A/N: Sorry it took me so long. I was too lazy to get on last weekend. I was too busy playing video games and sleeping. Also, I had a Halloween party Friday before last. Only two or three people realized that I was Loki. :( Oh well.

Disclaimer: If someone doesn't own something throughout most of their story, what makes you think that they'll own it in the last chapter?

Chapter ten

The End

Clint took the kids home after they woke up. The car ride was quiet, but that was mostly because they were still too sleepy to do much. When they got back to the house, Natasha pulled the kids out of the car and settled them down in the living room. Then she and Clint proceeded to teach them how to play Mouse Trap. That's where they are now.

Natasha grins when Narfi turns the crank with great enthusiasm. He takes all of his turns like this. He overdoes everything. She doesn't recall every seeing or hearing about a boy having so much fun with a board game.

About five minutes into one game, Narfi turns the crank way too hard. He shouts, "Have some, stupid mouse!"

The marble flies back and cracks his forehead, bouncing off and landing in his lap. He looks confused and amazed. There's quite a bit of surprise on his face, too.

Vali can't stop cackling. He says between laughs, "I think that marble just said, 'have some'!"

Narfi wrinkles up his nose and curls his top lip back, waggling his head at his brother. "Uuunn! Whatever."

Vali rolls his eyes and pulls the marble from his brother's lap and puts it back in place. Then he takes his turn. He's more careful as he turns the crank, though. He doesn't want to be hit.

Too bad. He gets hit anyway. The ball rolls down the track, but when it gets to the boot, all goes wrong. The boot kicks the marble too hard to be natural. It soars through the air and hits his head. When it bounces off, he scowls.
Narfi explodes into laughter. "That marble's generous!"

Hela smiles. When she looks around at the others, she can tell that she's the only one who got Narfi's joke. Natasha looks over at Clint, who appears completely clueless. Vali has a puzzled look on his face, his left eyebrow raised in question.

Narfi's smile fades. "Generous? You know... You said that the marble said 'have some', and it hit you, too. It gave us both some... It's generous..."

Clint and Natasha nod slowly, but Vali just looks annoyed.

"Whatever."

Hela picks up the marble from the floor and sets it in place. She gently turns the crank and sits patiently as it moves. When it gets to the spiral, she leans down to watch it. The little ball jumps the edge of the track and smacks her right in between her eyes. She jumps back, startled. Her wide eyes are a bit cute. She lifts the marble from the ground and hands it to Clint.

"Your turn."

Clint takes the ball warily. It seems to him that the little ball wants to be a murderer. He puts it back in place and turns the crank, looking away. His other arm covers his face as if he's afraid that the ball will jump up at him. Truthfully, Natasha wouldn't be surprised if it did. She'd be a bit disturbed, but not surprised.

When the ball rolls down the track, Clint watches between two fingers. He's almost positive that it'll try to kill him. It gets all the way to the diver. That's when things get scary. The diver jumps off in an impossible angle and hits the end of his nose.

Clint falls back, clutching his nose. He rolls around, his feet smacking the game and knocking it apart. When he sits up, he finds destruction. The game pieces are scattered all over the floor. He looks over at Natasha. His partner is glaring at him. If looks could kill...

Clint hunkers down, scared. The only time he has ever seen Natasha look at him like this, he had a bloody nose four seconds later. He peers up at her, worried. He is met with her palm. Not in a slap, though. She shoves him back down onto the floor, laughing.

"Fix it."

Once Clint puts the game back together, they realize that they don't even want to play anymore. He then takes it apart and places all the pieces into the brightly colored box. He carries it back to the game shelf and is surprised to find that Loki has multiple games. Some are in other languages and Clint can't read them. Others appear to be from Asgard. He looks around for a minute before he finds an enormous collection of children's games. Candy Land, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Chutes and Ladders, and Guess Who are just some the seemingly hundreds of games. Clint wonders how Loki can be such a stick in the mud if there are this many games in his house.

