Author's Note: Annd, I'm early! :D Yay! Thank you so much for your responses and concern last chapter. :) Warm and fuzzies here. You're all amazing, don't you dare forget that, loves! ;D

Warnings for this chapter: Surgical procedure, violence, emotional trauma, ANGST, some gore, mentions of child abuse, anxiety attacks, and general Odin's A+Parenting. Please take care of yourselves, loves! :)

Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! :)

"Father, father, unforgivable.

This is my house, you made it personal.

It's always trouble when they go to far,

Nobody mess with my familia."

-Nicki Minaj, Anuel AA, Bantu, "Familia"

Chapter Four:

With the grace of a sumo-wrestler attempting to do a triple pirouette, Tony stumbles onto the landing pad of Avengers Tower, feet tangling beneath him. Unlike before—when he managed to remain mostly standing—he gracefully stumbles to his knees, ramming his elbow hard against the surface. The pain is sharp and hot, and he bites sharply at his tongue to withhold an aggressive profanity, then awkwardly, in a jerking movement, rises to his feet attempting to find some semblance of balance. It isn't strong, but he manages.

Yes.

Alright.

Note to self: Bifrost travel is not for him.

Tony blinks sharply and swallows the urge to vomit as he sucks in New York's thick, smoggy air. After days that feel like years on Asgard, the sudden contrast between the two airs is abrupt and almost sharp. Tony would be lying to admit that the familiar smog of Manhattan isn't relieving. Comforting. Safe.

Not Asgard.

He hopes, sincerely, that until Thor is crowned (which will probably be well after Tony's passed to that great beyond) that he never has to step a foot into Asgard again. Ever. A golden cage is still a cage and he hates being trapped. Tony clears his throat, swallows any remaining urge to vomit sharply, then chances a glance towards the others.

Bruce is picking himself off the ground, but everyone else appears to have already stood, or landed on their feet. Given the fact that Natasha is a murderous ballerina, Clint a trained assassin, Steve regularly jump out of airplanes (idiot), and the others are native to this form of travel, Tony isn't feeling to terrible about himself.

Thor and Sigyn steady the bundle between them and Tony sees Sigyn sweep her gaze across the city, her gray eyes wide with surprise. Tony rubs at the dizziness between his eyes and takes a stumbling step forward. Why is this way worse on Earth? Does Asgard have more gravity than Earth? Hmm. Science questions for later.

Right now he doesn't want to think about Asgard.

At all.

"Welcome to Avengers Tower," Tony introduces, swinging a hand out in the building's general direction. "The humble abode we call home is quite large, so I'll have someone print you a map. Urgh," Tony pauses, realizing that there's more than a hundred floors and that plan isn't helpful, "actually, we'll introduce you to Jarvis."

Sigyn's brow flickers with confusion.

Loki's gaze is sweeping across the space as well, as if looking for something but not quite finding it. The Asgardian's attempting to stand, but Tony can see that even between his wife and his brother the fact that he's upright is a miracle.

Tony thins his lips sharply and turns to walk down the landing pad in the direction of the penthouse, everyone else trailing after them. The door opens and Tony flicks his gaze towards where Jarvis's camera is located, giving a nod of thanks.

"Welcome home, Sir, you arrived faster than previously expected," Jarvis greets calmly. Tony clenches his fists at his side. Yeah. Just a tad. Rather than give him a chance to reply, Jarvis, ever the respectful AI begins to greet the other Avengers: "Miss Romanov, Mr. Barton, Mr. Rogers, Dr. Banner, Mr. Odinson and—"

Curse the flipping—

Crap.

Jarvis hasn't been present for the last five days. He has no idea what happened on Asgard, and the fact that they are home with guests in tow wasn't planned for. Especially Sigyn and Loki. That was not expected. (How could they plan for it!?). Jarvis has truly evolved beyond simple code to a AI and as of such he has a bit of...Tony doesn't know how to put it exactly. A protective rage of a mother bear whose cub was just murdered in front of her. Yeah, that sounds about right.

He's normally very calm and collected.

Thor, Sigyn, and Loki make it about four steps into the penthouse before the twenty plus weapons that Jarvis has access to are drawn and pointing towards husband and wife, red lines waving at them and safety clicked off. "You are not welcome here, Mr. Odinson and guest," Jarvis says sharply, "you have ten seconds to leave before safety protocols are activated."

Rainbow, butterfly, unicorn, fluttering through the—

Tony swears loudly and dives in front of the two, stretching his hands out to block as much as he can. From the corner of his eye, he sees Thor shove Loki and Sigyn behind him, expression mirroring his panic. "Jarvis!" Tony exclaims, his voice raising a pitch, "Stand down! They're not hostile."

"Sir!"

Tony blows out a breath and resists the urge to pinch between the bridge of his nose, "Look a lot happened on Asgard that I'll explain later, right now it would just be helpful if you didn't blow off Loki and Sigyn's heads."

Jarvis is quiet.

Which...that's less than great.

He's mad and likely confused.

Tony closes his eyes for a brief moment, quietly willing this entire thing to be over before he gathers himself together as best he can and opens them. "J.," he addresses, keeping his tone level, "I need you to trust me."

"He's not lying," Clint inputs, hands lifted in surrender.

"Just take our word for right now, Jarvis," Bruce instructs, "we're not under mind control, we're thinking for ourselves."

Right.

Mind control.

To be frank, that idea had completely slipped his mind.

The weapons linger for a moment longer before Jarvis slowly retracts them. Tony heaves out a breath of relief, "Thank you. I swear I'll explain later." He promises. He can show Jarvis visual from the feed he got from wearing the suit. (Augh, he doesn't want to think about Asgard. Is this how Thor feels all the time?).

"I should hope so, Sir," Jarvis says, his tone is wary. Clipped.

Tony's going to bump up the update to his software on his to-do list. His AI needs a Nobel Peace Prize, or something of the like for this. Tony would have a very hard time taking only someone's word when a dangerous, known super villain arrived at his doorstep and everyone claimed he wasn't hostile. Jarvis is amazing like that, though. Alright.

Now what?

They spent so much time planning how to get out of Asgard that they have no agenda now that they're back on Earth. The goal is to keep Thor away and Tony imagines that Sigyn and Loki will be bunking for some time. Loki. They need to get him medical attention for the...everything, really. His body must be a mess from so long on drugs and his lips…

Yeah, a visit to Stark Medical should be prioritized.

Tony releases out a long breath, preparing himself for the mess ahead. He can do this.

Tony claps his hands together, breaking the uncomfortable silence that has settled over them, "Alright," he declares, refusing to back down when every eye swings towards him, "we've got a bit of work ahead of us, so there's no time like the present. Thor you have a guest bedroom in your floor, right? Yeah, you do," Tony says before Thor can answer, "if we bunk Sigyn and Loki there, you cool?"

"Yeah," Thor says after a second, then glances towards the two, "are you okay with that?"

Both give a hesitant nod. Tony notes that each of the two appear to be trying their best to make themselves smaller in the large space. He isn't really surprised, though, after everything that's happened, it's almost expected. He still thins his lips despite this and wishes, desperately for someone else to take charge.

"'Kay," Tony says, "Um, Thor, why don't you take them downstairs? We'll meet up for dinner in a few hours," (this time difference is a pain in the butt, it was the middle of the night when they left, now it's a little past four PM).

"Alright," Thor agrees, then turns back towards the couple, "if you'll follow me…" he trails and begins to walk towards the elevator. The three disappear within it a minute later and Tony allows himself to sag.

Why on Earth did they think this was a good idea?

They just kidnapped the prince of Asgard.

Isn't that how you declare wars?

Crap.

Coulson's going to kill them if that's what they unintentionally did. Like, he won't even let them help first, it will be flat out murder. He'll then present their bodies to Odin and—stopping that train of thought before it goes any further.

That is only if he doesn't kill them for dragging Loki back here.

Oh, man, everyone is going to kill them.

This is great.

Why the heck did they decide to do this?

For Thor.

This is for Thor.

Tony clenches his fists at his side and exhales sharply, trying to retain a normal breathing rhythm. He glances towards his team and realizes that their faces show his trepidation. He doesn't want to talk about this. Or really think on it, either. "I'm going to my workshop," Tony blurts out, "if anyone needs me in the next few hours, bother Jarvis first. No exceptions."

He doesn't wait for anyone to respond, booking it for the stairs instead.

000o000

After skipping dinner and attempting his best to ignore the gnawing hunger growing in his stomach, Tony's working on the schematics for a S.H.I.E.L.D. software update Coulson asked him to look over last week when his phone buzzes loudly to announce texts. Tony looks up from where he's laying on the hard ground, attempting to jolt new ideas from being on his back for how to fix the problem.

His brain feels sluggish.

He really just wants to sleep, but his hands are too anxious to lie still.

His phone buzzes again, but he ignores it.

That sounds like someone else's problem.

He'd ask Jarvis to see what the notification is, but the AI and him are...not exactly on no-speaking terms, but Jarvis is processing everything Tony explained and showed him and has been strangely quiet for the last hour or so. Tony's giving him the space he needs. Admittedly, so much happened over the last few days (days) that he's having a hard time accepting it himself. He's not mad at Jarvis for needing a moment to think it over.

Tony blows out a breath and adjusts his position and ignores the following notifications, delving deeper into his project. It's easier to pretend this way that nothing has changed in the Tower since last week. Loki and Sigyn aren't upstairs and they don't know anything about Odin and the—

Isn't it awful that he doesn't know how to process it?

How to help?

How pathetic.

