Tony stood just inside the doorway, careful not to step too close to Loki. He looked terrible, almost ill. Tony had no idea what his intentions were, especially after he had sent his brother away. For whatever reason, he seemed to want to speak to Tony privately, and that idea made him more than a little nervous.

After a long moment of silence, Tony made an awkward gesture towards the baby Loki was holding. "Yours?" he asked.

"Yes."

Tony nodded. "Who's the lucky bride?" he joked, hoping to ease the tension.

To his relief, Loki smiled. "Oh, you'll regret saying that."

"Why?"

"Because she's yours."

Tony blinked, unsure if he heard right. "I'm sorry, but what?"

Loki stepped towards him, and the child stopped crying for a moment, looking around. She definitely looked like she could have been Loki's child, but her eyes were different. They weren't the bright, striking green of Loki's. They were brown, much like Tony's.

"Your eyes," Loki pointed out.

"Yeah," said Tony in a low voice.

He stared for a moment, watching as she looked back at him, eyes wide. She regarded him with a sort of attentive curiosity he didn't even know children her age were capable of. It was almost as though she knew who he was already. If Tony didn't know better, he might have thought that she knew even more than that.

"You may hold her, if you'd like," offered Loki.

Tony's attention snapped back to Loki. He seemed serious.

"I…" Tony thought about it. "Yeah, actually. I'd like that."

Loki carefully passed his daughter into Tony's outstretched arms. She didn't react much, just shifted a little until she was comfortable. She looked up at him and giggled, and Tony found himself smiling back.

"How old is she?" he asked Loki, not looking away from his daughter.

"A few days." Then, seeing the confusion on Tony's face, "She seems to mature rather quickly. For instance, the pregnancy itself lasted only six months."

Tony looked up at that. "You…you were pregnant?" He bit back a laugh.

Loki was not as amused. "In a sense, yes. It is difficult to explain to a mortal."

Tony nodded slowly. This probably wasn't the weirdest thing Loki was capable of, but he decided that he wasn't interested in testing that theory.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Tony asked. He knew there was a purpose for Loki's visit. "I'm assuming you didn't bring her here only to take her away again?"

Loki smiled slightly. "No, I did not. While I would not trust you to raise my child, or any child for that matter," Tony had to laugh a little at that, "I planned on allowing you to interact with her. Especially since she seems more human than I am used to."

"Great. So does that mean you two are going to visit me from that so-called prison you're supposed to be trapped in on Asgard?"

"More or less, yes. We will return once a week—"

"Hold on a second," Tony interrupted. "That's it?"

"Once a week," repeated Loki. "No more. That's the deal."

Tony thought it over. "Fine," he agreed.

The child began fidgeting, and Loki reached out for her, leaning her against his shoulder and bouncing her slightly.

"What are we calling her, then?" Tony asked, realizing that he didn't know his daughter's name.

"I have not formally named her yet," Loki said, looking up at him. "Both parents are typically involved in such a process. However, I have been calling her Anfrea."

Tony stared at him. "'Anfrea'?"

"Is that a problem?" asked Loki, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"It's just…Anfrea," he repeated. "That sounds like a name for a horse, not a kid."

Loki snickered quietly, and Tony almost asked what was so funny, but he decided that he didn't want to know.

"How about Astrid?" he asked after some thought.

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Astrid?"

"Yeah. That's Old Norse or whatever, right?"

"It is," answered Loki, and he seemed to consider this for a moment. He looked back up at Tony. "All right," he said, to Tony's surprise. "I suppose I'll humour you. We'll call her Astrid."

"Awesome," said Tony, still a bit shocked. He hadn't expected Loki to agree with him that quickly.

"All right," said Loki again. "If we're finished here, Astrid and I will be heading home." He glanced towards the door. "If you could tell my brother not to worry, that I have everything under control?"

"Will do," agreed Tony.

"Excellent." He turned to leave, and hesitated, as if another thought had occurred to him. He looked back to Tony, moving swiftly towards him until their faces were barely an inch apart.

"I need not use her as an excuse to visit," he told him, his voice barely a whisper. "Remember that."

And he was gone.

Tony stood there, an expression of mingled shock and confusion across his face. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Did Loki plan on returning to Earth to wreak more havoc? Or did he want to visit Tony alone, perhaps cause a repeat of that first night back before he went off to Asgard? Either way, Tony was in no way prepared. He was halfway down to the bar for a much-needed drink before he remembered Thor.

"Fuck," he muttered as he turned around to look for the other god.

He didn't have to look far. Thor had disappeared to his training room somewhere during their conversation. Tony stood in the doorway, waiting until Thor saw him, not wanting to shock him while he had Mjölnir.

Thor turned around and saw Tony, smiling widely. "Anthony," he greeted, walking across the room. "I take it you are finished conversing with my brother?"

"Yeah, we're finished," said Tony. "He said to tell you not to worry, that he's got it under control."

Thor frowned. "No doubt he does," he said quietly. He looked at Tony with concern. "Have you?"

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I think I've got it."

Thor nodded, smiling again. He clapped Tony on the shoulder. "Excellent. Rest assured that you have my blessing. And give my regards to young…"

"Astrid," Tony informed him.

"Astrid! A lovely name indeed." He smiled warmly, and Tony had to smile back.

Thor meant well, Tony thought as he continued on his way to the bar, but he was a little misguided. He'd given his "blessing," as if Tony and Loki were getting married. Which couldn't be further from the truth. They'd had sex, yes, but that was a mistake; a hasty decision driven by lust, not love. They weren't in love. Loki didn't love Tony. Hell, he didn't even like him.

Tony stopped short. Now that he thought about it, when they weren't trying to kill each other or save/destroy the world, Loki was surprisingly civil to him. He'd even go so far as to say that Loki seemed to enjoy Tony's company.

He thought back to what Loki said about not needing Astrid as an excuse to visit. Did he plan on coming back because he actually wanted to see Tony?

No, Tony thought, that's ridiculous. This was the first time he'd seen Loki in six months. If he'd wanted to visit him, he'd have done it earlier. That's what he told himself as he poured yet another glass of scotch and drank until he forgot all about Astrid and Loki and whatever this…thing was between them.