Chapter 9

The only sound in the immaculately white and grey room was the sound of the rambling drummer face-down on the bed in his drugged stupor. Nathan, the son of a retired military officer, never had been one to tremble but at the moment limbs were shaking and the reports he'd been holding had tumbled out of his hands onto the grey floor as he stared at the man in the doorway. Emotions he'd long ago suppressed and buried under alcohol and food suddenly returned with revenge. Part of him wanted to laugh in joy, take the man in his arms, and kiss the life out of him ignoring all sense of what makes a real man and what would be accepted that had been instilled in him as a boy. The other part wanted to puke up whatever remained in his stomach and walk away like nothing happened.

Instead of choosing either option, Nathan found himself simply growling out, "Uhhh…"

It was Skwisgaar who finally moved. Long pale limbs danced around the fallen paper before coming before their manager, grabbing Charles' jacket and roaring, "Wheres whats yous?"

Charles did not respond and Nathan just continued to stand there stupidly as if he were in front of people delivering speech. "Uhhh…" He wanted to scream with Skwisgaar too! He wanted answers then he would…

"I speak-eye-lings tos yous, Managers! Wheres ams yous whens Pickles takings to da hop-sickles? Whens Tokis neededs his Fathers? Wheres ams yous whens Nathans gives himself da Die-ah-beats from overs-eatings? Wheres ams yous whens I needs da advice ons things?" Charles was in the air now, almost a good foot off the ground as the Swede ranted at him but he wasn't even blinking an eye.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here, boys. I promise to tell you all what happened when the time is right, but right now I am here to find Toki and bring him home." Charles' voice was calm and collected, not the least bit shaky or as intimidated as the man used to be when the Swede or Nathan would use their height to their advantage on him in the past. He'd changed somehow and Nathan wanted so badly to find out how and why.

This did little to diffuse Skwisgaar's anger and finally the blond lost his English and erupted into a Swedish tirade, yelling loud and fast enough that even Murderface would venture cautiously from the other end of Mordhaus to see what the commotion was about.

"I'm sorry, Skwisgaar," Charles repeated and reached out as much as he could to lay a comforting hand on the tense bicep of the blonde holding him.

A few minutes after Charles' calm voice penetrated pure Swedish fury, the guitarist set him on his feet and then knelt on the ground so he could wrap his arms around the manager's waist and bury his head in his stomach. Charles simply pet the Swede's golden mane before turning to address Nathan. "So, what do we know?"

Nathan was frozen, still tongue-tied and confused. Charles was expecting him to say something… What could he say… "Well… the… and…"

When Nathan failed to say anything, Charles sighed and shook him head mumbling something under his breath that sounded like, "Don't know why I expected more out of you…" Nathan froze. Then the manager untangled himself gently from the Swede's grip and said, "Skwisgaar, do you mind showing me what we have so far on Toki's kidnapping?"

"Ja," the Swede responded quietly, rising to his feet and then leading the manager out of his room.

Funny how, with only a sentence, Nathan suddenly felt like he was little more than gum on the sidewalk. The singer couldn't deal with this right now. He needed a good beer or two right now… maybe a hundred… followed by sex with at least five women in a row- anything that would stop him from collapsing on the floor and slowly dying there in place.

"Nat'an," came the call from the red-head on the bed as large, dilated green eyes stared up at him. "Nat'an…"

"Yeah?" Nathan replied.

"Can ya set the alarm? I gotta wake the baby."

"Uh…" Baby? What baby? It took Nathan a second to decipher what the drummer was raving about this time. Toki, he used to call Toki the baby; Pickles was talking about waking Toki up for breakfast. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Thanks, dude." Then the drummer passed out and Nathan was once again left with his own thoughts. After a few more minutes of them, he could not take them and he left the room to find the two in the security room, pausing outside the doorway as he thought about what he should say.

"Freeze that image," he heard Charles direct as the manager leaned over the controls. "Enlarge on the dark haired figure…"

There was silence for several minutes before a klokateer dared to ask, "Sir, do you know this man?"

