Hello all! I am back, once again, to bring you a few one-shots of Veronica and Loki as well as little Rose! :D I can't seem to shake writing about these characters, and hopefully you all can't seem to shake reading about them!

What follows is (as promised) a series of fairly unrelated one-shots of baby-moments, parenting dilemmas, and cute Veronica/ Loki fluff that pop into my head. Oh. And maybe, just maybe, there will be guest appearances of the Avengers as well. Who knows? Many will be fairly pointless, but that's ok! Hopefully they will keep you all tied over until I can unveil my next master plan… *rubs hands together evilly* hehe yes. Believe it or not, I have been inspired once again… the ideas just need some tidying up before I post! :D

Please review! I love getting reviews from yall!

I have said it before, but for all new readers, it will really help if you go back and read the stories "Chased by Destiny" and "Out of Silence". Otherwise, you won't know what the heck is going on and… let's face it. That's not good for anyone! :D

So. Here is the first chapter to "Sound of Winter." Enjoy!

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee-.

I groaned as the alarm clock on my bedside table went off, signifying it was eight a.m. I reached an arm over to it and pushed forcefully down onto the snooze button, silencing it mid-beep. I rolled over onto my side, the bump that had formed in my belly from the baby making it virtually impossible to sleep on my stomach anymore.

I would just have to settle for Loki's arms instead. "Hello," he murmured, wrapping a warm arm around me. I nestled into his chest. "Shouldn't you be getting up?" he asked me quietly.

"Five more minutes never hurt anyone…" I said, trailing off on the last word.

I heard him chuckle as he went back to sleep.

The next thing I knew it was ten in the morning. I smelled bacon and eggs wafting from the kitchen down the hall, and I threw the covers off my body.

I had had a doctor's appointment scheduled for nine o'clock that morning, but I had overslept apparently. Oh well.

My bare-feet padded down the hard-wood floors of the hallway, stopping as I made it to the kitchen. I leaned against the doorframe, a hand resting on the swollen lump of my stomach.

My fiancé, Loki, god of mischief, was standing over the stove with a spatula in one hand and a pan of eggs in the other. He looked up when he saw me come in, clearly surprised.

"Hello, Love," he said, a huge grin spreading across his face. An insistent nudge in my belly made me jump a little, which he noticed. "And little Rose," he said as he set the eggs down and walked over to me. He placed a hand on my belly, smiling at the tap-dance that ensued.

I rolled my eyes as I kissed him good-morning and made my way to the kitchen table. I plopped down in a chair, looking out the window of the beach house we were staying in.

Tony had let us borrow it in an attempt to get away from SHIELD's prying eyes. Of course, ocean-front property, a billionaire-worthy floor-plan, and access to one of the best obstetricians on the eastern sea-board were just perks of being friends with Tony Stark.

I smiled as I looked out the huge window that ran along the wall facing the ocean. White-capped waves reflected the sun and I could have sworn I saw a porpoise surface every now and again. Loki slid a plate of eggs under my nose…

It smelled really good at first, but then all went to hell and I fought the urge to gag. Loki looked down at me, concerned.

"Can- can you please- take that away?" I managed as I tried to get up from the chair and run to the bathroom. Morning-sickness really was not my cup of tea.

Loki snagged the plate away and the smell had vanished before I could get up. That was one of the many perks of having a fiancé who was a magician.

I felt the nausea die down and I relaxed in my chair. I looked up at Loki. "Sorry," I said feebly.

He waved me off. "Don't be."

He took a spot in the only other chair, reaching a hand across the table to take mine. Next thing I knew he had produced a packet of letters from the back pocket of his jeans. He slid them across the table to me.

The first one was from Tony. Basically complaining about the usual stuff that SHIELD did that pissed him off. The next was from Thor. Huge, block letters spanned the card. I smiled.

"It looks like there may be another Avenger baby soon," I said, chuckling to myself. "Thor and Jane have seemingly met up again."

Loki rolled his eyes. I knew he didn't care about my friends. Hell. He and Thor had just barely been on speaking terms when we had left SHIELD headquarters in New York. But at least that had been progress… slight progress… but progress nonetheless.

"Well, looks like I missed the doc this morning," I said as I set the letters back down on the table. "But that doesn't mean we have to miss the class tonight!"

Loki just looked at me, clearly not interested in the idea one bit. Oh well. He would get over it.

~Loki~

"Re-Lax. Re-Laaaaax," the mortal woman's high-pitched voice was truly starting to get on Loki's nerves as he sat in the corner of the room. "One more time. 'Re' on the inhale. 'Laaaax' on the exhale. You have this, ladies!"

Loki crossed his arms as he watched Veronica practice her breathing. He hated being here, but he knew it would not last much longer. She was very near her due-date, a month away to be precise.

And to be honest, that scared the living hell out of him. Not much scared Loki, something he had always prided himself on, but the thought of a new life being brought into the world… and then having to raise it… he suppressed a shudder as he held Veronica's hand.

"Ok!" The instructor said with a bit too much zest. "Moving on! For the next exercise, I need a volunteer. How about you, Mr. Johnson?"

Loki's head snapped up. There was no way-

Veronica's elbow collided with his arm and he looked over at her. Turning back to the instructor, "no. I think I am enjoying myself right here, thank you very much."

The woman wagged a finger at him. "Now, now, Mr. Johnson, what if your wife- errr- girlfriend- needs you to help her out one night? Are you going to just let her go into labor without proper treatment?"

Loki just stared back at the woman. "No."

Veronica had turned back to him at this point. She arched an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. He knew that look. It was a "do it or die" kind of thing. Not that that worried him one bit. He shook his head. "I am not going up there," he said loud and clear.

The instructor looked like she had been slapped as she turned to another victim. He suppressed a smirk, but the look that Veronica gave him in turn was enough to wipe it clean off of even his face.

The instructor's voice continued to pierce his ears. Her pointed nose and rather large ears were unflattering, and beady eyes darted this way and that as she jumped up and down enthusiastically. Her squealing voice sounding so much like a certain Midguardian rodent he had come across… especially during his time in the confinement of Oberon's dungeons…

In a matter of seconds, the instructor had gone from a full-fledged human being… to scurrying rat.

The couple she had been talking to jumped straight out of their seats, and the wife actually looked like she was going to go into labor.

As for Loki, he let out a laugh at his handy-work. Veronica shot him a death look.

He pressed his lips together, still smiling as he waved his arm and turned the woman back into human form. "Had to do it, Love."

Veronica got up quickly, grabbing her coat and tromping out the door; a rather comical image given her huge belly made her look more like a duck than a lethal super hero.

He got up as well, waving his hand to cast a spell to make the group forget what they had just seen. He grabbed the purse Veronica had left behind and trailed behind her.

She would be mad at him when they got home. She would definitely try to hold a grudge, but he knew the moment he kissed her she would forget all about it and she would be his again.

His Veronica.

His.

And that's that, guys! There'll be more soon, hopefully! I am pretty chalk-full of random ideas…