"My suit is scratchy, Daddy!"
"You should have said so back at home, Cole."
"Why?"
"Because then you could have changed. But now we're all the way in Asgard."
"It's scratchy."
"Welcome to Asgard." A guard greeted, opening a door to the glimmering throne room.
The room was abuzz with music, laughter, and voices. People in every color and style of clothing bunched together but hardly took up any space in the enormous hall. The Starks wandered into the maze of Asgardians to find a small group of humans.
"Look who finally showed up!" Clint joked.
"Sorry we're late," Pepper apologized, straightening Cole's little bowtie, "We haven't missed the ceremony have we?'
"Thor hasn't even shown his face yet so you're fine."
"Oooh…" Tony's eyes followed a tray of sparkling beverages and his wife elbowed him.
"Tony, if you want something to drink I've been told the Midgardian-friendly stuff is on that table over there." Bruce advised.
"I'm here!" Darcy's voice called as she and Selvig struggled through the crowd, "The party can start now!"
"Ms. Lewis, Dr. Selvig, nice to see you." Steve nodded.
"So where is my little Jane and her squishy baby?" The young woman asked, "Has anyone seen the kid yet? Do we even know the gender?"
"Actually, no one is to know the child's name or gender until the ceremony starts. It is how it has always been." A smooth voice cut through their conversation and they all turned to see Loki. Fighting positions were instantly taken up and everyone glared his way.
The trickster was dressed in the usual green and gold - though the helmet was nowhere to be found. His hair was neatly combed back and he wore a small, polite smile. None of the Avengers fell for it and Pepper instantly moved Cole behind her.
"What are you doing out of your cell?" The Captain grunted, wishing very much for his shield.
"Thor and Jane convinced Odin to let me out on probation. One of their terms was that I attend the Welcoming Ceremony for their child."
"How in the world did the man who killed hundreds of people get let out on probation?!"
"Perhaps that incident wasn't entirely my fault to begin with." Loki countered.
Before more could be said on the subject, Thor, Jane, Odin, and Frigga stepped out from behind a curtain and smiled at the crowd. In Jane's arms there was a squirming bundle that made everyone in the audience applaud. As the Avengers glanced over at Loki they saw him tense up under the gaze of Odin. He seemed nervous.
"Asgardians and Midgardians alike, we are filled with joy at having you in our halls to honor and welcome the newest member of the royal family." Odin bellowed across the room. Frigga smiled brightly beside him and Thor and Jane stepped closer to the audience. The new mother looked anxious, but a look to her husband stopped her from shaking.
"Friends, may I present to you my daughter, Princess Tova Darcell Thordottir of Asgard and Midgard." Thor announced, bright as the lightning he wielded and bursting with pride.
"A girl! I knew it!" Darcy exclaimed loud enough for the whole room to hear, which caused a few chuckles. The laughter was quickly followed with: "Hey, Darcell is my full name!"
The Welcoming Ceremony dragged on through the night and every person in attendance was enjoying the rich food, dancing, and music. The Avengers were having fun, but they were also on edge. Loki tried his best to stay out of their way for Thor's sake. If a fight started then the Asgardian prince would be furious.
"You're creepy." A voice near the trickster's knees commented. When he looked down he saw the Stark child staring up at him.
"You're annoying." Loki replied calmly, starting to step away. The child followed.
"Mommy says you threw Daddy out a window once."
Loki rolled his eyes and tried to get away from the brat, but he easily threaded through the crowd after him.
"My name is Cole and I'm gonna be three soon."
"Cole, if you would be so kind as to leave me alone, I feel your parents would be upset if they found you talking to me. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble."
"Daddy and Mommy are talking to Uncle Thor and looking at the baby."
"Oh?" Loki quirked a brow. He'd yet to see his new niece in person, though Thor had used Jane's cell phone to show him a picture. The fallen prince scanned the room for his brother and spotted him near the front with the Avengers surrounding him. Obviously, this was not the proper time to meet the new princess.
"What's the baby's name?" Cole asked.
"You should have been paying attention earlier if you wanted to know."
"I was!" The boy protested, "But I forgot."
"Her name is Tova."
"That's a stupid name."
Loki stared at the boy. "And 'Cole' isn't? You are named after a black rock mined from the dirt."
"Nu-uh!" His lip jutted out farther than looked humanly possible, "I'm named after somebody that died."
"Not impressed."
"He died in the, uh, the Babble of New York."
Loki paused. "The Battle of New York. What was his full name?"
"Agent."
"That doesn't make any sense. How do you derive 'Cole' from 'agent'?"
