Frigga took to being a grandmother like Sam took to the air - which was rather wonderfully. And since the Twins insisted on calling Bucky their Uncle Winter, she began to treat him as one of her own, subsequently taking Sarah in as her youngest grandchild. After centuries of her only grandchildren being monsters, underworldly goddesses, or just dead, she was excited to have three healthy, new relatives to take care of that were actually sane - this last fact making her very happy indeed.
Starting the morning after she arrived, she began to sew and enchant gloves for Sarah made from a soft grey fabric that would apparently serve the same function as Loki's insulation spell. The girl liked them far better than Loki's magic, simply because if no one looked for a while she could wiggle her way out of them and practice playing with her lights. Unfortunately for Sarah, her power was unstable, causing the atmosphere around her to heat rapidly, so she never got more than a couple minutes of freedom before JARVIS noticed the energy spike in the room. The AI attempted valiantly to keep Sarah from realizing it was him alerting her caregivers, but she soon learned. Whenever she was caught after being in the room alone, she would pout and cry with a frustrated and betrayed "Jabi!"
JARVIS seemed to feel guilt over this, or at least that's what Tony suspected it was when the AI began to allow the girl a couple more minutes to play before calling someone to take care of her (as long as he sensed no impending danger, of course). Frigga found JARVIS a very interesting creature to talk to, and, on the busy days when Bucky and Steve were out fighting crime, she would sit outside in the small garden with Sarah on her knee, chatting with the AI from a Mark VII helmet by her side. Sometimes her grandchild would reach out and play with the mask; though both knew that the girl didn't understand what they were saying, they would explain that no, the helmet was not 'Jabi,' but simply an outlet from which he spoke.
In this way, Frigga caught up on everything that had happened since her death, and each day she grew closer to Loki and Thor's families. She was especially kind to Jane and Victor, the former feeling responsible for her feigned death, and the latter simply for settling down the insanity of her son. To be sure, Loki wasn't even close to fully healed. Some days he would wake up and be distant, eyes set on the horizon as if something were coming to kill him and he had to be wary. Other days he would begin seizing in his sleep only to wake up and remember nothing, though he was subject to severe pain for hours afterwards. His children said this was normal behavior for him in Latveria, though the ice there seemed to soothe him - the only plus of being here was that he wouldn't go into sudden rages when he was unexpectedly reminded of his heritage. It was the little things sometimes, he would be laughing and wandering through the snow, only to notice his fingertips turning blue or realizing that the ice hadn't harmed his exposed skin. At this point his eyes would unfocus and he would grit his teeth, yelling in a strange tongue with an ache to kill something.
Despite his unstable nature, he was mostly harmless while at the Avenger's tower. Victor was actually the most dangerous of his small household, as he would get in arguments with Tony constantly.
Was it over their differing political views?
No.
Magic vs. Science?
No.
Victor's past as a supervillain?
Nope.
The designs of their suits?
Yes.
The problem didn't arise until a week after Thanksgiving, when Loki and Bucky were being taught by Frigga how to soothe a teething Sarah.
"Okay, now just rub her gums very gently, it eases the pain." Bucky did as Frigga instructed, almost immediately causing Sarah to stop crying. She sniffled and whimpered, her face a mess of tears and drool that Loki instinctively wiped up with a soft cloth. "Very good, both of you. Loki, I must ask, are you planning on having a baby with Victor?"
"Ah… not as of yet, we - let go, Sarah-" He gently pulled a corner of the cloth from her mouth as she tried to nibble on it, "There we go. But no, Victor and I are going to spend a couple of years caring for the Twins. They have their 'relapses' every now and again, though after their time with the Mini-vengers they've begun to learn self control, their incidents lasting only a couple minutes each. However, we want to make sure everything is alright and spend some time getting to know them better."
"Will you carry the baby if you do have one?"
"What?" Bucky looked Loki up and down. "Like- wait. You weren't joking? You can really give birth? Really?"
"Yes, shapeshifting allows for me to become a woman, if I so choose. Though it was not a particularly comfortable experience, it was necessary for my prior marriages- you should continue rubbing her gums…" He nodded to the girl as she began whimpering again.
"Oh, Sarah, shhh, it's okay, daddy's here. I'm so sorry, everything's alright, shhh…" Bucky adjusted her so she lay on his left arm as he cared for her, the music of the gears closer so she didn't have to strain to hear it. "Poor thing… So would you do that?"
