Disclaimer: Don't own anything!

AN: Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are amazing. I wanted to post this chapter sooner, but I didn't want to update anything until I was satisfied with it. This is the result. Enjoy!

To efphrim: Thanks for the wonderful idea for a name :)

~ Stolen ~

Chapter 8

It was late, the sky completely dark with not a star visible. Not even the moon found an opening between the thick, rainy clouds. Tony stood at the window of his bedroom. Now that everything was finally quiet, he should go to bed and sleep. He knew that in a few hours time, a certain blue kid would wake and scream the air from his lungs.

Tony found it more and more difficult to like this baby. Why anyone would choose to have a child was beyond him. All they did was cry and eat. Tony sighed and turned away from his window when a soft knock sounded.

"Enter."

To his surprise, it was Bruce who walked in. He, like many others recently, looked tired. Carefully, Bruce closed the door behind him, trying not to make any unnecessary sounds. "Someone should speak to Thor," he said, not bothering to make small talk first. Tony liked that about Bruce; he always came straight to the point. "He demanded Pepper to give him the tapes we found in the compound."

Tony couldn't follow. "Tapes?"

"The ones that show what happened to Loki," Bruce explained, his expression hardening for a split second. No one really cared for Loki, but they all despised what had happened to him. "Ever since we know that Loki was held captive there, Thor is headstrong about discovering what exactly happened."

Tony closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That won't end well."

He imagined Thor watching the videos only to smash the screen into a thousand little pieces. The God of Thunder truly had to do something about his temperament. Tony might be a billionaire, he was tired of buying new game-consoles and controllers just because Thor could not stand to lose.

"Exactly my thoughts," Bruce agreed, "I'd ask Steve since Thor likes him better than you, but he's out."

It was well known that Thor had grown distrusting of Tony these passed three days. Tony had been the only one to voice his concerns about the baby and Thor refused to admit that there was some truth to the Iron Man's words. Steve on the other hand had only been supportive. They had made it a point not to send Bruce to Thor. For some reason, Thor always manages to piss of Bruce, making him turn into the Hulk.

Tony would rather buy a new game-console than repair his entire house.

"I'll go," he sighed, grinding his teeth. Luckily, he was still wearing his daily outfit and so Tony pushed passed Bruce. He hated to be the one to have to talk to Thor, but he knew someone had to do it. He'd make it quick, though and so he got downstairs, making almost no sound since the baby was sleeping only a few rooms away from Tony's bedroom.

When the billionaire arrived downstairs, he found Thor sitting before his large TV-screen.

The image was of low quality, but Tony could still easily make out Loki's form standing on one side of a bed. Mr. Petersen stood on the other side and Tony frowned as he tried to understand what was happening.

Mr. Petersen appeared pleased and Tony stepped closer to the screen. The sound was a bit off, but he could clearly understand what was being said. "Correct," Mr. Petersen spoke, "I knew you would not disappoint when it came to the intellectual field. Let's hope our spawn inherits that from you."

Tony instantly thought of the child that lay sleeping upstairs.

He watched Loki shake his head. "You will not touch me," the trickster looked confident, but Tony noticed the metal chain around his ankle. He was without doubt trapped within that room. "You will never lay one finger on me for I will break into a thousand little pieces," Loki said, "I might not have magic, but I still have more strength than you can possibly imagine."

"I know," Mr. Petersen said solemnly and Tony frowned, unsure of what would happen next, "but l have thought this through and I am not willing to waist much time. Sleep well, Mr. Odinson, for you will need your rest." With those words, Mr. Petersen exited the room and left Loki alone.

It was now that Tony decided they had seen enough. He went to stand before the screen and turned it off. For a moment, he expected Thor to protest, but no sound came. Slowly, Tony turned around to look at the thunderer only to find the broad, strong man appearing ever so small.

"If I had known..." Thor said weakly.