"'Loki' rhymes with 'okie dokie'," Cole argued, "I want food." He grabbed the prince's thumb and lead the way to some refreshments. After the pair scarfed down two pastries each they heard some commotion toward the front of the room. It was a few minutes before midnight, which meant it was time for the parents to name a Guardian for the infant.
"What's happening?" Cole asked, chubby fingers swiping a piece of cheese.
"Something important."
"Important means boring. I'm gonna go play."
Loki watched as the Stark boy dashed over to one of the pillars in the room and began attempting to climb it. The fallen prince did his best to ignore the child as he made his way to the front of the room with the rest of the guests. A cradle was between Thor and Jane on a small platform and Odin and Frigga sat high above everyone on the thrones behind the platform. The Avengers were all quite close to the little stage as everyone knew that they were likely candidates for Guardianship. The Warriors Three, Sif, and Darcy Lewis also stood nearby, though Loki doubted the last would be selected since being a warrior was one of the requirements for being a child's Guardian.
"Jane and I would like to thank everyone again for attending this joyful event to aid in our celebration," Thor smiled, "As is customary, we've both prepared a few words to say about the person we've selected to be Tova's as well as any future children's Guardian."
Loki didn't hear the opening words of Thor's speech, but he did catch an irritated whine coming from the pillar he'd left Cole at. A quick glance provided the information that the toddler was engaged in an argument with an Asgardian boy. The Stark parents were enthralled with Thor's speech and paid no mind to their fitful offspring.
With a sigh, Loki stepped over to the tot to see what was wrong. As it turned out, the Asgardian child was mocking Cole's bowtie and yanking it so tightly that the Midgardian was having problems getting words out. Quickly wrenching the bully's hand away and shooting him a glare, Loki managed to free Cole as well as cause the Asgardian brat to wet his pants.
"Don't kill me!"
"Leave my friend alone and I shall think on it." Loki hissed back. The child gave a yelp and scurried off to find his parents. While this short exchange had occurred, Cole Stark had managed to climb part of the pillar to a decorative ledge and was about to fling himself off of it to the floor, two and a half meters below. Loki was about to let him, but wasn't sure just how fragile the people of Earth were. Right as the lad launched himself from the ledge, Loki decided it wouldn't be best to test the durability of Midgardian toddlers.
"Wee!" Cole grinned as he fell into Loki's outstretched arms, "I should do that again!"
"I think not, little Stark."
"Why not?"
"Because I won't catch you again and we wouldn't want to stain the nicely polished floor with your blood, would we?"
The rebuttal to this point was an ejected tongue, crossed arms, and a stomped foot. Then, Cole immediately set out to climb the pillar again. While Loki tried to remove the boy from the unsafe activity, with his probation his only motivation, Thor continued speaking.
"This person has protected me more times than I can count and assisted me whenever I've requested help - and even when I was too stubborn to seek advice…"
An arrow suddenly thunked into the platform floor and the audience cried out as one. Another arrow flew from behind another pillar in the room and a man followed it. All across the throne room unassuming guests drew weapons from various hiding places in their finery. The guests who were not armed, including the Avengers, either swarmed to the sides of the hall or crouched into fighting positions. However, the amount of guests who had come armed was significantly higher and they all wore menacing expressions.
Loki stopped struggling with the Stark boy and hastily searched the room for his brother. Thor had pushed Jane protectively behind him and she was beginning to move toward the cradle to protect her daughter. An arrow was fired and landed within an inch of Jane's fingers, protruding from the cradle's headboard.
"Touch that infant and you'll get an arrow through your eyes before I stab the urchin," A man's voice threatened. The man who'd been firing the arrows stepped onto the platform and was nose to nose with Thor, "In fact, if anyone moves a muscle toward defending this disgusting creature, I'll immediately kill her." He shot a pointed look at the Avengers, who were creeping up behind him, and unsheathed a knife, holding it over the cradle.
"Who dares threaten the Prince of Asgard's family?! Tell me your name!" The thunderer thundered, fury in his eyes.
"You can call me Alger."
Odin had risen from his throne, but he, like the rest of the guests, was not armed. "And what is it, Alger, that you mean to do here? You surely know that threatening the royal family will lead to execution."
"We haven't threatened any royals, now have we?" Alger's eyes glimmered cruelly, "One can hardly say that this Midgardian female is royalty and her brat hasn't had any kind of coronation, has she?"
"State the meaning of this intrusion." Odin ordered.
