Ynath Esrith: First, thanks so much for your thoughtful reviews! I appreciate the feedback! We can only hope that the Avengers will be more understanding than Odin was!

FTA92: Thanks for all the reviews! You're awesome! I'm so glad your enjoying the story! Loki is really, really cute! I'm sure Tony will warm up to him in no time at all!

Erikstrulove: Thanks for the reviews! You're great! Your theory is really, really interesting. Is it what's going on? You'll just have to keep reading to find out!

The feedback for this has been awesome! Thanks so much for your interest! You guys are awesome! Don't be afraid to point out any grammatical, spelling errors or anything that just doesn't flow right. I just want to improve and pointing that stuff out will help me improve! Now onward!

ONE STEP FORWARD, FOUR STEPS BACK

A THOR/AVENGERS FANFICTION

CHAPTER SEVEN: Stark Tower

WARNING: This chapter refers to the physical and physiological torture of a minor. If you don't like, don't read. And please, no hate.

Pepper gasped loudly, tearing Thor's gaze from the window to her frightened and pale face. Loki cocked his head to the side, not understanding what he had said wrong. She had shared her name with him, so he shared his name with her. That was polite, right? Loki glanced up at Thor whose eyes were full of worry.

"What is wrong?" Thor said slowly keeping his voice calm and steady. Pepper gestured to Loki who was still sitting in Thor's lap.

"T-that's Loki! Why? Why'd you bring him here?" Pepper exclaimed, fear in her voice. Loki's brow lowered sadly.

"She doesn' like me…" Loki sighed, trailing off. Thor shushed him and looked at Pepper who was starting to panic.

"It's all right, he's not going to hurt anyone, are you Loki?" Thor said gently. Loki shook his head.

"Nope! I won' h'rt anyone!" he answered. Pepper's breathing slowly returned to normal and she felt her heart rate drop. What had happened to Loki? Why was he so young and small…and adorable?

"S-so…what happened to him?" she asked hesitantly. Thor shrugged, his blue eyes staring fixedly at her.

"I am uncertain," Thor said glancing around then adding, "I assure you, this is no trick or scheme of Loki's doing." Loki yawned loudly and despite herself Pepper began to giggle. The kid was really cute, and it wasn't likely that a five-year-old wanted world conquest, right?

"I trust you," Pepper said. Her phone vibrated, reminding her of her conversation with Tony. Tony! He of all people would want to be kept in the loop. What was she supposed to say if he asked who Loki was? Pepper glanced nervously at Thor, unsure of what to do.

"I'm assuming you want to tell Tony in person," Pepper stated. Thor nodded deeply.

"Aye. If you can avoid it, do not tell Stark." Thor requested, Loki's head resting on Thor's chest. His face bore an expression of pain.

"It h'rts," Loki whimpered softly. Sighing, Thor began to stroke Loki's hair, labored breaths sounding from the boy. Pepper felt pity for him as she opened the message and read:

"That's excellent news; I'd hate to make you clean that up." Pepper rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Of course, Mr. Stark. See you soon." Pepper wrote, sending the message and hitting her head on the seat back. It had been a long day for her and she knew it wasn't about to end any time soon.

The car pulled up to Stark Tower and dropped them off in front of the entrance, Thor and Loki at the front. The car drove away and Pepper walked inside, Thor behind her. Loki was still in Thor's arms, Thor gripping him tight. He looked more alert than he had in the car, his wide eyes taking in as much of the building as he could. Pepper took Thor to an elevator and hit the correct button. It slowly rose through the floors, Thor standing pretty still, Loki squirming in his grasp.

"Thor?" Loki said, whining slightly. Pepper glanced over and saw that Loki was fighting to get out of Thor's arms, his eyes scanning the elevator. "Where are we?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"At a friend's house. You'll see soon," Thor said. Loki looked over at Pepper, blushed a little, and then buried his face in Thor. Pepper smiled and the door opened; Loki was really beginning to grow on her.