"Depends upon if Victor would be comfortable with me running around as a female for a year or so. We could always do it the way you and Steve did, albeit I am unaware of a woman who would carry our baby. As generous as Natasha is, I doubt she has forgiven me fully for what I did to Barton. She certainly hasn't forgiven Victor for breaking his arm that one time..."
"Maybe she has, you could always ask just in case."
"And maybe I'll get slapped again. It's become quite popular to do so in recent history."
"But it is possibly on the horizon?" Frigga asked pointedly, "The baby that is. I've asked Thor about any children from Jane but he just got all flustered and was very vague about the whole thing."
"Funny how he spent most dinners bellowing about his conquests but the minute he falls in love he becomes a blushing maid even over things as simple as kisses."
"Love does that sometimes." Frigga grinned, "I've watched the videos of your trip and wedding with Victor and I know that you were not so different."
"Mother." Loki gave her a disapproving glare from the corner of his eye, "There is a child in the room. We should not speak of such things."
"Yeah, god forbid she hear anything like this." Bucky snorted, sarcasm dripping from every word, "With Natasha and Clint in the family it's not like she was ever exposed to-"
A large crash and grating sound tore through the tower, cutting him off. Bucky immediately tightened his grip on Sarah and placed his palm on the side of her head with his thumb over her lips- a sign the Avenger's trained her to recognize as 'you need to be quiet now.'
As they listened in silence for some hint as to what was happening, Sarah was transferred to Frigga so Loki and Bucky could grab some of the emergency weapons that were kept around the tower. Sarah gripped her father's hand, scared, but he gently extricated himself with an apologetic kiss to her forehead while showing Frigga how to hold her so she stayed quiet. Loki, clipping some daggers to his belt, had his head tilted towards the ceiling, ears perked upwards almost similar to that of a startled cat, "I hear Victor and Tony… I believe that came from one of their laboratories…" His eyes darted around as he listened, worry clear on his face, "They are yelling - no - arguing with something…" Then his expression crumbled into annoyance, "Each other. The dull moronic creatures are arguing with each other over something about their suits."
Bucky sighed, "Let's get 'em. Frigga, this is called a Code Ego, it's basically where someone questions Tony's work. It's highly suggested that any innocents, especially our treasured infant," At that he leaned over to kiss Sarah's head one more time to let her know everything was okay, "Proceed to a secure level of the tower - in particular a safe room in the basement."
"Of course," She smiled, "Just let me grab her things and-"
"She has her panic gear down there, just take the stairs and go. Don't worry."
"Alright, then. Be careful."
"Don't worry, Mother." Loki sighed, clipping a small spear onto his back, "This isn't the first or last domestic I'm going to have with my husband."
She frowned at the spear, "Even I never took a weapon into a fight with Odin."
"Odin is not Victor. Thank the Gods for that." Her son chuckled, weaving his armor over himself, sans helmet, "I just hope he doesn't do too much damage."
Bucky and Loki stepped into the elevator, and Loki leaned over, pausing to listen before pressing a button for one of Tony's labs. "This isn't going to be fun. I can hear that they've both summoned their suits."
"Oh goody. It'll be just like old times."
"Except I'm here to assist."
"Oh yeah, and who's side will you take?"
"My own. From what I'm hearing this may be the most imbecilic fight Victor or Tony has entered into yet."
"What's going on?"
"Something about the designs… Not the wiring, but the way their suits look." He frowned, "I just heard something about Tony's paint job being inferior."
"Uh-oh."
"Yes. 'Uh-oh' indeed."
The doors opened and both sighed, "Of course."
The room was a mess, there were flames licking the tables and flaring out over the disordered fire hazard that was Tony's lab. Steve was already there, tossing his shield and attempting to bring both suited men down, only to have one fall and the other stand right back up. With Bucky and Loki's help they contained the situation in a couple minutes, though the damage was severe.
They decided to remove the men from each other's presence while Steve cleaned up, so Bucky escorted Tony down while Loki took his husband up. Most often, the easiest way to calm an Avenger was to expose them to an innocent, helpless individual, the inner hero switch flipping on automatically. In light of this fact, Bucky took his friend to the room in the panic level that they'd set up specifically for Sarah. Everything inside the nursery there was something that would calm the girl down immediately, but was only used for special occasions such as this. Tony shed his suit in the elevator before walking out into the hall, "Stupid criminals. So what they had a sudden moral change of heart? They were consciously mass murderers, I mean, I'm sheltering the damned psychopaths, and they dare to insult my work?" Entering Sarah's room, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Frigga was rocking the small baby, who was holding the very worn Captain America bear that used to be his, looking more peaceful than she'd been since her teeth started coming in.
