Words: 2,583
Rating: T
Warnings: Yaoi (Boy Love), light Yuri (Girl Love), hurt/comfort, barely there angst, tooth-aching fluff.
Summary: The pack desperately needs a vacation and Tony is there to help provide one for them.
It had been months, around seven, give or take a week or so, since the incident with Ultron that landed Lionel in the hospital and had sent the pack on edge for so many of those months. It had taken awhile for them to relax in their own territory and though, now, they were getting back to their normal routine, before all of that had happened, it was obvious, to all of them, how much they all needed a vacation. It was just a matter of finding something that everyone was comfortable with, and while normally that wouldn't be a problem, their little family of misfits often didn't agree on anything of this sort.
-0-
It all started with Mark, of course, because he was the most easily agitated of the group- coupled with Bruce, but you never wanted those two in the same room when they were set off, that was just asking for a disaster to happen- with his fiery temper and bad habit of picking fights with any of his pack when he was agitated, upset, frustrated, or angered.
"I'll kill you!" Mark howled, after having shifted into his wolf form, his fur golden and fire red, the effect and the colors making it look as if his fur was on fire, matching his furious mood. "I swear to fucking- Barton!"
"Stay away you… you… monster!" Clint barked, panicked as he was chased by Mark, his own wolf form seemingly smaller in his fear.
"Mark!" Lionel whined, clinging to the back of the couch, claws digging into it in his own fear of the ex-shifter. "Please calm down!"
"I'll have your pelt to wear for winter!" Mark ignored the other shifter in favor of cornering Clint, pouncing on his prey and tearing at the assassin in his anger. Clint cried out and threw Mark off of him, scrambling away in terror. "Clint!"
"Mark I swear to whatever gods out there, if you touch a hair on Clint's head, I'll tear you apart myself!" Freya snarled, shifting into her wolf form the second Clint ducked behind her, her hackles raised and her fangs bared at the larger beta. "I fucking dare you!"
Mark growled and backed away a few steps, claws digging into the wooded floors and Lionel let out another whine, closing his eyes tightly, expecting Freya and Mark to attack each other, but he was immensely relieved when he heard the familiar commanding tone of their Pack Alpha as Steve came into the room, seeing all four wolves shifted and on edge. "What is going on in here?" he growled out, eyes narrowed and immediately Mark and Freya turned their heads towards him, both with their eyes wide, though Mark was the first to back off, the low growl stuck in his throat now.
Lionel shifted back first, still clinging to the back of the couch though and his ears lowered as his tail flicked back and forth agitatedly, "H-hi Alpha…" he swallowed hard and looked from the Alpha to the other three. "Clint… may have startled Mark to the point of angering him enough that Mark deemed it necessary to try and kill him." he piped up, voice carefully hiding any trace of fear he had previously felt and Clint whimpered, belly lowered to the ground, causing Freya to growl again at Mark, who decided it was best to not cause any trouble while their Alpha was present. That didn't stop him from sending a hateful glare towards the smaller brown wolf, a snort leaving him at the sight of Clint cowering behind the she-wolf.
"Mark," Steven growled dangerously, eyes flashing red and Mark finally shifted back, crouched down in a submissive stance, eyes cast downward.
"I'm sorry Alpha," he muttered, rolling his shoulders and he twitched when he saw Freya and Clint shifting back into their own human forms, Clint still cowering behind Freya, who was still in a very offensive stance, fists clenched at her hips and her eyes narrowed dangerously at the blonde beta.
Sighing, Steve nodded his head and looked between all of them, "It's… quite alright, I know we're all on edge. Clint, you should do well to remember that Mark can't smell you coming like the rest of us can and Mark, do well to remember that you are part of this pack whether you like it or not, and you can't be going around killing off anyone that angers you so. Apologize to each other and go your separate ways to allow the other time to cool off."
"Sorry…" Clint whispered, glancing at Mark before darting off, not giving Mark a chance to repeat the words back, no matter how fake they would have been. Mark had left the second Clint did, darting off back in the direction of the training room, no doubt aiming to spend his frustration and energy the only way he knew how.
