FULL SUMMARY: All Amelia wanted was to work up the courage to tell Loki that she was pregnant with his child; now, she was locked up alone in the cell of an alien spaceship, keenly awaiting a hopeful rescue while exasperatedly musing about how her life was never too simple. Not only that, but there seemed to be an increasingly odd sensation flowing through her veins…

This is the THIRD fic in a series. If you have not yet read Lilies Say Sorry or Chrysanthemums Say You Have My Fidelity, then this fic will make zero sense in context, so please begin with them.

There is a timeskip between the end of Chrysanthemums and the beginning of this chapter. Chrysanthemums ended with a little Christmas day dorkiness, and this fic begins roughly seven months later, mid-July.

Originally this chapter and the next chapter were gonna be one whole chapter but I scrapped that idea in favour of posting the first chapter sooner rather than later. I'm excited to see the kind of feedback I get from this so far, and I'm more than a little excited to continue onto the next chapter! ;)

Daffodils Say We Are Eternal

"Has it been tw-… twenty-five minutes yet?"

Amelia's body was aching. Her breaths were coming short and sharp. Her lungs were burning, her throat was dry and tight, there was a twinging pain in her side, and her leg muscles were greatly objecting to the torture she was putting herself through.

Or rather, the torture Loki was putting her through.

Amelia had lost count of how many laps she had ran around the training room; the steel floor was hard and unforgiving, sapping her energy and providing little to no bounce-back as she attempted to push herself onward in a bid to reach her goal - twenty-five minutes of non-stop jogging.

It had been the same almost every day for the past four months, ever since Amelia had expressed the desire to become fitter in order to help her self-defense lessons along; she'd started off with baby steps - five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes - and had steadily built up the strength and lung capacity to jog for twenty minutes straight. It was no small feat for somebody who had barely ever ran a day in her life before that point.

It wasn't that Amelia didn't want to run. She did. It was just that within the duration of her runs, Amelia would rather be doing literally anything else in the world. It was difficult, but it did pay off; Amelia found that her self-defense lessons with Natasha were generally easier on her body, she didn't get all wheezy after just a few simple moves, and after the hard part was said and done, Amelia did feel a sense of accomplishment.

Loki had been supportive, encouraging her to pick herself up on the days where she would preferably have lazed around on the couch all day instead, even if it meant that she was pouty with him for hours after. In all honesty, Amelia would have probably given up running a while back if it hadn't been for her boyfriend's constant rallying throughout the activity.

"There's still more time to go, Amelia. You're doing well, keep going."

The God of Mischief himself was following along beside her, stopwatch in hand, no evidence of effort or exertion on his face, and there was an inscrutable curl to the side of his mouth that Amelia wasn't sure she appreciated in her current state. She couldn't help but find herself interpreting the smile as some weird variation of smugness or amusement, despite the fact that Loki was not one to find entertainment in her struggling. It made her very grumpy to think he would laugh at her.

She quickly stopped herself from looking too far into it - it was more beneficial to put her focus into something else in that moment, like how exactly she was going to continue to breathe when it felt like her lungs were about to explode.

"Loki, I… I can't… ah… I can't breathe", Amelia gasped, trying to hold her head up despite how much her body wanted her to slump forwards and come to a stop.

"Yes, you can. The problem is that your breaths are fast and shallow. Deep breaths, Amelia, and stop talking."

"It's… alright for you… and your godly stamina! ...Twenty-five minutes… is so unreasonable", Amelia protested, shaking her head as she continued to press on. She wanted to stop more than anything, but at the same time her eagerness to prove her worth and run the full twenty-five minutes was hovering in the back of her head, propelling her onwards.

"I remember you said the same thing when I first challenged you to run for ten minutes."

Amelia let out a grunt, slowing to an abrupt stop and leaning heavily against the wall as she huffed and puffed in a desperate attempt to catch her breath. The relief was immediate, her legs no longer straining to continue, and she slid down to sit with her back against the wall, looking up at Loki with a disgruntled, exhausted look.

"Shouldn't even... have to run today… on my birthday of all days…" Amelia grumbled, wiping her sleeve across her face to rid herself of the damp perspiration on her skin. She had hoped when she awoke that morning that Loki would be lenient, but the god did not deem a birthday to be a good enough reason to skip a workout, incidentally.

