"Do it again, Papa!"
Thor was twirling and throwing Stormbreaker in the air, doing various tricks to entertain his daughter. He got a little too confident at one point, and the axe handle landed on his head. Iðuna squealed with laughter as her father started shouting some very creative Asgardian curse words.
Tony and Loki sat watching them with undisguised amusement.
"He is such an idiot."
"Yes," Loki sighed, "But he's my idiot."
Tony grinned at the sentiment. If someone had told him a few years ago that he'd be living with Loki, considering him his best friend, and basically becoming the live-in uncle to an Asgardian love child.....he'd have said they were crazy.
Yet, that is exactly what happened. Over the last six months, Tony's seen a side of Loki he didn't know existed. Once they'd gotten to talk...Really talk...he could understand the crap that the God of Mischief went through and why he did what he did in New York. Turns out they had a lot in common, specifically the unresolved daddy issues.
"You okay there, reindeer games?" Tony asked when saw the other man wince.
"I'm fine..considering the fact that Thor's offspring has decided my bladder makes an excellent punching bag."
Tony gave him a sympathetic nod, remembering how often Pepper made the same complaint. "How much longer you got, anyway?"
"Four months, give or take, Jötunn pregnancies last a year, but the Asgardian blood in the babe trims it down a bit."
"Sheesh," He winced at the thought, " I'm surprised you'd even want another kid after that."
"I was planning on an entire horde of children!" Thor said as walked up to them.
Loki regarded his husband with a raised eyebrow. " Did you plan on packing at least half of them, yourself?"
Thor visibly paled at the idea.
"Maybe just a small brood instead?"
Tony busted out laughing. The banter between those two never got old.
A small blur rammed into the former Avenger and knocked him over.
" Uncle Tony!"
"Hi Sparky," Tony groaned, " man you're getting heavy."
"Iðuna, love, stop trying to squish your uncle."
"Okay, mama," the girl got off of Tony and went over to cuddle against Loki's side.
"So, Anthony," Thor addressed him as he sat on the other side of his husband, " Loki and I will be traveling to the trading village in the morrow. While the healers are checking on the babe, I should be able to finally contact the Guardians for you."
"Oh....oh! That's....that's great yeah."
"You are happy to finally be able to go home, aren't you?" Thor asked.
"Yep, sure am."
Iðuna didn't understand why that felt like a lie.
*****************
That night, Tony stood outside and admired the night sky. It wasn't much different from earth's, except the stars were much brighter, and the planet had three moons instead of one.
He was so lost in thought, he failed to register the footsteps behind him, until a tiny hand grabbed his own.
"Uncle Tony?"
"Hey there, kiddo, what are you doing up?" Tony asked as he scooped the little girl up into his arms.
"Couldn't sleep, weird dreams again."
"Oh? What kind of dreams?" Tony knew that Iðuna had the ability to see the future based on the dreams she'd had of his arrival, so he was curious as to what she was seeing now.
"Not sure," the girl said as she snuggled into his shoulder, " I didn't understand much of it."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon."
Iðuna nodded against his shoulder before looking up at him.
"Uncle Tony?"
"Hmm?"
"What's Earth like?" She asked.
"Well," Tony paused as he tried to think of the best way to describe it, "It's not much different than here, really. I mean the people aren't blue, and the cities are bigger, but it's just as nice, if not more so. I think you'd love it, Sparky."
She gave him a sad look at that, " Mama won't go back, he's afraid that the people there would take it out on me for stuff he did."
"They'd have to get through me," Tony muttered," I understand how he feels, but I still hate the thought of not seeing you guys anymore."
"I'm going to miss you," she sighed.
"Right back at ya, kid, now let's go back to bed before Thor gets up and trips over his axe again."
Iðuna snorted at the memory as Tony carried her back to the house.
********************
"Now, Anthony, are you sure you're alright with caring for Iðuna while we're gone?"
Tony rolled his eyes," You do remember that I have a kid of my own, don't you?"
"Yes," Loki mused," but does your child have a penchant for shooting random lightening bolts at things?"
"You got me there,Lokes, but I'm sure we'll be fine, right Sparky?"
"Right!" Iðuna piped up cheerfully.
Loki looked skeptical but decided not to press the issue.
"Just make sure she stays safe, I'd hate to have to conjure another window to throw you out of."
"Haha, very funny, now shoo, both of you " Tony said as he waved them out the door, "we'll see you two in a few days".
"Bye mama! Bye Papa!" Iðuna waved.
