Chapter 4

Warnings: brief mention of previous abortions

Eventually Loki had to move from the chair, and decided to look over his new residence. The walls were painted a dusty blue with dark wooden accents and he faintly approved of the colours. He would have of course preferred green, but he was aware that beggars could not be choosers, and he was certainly the supplicant in this scenario. There was a small kitchen with all the usual Midgardian appliances as well as a table with four chairs. As if he had plans to entertain. A brief thought crossed his mind of Thor, and he wondered what the blonde idiot thought of all this. Pushing all thoughts of his foster brother aside he continued his inspection.

There was a lavatory with a bath and shower. He avoided looking directly at his reflection as he turned off the light and went back into the main room. The sitting area consisted of the sofa and matching armchair, a small coffee table and a large empty bookshelf. There was also a stand with a small flatscreen TV on top of it that Loki seriously doubted would get much use. The one wall was mostly made of glass, and he could see the city and ocean beyond that. Moving over to a set of doors, he pushed one open and found it to be a bedroom, complete with a double bed, nightstand with an elegant lamp, closet and a set of drawers. The room was decorated in the same colours of the rest of the apartment, and the drawers were empty reminding him that he had no belongings. Most of everything he needed he usually fashioned with magic. That included clothes.

He left the door to that room open and looked into the second room. It was completely bare, even the walls were painted only a generic white. None of his previous children had ever had a room to their own. He'd always kept them close, especially after Sleipnir. He stood in the doorway to the empty room for a while, lost in thought again only to be interrupted by the sound knocking. Someone was at the door.

He approached it cautiously, reminding himself that mortals were very particular about contracts, especially government mortals. So there was no reason to worry that they were here to tell him that they had changed their minds. They wouldn't knock if that were the case.

He opened the door a small amount, just enough to see who was on the other side, and was surprised to see the Ironman, or rather the Ironman without his suit. Tony Stark stood in the hallway in his civilian clothes wearing one of his trademark smirks. Loki decided he was not in the mood for this.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Mr. Stark?" he asked not bothering to hide his sarcasm.

Stark just smiled winningly. "I'm the welcoming committee."

Loki stared at him. "Really?" he asked, his voice completely deadpan.

"Well no not really. Technically its Natashas job, I just beat her to the punch. You know it's considered rude here on earth not to invite someone inside when they come to visit."

"And in Asgard, one does not welcome a visitor inside when they are not in the first place welcome."

Stark grinned wider at his response. "There it is! I was worried for a minute that all the snark had gone right out of you!"

Loki tried not to roll his eyes, he really did. "Indeed, we wouldn't want you to go without having someone to verbally spar with. You might get bored and invent a new way to nearly rip the planet in half."

"Hey, I only built the engine and it was not supposed to be stolen by Doom. It was originally designed for the space program, not to power a subterranean nuke."

"Ah yes, of course. How could I forget, your work constantly seems to find its way into your enemies hands. But then I suppose its something you must be used to by now."

Stark stared at him for a moment before raising a hand. Loki braced himself for the blow he probably deserved but no strike landed. The mortal just shook a finger at him. "Too mean."

The two of them stared at each other after he dropped his hand and waited for the other to make the next move. Finally Loki gave in to his curiosity and opened the door fully so that Stark could waltz in.

"What exactly is a welcoming committee?" he asked with a wince as Stark practically threw himself on the sofa.

"Mostly someone to show you around, make sure you're all settled in. I'm just guessing here though. You're our first evil guest."

"I already know the layout to every level of this building, I probably know more about it than you do. And I am not evil. I'm… complicated."

Stark raised an eyebrow. "I'm starting to get that." He glanced around the apartment and noticed the bare bookshelf. "Seriously though, I guess you're going to need some things."

"Clothes for example." Loki found himself saying and Stark blinked in surprise.

"You don't have-" Loki stopped him with a look. "Huh, well that makes sense. Clothes it is." And with that he whipped out his cell phone and began tapping away at it.

