Chapter 4 is finally out! This is the chapter where they story line really starts to pick up so I hope you all are ready for it! Tony, Steve, the rest of the pack, and we the readers get a taste of what the future holds in store for them and it looks like it's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride. ;)

Big thanks go to all of those who reviewed the last chapter: shine lots, kingdomheartslover13, AnonReader, Whitewolfstar, RawR ! You dudes rock.

Chapter 4

Before Tony knew it six years had gone by in a blur. The only way he had even noticed the passage of time in his busy days was the fact that Peter somehow just kept growing. Besides that everything continued on as normal. Well, the new "normal" where the days blurred together into one indistinguishable, forgettable smear of appointments and deadlines on his calendar. Not that Tony bothered to read the calendar half the time.

Whether he checked his schedule or not, Tony threw himself back into his work at Stark Industries. To a degree it actually felt good. Ever since he had left Steve all those years ago and nearly killed him in the process, Tony had tried to balance out both sides of his life: the CEO and the mission-running pack member. It hadn't been easy but it had been worth it. Now he was still a pack member, and he did still actually remotely participate in missions, but he was able to reorient himself so that his main goals were based around his company. And it flourished under his attentions.

He was able to devote time during the day to developing new technology and in three months had outstripped what his whole Research and Development team had managed to do in three years. Tony didn't blame them though. He had personally hired the best. He was just better.

It hadn't all been perfect or easy—nothing ever was—but today Tony was facing a particularly annoying problem. And this specific problem wasn't in his workshop. No, it was currently sitting in one of the smaller conference rooms in Stark Tower, which is exactly where Tony was heading now.

Pepper was hot on his tail as he marched down the hall from his office towards the elevator. Tony was pissed which made him even angrier because the day had actually been going pretty well until about an hour ago. He had woken up after a night full of sex with Steve—he had just returned from another mission the night before—then managed to get Peter off to elementary school on time for once before stopping off at the donut shop on the way to work. But Tony could tell Pepper was just as upset and it settled him a bit. Just enough to keep him from causing anyone any physical damage. He hissed under his breath as he jammed his finger into the elevator call button. "This is a fucking nightmare. And we're sure this data's correct?"

Pepper sighed and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen loose from her bun back behind her ear. "It's your intel, Tony, you tell me."

"Damn it…" His data was never wrong. "I don't understand. How could we both miss this?" Despite Tony's harsh tone he wasn't berating either Pepper or himself. He was honestly asking. It was incredibly difficult to sneak anything by him and if he was distracted enough for it to happen then Pepper always caught it. She was just as thorough as he was and they both took this sort of thing very seriously.

The elevator came and they both stepped inside before Pepper selected their floor and the doors silently slid closed again. "He covered his tracks well."

"Understatement of the year." The walls of the elevator were mirrored to try and make the small box feel larger but all it was doing right now was giving Tony a view of the stern frown on his face. "Have security meet us in the conference room, this might get messy."

Pepper dutifully pulled out her phone but she narrowed her eyes at Tony as she sent out a quick message. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm just going to talk to him." He had tried for innocent but by the look on her face he hadn't fooled anybody.

"Maybe you should let me do the talking."

Tony's answer was immediate. "I don't think so. He used us and played my company. He made this personal so now I'm going to personally handle it."

Pepper gave an understanding nod. There was a new, concerned look in her eyes now. "Don't lose your temper, Tony. The last time that happened you flipped a table over and that can't happen in mixed company."

Humans weren't strong enough to manage that very easily. But that was just fine. Tony knew how to do 'angry' as a human just as well as he could show the same emotion as a Shifter. "I know how I need to behave."

This wasn't how he wanted to spend his time today. Steve had just gotten home last night from a two week long stakeout in Colorado and Tony had hoped to get home early, maybe even do something nice for dinner.

As Steve had continued leading the rest of the pack in SHIELD-issued missions they had become more involved, longer term outings. The world was slowly continuing to change and SHIELD was starting to hold more sway over local and larger scale governments so Steve and his and his pack's particular skill set had never been in higher demand. And the years had done nothing to slow Steve down. If anything, he was just now reaching his prime. He still had all the strength and speed of his youth but now also had almost a decade of experience leading a team to back it all up.

Tony couldn't help but be proud of his accomplishments even if there was still a small feeling of jealousy eating away at his heart every time Steve announced that he would be leaving on another job and Tony knew he was going to be left at home to keep an eye on Peter. To be fair though, Steve had somehow managed to be an active and present force in Peter's life. When he was away he tried to call or email every night and when he was home Steve made sure that Peter never felt anything other than supported and loved. And he also made sure that Tony got a break from it all. In short, Steve was still perfect, a superhero and a super-dad, and if Tony hadn't been the one mated to him he would have resented him for not only doing everything so well but being so god-damned earnest and genuine about it. They still occasionally fought and butted heads—they wouldn't be 'them' if they didn't—but Tony couldn't even conceive anymore of living in a world that didn't have Steve in it. And he all he had wanted was to get through an average day in the office so he could go home, get them something to eat, and then get some serious sex in. But no, now he had this to deal with.

The elevator came to a stop and Tony stalked out, Pepper looking no less threatening at his side. Employees wandering the halls literally ran to get out of their way and ducked inside open doorways to avoid them. Everyone—whether Tony knew them personally or not—knew it took a lot to get their bosses worked up and they made it obvious they didn't want to be any part of it.

When Tony reached the assigned conference room he threw the door open and strode inside. A quick check of the smaller room showed that the security team Pepper had requested was already present. The four men and woman stood carefully placed about the room with one in each back corner and two flanking Tony and Pepper as soon as they stepped into the room. Aside from them there was only one other person in the room and it literally the last person on Earth Tony wanted to have anywhere near him.

Justin Hammer was all smiles, his feet kicked up onto the conference table with a faked nonchalance that was so uniquely, annoyingly him. "Tony, what's all this about? If you wanted to talk to me about your investments there are a lot less forceful ways to go about it."

Tony narrowed his eyes and tried to make the human combust with his glare. "Knock it off, Hammer. I know."

He saw Hammer's smile falter a bit before returning in full force. Flipping his feet off of the table, he clasped his hands in front of him and it took everything bit of restraint Tony had to pretend he didn't see the condescension in the man's eyes. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."

