Words: 3,505
Rating: T+
Warnings: Yaoi (Boy Love), light Yuri (Girl Love), minor hurt/comfort, tooth-aching fluff, minor humor.
Summary: Steve was proud, and very happy, to say that he saw beauty in every single one of his packmates.
Growing up, he had once been taught that the only thing omegas had were their beauty and their ability to carry pups, but looking at his pack, it showed him just how wrong those from his past had been. Because beauty was something he saw in every single one of his packmates, whether inside or out- among Alpha, beta, and omega- and as their Pack Alpha, he prided in being able to see so much beauty within his pack.
-0-
Steven practically glowed with pride and warmth as he watched his pack interact with one another, and while he admitted they may not have gotten the best of starts, they were made for each other. No one could deny that. Least of all him. But looking now at them all, he was just so… overjoyed, it was almost impossible to describe exactly how he felt.
They were all watching some movie that Steve had failed to recall the title of- something about a teenage robot boy that Lionel had especially taken an interest in. He was usually always the one that took the most interest in the animated family movies like that- sitting in various places in the living room, though they were all cuddled against one or two other packmates. Steve himself was sitting back in his own chair with Tony sitting comfortably in his lap and Lionel sitting pliantly on the ground in between his legs, nearly on top of his feet- not that the captain minded, since the young wolf barely weighed a thing to the supersoldier. Loki was sitting in Thor's lap, both on the couch, with Freya seated next to them and Clint's feet in her lap, his head in Bruce's lap- it was clear that he was sleeping soundly- who sat on the opposite end of the couch. On another chair sat Natasha with Pepper curled, asleep, in her lap, Mark sitting at her feet, much like Lionel at Steve's.
He wasn't really paying attention to the movie anymore, choosing to instead observe his family, as odd as they all were, smiling stupidly just at the thought. That they were his. His family. His pack.
"Mmn… Steve…?" Tony yawned, looking up at his mate with sleepy coffee colored eyes, a curious smile playing at his lips as he snuggled closer to the larger man.
"Yes?" Steve blinked, coming out of his thoughts, turning down to look at the omega in his arms, aware that the others were listening, especially as Lionel's ears perked up, if only just a little bit- Steve thinks he's still far too engrossed in the movie and is only just barely listening to his Alpha and his best friend.
"What're you thinking about?" the omega asked, brushing his fingers lazily through Steve's hair, no longer paying attention to the movie. He'd seen it enough times to recall exactly how the movie goes and doesn't need to look back at the screen to know that Astro Boy was already in the arena, after having been outed as a robot. Besides, he's more interested in his mate- there's hardly ever a time when Tony doesn't have his attention, full or not, on the Alpha- and whatever was on his mind that caused the other to get that stupid- but too adorable for a grown man, even if it does seem to work for him- smile on his face.
Steve chuckled and leaned down, nuzzling Tony's neck and breathing in his scent, letting his senses be filled with Tony and Tony only- somewhere in the back of his mind, he acknowledged that it wasn't just Tony, but he didn't ultimately care at the moment. "Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over," he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on Tony's shoulder, smiling a bit wider when he heard Natasha snort at his words and Lionel giggled as Freya snickered.
Huffing a little, Tony only offered half a protest to being called pretty, before relaxing fully into Steve's embrace, melting into a puddle of very pliant goo, it seemed. Steve only smiled wider at this, impossibly happier than he had been just a few seconds prior.
-0-
Freya's beauty came not from her looks or her mind, though there was no doubt that her beauty could rival even Pepper's, and that was saying something- Pepper was like the group's little sister, and her exceptional beauty was one of the many things that made the group just a tiny bit overprotective of her.
No, her beauty came from the way she looked at the world; like every day would be her last. She treated everything with extra care and expressed every emotion she carried with more flair than needed. Not only was it the way she saw things, but it was also the way she treated her packmates.