"What are you doing?"

"Telling Pepper you need clothes." He muttered as he continued to tap away. "What are you? Like, six four? Nope never mind its right here on your file."

Loki waited with his arms crossed until Stark finished whatever he was doing with his phone and looked up. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

"That's what I'm wondering." came a feminine voice from behind him and Loki turned to see the Black Widow standing in in the open doorway glaring at Stark. She was in business clothes rather than the usual outfit he saw her in, with a small stack of paper held under one arm.

Stark pocketed his phone. "Doing your job. You don't have to get him clothes by the way, already got it covered."

She scowled and strode in with quick efficient steps and dropped the paper on the table with more force than was strictly necessary. Ignoring Stark completely she turned to Loki and held out a small black device. "You are to keep this in you at all times, no exceptions. Also, since you would likely cause a panic if seen in the general public, you are not to leave this building."

Loki took what turned out to be a cell phone from her hand and decided to refrain from telling her he had no intention of leaving. Without his magic he could not shield himself from Heimdell, which meant that by now Odin must know of his pregnancy. Shield was the only protection he had against his foster father, he wasn't going to leave it.

The woman gestured to the papers. "As you can not leave and we are not giving you access to the Internet, anything you need you can pick out of those. Your request will be reviewed before being ordered and brought here. And I've been asked to remind you that you've caused billions of dollars worth of property damage in the past, so keep it simple. I'm also to show you the areas that you are allowed to frequent, but I think I'll leave that up to Stark here since I have actual work to do." and with that she turned and left, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"Shes sweet. It's a wonder why I ever let her go." Stark quipped once she was gone and got up to look at the paper on the table. "Please tell me she didn't leave you a Sears catalogue."

Loki stared at him for a moment before finally his patience ran out. "Why are you here Stark?" he asked again.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

Loki blinked. "What?"

"The last time you went up against us, you had me. Seriously I was updating my Will on Jarvis and then suddenly that Goblin thing was gone. You controlled the goblin, you let me go. Why?"

Loki remembered the incident he was referring to, and he had indeed spared his life but he didn't dare try and explain his reasoning.

Stark continued to talk anyways. "Its not just me either. I've been going over the records of all our little scuffles and you've been pulling your punches with all of us, even Thor. Which brought my attention to something that makes you singularly different from all our other bad guys. You don't kill. Yes, people have died because of your schemes, but none died by your hand. Which leads me to think that if you won't even kill your enemies, why would you kill your own kid? Unless you really honestly believed that you are doing it a kindness."

Loki stared at the man feeling confused. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe I believe you." Stark said simply though his eyes were sharp, waiting for a reaction.

Loki found he didn't know what to say to that so eventually he answered with a quiet "Thank you."

Stark nodded and then looked him over. "When was the last time you ate something?"

"How long have I been here?"

"Almost four days."

"A week then." Loki answered and smirked at his dumbfounded expression. "I'm a god Stark, even without my magic. I do not need food to survive."

"Tell that to Thor. What about the kid?" He waved his hand in the general direction of Loki's stomach. "Shouldn't you be eating for two or something?"

Loki sighed in irritation and wondered if the mortal was ever going to leave. "The reason I can not use my magic is because it is sustaining the child." he admitted.

"Uh huh, come on." the man suddenly started walking towards the door and turned when Loki did not follow. "Look, you might be able to survive without food, but honestly you look like you're wasting away and none of the clothes Pepper is currently getting for you are going to fit if you continue to starve yourself."

"I do not need your help Stark." Loki growled but the man was unmoved.

"You can't spend the next nine months locked in this room."

"I think you'll find that I can."

Stark glared at him and Loki had to wonder why he was pushing so hard for this. What could he possibly hope to achieve? Suddenly the mortals face cleared and a disbelieving smile appeared.

