Welcome to Faith, Hope, and Love or, more legitimately known as "WHEN COMIC BOOKS, ROMANCE CLICHÉS, NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND A PRE-MED STUDENT WITH A LAPTOP WHO IS BRAIN-JACKED BY AN IDEA COLLIDE." (Legitimate title compliments of Fishyicon)

Have you guys ever been completely brain-jacked by an idea and then pretty much compelled to do something with it? It's a very odd sensation, I don't think I've ever had that happen to me until about a month ago. Now look where it's gotten me. Seriously, a month ago I didn't give two craps about Loki and Sigyn and then I was talking with Kkann about Avengers and I remembered some of the stories I knew from Norse Mythology ans BAM! I was completely brain-jacked by Slogyn and then this was created.

Faith, Hope, and Love (Because I honestly could not think up a better name) Written in a brain-jacked flurry of about 5 days, stewed, beta-ed, revised, and edited extensively over about 4 weeks. And completed! (Which if anyone knows me well enough, I have the worst habbit ever of starting things and not finishing them for a long, long time, so having this done before posting is a big accomplishment) It is written out in 3 chapters, and I'll try my best to get them posted relatively quickly (though with school we never know).

Lemme think of anything else I need to say(I haven't written an Author's Note in forever). Expect to see Loki/Sigyn (Slogyn), some Pepperony, Thor/Jane, cliches, feels, drama, angst, humor, snark.

Tons and tons of thanks to Fishyicon for being my beta! If you don't know her, go check her out; she's about ten different kinda of awesome.

I talk too much. I'm just going to shut up and let you guys read.

As always: Read, Review, and Enjoy! =)

-The Beckster

Chapter 1: Faith

Sigyn set down her embroidery with a frustrated sigh. She was having difficulty focusing and she did not wish to continue making mistakes. The child inside her moved fitfully; it couldn't seem to settle today either. A stake of heartache lanced through her chest at the child's movements. Sigyn had never believed it possible to be filled with so much love and heart wrenching pain at the same time. Most days she could manage, but today was a bad day. Perhaps reading would provide an adequate distraction; the baby liked it when she read aloud.

She pondered her moderate collection of books and realized with a wave of sadness that he had given most of them to her. She picked a random book and returned to her couch. She did not even open it before her mind wandered.

He knew. She had not told anyone yet, she was not even completely sure when she resolved to tell him, but somehow he had known she was with child. She had been a fool to believe he would come back to her, with or without child. To him, she was just a casual romance, an affair on the side. It was never going to last.

She, on the other hand, loved him so much it hurt.

She remembered how her heart had flown when news that he had not perished reached her. She waited for his return, but he never came. As the child inside her grew, her hope shrank. Rumors flew around that he was out causing mischief. Sigyn knew he was not incapable of returning to her, he just chose not to.

She resolved to keep the last reminder of their relationship secret, just as the whole affair had been. Though people asked questions, Sigyn had refused to tell the father's identity. Only Thor knew – he had , surprisingly, guessed before she started to show— and she swore him to secrecy. He had been the only one privy to the knowledge of the secret romance, she trusted him as a friend to keep this secret too.

Sigyn pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, dwelling on the past wouldn't help her prepare for the future. As much as Thor had tried to help her acquire what she needed, he was too preoccupied with Midgard, and the people there, to be much help. She needed to learn how to do this alone.

She sighed, opened her book, and began to read. The words came out of her mouth and seemed to appease the baby, but she did not comprehend the words on the pages. Her mind had gone back to wishing he was here beside her, wishing for happier days. She remembered how warm and comfortable she felt in his company. She briefly entertained a fantasy about him being there with her, curled up next to each other, and he was reading the book. As she read the warm Asgardian afternoon faded to a velvety night.

His arrival washed over the back of her neck like a warm wave. She always felt the surge of magic when he arrived. But was he really here, or had she just imagine it? It wouldn't be the first time.

She set her book down and rose off the couch. She had to check if he was really there this time. Her heart beat painfully fast.

