Thanks so much for everyone who reviewed the last chapter: AnonyPip, StonyShipper88, Whitewolfstar, and shine lots! I really appreciate getting all of your feedback. ^_^ I've been a bit busy but I tried to get this chapter out as quickly as I could. As a reminder, I often will post sneak-peeks of chapters on my Tumblr page and am still doing the "Ask Me" page for the "Chasing the Moon" universe also on Tumblr (links to both pages are on my profile page). But for now, onward to the chapter! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

"Brethren! It brings me great joy to see you once more!"

Thor beamed at him as Steve moved in to give him a quick hug. Steve was smiling almost as broadly and stifled a grunt as Thor gave him a very enthusiastic pat on the back. Two days had passed since he and Tony had visited with Charles and Erik and their quiet day had exploded with activity when they had gotten a call at the airport from the Lion saying he and Loki were back in the States.

Pulling away from Steve, Thor craned his neck to peer around Steve's shoulder, a smile still on his face. "Where is the little one?"

As soon as he asked Steve heard tiny feet racing up from behind him and a second later Peter pushed his way past Steve's legs and leapt at Thor. And Peter could jump. Thor laughed as the small boy launched himself so he was about eyelevel and snagged him right out of the air.

"Oh look, you brought the killer with you."

Steve sighed and glanced over his shoulder as Tony walked up to the door, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Loki emerged from behind Thor's bulk. He had been completely hidden behind his mate's shoulders and frowned at the Panther, looking too aloof to be insulted. "It is good to see you as well, Stark."

When Loki had first begun to stay over, the Raven had been cautious, skirting around the rest of them as he got a lay of the land and figured out the chain of command. Over the last few months though he had begun to grow bolder and more comfortable in his own skin when he had the opportunity to be around them, probably knowing that Thor would be able and willing to defend him if he were ever truly threatened. Tony didn't care much for the Raven's change of heart and wasn't afraid to show it. "Just stay out of my way."

"Ah, I feel as welcome as ever."

Thor wasn't paying attention to either of them. He never really intervened unless things began to get heated. Instead the Lion was entirely focused on Peter, both of them laughing as Thor spun him around. "Look how much you have grown! You will be a strapping young lad before I know it."

Thor adored Peter and spoiled him more than Tony even did. Steve had often wondered to himself if Thor and Loki would ever try to have children of their own but had never asked the Lion about it. Either they were waiting, uninterested, or it was impossible for whatever reason. Loki was neither an alpha, a beta, nor an omega and while male Wolf omegas were able to get pregnant from their male alpha mates, Steve wasn't sure how that translated into Ravens' abilities. Steve had to admit, he was a little glad about it. As good as Thor could be, he wasn't sure how Loki would act as a father, or technically as a mother.

Once Thor stopping spinning, Steve moved to the side so that he could make his way into the house. "How long are you here for?"

Thor sighed, still holding Peter in his arms as the boy tried to crawl up and around his shoulders. "For a month at least. I have for the moment settled my affairs with my father's clan so I need not hurry back."

"Good to hear." It would be nice to have everyone under the same roof again.

Natasha, Bruce, and Clint all appeared from their respective hideaways at the sound of Thor's booming voice and they spent the afternoon catching up. After dinner they had all retired back into the media room, an unspoken agreement amongst all of them that now that the pack was all together again they should at least spend the night in each other's company before going to bed. Even Tony stayed and fiddled on his tablet while the rest of them talked and joked their way through a football game. Only Loki was absent. Steve didn't know where the Raven was but he wasn't too worried about it. Since Thor was so relaxed he had a suspicion that Loki was waiting up in the Lion's room.

Peter had been running in circles all day after Thor had gifted him with a bag full of Swedish candy and had finally crashed. He was out like a light. The boy was draped across Steve and Tony's laps, his knees resting on the top of Steve's thighs and his face buried against the fabric of the shirt covering Tony's stomach. He was snoring a bit which seemed to amuse Clint—who was sitting on the floor in front of the couch they were on—to no end.

Steve was distracted from a ridiculous story Thor was telling them about trying to get his luggage through airport security when he felt an elbow nudge his side. He looked over and Tony motioned towards his tablet screen, taking care not to jostle Peter around too much as he tilted it towards Steve. "We got another email from Coulson. It looks another job came in."

Steve frowned down at the bright white tablet screen and saw that Tony had the email opened. But the movie was playing and the mood was light and playful...He sighed. "Is it urgent?"

Lifting his brows, Tony flipped the tablet back around so that he was looking at it and closed the email. "No more than the rest of them. But I only looked at the subject line so who knows?"

Phil was pretty good about marking things that were truly time sensitive so a few more hours of this shouldn't hurt. "I'll look at it later tonight then."

The thought of another mission coming up settled into the back of his mind and Steve turned his attention back towards the movie and the conclusion of Thor's harrowing adventure with his luggage.

But eventually the movie ended and the stories winded down. Bruce was dozing off in his chair, his glasses sitting askew on his nose as he slumped over to the side. Tony was starting to fidget beside Steve and a bored expression was slowly washing over Natasha's face. Clint and Thor were still laughing about a joke Thor had told about five minutes ago and Steve figured that it was about time to start wrapping the night up.

The plan was going great until Steve tried to move. The second he did he woke Peter up. And he was not happy. And then Tony wasn't happy because Peter rolled onto him and started bawling as soon as Steve breathed the word "bed".

"Nooo, Dad, I wanna stay up!"

Tony hissed and tried to grab Peter's tiny hands as they battered his chest and he glared at Steve for waking Peter up. The rest of the pack save for Thor had conspicuously slipped out of the room at the first hint of a tantrum which left Tony and Steve to deal with it. Luckily Peter was still too small to do any real harm, though even when he was fully grown he'd probably never be as strong as either of them since they were alphas. Sighing as Peter kicked a small socked foot out at his shoulder, Tony slowly rose to his feet with Peter in his arms. "No can do, champ. Come on, let's go."

"Noooo! I don't wanna!" Large tears welled up in Peter's eyes and rolled down his cheeks as snot dripped down from his nose. It would have broken Steve's heart if he didn't know that Peter wasn't really upset or hurt. And this wasn't the first tantrum they'd encountered. "I don't wanna go to bed! I'm not tired."

Tony grimaced. "Trust me, you're exhausted. Otherwise you wouldn't be fighting this hard. Steve!" He swung around, Peter held outstretched in his hands like a tear-filled, snotty offering. "Help me out here, you know I'll just give up soon. Look at him. Oh, fu—" Tony sputtered as Peter squirmed around just enough to shoot a web right into his chest, getting the sticky fibers all over the front of his shirt.

Steve jumped forward and grabbed Peter from Tony only have him spin around and shoot another glob of webbing at his pants, sticking one of his shoes to the floor.

"No! I don't wanna…!"

He didn't really care about his shoes but Steve was going to put a stop to this before this got out of hand. He really shouldn't have let him have all that sugar today. "Peter, enough!"

The boy instantly cowed at the command—Steve had used his "alpha" voice—but he was still wiggling and sniffing. The webs had stopped flying but Steve was afraid that the yelling was about to start back up when Thor rose from his chair and strolled across the room with a small, knowing smile on his face.

"Please, allow me to assist you." Steve nodded and Thor stepped closer so that he could rest his hand on Peter's back as he addressed the boy directly. "Peter, the time has come for all to retire to their beds. If you agree to without complaint I shall tell you a story."

Steve felt Peter's chest heave before he leaned his head back to meet Steve's eyes. There were tears still welling up in his eyes but it seemed like Thor's offer had momentarily capped his tantrum. "C-can I, Pop?"

Usually Steve might not have been alright with someone other than him or Tony, especially another alpha, tucking in his son. But Thor was pack so if he thought he could get Peter to bed than Steve didn't have a problem with that. Once Peter got to this stage Steve was willing to take all the help they could get. "Of course. Make sure you're all cleaned up first."

