Chapter 14

The days following Fenris' return were spent mostly in their rooms. His youngest son was still easily upset by strangers, and Loki was of no mind to rush him. So much to Sleipnir's and especially Jorgumand's chagrin, they would spend perhaps an hour a day in the common rooms before heading back to the privacy of their own apartment.

That wasn't to say that they did not receive guests. Some of the Avengers stopped by to say hello to the boys. Books and games were brought by Steve Rogers, and Parker brought the collection of movies for them to watch on the television. Most surprisingly, it was Tony Stark who won the boys eternal affection when he gifted them with a box set of DVDs for a show called the Muppets, which quickly became a house favorite.

The boys were asleep when Thor came. Loki had instigated an afternoon nap due to his sons waning energy levels, none of them had been getting enough sleep because of the nightmares. So sometime after lunch each day the boys curled up together on the bed with a light blanket to cover them. It seemed to do the trick, and for whatever reason they rarely seemed to have nightmares during the daytime.

Loki had just been tucking Fenris in-between his two dozing brothers when a knock sounded at the front door. On silent feet he walked out of the room and gently closed the bedroom door. A knock sounded again, though no louder. At least whomever it was seemed courteous enough not to try and wake the boys.

When he opened the door, he expected Bruce, or perhaps even Steve. The small tentative knocking did not prepare him for the sight of Thor hunched in the doorway looking like a beaten dog.

Immediately he knew what had happened, and without a word he stepped aside to let his foster brother in. Thor entered with his eyes downcast and despite himself Loki felt a prickling of sympathy for the man.

"So," he began when it seemed like Thor would not. "How was she? It has been some time since I've been able to visit, though in my defense it has been a busy few years."

Thor met his eyes briefly before returning them to the carpet. "I'm sorry brother, I failed."

"I knew you would." Loki crossed his arms at Thor's flinch and shook his head at the predictability of it. "That was not a shot Thor. I never believed that you could bring her here, not because it was you, but because it is an impossible task. I told you so before you left." Thor did not seem at all effected by his words so Loki spoke the harsh truth. "She's dead Thor. Are you so egotistical that you think you could have reversed that?"

"If I could have," Thor said weakly.

Loki watched him stand there for a long moment before he couldn't take it anymore. "Will you please wipe that expression from your face, it does not suit you."

Thor's expression morphed into confusion, which was at least much more familiar. "What do you mean?"

"You look like you are prepared to throw yourself onto a sword if I so much speak the word and I'd rather you didn't. I have enough to clean after with three boys, and no magic." Thor did not seem amused. "I mean it Thor, I am not upset."

"How can you not be? Father all but murdered your daughter." Thor spat the word father, and contempt sat strangely on his face.

Loki casually leaned against the armchair and raised an eyebrow at his outburst. "Honestly Thor, out of all of my children's fates, it was Hela's I was least concerned with. I mourned her, and avenged her. When I found her in the underworld and realized that she could not return to Asgard, I conquered the realm of the dead so that she could rule as queen. It was more then I could ever do for any of my other children. Sleipnir was a beast of servitude, Jorgumand was banished to Midgard's deepest seas, and Fenris was chained in the darkness so that he could not even move. Really, Hela was much better off than her brothers."

"She's dead Loki!"

"She is free," Loki corrected. "In body and in mind."

Thor looked unconvinced. "She is not so free that she can leave her Realm."

"She can actually." Loki stated lightly. "She is my daughter, and dead or not she has my magic as well. It is well within her abilities to walk between worlds as I do. The matter is that she simply does not want to."

Thor nodded, but remained depressed looking. "I thought I could return your children to you, to undo father's treachery."

"Thor, you returned to me my sons, as children nonetheless. This was a gift I had thought I had lost long ago. It is enough." When Thor did not meet his gaze, Loki stepped forward and took hold of his chin and forced his head up. When Thor finally met his eyes he spoke. "It is enough."

At last Thor seemed to understand and Loki stepped back before his foster brother could do something imbecilic like try and hug him.

Thor shifted on his huge booted feet before walking over to the sofa to sit down, his elbows on his knees and his fingers laced together. "Hela spoke with me brother."

"Oh?" Loki prompted when it seemed as though Thor would leave it at that.

"Yes, I told her about her brothers, and of your..."

He seemed to flounder a little so Loki decided to help him out. "I believe the word you are looking for is pregnancy."

Thor's face flushed as if he had said something particularly dirty. "Yes. That." he stared down at his hands for a long moment. "She asked if you were planning on sending the child to her like the previous ones."

Suddenly Thor's unhappy disposition was understandable. "Ah, no. That is no longer necessary." Loki sat in the armchair so that he was level with Thor and placed a hand over his stomach.

"What did she mean Loki?" Thor asked, raising his eyes to meet his again.

"What do you think she meant?" he countered.

His foster brother grimaced and looked away. "How many?" he asked after a moment.

Loki frowned. "I was hardly keeping count." When Thor didn't respond he sighed. "Four."

Neither spoke for a while after that.

When Thor finally looked up, Loki met his pained gaze. "Why did you continue to do it?" he asked.

Loki glared at the man before him. "I believe I have already explained my reasoning." he said icily.

"That was not my meaning. I ask that if you knew already that you could not keep them, why did you continue... trying?" he finished weakly.

"Why did I continue to become pregnant you mean?" Thor nodded and Loki shifted in his seat. The further into his pregnancy he got, the more his back ached. Eventually he knew it would be a near constant thing, but for now he could dispel the discomfort by changing positions regularly. "It wasn't something that I consciously decided, or even desired. It simply happened."

