An Explanation
“I think…” Loki said hesitantly, partly to Clint and mostly to himself, “I think he was upset.”
Clint scoffed. “What was your first clue, man?”
“Who’s upset?” Steve asked, walking in, a bagel somehow already in hand.
“Tony.”
“Oh. Wait, why?” The blond looked at Loki in confusion.
“I… would assume because he… wants a child? I must confess, I am not sure, and that troubles me. I thought that Anthony and I were past him being shut off about what bothers him.”
“Where’d he go?”
“He said he was going to the workshop, I believe.”
“Sir is currently in his workshop, playing with the bots, Mr Laufeyson.”
“Thank you, JARVIS.”
“Anytime, sir.”
“You should talk to him.” Steve offered, taking a bite of the bagel. “If something’s bothering him, he usually tells you at least. You two have been doing so well with communication. If it’s something that he’s deliberately hiding, you need to work on it so that you don’t lose all that progress you’ve made.”
“Wow, look at you, Cap, going all Dr Phil on him. Good for you.”
Steve made a face. “No. Just… no. I’m gonna go find Bucky. Does anyone-”
“Sergeant Barnes is training in the gym, Captain Rogers.”
“Thanks, JARVIS.”
“Of course.”
“Seriously though,” Clint turned to Loki, a serious expression on his face for once, “You should talk to him. All of us are really proud of the two of you, particularly in how far you’ve come with getting him to open up. We’d hate to see him go back to hiding everything from us again.”
“I… will go talk to him. Once I’m finished eating. If he’s retreated to his bots, then I’m going to guess he wants to process… something. If he comes to me with it, wonderful. If not, I’ll give him ten minutes before I seek him out. Thank you, for the advice.” Loki nodded to Clint, grateful that the… companionship between them, for lack of a better word, had not been permanently damaged by what he’d done while being influenced by Thanos. He resolved to wait a few more minutes before intruding on Tony’s workshop.
---
“Anthony?”
“Hmm?” The engineer looked up from playing with Dum-E and offered Loki a smile. “What’s up, Frostbite?”
Loki rolled his eyes and sat down next to Tony. “We need to have a conversation.”
“Oh?” He turned toward the god, a curious expression on his face.
“I am going to ask you a question, and I would like your answer, rather than a defense.”
Tony pouted at him, and he smiled softly.
“Anthony, why do you wish for a child?”
Tony winced. “I… I just… I had everything I ever wanted as a kid… except for Dad’s approval.” He smirked sardonically, tears springing to his eyes when Loki gently took his hand. “Y’know, I used to… throw my money at things - people - to get them to stay. I couldn’t see another reason people would want to stick around. I’m getting better about it, ask Pepper if you don’t believe me. “ He chuckled, then sobered again. “I just- I don’t want another kid growing up thinking that they aren’t worth loving or that they don’t deserve it. And, if I can keep some little squirt from becoming a supervillain while I’m at it… Why not, right? It’s not a huge deal, Lokes. I get it if you don’t want a kid. Hell, I get it if you don’t trust me with a kid. It’s just… a thought.”
“Oh, Anthony,” Loki breathed, bringing a hand up to cup Tony’s cheek, his eyes watering. “Why did you not say anything earlier?”
Tony shrugged, turning his head and pressing a kiss to Loki’s palm. “I didn’t want to actually make a big deal about it. I was just pestering you for the fun of it for the most part, but… I don’t know. It just kinda really hit home earlier. Sorry. I probably should’ve mentioned something.”
“Do not apologize.” Loki pulled the smaller man into a hug. “Let’s talk to Pepper. We’ll see what she thinks, and allow her to talk to her connections, yes?”
Tony nodded, eyes flooding again, but this time with happiness. “Really?”
“Of course, darling.” Loki smiled at him begrudgingly. “I could never deny you anything.”
Tony grinned cheekily, despite the few tears that had escaped and were now running down his cheeks. “Oh yeah?”
Loki rolled his eyes once again, pulling his lover into a kiss. “You are incorrigible.”
“But you love me.”
“Indeed, I do.”
---
Pepper wished she could say that she hadn’t seen Tony’s phone call about potentially adopting superpowered children coming from a mile away, but she tries to make a habit of not lying. She wished she hadn’t foreseen this phone call coming, but if it meant that she could get results to her favourite engineer that much sooner, well… Being right was okay, sometimes.