A/N: I got this request MONTHS ago from Valki, for Val to need all the help actually telling Loki she's pregnant, but I entered a trope contest (that's due today, I'm not at all a procrastinator) and picked pregnancy announcement so I would finally write this. I didn't stick to the rest of the request all that much, and I'm sorry it took this long, but I hope you enjoy it!

(This is also over 4k words of almost pure fluff and humor, that'll probably never happen again, enjoy it while it lasts)

Note: Fandral is Thor and Jane's kid, and Freyr is Lokyrie's kid, born missing his left arm and paralyzed from the waist down

Val sat on the bed in the small light blue medical room. Her feet hung off, swinging rapidly in an effort to burn off her nervous energy. Behind her, the one-way glass wall overlooked a glorious dawn, the sun's golden rays touching onto the growing town of New Asgard. But at the moment, she had no desire to look upon her kingdom.

No, on this morning, all of Val's attention was focused on Eir, silently screaming at their chief healer to stop tapping that damn tablet and just tell-

A soft smile broke the healer's concentrated expression. "It seems you have indeed awoken me with good reason, Princess."

Val straightened sharply, trying desperately to peek at the tablet. "I did? Am I…?"

Eir hit a few last buttons before handing her the tablet. "Congratulations, Valkyrie – you're pregnant."

Val took the tablet with trembling fingers, staring at the small picture on the left side of the screen. There were readouts on the right side of the screen, but she'd never had much patience for numbers. Usually they were just statistics – the odds of a peasant becoming a Valkyrie, the odds of winning battles, of surviving Hela then Thanos then Thanos again… the odds of a successful interspecies pregnancy.

Val had always enjoyed beating the odds.

"Is it healthy?" she asked, tearing her gaze from the picture.

Eir nodded. "It appears so. You're about three months along, and I believe Jotuns have a similar gestation period to Asgardians, so you'll be due in about nine months. I'd say it could differ by a month either way, however."

"Ten more months," Val sighed. She had already quit drinking for three years as she and Loki struggled to make this happen. Now, the actual trying, that was fun, but with every failed test, with every positive result that turned out to be false a few days later… all it did was make her want to drink.

Eir chuckled. "If I know one thing about you, Valkyrie, it's that you are more than strong enough to last."

"True," she agreed, lightly rubbing her stomach. And at the end of those ten months… "Do you know the gender?"

"Not for another couple months," Eir told her. "But the royal family could use a daughter."

"Tell me about it," Val muttered. "I love Freyr and Fandral, but this palace could use a calm child."

"Then again, with a warrior for a mother and trickster for a father…"

Val paled. "A baby with Loki's magic."

Eir patted her shoulder. "Good luck, Princess."

-MCU-

After leaving Eir, Val roamed the palace, searching for her husband. He had been gone when Val awoke to vomit, likely driven away in the dead of night by another nightmare. She hated realizing she hadn't noticed his suffering, but she had learned his hiding places well. And if he wasn't on their balcony, in the library, or unleashing hell in the magic-training room…

She pushed open the door to the art studio, blinking to adjust to the sunlight shining through the glass wall. His silhouette gained color as she adjusted, wearing an oversized green hoodie, black sweatpants, and fuzzy socks. He focused on his painting, a nearly finished rendition of the morning's sunrise.

"Hey," she greeted quietly, closing the door and padding over to him. She slipped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his arm, peering around him at the painting. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks," he murmured, touching up a golden streak.

"What was it this time?"

He switched to a brilliant pink. "I was alone on Jotunheim. I was screaming… and then I was crying… and no one came."

Val took his trembling hand and guided him to set the brush down. Then she turned him to face her, and, sliding a hand into his hair, she stretched up to kiss him. He held her close, and she pulled back a little, shifting to brush her thumb along his cheek.

"You're not alone anymore," she promised. "All right?"

He leaned his forehead against hers. "I know," he sighed. "But…" A chill rippled through him, accompanied by a faint gleam of blue across his skin. "Part of me always will be."

"Actually-"

"Loki! Val!"

They broke apart, spinning towards the door. Tony stood there, Pepper at his side. "When did you two get here?" Val exclaimed.

"Uh, last night. Thor invited us, I think he's feeling weirdly social this week. But we've got a code red, aliens invading Israel – you with us?"