Then again, Amelia specifically recalled the time she had told Loki not to let her make excuses. She wanted to stay determined, but in case her determination waned some days, she made Loki promise to pick her up and throw her into the training room whether she liked it or not.

"If you miss a day, you might miss two. And then you might miss three", Loki pointed out, and Amelia sighed, her head hanging down against her chest.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it… so how long did I manage to run?" Even without reaching her goal, she was sure she had still managed a good amount of run time, though if the answer was anything less than twenty minutes, it would likely put her in a bad mood.

"Thirty minutes and fourteen seconds", the god responded with a widening smirk.

"What? You said the goal was twenty-five minutes!" Amelia snapped, glaring up at Loki with a look of indignation.

"And you managed over thirty! Well done."

So that's what the little curl of his lip had been about. Loki had been up to a little mischief by letting Amelia think she hadn't yet reached her jogging goal; she was pleased to know that it hadn't been a result of him finding amusement in her wheezing predicament, but she was still bubbling with annoyance over the fact he'd let her run over her goal.

She felt horrendously achy. It was as if her body had been completely purged of energy in the thirty minutes of exercise she had performed, and that even standing up would be a chore. If she chose to lay down on the hard, steel floor, Amelia was sure it wouldn't be entirely too difficult to just drift off to sleep.

Sleep seemed like a good solution.

"Amelia?" Loki's voice pulled her from her sleepy thoughts, and she let out a sigh, meeting Loki's gaze with exhausted eyes. "Are you alright?" A note of concern overtook the amusement in his tone.

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know… I just feel tired… and my muscles are hurting", she matched the sourness of her words with an unhappy pout, to which Loki tilted his head and smiled faintly.

"And you call me dramatic", Loki quipped, a quiet chuckle escaping him until he noticed the incandescent look on Amelia's red, sweaty face.

"I'm not kidding, Loki!" Amelia exclaimed, her exasperation culminating in an irascible outburst, "I don't feel well and it's because you made me run longer!" She wasn't sure where exactly the irritation had come from, but she knew as the words left her mouth that her shouting was undeniably childish. After all, she had been free to slow down at any time if she felt she was overdoing it. Loki would not have shamed her for it.

"Alright", Loki stated softly in the face of her displeasure, "I apologise for neglecting to inform you that you had reached your goal. Next time, I will tell you immediately." He held out his hand to help her up, "But, you did manage to run half an hour. You're improving, Amelia, you should be proud of yourself."

Amelia held his gaze for a moment before she felt herself smile, nodding her head in agreement; it didn't matter that she had been crabby and ill-tempered just a few moments prior, Loki's warm encouragement always managed to perk her up.

She took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet, but stumbled slightly with a wince as the pang in her leg muscles became evident again. Loki caught her, steadying her with a hold on her arms, and inspected her with an inquisitive look.

"Perhaps you have not yet fully recovered from your illness", Loki remarked, brushing aside a strand of Amelia's mousy brown hair and tilting her head back with a finger below her chin.

"Mm…" Amelia hummed. She had had an intermittent sickness for over a week, having a few bouts of very unpleasant vomiting, and a whole lot of nausea; it had become less frequent, but Amelia had still inexplicably been feeling quite nauseous in the early hours of the day.

"Maybe you should go and see Banner again", Loki suggested.

Amelia shrugged, "I guess", she blinked tiredly, practically asleep on her feet. She didn't understand why she was feeling so listless all of a sudden - she had gotten a full ten hours sleep, if anything she should've felt refreshed and alert, even after a long run.

"Go see him." Loki restated firmly, "Ensure you are healthy enough for your party tonight-", there was a coy undertone in his voice that Amelia's ears latched onto, and she pinned him with a dubious look just in time for him to lean a little closer and whisper, "-and for what comes after."

Amelia felt her skin prickle with anticipation, because Loki's intonation indicated anything but innocence. She licked her lips, her mind conjuring up images of all the possible things that would be happening when she and Loki eventually crawled into bed that night; she really hoped her current state of lethargy would be long gone by then.

"Okay", she assented.

