Marvel || FrostIron || Marvel || Avengers of the Galaxy || Marvel || FrostIron || Marvel

Title: Avengers of the Galaxy – How to Cope with the Snap

Fandom: Marvel

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Marvel Comics for the creation of some of the most awesome heroes ever. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: m/m, hurt/comfort, pain/grief, canon divergent

Main Pairing: Loki/Tony

Marvel Characters: Anthony 'Tony' Stark, Loki Friggason, Peter Parker, Harley Keener, James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, Carol Danvers, Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Hope van Dyne

Summary: In which Loki survived, Peter didn't get snapped but May did so Tony adopts him and Harley. Scott got snapped instead of Hope – so no one comes up with the idea to use time-travel. They found an intergalactic Avengers team to help the universe cope, together with some interesting and partially unexpected teammates.

Avengers of the Galaxy

How to Cope with the Snap

Thanos snapped his fingers and half the universe turned to ash. Tony was stuck on the planet Titan, watching Stephen Strange, Peter Quill, Drax and Mantis turn to ash. He desperately clung onto Peter, his Peter, trying to keep him from falling apart and by some miracle, for once the universe was on his side, because Peter remained solid, staring with fearful eyes.

"Your aunt would kill me if something happened to you", sighed Tony relieved.

And then he immediately felt awful for it, because how could he experience relief when half of their makeshift team had just died in front of him? How could he be this selfish to feel glad in such a moment? Peter looked at him like an absolutely terrified puppy.

"What... What do we do, Mister Stark?", asked Peter frightened.

"We have to get off this planet", declared Nebula with a fierce and determined look.

She was right, of course. They had to get away from Titan, they had to figure out what to do, find out who had died on Earth – who had died on Earth. Tony's throat tightened as fear overtook him once more. Rhodey. Pepper. Happy. No, no, no. He shouldn't think about this, not right now. It'd only send him into a panic attack when he had no way of knowing.

/break\

Things on Earth didn't look good. So many had been dusted. The entire royal family of Wakanda, for one – leaving General Okoye to try and govern the nation. May Parker had been dusted, along with basically all of Peter's classmates, leaving the kid crying and confused for days. Of course did Tony open his doors for him, but Peter wasn't the only one. Days after their return to Earth, Tony got a call from Harley Keener, whose family had also been dusted.

Stark Industries started a charity for children affected by the snap; children now left orphans, too many children for the system to take care of especially since the system itself had also been snapped in half and everyone, every profession, every city, every nation, everyone was somehow trying to deal with this, was trying to pick up the pieces and puzzle together some way to keep going.

Rhodey was safe. Happy and Pepper were safe, though they retired together to a cabin in the woods after finding out that Pepper was pregnant. Tony honestly couldn't be happier for them, because in all of this misery, it was nice to see something good happen to someone.

Tony and Nebula had bonded on the ship, on the way back to Earth. He taught her some games that she seemed to reluctantly enjoy. She had also developed a certain protectiveness over Peter in that time. At least until a glowing badass woman had appeared in front of the ship and helped them back to Earth. Down here, Nebula didn't know what to do. The only member of her team still alive was Rocket Raccoon – a talking space-raccoon because of course. Tony, being Tony, opened his doors for Nebula and of course also for her teammate.

Thor had arrived with some Asgardians. Not that there were too many of those who had actually survived; first the attack on their home planet as Thor retold, then the attack of Thanos on their ship and lastly the snap. Loki had survived, apparently. He had tricked Thanos on the ship into thinking he had killed Loki but it had been a mere illusion – it had given them an advantage when fighting Thanos in Wakanda, apparently, the element of surprise, but in the end it hadn't been enough. It could have been enough had they destroyed the Mind Stone on Vision's forehead, as Vision had wished, but 'the witch', as Loki had reported with a snarl, had insisted and so had 'the good captain'.

Honestly, everything about the mission report had been surreal. A talking raccoon? Loki? Carol, a super-powered human who had been infused with Tesseract-energy and thus became an intergalactic superhero? Steve, who had of course survived. Bruce, Natasha, Nebula, Tony, Rhodey.

They went to space, together. As a team. To take down Thanos for good, hoping against hope that they could take the gauntlet from Thanos and use it to fix reality.

The gauntlet was gone. Thanos had used it to destroy it, to make sure no one could fix what he had done. They killed him, together, but... it didn't bring them any satisfaction because the knowledge that this was irreversible was... mortifying.