"A desert," Loki said drily. "My favorite place. I'll come."

"Sweet," Tony said. "Val?"

She held up a hand. "No thanks. I'm, ah…" If I say something now, there's no way he'll go with Tony. "…feeling a little under the weather."

"What? Why didn't you say something?" Loki asked, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You don't feel hot."

Val knocked his hand away lightly. "It's not a big deal, sweetheart. Go fight some aliens."

Loki pointed at Tony. "He's an alien. I can fight him and not go anywhere."

"Wha- hey!" Tony exclaimed, backing up rapidly.

"Tempting," Val said, much to Tony's horror, "but you're only allowed to hurt humans who shoot first. Now go."

Loki smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she murmured, catching his hand to hold, their fingers running against each other, until he was out of reach. She watched with that familiar sinking familiar as he and Tony disappeared down the hallway.

Pepper stayed behind, arching an eyebrow. "It's not like you to say no to a fight."

For a brief moment, Val considered trying to lie. But Pepper was too clever – besides, based on that knowing eyebrow, she had already guessed. So Val just patted her stomach and let out a wry smile. "I'm not thinking for one anymore."

A broad grin broke over Pepper's face. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Val said. "I just…" she gestured after the men, "thought this part of our relationship ended when he left the Guardians."

Pepper came over and rested her hand on Val's shoulder. "I wish I could say it gets easier. The amount of times I wished I could've been out there with Tony…" She shook her head. "But us being out there would only distract them. At least with us here, they have all the more reason to come back home."

"You're probably right. If only he knew."

She furrowed her brows. "He doesn't- oh. You were just about to tell him, weren't you?"

Val nodded. "But saving lives takes precedent."

"Indeed it does. But he'll be back soon anyway – now he thinks you're sick, remember?"

"Oh." Val's shoulders drooped. "Damn."

-MCU-

It didn't help that they returned in the early morning, and after a night of nightmares, Loki returned to their quarters to find her once again heaving her guts into their toilet. He knelt stiffly beside her, gathering her hair into his hand and bracing her. Finally, she stopped long enough to breathe properly, and he reached over to flush.

"You said you were just feeling a little under the weather," he said, not quite accusingly.

Val hauled herself up to wash her face. "I am fine, Loki, I promise. I'm just-"

"Then why are you vomiting at six in the morning?"

She huffed a laugh, heading out in search of some crackers. "You're very smart, Loki, but sometimes you're also very thick."

Loki followed, limping slightly, opening and closing his mouth a few times before settling on a muttered, "Forgive me for trying to figure out why my wife is sick."

Three years. Three years we've been trying, and I know he knows the symptoms, but now he can't recognize them. Val laughed to cover a groan, scrubbing a hand over her face. This is the man I've chosen to love.

"What are you two doing up?" Natasha asked, stopping after turning the corner and spotting them.

"She won't tell me," Loki complained.

"Crackers," Val answered.

"Wha- ah," Natasha realized, drawing her white robe tighter around herself as she fell into step with Val. "Is there a reason he doesn't know?"

"I tried, but he interrupted me."

"I am right here."

Natasha waved a dismissive hand. "I think Thor ate the last of the crackers."

Val wavered, a wave of nausea washing over her at the thought, and she planted a hand against the wall. "What do you mean, there are no crackers? We live in a palace-"

"Hey," Natasha interrupted, gently catching her arm. "There are other foods-"

"Or," Loki said, "we could go get some medicines from Eir."

Val turned to face him, taking hold of his waist. "Loki, I can't- Are you bleeding?"

Her right hand encountered sticky warmth, and she pulled it away to find her palm stained red. Loki looked down, pulling up the hoodie Val suddenly realized was definitely not his, revealing a long gash. "I thought I closed that up."

"You thought you-" Val pulled up the rest of the hoodie, finding him littered with smaller cuts and bruises. "What the hell happened out there? Did you even go to Eir?"

"They were… very large aliens, and it was dizzyingly hot," he mumbled, tugging his hoodie down and pressing a hand over the bleeder. "I was going to go after I made sure you were sleeping peacefully, but then you were vomiting…"

Val steered him towards Eir's. "So now this is my fault?" she snapped.

"I- what- no- I was just-"

"Let her be emotional, Loki," Natasha advised. "Just let her take you to Eir's."