Loki's thumb brushed her cheek, he leant down and gave her lips a meaningful peck, which urged a grin onto Amelia's face, "Off you go, then. I'll continue my workout, and then we can have lunch."

Amelia gave a consoled sigh, "Good, I'm starving."

"I don't know what could be wrong with me. I hardly ever get sick, and now I've got this illness that feels like it's lasted two weeks", Amelia mumbled, playing with the Newton's Cradle that Bruce kept on his desk; the doctor himself stood just across from her, leaning against the wall, forever tapping away at his digital data pad that he never seemed to be without. What was he always doing on it anyway? Solving scientific equations, responding to emails, or something that involved putting his seven PHD's to good use?

Amelia pouted. She knew he was a busy man, and it wasn't as if she had made an appointment to discuss her medical problems - she had just sort of walked in on short notice - but she still felt a tad vexed that he was tapping away at his tablet instead of listening to her; she didn't voice her displeasure, waiting for Bruce to finish what he was doing before speaking up again.

"Do stomach viruses usually last so long?"

"Stomach viruses that last more than a few days always include other unpleasant symptoms. If you're experiencing just vomiting and nausea alone, it's probably not a virus", Bruce explained, which only served to confuse Amelia further.

"Then what's wrong with me?"

"When did you last experience vomiting?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders, "Like… four days ago, but…"

"But?"

"But I've still been feeling sick. On and off. Like I'm going to throw up. But eventually the feeling passes", Amelia answered.

Bruce looked thoughtful for a moment, pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "And you said you're feeling fatigued?"

Amelia nodded, "Yeah, but it was after I went running, so it might just be… that…"

"Do you usually get so tired after your runs?"

"Not really", Amelia replied. Throughout the odd week and a half that she'd been frequently vomiting, Loki had not pushed Amelia to take up her daily jog, but before the affliction had begun, she hadn't really been experiencing such huge drops in energy. The odd period of weariness, but nothing beyond that.

Bruce tilted his head back, staring at Amelia for a moment, and the look he was giving her made her feel a tad embarrassed that she had come back to see him over what was probably nothing - she didn't want to waste his time. Before she could tell him to forget it, the doctor spoke up.

"Are there any other unusual symptoms you've been facing?"

Amelia frowned, taking a moment to contemplate the question before slowly shaking her head, "Uh, no? I don't think so."

"Have you been feeling irritable or easily angered?"

Nothing really angered Amelia all that much, she was definitely a very placid person generally, but the more she thought about Bruce's seemingly trivial enquiry, the more Amelia realised that she had in fact been getting annoyed over some otherwise insignificant things. The way she had become flustered when she thought Loki was laughing at her, the way she had immediately pinned the blame on him when she all but collapsed after her jog.

"Maybe a little", Amelia said tentatively.

"Any headaches, lightheadedness, or stiffness in your lower back?"

The question came immediately and Amelia had to force herself to think about it, squinting her eyes as she pondered the doctor's enquiry. Headaches - yes, every couple of nights before laying down to bed, lightheadedness - no, except for a quick period after vomiting. Stiffness in her back - she was feeling that right now as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"What are you getting at, Bruce?" Amelia asked, a hint of worry lacing her words.

"Amelia", Bruce pursed his lips, his eyes full of kind concern, "Is there any chance you might be pregnant?"

A few beats of silence occurred, and then Amelia snorted, a bubble of laughter escaping her throat at the sheer ridiculousness of Bruce's suggestion; she shook her head, amusement shining in her eyes as she stared at the doctor, whose face retained utter earnestness.

Amelia's face fell, "Oh. You're serious?"

Bruce's eyebrows rose as he awaited an answer.

"I'm not pregnant", Amelia asserted, "Are you kidding me? I have the contraceptive implant, so there's no way."

"Ah."

"Ah?"

"You and Loki don't use condoms?"

Amelia felt her face burn red; she could never understand how doctors could keep their cool when talking about such embarrassing subjects - it was a skill that only some people possessed, "No, but I have the implant!" She reiterated, completely sure of herself.

Bruce's face grew apologetic, a rueful curl to his lips, "The contraceptive implant is definitely one of the most reliable forms of contraception, but no contraceptive is one-hundred percent effective. Based on the symptoms you've told me about, I think you might need to consider the possibility that you may be pregnant."