Pepper subtly put her hand on Tony's arm and he swallowed back the hiss that was threatening to burst out. But her touch didn't stop him from adopting a very alpha, very dominant stance. There was nothing particularly inhuman about it but as he straightened his shoulders and straightened his spine he felt intimidating and he knew he looked it. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. We know about your dirty dealings. I frankly don't know how you'd ever think that you could keep this from me. Consider that shipment you just brought in this morning to be your last."

Satisfaction coursed hot and bitter through Tony's veins as he finally saw a sliver of fear cross over Hammer's face. Money had always been that slime-ball's weak point. "Can't we talk this through? Listen, if you'd just let me explain, this is a really good deal! You could make millions—"

Tony raised his brows and huffed out a mirthless laugh. "I already have millions. And as it turns out I also have morals. Consider your contract with Stark Industries terminated. I'm pulling all of my funding and will have trucks at your facilities tomorrow morning to retrieve all of my tech."

"But Tony-!"

"Don't call me Tony." There was no was in hell Hammer would ever earn that level of familiarity with him. Any respect he might have had for the man had vanished this morning when Pepper had come to him with copies of finance reports and shipping manifestos that someone in Hammer Industries had tried to sweep under the rug. "You're very, very lucky I'm not calling the police." The only reason he wasn't was that the long legal battle that would undoubtedly ensue afterwards just wasn't worth it for a piece of trash like Hammer. That, and it would put a stain on Stark Industries reputation by association.

Hammer shoved his chair out and leapt to his feet. Tony felt Pepper startle at the sudden movement but held his ground. Hammer wasn't a threat; he was a grown man throwing a tantrum. "You can't do this to me!"

"I just did. Now get the hell out of my building."

"I'm not going anywhere!"

With that Hammer reached into his jacket, there was a flash of silver, and chaos erupted.

O~O~O~O

Checking the clock on the kitchen wall, Steve let out a small hum. It was almost six o' clock. Tony had said this morning that he would try to make it home by then. Hopefully if he was going to be much later he would call. Steve was hoping to make a nice dinner for everyone but he definitely wanted Tony to be there when it was ready.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. They could always have a late dinner. That might work better for everyone else anyway. Bruce had just gotten back from the SHIELD labs and was getting cleaned up. Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Loki were out in the Gym and would probably need to clean up too once they came back into the main house. And Peter probably wouldn't mind holding off for another hour. Steve's eyes drifted to his son where he was sitting at the kitchen counter hunched over his computer. He looked like he was still pretty busy.

Smiling, Steve crossed the room to where Peter was quietly doing his homework. Knowing that he rarely had difficulty completing school assignments, Steve figured that the frown on his son's face was for a different reason. Not that it was particularly unusual. As Peter drew closer to his teen years he had started to slowly get less enthusiastic when it came to anything school related. He was still getting good grades and his teachers never had anything bad to say about him during parent-teacher meetings but there was definitely something going on.

Having been a victim of such things himself Steve was afraid that Peter was being bullied. They had set him up in an integrated elementary school with Shifters and human children but maybe when it was time for Peter to graduate to middle school Steve would have to have a serious talk with Tony about moving him into an all human school. It might not be the message he and Tony should be sending to the world as celebrity parents but if it meant that fewer people would pick on Peter for his unusual condition it would be worth it.

"How's it going, Peter?"

Peter glanced up then sighed as their eyes met. "Fine. I guess. I'm supposed to do a report due next Friday about a state but I don't know what to write."

Steve perked up a bit and leaned in to get a glimpse of his son's screen. He could definitely help with a Social Studies question. "Let's see what you've come up with." Not only would he be able to help Peter, but it would also give him something else to think about rather than wonder when Tony was going to make it back.

They were able to work for a solid forty-five minutes and get a decent outline for Peter's essay started before they were interrupted. Steve looked up as the front door slammed shut and JARVIS barely had enough time to announce that 'Master Stark' was home before Tony himself stalked into the kitchen. Steve and Peter both paused mid-conversation as Tony came in and walked straight to his liquor cabinet. The Cat was trying to keep a neutral expression pasted on his face but Steve knew better by the sharp glint in his mate's eye and the muted anger seeping off of him in his scent. That, and the fact that Tony went directly for the bottle of whiskey.

Peter's wide-eyed gaze slid over to Steve and he cleared his throat. "Tony, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just," Tony poured himself a shot of whiskey and downed it in one go, "tired. Really, really tired. Exhausted in fact." Steve relaxed when he saw Tony cap the bottle, the Cat's hand then moving to rub over his face. He didn't want Tony to be over-drinking in front of their son.

Peter fidgeted on his seat and Steve saw him grab onto a small stack of papers he had stuck underneath his laptop. "Hey, Dad?"

Tony grunted, his fingers sliding up through his hair. "Not now, Peter, it feels like a bomb just went off inside my skull."

Peter released the papers and quickly turned back to his laptop. Steve would have reproached Tony but his mate really did seem out of sorts. "Do you want to just head upstairs and lie down? I can bring you something to eat in a bit."

Tony's hand fell back down to rest at his side. "Oh my god, that sounds amazing."

"Alright. Go head up then."

After Tony disappeared Peter turned his eyes back on Steve and bit his bottom lip uncertainly. "Was it something I said?"

Steve was shaking his head before Peter was even able to finish his question. "No." And he knew the last thing Tony would have wanted was for Peter to think his bad mood was his fault. "He must have had a rough day at work. Tell you what, I'll put together some dinner for him and find out what happened for the both of us."

A smile flickered onto Peter's lips and he nodded. "Sure. Thanks, Pop."

Smiling back, Steve ruffled Peter's hair before getting up and walking over to the fridge. Now that Tony was home and it seemed like he was going to eat separate from the rest of the pack anyway there was no point in waiting to cook the rest of them dinner. He took a few minutes to start a pot of stew then while he was waiting for the pot to heat up, Steve pulled a quick sandwich together for Tony. By the time he finished up and put the sandwich fixings away the stew was at a boil so he turned it down to simmer, grabbed Tony's plate, and headed upstairs.

