Bonding With a Mortal

Chapter One

Thor did not have long; he knew that the other avengers would know he was on Midgard by now; he could not risk them stopping him. He knew, in the back of his mind, it would have been better to wait for the cover of darkness, but when he discovered the treachery that was taking place he flew into a rage, and simply did not have the patience to wait for nightfall.

“STARK!” he bellowed, as he flung open the doors of the man’s workshop.
“whoa there big fella, something wrong up on Assgard?” he chuckled to himself as the Asgardian skidded to a stop. “Seriously though, are you okay?” he asked, concerned, after looking upon the god's face and seeing the fury etched there.

“HOW DARE YOU!” he cried. “How dare you believe that you, a mere mortal would be worthy of my sisters’ hand in marriage?” Tony’s face quickly lost the little colour it had. Thor looked again at the man he had once called a friend and examined him. He wore an old AC/DC shirt that was covered in oil, grease, and sweat, the glow of his arc reactor visible through the thin material. He was wearing baggy tracksuit bottoms that had once been grey, and his hair looked as if it had not seen a brush in its life.

Just then, Loki walked in, wearing a green tunic that had gold runes embroidered along the hem, with black leather trousers and black boots. She carefully sat in between the two men, seating herself on the edge of the workbench.
“Thor? I take it you’re the source of this infernal racket then?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “And Anthony, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost, are you unwell, or is it something my idiotic brother has said to you?” she said, with a light heartened glare directed at the blond.

“Sister,” Thor stated gravely. “I am aware of your… bonding with this… mortal. As are mother and father.”
“I see,” Loki said, looking up at Thor and twirling her hair around her finger. “And is there a problem regarding our… how did you put it? Bonding?” There was a smirk on her face, and she was obviously goading her brother.

“Loki,” Thor muttered, exasperated, “you know of the problem, and you know you cannot marry the man.” She looked confused now, standing from where she had been perched. She stood tall, looking at Thor curiously.
“I am unaware of this problem you mention, and so is my husband,” she emphasised the last word, as if to remind Thor again of their coupling, “so please, enlighten us.” Tony stood too then; stopping behind Loki and resting one of his hands on her shoulder, the other on her waist.

“Yes, do enlighten us, Thor.” Loki lightly elbowed him in the stomach as the man laughed quietly.
Thor stood, watching this small interaction between the married couple, and coughed to get their attention. They both looked towards him.
“Loki, I am sorry to have to be the one who tells you this, but you are betrothed to another.” Tony spluttered incoherently, while Loki settled back onto the workbench, looking rather faint.

“wait- no- I’m sorr- what?” Tony blurted, “who the hell are you engaged to?” he asked weakly, directing his question to Loki.
“That,” Loki stated, “is precisely what I’d like to know.” “now, Thor, are you going to take the liberty of explaining yourself, or am I going to have to extract that information from your corpse via necromancy?” she asked angrily, pulling a knife from her belt and threateningly running her finger down the bladed edge.

“No-“ Thor panicked, before calming himself. Loki was mad, yes, but they were still siblings, still family, and for all her threats he was still around. He knew she wouldn’t really hurt him. “Loki, I am not the villain here. So please, calm yourself, and perhaps put the knife away?” She set the knife down on the counter next to her, hand still curled around the hilt.

Tony moved to another workbench, one that was covered in blueprints for what seemed to be a spiderman suit. The wall in front of it had several pictures taped up there, mainly of teenagers. However, one photo stood out. Tony, Loki, and a boy he recognised as the spiderchild were posing, all laughing. They seemed happy, and Loki looked happier than he’d ever seen her. A loud screeching noise drew thor attention back to Stark, as he dragged a chair over to Thor.

"Sit. Explain, now." Tony left the chair and returned to Loki's side, taking her hand and sitting on the edge of the workbench with her. Thor wasn't quite sure when this had become his interrogation, but now he could clearly see that's what it was. He sat on the chair, feeling vaguely intimidated by the pair, who towered above him from their spot on the bench.

Loki glared at her brother, her black nails tapping impatiently on the hilt of her knife as she awaited his response. Thor sighed and looked up at his sister as he finally started to speak. "So... Loki, you remember the elven princess Aredhel, yes?" The woman looked confused for a moment, racking her brain, attempting to remember this mysterious figure she was meant to marry.

"I have no recollection of the one of which you speak," she stated flatly. Thor nodded. "Well, you've only met her once, I suppose." Tony raised an eyebrow. "Hang on- you want her to marry some woman she's only met once? What kind of bullshit is that?" Loki tightened her grip on his hand, whether to calm him or to calm herself none were sure. "It is not I who desires Loki to marry the girl, it's our parents. The deal was made long ago when the two of you were merely infants. I assumed you knew."

The sorceress scoffed. "Well, clearly you assumed wrong." she stood, pulling Tony with her and disappearing her knife. "You can tell Odin I shall not be marrying this woman. You can tell him that I'm happily married, to a mortal, and that.." she hesitated, and turned to Tony. "And that soon it won't just be the two of us." she rested the hand that wasn't in Tonys on her stomach to accentuate her point. Tony stood for a second, his mouth open in disbelief. "Wait- are you saying what I think you're saying-?"

She nodded, smiling. "I'm pregnant, Anthony. That's why I've been in this form for the past few weeks." Thor sat there silently, watching as Tony panicked. "Fuck- shit- fuck. I'm gonna be a dad. Fuck!"
The god just stared. "Why do you panic so? You already have one son," he nodded to Peters cluttered desk, "Why not another?" "Congratulations, by the way," he added with a nod to his sister, standing and pulling her away from Tony, wrapping her in a hug. She struggled for a second, before giving in and hugging back.

"Peter is not my son!" Tony exclaimed, looking confused. "Why on earth would you think that?!" Loki merely rolled her eyes and stepped away from Thor, who frowned. "If the spiderchild is not your spawn, why does he respond to son of Stark?" The mechanic shook his head, bewildered and just sighed. "Who the fuck knows?"

"I assumed you would..." he muttered. Loki looked at Tony, one eyebrow arched irritatedly. "So?" she asked
"So what?"
"The baby. You're okay with it?"
Tony stepped towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Of course I am, it was never even a question." Loki smiled and nodded.

Thor slipped out of the room unnoticed. While he didn't like the idea of his sibling being married to a mortal... it was a mortal he trusted at least. And she was clearly happy. He walked past the other avengers, ignoring their questions about his hurried arrival and quick departure and made his way outside, where he called the Bifrost.

He was about to make Odin throw a temper tantrum.