"I- All right," he agreed hastily when Val tightened her grip on him. "We're going to- Val?"

She broke away from him abruptly, slapping a hand over her mouth and looking around desperately. Where's the nearest bathroom? she wanted to demand, her own mind drawing a blank despite living there for a decade. If only she could move her hand without spewing everywhere.

"Next left," Natasha said quickly. "I'll get him to Eir's."

"Wait-"

Val fled before he could finish.

-MCU-

Natasha came back fifteen minutes later, Pepper in tow, to find Val still hunched over the toilet. Pepper crouched to help with her hair, rubbing her back, while Natasha set a couple bundles on the ground. She unwrapped one, revealing a small vial with a sparkling blue liquid, and popped off the cork.

"Eir is fixing Loki up now – he'll be fine in a few hours," Natasha explained, unwrapping the second to get to a larger vial of white cream. "She passed us off to Embla, who gave us these to help you."

"I'll take anything," Val rasped, fumbling for the toilet handle yet again.

"We thought you'd say that," Pepper teased lightly. Val's glare turned into a dry heave.

"Open up," Natasha said the moment she stopped, taking advantage of the brief reprieve. Val obeyed, and she dripped a few drops of the liquid onto Val's tongue. She shuddered at the acrid taste but forced herself to swallow, wincing as it burned a path down her throat. Then Natasha smeared a dab of the paste under Val's nose.

The burn reached her stomach as the paste's stench made her cough. The unpleasantness lasted only a moment, though – and then the nausea was gone. "Oh, thank the gods," Val gasped, scrambling away from the toilet to wash her mouth out.

Natasha repacked the medicines. "Three drops of this on your tongue and a dab of this under your nose every morning should keep the nausea at bay."

Val took the precious bundles, cradling them against her stomach. "Thank you."

Pepper dipped her head. "Always happy to help."

"And Loki is really all right?" she checked.

Natasha nodded, leading the trio out of the bathroom. "He was mostly healed when we left, but falling asleep. I'd wait a few hours to visit, to let him rest."

"In the meantime," Pepper said, guiding Val away from the bed she suddenly longed for, "we're all awake now, so let's have some breakfast."

Val's stomach, despite trying desperately to empty itself mere minutes ago, rumbled an eager agreement.

-MCU-

A few hours later, Eir let Loki leave the infirmary. He wandered the corridors, checking Val's usual hangouts in the gym and where Asgard's young warriors practiced, but she was in neither place. Finally, he ran into Pepper and Natasha, the two women playing a game with his son, and they told him to check their quarters.

As promised, there she was. Sprawled on her stomach, snoring like a bilgesnipe, outlined in glowing sunlight. Loki smiled through his sigh of relief – snoring that strong meant she was feeling perfectly fine.

Unwilling to get between her and her sunlight, Loki eased the door shut and retreated to the library.

-MCU-

When Val awoke, she was mildly surprised to find Loki not next to her. Then she noticed the heat left behind by the sunlight streaming through the window, and she understood. So she just went looking for him again, because now was definitely the time to tell him.

She found him in the library, curled up in his favorite chair, reading glasses on, tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth, midway through the new book in his favorite series.

She left without a word.

-MCU-

The next day, she organized an afternoon picnic on the roof. Just the two of them. Leaving Wanda in charge of Freyr, with strict instructions to go to Pepper and Natasha first with any questions, she and Loki spread out the white-and-red checkered blanket and tucked into the overstuffed basket of food.

"When was the last time we had alone time like this?" Loki asked, adjusting the umbrella he'd brought for himself.

Val was happy to bask in the sunlight – she had been oddly cold all day. "It's been… I don't know. I just know we don't get enough of this."

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess that's what happens when I immediately leave to live in space and only come back when we adopt a child."

"Don't you dare feel guilty about that," Val rebuked, throwing a bit of bread at him for emphasis. "That was the best option for your mental health, which is more important than a few picnics."

Loki threw a piece back at her. "Bold of you to assume I had any mental health to begin with."

She threw another. "That meme is over a decade old, Loki, stop using it."

He threw two pieces this time. "I do what I want."

"No, you don't," she retorted, throwing three.

"I do!" he insisted, throwing four.

Minutes later, birds were diving all around the roof, scooping up dozens of discarded bits of bread. And Val had Loki pinned beneath her. "No more 2010's memes!"