Peter nodded sullenly and gripped onto Thor's shoulder as Steve transferred him into the Lion's arms. In turn, Thor smiled widely and he gently bounced Peter up and down until he drew a small giggle from the boy. "Come, dry your tears, young prince." Peter giggled again and wiped his hands over his face. Steve winced as all he did was smear snot around and snuck in to use his sleeve to clean his son's face off. "There! Now we shall get you ready for your rest. Would you like to ride atop my shoulders?"

Before Thor finished his question Peter had already crawled half-way up his head. "Yeah!"

Thor grinned and waited for him to settle, showing an amazing amount of patience as Peter gripped and pulled at his long hair to keep his balance. Then, after reaching one hand up to make sure that Peter would not fall off, he strolled out of the room looking entirely too regal for someone with a four-year-old wrapped around their head. Steve shook his head as he wondered at it. It must be a Cat ability because somehow Tony always managed the same thing.

Speaking of Tony…Steve turned back to look at his mate to see Tony tugging at the web still stuck to his chest, the corners of his mouth turned down in a concentrated frown as he struggled with the sticky strands. Then Steve remembered he had his own glob of webbing to deal with and looked down at his legs and his foot that was still stuck to the floor. Steve's jaw tightened and he tried jerking his foot back and up. The webbing stretched a few inches then snapped back tight, bringing his foot right back to the floor with it. He knew from experience that this was going to take a second person.

"Tony? Could you lend me a hand?"

Tony's chin bounced up before his frown morphed into a small, teasing smile. "Having a little trouble?"

That was pretty obvious. "Yeah. Stand next to me so I can get some leverage."

"Aww, the big bad alpha Wolf is stuck." Steve huffed out a growl at the remark but couldn't find it in himself to be mad as Tony walked over to him at the same time. Between the two of them they were able to wrench Steve's shoe free and afterwards Steve was more than ready to retire up to their room.

They stopped by Peter's first though to make sure that he was actually in bed. He was, and Thor was there next to him, waving his hands around as he reached an exciting moment in the story he was telling about an adventure he and Loki had when they were children. Peter was absolutely enthralled, staring up at the Lion with wide eyes with his arms gripping tight around his stuffed animal.

So Tony grabbed Steve's elbow and tugged him out and down the hall to their own bedroom. When they got inside and closed the door the first thing Tony did was tug his shirt off. Steve's gaze caught on the sight of his mate's exposed skin, the lightened scar tissue centered in his chest catching the dim light as Tony grimaced and shook out his shirt. Shaking it out had only made it bunch up more on itself. "This shit's never coming out. There's another shirt ruined."

Steve blinked a few times then realized that Tony had been speaking to him. You would think he would have been more accustomed to the sight of the Cat's naked torso but Tony was so self-conscious about his scar that even Steve rarely got to see it outside of the bed. Which was probably safest because now all he wanted to do was lick it. Then he would run his tongue down Tony's stomach and push down his pants—Catching himself, Steve cleared his throat and hoped that the low lighting hid his blush. "Just use it as one of your work shirts."

Tony scowled. "It's a button-down. Only you would think that's a shirt someone would want to weld in."

"Here, let me see it." Tony threw it at him and Steve almost missed catching it as his mate began to strip the rest of his clothing off. "We can send them to the dry cleaners." That's where Steve's pants were going. The shoes could be salvaged if he used enough elbow grease and shoe polish. This wasn't the first time Peter had gotten a bit wild with his aim.

Jumping onto his bed in nothing but his underwear, Tony scoffed. "And say that the stain is what exactly? 'Hello, I'd like to have this web-like material my son excreted onto my clothing removed from my Armani dress shirt please'."

Steve shrugged helplessly then put Tony's shirt down next to the hamper. His pants joined the pile a minute later. He was still going to take them to the folks at the cleaners. They were perfectly good pieces of clothing, it would be a shame not to at least try and salvage them. The rest of his clothes went in the hamper and then he climbed into bed beside Tony, the lights automatically darkening as he slipped under the covers. "Why were you wearing such a nice shirt anyway?" Steve doubted his mate had dressed up for Thor's arrival.

Tony seemed to sense what he was thinking and answered back with a defensive twinge to his voice. "I had a video conference this morning and Pepper threatened to hide my coffee at the office if I wore a graphics tee."

"Wow, she was really playing hardball."

"She knows my weaknesses."

An amused hum escaped Steve and he settled back against the pillows. He let his hand drift over to run across Tony's arm, stroking up and down his mate's muscled skin in a way he knew Tony found soothing even if he never admitted it. This was nice. Just laying here in the quiet with Tony's heat radiating out next to him. This is what he worked so hard to be able to protect and enjoy. This was what made everything worth it. Everything…Oh shoot. He had forgotten Coulson's email. Sighing, Steve pushed himself up to sit back against the headboard. "Can you pass me the tablet?"

Tony grunted and rolled over to blindly grab his tablet off of his bedside table then tossed it towards Steve's side of the bed. "Here…"

"Thanks."

Steve carefully unlocked Tony's tablet, wincing as his eyes flooded with the harsh blue-white light from the screen, and flipped through the applications until he found the one that accessed the email account that Tony had set up for him. With Tony's help he was getting more accustomed to using computers and Stark Tech. He still didn't prefer to do it but he could get by now which was a small blessing. Steve knew he wasn't dumb, he was just confused and Tony was a surprisingly good teacher when he actually got it in his mind to try. It probably helped that he was Steve's mate though; Steve wasn't sure if the Panther would have shown the same levels of tolerance for anyone else. Well, except for Peter but Peter was quickly taking after Tony as far as technological prowess went and didn't need any tutoring.

Steve frowned as he read through the email, his frown only deepening as he opened the mission file Coulson had attached to the message. It wasn't too bad, but it was involved, probably the most complex mission they had been given since Hydra.

"Tony."

Tony pulled the blankets tighter around his body and nestled his face up against Steve's neck as he gave a tired grunt of acknowledgment. "Hmm?"

When he spoke, his short beard tickled Steve's shoulder. It made him wish he didn't have to talk about work. "Tony, take a look at this."

"That's what mornings are for."

"Just a quick look."

Tony groaned against his skin. "Steve…"

He had to suck in a breath and let it out slowly. Tony had to know what affect he would have on Steve by doing that. But he wasn't going to let it distract him. "I want to talk it over with you."

"Now?"

"Why not? You're never actually that tired this early." That was true. Tony was almost nocturnal when he was allowed to run on his own schedule and usually the only way to get him to sleep was sex. Which Steve was not complaining about. Otherwise he just tended to lay in bed until Steve fell asleep then popped back up and went down to his workshop until about three or four in the morning when he would fall back into bed.

Tony turned his head so that he could talk easier. "I don't have to deal with Thor coming back and giving my kid a sugar-high everyday either." Steve nudged him with the tablet and finally Tony gave in. "Let me see it."

Obstinately staying pressed as tightly as possible against Steve's chest, Tony grudgingly accepted his tablet back. Steve watched him scroll through the email and distractedly ran his fingers through Tony's mussed dark hair. It didn't take long him long to finish and when he did he switched the tablet off and shoved it back onto his nightstand.

"Alright, I read it. What do you want to talk about?"

"We need the whole team out for this one." If Steve had read it right they were going to have to bring Bruce and Tony for this one. There were advanced technologies that would need to be dealt with and he would have to have everyone else with him.

"What are we going to do about Peter?" Tony frowned and nestled back under the blankets. "Pepper is out in California for a factory tour. That's why we did the video conference."

Right. Peter. Steve blinked up at the ceiling in surprise. This was the first time that they were ever faced with this problem. There were a few times where they had all had business to attend to but Pepper had always been their default.