"Huh." He moved closer tentatively, "You know," He muttered, reaching out to stroke her hair, "I held him for comfort when I was a baby too… you're lucky you've got the real thing…"
"Tobi!" She murmured happily.
His lips twitched into a smile, "Fuck those stupid villains. I can't stay angry at them when I know this little precious girl is here because of their magic." He frowned again, "What is going on with her hair though? I may just be overreacting, but is that normal?"
"I don't know, I assumed so…" Bucky came over to look.
"Not usually, at least not with this sharp a definition between the colors," Frigga offered, "Have you ever heard of calico cats?"
Tony's eyes widened, "Are you saying this is like… She's a calico? But that's impossible, humans don't have the genes for hair or eye color on their X chromosome, so Barr bodies have nothing to do with this."
"No, but you had my son use magic to mix up James and Steve's DNA, yes?"
"Yeah…?"
"Well, magic is not one hundred percent precise. It is highly likely that they accidentally mixed up her… alleles, I believe is what JARVIS said you human's call them. For example let's discuss her hair color. Usually there would be one allele from James, and another from Steve. However, James's chromosome would have been affected in such a way that Steve's allele for blonde hair is on it, and his allele for brown hair was transferred to Steve's chromosome. And not only during the initial fertilization, but multiple times during her first few days of development as an embryo, so that the cells had genetic inconsistencies during mitosis that lead to some daughter cells with chromosomes that have two of Steve's blonde allele instead of one allele from each of her parents... Loki used his magic to keep her alive while she was outside the womb, but I believe, by pure accident, the DNA was further scrambled in the process because he was unable to change his initial spell, which was meant mostly to blend her genetics, without risking her being harmed. The entire procedure was experimental and a new spell might not have worked and ended end up killing her. Therefore the way her cells differentiated during her first few days means that all the cells in her body are a little different, but obviously not enough to cause many problems. If it did, she'd be dead by now. All that's happened is some phenotypic inconsistencies which aren't too terribly noticeable. If you look, her eyes are beginning to exhibit darker flecks like James's, and her skin has patches that are slightly darker than the others or slightly lighter, yet you can barely notice it." To exemplify this she traced her finger over Sarah's arms, and now that they looked for it they saw the marked differences.
"What about her blood, won't that cause issues with her immune system?" Bucky asked.
"You're both O negative." Tony muttered, thinking over the possibilities. "You're lucky as hell on that front. No mixing issues there."
"Oh, good… What about genetic diseases?"
Frigga took one of Sarah's hands in hers, the girl curling her fist around Frigga's forefinger, "I am uncertain of that, we will have to wait and see. However, with Loki and I beside you, it is unlikely that if she has a disease that it will prove fatal for her."
"Thank you…" The tension in Bucky's shoulders eased and he sat down. "Every other day it's like something new pops up - like people are just writing our lives for entertainment. I mean - think about Hydra and everything they've done, especially with Steve and I… it's so convenient." He glared at Frigga. "And your sons do go through rapid changes of moral ideals in short periods of time after years of stubbornly sticking to one mindset… My child's genetics were all mixed up and she just happens to be okay… You aren't tampering with anything, are you?"
"I can't do that. If I could, none of the problems would have happened in the first place."
"Then someone must be-"
"Don't become self-aware, Bucky, you'll break the fourth wall." Tony nudged his shin with his foot.
"What fourth wall?" Frigga asked.
"It's just a saying we use to describe the barrier between the audience and a show or the reader and the book. To 'break it' you separate yourself from the story to become 'self-aware,' meaning you realize that what is happening to you is being written, and then directly address the audience."
"..." Frigga looked around, "Is there one now?"
Tony twitched, "I- I don't think so…" He glanced to Bucky, "You were about to become self-aware. Did you feel the wall?"
Bucky rolled his eyes, "No, I was just saying. Also, while we're in this train of thought, do large parts of our lives seem… contrived to you?"
"Hey! If our lives were stories, they would be epic stories of our heroism and amazing exploits. Contrived my ass, all the things we do to save people -"
"It is a little convenient though. Those Chitauri did all die after their mothership was hit-" Frigga offered.
"And you just happened to have everything you needed to make an arc reactor and suit - in a cave."
"... Fuck you, Winter. I'm awesome. That's how I survive." Tony raised his arms out as if basking in his own ego, "Anyway, if it's contrived then at least no-one truly good is going to die."
