This too shall pass. She had heard that once, somewhere, someplace or perhaps she had read it? The source of those words was at the tip of her mind but too fleeting to catch in the sea of emotions that filled her to the bone at the present time. He was standing there before her, if only it was a dream but she knew far too well how real he was to give that silly hope even a passing thought. She had known that he had returned to earth even before he had walked through that door way. She could have pinpointed it down to the exact seconds; she had felt it in her soul not that she would ever admit that to the rest of the team standing beside her. She would take that secret to the grave if she had her way. His dark green eyes glittered at her, taunted her and that slight smirk playing against his lips all but assured her that he knew.
"Why have you brought him back to earth?" the sound of Nick Fury's voice interrupted her from her private thoughts but she still could not break herself from the trickster's gaze.
"I would not have brought him back to Midgard without good reason, I assure you, my friends, you have nothing to fear, he can do no magic with these bindings on his wrists but he is needed to locate the crystal before Thanos" Thor replied. Loki's smile deepened as he raised his hands slightly and maneuvered his wrists back and forth as if to show off his new found bracelets but his eyes never left her and she could see the delight hidden in them. She did not trust those bindings, not in the slightest.
"I don't like it," it was Steve's turn to break the silence"and I don't trust him, even if those things work, why would he help us?"
"Yes, brother do tell why should I?" he walked towards her as he spoke her heartbeat quickened in her chest; his body but a hairs breath from hers as he passed her and fingered absently on a pencil laying atop the desk she was standing beside, "The infinity gauntlet is safe in the weapons vault once again, thanks to me, I might add. Let Thanos destroy this petty planet in search of this gem, even if he found it what good does it do him?"
"Enough, Loki," Thor bellowed, "You will do as the All-Father has commanded." Loki shrugged his shoulders dismissively, which Thor seemed to take as an agreement. He turned back to Fury, "I understand why you do not trust my brother's presence here. Shall we continue our discussion privately?"
"Certainly" Fury nodded, "Follow me. Agent Romanoff, you keep an eye on our honored guest." The sarcasm dripped from his voice as they left the room. Loki's grin grew wide as he chuckled slightly under his breath. "Eh heh heh heh, Alone at last." His voice almost a whisper as the door closed behind her comrades.
Their close proximity sent shivers through her body, as she silently cursed to herself trying to walk casually towards the counter to put some much needed distance between them. Why was he affecting her so, had he placed some sort of spell on her? She had not seemed to be able to keep him long from her thoughts since she had first encountered him all those months ago. He had gotten inside of her head somehow, in her dreams, no matter how hard she tried to rid herself of him. She had hoped that it would go away in time. Then this morning at precisely 10:45 it had hit her like a ton of bricks. An indescribable feeling that pulsed through her, he had returned and she could feel him, almost pinpoint in which direction he had arrived, felt him moving closer. She thought perhaps she had lost her mind until she had received the call from Fury. Thor was at SHEILD headquarters and he had brought his brother with him. Her commander had been surprised at her lack of shock when hearing the news but she would never tell him the reason.
"You seem distracted, Agent Romanoff" there was a playfulness in his eyes and his smile had not dimmed. He was up to something she was sure. Toying with her, waiting for her to admit what he already must know. She wasn't going to play his games; she would not give him the satisfaction. There was no reason for her to carry on a conversation with this man, she would simply ignore him.
"I couldn't help but notice the look in your eyes when I entered the room, you seemed pleased to see me" he continued, crossing his arms around his chest as he leaned against the desk, never removing his gaze from hers.
"You're certifiable" she replied coolly.
"Am I?" he laughed again. He was insufferable and completely wrong, wasn't he? He may have been a constant in her thoughts but she was anything but happy about it. It wasn't as if she had missed him or anything.
"After what you did to agent Coulson, why would I ever want to be in the same room with you unless it was to watch you die?" she felt her anger rise as she spoke, thinking back to everything he had done in his attempt to rule the earth, she grasped onto it, stoked it, whatever this thing was that he placed in her mind she would not let him win.
"You're right, it doesn't really make any sense at all for you to want to be near me," his voice was softer now and his tone questioning as if he were thinking out loud as confused as she but then his gaze grew sharper, his voice firmer as he continued, "and yet I know that you do." He crossed the distance between them so fast that she barely had a chance to take a breath let alone register his movements. His features were like stone, a man possessed and filled with anger. He was only inches from her now, his height forcing her to look up into his eyes otherwise she would have been staring at his chest. She felt her pulse quicken and despised herself for her weakness around him.
"I hate you!" she spat out venomously.
His eyes narrowed, his lips sneered, the anger in his face was palpable as his words came out slow and methodical "I hate you more" Almost as suddenly a change took place in his eyes, a softness returned to his features as he took a curl of her hair gently in his hand; rubbing it between his fingers. She wasn't sure what happened next, who had kissed who, the world seemed to stand still as she felt his lips move over hers. She felt a tingle run down her spine as his arms wrapped around her pulling her closer to him, her hands pressed against his chest. She could feel the hard lean muscles under the fabric of his shirt, he was strong, the feel of him seductive to her senses, she felt a giddy light headed feeling overtaking her body. It was as if she were drowning in him, she forced herself back to the reality of precisely who it was that she was kissing so passionately. She pushed him away from her, her breathing labored; she could feel the flushness in her face, if the others were to walk back in the room now, what would they think? She noticed him take a slight step towards her as if to pick up where they had left off and she pulled back her right arm with all of the remaining strength she could muster and punched him across the face. The force behind her swing knocked him off balance slightly, he brought his hand to his chin and felt the blood against the corner of his mouth as he smiled, "It is a little late for that, don't you think?" his voice like velvet as he examined the blood on his finger.
"What is going on here?" She nearly jumped at the sound of Thor's voice; it took all of her training as a spy to keep her outward façade of calm. What had they seen? How long had they been in the room?
"Agent Romanoff, was simply expressing to me her great dis-," he paused slightly over the word as he emphasized the second syllable with a wry smile directed toward her "PLEASURE in my company".
"Enough of these childish games, brother, we have a world to protect." Thor and the others began discussing their plans on how to locate this crystal and what to do when Thanos inevitably arrived. But her mind raced, she tried hard not to look in his direction but she could feel his eyes on hers. He had been right after all; it was a little late to feign indifference to him, much less hatred. But there must be some way to rid herself of these unwanted feelings, so while the rest of her team proposed ways to keep this newest threat to Earth at bay, she prayed silently for a way to free her soul from the snare that she had found herself. This too shall pass; she thought hopefully, this too shall pass.