shieldborne | What to Expect when You're Expecting ((Arranged marriage AU, magpiemythos))

It's a stabilizing influence on the both of them it seemed, for all the others didn't know this Loki well enough before he came here to know for sure one way or the other.

"Depends on what I'm in the mood for." Loki commented conversationally as she eased herself up off his lap, giving his hair an affectionate ruffle. "I could just send you on a chase for a bilgesnipe."

Not that she would. They were edible sure, but for all she knew Steve would go after one if he thought she wanted it, she wasn't about to send him on that sort of miserable trek.

"You wouldn't do that to me," he says, giving her puppy eyes. He's never actually seen a bilgesnipe, but from what he's heard about them, he has the impression that they're big and mean and he doesn't want to tangle with any.

He would probably have a hard time scaring one.

He waits until she's on her feet, then he rises, too. "Anyone want anything while we're out?"

"Wouldn't I?" Said in a mild, innocent tone as Loki was carefully arching her back to stretch those lower muscles and maybe ease some of the stiffness.

"I'll take a slice off that bilgesnipe!" Clint piped up from his end of the sofa. And as the trickster was wandering by he froze utterly as a black-nailed hand patted his hair in passing, Loki letting out a low chuckle at that reaction.

Not that anyone was going to tell him his hair was now a charming shade of lavender just yet, though.

Under normal circumstances, Steve would confidently reply that no, he's pretty sure she would not. But she's pregnant and she's been a bit more mercurial lately, and he's a little afraid to tempt fate. His expression goes from playful to contemplative and wary, and he looks like he's not sure how to respond.

Luckily, Clint volunteers himself as tribute, and Steve is off the hook for the moment. He grins, but manages not to laugh, and simply follows his wife from the room like a little lamb.

No one was looking at Clint too long at the moment, even as someone stifled a snort of laughter of their own as the man inquired nervously as to what was so funny, earning an amused grin from Loki as she led the way out of the room. Not too far, just enough to give some room to open a rift to that vista that Steve would certainly find familiar at this point before turning towards him to take his hand.

"Shall we?"

"That's going to match his outfit well," Steve tells Loki as they get out of earshot of the others. He puts an arm around her back gently and falls silent as she opens up the rift.

He always smiles at the site of the afterlife. It gives him hope just to see it, to know his mother is there safely, and his father is in just as good a place. To feel it.

Whatever happens to him, they're all right. Although in all fairness what's been happening to him lately is nothing but good. He lets Loki takes his hand and nods mutely, letting her lead the way.

"Color coordination is important." Loki replied, paying no mind to the outraged yelp and peals of laughter that followed them through the rift.

Loki is always glad that this brings her husband such peace of mind. She's seen the way his life and work had affected him, still do at times. Knows that hope is harder to hold onto sometimes. So to see it in that smile always make these trips worth it in and of itself, no matter all the other good points there are.

And as always it's almost like a tour as they follow whatever invisible markers lead the way through the place. Sometimes it's a familiar area, other times Steve gets to see something new. Towering buildings, or delicate bridges over endless swirling stars, or a sweeping field that fades out into mountains in a shimmering distance. He might recognize that they're wandering in the direction of the gardens again today, likely about to interrupt his mother at her knitting as sometimes tended to happen.

"Just try and keep that in mind if you ever do mine," Steve chuckles softly.

He walks slow, hand dropping to curl around Loki's, threading his fingers between hers. Steve knows he's pretty damaged; plenty of soldiers come home from the war with PTSD, or depression, or both. A lot of them, like Steve, keep on serving right through it. He knows he's not alone. That doesn't always make is easier.

She does, though, even as much of a force for chaos as she is. Loki always manages to give him something to smile about.

They'll find Sarah under a flowering tree, knitting as usual. She's alone today, where sometimes she's chatting with other women or even reading to children, but she's humming to herself.

"Hmm... maybe stripes?" Her free hand came up to ruffle his hair as if considering trying it out right there at that chuckle, something soft and playful in her own grin as she just leans in to tuck herself against his side, enjoying his presence.

A slight nudge and a tilt of her head when she spots the woman they were looking at, her smile widening as she steers Steve and herself towards that tree and the woman settled under it.

"Yo-hoo~! Honestly, if you keep knitting long enough you'll have enough to cover the entire hall!" A little bratty? Sure. But the tone was light, and teasing. Not like this was anything new, Sarah was just as susceptible to gentle ribbing from Loki as Steve was. It was part of how Loki showed affection after all.

