Chapter 11
The Asgard Universe - The Twins of Fate Saga - Summary/Content Note
JARVIS' voice pipes up from above:
"Gwen? Dr. Banner is asking for you in lab three."
Gwen collects herself and stands up. She can do this. People get pregnant every day. Adjusting to having super powers, now that's something to freak out about, not a baby … an alien god from another realm's baby...
Gwen smooths her clothing and gets to lab three to speak to Bruce, taking a steadying breath before opening the door.
"Hey, there. You called?"
Bruce barely glances up from his microscope, gesturing to a dying fern specimen on the lab table. "You said your powers were acting up earlier. I wanted to test something. This plant's been withering since you walked in." He finally looks at her properly and freezes.
"Gwen... are you okay? You're pale as a sheet." His brow furrows, scientific curiosity shifting to concern in an instant. "And your energy readings are spiking in weird ways I've never—"
The fern crumbles to dust between them.
"No tests necessary. I'm just...sick. I know the plants look bad, but I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just no more missions for me for a while, okay?"
Bruce slowly removes his glasses, studying her with the quiet intensity of a man who's spent years detecting lies, both as a scientist and an Avenger.
"Gwen." He keeps his voice deliberately gentle, but there's no mistaking the urgency beneath it. "I’ve monitored your vitals for three years. Your ‘energy spiking like this’ isn’t stress or food poisoning. It’s—"
His eyes dart to the dust of the fern, then back to her stomach. Realization dawns.
"...Oh."
She knows he knows.
"Don't say anything. I'll figure out telling the team and SHIELD."
The others might have an idea and put two and two together — that weeks ago at the party, she disappeared for the night, and so did Loki. She never spoke of it to any of them.
Bruce exhales sharply through his nose, rubbing his temples like he’s already mentally drafting containment protocols for godly pregnancy side effects. But when he speaks, it’s with unshakable steadiness, the voice of a man who’s learned to handle world-ending revelations without flinching.
"Alright. No missions. But Gwen," he meets her eyes squarely. "If your powers keep destabilizing? Or if Loki decides to waltz back in? You tell me first. Understood?"
The subtext is clear: Banner won’t let SHIELD turn her into an experiment. And if a certain trickster shows up unannounced … well, the Other Guy has opinions about absentee fathers.
She hugs him.
"Thank you. I'm not telling Loki. I have no way of doing so anyway besides messages sent through Thor, and I'm certainly not telling him either."
Bruce freezes at the unexpected hug, surprised but he eventually relaxes, even returning the hug after an awkward moment.
"Of course." He pulls back, offering an uncharacteristic smile. "This is gonna be okay, Gwen. For both of you. You're not in this alone, alright? Not by a damn long shot."
"I know," she manages a smile. "I'm going to rest. When I eventually tell the team, act surprised."
His eyes soften slightly, and he nods, then smirks.
"Oh, trust me. I'll give the performance of a lifetime in feigned surprise when the time comes."
And with that, he shoos her away, already diving back into lab work and muttering about monitoring her for changes. Gwen knows he'll be busy for hours now with research.
***
Months pass, and Gwen is very obviously pregnant now—around seven months along. She told the team it was a one-night stand (not a lie) but never said when or where and certainly not who.
Unfortunately, Thor chooses this moment to return to Earth.
Because of course he does.
Why would the universe ever allow things to be simple?
Thor breezes into Avengers Tower with all the bluster and cheer expected from the God of Thunder: loud, boisterous, and utterly oblivious as he claps Gwen on the back and grins.
“My little flower!”
He pauses, eyes widening as he takes in just how much she’s showing now.
“…You’ve grown… rounder,” he says at last, entirely earnest.
“Wow, Thor.” Gwen isn’t upset; she knows him well enough to understand that he blurts things out without malice, and she loves him for it. “Yes, I’ve gotten rounder.”
“Very … uh…” Thor scratches his cheek, searching for the right word as he gestures toward her stomach. “Full,” he finally declares, proud of himself for finding a suitably neutral term.
A few beats pass with him still staring before realization strikes like lightning.
“Wait! You are not just round—you are with child?!”
There’s no hiding it now.
“Yes,” Gwen admits, unable to keep from smiling. “With child… children, actually. Twins.”
Thor’s reaction is immediate: he sweeps her into a crushing hug, laughing as he spins her around. She’s heavy with her pregnancy, but Thor barely notices. His joy is too immense.
“Two children! This is marvelous, little flower! I am so happy for you!” He beams at her, eyes bright. “And who is the lucky father? Some man in your life, yes? Does he know of this good news? I must shake his hand! It is customary, is it not? For a man to—”
"The father is not around. He doesn't even know."
That is enough to stop Thor short in his tracks. He sets her back on her feet with a gentleness that's almost unnatural for him, eyes searching her face carefully. Concern clouds his expression as he studies her for a moment before speaking.
