A/N: Yay, it's here! Finally, right? LOL Ok...so here's the first chapter in the final part of the saga that is my AU Loki and Tony. When I started this almost 10 months ago at the urging of a certain Can of Loki and Miss Julianna (miss you...), I never thought it would extend to this. But I'm so grateful so many of you have read/are still reading. I'm really anxious for you all to read it.

As always, I welcome all reviews, comments, questions, etc. And please be kind! I'm stressing myself out on this one because I really want to give you all a great finale. *hearts*

XOXO, LaLa

Loki Stark was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of lying out in the sun on a deserted island. Why, he did not know. He was not overly fond of tanning because fair skin and long exposure to the sun meant getting burned. And he was not really big on islands either, preferring mountains and snow and icy wind…and bundling up under a blanket with his husband. He sighed in his sleep as the dream melted into that scenario: a log cabin, a warm fire; and he was sure that was hot chocolate he could smell.

Could you smell in a dream? Ah, who cared?

And there he was…his husband. Looking as handsome as always, smiling wide, his teeth bright white against the salt and pepper goatee—more pepper than salt, the genius would argue, adamantly—his deep chocolate brown eyes focused on him, holding that blanket open, waiting for Loki to join him. Dream Loki sat and handed off a steaming mug to Tony, holding his own with two hands now.

"Did you remember the marshmallows?"

"Yes, of course, I did, darling."

They cuddled together as they settled the blanket around them and Loki watched the fire, enjoying the burn in his eyes as the flames danced across the burning log. He could just hear high-pitched laughter and he smiled warmly thinking of his children. Then the peaceful moment was broken as a sudden siren blast pierced the relative quiet and his dream self jolted, but Tony had no reaction, only continuing to sip at his hot chocolate and twirling his fingers in Loki's hair, as was his habit.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, babe?"

The siren sounded again. "That."

Tony looked at him and smiled. "I think you're starting to hear things in your old age, baby."

Loki pouted. The siren grew louder by the second and Loki had to clasp his hands over his ears. His mug had suddenly disappeared from his hand, as things tend to do in dreams. "How can you not hear that?!"

Tony continued to talk but Loki couldn't hear him. His green eyes scanned the room, looking for the source of the noise, and when he turned back to look at Tony again, his husband had a familiar look in his eyes, a smirk on his lips. Still wincing from the siren, Loki ignored it and let his eyes slip closed, because he wanted that kiss, that contact. He craved it. He missed it. He waited, moved closer and closer, anticipating Tony's lips on his…

And Tony shoved him.

Loki's eyes flew open and he jerked with a start. He stared at the alarm clock on his nightstand and sighed. He slammed a palm over it to silence it and felt another weak prod at his back. "Stop pushing at me. I've turned it off." He pressed a hand to his head, shoving his long hair from his face. "Come, let's get up. We've a big day ahead."

"What time is it?" Tony mumbled from under his pillow.

"Six-thirty," Loki answered, stretching his long, lean body in the bed before stopping to think about what was on the family's agenda today, mentally going over where he had to drive, who he had to get where by what time, and somewhere in there, figure out the shopping and dinner.

"Mm-mm, too early."

Loki threw his covers aside and moved to roll out of bed but was unexpectedly pulled back by an arm around his waist. "Oh! Anthony…"

"Cuddle me," he demanded.

He sighed, clamping down on the surge of resentment that sprung up in him, remembering Tony's usual brush-offs when he was the one seeking a little attention. He had gotten so tired of the rejection, the excuses of work or being tired, that he couldn't remember the last time he had initiated any kind of physical contact. "I would, Anthony, but—"

"No, buts," he mumbled against Loki's shoulder, moving his head out from under the pillow. "Cuddle."

Loki was being squeezed against Tony's body, his calloused overworked hands roaming. And he rolled his eyes impatiently—despite the fact that his body tingled and warmed wherever Tony touched him. "We do not have time for that."

"Sure we do."

Another exasperated sigh left his lips. "No, we do not. It is the first day of school." He jerked again, yelping, when Tony's cold hand was down his pajama pants and palming his crotch. "Anthony!"