"All right, all right," he gasped through laughter. "I'll use more modern memes."

Val smirked and let him go, settling back and taking a swig of water. "Excellent."

His smirk only grew. "But I didn't say I'd use all modern memes."

"You little-"

The door to the roof popped open, Wanda leaning out of it. "I'm sorry, I know you didn't want to be disturbed, but Freyr's arm is malfunctioning-"

Val and Loki scrambled to their feet. "Is he in the infirmary?"

Wanda nodded. "Nat and Pepper are with him and Eir, but he's asking for you two."

Val reached the door, Loki on her heels, ready to run to their son, when engines roared overhead. All three looked up, noticing the Milano's familiar orange-and-blue. But the ship was damaged, blackened patches interrupting the bright paint, one engine stuttering and sparking as they struggled to land.

"What happened to them?" Loki exclaimed, taking a step towards the edge of the roof before hesitating.

Scarlet flickered in Wanda's irises. "Somebody's hurt," she realized, concern sharpening her tone.

Loki's eyes widened. Val took his hand and squeezed. "You go to them. I can take care of Freyr."

"Are you sure?"

"He'll understand," she assured him. "Go."

Loki squeezed back to say thank you, then took a running leap off the roof, emerald telekinesis flaring around him to control his fall. Squashing the urge to watch him land just in case, Val turned and jogged down the stairs. She darted into the elevator, knowing Freyr would be calmer if she didn't show up out of breath.

Could just blame it on Loki, though. We were having a bread fight.

Wanda jumped inside just before the doors shut, biting her lip. "You didn't have time to tell him, did you?"

Val blinked. "How did you- oh. Telepathy."

"Sorry," she said sincerely. "I had to open up a lot to sense the Guardians' minds."

"It's fine," Val assured her. "I wasn't expecting this to stay secret long anyway."

"Nothing ever does between all of us, does it?"

"Nope," Val confirmed. The elevator slid to a halt with a ding, and she swept into the hallway.

Wanda slowed her with a hand on her elbow. "He's just a little nervous," she assured Val. "So you need to be a little calmer."

Val sucked in a breath. "Right. Sorry. Hormones, I guess."

Wanda smiled a little, patting her arm. "You've got this."

Val nodded, took one more deep breath, and entered the infirmary at a normal pace. Freyr, his mop of ginger curls messier than usual, his mechanical left arm being tended to by both Eir and Shuri, brightened visibly at the sight of her. "Mommy!"

"Hey buddy!" she greeted, almost wincing at the amount of cheerfulness in her tone. She settled on the bed beside him, careful of his paralyzed legs, and kissed the top of his head. "Daddy'll be here soon, ok?"

"Ok," he said, leaning against her. She let out a little breath of relief, carding her fingers through his hair.

Lifting her eyes from her son, she looked to the waiting area, where Wanda, Pepper, and Natasha all sat and waited. Thank you, she mouthed to them.

Any time, Wanda promised.

Just hurry up and tell him, Natasha added.

Val pursed her lips.

-MCU-

Loki leaned against the conference room table, poring over the expansion plans. The families were all housed, with the necessary medical, learning, and food facilities all finally completed. With those taken care of, and the money they had all earned in exchange for aiding the Avengers and sharing Asgardian knowledge, they were finally free to put some effort into luxuries.

He poked the holo projection of the stables, turning them from gold to red so he could drag them closer to the palace. "I think the horses would prefer it over here."

"You mean you and Val would prefer the horses there," Thor teased, but made no move to put them back.

"She does need them to train the new Valkyries," Loki pointed out. "And I'll need to work with them so they might fly."

"Can you create new pegasi?" T'Challa asked curiously.

"The winged horses from Midgard's legends were lost with Asgard, I'm afraid," Loki said ruefully. "But with the appropriate spellwork and breeding, I should be able to enchant Midgardian horses and their descendants to fly nonetheless."

"Shuri will have many questions about the process."

Loki smiled. "She's welcome to assist me. As is Spider, if he's in the country."

"I will tell them," T'Challa said. "On the topic of the horses, do you know what breeds you'll need?"

"I was thinking-"

The conference room doors swung open, and in strode Pepper, Natasha, Wanda, and Gamora. Her left arm was in a sling, broken in three places and severely burned as the Guardians rescued orphans from their burning orphanage. The damage on the Milano had simply been from an unexpected meteor shower just before they jumped to Earth. While Rocket and Shuri worked on rebuilding it and Gamora recuperated, the Guardians were staying put.