/One Year Later\

A couple days after the snap, Hope van Dyne had knocked on their door. Apparently, her parents and her partner – Ant-Man – had been snapped out of existence and, angry and directionless, she wanted to help. Many wanted to help. People reacted to the snap in different ways.

Some, like Thor, slipped into a deep depression. The loss too much – and Tony understood it, he had heard what Thor had lost, his entire planet, his home, his mother first then his father, and from those few he could safe, many had been snapped out of existence. The Asgardians had moved to a small village that had been snapped entirely and they started a new life there. Thor wasn't alone, Bruce went with him and so did two very strong and fierce ladies named Valkyrie and Sif.

General Okoye had taken over the duties of leading Wakanda and she had all hands full with that.

Carol Danvers left for space again, telling them that what had happened on Earth had happened to everyone on every planet, leaving what was left of the Avengers to take care of Earth. Mostly. Clint was AWOL, had decided to turn into a serial killer as his own way of coping with the loss of his family, while the others tried to cling onto a semblance of normal – doing good.

Because what Thanos in his finite wisdom had not taken into account were the casualties. Drivers, who had vanished on the middle of the road had caused countless fatal accidents all over the world, planes crashed and ships were stranded, people died in the consequences of others disappearing. And then there were the children like Peter and Harley left without families. Not to mention the countless people who were too grief-stricken by the losses to go on with life as it was and the businesses that had to file for bankruptcy because nearly all their staff had disappeared and, due to the fact that this had happened to all businesses, while the rate of unemployment sank really low thanks to that, the shortage of people also did lead to many going out of business.

There were financial issues to take care of too; did insurances pay for being snapped? For the other losses the snap had entailed? The world had fundamentally changed.

Not all changes were bad though. Because there were many who reacted differently to the snap – many found the hero in themselves, felt alone and purposeless and decided to do good, to help. There were Avengers teams all over the world, local superheroes who had joined the initiative post-snap. Steve and Natasha led the New York branch and, even after everything, Tony found it hard.

For the first year, he had taken the time to only be there for his boys. He tried to provide Peter and Harley with everything they could need – not just financially but also with the best therapists to deal with the grief of losing their families. The boys were doing better by now, but they had gotten restless. Both were heroes at heart, had this potential to do good.

"Space?", asked Rhodey with his eyebrows raised. "Are you serious, Tones?"

Tony had spent months considering it. Planning it. Even thinking about the team. He had grown closer to Rocket – well, the two bickered a lot and insulted each other. Nebula was like a sister to Tony and Tony had always wanted a younger sister. He had even befriended Hope van Dyne; once they got to talking, they actually realized they had quite some things in common. Hope had joined the New York Avengers, which meant Tony saw her relatively often since Rhodey, Rocket and Nebula worked with them too. Tony also knew that Hope and Steve clashed quite some.

"Like Carol keeps saying. What happened on Earth happened all over the galaxy", said Tony.

"So... you want to go... into space to... help?", asked Hope slowly. "New York, admittedly, is covered rather well between the Avengers, the Defenders, the Fantastic Four and the fact that the X-Men have their base here. It... doesn't necessarily need a full team."

"Exactly. It's enough that it's the headquarters from where Romanova and Rogers operate", agreed Tony with a small smirk. "Because, as you just said, there are so many here in New York now..."

And there were because aside from those who had joined the Avengers to do good, mutants had come forward. They had been hiding for many years now, but they knew they were needed now. Charles Xavier's school and team were a great help and the Avengers nearly felt obsolete. Natasha? She directed and communicated between the teams – the various Avengers teams as well as the independent non-Avengers superheroes, the mentioned X-Men and Fantastic Four among others. Steve Rogers was more like a figure-head now. A symbol. A broken man himself, dealing with the loss of his own close, valued friends. Tony had sympathy, but it didn't mean he was ready to reconcile. What was broken between them had been broken too much to be fixed again.

"The universe is a large place", stated Tony.

"Gee, you just figured that out yourself there?", snarked Rocket.

"It's so large, it had Infinity Stones to offer", continued Tony, glaring at Rocket. "Maybe, somewhere, an equal power exists. One that can fix this."

"You... really want to go to space to find a solution?", asked Nebula slowly.

