The Jotun, the Billionaire, and the Other

Just Starting Out.

Loki hastily braided his long hair, pieces stuck out in awkward angles but he wasn't really worried about it. Just two mornings ago, on September 17 2014, his son, Gabriel Ymir Stark, had been born. Tony had been a wreck that day, he'd look at the baby and would bawl.

"Anthony, get up!" Loki hissed as he grabbed a shirt and threw it on. "The baby is crying!" Tony shot straight up and jumped out of bed.

"What do you need me to do?" Tony asked. "You go back to bed."

"Anthony, I can't go back to bed not now while he's awake!" Loki looked strained, even more so as he flicked on the light.

"I'll check on Gabriel, go back to bed. I'll figure it out." This didn't help Loki in the slightest and he tugged nervously at his braid. "Get your ass back in that bed Loki, when I get back you better be in bed waiting for us."

"Wait, us?"

"I'm bringing Gabriel with me." Tony departed from the room, Loki swore at him in Norse and he didn't understand a single word of it. Loki had barely let him hold their child since he'd been born, he was being a mother hen to the extreme.

Tony walked into the room where the crying child was. He walked over to the crib to find his son's skin had turned blue, and the lines of a Jotun had etched along it, Tony reached down and plucked lightly at his red and golden onesie. Gabriel looked up at him and reached up with great tears in his eyes.

"I got you buddy." He picked him up and held him as he had watched Loki hold him. But Tony reached into the crib and picked up the tiny stuffed tree that Loki had had made. He called Yggdrasil and when Tony had asked him about it he had spilled over with information then got pissed, but he had been pregnant at the time and was seething with hormones.

"Come on, let's go see daddy." Tony gave Gabriel his stuffed tree and walked back to the bedroom. Loki was sitting up and was still tugging on his braid. "I got baby." Tony moved his blankets and pillows away and bundled them up, he leaned against them and held onto Gabriel. Loki sat up against Tony a small bit and stroked Gabriel's dark hair.

"If he looks at you long enough he might be able to figure out how to look like you in skin color, or I can do it if you want." Loki whispered as he poked the baby's little arm and the crimson eyes focused on him, but filtered back to Tony after a minute. "He likes you, look at how he looks at you." Loki said sweetly and with a sigh.

"He knows who Dad is, that's why."

"We need to figure out what he'll call us don't we?"

"Gabe can call you daddy and me Dad."

"Or maybe Pappa for myself and Dad for you."

"I'm going to guess Pappa is Norse for dad."

"Yes."

"Are you going to teach him Norse as he grows up."

"Yes."

"Nice." Gabriel wriggled around in Tony's arms and he gripped onto his little Yggdrasil as he cuddled up to Tony. "JARVIS," Tony whispered, "Cut the lights." JARVIS didn't respond, but the lights dimmed until they were in darkness except for the blue light of the Arc Reactor.

"You're like a night light." Loki whispered to Tony when Gabriel had fully settled into him.

"I guess, I forgot how bright this thing was." He didn't move his arm to point just lowered his face to point down.

"What time is it?"

"Uh, about," Tony looked at the clock and sighed, "2:30. God, I'm sorry Loki, I'm not good at this." Tony said as he looked at the baby, fully asleep in his arms as if he'd never been crying. Loki just stared at Tony.