Amelia's mouth hung open in shock, the prospect penetrating her mind like an arrow of distress. She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't. She didn't know the first thing about being a mother, she didn't know anything about dealing with pregnancy.

Her eyes fell to her abdomen, still the same size as it had always been. No signs that she was carrying an unborn baby inside her womb. How far along was she? How long did she have to figure everything out?

Oh god. How was she going to tell Loki?

She and Loki had never even spoken about the idea of having children, especially after Loki had had such an adverse reaction the last time she had jokingly brought up the subject of kids. As far as she knew, he had no interest in having children. He'd never given Amelia any clues about it, and he didn't exactly seem like the type of guy to settle down in that way.

What if he didn't want children at all? What was she going to do?

"Amelia, relax. I said there may be a chance. There's no use fretting until you know for sure. I suggest you take a pregnancy test as soon as you can." It must have been evident on her face that she was having a silent freak out, Bruce could probably see the thoughts whirring behind her eyes, and she wouldn't have been surprised if the blood had drained instantly from her face.

"R-right. But… if I am pregnant… what do I do?" This was not Amelia's area of expertise, without any form of guidance, she felt lost and panicked. She had always wanted children, but the thought of being a parent was terrifying, and the thought of Loki reacting negatively was even more so.

"Just stay calm, alright?" Bruce instructed kindly, "If the test is positive, we can discuss your options. I could put you in touch with a midwife, and they'll be able to give you all the information you need if you decide to go ahead with the pregnancy. Whatever you choose to do, I can get you all the support you need."

Amelia hadn't even entertained the idea that she could choose not to go ahead with the pregnancy. But she didn't want to think about that either.

She looked down at her shaky hands, finding that her eyes were growing blurry with gathering tears. She was scared, unsure of what to do or how she would break the news to Loki.

"Bruce", Amelia murmured, her voice quiet as a whisper as she blinked to banish the moisture in her eyes, "You won't tell Loki, will you?"

"Of course not", Bruce reassured without a hint of hesitation, "Doctor-patient confidentiality, remember?" He smiled, his clear gaze bordered with concern, "But I already said you shouldn't worry about this until after you know for sure."

Amelia heaved a deep breath, his reminder enough to damper her tears, and she nodded, "Okay… thanks, Bruce." She pushed herself up out of the chair, pulling nervously on the hem of her shirt as she turned around to leave the room.

"Amelia."

She glanced back over her shoulder, noting the doctor's sheepish smile.

"Happy birthday, by the way."

Amelia let out a soft laugh of sardonic amusement, shaking her head as she left.

She could not wait even a moment to find out for sure. The first thing Amelia did when she left Bruce's office was to leave the tower and head to the nearest pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. She wasn't sure whether or not she was dooming herself by endeavouring to find out sooner rather than later, because on the one hand - if it turned out she was pregnant, it would be on her mind incessantly and probably take all the fun out of her party later in the day, but if she chose to wait, the need to know would nag her just as ceaselessly, churning her stomach with anxiety-induced nausea.

As if she hadn't thrown up enough in the past week.

Amelia when straight to her bedroom, checking that Loki was not present as she rushed into the bathroom. She pulled the little box out from the nondescript shopping bag and opened it up, taking the pregnancy test stick out of the packaging. The instructions were clear.

One vertical line was a negative result, two vertical lines was a positive result. There was just one thing she had to do.

She peed on the strip.

After that, it was just a matter of waiting.

Placing the test stick down on top of the sink, Amelia turned and began to pace, neurotic in her movements and stiff footsteps. She tried to settle her mind and think, tried to deliberate on how fun her party would be tonight, tried to imagine what kind of things would happen after under Loki's promise, but her thoughts turned again and again to what symbol could be gradually appearing on the test strip just beside her.

What if she was just overreacting for no reason?

She probably wasn't even pregnant. Bruce probably just made a mistake in his diagnosis - he was a good doctor, but even good doctors made errors every now and then. Amelia had never wished more desperately that a doctor had made a huge error.

