Chapter Text
“Look at you, lazing about in the sun,” Bucky rumbled, rousing Tony from his nap. The omega yawned and stretched in the grass, turning his head to look at his alpha with a tired smile on his face.
“It’s exhausting looking after my pups and alphas. You’re all a handful,” Tony teased as he reached for the alpha. He made grabby hands for his mate and the bigger man came closer, kneeling down next to him.
“Mmm, I can tell,” Bucky replied softly, brow furrowing slightly. “You feelin’ okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just tired. Carry me?”
“Anything for you.” With that, the alpha picked up his smaller mate and carried him up over the hill and back into the camp. The camp was just as busy as ever with everyone doing their daily chores. Some were out scavenging, others were hunting, and Steve was out with Sam and Phil on patrol.
And as always, the pups were underfoot.
The elder pups tried to be helpful - Peter was always asking to help Clint weave baskets or cut up vegetables now that he was trustworthy with a knife. And then some continued to make a mess roughhousing, like Harley. Harley and Cooper were wrestling in the center of the camp, nearly knocking a few people over as they rolled around.
Bucky whistled sharply when they knocked over a bucket of boiled water, making both pups freeze.
“Refill that bucket with water and get it boilin’. When that’s done, yer both confined to yer tents,” the alpha ordered sternly. Both pups nodded their heads, looking properly scolded, before getting up and grabbing the bucket. They ran off towards the river.
“Look at you, whippin’ those boys into shape,” Tony said teasingly with a purr lacing his voice.
“They’re gettin’ to be too old for that nonsense,” Bucky told him with a sigh, carrying him across the camp and into the large tent that held their nest. He laid the omega out on the soft blankets and caressed his cheek affectionately. The young brunet’s purr got louder and he leaned into his touch. “You sure you feel okay?”
“Yeah, Buck, I just need another nap. Wake me for dinner please?”
“Of course, baby doll. I’ll go supervise our troublesome twins.”
Tony watched the bigger man leave the tent before he shut his eyes and fell back asleep, this time in the comfort and safety of his nest instead of the grass in the sun. What seemed like only a minute later, someone was gently shaking his shoulder to wake him. He whined and curled up in a ball, only to regret it when he was hit with a sudden wave of nausea.
“Dinner time, Tones. Come on, baby, time to get up,” Steve murmured, smiling when the omega whined again. Pretty brown eyes opened up and looked at the alpha, still looking fairly exhausted.
“Not hungry…”
“Tones, you gotta eat. Bucky said you slept all day,” the blond told him, voice fond.
Just thinking about eating had Tony’s stomach rolling uncomfortably again. He covered his mouth and whimpered, reaching for anything to throw up in. Steve jumped into action and grabbed a bucket, handing it over to the omega. Almost immediately, Tony was emptying his stomach into the bucket.
“Shit,” Steve murmured, rubbing his mate’s back and rumbling to keep him calm. The brunet stayed hunched over the bucket until he was dry-heaving. “Tony, why didn’t you say you didn’t feel well?”
“I was fine earlier,” Tony whimpered, gagging again. “Will you get some water?”
“Sure, doll. I’ll be back in a second,” the blond told him, kissing his head and then leaving their tent. He came back a few moments later with Bucky by his side, the brunet practically pumping out how worried he was. Steve handed over a cup filled with water and Tony downed it all.
“Poor omega, it’ll be okay,” Bucky told him, wrapping his arms around his mate and nuzzling him. “Get some more rest, we can try food tomorrow.”
“Okay. Don’t let the boys see me like this,” Tony murmured, laying back down in the nest.
-
By morning, Tony was feeling much better. Almost like the whole thing hadn’t happened. He got up and left the nest before his mates even woke up, going to find his pups so he could take them to the river for a bath. He poked his head into Clint’s tent and smiled at the two boys who were curled up with Cooper, Lila, and Nathan.
Clint and Phil were curled up in their own nest, the alpha practically on top of his mate in a protective cocoon. He silently crept inside and roused his boys, pulling them from the nest and leading them out of the tent. He purred as he lead the twins up over the hill to the river.
“Mommy, it’s early,” Peter whined, rubbing at his eye tiredly.