"And to do Avengers stuff. We can multi-task. But yes, if while helping out other planets we may find a way to reverse this, why not? We're the most brilliant people Earth has to offer – aside from Brucie, who declined my invitation because he's focused on helping the Asgardians get settled on Earth and yeah I guess a human could be helpful there", stated Tony seriously. "If there is any group of people who can figure out the solution with whatever the universe has to offer, it's us."

He looked from Rocket to Hope to Rhodey and Nebula. This was the team he chose. The Avengers he wanted to take onto that mission. Well, them and of course his two overly enthusiastic sons.

"Also, Harley and Peter will come with us because they're brilliant too and I can't leave the boys alone on Earth", tagged Tony on after a moment.

"Bit of fresh blood won't hurt considering you humies really raise the average age", muttered Rocket and side-eyed Tony and Rhodey pointedly. "I like the kid though. The non-sticky one."

"Do not talk badly about Peter", warned Nebula in her serious threatening voice.

Tony smiled softly. As he had spent much time with the two aliens, so had his sons of course.

"I'm in. I have... nothing left here. Seeing other planets? Alien technology?", stated Hope. "And if it could actually... bring back my parents and Scott? Let's do this."

"I say a couple weeks to fix up the Milano properly, adjust it a bit for the new crew but I think we'll be ready to leave. I'm happy to leave this backwater planet anyway – if one more humie calls me a raccoon, I will scratch their eyes out", growled Rocket.

"Platypus?", asked Tony hopefully, looking at his oldest friend.

"Tones", sighed Rhodey and rested a hand on Tony's shoulder. "You know that where you're going I'm going. And if I'd have to argue with Ross one more time, I may murder him, so yeah."

"The snap really did affect all the wrong people", sighed Tony wistfully.

/Six Months Later\

Not everyone was pleased with the decision to form a space Avengers team, but there was little they could do about it, considering Tony was paying for all the repairs and the ship had belonged to Rocket even before that – and once they left Earth, they'd be out of their government's jurisdiction anyway. Harley and Peter were over the moon. Tony hadn't seen them this excited in too many months so just by that alone he already knew he had made the right call.

Carol returned to Earth to join the team as its official leader. She had spent the past two decades traveling the galaxy, she was a widely known hero who was going to get them the needed recognition and acceptance to help without planets feeling invaded. Carol Danvers officially became the captain of the Space Avengers. And yes, Tony was totally calling them that.

The Milano was larger now, spacious enough to comfortably hold its eight crew members, with a dining room, kitchen, a lounge for the crew to share with each other and of course enough seats in the cockpit for them all. Everything was high-tech by human standards and even by alien standards, because when Tony and Rocket put their minds together and got past the bickering they were absolutely mind-blowing. And yes, it was definitely luxurious, especially compared to its before state, but if Tony was to live in this limited space then he did want it to be comfortable.

"Wow. This is amazing!", exclaimed Peter as he hung from the ceiling.

"I can't believe we're going to space", whispered Harley as he dumped his bag on his bed.

He only took a quick peek into his own room before running over to Peter so the two boys could explore it together. They all had uniforms made by Tony, nano-tech, but made from Vibranium thanks to Wakanda's current acting leader – Okoye too wanted and hoped to bring back her king and if Tony and the others may find that out in space, she wanted to provide them with the best possible protection and that was Vibranium. They were thinner than Tony's suits, even his last suit, but stronger too, thanks to the material change. Matching colors in gold, red and blue – since those were the chosen colors of their leader and Tony, who had always done gold and red was ready to compromise with some blue. They all shared the star on the chest like Carol's uniform; it acted as a badge that stored the nano-tech. This way, they'd always have their uniforms on them and didn't need to get changed and if there was a problem arising that'd require them to suit up quickly – a leak or a crash and they'd lose oxygen – it'd be right there, because of course did the suits have air-filters that produced their own oxygen. Their team was perfectly equipped, Tony had triple checked the checklist. He was actually very confident about all of this. Which, of course, meant that something unexpected had to immediately happen as soon as the ship took off.

"A very nice ship you made there, Stark."

Tony gritted his teeth as he tried not to jump. There, in the lounge with Tony and his sons, was a sudden Loki. He had a sly smile on his lips as he inspected a lamp with incredible interest. Peter and Harley, who had basically been glued to the window, immediately turned around at the voice.

"Woah. Who invited Loki?", asked Peter surprised. "Wait. Was he invited?"

