Chapter Text
The knock at the door at three in the morning meant only one thing. Everyone at the fire department knew what a 3 am knock meant, so they waited for Steve to get the door. They were all trained but Steve was the only one who was an actual foster parent with experience and kids seemed to take to him better. So Steve went to the door and opened it. Sure enough, there was a young boy, about seven years old, holding a bear and a backpack.
Steve looked around but there was no one in the parking lot. He wasn’t shocked, the law stated that kids could be abandoned for up to the age of twelve with no consequences for the parents as long as the kids were left at a fire house or church – and as long as the kids were omegas. The ‘No Questions Asked’ law was one that Steve hated with a passion.
“Come on in,” said Steve with a gentle smile. “I’m Steve.”
“I’m Tony,” said the boy softly, following Steve into the fire house with his things.
“It’s nice to meet you Tony,” said Steve. “Come on, I’ll get you all set up in the break room. Do you want anything to drink or eat?”
“No thank you.”
The break room was brightly lit and had a comfortable area for kids because they got enough of them to justify having an area specifically set up for them. It was full of blankets and pillows and soft things to cuddle along with books and coloring supplies. Next to it was a set of red cubbies for belongings.
“You can put your bag in there, no one will bother it,” said Steve. The cubbies were set up so the kids could clearly see them and make sure their things were okay. They had found that the young omegas would get panicky it they couldn’t see the only things that belonged to them.
Tony reluctantly set his bag in the cubby but kept a firm hold on the old bear, looking around uneasily.
“I’ll let you get settled,” said Steve. “There should be someone from the Omega House here in the morning to pick you up. I need you to stay in this room because it can get dangerous out with the trucks. The bathroom is right there, the blue door. Just call if you need anything. There are plenty of people around and we will all be checking in on you periodically.”
Tony didn’t respond but Steve wasn’t really expecting a response. They had had enough kids dropped off for him to get used to the stunned silence that accompanied so many. As far as they went, Tony was adorable and considerably older than they usually got. If a family was going to abandon their omega child it usually happened in the first year or two. There were plenty of reasons for a family to give up their omega child – the law was in place from years ago when times were harder for everyone and families couldn’t afford as many children. The omegas were always the first to go in that instance. Now, however, Steve knew it was more than often abused for status. Alphas were more useful and had a better shot at getting a good job and climbing the corporate ladder than an omega, so most families wanted to focus all their resources on those children, not the omegas.
Steve stuck his head into the sleeping room and threw a shoe at the lower bunk, hitting the guy sleeping there in the leg.
“What?” groaned Clint, getting up and stumbling out into the hall.
“We’ve got another one,” sighed Steve. “I need you to call Phil and keep an eye on the kid for me.”
“Yeah, okay,” said Clint with a yawn, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair before heading to the kitchen to get some coffee.
As the only omega in the firehouse, Clint was used to being their go-to for the abandoned kids. He didn’t mind – he had been given up when he was an infant and taken in by an amazing family. When he met Phil, a social worker for omegas, through work Clint knew he was in love. They got mated shortly after and made an amazing team. The firehouse Clint worked at was the best at getting omegas to the home in a timely and safe manner.
“Hey babe,” said Clint with a yawn into the phone, sipping his coffee from his favorite purple mug.
“Hey,” said Phil, sounding tired but not surprised to be hearing from his mate at 3:30 in the morning. “You have another one I assume?”
“Yeah, a boy,” sighed Clint. “He’s pretty old for an abandoned one, maybe like seven or eight.”
“Damn. Yeah, okay, I’ll see what I can do but that’s pretty old. None of the families on the list are going to take him on, they are waiting for a baby. The Omega House was pretty full the last I checked but maybe there was an opening. Do you know his state?”
“Not yet, just what Steve told me. I’m going to go check on him when we hang up, I just figured since he was older you would need extra time to find a place for him.”
“Thanks,” sighed Phil. “I’m not sure if I’ll find a place for him tonight. Steve needs to call Bucky and see if they can take the kid until we figure this out.”
“I think Steve was already going to do that but I’ll make sure he does. Thanks babe.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Clint hung up and put his phone in his pocket. He ran a hand over his face, grabbed a cup of milk and a bowl of fruit and went into the break area to look at the young omega in their temporary care.
He was the cutest little thing, Clint had to admit. His brown hair was messy and slightly curled, he had big eyes, and he was just so small.
“Hey, I’m Clint,” said Clint, walking over and joining Tony in the nest of comfy items and handing him the cup of milk before setting the bowl of fruit between them.