"Follow me," Pepper said. Thor followed, Loki still squirming. His green eyes were wide with curiosity, never seeing such a building in his life (to his knowledge, anyway). Pepper took them to an open room that Thor recognized as the room they found Loki in at the end of the battle. Thor glanced down at the still moving Loki nervously; Loki's eyes were still wide, but no new emotion in them. It wasn't likely that Loki would remember this room or that horrible battle, but still; Thor didn't want Loki to remember. He didn't want to remember, but that day still consumed his thoughts. Thor was worried that Loki may remember getting beaten by the Hulk inside this room and snap, reverting to his evil ways. Luckily, nothing happened and no snapping occurred, but nonetheless Thor held the boy closer. Pepper saw Thor glance nervously at the boy for that brief moment only to see him break his gaze and stare at the floor instead. Pepper took a seat and gestured for Thor to sit as well.

"Please sit. Tony will be down shortly." Pepper said. "Would you like anything?"

"No thank you," Thor said. Loki's face split into a smile as he tugged on Thor's shirt.

"Thor? Can I get something?" he asked.

"Of course," Thor responded. Loki wiggled a little (still struggling to break free of Thor's grip) and turned to face Pepper.

"Can I get some milk please?" he asked. Pepper smiled at him and stood.

"Of course. I'll be right back." Pepper disappeared and the boy was still looking around.

"Is Tony your friend?" he asked.

"Aye," Thor replied. The child's brow furrowed and Loki dropped his gaze.

"She didn' seem too happy when I tol' her my name," he said sadly.

"Loki," he said softly, "She has a reason, one that you will not be happy to hear. What matters now is that she likes you."

"'Kay," he said, a hand wiping feverish sweat from his dirty brow. He looked at the back of his hand and crinkled his nose. "Oh yuck," he muttered, wiping his dirty hand on his shirt. Pepper returned shortly with a glass of milk and Loki eagerly took it. As he sipped it, Thor and Pepper made awkward small talk for a few minutes. Thor was anxious for Tony to come as Loki was getting more and more antsy as the minutes passed. Loki's fever was getting worse and he needed sleep. This wouldn't be possible of course until Tony was completely up to date with everything that had occurred in the last two weeks. Thor wasn't looking forward to talking about that painful time, but knew that Tony wouldn't rest until he knew everything.

"Thor! How pleasant to see your face again," Thor looked up and saw Tony Stark enter the room, a smirk on his face and a drink in his hand. He walked over and sat down by Pepper, kissing her and eyeing Loki.

"You didn't tell me you had a kid," Tony said mockingly. Thor scowled and Loki shifted on his lap. Loki glared over his milk glass at Tony and lowered it so he could see the man properly.

"'M not his son!" Loki corrected, sounding insulted. Tony studied the kid and Pepper suddenly looked on edge.

"You look pretty beat up, kid," Tony said. Loki dropped his gaze, muttering quietly. To both Thor's and Loki's delight, Tony didn't press the issue of Loki's appearance.

"Stark, I seek your assistance," Thor began. Tony raised an eyebrow and smirked a little.

"Oh? What do you need Shakespeare? A new cape?" Tony asked mockingly. Thor scowled.

"Nay, tis not it," Thor said, "See him?" Thor gestured to Loki. Tony nodded a look of confusion mixed with curiosity spreading across his face.

"As he said, he is not my child. He is my little brother; he is Loki." Pepper glanced over nervously at Tony whose eyes had become the size of grapefruits. Shock became anger as Tony continued to stare at Loki, the boy shivering either out fear or his fever. Either way, he wished Tony would stop looking at him like that.

"If he's Loki, why'd you bring him here!?" Tony said angrily, his brown eyes ablaze.

"Look at him. He is a little boy who needs medical attention. I thought you could help me." Thor said calmly.

"What happened to him?" Tony asked, his voice still full of venom.

"I am uncertain," Thor admitted, "All I know is that when we arrived in Asgard, Loki was a five-year-old boy." Pepper gulped.

"And did he, uh, face justice?" she asked awkwardly. She had a bad feeling that punishment was where Loki's injuries came from. Loki looked away, shaking slightly.

"Aye, he did. Wrongly I might add. He cannot remember anything." Thor explained. Tony scratched his chin and looked at the boy. His eyes studied every inch of Loki, taking careful attention to the growing deep red stain in the front of the boy's shirt. Loki was still shaking and both Thor and Tony knew it was a fever induced tremor. Tony sighed heavily, shutting his eyes and taking a deep drink from his glass.

"So he's not dangerous?" he asked, eyes glancing up from over the glass. Thor nodded.

"Of course not," Thor said.

