Chapter 18: Visitor

Loki had to clean and organise all the new baby stuffs from Clint as a task. It was a task he actually loved doing. It allowed him to see all the baby things he now owned and to prepare for the baby to come. Overall, it was a great task. So Loki was working when Tony showed up.

"Hey! Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, mister Stark. What can I help you with?"

"Well, I was thinking we should remodel the rooms soon. Have you thought about that? It could be a room for you and the other one for the kids. Or you three in one room and the other as a playroom. What do you think?"

Loki had thought about it, but it seems surreal.

"Look, the decision we are making can be modified in a few years. You know, when they grow up, they will want to each have their own room. We have place for that in the compound. You three could have your own room in time."

"Well, for now, I would like to keep the baby with me, in the same room. As for Alex, he still won't sleep at night if I'm too far. And slaves usually all share the slaves quarter."

"No! Absolutely not! This is not the slave quarter," said Tony slightly angry about the S word. "This is Midgard and we are talking about your kids. You don't have to think as a slave. You have two rooms for the three of you. Who sleeps where? And where would be the playroom?"

"As a child, I shared a room with Thor. The playroom was close by and we would sneak there sometime when we were not supposed to."

"How surprising of you," said Tony sarcastically.

"Well, I don't think a child should play in the same room he is sleeping. So for now, we should have one room for the three of us and move the toys to the other."

"Great! Do you want to sleep in the same room as now? That can be changed if you want. Though I know this one has a condemned bathroom. It was Vision's room and giving he is a robot, he doesn't eat nor... you know. I'll fix the bathroom. I never took the time to actually finish that bathroom. And do you want to change the colour of the walls? For both rooms, I mean."

"Maybe a soft tone of forest green. Or blue. Alex loves blue."

"I'll bring you some colour samples so you can choose," said Tony.

"Thank you, mister Stark, for giving me a room, actually two, for my children."

"Well, we have rooms around here. No big deal."

oOo

"Father, I would like to go visit Midgard," requested Thor.

"Indeed, it would be a good idea to see if your friends need help with the slaves," said Odin sitting in his throne. "I will also send a raven with you, if you don't mind."

Thor was glad the throne room was actually empty today.

"Well, I mean it as a pleasure visit. For fun."

"Do you want to go see Jane or your friends, the Avengers?"

"Well, both."

"Then the raven goes with you. I want to keep an eye on the situation."

oOo

Loki was now really advanced in his pregnancy. He was finishing a visit with Doctor Banner.

"The baby is healthy. I have no concerns for what is to come. Now, you say the baby is hermaphrodite?"

"Yes, like Alex."

"How do you know? For what I can see, it looks like a girl," said Banner.

"I can feel it. Frost giant has a unique relation with their babies. I knew Alex would look like an asgardian and more like a boy, even though he has both set of reproductive organs. Alex and the next one are half asgardian, half-frost-giant and have both genders. Now, this one will have an even lighter skin tone than me, and she will also look more like a girl, but will still be both. She might look more like a frost giant too."

"Well, I would estimate the birth in a month or so. What do you say about that?"

"Five weeks, three days. Give or take a day or two."

"That's precise."

Suddenly, it started to rain, then thunder and soon after, Friday's voice.

"Thor has landed."

"Yeah, we suspected as much. Thanks Friday," said Bruce.

"Do you know what he wants? Why he's here," asked Loki who was now anxious.

"Maybe just visiting? Friday, can you tell Steve to... actually, you know what? Just tell Steve I'll keep Loki here until we know why Thor is here."

"Alex is in our room. He should wake up soon."

"You want to go now?"

"I will act the part. If Thor is here, it might be to see how Captain Rogers is doing with me."

"Okay, go."

Loki ran out of the infirmary and to the living quarter. Of course, a good slave should not idle, and Alex was a slave. Loki should tell him they now had to pretend they were slaves. But as soon as Loki came close to his room, he saw Thor.

He immediately shifted to his slave mode and became a shadow. He walked along the wall and went into the kitchen. Rogers, Stark and Thor were talking, sitting on the couches of the living room. Loki eavesdropped while he was preparing some refreshment. When there are visitors in the house, a good slave should serve refreshments without being asked.

"Yes, no problem, we will locate Jane Foster and ask her if she wants to come," said Tony. "And you can have your own room here. I already have rooms for all the Avengers. Is your bird house trained?"

"Tony," said Steve. "The raven had been here before and never caused problems."

Loki should have known the raven would be here. At least, he had the drinks so he went to serve. Thor first because he is the guest. Loki bowed to Thor while extending the tray with the glasses. Thor took a glass without even sparing a glare at the slave. Then Loki went to his master and Rogers was looking at the raven as he took his glass to reassure himself he was doing the right thing. Tony was used to having waiters in cocktails and other events, but he just gestured Loki to put the glass on the small table because he doesn't like to be handed things, even when it happens to be alcohol. Loki quickly returned the tray in the kitchen and then went to kneel beside his master. It had been a while since he had kneeled and he didn't miss it, but at least the living room had a nice rug.

