Chapter 2 – SNOW
Don't tell me to stop,
Tell the rain not to drop,
Tell the wind not to blow,
Cause I said so, Mmhmm,
Tell the sun not to shine,
Not to, get up this time no no,
Let it flow by the way,
But don't leave me where I lay down,
Tell me, love isn't true,
It's just something that we do,
Tell me, everything I'm not but,
Please don't tell me to stop. –Madonna "Don't Tell Me"
Loki and Tony had been arguing nonstop. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Tony was arguing while Loki mumbled uninterested replies. Loki only hoped Thor would return soon so that Loki could get Tony to shut up. Loki was lounging comfortably on the couch, one hand holding a small book of poems close to Loki's face, while the other absently rubbed the more obvious bump of his belly. Tony paced back and forth, intermittently mumbling angrily and shouting at the ceiling. Thor had been gone for almost two weeks, which led Loki to believe that Idunn was making him jump hoops for her kicks and giggles. But Thor would do it, and more, just because Loki asked him to. Loki started singing out loud, in an attempt to drown out Tony's bitching.
"Ugh! And I am not gonna be a soccer dad!" Tony continued. Loki rolled his eyes, mostly because he had no idea what Tony was talking about. Tony suddenly stopped pacing and watched Loki, "Are you even listening to me?" he asked.
"Mhmm." Loki hummed, not taking his eyes off his book. Tony knelt by the couch and gently removed the book from Loki's thin fingers. Loki's iridescent eyes seemed to bore into Tony's soul, not threatening, just…knowing. Tony shivered involuntarily at how naked he truly felt beneath that viridian gaze, but he didn't falter. They stared at each other for a moment. Tony sighed and it was like some great weight had suddenly been thrown upon his back. And then he faltered. His face cracked, like a dam that was about to give way,
"Loki…" he said softly, but Loki already knew what he was going to say, "I'm scared." Tony finally confessed the truth that had been eating him alive all this time. Loki smiled, warm and comforting,
"There is no reason to be, my love. I have everything under control." He explained. Tony didn't look appeased,
"Why is that not comforting, coming from you?" He chuckled nervously, like a madman on the edge. Loki's frail fingertips touched Tony's face and his eyes seemed to glow more than usual,
"Speak your fears." He breathed. Something became unhinged in Tony's mind and he found his thoughts come pouring out, as he truly had no control over his mouth,
"I'm a horrid, selfish, self-centered, alcoholic, old man. If I don't die of liver failure or suicide soon, then I'll be dead of old age not long anyways! And I'm going to Hell! I accept that! But…" tears ran down his face, "…now this. Just another mistake to add to the never-ending list? I don't know HOW to be a father! Not even to mention if I CAN! I can't even be a proper boyfriend! Or a son…" his voice was choked off as he buried his face in his hands. Loki let him cry for a while, staying silent. Tony finally looked up at him, and he looked just like a child who couldn't find their parents, like his whole world was shattering around him. Loki smiled,
"And this is the part where I tell you everything will be fine? That you're ok? To let all those things go?" his voice was soothing, yet like nails on a chalkboard, at the same time. He shook his head, "No." he whispered, then moved to sit up on the couch and face Tony,
"I can tell you that everything will be fine. I promise that. I cannot help you overcome these tragic memories of your father. That is your own battle, sweetheart. But I can be here to comfort you in anyway. I don't want you to forget those things, to let go of all those memories. I hope that someday they will not hurt you anymore, but you can use them…to fuel you, to motivate you." He gently wrapped his spider fingers around Tony's face and touched their foreheads together, "One must learn to be a father…there is no…" he searched for the right word, "…blueprints, or schematics…" he chuckled softly at his choice of words, "…to tell you how to do it. Yes, it will be hard, there will be many mountains and landslides to follow, but you'll make it. And I promise that in the end…it will make you a better man." Tony simply stared at him in rapt fascination, soaking in every word. "And then…perhaps…you'll understand your father better." Loki finished by kissing Tony's forehead tenderly. Loki leaned back on the couch to make himself comfortable again. Tony looked at the floor, seeming momentarily lost in all the information Loki gave him.