When Steve got to their room the lights were still on but Tony had flopped down onto the bed fully clothed, even with his shoes on, and buried his head underneath one of the pillows. Raising a brow, Steve paused then casually sat down on the mattress next to his mate's prone form and set the plate down on the nightstand. "So…" He let the word hang in the air for a moment but pushed on when Tony didn't so much as twitch, "Do you want to tell me about what's going on?"

"No."

The grunt was a little muffled by the pillow but Steve still heard it clear enough to know that the refusal was more out of exhaustion than stubbornness this time. That was good. Tired Tony was easier to convince than stubborn Tony was. "Peter's worried. So am I."

A few seconds past then Tony pulled the pillow off of his head and glared half-heartedly up at Steve. "Where's my food?"

After a few bites Tony was a bit more willing to talk when Steve gave him a little nudge as a reminder that he was still there and wasn't likely to leave without an answer. The Cat let out a sigh, took a particularly vicious bite of his sandwich, then began to explain. "I'm dealing with some bastard who was trying to reinvest Stark Tech into some less than legal avenues. We're trying to keep the whole thing under wraps so the press and our investors don't get word of it which is a shame because the dick should be getting some jail time, or at least be hit with some heavy fines for the shit he's trying to pull."

Steve's brow furrowed and he leaned back against the headboard as Tony continued to eat. "That sounds serious."

"It is. And Hammer's decided to make it personal."

"What do you mean?"

Tony gave a casual shrug as he finished off the last of his sandwich. "He threw a tantrum today during an inquisition and had to be dragged out by security."

Thoughts sprang up in Steve's mind of a full grown man throwing the sort of tantrums Peter used to in the middle of Stark Tower. He was sure that's not what actually happened but it made for an amusing mental image. "What did he do?"

Tony shrugged again. "He reverted back to grade school and started calling me names. And then he pulled a gun on me."

All amusement was instantly burned away from Steve's mind and he lurched away from the headboard. "What? Tony!" He couldn't have mentioned that first?

"Down, boy. I'm fine. He didn't get a shot off."

"Where is he now?"

"Calm down, Steve. You're leaking testosterone like a faucet, and not the enticing kind. He—and his lawyers—are being dealt with. And, before you ask, no, you cannot go tear his throat open. I'm not a damsel in distress in need of rescue."

Steve growled but took in a deep breath and willed himself to relax. He knew that on some level Tony was right. He was very capable of taking care of himself. But that didn't mean much to Steve's own alpha instincts. Someone had pointed a gun at his mate. Thank god he hadn't been there because he probably would have killed the man. He went over Tony's words in his head and reminded himself that it sounded like Tony had it handled. His mate would be alright. The danger had passed. "Are you sure everything is under control?"

Tony had been watching him closely throughout his entire inner-debate and seemed satisfied with the result. "One hundred percent. If there's one thing I know how to manage it's a legal team, and by 'manage' I mean hire the best there is and let them do their work. Hammer isn't the problem anymore, it's the technology he sold onto the black market and weaponization of it that's going to be causing me headaches."

"You'll let me know if you need help." It wasn't a question. It was a command. If there was any way that Steve could give Tony a hand with any of this he wanted his mate to tell him.

But Tony just rolled his eyes and passed his empty plate back over to Steve. "If anything comes up that's more urgent than your day job, yes, I'll let you know. Now what would be really amazing would be if you could turn off the lights, let me get in a few hours of sleep to try to get rid of my migraine, then come back and wake me up so we can get some sex in and salvage at least part of this evening. Sound good?"

Steve wanted to disagree but he had to admit, certain parts of Tony's plan were definitely appealing. "Fine. Do you want anything else to eat tonight?"

"Only you in about five hours."

"Alright." He could probably manage that.

O~O~O~O

The only reason Tony got any sleep that night was because Steve kept his word, came back after eating with the rest of the pack, and fucked him into the mattress. And it was pretty fantastic. But after that rather impressive workout, Tony was only asleep for less than three hours before his eyes flickered back open and he was completely awake again. He rolled over and took a moment just to watch Steve, the Wolf still fast asleep beside him. His blond hair was a little mussed but aside from that he looked entirely too perfect. He should have at least had the good graces to drool a little bit or something to make Tony feel a bit better about himself. But no, Steve looked better than ever. His relaxed features made him look a few years younger but even in his sleep he somehow managed to retain a certain authoritative presence that was all alpha.

For a minute Tony wished he could draw like Steve could, because this would be a perfect moment to capture. But wait…Tony smirked and snagged his phone, making sure to turn the flash off before snapping a few shots with his camera. Technology saved the day again. Now he would have a nice little memento for the next time Steve got called away for work.

But even Steve could only hold his attention for so long.

Very carefully freeing himself from Steve's arms, Tony slipped out of bed, redressed, and silently padded out of the room. It was around two in the morning and since tomorrow—today, was a weekend that meant he didn't have to worry about how late he stayed up. So he was going to get some work done.

A smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he descended the stairs into his workshop. "JARVIS, look alive buddy. Get those files open for the new navigation system I was working on."

"For you, Sir, anything."

Tony raised a brow as he opened up the door to the basement. With a quick wave of his hand he opened up a holographic panel and had the lights up, the computers running, and his music playing. "That was an unusually compliant response. Should I be worried?"

"Of course not. But may I suggest that you address the issues you uncovered in your testing of your last invention before beginning a new one?"

"Your suggestion is noted and ignored because it's boring. Now, I've got some work to do. Get Dummy to start up the espresso machine, will you?"

He heard the AI sigh, JARVIS almost sounding as exasperated as Steve looked some times. "Very well, Sir."

Tony happily spent the next few hours tinkering until his stomach loudly reminded him that food was important. A quick check of the clock told him that it was already eight in the morning and he had to remember that the only thing he had eaten in twenty-four hours was the sandwich Steve have made for him before he let himself put his tools down and headed for the door.

As Tony came up from his workshop he found that he was no longer the only one awake. The house was humming with energy and fresh scents lingered through the halls. Okay, most of the house was probably already up but there was only one person downstairs and that was Peter in the media room. Smiling softly, Tony leaned on the doorway into the room as he wiped his greasy hands off on his work shirt. "Hey there, sport. What are you up to?"