It's been about seven minutes since the first notification before the stool he was sitting on more than an hour ago wheels towards him. Tony jumps and scrambles into a sitting position a loud sound of surprise escaping him as he reaches for the nearest weapon—a screwdriver—and lifts it towards—

"Clint!" Tony hisses out, "Oh my gosh, stop. I told you to stop doing that!"

Clint lifts an eyebrow and scuffles closer, "Yeah, you did."

"How did you even get in here? Jarvis has it on lockdown." Tony argues further.

Clint humphs, "There are other ways in here, you know."

Yes. He does.

Tony rests the screwdriver on the desk and lowers the tablet from the previous position where it was clutched close to his chest. "I hate you," he declares viciously, "what are you doing in here?"

Clint lifts up a small airtight container and rests it on the desk, "Steve sent me with food. Bruce sent me to tell you to check your phone. He's been texting you. He needs a hand in medical."

Tony eyes the food, then flicks his gaze back to the archer at the mention of Bruce, "Did something happen?"

Clint's lips press together, "Not really. Bruce found a way to cut the thread on Loki's lips after dinner's disaster—no, before you ask, close your mouth, no details. Just know that Sigyn had no idea what tin foil was and when we tried to give Loki water...yeah. Bruce was attempting to repair the damage that the cup caused, but accidentally broke a thread."

Tony's eyebrows lift of their own accord, "I thought it was enchanted."

Ugh. Magic.

"Yeah, me too," Clint agrees, then sighs, "According to Thor apparently the thread can only be cut with a magical weapon or someone who believes Loki is an enemy. No idea why that footnote was in there, but I guess an enemy wouldn't want to cut it."

Disgusting.

Inhumane.

No, Tony doesn't like Loki, but he wouldn't leave the thread in.

Tony blows out a breath, "I'm kind of busy," hiding, he's hiding, "can't one of you do it?"

"Nope," Clint pops the "p", "the catch with that is that Loki has to view them as an enemy, too. One or the other has always been off, so we haven't found much success." There's something heavy in his voice that Tony can't quite place. Clint shakes his head as if to clear it and shoves the plastic container towards him, "Eat, then go find Bruce. Tasha will kill me, then you, if that doesn't empty."

Tony rolls his eyes fondly.

Clint rises to his feet and moves towards the ventilation shaft, but stops at Tony's voice: "Are you planning someone's murder?"

Clint whirls on him, "I'm sorry?"

"It's just that," Tony starts, waving his hands in Clint's general direction as he moves towards the food, "you only get this quiet when you're plotting or upset and I'm not good at talking feelings, so if you need help with the murder planning…"

Clint sighs sharply, "That's not it. I'm not plotting any murder. I guess...you know about my dad, and all of this," Clint gestures wildly, "has just brought back some things I'd rather not remember. And it's not just that—I just...I know that Asgard's drawn proof of Loki being mind controlled and I remember evidence to support it, but I still…" he's quiet for a moment, "it's been years and I've had every second to blame him for the deaths and what happened to me. It's hard to stop."

Tony nods slowly, "Yeah."

Clint shakes his head and blows out a raspberry, "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear my soap opera."

"You're a terrible singer," Tony points out, "and it's fine. We'll get through this. We always do."

000o000

Fifteen minutes later, Tony walks into Stark Medical. Bruce is standing in the foyer and rises to his feet as he arrives, "Hey," he greets, stuffing his glasses up his nose, "Loki and Sigyn are waiting for us. I sent Thor to bed about half an hour ago with some sleeping pills, Nat's supposed to make sure he actually goes to bed."

Tony nods in acknowledgement.

"Where's the patient?" He questions.

Bruce gives him a pointed look before walking down the hallway. "This way. I would really love a team of surgeons, but the mess that Loki made when he tore his lips to try and drink the water...That will take days, we need to stop it now before an infection can spread." Bruce stops in front of a door and gives him a wary look, "I should warn you that it's bleeding a lot."

Tony lifts an eyebrow, "And? Bruce, this is hardly the first time that I've seen blood."

Bruce nods, "I know, but still," he blows out a breath before grabbing the handle, "this shouldn't take too long. Hopefully I can cut all the stitches in under an hour, I need you to remove what I cut so I can bandage and clean it out. No one else has had success."

"What makes you think that that I'm going to be any different from the others?" Tony questions, "I mean one of them was Natasha. If you don't find her scary, you don't find anyone scary."

Bruce shakes his head, "Think about it, Tony. Clint was under the scepters influence for most of the attack, Natasha played with him, Thor is his brother, and Steve was the person who tried to help him earlier, with the food. And besides that, Steve doesn't think Loki the enemy, not after the mind-control. But I'm the Hulk, and he barely knows you. You're the last person that I can think of that's close. But you can't talk, at all."

Tony stares at him, confused. "...Why? Are you afraid I'm going to say something stupid? Because that's usually my job to worry about that, and it's kind of rude for you to admit that at last. How long have we known each other now, give years? yet you never thought to mention this before now? I feel betrayed and offend all at once, but I mean—"

Bruce slams a hand over his mouth, effectively silencing him. When Tony has quieted completely, he pulls his hand back and answers: "No. Because the moment that Loki stops viewing you as an enemy, you stop helping."

"...I can be mean," Tony offers weakly.

Bruce shakes his head, "Nnmm. Keeping quiet will keep him wary—I hate to do this, but we have to be manipulative to get the thread off. Talk to your heart's content when we're finished, but when we're performing the surgery—not a word."

Tony gnaws on his inner lip and nods slowly with agreement.

Bruce's eyes tighten slightly and it makes the stress in his frame obvious. Tony realizes just how much all of them need to take a few winks. Bruce opens the door and takes a step into the white-washed room. Loki is sitting on the hospital bed, his legs hanging over the side as he holds a rag against his face. It's stained red and Tony's stomach lurches slightly. Sigyn is standing beside him, hand resting on his shoulder as she reads a medical pamphlet with her other hand quietly, looking mostly confused.

Loki's green eyes lift towards him, and Sigyn's gray are not far behind.

Bruce hesitates once more before handing Tony a pair of latex gloves, shoving him towards the sink. "Wash up and meet me here in two minutes. Loki, lay down. Sigyn, I need you to hold his head steady—no, not there," Bruce moves her hands down and looks at Loki again, "We can try a sedative. Or a numbing supplement."

Loki shakes his head firmly, fingers clenching next to the sheets.

Tony moves towards the bathroom to prepare for the treatment.

When he's finished washing his hands for the third time (Bruce is picky like that and will send him back if he hasn't) Tony pulls the gloves over his hands with careful maneuvering and exits the room, walking back into the hospital room.

Bruce nods at him and hands him first a face mask, with a subtle lift towards his own lips in a reminder of silence, then a cleaned and sanitized pair of thin tweezers. Tony takes them wordlessly, as requested, and adjusts the mask over his face then bites at his tongue sharply to keep himself grounded. Bruce tugs his own mask up then moves back towards where Loki is laying flat on his back with Sigyn sitting Indian style at the top of the bed. She's still wearing her dress, Tony realizes abruptly.

That must be uncomfortable.

Loki's in a pair of hospital scrubs at least.

Someone's going to have to go clothing shopping later.

That will probably be Natasha and Bruce, because Natasha is disturbing good at guessing sizes on any pair of clothing and they're always trying to drag Bruce out of the Tower. Annnd focus.

Bruce gently grabs the edge of the rag that Loki was pressing against his face and pulls it back. Tony almost rears back at the sheer amount of blood that is all over the rag and his face. It's a deep red and still wet which is never a good sign. Loki's face, though…

The stitches are sharp and still pulling at his face, but the wire (thick thread, maybe?) is tugging at his upper lips horribly. It's pulled at the skin making deep lacerations that are leaking blood and look extremely painful. And there's so much blood. His face is in a word: disgusting.

Tony sees Bruce's eyes narrow slightly before he picks up the scissor-like tool that could be a thin pair of wire cutters, but Tony doubts it. Bruce briefly catches Loki's eye before he leans down over Loki's chest and carefully balances the blade between Loki's lips and the thread where Tony can see a previously cut wire. It's broken, but there's not enough space to remove it.

Bruce snips at the thread and Loki flinches sharply.

But the thread cut.

Tony releases a mental sigh of relief and moves forward to complete his task: removing the wire/thread/whatever it is. He steadies his hands and leans forward to grab the thin edge between the tweezers (making sure to not to grab any skin or lip) and begins to pull. It doesn't shift. Tony thins his lips and quietly pleads with anyone who's listening to let him take it out.

Tony tries again, but no one appears to be offering their ear. It remains immovable.

Curses.

Bruce needs an assistant with all this blood to get it out as quickly as possible, and apparently Tony isn't Loki's enemy or Loki isn't his. This is the worst spell on the face of the—how does it even know what they're feeling towards each other? He and Loki have only exchanged a few words before Loki defenestrated him. They haven't spoken since.

This is stupid.

Why can't he just take it out!?

Alright. Calm down. He can do this. He doesn't feel any animosity on his end, which means this is probably his fault. Curse the stupid torture and mind control crap. Now they don't view him as the source of the attack. Breathe. He can do this. He's never tried to hate anyone before, but…

Tony focuses.

The sting of the glass against his back and the hours that Pepper spent after the attack picking it out with tweezers, the footage of Coulson's stab, the sting of realizing how many people Loki slaughtered, Loki's fingers around his neck—

The thread pulls loose with a jerk and Tony nearly stumbles backwards because of it.

Oh man.

Yes!

Tony's mouth opens to proclaim his victory, but he snaps it shut when he remembers Bruce's adamance on the fact that he remain quiet. Okay. Yeah. Tony sets the black thread dripping with red blood onto the tray laid out for that purpose and hears Bruce snap at another wire.