He remembered how panicked he'd been when he realized he was with child the first time. The panic, the shame, and the knowledge that something must be wrong with him on a base level. He was already so different from his brother, from the men of Asgard. This was just another way for fate to tell him that he didn't belong. It was a punishment surely, for being so depraved as to lay with a man. He had been taken as though a woman and then somehow he was growing fat with child like one. Then Sleipnir had been born, and he realized it was not a punishment, but a gift.

Thor was watching him, and belatedly Loki realized that he was waiting for more of an explanation. "It is because I am Jotun Thor. Sometime after learning of my heritage, I did some research. Apparently on Jotenheim there are certain seasons in which its inhabitants are... fertile. But I had no idea what I was, and therefore could not purposefully avoid it. As it was, some seasons I managed to make it through without becoming with child, and then sometimes I did not." he smiled ruefully and patted his stomach. "Out of all of them, this was the only 'planned' pregnancy."

Thor seemed to perk up at bit at that information, no longer looking as miserable as he did when he arrived. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I was no longer living under Odin," Loki explained, "I knew the season was approaching, so instead of avoiding it..." he broke off with a casual shrug.

Thor stared at him. "You wanted this?" he asked, disbelief curling at the edges of his words.

"Well I didn't expect all this to happen." Loki replied. "I only planned to have the child in hiding. I'd layered my home in protective spells that should have held for years. I'd thought I would remain there until the child was born and my magic returned. After that, well it wasn't as if I was expected to return to Asgard any time soon, and I've grown to be quite proficient at hiding." He observed his foster brother critically. "And what will you do now Thor, now that your quest is over? You have rescued all of my children, those that could be anyways, will you return to Asgard now?"

Thor shook his head. "No, I think it best if I remain here. Asgard is at peace, there is little for our cousin to worry about as king. Balder will be fine until Father awakens."

"And after that?" Loki pushed.

Thor gave him a small smile. "I have heard Tony use a phrase before, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder', and I think it may be a while before I return to Asgard again. Besides, it is not the same there without you."

Loki rolled his eyes and held back on the sarcastic reply that came automatically to his lips. "What of Odin?" he asked instead. "Do you not think he will come for you, for my sons?"

"Mother said that she will take care of that. And even if Odin comes, I would rather be here to help defend you."

Loki nodded, though he doubted Thor or most of the Avengers would be able to do much to stop Odin. The only one that could actually do it would be the Hulk. Bruce Banner's alter ego was pure power, a force that could challenge even the king of the gods.

"Where are they?" Thor asked suddenly, and it took Loki a moment to realize he was asking after the boys.

"They are asleep in the bedroom," he answered and Thor frowned.

"Asleep? In the middle of the day?"

"It is called a nap Thor. It is only for an hour or so."

Loki watched as Thor's shoulders sank a little, and he didn't need his magic to know the man's thoughts. "You should probably go, I am sure the director of Shield has much to talk to you about now that you apparently back to stay." Thor's shoulders sank further but he nodded in agreement. He made to rise but before he could open his mouth to speak any farewells, Loki spoke first. "Perhaps after you might join us for supper?"

The words were spoken casually, as if he had offered such a thing on a daily basis, and he waited for Thor to stop gaping at him. It took a moment, but eventually the dumbstruck look on his foster brother's face softened into a smile.

"Thank you brother, I would like that very much."

That night, Sleipnir and Jorgumand watched the strange new man sitting at their dinner table with wide eyes. Loki patiently explained that he was Thor, and that he was the one responsible for removing the spell from them. Thor beamed happily as Jorgumand started on the man with a barrage of questions with Sleipnir adding his own every now and then. Fenris stayed quiet in Loki's lap, but that was not unexpected. The little boy watched the large blonde man with serious eyes; all the while he ate from his own small plate with a blunted fork made especially for toddlers.

After dessert, the boys showed Thor their toys, and then after that convinced him to read a story to them.

"They are wonderful Loki." Thor told him when the boys were in the bathroom brushing their teeth.

Loki frowned at the strange tone to his foster brothers voice. "But?"

Thor grinned at him. "But I do not think I will ever become accustomed to hearing someone refer to you as 'Mama'."

Just so you all know, Tony giving the kids the Muppets DVD set is in refence to my absolute favorite Thor fanfic (which is also a crossover) by ConeycatJr, in which Tony does not have a porn stash, cause its tony, why would he hide his porn? Nono, he has a Muppet stash.

So there you have it, and I am sorry to everyone who was looking forward to Hela coming to live with her family. I considered trying to find a way to do it, but in the end I reasoned with myself that even half dead, Hela still got a better deal than her brothers. And not to mention shes already grown up and ruling an entire realm.

I also wanted to explain another thing, even though no one has mentioned it yet. Odin has now been sleeping for over two weeks. In the movie he only slept for two days. Whats up with that, right? Well, here is my reasoning; from what (little) I know from norse mythology and to some extent, the comics, Odin usually took much longer naps. I think in one place they said that the Odin-sleep lasted a whole season (winter). Now in the movie he only slept for two days, but I'm thinking his waking up had more to do with the fact that both his kids were going to tumble into a void if he didn't catch them in time. So in this story, Odin is taking a longer nap.

I was also asked on the ages of the boys, so for general knowledge, Sleipnir is five, Jorgumand is four, and Fenris is almost two. And before anyone comments on it, Yes I know kids don't start reading on their own at that age, but come on, these are Loki's kids, I'm thinking we can assume they might be a little advanced.