When dinner the next day rolled around, Asta suddenly found herself nervous as she finished her makeup in the mirror.
"Are you sure you're ready for this, darling?" Loki asked as they finished getting ready.
Asta sighed. "No, but I think it's something we need to do. Besides, your mother is so intuitive, she probably already knows. Might as well make it official."
"You're not wrong there. That's an absolute possibility."
"Are you ok telling Odin? We could probably just tell Frigga."
Loki stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "No, we should tell them both. I'd hate to make Mother keep the secret. Besides, it'll probably rustle his feathers that the next heir to the throne is mine and not perfect Thor's." He gave a mischievous grin to show his pleasure at making Odin upset.
Asta rolled her eyes, but he had a point. It would be funny to watch Odin have to pretend to ignore the fact that the next ruler of Asgard would be Loki's child, not to mention half Jotun.
"Well, we'll just have to focus on Frigga, then. She'll make up for any problems that Odin causes. But I don't think he will. Who knows, maybe this baby will actually lighten him up a little."
"Yes, and maybe Jotunheim will thaw."
"Oh hush. We'll make it through, no matter what." She stood and smoothed out her skirt. "Do I look ok?"
"My heart, you always look beautiful! But why do you ask now?"
"Because it's dinner with your parents and I want to look nice."
Loki scoffed. "Darling, we are king and queen now. And as much as I love my mother, I really don't give a damn what either of them think about our appearance. We could go to dinner in our pajamas and they wouldn't be able to say a thing."
"Loki! They're still your parents!"
"So? Love, this is just your nerves and hormones talking. Let's just go eat and have a nice time telling Mother that she'll be a bestemor and telling Odin that the next heir to the Asgardian throne still has Jotun blood." (Grandma)
"In our pajamas?"
"We can wear or not wear anything you like from now on. Well, not nude. That is for my eyes only," he said with a slight growl that made her shiver in the best way.
Asta placed her hand on his face. "Later, my love."
"Mmmm. Don't make promises you can't keep, minx."
"Who says I have any intention of not keeping it?" she whispered with a wink before heading towards the door.
Loki smirked as he followed her out.
Once they were seated for dinner, Frigga and Odin were escorted in. After the usual greetings, the food was brought out. Asta caught Frigga smiling at her and instantly opened her mind to Loki's.
"That's the face of a woman who already knows," she thought to him.
Loki grabbed Asta's hand. "Oh yes, I believe you're correct. Perhaps we should spill the beans now?" he sent from his mind.
"No time like the present, I suppose."
Loki looked to his mother. "So, the timing of this dinner truly could not have been better."
"Yes?" Frigga said with a sparkle in her eyes. "Why is that?"
Loki directed a thought to his mother's mind. "As if you don't already know."
Frigga smirked.
Loki rolled his eyes. "Well, we have news for you both." He paused and smiled at Asta. "We're having a baby!"
Frigga shrieked with joy and instantly stood to hug them both. Odin sat quietly and watched it all.
"Have you nothing to say, father?" Loki asked with a slight sneer to his voice.
"Congratulations to you both. A child is a wonderful joy," the former king replied.
Loki used every ounce of will power he owned to not roll his eyes or have a surly retort. "Yes, thank you. We are blessed beyond measure and very happy, both for our own family to grow and to provide an heir for the throne of Asgard."
"Yes, yes. An heir is important," Odin muttered.
Frigga tsked at her husband's response, but continued on. "When are you making the announcement?"
Loki pressed a kiss to Asta's cheek. "We don't know yet. We're going to wait until we've told Thor and our Midgardian family first. Hopefully we'll go to New York in the next day or so. Do you think travelling via the bifrost is safe for Asta?"
"Yes, it's perfectly safe," Frigga told him. "Towards the end of her pregnancy, she may not want to travel much because it might make her sick, but it'll never be a danger to her or the baby." She smiled brightly. "Oh! The baby! I can't believe you're going to be parents! Sønnen min skal bli far!" (My son is going to be a father!)
Asta smiled. Yes, these were the exact responses they were expecting.
Frigga placed a hand on Asta's shoulder. "And how are you feeling, my dear? You can't be that far along."
"I'm feeling ok. We only found out 2 days ago, so there's not much to report yet. Just excitement and a little bit of terror," Asta replied with a small laugh.
"Yes, that is to be expected. But you know that we will be here for you, every step of the way."
"That's very comforting to know. Thank you, Mother. It means the world to both of us. All three of us!" Asta said, all while trying to keep from a sarcastic remark about Odin. She was quite proud of herself that she pulled it off.
From there the conversation flowed the way it always did. But once Asta had yawned for the third time, Loki deemed it time to leave.
They hugged Frigga, acknowledged Odin, and made their way back to their chambers. As they changed into their night clothes, Loki sighed happily.
Asta smiled. "My king seems quite content right now."
"Yes, quite content indeed. I'm going to be a father! And we've told Mum who is just ecstatic at the idea. I cannot wait to tell the others! My love, in all my years, I don't think I've ever been this excited for the future!"
She crawled under the covers and stretched. "I am so glad that I'm able to be a part of this happiness. I love seeing you smile, especially so genuinely."
Loki joined her and pulled her close. "Yes, I'm glad for that as well. There is no one else in any of the realms that I would rather take this journey with." He placed a gentle hand on her stomach. "I still cannot believe our child is in there."
"Well, believe it," she giggled.
"I have traveled all over the galaxies, seen creatures of all sorts, but this, my darling, this astounds me more than all of them combined!"
"It is quite amazing. Even if the little one is throwing my powers off."
"Well, our little ice cube is just stretching their powers. That's bound to make your own magic go a little haywire."
"Our little ice cube?" Asta asked with a giggle.
"Yes. Daddy's little Jotun."
Asta was glad that he wasn't cursing his heritage at the moment, so she went along with it. "I think that's adorable! Our little ice cube," she whispered as she rubbed her middle.
Loki got quiet for a moment. "My love, did Odin seem even more subdued than expected?"
And the moment was gone.
"To be honest, I had no expectations, so I don't really know."
"Hmmm."
"Was he more quiet to you?"
"Yes. I knew he would try to mask his feelings, but he shut down even more than I guessed."
Asta shrugged. "I thought we didn't care what he thought."
"We don't. But I suppose it does raise my curiosity. I was actually prepared for him to yell or throw a fuss, or at least have some snide remark disguised as a compliment. Instead he just shut down. It was… odd."
"Maybe he's finally having a change of heart?"
"Stranger things have happened, I suppose." He thought for a moment and then hugged her a little tighter. "It matters not, though. What only matters is that we are blissfully overjoyed and our life is just incredible."
"You are right, that is all that matters. And now we get to tell the others who love us and will make an total commotion over our little ice cube. You do realize that we'll have to stay for 2 or 3 days. Dad will absolutely want to plan a party for this."
"Yes, I've considered that. I've already cleared some time with the council. I told them that the Avengers will need to see us. Asgard is doing quite well, so they certainly had no objection to some time away."
"Ah, well then, lucky me! I suppose it really pays to be married to such an extraordinary and capable king!"
Loki chuckled at the ego stroke. "Yes, I suppose there are some benefits," he said with absolute fake modesty.
Asta rolled her eyes but smiled. "I'm so excited! I can't wait to see everyone's faces!" She yawned again. "Oh, sorry!"
"No apologies! It's time for you and the little one to get some rest, my love. We'll plan the trip to Midgard in the morning." He gently turned her head to kiss her, letting his fingers graze lightly over her chin. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Good night."