A/N hello, I have changed the movie verse a tiny bit (very minor detail) and I have twisted the legend and Loki's sentence to fit this fic and I hope you like it. Please leave a review. This is a one-shot by the way and no, there will be no epilogue as I want you to imagine what comes next.
Loki twiddled his thumbs nervously. He hadn't told anyone yet. He hoped Odin would accept it- his mother would for sure. Would Odin accept his choices? He didn't know. He hoped his brother would support him too.
He hoped to tell them at breakfast but he chickened out. The hastiness of first meal was not the time to discuss such an issue; he was going to tell them at dinner, though.
So as everyone sat down at their respective places at the table he worked up the courage to tell them the news. But he didn't get a chance until all the food was cleared and everyone was about to excuse themselves.
Gathering up the little courage he had he spoke up in a very small voice, "Um… I'm pregnant."
"What, dear? I couldn't hear you very well, speak up a bit." His mother gently said mentioning for her husband to sit back down. It was rather out of character for him to be quiet about something.
"Um…" He didn't want to say it again, "I'm pregnant."
A collective gasp was heard around the table and immediately Loki's mother jumped in before Odin could say anything that was degrading, "Who with?"
"Urm… Svaðilfari." He said abashedly.
"How did you manage that?" Thor interjected on impulse.
"Thor, do not say such rude things!" Frigga chastised before continuing, "But, if you would be so kind, Loki dear, to tell us how you got pregnant. You are male after all."
Loki shifted uncomfortably, "I had to keep Svaðilfari away from someone, so I turned into a mare to lure him away from them. Unfortunately he took a liking to me and now I am pregnant. You can be as imaginative as you like with the details, just don't pry into it for too long. It might disgust your pure minds."
Odin, who had been silent up until now decided to speak, and he chose his words carefully, "If you are its mother then how will you give birth and raise it. Will you acquire a bump?" He stroked his beard attentively.
Taken aback by his superior's lack of shouting he calmly explained everything, "I will acqiure a bump, Odin. I will also become a mare to give birth to it and to feed it. I will need a few things though."
"What things, Loki? I will get them for you." Odin offered sternly.
"I need new clothes and a birthing stable. Unfortunately, my no-one- unless under very special circumstances- can know about this so please do keep it quiet. Especially you Thor, keep it out of the Avengers business until I tell them. I do not want them to ridicule me as I am sure they will. They also may tell Fury behind my back and I do not want that to happen."
"Brother, I am amused at your news but I shall respect your wishes, though you do need to inform S.H.I.E.L.D as they will need to know of your current status and if you will be out of action for the time being. One realizes that one still has to pay of ones debts. You didn't get pregnant on purpose did you?" Thor stated seriously, on another tangent.
"No Odinson, I understand that I need to talk with S.H.I.E.L.D.. So, when do you suggest we go mother?" Loki asked, still not used to calling her that after finding out he was adopted (he would never call Odin father again).
"You can go now; Odin and I need to talk." Frigga stared down Loki's forthcoming protests and pivoted so she faced Odin.
The two brothers got up and exited, one nervous the other amused.
"So are you really pregnant?" The Black Widow asked, bending down to stare at Loki's stomach.
Thor, Loki, and Natasha were located in her quarters after being ambushed by her. They had no other choice but to stay, as the doors had quite a few gadgets on them which stopped intruders and people escaping.
Sighing, Loki replied, "Yes, I would prefer it if you kept your mouth shut if you want to keep it working."
"Don't be so hormonal, preggers. I'm not going to say a word… yet. You still need to tell Agent Fury… Can you feel the baby inside of you?" She continued, bending down further to try and spot a bump, tilting her head to the side.
Loki tried ushering her away with his hands as he said, "No, the fetus is too small, though, the bump should be visible in two weeks. The entire pregnancy takes 5 months."
Foot steps could be heard nearing them, but regardless of the numerous securities on the chamber, both Natasha and Loki jumped from their positions into an alert stance. A figure could be seen walking from the bathroom, but Loki relaxed as soon as he saw the shimmer on what could only be Mjolnir.