Peter looked over from his spot on the couch. He had a bowl of colorful-looked cereal in his lap and with his pajamas still on there was no denying he was absolutely adorable. Not that Tony was about to tell the ten-year-old that. He was already too old to appreciate that sort of thing. "Nothing. I'm just watching cartoons."

"I can see that." Tony's smile fell away as Peter seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning to face the TV again. He almost seemed nervous…Then it hit Tony that the last time they had seen each other he had been a little short with the kid and guilt pricked sharp in his chest. "Sorry about last night. I was, tired from work but I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." It wasn't out of the ordinary span of behavior for him but that was no excuse for making Peter deal with it.

Peter stiffened a bit before a small smile spread across his lips and he nodded ."It's okay." Seeing that expression, Tony knew he was forgiven. Good. He was going to have to get a lot better at this whole thing by the time Peter hit his first brush with puberty and started testing his boundaries. Tony remembered a lot of screaming and arguing between himself and his Dad and he didn't want to repeat that with his own son. Which meant he was going to have to continue to improve his attitude. At least as far as making snide comments or off-the-cuff remarks went. Everyone else was used to it and knew that Tony meant well but Peter was still growing up and might take something personally. God knew Tony did when Howard brushed him off or made some sort of sarcastic statement. Of course they had both been alphas so that hadn't helped.

As Peter looked back at him Tony found a part of him wishing that the little beta Wolf could stay ten-years-old forever. But that wouldn't be fair to him. Beside the fact that it was biologically impossible. "How long is Pop going to be able to stay this time?"

Tony went through his mental 'Steve Schedule' then shrugged. "Can't say for sure but it looks like at least a week."

"Good." Peter nodded his head then perked up so abruptly that he almost knocked his cereal bowl out of his own lap. "Hey, can we go to the Science Museum this weekend?"

The request caught Tony a bit off guard but the more the thought about it the more he liked it. It wouldn't be too long of a drive and a day in the city could be fun. It was hard for him to think of that particular museum without flinching a bit inside. It was the same one the pack had been sent to by SHIELD all those years ago when Hydra had held their gala to treat their investors to a high-class party and a sneak-peek at their newest biological weapons. But he had been to the museum since, with Steve and Peter, and Peter really seemed to enjoy it in the past. "We can probably squeeze in a trip. Why?"

Peter smiled again, all excitement. If he had a tail it would be wagging. "I read online they just opened a new exhibit on genetics and I want to go check it out."

Not what you'd expect a ten year old to say. "You don't think it'll be too boring?"

But Peter just tilted his head. "Why would it be?"

"No reason." It figured his kid would grow up to be a nerd. Like father, like son, even when genetics weren't involved. "How about this, I'll get your Pop to come too and it'll be just the three of us for a few hours. How does that sound?"

Peter's smile brightened. "Good!" As a Wolf, Peter naturally loved being with his pack but he always appreciated a little extra attention from the pack's lead alphas, especially since they were his parents.

Steve of course was in complete agreement with their plan and decided that they should head out that day before either he or Tony got too busy with something else. Everyone else was happy to let them go off by themselves for a few hours and Bruce promised to keep an eye on things while they were away. The worst that was likely to happen was that Clint would injure himself again so Tony wasn't too worried.

Peter was chatty on the car ride into the city, his eagerness about the trip making him more outgoing than usual. Tony and Steve both kept the conversation going, happy to get the chance to learn more about how Peter was doing without making it seem like they were prying.

Traffic was good and they arrived a little after noon. Finding parking was a bit tricky but Steve insisted that he could find a reasonably priced lot despite Tony's arguments that they should just pay the valet for a good spot. It ended up with them parking about five blocks away from the museum and walking. It wasn't too long of a walk but Tony still would have bitched about it if Peter hadn't been there looking so happy. And, if Tony was honest with himself, it was kind of nice to walk through the city like a normal couple and their kid. He and Steve had both worn inconspicuous clothing on purpose and blended in with the rest of the people hustling down the sidewalk. Tony had closed off his scent but with the amount of foot traffic no one was likely to suspect that they were anything but human unless another Shifter passed by. But one whiff of Steve's powerful alpha scent and they'd be a moron to do anything other than keep walking. The only way they really stood out was the fact that they were still a gay couple with a child but they were in a big city so no one cared.

It was really nice.

The last time they were there Tony had bought an annual family membership so they were able to walk right into the museum with a quick flash of his membership card. As soon as they were through the doors Peter grabbed onto each of them with one hand and scrambled across the marble floors to where he knew the new exhibit had been installed. He knew the layout of this place better than either Steve or Tony did.

When they made it to the right room Peter released their arms and darted forward to where a small crowd had already gathered to take in the new displays on their opening weekend. Steve smiled broadly as Peter ran ahead and squeezed through a group of men and woman twice his age and only half as interested to get a better view of the first text panel. Tony couldn't help but smile back at Steve. He got it. Although he only had a fleeting interest in genetics himself—that was more Bruce's thing—it was amazing to see Peter so into it.

As they wandered closer, Steve leaned in towards Tony so that their shoulders bumped. "Tony?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think about signing Peter up for the Junior Explorers program here?"

Tony frowned and looked up at his mate. "The what?"

Steve grinned at his confusion. "The Junior Explorers program run by the museum. They have a day once a month where young teens can come in and get a short lecture and a behind-the-scenes tour of some of the exhibits. It's a little expensive, well, it would be for the average person, but I can tell he really enjoys learning about these things."

"How did you even-?" Tony glanced around. No, there were no banners or signs up about it. "Did I miss a brochure or something?"

"I looked this museum up on the internet this morning after you told me Peter wanted to come and they were advertising for the program on their homepage."

Steve looked awfully proud of himself but Tony was impressed. "Well. Sure, yeah. Sign him up for whatever. But you've just earned yourself a nice steak for dinner."

Now it was Steve's turn to look surprised as Tony linked their arms together. "What?"

"I was going to take us to Burger King after this but because of your amazing progress I'll get us a table at the steakhouse downtown instead."

"Are you trying to bribe me with food?"

"Of course not. I'm rewarding you. That's how you train dogs, right? Reward them with a treat when they get a trick right."

Steve's smile turned drier than the Mojave desert and he leaned closer to place a kiss against Tony's forehead. "You're lucky I love you."