He calls in a soft voice, "Hey, Nat? I want-whoa..."

He is staring at a particular bookshelf. It's stuffed with chess sets. Clint is shocked by the enormity of the amassment of boards. Each one is different. Some have pictures on each square. Some have colors that differ from the normal black and white. Clint is drawn to one board in particular that has glossy black and deep green squares. Around the edges is a thin line of gold. Not the overly shiny gold, but real gold. Clint pulls this one down, his eyes wide in awe. It's beautiful. It's pretty heavy, probably made of marble. It is also thick enough to hold the pieces upright embedded into the sides of the board. The pieces themselves are the same glossy black as the squares. The other pieces are the same gold as the trim.

Clint is so amazed by the set that he doesn't hear the front door open or Loki's call of, "We're back!" He doesn't even hear the kids giggling and running. He doesn't hear Natasha fawning over the baby. He doesn't hear Sigyn's tired laugh or the kids', "Eeeew!" as their parents must kiss. He doesn't notice anything until Loki's voice is right by his ear.

"That one is my favorite."

Clint jumps. He nearly drops the chess set, but Loki's hand is under the board, supporting it. Clint looks up at him to see the god's eyes fixed on a completely different set. A slender, pale finger points to what Clint thought was the ugliest, most un-Loki of all the sets. He screws up his face.

"Why that one? It's hideous."

It's true. That particular set has to be the ugliest in the assortment. The pieces are made of rough, carved wood. They aren't nicely carved, though. They look like they were carved by a child. A child who is not very artistic. The wood isn't nice, either. The wood is like sticks one might find in their backyard and shaved down. Granted, they're thick sticks, but they aren't nice. They haven't been stained or sanded at all. They look rough. They look primitive.

"When I was small, Odin and Mother gave me my first chess set. It was lovely. The pieces were made of marble, like the one you're holding. They were black and white, nothing overly special, but I loved it so much. Up until then, they didn't know what I liked. I had gotten books, which I loved, but they were below my level. When they presented that gift, I was overjoyed. I had never had anything so beautiful."

Loki's eyes have turned gentle and a soft smile decorates his thin lips.

"I received lessons in playing the game. To be honest, I was pretty good. In a month's time, I had completely mastered it. I could play and win against our tutor. You know, the one I introduced you to when we were in Asgard."

Clint chuckles and nods. "Yeah, I remember him."

Loki smiles before he continues. "He was the best chess player in the entire castle. Before I came along, of course. After I learned how to play, I defeated him easily. Every time we played, I would win. He was so frustrated that after a time he stopped playing with me. After that, I amused myself by playing on my own. It wasn't as fun as playing against another person, but I had nothing else to do.

"One time, I had left the board in my bedroom, a game half-played on it. I had a headache, as is common for young magic users. Going outside often relieved some of the pain, so I had gone out to my mother's garden. The same one you went to. I sat by those roses and eventually fell asleep.

"Unbeknownst to me, Thor was searching for me in the palace. He was in search of someone to play with him, and as his friends quickly bored of his boisterous acts, came to me. I wasn't in my room, though; I was outside. Thor rushed into the room, or so he says, and trampled over the board. This knocked over all the pieces, mixing them up. Thor sat down, trying to sort out the ones that I had already laid aside and the ones that were still in play. Apparently he didn't notice the gigantic crack running down the middle of the board. When he lifted it up to place it on my bed, it fell in two. He told me later that he feared that I would kill him."

Clint grins. He can't believe that Thor thought that his little brother even stood a chance killing him. He doesn't now, so he couldn't have then. He didn't even have much control over his magic. That means that the smaller of the two brothers wouldn't even have had any decent weapons to use. At least not strength.

"After a moment's fretting, he ran to our mother to tell her what happened. He is nothing if not honest. When she heard the whole story, she took him out to the garden, where I was still napping. She shook me and I awoke to Thor's tear-streaked face. His chin was trembling and he was fiddling with the hem of his shirt. I could tell immediately that he had done something awful. Probably broke something of mine. Again. And it turned out that my hunch was correct.

