A/N: Did you know that this story does still exist? I know! It does!
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.
There was a groan and a hand slapped over the cell phone that started blaring on the bedside table. He knew the ringtone. "Someone else in this family needs to become a Doctor, I swear," Chris muttered into his pillow. Alex snorted from his side of the bed. "Yeah?" He brought over the phone and slid it against his ear.
"I do apologize Dr Rogers, but the services of both you and Dr Elason are required," JARVIS's voice sounded through the phone. Chris raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Both of us?" Chris asked, just to make sure that his still tired mind hadn't been drifting.
"Yes, sir. It has also been requested that you arrive rather quickly." The phone cut out an Chris blinked before putting the phone back.
"Wass goin on?" Alex mumbled out, still very much asleep.
"We're going to Malibu apparently." Chris pushed himself up to stretch his arms. "Sounds like it might be serious."
"You go I'll sleep," Alex said, pulling the blanket over his head. He made a noise when Chris pulled it back off.
"Nope they need us both. Come on, we gotta get going."
Tomas tried to look over at the unconscious Chandra in Eir's arms as they walked through the house. He found that after so long of his body not moving he was having a hard time of moving on his own, his limbs didn't want to respond to movement at all. He didn't notice that he was back in a more familiar place until Balder was putting him down on a cot in the medical bay downstairs, Chandra in the cot next to him and noticing that Sander sat down on the other side. He took a breath and let his head settle back on the bed. Until the image of what he saw sunk in and he turned his head slowly back toward his brother. His very pregnant brother.
"I wondered how long it would take," Sander said, giving him a tired smile. "I'd show you how happy I am that you're back, but you can't move and I'm a little encumbered."
"I imagine, you'd crush me under the weight," Tomas said in a voice rough with disuse. He and Sander reached out at the same time gripping each others wrists, Sander's grip doing most of the work.
"Not as much as me. Oh thank gods." They let go and turned when Fay hurried into the room, wrapping an arm around Sander's shoulders. She smiled over at Tomas, who also just noticed that she was as large as his twin. "You're back just in time to help corrupt out children."
"How long was I gone? There aren't any other little ones running around are there?" Tomas looked between the two of them. "I know that time moved differently there, I don't know how much, but I was eventually aware of that. I want to know how much I missed." He didn't miss the look that Fay and Sander shared for a brief second. "How long?"
"Eleven years," Sander finally answered. "We've been looking for you for eleven years."
Tomas let out a small breath but didn't have much time to think about it when there were footsteps headed towards them. Tom as glanced over, expecting to see Tony and Loki, but instead saw Chris and Alex.
Loki was sitting on his legs, folded under him, in front of Tony as he wrote still. He had sent Eir and Balder back with the others to make sure that they were taken care of medically. He wasn't sure that Tomas had remembered seeing him when they finally caught up to Eir, but he was relaxed enough to know that they had gotten Tomas back, and that he was at least awake now. Now it was his turn to give attention back to Tony.
"Anthony, can you hear me?" He asked gently. He didn't want to push this, heeding the warning from Balder about not knowing what would happen if they forced him to do something while still having so many visions. "Anthony, you need to come back to us."
He had expected Tony to say something to the effect that he only called him Anthony when he was stressed, or worried, or sometimes upset with him. Over the many years that they had been together, it had become easier and easier to call him Tony.
"We got him back, we found Tomas," Loki said as he reached out hesitantly, cupping Tony's cheeks in his hands. He thought he saw Tony's hand pause a little in his writing, but his eyes kept glowing. "We've found our son."
That seemed to have an effect, but Loki wan't sure if it was one he would have wanted. "Son. Son, our son, your son, my son, always a son, sometimes never a son," Tony spoke quickly, his voice hollow of emotion. "Lives, dies, born, taken, killed. You're there, sometimes not, I'm there, sometimes not, sometimes he's not. A son, always a son, sometimes never a son." He seemed to take a breath before his eyes shut and slumped forward, Loki catching him and pulling him against his chest.
Loki blinked his eyes wide, still reeling from Tony's rushed words, and looked up to see Urd standing behind him. "It's time to get him home, away from this place. Until he's back in your realm, and time, he'll never be able to escape the visions.'
"What happened? And where have you been before to help him?" He tried not to let the anger take his voice a little, but he couldn't help it. If the other two fates had known about it, why did it take one of them this long to get out to help Tony.
"Like yourselves, we had been unable to locate this place or anyone kept within this place. We were very dependent on you finding this place first. You are also aware that there is still very little that we can do without upsetting the balance," Urd said, given Loki a stern look. "As for this, this place is situated in a rather unfortunate location for him."