"Whatever, you know you like it," Tony teased, chuckling against him. Loki tentatively shared the laugh and hesitantly, testing, he nudged himself into Tony's hand.

"Pappa!" a high-pitched voice called out.

"Da-ad!" immediately followed.

"Get out of my way, spaz!"

Both men went still and Tony groaned softly. "Is the door locked?" he asked against Loki's ear, before pressing his lips to the skin behind it.

"No…"

"Ah, shit." Tony removed his arms and lightly moved Loki away, rolling all the way over until he could get out of the bed. "I'm gonna hit the shower."

Loki again suppressed more feelings of rejection and frustration and willed his arousal away. "Don't be long," he said, doing as Tony had, standing from the bed. He automatically began to fix the sheets and make up the bed. "You have to take Sebastian to school."

Tony stopped in the doorway of the bathroom, his morning arousal evident in the skimpy black shorts he had worn to bed. "Why am I taking him?"

Loki sighed loudly again, wanting badly to throw the pillow in his hand at Tony's head. "It's on your way to work, remember?" he said calmly, but also tightly.

"No, it's not," Tony argued, apparently oblivious to his husband's indignant manner. "It's out of my way. Why can't you take him—like you always do?"

Loki rigidly tossed down the last pillow and headed for their bedroom door where muted yelling was still going on, on the other side. "Yes, it is on your way. He starts at the junior high today, Anthony—on your side of town. I cannot take him and take Jameson and Audrey to their school. It's Audrey's first day, I need to walk her in." He pressed his lips together. "And Sebastian requested you take him, anyway."

"But—"

Loki held up a finger and pulled open the door. "You had better be getting dressed while doing all that yelling! Be downstairs for breakfast by seven am!" He closed it again and crossed his arms as he faced Tony.

The billionaire scratched at his head, grateful once again that he stuck with the buzz cut he had to get when Jazz had come home with lice last year. At least, he thought it was Jazz. It could have been Bash. Either way, it cut down on the time he had to work on his hair. Speaking of Bash… "Bash is starting junior high?" Tony knew that was the wrong thing to ask when Loki threw up his hands in frustration.

"Do you listen to me when I speak to you?"

"Yes! Ugh." Tony scrubbed his hands over his face, scratching at the salt and pepper beard—more pepper than salt, thank you very much—that he had grown in, and padded toward Loki. "I swear I do, Loki. I've just got a lot on my plate right now here and in New York and there's some shit going on with the employees in London…"

When he reached Loki, Tony slipped his arms around his waist to hold him close. Loki immediately tried to pull away, going tense and rigid in against him. "Yes. I know. Work, work, work. Can you take him or not?" He pushed Tony's arms away and stepped back to walk to the closet.

Tony frowned a little, more hurt by the rejection than he would admit, and started back to the bathroom. "You know what, Loki?"

He twisted around quickly, eyebrows drawn high at the harsh tone but Tony never got to finish his thought. Audrey, their five year old, came bursting into the room, without knocking. With a glare aimed in Loki's direction, Tony stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"Pappa! It's my first day of school for real!"

Loki erased the irritation from his face and smiled down at his only daughter, grinning up at him with bright hazel eyes, her jet black hair in messy curls around her face and shoulders. "Yes, darling, I know. But you forgot to knock again," he lightly scolded, tapping a long finger to her nose—a nose just like her mother's.

"Oops. Sorry!" she nearly sang, hunching tiny little shoulders.

Loki chuckled and laid his hand on her head, turning her around. "Come, my dear. You cannot go to school dressed in your sleeping clothes, now can you?"

"How come?" She questioned as they walked to the door again. "They're comfortable."

He laughed again. "Go get dressed. I put a few choices of outfits out for you last night."

"Ugh!" Looking exactly like Tony when he didn't get his way, in Loki's mind, Audrey threw her body around, showing her disapproval of whatever he said. "You chose dresses. I hate dresses."

"I'm sorry, darling. Feel free to pick something else you are more comfortable in. As long as it is not your pajamas." He watched her stomp out of the room and closed the door behind her.