"But we didn't," Tony argued. He moved to sit besides Thor. "We did not know and you aren't to blame. We found him, Thor, and we know your brother is safe."

Thor inhaled deeply and Tony tried to remember a time where his friend had looked so weary. His mind came up empty and so Tony tried to imagine what was currently going through Thor's mind. Steve would have no problem in doing so, even Pepper would be better at this. It was just weird to see a God so broken.

"It makes sense now," Thor said, leaning back in the couch, his eyes still focused on the black screen, "why he wouldn't look at his son, why he left so quickly."

"I know," Tony agreed, "but you know Loki better than anyone. Do you think he'll come back?"

A short moment passed before Thor nodded. "Loki is many things," he explained, "and he is a good mother. He'll want to know if his son is all right, but first, he'll deal with this vile excuse of a man."

"Then we'll wait," Tony offered, "and we'll take care of the boy until then."

Thor offered him a kind, appreciating smile.

-o-o-

When Loki appeared in a bedroom inside Stark Mansion, he found only one small, night-lamp burning. It was enough to cast everything in a soft, yellow glow and Loki needed a moment for his eyes to adjust. The moment they did, he recognized the shape of a small crib standing near the far right wall. Carefully, he stepped towards it.

A soft gurgling sound broke through the silence and Loki halted. The child was awake. Carefully, Loki made those last three steps and then he stood directly before the crib. The crimson eyes of the boy instantly fell upon him and for a moment, Loki expected him to cry. In stead, the baby fell silent and watched Loki with wide eyes that seemed to hold an infinite pool of knowledge. Did the boy sense the hatred he'd been surrounded with for all those months? It was impossible, but Loki couldn't help but swallow heavily.

With calculated moves, he reached into the crib and when the tips of his fingers touched the boy's cheek, a tingling sensation flowed through Loki's entire body. He was using magic to make the boy look normal and slowly, the blue colour disappeared from the baby's skin. When Loki retracted his hand, he found himself staring at a human baby with strands of black hair and dark brown eyes. He felt relief that the brown colour looked nothing like Mr. Petersen's brown eyes.

The baby lifted his tiny arms as if to grab Loki's fingers, but there was too much distance between them. He grew angry and Loki felt how it pulled at strings of his heart. He could not hate the boy and Loki smiled weakly. With utmost care, he lifted his son from the crib and cradled him in his arms. The child looked pleased and closed his eyes, falling asleep after only a short moment.

"Sleep tight, little one," Loki whispered, feeling himself calm down as he listened to the boy's even breathing.

Behind him, the door suddenly opened, but Loki did not turn around. Any brusque movements would wake his child - it suddenly wasn't so horrid any more to think of the boy as his son. Had it been Thor, Loki would have recognized heavy breathing or ponderous footsteps. The person standing behind him was someone small and light.

Loki turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw a woman whose name he did not know. He had seen her many times before and he was fairly sure she was Tony's assistant, but he didn't know anything else. For all he knew, she could scream now, terrified to see Tony's arch-enemy standing before her. She did no such thing and in stead smiled warmly.

"He's wonderful, isn't he?" Her voice was soft as she apparently did not want to wake the boy.

Loki eyed her with care, trying to determine whether she was speaking the truth or not.

"He's full of life," the woman continued to speak, "you can be proud."

With those words, the woman turned around and left the nursery, closing the door behind her. Loki paid her no more attention and turned to look back at his sleeping son. There had been no lies in her eyes and so Loki smiled. He could be proud of his son, his little warrior.

-o-o-

Pepper was not the kind of woman that was easily caught of guard, but when she'd seen Loki standing in the nursery with his son in his arms, she had needed a moment to calm herself. She'd never met Loki before, only heard the tales, and he was nothing like she'd imagined.

That had been a good thing and it had allowed her to organize her thoughts. Loki was here for his son, nothing more. It was so that she made her way back to the living room in a calm and steady pace. She found Tony and Thor sitting on the couch.