Thor greeted Loki with a hello, and then regarded Natasha, who had bent down to get a closer look at Loki's stomach, with apprehension.
"Hello Loki, Lady Natasha? Why did you invite us here, if I may be so bold as to ask?" He questioned with an inquisitive tone to his voice.
"I am here because a certain person is pregnant and I wanted to know how he was doing. I know we haven't seen eye to eye and we both don't trust each other at all, but I think he can be more use to me an ally than and enemy." Natasha firmly said, straightening up.
"Is that an apology or a piece offering, Lady Natasha?" Loki asked with a glint of mischief in his eyes.
"Chose what ever one you like, I don't care." She said standoffishly. Suddenly she tensed up.
"What is it Lady Natas-"
Thor didn't get to finish his statement as Natasha clamped a hand over his mouth. When the overgrown child got the message she jumped on a near by sofa, reached towards the ceiling and ripped out a few panels of the air duct system with her bare hands, dislodging what looked like Hawkeye.
When he was up on his feet and not dazed, Natasha turned on him.
She shot him a look of disgust, "How could you eavesdrop on us? You really shouldn't be hanging out in air vents, you know I had to rescue you last time because the metal got too hot and you couldn't expand your bow and get out." She brushed some dust off of his shoulders and straightened his shirt as her expression softened.
Clint looked like he was about to say something but stopped when he saw Loki prodding Thor about something on his cape.
Loki, turning back to the unlikely party, realizing Clint was here, reached up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and violently threatened , "Repeat any of what you have heard to anyone and I will personally rip out your guts and spread the-"
"Okay, enough of that. Put Barton down and just make him promise." Natasha said, tired of Loki's empty threats.
Reluctantly, Clint was put down and was sworn to secrecy before Fury stormed through the security system in his dressing gown and slippers, staring furiously at everyone.
He walked around the group slowly, eyeing them up with his one eye, making them feel uncomfortable and fidget in the ranks.
"What is going on?" he demanded.
"Loki is going to be the mother of a horse." Said Thor, incapable of keeping his words in.
"Oh really? And when were you going to tell me Loki? After you have sworn the whole Avengers team to secrecy on pain of death? Or were you going to tell me after this little meeting? Or worse still, in the middle of a crisis when I need you and I can't get to you because you're looking after an infant?" Agent Fury was in a bad mood to say the least; he had not had his morning coffee. The agent had been woken up by the hushed voices and the clanging noise in the air ducts.
"I am pregnant and will be out of action for six months. I can still train, but not fight. I have feeling Odin will not want me to go home until the baby is due in five months. I need a further month to look after it until I can give it back to Svaðilfari. I would appreciate it if the information didn't go public, but I will need lodgings for the time being. Can't be too much to ask, can it?" The Black Widow gave a warning look at Loki but it was ignored and he carried on, "You cannot expect me to tell you every thing when you hardly tell us anything of importance. Oh, nice charade with Phil Coulson. He's still alive, isn't he?" Loki challenged and looked around smugly.
Fury, flabbergasted, took a step back to look at the unlikely gang and grumbled something about staying in Stark Tower with Tony Stark before exiting.
Natasha twisted around to look Loki in the eye.
"You can't say things like that and expect to be let off! Fury will end you! And how do you know Phil is still alive." Natasha reprimanded.
"I know that his trading cards we-"
"Where is that Bird Man?" Thor asked when he suddenly realized Clint was missing.
"I am on the wardrobe. Is Fury gone yet? I wouldn't trust him before he's had his morning coffee." He answered from the small gap between the ceiling and the top of the tall wardrobe on the opposite side of the room.
"Just leave Clint, guys. We need to pay a visit to Tony. And no more word vomit from you Thor, well, let's just get to Stark Towers first." Natasha said, glancing at Clint condescendingly as she herded the Asgardians out of the room.
"Don't leave me! Tasha! I'm stuck! Help me, please!" Hawkeye cried from his high place.