“I know, baby, but you were supposed to have a bath after dinner and mommy was asleep,” Tony explained, ruffling the young omega’s curls. He pulled the boy’s shirt off and then his shorts, tossing them onto the ground and then nudging the boy into the river. Harley was next, the little alpha already pulling his clothes off and jumping into the river after his brother.
“Alright, wash up while I wash your clothes. Do not drown each other while I go get the rest of the laundry,” the older brunet ordered, giving them both a stern glare before heading up over the hill and back to their tent. He poked his head in and saw both alphas practically on top of each other, still asleep.
He grabbed both of the baskets filled with their clothes and headed back to the river. Both of his pups were splashing about in the river, not really getting clean but at least getting the dirt off. He went a little ways downstream and started to wash all of their clothes.
Once all of the clothes were clean and dried and both pups were as clean as they were going to get, they started heading back to camp. A sudden wave of dizziness took over and Tony tried to shake it off. His vision started spotting and then everything went black.
Peter and Harley yelped when their mother fell to the ground unconscious. Both boys dropped the basket they were carrying together and crouched down next to the older omega, shaking him to try and wake him up.
“Mom! Mommy, wake up!” Peter exclaimed, tears gathering in his eyes. “Harley, go get daddy or papa!”
Harley whimpered and ran the rest of the way to camp, shouting the whole way and startling everyone who was awake and still asleep. He tore through the camp until he was pushing into their tent and rudely waking both of his fathers. He was full-on crying now, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Whoa, Harley, you’re okay,” Steve soothed, up and out of the nest and picking the young alpha up. He butted their heads together gently and rubbed the boy’s back. In the few years the alphas had known this small blond boy, neither had seen him cry like this. “What’s wrong?”
“M-Mama! He- He fell and he won’t wake up!”
“Bucky, go. I’ll stay here with Harls,” Steve ordered. Bucky was already on the move, throwing a shirt on and running out of the tent. The alpha running through the camp was even more concerning for their pack, everyone beginning to murmur and wonder what was going on.
The alpha ran over the hill and saw Peter and Tony, sprinting towards them and collapsing to his knees by his mate’s side. He pulled Peter into his arms and kissed the top of his head. He murmured soothingly to the boy and wiped his tears before focusing on the older omega on the ground.
“Tones, wake up,” Bucky murmured, carefully turning his mate over and gently smacking his cheek. The brunet didn’t react at all. The alpha cursed softly and carefully picked his mate up off of the ground. “Go see papa, I’m gonna take Tony to see Bruce and Wanda.”
“O-Okay,” Peter whimpered, grabbing the basket of clothes and taking it into the camp. Bucky followed after him before breaking off to take his mate to the other side of the camp. He pushed into the tent where Bruce and Wanda were talking. Both looked up when Bucky came in.
“I don’t know what’s wrong. He was exhausted yesterday and he threw up last night and he just passed out coming up from the river,” the alpha explained worriedly, setting the omega down into one of the nests.
Wanda came over and checked the other omega’s pulse while Bruce felt his forehead. Both the omega and beta worked to figure out what was going on and Tony woke a moment or two later, groaning softly and reaching up to rub at his head. He looked around and frowned when he realized where he was.
“What’s going on?”
“Bucky told us you passed out coming up from the river,” Wanda explained concernedly. “You don’t smell sick and your temperature is normal.”
“I didn’t eat yesterday. Maybe that’s it,” Tony murmured, sitting up slowly. He closed his eyes against the budding headache with a sigh. He leaned in when he felt a nose against his temple, breathing in Bucky’s scent.
“You do smell different though. Usually your scent is spicy but now it has some sweetness to it,” the alpha told him, moving to the omega’s neck and taking a deep breath.
“I do?”
“You do,” Bruce confirmed from his place across the tent where he was now reading a book.
“Oh…” Tony breathed, eyes widening. “Come on, let’s go see Steve!”
“What? Tones-” Bucky was cut off as his mate grabbed his hand and hauled him out of the tent. They ran across the camp for what seemed like the millionth time until they were pushing into their tent. Steve had both of the pups in the nest with him, soothing them and scenting over them protectively.
“Sit, get in the nest,” Tony urged, shoving Bucky towards the nest until the brunet was sitting inside. Both alphas were staring up at the smaller brunet with wide eyes, clearly confused by his behavior. Tony started rummaging through their things clearly trying to find something.