"I apologize, this will require a bit of a speech," Alger smirked, "The group gathered before you wants to make a statement: Asgard has no business forming alliances with Midgard. We protested Prince Thor's marriage to Jane Foster but no one listened. Midgardians are weak, foolish, and not worthy of connection with the Asgardians. Our peaceful protests have come to nothing - you actually invited more of the scum here!" He gestured to the Avengers, knife still hovering over the infant.
"Wow, realm-ist much?" Stark snorted.
"The people of Asgard have had enough with the simple-minded humans. We'll put an end to any Midgardian that crosses the Rainbow Bridge, and that is an oath. We'll start with the imposter princess and her mother and move down the line to the revolting Avengers," He scoffed at the name, "If you are Earth's mightiest then it is not surprising that the Jotun weakling failed to stomp you out."
Loki quirked a brow at the insult meant for him. He'd been planning on joining the uproar anyway, but that just sealed the deal. All of the anti-Midgardian rebels were watching the Avengers and other well known warriors, but none had been watching him. He understood the underestimation, he'd been forced to wear a cuff removing all of his magic for the duration of his probation. The second prince had never been known for anything besides magic so how could they know that he was trained as a warrior right alongside with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three? The poor fools probably suspected that he would sympathise with them.
As Alger continued his speech about the inferiority of Midgardians and held the knife above the small princess, Loki crept closer to the platform and "borrowed" a knife from one unknowing rebel on the way. Now armed, the trickster quietly made his way to the stage from the side, just out of Alger's line of vision. The knife felt good in his hand. It had been quite sometime since he'd used anything sharper than a fork and he enjoyed the small amount of power he'd gained.
"I have counted only twenty of you," Odin stated to the rebel leader, "You cannot escape from my men even if you accomplish your task. Who will uphold your oath of keeping Midgardians from Asgard?"
Alger smiled, displaying a missing front tooth. "There are many more of us."
"A handful at most," Odin replied, "Or Heimdall would have seen your plotting."
Alger did not reply and instead leaned further over the cradle. Jane unconsciously jerked closer to the baby, causing the rebel to smile at her and lower his knife to Tova's face. A quick flick of the blade was enough to bring a deep line of red across the infant's cheek. Wailing began and the new parents both cried out: Jane in fear and Thor in anger. Alger straightened a bit and made eye contact with Odin before he began to lower the weapon toward the sobbing child. Before he could get close enough to do anymore damage there was a streak of silver and a squeal of pain. The man fell backward with a dagger protruding from his chest and shock on his face. All eyes turned in the direction the knife had come from.
"Sorry about the mess," Loki said, nonchalantly brushing some unseen lint off of his coat, "I thought I'd put an end to his rather unimpressive show."
The remaining rebels in the room glanced from the fallen prince to their dead leader and back again. Many of them had been expecting Loki to aid them. Hadn't he attempted to take over Midgard? Didn't he hate the weaklings as much as they did?
"Oh don't look so surprised," He chided them, "You did try to kill my niece after all."
A few rebels tried to exit the great hall, but by this time Heimdall had gotten a message to the guards of what had been happening and a throng of armed men pulsed into the room and captured every armed party guest while their jaws hung open.
After the fuss had quieted and it was made sure that everyone was alright, Pepper noticed that she hadn't seen her son since the initial attack. When the rebels broke out she'd immediately run to where her boy was playing and collected him in her arms. She didn't put him down until Alger's body had been cleaned up. Now, nearly an hour later, she couldn't find him in the crowd.
"Tony, have you seen Cole?" She asked, trying to keep the worry from her voice. All of the rebels had been captured and taken to the dungeons, but she was wary of a backup plan.
"I think he was over by the refreshments a few minutes ago." The billionaire replied as he turned from his conversation about better security for the palace.
Pepper darted over to the table that had been set up with treats. She didn't see anyone at first but heard a bit of giggle-filled conversation and peered beneath the tablecloth to find a sight she'd not been expecting. Relief filled the mother as she saw her son, but a new panic formed when she saw who his companion was.
Loki blinked up at her from his cross legged position under the table.
"Mrs. Stark," He nodded, "The boy was just relating the impressive tale of how Queen Elsa and Princess Anna saved their entire kingdom by defeating the evil Prince Hans and bringing back summer."
"Cole," Pepper said hesitantly, eyes never leaving the trickster, "You shouldn't run off like that, especially in a place you don't know very well."
Tony's head peeked under the table and glared at Loki. "Around such questionable company too," He reached under the table and scooped up the boy, "Come on buddy, let's go."
