…A Child's Love…

/Warning/: This chapter contains, cursing, fluff, sadness a lot of it, a little bit of violence, Steve being a BAMF, and Tony losing his mind! And let's not forget, Howard! And who knows what! All reviews are appreciated.

"Character talking"

"Character thinking"

…Flashbacks…

Chapter 10

Steve could only gaze at Howard with wide eyes; he really couldn't believe what he was seeing, but the cries of his baby snapped Steve out of it, making him rush toward his child. Seeing him, Peter let out a cry and raise his tied hands, and God how much Steve hated seeing his baby like this, untying his baby's arms, Steve pulled his child to his chest, shushing him gently, trying to calm the overwhelmed babe, his baby was shaking like a leaf! From the corner of his eye, Steve saw how Howard went to the fallen Alpha, giving him a few kicks before leaning down and putting his fingers on Rumlow's neck, probably to check if he was dead, which seems like he was, judging by the satisfied nod from Howard.

Steve wanted to scream, he wanted to ask the man what he was doing here, why was he here? But the thing was; if the Alpha hadn't shown up when he did, his Peter would have probably got hurt too. Not that far, Steve was able to pick up the sound of sirens, which made his tense muscles relax; it seems that someone did call the police after they heard the gun go off, which was reassuring. "Come on baby, stand up, we are going to May's." Steve whispered to his boy, kissing his son's face, over and over, trying to calm his baby's whose heart was pounding like a frightened rabbit in his chest. What wouldn't Steve give to be able to hold his baby in his arms like a healthy person? Picking him up and walking toward May's house without letting his child be separated from his embrace, but the thing was, Steve wasn't able to hold his child like that since his baby turned six, not without Steve feeling strained and for his asthma to act up.

His baby looked at him with teary eyes, causing Steve to kiss his forehead, before standing up and pulling his baby with him gently, causing the shaky boy to latch into his midsection, following Steve when he starts walking, trying to avoid coming near the body on the floor and near Howard who was gazing at him with an unreadable look on his face and a dark frown which was more of a reason for Steve to hurry out of the house.

Getting out of the house, Steve was greeted by the sight of Ban and May, the two of them were ready to get inside the house; Ben was holding his shotgun in his hand while May was holding a bat. Both of them had a scared look on their faces. When May and Ben's eyes fell on them, May let her bat fall as she rushed to him, pulling him in her embrace as she sobbed, letting out a choked gasp when she saw the bruise on his jaw and the marks on his neck, Steve was grateful she hadn't comment on his clothes that were ripped and dishevel from the fight.

"Put your hands where I see them!" Ben snarled as he pointed the gun at someone, causing Steve to tense and turn his head to see where his friend was pointing the gun, only to see Howard staying still on the front porch without moving, raising his hands while throwing Ben an annoying look, though Steve didn't help but catch the frustration in the older man's eyes.

"It's OK, Ben." Steve said as he went to his friend, hating how rough his voice was, and how it was almost gone, but Steve needed to stop Ben before he shoots Howard, and then all hell will be on them. "He helped us; he shot the one who did this." Steve explained, causing his friend to gaze at him with concern, biting his lower lip, Ben nodded his head and lower the gun down, giving Howard a nod before he herded Steve toward May who was holding Peter tightly in her embrace, ready to take them in his house, thankfully it was then that the police followed by the ambulance arrived.

It took a long time in Steve's opinion, a long time until he was able to convince the police to let his baby go and rest from the shock, promising that he will answer all of their questions; May, God bless her, took Peter inside her house, letting the small boy sleep in her bed, the poor boy had passed out after he cried himself in May and Steve's arms. Even with all the chaos and the being stuck in an ambulance car until his wounds were treated, or when the police start asking him about how he knew Brock Rumlow, who turned out to be an FBI agent, or when the news stations and reporters arrived to question Howard Stark on why he was here, even when he wanted to punch a few reporters for even daring to accuse and question him about being Howard's mistress; Steve didn't take his eyes away from Howard, he was already shaky, tired, and on his last nerve, he didn't take his eyes off his lover's father, he still remembers how the two of them parted a month or so ago, with him breaking the man's nose.