"That is a nice thought," Frigga smiled, "Though if it were contrived, then perhaps my spells wouldn't have drained me of energy for months after my 'death'… and I would have been spared the subsequent migraines."
"Yeah, hopefully if nothing else they spare Sarah's teething pains…" Bucky sighed as he watched his child gnawing on a small teething ring in an effort to ease her discomfort.
"CLINT HAS REQUESTED CHINESE!" Thor's voice boomed throughout the building.
Tony cheered, "That's exactly what I wanted to eat today!"
"Contrived-"
"Shut up, Bucky, you'll upset the benevolent god!"
"Benevolent? Tell your God to make my baby stop hurting!"
"Then maybe you should stop questioning it."
Bucky stopped speaking and the two men stared at each other, listening to Sarah continue to whimper in pain. Bucky snorted when nothing happened and took Sarah into his arms, "Come here…" After a moment of listening to her father's arm whirring and chewing on her ring, she settled down, "There we go… much better."
"Benevolent!" Tony pointed to Sarah, grinning.
"That was all me, not a God."
"Your arm is pretty convenient."
Bucky rolled his eyes, "It wasn't convenient. But if all of the shit I had to go through to get this arm means that my little girl can rest easy, then I'd do it all over again."
"But in all seriousness," Tony shrugged, turning on his heel, "Personally I don't believe we're being written. What's your take on it, Mama Bear?"
Frigga smiled, having used the past couple of minutes to clean up the area, "Even Asgardians do not know what dictates fate."
"Do you believe in fate?" Tony asked, opening the door for the others.
"I believe in perseverance and skill." She nodded in thanks, passing through after Bucky. "And favorable chances being utilized."
Tony grinned, "I like you, you know. And JARVIS does too. You should come check out the lab, I bet you'd make a great scientist."
"Our people call scientists mages, and yes, I am a great mage." She reached for the elevator button, "May I try this? The moving room looks so fun to operate!"
The men behind her shared a smile and nodded.
She poked the 'up' button, looking very pleased with herself, "I do believe I've figured the contraption out! It is a rather enjoyable experience, and I hoped to install some in Asgard upon my return."
"Just let me know, I'm willing to go-"
"You just want to visit Asgard." Bucky interrupted.
"Of course I do. It sounds fucking amazing."
"It is 'fucking amazing,' as you say." The Allmother agreed.
"Did she just cuss?" Tony pointed, "Aren't you breaking some ancient law of queenly etiquette? What is happening? Winter, tell her that's not alright- I'm telling your sons you said that."
She laughed, "My sons know full well the range of curses that have fallen from my lips - most because of them."
"That's gotta be scary…" Tony muttered.
"Last time I became truly angry at them for fighting they were so terrified that they overcame their differences to hide from my wrath for three weeks. I let them think their camaraderie worked, even though I knew where they were almost constantly, thanks to Heimdall. From then on they were friends up until Thor's coronation…" She shook her head, "Why didn't I just stop Odin and confront the both of them?"
"Beats me." Bucky sighed as they stepped into the elevator.
"Why didn't I make Odin let me handle it- I always handle it…" She frowned. "That is strange. I can't remember why… Oh! Right, he fell into the Odinsleep."
"Yeah, Loki said that he fell asleep right after he confronted him about his parentage." Tony leaned against the wall as Frigga pressed the button for the top floor. "That's convenient in an entirely different way."
"Oh, I'm fully aware. Whenever he angers me the Odinsleep is somehow imperative to his survival and it must happen immediately."
"Really? God, I wish I had an Tonysleep…"
"I had a Wintersleep, and trust me, it's not that great…"
"I'll take your word on that, Snowflake."
As the group convened that night around the table with Chinese take-out, Frigga reached over and took one of the fortune cookies in hand. "Now, what are these? They have paper within them…"
"Fortune cookies," Thor explained, proudly displaying his knowledge of Midgardian customs, "They are small hollow treats that contain a slip which will tell you a fortune, teach you a word in Chinese, and is inscribed with lucky numbers."
Jane nudged Thor's shoulder, "Though it should be noted that they are just for fun. I forgot to tell Thor this and after he got a fortune saying 'you will become great if you believe in yourself,' he proceeded to meditate the rest of the day for 8 hours, as that was his lucky number, while chanting the Chinese word for soup and 'believing in himself.'"
