(A/N: Well, I have been gone for some time and the idea for this chapter has been kicking around in my head for a good little while. I should warn you now, this will include mpreg and so if that is something that you don't like then you can pretend that this story ended last chapter and we will all be happy. The story is still Thor/Loki and does still have Steve/Tony and Clint/Natasha. I don't own the Avengers, though the DVD release date is coming up so I might just have to snag a copy of it. On with the show!)

Part 3—Rain on a Sunny Day

Loki stretched his legs out, feet planted firmly against the floor, toes curling into the carpet like he intended to take root and remain there. He was not yet to the point where he had to worry about swollen feet and for that he was thankful, because there was a lot of shopping that he had to do. Thor, his husband of five years, lover and brother of many more, had turned into a veritable mother hen, chaperoning his every shopping trip, except this one. Natasha had taken him out for the day, showing him all of the stores that she loved most when it came to baby items. Since he was having twins, a first for him as a father, mother, whatever, they had to buy doubles of everything. The shopkeepers had instantly guessed at twins because of said purchases, and because his swollen stomach was a little too large for 3 months along. If anyone found it odd that a man was pregnant, they said nothing.

Now they were home however, and Thor was flitting around like a humming bird, storing all of their new 'gear' as Tony called it, likening child rearing to a war effort after having babysat Clint and Natasha's children. He and Steve had adopted a girl and a boy both 7 and conveniently out of the screaming crying, poopy diaper stage. The pair were now in their 40's and having an actual baby seemed to be beyond the scope of their patience.

"You bought all of this on SHIELD's dime?" Steve asked, leaning up against the door frame, likely having been sent by Natasha to enquire about dinner. He was still the only one, in a house full of heroes that still treated Natasha like a woman and a mother. She had been annoyed at first; calling him sexist and smacking him for his unwitting commentary, but eventually they had reached level ground between his 40's mannerisms and her strong personality. Not that she didn't treat him like her own personal serving boy the few times that she had been pregnant; she never would have passed up that chance. And all three of her and Clint's children gladly called him Uncle Steve, behaving only for him and never for Tony, completely at Natasha's behest.

"Director Hill thought that it would make up for all of the paternity leave that we won't be getting," Loki allowed with a small smirk. Steve smiled in response; of course Bruce would demand absolute bed rest and leave SHIELD with no option but to accept the verdict of the team doctor. He may not have thought it fair to cheat SHIELD out of their money, but after seeing several other Avenger couples forced to lose time with their children it was becoming easier.

"I thought that you might like to know that Coulson is on dinner duty tonight. And since you are the pickiest eater in the Tower at present, he wanted to know if steak and potatoes was too rich for you. Standard sides of corn, green beans, peas and all that are usually fine I told him, but…" Steve trailed off as Loki seemed to be salivating at the prospect.

"Tell him to have a bottle of A-1 waiting for me and he's golden. Also, salad, lots of croutons," Loki said and Steve nodded, shoving off on the door frame, pivoting on his foot and heading back toward the kitchen.

"And brownies covered in ice cream and caramel syrup for desert, right my love?" Thor asked with a smile, having learned the strange combinations of cravings that Loki experienced. Only once had he encountered his husband in the middle of a Costco sized jar of pickles, but that had been before they'd known about the babies and Bruce had threatened him with a strict diet if he ever ate that much sodium again.

"Yay verily," Loki replied with a cheeky smile, his back cracking loudly as he twisted around with the support of the arm of the couch. He did still get sore, being a God really had nothing to do with how well he handled a pregnancy and Natasha had been willing to walk him through a few relaxation techniques that helped him greatly.

Thor, once finished with the shopping came over and helped Loki to put his feet up on the other end of the couch before sitting down himself and beginning to massage them. Loki's head dropped back as Thor's thumbs pressed down in all of the right places, slowly working over his feet and up to his shins and calves. Shortly Loki was reduced into a puddle of goo that occasionally purred in satisfaction.

"What in all the realms are we going to do with you when you get bigger?" Thor asked, running his hand gently over Loki's stomach, seeking the presence of his sons and smiling at the sensation.

"We will tell William and Thomas to hurry up and get born," Loki said with a shrug and a smile. He had already named his children, of course he had, it was Asgardian tradition to give a name to a child the moment that its life force was distinguishable from its mother's. He could already sense that William had his magic, Thomas was more of a mystery, he seemed to have Thor's lightning in his blood but not the ability to wield it. No, if he had to guess then he would say that there would be another speedster like Quicksilver running rampant in just 6 months' time.

"You just want to hold them," Thor said with a smile, knowing that Loki had a soft spot for children, especially his own. He was often impatient to meet them. And these would be the first that Odin would not be forced to remove from Loki as their Midgardian conception and development had kept them far away from wicked magic's and Loki's Jötunn blood was no longer an issue.

"That I do. And they are eager to be held. I wish that you could hear them the way I do," Loki whispered, a blissful smile on his lips as he cradled his stomach. Thor smiled softly before standing to help Loki up at the sound of Clint calling everyone to dinner. With a soft kiss Loki followed Thor toward food and their family.

(A/N: Yes, William and Thomas…Asgardian/Wiccan and Speed of the Young Avengers. No I don't own that either. I just liked the idea when it was given to me awhile back on Tumblr. It is just that now I know a bit more about Young Avengers, so there.)