"But…" Tony turned his brown eyes to Loki again, "I'm still going to die of old age, Loki." As if on cue, thunder sounded over the mansion. They both turned to see the flash of lightening, in broad daylight, in the backyard. Steve came in from the exercise room,
"Either it's going to rain in the middle of the day with no clouds out…or Thor's home." He was grinning. Loki chuckled,
"Have you been lonely, Steven?" He teased. Steve tried to ignore the comment, but his face still went red. Thor stepped into the house, looking in desperate need of a shower, and gave them his cliché grin. Tony got up off the floor and tried to cover up the fact that he'd been crying for last hour or so. Loki also picked himself up off the couch and held his hand out to Thor. Tony watched curiously. Thor took a moment to observe Loki's new figure, then reached out and placed something in Loki's waiting hand.
"I hope it survived the trip." He chuckled before moving to sweep Steve up in a hug. Tony's eyes were wide as he tried to peek at what Loki was now polishing against his shirt. Loki grabbed one of Tony's hands and turned it palm-up, then placed a shining golden apple in his hand. Tony looked at it in wonder for a moment before looking at Loki in confusion. Thor's expression changed to shocked anger,
"Wait!" He stepped forward, "That's not what you told me…!" Loki ignored him and didn't remove his eyes from Tony's.
"This is…" Tony looked down at the sacred fruit again.
"You'll never age again." Loki whispered, "All you have to do…is eat it." He placed his other hand against Tony's cheek, "But I'll never make you do it…" He closed Tony's fingers around the fruit, "…this is all your choice." He stepped back from Tony. Thor was still glaring,
"Loki, you can't just go about giving those to mortals!" He said in an angry whisper, "You told me it was for you!"
"Of course I did." Loki turned to him, "If I'd said otherwise you wouldn't have retrieved it for me." He smiled. Thor's mouth hung open like a fish. "Oh stop looking so surprised! Like I've never lied to you before..." Loki rolled his eyes.
"Wait…" Tony spoke carefully, "You mean…are you going to get in trouble for this?" he asked Loki. Loki waved a hand while making a "psh!" sound with his lips,
"Oh please…like I could do anything to make the universe hate me more." He laughed, "It's true that only Odin is supposed to have the right to give Idunn's apples to mortals, but…" he shrugged, "I was never one for following rules." He smiled, "And besides, if you don't want it…Thor can always return it."
Tony seemed to be weighing the apple in his hand. Despite the fact that it looked and felt like true gold, it seemed to hold the same weight as an average apple.
"So…" he spoke while staring at his reflection in the golden skin, "Am I going to be a god now…?" he asked. Loki laughed while Thor snorted indignantly.
"No, darling. One must be born a god. But you will be immortal." Loki stepped over to place his hand on Tony's shoulder, "You're a man of science, think of it this way…" he paused to gather his thoughts then gestured to himself, "Thor and I are the perfect specimens, purely born that way, while you would be the imperfect creation whose existence was made possible by us. You'll have similar traits as us, but you'll never be a purebred." He smirked. Tony gave him a look.
"I hope that wasn't a compliment, cause…it sucked." He smiled and Loki laughed. Tony took a deep breath and held the apple level with his eyes, "Here goes nothing…" he whispered and closed his eyes, as if bracing for something, then took a bite. Loki held his smile and waited for Tony to swallow and open his eyes. Tony looked at him with expectation.
"That's it." Loki gently explained, "That's all you needed. It's done." He took the apple from Tony's hand and took a big bite out of it. Tony looked momentarily horrified, all the second thoughts and regrets flashed in his eyes and Loki saw it. Loki wrapped Tony's hands around the apple again, then placed his hands over Tony's and held the apple against Tony's lips,
"Just eat the rest anyways. Better to not waste it." He teased, but Tony could see that this was a test. Loki's evergreen eyes spoke what his lips didn't; the one thing that had almost tore them both apart, and had actually killed Loki: "Trust me." Tony had sworn to never let that happen again and he tightened his grip on the fruit as he sank his teeth into it again. Loki's face lit up blissfully.
"Oh my god." Loki suddenly said.
"What?" came the chorus of terrified replies.
"If I don't get a hamburger right now I'm going to kill someone." Loki said and started rubbing his stomach hungrily. Tony cracked up,
"Oh yeah, Loki's been craving hamburgers all week. It's all he'll eat." He explained to the others, "And pudding."
"Hamburgers and pudding?" Steve questioned. Tony nodded,
"Yeah, but not just any hamburgers, White Castle hamburgers." He laughed, "So I better go grab my car keys, cause now I have to go buy two dozen of those nasty burgers before my boyfriend turns to eating human flesh." Steve blanched at Tony's joke, but Loki started pretending to chew on Thor's forearm. Thor chuckled in amusement.