Amelia fidgeted with her hands for several long minutes. It felt as though it was taking far too long. Who knew five minutes could feel like an hour? Had the test formed a result yet? There was one way to find out.

She took a deep breathe and approached the sink tentatively, keeping her gaze firmly on her reflection in the mirror above. Amelia's heart pounded behind her ribcage as she held the edge of the sink with a white-knuckled grasp, but she knew she couldn't put it off forever.

Amelia picked up the pregnancy test and looked down, eyes snapping straight to the result displayed on the white strip. One… two…

Two vertical lines.

Oh.

"Fuck!" Amelia screeched, dropping the test stick into the sink as a rush of panic flooded through her, but it was nothing compared to the heightened terror of hearing Loki call out to her from the bedroom and knock rapidly on the door.

"Are you okay in there, Amelia?"

"FINE, I'm fine! Don't come in!" Amelia practically dived to the floor to grab the cardboard packaging that clearly displayed the words pregnancy test in bold lettering, moving immediately to shove it into the small rubbish bin around the edge of the sink's base, before she jumped up just in time to adopt an unsuspicious look as Loki opened the door.

"I said don't come in", Amelia forced the words out tightly between her teeth, her head still reeling from finding out the truth that she was really, genuinely pregnant.

"You sounded panicked", Loki pointed out, scanning the room slowly for any signs for the cause of Amelia's alarm, "have you been sick again? You look… unwell." When his stare finally settled on her, Amelia could see his scrutiny of her face. The way his eyes narrowed, the way his eyebrows twitched, the way his lips curled downwards with concern, they were all such open and honest reactions full of empathy and consideration, often reserved only for her.

It made Amelia want to spout out the truth - to tell him what exactly had brought her such alarm. Because surely anybody with a face so full of compassion and worry would not react so negatively.

But she said nothing, her lips clamped shut. Amelia could not predict what Loki's behaviour would be like if she revealed her little secret; what if he became upset and neglectful? Anxious and quiet? Or angry and loud? Any one of the possible negative reactions would do nothing to quell Amelia's nerves. She needed reassurance and comfort in that moment, but she would rather keep her secret to herself than risk receiving a dismissive or antipathetic reaction from her lover.

She needed to tell Bruce. Yes, that is what she needed to do.

Amelia walked rigidly to the door, but Loki stopped her.

"Hey", he said, stepping in her way and laying his hands on her upper arms, "Talk to me. What's wrong?" He was unwilling to let her walk away, tilting her head back so that she had to look him in the eye, and Amelia put up zero fight, thankful for even the slightest soft touch. "I got worried when I couldn't find you. Stark told me that he saw you leave the tower", he frowned, "You know I don't like it when you leave without telling me."

Amelia's eyes slipped shut when his hand cupped her face, and she leaned into the affectionate gesture, "I know… I'm sorry. I had to go to the shop… we can go have lunch now, if you want." She was so quick to dismiss the moment and tear Loki's attention away from her current state of shakiness, but the god did not so easily let it go.

"Something is bothering you. What is it? Why did I hear you shout just a moment ago?" His gaze flitted around the room again, searching for the source of Amelia's distress.

"Nothing. Just being dramatic. It's nothing."

The answer did not satisfy Loki. He straightened up when he noticed the item Amelia had carelessly forgotten to discard, sitting in the centre of the sink. "What's that?" He asked, moving to pick it up and inspect it.

"It- it's nothing!" Amelia wanted to slap herself for not throwing the test stick away. Instead, she swiped it from Loki's hands before he had a chance to get a good look and threw it down in the trash without a moment of hesitation, "-it's just, um, a pen." It looked nothing like a pen. Amelia had no talent for lying.

"A pen?"

"Yeah."

"Why was it in the sink?"

"I dropped it."

"Well, why did you throw it away?" Loki's eyes fell to the trash can again and Amelia frantically tried to shoo him back, keeping his gaze away from the contents of the bin.

"Because it ran out of ink, will you quit it with the interrogation?" Amelia responded snappily, pushing Loki with firm nudges towards the exit of the bathroom.

Loki halted suddenly, and Amelia was powerless to move him any further. The god pinned her with a look of suspicion, probably knowing full well that she was spouting fibs - he was the God of Lies after all, and he very much had the ability to poke holes in the fabrications of others.