Tony turns his attention back to the Asgardian and realizes that there's more than twenty stitches and he's going to have to manipulate the spell for at least another thirty minutes. Great. Alright. Yes. Not a problem.

He loves thinking dark thoughts.

Large, stupid, pain in the butt.

000o000

A little over twenty minutes later, Tony tugs out the last bit of thread as Bruce slowly finishes taping bandages across Loki's lips. The blood flow has stopped at least, and that's something. When he's finished, Bruce grabs the rod of the IV and tugs it closer to them via the wheels, cleaning the edge of the needle before expertly sliding it into Loki's skin.

"It's getting late," Bruce says and tugs his glasses off to rub at the bridge of his nose, "I'll be back to check on everything tomorrow, but I'm going to leave you here for tonight. Sigyn, do you want me to see if I can find a cot, or…?"

"No," Sigyn assures, running a hand through Loki's hair almost absentmindedly, "I'll remain here."

"If you need anything just let Jarvis know," Tony offers, pulling off his medical mask and tugging the latex gloves off grimacing when he realizes that his hands are going to smell like rubber for a while. "Thor explained about Jarvis, right?"

Sigyn gives a slow nod, "Yes. He is your...ghost servant, yes?"

Tony's eyebrows lift with amusement and he glances at Bruce barely holding back an open laugh. "Uh...yeah, sure, we can go with that." He shakes his head slightly with laughter.

Sigyn's eyes narrow, "Thor explained it to be a computer, but he is a personage and has spoken with us. Alfheim is not free of such beings, have you not trapped one here? I asked Thor and he said that it seemed like the most reasonable answer."

Oh, my gosh.

Thor, you little snot.

"No," Tony reassures, "we don't trap spirits here. They come and go of their own free will." He says solemnly and Bruce clears his throat in a way that is obvious that he's trying to hold back laughter.

"Humph." Sigyn disagrees.

"If you don't believe me, ask Jarvis." Tony counters.

Loki shifts slightly, reminding Tony that he's there and Sigyn sobers immediately, "If you'll excuse me, my husband has had a long day and I wish to let him rest. We'll contact the spirit should we need you."

Jarvis.

A spirit.

"Of course, we'll leave you two to it then," Bruce says, his lip twitching upwards before he and Tony exit the room. They barely manage to close the door fast enough to muffle their laughter.

000o000

"ANTHONY EDWARD STARK!"

Tony jerks awake, tumbling off of the couch in the communal room with an oof and barely managing to get into a semi-standing position with the blanket, he doesn't remember falling asleep with, tangling around his legs. He flicks his gaze up, heart beating rapidly in his chest, "Pepper!" He exclaims by recognition. His wife is storming towards him, her expression none to happy. Her hair is swept upwards in a way that reminds Tony both how beautiful she is and how lucky he is.

But she's also angry, and the bravest men cower when Virginia Potts is out for blood.

"Um," Tony stumbles backwards slightly, trying to detangle himself, "you're looking well, how's Morgan?" He questions, gesturing towards her stomach where their unborn daughter is currently resting. Pepper shakes her head sharply.

"Don't." She snaps.

"Don't what?" Tony presses.

"Stop trying to change the subject!" She counters, her voice rising. "Of all the stupid, impulsive—"

"What the heck did I do now!?" Tony demands, "If your going to be mad at me, at least tell me why!" She usually does. He doesn't have to dig. He hates this.

Pepper jams a finger against his shoulder several times, "I came home this morning and learned from Jarvis that you'd come home. You didn't text me."

"I couldn't find my phone," Tony defends. No. Between everything that happened, it completely slipped his mind to talk to her.

"And, I learn that not only did you come home early from your week long holiday, you brought—him back with you. Don't you remember what he did last time!? Isn't he supposed to be in prison for nearly slaughtering Manhattan?"

Loki.

"Yes." Tony agrees evenly, "But he isn't guilty."

Pepper throws her hands up, "Oh for the love of—"

"Hey, no," Tony argues, "Pep, listen, we did the right thing bringing him back here with us. He's a mess and Thor—How the heck did you even learn he was here?"

"Why does it matter!?" Pepper demands, "Did you plan to keep it from me!?"

"What—no!"

Pepper swears under her breath, "No, I can't believe that all of you were STUPID enough to drag a megalomaniac to New York AGAIN!"

"It was that or we left Thor there!" Tony grinds out between gritted teeth. "It was better than the alternative, trust me."

"You can't do this right now, Tony," Pepper says, "not when our daughter is on the line—"

"Loki isn't going to do anything to her! Or you! He's a little busy being fake-dead in Medical!" Tony defends sharply.

"Then why the heck did I see him in the—" Pepper starts.

"Lady Stark," a voice addresses behind him. Tony nearly jumps in surprise and whirls. Loki is standing there, looking for all rights like he should be there. His hair is slicked back from his face and he's in clothing that clearly belongs to Thor, but he's both moving and talking. Things that Tony wouldn't have thought him capable of last night.

He flicks his gaze to the window.

Okay, maybe not last night.

"How long was I asleep?" Tony breathes out, startled.

"Thirty-one hours, Sir," Jarvis informs helpfully.

What!?

"Lady Stark," Loki addresses again, and clenches his shaking hands close to his sides. It's then that Tony realizes that he's swaying on his feet. He licks his lips, his green eyes narrowed slightly, "I swear to you that I mean you and your family no harm, but if you speak to Sigyn like that again—" Loki stops abruptly and gives a thin smile, "well, trust me, my previous attack will be a footnote in what I'll do to your city."

Tony turns to Pepper, "What the heck did you do to Sigyn?"

"I don't—" Pepper starts, then stops, "who is Sigyn?"

"The woman you had the pleasure of smacking this morning when she attempted to defend me." Loki answers, his voice is careless, but Tony can hear that vague promise of murder in the undertone. Well. Well...crap.

Tony pales. "You what?"

Pepper runs a hand through her hair in agitation, "I thought that you were here to kill us and she was your accomplice!"

"She's my wife, you nerk." Loki hisses.

Pepper's face drains of color and she makes a small, "Oh," noise. She shakes her head sharply and hisses out between her teeth. "You know what, fine. Alright. I'm sorry I hit her."

"I don't want an apology!" Loki altercates, "Give her one!"

"Not right now!" Pepper snaps, "I need to calm down and I want YOU to get out of the Tower, you power seeking, self absorbed, murderous monster!"

Loki rears back as if he's been struck and Pepper shifts slightly as if to step forward, but Tony grabs her wrist, "Pep, wait—"

Loki's eyes narrow before he releases a huff of laughter that's nothing but bitter before he grabs the edge of the large hoodie he's wearing and tugs it over his head. The T-shirt he's wearing underneath looks like one of Steve's, but Tony doesn't have much time to process it too before it to is being pulled over Loki's head.

Beneath the clothing, Tony is reminded of how small Loki is. His bones jut out and muscle mass has been lost from years under a sedative. He looks like a walking bag of bones. It's almost disturbing. "You want proof, Lady Stark?" Loki questions, his voice low, "I spent nearly a year with the Chitauri and their—master. All it gained me was this." Loki turns and reveals his back to them.

Pepper's hand comes up to cover her mouth and Tony feels his eyes widen.

The scarring is there, just as Eir said it would be.

Jagged, crisscrossing everywhere, an ugly mess that must have been painful to receive. An ugly burn is present on Loki's shoulder, but it's significance he can't place. His fingers release Pepper's wrist with shock.

He knew it was there.

He knew, but still it—

Loki tugs on his shirt again and turns to look back at them. "I have no intentions to kill anyone." He reassures, his voice deceptively level. "You would do well to apologize to Sigyn, however."

Pepper doesn't respond.

Instead, she bolts.

It isn't quite running or jogging, she just escapes the small space the couches create and exits the the elevator. Tony gnaws at his inner lip and tastes blood sharply. He looks at Loki, then realizes with a jolt that he'd completely missed the red scarring around the Asgardian's lips. Augh. It will fade to white after a time, but at the moment it's clear what happened.

"You should sit down," Tony says, breaking the silence, "you're barely keeping yourself upright. I'll talk to Pepper," he promises. "But for the record, touch her and you lose the hand. If I'm feeling nice, I might let you pick which. Now sit."

Loki sits numbly. "Jarvis, tell Thor to get down here, or Sigyn. Both wouldn't be bad either." Tony addresses.

"Of course, Sir," Jarvis agrees.

"I don't need a babysitter—" Loki starts, his voice acidic.

"No. You don't," Tony agrees before Loki can finish his rant of the soul crushing variety, "but you're shaking and I know it's not from cold."

000o000

Ultimately, after mostly tears on Pepper's side, Tony manages to convince Pepper to both lie down and that Loki and Sigyn probably don't have their sights set on world domination or murder. She agrees to apologize to Sigyn for her violence when she gets up again and Tony kisses her on the forehead then lays a blanket across her.