If Steve hadn't been soulbound with Tony, nor had never met his mate, he was sure that he would've loved to go out with the she-wolf. It only increased his love for her the way he saw how she took care of the pack, like she was their mother and it made his heart swell with pride. It didn't even matter that she wasn't an Alpha, because everyone saw that she knew exactly who she was, in her heart and her mind, the way she moved without hesitance in her actions.
She was protective, kind, caring, loyal, and everything that Steve would've sought out, once upon a time. And she knew that, enough to the point that when she caught him smiling at her with love and pride, she smiled back and shook her head fondly at her Alpha.
So yes, Freya was beautiful, and yes, once upon a time maybe, but that time had past and he couldn't be happier with how everything turned out- especially since, now and forever, he wouldn't ever give Tony, or his pack, up for anything in the world.
-0-
Clint and Natasha had their own beauty to them as well, and not just because of Natasha's beautiful looks or her impressive skill, mind, and grace or Clint's innocence and occasionally brilliant mind. They showed their beauty with the way they reacted around each other; Steve knew their story very well, after Lionel had told him what he'd known and then had gotten the missing details from the ex-agents themselves. And it warmed his heart to know that even after everything they went through together, they were inseparable now.
If one didn't know they weren't blood related, they would swear that Clint and Natasha were siblings, ones who had never left the other's side no matter what.
-0-
Bruce was an odd sort, even to Steve, but the ex-labrat was beautiful too, the Alpha knew that for a fact. His mind was brilliant- proven several times when Steve had witnessed Tony and him discussing something that was beyond Steve's comprehension- and he enjoyed watching that little smile flit over the beta's face when he was doing something he enjoyed.
The other wolf may have been shy and somewhat anti-social, even around his own pack, but they were working on that. He even had the worst temper out of all of them, aside from Mark's own impressive temper, and while sometimes they had to lock the wolf up when he shifted out of pure anger, they were working on that too.
Bruce had once confided in him, saying once that he didn't deserve them, but Steve would have none of it. Steve had told him, firm and with purpose and confidence in his every word, that Bruce was their family and they all loved him just as much as the rest. Bruce hadn't doubted his place in the pack since.
-0-
Loki and Thor were two mysteries that Steve had never been able to figure out and while he was still wary of the, after having discovered that the two wolves were of a different planet, he treated them just as he did anyone else in their pack. He saw beauty in them as well.
He saw beauty in the way that Thor would light up and declare his emotions very loudly and with obvious excitement, when Thor discovered some sort of new Midgardian thing and finally tried it. And he saw beauty in the way Thor proclaimed his absolute love of the simply pastries that were poptarts. He also beauty within the god of thunder when, on the rare occasion that it rained without thunder or lightning, Thor would stay outside under the downpour for hours, simply grinning like an idiot, his arms stretched out as the rain thoroughly soaked him.
In Loki he saw beauty not only in his feminine appearance, but also in those beautiful green eyes of his that looked as if they held all the world's secrets in them. While the trickster god wasn't much of an open book with his body language and his words, his eyes expressed all that Steve needed to see or hear and that was enough for the Alpha. He also saw Loki's beauty when the young god was simply just sitting in the living room, a book in his hands, a joyful, though quiet, smile on his face as he read it; or when Loki was sitting with Lionel and Tony, simply enjoying their company with all that he had.
But what made Steve really notice their beauty was when they were together, their love shining brighter than anything he'd ever seen and it made him feel as if he was witnessing one of the world's greatest wonders. And if seeing their love made Steve's heart ache and yearn for his own Tony, well, no one but him and his beloved had to truly know.
-0-
With Mark, Steve saw beauty in the other wolf's ruggedness, with the way he would act in the world, around both strangers and pack alike. Mark was so expressive, not through words but through his actions, that everyone in the pack knew what mood he was in just by looking at him. Steve also noticed the other's beauty in his strength; the way that he would carry himself, opening up to his pack a little more each day, strong and sure, even with his sense of smell gone, taken from him.