Tony knew it. So he smiled back and let Steve pull away to walk over to where Peter was already on the third text panel. But he liked Steve's idea about the Junior Explorers program, whatever that was. Obviously he was going to have to do a bit of research of his own but the extra-curricular activity would be good for the kid. Peter didn't want to sign up for sports because he was afraid that the other kids would find out he was a Shifter if he was too fast or too strong. He hadn't shown much interest in music either and any of the art classes Tony had found for kids Peter's age had looked a little too child-friendly if that made sense. Peter was mature for his age and Tony knew from experience that he wouldn't care much to be talked to like a grade-schooler, despite the fact that he was one, as someone tried to teach him some rudimentary skill that he had mastered years ago. Steve still thought it was a good idea but Tony understood where Peter was coming from a bit better. After all, he had started going to MIT when he was just fifteen years old. When he was Peter's age, he was already cruising through Junior High.

But those were thoughts for another day. Today, Tony was just going to enjoy today.

O~O~O~O

Weeks pass quietly by. Steve and the rest of the pack go out on more missions but they always come back in one piece and Tony is always grateful though he occasionally forgets to show it. There's a few dozen meetings, three telecommunication conferences with overseas investors, and one parent-teacher conference that became very awkward very quickly when Peter's teacher wouldn't stop fangirling over the fact that she was meeting Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in person. Tony usually wouldn't have minded but they were there to talk about Peter and being fawned over by a sixty year old woman wasn't all that appealing.

Now he was back to his usual routine, stuck in the office, sitting at his desk, and scanning Ebay for new parts for his vintage coupe while trying to ignore Pepper. Unfortunately she was making it very difficult by walking over and slapping a stack of papers on his keyboard. Who used paper anymore? Wasn't that what they invented the internet for?

Pepper pursed her lips and rested a hand on her hip. "The annual fundraiser for the Shifter foundation is coming up in three months."

Tony leaned back in his chair and heaved a breath. "Three months? That's like a quarter of a year from now. Why are you even bothering to tell me about it?"

She wasn't moved by his exaggerated sigh. "Because there are some details that need to be worked out in advance."

"Can't you just do it?"

"I thought you might want to be a part of the planning, being that it is your fundraiser and all."

She might have a point. "Fine." Swinging around in his ergonomic, leather bound chair he abandoned all hope at finding a replacement carburetor and turned to face his window and its view of the city instead. "Email them to me in a list in order of priority since I'll probably only get the first four or five before I lose interest."

"I already have a list and I'll send it to you but try to get through at least fifteen of the points."

"Eight."

"Ten," Pepper raised a brow as she came around to block his view out the window, "or I'm making you do everything."

Tony narrowed his eyes and studied her face. Damn it. She was serious. "You're very good at negotiation."

Pepper bit her lip to try and keep her smile hidden. "I've learned."

And apparently Tony had taught her too well. He put on his best condescending CEO face even though he knew Pepper would be the last person to buy it. "Is there anything else, Ms. Potts? Because I'm a very busy man and I have some very important work-like tasks to get back to."

Nope. She didn't buy it. In fact, she pulled the same face better than him. The student had become the master. "That's good. Because if you were planning on spending the rest of the afternoon surfing the internet looking at vintage car parts I would probably get upset."

"Good to know."

"And there's only one more thing. A package came for you."

At that point Tony realized that there was indeed a brown box leaning up against his desk. "When did that get there?"

"About five minutes ago, when I brought it in with the papers you need to look at."

"Right. And I should care about it why?"

"Because it came from Dr. Franklin Hall."

Tony swung his chair back around to face his desk. Dr. Hall was a world-renowned researcher in physics who Tony had failed to lure to his company. They had met several times during industry conferences but hadn't had much personal interaction. Certainly nothing that would warrant Hall sending him a package to his office like this. Which made him curious. "Fine. Lemme see it."

Pepper picked the box up and handed it to him with a small, knowing smile that finally slipped free onto her lips. He just smirked right back as she lingered beside his desk, waiting for him to open it. It seemed like he wasn't the only curious one. "Don't you have work to do?"

"I'm on my break."

"Who says you get a break?"

"Federal and State labor laws."

"Details."

Setting the box on top of his desk in front of his keyboard, Tony tore through its brown paper wrapping and inspected the cardboard underneath. No clues there. It was medium sized, not nearly big enough to hold any high tech equipment—even a small device would have had more packaging material around it. Maybe a book then, but Hall hadn't published anything other than academic journal articles in a few years. It was pretty heavy for its size too. Heavier than a book even.

After checking to make sure the door to his office was closed so that no employees could peek inside, Tony leaned in and sniffed the box. Once again he wished he had Steve or Bruce's nose but, no, Tony was able to pick up something. Something he wasn't expecting. A metallic, chemical odor, one he had worked with before in his workshop, but only very cautiously. Then, as he drew close, a light tick, tick, tick.

Then the ticking stopped and a cold fear gripped Tony's chest.

With inhuman speed, Tony threw the box as hard as he could to the far side of the room then sprang from his chair and dove on top of Pepper. She shouted in surprise, the cry morphing into a scream as the bomb hit the floor and detonated on impact.

Using his body to shield Pepper from the blast, Tony hissed as he felt a pulse of heat rush over his back and heard the wall of windows in his office shatter. If he had been human the impact from the explosion would have knocked him right off of Pepper and given him a few broken limbs and second-degree burns in the process. But he was a Cat and before the blast even hit him he had braced himself, dug his fingers into the carpet, and twisted his body up to protect his most vital areas, as well as Pepper beneath him.

The explosion was violent but quick and in the span of a heartbeat it was over, leaving a yawning silence in its wake. Pepper had stopped screaming but was shaking underneath him and Tony pushed himself up to check her over. She seemed alright—scared, but unhurt—and Tony let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. If Pepper had gotten injured he didn't know what he would've done. Then her eyes flashed open and he realized he wasn't the only one who thought that way. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and grabbed onto Tony with shaking hands. "Oh my god, Tony! Are you alright? Oh my god, look at your jacket!"

"It's fine. I'm fine. We're both fine."

