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When Peter wakes up, it’s around two in the morning – or perhaps, three – Tony doesn’t really know and doesn’t really have the energy to roll his body and peek at the red lines of numbers on the nightstand beside the bed, body’s too tired and his joints scream in agony. At this point, Tony can’t feel himself tearing his hair out at the pup who’s crying bloody murder, shrilling screams on the background, and to make it worse, it echoes through the hall, so loud that he can hear each tremble and hiccup in his pup’s voice. The distant pounding in his head comes back like an old friend, thumping in one rhythm with Peter’s crying.
No one has ever told him that having a pup means Tony needs to give up his sleeping schedule entirely. Because sure enough, he can feel himself slip away into insanity if this keeps happening. Tony might be used to not sleeping due to the previous routine he had before the pregnancy, all the inventing at three am, filled with more of coffee times at five in the morning and ten hours sleep after staying awake for three days. But this is just different. And it fucking sucks because no one warns him about this. Not his dad. Not even his mother.
Tony still remembers the time he came to visit his parents with a month old Peter and the baby cried in the middle of the night. He had expected his mother coming bursting out of her room, but instead, it was his dad, looking weary and tired when Tony tried to take him for a small evening walk in the park – which now, he didn’t even know why he thought that bringing a newborn pup to the park at night was a good idea – and he felt bad instantly because Peter must have cried so loud that it had woken him up. Tony immediately went to apologize but his dad shushed him up and instead, he had asked silently for Peter and even though Tony doubted his father, he couldn’t help but pass the pup to him. Then, it was like his dad had magic in him or something because Peter, instantly, quiets down as his dad gently jostles the baby on his arms, a fond look on his wrinkly face. That time, both omega and his alpha father had spent the evening quietly talking about how that information about having a pup on the articles was bullshit (“ugh no one ever tells me about this, wait why don’t you tell me about this?”) and his father had laughed it off because Tony was no different when he was a baby.
When Peter cries harder, breaking Tony from his trail of thought, it makes Tony grunts pitifully, muffling his own sob to the pillow. That, arouses the alpha next to him into the state of full awakeness and Tony feels like sobbing harder, now.
“This is the fourth time, Alpha.” Tony sniffles into the pillow, rubbing one spot near his temple, where his now-dulling headache takes place. Although his splitting headache is painful enough to make him go mad, the cry of his baby is making his heart breaks in two. Reaching to the other side of the bed, Tony grabs a fistful of Stephen’s shirt and tugging it weakly, saying, “Steph, can you—”
Instead of pushing the hands away, Stephen hums, letting out a deep rumble. “Okay, okay,” Tony can feel the said alpha’s mouth rests on his temple, soft and a little bit chapped, solid, before Peter cries harder and that seems to snap the sleepy alpha back to the present. “Okay, Alpha comes to the rescue.”
“Thank you.” The omega whispers back which earns a sleepy squeeze of reassurance on his arms.
“’ course, darling.”
The soft pads of Stephen leaving their room reached his ears and Tony sighs in relief. Sometimes he thinks how grateful and lucky he is to meet Stephen and have him as his mate and husband. It feels surreal to know that his alpha was the same person he met years ago, with the deep and thick scent of early blooming garden and sunrise with the hints of his youth in a form of baby powder. If he had only known that Stephen had already kept the same feeling as him much earlier, then, they could’ve upgraded their status of childhood best friend to lovers. Or, perhaps Tony should be able to read it the first time they agreed to spend their ruts and heats together. But nothing he could do now, in the end, they ended up being together anyway and Tony’s already happy enough with that.
