Chapter Text
Clint likes to curl up the air duct above the main common room. He’s safe, protected, high, and has the comforting sounds of his teammates living their lives wafting up to him. Sometimes, though, he hears some rather… private conversations that, honestly, he never wanted to be a part of. He swears, he doesn’t want to eavesdrop and invade his teammate’s privacy, but once the sensitive topics start, there’s no way he can leave without alerting those talking that they were being listened to.
Besides, it’s not an issue that he spends hours isolating himself in high, small spaces. No really, it’ not! Whoever says otherwise is a lying liar who lies.
Anyways, the first time the accidental eavesdropping happens, it starts with Thor and Loki chatting away about realms and magic, their conversation losing some of the tension their interactions tend to have. Something about having to redefine their brotherly relationship after some major family issues or whatever that makes it impossible for then start conversations with each other like normal people, but Clint’s been finding that once they’ve started talking, they kinda forget that they’re supposed to tiptoe around each other, which either leads to them getting along swimmingly, or Loki getting majorly insulted by an idiotic thing Thor says.
Right now, though, Clint’s just content to let their voices wash over him as he curls up into the nest of pillows and blankets that he’s hijacked into his air duct, and hopefully any hissy fit Loki throws doesn’t affect him. He’s pretty sure Harry’s in the room as well, but the kid’s being pretty quiet. (Yes he knows that Harry’s not actually a kid, but he looks and acts like one, especially around Loki. He can, however, be one scary SOB when he wants to, and Clint isn’t about to forget that this kid is the same one who single-handedly defeated the powerhouse who masterminded the whole almost-alein-invasion shindig.) Regardless, Harry’s probably cuddled up with Loki, the two of them surprisingly being the most domestic of the entire team, especially considering that they’re in the in the running for the most fucked up out of the mess that makes up the Avengers.
Loki does an uncomfortable topic change, “I have recently been ruminating on my research from when I was learning to shapeshift…” It’s the hesitation in Loki’s voice that makes Clint tune back into what they’re saying. Loki being unsure isn’t too uncommon, considering that he’s now living with the team that was brought together to take him down, but he’s been raised as a prince to an entire fucking world, hesitancy and meekness were adjectives that Clint didn’t think ever applied to Loki’s actions. So, sure, Loki can be unsure on what course of action he should take sometimes, but once he decides, he sticks to it, proud as punch.
“Was there something of import you recalled?” Thor asks, sounding confused at Loki’s weirdness as well (but Jesus Christ, couldn’t these people just say things normally?).
“I…” Loki’s voice shakes, “Do you remember my son, Sleipnir?”
“Of course!” Thor yells—no, bellows, that’s definitely a bellow, “He is a mighty steed!”
“He is not a steed!” Loki spits, “He is my son! One of the kindest and most intelligent beings you will ever meet! It disgusts me that you would speak such about your own nephew. Or is that the line where you stop considering me your brother?” he growls with disgust, because, yeah, what the fuck? His son’s a fucking horse?!?
“My deepest apologies, Loki,” and damn, Thor’s probably got the Kicked Puppy FaceTM going in full force right now, “I forgot myself.”
“Yes, yes,” Loki sounds resigned, sighing like he regrets his life’s choices, but surprisingly letting the insult pass, “Regardless, I had always held the belief that it was due to myself shape shifting into a mare which allowed me to birth Sleipnir,” What. The. Fuck. “but upon reviewing my studies, I recalled that there was not a single case where shifters were not rendered sterile upon shifting into the opposite gender.”
“You are curious as to why this was different for you?” Thor was surprisingly quick to the draw. Then Clint remembers that this guy is several thousand years old and (after a huge worldview shift), realizes that the big guy is actually more of a blockhead than Clint himself.
There’s silence from below, so Clint guesses that Loki is nodding and everyone has quizzical looks on their faces.
“It’s because you’re Jötunn,” Harry says suddenly, startling Clint since he almost forgot the kid was down there.
