The storm cleared up the next morning. Steve was made aware of that fact at 3 a.m. when Tony climbed on top of him and shook him awake excitedly to point out that they weren't hearing thunder anymore.

"I got the cooler all packed," Tony said eagerly. "And a bag of beach essentials. So we're totally ready to go."

"Sounds great," Steve said. He rolled over, pinning Tony to the bed. "So that means we can sleep in for another four hours since its already packed."

"What, no," Tony spluttered. "Steve. Steve, no. I'm ready right now."

"Nope," Steve said. "Try again in the morning."

"It's already morning," Tony protested. "And we want to get an early start for the beach."

"We will," Steve said. "Jarvis, set an alarm for 7."

"Of course, Captain."

"You suck," Tony muttered.

Steve pulled Tony into his side and kissed his forehead. "I get that you're excited. But it's 3 a.m. We're not taking the baby to the beach at 3 a.m. It's going to be too cold out. You don't expect me to go out in the freezing cold, do you?" He wrapped himself tighter around Tony.

"Oh, alright," Tony said with a put-upon sigh. But he couldn't quite hide the way his mouth turned up at the corners.

Steve wasn't exactly surprised when Tony woke him back up at 7 by plopping the baby down on his chest. "Good morning, princess," he said with a yawn.

"While you were lazing about in bed, the two of us got dressed and had breakfast," Tony said. "So let's get a move on, soldier."

Steve chuckled and lifted the baby up for a kiss. "Look at you, angel. Mommy got you all decked out, didn't he?" The white and blue ruffled swimsuit looked adorable on her.

"Yep," Tony said. "Now say good-bye to Daddy. He's got to get dressed so he can come with us." He lifted the baby up and lowered her just close enough so Steve could press another kiss to her cheek.

"Bah," Stephy said, reaching a tiny hand towards Steve's face.

Steve assumed she was going to pat his mouth since that seemed to be her favorite thing to do after anybody gave her kisses. But then the baby unexpectedly jammed two fingers up his nose.

"Stephy, no," Tony said with a laugh. He pulled her back. "We don't stick our hands in there. That's gross."

Steve wrinkled his nose. "God, that was weird. I think-" He sneezed.

Tony burst into giggles. "You must be really special, Steve. She hasn't done that to me yet."

"I don't feel special," Steve said. "I feel like I've been assaulted."

Tony transferred the baby to his hip. "Why don't we stop bothering Daddy now? I think he's been punished enough for sleeping late. You can help me pick out a snack for the car." He looked back over his shoulder as he left the room. "If you're downstairs in five, I'll make you an omelette. Bacon, avocado, tomatoes, cheese. The works."

"I'll be there," Steve promised. After all his time in the military, he had gotten used to dressing in under a minute.

When he got down to the kitchen, Tony was putting a pan on the stove and the baby was sitting on the floor turning an orange over in her hands.

"Looking good," Steve said, bending down to kiss the nape of Tony's neck. "The food looks pretty nice, too."

Tony grinned. "Don't give me that. I just started making it."

"And I see you grabbed all my favorite ingredients. Need me to help prep anything?"

"Nah. You can start loading the car. Make up for missing your morning workout."

Steve rolled his eyes fondly and grabbed the cooler out of the fridge and two of the three bags Tony had left sitting by the kitchen door. The diaper bag he'd leave for right before they left, just in case.

When he returned to the kitchen, there was an omelette sitting on a plate next to Steve's usual place at the table. And Tony was sitting on the floor with the baby in his lap, attempting to put some sunscreen on her.

Stephy wrinkled her nose as Tony started slathering her face and tried to squirm out of his arms.

"Oh, I know," Tony cooed. "I know it's cold and gooey, but you don't want to get sunburned. Just humor me for a little bit longer and then I'll let you down to play."

"And then Daddy's going to put sunscreen on Mommy," Steve said, giving Tony a meaningful look.

"Seriously?" Tony said, shifting the whining baby to a better position. "I can do that myself."

"I'm sure you can, but since you've already told me your plan was to get sunburned, I'm going to make sure." He lowered his voice. "I wouldn't want to hurt your sunburn giving you a prostate massage later."

"You're evil," Tony said. "Pure evil."

"I sure am," Steve said cheerfully. "Just wait until I make sure you eat something so you'll have energy for rigorous activities."