Steve's silence must have been enough of an answer for Tony because he scowled and tried again. "What about Coulson?"

Steve knew that Tony was grasping at straws to even bring Coulson up as an option. "No, Phil told me he was going to a conference about Shifters in Vancouver. I think Peggy was attending as well."

"That's probably why he mentioned Canada in the email then. I thought he was just wishing for a lame vacation…." They both sighed and fell silent for a few moments. Steve felt Tony's hand brush accidently against his beneath the sheets and caught his mate's fingers in his own as he thought. But Tony found an answer before Steve did, but it was one that Steve didn't care much for. "We can take Peter with us and leave him in the hotel room."

"By himself?"

"I know it's not ideal, but he's almost five years old now. And he's smart."

"Tony…" Steve didn't know what to say. He didn't like it but he couldn't think up a better reason why than Peter was too young. Which he was. But Tony already knew that. And Steve still hadn't thought of a better idea. The thought that they could take Peter out to stay with Charles and Erik flickered through his mind but he quickly dismissed it. There was no way Tony would agree to it and Steve himself didn't even know if he'd trust their son with people they had only just met, even if he liked them.

Tony shook his head. "I'm not staying behind on this one. I need to help with the security systems. So unless you want to sit it out, we didn't leave ourselves with a lot of choices."

There was no way Steve could sit this one out either. "Fine. But we make it a quick one."

O~O~O~O

Steve rose with the sun the next morning and was changing back to his clothes before Tony so much as twitched. "JARVIS?" He had gotten better at addressing the AI over the years. "Another mission came up. Have everyone meet down in the living room in twenty minutes."

Behind him Tony let out a long moan into his pillow. "Twenty minutes, are you serious…? Start without me…"

"I'll start when you show up downstairs in twenty minutes." He looked back up towards the ceiling and pretended like he didn't see Tony flipping him off. "Did you get that, JARVIS?"

"Yes, Sir." He almost sounded amused. At times Steve thought that JARVIS enjoyed it when Steve talked back to Tony which was something only an AI that Tony created could emote. "Shall I also wake Master Peter?"

"No, let him sleep." It would be easier to have a proper meeting if Peter slept through it.

"Yes, Sir."

Steve pushed open the door to their room and smiled a bit to himself as he heard JARVIS's voice seep out through the doors of the other rooms along the hallway. "Good morning. It is currently seven twenty one a.m. Your presence is required downstairs in the living room in twenty minutes for a mission briefing."

The announcement was met with a series of groans and grumbles. He wasn't surprised though when the door to Natasha's room swung open as he walked by and the redhead stuck her head out. There were a few strands of hair out of place but otherwise there was no sign that she hadn't been awake for hours. Which she very well might have been. Even after a few years of living in close quarters with her, Steve still didn't know how often the Spider slept or how long she slept for. "I suppose the wake-up call was your doing?"

"That's right." There was no reason to deny the charge.

"Do you want casual clothes or mission gear on for the briefing?"

"Casual is fine. We'll have time to prep and pack afterwards."

She disappeared back into her room with a nod and Steve continued on his way. He took his time downstairs making up a large pot of coffee then went into the living room and had JARVIS project the details of the mission as holograms on the wall. Bruce was the first to shuffle into the room. The beta was looking more asleep than awake but he made a good attempt to appear alert as he poured himself an extra large cup of coffee. Natasha came in next, followed by Thor, then Clint. The last to show up was Tony and he arrived in his boxers and an old t-shirt. Steve reminded himself that he was lucky that his mate had showed up with anything on at all considering he had left him mostly naked in their bed and dutifully ignored the juvenile behavior. He was only three minutes late after all. That wasn't too bad.

Clearing his throat, Steve motioned up towards the projection of the mission file and enlarged the map Coulson had attached to it with a quick swipe of his hands. "Now that we're all here, let's get started. According to SHIELD's database, the situation is that a militant Wolf pack has set up a small operation near the industrial area near Norfolk, Virginia. Similar to the pack we encountered in Cincinnati, this one has been trying to claim territory in the city and has roughed up some local humans to show they mean business. Unlike the pack in Cincinnati these Wolves have increased the effectiveness of their efforts by creating an organized network more like the mafia than a street gang. Their den is also much better equipped. It's centered around a large house closer to downtown but SHIELD intelligence has shown that the alpha is supposed to be holding a meeting with his pack here, at a separate location that they appear to use to store and fence stolen goods." It took Steve a minute to figure out how to shrink the image of the map and then enlarge a satellite image of the new location. "They apparently have a complex security system even at the storehouse which is why we'll definitely need Tony and Bruce to be coming with us. And given the number of Wolves who are supposed to be on the premise we'll need everyone else in order to control the entrances and exits and manage the pack once we gain access."

Bruce tilted his head to the side, looking much more conscious now that he had a little caffeine in his system. "Why did SHIELD let them build up so much infrastructure before sending us out?"

It was a good question. Steve had wondered the same thing himself at first. "Apparently the pack was pretty good about keeping their work underground. They were being more cautious than other packs have been in the past because of the raised awareness among humans of Shifter activity. They only started making their bigger plays once they thought they were strong enough to manage any government response."

They spent a few minutes going through a series of questions and answers and starting to sketch out a strategy about how to approach the mission. As Steve expected, he, Thor, and Tony each had very different opinions on the matter and they expressed those opinions loudly. Bruce, Natasha, and Clint actually kept them on track so Steve was very glad that they were there. Eventually the question arose about what their lodging situation would be and Steve felt it was time to break the news. Usually they would be able to bunk in the local SHIELD office but given the circumstances… "We'll be staying in a hotel this time."

Natasha and Clint both looked up sharply and Steve met their eyes. "Peter will be coming with us."

"Do you think it wise?" Thor furrowed his brow and Natasha and Clint shared a look as Steve turn to answer the Lion.

"No, but given the state of things and the short notice we don't really have another choice."

Bruce gazed at them for a long moment then gave a slow nod. He knew they wouldn't have done it if they had been able to come up with a better option. "If it has to happen then we'll make it work."

Steve nodded in thanks. "Alright. Then let's keep planning. We're leaving early this afternoon so we can arrive in Norfolk tonight. We'll have a day to observe and set everything up and then we're making our move tomorrow night." They had a lot to go over and not much time to do it in.

O~O~O~O

Tony was ecstatic. He had missed this.

Well, not this. This whole prepping for a road trip thing he could do without. "Alright, everyone in the van."

By "van" he meant the tactical SHIELD vehicle they had been loaned for the mission that had two seats up from and then two rows of bench seats that could be dropped down into the floor of the van to allow access to the banks of screens and technical equipment that lined the walls of the van. It was actually a bit surreal to be installing a toddler's car seat in the center of the middle bench with all the weapons and tactical gear he knew they had stored in the back.

Peter pouted a bit as Steve carefully buckled him in, giving each strap a gentle tug to make sure it was secure. "I wanna sit with you!" He had been on edge all day. Peter knew something was going on but all Steve and Tony wanted to tell him was that they were going "to work". They tried not to lie to him but neither of them wanted Peter to get scared about what was happening while they were away from home.

"Sorry, Pete. The front seats are for big people only."

Steve sighed then caved like the big softie he was. "What if I come sit back there with you?"

Peter instantly cheered up but Tony jerked back to stare at Steve. "Wait, who's sitting shotgun then?" He had been planning on doing to driving and if Steve wasn't sitting up front with him that left—

Clint grinned and his hand shot up in the air as Thor and Natasha clamored into the back of the van, apparently neither of them wanting to deal with Tony for over six hours any more than he wanted to deal with them. "Oh, I call it!"

Yeah, there was no way. "Like hell you do. Bruce, get up here."

Bruce shrugged apologetically and moved to sit in the front passenger seat as Clint's mouth fell open, a protest falling off of his lips. "But—"

"No. Clint, I'm not sitting with you up here for that long. End of argument."