“Tony, what the hell? What is going on?” Steve asked, setting Peter to the side so he could get up.
“Ah, ah! Nest! Stay in the nest!” Tony demanded, pointing a stern finger at the blond. The alpha blinked and sat back down, hands up in surrender.
The omega kept digging around until he found what he was looking for - a blanket.
“Tony, our nest has enough blankets,” Bucky told him, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Not just any blanket! My- My first mate...he found this blanket when we’d just found out I was pregnant with the boys,” the small brunet explained, looking at the fabric fondly. “I held it until they were born and then I wrapped them in it until they got too big. Smell it.”
He handed over the blanket hesitantly and Steve took a whiff with a questioning frown on his face.
“Well it smells like you, just sweeter. And Peter and Harley’s milk scents,” he told him before realization dawned on his face. “Are you-”
“I have to be, it’s the only explanation,” Tony said with a grin on his face. Bucky was looking between the pair, clearly confused. The omega giggled softly and grabbed the bigger brunet’s hand, placing it on his flat stomach.
Both of them could see when it finally clicked in Bucky’s head.
“We’re… We’re gonna have a pup,” the alpha breathed, his eyes wide. He pulled the omega into the nest and wrapped him up in his lap, still keeping one hand on his mate’s stomach.
“Are you okay now?” Peter asked worriedly, his brow furrowed as he pushed under his mother’s arms to hug him.
“Yes, baby boy, I’m so sorry for scaring you,” Tony murmured, kissing the young omega’s head. He tugged on Harley’s hand and pulled him into his arms as well. “Were you scared too, Harls?”
“N-No! I was totally fine!” Harley protested, pouting slightly. He leaned into his mother’s embrace regardless, breathing in his scent.
“Our family’s gonna get bigger,” Steve sighed, a happy smile on his face as he scented over his mates and pups.
-
“You are positively glowing,” Clint commented as he handed over the bowl of stew, a warm smile on his face. He settled down next to Tony by the fire and the brunet leaned into him.
“Definitely ‘cause of the fire because I’m pretty sure I actually look like shit,” Tony told him, happily eating the stew. He was a few months pregnant now and he’d start showing more and more in the last few weeks. The whole camp had started celebrating when they’d found out.
“No, it’s definitely just you. How far are you now?”
“Mmm...not even four and a half months,” the brunet said, setting the bowl aside and resting his hands on his bump. It wasn’t very big, not nearly as big as he’d been when he was pregnant with the twins. It was probably safe to say he wasn’t having multiple this time.
“Did you eat enough?” Steve asked as he came over to check on him, smiling at the omega and resting one of his own hands on his mate’s stomach. “Feel okay?”
“Yes, Steve, thank you,” Tony said, smiling and kissing the blond. The alpha nodded and made to get up but then the omega made a sudden noise. He looked back down at him questioningly. “Will, um, will you find me some berries actually?”
“Of course, doll. Be right back.” And then Steve was walking away to find some berries.
“Oh yeah, that’s the best part. Your alphas can do nothing but pamper you,” Clint commented with a laugh, nudging his friend.
“Yeah, that is a perk. It wasn’t like this the first time - we lived in a cave with whatever we could find.”
“You never talk about him - your first mate,” the other omega murmured, looking at him curiously.
“I still think of him. Almost every day,” Tony murmured, looking down at his stomach. He sighed sadly and rubbed his bump. “I love Bucky and Steve, I do… but he was my first love, my first kiss, my first everything.”
“And the sire of your pups. I understand,” Clint said, looking around for Phil. “Cooper isn’t Phil’s. I was born into a group of rogues and I basically had an arranged mating.”
“Did you love him?”
“I liked him. But no, I didn’t love him. Some of the other alphas wanted a piece of me and when they tried, I killed one of them,” the blond explained to him, eyes moving to look at his pups. “My mate demanded I apologize or leave. So I left and I took Coop with me. I ran into Phil and I haven’t been without him since.”
“How romantic,” Tony teased fondly, nipping at the other man playfully.
“You requested berries, gorgeous omega?” Bucky asked as he approached, smiling as he handed over a small bag. Tony cheered and opened up the bag, grinning when he saw the berries inside. He started munching on them happily.
