"Here's one for you.......and one for you!"
"Knock it off, Loki, that tickles!"
"I have to give the girls their bedtime kisses, you know that."
Sylvie rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly. Ever since finding out she was pregnant, Loki was practically glued to her side....even more so when she told him that they were having twin girls. It became a common occurrence for him to either be touching, talking to, or laying against her growing baby bump. It was an amusing sight at the beginning of the pregnancy to see him talking to her still flat abdomen as if it were an old friend.
Now that she was nearing her due date, Loki had become even more attentive. Every night, he rubbed her swollen stomach with special oils the healers of New Ásgarð had prepared. Then, because Bruce had mentioned that kids can hear inside the womb, he'd read them bedtime stories(Sylvie questioned why he felt the need to show her bump the pictures when the babies couldn't see them, but he insisted you never know what magical children can do). When he wasn't reading to them,he was singing lullabies from his childhood while rubbing her skin to see which child would kick in approval.
"You know, I think I'm going to miss all of this extra attention when the babies get here."
"What makes you think I'm going to let up on my affections?"
"I won't be pregnant anymore,and therefore far less needy."
"You are many things, my love, but needy isn't one of them," Loki said as he scooted up the bed and pressed his lips to hers," you've given me a joy beyond understanding, and now you're bringing our children into the world. Only a fool would fail to worship you like the Goððess you are."
"Shut up before I get all weepy again."
"I'll be there to catch every tear if you do, from now until eternity."
She really did start crying after that, and buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I love you."
"I love you too, elskan mín, all of you."
************
It was a cold, crisp December morning when Sylvie's labor started. Loki had prepped everything the week before, making sure all the supplies they needed were available and that the custom birthing pool was setup. After making sure she was as comfortable as possible, he filled it up with water he'd stored from the lake in Lamentis, as she had desired to give birth in a place that connected them, using a spell to sterilize and keep it warm.
Bruce showed up an hour later, along with Valkyrie(who'd assisted in many of her sisters deliveries when she lived on Ásgarð).Things went smoothly for a bit, since Sylvie's former lifestyle had given her an extremely high pain tolerance. But by the time she was dilated enough to get in the water, she was alternating between telling Loki she loved him and threatening to cut his balls off.
Val attempted to comfort him, as he looked a bit frazzled by the severe mood swings.
"Don't worry Lackey, they all say that when having a baby."
Sylvie chose that moment to shout out a string of Asgarðian curses that made warrior's eyes bug out.
"Well they don't all say THAT!"
She started crying again, to the point of hyperventilating, so Loki immediately magicked off his own clothing save for his boxers, and got into the pool with her. He pulled her back against his chest, lacing their fingers together with one hand, while the other rubbed soothing circles over her stomach.
"Loki...I...I can't do this."
"Yes, you can love, you're almost there."
"I'm scared."
"I know you are," he whispered as he pressed his lips against her damp forehead,"but you're not alone, and you never will be again. You're the strongest woman I know, Sylvie, no one else is as worthy of being these girl's mother as you are.....you've got this."
She smiled through her tears, and pulled him down for another kiss, before a very strong contraction caused her to let out a scream that shook the very foundations of the town.
Bruce, who'd been shockingly calm throughout the whole event, got into position after Val checked her progress.
"Okay Sylvie, when the next contraction hits, I want you to push as hard as you can."
She nodded, and when the next contraction hit, bore down as hard as she could.
"You're doing great, I can see the first head...keep going!"
Forty-five minutes later, a loud wail pierced the air as the first baby was brought up out of the water and laid onto her mother's chest.
"Norns, she's beautiful....oh Loki, just look at her."
With a head full of dark hair and her mother's facial features, she was indeed the most beautiful thing Loki had ever seen outside of his wife.
"She's truly and utterly magnificent. You did an amazing job, my love."
"It's not over yet," Bruce interrupted as Sylvie began contracting again," here comes the other one."
***********
The second baby was much easier, requiring only twenty minutes of pushing to arrive. She too had a head full of dark hair and similar features to her sister. The only difference being the faint Jötnar heritage lines along her cheeks and a startling pair of ruby red irises when she opened her eyes.
Once the afterbirth was delivered and the umbilical cords cut, Val took the babies to go clean them up, while Loki lifted Sylvie out of the tub and carried her upstairs to their bedroom and into the large sit-down shower in the adjoining bathroom. There,he washed every part of her with tender care, kissing her deflated abdominal muscles in a silent worship to the womb that gave his daughters life. Then he dried her off and tucked her into the bed, propped up by several pillows.
Val came in a few minutes after she was settled, and handed over the children one at time, both clean and dressed in onesies covered with tiny jet skis....a gift from Mobius.
The twins had just finished feeding by the time visitors arrived. Thor came in first, letting out an undignified squeal at the sight of his new nieces. He presented them both with newborn-sized Mjölnirs, which Loki found highly amusing, before planting a kiss on his sister-in-laws head and heading downstairs to help Bruce with cleanup.
Mobius came in right after, and with a nod from Sylvie, was given a child to hold in each arm.
"Well well, look at these mischievous little scamps....they got names yet?"
"They do,actually. The one in your left arm is Völa Frigga, and the little red-eyed beauty in your right is Vána Tyree."
"Strong names, I like em."
"That's a good thing," Sylvie said with a mischievous smile," considering you're going to be their Godfather."
"Wait....me? Really?"
"Of course you, Moby. We want our children to have some roots here on Miðgarð, and I can't think of a better start than to appoint the man that brought Loki and I together as their Godparent."
"A Godfather to literal Goðs....who would've thought...."
Mobius gave a sniff to avoid looking too emotional, but the glistening of his eyes gave him away.
The moment was interrupted by a loud yawn from Sylvie, so Loki carefully took his girls back, while Mobius waved goodbye and headed out.
Once the babes were settled into their bassinets, Loki helped Sylvie lay down all the way and pulled the covers over her.
"Get some rest, my love, I'll keep watching over the children."
"Alright......love you...."
While she slept, Loki sat in a chair next to the girls, singing an old lullaby his mother once had, admiring the tiny miracles before him.
"The sky is dark and the hills are white
As the storm-king speeds from the north to-night,
And this is the song the storm-king sings,
As over the world his cloak he flings:
"Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;"
He rustles his wings and gruffly sings:
"Sleep, little one, sleep."
On yonder mountain-side a vine
Clings at the foot of a mother pine;
The tree bends over the trembling thing,
And only the vine can hear her sing:
"Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;
What shall you fear when I am here?
Sleep, little one, sleep."
The king may sing in his bitter flight,
The tree may croon to the vine to-night,
But the little snowflake at my breast
Liketh the song I sing the best,—
Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;
Weary thou art, anext my heart
Sleep, little one, sleep."