"Why are you here?" Steve finally dared to ask, he had been watching Howard for a long time now, and he knew that the man was on his last nerves and wanted to say something to Steve, probably to threaten him again or offer him money, you never know with Howard. When the man starts walking in his direction Steve took it as his chance to ask what the hell did the Alpha want, why was he here, and probably scream at him some more, but Steve was too tired that he simply said those words without any bit to them.

Howard looked like he swallowed a lemon when he saw him, after a long time of staring in Steve's opinion, the man let out a sigh, narrowing his eyes at Steve and standing tall. "I came to know what did you do, that my son is ready to go into a war for you, ready to abandon his family, just to stay with you, what makes you so special?" Howard asked, and as much as Steve wanted to snap at the man that if he just paid attention to Tony he will know the answer, the genuine curiosity in the older Alpha's eyes made Steve bite his tongue; curse his soft heart that can't stand hating someone, even someone as Howard.

"Nothing," Steve answered, and his answer probably didn't satisfy the man, for he frowned at him. "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn." Steve raised his eyebrow at Howard, the Alpha seemed lost in thoughts at his answer, a frown taking over his face before it smoothes out and his face turned into the perfect blank mask, and Steve sower if Howard was going to pull something as he did a month ago or even eleven and half years ago, he will break his nose this time without hope for even surgery to sit it right.

Whatever Howard was planning to say, it was cut by the high shrill sound that made everyone raise their heads in a panic to gaze at the sky. The hair on Steve's body raises on its ends, for the sound was almost familiar… like the sound of missiles… and panic sized his heart when he saw something falling in his front yard with a crash, throwing dirt and dust everywhere and causing a large hole to form in his front yard. When the cloud of dust finally settled, Steve lowered his arms that were covering his face to see what caused the destruction in his garden, only for his breath to hitch when he saw Tony, his poor Alpha looked like death warmed him over even with the suit covering him, half of the metal on his arms and chest were melted to some degree.

Steve's heart pounded in his chest as his eyes fell on his lover; he wanted to run toward his Alpha and hide in his arms, hoping that the Alpha will hold him until all this was over. Steve saw Tony gaze at his house, and then at all the people surrounded it from police, reporters, and passers, and something in Steve didn't sit right, he felt like something was wrong. The snarl that Tony let out when his eyes fell on the dead body being dragged caused Steve to feel chilled to the bones, for even with the metallic voice in the suit, the message was clear; his Alpha was out for blood.

Steve was able to catch the frightening scent of Howard, mixed with different people who start backing away, probably thinking that some villain was able to steal an Iron Man armor to attack innocent people, which may not be that far from the truth, but something inside Steve was telling him that's his idiot mate in there, and he needed to stop the Alpha before he does something he will regret. "Tony!" Steve called out as he rushed toward the Alpha, ignoring how Howard hissed at him, probably afraid that if Steve attracted the attention to them it meant their doom.

Tony's head whirled to them and Steve took it as his sign to run to his Alpha, trying to stop himself from becoming overwhelmed and stat sobbing, the shock was still in his system, it didn't leave him fully no, Steve had so many things to be concern about and one of them his baby, who was sleeping in May's house. "S-Steve…" That was all the warning Steve got before he was pulled into a tight embrace.

The faceplate opened and Tony thrust his face in Steve's neck, and the Omega didn't have the heart to be annoyed at his Alpha, even with all those annoying photographers and reporters taking pictures and screaming questions. Steve held into Tony tightly, letting the Alpha nuzzle his neck, Tony repeating his name over and over, tightening his grip that it took a few complaining huffs from Steve for the Alpha to realize he was hurting him. When Tony raised his eyes, Steve choked whatever noise he wanted to let out, for his mate's eyes were completely gold, which only meant one thing; his mate was a step away from becoming feral. "Your eyes…" Steve whispered, his hands itching to touch Tony, his right-hand raising and touching Tony's cheek gently with the tips of his fingers, fearing that he will sit his mate off.