Sighing again, Steve shared a look with Freya, who had calmed down considerably when Mark left, and Lionel, who had relaxed finally when the tension had drained from the room. The two only looked back at him with sad, knowing looks, understanding his worries.
-0-
It was only a matter of time before Thor made his frustrations known as well, having spent several nights out on long runs, worrying even Loki to the point that the trickster, Lionel, and Tony all went out looking for him one night, only to encounter several fallen trees outside their territory.
Following that, Bruce had nearly blown up himself at Tony and finally, after Steve, Lionel, and Clint all had to literally drag Bruce and Tony away from one another, Steve had had enough.
-0-
"This is getting ridiculous," Steve growled out, looking at his pack, where they sat in the livingroom, both Tony and Bruce still agitated, but at least they had the sense to look sheepish and apologetic when glancing back at their Alpha. "We are eventually going to end up tearing each other apart if we continue like this, and quite frankly, this tension between all of us even going to drive even myself mad."
Everyone was quiet for a few moments before Pepper spoke up, hesitant, squirming with agitation herself, "What about a vacation? Something we could use to get out of here for just a little bit, get some… fresh air, so to speak?"
Snorting, Clint glanced back at her and frowned, "What like… a museum or something? Right, no chance of that. They don't usually let packs into places so public, remember? Especially packs with wolves that got superpowers." he muttered and Pepper frowned, ducking her head with a whimper and Natasha growled at Clint, causing the other to cower behind Bruce and the ex-mutant growled back at Natasha.
"Enough! This is exactly what I'm talking about," Steve barked, stance rigid and immediately Natasha and Bruce quieted their growls, both turning their attention to their Alpha. "Look, Pepper, what you're suggesting isn't a bad idea, but Clint is right. We can't go to a place like that… especially not while we're all high-strung right now."
"What about a park?" Lionel asked, perking up at the thought, and Tony snorted in laughter, immediately bringing a hand to his mouth to stifle it, but Lionel had heard it already and he frowned, ears lowered. "What's wrong with the park?" he asked, sounding dejected and Tony offered a small apologetic smile, before clearing his throat.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong with the park, except… uh, we're all adults here and there is nothing we'd be able to do at a park anyway." he tried to say in a straight voice, as if his reasoning was fair and his logic was sound, but even Loki had to agree that was a bit off; they were all dogs after all, even if some of them would like to pretend they didn't act like a puppy if given the chance to. Steve sighed and tilted his head, looking back and forth between the shifter and the rest of the pack.
"We'll figure something out, Lionel, we will," he said, before nodding his head at them, "in the mean time, try and relax until we can figure out where to go."
-0-
After that, they all tried to figure out what they could do for a simple vacation that allowed them the freedom to relax after everything that had happened, but even Lionel had to admit that trying to find something that everyone agreed to, well… that was a bit hard to do.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that Tony had finally let slip a surprise he was planning for the pack, that they began to get antsy, not with frustration or agitation, but with excitement and curiosity.
-0-
"Alright, we're in a fancy limo with the tag 'Stark Industries' on the back, driving to only the Gods know where," Clint started only to pause when Loki glared at him and he smiled sheepishly, "sorry, not you two, you're about as mortal as a God can get anyway…" he trailed off when Loki growled and Thor snorted in laughter.
"Right…" Mark dragged out the word before rolling his eyes and he turned his attention to Tony, "so I think Barton is asking, where the fuck are you taking us?"
Tony growled under his breath, eye twitching, his arms crossed, leaning back against Steve as he answered dutifully, with a sharp edge, "You'll see when we get there now shut your trap or I'm going to make this limo pull over and I'll push you out of it so you can walk all the way back home. Understand?"
Lionel, Loki, Pepper, and Freya let out little chuckles and giggles when Mark's face flamed up at the fact that he'd been told off, kindly, by an omega, while Thor and Clint both roared with laughter. Natasha had her own little smirk on her face and Steve smiled, neither of the Alpha's uttering a sound at the obvious embarrassed anger Mark found himself feeling just then. This seemed to have cleared up the atmosphere though, as immediately conversation sparked up and they all relaxed as best as they were able to the entire ride there.