"Yes… Yes I do. Question is what does he want with Toki…"

/ / / / / / / (o. }=\ \ \ \ \ \ \

Toki didn't know how long he lay on the strange bed sobbing for the ghost of his Papa to come back, but his eyes were puffy and hurting and he could scarcely breathe. He could just hear Skwisgaar and Murderface teasing him in his head, but he couldn't stop. When he finally ran out of tears and the urge of nature was too pressing, Toki sat up and tried to catch his breath, examining the unfamiliar surroundings through watery eyes. The bed was a little bigger the one he slept on since he moved out of Papa's suite in Mordhaus, but the sheets were an inviting dark grey with green thread. The walls were a soft yellow. There was a simple wooden dresser with hanger knobs in the corner and a matching nightstand eight inches away from the bed. The only slightly personal thing about the room was the red and orange orchids in a red glass vase sitting on the nightstand.

Where was he again? He vaguely remembered Odin talking about taking him to his bearer's rooms but he didn't know how big the suite was. In Papa Charles' suite, Toki's childhood room had been behind a hidden panel in his office and Papa's room had been out in the open but had a hidden hallway to Toki's room. This suite could be a maze as well, so if he ventured too far he might have trouble finding his way back and what if all the other rooms looked alike like klokateer rooms?

Still, he needed to wash his face and take care of his bladder.

Sniffling, Toki rose cautiously from the bed on wobbly, numb legs and walked to the simple door and opened the knob to reveal a large lounge area with wooden and stone benches arranged into a semi-circle. His bearer must entertain a lot of friends if he actually used the area.

"I'm happy to see you're awake," came the soft voice from his left. Toki turned and saw the man who had claimed he was Toki's parent in the doorway of a hall. For some reason the silent entrance did not startle Toki; in fact, his presence was slightly familiar.

Toki shifted nervously from foot to foot and looked at the ground shyly. He knew he should say something, but what? What did someone say in a situation like this?

"Would you like something to eat?" Loki asked.

Toki looked up and saw kind green eyes looking him over. It reminded him a lot of Pickles… he should have probably talked to Uncle Pickles more before he thought to run away. Shaking the regret away, he quietly replied, "Maybes laters. Do you has bathrooms?"

Loki smiled. "Yeah, it's similar to the ones on Earth. The garderrobe is through the door to your right."

"Thank yous," Toki said before retreating to the door Loki had pointed out. After attending to his business, he washed up and hesitantly walked back out into the main area where his bearer was sitting waiting for him. Swallowing his fear, he sat down two arm lengths away and waited for Loki to say something.

Both were quiet for a while, each scanning the other with their eyes. "Sos… why ams I heres?"

Loki's hand clenched as he answered, "I had to make sure you were somewhere safe away from Earth, so asked my brother to go find you and bring you home."

Toki's eyes narrowed, "Whys now?" He knew Papa had given him an explanation but he wanted to hear it out of his so-called bearer's mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Whys you claims mes now? Why nots when Papa Charles dies or befores whens da…" Toki's voice trailed off. He still had some trouble speaking about his treatment in the village to people he didn't trust.

Loki looked like he wanted to reach out to him but Toki didn't want to be touched by anyone he didn't fully trust so he leaned even further way. "I know this will probably be hard to accept for someone who was raised on Earth, but there is magic in this universe…"

Toki shook his head. "Ams not hards to axe-cepts. Mades da Lake Troll of Finland awaken once. Was chaos and bloods everywhere."

Loki raised a brow but made no comment and proceeded, "Magic can be used protectively or it can be used to harm or control others. When… when I was carrying you in my womb, I was captured by someone who knew exactly how to trap my kind. Reverend Wartooth kept me in iron chains, a metal which many beings from other realms are allergic to, until I gave birth to you and he trapped me in unpolished amber."

Toki tilted his head. So what Papa's ghost had told him was true. It also explained the iron items in the Reverend's home that he would sometimes use on him. So… he had been wearing his other parent around his neck since he fled? Maybe that's why the other felt slightly familiar. "So… you gives da birth of me?"