"You're acting strange", Loki stated, unquestionably exasperated by Amelia's display, "I want to know what's going on. Tell me." There was an edge of command to his tone, a promise that if Amelia didn't come out and say it, then Loki would get to the bottom of it by force.

The mix of heightened fear from finding out she was carrying an unborn baby and the virtually admonishing tone Amelia was receiving from her lover had her on the verge of tears in almost an instant. Her shallow breaths quickened as anxiety bubbled up in her stomach, causing faint stabbing pains that only made her more apprehensive, and she quickly clinged to the god, desperate for something to help soothe her.

"I'm sorry", Amelia whimpered, "I just… I don't feel good. And I'm- just feeling… over-emotional…"

"I noticed."

"I'm sorry."

Loki pushed her back a little to look her in the eyes and wipe her tears away with his thumb; he was clearly still mindful of Amelia's lies and the fact that she was covering up something, but his solicitude won out over his curiosity.

"We'll talk about this later. Shall I ask Stark to postpone your birthday celebration?"

Amelia felt a faint wave of relief at Loki's show of patience, the thankfulness showing on her face in the form of a watery smile, but she shook her head in response to his question, "No, I'll be okay", she answered quietly, and the need to cling to some sort of reassurance overcame her, "Loki, um… you… you'll always be with me, right?"

She knew as soon as she spoke the words that it was such a dumb question; she shouldn't have asked it, because she was expecting a fanciful response full of loving promises, and that wasn't exactly Loki's way of communicating. The god's lips parted, his eyebrow quirking up just a little, and then he removed a strand of hair from Amelia's face, his gaze fond as he gave a vague smile.

"Your hair is particularly chaotic, today." The god spoke, drawing his fingers through Amelia's locks with the intent to mess it up further, and Amelia gave a breathy huff of amusement as she rolled her eyes.

"I've been meaning to get it cut."

"Hm", Loki murmured, and fell silent.

Amelia met his gaze as he cradled her face, tilting her head back to press a kiss to her lips - velvety and sensual, in a way that was radiating desire. Amelia's eyes slipped closed, and she pressed ever so slightly forward to pour a little boldness into the gesture, welcoming the affection with open arms and an open heart.

"You know I love you", Loki breathed as soon as they parted, "more than anything, I do."

Amelia nodded slowly. She knew, of course, but she loved to be reminded.

"And to answer your question, I don't think there's anything you could do or say to get rid of me at this point", Loki's growing smile stretched across his lips, full of playful mischief - the sight of which made Amelia's heart soar. It was the answer Amelia had pined for, but worded differently, in a more Loki-like fashion. "My apologies, but you're stuck with me."

"Hah!" Amelia giggled, a reformed spark of optimism in her mind, "As if the thought of being stuck with you isn't entirely wonderful." She felt somewhat soothed, a little more at ease despite the shocking revelation she had received minutes prior; the anxiousness whittled slightly as she resolved to telling Loki about her predicament after the party. But that didn't mean the new life in her belly wasn't still constantly going to hang in the forefront of her mind until then.

"What about you?" The god spoke.

"What about me?" Amelia murmured dumbly.

"Will you stay with me always?" The candid tone of Loki's question made Amelia's heart flutter, and she blinked up at him, lips quivering at the significant look in his deep green eyes.

"Yes… of course, I would never leave you", Amelia answered, a fuzzy warmth in her stomach giving her a temporary respite from the anxious flutters; Loki's mouth twitched into a shadow of a smile at her response, and he nodded faintly.

"Good… good."

Loki licked his lips and pressed a kiss to Amelia's forehead, enjoying the embrace for a moment longer before straightening up, "I've got a gift for you", he spoke, and pulled away to enter the bedroom.

Amelia followed tentatively after him, "I thought you were going to give me your gift later", her mouth curled at the euphemism, and she spied the smirk on Loki's lips as he opened up one of the dresser drawers to pull something out.

"Oh, don't worry, you can still look forward to that. But for now, I have another gift I would like to give you." He turned to face her, holding in his hands an actual wrapped birthday present.

