A/N: This is based on a prompt made by the amazing futurerustfuture-dust!
"Prompt! Loki and Nat have an exercise in trust in which Loki blindfolds himself then throws knives at Natasha to test his accuracy. Natasha, being the awesome BAMF that she is, trusts him enough to let him. Just because I thought it'd be kind of neat =] Bonus points if they switch places and Loki has a minor panic attack at being on the other end of it."
"This is how Barton and I trained when we first partnered up," Natasha explained as she reached up to wrap a black ribbon around Loki's head. "It's all about trust," she reminded him, checking to make sure that his eyes were covered. "Can you see?"
"No," Loki admitted, lowering his head in Natasha's direction.
"Good," the assassin grinned. She grabbed a rolled up bundle from her gym bag and presented it to her latest training partner.
Loki heard something unravel, then felt Natasha close his fingers around a sleek, metal handle. "Are you sure about this?" he doubtfully asked. The next thing he knew, he felt the woman's lips gently brush against his ear.
"Believe it or not, I'm the only one on this team who can trust you," she whispered.
Loki could feel her playful grin as she spoke. "I am very grateful to hear that," he purred.
"Just like we planned," she reminded him as she walked away.
The god grasped a blade in one hand and the unrolled knife case in the other.
"Try not to hurt yourself!" Natasha called out once she reached the other end of the room.
"You're quite confident in this 'trust exercise' of yours?" Loki inquired, gripping the weapon tightly.
Natasha rolled her eyes and punched the rubber training mat behind her. "Concentrate, Loki. Follow the sounds."
Loki took a deep breath, then flung the first dagger towards the farthest end of the room. He heard it dig into the wall and hoped that Natasha's silence was a positive sign. "How was that?" he asked.
She saw the knife collide with the wall in her peripheral vision. "About a foot away. Not bad for your first try." Natasha folded her arms and kicked the wall with the heel of her boot.
He focused in on the sound and unstrapped a new blade from the knife roll. "Tell me, why is it that you trust me?"
Natasha watched the knife fly through the air. She stood motionless as the weapon struck the wall inches from her ankle. "You already know why."
"Really?" he prodded, grinning widely. "Remind me again because I seem to have forgotten."
"You just want to hear me say that I love you again." The assassin couldn't hide the smile playing at the corners of her lips. "You want me to admit that I'm helplessly, uncontrollably…" her voice began to take on a sarcastic and playful tone.
Loki chuckled as he flung yet another dagger across the room.
"Desperately in lo—shit!" she cried out.
Panic overwhelmed him and Loki ripped the blindfold off as he felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Natasha?!"
"Your accuracy's getting better," she noted, completely unharmed as she grasped the knife in her gloved hand inches away from her nose. "Did I scare you?" she asked, arching a brow.
Loki narrowed his eyes. "You know that you are my vital weakness and you took advantage of that. Impressive," he added with a smirk.
Natasha grabbed the used weapons before she sauntered over to Loki. "My turn. Go stand against the wall. And no moving."
"Is this really necessary?" he inquired. The idea of a highly skilled assassin with years of training under her belt blindly throwing knives directly at him wasn't pleasing to him at all.
"I'm not gonna hit you, Loki," she promised, grabbing the blindfold from him. "That's the goal. Now go." She knotted the ribbon and knelt down to grab a handful of knives.
Loki stood close to the wall, hands clasped behind his back. "Know that if you strike me, my darling, I will have to politely decline any neediness you display in our bedroom tonight."
Natasha hurled the first knife and laughed. "Is a god afraid of a few minor scrapes?"
The sharp edge of the blade nicked Loki's boot before it lodged itself into the wall. "From you, yes." He tried keeping his voice even. Natasha was an expert at this and he trusted her with his life. Another knife barely missed striking Loki in the side and every muscle in his body tensed. Still, he wasn't fond of having weapons flung at him while being forced to stand defenseless. He kept his eyes on Natasha, admiring her graceful poise as she threw a third dagger. She moved as fluidly as a dancer combined with the skill set of an assassin that gave her a deadly beauty. Lost in admiration, Loki was brought back to reality at the sound of a blade cutting through the air and hitting the wall dangerously close to his left shoulder. "Very good, Natasha. Have you had enough fun for one day?" he hopefully asked. Loki was positive that this woman would be the death of him.
"Scared?" She readied a knife in each hand, ready to throw them in unison.
"Now, yes," Loki freely admitted.
"Don't move," she reminded him. "Try closing your eyes. It might help," she suggested.
Loki shut his eyes, waiting for their training to be over with. "I will respect your silly rules."
Natasha paused, wondering if Loki really did have his eyes closed. "Okay. We're done," she announced after a pause.
"Really?" Loki smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "That wasn't as bad as I-" Before he had the chance to react, Natasha threw both of the blades towards his head. Loki's eyes grew wide and in a split second, one knife scarcely missed his ear while the other clanked against his golden shoulder piece.
"That was on purpose," Natasha smirked. "Since someone's being a baby about getting hit. No damage to your armor, right?" she asked, removing the blindfold. "Loki?"
The god had slumped to the floor, a hand pressed to his neck. His jaw was clenched, as if in pain.
"You're a god. Suck it up," she drawled as she walked closer to him.
"That doesn't make it hurt any less!" he hissed back.
Natasha knelt before him and reached out to him. "Looks like I need some more practice...No hard feelings, right?" His body disappeared into nothingness the second her fingers met with his crouched form.
"No hard feelings," Loki announced, now standing directly behind the red-head. He noticed her body twitch and he knew he had her fooled. "Do not think that you can play me for a fool," he cockily grinned.
Natasha turned and rose to her feet. "How about you put your tricks to good use and take us somewhere a little more private," she grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Will this entail another 'trust exercise?'" he winked.
"Something like that," she laughed before pressing her lips against his.