“What happened to Steve?” Clint asked curiously.
“He, um… yeah he’s trapped under a puppy pile,” the big alpha admitted with a chuckle. He settled down on Tony’s other side and stole a berry, earning a noise of complaint from his mate. “Harley is the ring leader of course.”
“Oh of course. A troublesome alpha, through and through. Just like you,” Tony purred, leaning his head on the man’s shoulder.
“I think I’m gonna go find my alpha and cuddle up too,” Clint said, kissing Tony’s cheek and then getting up to find Phil. Both brunets watched him go before turning back to looking at the fire, munching on berries quietly.
Steve eventually joined him with their pups on his heels. All three flopped down in a pile and Tony’s purr was louder than ever, surrounded by his family. He had his alphas on either side and his pups in his lap with a third on the way.
-
Tony woke to shouting in the camp, startling him and making him wrap his arms tighter around his pups. Steve and Bucky were out of the nest immediately with hackles raised high. Steve was out of the tent first and a moment later, they heard someone shout, “Scavengers!”
Bucky swore softly and grabbed a gun, passing it over to Tony and kissing his forehead. The omega looked down at the gun before looking at his alpha worriedly, biting his lip. He wouldn’t be able to help much - he was heavily pregnant and rarely left the nest unless he needed to these days.
“Stay here. Protect yourself and our pups,” the alpha murmured, kissing his forehead.
“Please come back in one piece. Both of you,” Tony whispered, tears gathering in his eyes. Bucky nodded his head and then tore out of the tent to help the rest of the camp. The omega sighed shakily and gathered the twins close to him. It felt like before he’d joined the pack, always protecting his pups and fearing for their lives.
“Mommy,” Peter whimpered, hiding his face against the omega’s back. Harley wrapped his arms around his twin, his own hackles raised at the scent of distress and anger in the air. There were plenty of snarls and growls drifting in from outside, along with the sounds of fighting and scuffling.
And then someone was pushing into the tent, an unfamiliar alpha obviously looking for something to steal. He paused when he saw the pregnant omega and the boys in the nest and then a grin spread across his sleazy face. He took a step forward and Tony aimed the gun at him, snarling in warning.
“Now, now, little ‘mega. You’ll hurt yourself with that,” the alpha rumbled as he took another step forward. “Look at you, fucked proper and bred. Maybe you’ll have another l’il ‘mega and we can train ‘em how to service us.”
“Take one more step and I’ll blow your brains out,” Tony snarled, a whining hiss tearing out of his throat. He took the safety off of the pistol with his teeth bared.
“Clearly not beaten enough,” the stranger said with a sneer, close enough now to reach into the nest and touch them. “Don’t worry, we’ll train that snark right out of you.”
When the scavenger attempted to reach in and grab Peter, Tony fired the shot. Both boys flinched and cried out at the sound, covering their ears. The scavenger’s body thumped to the ground and Tony threw a blanket over his pups to keep them from seeing the corpse.
It wasn’t the first time he’d had to kill somebody to protect his pups but he hadn’t had to since he joined this pack. With an entire camp full of people, you either had to be brave or stupid to attack. Clearly these scavengers were desperate and filled with false bravado.
A loud growl sounded outside of the tent and Tony whimpered, tightening his grip on the gun. Steve pushed into the tent, his teeth bared as he obviously picked up on the scent of a strange alpha in his tent. He looked between the gun in Tony’s hands and the body on the ground for a moment.
“Precious omega, such a good job protecting the nest,” Steve murmured soothingly, stepping around the body and carefully taking the gun from his mate’s hands. “Protecting our pups.”
“Are they gone?”
“All gone. They made off with a deer but that’s it,” the alpha answered with a smile. “Let’s get you and the boys out of here while Buck ‘n I clean this mess up.”
“Okay,” Tony said with a sigh, grunting as he started to get up. The blond helped him up and supported him for a moment before moving to pick up both of the pups. He kept them covered in the blanket until they were outside and away from the corpse. Then he helped Tony walk out, helping him to the center of the camp.
The whole place was in disarray, a few tents torn down and grass torn up from the scuffle. A few of their supply boxes were raided and there was food and supplies littered over the ground but otherwise everything looked the same. Steve settled him on one of the logs, both pups plopping down right next to their mother.