"I highly doubt it", grunted Harley, putting himself between Loki and Peter and raising a gauntlet.

"Fry, please inform the team that-", started Tony.

"Now, now. Why won't you hear me out first?", asked Loki mischievously.

"This isn't going to end well", muttered Tony with a frown.

"Boss?", asked Friday, who of course had been installed on the ship.

"Hold that thought, Fry. But if he does anything suspicious – more suspicious than just materializing on our ship – you call them", stated Tony.

"Tony-", started Harley warily, his gauntlet still aimed at Loki.

The nano-tech suits of course came with repulsor blasters and various weapons tailored to the individual wearers. Thanks to Hope and her technological input, they also came with shrink-technology. She had long since perfected the Pym-particles and just because her father wasn't around anymore didn't mean they'd run out of those any time soon.

"What do you want, Reindeer Games? Haven't seen you in a few months", noted Tony.

He had seen Loki a couple times since the snap. Tony had occasionally visited Bruce and Thor in New Asgard (among other reasons to bring a very good therapist there to take care of the PTSD suffering survivors of an attempted genocide). Loki seemed rather bored on Earth mostly. To the point that, during truly dire situations where they faced magic-users, he'd even join and help the Avengers – the Sorcerer Supreme and a large portion of his sorcerers were lost to the snap, the Avengers had lost their own witch to it too. They had been cautious every single time, but they also didn't have the luxury to decline and send Loki away. Tony had a feeling that this was one of those situations too. Outer space could use a magic-user. Loki smiled knowingly at Tony.

"I am still the prince of the Asgardians, even if Asgard doesn't exist anymore. Its reputation prevails. It may gain you some favors", offered Loki casually as he sat down and summoned a glass of wine for himself. "Not to mention, the only non-Midgardians on your ship... they're not well-versed in politics. I am a prince. I have learned the etiquette of various other planets. I know how to talk my way into any court. And I think my magic may come in handy for you too, wouldn't it?"

Tony had to admit, Loki made some good points. As much as Tony had come to love Nebula and Rocket, they were rash and violent and Rocket had quite the mouth on him. Having delicate political meetings with the planets that needed them... Well, those two were out. And Tony, Hope, Rhodey, Peter and Harley knew nothing. They could learn, yes, but from whom? And how long would it take? They couldn't let Carol do that too – she was their power-house, first and foremost. Peter had his additional strength and spider-powers, but aside from him, the rest of the crew was relatively normal (cyborg-parts and rodent DNA notwithstanding). Someone else with special powers could come in as handy as someone with political knowledge. The fact that Loki had quite the silver-tongue and truly knew how to use words, it was like a cherry on top.

"You're bored and want out of New Asgard. Thor is too clingy, after the loss of both your parents and the betrayal of that sister of yours – what was her name again, Astrid?", summed Tony up.

"Aldrif", growled Loki with anger in his eyes.

"Ah, yes. Sudden secret sibling. Such a mess", nodded Tony with furrowed brows.

He had heard the story. Everybody had. Odin hiding his firstborn daughter away and her returning with a vengeance, leading to the destruction of Asgard. Mostly, Tony found it interesting to see a genuine reaction from Loki. He was an expert at hiding his emotions, yet the destruction of Asgard and at the hands of another one of Odin's secrets, it had hurt him. He was dealing with all of this in his own way. The fact that it all had made Thor all the clinger toward his only living family – rightfully so, Tony knew first hand just how much Loki meant to Thor, after all, regardless of how often Loki betrayed Thor, Thor would always love his brother – it didn't help Loki much.

"Fair enough, you are right", admitted Loki after a moment. "Earth is... a quite... hostile environment for me still. Even though I tried gaining the humans' favor by helping you lot before."

"That's what happens when you invade us and try to take over the world, you know", huffed Harley.

"Truly the son of Stark. So much snark and superiority", chuckled Loki.

"Yes. Sons of Stark. So you better not mess with them, because... this is my ship, I programmed everything here and if you displease me, it can be a weapon against you", warned Tony.

He stood between Loki and his boys by now, a warning written all over his face. Peter and Harley behind him exchanged curious looks, as though they were trying to figure out whether or not this was a good idea. Tony himself hadn't quite decided that yet.

"I assure you I will not let harm come to your children", replied Loki solemnly. "I may enjoy the occasional... trick or two, but I do not harm children intentionally."

"Fry, inform the team that we gained another crew-member", sighed Tony.

