Chapter Text
It took a little while to find Bruce a pair of pants. None of the Asgardian refugees had brought extra changes of clothing, so Bruce was forced to wear a pair of pants that Thor dug out of a pile of clothes they found in a store room. Bruce noted the weird stains on them, but didn’t want to find out where they came from.
“It could be anything,” Thor said. “Not what you’re thinking of.”
“Stop it,” Bruce scolded. “I told you, I don’t wanna know.”
“It could be juice,” Thor reasoned.
“I’m not gonna think about it,” Bruce said. “It’s out of my head. Come on; where’s the captain’s quarters?”
“This way.” Thor led Bruce down a hallway and up a flight of weird space-steps that Bruce nearly tripped and ate shit on, and then down another hallway.
“How do you not get lost in here?” Bruce asked. “I feel like everything looks the same.”
“I did get lost,” Thor admitted. “I found the bar on accident: I was looking for the cargo hold.”
“How do you go that wrong?” Bruce asked.
“It’s a big ship,” Thor said defensively.
“Yeah, I’ll agree with you there,” Bruce said before tripping on another set of stairs. “Ow!”
Thor helped him off the ground. “Please do not break yourself before we get to our destination.”
“Sorry,” Bruce said a bit meekly. “I’m still getting used to space. I think the Hulk deals with space better than I do.”
“I do, too,” Thor agreed. He shook his head. “I can’t believe that you were startled out of the Hulk.”
“I can!” Bruce said. “Loki being pregnant is one hell of a shock! At least you knew that that was a possibility when you found out!”
“It was still quite a shock for me,” Thor retorted. “I’m sure you can imagine. I didn’t think it was a possibility, what with everything he’s done recently.” He sighed. “I am glad to hear the news, but I am very worried. I don’t know how our friends will react. They will not have forgotten what he did, and I fear that they will imprison him or take away his child. Perhaps both. Loki wants this baby so badly - I fear to lose her would break him.”
Bruce sighed, too. Poor Thor, he thought: the guy had so much on his mind. He’d lost so much and been through even more, and now he had another set of things to worry about. Bruce had his own things to worry about, but he wanted to help Thor. Maybe he could do so by helping Thor deal with some of his worries surrounding Loki and his baby.
“Thor, I know things have been tough,” he began, “but I might be able to help. The Avengers are my friends, too. They might listen to me. I’ll talk to them, don’t worry.”
Thor smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Bruce. I am truly in your debt. Ah, here we are.” Thor stopped outside a door with a funny symbol on it.
“What's up with these weird symbols?” Bruce asked. “Are they some kind of alphabet?”
“I don’t know,” Thor said. “But we’re here about Loki, not Sakaaran culture.”
“Right,” Bruce said. “Sorry. After you.”
“Thank you.” Thor raised his hand and knocked. “Loki? It is I, Thor. May I come in?”
“I suppose,” said a voice from within. “Close the door after you.”
Thor turned to Bruce. “All right,” he said, “follow me.”
“Shouldn’t you tell him I’m with you?” Bruce asked, slightly concerned. “He might freak out. I don’t wanna Hulk out again. The Hulk isn’t an MD.”
“Yes, and if I do tell him you’re with me, he may not let you in,” Thor reasoned. “I’ll talk to him, don’t worry. Come, let us go in.”
“Ok,” Bruce said a little uncertainly. “After you.”
Thor opened the door by means of a button on the wall, and he and Bruce stepped into the room beyond.
Loki was standing by the table, his back to the door. His hair was damp, and he was dressed in loose clothing that Bruce didn’t recognize. “Where were you?” he asked without turning around. His attention seemed to be focused on a book on the table.
“I was in the bar,” Thor admitted. “I needed a drink.”
“How kingly,” Loki scoffed, “drinking a few hours before your coronation. What would Odin think of that decision, I wonder?” He turned around, clearly intending to continue mocking his brother, but then he saw Bruce and he stopped, his eyes widening and filling with an emotion Bruce had never imagined seeing on Loki’s face: fear.
Loki backed up quickly, knocking the book off the table as he did so. His hands flew to cover his stomach, but no gesture could hide what was there: Loki’s belly was round and swollen to the point of stretching the tunic he wore. It was an unmistakable shape, one that as a doctor Bruce recognized at once.
Bruce couldn’t help staring. Thor had told him about the situation, but he had failed to tell him how far along Loki was. Loki wasn’t just pregnant, he was very pregnant. If he were human, Bruce would’ve judged him to be full-term, at the very end of his third trimester and very close to giving birth.
