"Welcome, my friends," Odin greeted the Midgardian ambassador, Howard Stark, and his wife. "It is grievous to me to invite you here for such a distasteful discussion."

"Business as usual, eh?" Stark joked, making the (much) older man chuckle.

"Indeed. Come; we will discuss it inside." He took Frigga by the arm and led them to the living space, getting comfortable on the couches. Mrs. Stark looked worriedly at her friend, but Frigga gave her a reassuring smile.

"Now, don't keep me in suspense, old friend," Howard jested. "What is this news you have for me?" Odin sighed heavily.

"The Chitari king has given us an ultimatum. Our younger son, Loki, must marry the Chitari prince." Mr. and Mrs. Stark gasped in disgust.

"How terrible!" Mrs. Stark exclaimed.

"That's not all," Frigga added. "If we form an alliance with the Chitari, we will be forced to break our alliance with Midgard."

"What?!" Howard exclaimed, standing indignantly.

"Sit down, Stark. There is another solution." Mr. Stark sat slowly, staring intently at the one-eyed man. "If we were to seal our alliance with you, formally, we would abandon our alliance with the Chitari instead, which we would much rather do, with your consent of course."

"Of course, of course!" Stark insisted.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'seal the alliance formally'?" Mrs. Stark asked.

"Loki would have to marry your son, Anthony," Frigga answered. "Also, Anthony would be translated to immortality, and live mostly in our palace on Asgard." Mrs. Stark held her husband's hand, both thinking deeply.

"What does your boy, Loki, think of all of this?" she asked.

"We have not yet told him," Odin replied. "but he will accept his duty as the prince of Asgard. Go, now, home to your son, and discuss it with him." The Midgardian ambassadors left through the Bifrost without another word, appearing on the balcony of the penthouse of Stark Tower, where Tony had been living for the past few years. As they entered the living room, Tony raised his eyebrows and turned off the TV from the couch.

"You're early," he said. "I wasn't expecting you for a couple of hours."

"Tony, sit down, we need to talk," his mother said. Due to her serious tone, he chose not to remark that he was already sitting. She looked forlornly at her only son. "Oh, my baby, I never wanted this for you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Howard interrupted. "It's high time he took his responsibilities seriously!"

"Oh, Howard, listen to yourself! He has run your company expertly and invented all kinds of things that have made you a very rich and powerful man!"

"Hey, hey, Mom, relax!" Tony said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just tell me what's going on."

"The Chitari have ordered that Asgard choose between us for a sole alliance," Howard explained.

"So, they choose us, right? What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, you see, sweetie," his mother explained, "in order to make the alliance official, you will have to marry their son, Loki." Tony froze, shocked for a moment.

"You-you want me to what?!"

"Honey, it's not as bad as it seems. You told me that time, remember, that you were bisexual?"

"What?!" Howard gasped.

"Mom, I don't care if he's a guy or not! I can't marry someone I've never met before! I don't know anything about him! I haven't even had a steady relationship since college!"

"You'll marry him," Howard declared. "We have to think about what's best for everyone! Our alliance with Asgard is the only thing keeping us from total destruction!"

"Besides," his mother said, trying to pacify him, "you will be made immortal! Won't that be nice?"

"Oh, yeah, I get to watch everyone I've ever cared about grow old and die without me!" He stormed out and went to his bedroom, ordering Jarvis to lock the door behind him.

"You could have been a little nicer about it," Mrs. Stark started.

"Nicer! You treat him like a child!"

Tony felt like a little kid again, hiding in his room while his parents yelled at each other. His dad didn't hit any more, which was good. He used to imagine rescuing his mother and taking over Stark Industries while his dad was in jail.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly and tried to imagine his future husband. He was probably tall, blond, and beefy, like his brother, Thor. Probably smiling proudly and dutifully as he accepted the job placed before him. Tony shuddered at the thought of sharing a bed with him. Just because he was bisexual didn't mean he wanted to bed every man he laid eyes on, and Thor was so not his type.

He stayed in his room for about an hour, definitely not crying. When he finally came out of his room, he had his mind made up to make the best of this. His parents looked up at him from the couch as he sat down. "Can we at least go there a couple of days early so I can meet him? I mean, I didn't even know Thor had a brother, I don't even know what he looks like!" His mother hugged him and smiled before pulling out her cell phone.

"Here, Frigga let me take a picture of her family portrait once." I had Jarvis put it up on the big screen so I could clearly see the family of four. Odin and Frigga were sitting together, smiling pleasantly. Thor was standing behind his father, also smiling. Next to him, however, was who Tony assumed was Loki. He didn't appear to be related to the others in any way. Instead of shimmering golden hair, he had ebony black hair. Instead of sky blue eyes, he had emerald green eyes. Instead of being huge and ripped, he was slender and elegant, still looking well-toned. Also, he lacked the 'happy family' smile the others adorned, and looked like he really didn't want to be there. Now, this guy was definitely my type. "What do you think?"

"Well, he's cute, but that doesn't mean I'll like him," Tony replied bitterly.

The news of the arranged marriage spread like the Plague, and not two days after hearing the news himself, he was in a press conference discussing it.

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" one reporter shouted. "What is your opinion on marriage in general? Aren't you known for being a notorious playboy?"

"Yes, well, I've always had plans to marry and have kids one day, I was just having a little fun until then."

"Mr. Stark, over here! What about the fact that he's a man? Does that bother you?"

"Well, luckily for me, I've been bisexual for as long as I can remember. I've even been with a few men, and they've been kind enough to keep it secret for me, thank you!" he blew a kiss at the camera in case one of them was watching.

"Mr. Stark! What are you going to do about Stark Industries?"

"In sight of the circumstances, we've decided it would be best for me to assume more of the diplomatic stuff while my father resumes more of the industrial stuff. Still, as always, we'll be working hand-in-hand."

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Aren't you upset about being forced into an arranged marriage? Doesn't that seem a little old-fashioned?"

"Yes, but considering the situation, I've decided that this is the best course of action for everyone involved. I'm sorry, but I can't answer any more questions. However, my father had informed me that Odin Allfather is inviting several reporters from Midgard for the wedding, the details are in the invites. Thank you."