"Loki?" she called out softly. She wasn't sure if she was more terrified that he would answer back, or that silence would be her only reply.

She heard her name called back. Her lungs seemed to forget how to work until she rounded a corner and saw him standing there.

He had a moment to stand there unsure of what to do before she flew into his arms. He held her as she cried. For the first time he could recall, words failed him and he could only stroke her hair.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, finally. His hand moved down to rest on Sigyn's swollen stomach. "I did not know."

Sigyn wiped her eyes and placed her hand over his. "You are here now. That is all that matters."

"Is it really-"

"Yours. Yes." Sigyn leaned in closer to him.

Loki bit his lip. "I had no idea. I would have—"

Sigyn silenced him with a finger to his lip. "It does not matter. You came back."

Loki pulled away. "I cannot stay."

Sigyn caught his wrist in her hand and pulled him back to her. "Why not?"

"I am hunted in many of the nine realms, especially in Asgard. Staying would put you in danger…"

"There are other realms." Sigyn interrupted him

"No place will be safe. Not with Thor and his insufferable band of mortals and Odin's forces chasing me like Hell Hounds."

"Thor would not hurt us. Not now." Loki scoffed and turned away. "He still loves you, Loki. You two are brothers. Blood does not matter to him. He wants you to be happy again."

"I suppose you two have spent many an hour discussing me, have you?" Loki wheeled around, close to shouting. "How do I even know—"

"Don't you dare finish that thought!" Sigyn raised her voice, fire flashing in her eyes. "I cannot believe you would even begin to think so little of me. I have only ever been faithful to you!" Her anger disappeared as quickly as it appeared and a new wave of tears washed over her. She tried to stifle a sob as she leaned against the wall for support.

In less than a second, Loki's arms were around her shoulders, he steered her back to the siting room and settled her on the couch, apologizing all the way.

Sigyn waved him away. "I'm fine. I simply… You returned; you are here now. We should not be fighting."

"I'm sorry," he whispered sinking into the couch next to her, "I simply do not know how to proceed."

"Loki, look at me and tell me the truth," Sigyn said, cupping one hand under his chin and forcing him to meet her eyes. "Do you want this child? Because if not, I will allow you to go and you will never need to come back. Nobody will ever know you are the father if that is what you wish."

"No," he interjected immediately. "No, Sigyn, do not think like that."

"You are not happy."

He sighed. "I do not know what to feel anymore." Loki looked away from her. "Why did you not tell me?"

"You had just received the burden of the throne of Asgard and Thor had been banished. A child was another burden you did not need. I always thought there would be another, happier time to tell you. After you took the throne you never came back for me. I thought…"

The unspoken words hung heavily between the two as Sigyn shifted into a more comfortable position in the crook of Loki's arm. She picked at her fingernails for a minute in the uneasy silence. One question had been eating away at her.

"If you had known, before everything happened, would you have stayed away for so long?" Sigyn finally asked, still studying her fingernails.

Loki was quiet for a long while before he answered. "Yes. I would have. Maybe even longer."

"Why?"

"To protect you. When I realized my plan was failing I knew I could not bring you into it. I could not put you under the scrutiny that would have befallen you. The All Father would have been far from merciful. After that, the danger only continued to escalate, and I knew that I could not return to you. I have made dangerous enemies. Being here right now has put you in immense danger."

"But you are here now. And I am still breathing," Sigyn offered with a small smile.

"I heard rumors… I had to see."

"Nobody knows of us, Loki. No one will think to look for you here. Stay with us. Let the situation recover naturally, without your interference. People will forgive and forget in time. You havemade some poor decisions, but you have not brought about Ragnarok."

"I cannot stay with you. Not long enough. I cannot stay in any place for too long."

"Then let us run and hide!" she exclaimed. "We can go to Midgard. There are seven billion mortals there. Your magic could hide us amongst them. Two in seven billion, they would never find us."

Loki shook his head. "No, Thor and his mortals scour Midgard for my presence. The whole realm knows me; you would not be safe there."