Amelia tilted her head curiously, inspecting the neatly wrapped present, spying the shiny purple gift-wrap and wondering if Loki wrapped it himself or if he had had somebody else do it; it was a rectangular box, narrow and longer than a foot, and a simple glance at the shape didn't reveal all that much.

"Well, go on then. Open it", Loki said, holding it out for her.

Amelia smiled, taking the mysterious item. It was somewhat weighty, removing the possibility of it being some sort of jewellery - well, unless it was a real heavy piece of jewellery - but instead of spending several minutes trying to guess what it was, she quickly got to work on peeling back the decorative paper.

An elegantly carved wooden box was unveiled, and Amelia examined it quizzically before lifting the latch and opening it; she stared at the contents for a few full seconds before her lips parted in surprise.

It was a dagger, or a knife, or… something. Certainly a weapon not unlike the kind that Loki could conjure with his magic. It was bound in a leather sheath that had been dyed a dark green, a tough and hardened material, while the hilt was black with golden serpentine engravings.

"Oh… wow", Amelia murmured, quite speechless at the sight of the gift. She hadn't expected anything like it.

"You like it?" Loki asked. He took the box, plucking the dagger out with nimble fingers and placing the intricately carved container on the top of the dresser. He slowly unsheathed the weapon, revealing the silvery blade and its incredibly sharp edge. "I had it custom made for you by the blacksmith in New Asgard, it's made of Asgardian steel and it's well balanced", the light glinted off of the burnished metal, drawing Amelia's gaze to the point.

"It's beautiful", Amelia stated. If anybody had given her a blade as a birthday gift several years prior, she would've called them crazy, but staring at the weapon in Loki's trusted grip made her think just how much exquisite work had gone into the details of creating such an item, and she was oddly flattered that Loki would have one especially made for her.

"Take it. Feel the weight of it in your hand", Loki instructed, twirling the blade in his grasp in order to offer Amelia the hilt, which she took tentatively, "Careful. It's sharp."

Amelia held the weapon away from her body in a tight grip, tense from the knowledge that the blade in her hand was incredibly dangerous if used carelessly; it made Amelia nervous. She had been at ease with the dagger when Loki was holding it, but now that it was in her possession, her hand was beginning to shake.

"You don't need to hold it so tightly", Loki said, carefully prying her fingers off the hilt until her grip lessened, "A gentle but firm hold is fine. How does it feel?"

"Kinda scary", Amelia answered immediately.

Loki smiled, "You'll become more comfortable with it once I start teaching you how to use it."

"Teaching me?" Amelia repeated questioningly, and the god nodded. Amelia blinked, her eyes going back to the blade; she inspected the hilt patterning, spying the little snake-like engravings, "You're gonna teach me how to stab people?"

Loki snorted, "Only in the interest of protecting yourself. Romanoff teaches you to defend yourself by utilising your body, and I will teach you to protect yourself with the use of the skills I learnt as a boy."

There was something oddly endearing about the god's proclamation. Amelia had always admired Loki's skills with small blades, finding that his defensive and offensive moves with his conjured daggers always seemed so graceful and dexterous; it felt significant that Loki wanted to put his time into teaching Amelia the abilities his mother had taught him.

"Let's hope I don't accidentally stick myself with this thing, huh?" Amelia trailed off with anxious laughter, trying to play her very real fear off as a joke. She felt overly paranoid, and it could have been because she was pregnant, but the idea of playing with blades in her state seemed quite foolish.

"I wouldn't let that happen", Loki promised, and Amelia believed him. She trusted the god more than anything, and knew that he wouldn't have had this dagger made for her if he didn't think she could learn the skill to wield it.

"Thank you, Loki", Amelia spoke gratefully, a soft smile on her face. Something about holding the blade in her hand made her feel strangely powerful, it was probably going to do wonders for her confidence.

Notes: So, I hope you're all enjoying the first chapter of the new story! There's not much action yet, but I promise there definitely will be! Y'all know I enjoy writing fight scenes, and the only time I got to write them before now was between Loki and Thor in their sparring sessions, but now it's the real deal! There's gonna be blood! OH YEAH BABEY!

Please do me a big favour and leave a comment if you're reading this! I would love to see how many people are coming from the previous story and are eager to see another journey of Loki and Amelia! :)