Tony didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or Pepper but it didn't seem to be doing much to calm her down. She pushed on his arms until he rolled all the way off of her and had him turn around so that she could examine the back of his ruined suit and search for any signs of damage underneath.

That was how security found them as they raced in a moment later.

They didn't know he wasn't human and insisted that Tony be taken to the hospital immediately. When Tony finally stood up he understood why and why they looked so horrified. His office had been absolutely decimated. The area within five feet of where the bomb had gone off had just disappeared, dissolved into bits of debris so fine that they were still settling out of the dusty air. His desk had been knocked back at least eight feet and his desktop computer had been blown clear off and was hanging from the edge of the desk by its wires. There were glass and plaster bits everywhere and by all accounts they should have been torn apart too. Or at least be in critical condition. So Tony shot Pepper a look then turned back to the security guards with a pained grimace and agreed, telling them to call 911. But that he had to make a call of his own before the paramedics arrived.

Pepper dutifully distracted one guard as another hurried back into the hall to call an ambulance, giving Tony some small amount of privacy as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket—thank god it was still working—with trembling fingers and searched through his contacts. There. There it was.

Dialing, Tony pulled the phone to his face and tried to hold it there. Now that the sudden burst of adrenaline was seeping away the shaking in his fingers spread. For shit's sake. He was an alpha. Pull it together, pull it together. Pepper was fine.

"Agent Phil Coulson speaking."

"It's Stark." He was proud of himself. Everything else was shaking but his voice was steady. "We have a situation."

"What do you need me to do?"

Nothing threw this man off balance. Tony could see why Steve liked him so much. "There was a bomb, the paramedics are coming, and I need to be injured."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll have an agent waiting for you at the hospital."

And that was that. Tony hung up just in time to be rushed again by his security personnel, telling him to lay back down, please Mr. Stark, just lay down. The ambulance would be there in two minutes. Just relax, everything is going to be alright.

O~O~O~O

"Mr. Stark. My name is Dr. Simmons and I've been assigned as your physician."

Tony narrowed his eyes and studied the perky young brunette with an English accent who had just walked into his hospital room. She had the right sort of clothes and lab coat on but there was something not quite right about the way she held herself…"You're not a real doctor."

Her smile faltered a bit before solidifying with some sort of inner conviction. "I am, just perhaps not a medical doctor but you didn't exactly give us much warning. Biology is my area of expertise though. Now, let's see what we can do about these vital stats that the EMTs sent in from your ride over in the ambulance. Hmm…your blood pressure does seem to be abnormally high, even someone with your condition. Have you been suffering from an unusual amount of stress recently?"

"Well, a bomb did just go off in my office."

"Right. I suppose that is a natural response." Yeah. Not a medical doctor. "Are you feeling any amount of pain?"

His chest hurt a bit and he was still a little short of breath, but that could easily be contributable to the impact from the blast. It was hardly anything worth mentioning. "No, I'm pretty good actually."

"Excellent. In that case, I'll go fetch some bandages and we can get to work patching you up."

"What?" He was pretty sure he had just said he was fine.

"Well we can hardly let you leave looking like you do now. Any man caught in an explosion like that would be likely to have some serious burns and possibly some skeletal damage. I've already taken the liberty of ordering a sling for your arm for the fractured ulna you sustained, some plaster for the cuts on your face and hands, and proper bandages for the first and second degree burns on your legs and back."

Huh. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to discount her. "Fantastic."

Dr. Simmons lacked some bedside manner but she was efficient and had Tony's imaginary injuries all wrapped up within half an hour. A few nurses came in to assist and Tony had to intervene as she stumbled her way through an explanation of why they had never seen her on the day shift before. And once she was done Tony wasn't left alone for long.

Less than ten more minutes passed before there was a knock on the door and Tony looked back over his shoulder as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Agent Coulson was standing in the doorway looking as unflappable as ever, as if this was just a social visit. Tony wasn't surprised to see the man; he had called the SHIELD agent for help after all. Tony also knew that the man probably already had the entire situation wrapped up in a neat little package. God, he didn't want to think of wrapped packages right now.

"How's Pepper?"

Coulson closed the door behind them and smiled gently. "A doctor looked her over and gave her a clean bill of health, undoubtedly due to your quick action."

Tony ignored the praise; it was the least he could have done. If he had been more on his game he would have been able to realize what was going on before that and been able to get them both out of the room entirely. "A real doctor checked her, right? Not that quack you sent over from SHIELD?"

"Dr. Simmons is one of our brightest researchers, she just doesn't get out of the lab very often."

"Oh, good, that makes me feel a lot better."

"But to answer your question, Ms. Potts was examined by a resident doctor from this hospital. Since she is human we saw no problem with allowing it."

It was hard to pull his jacket on with all the bandages on and eventually Tony just gave up and pulled the suit top over his shoulders like a cape. It would do until he got into the car.

"The police are getting involved."

Tony's gaze snapped up. "How about no?"

Coulson tilted his head and gave a small shrug. "It's been difficult to dissuade them. Are far they're concerned SHIELD has no jurisdiction over the case since, you know, no Shifters were involved."

Tony's brow pinched in confusion and his mouth opened to immediately correct the man but, no, Coulson was right. As far as the world knew it was a human crime against a human. Damn it. The police were harder to negotiate with than SHIELD was. There was too much an investigation could dredge up and make public. "I don't want them poking around."

"I'm afraid we don't really have a choice. But we'll do what we can to control their access to any information that might be too revealing."

"Great..."

"Do you want me to call Steve to come pick you up?"

No way was Tony letting Steve see him with all these bandages on. "No way in hell. Call Pepper and have her bring the company car around to pick me up."

Coulson did just that.

The real hospital staff wouldn't let Tony leave unless he agreed to be rolled out in wheelchair so he grudgingly let them sit him down and a nurse wheeled him to where Pepper was waiting for him in the waiting room of emergency care. As soon as the nurses stopped monitoring him, Tony hopped up out of the chair just to have Pepper grab onto him and start fussing. She looked okay. There was a Band-Aid on her forehead where she had gotten a small cut and her hair had been half pulled out of the bun she had been wearing, but she looked okay.

"Tony! How are you feeling?"