Tony snorted and bounced the baby on his lap. "Daddy's being silly. I bet he's ready to go to the beach and work off the craziness." He gave Steve a meaningful look.

Steve quickly shoved the last bite of omelette into his mouth and reached for the sunscreen.

Once Steve was satisfied that Tony was sufficiently coated in sunscreen and he had put on his own sunscreen with a little help from Tony, they were ready to go.

Tony slung the diaper bag over his shoulder. "Alright, J, we're going off the grid for awhile. No calls unless it's an emergency. And Pepper wanting more work out of me is not an emergency."

"Noted, sir."

Steve followed Tony out to the garage and held the baby while Tony got the carseat set up. "You want me to drive?" he asked. He knew Tony would probably enjoy sitting next to the baby on the trip, reading her one of his many books about ocean animals.

"Nah," Tony said. "Sit right here. I'll go around."

Steve shrugged, but got into the back seat next to the baby.

Tony went around the back of the car and slid in on the other side of the baby. "Jarvis, take the wheel."

Steve rolled his eyes fondly as Jarvis started up the car. "So, have anything to read to the baby while Jarvis drives us there?"

"Yes, I do." Tony rummaged around in the baby's bag. "It's called 'Baby Bear Goes to the Beach.' Here." He thrust the book into Steve's hands.

"You want me to do it? Uh, okay. Here, Stephy. Let's take a look at this. 'Baby Bear Goes to the Beach' by Lorette Broekstra." He opened the book to the first page.

Stephy reached a hand out to pat the page.

"Yes, all the pretty colors." Steve cleared his throat. "I'm going to read it to you, okay?" He glanced up at Tony to see if he was laughing at his awkwardness, but he found the omega smiling down at the baby as if he couldn't be more proud.

It was just a book. He could do this.

Steve took his time, letting the baby touch each page and making sure to identify everything she touched. It took a lot longer to read the story that way, but the baby was probably learning more.

Halfway through the book, the baby started nodding off and Steve gratefully shut the book.

"That was great," Tony said quietly. "Did you see how closely she paid attention to everything you said?"

"Until she got bored and dozed off," Steve said with a rueful smile.

"Nothing against your reading voice, babe. She always takes a nap in the morning. We don't want her to miss her nap or she won't enjoy the beach."

Steve grinned. "Can't have that, can we?"

By the time they arrived at the beach and started unpacking the car, the baby was awake again and whining to be held.

Tony strapped the baby to his back and traipsed up and down the beach looking for a good spot to set up, close to the water, but a little ways away from other people.

Once Tony finally picked a place to make camp, Steve lugged all the supplies out of the car and started setting up while Tony kept the baby distracted by pointing at seagulls and pigeons in the area.

At last, everything was set up. Steve sank down onto his towel and grabbed a water bottle out of the cooler. "Come sit down for a bit, babe. Let the baby get down and experience the beach."

They scooped a shallow hole in the sand a reasonable distance from the water and settled the baby in it. Tony had packed enough sand toys for five kids and he began busily using all of them to construct castles, a miniature city, and several sculpted animals all around the baby.

Stephy watched him work for awhile before she decided she wanted to smash all of his creations. Tony had to stop her from jamming a whole handful of wet sand in her mouth.

"Why don't you just sit with Mommy and look at the sand from a distance?" Tony said as he lifted the baby onto his lap.

Stephy whined and tried to squirm out of Tony's arms.

"Maybe she shouldn't have taken that nap," Steve said with a laugh. "She's too energetic now."

"Well, I know how to fix that." Tony lifted the baby up like an airplane and started towards the waterline. "And we're a pelican, coming down to snatch a delicious fish out of the water." He swooped in, bending just low enough for the baby's feet to skim the water.

The baby squealed with delight and kicked her feet.

"You like that, do you? I'm going to have to invest in a kiddie pool so we don't have to drive all the way to the beach to splash in the water. And when you get a little older, Mommy can start teaching you how to swim." Tony spoke into his watch. "Jarvis, send me a list of local Mommy and Me swim classes to my tablet. I'll look 'em up when we get home."

Steve smiled. "We could take her for a walk if she doesn't want to sit still. Show her some birds, maybe see if we can see some critters hiding in the rocks."

"Great idea." Tony bounced the baby on his hip. "You remember the book Daddy read to you in the car, don't you? Now it's time to see everything for yourself."

