You and Loki broke your hug and left your bathroom. You lasted all of five seconds before you were back in Loki's arms and he was swinging you in a circle. He was all happy giddy excitement and held you to him, kissing you deeply. You purred and your arms wrapped around his neck, your fingers running through his hair, which made him melt in pleasure, as it always did. Just as he loved the effect he could have on you, you love the effect your touch and kisses had on him.

Even after years of marriage, some things hadn't changed.

Loki finally set you back on your feet and broke the kiss so you could both breathe. He grinned giddily down at you. "I'm going to be a father," he repeated.

You stood up on your toes and kissed him. "The best father ever," you agreed.

You saw the moment of doubt in his eyes. He hadn't had the most supportive father growing up. In fact, Odin had been a pretty shitty father, though you'd never tell him that to his face. He'd hidden that Loki was adopted and not only adopted, but not even Asgardian. He'd hidden that Loki was a frost giant from him. Then he had the audacity to tell Loki and Thor all of their lives that the frost giants were horrible monsters.

And he wondered why Loki had a psychotic break and went into a depression spiral when he found out. Especially when Odin fell to the Odinsleep immediately afterwards and Thor had been banished.

It wasn't a good situation.

And you saw all those thoughts cross Loki's face as the realization that he really was going to be a father crossed his face. He didn't want to be as terrible of a father to your child as Odin had been to him. You reached up and cupped his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into your touch with a soft, fond, smile and you couldn't help smiling in return at his automatic leaning into your touch, his automatic relaxation at the simple gesture. "Loki, you will be an excellent father. You care for this child before they're even born. I know you. I know how excited you are. You won't make the mistakes Odin did. We'll tell them from day one that they're half Jotun. We'll accept and love them no matter what," you told him. "And we'll do this together," you added. In everything, as always, you were in it together.

Loki looked reassured and sighed in relief. "You're right, witchling," he said softly and kissed your forehead.

You could still feel his anxiety so you added. "Loki, if you don't trust yourself, then trust in me. I won't let you do anything to our child like what Odin did to you. Not that you would. I know you and I know you'll love and care for this child no matter what, but if it makes you feel better, I will give you my word that I won't let you do anything like what Odin did to you,"

He sighed relaxed and you felt the tension leave his body. He pressed another kiss to your forehead. "Thank you," he said softly, reassured by your blind faith in him. You knew Loki and you knew he would care for this child. He would love them with every fiber of his being and would go to the ends of the nine realms to protect you both.

"We should probably tell the others," you reminded him. Your found family of the Avengers would want to know the news.

Loki chuckled. "Darling, it's five in the morning. How about we go back to sleep for a couple of hours and tell them at a reasonable time of the day?" he suggested warmly. He was being protective already, though you weren't sure if it was for you or for your friends.

You laughed and grinned up at him. "I can live with that," you agreed. He kissed you lightly and got you tucked back into bed, curled safely in his arms.

His hand went to your stomach, as if he could feel the child there already. There was a soft smile on his face as he drifted back off to sleep, content with you and his unborn child safe in his arms.

*

After a couple of hours your alarm went off at a reasonable time of the morning and you managed to extricate yourself from Loki's arms. Though you woke him when you did. You smiled at him and kissed him softly. He groaned and tried to pull you back onto the bed and into his arms and cuddles. Loki was not a morning person. At all. He tended to be stabby and homicidal in the mornings. Until he'd stabbed Thor for the day or gotten breakfast and tea in him. With how hard that last mission had been, you weren't surprised he was hard to wake this morning.

You chuckled and kissed him. "C'mon Lo, we need to tell Thor and the others that I'm pregnant before they leave for the day," you reminded him. It was important news to share, especially as you'd be without your powers for the next nine months. That was going to suck. So much. You'd had your powers for so long now that you couldn't consider life without them. But the team needed to know that you'd be useless to them until after the child was born. They deserved it for taking you in, for allowing Loki to live here, for all of the events that had led up to you marrying your love and this child you were bearing now.

Loki cracked his eyes open and gave you a smile. "Alright, darling," he replied and climbed out of bed. He summoned a fur-lined cloak for you and wrapped it around your shoulders as he kissed your temple. He was bound and determed to take care of you. He always was, and it made your heart flutter to this day every time he did such sweet romantic gestures, even something as small as making sure you were warm.

The pair of you made your way down to the common room. Most of the team was gathering in the dining room for breakfast. They looked up at you when you came in, familiar faces of your friends and family. "Hey, kid. We need you for a mission," Cap greeted you when you entered the room.

You hestiated at that, knowing you would be letting the team down. They relied on you and your magic and combat skills. They relied on you for your healing as you were the only natural healer on the team.

You'd be letting them down for the next nine months.

You hesitated, but finally said. "Sorry, Cap. I can't go on any missions. I don't have my magic back," you told him. He looked concerned. The entire team looked concerned. They all kept track of when you were without your powers and rallied around you to make sure you were safe when you were vulnerable. They also all knew that your powers should be back today. They knew something had to be wrong if they weren't.

All of the except Thor.

Thor looked excited.

He knew.

Of course he knew. He was Asgardian too and knew what it meant when an Asgardian lady's powers didn't come back after the third day.

"Sig... are you... is everything ok?" Cap started to ask, not sure how to ask or what question he was trying to say.

You nodded in reply and Loki kissed the top of your head reassuingly. Even after all these years he tended to let you make announcements to the team. He was still a little shy and unsure around them, even though they'd forgive him for the attack on New York. They forgave him years ago. They'd accepted it was mind control and out of his control. Still, he let you make announcements to them or talk to them more often than not.

You steeled yourself. You had to tell them. It was important and affected your job with the team.

You finally just told them, spitting the words out so you wouldn't lose your nerve.

"I won't have my magic for the next nine months. I'll have to be off duty. I'm sorry, Cap," you told them, then to make sure your meaning was perfectly clear to even the least subtle among the team (AKA Tony) you added:

"I'm pregnant,"