"He does not know," he repeats quietly, "…why, little flower? This is a joyous moment. Shouldn't he know his children are arriving? Does he not care?"
She tries to explain as best she can. "The father and I don't have a relationship at all. It was one night. I can't even contact him to tell him. Not sure I want to, actually. I'm fine. The babies are fine. Everything is...fine."
Thor still looks troubled. It's not simply that he doesn't like seeing Gwen alone; he's also still trying to process what she said,—one night, no relationship, not even a way to contact the father, the father doesn't know...
"You have no way to speak to him at all, little flower? None?"
"There is one way, but I don't want to. I don't want him to feel obligated to me or the babies. I'd rather be alone than have someone choose me out of guilt or obligation."
Thor frowns, still not satisfied, but it's clear he respects Gwen enough to know she won't be swayed on this. Still ... something about her explanation makes him pause.
"And if the father ever did find out..." His voice drops a little, "Would he come for you?"
"I don't know." She's heard plenty of stories of gods not knowing or not caring about the mortals they got pregnant or the kids they had. Thor and Loki are centuries old. Statistically, this had to have happened before to them. They never speak of any current or past children, so Gwen can only assume ... why would she be any different from the others?
"I'm not sure he would even care."
Thor's frown deepens as he processes the meaning behind her words. He'd known this "father" was a one-night stand, but the more she says, the more it seems like it was also a careless one, and that does not sit well with him or the protective instincts of any Asgardian man. The thought of a man siring children and not taking responsibility is... abhorrent.
He gently squeezes her shoulder.
"Gwen," his voice quiet, "what is the father's name?"
"Thor,” she sighs. “It doesn't matter. If he wanted me again, he would have come back for me at some point over the last few months, but he didn't. I don't want him coming back just because of the babies."
Thor shakes his head, jaw tightening at the thought of not just one, but two babies being brought into the world by someone who doesn't even want to be in their lives. It's unacceptable. Every muscle seems to go rigid, and he actually looks angry on her behalf.
"Tell me the name, Gwen."
Gwen says nothing, not wanting to say his name out loud. She simply looks Thor in the eye because she knows that is enough. He'll be able to read it clear as day in her eyes.
The team sitting around will be shocked too. The only one on the team who knows who the father is Bruce, and he hasn't said anything.
Thor freezes.
"...Loki." He says the name as if it's been punched out of him. His grip on her shoulder tightens, not in anger, but in stunned realization.
The team around them reacts instantly, some gasping, others going silent. Bruce rubs his temples like he knew this was coming.
Thor doesn't yell or rage like they might expect. He just stares at Gwen with an expression torn between disbelief and growing protectiveness for her and the unborn children she carries, children that are his brother’s flesh and blood.
Thor drops to one knee, lowering his head reverently to lay a gentle hand on her swollen belly.
"...My little nephews." His voice is thick with emotions he can't quite put words to. He swallows against the lump in his throat, fingers almost trembling as he carefully traces the curve of her stomach.
"One nephew. One niece." She smiles softly at Thor.
He looks up at Gwen again, expression solemn and protective as he finally speaks the question she's been avoiding.
"...Can you tell me exactly how this came to be?"
"The night of the party when you invited us all to Asgard, I... Well, I left with Loki and spent the rest of the night with him. He showed me his favorite rooms, we talked, we argued, we... Well, anyway, even after all that, he left me alone in his room in the morning. We didn't even say goodbye. This is going to sound stupid, but it felt real between us,” Gwen takes a deep breath. “But I don't belong in Asgard, and he can't come here after the whole invasion thing..."
The two possible outcomes she thinks of are both unacceptable to her. She thinks he'll find out and be with her out of obligation, which is so heartbreaking and might even be worse than the other possibility of just not caring at all.
Thor exhales sharply, pressing a fist to his mouth before dragging it down his beard. The protective rage in his chest wars with the absurdity of the situation. Loki, of all people … But then he looks at Gwen’s face and remembers how fiercely happy she looked that night, laughing in the gardens with mead in hand.
He rises slowly and pulls her into a careful hug; the kind reserved for widows after battles or warriors carrying wounds too deep to name.
"Listen to me." His voice rumbles against her temple. "If my brother has any sense left in that hollow skull of his, he will crawl through Yggdrasil’s roots itself to kneel at your feet when he learns this."
A pause. Then, almost reluctantly: "...Would you even want him here?"
She thinks for a moment. Even faced with the outcomes she doesn't want, in her heart she still wants him. She finally admits it quietly. "Yes."
His grip tightens reflexively as he presses a soft kiss to the top of her head before stepping back to study her expression once again, reading the truth in her eyes. His expression is one she hasn't seen before: resigned. Sad. But not upset.
"...Then I will... I will bring him to you."
He cups her face carefully with one giant hand, as if she is some priceless object he must protect.