Sighing, Natasha ordered Thor to smash the wardrobe and be done with it, and with her clothes littering the floor she sighed and rolled her eyes.
What was with today which made everyone stupid?
"So Fury called, said you needed some place to stay. Got yourself into some sort of trouble with a horse, didn't you?" Tony glanced at Loki before turning his attentions to Thor, "Still wearing your mother's drapes, I see. You really need to get new clothes, do you sweat? Because you never seem too, and do you showe-"
"Tony! Focus. Can they stay here or not?" Agent Romanoff demanded, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Hold up Ginger Snaps! What are they going to give me in return?" he countered stepping possessively in the way of the door.
The Black Widow was on the offensive side now, "I'll give you a thick ear in a min-"
"We need a place to lay low for a while, Man of Iron. I am sure that you understand in our current position we have no where else to turn to." Thor interjected, placing Mjolnir between them, to lower the tension between the two Midgardians.
Weighing up the facts that Thor had a large hammer, Natasha could kill him 1000's f ways (and none of which were pleasant), and Loki had reams and reams of magic and most likely hormonal, he stepped aside.
"Fine, Goldilocks, Rock of Ages, you guys can stay here, but please,. no wild horse sex. I don't feel comfortable with beastiality is all." Tony Stark remarked with a hint of sarcasm before welcoming them into Stark Towers, rebuilt to an even higher standard.
In Stark Towers, every flat surface was a screen just daring you to touch it. And Thor being Thor just couldn't help himself had a little poke at a few buttons just begging to be touched, but got a huge warning by Tony that he would kill him in his sleep after he reset JARVIS to Old Norse and he couldn't change it back. In the end Loki changed it back, while sighing a sigh so deep he could have inhaled all the furniture in the room! But even that didn't stop Thor from asking questions every time he saw something new, which was every few seconds.
"What does this button do, Man of Iron?" this, "How does this contraption work, Man of Iron?" that, it was seriously pissing Tony off.
Even the elevators had to be explained to him.
Loki was quite the contrary actually. He didn't stop to look at things he just passed them without being intrusive. It was something about starting a fresh.
But after about half an hour of an in-depth discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of having stairs, Tony was at the end of his tether, "Blondie, if you are going to ask another question, I will personally end your life right now. I don't care. I will not wait until you are asleep I will kill you now. You either shut up or leave."
"Man of Iron, I respect your wishes but I must say that I am surprises at your dismissal at my very important questions. I must say-"
"-nothing." Finished Loki as he got into the elevator and waited for the Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor and Hawkeye to get in it with him.
Thor looked defeated as he gingerly got into the elevator he deemed as unnecessary.
It was very up close and personal in the elevator. The one minute ride was spent with awkward humming from Tony and the occasional order to JARVIS, while trying to keep hands from accidently touching anywhere inappropriate. You could feel the awkward tension in the air. The shrewd music didn't help either but all things must come to an end and soon every one was out of the elevator with minimal embarrassment.
Tony walked over to the bar, he thought he might gather everyone so everyone can be clear about things, "Gather around guys, when you are far away it makes me nervous. Steve is around here, his apartment was torn to pieces and the entire block is being rebuilt at the moment so he will have to be filled in on the arrangements so he doesn't get a nasty shock when he walks to the bathroom and there is a pregnant man in there. You know what old Capsical is like. Bruce will be coming around quite frequently but he is staying with S.H.E.I.L.D. because they want to run some tests on him like a little lab rat, so he also must be told. And how long are you staying here, I don't want to be lumped with you two for over a year, maybe more, especially if you will be hormonal and snappy all the time?" Tony finished, expecting a rapid answer.
Loki started, rather un-amused at the whole charade of having to explain everything to everyone, a short response to Iron Man's enquiry, "I am going to be here for five months, I will be heavily pregnant at three and a half months. I will not need extra nourishment but I do need a large bed with a lot of floor space when I need to turn into the mare. I hope that quenches your thirst for knowledge. If you want I could go into details, but I will spare you the horror. Fury knows and I am happy to let your mouths run free and ferret the news to anyone except the humans. If I do find out about what you have said I will gladly-"
"-Loki, no! You promised not to threaten anyone." Thor interposed.