He shot daggers at the closed bathroom door where the shower was now running as he headed for it to begin his morning ritual. His jaw clenched tightly when the door didn't budge, for Tony had locked it from the other side. Snatching his clothes for the day from the closet, Loki headed to the downstairs bath, which, thankfully, they kept spare toiletries in, fuming the entire time. After he was dressed, he didn't return to the bedroom, bt instead headed for the kitchen to begin making breakfast.

And to avoid Tony.

True to his word, Loki had breakfast on the table for the family of five by seven o'clock. Audrey, dressed in jeans and an LA Dodgers t-shirt, and Jameson, in an almost identical outfit, were at the table with him, the little boy regaling tales of his first day of school—two long years ago—and plowing through their breakfasts. Loki called for Sebastian one more time, who had yet to come down for breakfast.

"Jameson, was your brother up?"

"Uh-huh. But he was on his phone when I left."

He sighed wearily again and picked up his tea when Tony burst into the room, attempting to wind a red tie around his neck, something tucked under his arm. "Your food's on the counter," he murmured, barely glancing at him, and picked up his phone when it buzzed with a text from Natasha.

"No time for breakfast. Damn secretary just scheduled a conference call with London at eight-thirty. Where's Bash?"

Loki tried not to dwell on the bacon, eggs, and toast that was about to go to waste. "He has yet to come down. I've called for him but—"

"Bash! Get down here!" Tony yelled, standing just behind Loki.

"All right," he muttered under his breath. "You two." Jameson and Audrey's heads whirled around his way. "If you've finished your breakfasts, go brush your teeth. We leave in five minutes."

"Hey, hey, hey, come here." Tony waved the two over and knelt before them. "What grade are we starting, Jazz?"

"Second." The seven year old said with a big smile, missing a tooth in the bottom row of teeth. He had big brown eyes, lined with long, black lashes, just like Tony's.

"And you, Monkey?" he looked at Audrey. "You're in what, fifth, sixth now?" Loki playfully rolled his eyes as the two fell into a fit of giggles.

"It's my first day, daddy," Audrey laughed, jumping in her spot excitedly.

"Oh, god, my bad!" Tony patted his hands over his chest and sides. "And I didn't get you anything. But you know who did?" He reached up to the counter and pulled a plastic wrapped pack from atop it. "Aunt Pepper brought this back for you from Tokyo." He handed her a Hello Kitty notepad, pencil and eraser set. Audrey's hazel eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.

"Wow!" Tony's heart swelled at Audrey's happiness.

"Anthony."

Tony glanced at Loki and checked his watch. "Okay, you crazy kids, you gotta go and I've got to go. So…" he stood and pressed a kiss to each child's head. "Have a good first day. And remember everything so you can tell me about it tonight, okay? Love you."

"Love you, daddy!" They both yelled as they ran out, Jazz nearly tripping over his own foot, to brush their teeth.

Tony waited exactly two seconds after they were gone to turn to Loki. "What the hell crawled up your ass today?"

"Excuse me?" Loki asked on an incredulous laugh, rising to collect the dishes from the table. "You are the one who cannot be bothered to listen to anything I say about our children."

"Excuse me for having something else on my mind."

Loki smiled darkly at him. "Oh, yes, I know. Because no one else in this house carries a burden like the breadwinner, do they?"

Regretting this line of conversation, Tony only sighed. "That's not what I meant."

"I care not what you meant," he muttered, dumping the dishes in the sink with a loud crash.

Tony just watched him, silently seething because there was nothing he could say without looking like an asshole. What he wanted to say, what he would have been glad to remind his husband of nearly eight years of, was that it hadn't been his decision for Loki to be the stay-at-home dad.

Four years ago, the Stark family had relocated to the West Coast, following Sif after she scored a head chef's position at an extremely trendy Hollywood restaurant. They wanted to settle in the Malibu house, but both Loki and Tony felt the secluded, cliff-side mansion wasn't the best place to raise the kids. So they found a more modest—at least for Tony Stark—four-bedroom house not too far a drive from Natasha and Clint.

