Tony has notices that time passes quicker than usual around Stark Tower now. Or should he say, Avengers Tower? In the past month and a half, S.H.I.E.L.D. has installed numerous security devices, intent on getting one leg up on the enemy. Some range from simple protection to mass surveillance around the world. They are truly items of mass proportions. But as long as he's allowed to make a suggestion here and there, he's alright with whatever they have in mind.
He thinks that things are coming together quite nicely so far. But then again, he did design mostly everything that is being installed, so he knows it will work. It seems only right that he design an aircraft for the team as well. He's thinking about calling it an Avenjet.
There is still the matter of Loki he has to contend with, however. He respects Loki's choice involving the pregnancy. Deciding that he should stay out of it is the only decision he feels he has any right to make in the life of the child the god is currently carrying. In hindsight, maybe he was just a little interested in the prospect of taking care of a newborn. But he's Tony Stark. He doesn't do kids. He sees Minva run by and rearranges that in his head. He doesn't do tiny helpless infants.
Anyway, in the beginning, he'd tried convincing his boyfriend that maybe keeping the child would be an interesting idea to entertain. But now, he simply keeps this information to himself. He can tell Loki doesn't want to talk about it, so he won't bring it up again if he can help it.
Tony goes to team meetings more often now. He's quickly realized that they're not as boring as he'd originally thought and finds them tolerable as long as he's allowed clearance to any information ascertained by his employers. To an extent of course. Even he won't press for the really top secret stuff. He's got secrets, they've got secrets. It's best to leave it alone, lest he opens up a 'bag of cats' quoting from one scientist that just so happens to be a really good friend of his.
Things are better than he could hope for. Life is coming together.
The Other stands a few feet away from Thanos. The Titan has been in an increasingly bad mood as of late. The duplicate Tesseract is the least of his problems at the moment. Now, he must deal with two unruly daughters who seem intent on bringing about his downfall.
"Are you certain she took it?" Thanos asks again. The Other shifts anxiously to his other leg. He feels that repeating himself will assuredly get him killed. He begins to walk around the far side of the Eternal so that he will be on the side of his bad arm.
"Yes. Ronan was with her. Apparently, she and Gamora tricked him. He is currently...incapacitated at the moment." Thanos snorts loudly. So much for the Accuser. He would have made a good general, had he continued on.
"If he is no longer standing at his post, then there is no one to guard his possessions. Where is the Stone he possessed?" he demands. The Other sighs. His day is just getting better and better.
"It was taken...to the Collector...by a human." The air cracks with a ferocious heat. Thanos' anger cannot be more apparent.
"What human?" the Eternal demands. The Other shudders. He's not liking this change in dynamics at all. There was once a time where he considered himself to be Thanos' equal. An advisor even. Those times are long gone.
"A mere mortal. The one who calls himself a...star lord," he explains. Thanos frowns. He's heard of this mortal before.
"The son of J'son still lives? The one that hails from Xander?" he questions. The Other nods slowly. He is relieved that Thanos has calmed somewhat.
"From the Galaxy Andromeda..." Thanos mutters to himself. Once again, the Other nods even though Thanos is no longer looking in his direction. It relieves him somewhat.
"So he is a Midgardian? Has he joined forces with the Trickster?" the Titan asks. The Other shakes his head. Now that would be catastrophic.
"No, but he still possesses the Tesseract, so all hope is not yet lost," he tells him encouragingly. His voice is strained, like his wits. His plans seem to be slipping through his fingers as quickly as he can form them. It's not supposed to be like this. Thanos will have both the Infinity Stones and the Gauntlet in his possession. It is only a matter of time before the realms of the universe will bow to them.
"There is something else you should know," the Other continues. Thanos turns to him, eyes a blaring red haze. He can tell that another bout of bad news will end him. He is grateful that this isn't the case. Thanos begins to approach him slowly, his stance menacing.
"How is it that whenever I tell you to do something, it must always end in failure? I should have known not to trust you. I should-"
"There may be something else of importance on Midgard. Something that we may be able to use to our advantage," he says. Thanos stops speaking and waits for him to continue. The Other does so with a confident exterior. Perhaps this will prove that he is worth something after all. He is still valuable.
"I have been communicating with a few spies that have been positioned on Midgard for a while now. There is the matter of the Trickster...Loki," he says slowly. Thanos grows impatient with his hesitation and slams his fist into the wall. Stone debris flies everywhere, sprinkling them both with a light coating of dust. The Other calmly brushes himself off. He goes to do the same for Thanos, but his efforts are rebuked. He enjoys this. These moments where Thanos realizes that he is indispensable. He sighs calmly.
