A/N: This first chapter takes place almost exactly one year later from the end of Unseen Curve.
I don't own The Avengers, Loki, Iron Man, or anything of the like. Just the thoughts inside my head. And taking some personal freedoms with mythology and lore.
Tony was on the couch, one leg pulled up, tablet balanced on his knee, other leg stretched out, back leaning against the arm of the couch. He was searching through some information gathered, typing out notes as they came to him, engrossed in his work that he almost missing when his six year old daughter hopped onto the couch. Tony looked over, raising an eyebrow at Key as she stared back at him in silence.
"How can I help you little miss?" She took his words as invitation to get closer to him, crawling up his leg. He put his tablet down on the table and wrapped an arm around her back.
"Daddy, why doesn't Sander celebrate his birthday?" Key asked in a soft voice. She was still quiet, only speaking when it was absolutely essential, but she was bright. Extremely bright. Tony ran his hand through the ends of Key's pony tail, the ends of her hair taking on a natural curl. "Today is his birthday, but he doesn't have a party like Melli or me."
"Your brother never used to celebrate his birthday alone," Tony started to explain, letting Key tuck herself into his side. The two were often times inseparable.
"He shared a birthday with Tomas, right?" Key asked, looking up at her Dad. "His twin, our other brother." Tony smiled a little sadly, nodding. They had been searching for five years for and sign of Tomas, for any information about the strange woman, and Sander had taken it the hardest. Melisande still vaguely remembered Tomas, having only been three when he was taken, but Tony and Sander still told stories about him, having the little girls remember him until he came back.
"Sander doesn't like to have his birthday alone, anymore. He will again, soon though." Tony grabbed his tablet and brought it back over, turning it back on and showing Key the screen. "You want to see what I'm working on for Sander and Fay?" She nodded and scooted up a little. Tony brought up a tab to show her some pictures.
Loki walked into the living room to see Key holding onto the tablet now, moving some things around the screen with Tony watching. He pulled his jacket off and dropped it over Key's head from behind. She let out a gasp and started to squirm underneath. He let a little smile cross his lips as Tony chuckled, pulling the long jacket off of the little girl. She turned around and pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, giving Loki the most adorably, angry, pout.
"Forgive me my child," he said as he walked over, cupping her cheeks in his hands, kissing her forehead. "You are just small, like your Daddy, and I didn't see you." She let out a huff and Loki kissed her forehead again.
Fay walked into the apartment and let out a breath as she toed off her shoes. She sniffed the air and blinked a little. "Sander? Did you do something to make the apartment smell good?" She pulled off her blazer top and dropped her keys and phone onto the table by the door. "It's smells like, food, and flowers?" She walked further into the apartment and blinked in surprise when she saw the table set with candles.
"Hang on!" Sander called out from the bedroom. "You're home earlier than I thought!"
"I'm home at the same time I usually am." She walked over to inspect the table, wondering what was going on. Fay knew what day it was, and she wondered if she should pleasantly surprised, or worried.
Sander came out and Fay turned her head to look at him. He was wearing some black slacks, a black button down with a cream waistcoat on over it. She raised her eyebrows but leaned into the soft kiss he planted on her lips.
"Are you feeling okay?" She put a hand up to his forehead.
"I'm fine. So I have some food in the oven, it's already cooked and it smells good, but honestly I'm not sure if it tastes good." Sander had reached up and taken her hand, rubbing her knuckles.
"You're used to making custom pet food, this is true." Fay watched him carefully. "You didn't take one of those recipes and alter it did you?"
"No, I did not," Sander rolled his eyes, smiling a little. "Even though there would be nothing wrong with it, it's all natural." He took her other hand and pulled her along towards the kitchen, before stopping them in front of the glass door to the balcony. The sun was starting to set, giving the sky a purple and red tint.
"I know it's no secret that we both know what today is, and you have been more than patient with me over these past 5 years. I haven't exactly made things easier, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to show you my appreciation for everything, so far." Fay smiled at him and put a hand on his cheek, lightly patting it. "I also haven't been the partner that you really deserve, and I'm shocked sometimes that you're still with me. So, I'm going to feed my ego, or possibly destroy it, and ask you a personal question."
Fay raised an eyebrow at him. Sander leaned his head against hers, kissing her nose. "This is me, trying to tell you that I'm going to try and be better, and I'm going to ask if you'd like to do something crazy with me. I'm going to ask if you'd like to marry me." Her eyes widened when Sander reached the pocket of his waistcoat and pulled out a silver filigree ring with a round topaz in the center.
Fay looked at the ring then back to him. "You're serious? Honest to gods serious?" Sander nodded once and she grabbed his face, kissing him. "Of course I'll marry you, you stupid man." Sander grinned and kissed her once more before slipping the ring on her finger.
"So I've got a matching ring, and I've lined the ring with some spells," Sander said as Fay looked at the ring. She looked up at Sander when she felt the shift in the air, and fond herself looking into Sander's female counterpart. "The rings will resize themselves when we shift." Sander smiled and wrapped an arm around around Fay's waist, pulling their bodies closer.
"Sander!" The couple let out a sigh when they heard Melisande's voice in the living room. "Dad sent me."
"In here, Melli," Sander called out, keeping a hand on Fay's waist instead of pulling away completely. Melisande was the only sibling that Sander felt comfortable shifting in front of.
"You know I'd usually call first," Melisande said as she walked into the room, "but Dad sent me to come and get you. He said to tell you that there's news, finally?" Sander blinked and looked back at Fay. "He talked to Uncle Balder, and Anders is coming too."
Fay squeezed Sander's hand. "Let's get changed and go over there, yeah? Maybe this will be a good birthday this year."