Clint balked but let Natasha tug him back into the middle bench so that he was sitting in front of her and beside Peter's car seat. "Why do we always get the cheap seats?"

Tony smirked back at them in the rearview mirror as he started the vehicle up. The thing had a lot of power under the hood. The SHIELD agent who had dropped it off said that it could ram its way through chain link fences and the sides of wood-framed buildings and Tony believed him. "Because you're not alphas?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"If you guys were Wolves or Cats you'd be betas at best."

Natasha raised a brow as Clint's lips twisted down into a confused frown. "I thought Bruce was the beta?"

Steve corrected him as he buckled himself in beside Peter. "Bruce is my Beta. It's more of a title to denote him and gives him a certain amount of authority in the pack. But there can be more than one beta—not to say that you'd be one. Most Wolf packs are made predominately from betas. It's the most common hierarchical orientation to have."

Thor shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Wolves are far too complicated. Cats are much simpler, the great majority are either alpha or omega. We have very few betas to muddy the waters."

Perking up in his seat, Peter twisted around as far as he could to try and look at Thor as the Lion spoke, then swung back around to peer at Steve. "What am I?"

Steve smiled. "You're a beta, Pete, just like Uncle Bruce."

"Is that good?"

Bruce glanced back over his shoulder with a soft smile. "I don't mind it."

O~O~O~O

By the time they reached Norfolk all of them were more than ready to get out of the car. Tony was no exception and put the van in park as quick as he could manage before practically throwing himself out of the driver's seat and into the parking lot of the hotel they would be staying at. It was dark, it was cold, it had just started to rain, and his eyes were tired from staring at the road all afternoon. But he had volunteered for a reason. Well, multiple reasons. The first was that he liked their new loaner van and he wanted to be the first one to drive the thing. The second was that tonight Steve, Thor, Natasha, and Clint would be staking out their targets while he and Bruce got all the tech set up at the hotel and Tony had driven so that the four of them could be in peak condition to last throughout the night.

So after he made sure that the rooms were available and ready, Steve immediately ran off with the rest of the pack, leaving Tony and Bruce behind to unpack what they had left inside the van and to get everything ready for the main operation tomorrow night.

Tony sighed as he pulled another heavy briefcase out of the back and lugged it to one of their two rooms. Tony had booked them two, one where Tony, Steve, Peter, and Bruce would be sleeping in and the other where Natasha, Clint, and Thor would be sleeping. If they ever got the chance to sleep. "Hey Bruce, I bet you can get all of this in one load if you shifted."

The beta grimaced as he shouldered open the door to the room they would be sharing. "Yeah, I probably could. But it would probably be torn to shreds before I could get it in the room."

"Details."

Despite Tony's grumbling between the two of them they managed to get all the gear safely inside the room in about ten minutes. The hotel was higher end—Tony wasn't about to stay in anything else by choice—but was the sort where each room had a door that opened up to the parking lot. He had made sure to book specifically in that style of hotel to avoid the awkward event of dragging boxes of equipment through interior hallways. Or from attracting attention by having a pack's worth of special ops agents tromping through the lobby. Then Tony got to spend the next five hours trying to keep Peter entertained while trying to set up all of their electronics at the same time. Peter was a ball of energy, all excited over getting to stay in the hotel, and turned both queen beds into two trampolines. He tried turning on the TV but in the end he sent Bruce to try to calm Peter back down. Bruce succeeded but he also succeeded in falling asleep next to small boy, both Wolves sprawled out next to each other on top of one of the beds. Tony thought of waking Bruce up but after a minute just snapped a quick picture for blackmail purposes with his phone and got back to work. If he woke Bruce up, Peter might wake back up too and he would be able to get more work done alone than he would with Bruce if Peter started bouncing off the walls again.

Steve and the others came back around four in the morning. Tony was still up, sort of. He might have been resting his eyes but jolted up in his seat as he heard someone approaching their door. Steve didn't seem surprised to see that he was still up but barely managed to mutter something about getting the information they needed before stripping down to his underwear and rolling onto the unoccupied bed. Then he stared over at Tony until Tony rolled his eyes, walked the few steps across the room, and crawled under the covers next to his mate.

Humming happily, Steve nosed at Tony's jaw as his arm wrapped around to pull him closer. He smelled tired and like grease and low tide. He must have been down near the waterfront. "Mm, Tony…you get any sleep yet?"

"Just waiting on you." It wasn't a complete lie. He had mostly been focused on putting the finishing touches on his hacking systems but he hadn't wanted to turn in until he knew that Steve had gotten back safely.

Steve smiled exhaustedly and pressed his lips against Tony's forehead. Tony closed his eyes and tried to resist the little rush of warmth that pulsed through his body. There was a part of him that still resented how far Steve had worked his way into his heart. Even though they had been a mated pair for more than three years Tony still wasn't used to it. He didn't know if he ever would be. But Steve was worth it.

Somehow he was always worth it.

O~O~O~O

"No, Dad. It's rainy outside!"

It was the day of the mission. After everyone had woken back up they had gone through the mission strategy over and over until they had the plan memorized. Tony and Bruce had demonstrated he system hacker they had developed and had accidentally shut down the hotel's wifi for half an hour. Okay, it was entirely intentional but Tony had needed to prove a point to Clint. Speaking of Clint, he and Natasha had spent the later part of the afternoon checking, cleaning, and re-checking the small arsenal of weapons they had brought along but Steve had insisted that they keep all of them in the room they were sharing with Thor. He hadn't wanted Peter to see any of them. But even though they had kept their son shielded from what was happening, he still knew something was wrong now that they were getting ready to go.

"Hey, it's fine, little dog. You'll be okay. Look," Tony lay across the bed so that he could pass his son his stuffed toy, "here's Snow." Peter had given it that name after its white fur. Tony still didn't understand why anyone with half a brain would make a kid's toy out of white material because it was a bitch to try to keep the thing clean. But Peter loved it. "And I brought nearly our entire movie collection and got you a pizza. Can you be a big boy for us and stay here until we get back?"

Peter hugged the stuffed wolf tight against his chest. "When're you coming back?"

"In a few hours." Hopefully. "That's not too long."

"Yes it is!"

"We'll be back before you know it. Here." Tony took off his watch and wrapped it around Peter's wrist. It was adjustable but even at its smallest setting it still hung loose on the boy's wrist. But it wasn't going to fall off and that's all that mattered. Leaning in, Tony reached around Peter and pointed at the watch. "If there is any trouble while we're gone, or if you just want someone to talk to, press this button on the side of the watch. You see it?"

Peter rested his weight back against Tony and nodded silently.

"Let's try it. Go ahead and press the button."

Peter frowned but reached out with his small hands and carefully pressed down on the largest button on the right side of the watch face. There was a second of silence before the line connected. "How may I be of service?"

The frown on Peter's face lifted just a bit at the sound of the AI's familiar voice and Tony smiled. "See?" Resting his chin on Peter's shoulder, Tony leaned over him to speak into the watch. "JARVIS, Peter's going to be wearing the watch until future notice so you're on call for the next few hours."

"Yes, Sir. Is there anything I can do for you, Master Peter?"

Peter shook his head but then realized that he was going to have to speak. "N-no."

"Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need anything."

"Okay."

"Thanks, J."

Steve chose that moment to emerge from the bathroom. He had been doing an obsessively thorough survey of the room. Even as he walked back into the main room he was still distracted, his nose twitching as if he would be able to smell the invisible dangers still threatening their son. "I checked all the windows and the front door. Everything will be locked and secure once we lock the door on our way out." Sighing, Steve gave the room one more look before walking reluctantly over to the bed Tony and Peter were on. "Will you be okay?"

Peter gave a hesitant nod and Steve bent down to kiss the top of Peter's hair then bumped their foreheads together. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Be good, Peter. Stay in the room and don't open the door for anyone."