He blinks slowly as voices reach his ears. Tony can make out some of the faint mutters from the baby monitor, something that makes his heart flutters and smile growing on his face: hey, pup, what is it? Need a change – oh, you’re dry... So, you’re hungry, then, it continues with: you’re only months old and already so spoiled, aren’t you, pup? Come on, then, let’s bring you to mama. Let’s sleep with him tonight, bet you miss him... hmm? Is that right? You miss mama? At that, Tony huffs an amused laugh when the voice from the baby monitor goes faint and the pads on the floor get louder, followed with a creak of a door being opened and Peter’s silent whimper, muffled against Stephen’s chest. Slowly, he raises himself into a sitting position. It’s amusing to see the alpha comes back to the bedroom, holding their little pup in his too-big arms, engulfing him. And if Tony isn’t half-asleep and has a dull headache from the lack of sleep, he would’ve made a teasing comment about it. Peter has somehow quieted down, his cheeks are wet with tears and a little bit red from crying. Stephen carefully settles the sniffling baby on the omega’s arms, his own sleepy smile is growing on his face, fond.
“Oh, hello, little cub.” The omega can feel his heart grows three sizes bigger at the sight, stretching his hands in grabby motion. Seeing Peter suddenly makes him forgets about his headache and when Tony has him secured in his arms, his smile grows bigger. “God, you’re a spoiled one. Ugh – look at him, he’s all blotchy.”
Carefully, Tony lifts the baby up, shifting him a little while his right hand takes the reachable part of the sheet and uses it to wipe away Peter’s tears and snots. Stephen has moved closer to the omega and reached to the other side of the pup’s face where his tears have trickled down to the side of his face and then wipes it with his fingers and the back of his hand. Peter only whimpers and struggles a bit in Tony’s hold, bottom lips trembling in a heartbreaking sight with more tears attached on his long lashes but pauses abruptly when Tony mutters silent words of tranquility while dropping soft kisses on his plump cheeks and small nose that definitely, without doubt, was a perfect copy from the alpha’s.
Sensing the omega mother, Peter’s continuous whimpers subdues and being replaced with him cooing at Tony before slowly relaxing and closing his eyes, mumbling incoherent noises under his breath. That has earned a snort from Stephen which definitely Tony replies with a nudge of his elbow on his ribs. “Sorry,” Stephen says, though he doesn’t really sound like one.
“He quiets down,” Tony states, once the baby fully closes his eyes and stills, his voice barely above whisper but the alpha can still hear them clearly due to the quietness of their surrounding. His unoccupied hand lands its index finger onto the tip of the sleeping pup, poking softly the small part of his skin there. “My fussy little cub,” the omega smiles at the sight, finger goes from Peter’s nose down to his cheek, wiping the remnants track of tears that still exist. “It felt like yesterday when I found out about, ya know – the whole pregnant thing. And now... he’s here and four months old: heavy and chubby and ours.”
Stephen leans his chin onto his mate’s shoulder and steals a kiss on his cheek, whispering: “Ours.”
It’s a domestic and heart-melting moment, Tony finds. With his pup sleeping on his arms, mouth barely closes and his alpha silently fighting the last bit of sleep in him because he wouldn’t want to miss such beautiful and rare moments. Tony has to hide his own snicker at the smile on Stephen’s face who’s definitely almost snoozing off on his shoulder. But instead of doing that which could be not only waking up his mate but also Peter, the omega mother leans over and pecks the corner of Stephen’s mouth.
“What did we feed him, again – that he became this fat?” Tony asks, despite the playful in his tone, he still half-whispering, not wanting to wake up the beast of a pup he has on his arm at the moment.
The alpha blinks harder, now that Tony has caught his attention as he lets out an amused laugh. “He’s been on breastfeeding since you gave birth to him, so, that question is supposed to be for you.”
“Ouch, so you’re telling me I’m fat?”
Mirth dancing in his eyes, Stephen replies, “I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Tony scoffs and shrugs one shoulder, still doesn’t buy that. “You got out because if you haven’t noticed, there’s a fussy pup who apparently has been bugging me off every damn night and I don’t wanna wake him up because—”
Seems like Peter can sense that he’s being addressed, he fussed in his sleep, lips wobbling. Tony quickly rocks his arms gently and as much as he wants to elbow his mate again for snickering silently behind him, he finds himself mumbling words of comfort to the pup, “no, no, it’s fine, darling. Mama’s sorry. Mama didn’t mean that. He swears.” Then, between words Tony proceeds to pinch the alpha on his upper arm, hard enough to make him flinch.
