"Perfect," Loki declared as he noted everyone's presence. "Now, the 8 of you will process in from back here. I will enter from the side, announce you, Asta will present Fredrik and we can finally move on from all of this."
Asta nudged him with her elbow.
"I mean, we can continue to the celebration after," he muttered as he handed the baby to Asta and then walked to the other entrance.
Asta grinned awkwardly. "He's thrilled for today," she said before following him.
Once Loki got to the other doors, he alerted the guards to start the ceremony. Odin, Frigga, Thor, and Jane began to walk, followed by Tony, Pepper, Morgan, and Peter. Once they were assembled, Loki stepped out onto the throne platform.
"Asgard! My many thanks for gathering with us today! It is with great joy that Queen Asta and I present our son! Before that, we'd like to ask our families to join us. My parents, Odin Borson and Frigga Freyrdottir. Queen Asta's Midgardian parents, Tony and Pepper Stark. And the proud aunts and uncles, and also the godparents, Thor and Jane Odinson, and Morgan Stark and Peter Parker."
They all climbed the stairs and looked to the door for Asta to enter.
Loki stood even taller. "And now, it is my great honor to present to you Prince Fredrik Lokison, crown prince of Asgard."
Asta walked out then, carrying the infant. The pride was evident on both their faces, as well as each of their family members.
The crowd cheered as Asta joined them in the center of the dais. Fredrik looked startled but didn't cry.
"Måtte gudene velsigne ham!" Loki announced. (May the gods bless him!)
"Måtte gudene velsigne ham!" the crowd repeated happily.
"And now, please join the feast. Let us celebrate and make merry!"
The citizens cheered and began to disperse to eat. Eventually, only the nobility would be invited into the Main Ballroom, but Loki wanted the rest of Asgard to celebrate and benefit from the festivities for a bit as well.
Loki turned to his family as he removed his crown. "Well, our 3 minutes of absolute frivolity are done now. What next?"
Asta rolled her eyes. "Loki! This needed to be done and everything was beautiful. It's the next part that's tedious."
"Well, you at least have an excuse to leave when Fredrik needs to eat. I'll be stuck out here for hours with Lord Geir and Lady Linnea and all the others droning on and on about their nonsense. I positively dread dealing with the ridiculous drivel for the next 8 hours."
Frigga placed a gentle hand on Loki's shoulder. "My son, these are words of a tired father. Perhaps you need a rest?"
Thor stepped over. "Yes, you definitely do. Take the next week off, nothing but rest. Jane and I, and Tony and Pepper and young Lady Stark will be happy to help. Tell the council that I will handle things in your absence."
Loki smiled. "You know, brother, I think I will take you up on that. But you must promise that nothing short of Ragnarok will be brought to me."
Asta's mouth fell open. She never expected Loki to actually agree to it. "Really?"
"Yes, really. I am obviously not feeling myself – though, my thoughts about Geir and Linnea do stand – so perhaps a little further time off will help. Fredrik can spend added time with his family, and you and I can catch up on much needed sleep. What say you?"
"I say yes! Now, let's get this over with so we can have the last of our days off!"
Loki chuckled. "Yes, let's get this over with. At least there will be wine once we get to the ballroom. Someone fetch me my smaller crown!"
The rest of the day went about as they expected. Fredrik was placed into a beautiful stroller which allowed him to nap and be seen by the nobles of Asgard. It also kept everyone from asking if they could hold him.
After lunch was served, the Avengers (minus the Stark family) went back to Earth. Asta and Loki instantly missed them and the buffer they created from all others attending the party. Thor and Frigga were able to keep some distracted, but not all.
Lord Geir approached Loki. "Your majesty, if I might have a word…"
The king turned, desperately trying to hide his annoyance. "You may have several words, but know this, unless they are to complement my son, or ask where the bar is, then I will be entertaining none of them."
Geir's mouth hung open.
"I don't know if you noticed, but this is a celebration of a birth, for the joy of Asgard's future. So, out of respect to my son and my wife, I will not be speaking on official council business today. You are welcome to bring it up at a later time."
The look on Loki's face made it clear that the conversation was over.
Geir bowed. "Yes, my king. Congratulations on the birth of your son. May the gods bless him." And with that, he slinked away.
Tony stepped up to Loki. "Reindeer Games! That was well done!"
Loki turned to see his father in law. "What? Oh, yes, well, that had to be done. I've wanted to say things like that to him for ages, but it wasn't really appropriate until now. Actually, it might not have been appropriate now, but I took advantage of the situation."
"He deserved it. You gotta know the right moments in business and this wasn't it. He deserved it." Tony clapped him on the shoulder. "How you holdin' up?"
Loki sighed. "As best as I can. If I look too fatigued, Asta will worry, so I'm keeping it together as much as possible. I just need to get to dinner. That should help."
"Do you need anything? Glass of wine?"
"No, no thank you. If I drink right now, especially too much wine, I might get more tired, so I'm avoiding it until we eat."
"Bold move. I'd need at least 4 glasses to get me through with these people. No offense."
"None taken. Some of these… esteemed guests make my blood boil."
Tony chuckled and then glanced around. "Why don't I take Freddie and you and Asta sneak to that back room for 5 minutes of peace?"
Loki also glanced around. "That sounds heavenly."