Silver snorted up his drink and the others burst out laughing, and while Loki smiled and shook his head, "While humorous, it is easy to see why my Brother might be misled when you did not tell him that these 'fortunes' are for entertainment only. Do not tease him."
"Are you attempting to protect my feelings, Brother?"
Loki's mood soured and he turned away, "No."
Tony had opened his fortune cookie as they spoke and barked out a laugh, causing everyone to look over at him. He held up the paper for all to see, "Everyone agrees, you are the best." He grinned, "Hell, yeah I am."
Nodding to her sons, Frigga waved at the cookies, "Open yours."
Dutifully, her sons obeyed and Loki snorted, "Let your deeds speak." Thor frowned, reading his right after his brother's, "Never give up, always find a reason to keep trying."
Frigga cracked her cookie open, and after a moment she grinned, "'Fortune favors the bold…' Well then. I shall be bold." She stood up promptly and grabbed Loki's hand, pulling him from his seat and leading him to Thor, "I have watched you two play about being brothers since I returned, and I am done with it. Now, I am your mother, and I'm going to be bold and speed things up a little. Hug like you used to, or you are grounded."
Both men frowned, Loki stating, "You can't ground us-"
"Mother, we are a thousand years old-"
"And we have our own families now-"
"You really cannot ground us."
"Besides," Loki shrugged, "He can fly!"
"Not if I take his hammer." She said with a smile. "I am still your mother, aren't I? Now, hug."
They each gave her their customary stubborn looks.
"I'm not asking twice. Do you remember the time when you both leveled the southern district with your antics? Do you remember your punishment? I will count to three an-"
Loki threw his arms around Thor, "Love you, you've always been my big brother, you're the best, thank you for everything you've done. I really do love you so. Best friends." He let go and jumped back, "Good?"
"Thor said nothing. So I guess that means-" Frigga shrugged.
Thor, still stunned, let out a joyful sound suspiciously similar to a squee, and drew his brother into a crushing hug. "I LOVE YOU AS WELL, MY DARLING LITTLE BROTHER. I SHALL ALWAYS BE THERE TO PROTECT YOU AND SAVE YOU, NO MATTER HOW CRAZED YOU BECOME. I WILL NEVER LOSE FAITH IN YOU AGAIN."
"Ga-GAH! Thor! My bones! You're- Ow!"
Frigga laughed, "All better."
She moved back to her seat, meanwhile watching as Thor quite literally smothered his brother with love. It was Jane who finally coaxed Thor to release Loki, who promptly collapsed onto the ground, wheezing, "I...forgot… about those hugs…"
"Sorry, Brother…" Thor mumbled.
"Do not be…" Loki rose with a hand on the table to steady himself, breathing deeply while looking his brother up and down uneasily, "If I hug you one more time, will you hug me back - gently - and not… murder me?"
"OF COURSE!" Thor grinned, opening his arms.
Loki raised a brow at the outburst, "You're not making me feel any better about this…" Yet still he reached his arms out and gingerly embraced his brother. When Thor was careful, Loki smiled, "See? Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?"
Thor snorted, "Do not ruin the moment with foul memories."
"Foul? I do believe that was when I met the Avengers, I do not see that as so foul… despite being shot multiple times."
"Well, you killed multiple people." Nat commented, flipping her own cookie around her fingers.
"Now who's bringing up foul memories?" He pulled away from his brother, moving to sit down, "And what is your fortune, Miss Romanov? Or would you like to wallow in what has happened? Perhaps we can recount our own little exchange of words, I'm sure that was pleasant for you as well- What?"
"'Accept your past without regrets. Handle the present with confidence. Face your future without fears…'" Nat huffed in laughter, displaying the fortune she'd just found, "My ledger?"
"I think you've wiped out enough red." The god smiled at the memory, "Even if the pages are still a tad pinkish."
She rolled her eyes, "That's good enough for me. What about you, honey?" She nudged Clint with the leg she had resting on his chair, "What's in your's?"
He cracked his open, eating the snack before looking at the paper, "'Sometimes you just need to lay on the floor.' Floor? I don't lie on mere floors. What about you, Brucie?"
Bruce regarded the snack before crumbling the cookie in his palm, sprinkling the bits over his food as a topping. He then took the paper from his fist and uncrumpled it, "'You will be successful in love.'" He shook his head, "Fortune must really hate someone. Alright, passing it on. You next, Jane."
Jane nodded, carefully cracking open the cookie, making sure not to leave a mess before reading, "'Welcome the change coming into your life.' Change…?" She tilted her head and seemed to be thinking of something, "Change, change… changechangechange…"
"Jane?" Thor took her hand.