Loki nodded. "I did. Unfortunately, I barely got a look at you before I was sealed in the stone. I was only able to escape when it shattered or I would have come sooner."

Realization ran through Toki when he recalled how the stone had cracked in his hand when he was running away. "I dids it."

"Did what?"

"I cracks da stones and den…"

"You threw it at Charles' tomb," Loki finished, green eyes taking in his arms. "I had not realized you were that strong."

"Papa makes sure I cans fights by high-her-ings da teachers. But I don'ts likes to fights for reals." Then a thought occurred to Toki. "You knew Papa? You calls him by his first name."

Loki gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Yes. I knew him, he was my husband."

Toki jerked away and his eyes narrowed. "You lie!" Loki flinched, taken back by Toki's statement. "Papa ams never marrieds! He woulda tells me."

"He didn't know."

"How cans he be marrieds and nots know? Makes no sense!"

"Because I tricked him a few months before we conceived you into making…" Loki's voice trailed off and he cleared his throat, "um… let's just say we performed an ancient ceremony in a sacred place without his knowledge."

Toki shook his head. "Then that's ams nots marriage. Marriage needs consents."

His bearer rolled his shoulders, a gesture that Toki often found himself doing when he was caught pulling a prank on Murderface. "Just believe me when I say he did indeed consent."

Then another thought occurred to Toki. "Waits… you ams saying Papa ams really my Papa?"

"Yes… why else would he name you a name so similar to my own if he was not aware of your relationship?"

"Papa not names mes; Daddy dids."

Toki didn't notice how Loki's eyes narrowed in jealousy before the god of mischief sighed. "Either way, he was your birth father."

"And yous ams my Mama?"

Loki drew back and cleared his throat. "Well yes… but I would prefer it if you call me something like 'Da' or 'Pater.'"

"Nots Mom?"

Loki shook his head. "I may have the inner workings of females but I do not call myself one. Do you?"

Toki's eyes widened. How did Loki know that? He was tempted to double check to see if the slit had grown back. "You knows I hads…"

"Well…you are my child. It stands to reason you have inherited some of my features besides my eye shape, nose, cheek bones and forehead." Before Toki realized it, Loki had closed the large gap between them and his chin was gently gripped by a long fingered hand that was similar to his own as green eyes scanned him. "However, you do have your Papa's mouth, chin, ears and shoulders."

Despite his fear of being touched by someone he didn't trust, Toki found himself smiling warmly at the comment that he had something that resembled his deceased Papa. Even though he had been told that often before, it was nice to know those features actually did belong to Papa Charles and not some faceless man who had abandoned him to the snow. "I does?"

"You do," Loki confirmed.

Before he knew it himself, Toki found himself wrapping his arms around his kidnapper and smiling as the god let out a joyous laugh and petting the fine strands of hair that had escaped its braid.

"It's almost dinner time now," Loki… 'Da' said after a few minutes, still running his fingers through Toki's hair and scalp. "Most of the court will be in the great hall, so the gardens will be deserted. Do you think you want to stretch your legs outside?"

Toki nodded eagerly. The more he knew about where he was and all escape routes, the more comfortable he would be.

"Okay then, follow me."

/ / / / / / / (o. }=\ \ \ \ \ \ \

Thor laughed and toasted his friends as they boasted over their latest successful hunts. Volstagg had trapped several rabbits, Hogun had brought down an eight-point buck, and Fandral had found a beautiful woman on their journey and lured her into his bed, escaping before her husband had come home. Lady Sif shook her head in amusement, lips curled in mischief as if she knew exactly which woman and which man Fandral had disgraced this past week.

"So when will you rejoin our hunts, my friend?" Fandral asked as he leaned over Thor and snagged a buttered roll of the Thunder god's plate as he often did.

Thor rolled his eyes at the other blonde's antics. "I plan on going hunting tomorrow, if you all would like to join me."