Thor's eyes revealed emotions that hadn't been there before; he looked sad and guilty while Tony threw him understanding glances. It was a peculiar image.

"Is he awake?" Tony asked when he turned to look at Pepper.

"No," Pepper answered, unsure of how she could tell them, "he's sleeping." She decided to threw the truth out there. "Loki's with him."

Like expected, Thor jumped from the couch and hurried upstairs. He half bumped into Pepper. She might not be the smallest woman, but the speed in which Thor passed beside her, made her lose her balance. She grabbed for the door-frame and quickly steadied herself. Tony stood before her in a second and held her arm.

"Are you all right?" he asked. Pepper only nodded. "You've seen him," he continued, "you've seen Loki. How did he look?"

"I only saw him for a moment and it was dark," she explained, shifting her weight to another leg, "he looked well considering. I can't believe what he has gone through, but it must have been horrible. We should feel lucky that the baby is healthy."

"And not a monster," Tony added. It earned him a glare from Pepper. "Come on," he defended himself, "how would you have reacted if his kid turned out to be a really nasty rat or something."

Pepper cocked her head to her right. "That's not the case so I won't even think about that."

"He could still change," Tony said, appearing deep in thought.

"Stop it," Pepper warned him.

"It could still crave blood at some point."

"Tony!"

"Or he could grow a deep hatred of gingers."

Tony only laughed as Pepper stalked out of the living room, but felt a faint sense of caution in his chest. The boy might look normal - a little blue perhaps - but there was no telling what the kid could turn into. Would he have the same strength as Loki? The same magic? Tony knew it was ridiculous to wonder about this already since the boy wasn't even a week old yet, but he was worried none the less.

Perhaps with Loki now having returned, it could all change for the best.

-o-o-

Thor might have hurried upstairs, his heart trying to leap from his chest, but he told himself to calm down before he would enter the nursery. Since there came no sound from within the room, he thought Loki might have left again, but when he pushed open the door, he found his brother standing before the crib, the boy in his arms.

"Loki," Thor smiled radiantly.

Loki looked up from his sleeping son. The edges of his lips twisted upwards only slightly, indicating that he wanted to smile, but he could not bring himself to do so. Carefully, Thor stepped forward, his own smile never fading. "It is good to see you, brother." His eyes trailed down to his nephew to see he lost his blue skin colour.

"What is his name?" Loki asked, moving to place the boy back into the crib. When no answer came, Loki turned back to look at Thor who watched him with worried eyes.

"He has not been given one yet," Thor explained, "he is your son, you should chose the name."

Loki's weak smile grew, but Thor was still not convinced. He had seen his brother many times after the birth of his other children, but never had Loki looked so exhausted. His children had always made him happy, but there only lay cautious joy in his eyes now.

"Where have you been?" he asked, knowing that there was a chance he would not receive a proper answer.

"You know where I have been," Loki said cryptically. The way his eyes momentarily darted towards the baby was enough of an answer.

Thor felt that stab of guilt return in his stomach and he wished he could say something to make it all better. There was nothing he could say, however. Loki had been in need of his help and Thor had abandoned him for months. It was a miracle that Loki did not blame him in the first place, that he did not attack his brother out of vengeance.

"I am sorry," Thor said, knowing how faint his voice sounded.

"As am I," Loki said, appearing strangely at ease. He looked straight into Thor's eyes who didn't dare to look away. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to kill Mr. Petersen sooner. Or more painfully."

"Loki..."

"Einarr," Loki suddenly said, the darkness having disappeared from his voice, "that's my son's name. Einarr."

Thor bowed his head. "A good name."

"A warrior's name," Loki corrected. He focused his attention back to his son and pressed a soft, loving kiss against his forehead.

"He will be strong, Loki," Thor said, watching his brother's smile grow with every word, "and powerful. He will be amazing."

"He already is."

-o-o-

The End

-o-o-