"Well, I allow him to stay tonight. Pepper, after getting them settled, make some phone calls." Pepper nodded in understanding and stood. She approached Loki slowly, smiling at him. He didn't look up, his face twisted in a pain filled grimace.

"Hi. Are you done?" she asked softly. Loki nodded and she took the cup away from his shaking hands.

"Wanna see where you're sleeping?" Pepper asked. Loki nodded shyly and hopped off Thor's lap. He winced as he hit the floor, clutching his stomach. After steading himself, he and Pepper walked off, leaving Thor and Tony alone.

"So," Tony said, "do you think Loki did this to himself?" Thor shook his head.

"No, I don't. I and one other believe this to be an outside and accidental occurrence. Loki didn't do anything." Thor said.

"You said he faced justice for what he did. What happened to him? What sort of punishment did the kid face?" Tony asked. Thor winced slightly, a flood of bad memories washing over him like a tidal wave. He really didn't want to tell Tony-or anybody for that matter-about what he saw in Fjørlag-Bryggja. There were a lot of things still shrouded in mystery seeing as Thor wasn't there for most of Loki's imprisonment and wasn't sure what happened when he wasn't there. Truth be told, Thor didn't even want to know what those people-if you can call them that-did to his little brother. He sighed deeply and sunk into the chair, the soft cushions bringing him little comfort as he began his tale.

"It is difficult to talk about, for both of us. So I beg of you not to ask Loki about it; he is only a child. Odin arrested him and sent him to Fjørlag-Bryggja, the highest security dungeons in all of Asgard, possibly in all the Realms. The creatures that guard the Fjørlag-Bryggja are known as the Høndla-Fjørlag. They are a horrible race that loves to torture others and it is for that sole reason that they run Fjørlag-Bryggja. They took Loki to that place and tortured him for two weeks. I-I didn't see most of it. The only torture I saw was his isolation where he was locked up alone in the dark for days." Thor said, his voice breaking. Tony had a somber look on his face. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not sure of what to say. It was an odd feeling for him since he always had a witty comment or cruel remark to make about anything said to him. This time however, he didn't. It was really freaking him out.

"I may not like Loki, but the kid didn't deserve that." Tony said finally. There was a pause. "Or did he?" Thor looked at Tony as the words left his mouth, shocked.

"What?" Thor asked trembling slightly out of anger. Why was the entire universe against his little brother?

"I mean, Loki did terrible things. He is a criminal, now a fugitive. He murdered over eighty people." Tony said. Thor sighed in agreement; it was true. Loki had done truly monstrous things, but that was a different man. This Loki was a boy, not a murderous lunatic like his elder-self. But there seemed to be no convincing anyone of that so very obvious fact. At least, it was obvious to Thor. But was that because of guilt or a false sense of loyalty? Thor shook his head; he hated it when those confusing thoughts clouded his head. He tried to shake them away so he could speak once more.

"True as that is, that was, in a sense anyway, a different Loki. I don't know if this is reversible or not and until I do, I shall treat elder, corrupt Loki and young, innocent Loki as two different people." Thor said. Tony nodded but his eyes were still full of doubt, distrust.

"I can see that, but it's hard to do considering what this "elder" Loki has done." Tony said. Thor sighed deeply; why was it so hard to make people see? Loki wasn't dangerous and there was nothing to mistrust about him. He was a boy! A small one at that! And here Thor was speaking with one of the smartest men he knew and he couldn't even make Tony Stark see reason. There was just no winning it seemed.

"It isn't so difficult," Thor mused softly, "the boy makes it hard to feel that way." Tony shook his head and took another drink.

"Tell that to all of New York, S.H.E.I.L.D., and the families of all the people he killed," Tony said bitterly from his cup. Thor huffed a little, his arms crossed.

"Perhaps so," Thor said softly, then adding, "Will you help him?" realizing that Tony had never actually agreed to help Loki. Tony shrugged indifferently.

"I don't want to, but I can't really let a kid suffer, even if he is Loki." Tony said indifferently, downing the rest of his drink and standing up. Thor smiled and sighed in relief.

"Thank you Stark," he said gratefully, the only response a waved hand and the sounds of a pouring drink.

