Tony hadn't had a breakfast this big since Christmas. Sure, they had nice breakfasts while they were in space, but it was nothing this extravagant. Was everyday like a holiday here? There was so much food spread out on the table in front of him it was overwhelming.

    But not as overwhelming as the silence at the table.

    He had been sitting there with Spencer, Bruce, and Brunnhilde for a while now, and they had hardly spoken a word. It was unusual, as normally his friends were incredibly talkative. They were short, seeing as Heimdall was guarding the new Bifrost and Korg, Miek, Rocket, and Groot were out wandering somewhere in the palace. Tony guessed they weren't in the mood for breakfast. Or at least not what humans and Asgardians deemed breakfast. Even without the rest of them at the table, Tony thought the silence between them was strange. What was really puzzling was the fact Thor, Loki, Anja, and Layla still hadn't made it down to eat. It certainly wasn't like Thor to miss a meal.

    "Any idea where the others are?" he asked, breaking the unnatural silence.

    It was Spencer who spoke up first. "Going to guess they're sleeping in," she stated with a shrug. "You know they were probably up late now that they've had some privacy."

    "Consider yourselves lucky you weren't in the medbay with Anja and Loki," Bruce shuddered. "Public display of affection doesn't even begin to cover it."

    Tony shook his head. "Ugh. Spare me the details," he said, unable to hide his disgust. "Trying to eat here."

    "Oh, for shame, Stark," another voice joined the chat. "I thought you'd love to hear about our escapades."

    Tony glanced up from his plate to see Loki and Anja standing at the end of the table. Loki was smirking down at him, obviously feeling rather proud of himself. Anja's arm was linked tightly with his, and her free hand rested on his bicep. She was smiling- something that Tony hadn't seen in quite some time between the separate journeys in space and the fight in the medbay last night. She was dressed in a short black dress, which was unusual for a mere breakfast. But what really caught Tony's attention was the golden tiara nestled in her hair. Something was up.

    "No, I'm quite alright," Tony insisted. "What's up with the tiara?"

    Anja continued to smile, blushing slightly.

    Loki answered for her, "You'll find out in due time, Stark. I don't think it's fair to share the news while we're missing part of the group."

    News? That got Tony's attention. What could possibly have happened since they had been back that was newsworthy enough to have an announcement? All he had done since they'd been there was shower and sleep. Surely that wasn't worth broadcasting to the entire group. His rational side kicked in, reminding him that there was a tiara involved and certainly that meant a lot more than sleeping and bathing.

    The snarky remark died in his throat as he saw Thor and Layla enter the room, looking just as jubilant as Anja and Loki. Something was definitely up. It was only further confirmed for him as Thor and Loki shook hands, bumping shoulders in the process. Since when were they buddy-buddy again?

    "About time you two showed up," he called out to them.

    Thor laughed. "Sorry we are late, friends. Time escaped us this morning."

    "Riiiiiiiight," Brunnhilde replied, a sly smirk on her face.

    Tony decided he was going to cut right to the chase. "Your brother said you had news to share?"

    Thor smiled, glancing at his brother. "Ah yes. We have a few things to announce this morning. Let us sit, and we shall discuss it all."

    Thor, Loki, and the girls sat down at the head of the table; Thor and Layla sat on one side, while Anja and Loki sat across from them. The four of them took a few moments to get situated and put some food on their plates. Tony waited anxiously for someone- anyone- to break whatever these announcements were. They had to be important if Loki wouldn't break the news without Thor being present. The two of them had rarely been on the same page this entire adventure, so that alone proved to Tony that this news was a big deal. Anything that put them on the same side had to be. After what seemed like an eternity, and after filling his plate, Thor cleared his throat.

    "So uh... just a couple of things," he started, taking a deep breath. "First of all, there are going to be some changes around here." He paused for a moment, exchanging a glance with Loki before looking down the table at the rest of the group. "As of last night, I will be sharing the throne with Loki; he and I are both to be king."

    If Tony had been drinking something, he would've spat it out. Loki? As King of Asgard? There was no way that wasn't going to be a disaster. "You've got to be joking," he retorted.

    "I'm dead serious," Thor answered, deadpan.

    "Dead is what you're going to be if you allow that arrangement," Tony assured. "You've given him exactly what he wants, and now that he has it, you don't think he would try to betray you?"