"Alright, tell me where my lodgings are so I can get set up." Loki haughtily said, appalled to have had to stand around for so long.
Two weeks had passed since Loki had moved into Stark Towers and almost all the Avengers had come to see him and congratulate him on his pregnancy like most humans seemed to do, but Steve had not. Sure, Steve talked to him, but never did he comment on his pregnancy or why he was here. He suspected he hadn't been told but thought nothing more about it.
It was a Saturday morning when Loki went for his morning shower like the other humans (yes he told Tony that they did sweat and that he needed a shower every day- twice daily sometimes), so he decided to put on some pyjama pants that Pepper had provided him and left himself shirtless. He then walked out the room and walked towards the bathing room he shared with Steve (Tony hadn't built the on suites yet) and opened the door.
A shout was heard from the inside and quickly he entered to see if Steve was okay. Only Steve was okay, he was just exclaiming his surprise at the bump.
"You, you have a baby-bump!" Steve stated in shock from the shower floor finding something to cover himself up.
Loki sighed yet again, he couldn't understand why mortals always had to state obvious facts all the time.
"Yes, well done, I'm pregnant. Now get out, you have had plenty of time in the water fountain. It's my turn." Loki replied, annoyed that they hadn't told Steve about the unborn horse-child-thing.
Regaining some composure Steve gathered up his clothes and left rather rapidly.
Loki sighed and laid his clothes on the closed toilet seat and turned the shower on. He then undressed and stepped into the shower.
The water cascaded down his form as he looked despairingly down at his widening waste line. All he wanted was to lead that stupid stallion away from some mysterious benefactors, but all he got was an unplanned pregnancy. He wished he didn't have to go through this again. He already had a wolf son. Why couldn't he be normal like Thor? Why couldn't he be accepted by his family? Life wasn't fair. And that's what he was trying (among various other things) in the battle of New York to prove that life wasn't fair, even for the privileged. He also hoped that he wouldn't be found by any of his enemies – of which there are many – to find him like this. All because of you, he thought to the unborn child resting in his stomach.
After 2 months had passed, Natasha stopped by to check on his progress. At the time of her entrance, Loki had his shirt off and was watching the news on the television.
"So, how you holding up, preggers?" She asked, walking in and looking at the big bump with an awestruck look on her face.
"I am doing well, Lady Natasha. Why have you checked up on me?" Suddenly a thought struck him, was Lady Natasha here only to mock him?
"I am here because I want to know how the baby's doing… Can you feel it moving inside you?" She asked another question, you tell she wanted to reach out and touch the bump, but she kept her hands to herself.
"Yes I can feel it moving. As I have said before, touch the bump and I will kill you." Natasha moved her hands away awkwardly.
"Do you mind being fat?" she asked rather insensitively.
"No," Loki started, "I have always managed to regain my shape after pregnancy."
"Oh," she said quietly.
"You are hiding something Lady Natasha. What is the real reason you are here?"
"I wanted to check up on you, that's all."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"Are you really sure?"
"Yes! Why the fuck are you asking me every time I come and see you? It's not like I'm going to kill you. If I was I would have done it when I ambushed you! I just wanted to see how you are doing, okay? So how about we just get over the fact that you are pregnant and I can never be and let's get on with it!" She finished with a huff, standing with her fists clenched in the face of Loki; tears were starting to form in her eyes.
Loki's eyes hardened, "Jealous, are we? The pathetic, good for nothing, worthless assassin is jealous? Well, I can't believe my luck. How pathetic of you. You can't have a baby yet I can get pregnant even though I am male and with foal? As I have said, you are pathetic." Loki relaxed into his chair.
"Well jealousy didn't look to good on you either. Odin never loved you, Thor was always the favourite. So don't talk about jealousy to me if you don't want to be seriously hurt by me personally, maybe with some help-I don't want to get my pathetic jealousy on you. Oh, wait you already have some, and green is not your colour by the way." And with her head held high the Black Widow strutted out of the room.