He manages to track down his phone and tucks himself into a quiet corner of his workshop, trying to breathe. He doesn't find much success. When the growing anxiety begins to build to hysteria, Tony scrolls through his contacts until he finds Rhodey and fires off a text:

Made it back from Asgard. Are you busy? -TS

He only has to wait about a minute before Rhodey answers:

I have a few minutes. Aren't you early? -JR

Yep. By a few days. We had to bail. -TS

...Why? -JR

=/ Asgard is a jerk. Thor's dad is a jerk and his mom is...distant. A lot happened. I can't believe it was only a few days. It felt like years. -TS

That bad? -JR

Worse. -TS

What happened? -JR

Well, Thor's dad turned out to be a megalomaniac, abusive, and a all around unpleasant fellow. We sort of kidnapped Thor. And...Ergh. So you know how Coulson's always shoving down our throats that we're to impulsive?-TS

Wait. Isn't Thor a prince? His dad is king right? -JR

Yep. It's a miracle that Asgard hasn't collapsed yet. -TS

Hmmph. How bad was it? -JR

Bad. He drew blood from Thor. -TS

There's a pause, then: Please tell me you murdered him. -JR

We thought about it, but ultimately between us doing a stupid we didn't really have time. -TS

Explain. -JR

Well Loki was there to. and he was just as much of a mess and we decided to take him back with us because Thor refusal to leave with-out him, but as it turns outtt Loki's married and so we kidnapped his wife too, and noww we've successfully declred war on two separate planetsss anD Pepper'Sss really mad about uss dragin Lokki back, but it was that or leaving him there to DIE and and and Thor to deal with Odin's crap for the next hundred years or so.. Wer'e we wrong to do what We didded?-TS

Rhodey doesn't answer for almost a minute and Tony's stomach curls with anxiety because of course they were stupid, no one does that, and—

No. I think you did the right thing given the circumstances, but you're still idiots. Where are you right now? -JR

Towerr.-TS

I'm coming over. Your hands are shaking. How bad is your attack? -JR

Bad.. I cannnn't breathe. -TS

Give me a few minutes, try to breathe deeper. -JR

Rhodey arrives twenty-two minutes later with take-out from a nearby Chick-fil-A, and doesn't leave Tony alone until the meal is eaten and he can breathe like a normal human being again. And if, in gratitude, Tony lets Rhodey have most of the fries, no one has to know that.

000o000

The next day Pepper apologizes to Sigyn for the misunderstanding, bakes her muffins, and then promises to do her best to make up for what happened. Loki looks less like he's going to murder her after that, for which Tony is grateful.

Sigyn accepts the apology and then proceeds to continue to pester Loki into eating something with Thor. They're successful in the long run, and Loki spends a majority of the next hour throwing up as Bruce explains to Sigyn and Loki with some irritability that when someone hasn't eaten in a long time you don't start with solid foods.

Next time they try a smoothie.

And Loki still throws up.

All in all, the first week with Loki and Sigyn at the Tower pass without anyone being killed and that's about all Tony can proclaim is good that happened. It's never usually a good thing when the only win you can pull out of something is that nobody died.

The rest of the team are a cross between avoiding Loki and Sigyn like the plague and then being weirdly helpful and thoughtful. Natasha does take Bruce shopping and they buy more wardrobe that Tony can honestly see Sigyn or Loki using, but Sigyn is thrilled and goes running up to Loki waving a pair of heels at his face and exclaiming something about how comfortable footwear is here.

Loki had listened to her with a fond smile and Thor had snorted with laughter beside him. When questioned, Thor had answered: "Sigyn will splurge on three things: Loki, her children, and shoes. Otherwise she never spends money. Loki bought her a pair of shoes as a joke for their engagement, but I'm pretty sure that's wear their friendship actually started."

Tony had stared at the four separate pairs of shoes that Natasha bought with better understanding after that.

Natasha finally returns his hoodie and Tony happily wears it, then realizes the reason that she waited to return it was because she accidentally spilled fingernail polish on the side and now it's covered in sparkles. Pepper had laughed and said that he looks like a glitter fairy and Tony had snorted in agreement.

He still wore it anyway.

They're in the middle of week two when Loki manages to keep down solid food for more than two hours and to celebrate the success, Tony throws a movie party. He leaves the decision of what to watch up to Loki who spends a good ten minutes listening to Thor, who has seen most of the more popular movies, give summaries that are both awful and hilarious.

His one for Harry Potter is something along the lines of, "Brother, it's about a small child who has lightning on their forehead and pretends to be a sedirmaster. He's joined by a redhead who's without courage and a brunette who has yet to find her hairbrush."

They end up watching Justice League, though Tony has no idea why because all of them hate DC and the plot is really...meh. Maybe after facing a real alien invasion multiple times, the CGI just doesn't cut it anymore. Tony learns two things from the experience though:

One: Sigyn is the most sarcastic snot he has yet to meet. She sat through most of the movie making nasty comments about casting and the character arcs that flawed any semi-appreciation that Tony had for the film. On a first impression, Tony had really thought that Sigyn was more like Loki's...opposite. Her hair is a pale blonde whereas his is dark black, Loki's eyes are a vibrant shade of green that spark and fizzle with his emotions, but Sigyn's are a cool gray that don't reveal what she's thinking. Loki is tall and Sigyn is barely past five foot four. Loki is mean and quick to anger, but Sigyn is gentle and nice. But the thing Tony realizes is that Sigyn had not felt comfortable enough around them before this to reveal this side of her.

Two: Loki can't eat popcorn because it's covered in butter and he's deathly allergic to lactose. Apparently Bruce knew it before the rest of them, because when Loki picked up a piece he smacked his hand away and blurted out that it's covered in butter and Loki had dropped it like it might burn him.

Given this, though, at the end of the movie Clint had pelted Loki with remaining popcorn declaring that he should "fear the mighty butter". Natasha had smacked his arm fondly, but Loki shoved Clint off the edge of the couch as Sigyn and Thor laughed and that was pretty much that.

All in all, a strange sort of success.

The tension in the Tower eases after that considerably.

The following week, Tony presents Loki with braces for his arms to steady the shaking and Loki looks prepared to swear servitude to him for the rest of Tony's life. They work, mercifully, and when Loki conjures up a small flame, Tony oddly doesn't feel concerned.

Just happy for him.

000o000

Weeks fly by and suddenly it's been a little over two months since they arrived and he gets the call. He's going over some updates for the StarkArt app that he created a few years ago with Steve when his phone begins to buzz rapidly, then ring.

"Shouldn't you get that?" Steve questions.

"Probably." Tony agrees, then enlarges something on the StarkPad, "Do you think that this—"

The phone beeps for a message, then: "Tony! It's happening and I need you to meet me at the hospital. My water broke and I really don't know what to do about anything and—and—"

Tony answers the phone, a frantic panic swirling through him. "Pep? What's—"

"The BABY Tony! THE BABY IS COMING AND I—"

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down. Breathe. Is someone taking you from SI?" Tony questions, glancing towards Steve desperately who's staring at him with wide eyes.

"Happy is." Pepper answers breathlessly. "Please hurry."

"We'll meet you there." Tony promises, then Pepper hangs up and he turns to Steve, grabbing the super-solider shoulders. "MY CHILD IS COMING! WHAT THE HECK DO I DO!?"

Steve shoves him off, and Tony begins to pace rapidly, a thrum of unquenchable panic beginning to pulse through him. He's not ready for this. He's not ready to be a father. Oh, gosh, he's not ready to be a father. "Breathe." Steve instructs, "We need to get to the hospital. I'll call the team to let them know what's going on. Thor took Loki and Sigyn to see Jane, should I let them know?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"Calm down!"

"I CAN'T!"

"I'll call them," Steve decides calmly, then flicks a glance back towards him, "and for the love of—do you want a paper bag?"

000o000

Sixteen hours, and a drugged to high heaven Pepper later, Morgan Virgina Natasha Stark is born into the world. An hour after that, Tony's being handed his daughter by his wife under the supervision of the nurse, Mrs. Parker. The nurse keeps lingering and Tony's not sure if she's waiting for them to tell her something or whatever else, but he finds her knowing smile hidden behind large glasses annoying. Tony resists the urge to shove her out as he's handed his daughter because okay—wow. She's small.

"Pep," Tony breathes, sitting on the edge of the bed where Pepper is slumped tiredly. "Oh, she's perfect. Wonderful. Amazing. Hello, Morgan," Tony greets and lets Morgan clasp his finger with a small hand. So very, very small. He frowns a little, then looks up at his wife. "Look how small she is."

Pepper leans forward and gently holds her finger out for the baby to grab hold of. "Hey, Morgan," she greets with a tired smile.

"Oh my gosh, she's so small." Tony realizes, tucking her closer with a sudden striking fear for her life. "How—"

"Babies are this small, Tony," Pepper assures, resting a hand on his forearm, "I've seen newborns before."

"But...is ours supposed to be this small?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Now get Morgan's aunt and uncles in here before I fall asleep and she wakes up again." Pepper commands.

Tony hesitates. "But do we really—"

"Morgan will be fine." Pepper assures with a soft smile, "You don't have long before I pass out."

Tony glances towards the IV and frowns a little, "How many drugs did you take?"

"Enough that I can't feel past my hips." Pepper admits a little sheepishly. "Go."

Tony hands their daughter back to Pepper, then collects the other Avengers from the waiting room, noting with a slight snicker that everyone else present is gawking at them openingly. They arrive back in the hospital room and Steve immediately awws over Morgan, looking as though he's never seen anything more adorable in his life.

And yeah, Tony and Pepper (mostly Pepper) made that adorable thing so it's completely acceptable for Steve to be proclaiming Morgan such. Steve's the first to hold her with a wide smile that makes him look younger than he really is and Tony comes to stand beside Pepper, gripping her hand as she smiles fondly in the team's direction.

Clint takes Morgan next and his expression softens slightly and he looks at Natasha, "Hey Tasha, how do you feel about—?"

Natasha slams a hand over his mouth, "Stop there. No."

Clint shakes her hand off, "You said you wanted kids!"

"I didn't say I wanted to make the kid." Natasha argues, "We're adopting. And we're not adopting for a while."

