Chapter 3
It had been three weeks since Bucky had broken up with you and your life imploded. You’d been nervous when Heimdall first brought the two of you to Asgard, but that didn’t last long. Just as Thor had said, you’d been welcomed from the start. Thor had immediately settled you into a guest suite next door to his own rooms and you’d quickly begun to adjust to life there. Apparently, Thor had regaled his fellows with tales of the battles you’d all fought in and many wanted to hear the tales retold by you as well.
It hadn’t taken long for you to fall into a routine. In the mornings, you’d train with Lady Sif in archery and knife throwing. At first, she’d tried to get you to practice hand to hand combat with her, but you’d managed to convince her that you were recovering from an injury so you weren’t quite ready for that yet and she’d let it drop. The two of you had quickly become friends and it was clear from the start that you were two peas in a pod!
In the afternoon, Thor joined you for training and with the help of him and the Warriors Three, you were able to practice using your powers. They’d take turns trying to ambush you, and you’d do your best to defend yourself. You were pleasantly surprised to find out that you could decently hold your own, and your powers were actually beginning to grow stronger thanks to them.
After four days of pleading, you’d managed to convince Loki to teach you all about Asgard. Your evenings were spent in the library with him, learning their customs, rules and history. Loki was a surprisingly good teacher, and he made it easy to learn. Your knowledge grew in leaps and bounds as you learned courtly manners, holidays, and the tales of battles long past.
While you’d never quite been Loki’s biggest fan, you were quickly learning to think of him like a brother. He’d been sullen and uncomfortable around you, but after you stood up for him when others had been mocking him, he’d begrudgingly begun to care for you as well, although he wouldn’t admit to that out loud. It definitely helped that you guys were spending hours locked together in the library each evening.
During the day it was easy to pretend everything was okay. You were always surrounded by your friends, and for the first time in a long while, you didn’t feel like death was waiting behind every corner. When you retreated alone to your room each night though, it was like a punch to the gut. You’d grown so used to sharing a room and bed with Bucky, that falling asleep alone was foreign. You often spent hours tossing and turning, wondering where everything went wrong before you fell into a fitful sleep.
Morning sickness was beginning to hit you hard, and even Thor was starting to worry. You hadn’t told anyone here you were pregnant, and you were nervous about how they’d react. Soon, you’d need to see a doctor to make sure everything was on track, and you weren’t sure that they’d be able to help you here. Perhaps Midgardian pregnancy was too different from Asgard? You needed to find that out, and soon.
One morning, after a particularly brutal training session with Sif, you decided it was time to do something about. It was time to stop hiding, and tackle the situation head on, you couldn’t pretend forever.
“Lady Sif, I have a favor I’d like to ask of you” your voice was steadier than you felt, and you fought to meet her gaze.
“Of course, [Y/N]. I’d be glad to help you if I can” she watched you curiously, it was clear something had been bothering her for weeks and she was hoping you’d finally tell her.
“I am… I am pregnant. On Midgard, we typically see our doctors routinely throughout the pregnancy. I was hoping perhaps you could help me figure out the customs here, and perhaps find a healer or midwife or whoever would be most appropriate?”
Lady Sif said nothing for a long moment before she burst out laughing, a smile gracing her face, “Here I was worried you were dying, you looked so serious!” After a pause to catch her breath, “Congratulations, and I’d be glad to help you. I do have to ask though, who is the father? Is it Loki?” she’d noticed the two of you spending time alone in the evenings, and you seemed close.
You blanched at her suggestion, “God no, Loki? He’s just as much a brother to me as Thor. The father is back on Midgard, and is not a concern of mine anymore. In fact, he’s why I left.”
She nodded, putting her hand on your shoulder, “Then we shall speak no more of him. There’s a midwife in town who should be able to assist you. Have you told Thor or Loki yet?”
“No, I haven’t. Truth be told, you’re the first person I’ve told” you smiled softly at her, “I know I need to but with everything that happened, well, I’ve been a bit nervous.”
“I appreciate the trust you have in me. I’ll keep your secret, but I’d recommend you tell them before you start to show. It will be much easier that way. I can assure you however, they are your friends and they will be just as excited for you as I am.” Lady Sif draped her arm over your shoulder and began to lead you into town.
As you walked, she explained the customs and technicalities of pregnancy on Asgard. Luckily, from what she said it sounded rather similar to Midgard. She brought you to a stern, older woman who introduced herself as Bitra. She was a well trusted midwife, and she was happy to discuss everything with you. Bitra explained that she’d be happy to assist you, but since she had no knowledge of Midgardian pregnancies she could only do what she could do.
Later that evening after your lessons with Loki, you asked Thor and the trickster if you could all speak privately. When you’d all arrived in your room and shut the door behind you, you motioned for them to sit and you began to pace. Despite Lady Sif’s reassurance, you found you were still exceedingly nervous. The two watched you as paced back and forth, shooting each other curious glances as they waited for you to speak.
“I’m pregnant” you blurted finally, turning to face the two of them.
An odd look quickly flashed across Loki’s face before he schooled it back, it was so quick that you half doubted you had seen anything at all. However, he said nothing and as the silence dragged on, you began to wring your hands.
“Is this why Barnes ended your betrothal?” Thor’s voice was cold, dangerous.
“No, Thor” you quickly explained, “Bucky didn’t know I was pregnant. I was going to tell him that night but, well, he dumped me before I could.”