"As he explained what happened, my eyes grew wider and wider. Eventually the tears came. When Thor saw my tears, it made him cry, as well. Mother made me forgive him, which was the last thing I wanted to do. He had broken my chess set, no everything was not okay! But I was a prince, so I had to give him my forgiveness. Thor promised to make things better."

Clint's grin grows as he realizes what Loki's getting at. He nods and shifts slightly, indicating that Loki should go on.

"I had expected him to be overly nice and offer to do all sorts of things for me until he got bored. I didn't expect to see a crude imitation of a chess set sitting on my bed a week later. And I really didn't expect a very happy Thor sitting beside it. He looked like he was about to burst with happiness. Now I'd seen happy Thor, but never before had he looked that jubilant. He jumped up off the bed and pulled me over to it. He then pointed out that he had made it. As if I couldn't tell. It had to have been the most disgusting looking chess set in the history of chess sets. But it was beautiful to me. Never before had I laid eyes on a more charming piece of art. To me, it was perfect."

By now, Loki's smile has turned into a Cheshire Cat grin. To be honest, Clint finds it a bit creepy. But Loki seems happy, so he doesn't say anything. He likes seeing Loki happy. In the archer's opinion, he doesn't smile nearly as often as he should.

"Thor has given me a new chess set every year on my birthday ever since. He hasn't made very many of the others, only a few, but they still mean a lot to me. Not one of them has been able to take my heart as much as the first, though."

Loki sets the board on the table and reaches up. He pulls down another, and Clint notices that it looks just as ugly as the other.

"This is the second one he made. That was when I came of age in Asgard."

Loki removes another from a second shelf and puts it beside the other two.

"This one was for my twenty-third birthday. I won Yggdrasil's Chess Championship with this set."

Clint raises an eyebrow. This one is only slightly better than the first two. It's still bad, though. He smiles as Loki pulls down yet another set. This one is much better than the other ones. The pieces are made of dark wood instead of pale. The cuts still aren't all that nice, but it is evident that Thor tried harder on this one than he did on the others.

"And he gave me this one just a few years back. That was the year I got out of the Asgardian prison after trying to take over Midgard. Fun times."

Clint can't help but laugh at that. Sometimes Loki can be pretty funny, but the moments are few and far between. Clint makes it his mission in life to make Loki smile and joke more. Well, that's not the only mission. But it's one that he will actively work on. Right after he makes Phil mad.

Later that evening, Clint and Natasha finally head out. They've hung out all day with Loki's family. They've had a lot of fun, too. They watched Despicable Me and ate dinner together. After dinner, they sat around for a while in the living room just talking. When six o'clock rolled around, they noticed how tired Sigyn and Loki look. They both have dark circles under their eyes. They look like all they want to do is sleep. So Clint and Natasha decide to let them sleep.

Loki stops them on the porch, though. He says softly, "Thank you so much for watching over them. I'm sorry that I got so upset. It really wasn't your fault and I should have realized that. I hope you'll forgive me."

Clint nods, smiling. He has long since forgiven Loki. He doesn't have a personal experience, but he can understand that it must be terrifying to find out that someone lost your children. Especially when they show up at your house without their babysitters... So yeah. Clint forgave him when he let them see the kids.

Natasha smiles slightly and says, "Of course."

Loki grins. A real, happy grin. He steps forward and pulls them each into a hug. The only other time they received hugs from Loki he was mostly asleep. Now that he's awake, he feels taller and thinner. His arms are stronger than they look. That must be because he is a god. He may be a puny god, but he's a god all the same.

When he pulls back, there is a faint blush on his normally pale cheeks. His eyes seem to stand out in the dark, illuminated by the stars in the sky. His white teeth shine.

"Thanks again. You don't know how grateful I am."