Clint pouts, and Natasha takes Morgan from him. Unlike Steve and Clint who had more than enough words to tell the small child, Natasha takes one look at the baby and lifts an eyebrow then says flatly: "Fat."

"Hey—!" Tony starts in outrage.

"Not now," Pepper pleads gripping his hand, "I'm too tired now. We'll make her babysit later as punishment. But not now."

Tony moodily complies.

Bruce takes Morgan from Natasha awkwardly and his expression flares as if the thought of holding such innocent life terrifies him. He's barely made it thirty seconds before he's shoving the baby into Tony's arms and offering a grimaced smile. "She's lovely."

"Great," Tony agrees then waves a hand towards them, "now shoo. Pep needs to sleep and Thor will be here with Lokygn soon."

000o000

Almost exactly four hours after the other Avengers have left and Pepper's mother and Rhodey have stopped by, Thor, Loki, and Sigyn step into the room. Loki's grumbling about rain or something along those lines, but Thor's expression immediately lights up. He strides across the room towards where Pepper is seated upright with Morgan in her arms and smiles at the baby.

"She's beautiful," Thor assures, "a babe worthy of Idunn's apples."

Tony and Pepper share a look, "Um. Thanks." Tony says.

"May I hold her?" Thor questions. Pepper nods and gently allows Thor to scoop the babe from her arms. Words of how to properly support her head and back are swallowed when he realizes that Thor is holding Morgan with ease. He murmurs a few words in his native tongue, then turns to look back at Sigyn and Loki his expression mirthful, but it freezes.

Tony follows his gaze.

Sigyn's eyes are wide, her face drawn and pale as she grips Loki's fingers in a death grip. Loki's expression is wiped clean save the slight crease in his brow, but his jaw is tense. Tony recalls the details of what he gained off the librarian two months before (that feel like a lifetime). Loki and Sigyn's children all died in childbirth except the twin snakes on Alfheim.

To see Morgan now…

Tony barely represses a physical flinch.

Oh man...he didn't mean to...oh gosh, why couldn't he have just thought about that and...this is...why did he have to—

Pepper, ever the steady part of his brain, rests a hand on his arm and waves the couple forward. She's smiling gently, "Would you like to see her?"

As one clearly pained unit, Sigyn and Loki walk towards Thor where Morgan is still sleeping soundly. Thor gently lifts her towards the couple. Sigyn takes several more steps forward and Loki follows, both of them look like they're in a daze.

Sigyn stops beside her brother-in-law, eyes watering. "She's beautiful." She murmurs, her voice thick. "Loki, look at her nose."

Loki looks frozen and he keeps blinking rapidly, his eyes are moist. "It's lovely." He agrees.

"And her feet." Sigyn says, a tear slipping down her face.

Loki presses the back of his hand against his mouth to quell tears, but it doesn't stop it. Something tightens painfully in Tony's chest.

"And—" Sigyn's voice breaks and she squeezes Loki's fingers tighter.

Pepper's expression smooths with sympathy. "Would you like to hold her?"

Sigyn and Loki share a quick look and Sigyn nods, "Yes. Please."

Thor, with a final glance towards Tony to make sure it's okay, hands his surrogate niece to Sigyn. The elf holds her close to her chest and stares down at her with a desperate longing in her eyes. "Hello little one," Sigyn's voice cracks, "you're so beautiful, darling. So worthy of Idunn's apples, so innocent, so perfect, so—" Loki's arm wraps around his wife's shoulder and pulls her close as she begins to sob. Loki smooths a few stray pieces of faint, wispy hair from off of Morgan's forehead.

His expression is open agony.

Sigyn's face litters with more tears and she looks up at her husband, then through her sobs gasps out: "We could have had this, we could have had this."

000o000

Tony, Pepper and their small bundle return back to Avengers Tower the next day. Exhausted and having no desire to do anything but sleep, Tony hands Morgan off to Steve. He and Pepper retreat to bed and sleep for nearly ten hours before re-joining the living to find Sigyn asleep on the couch with Morgan curled on her chest.

Pepper smiles fondly and lifts up her phone to take a picture. Tony tries to find joy or even a little bit of happiness at the sight, but all he can feel is cold horror as he realizes just how many ways that could have gone wrong. Morgan could shift and fall off, or Sigyn could roll or—

Parenting is a nightmare.

He was not ready for this.

"It's that just precious?" Pepper questions softly, turning to look at him with bright eyes.

No.

It's not.

Morgan is—

Breathe.

000o000

One week and a great deal of close calls later (turns out that Morgan wants to do nothing but be held, eat, and whine slightly and the parenting class that Tony and Pepper are now attending assures them that it's fine), Tony is on the dubbed "baby-duty" in the communal room. AKA, he holds Morgan while working on answering emails for SI (Pepper's on maternity leave, so everyone apparently thought that Tony is more available than her). Across the room, Loki is reading a book with his head in Sigyn's lap as she works on some sort of weaving-braid technique with embroidery thread that Natasha showed her a few days ago.

They look calm, almost content and compared to the anxiety that both presented on Asgard, Tony's rather proud of it.

Clint and Thor are in the middle of an intense match of a video game that Tony doesn't recognize, but it's apparently a team-up and Clint has terrible aim with the controller. Tony probably shouldn't find that as hilarious as he does, but...eh.

After Clint is killed for the umpteenth time he throws his hands up in frustration, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe this! How are you better than me!?" He demands, turning to Thor.

Thor smirks knowingly and offers a slight laugh as he relaxes against the back of the couch, "Perhaps you simply don't have the skills needed."

"It's a video game!"

"They require skill." Thor defends, "Natasha said that—"

"Was that after you beat her?" Clint interrupts in a demanding tone, "Because she never defends computer games otherwise."

Thor opens his mouth to respond, but is yet again interrupted. It isn't by Clint this time, it's Jarvis: "Sir, Director Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is en route to the communal room." Tony's blood freezes and he flicks an anxious glance towards where Loki and Sigyn are sitting. Both have perked up slightly and Loki squints with confusion.

"Who?" Loki questions.

Tony swears, "You stabbed him five years ago but missed anything fatal. Now shut up and get out of here."

"I'm sorry?" Sigyn questions as Tony frantically rises to his feet, pulling the book out of the trickster's hands and throwing it towards the coffee table. Clint and Thor have risen to their feet as well and Tony can see the anxiety drawn into their stances.

"Phil doesn't know that you're here," Tony explains rapidly, "if he sees you, I really doubt that he'll be as understanding as everyone else. Now go," Tony grabs Sigyn's wrist and pulls her to her feet. Loki stumbles onto his a moment later and though both still look confused and slightly miffed, the two begin to exit the room.

The elevator opens before they exit completely.

Tony freezes, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth.

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap—

Coulson takes a step into the communal room, straining down his ruffled suit coat. From the corner of his eye, Tony sees Loki grab his wife's wrist the two vanish in a blur of bluish light and a faint cinnamon smell.

Natural.

They need to act natural.

Like they're not hiding anything.

Um.

Um, um, um—

Tony grabs an unopened water bottle on the coffee table with one hand, twists it the cap to break the seal, and begins to down the water. Clint shoves Thor abruptly and Thor tumbles slightly, then snatches Mjolnir from wherever it was, hand poised to smash Clint with it.

"Whoa, Rapunzel!" Clint starts, lifting his hands in self defense.

"How dare you insult a son of Odin!?" Thor demands sharply.

"I didn't mean it!?" Clint questions anxiously.

And—oh. Arguments are normal. Tony attempting to become a mermaid is not as normal. He pulls the water bottle away from his lips and coughs sharply, coming to the painful realization that he probably should have breathed before now.

Coulson comes to a stop in front of them, eyebrow raising. "Am I interrupting something?"

Tony clears his throat sharply, that was a lot of water. "Ah—no," he reassures, gently adjusting Morgan when she shifts in discomfort. "What do you need, Agent?"

Coulson's eye twitches with slight annoyance, "We have intel from a trusted source and I need to call in the Avengers for a mission. How fast can you be ready?"

An assemble? Now? Great. Pepper's meeting with her post-pregnancy therapist and she won't be back for another hour. Who can he get to babysit?

"Ten minutes?" Tony guesses, "We'll meet you outside."

Coulson nods and makes a move to leave, though his gaze lingers on Morgan. He makes a little humming noise before walking past them. When he's exited the room, he hears Clint smack his palm against his forehead.

"Water?" He demands rhetorically. Tony feels heat rise to his cheeks, "No one drinks water like that when they're being normal."

"It was the only thing I could think of!" Tony defends, "No judgement from you, Bird-Brain. J., call for an assemble and tell Loki to get his butt down here."

"In that phrasing, Sir?" Jarvis questions with snark as the lights begin to ring for an assembling.

Tony blows out a breath of annoyance and doesn't answer. A little less than seven minutes later, the rest of the team is grouped together and Loki arrives. "What is it that you need?" He demands. The words have barely left his mouth before Tony shoves his daughter at the trickster.

"Babysitter. Anything happen to her and that's on your head." He smiles thinly before tapping his arc reactor and feeling the nanotech spread across his body. He doesn't look back as he and the other Avengers gather on the landing pad.

Coulson gives them a run down of their mission and they leave almost immediately.

000o000

Four hours later, Clint lands the burned Quinjet on Avengers Tower and Tony flexes his damaged hand in and out. Natasha groans loudly and wipes blood off of the cut on her forehead. "Never again." She promises lowly.

The villain of the day: Dr. Doom.

Rather than destroy Manhattan with one of his usual flare and predictable strategies, he was attempting to infiltrate a public building to lay bombs and they caught him in the act. Not before he thrust out a small army of Doombots and vanished with laughter. Two hours of tracking and a well aimed taser arrow later, Doom is now safely in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D..

