"Dead?" I repeated, my eyes widening, "Loki. What did you do?"
"Don't worry," he said, taking my hand as he knelt at the side of the basin, "It's better this way, I can assure you."
"Loki," I sighed, "Please tell me what all of this is about."
"Promise me you won't be angry?" he said hopefully, smiling at me with a strained look.
"Well, now I know whatever you're going to tell me is going to make me angry."
"Please," he begged, kissing my hand.
"Fine. Go on."
"Well, to make a long story short, I cast an illusion that I was stabbed through the chest by Kurse. This of course fooled Thor as when I pretended to lay dying in Svartalfheim, he believed me. Anyways, he sent a guard to retrieve my body because well, I seemed dead. Then I killed the guard, assumed his position through an illusion. Came here, told my Father that I had died and then, I.... cast a spell on my Father, sent him to Midgard, stole his throne, and now I'm here! Thor's in Midgard too, he wanted to make sure you knew I died an honorable death," Loki explained, gesturing wildly with his hands as he talked and his eyes glowed with mischief.
I stared at him in disbelief with my mouth agape and my brows furrowed.
"You promised you wouldn't be angry with me," he reminded, stopping me right before I was about to speak.
I nodded, pursing my lips tightly before inhaling sharply. I married a mad man, but I suppose I already knew that.
"So, just to make sure," I said slowly, "You're dead but not really and you've been posing as Odin which I suppose now makes you ruler of Asgard being that you sent your Father to...Midgard."
"Precisely."
"And you killed a man."
"Just a minor detail, really. But that's beside the point," he said, taking my hands in his, "How are you."
I chuckled lightly, "I'm alright, now."
"Has your condition improved at all?"
I shook my head, laying it upon our folded hands.
"No, you're lucky you haven't been here to witness it all," I said.
"Oh don't say that," he said with a chuckle, "You'd be surprised at what a good nurse I make. Tell me all about it."
"I've been sick nearly every single morning, my hips feel like they're going to burst, and I am completely ravenous most days," I explained, "But, I'm now over a month along so I suppose these symptoms should disappear soon."
"A month along?" he repeated, smiling giddily, "Oh how time just flies. You should see a healer soon, just to make sure everything is alright."
"There's nothing a healer could tell me that I don't already know," I said, "Besides, I don't know how much an Asgardian healer would know about a half Jotun child."
He nodded in agreement, "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted, " you don't think it will be an issue, do you?"
I shrugged. I truly didn't know if it was an issue. In all my years delivering children in the infirmary, it wasn't as if I had ever delivered a Jotun. The only issue I could possibly see arising was the size of our child. Naturally, I was quite short in stature where is Loki was tall and much larger than I was. Additionally, his race was frost giant after all and I truly didn't know how large a frost giant child would be.
"I suppose time will tell," I said, "I'm just happy you're home."
He smiled, kissing my head. With a quick snap, every candle in the chamber was lit and the curtains leading outside snapped shut.
"Mind if I join you in there?" he asked with a smirk.
"Please do, my love," I said with a smile.
Soon enough, he joined me. His torso was marked with a multitude of bruises and scratches, all a result of his battle with Thor no doubt.
"You lied to me about being hurt," I said softly, gently pouring water over his back.
"I assure you," Loki said, relaxing at my touch.
I ran my hands steadily over his back, concentrating my magic on his wounds. Under my hands, I watched the bruises melt away and his small cuts close up.
"Better?" I asked, placing my chin upon his shoulder.
"Much," he stated, turning his head to place a kiss on my cheek, "Thank you."
I put my arms around him from behind, putting my weight on him.
"Tired?" he asked me, tenderly massaging my hands.
I nodded, between moving into the palace, being pregnant, and worrying about my husband, I was truly exhausted.
We relaxed in the bath for what felt like hours, talking over every little thing we could. He talked about our chambers, his illusions, how excited he was to be a father, and so on. It was nice to just hear his voice.
By the time we got out, it was nearly nightfall. Starving, we snuck into the kitchens and stole every sweet and snack we could. Our eyes had been far larger than our stomachs as we only ended up eating a small fraction of what we grabbed.
Returning to our chambers, we ate before Loki began reading aloud from one of his multitudes of books. As he did this, I rested my head on his shoulder, listening to his voice before I slowly fell asleep.