“Stay right here, just yell if you need one of us,” the alpha told him, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Boys, stay with mommy.”
Peter and Harley both nodded tiredly, clearly emotionally drained from the fear and stress of the raid. They leaned into Tony’s sides and were almost immediately asleep. Everyone was cleaning up around them other than a couple other pregnant omegas and betas.
Tony winced when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, moving his head to rest over the large bump. His pup had been extra active these last few days, slowly turning around in preparation for labor. And now he suspected it was time - he was too far long for him to assume they were phantom contractions.
The omega leaned back slowly and took a few deep breaths, squeezing his eyes shut when he felt another sharp pain. Yeah, he was definitely going into labor. Who knew how long he had until his water broke.
“Steve! Bucky!” Tony called, gritting his teeth through the pain. Another contraction. “Alphas!”
“Tones? You okay, doll?” Bucky asked as he ran over, his brow furrowed worriedly. Peter and Harley were blinking awake, confused by their mother’s yelling.
“It’s time, I’m pupping,” the omega whimpered, taking another deep breath. “My water hasn’t broken but I think it’s gonna happen soon.”
“Shit. Okay, um, sit tight, we’re almost done cleanin’ up the tent,” Bucky said, only a little panicked. He ran back to the tent, yelling the whole way for Steve to clean faster. An hour passed with contractions coming and going before Tony’s water finally broke. By then, Steve and Bucky were helping him across camp back to their nest.
“Ahhh, fuck,” Steve swore, eyes wide as he looked down.
“Do you kiss your mate with that mouth?” Tony teased, a grin on his face as Bucky continued helping him.
“Shut it,” Steve said with a roll of his eyes. They made it to the tent with Steve a few steps behind. He crawled into the nest after stripping out of his clothes, wiggling around in the clean nest. He grabbed the blanket he’d been nesting with and cuddled it close to his chest, allowing the comforting scent to soothe him.
“Do you want us to grab Wanda or Bruce?” Bucky asked, getting down on his knees outside of the nest and leaning in to nuzzle his mate.
“No. No help unless absolutely necessary,” Tony answered firmly, rubbing his belly. “I need one of you behind me and the other will need to check my progress.”
“Bucky, you get behind him,” Steve ordered, moving to get into the nest between the omega’s legs. “Can’t wait to see our pup.”
“Hopefully there really is just one and the little bean comes out fast,” the omega grouched around a contraction. “Peter and Harley took almost 24 hours.”
-
Morgan Hope was born in the dead of night and would have woken the whole camp with her caterwauling if they hadn’t already been awake waiting for her arrival. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and finally began moving towards their own tents now that they knew their newest pack member was here.
Peter and Harley refused to be herded by Clint, not wanting to be far from their parents and their new baby sister. The blond omega sighed softly and made his way towards the tent where Morgan was still letting loose a few wails. He poked his head in, ignoring the alphas’ growls.
“Peter and Harley won’t move, I think you should let them in,” the blond told them, which cut the growls short.
“Yeah, let them in,” Bucky murmured from his spot behind Tony. The omega was curled up against the brunet’s chest with the pup curled into his own, suckling away on his nipple. His legs were brought up in a defensive position, completely wrapped around his newborn protectively.
Clint nodded his head and ducked back out of the tent, walking over to the twins who were practically vibrating with anxiety.
“You can go in, but you need to be slow and quiet. Everyone’s instincts are high and they’ll think attack first, ask questions later if they think your mom or your new sister is in danger,” the blond explained to both boys who nodded in understanding.
Harley led the way towards the tent, his hand clasped firmly in his brother’s. They stopped right outside of the tent and both made questioning noises, just loud enough for their parents to hear. A moment later Steve poked his head out and he smiled down at them.
“Come on in, pups, just be quiet,” the alpha told them, opening up the entrance to let them both in. When they got inside, they immediately saw the small pup nestled against their mother’s chest.
“Come here, pups,” Tony murmured, smiling tiredly at them. “Come meet your sister.”
Peter was the first by his mother’s side, his inner omega delighted just by the mere sight of a pup. He looked at Tony and Bucky for permission before gently scenting over the girl who gave a small grunt at being touched while she was fed.