“You’re an omega,” said Tony softly, looking at the man with judgmental eyes.
“Yes,” said Clint calmly. Sometimes the older omegas were wary of other omegas when they were dropped off, most often because they were brought their by their omega parent or relative.
“And you’re a firefighter?”
“Yes.”
“Wow,” whispered Tony, his big eyes filling with admiration. “That’s so cool.”
“Thanks,” said Clint brightly. “I can show you around in a bit if you want.”
“Yes please!”
Tony smiled brightly and Clint was gone. He wished that he could just take the kid home with him but knew that wasn’t possible yet because Phil and him worked odd hours and didn’t want to put a child through that. Soon Clint was hoping to be switch to just day hours instead of the twenty-four hour shift but right now it wouldn’t be fair to Tony or any other kid.
“Do you know what is going to happen now?” asked Clint.
“No,” said Tony, his smile sliding off his face as he hugged a grey pillow to his chest, his bear firmly in his hand.
“My mate, Phil, is an alpha,” said Clint with a soft smile. “He works as a social worker for omegas. I’ve already called him and he is working to find you a nice place to stay. It could be with a family or it could be in a home for omegas. Do you know what the Omega House is?”
Tony shook his head.
“It’s a nice place where omegas like you can live and grow. It has nice open rooms for socializing and good food. If they have space, you probably will have to share a room with another omega but they will have so many soft blankets and pillows for you.”
“Will I get to go to school?” asked Tony softly.
“School?”
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to go to school.”
“No matter where you end up you will get to go to school, I promise,” said Clint, hiding how it hurt his heart that Tony had never been to school, though it wasn’t a shock. Some families didn’t send their omegas to school and it wasn’t illegal to keep them home. There were few omega rights laws in place and it bothered Clint.
Tony nodded and took a slice of apple and tentatively bit into it. Clint started talking about Steve, knowing that it was very likely that Tony would be going with them since Phil was rarely wrong about the Omega House and how many were there. There were a few other homes for abandoned omegas in the city but they were terrible and Phil refused to use them. Steve and his mate had taken in several kids over the years for a few days to a couple of months while they waited for an opening at the Omega House so it wasn’t unusual.
“Does Steve have a mate?” asked Tony after a while, yawning big and snuggling his bear and the grey pillow he had taken a liking to.
“Yes,” said Clint with a grin. “His mate is Bucky. Bucky is a mechanic and owns his own shop.”
“Oh, is he a beta?” asked Tony with disappointment.
“Nope, he’s an omega like us,” said Clint proudly.
“And Steve lets him own his own shop?” said Tony skeptically.
“Of course,” said Steve, walking in from the office where he had been on the phone with Phil. “Bucky is a great mechanic. It would be silly for him not to have his own place.”
“But he’s an omega,” whispered Tony.
“Yes, he is,” said Steve, crouching down so he was eye level with the kid. “And the government and society are wrong about omega potential. I don’t have the money or pull to make big changes happen for you guys but I can make this happen. I can make sure my mate gets to live his dream and that others know about it. That’s how we change the world, we do the right thing as often as we can, even if it only helps one or two people at a time.”
Tony nodded, a little bit in awe of the tall alpha. He had never met anyone like him before, not that Tony had met a lot of people to begin with. His family had kept him mostly locked inside.
“Now, I just got off the phone with Phil,” said Steve, directing his attention to Clint.
“And?” said Clint.
“Tony,” said Steve, looking back at the kid. “How would you like to come live with Bucky and me for a while?”
“What about the Omega House?” asked Tony timidly, turning his big eyes on Clint. “What about school?”
“The Omega House is full right now buddy,” said Steve sadly. “But I promise you will still go to school while you live with Bucky and me. There is a school just a block away from our apartment and it’s super close to where Bucky works so he can walk you there every day. Lots of the older omegas from the Omega House go there so you will have people to make friends with.”
“I know Steve can be kinda scary,” said Clint in a loud whisper. “But he’s a big teddy bear and he won’t let anyone mess with you. And you’ll love Bucky. He looks grumpy but don’t worry, he had a soft spot for cute little omegas with big eyes like yours. He’s going to love you.”
“He’ll be here in a few minutes,” said Steve. “I thought it might be nice for you to get to meet him with Clint.”
Tony nodded along, dazed and exhausted and a bit overwhelmed with everything that had happened in a few short hours.
“I’ll be right here,” said Clint softly.
Tony nodded again, leaning against the older omega and taking another apple slice to munch on while he waited for this Bucky fellow to arrive.