Because of the move, Loki left his position at NYU, and at first, continued his freelance writing. But Los Angeles was full of hungry writers and teaching positions at colleges were hard to find. Tony had suggested many things: starting a blog, writing a novel, teaching high school. Ultimately, Loki decided, with three kids under the age of ten, and in a new city, maybe it would have been best for him to stay at home with them. At least, he had said at the time, for a few years.

Moving to LA wasn't a big deal for Tony; he had offices there and Pepper easily took over control in New York, moving into the living space of the tower with her new husband, Happy, after he and Loki had moved out. And the arrangement actually helped their working relationship; they weren't getting on each other's nerves or bickering as much, and they easily split up the workload; she handled the day-to-day business, he did his thing in the lab, and every once in awhile they came together—or, more accurately, Pepper dragged him into the business part.

After the whole debacle eight years ago with Thanos Anderson and Justin Hammer, Tony was able to snatch up the deal with Japan he had lost to Hammer Industries just months before and Pepper worked something out with a lab in London, making Stark Industries a world-wide company. The co-CEOs alternated business trips, which became even more difficult when Pepper and Happy adopted a baby girl they named Emma, three years before; but between them, they managed very well.

It was a life Tony Stark never thought he would have—marriage, kids, and the whole domestic kick. But he had loved every minute of it.

Sebastian, almost a teenager now, was proving to be just like his father—intelligent, obstinate, very mischievous, and once in awhile, a complete pain in the ass. Tony noticed lately that he didn't seem to want to be around Loki, preferring to linger around Tony or be by himself in his bedroom, buried in a book. It wasn't a cause for concern yet, but Tony could only see it becoming more trouble than necessary the older Sebastian got.

His natural son, Jameson, or "Jazz" as everyone but Loki called him, reminded him so much of himself. He was quiet, until you got him started on something he knew every detail about. Early on, Tony suspected Jazz might be of a higher intelligence than most children his age and, like a young Tony, he had a knack for science and math. And while he was unwilling to push Jazz, as Howard had pushed him, Loki worried that he wasn't being challenged enough—especially since he often got into trouble when he was idle. Just like Tony.

Two years after Jazz was born, Tony and Loki approached Sif once again about another child, and Tony finally got to name one of his kids after a car. Her full name, at Loki's insistence, was Audrey Maria, but Tony called her Audi—his favorite make of car. And as much as Sebastian was a miniature Loki, Audi turned out to be a miniature Sif. Even at the tender age of five, and the baby sister of two brothers with very strong-personalities, Audi was smart, sassy, and Tony doted on her like the Stark Princess she was.

The first five years of their marriage flew by so quickly, Tony's head nearly spun with the thought of everything they had done in those years. But some time in the last couple, the relationship between them had taken a backseat to the kids, the sports practices, the music lessons, and the playdates. And, of course, Tony's work. Jarvis was still the control center of the house, and kept them all safe, but the only one who truly utilized him was Tony, especially in the lab he built himself in the basement of the house.

He tried not to spend too much time down there when he was home; mostly he sought solitude there when he and Loki were engrossed in one of their spats—which were happening more often than he liked lately. This morning wasn't the first time they had been interrupted, nor was it the first time he had to initiate any kind of physicality between them. Loki seemed to have lost interest. And Tony missed him. A lot.

He missed waking up with those long limbs tangled with his. He missed falling asleep with his husband's head on his chest, his raven hair tickling his throat, his fingers carding through it, even in his sleep. He missed drowning in that forest scent that comforted him, especially when he was away; he would take a sweater or scarf of Loki's and sleep with it. And he missed having sex. It had been a while since they had done it—understandable with three kids that constantly sought their attention.

But, damn, if he didn't love those kids. Kids he wouldn't have if it wasn't for Loki—and Sif.

While they had settled in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles, near Clint, Natasha, and their kids, Sif got herself ensconced in North Hollywood, and within weeks, found a girlfriend who was an artist, to complete the bohemian image. When they were in New York, Sebastian alternated between the apartment Tony had given her after she gave birth to Jazz, and Stark Tower, spending roughly two weeks at one then the other. But upon moving to LA, she felt the best place for him was with Tony and Loki.

