Natasha pulled Tony into the living room before pushing him to sit in one of the big, plush armchairs. She then guided Tony's arms to hold Loki properly while he drank from the bottle.

"See?" She asked. "You have to support his head and make sure the bottle is tilted upwards to make sure he doesn't swallow air bubbles."

Tony grimaced. "I'm really not good at this stuff, Nat."

She rolled her eyes. "You said. But, really it doesn't matter right now anyway. You're the only one who can hold him without him screaming his head off. He needs to be fed, so you're going to feed him."

"But..."

"Nope. Now come on. It's easy." She guided the bottle towards Loki's mouth. He latched onto the nipple quickly and started sucking down the formula. Tony looked down at his face and couldn't help but smile a little. Loki's nose scrunched up a little and he closed his eyes. His tiny fists were twisted into Tony's tank top.

"See?" Nat said with a grin. "Easy." She started to walk away."

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't leave me here!" Tony panicked, standing up and accidentally pulling the bottle away from Loki and out of his mouth. The baby started to whine unhappily at having his breakfast taken away and being moved.

"You've got it." Natasha responded. "I'll check on you later." She stepped out of the room and out of sight.

Loki's fussing increased in volume and Tony looked down. He sighed and brought the bottle back to Loki's mouth and sat back down.

"Guess it's just you and me kid, huh?"

Loki didn't respond, but he did keep drinking and closed his eyes a little, so Tony considered it a win.

Loki kept drinking until the bottle was about three quarters empty, then he spat it out and refused to drink more even when Tony pushed the nipple against his mouth.

"JARVIS?" Tony asked, nervousness leaking into his tone.

"He appears to be full, Sir." The AI responded.

"Oh." Tony said. "I guess that makes sense. Tiny body, tiny stomach, less food. Right?"

"Quite, Sir."

Tony was silent for a moment, his gaze caught by Loki's once again. "So... what do I do now?"

"It would be appropriate to burp him at this stage, Sir. It assists in releasing air from his stomach."

"Okay." Tony frowned. "How do I do that?"

Tony swore JARVIS sounded amused. "Cradle him upright against your shoulder, Sir. Then gently pat or rub his back."

Tony lifted Loki and set him against his shoulder with his head next to Tony's own. He started rubbing his back lightly.

"Like this, Jarv?"

"Indeed, Sir."

"Alright." Tony started patting Loki's back a little. He stood up from the chair and walked around the room. After a minute he frowned. "Am I doing this right, Jarv? He doesn't seem to be doing anything."

"The procedure is being done correctly. At times it is unnecessary for the baby to burp, and at others it simply takes a moment. It seems at this point it..." JARVIS trailed off as a rather loud belch echoed from the tiny body and interrupted.

Tony grinned. "I guess it just took a sec, huh Jarv?"

"Quite, Sir." The AI responded. Tony's grin faded as he felt something warm trailing down the back of his shoulder and down his back.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Did Loki just puke on me?"

"Indeed, Sir."

Tony sighed and rubbed at his face. "I need a shower."

"Might I suggest use of a cloth for burping as a preventative in the future?"

"Yeah. Order some, would ya?"

"Of course, Sir."

By the time Tony had walked up to the penthouse, Loki had fallen asleep. After looking around for a safe place to place him, JARVIS helped Tony to construct a small bed out of pillows, and ordered a number of playpens, proper cribs, and other various baby assists (including an odd u-shaped pillow) to be delivered later in the day.

With Loki sleeping soundly, somewhere other than on his chest, Tony sighed and walked into his bathroom to shower and clean off the regurgitated formula.

The stuff stank. Badly.

After a few minutes of soaking and scrubbing, Tony finally felt himself starting to relax.

This was weird. So freaking weird.

Loki, full tilt diva, world domination hopeful, alien army commanding, freaking LOKI, was sleeping in his bedroom. As a baby. A baby that so far had slept on him, been fed by him, and put back to sleep on him. A baby that, apparently, wouldn't let anyone hold him but Tony.

What. The. HELL?

Tony wasn't a dad. Had never wanted to be a dad. Took freaking precautions to make sure he wouldn't be a dad! He would be an awful father! He didn't even know what a good father was supposed to be!

Thor said this was basically a 'reset' or 'do-over' for Loki. He said that Odin wanted him to get a 'new perspective' or whatever, but what made them thing that Tony was the best person for the job?

He brought his hands up to his face, pressing into them and trying to ground himself. The hot water pounded on the back of his head and spilled down his back.

He couldn't do this. No freaking way could he do this!

His breathing was starting to pick up and he dug his fingers into his scalp. He was seconds away from collapsing onto the floor and just sitting there for a second when JARVIS interrupted his internal freak out session.

"Sir. Miss Potts is on her way to the penthouse."

Tony started, almost slipping on the wet floor he had to steady himself against the wall. He took a deep breath.

"Shit."

He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. He rubbed at his face again before grabbing a towel and slinging it around his hips. He exited the bathroom just as Pepper walked into the bedroom.

She looked around as she came in and the moment she caught sight of Loki, she frowned.

"Do I need to set up a paternity test?"

It took Tony a second to register her statement.

"What? No! Shit, Pep! No! That's not my kid!" He waved his hands, his eyes wide.

Pepper's frown deepened. "Then what is he doing here?"

"Look, I can explain. Thor, he... you see it's like... Um... Jarv?"

"If you please, Miss Potts. The infant you see was delivered here last evening by Mr. Odinson. It appears that the Allfather's decree of punishment for Mr. Loki was to be DE-aged to infant hood and raised on Earth. It is intended that he shall gain a new perspective. Mr. Odinson explained that in light of his newly acquired fragility and unique circumstances the Avengers were chosen to guide his upbringing. He seems to have taken a particular liking to Mr. Stark and will not allow any of the others to hold him for any length of time."

Pepper's expression went from disapproving to shocked to speculative before settling on curious.

"He likes Tony?" She asked.

Tony rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. The kid screamed when I tried to pass him off for a bit."

Pepper nodded thoughtfully. "Has he eaten yet?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded. "I fed him just a bit ago."

"And have you ordered baby clothes for him?" She gestured at the green cloth Thor had brought him in. It was only loosely wrapped around him anymore.

"Um.. Jarv?" Tony's tone was sheepish.

"Infant supplies were ordered earlier today, Miss Potts. They are scheduled to arrive this afternoon. I shall add a variety of clothing to the order."

Pepper nodded and turned to look back at Tony. She opened her mouth, then paused and sniffed at the air before wrinkling her nose.

"Do you have diapers and wet wipes on that order, JARVIS?" She asked.

"Indeed."

"Good. We're going to need those soon."

Tony sniffed at the air and grimaced. "Please tell me that isn't..."

"It looks like your new charge needs to be changed." Pepper said with a grin. "Come on, I'll show you how to clean him up."

Tony's grimace shifted into an expression of horror.

I am SO SORRY this took me so long to update! I never intended for it to take that long! I haven't abandoned this fic, I PROMISE! I have tons of ideas for this fic! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review if you feel so inclined. Thanks!