The Hermit Herbalist

Chapter 32 - Loki's New Home

Loki followed Pepper as she led her to Clint's floor, which was now going to be her new home.  Darian was starting to move and wake up and Loki knew that Odin had lifted the sleeping wards.  By the time they arrived at the main living area, the little boy was wide awake.  "Aw!  He's so adorable!" Pepper cooed as Darian started to squirm in his blankets.  

"Would you like to hold him?" Loki offered as she unwrapped him like a present.  

"Oh!  I don't know about that!" Pepper said before Loki carefully passed her son over.  Pepper quickly cuddled him close and supported his head against her bosom.  Darian blinked up at her, his blue eyes so much like Clint's.  She ran the tip of her finger over his nose and he burbled.  "He looks more like Barton," she pointed out and Loki nodded as she braided her hair up and out of her way.  

"He does.  I don't mind.  Clint said there would be other children and that will give us more chances to have babies that look like me," Loki responded as she started to strip out of her clothes.  Pepper tried not to watch but found herself studying the other woman.  She was physically fit, but had a slight baby bump remaining from her pregnancy.  Pepper glanced away before Loki could catch her staring.  Loki removed her medieval attire and opened one of the drawers, rifling through the clothes inside.  "Clint said they would get me 'Midgardian' female clothing.  I'm sure these are it?"  Loki held up a pair of black yoga pants and a green tunic style blouse.  Pepper smiled.

"Yes, those are what women of earth wear," she answered.  Loki nodded before she made a face when she saw a sleek, green lacy bra and panties.  Pepper chuckled at her discomfort.  "Underwear.  What would you call them?"

"Small clothes," Loki answered as she laid them out on the bed and stripped completely naked.  Pepper was too focused on Darian to see Loki until the other woman was clothed again.  Loki and walked over to where Pepper was sitting and the red-head passed the boy over to his mother.  Darian gurgled and snuggled close to Loki's breast.  "He's getting hungry," Loki stated as she pulled the clothing aside so her son could nurse.  Pepper watched, fascinated.  She had wanted children with Tony, but they had found out that she was incapable of conceiving, so they could only consider adoption or a surrogate.  Pepper felt a twinge of jealousy as she watched Loki feed her child, running her fingers through his dark hair.

"Apparently a delegation from Jotunheim and Asgard will be speaking with the politicians to explain what your situation is.  Fury is... how do I say this?  An *sshole?" Pepper suggested and Loki snorted a little bit.  "Needless to say, I think Clint and Thor already had words with him about it.  No SHIELD personnel are allowed within this building until we come to an understanding," Pepper explained and Loki nodded.

"That is good.  While I behaved submissively before, if they attempted to harm my child, I would be anything but submissive," Loki casually warned and Pepper smiled.

"Of course.  He's your child.  The natural instinct is to protect him," Pepper answered.  That was when Darian finished eating and burped.  Loki smiled as she gently placed him over her shoulder and patted his back until he burped some more.  Finally, he was done and Loki cradled him close, kissing his forehead as he began to drift back to sleep.  "Let's join the others," she said and Loki nodded, rising and following her out of the room and down the hall towards the main floor.  The rest of the Avengers were there already there, and Clint was quick to approach Loki.  

"I'm sorry about all that when you arrived.  I'm going to have a discussion with Fury about it later.  He knew our situation and still pointed weapons at you and Darian.  Needless to say, I'm not pleased.  I'm going to withdraw from SHIELD entirely," Clint said.

"Clint, I don't want you to burn bridges here because of me," Loki responded, but Clint shook his head and kissed her.

He pulled away after a second, kissed Darian, and answered, "I'll burn the world before I turn my back on you."  Clint put his arm around her and led her away from the other Avengers.  They watched them from a distance and waited for them.  "I never said anything when we were back on Nornheim, but... those months I was away from you... I was torn up inside.  I thought of you back there all alone, pregnant with Darian.  I hated every second I was away from you.  No matter how much I wanted to get back to you, something always kept me busy here.  And I missed everything.  I wasn't there when you suffered from morning sickness.  I wasn't there when Darian started to kick.  I wasn't there when you had your strange cravings.  And, I almost wasn't there for Darian's birth.  And I'm going to keep apologizing for the rest of my days."  Clint watched as Loki's face lit up like a Christmas Tree and she tilted her head to kiss him again.

"They're the cutest thing ever," Pepper whispered to Tony.

"Yeah, they are adorable," Tony responded as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head and smiled.  Thor just watched his reincarnated sibling kiss the man she loved, while holding their child in her arms.

Thank you, Norns.  For giving her this happiness, he thought.