"We'll be back before you know it líten en."
Once they were out of sight, Tony and the girl looked at each other with mischievous grins.
"Let's go raid the Ruslgarð."
****************
The Ruslgarð was a treasure trove of electronic and metal parts. They were leftovers from an advanced race that had died out prior to the current inhabitants. Tony loved to build various contraptions out of the things he found, especially when his little buddy powered them up with her lightening.
"What are we going to make today, Uncle Tony?"
"I think we'll look for some parts to fix my suit, I might need it during the trip home."
"Hmm," Iðuna bit her lip as she concentrated on navigating the various scrap piles, " will it work like it did when you fought the bad man with Papa?"
"Probably not, kiddo, that was a completely different set of Armor."
That was another mystery they had been unable to solve. In addition to being alive again, Tony had landed in a suit model from 2012 instead of the upgraded Nanite version he'd used in the fight against Thanos. Loki suspected there was some type of magic involved, but he hadn't been able to pinpoint the exact kind.
They were sorting through various piles of tech when Iðuna decided to ask the question that had been bothering her for awhile.
"Uncle Tony?"
"Hmm?"
"Why don't you want to go home?"
Tony stopped what he was doing to look at her, "what makes you think that, Sparky?"
"Well," she paused as she tried to think of how to word things," you didn’t seem very happy when Papa mentioned he could get you back to Earth. It felt like you were scared of something."
He sighed before coming over to sit down next to her.
"Truth is kid, I'm terrified. My family, my friends, the whole world has considered me dead for nearly two years now. How am I supposed to explain to my daughter why I wasn't there when I don't even know the answer? What if.....what if she doesn't want me back?"
"Papa wasn't here for a long time," Iðuna said as she looked up at him," but eventually he found us, and it made me really happy. I think your kid will be happy to find you after a really long time too."
Despite the tears running down his face, Tony was smiling as he swept the child up into a tight hug.
"Maybe you're right, kid... Maybe you're right."
****************
"Alright Sparky, time to light it up!"
They'd brought the parts they found back to the house. Tony brought the armor outside to assemble it so there'd be more space(and he didn't want Loki zapping his hair green again for scorching another wall).
Iðuna's eyes turned white as the lightening crackled around her. She put her hands on the suit and lit it up with electricity.
"I think we can call this experiment a rousing success kiddo!"
She giggled at his enthusiasm. Her smile turned into a puzzled frown as she pointed at the arc reactor in the armor.
"Uncle Tony, what's that?"
Tony looked to see a glowing orange light steadily getting brighter. He had just enough time to grab Iðuna and run before the suit exploded. The shockwave that followed shook the house and knocked them to the ground.
When the dust settled, they stood up and Tony checked the little girl over for injuries.
"You okay, Sparky?"
"Mmhmm....what happened?"
"I'm not sure...."
Tony walked over to the mess of parts, reached down to pick up the object giving off the orange light....
And came face to face with a very familiar rock.
************
A couple days later, they were sitting on the front porch when Iðuna spotted her parents entering the clearing.
"Mama! Papa!"
The little girl sprinted across the field and practically flew into her mother's arms.
"Hello my darling," Loki cooed as he cuddled her closer, " I missed you."
"I missed you too, mama."
"Anthony!" Thor boomed as he walked up to the house, "I trust you had everything well in hand?"
"Oh sure, just did some exploring....some arts and crafts.....found an Infinity stone..."
"That's goo......WAIT WHAT?!"
****************
"So, it was hidden within your armor this entire time?"
"Apparently, but it didn't make itself known until Sparky charged up the suit."
"Well that explains how you returned to the living," Loki mused as he stared at the Soul Stone on the table between them, " but why now? And why bring you here?"
"There lies the million dollar question, Bambi."
"Maybe we should store it somewhere," Thor piped up," at least until we get back to Midgard."
"We?"
"Yes, Thor and I discussed things while we were away, and decided that we didn't want to lose you anymore than you did us so....we've decided to come with you."
Tony was shocked yet touched by the declaration.
"I always knew you cared, Rudolph."
Loki rolled his eyes but the smile on his face was no less genuine.
Iðuna was thrilled and let out a squeal as she burrowed inbetween her parents for a snuggle.
"Hey I want in on the cuddle puddle too!"
Loki let out an amused sigh as he held out his arm for Tony to press into his other side.
The Soul stone continued to glow knowingly as it watched it's chosen wielder hugging his second family.