"I came to Midgard to see Jane, yes, but to see my fellow Avengers," said loudly Thor. "Was there any treats against your world lately?"

"Not much, actually," said Rogers. "There is that small problem with a group that resemble Hydra, but we took care of that last week. Other than that, we have a lot of prevention, conferences, lectures, meetings and, most important, training. We also have a new guy in the team. Ant-Man."

"There was a small incident around a spider, a teenager. But I took care of him. I wanted to recruit him for the team, but the kid refused," said Tony referring to Spider-man.

Loki kept his head low during the conversation.

"And did you have any problem with your slaves, Captain?"

"Not much. He is helping around the compound and overall respect the rules placed upon him."

"Great." Thor took a sip before he continued. "You know, some slaves are punished just to remind them who is in charge. It prevents future misdeed." How Thor hated himself for saying that. He knew the damn raven was watching and he had to act like Loki was just a piece of furniture in the room.

It was at that moment that Alex woke up and came out of his room.

"Daddy?"

Loki didn't know what to do. Should he go to Alex? A good slave would not do that. Should he stay there? Alex would come to him and wonder why he was kneeling. Should he look at Rogers to know what to do? A good slave doesn't make eye contact with free people and a good slave should know what to do. But Alex was too fast and was next to Loki.

"Daddy, why are you..."

"Alex, go back to your room," said Rogers with a voice that didn't let place for argument.

Alex was scared. He knew the situation. Seeing his father on his knees was nothing new, but Alex was used to the new way of things now. Loki was glad Alex went back to his room.

Thor didn't know how to react, but the raven croaked loudly and Thor reacted.

"That slave should be punished. It is not appropriated for a slave to arrive like that," said Thor trying to keep his composure.

Steve decided to handle the situation differently.

"Slave, I want you to punish him, now. And then you both stay in the room," said Steve.

Loki bowed and then left. When he entered the room, he hugged Alex.

"Hey, it's okay Alex. Mister Rogers just wanted you out of the living room."

"Are we slaves again?"

"Alex, we are going to play a game now, okay?"

"A fun game?"

"Not exactly, but if you are following all the rules of the game, at the end of it, we would use all our gold stars for whatever you want. But for a few days, we will both act like slaves and follow all the rules and act like perfect slaves. But it won't be for real, okay?"

Loki had tried to save his gold stars, but now he needed something strong to encourage Alex to play the game.

"Okay daddy. Are we in trouble?"

"No. But Thor, the man in the living room, is from Asgard and as long as he is here with the raven, we have to pretend we are slaves. Can you do that?"

"It doesn't seem fun."

Loki lowered his head. This was hard. He didn't want to act like the slave he was trained for when Rogers just told him he doesn't have to. He was starting to believe he might have a good life here. And it was harder for Alex because he had adapted.

"It won't be fun and it will be hard. But we will do this together."

Lately, Loki had let Alex played with toys any chance he had, but now they had to act like slaves.

Rogers opened the door after a brief knock. He usually wanted for an invitation, but Loki figured Thor and the raven were watching, so Rogers had to pretend that was the slaves' quarter and as a master, he didn't need an invitation.

"Hey Loki, Alex. Look, Alex, I didn't want to scare you earlier."

"I know. Are we slaves now? For real?"

Steve kneeled down on the floor to be at Alex's level.

"Not for real, never for real. But you have to pretend okay. You know better than me what a good slave should do."

"Yes master."

Steve felt a pang in his heart at that word, but he had to let it go.

"Loki, you know I would have to give you more orders and be harder with you."

"I understand, master. Alex, you need to do what you did back on Asgard. You stay close to me and you do not speak. You kneel except when it's appropriate to stand. And you keep your head low."

"Yes daddy."

"Loki, you know how a good slave should act," said Steve, "but by now, I should know how a good master acts too. Can you help me out?"

"Always use direct phrases. It's an order, not a suggestion. Don't call us by our name, just call us slaves. A slave is just a propriety, an object. We should not have names," explained Loki. "I will obey you, but you should know that a punishment should be immediate, not delay. And we should forget the reward system for a while."

"No," objected Alex.

"We will not remove it," said Steve, "just pretend it doesn't exist for a little while. And I will even double all the stars you will gain until Thor left."

"More toys after?"