"Thor would not let any harm come to me if I were discovered. He's a friend, he cares."

Loki merely scoffed. Sigyn sighed and tried to keep her emotions at bay; she knew it was a futile attempt to convince him to stay. She sat for a moment longer, savoring the feeling of being back in his arms. Then she rose from the couch and pulled Loki up with her.

"If you must go, will you stay with me until I sleep? I do not think I can bear to say good-bye."

Loki kissed her forehead gently. "Of course."

Loki gently rose from the bed. Sigyn had been asleep for a little over an hour, but he could not bring himself to get up and leave her. They had stayed up most of the night just talking about inconsequential matters. He strode over to the window and threw it open, breathing in the cool pre-dawn air. He propped his head in his hands and continued the debate he'd been carrying out in his mind since realizing Sigyn was pregnant.

He was being selfish to want to stay with her and see his child. The risks were far too high. Sense told him to leave them both, but the thought of abandonment did not sit well with him. Something about being here gave his thoughts a clarity he had not experienced in a long time. He craved the clarity he was experiencing. His thoughts raced back and forth; sense battled with emotion.

A pair of warm arms snaked around his shoulders and broke him out of his reverie. The sun had peaked over the horizon and streamed directly into his eyes. "Standing in an open window in broad daylight is sure to get you caught," Sigyn teased. She pulled him away from the window and pulled the curtain over it, throwing the room into darkness again. "You are still here. Does that mean you have changed your mind?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"I am still making it up," he muttered, avoiding her eyes. He kept looking at her stomach uneasily and then quickly glancing away.

Sigyn smiled sadly. "Come here." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down to sit next to her on the bed. She placed his hand over her stomach and held it there until the baby kicked again. Sigyn watched his smile grow as Loki felt his child move underneath his hands.

"You should stay with us," she softly suggested.

She thought he would do so, for a fleeting moment… until her front door was kicked in and Balder with a band of soldiers poured into her home.

"Do not attempt to flee!" Balder ordered, "By the command of the All Father, you are under arrest."

She stood there, petrified, as her home was invaded. She felt Loki's arm hold her tight, was blinded by a flash of light, and the next thing she felt was cold rain soaking her to the bone.

"Where are we?" Sigyn cried, having to raise her voice over the pounding rain and howling wind.

She watched Loki look around uneasily. Her eyes followed his to the brightly lit windows a short ways away. Loki drew her into an embrace and spoke quickly in her ear.

"You will be safe here," he said. "Thor will take care of you."

"Where will you be?"

"I will be looking for a safe place for you."

"No. I do not want you to go. Take me with you! Do not leave me!" Sigyn cried pressing herself as close to Loki as she could.

His arms tightened around her briefly before he lifted her chin to make her eyes meet his. "You must stay here," he insisted, the look in his eyes leaving no room for argument. "I'm sorry." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "I will come back for you. I promise." He sealed his promise with a kiss on her lips. He then removed her arms from around him and stepped back.

"No…" Sigyn whimpered, her tears mixing with the rain falling on her face.

Loki raised his scepter, and the light gathered around him. "I love you," he said before he was swallowed up by the light.

"I love you too…" Sigyn whispered. She stared at the empty space where Loki stood just seconds ago before turning to the bright glass windows behind her.

Bruce Banner usually liked movie night. It was a good idea to try and get Steve up to date with pop culture and get Thor acclimated into Earth culture. He enjoyed seeing movies he hadn't seen in a long time and being introduced to new ones. The last week's selection, a different Mel Brooks film every night, had been great. Though Steve hadn't quite appreciated Mr. Brooks' brand of humor, he suffered through every single movie for the sake of team bonding.

However, tonight's movie was just a plain old bad idea. They were only twenty minutes into Jurassic Park and already Thor was getting ideas about going dinosaur hunting. Steve had been valiantly trying to tell the thunder god that dinosaurs had been extinct for millions of years, but Tony and Clint weren't helping by denying everything the Captain said.

Besides, there was nothing culturally important about Jurassic Park; somebody – Bruce put ten bucks on Tony - had just wanted a dinosaur fix.