The boy pouted as Steve pulled away but nodded. "Okay, Pop…"

All three of them looked over as the door to the room opened and Bruce peered inside. He had been over in the other room helping Thor, Natasha, and Clint finish getting prepped. "Alright. Steve, Tony, the others are ready to go. Are we all settled in here?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. I think so." As he started to get up from the bed, Peter grabbed onto his sleeve. Tony faltered then reached down at gently pried his tiny fingers off of his arm. He would be fine.

Steve swallowed down a sigh and managed to offer his son a confident smile instead. Thank god Steve could because Tony definitely didn't feel up to it. "We love you, Peter. We'll be back soon."

They both hesitated as they heard Peter let out a small whimper as they closed the door. He would be fine. Peter would be fine. They'd be back before he knew it. Tony set his jaw then resolutely pulled the door all the way shut and gave it a couple extra tugs to make sure that it was locked and was going to stay that way.

Peter would be fine.

His Dad left him alone all the time, when he was even younger than Peter. Why was it so hard for Tony to do it?

"Come on, Steve, let's get to the car. The others are waiting."

Steve nodded but it took him an extra second to actually step away from the door.

He seemed only half there as he climbed into the passenger's seat and as much as Tony could sympathize he knew that Steve was going to get his head back into the game pretty quickly. They all needed to be on the ball tonight. His mate's hands tightened from where he had them resting in his lap and Tony heard him bite back a snarl. "This doesn't feel right."

Tony shook his head as he turned the ignition on. "Preaching to the choir…"

He caught Thor frowning behind them in the rearview mirror. "Then we shall simply finish this mission before we are missed."

"Thor's right. Besides," Clint grinned from here he was perched in the back. "I want some of that pizza you got for Peter. It made me hungry." The Hawk's blatant attempt to lighten the mood was overdone but still appreciated.

Their stake-out the night before paid off and Steve directed Tony to a spot they could keep the van hidden but still maintain a line of sight with the storehouse. Tony had been right the night before; they were down by the waterfront in a sketchy part of town, the perfect place for a rogue Wolf pack to be fencing illegal goods. From the outside the building almost looked abandoned but Tony knew better. He had read SHEILD's file on this place. It was wired top to bottom with security and surveillance systems. One of the pack members was apparently well versed in technology which was rare in a Wolf and these guys clearly made the most of it.

Once Tony parked the van everyone silently began to move. The seats in the back folded down making room for Clint, Natasha, Thor, and Steve to slip on their tactical gear and strap on their weapons. Bruce and Tony held back but only until Clint and Natasha had hopped out. Then Tony made his move just as Thor clamored out the back. Tony had "the plan" drilled into his brain just as well as they rest of them had but there was one small thing he intended to change.

He didn't want to wait back in the van.

Unfortunately Steve noticed.

Steve's brow knit together as he finished strapping on a slim, SHIELD issue Kevlar vest that seemed to barely fit over his wide frame. "Tony, you stay out here with Bruce."

Tony waved his hands in the air with an affronted expression plastered on his face, like this was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing. "Are you kidding me? You want me to stay out here."

"It's been a while since you've been out with us on a mission, so yes, I want you to stay out here."

"Taking a break from missions hasn't turned me into a lazy asshole, Steve. "

"I didn't say it did. But stay out here." Steve didn't give Tony the chance to continue the argument and jumped out the back.

Bruce raised a brow but kept silence as Tony lunged after him with a growl. "Hey! Get back here!" As Steve jogged to catch up with Thor, Natasha, and Clint, Tony stuck his head out the door and whispered harshly after his mate, knowing that the Wolf would still be able to hear. "Fuck you, Steve!"

Bruce continued to eye him as Tony pulled his head back into the van and nearly slammed the door shut. "I thought you two promised not to fight right before going on a mission."

"Shut up…" Bruce was referring back to a conversation he and Steve about half a year ago. The last time he and Steve had gone on a mission together in fact. There may or may not have had an argument before the mission started and Tony may or may not almost got himself shot. Then Steve had a "moment" and made Tony agree never to fight like that again. It obviously didn't last. "He knows I mean I love him. Now help me get the systems online."

Bruce obediently shuffled into the back of the van and started switching on the computers. "I'm starting to think that I like it better when you stay at home."

"Shut up." Not that it bothered Tony that Bruce got to go out on more missions than him. Not at all.

"It's alright. I know that means 'you love me'."

Tony snorted and turned away to hide his smile. "I've created a monster."

"Technically I'd be a monster anyway, but you certainly didn't help."

"You smell like wet dog."

O~O~O~O

Steve motioned for Thor to be quiet as they approached the storehouse. Everything was quiet but he could smell the scent of other Wolves. At least ten of them had passed through within the last hour and Steve knew that SHIELD's information was correct. Between him, Thor, Natasha, and Clint last night they had been able to identify all of the Wolves who were supposed to be attending their alpha's meeting. But, no…he could only identify the ten scents. There were supposed to be fourteen.

There was a light thump on the roof above them and he knew that meant that Natasha and Clint were getting into position. Which meant that it was time for him and Thor to separate. They couldn't call this off just because four of the Wolves were missing. With a quick wave of his hand, Steve waved for Thor to head to the second entrance to the building around back. Tony should have everything up and running in the van by now. He was counting on it.

O~O~O~O

Tony anxiously tapped his foot on the metal panel floor of the van. His eyes were glued to the screens showing a live feed and a heat vision camera side by side. Everything was running like it should. He and Bruce had gotten communications and cameras up and knocked out the pack's alarm system, which wasn't as easy as it sounded. They had had a series of guards against hacking into it wirelessly but it had only taken Tony a few minutes to get through it. He had invented a similar system almost a decade ago so it hadn't been too hard to break this one.

Just moments ago Steve had given the signal and they had stormed the building. Before he did, Tony had been able to confirm through their infrared imaging that there were in fact a large number of Shifters inside. Everything was going to plan except for the four missing Shifters. But there was no sign that they were even on the property. Nothing had gone wrong. But Tony couldn't help but worry.

His focus had never left what he knew was Steve's form, his multi-colored body heat signature racing across the screen. At the same time Tony's fingers never stopped flying over his keyboard, programming small adjustments for the cameras or rerouting the data flow to ensure that they maintained control over the systems. Bruce was all nervous energy beside him as he handled his station and Tony knew that he should be calm so that Bruce would calm down more but he never had the patience for this sort of thing and all he wanted to do was run out there and Steve was an ass for making him stay outside and-

Tony's thoughts stuttered as Steve's voice burst through his headset. "There's one going out through a hidden door on the south side of the building!"

Tony was on his feet before Steve even finished speaking. "I got it!"

"What, Tony—!"

Muting his headset with a quick press of a button, Tony quickly switched all of his programs to continue automatically and a second later raced over to the van door and pulled it open. "See ya, Bruce!"

He heard Bruce call after him but didn't spend the time to figure out what he had said as he shut the door behind him. In his defense he could tell from the cameras that everyone else had their hands full. Clint had been controlling the mob from above and Natasha had swung down to help Thor where he was fighting right in the middle of the crowd. Steve was supposed to focus his attention on capturing the enterprising alpha which left no one to chase down the one who slipped out the side. They should have figured a crime ring with the intelligence to put that sort of security system together might have a way to sneak out in case of a raid.

Tony sprinted around the corner of the buildings and swore as he nearly wiped out on an oily puddle but his quick reflexes kept him upright. Rain was pounding down on him but he could hardly feel the drops on his skin. Adrenaline sang through his veins and a grim smile worked its way onto Tony's face. This is what he had been waiting for: the feel of the hunt rushing through him. He didn't get to go on as many missions as Steve did but Tony made sure to enjoy the ones he did make it onto to the fullest. This was definitely better than sitting behind a desk all day.

