The lights underneath the tower were scurrying around like millions of tiny bright ants.
The people who controlled the lights, Loki had learned, were everything but similar to the tiny brown-black creatures.
They were... Exciting in their own, peculiar ways.
A cold gust of wind hit him in the face. He frowned at the rapidly darkening sky. In the distance lightning crossed the horizon, but it wasn't Thor. Just a regular storm.
The door behind him opened with a silent hiss as Pepper came out onto the roof wearing white sweater and trousers. Some time ago, she'd have killed everybody who had seen her in such a state, except if the individuals last name started with "s" ended with "k" and wrote "tar" somewhere around the middle.
"Anything?" she asked, worry clear in her voice as the wind playfully twisted her reddish bangs.
But soon, it will finish playing and they will have a full-blown storm on their hands.
For the past week, ever since they lost contact with the Avengers currently on a mission somewhere in the middle of the Congo basin, it had been so. Pepper nowadays was always the first to answer the common phone, JARVIS's warnings of a visitor...
And always returned with an expression sadder than before.
"Nothing," he said, turning. "I believe it's better if we get inside. I will be the one flayed if you catch a cold. There is quite a weather coming."
"What, a human flaying a god?" she asked playfully, trying to hide her tiredness, a hand resting on her lather large belly as she changed directions. "How could that happen?"
"We're talking about Tony Stark here, your husband and the father of your soon to be born children. I'd be surprised and disappointed if he didn't at least try to do so."
"You're scared?"
"Cautious," he said, walking around the sofa to the fridge. "You need anything?"
"No-ow."
His head whipped back to see Pepper glaring down onto something he couldn't see due to the furniture, her mouth forming a small "o".
"Loki? I think my water just broke."
For a moment, his mind didn't register the words.
Then paled.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Tony was supposed to be back by now, Loki was supposed to be sitting at home, on his own chair, and Pepper wasn't supposed to give birth for another two weeks.
No matter what the legends of Earth said, he wasn't good at helping during any station of the pregnancy, including assisting the about-to-be-delivering women.
He, the warlord, god, sorcerer, tactician of several battles simply couldn't deal with the whole ordeal. It frightened him ever since he was a child.
Pepper grunted in pain.
Not good. Not at all.
Maybe he should have thought twice before teleporting righ to the reception of the hospital.
Especially a hospital for "normal people".
But there had been no time, and in itself the process puts stress to people's bodies. Which in the case of people giving birth is not exactly healthy. Especially since the greater the distance is, the more the stress is.
Natasha supressed a scream, her nails digging into his shoulders. Would he have been a simple human man, he doubted he'd have flesh left there.
"What's happening?" asked a doctor hurrying to their side, shocked.
"She's here to preach about your Lord Jesus Christ, what the hell do you think?" he snapped at the human, long run out of patience.
"Somebody bring a chair!" the doctor yelled, but Natasha shook her head, eyes shut tightly.
"He puts me down now, I give birth right here, right now," she hissed, "Take us to a damn room, now! And you," she said, turning her finger at Loki, "You'll be in there, all along, because quite possibly I'll want to murder somebody going by the name of Clint Barton, and you'll be just the perfect substitue!"
"Are you the father?" asked a stern looking female doctor who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Loki almost dropped Natasha in surprise.
"Gods, no!"
"Not a chance!"
"Brother then, perhaps?"
"As if!" Natasha said, before yelling in pain. "Look, maybe we could discuss my family relations later? I'm about to deliver a kid here!"
"Fine, fine, no need to get worked up," the doctor said, clearly worked up over the tone used.
Loki just exited the labour room before he heard the thunder growl in the distance.
And Thor growling not exactly fifteen meters away, the good Captain's tries to soothe him, which proved not at all effective.
"You'll let me through if I tell you so!"
"Thor, please, not so..."
"I will not," snapped the doctor, not waiting for Steve to finish his sentence. She had guts, that one, it had to be said. "You might save lives on daily basis, but so do I, and I'm telling you, you're not going in there."
"You'd stop me, Thor, son of Odin?!"
The woman gave him an impassive look, bemused, and apparently the least interested in the hammer in Thor's right hand, crackling with electricity.
"Yes. Yes, I would. This hospital is my responsibility, and so are all those who are in here. Including your wife."
"Thank you, doctor," Loki said calmly, "I'll take over."
"Good. You could also explain him that no matter how much of a god he is, last I checked Jane Foster is still a human and as such much more exposed to infections. Including those carried by blood. Especially after giving birth."
"Yes, yes, as I said; I'll take over."
"Loki?" Thor asked, his voice urgent, "What happened?"
"Promise me, that you won't barge in there, under any circumstances."
"I must..."
"Promise me. Steve is here to bear witness to it," he said, hard. Thor nodded. "Good. There were complications. As you might realise, giving life to half Asgardian children is not a casual Sunday afternoon for human women. It took a heavy toll on her body."
The crown prince's face paled.
"Will she..."
"Die? No, you have chosen her well as a partner; she is almost as stubborn as you are. For now, she is stable and the doctors are watching her. But you have to wait for a bit longer, until she regains some of her energy. However it us unlikely she can bear any more children. Lucky for you, it appears you already have two."
"Wait," Thor's head shot upwards, "You said children. Two."
"That I did. I'm glad you didn't miss it."
"Does that mean..." Loki smirked at his gullible brother's dumbfounded face.
"Twins. Yes. Boys. I say you name them before she does, as she and Darcy came up with names like Thomas, Alexander..."
"Odin's beard..." the blonde mumbled, looking at him with shining eyes. The Trickster frowned.
"You're not crying, are you? Please, tell me you're not crying, that always makes you..."
The rest was muffled out as he was pulled out into a bone-crushing hug, smelling of blood and mud.
Yay! Baby boom!
No, actually the team doesn't return on time because it's just easier if Loki has to deal with the threats, not them. So it's quite convenient for them to have a demigod working on his redemption.
-extra_scene
"Luke and Leia," Tony said, stroking the little girl's head gently. Pepper's mouth set into a hard line.
"We are not going to name them after Star Wars characters."
"Friderica and George?"
"Neither Harry Potter ones."
"Diana and Clark?"
"No."