"Where is Peter?" Tony asked, uncaring of the question that Steve asked, or maybe not being able to hear it from all the chaos buzzing in his mind, how do people treat feral Alphas other than locking them up until they can go through them? How do they even treat a superhero Alpha on the verge of becoming feral? And what caused his Alpha to turn into this? Steve hoped it wasn't what he was thinking of.

"H-he is sleeping, May's house, he's been through enough." Steve swallowed when Tony let out a low hiss, his eyes turning to May's house before settling on Steve, and the Omega hoped that his mate will calm down enough, that his inner Alpha will see that everything is alright and retreat in the back of his lover's mind, bringing him his Tony back.

All of Steve's hope of Tony calming down was thrown away in the wind when he let out a snarl after spotting Howard. "You!" Tony tried to move toward Howard, probably planning to kill him, after all, the Alpha was growling and hissing and planning to kill someone, and Steve wasn't petty enough to stay still and allow his mate to kill his father, even when the said father was an asshole.

"Tony, stop!" Steve snapped as he stood in front of his mate, stopping him from going after Howard, his action caused his lover to gaze at him with confused eyes, probably wondering why Steve wouldn't allow him to kill his own father, who for the Alpha is a threat to his mate and child; months ago Steve would have been more than happy to let Tony do it just to be petty, but he can't argue that the man saved his life, even if he didn't tell Steve why he was here and asking him strange questions. "Baby, please calm down, don't do this, do you really want Peter to see his hero hurt his father?" Steve cooed to his Alpha, taking Tony's face in his hands, caressing his cheek gently. "He helped us, Tony, he saved Peter and me." That got him a disbelieving and a confused noise from Tony, who was gazing at Steve's eyes, not removing his face from his lover's gentle hands. "Tell you what baby, why don't we go inside? I'm sure Peter missed you terribly, he was so scared; he needs his father." And that was what caused Tony to finally turn away from Howard, following Steve when the Omega pulled at his hand that was covered in armor, his Tony was ignoring his want to snarl at all the reporters and photographers who were recording, he just wanted to attack them and get them away from his mate and son, that was the number one reason for Alphas' to become feral, their mates and children.

Steve was unaware of being watched…

"I will kill him!" Steve snarled as he stalked around the tower's halls trying to search for Tony, the Alpha has disappeared as fast as he can after he told Steve for the tenth time that day, that no, he can't go out of the tower, and it doesn't matter if it was May's appointment with the doctor, he was staying because his mate and best friend are hell bend on making him spent the rest of his life with Peter in this ugly tower.

Ever since what happened two weeks ago, not only Steve and his life was in an uproar, but his friends and part of the world too; ever since that day, he and Peter moved on in the Avengers tower, not only for their safety but because his mate and best friend dragged him and Peter here, without giving him a say in the matter, only allowing him a few minutes to pack what he and Peter needed before they were rushed to the tower, where they are staying with the rest of the Avengers team.

Steve won't lie, the place was actually amazing on the inside with how modern and out of the world the technology there was, and Peter was doing well here, it stopped the night terrors from being as severe as they would have been if they stayed in the same place that the painful event happened in; Steve though was a little bitter that he was forced to leave Erskine's house, his house, and Peter's home since he was a babe, he was forced to run away with his tail between his legs and stay in this tower like a princess waiting for her knight in shining armor, a knight that Steve hasn't seen much off since he moved here.

Ever since Tony snapped out of his feral state after making sure that Steve and Peter were OK; the Alpha was distant, he was dazed and unfocused most of the time, and he was never there anymore. Peter was noticing Tony's absence, he was noticing and was probably blaming himself because of Tony's recent behavior, that behavior which was gritting on Steve's nerves, because where was his Alpha?

Tony was never there anymore, he was always busy to even say one word to Steve, he stopped eating with them, spending more and more of his time in the lab, more and more time away from Peter, didn't Tony know that Steve and him don't have that much time with Peter? That Peter was sick and that even with the high rate of leukemia patients recovering, there was still a chance that there was something going to happen?