“Thor, what is the meaning of this?” Loki demanded, his voice sharp with fear. “Have you lost your mind? Why have you brought him here? Send him out immediately! He can’t see me like this!”
“Loki, please, calm yourself!” Thor took a step towards his brother, his hands raised in a pleading gesture. “It’s all right!”
“No, Thor, no one can see me like this!” Loki protested, panic creeping into his voice. His hand was pressed tightly to the swell of his belly. “They can’t know I’m pregnant! They can’t know about my baby! You don’t know what they’d do to her!”
“They’re not going to do anything to her!” Thor said, reaching Loki’s side. He laid his hand on Loki’s shoulder. “I will protect your child, Loki. I promised, remember?”
Loki didn’t look completely convinced. “Why have you brought him here?” he asked, jerking his chin in Bruce’s direction.
“Because he is a doctor,” Thor said. “He’s here to make sure that your child is all right.”
“She’s fine!” Loki snapped, jerking out of Thor's grasp. “I’ve managed this entire time without a healer, and I can continue to do so! I don’t need you hovering over me!”
“Brother, please-” Thor began, but was cut off.
“I’m fine, and so is she!” Loki said angrily. “I will take care of myself! You don’t need to have people examine me.”
“Actually, Loki,” Bruce said, “I offered to come and make sure you’re all right.”
Loki looked at Bruce critically. “Why?”
“You’re pregnant,” Bruce said. “The health of your baby is very important, and you can’t take care of it properly without a healer or a doctor making sure that everything is going all right. Thor’s worried about you, Loki. He wants to make sure that you and your baby are ok. Will you let me take a look? It won’t take too long. For Thor?”
Loki hesitated. He looked up at Thor, uncertainty in his green eyes. Thor looked back down at him, concern in his single blue one. “Please, Loki,” he said. “If not for me, for your babe.”
Loki looked down, running his hand over his bulging midsection. “All right,” he said. He looked back up at Bruce. “I will allow you to examine me, for my child’s sake. And for Thor’s,” he added quietly.
Thor beamed, his shoulders relaxing at once. “Thank you, Loki,” he said. “It takes a great weight off my mind.”
“Yes, yes,” Loki said, pushing him away, but gently. He sighed. “Very well, doctor, where would you have me sit?”
“The bed is fine,” Bruce said. “Pull your shirt up over your stomach, please.”
Loki sat down, settling himself on the edge of the bed. Hesitantly, he pulled up his tunic to reveal the swell of his pregnant belly. His skin was porcelain, unblemished and perfect. There were only a very few stretch marks.
“Ok, wow.” Bruce tried not to stare as he knelt down on the floor. Now that he was up close, he could confirm that Loki was very heavily pregnant, probably just days away from giving birth. He knelt down by the bed. “Uh, ok, Loki, I’m going to have to touch you. Is that ok?”
Loki didn’t look too thrilled by the prospect, but he nodded. “Do what you must,” he said, the resignation clear in his voice.
“Ok, thanks. If you feel weird about it, just let me know and I’ll stop.” Bruce rubbed his hands together to generate some warmth, and then laid his hands carefully on Loki’s belly. Loki sucked in a breath at the contact, but didn’t pull away.
Loki’s skin was cool to the touch, almost cold. Being as gentle as he could, Bruce poked and prodded with several fingers, trying to determine how the baby was positioned inside its mother. The biggest shock was that there was a baby. He could feel its back against his fingers.
“Ok, Loki, I’m going to move my hands a bit lower, now,” Bruce said, giving the god warning. This was a totally surreal experience, he thought: acting as an obstetrician to a pregnant being he had once smashed into a floor.
The movement of his hands to Loki’s pelvis provoked a sharp inhale, but no further action. A quick glance up showed him that Loki wasn’t even looking at him, instead staring pointedly out the window into space. So Bruce continued to check the baby’s position. It was low inside its mother, and turned upside down. He wasn’t going to go so far as to check Loki’s dilation, but he could guess from the low position of the baby that Loki really was mere days from giving birth to his baby.
The baby shifted suddenly beneath his fingers and he pulled back with a sound of surprise. Loki’s hand immediately went to rest above his child’s movement, cradling the swell of his belly with his slender fingers. He glared at Bruce. “Well? Is my child healthy, or are you going to continue prodding me?”
“Oh, my god,” Bruce said quietly. “You really do have a baby in there.”
“Yes, I do,” Loki said irritably. “I’m so pleased that you trust your eyes. What have you learned?”
