fossilised | It's AU time

It's AU time

Building 64 down in the East end of Brooklyn was not a fashionable place to live. The apartments were small, barely more than studio size, and the rent was pretty cheap. Not many people lived there permanently, most people only came and stayed a year or two to get enough money together to move onto somewhere better. But there were two residents who had been there a while.

Steven Grant Rogers, early twenties, who earned his rent doing tattoo designs part time to fund his college course, and occasionally dipped his toe into online art commissions. He'd moved in there when his mother had died four years previously, leaving him enough money to get by, but not enough that he could stop working. And right across the hall was Natalia Romanova, an aspiring ballerina from Russia. She was tough as hell, she had worked herself right through high school, paid her own way to America when she didn't even speak the language, and kept going through tenacity alone.

Somehow a friendship had struck up between them when Steve had been the first person not to look at her like she was an idiot or disgusting for not speaking the language. He'd helped her learn, and they'd been firm friends for the last three years. Everyone else was transient, coming and going, not really making an impact. Natalia had friends and a boyfriend outside of the apartment, but she sometimes worried that Steve never seemed to do anything but work and study.

Which was probably why he would be in his apartment when a loud crash sounded on the stairs outside. Said crash had come from a box of (now very broken) plates and bowls being dropped by the man just moving in to the apartment directly above Steve's, judging by the amount of cardboard boxes that were littering the hallway. He was tall, muscled, dressed in faded jeans and a hoodie with long slightly scruffy hair, leather gloves, and deep blue eyes.

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"Many people believe me to be an asshole as well."

Loren did not believe that was all of it. He knew Anthony better almost than he knew Thor, he knew the way his mind could be his own worst enemy and he knew that he was being lied to now. But to push would only end in an argument and the digging in of heels, he must make Anthony wish to tell him.

"And perhaps they are not wrong. I do not care for many people within this world, but you have brought out a better side to me. I believe we shall have a good life together, you and I, regardless of other worlds."

That was about as far as he could go with sentiment and still stay serious, for those were true feelings even if he did not voice them often.

"You have heard something about your other self which hurts you."

Loren was now, and always, entirely too astute. Tony groaned into dark hair and then laughed, already feeling more comfortable just by having someone else break the ice on the matter. “Evidently you missed out. You could have been with a genius version of me who flies around in power armor and saves the world on a regular basis.” That was the jist of the issue, if not the underlying cause. There was no way that Tony was just going to spill his guts about everything. Not even to Loren. He tended to keep all of his troubles to himself.

And that was true across the board in all version of the man. He was maddeningly willing to suffer alone and in silence with periods of being an asshole and acting out to deflect away from the cause of his unhappiness.

Being with him was maddening.

“What do you think about kids?” And there. That deflection. As promised.

"Do not be a fool, Anthony, why should I care what any other version of us does with their life? I care what you or I do, nothing else should matter, they are only us in name and perhaps face."

He certainly didn't want an Anthony who saved the world on a regular basis, he sounded far too altruistic for Loren's tastes. He wanted his mechanic who shared his selfish biases and loved him and only him. Which might make the issue of children a slightly thorny one.

"We are not yet wed, we have only been promised to one another for a few days, do you not think that is a premature question?"

Loren wasn't ruling the idea out. A part of him wanted something else that would love him unconditionally, but nor was he wildly enthusiastic. He knew firsthand how difficult adopted children could be, being one himself.

Though he’d never thought about kids at all, knowing that there was a version of him happily married with a daughter was nagging at him almost as much as finding out that the other man was a genius inventor who happened to be the leading contributor to green energy on the planet. What sort of money must that rake in? Too many thoughts and desires filling his head, Loren at least was able to at least help him address one problem.

Kids. Right.

“I’m not saying we’re going to start the adoption paperwork or looking for a surrogate tomorrow, Lore. I’m just-- Do you want them? Kids I mean.” The Loki from Steve’s reality evidently was a mother-- He wasn’t getting into that aspect of the tale right now either, it was too confusing. “Down the line. Eventually…”

It wouldn’t be a deal breaker…but Tony wondered if he could be a better dad down the road than his own was. And since Loren was adopted, did that make a difference to him too?

Loren knew Anthony well enough to know when a conversation could be diverted and when it was important, and apparently this was important to his fiance. So it would seem his other self had children and it had got Anthony feeling inadequate or concerned that he would not be able to achieve the same.

"I do not know," he said, though at least he was honest. "I have never considered myself a paternal person, but I do not hate children. I may wish to raise a child with you, in proof that we are both better than that which we come from."

Maybe not the most altruistic reason for adopting, but it was certainly a very Loren thing to think.

"You are concerned for the other Anthony has children with his Loren?"