Tony managed to get to the southern side of the building just as a panel of the exterior wall popped out and a Wolf burst through. Not wanting to give him the chance to shift and run, Tony leapt for him and ended up tumbling over the Wolf as they both crashed into the wet pavement. The Wolf was quick on his feet and was able to hop up before Tony but before he could take a single step the hidden door slammed back open and Steve bolted out just as Tony rolled back onto his feet.

That was when Tony got his first real whiff and realized that the escaping Wolf was in fact the alpha of the rogue pack.

Steve squared off with him and swung a punch. Tony knew Steve was stronger but the other was all agility and dodged it. He looked like he was about to run again so Tony darted forward and tackled him back to the ground. Tony felt his jeans tear at his knees but only tightened his grip on the Alpha Wolf, wishing that he had claws to dig into the bastard's skin to keep him in place. Steve was there a second later and it took the two of them to wrestle him into submission.

There was mud, rain, and oil everywhere and Tony was pretty sure his knees were bleeding but they were able to keep the alpha pinned even as he thrashed against them. Steve was up by his face, a tight, serious expression drawn across his face as his hands kept a tight grip on the other Wolf's shoulders. "Stop running! You're just making things worse for yourself!"

The Wolf spat in Steve's face.

Before Steve could react Tony lunged forward and slammed his head back, choking him with an arm held up tight against his windpipe. "You're one stupid son of a bitch." His voice had lowered into a dangerous hiss and he could feel his Panther writhing to burst out and shred the other alpha for daring to disrespect his mate like that.

The only thing that kept Tony in control was when he looked over and saw that Steve was maintaining his composure. He simply wiped his face off on his shoulder and returned to his interrogation. "Where is the rest of your pack?"

"Go fuck yourself."

Tony growled and pressed his arm harder against the Wolf's windpipe to the point where he was unable to breathe for a moment. Finally he let up, if only so that he would be able to answer them. "He asked you a question. I strongly suggest you start talking."

The Wolf glowered then stared daggers at Steve as he spoke again. "You're only making it worse by refusing to cooperate. If you tell us where they are I'll see what I can do about reducing their charges." Steve glanced back at Tony. "What are they looking at right now?"

Tony smirked. "I'd say about twenty years a piece, easy."

Steve nodded then turned his gaze back onto the other Wolf. "Do you want your whole pack to spend twenty years in prison? For the first time in a very long time, choose to do what's right for them."

Something almost imperceptible changed in the Wolf's expression and Tony knew that Steve had found his weak point. Apparently even alpha Wolves like this evil bastard cared about their pack. They were all so predictable. There seemed to be a small war going on in this one's head and a solid minute must have passed in silence. Tony was about to give in and tell Steve to just knock him out so they could drag him into custody when something in the alpha seemed to break. He suddenly sagged in their hold and Tony would have thought that it was a trick if not for the fact that Wolves were rarely that clever in a fight. But neither him nor Steve loosened their grip any as the other Wolf finally spoke again, his voice so quiet they had to lean in to hear him. "We caught your scents this morning around the building and I pulled in some favors to find out where you were staying…I sent my beta and two more to ambush you at your hotel. Hell of a lot of good it did me…"

Tony scoffed before realization struck him and he felt all the blood rush from his face. "Our hot—? How long ago did you send them out?!"

"About half an hour ago."

"Dammit!"

Steve was already up on his feet, one hand on his earpiece, as Tony slammed the Wolf's head back against the pavement, knocking him out cold. "Thor! Get out here!"

A moment later the hidden door swung open again and Thor lumbered out. There was a splatter of blood across his chest that Tony barely registered. "Do you require assistance?"

Steve jerked his head down in a nod. "Yes. Deal with him, we need to get back to Peter."

Thor's brow furrowed in immediate concern. "Peter? What has happened to Peter?"

Snarling, Tony had already started to run. "Just take care of him!"

"You needn't ask again. Go, my friend!"

Tony and Steve were already half way across the property by the time Thor finished talking. Tony pressed one hand to his ear to turn his earpiece back on as he used his other hand to begin to tug his shirt off over his head. "Bruce!"

"Tony? What is it?" By his voice, he could tell that Bruce was already worried. He must have seen everything but he hadn't heard what the alpha had said.

"Get to the hotel!"

"Do you want me to pick up—?"

"No," the radio line crackled as Tony interrupted the beta, "just drive! It's Peter!"

He heard Bruce suck in a breath before his voice dropped low to a no-nonsense pitch. "Do you need a ride?"

"There's no time, I'm running!" The hotel was about three miles away if you took a direct route. Hypothetically Bruce could get their faster but he would save time by leaving now and not waiting for them to make it back to the van. "Steve is right behind me. Just go!"

Tony threw himself at an eight foot fence separating the shipping area from the main part of town, the chicken wire shuddering under his hands as Steve did the same. They both only had about half a foot more to climb before they tumbled over, Tony landing on his feet and Steve falling down into a crouch next to him. Tony met Steve's eyes but before he could even yell at him to shift, his mate was already halfway into his Wolf form.

Tony was about to follow-suit when an unexpected voice took over his intercom. JARVIS. "Master Stark, Master Peter just called in that there are men trying to gain access to the room."

Shit! "We're on the way. Call the cops!"

"I already have, Sir."

There was no time. Swearing, Tony kicked off his pants, shifted, and then he and Steve were running.

He had never moved so fast in his life. Tony and Steve ran side by side, both of their chests heaving as their legs whipped through the air. Tony's heart was beating up against his ribcage and he could hear snarls burst from Steve's lungs as he kept pace next to him.

In some part of his mind he heard humans screamed as they raced through the streets, dodging cars, light poles, and pedestrians as they tore through the city. Neither of them had never attempted the whole trip on foot before and it showed with every dead-end they turned down. Tony could feel the seconds ticking away in his heart as they struggled to find a way through the colonial maze of winding streets and buildings. After what seemed like a lifetime but in reality must have only been no longer than five minutes of searching they found a familiar road and raced down it.

There! Finally! Their hotel was at the end of this block.

Tony caught sight of the van parked outside, driven halfway up onto the sidewalk with the driver's door ajar and the lights left on. Bruce. Bruce had made it there. The vice that had sealed around his heart loosened just a bit. Bruce was already on the scene, he would make sure that Peter was alright.

Or maybe not.

A loud, angry roar rang out from the hotel and their room came into view just in time for them to watch as one of the rogue pack's Wolves flew out the open door and slam into the asphalt in the parking lot, knocked out cold with five deep cuts slashed open across his chest. Leaping over the unconscious man's body, Tony made a bee-line for the door then froze when he got there. He already knew what was coming but seeing it…he wasn't ready to see it.

Bruce had Shifted and his Wolf had Peter.

All of the fur on Tony's back was standing on end, his ears drawn back tight against his skull. Even so his eyes were wide, his pupils dilated into thin strips as they darted from Peter to Bruce. The room around them was completely destroyed but Tony barely gave it any attention. Peter was pale as a ghost and shaking and he had curled halfway up into a ball as Bruce's Wolf kept him close with one large clawed paw pressed against the whole of his back. His lips drew back from his teeth as if to hiss but no sound came out. The whiskers on his muzzle twitched and then he looked over at Steve who was standing stock still beside him, desperation written clearly all over his face even in his Wolf form.

If they moved forward, what would Bruce do? He wasn't in his right mind. His Wolf had seemed to know it was part of the pack in the past but he had hurt Steve and Thor before. And even if he didn't purposefully intend to hurt Peter, the Wolf was so strong that he could easily injure him on accident. Steve swallowed and stepped forward then stepped back.

