"Loki, I'm not so sure about this." Natasha couldn't sound less like herself if she tried, the self-conscious quaver in her voice forcing Loki to pause just moments away from opening the door, green eyes turning to face her. He looked curious, confused, and all the more conflicted because he wanted this so badly to go well, but if she wasn't comfortable, well, he'd learned better than to push it. Withdrawing his hand from the doorknob he turned back to face her, his hands holding onto her shoulders as he squeezed gently. She avoided his gaze at first, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of her own weakness finally played out in front of her, and he caught her chin before she had time to retract from him further, worried that if she did they'd never address what the hang-up was, and he very much wanted to fix it.

"What are you unsure about?" He asked, quiet and consoling, and familiar only to Natasha in moments of extreme caution such as this. He didn't want her to go in with a defeatist perspective but a positive one. It was supposed to be a happy occasion, after all, not something that she dreaded.

"What if . . . what if they don't like me?" She asked, looking up at him, the flash of fear and worry chilling him to the bone.

He forced himself to smile and leaned down to press a slow, relaxed kiss to her lips. She liquified under his touch, molding against him, her fingers clinging to his arms, begging him not to let go. But let go he had to.

"They'll love you," he promised with a quiet huff when he finally pulled away, ignoring Natasha's quiet groan of protest. If she had it her way she'd distract him with kissing and touching and they'd never get anywhere. He knew her far too well. "Where is your sense of adventure?" He's back to teasing now, winking when her face turns to that of indignation for a moment. She hits his shoulder, his ruse working despite her attempts to ignore it, and she steeled herself. He took her hand in his for a quick moment, squeezed it and smiled when she returned the gesture.

"Come now, a smile will make you much more likable," he teased, hand flitting back to the doorknob and twisting. There was a quiet creak as it opened, and a low whine from inside as those within caught the scent of the approaching figures. Natasha did her best to quell her fear, thinking it would only make it worse, but she couldn't help the way her eyes flew wide, or how her feet stuttered just paces behind Loki.

The wolf was what took her by surprise first, sitting back on his haunches and nearly as tall as she was with thick grey and black fur, which was being stroked by a younger woman, a sickly looking woman with skin whiter than death and black eyes that turned on the pair of them. While Loki smiled and greeted them all with a murmur in a language not even Natasha knew (though, looking back she'd assume it was Norse, or else something familiar to those of Asgard), Nat couldn't help but hold back. The wolf had turned its great head to face hers, yellow eyes dilating as it sniffed once, twice, then stood on all four legs to advance on her. Natasha tried not to move back as he stepped closer, Loki introducing him as Fenrir, his son of Angrboda the giantess, his own hand reaching out to stroke the wolf's soft fur. And it was soft, Natasha found out as she stuck her hand out, palm open, as she'd been taught to do with any dog she'd ever met (even as her mind screamed at her that there was no way in hell this was a dog-this creature was far too wild and enormous to be even put in the same class.) The large nose twitched as he sniffed the extended appendage and Natasha tried not to think of how easily he could open his mouth and snap off her arm. If the stories were to be believed he'd done it before. Fenrir seemed to sense her discomfort and his eyes narrowed in the slightest of motions, tail lowering a little as it brushed the floor.

Natasha nearly choked on air as she forced herself to smile, to tell herself it was alright. "Hello Fenrir," she murmured, voice as unthreatening as she could make it as she held herself still. Well, mostly. She couldn't stop the shaking entirely. He sniffed at her again, large ears twitching, and eventually pressed his nose into her hand, then the top of his head, allowing her to ruffle the thick, coarse fur on the top. There was a soft tuft just behind his left ear that she scratched gently, and the keen that left the large wolf's mouth ran through her body. Or maybe that was the way his right leg twitched as he leaned into the motion, completely wrapped up in the sensation of her scratching behind his ear. His tail swished hard on the floor and Nat was reminded of an overly excited puppy finally getting some attention. Her fear shattered she stepped closer, allowing herself to grin as she moved her fingers up to rub his ears and oh they were soft! His eyes had closed and she swore she saw him grinning as she switched ears.