    "I am right here Stark," Loki pointed out, obviously annoyed. "I can hear you."

    Thor ignored his brother's snarky response, and looked directly at Tony. "My brother has done nothing in recent times to warrant suspicion- from you or anyone else," he responded. "His misdeeds are in the past. Loki is my equal, and it is time he is treated that way." Thor paused for a moment, seemingly waiting for a challenge to what he had just said. When no one said anything, he continued, "We balance out the other's weaknesses, and thus ruling together just makes sense."

    Tony shook his head. He hadn't always been this against Loki, but between carrying the Tesseract around for months without mentioning it- putting them all at risk, and just handing it over to Thanos definitely soured any good he had done since Christmas. "It's just an accident waiting to happen. Mark my words."

    "I'm not changing my mind," Thor reiterated sternly. "That being said, with this arrangement comes others. For now, Layla and Anja both are consorts."

    "But what about the tiara?" Bruce piped up curiously. "Why does Anja have one but not Layla?"

    "It's my way of showing that I am serious about our relationship," Loki explained. "I intend- in time- to make Anja my queen."

    Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Anja, as queen? Another trap, surely, but before he could say anything, Spencer spoke.

    "So, you're engaged?" she asked, cutting into her eggs carefully.

    "Sort of?" Anja answered unsurely. "I think there's still some formalities that haven't been addressed, and we're not exactly rushing into marriage. It's... not really the time for that right now. We have bigger things to worry about."

    "Which brings us to our next point," Layla chimed in.

    "We've arranged a meeting with the old team," Thor announced. "I know it is not something some of us are very keen on, but we must work together if we want to defeat Thanos."

    The old team? No, absolutely not. "We don't need their help," Tony protested. "We've gotten this far without them."

    Bruce shook his head. "We need their help, Tony. You didn't see what Anja, Loki, and I saw. You weren't thrown around like a rag doll. We're lucky to have escaped with our lives. Next time, we may not be so lucky. We need the others."

    Tony hated it when Bruce made a good point. He hadn't experienced that, nor did he want to. But at the same time, he didn't want to seek help from the ones who put him through hell only a few short years ago. Someone he had thought was his friend had lied to protect a criminal, the man who murdered his parents. And then to have the two of them beat him nearly to death in Siberia? Seeking their help was the last thing to do.

    But he knew Bruce had no reason to lie to him about how badly the skirmish with Thanos went on Knowhere.

        He sighed, defeated. "Fine. But I don't trust them as far as I can throw them."

    "We know, Tony," Layla reassured. "We don't exactly want to do this either, but the universe is at stake here. At this point, it's for the greater good that we do this. We'll settle our personal grudges and issues after we defeat Thanos."

    "We knew this was going to be difficult for you because of what happened with your parents and then the whole Siberia fallout," Spencer continued. "It's why we wanted to tell you together."

    And that's when a realization hit him. "You all were in on this, weren't you?" he questioned.

    Anja nodded slowly.

    "Treason," Tony spat.

    "Look, I'm just as unenthused about this as you are, but we don't really have a choice, Tones," Anja said quietly. "We don't stand a chance against Thanos alone. He will kill us all without a doubt if we don't get more help." She paused for a moment. "Bruce is right. The three of us are lucky we're here now; I don't think we can cheat death a second time."

    Tony shook his head. "I get it... but I'm not happy about it. So when is this meeting supposed to be?"

    "We have set it up for midday tomorrow," Thor answered.

    "Great," Tony replied. "Sounds wonderful."

    The sarcasm was far too apparent in his voice, and he saw several of his friends frown. Truly, he didn't think he was being too irrational about this. Going through with this meeting meant he had to, at the very least, deal with Steve again. Admittedly he wasn't sure if he was ready for that, but at this point he didn't have a choice anymore. He was outnumbered, and that was exactly why they waited to talk to him about it together. He was just going to have to try to bite his tongue and get through this meeting without killing someone.

    He felt Spencer place a hand on his. "It's going to be okay," she said.

    He took a deep breath and resumed eating his breakfast. He wasn't so sure it was going to be, but he was just going to have to take her word on it.

*****

Hello everyone! Sorry it once again took me an eternity to get a chapter posted. Things have been a little chaotic here and I have had very sparse writing time. The good news is that things are improving and I think I have figured out a schedule of sorts again.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Hope to have another chapter up again soon-ish.

~arty_writes