It wasn't until the limo driver stopped the car, announcing to 'Master Stark', that they were at their destination, and got out of said limo, that they realized where they were. Before them all stood a large iron gate, old and rusted, with several vines and flowers wrapped around the bars, connected to a tall brick wall that was surrounded by trees on both sides. "Where… where are we…?" Lionel breathed out, frowning, but in awe at the large gate.
Mark shot a skeptical look at Tony, who only smirked as he walked up to the gate, "You haven't brought us here to kill us and dispose of our bodies, have you? Because I'll have you know that I'm not about to give in without a fight, even if you are the Pack Alpha's mate." he said, crossing his arms and he actually snickered when Tony shot him an annoyed glare in return, his muscles relaxing.
"Please, if I'd wanted to kill you all, I would've done it regardless of publicity or not." Tony said, before smirking again, "I'm smarter than this anyway, no one would be able to pin the crime on me if I did happen to choose to murder you." Slightly unnerved by Tony's words, Mark only scrunched his nose up, as a few of his packmates laughed at him, before Tony grabbed out a set of keys.
"Tony… this is… a public park." Steve suddenly said, in realization, causing the others to look at him and he frowned at his lover. "Why are the gates to a public park closed? And why do you have the keys to said gates?"
Opening the gates, Tony paused before pushing them open, sighing softly as he ran his free hand through his hair, shrugging a shoulder limply, "I reserved it for us for the day. No one else is inside the gardens, not even the staff." he puffed out, cheeks heating up and all of a sudden, Lionel let out a happy little bark, leaping at Tony and hugging him tightly before darting through the gates, causing them to swing open and the others gasped when it revealed the beautiful gardens beyond them.
Flowers of all different colors- hyacinths, roses, tulips, daisies, chrysanthemums, snapdragons- were planted everywhere, trees- willows, oaks, pines, cherry trees- of all sorts were placed seemingly randomly around the park, hanging over walls- all shorter than the ones surrounding the park, but made of the same brick all the same- statues- of lions, horses, butterflies, foxes, birds- and benches- made of beautiful mahogany wood and painted a beautiful dark blue that matched the garden so perfectly. The sight of it all took their breath away, and as they all walked further into the gardens, exploring, they found a large building at the back, no doubt the museum telling of the area's historical value, and a beautifully carved stone fountain with water as clear as glass.
Immediately Freya, Natasha, and Pepper all made their way towards the rose gardens, cooing and chatting about anything and everything they could think about, enjoying the scents that surrounded them. Mark and Clint shifted into their wolf forms, racing each other through the gardens before ending in a wrestling match, both barking in laughter, the gardens around them making them feel more relaxed than they've felt in months. Bruce walked with Thor and Loki through the gardens, silent as they watched the others or looked at the flowers, marveling in their beauty. And Tony and Steve watched Lionel run around, shifting between several of his different forms- wolf, bear, hawk, fox, raptor- as if he didn't know which to stay as, both with a smile on their face.
"I thought you didn't like parks, love," Steve whispered teasingly, hugging Tony from behind and the omega shrugged, playing off the feeling that was caused by his inner wolf dancing in circles around his heart in glee and happiness.
"Yeah well… the park wasn't my idea, remember?" Tony said with a hidden smile, chuckling when Steve nuzzled his neck, grinning into his skin. "Besides, they all seem pretty happy. Who am I to take that away from them?"
"Yes, you're right," Steve hummed, glancing up to see Lionel, who had apparently settled in his wolf form, rolling in the grass and the wild flowers.
"Tony! Steve!" Lionel suddenly rolled over onto his stomach, tail wagging as he looked at the two wolves still by the garden entrances. "Come on! You're missing out on all the fun!"
With a grin, Tony looked back at Steve and winked at him, "Last one in gets to top tonight?" he suggested and Steve answered with a feral grin, shifting immediately into his wolf form and he darted off before Tony even had a chance to react. "W-what!? Wait! Steven! That's not fair- oh fuck it! Steven Grant Rogers, when I catch you you're so gonna get it!" Tony barked out, having shifted right in the middle of his sentence before he chased after his mate, tackling Steve right as the Alpha reached the other omega and Lionel squealed in laughter before joining in the fun, tackling Tony and helping the Alpha get his small bit of revenge. "Lionel you traitor! Get back here!"