Bruce sighed and got up from the couch. He glanced outside to see the storm continuing as it had been for most of the evening; pouring buckets with an occasional flash of lightning strike and rumble of thunder. He walked behind the bar to make another cup of tea. Pepper was sitting there, pouring over a contract, smartly drowning out the noise with her iPod.

Bruce turned his attention back to the movie while he waited for the water to heat up. Lightning flashed and he idly turned to look outside.

"What the hell?" he said, dropping the light blue mug in his hand.

The sound of shattering ceramic grabbed the attention of the other Avengers. They first looked at Bruce, curiously, then followed his gaze to the glass door and froze. How on Earth did a pregnant woman get on top of the tower? Thor was the first to gather his wits; he vaulted over the couch and pulled the sobbing woman inside.

"Sigyn! Are you alright? Why are you here?" he questioned, steering the hysterical woman to one of the bar stools.

It took a minute and a couple deep breaths before Sigyn could compose herself enough to answer the questions. "Someone found out, and he sent soldiers to my home to arrest me. We fled Asgard."

"Where is—"

"He's gone. He left. I-I do not know where he went," Sigyn choked out with a shake of her head.

Bruce had rounded the bar and stood next to Thor. "Are you hurt at all?" he asked earnestly. If she was from Asgard that meant she had jumped through a wormhole to Earth, and in her condition…

Sigyn shook her head. "No, I am fine, is not a little… shaken."

"I don't mean to be rude, but it's going to happen anyway," Tony interjected, "but who exactly are you?"

Sigyn raised her head to look at the rest of the mortals, they had all gathered behind Thor. It was the one with dark hair and a glowing blue light under his shirt who spoke to her. "My name is Sigyn." She answered.

"Okay, stupendous, but that's not really what—"

Pepper cut Tony off."You know what, questions can wait. Sigyn, come with me; we'll find some dry clothes for you."

Sigyn cast a panicked look to Thor. He nodded encouragingly. She let Pepper take her arm and lead her to the elevator, her pale green dress dragging on the floor behind her and leaving a wet streak.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind the women the Avengers rounded on Thor.

"Okay, Hammer Time, you've got some explaining to do," Tony demanded.

"Very well," Thor conceded, crossing his arms and leaning against the bar.

"Is she your-?"

"No"

"Because I thought you and Jane—"

"We are."

"Maybe she's like a call girl at the palace," Clint mused.

"That's a hell of a booty call," Tony added with a smirk.

"She is not!" Thor clarified with a glare.

"What about the baby?" Natasha asked through the rising level of snark coming from Tony and Clint.

"It is not mine."

"Whose is it?" she pressed.

"That is not my secret to tell."

"Why is she here? Is she a criminal or something?"

"No, Sigyn has committed no crime." Thor paused and picked his next words carefully. "She is merely persecuted now for a choice of association she made long ago."

Natasha's eyes widened as she connected the dots. Bruce made the same connection a second after her. Tony and Clint had taken their conversation to a completely different track and were ignoring Thor. Steve watched them, his face growing increasingly redder, and his frown increasingly deeper, as he listened to their choice of language grow more inappropriate.

"Loki's the father, isn't he?" Natasha deduced

That put an abrupt end to Clint and Tony's discussion.

Thor replied with a neutral look. "It is not my place to say whether he is or not. But ask yourselves, does it make a difference to you?"

"… Well, yeah it kind of does," Clint said after a moment's hesitation.

Sigyn sat on the edge of a large bed. She was trying to reign in her emotions. Trying, and failing. She squeezed her eyes shut and a few tears rolled down her cheek.

The Lady named Pepper had left her in the room to find dry clothes that would fit her. It was apparent that the traditional Midgardian women's garb would not be suitable; it was all cut too tightly. The room was large and open, and all the empty space seemed to press down onto Sigyn. She couldn't help the sob that escaped her, nor the ones that followed.