"Will do. But, boss, where will Mister Loki sleep?", inquired Friday curiously. "My ship is at maximum capacity. We have eight crew members and eight bedrooms."

"Mh...", grunted Tony thoughtfully and turned around to look at Peter and Harley. "Oh. The boys can share a room. It'll bring them the maximum sibling experience."

"What? No!", exclaimed Harley. "I'm not sharing a room with Peter. He snores."

"Oh please like you don't", huffed Peter and elbowed Harley.

"Children, no fighting. Go and decide which room and adjust it accordingly", ordered Tony.

Nano-tech was stored in the walls and things such as chairs, tables and the metal frames holding the bed were all nano-tech so they could shift them around at will and also remove them to maximize the space in the living quarters. Peter and Harley huffed before heading to the bedrooms.

"Fatherhood suits you, Stark", drawled Loki amused.

/break\

It had, of course, not been Tony's sole decision. They had a team-meeting about it and put it to a vote, where Tony presented all the pros and the cons of having Loki on board. They all knew the pros outweighed the cons in this case; the silver-tongued royal magic-user would be quite handy. Still there were certain reservations about Loki and Friday was ordered to keep an eye on Loki.

"Thank you, Tony."

Tony raised an eyebrow as he turned toward Carol. The two of them sat in the lounge. It was Rhodey and Hope's turn to make dinner and well, Tony and Carol were kind of hiding from their arguing. Peter and Harley were playing video-games, while Nebula and Rocket were keeping watch. They always kept two people on the bridge, aside from during meal times. Just to make sure, one never knew what could happen out here. Loki was, well, doing Loki-things probably.

"It was rather selfish, really", dismissed Tony with a smirk. "Just really needed to get away from the responsibilities at SI. And I really did miss the whole avenging gig."

"You were always welcomed back among the Avengers, as far as I understood it."

"Yes, but... let's say I appreciate the change in captain", stated Tony slowly.

"Ah", nodded Carol in understanding. "Well, either way... it is nice to... not travel alone anymore. From planet to planet without a break. And while yes, my flying would be faster, it also tired me out and required more breaks, sometimes leaving me too exhausted upon arrival to be much help within the first couple of hours. The ship, having a semblance of home, arriving well-rested and with a team to back me up. It's... a nice change, I have to admit."

"The wife appreciates you having backup too from what I gather?", asked Tony with light teasing.

With Fury gone – for good this time, dusted – Maria Rambeau had taken over SHIELD. A long-time friend of Fury who had worked with him occasionally, even when Carol was off to space. Those two took long-distance relationship to a whole new level. Though thanks to Carol's speed and flight, she did visit Earth at least once a year for several weeks to months. They'd talked about this, often by now. After all, the ship did have limited space and they had been out here for two months now. Talking about each other's lives pre-snap was a good way of wasting time.

"The wife very much appreciates it", chuckled Carol fondly. "She also appreciates the ship and its upgraded communication system. More time to call her and talk to her than when I'm mid-flight myself. It... is good to know I have someone I can rely on out there."

They had been to three planets already in their time traveling and each one had swept Tony off his feet. The cultures, the technology, the nature, everything. Alien planets. He felt like a giddy child again. And well, his sons were actually being giddy children, which made the experience all the more amazing because he... he had finally found something that injected his boys with joy again.

"Loki's been surprisingly well-behaved", noted Tony thoughtfully.

"I'd say better behaved than Rocket", grunted Carol. "If he tries to steal something again-"

"Yes", laughed Tony. "I suppose you can take the criminal off the streets but you can't take the crime out of the criminal. Well, so far we've been able to recover it every time, let's hope our luck stays that way. You can't teach an old dog... well... raccoon... new tricks."

"Don't let him hear you", chuckled Carol. "But yes. You're right. Overall, this team is... pretty good. We work together rather well, all things considered."

And they did. Rhodey had the best dynamic with Tony, though he also worked well with Carol and Nebula. Rocket worked best with Nebula and Harley. Harley and Peter had become quite the unbeatable duo. Carol and Hope together? Scary. And Loki, while not quite having found someone to exclusively rely on, was providing them all with the magic when needed and otherwise preferred to take care of the politics and talking, if possible, rather than the fighting. All in all, they worked.

