The next morning, Asta hurried to the mirror that connected their chambers to the one in Tony and Pepper's living room.
"Good morning!" Pepper answered brightly. "How's my favorite queen today?"
"Really well, Mom! Hey, is Dad around?" Asta asked.
"Down in the lab already. Do you want me to page him?"
"No, I just wanted to make sure everyone will be home today. We've got a few days off, so we thought we'd drop in."
Loki noticed how Asta was avoiding anything that would give away their true purpose for visiting. He smirked at his wife.
Pepper beamed. "That's great! We'd love to see you! When should we expect your arrival?"
"We can leave here very soon. We just need to pack up this mountain of stuff that the staff has been building for Morgan. There are gowns and toy crowns and a certain stuffed animal she was asking for as well."
"The alligator?!" Pepper gasped.
Asta laughed. "Yep, complete with horned crown. You've got a strange daughter."
"That's her father's fault. So, should we make this visit a surprise?"
"You took the thought right out of my head! Is Thor there?"
Loki chuckled at that. Asta was certainly asking all the right questions.
"Yeah, he and Jane are here. I think he's outside, being Thor, so if you hurry, you can blame the bifrost on him and his working out."
"Perfect! We'll leave here within the hour. Love you, Mom!"
"Love you, sweetie!"
As Asta ended their call, Loki came over and put his arms around her from behind. "That was unbelievably sneaky, my love."
"Well, when one is married to the god of mischief, one picks up on a few tricks."
He spun her around to face him, then knelt before her. "I am in awe of my queen."
Asta tsked. "My king kneels? He surely must know what that does to me! And with very little time before we need to leave."
"You said we must leave within the hour. My darling, there is so much we can do in that amount of time!"
"But we still need to prepare our Midgardian clothes—"
He turned his hand and two casual New York outfits materialized and hung on the closet door.
"But we still need to pack and—"
Loki snapped his fingers and their bags appeared.
"Well, I…"
Loki raised an eyebrow. "Yes? What other excuse do you have?"
Asta sighed dramatically. "I suppose I have none. I'll just have to be ravished by my husband."
"Yes, quite the hardship," he said sarcastically as he stood and scooped her up, and carried her to the bed.
Once they were finally ready to go, they headed to the bifrost. Heimdall smiled as they approached.
"Good afternoon, your majesties," he said with a bow.
"Hello, Heimdall, my friend," Loki replied. "We're off to Midgard for a few days."
"Yes, I see Pepper is already preparing for your arrival. And your brother is causing quite the commotion in the back of the compound, so your entrance won't be conspicuous."
"Perfect. See you in a few days then."
"Have a wonderful trip," Heimdall said as he smiled brightly and turned the sword.
Asta gripped Loki as the bifrost began to shine around them. "You know, I wish we could tell my Dad before Thor. It seems right for the parents to know first."
"My love, did you not assume I would have a plan for that?" Loki asked.
She looked up at him as best she could with her the colors swirling and the hair she forgot to pull back flying around.
He grinned. "As one of two people able to teleport on campus, I planned to sweep us away as soon as we land. Thor will likely notice, but he'll never make it inside in time to know first."
Asta laughed. "My king truly thinks of everything."
"When it comes to making my queen happy? Absolutely!"
Finally, when they felt the final approach coming, Loki lifted Asta a bit higher to brace her from the impact. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he transported them to the lab.
"Holy shit!" Tony exclaimed as the pair appeared before him. He stumbled back and righted himself as quickly as he could. "Just because you're allowed to teleport in here doesn't mean you should!"
Asta shrugged. "Well, I thought you'd be happy to see us, but if you want us to leave…"
"No, get your asses over here!" Tony said with arms open wide.
She ran over and embraced him tightly. Loki made his way as well and shook his hand. Tony loosened his hug, but kept one arm around Asta.
"So, what do I owe the honor of a visit from my favorite Asgardians?" he asked.
"Well, we had a few days and—"
"FRIDAY said Asta and Loki are here!" Pepper said as she burst through the door with Morgan close behind.
"They're here!" the little girl cried as she ran to Asta.
Loki's eyes widened as he saw the impact coming. He stepped between the sisters and scooped Morgan up. "Hey, Nugget!"
Morgan hugged him tight. "Hey, Loki!" She dropped to the ground and hugged Asta as well.
Tony raised an eyebrow at the scene.
Asta cleared her throat. "Yes, well, like I said, we have a few days away and wanted to see you all… and share some news…"
Pepper gasped.
Asta grinned. "We're having a baby!"
Morgan and Pepper squealed and hugged Asta gently.
Tony smiled at Loki. "Congratulations, man," he said, slapping the Asgardian on the shoulder.
"Thank you, Tony. That means a great deal."
The girls let go of Asta and turned to Loki, squeezing him as well.
Asta turned to Tony. "Ready to be a Grandpa now?"
"Not sure I'd ever be completely ready, but this feels ok." He hugged her close. "Congratulations, sweetie. You're gonna be an awesome Mom."
"I hope so. The added pressure of raising a future monarch is crazy, but you know, just another day in the life, right?"
Tony scoffed. "You got this! So, is that why your husband caught Hurricane Morgan?"
Asta chuckled. "I suppose so. I'm certain I could have handled her, but he's a little overprotective already."
"I think we all saw that coming."
"Indeed. So, can we call a meeting and tell everyone else?"
"Absolutely. Do you want to tell Thor first?"
Loki turned to them. "Yes, we should probably tell him next. Hopefully he won't blab it out before we can with the team."
"I'll assemble them up while you tell him. Then run in and tell the others," Tony said with a wink.
"Ok. FRIDAY, where did Thor and Jane end up?" Asta asked.
"Point Break and Galileo are on their way in," the AI replied.
"Great. Tell them to meet us in the main kitchen."
"Right away, Queen Doctor."
Asta raised an eyebrow to Tony.
He shrugged. "Titles change."
Morgan hugged Asta's waist. "So, I'm going to be an aunt?"
"Yep, munchkin. You ready to spoil a little nephew or niece?"
"All day every day! I'm so excited!" She leaned in to Asta's belly. "Hello little one! This is Aunt Mo! I love you already!"
Asta wiped away a tear. "Morgan! You can't make an emotional pregnant lady cry!"
"Apparently I can."
"You're such a Stark."
"Yep!" Morgan said with a wink.
Loki laughed. "All right, everyone. Get up to the common room. We shall see you there soon, once we find the oaf and his wife."
Tony glanced to the ceiling. "FRIDAY, alert the others for a team meeting in the common room."
"Right away, boss." Just then, the AI's voice filled the tower. "Avengers, assemble in the common area. The Royal Laufeybaums have come to visit."
Asta looked to Tony. "Royal Laufeybaums? Really?"
"I told you, titles change. I thought that was a good one!"
Loki looked to Asta with a confused expression.
She patted his cheek. "I'll explain the movie reference later."
"Good luck," Pepper said with a grin as she shuffled everyone out of the room.
Asta began walking towards the door. "If you thought Morgan was bad, you'd better be ready to save me from Thor's hug."
"Already considering that, my love," Loki said as he put a hand on her back to guide her out.