Lying to Loren was like having to bite off his left arm, but telling the truth when his fiancé was vulnerable was not an option. So Tony laughed, as if trying to make it seem like this part didn’t bother him as much as it did. “It turns out that you’re the one with the gobs of children and I’m their shield-guardian…which I think is like an uncle and a god parent all rolled up into one. We aren’t together over there. Which is probably why you were such an ass to me in my dreams.”

He returned to slowly stroking his fingers along Loki’s bare shoulder, his eyes unfocused on the wall and his breathing a little more tempered than usual. He was trying not to let his emotion get the better of him but that was turning out to be a little easier said than done.

“Considering that you’re a different species…a Yoh-turn or something like that, it probably makes sense that you would marry someone else. I think you’d make a good dad anyway. You’d be strict and I’d be the fun one,” he teased.

They were not a couple. He stiffened in Anthony's arms, unable to wish to picture himself with someone else, nor Anthony with someone else either. He did not care if he were a different species, something which he would unpack later, he cared that he was not with the man he loved.

"You fear that we are not destined for happiness because we are not together in all realities," he said, his words quiet but sure. "You fear that I have another to love, and so do you, and you fear no longer finding contentment at my side."

If that was so, then Anthony may be about to break from him and he would not allow it to show how much that hurt. He would be cold and neutral and calm until he had dissolved their union, until he found himself alone.

"Is that so?"

It actually never occurred to him that Loren might come to that conclusion and that was because Tony was a selfish man. He felt his fiancé still and at the words, he could not help but let out a shallow snort. “What? No. Trust me, no.” He had no interest at all in Banner. He was interesting to look at, probably handsome to most people, but he was not Loren. Tony pushed his dark haired beauty over onto his back so he could lean over him and have this conversation face to face. There was no deception this time in his eyes, just a gentle surety.

He wasn’t breaking anything off with Loren. He loved him. The insecurity was more personal. And nothing that a different partner (or the same one) could fix.

“You’re not getting rid of me so easily. I just really like the idea of having a family. With you. And…maybe going back to school. I don’t know. I can do better than fixing cars for a living.”

That look in Anthony's eyes soothed the fear that he had been about to lose his fiance, going onto his back with an easy supine grace. His hands went to Anthony's hips and his own rolled beneath him in a teasing and 'accidental' manner. He was a sensual man, it had been killing him to think that he may never feel physical pleasure of this sort once again.

"What do I care for better?"

Loki kissed Anthony, words a dark hum against his lips. "If I cared for better then I would be a copy of Thor, I would have used the several degrees I have to work in academia. I care not for those things. I care for my own happiness, and that is found in books and personal betterment in my own time. Should you care to go to school, then go, should you be happy fixing cars then what matter is it your potential for other things?"

“So when did you get to be so good at the pep talks,” Tony teased, but he did feel so much better. He laid his head down on Loren’s shoulder and though he pondered seeking Banner out for medication to help him keep up with the younger man he would be marrying, he didn’t think about much else for the rest of the evening.

Tony would be grateful that his business did well when it came to getting Steve Rogers fed, however. He watched him house two pizzas by himself before Banner even showed up to ooh and aah at Loren and picked up the phone to call in an order for another round. “Where do you even put it,” he lamented. “Hollow legs? Hollow everything? Are you just skin and a receptacle for food?”

Steve blinked at Tony and then at the slice of pizza in his hand. He had been trying to keep count so he didn’t eat anyone out of house and home but…oops. “Sorry. It’s actually been a really long time since I’ve had real Brooklyn pizza.” After the world effectively came to an end and Wanda effectively brought it back again, not everything was entirely the way it had been before. It had taken a good decade to bring New York back online and by the time that happened, pizza had changed…and not, Steve thought, for the better.

Tony gave him a skeptical look before the intercom buzzed. Likely Banner. He got up to let the doctor in, though he did give a little pause on the landing halfway down to the garage. The hesitation was miniscule. He just didn’t know what he saw in the man and it bugged him.

It was Bruce, looking a bit frazzled from the long shift that he just finished at the hospital, dressed in slacks and a purple sweater that didn't do anything to make him look like less of a slightly nerdy professor. His curls were windswept, and his satchel bag was bursting with books.

"Tony? Hey! I came over as soon as I could, is Loren here? I'd really like to examine his back now, and get an explanation for how the medically impossible has happened."

He bustled up the stairs, all bright eyes and enthusiasm, only to run almost headlong into Steve's rather impressive chest.

"Oh-- Sorry, Dr. Banner."

"Sorry, do I know you?"

Steve just looked helplessly at Tony, he didn't want to do this again.