"He is with child," the Other says finally. Thanos pauses in his tirade. This changes things, he realizes. Drastically. When Thanos begins to smile, the Other suppresses a shudder.
Oh how he hates this. Oh how he loves this.
For some bizarre reason, Loki finds himself being summoned to an Avengers meeting late in the afternoon. He's tired, irritable and his back aches. He doesn't like getting out of bed now. Not for any reason. But Tony insisted. So he does it. For love. Steve walks with him to the meeting room. He doesn't really mind the company, just the fact that the man seems unnecessarily nervous.
"So...have you and Tony thought of a name for the baby yet?" he asks conversationally. Loki glances at him. He can tell that the man means well, but he doesn't feel like talking about that particular subject at the moment. He still hasn't become entirely comfortable with the current situation.
"No," he answers curtly. Steve nods. He can sense that he's hit a nerve somehow. He'll quit while he's ahead. Thankfully, they arrive at the meeting room then. He's glad that the doors slide open automatically. He'd be unsure how to handle the situation if they didn't. Should he open the door for Loki, since he's pregnant? Or would that be considered rude because it's Loki and he's pregnant? He hasn't been around a pregnant person since he was a teenager, and that was a really long time ago.
They both enter the room together. The atmosphere of the room is calm. Tony is at the head of the table, with his feet on top of it. He's wearing a very shiny pair of designer sunglasses that have to cost more than Steve's bike in its prime. When the man sees them, Tony pushes them up to his forehead. Or more specifically...when he sees Loki. He sits up and takes his feet down.
"Hey, you finally made it!" the inventor says enthusiastically. Loki sighs and sits down in a chair near him. He just wants to get whatever this is over with as quickly as possible. Shortly after Steve sits, Fury enters the room looking surprisingly in a good mood.
"Good morning Avengers," he says. Loki frowns. He's not an Avenger, not one of them. But decides not to dwell on it for long. It takes all of his concentration to open the bottle of water he's been handed. After it cracks open, he takes a long drink. Fury is having a private staredown with Tony.
"Stark, get out of my seat," the man orders. Tony sighs heavily and hauls himself to his feet. He plops himself down in the seat directly across from Loki with a grin. He gives the god an encouraging smile. It's then that Fury begins the meeting.
"I've been speaking with the Council for the past few weeks, and it has come to my attention that as of today, we may have been stretching you guys a little thin. As a team, you can't be in multiple countries at once when something that requires all of your strengths comes up." He pauses for what seems to be dramatic effect. Tony frowns. That's usually his thing.
"Which is why it's been decided that as of today, a new program will be put into place. We have been gathering information for a new Avengers team for the future." As to be expected, Tony is the first to speak. He's outraged, and a little hurt too.
He has a strange suspicion that this had to do with that conversation (fight) he'd had with Fury a couple months back about his suits. He'll be damned if he was expected to give one of his suits to some guy 20 years younger than him for training as a new Ironman.
"Hold on...you're replacing us?" he demands. Fury holds up a hand, but the inventor continues. "I will not be replaced by some pretty boy, Tony Stark 2.0 wannabe!" he says. Loki pats his shoulder, holding back a yawn. He knows he should pay more attention, but he doesn't want to seem too interested. He kind of likes the atmosphere and doesn't want to be asked to leave.
"Tony, we're not replacing any of you. We're...adding to your numbers in a sense." The inventor sits back down. He feels a bit foolish now.
"Oh," is all he says. He gestures for the Director to continue.
"As I was saying, we're looking for new recruits. And Loki was among the first to be suggested." Loki perks up when he hears that. Him and Avenger? The idea is completely absurd.
"I'm not an Avenger," the god points out. The Director nods.
"Not yet that is," he states. Loki's frown deepens. He's not liking that tone.
"You must be joking," he exclaims. He places a hand on his stomach, feeling the baby kick. Tony notices his discomfort and takes ahold of his hand. Loki smiles a bit at the comforting gesture.
"You've proven to be quite an exemplary person so far. The information you've given us has helped us a lot. Now with the threat of Hydra back up and running, we need all the help we can get. So what do you say? Want to join toe party or what?" he asks. Loki sits there for a moment, unsure of what to say. He knows he should accept, but he doesn't know if it's for selfish reasons or truly genuine ones.
He's about to decline; make up an excuse so he doesn't have to say how he really feels about the whole situation outright. But then he looks into Tony's eyes. The answer suddenly becomes so clear then. He takes a deep breath.
