Author's Note:

Pairing: Loki/Tony Stark

Warnings: MPreg, non-graphic birth scene, more warnings to be added, rating may change

Edit: This story is now being continued. "One-shot" is not in my vocabulary.

Disclaimer: The world and characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel. I own nothing but the plot and make no money from this story.

Chapter One

Frigga was finally allowed to see her youngest son after he reverted into his Jötunn skin and started screaming. The guards alerted Odin and she and Thor quickly raced through the palace, Frigga uncaring of the annoyed look her husband gave her. When he tried to stop her from descending into the dungeons she glared at him.

'You listen to me,' she hissed, 'you are my King, and my husband. But Loki is my son, no matter what he has done. I will see him now or I will leave you for Vanaheimr and never return, is that understood?'

Odin hesitated before he swallowed thickly and stepped back, granting Frigga access. She sniffed at him and hurried down the steps, Thor on her heels.

When they reached the last cell Frigga gasped.

'Oh Valhalla,' she murmured, 'Odin, allow me through.'

'Excuse me?' the King demanded.

'Loki is in labour!' Frigga shouted at him.

Odin's good eye widened and he slammed his stave against the ground, the golden spell keeping Loki in and others out disappearing immediately. Loki was curled up on the floor, in the corner, on a bed of blankets and pillows. His hands were pressed against the rounded swell of his stomach and sweat was beading his sapphire blue skin, turning to ice before it could travel past his cheekbones.

The glamour that he had been using to hide his condition was gone.

'M-Mother,' Loki stuttered through the pain.

'You stupid boy,' Frigga growled, 'why did you not tell us?'

Loki's eyes flashed over her shoulder. 'You know what will happen now,' he said. 'The Fates have seen that my children will help destroy Asgard. It is why I've never had children bef- ah!' He hunched over himself as best he could, but his magic was failing him; it was allowing pain through, stripped away due to the impending birth. Frigga wondered how long Loki had been this way- how long had he been able to hide his labour while stuck in this cell?

Frigga pushed Loki's hands aside and laid her own on his stomach, fingers digging in through his soft green tunic. It was ripping at the seams due to Loki's weight gain, and she stared at the threads barely holding it together as she worked her healing magic.

'It is time,' she announced. 'Odin, Thor, leave. I will deliver the babe.'

'But Mother-' Thor tried, only for the Queen to round on him.

'I was not asking, Thor!' she snapped. 'I was ordering! Odin, take our son and your guards and leave.'

Odin didn't hesitate this time; he nodded and drew the guards away, Thor trailing behind him looking lost. She heard them stop at the end of the room, leaving her and her baby boy only a small sliver of privacy.

Loki chuckled, drawing her attention back to him.

'He will return,' the Frost Giant said, teeth gritted. 'He will return and steal my babe, and I will not be able to stop him. Failing motherhood and I have not even truly begun.'

'Nonsense,' Frigga tsked. 'You risked your life to keep this babe safe, Loki. You are already a wonderful mother.'

Loki's eyes went hooded at that, dark, and Frigga pursed her lips. Once upon a time her youngest had lapped up all praise he gave her, for he got it nowhere else. Now he accepted nothing, saw lies beneath every word spoken to him.

He did not even believe his mother any more. And Frigga could not blame him.

What happened next stole Frigga's attention and she concentrated on delivering Loki's babe, her grandson or granddaughter. Loki didn't scream until his body ripped, and then it echoed throughout the hall, grating on Frigga's ears and making her wish that there was more that she could do.

But there was no time. Within twenty minutes of arriving, the babe was out, screaming along with his father.

A boy.

Frigga summoned one of Loki's tunics and wrapped the babe, cleaning everything away with spells and her own two hands. Loki slumped heavily against the wall, deep purple bags beneath his red eyes. Frost clung to his hair and the temperature within the cell had plummeted, barely above freezing.

Despite his obvious exhaustion, Loki propped himself up as best he could and reached for the babe. Frigga handed him over, watching the love that only a parent could feel spread over Loki's face.

'Hello, little one,' Loki whispered. The babe cried out and Loki shushed him. 'It is okay. I will take care of-' He cut himself off suddenly and swallowed. When he looked up at Frigga his eyes were green, and as she watched his skin bled from blue to white. 'What now?' he asked.

Frigga wet her lips. 'Now you name him, Loki.'

Loki scoffed. 'So he can have a name before he is executed?'

'Loki.'

'He will do it and you know it,' Loki muttered. 'He would have executed me if not for you. Do not tell me you believe otherwise, my Queen.'

