Long Road to Completion
As per Loki’s expectation, the process of going about fostering a child was more difficult than one would think. Pepper had done her research, and they knew the agency they wanted to go through. They were looking at fostering with the intent to adopt, which Tony was very excited by. Now they had to complete a homestudy. This entailed a series of meetings between Tony, Loki, and a social worker.
Luckily, not terribly long after Loki had moved into the tower, Pepper had the brilliant idea to give him a Midgardian identity. The others had quickly agreed, because no civilian would trust the crazy alien guy who had tried to take over New York. Besides, by giving him an earth identity, any thoughts of Loki being the same man as the one who had tried to take over New York would be pushed aside incredulously.
Tony and Loki had gotten married a few years ago using said identity which had been provided by SHIELD. Of course, if you’d asked them then, they would have said it was completely for tax purposes. Neither of them would deny that while yes, originally they had partially gotten married for tax purposes, that was certainly not the case now.
Pepper came along on a few of the meetings, just to help provide legal documents and ensure that all the proper NDAs were in place. They decided to hold the home inspection at the penthouse, and Tony was a wreck.
All household members were required to attend, so the entire Avengers team was there, barring Peter and Aunt May. Nat and Clint were playing ping pong in the corner, with Pietro speeding back and forth so that the could play doubles with three people, and Phil was silently watching them from a nearby corner. Steve was listening to Thor extol his childhood adventures, many of which Tony probably would have been fascinated with, had he been listening. Bruce was curled up against Thor’s side, quietly reading his book with a mug of tea close at hand. Bucky was flipping through television channels with Wanda, looking a bit bored and checked out, but Tony knew better. Tony himself was… alright, he was pacing. So sue him, he was nervous. This was one of the things that would actually determine whether or not he and Loki could foster a kid. This was fucking important.
Tony jumped a little when Loki wrapped his arms around his waist from behind, pulling the shorter man back against his chest and burying his nose in the inventor’s hair. “You need to calm down, love.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Snookums. I’m perfectly calm. I’m great. Wonderful, even. I’m totally not worried. At all. Nope. Not me. I’m never worried, why would I be worried, everything is going to be-”
“Anthony.”
“Yes, Dumpling?”
“You only call me this many ludicrous names when you get nervous.”
“What? Psssh. I’m not-”
“You are.” The team chorused, none of them looking away from what they were doing.
“I wasn’t-!” Tony tried to protest, turning to them, but he didn’t get much farther.
“You were.”
“Totally were.” Clint piped up from the corner, returning a wicked serve from Natasha and grinning triumphantly when she failed to send it back.
“I do not-”
“Yes you do!”
Tony gaped at Bruce in betrayal. “I thought we were friends, Brucie Bear!” He exclaimed, pressing his hands over his heart. “I’m hurt. My one and only friend has abandoned me. I’ve been left alone in the harsh, cold world, doomed to trod my forsaken path alone!” He mock swooned backward into Loki’s arms, unable to contain his grin when the god supported him easily and without question.
“Sir, Miss Brackett is here. Shall I send her up?”
Tony cleared his throat and stood on his own two feet, smoothing down his shirt subconsciously. “Sure thing, J. We’re ready. Right, guys?” He turned, and the whole team was on their feet, coming around him and Loki, and for a moment, he felt nearly overwhelmed with gratitude for this family he’d put together. They had his back, and they weren’t going to let him down any time soon. He took a deep breath and turned to face the elevator as the doors slid open.
Jean Brackett was a pretty natural blonde with lavender streaked through her hair. She, too had gained powers recently, though hers were significantly less destructive than some others Tony had heard about. She’d become an empath, a gift that went beautifully along with her profession. She and a group of her powered friends had been the ones to set up the first foster system branch for the special children. In the entire time Tony had spent with the girl, she had never stopped smiling or being supportive. She and her girlfriend, Amity had been one of the first couples to adopt from the agency, so they knew how nerve wracking it could be. The girl definitely had a Paris Jackson sort of vibe about her, and Tony wasn’t complaining a bit.
“Hey.” The genius turned on his billion megawatt smile, and stepped forward to pull Jean into a hug. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
Clint snickered, covering it up with a cough when Phil elbowed him in the side.
Jean grinned brightly at Tony. “Thanks for having me. I know we’ve kinda gotta, but I still can’t get over how, like, super chill you guys are.”
Tony beamed at her warmly. “Well, this is the team. You’ve probably seen them on tv and stuff, but here’s the real deal.” He motioned to each one as he introduced them. “Thor, Bruce, Cap, Barnes, Agent, Clint, Nat, Pietro, and his sister, Wanda.”
“Ah… Pietro and Wanda. You two were from Sokovia.”
The girl nodded. “We were.”
“And were you adopted by Mister Stark, or...?”
“We are old enough to live here on our own.” Pietro spoke up, fidgeting slightly, but doing well at staying still. Tony was proud. “Tony just helped us gain access to the country. Completely legally, of course!” His eyes grew wide as he realised that what he said may have seemed a bit shady, but Coulson put a comforting arm around Pietro’s shoulders, and Wanda placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Stark worked with SHIELD to bring the Maximoffs into the country. He brought the idea to us, and we went through all the proper channels to bring them here. We’re working on getting them citizenship as we speak.”
Tony shot Phil a relieved smile, and clutched Loki’s hand tightly. This was going well, but things could flip in an instant.