And Steve's heart swelled with pride whenever he saw Mark playing around with his packmates, laughing and grinning and finally being himself.
-0-
Pepper was one of the few that he saw beauty in with everything that she did; the way she carried herself, or the way she acted, or looked. She was beautiful in appearance, mind, and heart and that made Steve- among the other's in his pack- all the more protective of her. She was like their adorable little sister, the one they all looked after no matter what happened and the one that they would take care of always.
It didn't help any that she used to be human as well- and though she protested kindly to this fact, none of them could deny that her strength didn't quite match the others in her pack.
It was only Natasha- her mate, of course-, Steve- her Alpha-, and Freya- who acted as a mother hen to everyone in the pack- that payed extra care to her. And if that ever bothered her, well she never mentioned it, and instead only embraced their love and protection.
-0-
Lionel was the one that Steve had paid special attention to- though not on purpose he would admit and he hadn't even noticed at first how he'd acted around the omega until Freya and Loki had pointed it out o him one day. The shifter was much like Pepper, in the fact that he was like the little brother of the group, the one that they all cared for and loved unconditionally and the one they tended to spoil a little more than they cared to admit.
Steve saw beauty where most wouldn't, having spent months observing the way the young omega acted, around his pack and even when the omega thought he was alone. He saw beauty in his looks- with his long black hair that was always tied in a ponytail and his beautiful crimson eyes that told Steve stories he would never hear come from the shifter himself- and in his mind- though Lionel would deny that he was any smart, the other's in his pack had noticed that the shifter was clever, due to his years of having been a street rat, needing to using his wit and cunning to survive on his own for the amount of time he had- and especially in his heart- the way he cared for and loved every single one of his pack mates like they actually were his family and the way he treated each of them like they would all disappear if he so much as even thought of doing something mean or unkind.
Steve had noticed that Lionel had many masks, though, over the months they spent together, and after all that they'd been through. The shifter would sometimes smile when he felt like crying and he would laugh when he felt like breaking down. When he was hurt, he took care of everyone else before even thinking of taking care of himself, a bad habit that Steve, Tony, Loki, and Freya all were trying to get him to break. And he'd have this other bad habit of trying to do things himself, when he thought it would hurt his packmates or get them into trouble, something Steve hated more than knowing how much Lionel almost didn't trust them with his heart.
They all knew the shifter was broken, badly so, and in need of repair, and they all tried, and while sometimes they thought they were succeeding, there were times when all of their hard work was all for naught and they would be back to square one.
Lionel didn't even know how much he meant to his pack, oblivious as he sometimes was. And that broke the Alpha's heart a little, knowing that even after all that happened to Lionel, all that broke him, he was still so innocent and still so beautiful.
If only Lionel could see what the others saw, then maybe the young man wouldn't feel the need to keep the walls around his heart up and let himself be loved like how he loved his pack.
-0-
Tony though, his beloved omega, was everything to Steve- his best friend, his lover, his soulmate, his everything- and the Alpha couldn't get enough of him. He saw beauty in everything Tony was and everything he did; from the way that his eyes twinkled when he played with his pack, to the way that his would get so animated when he talked about something he loved- including the way that he would talk so fast almost none of them would be able to understand them, aside from Bruce, and how his hands and arms would fling out everywhere, gesturing wildly as he talked. He saw beauty in the way that Tony's entire body shook when he laughed or when his eyes crinkled in the corners when he grinned wide and proud, his chest puffed out a little when Steve praised him, or when he would express every emotion so passionately around his pack. He loved the way that Tony sometimes grew shy when Steve whispered words of his love in his mate's ears, especially around his packmates, and the way that he blushed when Steve would tell him how beautiful or pretty he was. He even saw beauty in the way that Tony would sometimes stare off, sadly, into the distance, thinking about all that he had once lost so long ago; when this happened, Steve took great pleasure in taking Tony's mind off of his thoughts and reminding him exactly of what he has here- an incredible mate, amazing best friends, and the greatest pack a wolf could ask for. Steve might admit he's a little biased with all three of those, but it seems to work well enough anyway when he brings them up to his mate, cheering him up greatly.