Loki was exhausted by the time Pepper had finished arranging the room he and Thor would be sharing for the night. She was fussing obsessively over every detail-big or small-of the room and seemed very over worked and stressed. Loki on the other hand was crabby and whiny partially because of how late it was and because of his awful sleep schedule while in Fjørlag-Bryggja. His fever was steadily climbing, his head was pounding and all the while he could feel warm blood trickling from his stomach with every breath he took. Honestly he didn't care where he was sleeping so long as he got to and was with Thor. He just wanted to surrender to sleep and he wanted to do so fast.

"Are you done?" Loki whined, rubbing his itching eyes. Pepper straightened her back and huffed, her hands on her hips.

"Hmm...Yes, that'll do. I've never taken care of royalty before." She mused, messing with the bedspread. One of the features of Stark tower was that it had many rooms to house people on business trips for free. It was an alternative to a hotel and much more convenient. Loki sighed loudly. He sniffed and sadness filled his chest.

"Don' call me royalty," he said sadly. Pepper glanced over, confusion in her gaze.

"Why not?" she asked, "I mean, you did horrible things, but you're still a prince regardless right?" Pepper was referring to Loki being king Laufey's biological son, which of course Loki didn't remember at all. She wasn't sure if Odin had disowned him either, so she automatically assumed that he was still a prince. Plus, it was in his blood line, so he really couldn't escape, regardless if he could remember or not. Loki shrugged and sniffled again, the volume of each sniff increasing.

"Nah," he said quietly, "I dunno 'bout bad things, but I was stripped of my titles when father..." Loki trailed off, not wishing to continue. Pepper sighed in understanding, letting the subject drop. She didn't want to bring up bad memories and give the kid nightmares.

"Oh," she breathed. She had no idea what Odin had done to punish Loki for his crimes, but she knew it probably wasn't pleasant. Deciding to change the subject to something less awkward, she turned to face Loki, a smile on her face. Loki yawned and grinned back, sleeplessness written all over his young face.

"Okay, let's get ready for bed," she said, trying to sound cheerful. Loki yawned and walked over. He was grateful that soon he'd be able to go to sleep; maybe he wouldn't hurt so bad tomorrow.

"Oh," Pepper said, "Um...is there anything you need to do before hand?" Loki shrugged indifferently.

"I'd love t' brush my teeth if that's okay," Loki answered.

"That's fine," Pepper said. She showed him the bathroom then stopped just as she was about to leave.

"Would you like to take a bath as well?" Loki glanced down at his dirtied appearance and blushed slightly.

"Um, yeah, if that's okay," Loki said softly. Pepper smiled at him as she started the water for him.

"Tell me if that's too hot or too cold," she told him, the boy limping over and sticking a dirty hand under the stream of water.

"This is fine," he said. The two stood there awkwardly for a moment, Loki shifting nervously on his feet. Pepper quickly realized that Loki might be too hurt or sore to undress and bathe by himself and she blushed slightly.

"Do you, um, need any help?" Pepper asked. Loki's face turned even redder.

"Yeah…" he said, trailing off and hiding his face from view. Pepper patted his dirty head tenderly and left, leaving Loki alone to shuffle his feet anxiously.

"Excuse me," Pepper said as she reentered the room she had left the men alone in a few minutes earlier. Thor and Tony looked at her, a smirk spreading across Tony's face.

"Is the baby ready?" Tony mused. Thor glared at him, Pepper hiding a giggle. Thor had never caught on to Tony's sense of humor.

"Uh, almost. He needs your help with something, Thor." Pepper explained not saying what he needed help with. Tony would never let the boy live it down if he knew. Thor nodded and stood.

"Alright. Lead the way," Thor said. He bid Tony goodnight and followed Pepper to the bathroom.

When they arrived, Loki was in the same spot Pepper had left him in. Pepper turned the water off and Thor quickly understood what was going on. He got down on Loki's level and looked him in the eye.

"It's alright to need help," he said in a gentle voice. Loki met his gaze and muttered something that Thor didn't understand. Thor grinned and ruffled Loki's messy locks with a massive hand.

"Will you two be okay?" Pepper asked, not wanting to be a bad host. Thor looked up at her and smiled. Pepper had been very kind and wonderful tonight when Tony hadn't been. Tony was a lucky man to have such a woman at his side.

"Yes, we shall. Thank you so much Miss Potts." Thor said, Pepper blushing slightly. She left the room, blush still on her checks and said good night, shutting the door behind her. Thor chuckled lightly to himself, returning his attention to Loki.