"A pity. I could've used another warrior's soul below," the young girl said, her arms folded over her chest as she watched the pair of them, face conflicted as she watched her brother and the redhead in front of her bond. "My name is Hela, I'm the queen of the dead." She sounded a little smug of her title, and Natasha afforded her a smile. Like father like daughter, she supposed, and when she extended a hand the girl's skin was ice cold. It was all Natasha could do not to shudder at the sudden shock of cold. She supposed that ran in the family, too. Fenrir had turned to his father and was rubbing his head on Loki's palm, though the man wasn't staring at his son. His eyes were too focused on Natasha to notice much else, and he was smiling widely as he watched Hela pick up a quick conversation with Natasha about the death count of her last mission. The woman seemed impressed, and Nat let herself get distracted from the nerves she still had rolling around in the pit of her stomach. When Loki had told her that he wanted her to meet his family she'd assumed Thor, Frigga, and maybe even Odin if the god of mischief was feeling particularly generous with his feelings. She'd never anticipated meeting his children, knowing that while this was a symbol of his trust it also meant he expected this to go on for some time. That she would be a . . . would she be a stepmother to them? The concept was strange, especially when she considered calling Fenrir a son. And then there was the matter of his other children. Sleipnir was sure to be fine, but Jörmungandr? If the rumors and Thor's stories were true then she was in way over her head. Literally.

"Natasha, are you listening to me?" Hela asked, tipping her head to the side and narrowing her eyes. She hated being ignored, as so many people seemed to do according to Loki, especially when they had prayed to the deities at night.

"I'm sorry I zoned out," Natasha admitted, figuring the truth was better than the lie, and though frustration shone in the goddess's eyes there was understanding as well, and Nat assumed surprise that she'd actually been told the truth. That couldn't have been often. The young girl repeated what she'd said, complimenting Natasha on her excellent fighting technique and that the souls that she'd sent down had barely been ravaged. Natasha thanked her, and the conversation went on for some time until Hela had to return to the underworld. She smiled at Natasha before she left, the gesture small but significant. How many people could say that the queen of the dead smiled at them while they were still alive? Loki had come to stand at her side, his son having sit down beside them to listen, dozing off in the process. As Natasha looked down at him she wondered how she'd ever been nervous about meeting them, though she supposed of all of them these two were likely the least threatening.

She couldn't help but give a tiny tremor at that idea. Damn.

"Did you enjoy seeing them?" Loki asked, smiling broadly as they walked back to the tower. It was clear he had; there was a spring in his step that there hadn't been for some time, and his hand was laced tightly with hers. He brought it up to his lips, kissing the back. "They thoroughly enjoyed you. Hela says I'm to bring you down to visit her some day."

"Does she? Hopefully not to stay," Nat said as a joke, though there was some truth laced in her words. Loki just smiled and shook his head.

"No, pet. Not to stay. Just to visit with her. She gets lonely and I cannot always spare the time. And I thinks he longs for a mother." He admitted the last after a long pause, swallowing hard and looking up. "Her mother wants very little to do with her, and Hela is not quick to forgive any slights. I am not certain they will ever speak again."

"Her mother doesn't ever visit?" Natasha asked, confused.

"No, her mother is dead," Loki said, frowning over at her, as though realizing he'd not been truthful from the get go. "Angrboda has been dead for some time. She is the mother to Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hela, and she was the first woman, well, I'm not certain you could call it love but I was very attached to her. Shortly after she gave birth to Hela she died, and though they live closer than my daughter and I, her mother is very aloof and solitary. It was what I liked so much about her."

Nat absorbed as much as she could, thinking it over. "So she's never really had a mother figure, has she?"

"She's not had much of a parental figure in general, my poor darling. While Fenrir and Sleipnir were able to stay on Asgard, at least for some time in Fenrir's case, I was able to see them frequently. Hela was given the underworld almost instantly, and Jörmungandr, once he grew, was put to use as well." He bit his lip and stopped just as they stepped into the tower. "I'm sorry to have thrown you into meeting them without all the facts; I should have been more honest."

"It's fine," Natasha assured him before she could really think about what she was saying. But it was, really, when she thought about it. She could never have children, so why not act the mother to those who needed it? Even if she didn't do the best of jobs, it was better than nothing she supposed. She squeezed his hand and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "So, when do I get to meet the next two?"

A/N:

Hello! I'm back with another multi-chaptered prompt fill =] This time many thanks go to menolly23 who wanted to see Loki introducing Natasha to his children. I promise there will be more to come, in which Nat meets Jorgamund and Sleipnir, and then a bonus family reunion! So that's what we've got to look forward to =] I hope you liked!

A note about the [likely many] mythological/MCU inaccuracies: I did take a few liberties with what I learned both about myth and what I found out about the characters in the MCU, so if any of this offends you I'm really sorry about that. If there are any terrible, glaring mistakes please feel free to point them out to me and, if they're not part of what I have planned, I'll be sure to fix them.

Thank you so much for reading!

Title of the piece comes from the song "Smother" by Daughter. Gorgeous song