"They had pew-pew guns," Clint grumbles in annoyance, rising to his feet, "I hate pew-pew guns."

"Mmph," Tony argues tiredly, "don't hate it till you try it. Food?"

All give noises of agreement.

They enter the penthouse. "J.," Tony addresses, "order from some restaurant near here with however much you think is good. Tell Lokygn to join us to, and Peps if she's home."

"Of course, Sir." Jarvis answers. "Miss Potts is still out."

Tony disassembles the armor and thrusts himself on the nearest couch, groaning with relief when he realizes he doesn't have to move for the next several hours. The rest of his team is quick to follow, Natasha curling up in a slumped ball next to him, her back pressed against his leg.

Somewhere close to fifteen minutes later, Loki and Sigyn enter the room with bags of takeout distributed between the two of them. Morgan is in Sigyn's arms and Tony gives a tired wave in her direction as he sees the newborn. Sigyn smiles softly and hands the child to Bruce, who looks like he'd rather be doing pretty much anything else, but nonetheless steadies her.

Loki dumps the takeout on the coffee table, "You would be amazed at the idiocy of New Yorkers," he announces to them, "you live in an enormous tower with your name plastered to the side and the delivery child still got lost."

Natasha hums, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Do you have any extra fries?" Coulson questions. Tony stiffens and then lurches to his feet with the others, hand coming to his arc reactor as Natasha's flies to the gun strapped at her waist. Jarvis. Did Jarvis know that he was here, or did—

Steve stares for a second, then appears to gather himself together, "What are you doing here?"

Coulson smiles tightly and gives a slight dip of his head in greeting. "I think that we need to have a discussion about your resident super villain."

Loki's fists clench at his sides tightly and Tony sees Sigyn's hand shift to where he knows she carries the hilt of her sword. It's weirdly foldable and can close to just the hilt. It's fairly heavy, but Tony has rarely seen her without it yet never seen her use it.

"Attempts to detain him with end poorly." Sigyn promises lowly.

Loki rests a hand on her shoulder as if telling her to stand down and tilts his head in Coulson's direction. "What is it that you want to discuss, Director?"

Coulson takes a step forward, apparently oblivious to how tense all of them are and digs through the bag until he finds the fries and steals one. He makes a face, "Salty." He turns back to Loki, "I'm beginning to suspect you've been here since they came back from Asgard."

"Yes."

"Alright," Coulson agrees evenly, "Jarvis explained most of what happened to me while you guys were coming back. You've had months to attempt to enslave and kill us, but you haven't. Why?"

Loki hesitates, apparently thinking over it before he answers, voice careful: "It was never my intention in the first place. I can't rule over the dead."

"You didn't seem too concerned about that last time." Coulson points out.

"My brother is not here because he's claiming a crown," Thor defends sharply, "he's here because he's wanted dead everywhere else. If I take him back to Asgard he'll be assassinated. He has no where else to go where he isn't wanted dead."

That's a warming thought.

Coulson nods slightly then presses his lips together tightly. "Alright. I'll trust your judgement on this one. But Loki, if you make one move out of line, you'll be in a cell faster than you can say "oops"." Coulson promises.

Loki huffs, "Noted."

"I only have one last question then I'll leave," Coulson promises.

"Ask away, then." Sigyn invites. Her eyes are filled with distrust and a wariness that Tony can't quite blame her for, even if he doesn't share it. If Coulson was going to arrest Loki, he would have showed up with a STRIKE team, not by himself. He only wanted to talk.

"Jarvis mentioned that you have children, on your home world," Coulson starts slowly, addressing Sigyn, "I was wondering if you'd explain that."

Loki and Sigyn share a look between the two of them.

It looks hollow.

Sad.

Wet.

Loki sighs and gestures towards the couch, "You may want to sit for this, it's not a short tale."

Coulson nods and carefully positions himself on the edge of the couch. Tony warily sits down beside him and Natasha sinks down next to him. On the other couch, Clint, Bruce, Steve, and Thor sit down. Sigyn and Loki perch on the coffee table.

Loki's quiet for a moment, working his lip between his teeth for a second as if trying to figure out how best to explain. "How much do you know about my father?" Loki questions.

Coulson's expression darkens slightly and he flicks a glance towards Thor that seems almost...possessively protective. "Enough. He deserves a life sentence in prison. Or a few other methods of disposing someone I can think of."

Loki lets out a dry laugh, "Creativity is always welcomed. I can't tell you how many times I've dreamt his death since my imprisonment. It's true, our twin sons Jörmungandr and Narfi are on Alfheim, but they don't require our immediate care."

Coulson's expression flickers, "How so?"

Sigyn tightens, "I'm cursed, Director, there's something...wrong with me, my womb only conceives animals. Jörmungandr and Narfi are snakes. Serpents now, really, but still very small. With your ageing scale, they're barely five. Our eldest son would have been a little over nine."

""Would"?" Coulson presses.

Tony mentally winces.

Don't push this.

Please don't push this.

Loki shakes his head and releases a sharp breath, "Sigyn and I were married at your seventeen. After the first two decades of our marriage—four, possibly five months here—Odin...went through a lapse. The All-Force that he has to wield has been like a poison to him. The burden of that magic is meant to be shared between a man and a woman, the king and queen. It's the only way a king could retain his sanity. My father never agreed to do that. To recompense for it, he has to enter a trance-like state to maintain himself. But he waited. I took the brunt of his frustration and Sigyn grew concerned."

Sigyn shakes her head, her expression disgusted, "He beat you bloody, Loki." She counters, "I was ready to take his head and I don't think that anyone would have stopped me."

Tony wouldn't have.

He would have cheered her on.

"It was me or Thor and I'm rather glad with the decision I did make," Loki argues. The two stare each other down for a few seconds before Loki yields first and turns back to Coulson. "In her worry, she started to scheme ways to get me and Thor off of Asgard. We had nowhere to go, however, and when she presented this idea to Thor, he laughed at her. He insisted nothing was wrong, even though all of us did know it. We'd grown up with only Odin as our father, how were we to know any different? Eventually, Sigyn was doing some reading and came across the text that declared since she was the Crown Princess of her realm, if she were to conceive a living heir before her sisters, she and I would be obligated by law to return to her home planet."

Coulson nods, "So you had a child?"

"We attempted to," Sigyn corrects, her face falling slightly, "when I was gave birth, our son was a horse. People assumed that it was a sign from those greater than us above that we weren't meant to be parents. Other's thought me cursed. Odin met us in the Healing Halls as Eir attempted to get our son to breathe, but it was hopeless. He took the body and we were never told where he was buried, to help grief, I was told. Everyone told us to forget him. But he was still our son and I wanted to go to his funeral, but he never had one and I wanted to know where they put his body, but we couldn't find it."

Loki clenches his eyes shut, "Heimdall was forbidden to tell us where he was. And those that followed after."

Sigyn inhales raggedly, "Our daughter, Angrboða was a deformed flerken—an omen of death. Later, our son Fenrir, a wolf, followed his sister and brother to Valhalla. They never made it more than a few hours. When I finally grew pregnant with our twins…"

"Odin cornered us and said that I was humiliating the family with all the mess of Sigyn's failed pregnancies. He told me that it had given him only one choice, I had to say goodbye to Sigyn and she would give birth to our sons in Alfheim and not return." Loki explains.

"She wasn't banished?" Steve blurts out, then heat rises to his cheeks when they look at him.

"No." Thor says softly, "She wasn't."

Sigyn sighs quietly, "I left at the end of my term and re-joined my family. The twins lived. They reside with my sister and her daughter. If it was not so dangerous for my husband, I would take him to see them. They likely enjoyed the rats," she says the last part wistfully and Tony barely withholds a gag. He does note, however, that Thor's expression has twisted into something glaringly uncomfortable. His fingers keep clenching in and out.

Coulson makes a noise of acknowledgement and sympathy. "I'm sorry."

Loki shakes his head, "Thank you for your sympathy, Director I—"

"How many legs was the first born with?" Thor blurts out abruptly. Sigyn and Loki turn to him, mirrored expressions of confusion flickering across their face. Tony stares at him. What does this have to do with anything?

"...Eight." Loki answers after a second, "Why does this matter? You never saw—"

"Sleipnir," Thor rushes out as if afraid he won't be able to say it unless he does so. "Sleipnir also has eight legs, Loki, do you think maybe…?" The word has no meaning to him whatsoever, but Loki's expression freezes as if he's been struck. His breath escapes in a single release.

Sigyn's hands come to cover her mouth and she looks at her husband, "No."

"He wouldn't dare—" Loki starts under his breath.

"He said he enchanted him in remembrance of our son, Loki, you don't think—" Sigyn starts.

"We never saw the body, Elskling, he—" Loki's voice is growing more heated the longer he speaks.

"We spent years mourning our baby and he—"

"I begged and begged him to at least let us know the location of the buried body, but—"

"Oh, Norns," Sigyn breathes out, "Loki, there was always talk of the wolf that howled with rage in Speckle Point."

"Fenrir." Thor murmurs, his expression beginning to show the same look of horror as his sibling and sister-in-law's.

"The flerkin that Sif found." Sigyn whispers, "I had never even thought to—"

Loki's face loses all color and he turns and grabs Sigyn's shoulder, "I swore to you that that sorcery that tainted your womb was familiar. It was familiar because it was Odin's. He cursed you and tossed out our children like mere dogs when they lived to die—" Loki snaps to his feet suddenly, his expression darkened with thick rage.

Sigyn's eyes widen. A hand comes to her stomach and she breathes out sharply.

