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

[shieldborne]

It's not hard for Steve to dote on Loki at the best of times, but given the additional excuse of incoming babies, his skills rise to new heights. Partly it's necessity; to protect his friends from god-induced damages he needs to make sure he's between them and his spouse as often as possible, but also...

There's something right about it, funny and wholesome, to be making trips for ice cream and flowers and honey candy to please the expectant parent. Steve doesn't sleep much, anyway. He's happy to go out late at night or early in the morning for food runs.

There's some inherent stress in Loki being even more mercurial than usual, though. Steve finds himself on edge at times, but there's no doubt in his mind it will all be worth it. For children. For a family.

Comments

[magpiemythos]

"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.

[shieldborne]

"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..."

[magpiemythos]

"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!

[shieldborne]

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."

[magpiemythos]

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!

[shieldborne]

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.

[magpiemythos]

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.

[shieldborne]

"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.

[magpiemythos]

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.

[shieldborne]

"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?"

[magpiemythos]

"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."

[shieldborne]

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.

[magpiemythos]

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.

[shieldborne]

"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.

[magpiemythos]

"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.

[shieldborne]

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.

[magpiemythos]

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."

[shieldborne]

"Didn't settle on a species?" Sarah's a little lost now. "Well, they're half you and half Stevie, aren't they? What's left to choose?"

Steve isn't entirely sure how this works, either, but he's already said he doesn't care if his children are giant snakes or eight-legged horses, anyway. (Okay, he hopes they'll look humanoid at least some of the time, because otherwise they'll have to be homeschooled.) He puts an arm around Loki's lower back and nuzzles her hair.

"We'll see what happens, then," he tells her. "It just sounds like I'm going to have a time keeping up with them."

[magpiemythos]

"Well I'm Jotun but I usually am in an Asgardian shape. Then there'll be the human side of them, courtesy of Stevie dearest." That's the easy part anyways. "And then I'm a shapeshifter which means they might decide they'd rather take one of those shapes, like Fenrir or Jörmungandr."

To be fair, Loki is planning on them being homeschooled at least at first. Until she can be sure that they have a handle on their abilities, and the understanding of when to stay in a single shape and play along at being a normal child. But that's a discussion for later. As it was, she leaned in against Steve's side with a soft content little sound, lips quirking on a smile.

"You're absolutely correct. If they're even half the trouble of you or I, we're going to have a time of things."

[shieldborne]

"I don't think magical genetics work the same as human heredity," Steve tells Sarah with a shrug. "But they're part of me and part of Loki, and that's all that really matters."

Sarah studies her son for a second, and then breaks into a grin and pulls him into a hug. "You're going to be a wonderful father."

This prompts a few awkward noises out of the soldier. "Ma...! Aw, c'mon, now."

He's blushing.

[magpiemythos]

It still sends Loki about over the moon in her quiet way to hear Steve claim any part of her is good. Wanted. Appreciated.

That it was about their impending children of course just made that delight all the more deeply felt, a laugh slipping from her as she watched her husband fussing in his mother's grasp, giving one of those reddened cheeks a gentle pinch.

"She's right you know."

[shieldborne]

He made a commitment, to save the world, so he was bound to accept Loki as she is, good and bad. But what he's learned of her, he not only likes, but loves. She's been an unexpected blessing in his life. Which is probably one of the reasons the rest of the Avengers have begun to embrace her. She's been good for Steve. Babies will be just as good.

"Aaa!" He protests at the pinch, but he's laughing now, too, giddy with affection and impending joy. "I'm outnumbered! This isn't fair."

[magpiemythos]

"You'd best get used to it, darling dearest." Loki's tone was affectionate, but still teasing as she gave that cheek a pat following the pinch, amusement dancing in her gaze. "There'll be two more to gang up on you soon enough."

Assuming they didn't wind up on his side, ganging up on Loki instead. Surely that wouldn't happen though right?

"You don't stand a chance against the combined teasing of your whole family."

[shieldborne]

Steve laughs quietly, but then suddenly he's crying again, because family. This feels like all he's ever wanted.

They're there for a few more hours, and it's mostly Sarah and Loki talking about motherhood, with Steve just quietly basking in their presence and idly rubbing his wife's shoulders. But a good time is had by all, and they promise to return soon.

Steve lets Loki handle the birth announcements, and promptly regrets it when Tony and Bucky come to him covered with glitter. After that, though, they may both be surprised when a bouquet of white and yellow roses arrives for Loki, with a small baby gift (two of them) attached in a rainbow gift bag.

The card is signed, simply, L.

[magpiemythos]

Loki knows that every culture on every world has their celebrations for new life. Has seen quite a few of them over the years, but it's something else entirely to be one of the ones at the center of such a fuss. Even if she didn't have the twins to be so achingly delighted over, she'd still love the attention, the warmth and celebration that Midgardians seemed to do so well. For a race that was comparatively isolated from the other realms, the humans were amazingly open towards others at times in a way that fascinated her.

So she played her tricks, enjoyed her games. Sent Sarah a tablet so the woman wouldn't miss out on things, could send Steve messages whenever she wished. Started the process of plotting out the children's room, for all she was still changing her mind every week or so yet.

The gift from her counterpart was a surprise, but a pleasant one. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the little hats, sending a message in kind.

There's truffles here with your name on them.

It was while the others were busy- no threat to be had but some sort of charity event overseas. She'd promised Steve she'd come keep him company later, but this was the best time to invite the other Loki around, so they could feel out how they wanted to be now that it seemed the initial offense at her showing up had eased at least some.