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One Day Down, Chapter 176

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“There you go again.” Tony rolled his eyes and started making some coffee. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“No, but had you bothered to verify then no one would be quite so tired this morning.”
Jarvis had been hanging around Loki a little too much and was even starting to sound like him a bit.
Tony stopped and glared at the air. “I did verify! I asked you to trace the call and you said it was Fury!”
“And the fact that I was blocked by enemy software is fault of whom, Sir?”
Tony opened his mouth to argue then scoffed and served his coffee. Nelim walked out of her room, giggling at Tony.
“A bit early to be arguing, isn’t it?”
“Don’t you start too.”
"Sir, I would like to remind you that you have three sleeping children and a powerless pregnant husband who is also exhausted."
“I know, I know.” Tony sipped his coffee and sat at the island. Nelim sat with him, sipping some tea.
“It’s good to see you back in your usual mood.”
“Yeah, I’m just glad you’re all back safe. I was worried when Loki took off.” Nelim furrowed her brow as she spoke.
“He does what he wants.”
"Is it true his powers are gone again?" she asked.
"It is true Miss Nelim." Jarvis answered. "Thor had done it for his own good."
“He can’t be too happy about that.”
“He wasn’t, but I’m sure he’ll cool down. He knows it’s better this way, even though he doesn’t like it.” Tony shrugged.
“Sir, Remus is awake.”
Tony nodded and stood, going over to the room and picking his son up in his arms. He changed the boy’s diaper and took him back out.
Remus was quiet that day for once. He watched Tony as he moved about and smiled at Nelim as she came by.
“Good morning little one. Did you have fun meeting your family last night?”
Remus babbled in response then began chewing on the apple slices Tony handed him. The inventor ate his own apple as well as he sat down.
"How is your wound doing?" Nelim asked.
Fenrir wandered out of his bedroom a few moments later. "I'm starving. Do we have any meat?" he asked.
"How about good morning first?" Nelim said.
"Sorry. Good morning Nelim, morning Dad." He greeted.
“Morning. Or as Jarvis said it, afternoon.” Tony smiled tightlipped.
“I was just greeting you Sir.”
Tony shook his head then checked the fridge before getting some stuff out to make breakfast for Fenrir. “It’s doing better actually. Those apples are a miracle; the wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it should have been and it’s healing up pretty fast.” Tony glanced over at Nelim, setting a few things out on the counter.
“That’s very fortunate.” She nodded, relieved.
"Did you use the salves that Papa has?" Fenrir asked.
“I rubbed some on earlier. I should be fine in no time.”
“Good. We can’t have Loki in pain without you to guard us from his anger.” Nelim grinned playfully and Tony gave a sarcastic smile.
“You’re so cute.” He frowned childishly then started making Fenrir an omelet with meat. “Here you go.”
“Sir, Ms. Potts is here.”
“Oh boy.”
“Tony, Tony, are you okay?” The redhead walked over to Tony, her face worried and Steve trailing behind her.
“I’m fine Pep I…” Tony was cut off as Pepper smacked him then quickly hugged him.
“You’re such an idiot. Didn’t you check to verify the call?”
“Yes, I did.” Tony pouted; why did everyone think he’d just stupidly run into danger like that?
"Where's Loki?" She asked.
"Sleeping, Pepper. He's exhausted and Thor had his magic bound until after the baby is born." Nelim explained.  Pepper nodded, knowing this meant Loki would be even more pissed off than usual.
“Hope you’re ready for him when he wakes up.”
“I’m never ready when he’s like this.” Tony sighed then shrugged. “But at least I have my couch and Jarvis can catch me when I get launched out a window.”
“Indeed I can Sir.”
Pepper chuckled and shook her head. “How are the cravings?”
“Still weird and random. You know he woke me up a couple weeks ago in the middle of the night to ask me to get him some chicken nuggets from Burger King.”
“I thought he hated fast food?”
“He does, the baby doesn’t.”
"Yesterday Loki woke up from his nap wanting Tony, but since he'd left I gave him ice cream and pickles to settle him down." Nelim said. Fenrir just made a face at this and thought about how weird his Papa was.
“Yeah, that usually does the trick. Works when he’s mad at me too. Then I give him a little shoulder and foot massage and he loves me again.”
Pepper smiled a bit. “What a charmer.”
“Hey, I have to survive somehow.”
Nelim chuckled and shook her head then stood to get an apple.
“Sir, might I recommend not getting him pregnant so often?”
“Hey, if he didn’t want to get pregnant, he could just not do it. He controls it with magic anyway.”
"I thought you were both ready for another baby?" Pepper said.