Pepper walked back into the room, her arms laden with towels and clothes she had scrounged up, hoping something would fit well enough until she could get ahold of some real clothing. She wasn't surprised to walk back into the room and find Sigyn crying.

Pepper set her things down and sat next to the girl and put her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a one armed hug. Pepper would call Sigyn a girl, she didn't look a day over twenty-four, but if she had learned anything from Thor she could guess Sigyn was easily a millennia in age, by Earth years.

"Just cry it out, you'll feel better," she said soothingly, rubbing small circles on Sigyn's shoulder with her thumb.

"I never thought I would be hunted like a criminal for being in love," Sigyn sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I guess being in love with a criminal makes you a criminal by association."

"I don't think he ever meant for things to happen this way," Pepper attempted to reason, handing Sigyn a towel to dry her face.

"I do not believe he meant for anything to end up this way. He only wanted…" Sigyn cut herself off, heaved a sigh, and wiped away the last of her tears. "Thank you," she said, holding up the towel.

Pepper smiled, and stood up. "Take your time, take whatever fits. I'll find a room for you."

In the hallway she walked to one of the consoles built into the walls and called the common floor. Tony answered, but the rest of the team inevitably crowded in behind him.

"Where will Sigyn be staying?" she asked.

"She won't." Tony said before anyone else could get in a word.

Pepper put her hands on her hips and glared into the camera. "Come again?"

"Pep, she is carrying the spawn of Loki. There is no way she's staying here. I can list at least ten reasons right now why having her here could get us all killed."

"She's staying here, Tony. I will not allow a lost, terrified, pregnant woman to be thrown out of this tower. Where should I put her?"

Thor shoved Tony out of the way. "I have extra rooms on my floor; place her in one of them."

Tony shoved the demi-god back and took his place back in front of the camera. "No! We are not keeping Loki's booty call here. I don't care is she is kn—"

"Tony Stark, if you finish that sentence you will be sleeping outside tonight." Pepper threatened.

"Why can't you just let her stay here?" Steve asked Tony. "She's not going to hurt anyone."

"You don't know that!" Clint said, joining the argument.

"Clint, why can't you just give her a chance? What harm can she possibly do to us?" Natasha asked, joining the fray as well.

"She's staying end of discussion," Pepper said, moving to hit the button to close the connection.

Tony stuck his face back into the camera. "I swear to God, Pepper, if little Loki demons burst out of her and come and brain-jack us in the night I'll never forgive you."

"My God, Tony, this isn't Alien!" Bruce said, giving the inventor a sharp – but mostly exasperated – look

Natasha expressed her disapproval at Tony's comment by giving him a swift punch in his arm and an admonishing look. "Watch your mouth, Stark."

"Tony, feel free to make yourself comfortable in the lab tonight," Pepper said coolly before closing the connection abruptly. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, philanthropist, and utter child.

Steve couldn't believe his team could go from joking and watching a movie together to shouting in each other's faces in less than ten minutes. Okay, yes, he could, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to do something about it before it escalated to a dangerous magnitude. Under the din, the movie still played and a T-Rex roared triumphantly as it disemboweled a jeep; this merely added to the growing chaos in the tower.

"Alright, stop it!" he yelled over the rising volume of the arguments. Everyone flinched and looked at him questioningly. "Just, stop," he continued at a much quieter level. "We're not going to do anything about Sigyn tonight. Okay? Tomorrow morning we'll all sit down and have a long talk about this without anybody yelling. For now, let's just go to bed. We'll figure everything out tomorrow."

There was much grumbling from everyone, but they slowly dispersed to their own floors. Steve had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.

He didn't realize just exactly how long a day it would be until the following morning. He exited the elevator onto the common floor, paper in one hand, bagel in the other. He very nearly choked on multi-grain blueberry goodness when he saw a rather large wolf lounging on one of the couches like he belonged there. Out of instinct, Steve raised the only weapon he had in hand: the rolled up newspaper.

The wolf looked at him, bored, opened his mouth and said, "Go ahead, mortal. Make my day." He grinned at Steve.

Steve turned right around to go find Thor.