It was dark and damp…cold. There were echoes down the shadowy Brooklyn alleyways but that was okay…anything was better than where he had been. His forest green eyes were dark, heavy. His breaths came out in sharp, ragged pants but he had to keep going, for the baby. There was a tiny sneeze in his arms, he looked down with the only second he had to spare. The baby was pale, dying probably though he had no way of knowing. All he knew was that they both needed a doctor and that wasn't something he could afford. I know I deserve this, but he doesn't. The god prayed this silently, but to who he knew not. He was bleeding pretty badly now and near collapse…just a few more…he couldn't do it. Loki Laufeyson fell to his knees on an abandoned street corner, completely alone.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered gently to the baby, whose breaths were becoming more and more shallow. Loki had known the child might not survive the trip from Asgard to Midgard, especially since it took a lot of dark magic to get them there without the help of the bifrost. Loki's magic was totally drained now, he could hardly move. All he could do was rock the child…his child. That black hair and those beautiful green eyes, all his. However, that tiny face belonged to his adoptive brother Thor, who had fathered the child before Loki's imprisonment. If he had known his escape would cost him this, he never would have tried, though the baby would probably have lost his life anyway. Odin had put a pretty price on that little head the moment the pregnancy was discovered. There was a sharp pain running through Loki's abdomen, and he feared there may be another child, but he had not the strength to worry for its wellbeing. His vision was fading in and out…his son stopped crying…everything was obsolete. Suddenly, however, as Loki was about to slip into unconsciousness a strangely familiar voice brought his attention back to the surface.
"Loki? What are you doing here?" Loki recognized the voice as belonging to Steve Rogers and he fought to open his eyes to look at him. A few unwanted tears leaked out and Steve's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Captain America was a hero, he didn't care what Loki had done in the past, right now he was a civilian that needed his help.
"S-Save him." Was all Loki could pant out, and the soldier's bright blue eyes fell sadly on the baby who was stiff and cold in the god's arms. He almost didn't want to tell him.
"Loki…he…" He trailed off, noticing the labored breath of the man before him and the way he was clutching his swollen abdomen with the hand that wasn't cradling his dead son.
"Is there another?" Loki didn't know, and he weakly shrugged his shoulders. Steve knew that if Loki was still in labor there was a good chance that the second child wouldn't make it either unless he did something quickly. They were nowhere near the hospital, they would never make it in time, but they were only a few blocks from Roger's apartment and he could run there in a pinch.
"Hang on, buddy. I gotcha." He took off his brown leather jacket and wrapped it around Loki's shoulders, picking him up carefully and taking off in the direction of his housing complex. So many thoughts were running through his head right now. Loki was a man wasn't he? How was he pregnant? Who was the father? Where were the children coming out at? He didn't have much time to process it all as Loki let out an earsplitting scream and he nearly kicked his own door down in a panic. He laid Loki on the couch and attempted to take the baby from him.
"Let me wrap him up and put him somewhere safe, okay? You have another to focus on right now." Loki shook his head wildly and let out a deep, throaty cry. Loki knew somewhere in his mind that the baby was gone but he just couldn't accept it. He thought he had known true pain when he had found out his parentage but oh no, nothing could have prepared him for this kind of loss. Steve's large, muscled hands took the other man's slender face and held it gently, forcing him to look him in the eyes.
"I can't help you unless you give me your son, alright? I promise I won't hurt him." He ran his fingers through the god's silky obsidian locks and it seemed to calm him a little bit. He loosened his death grip just enough for Steve to take the baby and wrap him in a nearby towel, sitting the poor thing safely on the other end of the couch. Loki didn't understand…why was an Avenger of all people being so kind to him? Steve's eyes wandered curiously to Loki's pants and he nearly blushed…he didn't know what he what find if he took them off.
"U-Um…may I? I don't want to be―" A contraction hit Loki hard and he grabbed hold of Steve's shirt viciously.