Thor got to his feet, you’d never seen him look so angry and for a long moment you worried he was angry at you until he spoke, “I’m going to murder him for hurting you, Lady [Y/N].”
“Woah, hey now Thor. You can’t do that” you stepped directly in front of him, placing your hand on his chest.
“Why in the worlds not? He can’t just have his way with you and get away with it!” he growled.
“Hold on bud. It takes two to tango, Thor. I wanted it too. Bucky did nothing wrong. He doesn’t even know” you sighed, hating that you had to have this conversation at all.
Thor looked at you shocked for a moment, “Then you must tell him! Perhaps that is the thing that will make him come back to you!”
You snorted, “Having a baby together does not fix a relationship, Thor. This is my choice. My child. He doesn’t know, and he can’t know. You can’t tell him. That goes for you too, Loki.”
Loki nodded once in agreement after a long pause, “Congratulations, Lady [Y/N].”
“Thank you, but you know I’m no Lady” you smiled softly at your teacher, “You’ve taught me it is against etiquette to call someone Lady if they don’t hold the title.”
Thor looked at Loki who shrugged before turning back to you, “We were going to surprise you this weekend, but I suppose we could tell you now. The feast on Friday is to celebrate you, as you are being granted the official title of Lady.”
Your jaw dropped and you stared at him, “I’m sorry, you’re what? Why?”
“You have served side by side with me in battle. You are a formidable warrior on the battlefield, and I would trust you with the lives of any of my people” he smiled at you kindly, “And, you are family. You’ve earned the title.”
Tears began to creep down your face and you grabbed him in a tight hug. He held you while you softly cried, overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the last weeks.
~~~~~~
It had been two months since you’d left, and the pregnancy was coming along fine, or so you thought. Bitra wished she knew more about Midgardian Pregnancy, but it seemed to her like everything was okay. Overall, life was going well, and though you missed Bucky more than you could say, everything was going well.
It had been too long, and Thor needed to go back to Earth to make sure everyone was alright. He had asked you along, but you had quickly refused. Your pregnancy was clearly evident, and you couldn’t stomach seeing your old team. With a hug and a promise to be back soon, he left.
~~~~~~
Thor arrived back at the tower to find most of the team lounging around. They’d gotten back from a long mission the day before yesterday and were taking advantage of the down time. Steve, Nat, Bucky, Tony and Clint were all hanging out in the lounge watching a movie.
Clint jumped to his feet when he saw Thor, “Hey! Is [Y/N] with you?” he was eager as he looked around for you, like a puppy waiting for his owner.
“I’m sorry, Clint. Lady [Y/N] decided not to accompany me. However, she asked me to pass this along to you” Thor said, holding out his hand.
Clint raced over to him, grinning. He looked confused as he got closer and saw nothing in Thor’s hand. Before he could say anything, Thor scooped Clint up into a tight hug. Clint grumbled and fought to get out of his grasp, and the others laughed as they watched him struggle.
Clint jumped back like a startled cat, glaring at him, “What in the hell was that?”
Thor looked at him confused, “Lady [Y/N] asked me to give you a very large hug for her. She said she misses hanging out with you, and she wanted to have me hug you for her.”
Tony snorted with laughter as Clint stomped back to the couch, “Sounds like she’s up to her old tricks.”
Bucky refused to take his eyes off the screen, and Steve turned to Thor, “How’s she doing? Is she okay?”
“Lady [Y/N] is doing great. She’s been training with Lady Sif quite a lot, and her powers have continued to grow in strength now that she’s using them daily” Thor grinned, proud of his adopted little sister.
“Why do you keep calling her Lady [Y/N]?” Tony asked curiously.
“She is now a Lady and warrior of Asgard. It would be disrespectful for me to address her as anything else” he explained.
“Sounds like she’s doing just fine” Bucky muttered as he glared down at the floor.
Thor turned to Tony, looking at a small piece of paper he pulled from his pocket, “Can you show me where a seller of books can be found? Lady [Y/N] sent me with a shopping list, and I would like to get a start on it.”
Tony shrugged and held out his hand, “Just give me the list. I can have everything delivered here today and you can take it with you.”
Thor grabbed the list tighter to his chest, “I apologize, Tony but I swore to her that I would go myself to purchase the items she requested. She specifically requested that I do not allow any others to do the shopping.”
Everyone looked around puzzled, but Steve got to his feet with a shrug. “I’ll take you, no worries.”
The walk to the bookstore wasn’t too far, and the two of them made friendly conversation as they strolled. The mid summer heat was heavy over the city, and everyone in the city was doing what they could to avoid the miserable heat wave.
Steve watched Thor walk up to the salesman, and handed him the list. He remained by the door, watching as the salesman led Thor throughout the store to the medical section and then over to the maternity section before ending in the cooking section, collecting a large basket full of books.
When Thor returned, carrying a rather large box of books, Steve caught a glimpse of the medical textbooks on top and looked up at the God of thunder, “What’s this for? I thought you said everything was okay?”
Worry shot across Thor’s face for half a second before he covered it with his usual grin, “She’s fine, but since she is a warrior of Asgard, it only makes sense for our healers to learn how your Midgardian bodies work.”
Steve frowned but asked nothing more as they continued back to the tower. His thoughts were racing, and he was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back, if they would ever see you again.