Oh. Oh like Tony wanted to do this again? And with a guy he evidently thought highly enough of to want to marry and have a kid with? Yeah. No. No, he did not want to do this with Bruce Banner at all. Ever. He kept waiting for something to happen and for his world to turn upside down already. Did he really need for this to help it along?

The answer was no. No, he did not.

Tony groaned and decided that he probably needed a drink, so he gestured for Bruce to follow him to the kitchen for some scotch. Steve could come too if he wanted. “So let me just lay out the short version, how’s that?” It wasn’t going to be good enough. He knew that. “The aliens are from another dimension in space-time. That guy is from another dimension too. He’s friends with me and you and a bunch of other people like Loren and Loren’s brother where he’s from. He brought some medicine from that dimension to fix Loren up. He’s stuck here until we all follow our dreams like good little Disney princess and princesses on Saturday morning. Do you take your scotch neat or with ice?"

"Actually, I don't drink."

Bruce refused the scotch with a small smile so as not to cause offence. He didn't drink because he had anger management issues, not something most people would guess about him, and he didn't like to risk losing control. It was safer just to keep himself sober all the time.

"But please, go ahead, you don't have to abstain on my account. Although if you had some water, that would be helpful, I found this in an alley bleeding, I think it maybe got hit by a car."

He pulled out a small puppy from where he had been cuddling it under his sweater. It had brilliant green eyes and looked almost like a wolf pup rather than a dog. Steve groaned when he saw the puppy and held his hands out for it.

"Fenrir, seriously? Your Mom is going to kill you."

"You have a dog?" Tony was not impressed, watching as Bruce handed over the large puppy to Steve, who gently fondled one of its ears. "You've been here for over a day, Steve, and you e just left it tied up in the alley?"

He filled a bowl with filtered water and set it down on the floor on a cotton kitchen towel, extremely unimpressed by having a mutt in the place. Even if it felt familiar. Maybe he saw it around the neighborhood before?

"And you should really lead with the fact that you have an injured doc with you," he frowned at Bruce, hefting one of his drinks because wow. Wow he really needed this. "Does it have fleas? Or rabies?"

"Sorry, I'll remember that if I find any more dogs, but apparently I've found the owner so--?" Bruce didn't look at all apologetic, taking a glass of water and sipping it as he found a place to sit down.

Steve looked annoyed as he held the dog out in front of him, scowling down at it as though it had committed a personal slight against him. He didn't mind Loki's kids, really he didn't, but Fenrir was the most troublesome. None of the others could shapeshift yet, and Fenrir had inherited his mother's trickster nature, the last thing Steve wanted was to be responsible for him for days.

"I don't have a dog, and I didn't even know he was here. He must have followed me through the rip, which means his parents are going to be worried as hell. Sorry, sorry. This is Fenrir, one of Loki's sons."

The little pup lifted his head and howled excitedly, tail thumping on Steve's chest.

"Loki's kids are animals? Oh come on." Steve was not a liar though. That was the one thing he would never be. And though Tony didn't know him, he did know that. Luckily, Steve didn't have to defend himself, not when the wriggling puppy broke free from Steve's grasp and turned into a child about the age of six or eight or... Actually, Tony had no idea. He just set down his drink and picked up the one poured for Banner before he downed that too. "Okay." No. No it was not okay. Damn it.

"Uncle Anthony, how did your hair get black again?" The boy threw his arms, one bloody, around Tony, who took another drink, before he set his cheek against his hip and frowned at Bruce. "Don't tell my mum okay, Uncle Bruce?"

The boy had an accent much like the one Loki had in his dreams. Tony tipped the glass back for a third time but it was empty. Great.

"Tony, stop drinking. Fenrir, come here, you know those aren't your uncles and you know we're in another reality. Pretending ignorance isn't going to get you out of me telling your Mom and Dad about this."

Fenrir scowled for a moment, before his eyes went wide and filled with tears, his bottom lip wibbling as he buried further into Tony's side.

"Uncle Anthony, please don't let him tell Dad. He'll tell me off, and I just wanted to come and see the new world, that's not bad, right? You're here to look after me, and you're my shield-guardian."

Bruce was just staring because... come on, he just watched a dog turn into a boy. He wanted a dog turn into a boy.

"If I stop drinking will the world make sense again," Tony asked, not touching the kid. Grown men did not touch strange children because that was how problems happened. He put the glass down but didn't refill it because he couldn't reach with the anchor around his legs. "Yeah. Didn't think so," he snorted at Steve before he thought to ask who the kid's dad was.

Fenrir looked skeptical. "You jest.

"None of this is funny, kid. None of it. So no. I don't."

"I am get of the All-Father and his consort. Thor All-Father is sworn compatriot in battle to you, is he not?"

Thor. And Loki.

Bullshit.

