Disclaimer: The avengers and any other recognizable character does not belong to me they are property of Marvel.

N/A: As the story advances chapters will get longer, Warning same sex relations

Thanks to ColdGrin for grammar check.

FrostIron/IronFrost? BAMF Tony, Godly Tony? Soulmates.

Gray Tony? Depends on perspective but most likely.

The Son of Death and the Tree of Life Yggdrasil

Chapter 1: Contemplations and Reactions

In the privacy of his room, Loki could not avoid the smile that formed on his lips. That was an unexpected but welcome change. He will no longer be the Norns play thing. His soulmate, so young and innocent had sided with him. His mate wanted him as a soulmate, the young soul had accepted the bond and refuse to let it go when the Norns tried to break them apart. Loki would be lying if he said he wasn't curious to know the identity of his bonded one. What type of being would it be if it was strong enough to refuse to bend to the Norns will? Would his mate be Asgardian? Or perhaps it was from another realm. Would it be a Vanir? Or a Ljósálfar, a light elf, strong in magic? He doubted that it would be a Svartálfar, the dark elves were pretty much extinct. He really hoped that it would not be a Jotun that would just be a sick joke of destiny. But he also wondered what would his mate's reaction be to his children, or his children's thoughts on his soulmate.

Meanwhile Yggdrasil was contemplating the situation. This set of circumstances was unusual. He was an incorporeal entity that was considered a tree. And yet he currently has a son with Lady Death herself, how is that even possible? Yes, he is considered the tree of life, but he had thought that Lady Death's own powers would cancel his own. And still…

He is not complaining. A son, his son without a doubt would create trouble for the Norns. He has already begun. Yggdrasil had been aware of the three women's frustration over the new variable in the realms, and in reality, he could not bring himself to care about it. But if he were to be honest with himself, he is quite tired of the circle of Ragnarok. It is a circle not a cycle, in his humble opinion, considering nothing changes in those times. It all remains the same when it is not supposed to be the case, and it is time that change must occur. After all, that is the reason Ragnarok existed in the first place, to bring change to the Nine Realms. Yet things still remain the same. He wanted change, so change will happen, whether it be good or bad, things will not remain the same, and Anthony, his son, will make sure of it.

Anthony, Worthy of Praise; Prince of the Sea; Priceless; Inestimable or Praiseworthy, what a fitting name for Death's and his son. His branches shudder with anticipation, he is exited, and he will not deny it. For now, he will watch over his boy, and when the time comes he will contact his son; he would need to know the truth. The Midgardian mortals will not be able provide this truth as they did not know it. The boy would know his true origins and what is expected of him in due time, hopefully learning how to understand what he is. Yggdrasil will need to get in touch with Lady Death, so they can discuss when the truth is to be revealed and how to deal with the issues that will no doubt come from it.

While Loki was submerged in trying to find the identity of his bonded one, and Yggdrasil was making plans, in Midgard Howard Stark was in a thoughtful daze. A son, finally someone to continue his legacy, but still a child demands a lot of attention. Attention that he must give to his industries, the army, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.), his friend Peggy Carter, the study of the Tesseract, the search for Steve, his inventions and projects, and also his wife. But what terrified him the most, was not the responsibility of being a parent, but the fact that he did not feel anything for the child. The child was a necessity, but one that he did not particularly care about. It was because of his particular lack of care and concern for the child that he knew he would not be a good father, but he didn't care. Maria could take care of him and it would also keep her busy.

In contrast with her husband, Maria was extremely happy she finally had a son that she can love and spoil, someone that she can give all her attention. She knew that Howard was an extremely busy man, so he could not spend a lot of time with her. She knew that Anthony would not have an easy time, being the son of Howard Stark, the media would chase after him, and the people would expect him to be just as smart as Howard or fall short of his greatness. People would judge him no matter what, she just hoped that her son can overcome what life throws at him. As she looked at the new born, she cannot avoid the chill that ran down her spine, Anthony's eyes were sharp and deep, oh so very deep and mysterious, despite that his eyes were brown, it seemed as if there were galaxies and stars in the shine of his eyes, it was like looking at the universe.

Lady Death was confused, she was a mother; she had followers like Hela, but so far no spawn of her own, well until now. It made her a mother, that thing was made from her; it was her son. Her son was a contradiction, being the son of Life and Death, he was rebirth, a cycle of life and death. Despite her thoughts she was aware that even if Yggdrasil was a tree, he was the tree of life, she was death, and she had no heart. They were not supposed to ever have a spawned together, it was simply impossible. She was unsure of how to feel, was she supposed to feel anything? It didn't matter, wanted or not she would take care of her spawn and see how things developed. Her spawn would change the world it inhabited, perhaps even more it would change the whole Nine Realms. Maybe it would one day get rid of Thanos on her behalf. Perhaps it would be best if she stopped referring to it as an it and should just use he, it…he was born masculine in appearance and the mortals that made its/his physical body referred to it/him as a baby boy named Anthony, better use its/his name instead.