"You see Ms. Potts, they were trying for another baby but they lost the child but a few weeks before the Skrull attacked and kidnapped Loki. Without his memory, Loki had no recall that he'd changed his anatomy to begin with, so when they finally came together it, simply came to be." Jarvis explained.
Pepper’s eyes widened as she looked at Tony. “He miscarried?”
Tony nodded his head quietly. “Yeah.”
“Tony I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“We didn’t really want to.” Tony shrugged. “It was just easier.”
Nelim lowered her head then looked at Tony. “I am sorry to hear this Tony.”
Toki came out of his room at that moment with a loud yawn. "Morning." He greeted.
"Good morning Toki." Pepper smiled at him.
Toki smiled back then looked at his father. “Can I have waffles?”
Tony sighed but stood and went into the kitchen to start making the batter. “You guys want any?” He looked back at the others.
“Sure, why not?” Pepper shrugged.
"Is Papa okay?" Fenrir asked.
"He's fine, just tired." Nelim replied. Fenrir nodded, looking over at Remus and playing with him a bit.
Tony got started on the waffles, humming to himself quietly as he did so.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Nelim, I’m going dress shopping this afternoon. I was hoping you could come with me.”
Nelim’s eyes widened and she smiled. “I would be honored!”
“Can I go?” Toki asked rather excited, though he had no idea what they were talking about. Pepper smiled.
“You have to ask your Papa first.”
"But he's sleeping and I don't wanna wake him." He said. They had to ask Loki because they didn’t want him to freak out.
"I'll go ask him. Fenrir are you coming as well?" Pepper asked.
"No, thank you."
Tony chuckled a bit then finished making the waffles. “All right, waffles are done.” Tony set them on a plate in the middle of the table and let everyone dig in. Remus squealed and was about to dig his hands in when Tony sat him back and gave him one.
“They’re not toys and they’re not just for you.”
Remus giggled and started eating his breakfast.
Pepper knocked on the door before entering. "Loki?" she called softly.
"Yes Ms. Potts?" The god answered groggily.
"I'm going dress shopping today and Toki wants to go along. Is that alright?" She asked.
He hummed in thought.
"Nelim is going along as well."
"Alright." he agreed.
“Thanks.” Pepper smiled and went back out to the dining table. “Your Papa said you can go with us.”
“Yay!” Toki grinned and finished eating his waffles.
“Is he awake?”
“He was awake when I went over.”
Tony nodded then grabbed a few waffles and went over to the room. “Hey Sleeping Beauty.” Tony grinned and set the waffles on the bedside table. “How are you feeling?”
"Get them out before I get sick." He ordered. Loki turned over, already feeling his stomach turning at the smell.
Pepper got Toki dressed for the day while Fenrir looked after Remus at the table.
“Alright, no waffles. Should I bring you that nausea medicine?” Tony asked as he walked out of the room with the waffles.
"Yes." Loki groaned.
"So if Papa sleeps all day, what do we do all day?" Fenrir asked Tony as he came back in.
“I don’t know. What do you feel like doing today?” Tony set the waffles on the counter then grabbed some of the medicine for his husband. He got some tea ready and took it to Loki.
Remus sat in his chair babbling, trying to voice his opinion.
"Park." He answered.
Loki turned over again when Tony came in. "Thank you." He smiled softly.
Tony smiled, setting the teas on the nightstand and handing the pills to Loki. “Someone has to spoil you. Fenrir wants to go to the park. You mind if I take the boys for a while?”
Loki shook his head. "If I really need you, I'll have Jarvis call you." He said.
“All right.” Tony pressed a kiss to Loki’s forehead. “We’ll see you in a bit.”  He smiled then went over to the boys. “Okay, get dressed and we’ll go.”
“Yes!” Fenrir grinned and ran to his room to get ready. Tony took Remus and cleaned him off then got him dressed.
Loki settled back into bed. If Tony couldn’t reach, him the doctor was on call.
Remus was happy to go to the park and have a day out.
It wasn’t too far, but Tony felt better if they had a car to duck into. He took the boys to a small park that wasn’t too crowded and let the boys run loose. He had to follow Remus of course; the boy kept tripping over his own feet.
“You’re a danger to yourself, you know that?”
Remus squealed and tried to run then fell again.
"They all get like that at that age: they want to run but just fall over every time." A woman said.
"Hi, I'm Sandra. Your other son actually goes to school with my son." She said.
Tony looked at the woman and smiled politely. “Nice to meet you. Who’s your son?”
Remus babbled then ran towards the merry go round. Tony followed the boy, sighing a bit.
