A/N: This is the second part to TDKS part 4: Pull on the Puppet String. This is all DOMESTIC and FLUFF. It features only Tony, Loki and their baby. WILL NOT BE SAD, and it's the first exception to the sorrowful series to actually be happy.
Welcome to The Desolate Kingdom Series. TDKS consist of various frostiron angst and sorrow parts (stories) that are read individually and have no relation to each other. This is the forth story- part 2. Reviews are always welcomed.
"Loki! The baby is crying again!" Tony yelled from the bedroom. Dark circles plagued his eyes as Tony dragged himself out of bed into the nursery where a bouncy baby boy sat in his cot. Tony rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes as he bent forward to lift the baby up. This had been his life since a month ago, including sleepless nights, constant baby bawling, diaper changes, feeding and burping. The great Tony Stark had became domestic. For the time being, as he liked to say.
Since the introduction of the newest member of the family, the Avengers spent a lot of time in the tower coddling the child, and Tony couldn't be happier to have them babysit if that meant more alone time.
"I'll get him his bottle." Loki yawned as he joined his spouse in the baby's room.
"How are you hungry again?" Tony whined as he patted the baby's back and rocked him in his arms. "You just ate two hours ago!"
"The baby is still growing."
"Not that I'm complaining, he's cute. I get that. But what he is now is an eating and pooping machine." The baby stopped in his crying and Tony thought that the child was done bawling, but he only coughed and resumed and Tony groaned. "Look at you. Your face is all red."
"He'll grow out of it." Loki said as he handed Tony the milk bottle. "Have you checked his diapers?"
"No." Tony replied as be took a deep whiff from the baby and reached out to take the bottle. "But he doesn't stink."
The baby stopped crying the moment Tony placed the nozzle to his lips and he started suckling feverishly. "Look at you, you little monster."
"You say that every time he cries." Loki mused. "Which happens to be a lot."
Tony stuck his tongue out at Loki, unable to do anything else with the baby cradling in his arms and Loki laughed at his measly gesture. The baby was beautiful. Pink skin, ten little fingers and ten little toes. Although Loki assured Tony that the baby was highly likely to be human due to some complicated gene hierarchy that Tony never seemed to understand despite how he had explained it, he had worried that the baby might born blue regardless how low the chance.
The baby whined when Tony removed his bottle to wipe his face clean from the formula, earning a chuckle from both his parents. "Looks like the little one is becoming fussy." Loki said. "Just like his father."
"Hey!"
Loki leaned against Tony's shoulder and chuckled, lightly caressing their newborn's soft hair. "Cease your games and give him the bottle, Tony."
Tony complied, cooing along with his child when the baby latched on the bottle.
"He resembles you so much." Loki let out a blissful sigh.
"Yeah I get that alot." Tony smirked. "Good genes, remember?"
And while Loki rolled his eyes, he was beaming with pride. "The baby better not inherit your blatant narcissism as well."
"That's impossible." Tony shrugged his shoulder lightly where Loki's head laid and laughed. "Not when both his parents are."
"I believe you meant yourself."
"Whatever."
Loki reached up to guide Tony's lips to his. Tony teased by shifting his head away but when Loki pouted, damn he knew how to pick at Tony's weakness, Tony relented and returned the kiss. Loki could be such a child sometimes, Tony chuckled at that thought. Because in Loki's eyes, he was the child; constantly whining and crooning and being reckless, so Loki might have a point. But that's what Loki's there for, they keep each other in check. Now that they had an actual baby in their lives, Tony hoped that they could manage.
"Hand me the little one." Loki said the moment the baby finished his last drop of formula. "I'll burp him for you."
"Are you sure you don't wanna get some sleep before morning?" Tony replied as he lifted the baby to an upright position. "You look ready to drop."
"It's a few hours short to daylight, I'll live."
Tony set the bottle in the washer before settling down beside Loki. Tony loved the sounds Loki made when he interacted with the baby. He never told him that of course, Loki would deny it thoroughly, and worse, stop the crooning all together. He listened as Loki hummed an Asgardian lullaby, egging their child to go to sleep once more.
The baby still didn't have a name. Loki refused to let Tony pick because, as quoted from the man himself, "he'll end up having some crappy Midgardian name". Seriously, how bad could it be? And when Tony jokingly suggested Anthony Stark Junior, Loki rolled his eyes and emphasized that was why Tony shouldn't get to pick the name.
"What's wrong with it? He's the prodigy of the awesome me."
"Not that I dislike your name, Tony. But I rather not deal with another one of you."
"What, so earthly names are totally not in your league?"
"No."
"What about Tom?" Tony joked, earning a leer from his partner.
"No!"
It had been a full month since the baby was born and he still didn't have a name. Tony started to ponder if the baby would be permanently called Baby or Little One. He cringed when he read the name over and over in his head. Little One Stark was definitely not going to pass the mark.
"So, uhm, as much as I love waiting for the sunrise with you and the baby." Tony trailed away, choosing his words carefully to approach the subject of baby naming 101. "I have been thinking."
"Spill." Loki scoffed. "Though I doubt whatever is to leave your lips helpful of sorts."
Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to be progressive here."
The baby was hardly sleepy as he watched his parents converse in deep concentration. Loki resumed his rocking and threw Tony a questioning glance. Tony readied himself, this was the time where he'd show Loki that he hadn't been lazing his ass off. Tony repeated the word in his mind for one more time and nodded. It sounded great, at least that's what he thought.
"Zev."
"I beg your pardon?"
"It means 'wolf' in Hebrew origins." Tony explained. "Zev Stark. Nothing too common, nothing too flashy."