"Wait, are you scared?" Lokis back stiffened at the accusation but before he could let loose any number of scathing retorts, Stark grabbed his arm and was pulling him out the door, promising that the team will keep the hazing to a minimum.

()()()()

Hours later Loki was laying on his side in his new bed, which was of a much better quality than the cot from his cell. Still, as comfortable as the mattress under him was, and though he was completely exhausted, he couldn't sleep. Over the course of a day, every aspect of his life had changed. He was no longer an enemy of the avengers, but their ally. All his future plans of world domination and mischief had been replaced with a future where it was now his job to stop others from doing so. He was pregnant, and for the first time in centuries, he could allow himself to feel joy for it.

When he had been carrying Sleipnir, he remembered being cautiously hopeful. He had known that perhaps his family would hesitate to welcome his son to the court, considering the method of his birth. That was why he had hidden for so long. But he had hoped that they would be able to see past that, see that he had a son, a perfect clever son. But when Odin had found him, he only saw Sleipnir as proof of Loki's depravity. The shame of a prince that would lay with another man.

After that, each pregnancy consisted of months of anxiety and hiding. Praying that this time things would be different. And then after Hela he realized he couldn't take it anymore. Could not bear the pain of watching his father carry away another one of his children. So the next time he found his magic pooling, signaling a new life within him, he brewed a potion to end it. He'd done so for centuries now, so many babes that never saw the light of day. But he comforted himself with the knowledge that they had never known Odins cruelty either. It was the only comfort he had.

He sighed and sat up, deciding that if sleep was so determined to avoid him there was no point in lying there. Making his way into the main room, he absently picked up the catalogue that had been left for him and began to leaf through it. It mostly consisted of mortal furnishings and clothes, neither of which he needed. Miss Potts was both thorough and efficient, and by the end if the day his once empty set of drawers and closet was now filled with an assortment of mortal garments in a variety of colours but with a healthy amount of green and black. He would possibly have to thank her, and probably apologize for that one time he nearly killed her. There was one page with a list of literature and he made note of them all.

Turning to the next page he froze at the sight of its contents. It was furniture again, only miniature in size and garishly decorated.

He closed the small book with a snap and pushed it away. It was to soon for that. There was too much time between now and then for something to go wrong. Odin didn't have to come for him personally, there was always Thor. Stark had told him that his foster brother was in Asgard confronting Odin, but Loki knew the old man would deflect him somehow. Loki may very well be the god of lies but he had learned from the best. Of course Thor would believe his father over his treacherous little brother. After that it was just a matter of Odin charging Thor with the task of bringing his mad brother back to Asgard, and Thor would do so. No matter that Shield had promised to protect him, Odins word was law, and Thor would follow that over any mortal's rules.

The only comfort he had for himself was that he had at least two of the Avengers on his side. During his unnecessary tour of the common areas Stark had let slip that Captain America had threatened to quit the team if Shield hadn't extended an offer of sanctuary. Loki felt he'd done a good job at hiding his surprise at the news.

At least he wasn't without some defenders. Now he just had to stay safe and far away from any Aesir for the next ten or eleven months until after the child was born and his magic fully restored.

Loki sighed and buried his face in his hands. How terribly depressing. To have to hide within the ranks of his enemy, relying on them to spare both him and his child's life and to protect them from the family who raised him. Were this happening to anyone else he might've laughed. Instead he only felt the overwhelming urge to weep.

Wow! thanks for all the reviews guys! And thank you to everyone who wrote back about the name issue! At this point, because almost all of you seem to be of the mind that as long as whatever I choose is consistant it doesn't matter, I'm going to leave the names as is. (At least until I get a really scathing review about my inaccuracies that will make me cry and ultimately go and change every name in the entire story, Posted and not) So Lokis kids (in this story at least) shall be Sleipnir, Jorgumand, Fenris and Hela.

Other than that, I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far! But this is just the start, and things will be getting interesting soon!