“This better not be like last time where you wanted to get off right away.”
Sandra laughed as she watched then nodded to her son. “That’s Jamie. He and Fenrir know each other pretty well. And this must be Remus.”
Fenrir and Jamie were playing and racing about with a group of children.
"Where are Loki and your third son?"
“Loki’s home sick. The baby’s really taking it out of him and Toki went out with a friend of the family.”
Sandra smiled a bit and nodded. “Tell your husband I understand the feeling. I couldn’t get out of bed when I was pregnant with Jamie.”
“Is he your only kid?”
“For now, yes. My husband and I are thinking of having another sometime soon. I’m just not sure if I’m ready to give up coffee again though. Some days you’ll going to have all the energy in the world and the other others not so much. Does he still have morning sickness?" She asked.
“Yeah, sometimes. It comes out of nowhere now. Most days he wakes up fine but then sometimes he just wakes up sick.”
Sandra hummed in response. “Pregnancy is horrible. Don’t get me wrong; it’s wonderful when you get to hold your kid. Oh but you wish the nine months didn’t last so long.”
Remus started babbling as if he understood what they were talking about.
"Such striking red eyes." Sandra commented.
“Yep, gets em from Loki.”
“And it’s natural, right?”
“Oh yeah. Yeah, he’s fine.”
Sandra nodded, relieved to hear that. “Sorry to ask but pink eye is just so common with kids that young.”
“Is it?” Tony looked at her curiously then started to feel a little paranoid.
"Yeah." She nodded. "Always make kids wash their hands and everything they touch needs to be wiped down. Remus you don't have to worry about as much if he's home with you, but Toki and Fenrir yes because they're in school." She explained.
Tony nodded. Now when he got home he’d have to sanitize everything and have the boys checked. “This is a lot of work.”
Sandra laughed and nodded. “Well nobody said being a parent would be easy. I guess your spouse sort of took care of it for you without you realizing it." She chuckled.
“He usually does. He just knows everything and I just kinda follow around doing what he tells me too.” Tony shrugged and smiled a bit, glancing down as Remus brought him a rock. The boy babbled curiously and Tony nodded.
“Yeah, that’s a really pretty rock Buddy.”
Remus squealed then ran off again.
"Start helping a bit more because soon he won’t be able to leave the bed by himself." She chuckled. "He's getting a bit far don't you think?"
“That’s as far as he ever goes. He doesn’t like to play if he can’t be seen.” Tony learned that the hard way. Loki eventually had to start pulling him back and just letting Remus get five feet from them before stopping. The boy paused and turned back then grinned and ran back towards his father. Tony picked the boy up in his arms and swung him around a bit, grinning.
"So what do you think the next baby will be?" She asked. "Hoping for a little girl?"
“I’d like a girl.” Tony smiled a bit then set Remus down so the boy could run some more. “I’ve heard little girls can be tough to handle.”
"Yeah they can be. I helped my mother raise my sister and she gave us a run for our money." She chuckled.
Tony smiled and nodded. “Everybody else keeps giving me a hard time about it, but I wouldn’t mind a girl.” He watched Fenrir and Remus run and play around the park.
"Just be prepared." She said. "Boys are rowdy and dirty and get into everything. Girls are sweet and quiet and they plot."
“Now I’m too scared to have a daughter.” Tony said jokingly and chuckled. After some time, the boys got hungry so Tony took them to a pizza parlor not too far from the park. “Alright, what do we want on the pizza?”
Remus began babbling, clapping his hands.
"Papa only gives him cheese." Fenrir replied.
“Cheese it is.” Tony ordered the pizza and they waited while it was cooked up. “You two have fun at the park?”
“Yeah, I saw Jamie there.” Fenrir smiled. “He’s nice.”
Remus squealed then pulled a rock out of his pocket. Tony groaned but forced a smile as the boy handed it to him.
“Thanks.”
Remus giggled, proud of himself.
"Papa said when he does things like that to just accept them, even if you don't like them." Fenrir chuckled.
Tony sighed and put the rock in his pocket. “Yeah, I know.” He glanced up and took the boy off the table as the pizza arrived. “Okay, dig in.”
Remus reached for a slice but Tony pulled his hands back. He cut a piece up and let it cool for a moment.
Fenrir smiled as he watched Remus tuck into his food.  He ate bit by bit, chewing it as best as he could with his few teeth.
Tony cut the pizza into smaller pieces so it would be easier for Remus to eat. He then grabbed a slice for himself, taking a large bite.
“This pizza is so good.”
“Are we going to take some for Papa?”
“I don’t know. I guess if he wants some we could order a pizza for him.”