"Why isn't it affecting you like it has him?" Loki needed to know why Tony was the one to suffer.
"He is the Fate of Future, that is what he sees," Urd told him, trying to urge him to stand with Tony. "I am the Fate of the past. Everything that I am going to see, I have already seen, and anything else is available for me to look back into. Verdandi would be affected like him though, with visions of the many different events happening with the different timelines. Now, quickly, there won't be much time until he wakes up again."
Loki lifted Tony in his arms, letting his head drop against his shoulder, and walked closer to her. "What's going to happen to him once we get back to our time? Will you be able to take back everything that he's seen?"
"We don't know what he's seen," Urd gave Loki an answer he wasn't particularly impressed with. "I'll need to take this book back with me, we'll study it," she said as she picked up the book that Tony was writing in. "Just hope that he sleeps peacefully, with no dreams."
"And if he doesn't? You haven't really given me any answers." Loki felt Tony stir a little in his arms, felt a tingle down his back. It was clear the Urd felt the same.
"We'll be in touch." She disappeared with a swirl of smoke, taking the book with her. Loki could feel a build up of power and knew that he had to get Tony out of there before he started having visions again.
As Loki appeared in their bedroom he lifted Tony's new wing to lay him on the bed, on his side, trying to avoid the injury on the other side. Tony had stopped moving and seemed to be breathing evenly, sleeping. Loki brushed some of his hair from Tony's face, before sitting at the end of the bed, watching him, his mind working, calculating their next moves, makings plans to protect his family, like he couldn't do before.
Loki heard the door open slowly, quietly, but didn't turn away from Tony. He moved his arm as Key crawled up onto the bed and into Loki's lap. Loki just wrapped his arms around his daughter and held onto her, feeling her comfortable weight against his chest. His family could start to mend, now that they were all back together. His mind still worked at the mysteries that surrounded his family.
Loki looked up from his thoughts, out the window, noticing that it was dark outside, and glancing at Key, that his youngest daughter was starting to fall asleep. He rubbed her back with his hand. "You should go get some sleep. I'm sure that your siblings are all still downstairs."
"You won't let me sleep in here," she said sleepily, but not questioning it.
"Afraid not, little one." He didn't want her to see when Tony woke up. She didn't need to see her parents like that. "Your grandmother will be down there, too. I'll come find you when, I promise." He kissed the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair. She nodded and started to slide to the ground on her feet. "Everything will be fine, our family is back together now." He saw a smile from Key before she padded out of the bedroom, Jarvis closing the door.
Loki got up as well, stretching his limbs, feeling a deep ache. The downside to coming to the end of a long journey. "Nothing left to do but wait," Loki murmured to himself. "I detest waiting."
It seemed he didn't have to wait long. Tony started to turn in the bed and Loki moved to try and stop him before he was flat on his back. Tony whimpered and arched his back, rolling right off the bed, making Loki jump back before he tripped over the man, and his large wing. Tony pulled his legs up, eyes closed tightly, a slight tremor in his body.
"Tony?" Loki asked quietly, crouching down in front of him, hand going out to gently touch Tony's knee. Tony jerked a little, but loki didn't let go. "Tony, I'm here."
"Not here, not for long," Tony shook his head. "I've seen it all, seen you here, seen you die, seen you gone, seen it all." Loki kept an internal hold of whatever he felt, seeing Tony so shaken, so vulnerable.
"I'm real though, this is real," he tried to reassure him. "You're back home, our children are-"
"So many children, so few, sometimes none at all," Tony cut him off, shaking his head. "Too much to see, too much. Too much that happens."
"Nothing's happening, my love." Loki took his hands, rubbing his knuckles with his thumbs. "Not anymore, I've got you. There are no more visions. Can you open your eyes for me?" Tony started to shake his head again. "Please if you could open your eyes-"
"If I can't see, then I can't see them," Tony mumbled quickly under his breath. "If I can't see, then I can't see them," he started to repeat.
"You're not in that place anymore," Loki said, lifting one hand to gently rest on Tony's cheek. "You're home, you're with me, and the kids are here. We are all safe now, and we are back together." Loki leaned in, kissing each eye lid. "You are back with me."
Slowly, ever so slowly, Loki saw Tony's eyes start to open. He ducked his head down a little so that he was the first thing that Tony saw, something hopefully familiar. Tony's eyes were about half way open before he reached out his hand and gently touched Loki's face with his fingertips, testing to see if he was real. Gently, Tony's finger wrapped around Loki's jaw, and tears started to fill his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Loki's neck, pulling himself into Loki, silent sobs shaking his body every so often. Loki kissed the side of his head, arms around him, holding him close.