They both hurried to Asta, who was chatting with Pepper. Pepper actually had the baby.
Loki grabbed Asta's arm and casually tugged, as to not draw attention. "My love, the baby is with his grandparents, we are taking a short leave."
Before she knew it, they were in the royal chamber of the ballroom.
"Loki, is everything alright?" she asked with a slight panic.
"Yes, yes, of course. I'm sorry, darling. I should have explained better. There is no cause for alarm. Merely 5 minutes to catch our bearings before going back out there."
Asta's expression softened and she placed a hand on Loki's cheek. "My love, are you well?"
Loki removed his crown and sat it on the desk, then he gently removed Asta's and placed it next to his own. He led her to the couch and pulled her onto his lap as he sat.
"I suppose so. I'm exhausted and these people are grueling."
"Yes, they are. But they're acting no different than usual. Are you sure you're ok?"
Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I am. It's the same issue as before. I don't want to be here parading our son around like some sort of circus attraction."
"You know what I'm going to say, right?"
"That it's not like that at all, and that it's a celebration, and that I shouldn't be putting my own issues onto the happiness of today. Am I close?"
"Well, yes." Asta snuggled up to him. "Take a deep breath, mischief."
He startled for a moment. "What did you say?"
"I told you to take a deep breath."
"And then you called me mischief."
"It's not as though that's something new."
"No, but it's long overdue!"
"What is?"
He stood quickly and she stumbled as he righted her as best he could. He ran to the wall and conjured a door.
"Loki, what are you doing?"
He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, telepathically sending a message to Tony. "Tony, I'm taking Asta outside for a bit. Please keep Fredrik for a little longer than originally anticipated. Thanks!"
Luckily, very few noticed the great Tony Stark jumping and spilling his drink while muttering, "Thanks a lot, Elsa."
Asta smiled when she saw where the door led.
"Are we going where I think we're going?" she whispered.
"You tell me," he softly replied as he pointed ahead.
"The willow tree!" Asta said as she hurried her pace.
Loki could only laugh as she pulled him behind her.
When they reached the tree and pulled back the branches, Asta gasped. "You didn't…"
"Of course I did. A certain queen showed me how good it is to be prepared."
"A certain prince probably taught her that. How long have you had these out here?" she asked as she opened a tote and found pillows and blankets.
"Longer than I'm proud of," he admitted. "I've been wanting to bring you out here for months, but we've been so busy and then you needed rest and we kept you hidden away for a bit. It never occurred to me until today that I could just portal us here. I'm so sorry, my love."
"Don't apologize! This is the perfect time! It all worked out," she said as she spread out the cushions. "But keep that door around. I like the idea of just being able to pop out here. Especially since I doubt we have very long right now." She sat down and beckoned him to join her.
He happily sat next to her. "No, we don't. And I'll likely have to apologize to your Dad for scaring him telepathically."
Asta laughed. "He'll get over it. And he's probably enjoying playing keep away with Fredrik and the other nobles."
"Yes, I'm certain he is."
She put her head on his shoulder. "Don't let me fall asleep."
"I'm not sure I can guarantee that, darling. Perhaps this was a bad idea after all."
"No, it was a fabulous idea. We just have to be cautious. We will be required to reappear at our son's party."
"The tribulations of being royalty. Remind me why I wanted this?"
"As a youth? To upstage your brother. As an adult? Probably still to upstage your brother," she replied with a laugh.
Loki turned to look at her. "My love! Hurtful!"
"Oh, hush. Of course now you also want to lead your people into an even more prosperous era. You have much more noble intentions these days."
He smirked. "Mostly."
"There's my mischief."
They both laughed and then sat in a comfortable silence. After a few minutes, he sighed. "We should probably get back."
"Yes, I suppose that's true. But we're leaving early to put Fredrik to bed."
"Without a doubt in my mind, sweetness."
He helped her to stand and put away the cushions.
She glanced back before they went through the portal. "Promise me we'll be back soon."
He kissed her forehead. "I absolutely swear it. We won't wait nearly as long this next time."
Asta nodded and allowed him to guide her back through the door.
Finally, after hours of fake laughing with all the nobility, thanking everyone for the compliments for their son, dancing until their feet hurt, then making sure Fredrik was safely in his bassinette, Loki and Asta collapsed onto their bed.
"My love, did that feel like more exertion than our wedding and our coronation combined?" Loki sighed.
"Perhaps, but we were much more well rested then. Hopefully these next few days will help with that."
"Yes, it will. I know our parents will be more than glad to help with Fredrik, but it was very generous of Thor to offer to handle the council. I didn't expect him to offer that."
"I didn't expect him to, but it didn't surprise me, either. He is a generous man and he loves you very much."
"Yes, yes. Brotherly love and all that nonsense."
Asta knew when to change the subject. "I don't know that I have the energy to change out of this dress," she sighed.
Loki smiled and turned his hand, changing their formal wear into nightclothes. "Better, darling?"
"Ah, much." She yawned. "I remember when 'falling into bed' with you meant something much different."
"Yes, I remember that as well. And it will again someday… eventually."
"Mmmmm," was all she replied.
"I love you, my queen."
When he was met with just soft breathing, he knew she had already fallen asleep. Loki gently pulled her to him, did a quick magical check on Fredrik, kissed the top of Asta's head, and then allowed slumber to claim him as well.