"Oh, and Tony?" Loki called. Tony stopped at the front door and turned around to look at Loki with interest, "Don't go jumping in front of any cars or something stupid like that. You're immortal in the sense that you won't age or catch diseases of any kind, but you are not invincible." He explained.
"Psh! Yeah cause I was totally planning on dodging traffic for fun." Tony responded with heavy sarcasm before leaving.
Word of Loki's condition spread a lot faster than the heroes would have liked. Before they knew it they had flocks of paparazzi eager to put him on the cover of magazines, and scientists equally as eager to study him. Loki refused all invitations and hid in his room. Like a wounded animal he stayed in the dark, hissing at any who came near. The only people he'd allow to visit him in his cave were Steve, who brought his food, and Bruce, who gave him checkups every week. He had no patience for Tony, and even less for Thor. At one point Peter went in to play some videogames with him, but that didn't last longer than an hour or two. Tony became increasingly paranoid and lonely, but never once picked up a bottle of booze, much to the astonishment of everyone else. Clint had even purchased a bottle of new wine and offered Tony a glass, only to have the older man say no. Afterwards everyone had continually asked Tony if he was alright or if he needed a doctor, but he assured them he just couldn't have such bad habits anymore. Bruce had explained what a sonogram was and asked Loki if he wanted one, but Loki had responded by saying he already knew it was a girl and what she would look like, so he didn't care to see it. Thor and Loki's shared nightmares continued, each one depicting Loki's death differently, either by the hands of Doom or the fire-haired child, in various locations but with snow in each one. Loki couldn't figure any of them out, and could admit that he wasn't trying that hard, but what he wouldn't admit was that he was afraid to know what they meant. Tony finally dared to knock on the bedroom door and ask Loki to come out,
"We're having a convention tonight. It would be good for you to come and talk to some fans…and stuff, ya know? All of us are going, and I really don't like the idea of leaving you home alone." He explained. He stood with his ear to the door for several minutes, just as he sighed and was about to walk away the door swung open. His eyebrows went to his hairline with surprise and his mouth dropped as he looked at Loki. Loki scowled at him and gestured to his prominent belly,
"Go ahead. Tell me you want me to come with you." He said sarcastically. Tony couldn't take his eyes off Loki's belly,
"Woah…" he mumbled, "You look like you're gonna explode." Loki glared even harder. Tony smiled at him, "Of course I still want you to come!" he assured. He looked at Loki's belly again. He put his hand out for a second before pulling it back like he'd been burnt, then he looked at Loki with hesitant childish excitement.
"Can I?" he asked with wide eyes. Loki's heart tugged and he couldn't help smiling,
"Yes, of course." He said. Tony suddenly dropped to his knees, placing both hands on either side of Loki's belly and laying his head gently against the round flesh. His eyes were still wide as he waited, listened expectantly, for what Loki wasn't sure, but it was touching to see. Tony started rubbing Loki's belly with one hand and he closed his eyes. Loki sighed and started playing with Tony's scruffy hair.
"You think she'll know me…when she first sees me, I mean?" Tony whispered.
"It's a possibility. But we'll have to wait and see." Loki answered.
"What if she doesn't like me?" Tony continued to whisper. Loki chuckled,
"All children hate their parents at one point or another. She will learn though." He said.
"I hope she likes Black Sabbath." Tony said. Loki laughed, making Tony's head bob against his belly. Tony looked up at him with a grin, "So, you'll come with us tonight? Please?" he asked. Loki relented with a content sigh,
"Yes." He said and Tony hopped to his feet.
"Awesome! I'll let the others know so they'll wait for you, ok?" he called as he ran down the stairs. As much as Loki would have liked to dress regal in his armor, there was no way it would fit him. So he reluctantly wore a loose green tunic and black suede pants with his favorite black boots. He took a large fur coat, just in case he needed to hide himself in it. Steve met him at the top of the stairs. Loki looked at him curiously and Steve held out his arm,
"I thought you might need help getting down the stairs." He explained. Loki snorted in amusement,
"Who said I'm going to walk down them?" he replied then suddenly vanished in a spray of green light, only to reappear at the bottom of the steps and look up at Steve with a smirk. Steve laughed and came trotting down the stairs to lead Loki out the door and to the waiting car. Loki continually swatted Steve off,
"I'm fine! I do not need assistance." He grumbled. Steve chuckled,
"Ok. Sorry." He hopped into the passenger seat and the car started moving. Loki's chest filled with regret as soon as he saw the crowds around the convention building; hundreds, thousands, like swarms of ants, everywhere. He suddenly gripped Tony's arm at his side,
"I want to go home." He said quickly, panicked. Tony gently gathered him into a hug,
"Hey now, don't freak out. They're just geeky fans, they won't eat you or anything, I swear." He kissed Loki's cheek, "I'm right here. You'll be fine." He soothed. Loki took a deep breath,
"Ok." He tried to smile, but it was hardly convincing. They drove around the convention arena and were led inside a back door that was strictly for celebrities. A man with a microphone attached to one side of his head and clipboard in his hands greeted them,
"Alright. Do you guys want us to throw up the curtain so you can go out one at a time? Or would you like to take your seats and we'll introduce you while you're seated?" He asked. Tony and Steve both glanced at Loki.