Her hand on his shoulder grounded him and made the whole thing feel a little less like some weird dream. "Did they do a good job with you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm shockingly intact, according to the doctor. Just some minor superficial bruising and cuts. But what about you? Look at you!"

"I'm fine. I just want to get home and forget this whole thing happened. Is it clear outside?" He peered around her through the clear glass doors and thought he saw too much movement outside.

"If by 'clear' you mean a swarm of reporters then 'yes'."

Damn it. "How did they get here so quickly?"

"The explosion was pretty noticeable and from what I was able to find out the ambulance driver leaked which hospital you were being taken to."

And it had been about an hour since he had been brought in. Plenty of time for the paparazzi to swarm if they knew where he was. "Any chance of getting rid of them?"

"At this point it would be easier just to go through them."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." For a moment he wondered if he could get the hospital to kick the press off the property by saying that their presence was threatening his health but decided that would take too long. All he wanted to do was get home.

She sighed then entwined her arm and the arm Tony still had that wasn't in a sling. "Come on, let's get this over with. Happy is already waiting; it will be a short walk."

Tony snorted in disbelief but steeled himself and walked through the sliding doors.

Instantly he was a hit by a wave of flashbulbs and camera lenses and his grip tightened on Pepper's arm.

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark, any comments about what happened in Stark Tower?"

Tony winced against another flash and growled. "I think it's pretty obvious what happened—"

Before he could finish, Pepper had started to speak over him and moved her body slightly so that she was blocking him from the main brunt of the cameras. "For everyone's safety we will not be making any comments about the incident earlier this afternoon. The City Police have gotten involved and I'm sure they will be able to answer any questions you have."

The questions continued but Tony and Pepper both ignored them as their car came into view. Tony could see Happy sitting in the driver's seat, the man's face drawn up into a serious frown.

"Mr. Stark, is it true that you were there when the bomb went off? How did you survive the blast?"

Pepper threw her hand out in a classic 'stop' gesture, her expression fierce. "Excuse me, Tony is understandably tired and needs to get some rest."

Tony couldn't help but smile at her reaction. It didn't hurt that by that point they had reached the car. Pulling open the door as fast as he could, Tony slipped into the back, slamming the car door shut behind him as Pepper walked around the back to slide in from the other side. The noise from the reporters silenced thanks to the thick windows on Tony's car and Tony turned to look at Pepper. "You are very attractive when you're angry. Have I ever told you that?"

"Once or twice. Let's get Tony home, Happy."

The man nodded from the front seat and punched the gas, peeling away from the curb with probably more speed than was legal. As soon as he was out of sight of the cameras, Tony spun around, yanked his jacket off, and began to pick at his bandages. "Pepper, help me get these off."

Her eyes widened. "What, your bandages? Tony, I don't think—"

"They're all just for show. Come on. I don't want to even imagine Steve's face if he saw me like this."

Pepper nodded then her eyebrows furrowed as she reached forward to grab onto a piece of plaster that Dr. Simmons had slapped onto his brow to hide a pretend gash. "This is probably going to hurt."

"Just, tear it off." It hadn't had that much time to set. "On the count of three: one, tw—ahh!" Tony flinched as she ripped it off, his skin burning where the plaster had stuck to it. "Shit! Pepper!"

"Sorry! Sorry. But it's off."

"How does it look?"

"Red. And I think I might have torn off a bit of your eyebrow."

"Perfect."

Undressing the rest of his wounds went smoother and by the time they pulled into the drive of Stark Manor he and Pepper had gotten him back into a presentable state. His suit jacket hadn't been salvageable so he just balled it up and stuck it under his arm. Hopefully Steve wouldn't notice the tears in his pants.

Pepper leaned out of the car as Tony stepped out and straightened his shirt. "Call me if you need me, Tony!"

"Will you come in and help me lie about what happened today?"

She made a face. "Lie to Steve? No."

"Then you're useless for the next few hours."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow at work."

He didn't want to go back to work tomorrow. Shouldn't he be allowed a sick day? Or an 'I almost got blown up' day? He had some vacation days stored up. But that would be admitting defeat and there was no way he was going to give the bomber that sort of satisfaction. "I want donuts and coffee waiting for me when I get there."

"I'll see what I can do."

He knew there were going to be donuts and coffee waiting for him tomorrow morning and it made him feel a little better. He waved good-bye to both Happy and Pepper as Happy turned the car around to take Pepper home herself. Which left Tony to walk up to his house by himself.

Tony paused on the front step of his home and stared blankly at the door, wondering if there was any way he could wiggle his way out of this one. For once, he hadn't actually done anything wrong but something had still exploded so he knew the rest of them weren't going to be happy. One certain alpha Wolf in particular.

"Sir, do you require help opening the front door or are you simply lost in thought?"

Good ol' JARVIS. His smooth voice echoed down from the small speakers Tony had installed on the porch, ruining his mental monologue. "I've got some news to share Steve won't be thrilled with."

"I did note several articles online about the bombing in your office. Is that the news you were referring to?"

Tony winced. Great, it had already hit the internet. "Yeah, that's it. Do you think he'd be sufficiently distracted if I ordered some nice steaks for dinner?"

"I suggest the best course of action would be to inform Master Rogers of the incident directly."

"Noted but not happening."

He was pretty sure he heard JARVIS sigh in exasperation but it might have just been his imagination. "Very well, Sir. Can I interest you in at least coming inside the house? I believe Agent Barton has just noticed your presence."

"Damn it. Sure."

As the doors automatically swung open to allow Tony to step inside, he saw that JARVIS was right. He was being watched. Clint was perched on top of the stair railing, crouching down on a metal hand-rest that should have been much too small for a man his size to stand on. There was a smirk on his face but the small pinch between the Hawk's brows was enough to let Tony know that Clint had already heard the news as well. "Have trouble with the door?"

"Nope. Have a problem with keeping your feet on the ground?"

"You know I do." In one fluid movement he stood up and jumped off of the banister to land on the tiled floor. "We've been wondering when you were going to come home."

"Who's 'we'?" If there was a chance that Steve already knew about the whole bomb thing it would save Tony some trouble. Almost as soon as the thought passed through Tony's mind he dismissed it. If Steve had heard about it already, his phone would have been lit up with phone call after phone call and the Wolf would have tackled him to the floor as soon as he stepped into the house.