"I would be most honored to become an Avenger," Loki says. Thor lets out a bellowing laugh and slams his fists down on the table. For once, Loki excuses the raucousness of Thor's actions. And just like that, he's one of them.
Loki sits quietly for the rest of the meeting, listening as the core Avengers are told about the potential recruits each of them will be assigned to train. He doesn't become a mentor until later, which is fair since he can't be seven months pregnant and fight.
When the meeting is over, Loki returns to the room he shares with Tony. The inventor remains behind, most likely to apologize for his outburst. He sighs quietly, smiling when he sees Minva. When she places a hand on his swollen belly and begins to rub his stomach, he lets her. He doesn't have the heart to reprimand her for such a natural curiosity.
"Aren't you tired?" Loki asks. The girl shakes her head. Litt Bjorn hops after her, occasionally standing on his hind legs to sniff for treats. Loki takes her hand and leads her to the couch. He turns on the tv and pulls the frost rabbit up beside them when he tries and fails to join them on the couch.
Tony joins them half an hour later, StarkPad in hand and a wireless headset in the other. He's speaking about his company and his face is flushed from the debate he is having with the person on the other line.
"Yeah, well what does this guy look like Happy?" Loki hears him ask. He frowns at the response.
"Blond? Really? How can she-" he glances up as Loki chuckles quietly at a scene in the movie.
"I should call you back. I'm in the middle of moving and I should pack," he says. Happy hangs up and Tony finds his eyes drawn to the screen.
"Something funny?" Tony asks as he sits down. The god shrugs.
"It is simply amusing that my likeness has been so misconstrued over the years. I would never wear my hair in such an outlandish fashion," he complains. Tony looks and sees that the moving playing was, in fact, Son of the Mask. Minva had seen the first movie and it was established early on that it was a necessity to see the second. Loki had not been very happy with the result, but it had grown on him somehow.
Things aren't exactly going the way he'd expected, but they were getting there. The move to Malibu was stress-free and he's sure that his suits will be arriving soon, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. was a bit peeved. He allowed them one suit as a compromise to do with as they wished.
Now at the Malibu penthouse, Tony can't help but frown. He gestures with his hands the direction he wants his stuff moved, but he seems invisible. Everything had been going so well at the tower until S.H.I.E.L.D. insisted upon a training center. He's a tech guy, not a workout junkie. The most he ever does is a few simple moves to stay in fighting shape.
"Hey, not there! That is not where I want that to go," he yells to one of the movers. Everything seems to be going downhill ever since lunch. It's not that he had to move any of this stuff into the penthouse. He just wants Minva to be surrounded by familiar things.
He'd read last night that kids are fragile things at the tender age of seven. Or was she eight? He's just beginning to count on his fingers when he catches sight of Loki's silhouette in the sun. He smiles and walks over to him, wrapping his arms around the god's burgeoning waistline.
"Are you enjoying the view?" he asks. Loki sighs, sipping his tea. He'd taken a liking to it as soon as the moving began and now Tony just gives it to him so the god will just calm down.
"It's better than I expected. I don't even mind the heat," Loki tells him truthfully. Tony grins.
"That's because of the air conditioning. Nothing but the best for you babe." Minva comes running from somewhere in the back of the house, screaming with delight.
"Tony, Tony, Tony! Loki, Loki, Loki!" Minva yells, running to meet them. The inventor kneels down and catches her mid jump.
"I love my room. Can Litt Bjorn sleep with me? I promise he'll be really good," she says. Loki smiles, raising an eyebrow. 'This one is yours' it tells him. Tony sighs.
"Listen, sweetheart. Litt Bjorn is a frost bunny. Ok? So that means that a comfortable temperature for him may be freezing cold for you. That's why he has his own room. It's regulated specifically for him, just like yours was for you. But, I mean you can still hang out with him during the day. You just can't let him sleep with you because that could harm him, or you. Does that sound logical?" he asks. At first, Tony is afraid that she might start crying. He's ready to hand her off to Loki if that happens. But she doesn't. She simply nods and runs off to play.
"See? That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Loki asks. Tony shakes his head.
"I think I'm starting to like this whole kid thing," the inventor says confidently. Loki smiles, but it is tight lipped. He nods. He goes to sit quietly by the window facing the ocean. He's found it's existence to be a calming presence.
Author's Note: So next chapter will be the last in this fic. But not to worry. There is another fic in this series Trials of a Damned Soul, called Loki's Redemption.