"Hm?" She startled, looking up at him then around, blushing, "Oh, I'm sorry…"
"She does that sometimes-" A voice cut in, and they turned to see a dark haired woman, "Hey friend. I got your text this morning. You know, you and I should adjourn to another room. Like. Your room. So we can talk about that text you sent."
Jane glared up at her, then glanced around nervously before excusing herself, hissing to Darcy, "How did you even get in here?"
"The cool British ceiling told me I could come up!"
The door closed behind them and everyone frowned. Thor tilted his head, "I worry…"
Loki scrunched his brow up, "Is that the being that bested you?"
"With a taser, yes."
"You disappoint me, Brother."
"Well, while Jane's accepting some change," Tony clapped his hands, "Let's see what else is gonna happen. Who's next? Pepper?"
Pepper opened hers and shook her head, "God only knows, these appear to be coming true rapid...ly." She tilted her head and smiled softly at hers.
"What?" Tony peaked over and frowned, "What's funny about that?"
"Nothing." She smiled, "I'm just happy is all."
"What does it say, Lady Pepper?" Thor asked, curious.
"It is better to be alone sometimes."
"Vacation time for you?" Tony smiled, pushing her hair behind her ear.
"Vacation time for me." She agreed. "Who's next? Scarlet?"
"Sure!" The woman grinned wildly, opening hers up quickly, "Let's see… 'You will have a pleasant surprise!' That sounds fun. Silver, your turn. Quick, before a surprise pops up to interrupt us."
Silver swallowed his food and picked his up, pulling the corner of the fortune out instead of breaking the cookie. "Here: 'An admirer is concealing his or her affection for you...' Oh, I hope it's the cashier at Starbucks…" He smiled off into the distance before Scarlet flicked his head.
"She has a boyfriend."
"How do you know?"
"She told me - not that you listen to what she says when she chats with us."
"Then who is this about, hm?"
She rolled her eyes. "Ice cream girl!"
"Ooooh! Ice cream girl!" He nodded as if his sister had just given him sage advice.
Victor frowned down at them, "What on earth have you been up to lately?"
"Food." They shrugged.
Loki sighed, "Truly, I am surprised you two are not obese."
Bypassing the comment, Silver continued, "Alright, who's next. Sam?"
Sam picked up his cookie and held it out as if it were toxic, "I dunno… this seems to be really weird today…"
"Do it." Steve poked his shoulder playfully.
"Fine…" He opened it in a manner that suggested he wished he were using tongs instead of his fingers, staring suspiciously at the paper slip as he read, "Your wish will come true…" He frowned harder and harder until his features suddenly eased, "Oh!" He grinned. "Well good then."
"What's your wish?" Bucky asked.
"Nothing. Tony knows."
"I do? OH!" He laughed. "Well let's hope so."
Everyone stared at the two in silence until Sam smiled, waving to Victor, "Go."
Victor winced, "I'm too superstitious for these things…" But then he smiled at his slip of paper, "Love can last a lifetime if you want it to." He looked over the heads of the Twins at Loki, who had been sitting away from him in annoyance for the meal. "Loki…"
"Hmpf. Fine…" Loki got up and traded seats with Scarlet, sitting down and leaning his head on Victor's shoulder.
"My apologies for today."
"Mmm." Loki nuzzled his arm.
"Alright then, who's left?" Victor looked over his companions, "Winter?"
Bucky nodded, opening his without further ado. He stilled, "You will marry your lover." He raised a brow at Steve, who was beet red.
"Dude, Tony-" Sam said, only to be cut off with a 'shh' from him.
"Don't jinx it!"
Steve flushed even more, "Um…"
Bucky laughed, "Relax, yours next."
Steve took two tries to open his, fingers fumbling, though when he saw it his flush drained and his expression softened. "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" He laughed, "I, uh… Mmm…" He shook his head, and tilted it to regard Bucky, "James Buchanan Barnes."
Bucky's smile faltered, wondering if this wasn't a joke, "What?"
Steve stood up, "I apologize, I'm a little old fashioned." He pushed his chair back to make space and knelt down.
Bucky's jaw dropped.
HolyshitHolyshitHolyshit.
Ohmygod, yes, ohmygod, yes.
He was terribly aware that he was just sitting there in shock as the two parts of him split apart once more to resume their normal freakout positions. Winter was literally going through the statistics of whether fight or flight was best in this scenario, whereas Barnes was flailing his hands and squeeing like a school girl.