Steve looked at their set-up with a sigh. They hadn't even been there for half an hour and they were already going to have to pack it up again.

"Come on," Tony said. He tugged at Steve's arm with his free hand. "If you want to grab a drink, do it quick and let's get going."

"But we have to put everything back in the car so it doesn't get stolen."

"Pfft," Tony said with a derisive snort. "Jarvis'll keep an eye on things while we're gone. If anybody jacks our stuff, Jarvis will have footage of the crime and lead police right to them."

Steve shrugged. Although he couldn't see any particular security equipment, he trusted Tony's expertise. Besides, with Tony's fortune, it wasn't like a missing beach towel would really bother him anyway.

"Beach baby, beach baby there on the sand. From July to the end of September," Tony sang to the baby. "Surfin' was fun, we'd be out in the sun everyday."

Steve trailed along behind, picking up cool shells to show the baby while Tony eagerly showed off all the sights to the baby.

"And this is an American oystercatcher," Tony said, pointing to a bird scurrying briskly over a rock.

"Really?" Steve said. "You can tell just by looking at it?"

"Of course I can. I read a book about seabirds." He bounced the baby. "Reading is magical. The only kind of magic Mommy likes."

Steve snorted and picked up another iridescent shell. "Show this one to Stephy."

Tony peered at it. "Oh yeah." He carefully traced the baby's finger over one of the swirls in the shell. "Isn't that pretty, darling? We're so lucky Daddy has an eye for beauty."

"Yup," Steve said cheerfully. "That's why I'm dating your mom."

Tony ducked his head, but he couldn't quite hide the pleased grin.

When they finished their walk, Steve was relieved that all their gear was still right where they left it.

Tony sprawled out on one of the towels, adjusting the umbrella so he was in the shade and then pressed Stephy to his chest to nurse.

"It's been a great trip so far," Steve said. "Maybe not exactly as we envisioned it, but great all the same."

"Babies teach you that you can't plan for everything," Tony said as he adjusted her to the other side. "Things don't always turn out the way you plan, but sometimes they're even better."

"Want me to take her for a bit while you take a nap? You did wake up a lot earlier than I did."

"Lunch, then nap," Tony decided.

Steve pulled cans of iced tea, carefully wrapped sandwiches, oranges, grapes, bananas, and little bags of crackers and cheese out of the cooler. "Wow, you've been busy. I didn't realize you packed so much."

Tony shrugged as he bit into his sandwich. "I brought a banana just in case Stephy wanted to try a bit. The rest is mostly for you. I know how your metabolism works."

After Tony polished off his sandwich and half a bag of grapes, he curled up to take his nap. To Steve's great delight, the baby was willing to go down for a nap, too. Steve would never get over how cute the two of them looked napping together.

Tony woke up when the baby started fussing. He carried her into the park's restroom to change her and then took her out for one last walk down the shoreline before they headed home.

It had been just the day Tony needed. Tony had been so stressed out and worn out lately, but the light had finally come back into his eyes.

Once home, went straight up to the baby's room to put her in her playpen while Steve unpacked the cooler.

Natasha was busy chopping an array of vegetables for the night's dinner, but she set aside her work briefly to look Steve over. "You guys were certainly gone longer than I thought."

Steve shrugged. "Lots to do at the beach."

Tony barged into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge, only belatedly noticing Natasha's presence. "Oh, hey," he said as he grabbed a can of soda out of the fridge. "You wouldn't believe the shell Steve managed to find. It was exactly the same color as those carrots." Tony pulled a stool up at the kitchen counter and started chattering on about their beach adventure.

"Sounds like the baby had a good time," she said with an indulgent smile as Tony helped clear off the cutting board.

"We all did," Tony said cheerfully. "And nobody got sunburned, which is a success in itself."

Thor wandered into the kitchen, clutching one of his huge mugs. "Hello, my friends," he said, breaking into a wide smile. "I am pleased you have returned safely from the beach." He laid a hand on Steve's shoulder. "You are it," he said solemnly.

"Uh, what?" Steve said.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Clint's been teaching him how to play tag."

"Oh." Steve looked at Natasha appraisingly.

"I have a knife, you know." She sliced into another onion for emphasis.

Steve's gaze shifted to Tony.

"Oh hell no," Tony said. "You're not going to catch me." He bolted out of the kitchen.