“What does this have to do with me being a Frost Giant?” Loki says icily, and, yep, being part of a frosty alien race explains so much about Loki’s personality.
“Jötnar are intersex. They all have a combination of what we would consider male and female anatomy,” (Clint can’t decide if that’s sexy or weird. Then he realizes this is Loki they’re talking—who gave birth to a fucking horse—and chooses option C: very disturbing.) “It’s due to their extended exposure to so many cultures and races with binary genders that Jötnar started developing gender roles into their culture. The warriors became known as ‘men’ and those with non-violent positions became known as ‘women’,” Clint could hear those finger quotes, “This was mainly due to Jötnar choosing to not have the child bearers on the battlefield, as that slows down the warrior and puts the child at risk.”
“So you believe that regardless of Odin’s disguise for me looking male, I am, and in fact, always have been, perfectly capable of getting pregnant?”
Oh, Clint wanted to leave so bad. He was not at all okay with this topic, but he didn’t even dare shift in discomfort for fear of discovery. He and Loki might have a mutual-brainwashing sort of understanding, but it didn’t mean that Clint wasn’t still terrified of the guy. This was TMI to the extreme, and he had no idea how Loki would react to learning that Clint had heard this.
“Most likely,” Harry continued, answering Loki’s question while Clint held his breath above them, “The idea of gender fluidity in general is very widely accepted on Jötunheimr, as the number of ‘men’ in the population changes based on military need. Jötnar will switch gender roles as needed due to war or peacetime, or even if they just want a change in lifestyle.”
Loki hummed, “So my habit of shifting into differently gendered beings would not be considered strange there?”
“They wouldn’t even blink.”
“How do you know this to be the truth?” Thor finally speaks up, “We know none of this on Asgard.”
“Do you ‘Know thy enemy?’” Harry quotes bitingly. It’s no secret that Harry dislikes Thor, or at least all the bigotry that Thor’s culture raised him with.
“We make valiant attempts to,” Thor returns, admitting a lack of perfection.
There’s a shifting sound, possibly a shrug? “I spent several years touring the realms, since I had a sudden access to all these new races and cultures and all the time in the world to explore them,” Harry admitted, “You can learn a lot interacting with different populations, but you can learn much more about their private ideals and how people think if you can listen in from their shadows behind closed doors,” and Clint tries heroically to not to think about how creepy and invasive that kid’s shadow walking skill is, nor about the parallels that could be drawn to Clint’s current position, “At one time I have no doubt that Jötnar being intersex was common knowledge, but it most likely became unimportant once they started acting like other binary societies. Eventually that info probably became rumor, then myth, then was forgotten. Your books and elders might still know.”
“I have no doubt they shall assist us should we require such knowledge,” Thor replied.
“Would they not just answer if we ask directly?” Loki asked, because, yeah, nothing like the source itself, right?
“I don’t believe so,” Harry was serious, “They wish to be seen as equals to the other realms. Letting it become common knowledge once more that they are intersex instead of binary just makes them more different and strange to the other races. It will make them more likely to be seen as enemies than as allies, so they will want to hide it.”
Loki hummed, “Thank you, Harry,” he sounded distracted, like in the lost-in-your-thoughts sort of way, “this has been most… enlightening.”
They picked up a safer conversation soon after, but it was clear that Loki was not invested in their new topics. The man (and Clint thinks Loki’s still considered a man, even after such a revelation) excused himself quickly, which, no really, he literally said “If you’ll excuse me” and everything.
“Well,” Harry drawled after Loki’s absent-minded departure. Thor huffed a laugh.
“I believe I will be taking my leave as well. I shall see you on the morrow?”
“Yeah, see you Thor.”
Harry waited around for a couple minutes after Thor left. For no apparent reason. Clint was starting to get jittery the longer he stayed in his condemning spot.
Harry then proceeded to scare the ever-living shit out of Clint.
“Just so you know, I’m currently the last one in the room, and I’m leaving now. See you around, Clint.”
Aw, fuck.