“Well, the baby’s position feels totally normal,” Bruce said. “Not upside down or sideways or anything. Is it a boy or a girl, or do you not know?”
Loki’s face lost some of its irritation. “It’s a girl,” he said, his voice soft and almost affectionate.
“A girl, huh?” Bruce said. “How do you know?”
Loki’s face softened. He ran his hand over his belly. “I just know,” he said. “I can’t explain it. I just do.”
“Well, she feels fine to me,” Bruce said. “I’m just going to listen to her heartbeat, and then I’ll be done.”
“You see, Loki?” Thor said. “That wasn’t so hard.”
“Oh, shut up,” Loki said, but he didn’t sound angry.
Bruce rolled up a piece of paper he found on the table and pressed one end to Loki’s belly while putting his ear to the other. After moving it a few times, he found what he was searching for. “There we go,” he said, “heartbeat. She’s got a strong one. She sounds and feels totally healthy.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Loki said, and Bruce was surprised to see the gratitude on his face. “I am glad to know that my babe is well.”
“Yes, thank you, Bruce,” Thor agreed. “It is wonderful news.”
“Sure thing,” Bruce said. “It’s my job. Whoop! And she’s moving.”
Loki inhaled as his daughter shifted inside of him. He laid his hands on his belly, feeling her move. A small smile appeared on his lips. “Hello, little one,” he said. “It’s all right. He was just listening to your heartbeat to make sure that you’re healthy.”
“She’s moving?” Thor came to stand in front of his brother. “May I feel?”
Loki nodded, not looking up from his belly. “Be gentle.”
Bruce got out of the way as Thor knelt down. Gently, the thunderer laid his massive hand on the swell of Loki’s belly. A smile spread across his face. “I can feel her,” he said quietly, almost reverently. “My gods. She’s moving, Loki.”
Loki rolled his eyes. “I know, Thor. I can feel her better than you.”
Thor kept his hand on Loki’s belly. “Hello, my niece,” he said in a soft, gentle voice, “I’m your uncle. I’m going to take care of you, little one. I’m going to take care of you and your mother.”
He bent his head and pressed a gentle kiss to the swell of Loki’s belly, a gesture that on Asgard signified a relative’s promise to protect an unborn child before and after birth. Frigga’s brothers had done it for Frigga when she carried Thor. And now, Thor did it for Loki. “I promise.”
Loki didn’t reply right away. His eyes were bright, and he didn’t seem to trust his voice. He swallowed. No one had ever pledged to protect his children before. And now Thor, though they were shattered and without a home, made the promise without a second though. The tears in his eyes were not just from hormones.
“Thor, I-” He broke off, quickly dragging his hand across his eyes. “Thank you.”
The words were quiet, barely audible. They were words Thor had not heard from his brother in a very long time, and to hear them brought dampness to Thor’s remaining eye. He took Loki’s hand. “Of course, Loki,” he said. “I will protect your child. You will keep her. I promise this as well, and I will keep my promises.”
Loki nodded, still unable to speak. Bruce felt something in his eye, as well. He felt bad about interrupting such a moment, but he still had some information to convey. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me; sorry,” he said. “Something in my throat.”
Thor stood, clearing his throat as well. “Quite all right,” he said roughly. He wiped his eye quickly. “Is there anything else you wish to tell us?”
“Uh, yeah.” Bruce nodded. “Loki, I don’t know if you know how far along you are, but if I had to guess, you’re full-term. The baby’s turned upside-down, and she’s full-size. She’s ready to go. You could go into labor any day now.”
Thor looked startled. “That soon?”
Bruce nodded. “Yeah, that soon. I’m kind of surprised that all that fighting didn’t induce labor, to be honest.”
The worry Thor felt was clear on his face. “I do not know if we have a midwife,” he said. “Space does not strike me as a good place for Loki to have his child.”
“I can help, if you want,” Bruce said. “It’ll be ok, Thor,” he added reassuringly, seeing that Thor still looked worried. “I know what I’m doing, and so does Loki. This baby’s in good hands.”
“Thor.”
Thor looked down at his brother, who had pulled his tunic back down over his belly. Loki looked back up at him. “It’s all right, Thor,” he said. “He speaks the truth: I know what I’m doing. Besides,” he added with a small smile, “you promised to protect her. It’s going to be all right, brother.”
Thor managed a smile. “Your confidence gives me hope, Loki.”
Loki snorted. “My confidence is what has kept me alive.”