Tony watched as Loki tried it on his lips and pondered deeply over the name. He tapped his fingers nervously on his lap as his partner furrowed his brows and frowned. There shouldn't be any issues with the name, so what's there to disagree? Tony spent every waking hour thinking about it.
"No."
"What do you mean no?" Tony began to pace in front of Loki. No? No! He said no! Seriously now, Tony cringed at the possibility of their baby never having a proper name. Tony crossed his arms when Loki's frown turned into a smirk.
"Calm down, you're agitating the baby."
"Yeah, very clever Lo. Pull out the baby card." Tony complained but stopped his pacing and sat down anyways. He was in a fit of pique and he wanted Loki to know that.
"I've never pegged you to be the religious sort." Loki sneered. "Hebrew? I thought you better."
"Well, then what names were you thinking of?"
"Perhaps, Brandr." Loki smiled down at the newborn. "Our little fire brand."
"Asgardian tongue." Tony threw his hands up in defeat. Of course he'd pick their son an Asgardian name. It was unfair! So Loki got to mock him for choosing a not religious, mind you, name from a lost language, but he didn't get a say in the absurdly ridiculous sounding Asgardian name.
"He's gonna be mocked for his name." Tony tried to explain. "The kids wouldn't know any better."
"He wouldn't. The little one is of royal heritage. He should take pride in his name."
"Yeah, but the other ten year olds won't. What kind of name is Brandr anyway! It's as vacuous as naming the kid Tempest."
"Brandr is a prestigious name of traditional Asgardian tongue, Tony." Loki warned.
And there they go, again. Tony rolled his eyes. Every single damned time he brought up the topic, Loki would just shoot him down! Tony wasn't against Asgardian names, but they were absurd. If their kid was to grow up in the States, he'd have to have a relatively moderate name. It couldn't be too ordinary, because the family of Stark didn't do ordinary.
Tony took his time to think. Regardless of what Loki said, the baby was going to get his name today. The baby could have two names, like most children around, but Tony was unsure if Loki would let them name one each or brush aside that suggestion completely. He didn't want to add another complicated figure to the already mind boggling equation.
The baby was too young to comprehend anything they said, so eliciting any response from him would simply be luck. Tony scoffed. Luck would have gone to Loki anyways, he knew just what to do to get the baby to stop crying or to look at him. Tony would have lost before the competition even started.
A competition. That's what this was. Tony's heart raced at that thought. With Loki, it was always with games and winning, and while Tony lost most of the time, it was the thrill of the process that excites him the most. Except, this time, he really wanted to win.
"One game, Lo."
"If we must."
"I'll pick. And no cheating! No magic whatsoever that deems as a cheat." Tony quickly added.
"Yes dear, if you say so." Loki drawled.
Tony smiled and dashed off, returning shortly after with two pieces of paper. The rules were simple, they would each fold a paper plane and throw it; they both have three throws and the paper plane that landed the farthest would win. It's simple child's play, Tony thought, but he had the brains behind the mechanics of making and throwing a paper plane. Surely he had to have the advantage here.
Tony made the first move and his plane landed at a decent distance from himself. Then Loki sent his plane flying with a flick of his wrist. Loki was laid back as he watched his plane teetered in the air while Tony watched on intently and sighed.
Round one: Loki.
Tony rubbed his hands together and picked up his plane. Surely that had to be luck. With the angle Loki threw the plane at, the velocity and the wind directions of the room at that point in time, it was almost too impossible to have his plane land further. Tony huffed in determination. It's alright, he just have to beat Loki in both rounds after.
Tony aimed carefully before he set the plane to fly. The plane landed at the same distance as it did before. When Loki's plane landed just halfway behind his own, Tony did a small celebratory jump.
Round two: Tony.
It didn't take long for the final results to show and Tony was proud to say that he had won! Loki remained unamused as Tony pranced around the room, picking up the baby as he did. "He's gonna be called Zev." He said as he turned to Loki before nuzzling the baby. "You are gonna be called Zev!"
The baby cooed and flailed his arms, clearly excited by his father's outburst and Tony beamed at his bundle of joy. "You like the name, buddy? You like it too, don't ya?"
Tony bounced the baby in his arms as he sat down beside Loki, and sighed. Loki was unusually quiet, he cocked his head at Tony as his partner finally settled down. Tony felt something stir within him; Loki wasn't throwing a fit like he would used to do, nor was he making snide remarks. Then it clicked in his mind and Tony groaned.
"You let me win." It wasn't a even question, Tony knew it had to be that way.
Loki shrugged and smirked.
"We were supposed to play fairly."
"Technically, I didn't cheat. So it was fair." Loki replied.
"Now you're just making me feel like a fool." Tony pouted. "I should have seen it coming."
"No you wouldn't. You have your sight set only on the goal."
Loki chuckled at his dismay, which made Tony feel worse. "I thought you didn't like the name?"
Loki pretended to reconsider his decision and snickered when Tony grumbled again. "Zev sounds like a fitting name for the little warrior."
"Do you want to use Brandr as his middle name?"
"Only now you relay this important piece of information to me." Loki teased. "But no."
"So no Zev Brandr Stark? Just Zev?"
"No, to both."
Loki reached over to scoop up the baby from Tony's arms and nuzzled his soft hair. "Grey."
"Grey?"
Loki rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yes Tony. I didn't know that your hearing was impaired." Loki tapped on Tony's chest where the arc reactor laid and teased. "I thought it was just your heart."
"Ouch, Loki. That attack was personal."
Loki beamed as he pulled Tony forward to kiss him. The moment was perfect and he wouldn't wished for anything more, ok there was many other things that he hoped could change. But he was living in the moment, as Tony liked to tell him. "Your name is now Zev Grey Stark, sweetheart."
A/N: Reviews are always welcome.