Shut up I can't think-
Who cares!? Steve is kneeling before you asking you-
This might not even be that!
"Okay," Steve rested one forearm over his knee as he reached into his back pocket, "Been waiting for a right time recently, but with the baby we had out of wedlock it's been a little hard. However, I guess now is perfect, at least for our family, considering the fortunes we just read." He pulled out a small black box, chuckling, "I was also worried you might be planning to do the same, but," He shrugged, clearing his throat.
Thats a ring case-
It could hold anything-
Like what?
A computer chip.
Just shut up.
"James Buchanan Barnes."
That's our full name. That's our full name.
Oh my god.
"Will you do me the honor-"
YESYESYES
WAIT.
"Of being my husband?" And with that he opened the small box, holding a wedding band, rather than a diamond.
Winter opened his mouth and a squeak came out.
Steve frowned, "Buck?"
Bucky shook his head and cleared his throat, collecting his two personalities together, "Y-Yes! Of course, um, yeah! To be honest, I actually got a ring for you too, but- wait, is this… Steve are these your dog tag numbers?"
"Um, yeah." Steve shrugged. "Don't worry, the rings aren't lead. Platinum, actually."
"Show off." Tony said into his drink.
"Shut up." Steve didn't even spare him a look.
"Really? You- your dog tag numbers?"
"Yeah… was that not okay?"
"Yeah." Bucky pouted. "Wait here a moment." He shook his head.
I cannot believe him.
He's been looking through our stuff.
Bucky stormed off, leaving Steve kneeling on the ground, confused.
When he came back, he found it humorous that no one had moved, or seemed to have even spoken, and he handed Steve the box. "I told you I got you a ring." As he opened it, Bucky added, "You know... platinum. I had it engraved too." Steve began to laugh, one of his genuine, side-splitting laughs that made Bucky tense with worry because he was still so certain that it would devolve into an asthma attack. "Oh, shut up."
"What is it?" Silver asked.
Catching his breath, Steve took the ring out, "Buck's dog tag numbers."
"Yeah, then you won't have to-"
"Wear the damned poisonous things-"
"Around Sarah." They both finished.
"Aw look," Tony cooed, "Now they're-"
"Finishing each other's sentences." Bruce supplied with feigned goo-goo eyes.
"Anthony, Bruce," Loki chided, "If finishing sentences were a marked sign of the highest form of love, you two would be crowned the most perfect couple for each other, as you finish each other's sentences of nonsensical scientific factoids with large, possibly made up words."
"True." The two men answered.
Bucky and Steve slipped on their respective rings and reached into their shirts, removing the tags from their necks, "Where are we going to put these?" He asked Steve.
"Mm. Can hang them up on the corner of the bed till she starts moving around. I'm sure we'll find somewhere else by then."
"Sounds good."
Tony grinned, "Sooo, who's the best man?"
Steve sighed, "I'm sorry, Tony, but my best man is Sam."
"Maid of honor." Sam corrected.
"What?" Bucky asked.
"Bucky's will be the best man, Steve's is the maid of honor."
Steve chuckled, "You don't have to be-"
"But I want to be. That was my wish. I wanna catch the bouquet because I want a girlfriend, stat."
Tony nodded, "See, Sam? Told you. Maid of honor catching the flowers. Foolproof method, and it's right there for the taking."
Steve rolled his eyes, "I'll be sure to toss it right to you."
"You better."
"So," Scarlet asked, "Who's Bucky's?"
Bucky stopped to think, "That's a hard choice…" He raised his arm to point across the table.
"Yeah!" Clint stood, fists in the air.
"Not you. Nat." Bucky moved his arm to the side to make it more obvious who the target of the gesture was.
Natasha laughed, clapping in joy, while Clint froze before nodding and laying on the ground. "Fortune fulfilled."
After a moment of laughter, Nat stopped and reached across the table to swipe up the last cookie, "Who's this for?"
"Sarah." Scarlet smiled. She took it and moved over towards the baby, who was in a crib by her fathers, gnawing at a carrot. "Hey, little rabbit." She opened the fortune and read it, "'Unleash your life force...' Huh." She shrugged.
Loki nodded, "That's considered a nice sentiment for one who can use magic, you see-"
Suddenly the doors opened and a flustered Jane trailed Darcy, who took in the scene, "You two didn't have rings before, did you? And is he okay?"
"I'm fine, thank you, Thor Taser." Clint answered from the floor.