Steve laughed and gave chase.

He was a lot faster than Tony, but he allowed his genius just enough of a lead to get into the den before he tackled him, pinning him to the couch.

"Hey," Tony protested with a laugh. "It's called tag, not tackle football. Maybe Thor needs to teach you a thing or two."

"Oh, does he now?" Steve ran his hands over Tony's side.

Tony squealed and thrashed around. "No, stop, I'm ticklish."

"Aha," Steve said. "You're at my mercy now." He tickled Tony's other side.

"You're evil!" Tony shouted between giggles. "Pure evil."

Steve pulled back with a grin. "I learn new things about you every day."

"So do I," Tony said with a huff.

"You okay, baby?" Steve asked. Tony sounded slightly out of breath.

"I'm fine. I'll have to get my revenge later, but I'll let it go for now."

Steve chuckled. "Thanks for being such a good sport, babe. I've had fun today."He bent down to kiss him.

It started out as a chaste peck on the lips, but Tony opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

"Baby," Steve groaned. He licked into Tony's mouth, delighting in Tony's taste, somewhere between warm butterscotch, bitter coffee, and spicy cinnamon. Once he started kissing the genius, it was hard to stop. Tony's mouth was just so sinful and the way he enthusiastically responded to the kiss only encouraged Steve deeper.

His hands trailed down to cup Tony's perfect ass, pulling his body closer. He wanted to feel Tony against him. His body was moving on autopilot now, just pressing itself against Tony. He needed to touch him, to feel him against him.

Tony's loud moan startled him out of his haze.

He pulled back and took a good look at Tony's state. The omega was flushed all over, his lips kiss swollen, and his eyes half-lidded. Steve was sure he didn't look much better.

It was a little embarrassing how easily he had let his hormones take over.

Steve cleared his throat. "Alright. That's enough of that."

Tony whined low in his throat. "Don't stop now." He laced his hands around Steve's neck and rolled his hips.

Steve shuddered. "Tony, we can't."

"Oh come on," Tony said heatedly. "I know you have great plans for our first time, but what's wrong with spontaneity? It's been so long since I've been fucked and I want your dick in me right now."

"We are not having sex in the middle of the den," Steve said firmly.

Tony blinked and looked around, as if suddenly realizing where they were. "Oh," he said. "As far as excuses go, it's not bad." He arched against Steve. "Take us somewhere private, big boy."

Steve swallowed and slipped his hands under Tony's body, gathering him into his arms.

Tony purred and put his arms around Steve's neck. "Goddamn. You're so strong. You carry me like I weigh as much as Stephy."

Steve headed for the elevator and the doors opened obediently so Steve didn't even have to set Tony down to push the button. Jarvis was awesome.

"Take us up to my room, J," Tony said, with a luxurious stretch that showed off a few inches of his abs under his shirt.

The elevator ride would last mere seconds, but it was going to feel like forever with Tony showing off so blatantly.

"Of course, sir."

Tony leaned in to lick the shell of Steve's ear. "I'm so tired of waiting. I don't think I can make it to my floor."

"We are not having sex in the elevator, Tony."

"Sir, the elevator has stopped," Jarvis prompted them. The door slid open.

Tony peered out of the elevator and frowned. "This isn't right. Jarvis, why'd you take us to Stephy's floor?"

"You asked to be taken to your room, sir."

"Oh yeah," Tony said. "I've been sleeping on Steve's floor for the past month or whatever."

Steve pressed a kiss against Tony's neck. It was unbelievably arousing to hear that Tony thought of their shared bedroom as his now.

"My apologies, sir. Shall I take you to Captain Rogers' floor now?"

"Fuck that. We're here already and a bed's a bed." Tony kicked Steve's side. "Come on, supersoldier. Put on some super speed."

Steve wasn't sure how he made it to Tony's bedroom with the genius wiggling in his arms and whispering in his ears all the filthy things he was looking forward to. It was so tempting to just drop Tony right where he was and pound him into the carpet or against a wall, but with a supreme effort of will, Steve made it all the way down the hallway.

Tony groaned as Steve dropped him down on the bed. "Oh, baby. I love when you get so aggressive. Just fuck me now. My body is ready."

"Trying to," Steve grunted. It was hard to get out of his clothes when Tony was so intent on pawing at him.