Steve reached over and literally grabbed Fenrir round the waist, but the little boy clung onto Tony and he had the strength of an Asgardian/Jotun hybrid, so even young he was more than strong enough to hold onto what he wanted and not let a super soldier take him away from this weird not-Uncle.

"He's telling the truth," said Steve, sounding weary. "Apparently incest really isn't such a big deal on Asgard, they're kind of-- old fashioned, and that they're not even blood related made it acceptable for them to get married and have kids."

Believe him, it's something that he's still not comfortable with. He knows how to hide it now, because he cares about Thor and he understands that his own societal norms can't be pushed on someone else, but incest will always be an abomination to him.

"Fenrir, let go! This isn't the time for this, these people aren't like you and I, and you're not being fair on them. Now sit next to me and stay quiet, before you get into even more trouble when we get back."

The boy reverted back to his wolf form, where he was more comfortable so he could bare his teeth in displeasure, gave Tony a sniff and then headed back to sit by Steve as if the whole thing was a big deal for no reason. He snorted and then plopped down, curling his tail over his nose.

Tony ignored Steve's look and poured himself another drink. "Sure you don't want one, Banner? No? Double for me."

He did not want Loren to find out about Fenrir. Or Fenrir's parents. Hopefully the kid would stay a wolf for the next four days. Hopefully. God. What the hell was his life?

He felt the alcohol grip him and he left the glass in the sink, stepped over the dish, and pointed at Banner. "You. With me." And at Steve. "You make sure he goes on newspaper."

That was an awful lot of alcohol for a short period of time, but Bruce found that he couldn't really blame Tony because this was a lot to take in. There was an actual shapeshifting alien in this apartment, and he was the love-child of a marriage between siblings. Male siblings. It didn't really get much weirder than that, so he was happy to leave the buff Steve with the wolf and follow Tony into the kitchen.

"...I'm kind of wishing that I did drink now."

Just saying.

"I think it might be better for all of our mental health if we try and avoid talking to them as much as possible until this is all over, because otherwise I don't see how we're going to live normal lives again."

"So we just ignore them? While they are staying with me? Did your mom raise you in a barn, Banner? A little manners go a long way." Tony was just bristled. He didn't actually mean to be accommodating. Thst just wasn't the sort of guy he was. Right now he was just being annoyed at everything. And that included the guy he married in another life who was being so... Interesting. Jesus.

He liked Banner before now, had the guy on speed dial really, but they tended to meet professionally only. Now he kind of wanted to see if Banner liked Thai.

Yes. Specifically Thai.

"Just.. Let's not tell Loren okay? If possible?"

"I think the only way not to tell Loren is to have them stay somewhere else."

He didn't argue that Loren had a right to know, because this was the sort of news that could screw someone up for life. He knew that if he had a sibling, and he learned that he was in a strange marriage with them in another life, it would probably make him feel dirty and disgusted with himself.

"I could take them to my place, I have a spare room that they could share."

It would be a tax on his patience, but he could handle it. He smiled at Tony, ever calm and ever level-headed.

"We'll work it out."

Don't you smile at me you stupid bastard, Tony thought to himself. Bruce was charming when he smiled, tired but self assure in ways that Tony had never been. He was so patient and inwardly calm and though they had known each other for only a few years, Tony liked to think that he and Bruce were friends. Generally. In that working relationship sort of way that people with office jobs had. "I would hate to put you out. But yeah. Yeah that would be great. I owe you dinner sometime. Do you like Thai?"

Why was his mouth and his brain against him? Tony turned to scowl at nothing as he led Bruce up the stairs and knocked on the door to the bedroom where Loren was napping.

"Lore?" He didn't want to just let Bruce in if Loren was occupied. "Are you decent? The doctor made a house call. He just wants to double check your back."

You know. That place where Banner and Tony had spent hours working on that no longer even had a scar?

Yeah. That.

"Thai sounds good, I like all spicy food. I actually travelled in India on my gap year, not quite Thai curries, but I got used to spices and a different sort of palate. So dinner in exchange for two weird aliens sounds great."

He grinned at Tony, having no idea that the poor man was having conflicting thoughts about him. He had never even considered Tony in that way, or any man, he had been with Betty for a long time before that went south thanks to his anger issues and her father. He hadn't been with anyone since, but he was pretty sure that he was straight.

Loren was like a cat a lot of the time, he napped curled up on top of anything comfortable with no shame for if he happened to be clothed or not. He grumbled and pulled on some boxers before allowing Anthony and Banner into the room to poke at his back. Bruce was astonished, but less so now that he had met an actual shapeshifter.

"Yes, thank you, I am aware that I am lucky and this is a great improvement. However, you fingers are less pleasant than those of my fiance, so even though I am grateful to you for saving my life, I would appreciate you stepping back now."

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