Happy (Belated) Birthday, Tony Stark!

5.

Whoever said Tony Stark was the most workaholic person they'd ever meet has clearly never met a pregnant Loki with a severe case of early-bird nesting. From the moment she woke up that morning, Loki has been on the computer looking at cute newborn onesies and cribs and stuffed animals and building blocks and everything a baby could possibly ask for if babies could ask for things. Tony chuckled when he first woke up, kissed her temple, and left her alone for the day. He was expecting the intense need to get everything done today to be over by lunch time. But when lunchtime rolled around and he brought up her favorite Midgardian soup with a grilled cheese sandwich (and a cupcake Wanda had brought over yesterday because those old wives tales weren't kidding when they said all baby girls crave is sweets--as if Loki's sweet tooth wasn't bad enough already) for her to enjoy in bed, Loki was still scouring the internet for everything they could possibly store in the nursery.

"Lokes, don't you think this is going a little out of hand?" Tony asks as he attempts to take the laptop away from her. She quickly tightens her grip around the sides, holding it firm atop her quite useful baby bump. Tony sighs as he sets the tray aside on the nightstand closer to her. "Loki, darling, we've got four more months left."

"And I want to be prepared for when Princess makes her grand entrance!" Loki counters, her eyes gliding across the screen as she tries a different website. Maybe this 'Babies R Us' store will have more than the trusty Amazonians. "We're four months out and we have nothing in the nursery! No wallpaper, no color scheme. For Hel's sake, we don't even have a name for her!"

Loki leans back against the mountain of pillows she's set up to meet Tony's gaze. Her lips pull down in a small pout. Tony sighs again. He's always conflicted when he sees that pout. On one hand, it's incredibly adorable and Tony wants to stare at it all day. But on the other, that means Loki's unhappy and he can't stand to see Loki unhappy; pregnant or not. It's not long after she meets his gaze that Tony spots the tears starting to build up in her eyes. Like it's just now sinking in that while the pregnancy seems to be taking forever because all they want to do is hold their precious daughter, time is doing the exact opposite and they're four months out now but if they don't start doing something soon, they'll run out of time. Tony frowns. Loki sniffles a few times.

He takes the laptop from off her lap and deposits it on the dresser at the other end of the room as he rounds the bed and slides in bed beside her. She immediately curls into his chest, resting her ear right against the arc reactor. She likes listening to the mechanical whirl of it all when she feels down. It grounds her somehow. Reminds her that Tony's there. That he promised to always be there for her--through sickness and in health--and he's stayed true to that promise. Tony wraps his arms around her tightly, one arm snaking around her back to keep her in place while the other rests on the section of soft skin where her hip meets her swollen abdomen. He runs his thumb over her hip before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She sniffles some more but this time Tony's unsure if it's because more tears have made an appearance or if he managed to calm her down before she started full on sobbing.

Tony presses another kiss to the top of her head before pressing their foreheads together and saying, "If it makes you feel better, we can start thinking of names now."

Loki sniffles, peering at him through her thick eyelashes, giving him her sad puppy dog eyes he can never say no to. "Really?" she whispers. He nods. She sniffles one last time before kissing him softly. "I love you." He laughs. "Now, I've thought of a couple already but I want you to feel included in this too. After all, she's your child too and I know how little you got to experience with Peter." Tony smiles warmly as he starts running his fingers through Loki's hair. "And she's your birthday present."

"Ah, then if that's the case, I say we name her Antoinette. Toni for short."

Loki laughs and shakes her head. "How about we don't."