayed quiet for a while; Tony couldn’t hear anything else than his own heartbeat and Steve’s, but he knew it was different for his Alpha. With the super-soldier serum enhancing his hearing, he could hear their baby’s breath, and Tony let him do precisely that. In the worst-case scenario, a piece of them will always live and shine in their beautiful son.
“You aren't going anywhere,” Steve repeated, stressing the phrase with a possessive growl that had Tony whimpering. “I’ll protect you,”
“Mmm, I don’t...” Even exhausted he tried arguing back.
“You don’t need it, I know, but I’m doing it, whatever it takes. You're my Omega, my family, my world. I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe,” he finished with a kiss on the Omega’s forehead, lingering his lips there for few seconds, stroking his tight with the hand that was holding his legs.
Tony’s heart melted at the promise, as he tried to blend into his Alpha’s chest, a place where he knew he’d no longer fear anything else. He could protect himself, Peter, and Steve too, but his Omega were fervent by hearing his Alpha vowing to take there of him.
“Love you,” he whispered, searching his lips again for another kiss. They exchanged more of them, sweet, soft, making snapping sounds every time they broke off. Tony felt Steve’s smile growing kiss after kiss, on the lips, on his cheeks, on the tip of his nose; they bumped their noses together and when the Omega was too tiredalso to make the smallest movement, he let his Alpha in charge, enjoining feeling their tongues swirling together.
Steve nuzzled against his cheek, scenting him and licking his bottom lip until Tony gave him access meekly, humming in satisfaction as the Alpha slid inside. When they separated again, Steve bit gently the bridge of his nose, and the Omega almost burst out a laugh, that came out as a muffled giggle since he hid his face into Steve’s shoulder.
“What?” He asked breathless, feeling his lips plump and swollen, making Steve feeling his bright smile by pressing his mouth against his neck.
“I love you too, adorable Omega. Rest now,” Steve said, and Tony couldn’t resist anymore.
The Omega closed his eyes, sighing as he relaxed completely against his husband. They kissed again, slowly, lazily, then Steve left his lips in favor of his hands, he brought one to his mouth, and the last things Tony remembered were adoring kisses on his knuckles and on his wrist.