"Let's go with the second option." Steve said and Tony was nodding. The man was staring at Loki now,
"Oh wow…you're really…" was all he mumbled before the glare of Loki's eyes made him look away, "Uh…Ok! Then let's get you guys out there!" he started ushering them onto the stage. Steve sat at the far side with Tony at his left followed by Loki, Thor, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha. Peter was indisposed. Loki was simultaneously blinded and infuriated by the flashes of cameras when they raised the curtain. He groaned in aggravation, earning him a worried glance from Tony. He was then surprised to find that most of the fan's questions were directed at him. He stuttered for a moment but realized he had no idea what had been asked, only that they were all staring at him, waiting for a reply.
"Uh…what?" he blinked, "I mean, can you repeat that?" he corrected himself.
"Are you ever going to be a true member of the Avengers?" came the shout. Loki instinctively looked at Steve. Steve just raised his eyebrows and smiled, then nodded to Loki, telling him that he was on his own here. Loki looked back at the crowd,
"That…has yet to be determined." He answered.
"Can you show us your baby bump?" came an obviously male voice.
"What?" Tony looked out at the crowd with an offended scrunch of his brow.
"No!" Loki replied.
"Then how can we believe you? Are the rumors even true, or is this your idea of a joke?" the same voice accused. Loki suddenly got out of his seat, knocking his chair back. The crowd gasped and even more cameras went off like lightening. All the Avengers wore the same look of shock, eyes wide.
"Are you satisfied?" Loki barked. There was no reply. A stagehand ran out and set Loki's chair up again. Loki sat down and glared at the entire crowd. A small woman raised her hand,
"Now that Thor is king of Asgard…" she looked directly at Thor, "Will you and the Captain be leaving Earth?" she asked. Thor shook his head once,
"No. Earth is Steven's home, I'll never take him from that. My younger brother, Balder, watches over the throne while I am here." He explained stoically. Another woman waved at Loki,
"Do you know what you'll name the baby?" she asked.
"No, it is not traditional among my people to name a child till it actually lives through birth." He replied. An awkward silence filled the area for a minute, and Tony scratched the back of his head.
"How do you plan to give birth?" a different man asked. Tony slammed his hands on the table,
"Can we not get into the details? Leave it alone already!" he snapped. Loki looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and adoration swirling in his eyes. No one asked Loki another question through the remainder of the convention, which Loki was happy for. He'd only come along to appease Tony, and as the minutes ticked by he found that he wanted to leave more and more. They were only on that stage for an hour, but it could have been a century for all the looks of disgust and curiosity that stared at Loki the entire time. When the administrator finally ushered them away, Loki couldn't have been more relieved. Tony grabbed him as soon as they were off stage,
"I am SO sorry!" he said, his eyes were the brightest shades of regret, "I never thought…" Loki smiled softly,
"It's alright. I don't care anymore. Let's just get out of here. I'm starving." He said. Tony nodded happily.
"I guess it's kind of a big deal to the public, huh?" Clint said.
"Well, it's not every day that one of the biggest heroes on Earth gets another man pregnant." Bruce replied like they were talking about the weather. Tony's face went red and Loki didn't respond.
The next morning Loki found himself at SHIELD HQ. Nick Fury had personally come to pick him up and ask for his help. They now stood in Fury's conference hall, a small squad of agents seated around the table while Nick and Loki went over the plans.
"We're quite positive about this hideout, even if he's not there it should be cleared out. There could be anything helpful there." Nick was explaining. Loki nodded as he looked at the layout map on the table. Loki glanced at the squad of men,
"And you're sure they can do it?" he asked.