But there was one thing that Steve loved more than he could ever admit- though he's told Tony enough times that surely the other wolf knows how much he does by now- and the one thing he sees so much more beauty in than the rest of him. And Steve took great pleasure in expressing his words of love and exactly what he thought each night when they went to bed- when Tony still tried to hide his chest from him even after all these years.
It was something that pained Steve too, as much as he hated to admit so. The reactor in his lover's chest was beautiful, and the scars around it even more so, but Tony never could get his mind around that fact. Not since he'd told Steve all those years ago how much he hated it, how he saw it as ugly and disgusting. But it was the exact opposite, no matter how many times Tony tried to say it wasn't.
The reactor was the reason that Tony didn't often shift anymore, not unless they were to go on patrols or they were playing around the yard on the rare occasion when he wasn't working on some new gadget. Because Steve had learned that whenever Tony shifted, it hurt the smaller wolf, the reactor pressed against his insides sometimes, making it tight and hard to breathe, even if only for a few seconds before his body readjusted to the change.
Sometimes though, Steve had to admit that even he didn't like the reactor, because it caused his lover great pain. But without it, his mate wouldn't be alive, so he was thankful for it and he loved it because of that.
"You're staring again," Tony murmured, from his spot on the bed, looking at Steve in the dark, coffee eyes barely illuminated by the soft blue light from the reactor in his chest. Steve smiled, from his spot in the doorway, before he finally moved, closing the door behind him. Pulling his shirt off, he advanced towards his mate before crawling onto the bed, chuckling when Tony hummed in appreciativeness.
"Can you blame me?" Steve asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned down for a kiss, one that Tony delighted in giving. "I have the most beautiful man in the world as my mate, I'm entitled to a little staring sometimes." he added with a smirk and only pulled back when Tony sighed. "What…?"
"Quit saying that…" Tony grumbled, looking forlorn and put out, crossing his arms over his chest now, a subconscious gesture that made Steve's heart ache and he whined, nuzzling Tony's neck to show his disapproval.
"Tony…" he frowned into his mate's skin, moving Tony's arms away from his chest and shifting himself so he could hold them down on the bed, his weight equally distributed so he wasn't crushing Tony as he laid himself down. "Please don't… not tonight…" he whispered, pleadingly and Tony tensed up, turning his head away. "Why… why can't you see what I see?" Steve added after a few minutes of silence.
"You're delusional Steve…" Tony muttered, voice flat even though Steve knew he was trying to joke, to move on from the subject and the conversation soon to take place, like it did almost every night.
"Tony…" Steve growled then, grip tightening just a little on the omega's wrists, nipping his lover's skin with his sharp canines, enough that it made Tony whine and tilt his head to the side in a submissive gesture. His inner wolf was immensely pleased by the action, but he was still very upset, knowing how his lover saw himself and that made Steve's heart ache all the more. "You're beautiful, Tony… all of you. Not just your looks, or your brilliant mind, or even your heart, but all of you. Including this…" he said, moving one hand, releasing Tony's own, to place it gently over the metal in the middle of Tony's chest.
Tony sighed and only stayed silent, staring sadly at Steve when the Alpha pulled away, moving his free hand gently to cover the one on his chest. The Alpha let the silence ring on, knowing it was at least better than Tony arguing with him again, and he really didn't want to fight with his mate, not tonight. So he accepted it and leaned down to kiss the omega, before shifting over so he was lying beside Tony.
"Beautiful," he repeated stubbornly, nuzzling into Tony's hair, wrapping his arms around his mate and pulling the smaller man tight against his chest. Tony only sighed again, shaking his head with a fond smile as he pulled the covers up over them, before placing a gentle kiss on Steve's chest, burrowing into it and making himself comfy.