"Lift your arms please," Thor said softly. Loki obeyed, wincing as he did so. Thor gently removed the boy's filthy shirt, revealing the horror that was on his stomach. Thor gasped as he looked at the four roughly closed lacerations on Loki's abdomen, some of them still bleeding slightly. Loki blushed and looked away, trying to hide his face. He was ashamed of them, seeing them as not only reminders but as weakness on his part. If Thor had been in his position, he wouldn't have allowed Margr-Vígaferli to hurt him the way it hurt Loki. Thor quickly took some toilet paper and pressed on the bleeding wounds, attempting to get the bleeding to stop. Loki hissed in pain and glanced over.

"Wha' are you doing?" he asked through a clenched jaw. He wouldn't cry; he would not cry, not in front of Thor. Besides, he had shed too may tears already.

"You cannot bathe with these wounds bleeding, Loki. I need to get them to stop." Thor explained slowly, keeping his voice calm and steady. The last thing he wanted was to frighten Loki any further. Loki bit down on his lip in an attempt to keep from crying out, tears of pain welling up in his eyes.

"'Kay," he muttered, trying to keep his mind off the pain. After a few minutes, Thor got the bleeding to stop and he continued to help Loki undress. Once naked, Thor lifted him up and placed Loki in the warm tub, the water instantly soothing Loki's stiff and sore muscles.

"This feels so nice," Loki mumbled softly, closing his eyes. Thor smiled and poured warm water over Loki's dirty head.

"I know it does," Thor agreed, lathering up shampoo in his hands. He began to scrub Loki's head, the suds becoming a dull brown has he scrubbed. Loki opened his eyes and glanced up, his nose wrinkling at the sight.

"Yuck," he said, an arm extending to help. With a free hand, Thor gently pushed Loki's tiny arm back down. Loki opened his mouth to protest, but Thor quieted him.

"Don't worry about it. Just relax and I will clean you up." Thor soothed. Loki nodded and shut his eyes again.

"'Kay," Loki said softly, then sighing in content. Thor smiled at him and continued to scrub his small brother.

After Loki was all clean and dressed, Thor decided to take a shower. He still found the shower fascinating, not having anything remotely like it in Asgard (besides a waterfall) and dressed into the spare clothes that Frigga had packed. When Thor returned to his and Loki's room, he noticed that Loki was still awake, fumbling nervously with the bedspread. He kept looking around the room, as if he was expecting someone to come and take him away. Thor set the bag Hiemdall had given him on a chair and dug through it, retrieving Loki's things.

"Here Loki," Thor said, handing them to him. Loki's face brightened as he took them. He knew about the change of clothes (seeing as he was wearing them) but didn't know that his goat and blanket were also there. He cuddled the goat to his small chest, the blanket hanging limply from his arm.

"Thank you! But, how did you get them?" Loki asked. Thor sat down on the bed and began to stroke Loki's now clean hair. He was glad to see the normal shine was back in Loki's raven hair.

"Mother knew we were leaving Asgard. She spoke with Hiemdal and prepared a bag for us to take. These things were inside." Thor explained.

"Oh," Loki said, "I love mother." Loki then lay down, and Thor smiled warmly. Oh yes, Thor loved his mother as well, but Loki and Frigga had always had a special relationship. Thor was always closest with Odin, having more in common with his father. They both saw that success came from winning in battle and they both had a taste for war. But Loki had favored Frigga, who allowed clinginess and cuddles. Not to say that Thor did not enjoy to be coddled by his mother when he was small; he too enjoyed being apart from Odin for the softer side of parenting. But Loki always felt more comfortable with Frigga. She loved talking with him when Odin wouldn't even listen, loved hearing about his accomplishments and pain when Odin didn't have the time or ear to hear Loki out. Loki's relationship with Frigga was special, and it was something Thor couldn't fathom. He still did, however, feel that warmth that Loki felt when the very thought of his mother entered his mind; a warmth that he wouldn't feel for a while as he was so very far away from her.

"As do I," Thor agreed as he began to tuck him in, "now sleep. I will see you in the morning." Thor kissed Loki's forehead and turned out the lights, the bathroom light still glowing faintly. Thor prepared for bed himself then got in it and glanced over at Loki's bed. His soft, gentle breathing put Thor at ease; Loki was finally safe. Thor smiled and rolled over, falling asleep quickly for the first time in two weeks.