"Of course. I wouldn't have chosen them if I didn't." Nick assured. Loki nodded again. Loki straightened up, rubbing his lower back,
"Alright. Listen carefully." He addressed the men, "There are a few crucial things you'll be looking for. First being any and all technology of Dooms'. Any fallen robots would be good. Weapons such as explosives, guns, anything that you know is highly advanced…" he paused to look at one of the men who was raising his hand,
"Sir, how will we know if it's highly advanced?" he asked.
"Trust me. It will be obvious." Loki told him and the boy nodded affirmatively. Loki rested his hands upon his belly and continued, "The second thing to look for is chemicals. If you come across a lab of any kind, try to grab some samples of anything you can. I don't expect you to identify any compounds or chemicals, because we might not even know what they are, just grab them and go." The group nodded at him, "And, of course, keep your eyes open for any hostages or prisoners that might be held there. We really don't know what Doom does in his free time." Loki yawned then looked at Nick, "Anything I'm forgetting?" he asked. Nick thought for a moment,
"Try not to die." He commented.
"Yes," Loki agreed, "If you truly don't think you can handle whatever might be down there then there is no shame in saving your asses. Just get out. We're not here to send anybody to their deaths." One of the men was snickering. Loki turned to him, "Is there something funny?" he barked. The boy tried to stop,
"No! No…uh…Do we call you sir, or ma'am?" he giggled. Loki glared at him,
"Do you really think that's important?" he snapped. The boy stopped and shook his head,
"No sir! Not at all." He answered. Nick was pointing at him,
"You're fired." He said coolly. The boy blanched and looked like he was going cry. Loki held up his hand,
"No. Let him go. I take no offense to his stupidity." Loki sounded far too exhausted to really care. Nick eyed the boy,
"You'd better thank him later. Now all of you get out of here. You know your mission. Good luck!" he waved them away. Loki was rubbing his back again. Nick raised a brow at him and he sighed.
"You need to sit down?" Nick asked. Loki shook his head,
"No, if I do I won't be able to get up." He chuckled. Coulson came in and didn't even spare Loki a glance,
"Sir, am I to go with that squad?" he asked. Nick shook his head,
"No, I've got better things for you to do." He smiled. Loki laughed humorlessly,
"Yes, like cooking and cleaning." He winked at Coulson, who smiled in return,
"That's funny. I'm not the one who's a pregnant housewife at the moment." He retorted.
"Psh! I'm no one's wife. I'm not married." Loki said. Coulson nodded,
"Oh that's right. You're the pregnant whore." He said cheerfully.
"At least I'm not a black man's favorite bitch." Loki replied in an equally cheerful tone. Coulson's humor seemed to shatter and he stepped closer to Loki,
"No, you're a spoiled rich boy's favorite toy. How long do you think it'll be before he's bored and tosses you out like all the rest?" he spat. They glared at each other, noses almost touching. The animosity was palpable in the air around them. Nick watched with his arms crossed over his chest. Loki gasped, suddenly doubling over,
"Ahh!" he cried out. Nick jumped at Coulson,
"What did you do?" he snapped. Coulson stepped back with his hands up,
"I didn't touch him, sir!" he defended. Loki was on his knees, breathing heavily. Nick grabbed his biceps and tried to help him stand but Loki shoved him so hard that he flew into the display screen. Coulson ran to help Nick. Loki moaned in pain again, his whole figure trembling. Realization came to Nick and he shook his head,
"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" he mumbled then pressed his fingers to his earpiece, "I need a medical team at my location NOW!" he shouted into the comm, then went to Loki's side again. He watched Loki for a moment.
"Tony…" Loki panted, obviously trying to hide the pain he was in, "Tony…has to…be here…" Nick nodded and clicked a different button on his comm,
"This is Nick Fury to the Avengers, get to HQ immediately or your resident God of Mischief is having this baby without you." He said. Then the med team came out of the elevator with a stretcher. It wasn't easy at all to get Loki unto the stretcher considering that he now had the combined weight of a six foot tall, fairly muscular man, and a pregnant woman. Once they were in the hospital wing the doctors tried to remove Loki's clothes only to have him slap them so hard their fingers broke,
"No! I'll wait for Bruce." He barked, "Not any of you!" They were all too willing to step away from him. Thor arrived with Steve and Bruce. Bruce ran to Loki's side and started running through a checkup, he explained the procedure to Loki in a rushed voice. Loki shook his head,
"No…too much work…" he grit his teeth for a minute as another contraction went through him, "Just give me a blade." He said. Bruce looked at him like he'd grown a third eye,
"Are you nuts! You want to have it cut out, I can do that, but I'm not letting YOU do it!" Bruce said as he pulled on gloves. He quickly cut Loki's pants off while telling the other doctors to prep some painkillers. Loki was gripping the side of the bed so hard that the metal was bending and snapping around his fingers. His eyes were red and his skin began to turn to ice as the strain made it too difficult for him to hold onto his glamour spell.