"Yes Alex," said Loki, then he turned to Steve. "I told him if he played along, we will use all our stars to buy toys and candies after Thor's visit."

oOo

At supper that evening, it was a literal nightmare. Alex had never been trained to serve people and handle multiple plates, so Loki tried to make it easy for him, but the raven had to see the child serve and be a slave. Every single minute that went by broke Loki's heart a bit further. At least, only Stark, Rogers and Thor were here for supper, the others just suddenly had something planned, all at the same moment, total coincidence, absolutely nothing to do with the fact that a child was serving the supper. But Thor had to see Loki be a slave, and the other two just had to be there. Therefore, Loki had cooked the meal and had served the plates in silent. Of course, he didn't have to eat, but Steve had Friday deliver something so they had eaten before supper, in their room. Loki was now kneeling on the floor between Alex and Thor. He had decided to place Alex closer to Rogers so Loki could serve Thor directly if needed.

After the main course, Loki stood to pick up the plate and was getting ready to serve dessert.

"Who want dessert," asked Steve.

"You know what, that meal was really good and I'm full," said Stark. "No dessert for me, thanks."

"Same, friend Rogers. No dessert, thank you."

Loki was so glad when they all stood and left for the living room. He cleared the table and went to do the dishes. He knew a slave need to be working at least until the sun is completely set, but usually after the master had gone to bed.

"I can finish cleaning the kitchen by myself," whispered Loki to Alex. "You should go kneel next to mister Rogers in case they need something."

So Alex went and kneeled in silence in the living room.

"Who want a drink," asked Tony.

"Yes, sure, please," said Thor.

Then, Tony stood up and went for his bar when the raven croaked.

"Hum, friend Stark, don't you have a slave for that?"

Tony stopped abruptly, then turned, now regretting offering the drinks. He snapped his fingers and said.

"Slaves, we need drinks here."

Loki ran from the kitchen to the bar in record time giving he was pregnant.

"Yes masters. What would you want?"

"Three glasses of that bottle on the top right," ordered Tony.

Loki took the bottle and some glasses then pour the drink. He picked up a tray and went to serve. All that time, Alex had stayed as still as a statue. The ambiance in the room was tense in the living room and Loki was glad when the men decided to go outside for a walk.

"Loki, I want you in your room and not out until I come for you tomorrow," had said Steve before going out.

Loki was so glad the day was finally over. He picked up Alex and put the tired boy to bed. Then, Loki snuggled close to him.

oOo

The next few days were exhausting. Loki was focusing very hard to be a good slave so as not to give Thor and Odin any reason to bring him back to Asgard. He didn't want to make any mistake. If he did, even for the smallest one, he would be sent to the cell, which was not bad, but he would not be there for Alex. The boy was adapting far too fast for Loki's comfort, he was totally reversing to his behaviour from Asgard and Loki didn't want his son to have to even think as a slave. The work Steve asked Loki to do was not different than the usual, but there were more, which means less free time. Loki now had to prepare all the meals and he couldn't eat. Though as soon as the raven was out of the room, Loki would give food to Alex. Tony had asked Friday to tell Loki whenever the raven was coming toward him, so Loki could have some slack, but had to act like a slave in the raven's presence and he had to keep Alex in check, all that while pregnant. He just hoped Thor would leave soon.

Jane Foster had arrived at the compound the day after Thor and they were passing a lot of time together. As soon as she arrived, Thor had told her about Loki and Alex, so she was mostly ignoring them, playing along for a damn raven that was serving as Odin's spy.

A week later, the infernal raven finally flew away. Oh, Loki was relieved and told Alex to stop playing slaves, then, Thor entered the room.

"Loki, the raven has left. Apparently Father needs him elsewhere."

"Game's over, daddy?"

"Yes Alex."

"Did we win?"

"Yes Alex. You did well."

"I'm happy you don't have to act like a slave," said Thor.

"Daddy, does that mean I can do nap again?"

Alex had to stop doing his nap because a good slave doesn't sleep in the middle of the day.

"Yes. And it's time. Let's go to bed."

"Alex, do you want to show me your room," asked Thor.

Alex was insecure.

"Thor is not a bad man, Alex. We can trust him. We just cannot trust the raven."

Loki took Alex's hand and led him to their room. Thor followed them. The baby stuff from Clint had been moved to this room and the colour for the new playroom had been chosen.

"As I see, you are ready for the baby," said Thor.

Loki put Alex to bed and the adults get out. They made their way to the living room, but Loki was hesitating to sit giving that he had kneeled so much in that room since Thor's arrival.

"How are you really, Loki?"

"I'm good, your majesty."

"And how is your situation here?"

"Could be worst, your majesty."

"Friend Rogers told me you had to go to the cell once."

"Yes, your majesty. I have learned my lesson." Loki wanted to add that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Loki, please, don't call me majesty. I'm not the king yet."

"Yes, my prince."

"Please call me Thor. Call me an idiot, an oaf, whatever, but I don't want you to act like a slave around me."

"Did the Allfather impose his spy on you?"