"I think we should take it with us, otherwise he might think we forgot about him."
“Yeah, you’re right.” He went up and ordered another with Loki’s usual topping on it before they headed back to the tower. It was starting to get really cold since winter was so close.
Remus was babbling happily, looking at another rock he’d found on his way to the tower. He squealed happily when he was set down and didn’t even hold still so Tony could take off his jacket.
“Hold on, quit squirming!”
Remus giggled happily then ran off to show his new rock to Loki. Tony sighed and put away the boy’s jacket then took off his own.
Loki woke up as Remus entered the room. "Hello my little one." He said. Picking Remus up, he smiled at him. "Did you have fun?" He asked. Remus started to babble and show him the rock.
Tony went over to check on his husband and smiled. “He gave one to me earlier too. Oh, we brought some pizza in case you get hungry.” Tony went and sat on the bed with Loki and Remus. “How are you feeling?’
"I'm starving and I'm feeling a lot better." He smiled.
Tony smiled and nodded his head. “So does this mean you want pizza or pickles and ice cream?”
Remus babbled on and one then handed the rock to his father. The boy slipped off the bed and ran from the room, squealing loudly. Tony watched his son run off and shook his head.
“He gets that from you.”
"That's all you Anthony." Loki replied.  It was like when Tony started to get really excited about a project he was working on and then would run off to go work on it. "He's certainly your son and I want the pizza."
Tony chuckled and looked at Loki. “I’ll bring you some.” He kissed Loki softly then stood and went to get it. He went up behind Remus and scooped the boy up suddenly. Remus squealed, throwing his arms around and laughing.
Tony set the boy back down and grabbed two slices of pizza for Loki. He took them over to the room with Remus running through his legs.
“You’re gonna trip me.” Tony chuckled and handed Loki the pizza.
"Thank you." Loki smiled. He wasted no time in downing the food. "I want some more please and thank you." He told Tony. Remus crawled onto the bed to sit with his Papa and keep his company.
Tony took the plate and got two more slices for his husband. “It’d probably be easier if I just brought you the box.” He smiled a bit, handing Loki the plate. Remus began to babbled then tried snatching some of the pizza.
Loki ripped off a small part for him and handed it over. "There you go little one." He said.
"No this is fine." He replied.
Tony nodded and got comfortable on the bed.
“Sir, Ms. Potts and Nelim have returned. They seem quite excited.”
Toki walked in first. Dress shopping wasn’t as fun as he’d thought it would be. He went over to Fenrir and told him about how he spent most of the time hiding in the racks where they hung the clothes.
“Oh yeah?” Tony looked over as both women walked into the room. Pepper looked like she was brimming with joy.
“I found a dress.”
“That’s great! Did you pay already?”
Pepper nodded then went over and hugged Tony. “Thank you so much.”
"I'm going to be a bride's maid." Nelim smiled.
Fenrir just laughed at his younger brother. "Now you won't ever go shopping again." He chuckled. Fenrir had learned his lesson with his grandmother.
Toki nodded his head. “It was really boring because they said I couldn’t play.”
Nelim chuckled as she stood there. “There were actually two she wanted.”
“Yeah, but Nelim said I looked better in the one I picked.”
“It brought more attention to your face. I think it’s perfect.”
“Do you have a picture?” Tony asked. Pepper took out her phone and showed it to Tony.
“There it is.”
“Wow. How much was it?”
Pepper pursed her lips a bit. “Ten thousand.”
“Oh, I thought it’d be more.” Tony shrugged. “Well it looks great. Did you get shoes? Or whatever women do when they go dress shopping?”
Pepper giggled and nodded. “We’re going to look at shoes tomorrow and maybe some bracelets.”
"I'll never understand it." Toki sighed.
"Why not? You'll get married one day and the girl you marry will wear a dress then too." Fenrir pointed out.
"Then I'll marry a man like Daddy did." He replied.
"So you don't love Meron?" Fenrir questioned.
Toki blushed beet red in the face, pushing out his lower lip like Tony tended to do when he had no good argument.
“This really means a lot to me Tony.”
“Yeah well you really mean a lot to me too. Besides, you can pay me back by naming one of your kids after me.”
“No.” Pepper deadpanned.
“Why not? Anthony is a great name!”
“No.” She said simply then smiled.
"How is Loki doing?" Nelim asked.
"Oh yeah how is Loki doing? Any better?"
Toki blushed. Meron was different. "She's more like a sister." he said.
Fenrir grinned playfully. “Oh yeah?”
Toki pouted more then ducked his face into his shirt. “Yes!”
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