"Great, cool. I hope we're not interrupting anything, 'cause Jane has something important to say."
"Darcy, quiet. Thor can I talk to you a moment?"
"But of course." He moved with her out of the room.
Darcy turned to look around before catching Silver's eye, "Oh hey, its you! How'd you like the Klondike bar?"
Scarlet snapped her fingers, "I knew it! I knew I recognized you, you're the ice cream girl."
"Yeah! And you're this guy's sister, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"Cool! Hey, so Jane and I were gonna go to visit Erik in England, but I think she'll be preoccupied for a bit, so you wanna come? My intern quit too, meaning you can bring your handsome brother along to help."
"Sure! I've always wanted to visit there!"
"Great!"
"So when would this trip-" Scarlet was cut off by Thor's joyful shout.
The single word was so loud it was almost unintelligible, "PREGNANT!?"
"Well, there goes that mystery…" Bruce gripped the table in fright. Tony got up and gently pat his shoulder to help calm him down.
Thor broke through the hallway doors into the room, "JANE IS PREGNANT WITH MY CHILD!" In his arms Jane was blushing and laughing nervously.
"Thor, honey, put me down."
Loki stood and walked over, reaching out to touch Jane's stomach, "Excuse me, Lady Jane."
"Uh, sure thing?" She looked between the brothers and when she saw that Thor seemed okay, she let Loki do whatever he was doing, holding her hands up from her stomach to give him room.
Loki nodded, "Yes, definitely half Asgardian. Three weeks old." He smiled, "Congratulations. I only hope it does not wield a hammer at five years of age."
"I am still sorry about that, Brother, but you know I did not realize my own strength."
"I forgave you long ago for that," Loki rolled his eyes, "My arm healed, did it not?"
"Then why bring it up?"
"Because unlike me, your child will not be as easily healed."
"True…" Thor smiled at Jane, "Then I will keep Mjolnir out of reach."
"I wasn't exactly talking about your child being the only one to wield the hammer…" Loki sighed.
Jane snorted, "Trust me, Thor won't be brandishing Mjolnir anywhere near my stomach."
"Yeah, Mew-Mew is a little too dangerous for that." Darcy nodded.
"Mjolnir." Loki corrected, dragging out the syllables, "Myol-near."
"Mew-Mew."
"Are you daft?" He asked.
Jane reached over and touched Loki's arm, "Just… let her go."
"Oh, can we name the kid Mew-Mew!"
"My god, MJOLNIR." Loki facepalmed, "It isn't so complicated! The hammer is not named after the sound a kitten makes! It is an ancient, proud word meaning 'that which smashes.' And neither Mew-Mew nor Mjolnir are names for a child, most definitely not my neice or nephew. Because if a name reflects the person, then I would not wish a creature embodying either idea to be in my family - at least no more than once. Thor has already done enough 'smashing' for a lifetime. Believe me."
"I agree with Loki." Jane nodded, patting the god's arm, "And this one's got the kitten part down anyway."
"Thank you. A voice of reason." Loki smiled at her, "We shall get along just fin- Wait, did you just call me a kitten!?"
The night proceeded with small arguments, congratulations, explanations, and eventually everyone wandering off to bed except Tony and Frigga, who had offered to clean up. As they did so, Tony looked up from the plates he was collecting, "So, what about your fate idea?"
"Oh, it hasn't changed. Like I said, perseverance. Skill. Favorable chances being utilized… Such as your program JARVIS and a little magic. You know, some observances, even in a week, can go quite a long way if you know what to do with them. Especially when you're used to dealing with stubborn people who ignore their own feelings."
Tony paused in his cleaning, watching the woman flit about, waving away any food that had gotten on the table, "You did this? The whole thing that happened tonight…?"
"Hm? Did I?" She swept some bowls up into her arms, "What do you think?"
"...I think you're the best Asgardian I've met yet."
"Will ever meet." She corrected with a knowing smile.
"I'm not arguing with you there, Mama Bear. Feel free to stay as long as you like, by the way. Observe and all that."
"I told you when I said I wanted to stay that I did so to assist you all. You need it."
"Yeah… We do…" Tony looked out the window, lost in thought. When he realized he'd just wandered off in his mind, he looked back, only to realize she was gone and the table was clean, "Damn."
A/N: So I haven't really 'scienced' in a couple months, so forgive any logical holes that are likely in Frigga's theoretical explanation of Sarah being a Calico. And I'm sorry for how long this chapter was... it just sort of happened XD