"I'd be tempted to ask for rainbow tips," he laughs a little. "If only to blow up the internet."

Sarah breaks off both knitting and humming when she hears Loki's voice, glancing up with a smile. She's gotten very fond of her child-in-law, having spent time with them when Loki is in both shapes, and she takes any oddities in stride. Because Steve is so clearly happy, and Loki genuinely cares for him, and that's really the ideal.

"Nah, I'm working on knitting something to cover you head to toe," she quips back at Loki, "so we can sneak you in."

Steve lets go of his wife long enough to hug and kiss his mother, beaming. "I don't know if we can take home knits from the afterlife," he says. "But we might need an extra little blanket soon..."

"I could do that. Glitter tips, really get everyone yelping."

Loki couldn't help but laugh st Sarah's teasing in turn green eyes bright with amusement.

"Clearly it'll need to be longer-I'm all legs." Once Steve got his hugs, she'll just be opening her arms for a hug of her own please! While her stomach isn't so large to be visible under her loose top, she knows Sarah will notice it during the embrace. "Maybe some little boots too. It'll be chilly in six months after all."

Surprise, Mama Rogers!

Steve seems to be seriously considering rainbow hair glitter. He's straight-laced about 90% of the time, but when he decides to play around and troll, he's not above really going for the throat. He would absolutely have Loki do up his hair and take her to a Pride celebration on a fun date.

In uniform.

"Can confirm," Steve says, moving back to let Loki hug her mother in law. "All legs and sass."

During the hug, she can feel Sarah start slightly, and when she lets go, she looks down, wide-eyed. "...I'm going to be a grandmother??"

Steve laughs, utterly delighted, and puts his arms around the both of them at once. "Yes."

That reaction pleases her. Loki does like her games, and is glad to see this one make them both so happy, her own smile widening as she tugs Sarah back in for another hug.

"Indeed you will!" Loki replied cheerfully, basking in the warmth of the family embrace, leaning slightly against Steve as he hugs them both. "Good thing you're already knitting."

An almost casual nudge to Sarah to draw her attention to Steve because his reaction will likely be gold, tone turning a bit sly and playful. "We'll be needing two of those blankets, after all."

Surprise Steve!

To her credit, Sarah immediately picks up on the bombshell being dropped, and that it's something her son was not aware of. She opens her mouth, closes it again, and bites her lip to keep from laughter, watching Steve.

"Two of them?" Steve is slower. It's obvious Loki is trying to tell him something, but he's not sure what for a full five seconds.

And then he lets them go and abruptly drops into a sitting position on the ground.

"Twins??!" His cup runneth over. Give him a moment, he's forgotten how to breathe.

Oh. it's actually rather cute to watch Steve puzzle over that subtle news, expression perfectly placid. At least until he sits so suddenly, the trickster releasing her grasp on Sarah to kneel, a hand moving to stroke her husband's hair.

"Come now darling, keep breathing for me, hm?" Her tone was light with laughter, smile spreading until she was practically beaming.

"You..." He blinks at her, dazed, leans his head into the stroking, and then tugs her into a kiss, brief and fierce.

And then he finishes the accusation: "You brought me here so you could break the news like that in front of ma!"

Well, what do you expect from a Trickster deity? He shakes his head at Loki, then breaks into a watery laugh and buries his face in her shoulder.

Sarah chuckles softly and joins them on the soft, grassy ground. "To prepare you for the chaos and surprise that is parenthood, I think, love." And now it's Mama Rogers' turn to hug them both at the same time.

That kiss admittedly left her a little dizzy, but Loki didn't mind it. especially not with him leaning in, her arms automatically slipping around him.

"I absolutely did." She replied, prim and pleased as she turned her head to kiss hi cheek.

"It didn't hurt that I knew she'd enjoy seeing the realization dawning." Oh... Sarah's arms around them both has the trickster leaning into the woman's arms, unable to help the prick of tears starting to well up at the almost overwhelming feeling of love she felt in that moment.

"I love you," Steve mumbles into her shoulder, laughing and crying all at once.

He hasn't asked about the sex of the infant, and he's not going to now. He's been assured that baby clothes come in colors other than pink and blue, anyway, and given that Loki is more or less genderfluid herself, he wouldn't be surprised if the child (children!) were the same. It'd be fitting. He never even thought to ask if there might be more than one.