"Thor, find out if he even wants to see me again before we tell him about the twins."
He exhales sharply through his nose, an old, frustrated habit. But then he gives her a single solemn nod.
"As you wish. I will seek him out." His hand squeezes hers once before turning toward the balcony doors but hesitates, shoulders tense. "...But Gwen? If he doesn't want to see you after all this time..." His voice drops to something low and dangerous. "Then that is his greatest mistake yet."
He doesn’t wait for a reply before striding out into the night.
Gwen sits on the couch in the common room after Thor is gone. The team has been silently observing this entire exchange.
"Alright, go ahead, say what you want now that you know the truth."
They look back and forth between themselves awkwardly, no one sure who should speak up first and all too aware that this might be a sensitive matter. Bruce finally clears his throat and speaks for the team.
"...You okay, Gwen?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you." She answers any questions they have before going back to her apartment. She needs rest, although how she is going to stop the swirl of thoughts is a mystery to her.
The next morning, Thor walks onto the sparring deck, Mjölnir swinging at his side as he approaches an archery range where Loki is training. Loki is too focused to notice him, firing arrow after arrow at the bulls-eye with flawless accuracy.
Thor stops at the edge of the deck, waiting to get his brother's attention. "Brother."
Loki lets the last arrow fly—a perfect bullseye—before lowering his bow and turning to face Thor with a smirk.
"Come to admire my skill, brother? Or do you finally wish for archery lessons after all these centuries?"
He notices Thor's uncharacteristically serious expression. The amusement fades from his voice as he cocks his head.
"...What is it?"
The last traces of amusement on Thor's face vanish as he steps onto the archery deck, stopping a few feet from Loki.
"It's Gwen." He says the name quietly, and it's enough to make Loki's expression sharpen at once.
"What about her?" The question is careful, cautious, like he's already half expecting the worst.
Thor wants to tell him, but he will respect Gwen's wishes to find out if Loki wants to see her again before telling him about the twins.
As if on instinct, Loki's hand tightens around the bow he holds in his grip. It's almost imperceptible, but Thor still catches it and frowns. He knows his brother better than anyone else. But he doesn't call him out on the tension. Not yet.
"She wants to speak with you. But I told her I would ask you first: would you even bother?"
Despite the carefully neutral mask he's wearing, Loki's heart skips a beat. For the first time in months, Thor sees a flicker of something genuine in his brother's expression: a mix of relief and something close to...hope? He schools his features back into their usual casual expression and scoffs, gesturing to the archery range with a careless wave of his hand. He's doing his best to sound bored.
"...And if I don't want to see her?"
****
Gwen waits patiently on Earth for Thor to return with an answer. All these months, the only way she could contact Loki was through Thor, but Thor wasn't even around either. Loki could have sent a message; he could have come to New York, even for a minute. He knows where she is. This whole thing is pointless, she thinks. Why would he want to see her now when he had months to do it? Does he think she would reject him?
Thor returns to Midgard with a stormy expression, his usual boisterous energy replaced by something more subdued. When he finds Gwen, he hesitates, not sure how much to reveal about his brother’s stubbornness.
"He's being an idiot," he finally admits gruffly. "He asked me what you wanted. As if he hadn't been pacing the halls of Asgard for months, pretending not to care." His jaw tightens briefly before adding, "...I think you should go there yourself. He won’t admit it, but Loki doesn’t believe himself worthy of this, of you. And if anyone can make him see reason..."
Gwen thinks it over for a few minutes before giving Thor an answer.
"You'll take me to Asgard?"
Thor’s face brightens instantly, like storm clouds parting to reveal sunlight. He grips her shoulder, beaming.
"I thought you'd never ask." Then his expression turns more serious, just for a moment. "But Gwen... he won't make this easy. Are you certain?"
"Not at all, but I have to face this."
Gwen takes a minute to get dressed in the Asgardian gown she wore months ago for the party. Their dresses are loose and secured with belts and ties, so she ties them loosely. It doesn't conceal the pregnancy, but it fits and still looks pretty good. Maybe she should wear Asgardian clothes more often, she laughs to herself.
"I'm ready, Thor."
Thor looks both worried and hopeful at once as he offers his arm to escort her out into the tower's main hallway.
"We leave at once. And you will have to be prepared for him to be...well, stubborn as always. But if anyone can get through that thick skull of his, it’s you, I have no doubt." He pauses to eye her Asgardian gown with approval. "You look lovely, by the way. Asgard definitely suits you."
"Thank you." She gives Thor a warm smile. She almost laughs at the thought of that night months ago — the mead, the stories, the wrestling match between Thor and Loki on her behalf, and then there was all the flirting with Loki, of course, but also Thor and Einarr. She wonders what the outcome would have been if she had made any other choices that night.
Thor calls the Bifrost, and the two of them are transported instantly to Asgard.