“Oi, your majesty!” The door to the room opened suddenly and the familiar, gruff voice of the Valkyrie made all three occupants of the room jump. Bruce let out an unmanly yelp and Thor, more startled by Bruce than by the Valkyrie, jumped and knocked over the table. Loki made a choking sound, his hand flying to his stomach in an instinctive motion to hide it from view. This, of course, only drew more attention to what was already plain to see.
The Valkyrie blinked, surprised at the chaos her arrival had caused. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “You’re not green anymore.” This was addressed to Bruce. Her eyes flicked to Loki. “And what’s wrong with you?”
Loki stood with some difficulty. “I’m pregnant,” he said evenly, looking her dead in the eye. “Is it that hard for your brain to puzzle out?”
It was the first time the three had seen anything like confusion on the woman’s face. Her brows knit together and she stared in disbelief. She opened her mouth a few times, and was able to speak the fourth time. “Is that something that men can do on Asgard now?” she asked, her voice echoing the shock on her face.
“I’m not Asgardian,” Loki said. “I’m Jotun.” He closed his eyes, and his form shimmered. Blue crept up his limbs and across his face until his entire body was swallowed by the hue. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be ruby-red.
There was a resounding crash as the Valkyrie dropped the bottle she was holding. She stared at Loki with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. “Oh, my gods,” she said. “You’re a fucking Jotun. You’re a fucking pregnant Jotun.”
“Whoa,” Bruce muttered, also staring at Loki. “That’s what a Jotun looks like?”
“I thought that childbearing Jotun men were a myth,” Valkyrie said. “And how did you end up being a prince of Asgard?”
“Adopted,” Thor and Loki said at the exact same time.
“It’s complicated,” Thor said. He turned to Loki. “But why do you show your Jotun form? I thought that-” He paused. “I thought that you hated it.”
“It was to prove a point, Thor,” Loki said. He smirked. “And might I add, the Grandmaster found it quite appealing.”
“Oh, gods,” Thor groaned. “I didn’t need to know that.”
Loki shrugged, the Aesir glamor returning. “You asked.”
Valkyrie, in the meantime, was still focused on Loki. She was floored by his appearance. She had only known Loki as slender and beautiful, an agile, thin form. He was very different now. He was still beautiful, but gone was the thinness of him. She had never seen a pregnant person during all her time on Sakaar, and so to see someone who was this pregnant was a great shock to her. He wasn’t just pregnant, he was incredibly pregnant.
“I’m drunk,” she said. “There can’t be any other way. This can’t be real.”
“It’s real,” Loki assured her. “I’m pregnant with a daughter.” He looked at her expectantly. Expectantly; everything about him was expectant. “You have a question?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Can I touch?”
“If it will help convince you that my child is reality,” Loki said.
Hesitantly, Valkyrie reached out and touched his belly. She sucked in a surprised breath. She felt the baby move beneath her fingers, stirring within its mother’s body. Loki’s hand moved in response, stroking the swell of his body.
His actions made sense now that she knew his secret. He’d blocked every strike aimed to his stomach, used magic instead of force, and allowed himself to be captured with the minimum of fuss. He hadn’t been cowardly, he’d been protecting the child he was pregnant with.
A mother’s love, she thought.
“You really are pregnant,” she said.
Loki sighed. “The number of times I’ve heard that today . . .”
“You said it’s a girl?” she said.
Loki nodded. “Yes.”
A smile twitched on Valkyrie’s lips. “A princess,” she said. “Good. I’m getting tired of Asgardian princes. I’m glad that the heir to Asgard’s throne is a female. Maybe now we’ll have some peace and sanity.”
Thor crossed his arms, but there was a smile on his face. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you two make me wish that I could jettison myself into space,” she said.
“Please don’t do that,” Bruce said in concern.
Valkyrie laughed. “You’re so sweet,” she said, patting Bruce’s arm. “Don’t worry; I’m not about to leave. I’ve got something to fight for, now. Besides, we don’t have an army anymore. Who’s going to protect the princess?” She turned to look at Loki. “I’m sorry about smacking you around. That probably wasn’t very good for the baby.”
Loki laughed softly. “It’s all right,” he said. “She’s fine. I owe you an apology for pulling some knives on you.”
Valkyrie shrugged. “No harm done,” she said. “I like the knives from nothing trick. Anyway.” She turned back to Thor. “Coronation time. Heimdall sent me to find you three.”
Thor blanched. “Oh, gods: I forgot!”
Loki sighed. “A good start, Thor.”
“It’s been a hard few days,” Thor retorted.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Bruce agreed. “I guess the upside is that it can only get better from here.”
Thor smiled. “I am sure that it will.”