/break\

Loki was smiling, though he made sure no one saw him as he stood in the doorway and watched from a distance. The past months out in space were... different. He had to admit, he had only come along to get away from Thor and the other Asgardians again. He had enjoyed his time away from Asgard before Thor had dragged him back, just to see their planet destroyed. And now there was one small village with all surviving Asgardians? If Thor had been coping badly after Frigga's passing, the destruction of Asgard had really thrown him off. Despite how annoying Thor was, Loki did find himself... feeling for the big oaf. That didn't mean Loki could endure Thor's clinginess any longer. After he had worked with Thor to fight their sister, Thor seemed back to believing in the good of Loki and clung more onto the one person he deemed his last surviving family.

Loki knew he owed Tony Stark some, because the man had brought various doctors in and pushed, not just Thor but all Asgardians – and tricking Thor by telling him that the king needed to lead as a good example, effectively making Thor go to therapy. It was... helping. But it was also a very slow process. Loki did not have the patience of sitting idly by and watching. Not to forget all the humans who kept staring at him suspiciously, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

There was no point in trying to explain to them that he had been mind-controlled himself. So Loki resorted to running away. He missed space. He even had found an odd sense of joy in aiding the Avengers recently, not that he would admit it aloud. It gave him an excuse to use his magic to whatever extend he wanted and if he pranked the bad guys no one complained.

While certain crew members did annoy him (the raccoon. Particularly the raccoon), he had to admit he had grown fond of them. Particularly Tony Stark and his sons. Harley was mischievous and had aided Loki in a few pranks on the other Space Avengers, while Peter was surprisingly considerate and kind in a way that Loki hadn't experienced in a long time.

Currently, Loki was watching Tony, Harley, Peter, Rocket and Hope work in the room they had turned into their own workshop. Danvers and Rhodes were on the bridge, giving Loki the chance to just watch from afar. He found Tony quite... fascinating. When the Midgardian was in his element like that, he was very enchanting. So enthusiastic and focused and with so much passion – it reminded Loki of himself with his magic, whenever he figured out a new spell, back when he had still been very passionate about it, showing it off to his mother.

"If you hurt Tony, I will personally rip out your spine."

Loki swallowed hard as he turned to look at Nebula. The cyborg was terrifying and overly protective of Tony. Apparently, nearly dying with each other had bonded them together. She had also lost her only family to Thanos and that Tony had given her a home, a new family, it meant a lot. That seemed a theme with Tony Stark, from everything Loki had seen.

"I am just here to have fun. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Mh", grunted Nebula warily, glaring at him. "Don't think me and Rhodey haven't noticed the way you linger around and watch Tony. We know. And we are watching you."

She narrowed her eyes at him before walking past him inside, gaining the attention of the others. "Smurfette, you are right on time. I have an amazing update idea for your arm, girl."

"Show me what you got, Stark", declared Nebula as she sat down next to Hope.

"And while he's working, you could give me some input on what you think about the pitch for a suit-update that I have", requested Hope, summoning a hologram in front of the women.

"Do you want web-shooters, aunt Nebula?", asked Peter hopefully. "Because we could totally build in web-shooters into your arm and it'd be super awesome?"

Nebula tilted her head to look at the boy hanging upside down from the ceiling, the smallest hint of a smile on her face as she shook her head. "No, you are the spider."

Loki stared longingly as Harley and Tony started laughing at that. Tony Stark had his own kind of magic, because he managed to create a family out of a band of misfits. Until traveling with them, Loki hadn't realized just how much he craved that too.

/break\

"What's the game-plan?", asked Harley, throwing a baseball back and forth with Peter.

"Rocket and Tony will be on repair-duty. The ship took some serious hits", started Carol as she paced in front of the team. "Peter and you, Rhodes and Nebula, me and Hope, we're going in to help the village. As always, don't stray too far from your partner. We don't know how well it will go."

"Actually, Tony will accompany me", interjected Loki thoughtfully.

"He will?", asked Tony with one arched eyebrow.

"And so will Peter and Harley", continued Loki with a calculating gaze.

"What? No. I wanna get out there with the others", protested Peter with a pout.

"That won't work on this planet", argued Loki, bringing up some holograms. "Tony Stark is a planet-wide hero here. Having him come with me to speak to the royals will be highly beneficial for us and they wouldn't tolerate seeing their hero's sons – children, at that – work. We wouldn't want to offend the people of this planet, isn't that why I'm here?"