“She’s so...squishy-looking,” Harley murmured, tilting his head in confusion. Steve snorted into his fist and shook with silent laughter at the young alpha’s observation.
“You were squishy too,” Tony told him with a small laugh. “You took up most of the room in my tummy, Harley.”
“Poor Peter, he didn’t have any room,” Bucky teased, gently laying his hand on top of Peter’s head. The young omega purred happily at the open affection from one of his alphas.
“What is she?” Peter asked as he looked up at his parents.
“We won’t know until she’s a little older. A pup’s milk scent covers their designation scent for the first year,” Steve explained as he sat down behind the two boys. Both of them settled back against the blond alpha, still watching Morgan as she finally pulled off of Tony’s nipple. The pup squirmed in her mother’s arms before stilling and falling asleep.
-
Tony sighed softly as he stepped out into the sunlight, blinking at the light and turning away from it. It was his first time out of the tent since Morgan had been born a few months previous. Every instinct inside of him had demanded he stay in the nest with his newborn while his alphas provided and he listened.
He hadn’t had that choice when the twins were born and he’d taken the opportunity this time around. So now it was Morgan’s first time seeing the camp and everyone was excited about meeting the girl.
He carried her through the camp with the pup looking around curiously and babbling in her mother’s ear. She had short, brown curls sprouting on her head and they moved when one of her daddies would bounce her. Tony gently rubbed the little girl’s back as he searched out his mates.
Occasionally someone would stop to meet the pup but they were left alone otherwise. He found the alphas skinning a deer near the outskirts of the camp, the smell thick with the animal’s blood. He wrinkled his nose and shielded his pup from the smell.
“Wait for us in the camp, doll, we’re almost done,” Bucky called when he noticed the omega and their pup.
“Take a bath before you do,” Tony ordered firmly before turning and heading back into camp. He found Clint and Phil by the bonfire, both of them sewing patches onto their pups’ clothing. He settled down with them and placed Morgan between his legs with her back resting against his stomach.
“Oh, Tony, she’s precious,” Phil said, completely awed as he looked at the pup. He reached over with one of his fingers extended and smiled when Morgan wrapped her pudgy hand around it.
“She’s constantly chattering unless she’s eating or sleeping,” the brunet told them with a grin on his face, running his hands through those short curls.
“Aaah!” Morgan exclaimed suddenly, patting Phil’s hand excitedly. She looked up at the alpha with a gummy grin on her face.
“Dammit, my heart,” Clint murmured, looking down at the pup with wide eyes. “Phil, we need another pup.”
“Clint, no.”
“Clint, yes.”
Tony laughed which made Morgan giggle and look up at her mommy, still showing off her gums since she didn’t have any teeth yet. The pair next to them continued to banter back and forth about having another pup until eventually they took their conversation to their tent to make it more...physical.
The omega assumed Clint won the argument.
Morgan squealing suddenly got Tony’s attention and he looked down to see the pup reaching off to their right. He looked over and smiled as his alphas walked over to them, damp from jumping in the river after skinning the deer. Steve made faces at the little girl as he came up to them, crouching down and scooping the little girl up into his arms.
The pup squealed again, a giggle coming out as her papa bounced her lightly. She brought her hands up and squished Steve’s face lightly which only made her giggle more.
“How you feelin’, doll?” Bucky asked as he settled next to Tony, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“Good, really good. My instincts aren’t telling me to growl or threaten anybody,” Tony told him with a laugh, leaning into his embrace. “Glad I get to be outside again.”
“Yeah, you need some sun. Lookin’ pretty fair when yer usually so tan.”
“Shut up,” the smaller grumbled half-heartedly, nuzzling his mate. Steve sat down in front of them with Morgan still in his arms, the little girl happily playing with her papa’s shirt. The trio sat in peace for another few moments before the sounds of general chaos started up, led by Harley running by and a procession of older pups following after him shouting the whole way.
“Dammit,” Bucky sighed, getting up. He kissed his mates’ heads and then Morgan’s forehead before running after the group of pups. Tony was fairly sure he heard a few curse words but he couldn’t help but laugh. Of course his family couldn’t have peace for long when they had three young pups, two of which insisted on getting into as much trouble as possible.
But he loved them all anyway.