Clint threatens, "If you thank us one more time, I'm going to strangle you."

Loki chuckles nervously as Natasha nods in agreement with her partner. She knows that Clint would never do that, but it doesn't hurt to hide that from Loki.

Clint clears his throat and says softly, "We'd better go. Tony will be worried about us."

Loki nods and lets them go. He watches as they get in Clint's car and buckle up. He watches Clint drive off and raises a hand in farewell. He turns and heads inside, closing the door behind him. He takes in the sleepy children in the living room and can't help but smile. He lifts the sleeping Hela up off of the couch and carries her into her bedroom. He gently changes her into her pajamas, smiling as he removes the rain boots. He lies her down on her bed and carries out their bedtime kisses, even though she's asleep. He covers her up and turns on her nightlight before walking to the door. He turns off the overhead light and whispers, "I love you." He then closes the door and heads down the stairs to get back to the living room.

Vali and Narfi trudge up to their bedroom, Loki not far behind. When they get there, Loki helps the boys change since they're so tired that they can barely move. He gives them their goodnight kisses as well, smiling when they mutter their sleepy replies. He tucks them into bed. It's a little hard to get on the top bunk, but a dad always manages. He plugs in their nightlight and turns out the overhead light. As he closes the door, he says softly, "I love you."

Halfway to Avengers tower, Clint realizes that they didn't get Hela a teddy bear. He whips a u-ey (u-turn) and pulls into a Wal-Mart parking lot. He and Natasha run in and pick out three teddy bears, one for each of the kids. They have to wait for what feels like forever in line before they can pay. When the cashier looks like she's going to ask a question, Clint just shakes his head and hands her the money. They run out of the store, Clint carrying the plastic bag with the teddy bears in it. They jump in the car and buckle up quickly before speeding back to Loki's house.

When they get there, they see that all the lights are off. Clint mutters something under his breath. He digs around by the bricks until he finds the key. He hates to do this, but it's urgent. It's not like he's a robber, or anything. He's only here to deliver, not take. He shoves the key into the doorknob and turns it as quietly as he can. Once the door is open, he goes inside, still carrying the bag.

He places a stuffed panda in Hela's arms, smiling when she reflexively cuddles it closer and smiles in her sleep. She shifts and he pulls her blanket up further. He catches sight of the note on her dresser and pulls it off, crumpling it up and sticking it in his back pocket.

He goes into Vali and Narfi's room and sneaks their bears into their arms as well. Vali gets a dark brown bear with a cream colored stomach, paws, and muzzle. It has a green ribbon tied around its neck. Narfi's bear is lighter, almost tan. The paws are white, as are the stomach and muzzle. His bear also has a ribbon, but his is blue. Clint snatches the notes off of their dressers as well. They receive the same treatment as Hela's note did.

Clint creeps out of the house, carefully locking the door behind him. He replaces the key and heads over to the car. Natasha is already in the car waiting for him. He climbs into the driver's seat and starts the car, hoping that it doesn't wake up the house residents. He pulls on his seatbelt and throws the plastic bag into the backseat. He drives off down the road, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He can't help but be a bit pleased with himself.

Babysitting wasn't nearly as bad as people made it out to be. Of course, there were messes. There were parts that were hard to deal with, but there wasn't a single bit that he didn't enjoy. When he looks over at Natasha's face, he can tell that she feels the same way.

They both had loads of fun taking care of Loki's little angels.

A/N: So there it is. The last chapter of Loki's Little Angels. I hope you liked it! I know that I had a lot of fun writing it.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. You have absolutely no idea how much it meant to me to see so many people like my story.

Thank you for all your patience. I know this chapter took a very long time to appear. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, I really am. I just hope that it didn't make this last installment any less entertaining, gratifying, amusing, pleasant, or fun.

Once again, thanks to all of you wonderful people who took time to read this little story. It got a little rough at the end, but you stuck to it. Thank you all so very much.

Until the next story. :)