"Taking Loki somewhere because we don't want to offend someone now that sounds like a joke someone told me years ago", muttered Tony amused. "But fair enough. A gala sounds nice. Free food, boys. I'm sure you can help plenty again on the next planet we go to."

"Free food sounds good", mused Peter thoughtfully. "I love trying alien food."

"You just generally love food", noted Harley dryly.

"You try having super metabolism!", argued Peter to defend himself.

"Sure, Parker, sure", chuckled Harley, poking Peter's stomach. "Poor you."

"Rudolph, what does one wear on this planet to not offend?", asked Tony, not minding his boys.

Loki hummed and opened one of his various pocket-dimensions, pulling clothes out. The others watched with raised eyebrows. They knew of Loki's pocket-dimensions and that he stored a lot of stuff in there, but that he could produce royal-looking clothes... in the fitting sizes of Tony, Harley and Peter. Rhodey raised a judgmental eyebrow and turned to look at Nebula pointedly.

"When did you even...?", asked Hope suspiciously.

"I have been aquiring fitting clothes for various occasions for the entire team", replied Loki seriously. "We have only been doing this for a short time and a few, small planets. This is the first bigger one, with a highly regarded royal family. You will most likely all be required to dress up for a big banquet after you're done helping the planet. These kind of people give a lot about public image and parading the saviors around to show them off."

"You went shopping, for all of us?", questioned Carol, motioning at the team.

"Of course", confirmed Loki dismissively. "I will not have you embarrass me in those outfits."

Peter frowned and tugged on his Iron Man hoodie. "What's wrong with our clothes?"

"It's really good you're pretty, Parker", sighed Harley and patted Peter on the head.

"A gala it is, then", declared Tony, clapping once loudly.

/break\

Schmoozing alien royalty was actually more fun than anticipated – it definitely beat any gala he ever had to attend for SI, because wow. These people really did celebrate him as a hero.

"Are you hiding, Tony?", inquired Loki amused.

"Yes. No", muttered Tony with a sigh, rubbing his face. "They treat me like a hero."

"...Yes, that is why I told you you would have to come with me?", offered Loki confused.

"Huh. I thought you made that up to lure me here for a date", argued Tony with a frown.

"...A what?", echoed Loki, even more confused. "You are a hero to wide parts of the universe. You defeated the Chitauri army and defended Earth from Thanos' first invasion. It gave many planets hope that they may be able to stand against Thanos. Your victory back then has come to mean even more after Thanos took out half the galaxy. Now, about that date?"

"I just thought...", shrugged Tony, side-eyeing Loki. "We've been spending a lot of time together since this quest started. We've been flirting for a while now. I mean, the hook-up pool is limited on the ship, I'll admit that. So I figured... you, me, charismatic, handsome, clever..."

He vaguely motioned between himself and Loki with a smirk, making Loki laugh a bit. "Typically you, you did the math on compatibility."

"You seem charmed by my meness", stated Tony triumphantly.

"You do have a certain charm", admitted Loki before he paused for a moment. "Dance with me."

"...Dance? What?", asked Tony stunned, looking at the hand Loki offered him.

"Dance with me. You just suggested this to be a date, so why not?", offered Loki with a charming smile. "You've been running around saving planets for months now. Enjoy tonight. Let us... dance."

Smiling, Tony accepted Loki's hand and together, they returned to the ball-room. Out of the corner of his eyes did Tony see Harley and Peter stuffing their faces at the buffet. It made Tony smile softly, before Loki demanded his attention in a dance. And truly, Tony's entire focus was on Loki, getting lost in those emerald eyes as they glided over the dance-floor, all eyes on them.

"I haven't danced in ages", admitted Tony. "I forgot it can... actually be... fun."

"With the right partner", agreed Loki. "I never had a sense for dance either, I admit."

"We should... probably get back to the ship soon though. The team...", drawled Tony after a while.

They had been dancing, very slowly, mainly just twirling and looking into each other's eyes, for what felt like eternity. Loki grasped his chin and tilted his head up just enough to kiss him briefly.

"Yes. Maybe we should", hummed Loki. "There will be plenty of other balls to attend."

Tony chuckled to himself. There was a whole galaxy to explore. Together.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: Basically, essentially, I need a whole lot of "team as family" fics with a new, fresh Avengers team for Tony. It's just... a lot of fun to write New Avengers? And also IronDad, of course! ^o^v

Feel free to visit me on tumblr at takaraphoenix! ;)