So she wasn't around enough to see the change in both Tony and Loki's relationship and Sebastian's behavior.

Tony sighed, and not for the first time, clamped down on a smart remark. "Could we not start the day like this?"

"Like what?" Loki was vigorously scrubbing the pan he had cooked the eggs in then set it aside to dry. He dried his hands on a dish towel and faced Tony.

He angled his head to the side. "Loki, can we just—" The sound of feet trampling down the stairs cut him off and he growled angrily to himself, turning away so the kids didn't see his angry expression.

"Ready, Pappa!" Audrey ran in, her purple backpack flapping against her as she and Jazz ran in. Loki plucked two brown bags from the counter and held one out to each of them.

"Here's your lunch." He swiped up his car keys and held them toward Jazz, who held out his hand. "You can get in the car. I'll be out in a moment. Backseat, Jameson. No arguments. And do not turn on the radio."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, closing his fingers around the keys when Loki dropped them into his open palm. "Fine…"

They shouted goodbyes to Tony again and Loki listened to their voices as they made their way to the front of the house, waiting until he heard the door close. "What were you going to say this morning?"

Tony stared at him for a moment, drawing a complete blank. He couldn't really remember what happened before the shocking hot water hit his face, waking him up, and he worked down the raging hard-on he had woken up with. "I don't…I don't know what you're talking about."

Loki clucked his tongue, looking away. "Never mind."

"No—don't 'never mind' me, goddamn it!" Tony slapped a hand to the counter, drawing Loki's gaze. "You got a problem, tell me. Don't just sit there, giving me that fucking little bitch face, stewing in whatever is wrong with you! Talk to me, Loki."

Surprise flickered across those green eyes so quickly Tony thought maybe he imagined it. Then that cool, calm veneer immediately replaced it. His voice was just above a whisper when he said, "Why should I bother telling you anything when you clearly do not listen to me?"

"I fucking listen to you!"

"…Dad…?"

Tony stared at Loki for a moment longer then clenched his teeth together. Shit. He ran a hand over his head, turning to look at Sebastian, standing in the doorway. He frowned a little at the way his black hair flopped over half of his face, hiding one of his eyes from view. He hated that damn haircut. "Hey, kiddo," he said more cheerfully than he felt at the moment. "You ready for your first day?"

Sebastian's lone green eye darted to Loki then back to Tony. "Yeah…"

"Cool. Why don't you head out to the car and I'll be out in a minute?"

Sebastian started to turn, but halted, peeking sheepishly at his fathers, when Loki spoke up. "Don't bother. We're done here." He picked up a third brown bag and walked around a quietly blustering Tony. He held the brown bag out to Sebastian, who hesitantly took it, and pressed a light kiss to the top of his head. A tiny part of Loki's heart ached at the fact that Sebastian was nearly up to his shoulder now. "Good luck on your first day, darling."

Sebastian nodded, but barely looked at him. Loki bit back a sigh, frustrated at his oldest child's sudden withdrawal from him and glanced over his shoulder toward Tony.

"Have a good day at work."

He smiled tightly, wanting badly to just pull him back, drag him upstairs, and have it out—whether that meant screaming and yelling out all their frustrations with each other or fucking each other senseless, he didn't care. He just wanted this tension between them to disappear. "Sorry you had to see that, Bash," he said when they were alone.

The young boy shrugged lazily. "It's not like I haven't heard you guys fight before," he said as he started to turn away.

"That's not—we don't…" Tony trailed off as Sebastian walked out of the house. He snatched up his keys, and sent a message to Jarvis through his phone to set a map to Sebastian's school. He paused, just outside the closed door, when he realized he had no idea what the school's name was. Jarvis informed him—smugly, he just knew, damn it—that Loki had already programmed it for him two weeks ago.

With equal amounts of love and frustration for his husband, Tony jumped into his car, and much to the delight of his oldest son, he sped out of the garage and down the quiet suburban street.