Tony's mouth is parted with his disbelief and disgust and he snaps it shut. Odin. Loki's father cursed Sigyn with this? He threw our their children into the wilderness of Asgard and bound Heimdall to never speak of it, then refused to tell them what happened?

What sick minded, monstrous—

Is that even a question?

Dear, dear King Odin. The all so innocent benevolent king of Asgard.

Loki swears under his breath. Then begins to pace, "I'm going to kill him," he promises softly, "slowly. Gruesomely. Draw the life from his body so painfully that he screams for mercy and when he does, I'll split his skull."

Sigyn rises to her feet, expression equally dark. Despite this, Tony's almost expecting her to talk him down. She's usually the more level headed between the two, but instead, she only moves her hand towards her sword and questions: "When do we start?"

And.

Okay.

Yep.

Tony should probably be more opposed to this, but he finds that he can't be. Not after what Odin did to Thor. Not after what he did to Loki. Not after what he did to Sigyn.

Thor's lips press together tightly before he releases a sharp breath and he rises to his feet, "I will see him brought to justice." Thor agrees, "If death can be avoided, perhaps we should—"

"Avoided?" Loki repeats, his voice laced with a sick laughter, "I'd see him rot in Helheim. Thor, he cursed my wife and my children so we would never learn that I was adopted."

Thor's jaw tightens.

Loki shakes his head, his lips still spread in that sickly smile. "You think that this was merely because he didn't want grandchildren? What do you think Asgard would have thought if my firstborn son was blue? Lineage would have been traced, the only way to prevent that was to simply not have a Aesir born at all. You can't tell with animals."

"I'm not defending him." Thor asseverates, "I wouldn't—I know that he's wronged you, but murder is not always the answer—"

"IT'S NOT JUST ME, THOR!" Loki rages, hand snapping out with frustration, "I don't bloody care if he's saved an orphanage as a child. He abused you, I cleaned up your bruises and blood far to much to believe there is anything worth saving in that wretched, egoistical—"

"I want justice, Loki," Thor interrupts, "and it is not your decision how he gains that. It's the curia regis's."

Loki swears again.

His fists are laced with a glowing green light.

But he sucks in a calming breath. Then another. "Fine." He grits between his teeth, "We will gain the proof we need first, then we will bring Odin to justice."

"We're coming, too," Steve avers without argument. Loki, Thor, and Sigyn all look towards him. "Look, we may not have dealt with all of this for as long as you have, but you're family. We aren't going to let Odin get away with this and we'll see it to the end."

Loki nods once. Thor looks relieved. Sigyn's face is beyond Tony's sight.

Coulson sighs quietly and slowly rests his head in his hand. Natasha lifts an eyebrow and kicks the edge of the director's shoe. "Do we have permission to leave?"

"No murder." Coulson argues.

Natasha lifts her eyebrows up, her body shifting into a "fight me" stance. "None?"

"No. I don't need the paperwork." Coulson says sharply, "It would be a lot of paperwork."

"Well snowflake," Clint says and pats his knee, "sometimes life's hard and you've gotta accept that."

"No murder." Coulson repeats.

Loki snorts. "You're not in a position to be demanding anything of us."

Coulson lifts his head up, expression begging to differ, "I am, in fact, and I insist the no murder policy. Yes, you have permission to go with this, only because I don't think I can stop you. I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear any of this and go to bed." Coulson rises to his feet and Tony gives him a light wave in response.

Clint smirks and, as the door to the elevators close, turns back to them, "He only argued halfheartedly, that means he agrees with us but his sense of duty argues that he argue. We're golden Pony Boy."

000o000

Two days later, Tony is once again stumbling into the Observatory. His stomach doesn't heave quite as badly this time, and Tony's a little proud of that fact. Heimdall is awaiting them and gives a dip of his head in greeting.

"Avengers, Prince Thor, Prince Loki, Princess Sigyn."

"Heimdall," Sigyn's voice is earnest, "please. I know you've been watching us. Is what we've concluded correct?"

Heimdall's expressionless face flickers, and the grip on his sword tightens, "Yes. Odin has bound me under sedir to never let you know. I cannot reveal the location of your children, Your Highness, not now, I'm sorry."

The cold coil in his stomach tightens to a knot.

Sigyn's shoulders slump, but she nonetheless nods, her chin lifting slightly. "Then we will drag it from Odin himself."

Heimdall nods, "I wish you luck."

000o000

When they step foot into the capital city, the people part for their group as if they'd been expecting them. A few have heated expressions, but most simply give low nods of their heads in respect, some even assuring Thor that they have so-and-so's shield. Many eyes linger on the brutal scarring across the lower half of Loki's face, though.

When they reach the gates to the palace, the Warriors Three and Sif are awaiting them. Sif gives a dip of her head in their direction, "My princes," she greets with a slight, but tight smile, "Heimdall told us of your coming."

Ah.

Thor nods, looking relieved, "Good. Where is my fa—Odin?"

"Hliðskjálf, I imagine." Sif answers.

Hliðskjálf?

Thor nods.

Loki's expression darkens and he moves towards the palace's doors. As they draw closer, some of the guard raise their weapons, but Loki throws them to the side with a mere flick of his hand. Within minutes, Loki has successfully navigated to the throne room and Thor throws Mjolnir at the wood, blowing it to pieces.

"All-Father!" Loki yells out sharply. Tony trails after him, bracing his weapons should the need for a fight arise. Odin is sitting on his throne, Frigga standing beside him. A group of men are before the two, but as their group advances, they quickly scramble out of the way.

Odin lifts an eye, almost lazily, towards the dark-haired Asgardian. "Loki." He says bonelessly. "You are speaking to a king, kneel."

Loki snarls. "Don't play that with me. I'd bow to a smear of mud before you."

Odin's eye narrows, "You would dare to speak to me in such a way, boy—!?"

"I know what you did." Loki announces flatly. "I know what you caused. Who you attempted to kill."

Frigga's eyebrows meet, "Loki, of what do you speak?"

Loki ignores her, he has only eyes for his father. "Where are my children?"

Odin stares at him for a long moment, then laughs. Long, guttural chuckles—as if Loki has just found the perfect punch line. Tony shares a bewildered look with Thor. "Child, you have been seeking your dead children for long enough. They are in Valhalla, their bodies rot on Asgard."

Sigyn raises her sword, back arched, "You would even dare to speak such about my—"

"Yes!" Odin cuts in before she can finish, "Because you have held onto the dead for too long. Let them rest in peace."

Thor gives a low shake of his head in disgust, "Father, Sleipnir—"

"Hggnrrr!" Odin growls out, jabbing a finger in Thor's direction who quickly snaps his jaw shut. "Science, boy! You know not of what you speak!"

"My son." Loki growls, "He's speaking of my son. His nephew."

"They are dead." Odin insists.

Loki swears. Harsh and violently in Aardent, his patience appearing to reach the breaking point. He storms up the steps to the throne and grabs Odin by the throat, dragging him off the throne. Frigga gasps, her hands covering her mouth. "On the Norn's name, All-Father," Loki spits, tightening his hold, causing the white-haired man to garble, "tell me what you did to my children." Loki's voice has lost it's calm edge, there's nothing but rage. Rage strong enough to raze a city to the earth.

His eyes hold the same promise.

"Loki," Frigga whispers harshly, she makes a move forward, maybe to stop him, but Sigyn, (who Tony can't remember moving, but is suddenly there), grabs his shoulder and holds her in place firmly.

Odin stares at Loki for a long second, then gives a crooked, deranged smile. His hands are tightly gripped around his youngest son's forearm, but he doesn't appear able to do anything about it. Realizing this apparently doesn't factor into his next words: "I've already said everything I know."

Loki chokes, gasping a hiss between his teeth then shoves the king away from him. "You said—" He starts.

"That your children were taken care of? That they were dangerous?" Odin challenges, "Come now, Loki, I thought you a smarter boy than this, son."

Loki stares at him.

Tony feels his fists clench tightly with anger. Conclusions have already been drawn and traced back to, but the realization still feels like a slap in the face. Odin did this to his daughter-in-law. To his grandchildren. What sick minded, monster would—?

A look Tony can't quite interpret flashes over Loki's face and Thor makes a noise behind him. Loki's eyes narrow a minuscule amount before he punches Odin across the face. Tony didn't even see his hand move. One second it was still at his side, the next the old king is stumbling backwards on the steps, hand pressed against his bleeding noise. It's dripping blood and crooked, but Loki isn't done.

From the looks of things, he hasn't even started.

Frigga inhales sharply behind them.

Tony ignores her.

Loki shakes his head slightly, a low laugh bubbling in his throat. Odin looks up at him, face clearly startled. The trickster doesn't move, but his body is leaking rage.

Odin releases a low growl and straightens his position, adjusting his grip on Gungnir, clearly preparing for a fight. Tony adapts his repulsors to this, raising them level with the king once more. From the corner of his eye, he sees Clint's blow lift and Natasha's cuff. "You would dare—!" Odin starts.

"Father," Thor says sharply, "that is enough. You disgust me. I can't believe you would dare interfere with the life Loki and Sigyn had created. You—"

"SILENCE!" Odin roars.

Thor's jaw snaps shut, his moment of bravery flickering out.

Tony's anger rises to his throat.

Loki's eyes narrow dangerously and he shifts slightly, "Stop it."

Odin turns to him and looks bemused, "Stop what? I am your king, you insolent boy and beyond that—you owe your life to me, Jotunn."

No. He doesn't. He owes you nothing.

Loki flinches, but his chest heaves with shallow breaths, "My children. You took my children."