"Just get it OUT!" he screamed and the wall above his head cracked.
"Ok…" Bruce mumbled. All the others were in the hall. Tony was pacing frantically, but he was too scared to go into the room. They all froze in shocked terror when Loki started screaming. All the lights flickered and some had shattered, fissure like cracks spread across the walls, and ice covered the floor. Tony had to actually hold onto Thor or he would have fainted unto the floor. Clint started shivering and they could all see their breath in the air.
"Woah…"Clint whispered. Tony was hyperventilating as he slumped onto the floor. Beyond the door was silence now. They all strained to hear something.
"That's not good…" Thor commented. They looked at him,
"What?" Steve whispered. Thor was staring at the door,
"I don't hear a baby crying…" his voice was heavy with fear and anticipation. They all stared at the door, not knowing what to do and hoping for it to be over already. The door finally opened and one of the SHIELD doctors looked at them, her face was whiter than bone but she tried to smile,
"You can come in." she told them in a quiet voice. They glanced at each other for a minute before moving to enter the room. Steve was the one to rush to Loki's side and gasp with joy. Loki was now dressed in new clothes, smiling through his exhaustion, with a bundle in his arms. He was also on a clean bed, the gurney next to him was soaked in blood that dripped unto the floor. Bruce quickly pulled the blue divider curtain around the other bed to hide it from view.
"Everything's fine." he told them. Steve moved out of the way for Tony to come and peer at the baby.
"Aww…" Tony cooed, "She's hideous." He joked and Loki chuckled. Loki sat up and turned to Tony, he held the baby out to him. Tony shook his head and stepped away,
"Nonono…I can't!" he panicked. Loki cocked his head expectantly,
"She is yours to hold, Anthony." He said.
"But…what if I drop her?" he whispered in fear. Loki leveled his gaze with Tony's,
"You won't." he assured in a stern voice then held the baby out further. Tony swallowed and stepped forward. His hands were shaking beyond his control, but he gently placed one under her head, then wrapped the other under the rest of her little body and pulled her close to his chest. He looked down at her like she was bomb about to explode in his arms. She opened her eyes, much to everyone else's surprise, and fixed her little brown orbs on Tony's. Loki leaned over and smiled,
"You asked if she would know who you are…" he nodded to her, "I think that answers you question." Tony made a strangled sound of joy as he burst into tears. He snuggled the little girl closer to his face.
"I'm still kind of worried…" Bruce admitted.
"Why?" Steve inquired. Bruce was looking at the girl,
"She…didn't cry…at all." He looked at Loki, "That's not normal." Loki sighed and gently took the babe from Tony's hands,
"Well," he said as he looked the girl in the eyes, "She's not a normal baby." He stroked her soft head, "She knows she has no need to cry. She is safe, surrounded by her family, she's not afraid. She knows…" he spoke while staring into those little brown eyes that only stared right back. Tony reached out and gently ruffled the orange fuzz atop her head,
"Hey Loki…" he began, "Why does our baby have red hair?" he looked at Loki curiously. Loki hadn't even thought of why the girl had red hair, he realized. He cocked his head at the child,
"Hmm." He thought, "Perhaps it is a residual trait from my mortal self?" he shrugged.
"You mean…because you had red hair when you were mortal…the baby has red hair?" Tony questioned. Loki nodded,
"It's possible." He assured. Tony accepted this with a shrug.
"So…what do we name her?" Tony asked softly. Loki smiled but still didn't take his eyes off the girl,
"What do you want to name her?" he asked. Tony thought for a moment,
"I don't know…" he whispered in defeat, "Isn't there a cool Jotun name we could give her?" he joked.
"Snow." Thor said and they all turned to look at him, "In all those visions we had of her…she was surrounded by snow." Loki regarded Thor for a minute, then nodded once and looked back at the babe,
"Eira*. That is the Jotun word for snow." He said, then looked to Tony for approval. The baby suddenly giggled and they all looked at her in surprise. Tony grinned,
"Eira it is." He said as he wiggled his fingers playfully at her face, "Eira…Stark?" he questioned as he looked back to Loki. Loki scrunched his nose in disapproval.
