Written to: The Tip of the Iceberg - Owl City, crosspost from AO3
Oscitancy: yawning, being drowsy or inattentive.
"Modi, darling, you can't go to sleep yet," Thor says gently, prodding Modi's chubby cheek with his thumb as he cradles Modi in the other arm. "It is not time for bed." Modi purses his tiny lips up at Thor in distaste, his frown exactly like Loki's, and Thor cannot help but smile down at the little being in his arms.
It had been a parenting tip from one of the books the Man of Iron and the Lady Pepper had given to Thor when he'd told them of how Modi kept waking up throughout the night and disrupting his and Loki's sleep. The book recommended keeping the baby up during the day and not allowing it to take any naps so that it would be more likely to sleep during the night.
It had positively broken Thor's heart when he'd had to jiggle Modi up and down in his arms as the baby began to drift off in the midmorning hours after suckling down a bottle of formula. And the time after that, at noon, when Modi's eyelids had fluttered and his fingers had splayed lax against Thor's chest. And the time after that too, in mid afternoon, when Modi had started to cry and beat his little fists against Thor's arm in between yawns that stretched his mouth into perfect ovals.
Loki comes into the nursery, and Thor draws him onto his lap and allows him to cradle Modi in his arms. Loki unbuttons his robe and lifts out a breast (no longer quite as swollen, nor as painful, but Thor preferred to believe otherwise) for Modi to suck. The baby's fingers curl tightly into the soft fabric of Loki's robe as Modi sleepily lets his mouth fall open and sucks halfheartedly.
Thor watches, his chin set on Loki's shoulder, as Modi's cheeks puff in and out with his swallows. Modi rolls away after a few gulps, his tiny lips shiny with milk in the soft yellow light of the nursery, and Loki gently shifts him to his shoulder and pats his back reassuringly to burp him.
After a tiny belch that sounds more like a hiccup but still has Thor grinning all the same, Loki gently cradles Modi against his shoulder and rubs his back soothingly. From where his head rests in the hollow of Loki's neck, Modi glowers at Thor, a diluted version of his mother's more concentrated glare; the full effect is quite lost, with Modi's eyelids constantly slipping down.
"It's alright now, Modi, you can sleep now," Thor murmurs gently. "You can go to bed now, you've been so tired all day, haven't you? And you're going to sleep all through the night, yes you are, my sleepy baby..."
Modi drifts off, and after a few moments, Loki gently disentangles himself from Thor's embrace and walks over to the cradle to set Modi down. Thor follows, watches as Loki tucks in the soft quilts around Modi's tiny body before bending down to lay a soft kiss on Modi's brow.
That night, when the moon is still full and high in the sky and Loki lies flush and trembling beside him in their bed, Thor braces himself for the cries and whimpers that usually arise from the nursery at around this time. He waits with bated breath, and when there is nothing but silence and the soft, hot puffs of Loki's post-orgasm gasps, Thor finally, finally allows himself to relax.