Only Fools Love Monsters

It was quiet even though the small congregation of men inside, who were speaking in turns, created a dull roar throughout the large throne room. The two larger of the four seats set higher on a platform were occupied, while the rest of the assembly stood somberly before them at ground level. The smaller of the seats occupants had his sharp chin rested uninterestedly on his open palm; while the larger had his head leaned back so his soft blue eyes gazed jadedly at the high ceiling. The pair was thoroughly uninterested with the conversation taking place before them and had no intentions of becoming involved anytime soon. That being said, while neither would admit it, but they were relieved when a distraction came running, quite literally, in. The distraction came in the form of two small children, both with messy black hair, one with dark chocolate eyes and the other with bright emerald ones.
"Lofn and Triggr, get back here this instant! For the love of God! Your father is in a very important-" The voice cut off as its owner came rushing into the room, brown hair as untidy as ever and cheeks flushed embarrassedly. "I apologize; I tried to keep them out."
"No, it is fine; I believe we were finishing up anyway!" The smaller man said with a smile as the two children climbed clumsily onto his lap.
"But, sir, we have many more things to-" the voice of one of the congregation was cut off as the larger man held up his hand.
"No, my brother is correct, we are bored out of our minds and therefore this meeting is adjourned. Good day to you all." The pair held back grins as the men left in a displeased, aggravated state.
"Now that that is over," the smaller man said with a roll of his eyes, "what is it that you two needed?"
"Papa," the brown-eyed boy, Triggr, warbled, "daddy wouldn't let us see you!" His green-eyed counterpart, Lofn, nodded in agreement.
"Oh, I see," the man raised his eyebrows animatedly at the nearly identical pair, "is this true?" He looked up at an exasperated body now slumped tiredly in the slightly smaller seat beside his own with a smirk.
"Daddy said we weren't allowed! But we said we can do what we want because we're your sons and you're the king and you can do whatever you want!" Lofn said so seriously that it was getting very hard for the man to keep a straight face.
"Yes, but you must remember that if your Father tells you that you can't do something then you must not do it, no matter what." The tired man beside him sent a grateful smile his way.
"But you're the king!" Triggr stated matter-of-factly.
"You must not forget, you two, that your Father is king as well." The smaller said with a slight frown.
"But if uncle is king also," Lofn pointed at the larger man, who was watching the scene from his seat, "then that means there are three kings!"
"Yes, your father, your uncle, and I are all kings and your aunt is your uncle's queen. And together, the four of us rule the kingdom very well!"
"But, why isn't Daddy a queen? Aunty has a little throne like Daddy, but you and uncle have big thrones!" Lofn said
"Your Daddy is a man, and men are not queens, they are kings." He didn't miss the suggestive smirk that passed over the man's lips who sat in said smaller throne. "Your daddy has a smaller throne because we only had four thrones and since your uncle and I were kings before your Daddy and aunt, they have to have the smaller ones."
The twins nodded in understanding before hopping off their Father's lap, both declaring they were going to go play before rushing out of the room as quickly as they had entered. Their four-year-old, less-than-graceful footsteps could still be heard even after they were out of sight.
"Speaking of my queen," the larger man said with a grunt as he stood from his seat, "I'm going to go find her."
"Very well, Thor, tell Sif to wrap her feet instead of wearing shoes, by the way, it helps with the swelling."
"Thank you, Loki, I will be sure to pass on the information," Thor gave his brother and the slumped figure beside him a smile and a nod before walking out.
"Tired, Anthony?" Loki smiled as he ran a hand down his own face.
"Very," Tony grumbled, running a hand through his messy hair.
"Come here," Loki sighed as he stood, scooped up the tired Tony, and sat back in his throne with Tony set atop his lap, "what's the matter?"
"It's nothing," Tony said as he curled into the other God's chest, breathing in the smell of leather and metal.
"You know you can't lie to me," Loki whispered into his hair, "just tell me."
"Do you ever regret it?" Tony said so quietly Loki almost missed it.
"Regret what?" The mischief-maker asked worriedly.
"Me, maybe," Tony took in a shaky breath, "marrying me, maybe."
"Anthony!" Loki said with surprise, "why would you ever think I would do that?"
"Because… wouldn't you rather have a queen at your side?"
"A queen?" Loki laughed, "What would I ever want a queen for? To bear my children? I already did that. Is it because you are treated as a queen? Because I can give you more kingly duties, you can come to war meetings and have a larger throne."
Tony looked up into Loki's eyes and smiled, "no, you can keep your 'kingly duties', I'll stick to my days of leisure if you don't mind." Tony laughed sincerely and nuzzled the crook of Loki's neck, "it's just, I know some people give you a hard time about me."
Loki stared down at the other god and kissed the crown of his head, "do you not remember that day that Pepper made us attend that charity ball all those years ago and that awful woman approached us? Do you remember what I told her? I told her: 'Woman, I can assure you that while we sit on the throne of Asgard, never will you enter our thoughts, because your narrow-mindedness has set you far, far below us'." Loki took hold of Tony's left hand with his own and held it out so they could both see the matching golden bands worn as proudly as two gods should wear such a symbol. "I meant what I said, my love. As long as you are by my side, no one can hurt me. We are the god of mischief and the god of rebirth, the fathers of Lofn and Triggr, the kings of Asgard! This is how it was meant to be, this is how it will always be, and this is how I want it to be. If anyone should regret anything, it's you! Because I still am not sure why it is me you chose to be with for the rest of your life."
"Perhaps I am a fool, Loki, for loving you," Tony said softly, "but if that is so, I will remain a fool for the rest of my life."

Notes