Neither of them knew what the right move to make was and that scared Tony even more. Steve anxiously padded forward again then sat down, his head dipping low, and whimpered. Bruce ignored him and Steve tried again and whimpered louder. Tony didn't speak "Wolf" but the intent was clear and one he had never seen Steve resort to either in his Wolf or his human form. It was a desperate entreaty to Bruce's Wolf to give Peter back. This time Bruce's ears twitched and he glanced back over his furry shoulder. Tony perked up at the attention but any hopes that Bruce would respond favorably were dashed as the large Wolf simply snorted and turned away.

Steve stood up as they both heard the sound of footsteps hurrying to the door and Tony looked back and hissed for Clint and Natasha to quiet down as they appeared behind them. He didn't think that they understood exactly what he meant but they got the gist. Or maybe their instant quiet was more due to the sight of Bruce's Wolf holding a sniffling Peter in its paws.

Clint sucked in a breath, all of his typical humor wiped from his face. "What do we do?"

Steve shook his head. Natasha's jaw clenched. "Can't you talk to him, Steve? You've talked him down before."

Steve shook his head again. Bruce was acting differently than he usually did when he Shifted. Looking at the Wolf's body language, Tony had the growing suspicion that Bruce was trying to protect Peter even though the real threat had been dealt with. Did the Wolf know that no one else in the pack would hurt Peter? Did it know that Peter was Steve and Tony's son? Tony didn't know how many of Bruce's thoughts and memories translated over into the Wolf's brain.

The Wolf didn't seem to want Steve to get any closer but maybe he could slip in. Bruce had known Tony for so long, even before his experiment with Hydra's serum failed and he turned himself into, into this. And he was an alpha too, so the Wolf should respect him too. Right? Right.

Bracing himself in case Bruce's Wolf decided to lash out and try to claw at him, Tony hunkered down close to the floor and slunk forward. His ears were still pressed tight against his head and he could feel his tail whip about then fall straight and still, an instinctual response to reduce the amount of movement he was making. Bruce's Wolf turned a calculating eye on him but his ears just twitched a bit as he stayed quiet, almost like he was waiting to see what Tony was up to. Steve tried to follow him but immediately stopped as Bruce's Wolf released a low, warning rumble. Tony was on his own then.

Tony could feel the weight of the others' silent stares as he stepped carefully around one of the destroyed beds and closer to where Bruce was crouched on the far side of the room. It growled but let Tony slowly slink forward and slip his nose past his paws towards where it was almost cradling Peter against the fur on its chest. Tony was very aware of how close the knife-like claws on Bruce's paws were to his throat and eyes. But he was more focused right now on how close they were to Peter. His ears flicked forward as his son's small sniffles reached him and huffed out a gentle noise.

Oh god, he should have let Steve do this.

As far as he knew Peter had never seen him in his Cat form before. What if he got even more frightened? What if he didn't recognize him?

Peter started at the sound and then without an ounce of hesitation twisted his body around to reach over and curl his arms around Tony's neck. "Dad!"

A wave of relief washed over him and Tony nuzzled him and licked at Peter's cheek, his rough tongue catching on his son's skin. He shouldn't have doubted Peter. Just because he couldn't shift didn't mean that he wasn't still a Wolf. Of course he would know who he was. He could smell him.

The happy feelings were cut off as Bruce's Wolf reminded Tony it was still there by letting out a graveled rumble. Tony's ears instantly fell back again and he knew he had to act quickly before the Wolf decided to be in a less charitable mood. From the way Tony was standing all it would take was a quick swipe of his claws for the Wolf to disembowel him and that sounded like a really shitty way to end the evening.

Carefully, very carefully, Tony bit down on the back collar of the night shirt Peter was wearing, making sure not to snag any skin in the process, and lifted him out of Bruce's paws. Peter whimpered but curled up and didn't fight Tony's hold. Tony made sure not to make any sudden movements as he retreated back towards the door and angled his body as he walked so that he could keep one eye on the Wolf while keeping Peter as far away from him as possible. Now that Peter was out of his hold, the Wolf actually looked a bit bereft and had started to awkwardly shuffle about like it was searching for something else to do with itself.

As soon as Tony made it to where the others were standing Steve did a quick circle around them, as if to check that they were both unhurt, before stepping in front of them. Natasha moved forward with him and blocked Tony and Peter from Bruce's line of sight. Her lips were drawn into a firm line but Tony saw the fear beginning to fade from her eyes though she still had her gun out and in position. "Okay, clear. Calm Bruce down so we can get out of here."

As Steve woofed an agreement Clint knelt down beside Tony and Peter, his hand running over Peter's back as Tony gently deposited him on the ground. "Hey, buddy, you're okay. You hurt?"

Peter nestled tighter up against Tony's chest and dug his small fingers into his fur as he nodded his head. Sighing with relief, Clint met Tony's eyes before reaching out and urging Peter away with a gentleness he didn't often seem capable of. "Let's get you out of here."

Natasha spoke back to them without turning her head, her gaze still locked onto Bruce. "Take him to the car while we sort this out."

"Sure thing." Clint peeled a reluctant Peter off of Tony and held him close as he rose to his feet. "Let's go wait outside while they get Uncle Bruce settled. Oh, hey, what's this?" Spotting a small pile of cream fur tucked beside the overturned bed closest to the door, Clint snuck over and snatched it up. It was Peter's stuffed wolf. "Look, Snow's here. Let's go get her a snack, huh?"

Peter lurched forward at the sight of his toy and almost tumbled out of Clint's arms in his effort to grab it. Tony huffed out an appreciative noise as Clint passed by him on his way out then turned back to watch the rest of this play out.

It was Steve's turn. Now that Peter was out of harm's way Steve had regained his powerful stance. As soon as he changed his posture, Bruce's Wolf's attention snapped back to him and it watched him warily as Steve marched forward and growled. After a long moment of the two Wolves staring each other down, Bruce's Wolf finally capitulated and slowly lowered himself down onto his belly. As soon as the Wolf submitted itself Steve shifted back and, just as he hoped, the Wolf followed suit and a second later Bruce was sitting on the floor in his human form.

He was shivering and trembling and Steve reached over to one of the ruined beds and pulled the blanket off to wrap around his beta's shoulders. "Bruce, it's okay. You're back."

At the sound of Steve's hoarse voice, Bruce came back to himself before a look of horror washed over his face as he realized where he was. "What-what happened? Peter! Where's Peter?!"

"He's with Clint."

"Did I hurt him? Steve, did I hurt Peter?"

"No, no Bruce." Steve crouched down next to Bruce and put a steadying hand on his knee to try and anchor his Beta. "You saved him. You scared him a little bit, but you didn't hurt him."

Bruce's shoulder sagged and he closed his eyes and Tony could smell his relief coming off of him in a wave. "Thank god."

Tony shifted and walked across the room to sit next to Steve and he reached out to rest his hand on Bruce's shoulder. "You did good, Bruce."

"Tony…" Bruce reached up to rest his hand on Tony's arm, leaning into the touch. "Thank goodness you two weren't far behind me."

"We were far enough behind you to give you the chance to tear through that Wolf outside." Tony sniffed at the air. There had been more Wolves there recently but, "There were supposed to be four of them but I'm guessing if the others had any brains at all that they hightailed it out of here."

Bruce shook his head hard. "I was afraid that would happen. When I got here I saw them at the door and then they opened it and…I, I just panicked. I just lost control. But, god, I was afraid of what I would do to Peter but I couldn't stop it."

Tony squeezed Bruce's shoulder. "So were we. But your Wolf was like that gorilla with the kitten."

Bruce choked out a laugh and corrected him. "You mean Koko?"

"If you say so."

Steve smiled at both of them before letting out a short breath. "You did very well, Bruce. And the good news is it seems like you're being able to shift back with fewer problems."

"…I'm starting to try to work with it and not against it."

"Good."

"Uh, Steve? Tony?" Clint leaned through the doorway. Peter wasn't with him so he must be back in the van. "There're some cops out here and I don't know what to tell them."