Finally, Steve manage to shuck off his shirt and get his jeans unbuttoned. Tony was showing no initiative in getting his own clothes off, so Steve stripped him, too.

"Oh yes," Tony said. He stroked his fingertips over Steve's abs and let his hands fall down to his groin. "Can't wait to have that bad boy inside me."

"You already have," Steve said with an amused twist of his lips.

"While I was in heat," Tony said dismissively. "And that doesn't count. Everybody knows that size really doesn't matter when you're in heat. But now I'll really be able to feel it."

Steve snorted at the undisguised glee in Tony's voice. "I'm glad you're excited. But if you can just lay still for a second, we'll get on to the sex faster."

Tony spread his legs and put his hands behind his head. "Okay, your second's up."

Steve rolled his eyes and adjusted a pillow under his hips. "I think you're finally ready."

"I was born ready," Tony said with a smug smirk that quickly vanished as Steve pressed the tip of his erection against his rear. "Oh."

"Just relax," Steve said. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I know you won't. I'm just so excited and the anticipation is killing me." Tony took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.

Steve gently stroked his hips. "I'll be careful. I want this to be good for both of us."

It was clearly taking Tony a lot of effort to stay still and relaxed, but Steve still pressed forward slowly, inch by inch. As he bottomed out, Tony let out a choked sound.

"You doing okay?" Steve asked. "Let me know if it hurts."

"I'm good," Tony said. "Great, actually. I just feel so full and it's awesome." He shifted his hips forward a little. "I love how big you are."

"Good. But you make sure to let me know if anything hurts and we'll stop right away."

"Yes, you worrywart," Tony said with an eyeroll. "I'm surprised you didn't want more time to prep me and stretch me out."

"What do you think I've been doing this past week?"

Tony opened his mouth and then closed it again. He let out a low whistle. "Didn't know you had so much sneakiness in you."

Steve smirked. "I figured you'd like the approach."

"I do," Tony said. "I really do. So much better than making me wait when we're both so goddamn ready." He shifted his hips. "I'm ready, big guy. Start moving."

Steve started slow, gauging Tony's reaction. Tony moaned enthusiastically and arched up to meet each of Steve's thrusts. After awhile, Steve stopped worrying about hurting Tony and settled into a steady rhythm.

"Oh fuck. Oh god, Steve, you feel amazing," Tony said breathlessly.

"Feeling's mutual babe," Steve grunted. Tony's velvety warmth was better than he could have imagined.

As Steve picked up the pace, Tony's rambling dissolved into desperate mewls.

He was getting close. Steve could feel it. "Come on, baby," he coaxed. "You're right there." He slid one hand up to grasp Tony's shaft.

Tony cried out and clenched down as he hit orgasm.

Steve groaned and let Tony's spasming muscles pull him over the edge.

"Oh god, that was amazing," Tony said. His eyelids fluttered. "I haven't had a good fucking in a long time and I forgot how satisfying it feels. No offense to your fingers, but your dick is ten times better."

Steve chuckled. "I should hope so." He pulled out gingerly and grimaced at the mess he left all over Tony's beautiful sheets. "Let me get something to clean up a little."

"Wait," Tony said. "Before you get up, I need you to touch my gland."

"What? Why?"

They had worked so hard on disassociating the omega gland from sex in Tony's mind. Touching him now would probably bring all of the memories back.

"I feel so good and relaxed right now and I want to remember this moment every time you touch me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Tony said. He guided Steve's hand to his neck.

"I trust your judgement." He carefully ran his thumb over Tony's gland, exulting as the omega melted into the touch. "I love you," he whispered. "You're incredible."

Tony smiled affectionately. "Love you, too, babe." He stretched luxuriously. "We're definitely going back down to your room tonight because I don't want to do laundry. I like sleeping in your room better anyway. I never thought I would like a small bed like yours, but it feels a lot cozier."

"I agree," Steve said. "So, let's get cleaned up before dinner and then we'll turn in early. It's been a long, fun-filled day, but-"

"Seriously?" Tony said. "The day wasn't that exhausting. I took a nap earlier, you know."

Steve sighed. "Tony."

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "The only reason I'll go to bed early is if sex is involved."

"I might be persuaded," Steve said. "If you don't care about sticky sheets afterwards."

"Yes!" Tony said delightedly. "Twice in one day. This is the best day ever."