Didn't he realize that Peter got worse after that day? He will probably notice if he listens to what Steve said, but it was like there was a barrier between the two of them, a barrier so strong and high, that the Alpha wasn't even acknowledging their son; their son who start getting worse after that stressful day, who was running a fever, their son who spent most days now throwing up than keeping his food down, their son who always wake up with a nightmare and can't sleep if Steve wasn't there with him, their son that if Tony kept his head out of his ass and with them for a little while, he would have realized that the appointment was not for May, but for Peter, who was sick and needed a doctor, he needed Dr. Anna too, and knowing Steve's luck, his baby was spending at least a couple of weeks in the hospital to get better because he may have caught some infection from the germs that bastard Rumlow had.

"Steve, there you are!" Bucky called out happily, only to take a step back when Steve whirled on him, planning to kill every person standing in his way, and probably kill Tony too, for being so occupied with the less important thing than their son, who was in his room sniffing miserably. "Did something…?" Bucky couldn't even finish, for he was feeling his instincts to fight of flight pick up, mostly flight, which made Bucky wonder to himself, how an Omega who was one-hundred pound soaked wet, have the ability to scare the living daylight out of anyone if he put his mind into it.

Steve saw how Bucky shifted from foot to foot, and he let out a sigh when he saw his best friend get uncomfortable, as much as Steve wanted to snap at the first person he saw, snapping at Bucky won't solve anything, and he does need someone to take him to the hospital. "Peter is sick." Finally admit, causing Bucky to stiff and tense, probably ready to whisk Peter to the hospital. "Can you take us to the hospital, I called his doctor and she said it's best to be safe than sorry." Bucky gave Steve a soft encouraging smile, trying to calm him down before he starts fritting.

"Of course I will take you there Steve, don't worry, where is Tony though? I thought he was going to take you and Peter to the hospital." Bucky tried to start a conversation as he followed Steve who rushed to Peter's room, hoping that his baby did what he ordered him and change into his shoes.

Steve scowled at the mention of Tony, he won't even blame Bucky for mentioning the man who once again disappeared into thin air; Steve did tell Tony from the start, if he can't handle Steve's life, then he is more than welcome to leave, at least it was nice of him to make Peter's wish of meeting Iron Man come true. "I don't know, I don't care, if you see him though, tell him that the next time I see him, I'm going to kill him." Steve stated darkly as he reached his and Peter's room, ignoring how Bucky narrows his eyes.

Opening the door, Steve paste a comforting smile on his face, trying to calm his baby down, his baby who was looking sicker than when Steve left. "Mommy, I don't feel so good." Peter stated with a tired voice, his hand coming to wipe his nose, Steve sighed when he saw that Peter used his sleeve to do the wiping, coming near Peter, Steve was about to stop his baby from wiping his nose again with his sleeve, only to froze when he saw a line of red slowly making its way to Peter's upper lip; his baby was having another nose bleed, the third one this day...

Steve rushed toward his baby, taking a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the blood off his boy's face, but Peter pushed him away, taking a few shaky steps back, before throwing up on Steve's shirt and the floor, causing a shocked silence to fall on the place, only to be broken by Peter's sobs as he starts crying loudly at the mess he made on his mother shirt more than the blood that was still flowing down his nose. "Shush, baby, it's OK, it's OK, nothing bad happened baby, it's OK, Mommy going to handle it, just breath baby…" Steve rushed toward his sobbing baby, trying to calm him down but only succeeded in getting louder wails from his boy, as Peter starts pushing him away.

No matter how much Steve tried to calm Peter down the boy, continued to cry louder and louder, and it was that moment that Steve felt a little resentment for Tony, the Alpha knows damn well that his help was needed, but still, he didn't come to check on his crying son, when the boy needed him. Peter suddenly stopped crying, and that more than ever made Steve worried and concern, because normally when Peter cry, he won't stop unless he and Steve were in bed, with Steve telling him stories about his father, but when Peter looked up at him for a second, he stretched his hands toward him. "Mommy…" That was all Peter could whine before his eyes closed and he fell down, causing Steve to let a panicked cry and rush to his baby.

His baby was burning up…

So what do you think?

Oh, no, Peter!

Poor baby! What's going to happen next!

It just went from bad to worse!

Read and Review

And tell me what you think…

Nazaki-Sama