Loki stood up and put his head in his hands, he always let his mouth run away with him. Maybe that's why Odin never loved him, maybe – no, he shouldn't be thinking like that. It caused too many problems.
Sighing he decided to try and ask a mortal if how he could apologize to Natasha and rebuild that shaky lean-to bridge that they had between them.
But the only human available was Tony.
"Greetings, Man of Iron, I was wondering how does one apologizes to another? I have offended someone I would hate to have as an enemy and I have reason to believe that they may kill me if given the chance." Loki walked confidently to Stark, feigning humility.
Tony sighed and poured a drink for himself from the bar, "Want some?"
Loki declined, "No." and then walked over to the bar.
"Look, buddy, just go up to them and tell them you're sorry. It's not hard. Unless it's Agent Romanoff, then just give something nice and tell her she looks pretty in what you've given her. All women like that, they're easy to manipulate." Tony said then took a swig from his tumbler.
"Thank you, Stark. I will take heed of your advice. Fare well for now." And with that Loki exited in search of a gift in which to bestow to Lady Romanoff.
He went into his step-brothers closet and opened it to reveal a golden array of bracelets. Picking up the one nearest to him he analysed it to make sure Thor would not miss it. Deciding that he wouldn't, he pocketed it and fled the room in search of Natasha.
After looking in most of the rooms in Stark Tower he made a decision to go to her S.H.E.I.L.D. apartment, and to not get blown up in the process.
He got through security quite easily though he still hadn't risk assessed Agent Romanoff's door yet-or the wall for that matter. So he knocked on the door like a normal person would.
There was a sound of heavy machinery moving and the door opened about and inch.
"State your business." A mechanical voice boomed.
Loki constructed his answer carefully, "I am here to express my humility and I have a gift to give you."
He waited nervously and fiddled with his cape before the door swung open.
"Come in." It was Natasha's voice this time.
Loki walked in, ducking as his helmet clipped the ceiling.
Natasha looked at him with a stare of hatred, "Why are you here? I thought I made it clear that you were not welcome to me anymore."
Loki cleared his voice and gesticulated, "I have a gift in which I will bestow upon you to express my humility." He pulled out the golden bracelet, "It is made from Asgardian Gold and it will never scratch or get dirty, and as I am sure you will look like a queen in it."
He bowed as Natasha snatched the bracelet from him and then the stare of hatred intensified, "I will not be coerced into accepting your apology! You are a liar. You do not mean what you say. You only speak out so I do not kill you or give your whereabouts to your enemies. You are a despicable creature who thinks a women can be won over with bribes and compliments. Get out of my apartment now." She turned away from Loki.
Loki's face hardened, "You will rue the day you dared to cross me."
Natasha faced him again, "I have already crossed you, remember? And I won. So get out of my sight before I call my Avenger friends and smite you, okay? Now go, you little parasite." She ushered him with her hands out the door and slammed it in his face.
Moaning, Loki kicked the door.
Bad move.
The alarm turned on and a small controlled explosion blew up in his face. If he wasn't a god, he wouldn't have survived.
With his pride hurt and his cape singed he checked to see if the baby was alright. It was so he made his way back to Stark Tower.
He strolled in angrily. Tony was wrong, Tony lied and he was going to pay.
"Starkson! Where are you? I demand to see your presence now! I don't like to be kept waiting." Loki threw his hand down on the bar.
"Should I locate him for you, Loki?" JARVIS asked.
Loki glared at the ceiling, "No, get him to me now!"
"It is not wise to have such a high blood pressure when pregnant, it could induce premature labour." JARVIS helped, not knowing it could make things worse.
Loki gave the ceiling his best death stares and was about to blast it to smithereens, when he heard a voice from the corner of the room, "Should I put the suit on or not?"
It was Tony.
Loki's glare focussed on the origin of the voice and he put all of his magic into blowing a hole through the wall.