"Perhaps, if we ever get married. But for now, it's Eira Lokadóttir*. Your name might have power here on Earth…" Loki gave a wicked grin, sharp like a blade, "…but mine has power among the entire universe. Everyone will know who's child she is, and to fear her properly." He cooed to the girl and she seemed to beam at his words. Tony pointed to himself,
"Well, I'm not gonna be momma." He said with stubborn defense. They all laughed.
"No." Loki agreed, "But neither will I." he paused to think for a second, "I think Daddy and Father are just fine. She'll learn the truth of her origins when she's older. We have no reason to hide it." He finally said.
"Hey she can all me Tony for all I care. It doesn't matter." Tony smiled.
Loki thanked Nick Fury for his help and asked to be kept updated on the mission, and then they all went back to the mansion. Loki also requested time alone to him and the baby while he got situated and comfortable with the new member. On the second day Loki called everyone into the living room. Standing beside Loki was a beautiful young girl with honey colored hair and mint green eyes. She smiled and waved at all of the Avengers. Her long white dress was obviously Asgardian, so Tony amused Loki had brought her to Earth recently. Loki handed baby Eira over to this unknown girl then turned to address Tony,
"Do you know what a wet nurse is, Tony?" he asked. Tony pursed his lips as he thought about it then shook his head,
"Nope." He confessed. Loki smiled,
"It's what I should have had the entire time I was pregnant here. But oh well." He turned and gestured to the young girl,
"This is Sigyn. She'll be Eira's wet nurse." He turned back to Tony, "That means she'll be her babysitter and caregiver." He regarded Tony carefully as he said the next part, "It also means that she'll be breast feeding Eira." Tony's eyebrows went up just as Loki expected and he started eyeing Sigyn up and down with increasing interest.
"Anthony…" Loki chided and waited for Tony's eyes to come to him again, "Don't make me restrict you from the hot babysitter." Tony looked offended but tried to play it off,
"Pff! Please. I do not have weird fantasies about banging hot babysitters." he clamped his mouth shut when his brain caught up and he realized what he'd just said. He swallowed nervously and Loki smirked at him,
"If I see you putting your hands on her in any way, I'll chop them off." He leaned closer to Tony's face, "And I don't mean your hands…" he whispered. Tony winced and instinctively cupped his testicles in his hands. Loki snickered before turning back to the group,
"Now, this also means that Sigyn will be watching over the baby whenever we're off on a mission or something like that. I expect you all to treat her as part of the family." He gently took the baby back from Sigyn, "She'll also cook and clean if need be." He finished. Steve smiled at the young girl,
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed slightly, "I hope you like it here." She smiled in return,
"I already do!" she said cheerfully. Loki then went into detail of how he wanted his daughter raised and he laid down the law on what would be allowed in Eira's presence. After the god's lecture finished he retired to his cave with Eira and the new babysitter. The next two weeks passed in relative silence. Sigyn was seen going from the kitchen to Loki's room every once in a while, but neither Loki nor Eira were seen. Tony slept in his workshop, whenever he did sleep, as he diligently worked on some of Doom's tech that had been retrieved from the previously successful mission. The Captain became more involved in the infiltration of Doom's lairs and they found more and more of them every day. All with the same result unfortunately, each one had been empty and void of recent activity, but they took what they could get. One day Loki decided to give Tony a lesson on how to feed Eira if he should ever have to;
"Just hold her like that…good." He had Tony holding her against his chest while sitting on the couch, "Now give me your arm…" he gripped Tony's forearm and turned it palm up, "This is how you make sure the milk isn't too hot." He explained as he squeezed the bottle and squirted some of the warm milk unto Tony wrist. Tony nodded like he was taking down notes in his mind. Loki placed the bottle in Tony's hand,
"Now give it to her. Slowly." He instructed. Tony's hand was shaking he was so nervous,
"Ok…" he mumbled and held the bottle over the baby's face. Her hungry little mouth opened and closed like a fish as she searched for her food that she knew she'd be getting soon. She made a whining noise and Tony flinched, involuntarily squeezing the bottle and squirting milk on the baby's face. Her little eyes went wide with surprise for a second before she started crying.
"Oh man!" Tony panicked, "I can't get anything right!" Loki laughed, thoroughly amused by how difficult this was for Tony.
"Well squirting milk in her eyes isn't exactly the right way to go about this." He laughed some more. Tony sighed but then winced.