"Well you brought me three gifts in one, then, didn't you, love?" This time the endearment from Sarah is directed at Loki, and the hug she gives her is warm.

"I already know just what colors to knit. Green, with gold around the edges and white stars in the middle, hmm?"

"Love you too." Damn Steve, she can hear you crying and that just gets her going, even if the grin still isn't going to be leaving her face for anything.

Loki wasn't entirely sure on the gender. It could change. It could not. Depended on how much of her magic the babies had, and how much of it manifested as they grew, to say nothing of the natural shifting she had herself. So long as they were healthy, they'd figure it out. (Even if Loki felt a bit extra soft over the idea of one or both of them having those clear blue eyes like their father had.)

"What can I say, I'm an over-achiever like that." She responded happily to Sarah, leaning into the feel of arms squeezing around her.

"That sounds absolutely perfect."

Sarah takes everything in stride; probably that's one of the advantages of being dead and safely in Heaven. You've seen, demonstrably, that things can turn out beautifully in the end, even if it's a rough road to get there. Stevie has certainly had a rough road, but the place he's found himself is good for him. Even if she never would have anticipated him having a spouse quite like Loki, she's welcoming her with open arms.

"Now, how am I supposed to throw you a baby shower from here?" She teases gently. "Steve, if I can't do it, who've you got down there to manage it?"

"...Na..tash..aaa?" He says slowly, with an expression on his face that says 'yeah, that wouldn't end well'. "Maybe Tony could--no, that'd be worse..."

It would be a hilarious twist of fate if the other Loki handled the baby shower arrangements, though.

The more Loki spent time around Sarah, the more she was quite convinced that if anyone in the world deserved a good afterlife it was definitely her. It was easy to see why Steve loved her so fiercely, and while sometimes that jealousy would flare up, it was quashed in almost the same moment by how easily the woman had welcomed Loki into her family.

"We could always string poor Bucky along and make him think he's gotta do it." Loki suggested, in a mild, almost innocent tone.

If the grin on her face was any hint well clearly she was feeling much better than how surly she'd been not even an hour back.

"I think he's about the only one I can trust with it," Steve snorts. "Which is a little scary."

"Oh, Stevie, Bucky's a little rough around the edges but he's always had your best interests at heart," Sarah laughs. "Give him a chance, then, and I'll see what we can do from here."

"What about names? Do you have names yet?" She's asking Loki, because mom gets the first say, and anyway she knows her son well enough to guess he doesn't want a Steve Junior anyway.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Loki did like the whole concept. It wasn't often that her children were... anticipated. Not in any good way, and so the idea made her incredibly happy, that they'd be well-loved. For all she had her fears of what could happen, it was comforting knowing that she wouldn't be alone in protecting them.

"As far as names... I'm not sure yet. It'll depend if they decide they're boys or girls. Or something else." A good reason, even if it didn't touch on the reluctance to name them, to get too attached because of the track record her children held so far. Steve knew of that fear, but this wasn't a time for dwelling on such things.

That's the real point of it. Any gifts they might need, even for twins, they could buy or obtain themselves. Steve has a little money, which he rarely uses, and if he asked Tony for a loan or a grant, he'd get at least twice what he requested. But having everyone around them celebrate with the expectant mother? That's worth more than a new stroller and a diaper cake.

"You'll have to call them something in the interim, won't you?" Sarah's taking the gender thing in stride, but she's not entirely sure how it works. "Or will they decide the minute they're born?"

Look, they're god-babies, who knows how smart they'll be when they pop out? Steve looks like he's just realizing this, and realizing who their mother is, and oh shit they're going to be trouble.

"I should just dye my hair gray now and get it over with," he murmurs.

And if anything, Loki was exceptionally good at digging up things of value out in the universe at large. Money wasn't an object when it came to handling this.

"They'll settle on something before birth. I'll be able to tell- they'll spend more time as one thing than the other options as they grow. It's instinctual in a way." A faint smile quirking her lips as she considered. "Vali kept me guessing. Didn't settle on a species even until a couple weeks out, the little miscreant."

As if being Steve's precludes them from being any additional trouble. His comment earns a low chuckle, Loki ruffling his hair affectionately.

"You'd look very distinguished, but I like what you've got now too."

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