"Just d-do it!" Steve didn't need to be told twice. He awkwardly fumbled around for a moment before ripping the pants off and glancing between Loki's legs. He tried to be a gentleman about it, but it occurred to him that there was no polite way to deliver a baby and he was forced to spread his old enemy's legs. There was definitely a penis and a lot of blood, so much blood. Steve's stomach lurched, though he held it together for the most part. He wanted to ask if the baby was coming out of….there but his question was soon answered by the slight crowing of the baby. Loki didn't look so good, tears and sweat pouring down his face like rain.
"I can't do this again…ugh! I h-hardly made it the first time…just l-let us die." He whimpered in defeat, his heart and body both absolutely broken. Steve's spirits remained high, however, and he had never been one for giving up. He took Loki's hand softly and moved it so he could feel the little bit of his child's head that was poking out.
"Come on now, you're so close."
"Why safe the life of the wretch w-who slaughtered your people? I am lowly…pathetic…" Steve's eyes were so tender and kind…so much more so than Loki knew he deserved. It honestly hurt to look at him.
"Because it's what's right. People change, who am I to condemn you or your kid because of something you did over a year ago? Could I be saving an evil soul? Sure. Maybe I am. But I saw the look in your eyes when you lost that baby…you can't hide that from me, I know your secret." Loki groaned as he pushed against another contraction, looking up at Steve with wide, terrified eyes, though he attempted his signature smirk.
"And just what would that be, man out of time?"
"That you can love. And anyone capable of love is capable of being saved." Loki wasn't so sure, but he had no time to comment as his last push as moved his baby's head so that it was pressing tightly against his bottom. It was time now, he had to try and get the head out.
"S-Steve!" Loki cried, much to Roger's surprise. He immediately reacted, ebbing his tears away with his thumb and reaching down to attempt to help ease the head out.
"Shh, shhh, it's alright, breathe. One, two, three…" The scream the god let out practically bounced off of the walls and rattled the glass of the small apartment's windows. It was the infamous ring of fire as so many mothers before him had called it. Nothing burned like the act of childbirth, nothing. Steve focused on the tuft of blonde hair that was emerging and very gently pressed the sides of Loki's bum so that the top of the head would slide out a little more.
"U-Ugh….ohhh!" Loki was so very close, but it also appeared that he was giving up more and more as the time passed and Steve was growing concerned. Loki had lost quite a bit of blood and he was so pale, the solider could only think of one thing to help, though it was going to hurt like a bitch.
"If you can just push the head out for me, okay? Just do that and I'll help do the rest as best I can, I promise." Loki took a shaky breath and incoherently nodded his head. He was fading in and out again, he wasn't so sure he was doing to make it. I don't care if I live or die…but…I can do this for my baby…he will make sure it is cared for. This was his last thought before he put everything he had into a massive push, the child's head emerging to the neck. Steve opened his mouth to congratulate Loki, but he took quick note that the poor fellow had passed out. He knew he had to act quickly or the situation could turn very fatal. He wedged his fingers in as best he could and grabbed hold of the baby's shoulders, tugging as gently as he possibly could. With some tedious wiggling he had the shoulders out in no time and after that the child slid into his arms with utmost ease. The baby didn't cry immediately and the super solider held his breath.
"Don't be dead, c'mon honey, breathe." It was a little girl, and Steve rubbed her back roughly, his pulse rising to an almost inhuman rate while he propped her up on his shoulder to help her airway. It took a few moments before there was a tiny gasp and a tiny cry filled the room.
"That's my girl!" He took a good look at her. Blonde hair, green eyes….she was adorable. Looked just like Loki in the face…a lot different from her brother. Steve wiped her face clean and kissed her forehead. He loved babies.
"Alright little one, now I just need to fix your…mother? Father? Parent…I need to fix your parent." Steve wanted to call an ambulance, but he was frightened of what they might do to Loki…his situation was less than what current medical science would consider normal. He could only think of one thing, and though he knew Bruce wasn't really that kind of doctor, it was the best he could do. Hang on, Loki. He thought to himself, taking a good long look at the mess of a man unconscious on his couch. He didn't know why he felt so deeply inclined to help him, and help him in more than one way, but he did. Who knows, Loki had prayed for a miracle. Maybe Steve was it.