"Nothing less than you deserved. They would have been just as much a monster as you." Odin sneers. "It's in your bloodline."

"How dare—" Siygn starts.

Loki jerks slightly, his breaths coming shorter and shorter. "Sigyn must be relieved, she hasn't had to deal with your roots tainting her children, any mother would be ashamed of any spawn you created—"

Odin doesn't finish.

Loki lets out a shout before drawing daggers and diving at him. Odin barely dodges the first swing, but gets nicked on the nose with the second. Odin brings up his weapon for defense, but the battle is short lived. Even despite Odin's age, and therefore more skill, it's clear that Loki surpasses his father. He fights with a knife pick grip for pete's sake, you don't go running around in close combat with that style unless you know what you're doing.

Gungnir tumbles from Odin's grasp as the old man is thrown to his back. Loki tosses the spear at his father's feet, his fists glowing with a green-red power. It seeps around his fists like mist and dripping water; his eyes are alight with the sorcery. Loki begins to speak lowly, dangerously, "Years I cowered away from you. I spent my entire life trying to make you proud and what you do you return? You treat me as if I'm nothing, you raise me to a birthright I can never claim, you banish my wife, kidnap my children and leave them to die. I spent a year in captivity with one of the most psychopathic beings in the universe and HE WAS MORE MERCIFUL! I HATE YOU!"

Odin rears back from him, but Loki grasps him by his collar and drags him to his feet. "You are a poor excuse for an Asgardian. I was more afraid of you than I ever was of monsters hiding under my bed at night. The law demands your head for mistreating your children."

Odin's eyes widen, but Loki grins. "But I demand a penalty. As a member of the Elite Magicians, Odin Bruai Borson, I strip you of your title, your rank, and your right to Asgard's throne. You are unworthy of your power, of the All-Force, the ground of which you walk, and if you had any loved ones, you would be unfit to see them."

As Loki speaks, he lifts a hand out and...draws some sort of glowing light from Odin's mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. Odin writhes in his grasp, but Loki doesn't release him. He keeps pulling and pulling and pulling the power from the older man until Odin's shouts stop and he slumps in his grip. Loki lets him fall to his knees, gasping in pain and twitches his fingers slightly. The glowing orb vanishes.

Loki's hands stop glowing, and the power radiating from him ceases.

Gathering together his breath, he leans down beside Odin and tilts his head slightly, watching as Odin attempts to pull himself together again with little success, "Now," Loki's voice is smooth and soft, "are you ready to tell me where you hid my sons?"

Odin sputters, wiping blood from the edge of his mouth. "Monsters." He corrects.

Sigyn draws her sword.

Loki's fingers tighten and he closes his eyes, jaw tensing. Natasha shifts to take a step forward, but all of them whirl when a weird sort of hollowing-swallow noise rings out. It sounds like a high-pitched whine, but also that someone is popping bubbles in 8D audio. A green portal is forming with a center of black.

It spreads outwards, gaining growth and looks fully formed in a little under fifteen seconds. Tony swears under his breath, shifting to stand beside Clint.

A woman steps from the portal. Her clothing is in tatters and long, dark black hair is tumbling around her face. It's clear that she hasn't seen a hairbrush or the sun in a long time. Her face is waxy, pale, and drawn thin from gautness. She looks like a walking corpse. Cadaverous.

Her eyes survey the scene with some interest, then it lands on Odin and her lips curl up with distaste. Hate. Tony lifts his weapons towards her warily. Please don't be a hostile. Please don't be a hostile. Please don't be a—

Odin releases a sharp cry, scrambling away. "Look at what you've done!" Odin shouts, "You idiot, you've doomed us all!"

The woman smiles tightly and shifts her weight to one hip. She looks murderous. "Oh, come now," she murmurs, taking a step forward, "aren't you glad to see me? It has been so long, Dear Father."

Tony's mind draws blank.

Uh.

She.

It.

What.

Father!?

Thor never mentioned a sister. Loki never mentioned a sister. Asgard never flipping mentioned a sister. Who the heck is she supposed to be!?

Frigga chokes sharply and all of them turn to look at her. Her blue eyes are wide and her hands are covering her mouth as if she'll spill secrets out in a tumbling wave. With reluctance, the All-Mother removes her hands and says lowly: "Hela?"

Hela, Norse goddess of death.

Helheim, world of the dead.

Oh.

Oh no.

Hela's smile broadens into something sharp, "Hello, Stepmother. You look ill."

Frigga draws away from Sigyn and takes several steps towards the creepy lady. Idiot. Rats, if Loki and Thor's mom dies because of this lady, they're going to kill her. Then Tony and the Avengers are going to kill her, because that is just rude.

Frigga shakes her head slowly and when she's less than a foot from Hela, she throws her arms around her, and tugs her close. "Oh, my daughter," Frigga whispers, her voice wet, "I have missed you so. Please, spare your wrath for a moment."

Tony shares a bewildered look with Steve.

What on the—?

Whatever Hela was expecting to happen, being hugged wasn't high on the list. Or on the list. Her face is so startled and horrified that Tony could mistake it for a murder victims. Hela's body is stiff and tight, but after a second she hesitantly rests a hand on the queen's back. Her face softens.

The moment is broken, however, when Odin releases a loud war cry and dives to his feet, one of Loki's daggers in hand and attempts to make a jump at the trickster. He's millimeters from gutting Loki through the stomach when a sword sails through his chest. Mjonlir barely misses his face.

Odin chokes, and Tony whirls, startled.

Hela lowers her hand, and hisses out something unflattering under her breath as she escapes Frigga's embrace and moves towards Odin, grasping the hilt of the sword and pulling it from him, slowly. Blood begins to leak openingly. "I hope you rot." Hela snears. Thor grasps the handle of his weapon, coming to stand next to the creepy-lady.

Loki takes a step forward, giving a breathless thank you to the older woman and grasps Odin's shoulder. "I would let you bleed out and die like you deserve, but then you wouldn't suffer." He moves his hand in front of Odin's face and the king slumps against the ground, weightless and asleep.

000o000

Loads of family problems aside, the rest of the trip to Asgard goes over smoothly.

Family problems included, it's a flipping mess. Loki publicly denied Odin his right to the throne by some sort of oath bound to the Norns that Tony doesn't think he'll ever understand (or if he wants to), and Thor, as next in line, is legally bound to take the throne.

But then there's Hela.

Apparently bonded from their mutual experience over making Odin suffer, or having suffered from him, Thor, Hela, and Loki get off well. Well-ish. Hela is clearly a temperamental being with a wild flare of temper that's hard to predict and protect against. Tony tried poking at her verbally and nearly lost a finger.

But she's not evil.

She's just angry.

According to Thor (none of the team was privy to it), the Asgardian royal family sat down for a long overdue chat, discussed the Hela plight and all that mess, then came to some sort of understanding. Tony has his doubts this would have happened if Frigga had not drawn her act together finally, grabbed all three of her children by their ears and dragged them into the throne room privately.

Hela, as is her birthright, is given the rights to the throne so long as a member of the royal family supervises her for the next fifteen years, as was the requirement from parliament.

Because politics.

Yuck.

Odin, much to Tony's pleasure, does not receive a happy ending. He's not certain really what happened to him, only that he's not enjoying his life at the moment and it's somewhere that involves a lot of dirt, mud, and blisters. Tony's guessing farming, but he's really not sure. Dragging the king from his status as above all to a farmer was indeed creative. Just not the gruesome death Tony had in mind for him. Or, privately, hoped.

With Heimdall's tongue at last loosed, he takes Sigyn and Loki aside privately to give them the locations of their children and both happily, with tears, go to retrieve the young Aesir across the planet. Odin's spell no longer holds them, and their animal forms are shifted at last. One of their sons was in the stables and Tony's deeply discomforted by the idea that Loki's child was a horse. People rode him.

Both are happy despite this though. The family retrieves the twins from Vanaheim then leaves for Earth, where they have no royal obligations. Sigyn and Loki can just be a married couple and raise their children.

Tony's happy for them.

Without Odin staring down Thor's every move, he happily received the blessing of his mother for his and Jane's wedding, and proudly proclaimed such to all who would hear him. Tony shook his head with exasperation and they leave for Earth.

Four months from their hasty attack on the palace, Tony's sitting in his lab with Morgan bundled up against his chest as he attempts to decode yet another mess that S.H.I.E.L.D. sent him. He's at the point of giving up with frustration when his phone buzzes.

Morgan makes a little noise and Tony gently rests a hand on her back, grumbling under his breath in annoyance, but nonetheless unburies his phone from the piles of work and flicks the screen open.

It's a picture from Natasha. Loki, Sigyn, and their small army of children are in a playground with Loki and Sigyn laughing as one of their sons (Tony will be the first to admit he can't really tell them apart) making a face at them. Thor and Jane are sitting in the background, with Darcy noisily stuffing her phone between the two with a wide grin.

Below the picture is the words: Guess who's happy? -NR

He can almost hear her sarcasm, and Tony grins slightly, shakes his head with fond exasperation, then fires back: Don't need to. You can see it in their faces. -TS

Author's Note:*Side note: What Tony says happened to Odin was only what he was TOLD. Thor decided it was probably better to lie a little than explain his actual fate: public flogging then execution via Hela. They then burned his heart (the carrier for the soul in Ancient Egypt and I'm going to say it's that way for Asgard, too) to prevent passage to Valhalla and tossed his body into the Void.

Okay, with that grueseme death aside,

Thank you guys so much for reading! :) Your encouragement has meant a great deal to me, more than I can really express. :) You're all amazing! Thank you again!

Happy April, my stars! I love you all! =D

-LodestarJumper