Cops? Tony blinked as Bruce pulled the bed sheet tighter around him. "Oh shit, I forgot I told JARVIS to call them. Steve, go talk to them."

"Why don't you go?"

"I'm not good with authority."

Steve tilted his head then nodded. "Fair enough. I'll be right out, Clint. As soon as I find some pants."

O~O~O~O

Once they were able to convince the police that their story was what really happened and that no one but the Wolves who were still alive deserved to be taken into custody, which had included a call to SHIELD to help sort everything out, their pack was released. Thor, who had been standing guard the whole time over the rest of the Wolves they had brought down that night, was released from his duties as SHIELD agents swarmed into the storehouse now that the Shifters were subdued to get everything settled out. Steve had called a taxi to drive him, Peter, Clint, and Thor to a new hotel while Tony, Bruce, and Natasha stayed at the old one to try and clean up what they could then take the van back to meet the others when they were done.

The manager of the hotel was pretty angry—to put it mildly—but Tony soothed her a bit by writing a twenty thousand dollar check for the ruined room on the spot and with a promise that they would take care of any legal issues that might follow.

Finally Tony made it back to their new hotel room and stumbled inside, Bruce only a few steps behind him. Steve was sitting up on the bed closest to the door with Peter curled up asleep on his lap. The television in the room was on, the volume lowered to a quiet murmur, and there two empty plates and cups on the side table that meant that Steve must have gotten Peter some food.

Bruce immediately shuffled over to the second bed and collapsed down onto it, flopping down onto the comforter and only taking the time to weakly kick off his shoes before closing his eyes. Tony shook his head then moved across the room and crawled up onto the first bed beside Steve. His mate greeted him with a soft kiss, Peter murmuring as Steve's arms changed their grip on his small body.

"How is he?"

"Scared. But I think he'll be okay."

"I talked it out with the old hotel and just called the police precinct and the local SHIELD branch to make sure everything is sorted out. They all wanted a forwarding address but it looks like we can head home first thing tomorrow morning."

"Good. Home sounds good."

For maybe the first time in his life, Tony really and truly agreed.

O~O~O~O

"This can't happen again."

Tony nodded as Steve paced the length of their bedroom in front of where Tony was sitting on the edge of their bed. They were home again, safe, but Tony knew that the fear of what could have happened was lingering in both of their minds. "Peter isn't allowed to be involved in any aspect of our missions. That's all there is to it."

"Tony…We need to figure out what to do when this happens again. If we need to leave Peter alone again for a mission and Pepper isn't available to watch him. Because it's going to."

Tony knew that. Logically he knew that. Another big mission would come up and they would all want to go out. And Pepper was busy and occasionally out of state or out of the country for work. They wouldn't be able to rely on her to always be there to babysit, even if she would have been happy to do so. "Peter can stay here. He's safe here." Tony had built this place from the ground up. It was secure as a private residence could get. It wasn't a fortress but it there were systems in place to stop Shifters from breaking in. And JARVIS was here. He couldn't be a real babysitter for Peter but he would be able to keep an eye on things when they couldn't.

Steve shook his head. He didn't want to leave Peter alone again. "We can ask Phil to watch him for us. Or even Charles and Erik—"

Tony instantly shot that down. "No. No one with any connection to SHIELD. I want to keep Peter as far away from this circus as possible. I'll just have to ask Pepper to come over and watch him. She knows the house so Peter won't even have to go anywhere." It would be abusing his power over her as a boss but that hadn't stopped him from doing it before. But even as he said it he knew it wouldn't really work. If they got short notice for a mission or is something was urgent and she was in the Malibu offices she would be physically unable to come back and watch Peter.

"What if we bring trouble back?"

"We won't. And there's nowhere in the world safer for Peter than here."

Steve stopped pacing and met Tony's eyes. "What do you mean?"

Tony snorted. "Sorry to ruin it for you, sweetheart, but you really think you marking your scent by running around the perimeter of my property is the only security I have on this place?"

"Well, I know you have JARVIS—"

Tony shook his head. "JARVIS is just the start. All the property I own is linked into a security network that's not just state of the art, it's at least ten years ahead of what everyone else has. I know because I invented most of what everyone else has. I save the best for myself. There's only one person who has ever gotten through—"

"Loki."

"—Don't interrupt me. There's only one person who has ever gotten through and I fixed the loophole that let him slip in the week after it happened."

Steve's brow pinched up and then gently shook his head. "Tony, he's been sneaking in for the past year."

"Nope."

"But—"

"He would have been 'sneaking' if I didn't know about it." Especially in the beginning, when Tony was a little more aggressive in his displays of displeasure about having the Raven in his home, Loki would pretend to leave then sneak in when Tony had his back turned. He knew that Steve knew about it and allowed it out of some ridiculous notion of charity or fairness, but had decided not to say anything unless it got out of hand.

Steve's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "You knew? All this time?"

Tony shrugged. "The first time I didn't realize it until JARVIS snitched on you but then I increased the security."

"And you didn't say anything."

"I've got better things to do with my life. The point is no one gets in here without me knowing about it."

Steve nodded then moved to sit down beside Tony on the mattress. "But that still leaves the question of who is going to watch him. We can't pull Ms. Potts away from her job every time we need someone to keep an eye on Peter.

Tony wanted to point out that 'Ms. Pott's' job was to do what Tony wanted her to do but he knew that wasn't entirely true. And he had too much respect for Pepper to think so, no matter what he said when he was teasing her. But they didn't have anyone else in their lives who wasn't pack who he would trust to keep Peter safe.

Steve sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "This whole thing is just…" Words seemed to fail him and he looked as tired as Tony felt.

Tony watched him for a long moment then heaved a breath. "Fine."

Steve lifted his head and turned in confusion. "What?"

"There's only one way this is going to work. We both know it."

Steve tilted his head to the side before he figured out what he meant. "Tony…"

"It's fine. I need to refocus on my company anyway." They couldn't both keep doing this. Not with Peter around. Not when it might put him in danger.

Shaking his head, Steve moved closer and rested his hand over Tony's. "I want what's best for Peter but I don't want this to put a wall between us."

Tony shook off his touch and threw his hands up in defeat. "What do you want me to say, Steve? I can't pretend like this is a choice I want to make but between the two of us this is the only thing that makes sense." They both knew it. Tony already stayed home seven times out of ten. Just because it were those three times out of ten where he was actually able to go out on missions that made Tony feel like he was really making a difference in the world didn't mean anything. Tony had Stark Industries, this was all Steve had. Steve's success with the missions made national headlines and Tony wasn't even out as a Shifter.

"You're okay with staying home while I go out on missions?"

Tony grimaced and shook his head. "I can still help remotely." At least he could tell himself that. The answer sounded weak even to his own ears. "And I shouldn't be leaving work as much as I do anyway…"

"But…?"

Of course there was a 'but'. This wasn't the way he thought things were going to go between him and Steve. He hadn't started this thinking he was going to be relegated to the position of an army wife. Like a beta, or an omega. Jesus, how was this his life? "But I don't like the idea of not being there to watch your back. And I just…It should be the other way around."

Steve tilted his head in question and Tony scowled again. "You're better with Peter. You should be the one to spend more time with him."

Steve's expression softened and he reached forward to hold his hand again. Tony didn't pull away this time. "Peter loves you just as much."

Tony snorted, not quite believing it, and he could tell that it broke Steve's heart a little bit.

After a moment, though, Steve sighed. "Thank you." And he meant it. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"Don't be stupid. This is what being a parent is supposed to be like right?" There was a bitter edge to Tony's voice but he couldn't keep it out. He loved Peter but he didn't want this. For the first time in over a decade the desire to just be able to speak to his own dad flared up hot and piercing in Tony's chest. What sacrifices had he made for Tony?

"Yeah. It is." Steve took a breath then leaned forward to press his lips against Tony's temple. "I love you."

"I know."