"Yes. I wish he hadn't."

"Better the raven than him in person."

"You do not wish to see him?"

"Never again!"

"Brother. I'm sorry you were sentenced to this. It's horrible. I wish there was a way to reverse it, but so far, the only way I see is to change the law once I'm king. To see you as a slave is heartbreaking for me. And Alex is my nephew, I just wish I could have a relationship with him. Loki, I love you and mother loved you. Before she died, she asked if you could be spared, but father refused. He said you still had to learn."

"How did she die? No one told me anything."

"She felt ill. It was fast so she didn't suffer for long. The healers tried their best, but there was nothing to be done. She wanted to speak to you, but the rules are clear about slaves. She believed you could be better."

"I'm doing my best. I only had one real punishment since coming here. I'm behaving even though this world is confusing."

"One punishment? What about the one Rogers told me about."

"That one, that lasted a few days, that's the real one. On my second day here, I poured water on my master so you could see me be punished. The raven had to see. But I can assure you, I am behaving."

"I'm happy to ear this, brother."

"We are not brother."

"We grew up together. I don't care about blood or the fact that, as a slave, you don't have a family. You are my brother."

Loki let the silent sat in for a while, thinking back to his training.

"The worst thing about the sentence was to lose you and Frigga. Losing my freedom, my dignity, my magic, it came after. Because I knew I would have been able to live without those if I had visitors or if I had known you were both okay. It took having Alex in my life to see I should change. I had to be responsible because I could not let him down. I know I hurt you, a lot. I betrayed you, and my family, and Asgard. I fought you and I know why I did all those things... crimes. I know I deserve some kind of punishment. But I lost everything. I wanted to be as worthy as you, to be your equal. Then I ended up being less than nothing. I wanted Earth so you and Odin will finally see me and I thought, why not take over a planet whose inhabitants are so weak. But they are not weak. They are not treating me like a slave by any standard. I am a handyman, a prisoner with a job. I can earn points in order to buy stuff, toys for Alex. I can provide for him and make sure he is happy.

'I know what I did, and why I did it. I'm sorry for what I have done, but I am glad to have Alex now. And another one soon.'

Thor tapped Loki on his back as a sign of friendship.

'I forgive you, brother. I told father I will be here for a few more days, I would like to spend time with you. And to get to know your son. If you want, of course.'

'Of course, brother. I still have my work, but I will be happy to spend time with you.'

oOo

At supper that night, it was nice to eat like a person. Loki was sitting beside Alex and Thor was at the end of the table.

'You know Alex, your father and I are brothers. And I heard you are going to be a big brother soon. Is that right?'

'Yeah. Daddy said I'm going to have a little sister or a little brother.'

'Well, I can tell you having a little brother is a lot of fun and I'm sure you will be a great big brother.'

'Daddy is your little brother? He is not little.'

'He was, a long time ago. But we both grow up,' said Thor.

'And you will grow up too, Alex, but not unless you finish your plate,' said Loki.

'It's good to have food and not be a slave,' said Alex before eating.

'Loki, Alex,' said Steve. 'In the past week, you had earned a total of eighty gold stars. Hum, Thor, we have a system...'

'Yes, Stark told me,' said Thor.

'Great. So Loki and Alex can earn around 5 to 10 stars a day, depending. And this week, you two did really well.'

'Is eighty a big number, daddy?'

'Yes, it is really big.'

'Do you remember when I told you I would double the stars you won while the raven is here?'

Loki nodded, but Alex said 'yes'.

'Well, you earn 160 gold stars. Plus the one you already have, you now have 173.'

'Daddy, you promised we would use them for toys and candies!'

'I did, yes.'

'Might I remember you that you can have a day off, without work, for 30 stars. And you can both earn two stars as long as you behave,' informed Steve.

'I was planning of putting "painting the playroom," on the list. Paint had arrived, so we can paint the room whenever you want,' said Tony.

'Of course, you will have help for the painting,' ensured Steve.

'Daddy, can we have a new toy? And some candies?'

'Yes, we can, but after supper,' said Loki.

'When you say day off, what do you mean exactly,' asked Thor.

'Don't you have days off in Asgard?'

'Yes, just not for... Well, not everyone gets them,' said Thor. 'I'm wondering if it means the same here.'

'All the people who are working can have weekends and day without work,' said Tony. 'Well, I usually work in my workshop during those, or go to fancy places. But some people take quality family time.'

'Loki, this is something you can have,' said Steve.

'I was planning on taking one. But I promised Alex we would have toys this week.'

'What is a day off,' asked Alex.

'It's a day when I don't have to work, that I can spend only with you doing things we both want.'

'That's sound nice. Like playing and eating candies, and going outside?'

'Yes, those things.'

After supper, it was decided what they would exchange their gold stars for.