“Ouch—!” Stephen yelps in pain which he quickly cuts off when a glare lands on him. In the omega’s arms, Peter has, once again, quiets down, head nuzzles right near his breast.
“Your fault.” States Tony silently.
Both alpha and omega decide to leave it at that and drink upon the sight presented before them. When Peter is made sure he has fallen in a deep slumber, Stephen lands a kiss on his forehead before caressing his cheek again. If Tony could, he would have taken a picture of it, for it’s so tender and loving that he could feel his heart bursts with love. Then, all of a sudden, his forgotten headache comes back and takes its own place on his head again. It’s not as hard and painful as before but it exists and makes its appearance apparent for him that he couldn’t help but welcome.
Grunting lowly, Tony turns his head slightly until the face of his mate appears on his sight. “By the way, Steph, can you bring me something for my headache?” The omega asks silently, tries not to jostle the pup in his hold too much. “Had it since afternoon and it just won’t go away.”
“Okay,” Stephen whispers his reply, slowly raises his body, “wait here, baby,” then takes his leave.
“It’s not like I can go anywhere with this fussy pup in my arms.” He grumbles silently, fully knowing that he only talks to no one but the room. Sighing, he can start feeling the stiff muscles on his shoulder and arms snaking their ways into him that makes him whine low on the back of his throat.
Worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, Tony carefully lays Peter on the bed, right in the middle. The said pup makes a small noise once his head hits on the fluffy pillow before his breath evens out and stills once again. Peter has his fist curled up beside his chubby cheeks, soft dark curls frame the top of his head, looking like a halo around the sleeping baby. Tony really tries his hard to hide the urge to get up and take a picture of it with his phone. Then, that is when Stephen makes his appearance, approaching Tony with a pill on one hand while the water of glass on the other.
Tony frowns cutely, whispers under his breath. “Look at him,” the coos are silent but they still bring the smile on Stephen’s face. “Can you believe that we made him? Fuck – I’m gonna cry.”
“No swearing, Anthony,” Stephen scolds, no anger lacing in his tone but still enough to make the omega cowers a bit, taking his pill from his mate’s hand and swallows it down with the help of the water that’s being handed to him, drowning all the contents.
“Sorry, Alpha, I’m just – I’m so emotional, can’t help it.” He mutters, giving the empty glass back to Stephen which he puts on the nightstand. “Peter is so dam—darn cute.”
The alpha sits down next to him, wiping under Tony’s eyes with the pad of his fingers lovingly. “Well, keep the tears for another time,” he kisses Tony on the lips, lets themselves have their own fun now that sleep is somewhere forgotten back on their mind although they’re still pretty tired. Then, Stephen drags his lips to Tony’s jaw, nibbling the exposed skin there, whispering, “for example,” he licks a wet stripe on Tony’s sensitive scent gland, “when we make a sibling for Peter.”
“God – you can’t pull that, when—when Peter is in the room—” Tony mewls as Stephen nibbles on his gland, licking it wet with his saliva before pulling away, makes the omega squirms when the soft cold breeze hits his now swollen gland.
“I know,” Stephen pecks him once again on the lips, “go to sleep, baby.”
“Stephen – ugh, I hate you,”
Tony grumbles under his breath, amusement clear in his tone, as clear as the mirth in his brown eyes while he carefully settles down, splays his hand over the sleeping pup protectively, while Stephen only rolls his eyes since he knows that his mate will not let this easily. And when Stephen ruffles his hair playfully, Tony only gives a fake grunt as the other side of the bed dips as his mind wanders off, thinking for a possible way to revenge his mate before going to sleep.