"No."

"Come on, Lokes, I thought you loved me!"

"That doesn't mean I'm qualified to watch over your spawn, Anthony."

"You've watched Thor haven't you? That's close enough," Tony whined while putting on his patented puppy eyes," besides, here soon he's going to be your 'spawn' too, in case you forgot."

No, he hadn't forgot. After all, it was young Peter that had earned him Anthony's affection in the first place.

*

When the chitarui invaded, he hadn't given much thought to the damages that might be wrought before the Avengers would be able to defeat them. He simply played his part to avoid the creature in his head. But when they tried to target a small boy, he threw the plan out the window. He wasn't about to witness the murder of an innocent child, Thanos be damned. It was only when the dust settled that Loki discovered said child was the son of one Anthony Stark.

Afterwards, he was invited to live with them, since it was rather obvious that he had no desire to go back to Ásgarð. It was only a matter of time before Loki fell in love with the unusual mortal. Later on , he was surprised to find out that said mortal returned those feelings...and they had a long,enthusiastic coming together about it.

*

Four years later, after Loki had obtained official citizenship on Earth(and New York), they planned to 'tie the knot' as Tony put it. The wedding was to take place on Christmas Eve so Thor would be able to attend. Despite their many issues, the Góð of Thunder was desperately trying to make amends and wanted to support his brother in any way possible, so Loki decided to let him back into his life to work on their relationship.

The same could not be said of their parents.

His tenuous bond with them made him wary of the one he shared with Peter. It wasn't as though he didn't care for the boy, quite the opposite in fact. He would go to the ends of the universe for Anthony's son if he had to. But loving someone and being able to nurture and guide them were two different things.

If he had failed at being a son, how could he ever expect to be a father?

"And then I got naked and danced on a pole with Cap's shield..."

"You did WHAT?!"

"Oh now you pay attention, I swear you were a million miles away just now."

When he didn't answer, Tony sat down on the couch and pulled the mage into his arms.

"Where's your head at, babe?"

"I don't know...it's just...Peter accepting me as your paramour is one thing, but as one of his parents? What if I'm not worthy of the title?"

"Now Bambi, you know that's not true, that's just Ass-gard talking," Tony said as he squeezed him tighter," Pete adores you, and besides you've been more of a mom to him than his own mother ever was."

Tony still had some resentment where Peter's birth mother was concerned. Maya hadn't even bothered to say goodbye, she just dropped their son off on his doorstep with a DNA test paper and a birth certificate. He made sure that she'd never have any options for custody afterwards, not that she seemed to want them.

But Loki had been there for the boy in very way that counted, and Tony just needed him to be able to see that.

"Bottom line is, despite his maturity, Peter is only 15 years old and that's way too young to be running around New York alone. Going to this Christmas festival thing with him will give you both some much needed alone time and ease my worries knowing that someone I trust is watching my kid's back when I can't."

Loki looked up at him with a stunned expression.

"You...trust me?"

"With my life,Lokes, and with my son's too."

"Very well, I shall endeavor to make sure that trust is well-placed and watch over Peter's safety."

"I'd expect nothing less from you, Bambi," Tony said as leaned down for a kiss,"Thank you."

*

"This is going to be so much fun, don't you think so, Mr. Loki?"

"Just Loki please, and yes, this definitely not what I expected."

When Anthony had mentioned a festival, Loki assumed it would be one of those tacky things featuring a fat man in a red suit and Miðgarð's laughable idea of elves. Instead this 'NYGB Glow' event was set in a large botanical garden covered in thousands of lights.

"So where should we start?"

"Concessions? I was so excited I kind of forgot to eat breakfast."

Loki chuckled and shook his head before leading the way to the food vendors. Peter immediately went for the tacos while he was just happy to have hot chocolate with an extra candy cane thrown in.

"You sure like peppermint alot."

"Yes, it's been one of my favorite treats that your Father's introduced me to, pity they only sell them during this time of year."

They walked through the garden, admiring the various displays. Peter showed Loki the Mertz library, and he fell head over heels for the special collections, and ended up procuring a library card so he could check several of them out. He exited the building with a large tote in hand and a happy expression on his face.

"I think this library could rival Ásgarð's with its botany collection."

"Ásgarð has a library?"

"Oh yes, contrary to the image Thor conveys, not all Æsir are thoughtless barbarians."

"Dad said you came from a place called Jötunheim originally," Peter said while swinging his own bag of books," do they have libraries too?"

"I...don't know. The Allfather took me from there as an infant, and I was never told anything about my homeland. Though from what little I've seen of it, it appears to be an endless void of winter with no plant life at all."

"That sounds terrible. So where did you get your love of flowers?"

"My adopted mother,Frigga. She and I spent alot of time in the royal gardens. What about you Peter?"

"Dad mentioned my mom was a botanist," Peter said as he kept his gaze focused on the ground," I started coming here hoping that she might be around. Sounds like a stupid reason doesn't it?"

Loki stopped them then, putting one hand on Peter's shoulder and the other gripping the side of his face.

"Wanting affection from the one person that should love and protect you isn't stupid. The fact that they threw away something so wonderful so easily tells me they didn't deserve you in the first place. I understand, more than most, of wanting that feeling of acceptance from a parent, but do not let it consume you. They aren't worth it."

Peter gave a small sniffle before dropping his bag and throwing his arms around Loki. The mage went stiff at first, but then gradually returned the embrace.

"Thank you."

"You're more than welcome,Peter."

"Can I ask you a question?"

He was a bit confused as to what the question could be, but he leaned back and nodded his consent.

"What is it?"

"Can...can I call you Mom?"

"You really want to?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've thought of you as my mom for a long time now ," Peter said as his face flushed with embarrassment," I just wasn't sure if you'd be okay with me saying it."

Loki pulled the boy tightly against him once more.

"I would be honored to be your mother, sonur minn."

They stayed that way for a long time, simply enjoying each other's presence. Then,Loki teleported them home to eat dinner and watch one of those silly Christmas movies Peter liked.

*

It was nearly three in the morning by the time Tony got back home. He stepped off the elevator and went into the living area to find the TV playing static with his family asleep in front of it. Peter was snuggled onto the Góð's shoulder while the latter had his arm around him.

Tony might have had JARVIS snap a picture or six.

He set his briefcase on the floor and slipped off his jacket and sat down on Loki's other side before carefully covering the three of them with a blanket that was behind the couch. The mage mumbled something in his sleep before wrapping his other arm around Tony.

The genius sighed and closed his eyes, content to amongst the warmth and comfort of his little family.