The blast ricocheted around the building and rubble flew everywhere, Tony was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly he felt drowsy and he sat down rapidly. The magic had drained some of his life force; he would have to rest for a few days, granted that the baby wasn't hurt. If he turned into the mare it would heal himself faster, but he couldn't do that without risking going into labour early.
A groan was heard from under the rubble and a figure emerged from it. It was Tony in the Iron suit.
Upon seeing Loki looking decrepit and sickly he rushed over to him and called for JARVIS to send for Thor. Maybe there was some Asgardian mojo they could use to get him better without harming the baby.
Thor rushed to the scene with anguish on his face. He loved Loki, yet hated him when he did stupid things like this. He would never be the same loving brother again, but Thor could never get over it.
Picking the limp Asgardian up, he dragged him up to a different, un-blown-up side of the tower. It would be where he would rest until he was deemed fit to walk again.
11111111"What should we do with him?" Tony asked, uncharacteristically concerned about him.
Thor, who was brooding, woke up from his thoughts with a jolt and answered back seriously, "I will go back to Asgard with him and get a medic to look him over. If he is fine, I shall take him back, if he is ill, I will keep him there. I cannot make these decisions by myself."
Tony looked like he got kicked in the stomach, he blanched and his face went white. The pace of his breathing quickened and soon he was hyper ventilating.
Thor called for Pepper though JARVIS and soon she rushed to the anxiety ridden man holding him close to her chest.
"Take Loki to Asgard. Tony will be fine with me. Go!" Pepper shooed Thor away and he went without a fuss.
Thor stumbled blindly over the rubble, needing to get to his ill brother. He tripped on a rock and fell flat on his face. He dusted himself off then scooped up Loki and rushed into the elavator
The elevator was easy to work out, with JARVIS'S help and soon the brothers were in Asgard.
Thor marched past the Keeper of the Gate and continued matching towards the infirmary in which Loki could be healed. He ignore the bystanders stares as he marched blindly through the streets and carried onwards.
Then he burst through the doors of the infirmary.
The infirmary was had a golden shimmer like everything else in the world of Asgard and the hospital beds were so soft that nobody ever got bed sores. The sheets were made of golden silk and the bed frames were made out of an Asgardian gold alloy, giving it a strength that could only be bested by Mjolnir. The pillows and sheets were made out of the feathers from a phoenix.
Loki was put down on the bed in the far corner of the room and he was immediately attended to be one of the nurses. They fussed around him for at least thirty minutes before they let Thor know what was wrong with him.
"We have had to induce an early labour, though we do not have the facilities for him to give birth as a mare. He will have to have a caesarean so that he and the baby do not die... Hopefully."
Thor paled as the nurse called for a midwife and rushed over to Loki's side. He gripped Mjolnir tightly. Today was either going to be bittersweet or just bitter; there would be no sweet.
Deciding that the Avengers had the right to know what was happening, he went back to Earth to try and find some comfort with the mortals that he was acquainted with.
The trip back was sombre and the news to the others was even more depressing, "Loki has been but under extreme stress which has induced premature labour, he is in a critical state as he has no more magical reserves to change forms into a mare. I am sorry to inform you that he may not be this side of the veil ever again." Thor looked for Tony within the group, but he could not find him, he didn't see Natasha either.
He carried on disappointed, "I have told you because I all want you to know that even though he made a few big mistakes, he did them all out of jealousy and anger, not out of his true nature. He was in a losing battle with evil and father issues are even worse now. I would like for you to welcome him back with open arms if he makes it back. As you humans say, for a piece of mind." Thor raised a glass near him, "For Loki."
There wasn't s cheer back as Thor raised the glass.
A/N I wille leave you here. I have had people complaining that you want anending. But I have decided to leave this as it is. I hope most of you have an imagination so please use it. But if you are desperate for an ending as your imagination does not exist then maybe in the far future when I am a cyborg I will write an leave a review!
Once again the legend has been horribly changed and I'm sorry and the little movie verse details.
Peace out bitches!