Part of Tony's question was answered as he walked into the media room and found Natasha sitting casually on the couch. A little too casually. She knew too, but Tony hadn't expected anything different. If Clint knew something, Natasha definitely did.

The Spider gave him an assessing look as Clint walked over to lean behind her against the back of the couch. "Someone had a busy day."

Tony inwardly winced again but had his neutral, nonchalant expression already pasted on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Natasha stared at him with the most deadpan, unimpressed look Tony had ever seen cross her face. "Are you serious? You didn't tell Steve?"

"Tell me what?"

And he had such a fucked-up life. Tony rolled his eyes before turning to face his mate as Steve walked into the room, undoubtedly summoned by Tony's arrival. He was wearing a tight white cotton shirt and track pants, the scent of drying sweat lingering on his skin. He smelled delicious but the guarded look in his blue eyes told Tony he was going to have to wait.

So instead Tony shot a glare at Natasha but the redhead only shrugged. "He was going to find out eventually."

"Not necessarily."

Clint shook his head. "He reads the newspaper and it's sure to be on the front page tomorrow morning."

There was a deep frown on Steve's face now and Tony could tell he was starting to get angry as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Someone tell me what's going on."

Bruce chose that moment to hurry into the room, the beta's breath catching in his throat when he caught sight of Tony. "Tony, are you alright? I just heard about what happened on the radio."

Tony furrowed his brow. "What? Who listens to the radio anymore-?"

"Dad?" Tony was interrupted from his deflection as Peter slunk into the room, his smartphone held out in his hand. "This says a bomb went off in your office. Is that true?"

Steve leveled Tony with a glare that would have melted steel and Tony finally gave in and threw his hands into the air in defeat. He was half expecting Thor to burst in through the wall since he was the only one who hadn't dropped in yet. "Okay. There may have been a slight incident at work today."

Steve's jaw tightened and there was a tangible anger rolling off of him through the air in waves. Peter instantly shrunk back, naturally tucking himself behind Bruce while Bruce, Natasha, and Clint tensed. Tony defiantly kept his body at ease but his hackles rose a bit when Steve spoke. It was a command, harsh and demanding. "Come here, we need to talk."

Leaning his head back, Tony rubbed his hands over his face before straightening back up to meet Steve's eyes. But he made no move to get up to follow Steve out of the room. "I'd really rather not do this right now, if it's all the same to you."

"We're doing this now. Can the rest of you leave the room for a minute please?" The 'please' seemed like an afterthought and no one made any sort of protest as they stood and ducked out of the room. "Bruce, close the door."

Tony scowled as the beta Wolf nodded and dutifully closed the door to the media room as they all escaped. Now it was just him and Steve but Tony wasn't worried. He could tell by the way Steve was looking at him that he wasn't mad at Tony so much as the fact that the bomb had happened in the first place. Although he did seem a little pissed at Tony too. Less so though.

Moving across the room, Tony sat down in the spot Natasha had just vacated on the couch. "Relax, Steve. Whoever this is, they're after Tony Stark the billionaire, not Tony Stark the Shifter."

Steve growled and stalked over to stand in front of him. "How is that supposed to make me relax?"

"Because it means that it's no one really close to me this time." Tony's thoughts drifted instantly to Obadiah Stane. But, no, the bastard had been dead for over two decades. Shaking his head to rid his brain of those thoughts, Tony managed to dredge up a smirk. "And it means they'll do a really shitty job because they think they're trying to kill a human."

"Tony, you're not invincible."

"You don't know that."

Steve swallowed and suddenly all of his anger seemed to fall away and then Tony could smell it. Fear. It was sharp and pungent and clinging close to Steve as he knelt down in front of the couch so that they were abruptly eye-to-eye. "Tony, please. You're not." Steve shook his head then reached a hand over and pressed through Tony's shirt against the wide scar in the center of his chest. "You're not. No one is."

Tony snarled and shoved Steve's hand away but Steve wasn't giving up. Surging forward, Steve braced his hands on the back of the couch on either side of Tony's head and used his bulk to keep Tony from wiggling free. Tony glared up at the Wolf and hissed. "What do you want me to say?"

"That you'll be careful."

"Obviously. I'm not stupid."

Steve made a small, hurt noise in the back of his throat. "I know you're not. I just need you to be careful. Someone tried to kill you, Tony. Whether or not it actually worked doesn't change that."

"Hey." This close Tony was overwhelmed by the fear and anxiety coming off of his mate and gave in to the need to comfort him. He couldn't let Steve be this concerned. Not for him. He would say whatever he had to. "Listen, you're way too worried about this so let me assure you that this is just a small bump in the road. Think of it as an initiation that every fabulously wealthy celebrity entrepreneur has to go through. I'm not the first to receive some mysterious package and I won't be the last. This isn't something that I need you flying in to rescue me from. The city police are already on the case and they'll be able to trace the package and identify the bastard who sent it."

Steve shook his head and leaned in to press their foreheads together. "Tony, I can't…I can't do this again. Pretend like it's not a big deal. I'm going to cancel my next few missions and stay here for a while."

"What? Why?"

"Because a bomb was sent to your office!"

"And you being here didn't change that, did it?" Steve pulled away and growled, but he couldn't change the fact that Tony had just told the truth. They both knew it. But Tony might have been a little rough with his words. Huffing out a breath, Tony leaned back against the couch. "Look, I get what you're trying to do, but I can watch my own back and you have a job to do that doesn't involve babysitting me."

"Tony—"

"Hey." Reaching up, Tony flicked Steve's nose to stop his protest. "Remember who you're dealing with here."

Grabbing the hand that flicked him in one of his own, Steve pulled the offending fingers to his lips and pressed a long kiss against the pads of his fingertips. "That's the problem. I can't look past the fact that it's you. I…can't stand the idea of you being here to deal with this while I'm hundreds of miles away."

Tony watched Steve for a long moment then sighed and combed the fingers on his free hand through Steve's hair. His mate seemed to appreciate the touch and leaned into it, his blue eyes closing as Tony softly gave his response. "Welcome to every day of my life for the past six years, Steve. You're just going to have to do what I do: suck it up, deal with it, and trust that I know what the hell I'm doing."