Just. No one was supposed to stay put in the middle of this meeting.

"There isn't a problem, is there?" Thor asked confusedly.

"No," Gamora answered, taking Loki's arm and hauling him to his feet. "We're just meddling in family affairs."

"What does that mean?" Loki exclaimed.

"You'll find out," Pepper assured him. "I don't know if he'll be back," she told Thor and T'Challa, both kings still sitting at the table, blinking in confusion.

"Sorry for the interruption," Natasha said in a tone that clearly inferred she wasn't sorry. Wanda flashed a smile and pulled the doors shut, then fell into step behind Loki. Pepper looped her arm through Loki's, and Natasha took the lead, leaving Loki trapped in the middle of the group.

"Should I be concerned?" Loki asked warily.

"No," Wanda answered mildly. "Val has just been trying to tell you something for days now, that's all."

"She- she has?"

"Men," Natasha sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how any of you survive."

"Sometimes?" Gamora joked.

"Hey!" Loki protested.

The ladies just laughed as they stopped outside the door to the quarters. Natasha knocked, and Val called, "Come in!"

"All right," Natasha said, stepping aside. "In you go."

Pepper and Gamora released his arms, and Wanda shooed him inside. Val was sprawled on their couch watching Netflix, surrounded by discarded candy bar wrappers and chowing down on popcorn. She glanced at the door, then did a double-take, fumbling for the remote. "Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?"

"I was," Loki said slowly, narrowing his eyes at the still-open door. It shut abruptly, but there was no sound of footsteps walking away. "Until I was dragged back here by a few friends."

"Natasha," Val groaned, burying her face in her hands. "She said they'd do something like this if I took too long."

"Took too long?" Loki echoed, going to sit beside her. He brushed some hair off her forehead, noticing that her skin was cool. Too cool. "You're not-" he started, panic creeping into his tone.

"No! No, of course not," she rushed to reassure him, catching his hand and kissing it. "I'm not leaving you alone anytime soon, Loki."

A relieved sigh escaped him, tension fleeing from his shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tight. "Thank the gods. But- what is it, then?"

She cupped his cheek. "Look, you have a meeting to get back to, it can wait-"

Outside, someone hit the door with a resounding bang. They both jumped, Loki's hand flying up defensively before realizing it had probably been Natasha. "I don't think that's an option," he told Val.

She laughed, leaning into his embrace. "No, I guess not," she agreed. "I'm… I'm pregnant, Loki."

He blinked.

Pregnant.

The word registered, but it didn't sink in. Until Val took his hand and guided it underneath her shirt, resting his open palm against her belly. His telepathy flickered to life instinctively, and there it was: A tiny ember of a presence, soft and warm and bright, nestled safely in the curve of Val's belly. It let out- not a noise, exactly, but… a little flare of happiness as she touched Loki's mind.

"She's amazing," Loki breathed, tears pricking his eyes.

Val straightened a little, eyes widening in wonder. "It's a girl?"

Loki nodded, laughing a little as a tear slipped free. "We have a daughter, Valki."

She beamed, tears welling in her own eyes. "What is she like?"

In response, Loki rested his other hand over her forehead. Val sucked in a gasp, her hand joining his over their daughter. With her other arm, she hugged Loki close, pillowing her head on his shoulder. He kissed her hair, content to stay there forever as he basked in the love flowing through his hands.

"Aw, you two are adorable."

They sprang apart, belatedly spotting the four faces peeking through the reopened door. "Wanda!" Pepper complained.

"Sorry, sorry!" Wanda said sheepishly. "But am I wrong?"

"See, this is just creepy," Val said, crossing her arms, not quite managing to glare at the women.

"We're going, we're going," Gamora promised, tugging Wanda away from the door.

"So when's the baby shower?" Pepper asked.

"We are all going," Natasha said firmly, prying Pepper's hand off the door handle. "Congrats, you two!" she added before finally shutting the door. This time, Loki heard retreating footsteps.

Val leaned back into his arms with a sigh. "Well, she won't want for aunts, at least."

"No," he murmured, slipping his palm back to her belly, to that little spark of precious life. "She really won't."

And I'll never be alone again.