'I am your mother, Loki, and that will never change!' Frigga said sharply. Loki didn't look at her, his eyes remaining on his son.

The babe had a thick nest of dark brown hair and when he sluggishly peeled his eyes open they were a warm ochre with darker flecks the colour of rich soil.

'I will speak with Odin,' Frigga said.

'I only ask that I be allowed to visit,' Loki murmured. 'Or that he be brought here.' He finally looked up at her. 'I will know him before he is murdered.'

'He will not be killed, Loki.'

Frigga shifted to look over at the corridor beyond Loki's cell. Odin and Thor had returned, Thor barely containing his excitement, mixed as it was with fear. Odin had spoken and Frigga raised her chin. 'Husband?'

'I will not murder your son, Loki,' Odin said.

'Will you not?' Loki spat back. 'He is of my blood, not of yours; what good is he to you?' He paused. 'Or are you still hoping for your puppet-king?'

'He was not born Jötunn-blue,' Odin commented.

Loki's eyes narrowed. 'No,' he agreed reluctantly, 'he was not.' He looked back down at the babe and ran a slim finger over his fat, rosy cheek. 'He looks like his father,' he murmured.

'And who would that be?' Frigga asked curiously.

Loki didn't answer, so she turned to Odin. 'What are your plans?'

'Loki will be given everything he needs for the babe,' Odin told them, 'and, perhaps after he has rested, he will sit with me and recount what truly happened to him when he fell from the Bifröst.'

Frigga turned wide, hopeful eyes on her youngest, who was staring pointedly at his new son. When Thor had returned Loki to them in chains, Loki had refused to comment on his time away; he had refused despite the haunted look in his eyes, the new scars fresh across his body. Odin was a seasoned warrior and knew torture when he saw it, yet Loki had refused to speak. Thus he had been detained and sent away until he came to his senses and told them the truth.

'Loki. Loki,' Frigga hissed. She shook his arm gently, careful not to jostle the babe. 'Your son will need you. Will you really give him up for the sake of your pride?'

Loki swallowed a few times, his throat working hard. He touched the babe's hair again, finger curling the wet brown strands. Finally, after a long while, Loki swallowed again and said, 'I shall tell you what happened. It... concerns the Mad Titan.'

Frigga and Odin both froze and Thor shifted uneasily.

'War will come, eventually,' Loki murmured, 'I was hoping to avoid it. I cannot avoid it now.' He smoothed his fingers over the babe's forehead. 'Your father will fight, if he is still alive when the Titan comes,' he told his son. 'And he will die.'

'Who, Loki?' Frigga asked.

Loki sighed and shifted the babe up to his chest. Arms curled protectively around his son, he leaned heavily back against the wall and closed his eyes.

'Thor,' he spoke, voice tired and barely above a whisper.

'Brother,' Thor responded.

Loki did not deny it and Frigga felt hope curl around her heart.

'Thor, you will go to Midgard and tell the father. Retrieve him and his friends, for the coming war will affect their planet,' Loki said.

'I shall,' Thor vowed.

Loki nodded jerkily, shifted the babe again.

'Stark,' Loki finally said. 'Anthony Stark, the Man of Iron.' Thor inhaled sharply. 'Tell him that his son's name is Andon Lokason.' He sighed. 'Though I doubt that he will care.' That was all he got out before he nodded off, arms still tight around the babe- around Andon- even in sleep.

'Thor, go now,' Odin ordered. 'I wish to speak with the Man of Iron.'

'Yes, Father,' Thor nodded. He hesitated before leaving and looked at Frigga. 'Mother, please take care of him. I wish for both my brother and nephew to remain healthy.'

Frigga inclined her head and Thor hurried away, the sounds of his footsteps soon retreating. 'Will you really pardon Loki for his crimes?' she questioned.

'I believe that whatever happened to Loki was punishment enough,' Odin stated. 'I would have let him go if he had but admitted the truth. He was too stubborn.'

'Yes, he is,' Frigga smiled faintly. She turned to look at Andon. 'We are grandparents, Odin.'

'Indeed,' Odin said. 'One day I hope that Loki can view me as such.'

'Yes,' Frigga agreed, 'perhaps one day.'

Author's Note: Yeah, I dunno. I wanted Loki giving birth in prison and there we are. Huzzah! In other news, "Andon" is the Bulgarian and Macedonian variant of "Anthony". Yup, I'm original. I pronounce it like the name "Anton" only with a D.

Also, technically Andon's surname should be "Anthonason" but that's a bit of a mouthful. I coulda made it "Starkson", I suppose, that does sound cool... eh.

Anywho, that's that. Cheers!

Dreamer