"But I'm not done," Cole mumbled tiredly, "Gotta tell about Frozen Fever."
"Some other time."
Cole's eyes began to drift shut and his head rested on his father's shoulder. He'd been up much past his bedtime and had gone through lots of excitement that day. "Good bye, Okie Dokie."
"Farewell, Little Stark." Loki nodded, coming out from under the table and smiling politely. Once Tony had handed over the boy to Pepper he turned to Loki and poked him in the chest, eyes alight.
"Listen up 'Okie Dokie', don't go near my kid again or I'll throw you out a window."
"I didn't go to him, he came to me."
"Oh, so you were just hiding under the table?"
Loki smirked. "I was, in fact. I wasn't sure how Thor would take me killing someone at his daughter's Welcoming Ceremony, and I certainly didn't want to find out."
Stark gave him a curious look. "I guess you couldn't hear much from under that table."
"I was busy listening to a riveting story," Loki shrugged, "Was it Odin or Thor who ordered my execution?"
"Thor made you his kid's Guardian."
"Don't be more of a fool than you already are." Loki laughed, truly amused by the idea. No one, not even his ever-forgiving brother would make him Guardian of a child.
"You don't believe me? Ask Thor yourself, he's been looking for you since you pulled that little hero stunt."
"You've found him!" Thor bellowed happily. He pushed through the guests until he came to Loki and Stark.
"Yeah, he was hiding under the table."
"I wasn't 'hiding', I was formulating a strategy."
Thor grinned and pulled his brother into a bear-hug. After a bone-crushing moment he released him and patted him heartily on the back. "Loki, I owe you much. Today you have saved the life of my daughter and killed a threat to Asgard."
"Well, it seemed like nobody else was doing anything about it." Loki grumbled, rubbing his shoulder where Thor had patted him.
"You have heard the news, haven't you?"
"If it is a continuation of the joke Stark just told me, I'd rather not hear it."
"Joke? What joke?"
"I tried to tell him that you named him as Tova's Guardian but he thought I was kidding." Tony explained.
"It is a statement that bares no hint of jest, brother. Jane and I have discussed it and you are the only one we see fit to make Guardian."
"You had someone in mind before the little skirmish, don't deny them from their honor," Loki argued, hardly believing the words he was hearing. Certainly, long ago he would have believed - even expected- being made Thor's child's Guardian, but much had happened since they were that close. "I believe Volstagg was the best man at your wedding, perhaps he was the one you had in mind."
"Thor, Tova is healing so quickly! It must be the Asgardian blood in her, think of the medical applications of such knowledge!" Jane babbled as she joined the group, infant in her arms, "Oh, hello." She nodded at her brother-in-law and Tony.
"Jane, surely you didn't consent to making me the baby's Guardian." Loki scoffed.
"Of course I did," Jane shrugged, "We'd picked you out before you even killed that crazy guy… you aren't turning us down are you?"
Loki stared at them liked they'd just informed him that the past few years had all just been a strange and horrible dream. After a moment of trying to deduce what in the nine realms they were trying to say, he glanced at the baby and a lump of emotion formed in his throat. He swallowed and met his brother's gaze.
"Explain."
"What is there to explain? You fill the role perfectly. A warrior, a friend, and you've already proven you will go to great lengths to protect Tova," Thor shrugged, "I thought the choice was obvious and Jane agreed."
"But you are telling me that you'd selected me before the ceremony even began?"
"Yes."
Tova gurgled happily from her swaddling and a small hand popped out from the blanket. Staring at the child, Loki fell silent. Was he willing to risk his life to protect her? Was he willing to spend time with her and assist in bringing her up?
"Do you accept this duty?" Thor asked, a hopeful note in his voice.
"I… I accept."
The couple smiled brightly at him and Jane held out the little girl. "Would you like to hold your niece?"
He nodded silently and took the small thing in his arms. She giggled even with the scabbing cut on her cheek and tugged at a strand of his black hair. More laughter poured from her mouth and she smiled brightly at him, blue eyes twinkling.
"Aww! She likes you!" Darcy chirped, inserting herself into the group. Most of the time Loki found Darcy an insufferable creature, more annoying than all of the Avengers put together, but he wasn't even paying attention as he stared at the child.
"She has your eyes, Thor," Loki noted, trying to keep all emotion from his voice, "And Jane's nose."
Thor grinned and wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders, nodding to his brother. "And the best Guardian a princess could ask for."
A/N: Wow! So many favorites and follows in so little time! Thanks you guys! You da-bomb-digity! A real phizzwizard, you is! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you are excited to read more!
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