"Ow." He looked at the crying baby in confusion and watched as her tears would turn to snow as they fell from her face. He also saw the ice that was forming on his hand that was holding her head. "Ow!" he said again, "She's giving me frostbite!" he said surprise. Loki quickly grabbed the girl and started bouncing her gently,
"Shush." He soothed her, then looked at Tony's purple hand and winced, "Get it under some warm water. Quick." He said and Tony rushed into the kitchen. Loki picked up the discarded bottle and put it to the girls' mouth. She began sucking hungrily,
"Now be quiet you." He teased her and kissed her forehead. Tony came back with a hot rag wrapped around his hand. He looked at the floor and saw the little snowflakes that had been Eira's tears,
"Snow…" he said as he knelt down and picked up some of it. It didn't melt or crumble in his hand, like it was perpetually frozen despite the heat around it, "She cries snowflakes…" he said in fascination and showed the little white fluff to Loki. Loki nodded, since he already knew this information, and gently bounced Eira on his shoulder till she fell asleep.
When they finally found a base that was full of activity all the Avengers were called in. Loki was more than ecstatic to be back in his favorite armor. Leather and metal; his favorite scents.
"Energy readings are off the charts." Nick told them, "Positive readings on robots and humans alike. I'm not sending my men in there." He looked at them all in their uniforms, "This is your forte. Good luck, heroes." His voice held a reserved sadness, like he was watching his children leave his home for the first time on their own. They took the Quinjet to the location in the middle of nowhere Alaska. There was something that looked like a warehouse. They all agreed on the element of stealth instead of just smashing the doors down, so Loki teleported inside and opened the doors for them. They stepped into an empty warehouse hanger and looked around in unified confusion,
"Wait…" Iron Man started scanning the area. He walked further inside and over to a table that had been set in the middle of the empty storage place. There was a little beeping device sitting atop the table. Iron Man held it up,
"This is what's giving off all those energy readings…" he said in continued confusion. Loki's face contorted into terror,
"This is a trick!" he whispered in panic then turned and ran back to the jet. They all followed.
"Well that was a waste." Clint commented.
"We have to get home!" Loki shouted at them.
"Why?" Steve said, "We should report to Nick fir…" he stopped in realization.
"Oh god." Tony began to frantically prep the jet in a hurry to get off the ground. But despite the five engines that propelled them, it wasn't fast enough. Fire engines, ambulances, and SHIELD cars were all gathered around a burning Avengers Mansion. Loki didn't even wait for the jet to land, he jumped out and crashed into the ground then went sprinting into the house. The rest of the team weren't far behind.
"OH GOD!" Clint shouted in horror when they came to the living room. All that remained of the lovely babysitter was splattered in chunks against the wall, dripping into the carpet. Clint vomited despite his best attempt to not do so. Loki continued to run up the stairs and to his room. The door was gone and everything was ablaze.
"No…" he whispered as he dropped to his knees in front of the baby's crib that was now knocked unto it's side. He ran a finger along the inside of the soft bedding, it was coated in ice and there were little bits of snow still on the pillow, ice and snow that didn't melt despite the raging fire that surrounded it. He heard Tony crying in rage behind him and his chest contracted. His hand came up to grip his shirt where his heart would be and he started sobbing,
"He took her…" he cried. "He tricked us, damn it!" Steve was pulling at his hair, silent tears dripping off his chin,
"How did he even know? We haven't told anyone, not the news, not any friends… How did he know about the baby?" he said through confused tears.
"He's a resourceful guy…" Clint replied. Loki rose to his feet and waved his hand in the air, instantly all the fire vanished and the house was silent, save for Tony's agonized cries. Loki stepped over to where Tony sat on the ground, crying into Eira's now scorched baby blanket, he knelt down and gathered Tony's face into his hands.
"Sleep." He whispered, and Tony's eyes slid closed and his body slumped into Loki's arms. Loki easily picked the man of iron up and began walking back down the stairs. Firemen and SHIELD agents were there to greet them.
"We'll have to stay at the Helicarrier now." Steve said mournfully as they stood on the curb and watched the smoke rising from their home. Thor watched Loki closely and was surprised by what he saw in those viridian eyes. Unlike the dead, cold blackness that Thor had grown accustomed to, he saw life. Something had awakened in Loki this night, a fire that had long been dead and that Thor had believed would never live again, but now it burned bright. Loki was furious, he was no longer frozen, and he was going to show Victor Von Doom exactly what that meant.
**some side notes: EIRA really is an Old Norse word for snow, I looked it up. And I also looked up proper Norse surnames, so Lokadottir is legit. xD
Read and review, pretty please!