"Wonderful!" Volstagg chirped between large gulps of wine.

"Will little Loki be joining us or will he remain at the side of his addled child?" Fandral mocked, crinkling his nose in distaste. Fandral had never like Loki since he had tricked him into believing he was a female once during an odd party where Frigga had decided everyone should wear a mask. The blonde man had not left Loki's side all through the masked feast, even telling Thor that he had finally found his wife in a matter of hours. Then Loki had taken off the wig and mask and Fandral had been teased for unnaturalness for a month.

Thor slammed his large hand down on the heavily enforced table and shot Fandral a warning glare as he hissed, "Do not speak of my nephew in such a manner." Fandral had already bashed Loki's reputation and standing for his trick, Thor's nephew did not need to be punished for it as well.

"You have to admit, Thor, that the boy's display when he first arrived did call into question his sanity," Hogun reasoned between small nibbles at the roasted mutton leg in his hand.

"Regardless, the boy is family." Thor's bottomless appetite was now completely gone for the evening and he pushed his plate away.

"Well, when will we get to meet the child?" Sif asked leaning forward eagerly. It had been quite some time since there had been any other visitor to their realm and Sif like most was curious.

"I do not know," Thor admitted, biting his tongue like there was something he was holding back before proceeding, "After my brother and nephew's ordeal, I do not believe Loki will allow the child to venture out of his sight for too long."

"What I want to know is what Midgardian woman would be desperate enough to sleep with Loki!" the red-headed Volstagg laughed. The laughter was infectious and soon Sif and Fandral had joined him.

"It was not a woman," Thor corrected before he could stop himself. All the laughter stopped.

"What?" Sif asked, curious. "What do you mean?"

Never one who could cover up the truth or capable of lying period, Thor lowered his bright golden eyes and confessed, "Loki is… well… Loki is not completely male…"

"Thor, are you saying he is both?" Hogun asked after a few seconds of silence.

Thor nodded.

"That's impossible!" Sif reasoned, rising in her seat and attracting attention. When she sat back down, activity once again resumed in the hall. After a few minutes of glancing around and making sure they were the only paying attention to their conversation, she waved for Thor to explain.

"Unfortunately, it is not. He is both and he conceived my nephew with his Midgardian husband."

"In that case, I'm surprised only his brain is deformed and not his looks," Fandral commented.

"Come to think of it… You know, I've always wondered where Loki found that eight-legged horse for the All-father," Volstagg added before Thor could threaten Fandral for such a comment.

"Enough!" Thor hissed. "I will not have you spreading more rumors and gossip of my brother and chasing him away again."

"Still… how barbaric these Midgardian people must be to allow such unions," Fandral continued, ignoring the clear warning in Thor's voice.

Before Thor could challenge Fandral, Hogun stepped in and surprised everyone when he acknowledged, "Such unions were not unheard of among warriors of my people." They had forgotten Hogun had come from another, almost extinct race. When everyone fixed their questioning gaze on him, he added, "Asgardian history even acknowledges some such pairings when the population of women was low."

"Are you saying you would marry a man?" Fandral pressed with the most disturbed face Thor had ever seen him wear.

"If I were to fall in love with a man, then yes."

"Hey! I have an idea!" Volstagg suddenly announced and Thor was instantly taken back. Volstagg never had good ideas. "Is Loki's husband dead?"

"Yes…" Thor answered with suspicion. If Volstagg was going to suggest Volstagg should marry the youngest prince, Thor would have to knock him out right there in the hall. Volstagg may be a friend but he would make a horrible match for anyone, especially his brother.

"Hogun has never really fallen in love with any woman, so how about we set him up with Loki?"

Hogun's face was the brightest purple Thor had ever seen. It appeared he would not be adverse to the idea. Now that Thor thought about it, the Grim would make a good match for his brother. He would be someone who could match Loki in intellect and control him from doing too much mischief.

"I agree," Thor finally said and reached over to place a friendly hand on Hogun's shoulder. "I will be very honored to call you my brother-in-law."

To be continued…

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