It had been almost a year since the incident with Loki and Natasha was happy. She had battled back the fears he had placed in her mind and her missions were always successful. Clint and her had tried to be together but it didn't end well. The memory flashed past, causing a stroke of guilt to tease the edge of her mind.
"Clint, how the hell could you even suggest that!" Natasha yelled, face stricken with grief and hate, an odd and very volatile mix. "I am not going to stop doing my job just because I got hurt on our last mission! That isn't even plausible!"
Clint was growing impatient, his own anger boiling up inside him even as he tried to keep it down. "Natasha, you got stabbed in the chest. You could have died! I am not going to lose you just because I was too careless and irresponsible to look out for your safety! If you don't stop with the missions, I won't be able to protect you."
Ok, that one hurt. Natasha grit her teeth, hands clenched into fists around the long sleeves of her black sweater. The fight had broken out at their shared apartment so she was only dressed casually in said sweater and plain jeans. "You won't be able to protect me anyways. We're through! I am not dealing with your idiotic ideas any longer!" She grabbed her purse, throwing a few things in that were important. "I will call the movers tomorrow, they will pick my stuff up by Thursday, 3 days from now." Before Clint could even respond, she was gone, slamming the door behind her.
Natasha sighed softly and looked out the large windows of her living room. Well, Stark's living room. She had been forced to resort asking for help from Pepper and Tony who allowed her to stay on one of the guest floors, just until she got everything settled and found a new apartment. Pepper had offered to talk but she had refused. That was three weeks ago and everything seemed normal. Well, sort of normal. Outside, a huge thunderstorm was brewing, though no rain came down. It caused her to wonder if Thor was coming once again for a monthly visit or to give them updates on different things about Asgard.
Barely ten minutes later, those minutes being spent organizing some of the things she had brought to the tower, a loud thud would resound on the roof. Luckily she had her gear on still as she had come back from a mission barely an hour ago, therefore it was easy to go up to the roof, standing at the door as the God of Thunder strode forward, wearing a grim expression.
"Call a meeting with everyone." Is the only greeting she receives, a slim eyebrow being lifted at his mood. Thor was rarely angry or sad let alone furious, and furious he was. There were sparks practically crackling from Mjolnir and Thor's face was dark, actually dark, as if storm clouds did hover over him even in the building. A touch of the button on her earpiece and a quick murmured call for the meeting and minutes later, everyone was in one of the large conference rooms. Tony sat lounging in one of the chairs, Bruce beside him and fidgeting nervously. Thor was pacing the length of the room and Steve was leaning against the wall, watching the god with a concerned expression. Clint stayed to one corner, the exact opposite from Natasha, glares being passed between them often. After countless runs of pacing, Natasha finally stood up more and asked, "Thor, what is wrong? Has something happened on Asgard that we must know about?" He finally stopped, hand gripping Mjolnir even tighter before looking up, still wearing that grim expression.
"Loki has escaped from his cell and disappeared. We know not where and we have no way to find him either. My father, as well as I, fear he shall come back to Midgard. He may have new plans to destroy this realm, or at least you, my friends. You must stay on guard at all times." Now everyone looked uneasy, especially Clint, though Natasha would never admit to noticing that. Steve looked slightly confused though, a change of expression from everyone else's.
"Thor, you sound like you are not going to be here to help if he attacks." That got every single person's attention and Thor smiled grimly.
"You are correct, Captain. My father wishes for all Asgardians to be at the palace just in case. Loki could do anything or go anywhere. If he so choose, he could attack Asgard and my father wishes not to risk anything. He allowed me to warn you and we should all be thankful for this. I have faith in you all, should he attack and I will hopefully respond quickly. Farewell until then." Thor strode from the room and, moments later, a large crack would signal his departure. Everyone looked at each other before Tony finally spoke up with,
"Well, that just put a damper on my remodeling party. If anyone here actually cares, I'm going to go back to bed where I was so rudely dragged out of." Tony then proceeded to leave, very shortly followed by Banner. With a shake of his head, Clint leaves as well, leaving Steve and Natasha alone. Natasha looked more stressed out than usual now and Steve had easily picked up on it. He stood and walked to her side, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Natasha, he will be found. You have no reason to worry." Steve had become one of her closest friends over time and he was the only one she ever told her nightmares to as well as what Loki said.
"I'm not worrying, I will be fine." She gently brushed his hand off and left, trying to relax her motions. It was doubtful he would even come to Earth again but you never know. He was crazy and he knew their strengths as well as weaknesses. He could manage to bring something stronger together this time. She shivered at the thought and went as quickly as she could to her temporary living area. As soon as she entered though, she could tell something was different. Wrong. Her eyes scanned the darkness, the only light piercing it for the moment was the light of the moon and it made the sensation grow. Her fingers scaled the wall before finding the light and flicking it on..
Nothing. Everything was in place and nobody was there. Get a hold of yourself Natasha. She thought, sighing and rubbing her temples lightly. She crossed the room to the curtains, pulling them closed and watching them flutter gently with the breeze of her open windows. "I really need sleep.." She mutters to herself, stretching before striding to her bathroom and patting cold water on to her flushed cheeks. When had that happened? "Stupid nightmares.." She mutters again, glaring at her reflection for a moment before relaxing. She picked up a brush and ran it through her curls, mentally reassuring herself everything was ok. She still had that weird feeling of being watched or that something was wrong though…
Once she was finished in the washroom, she walked into her bedroom, turning on the lamp beside her bed, closing the drapes and windows and turning on the fan instead. She tugged the zipper of her suit down before shedding it, taking a moment to let the cool air being moved by the fan to brush gently against her practically naked body, her bra and panties the only thing keeping her clothed. Once she felt content with her temperature, she moved to the small closet holding her clothes, taking out a pair of pyjama shorts and top. She undid her bra and threw it into the laundry, underwear following. She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and smiled slightly, eyes raking over the smooth planes of her body, the pale unmarked skin save for the scar from the stabbing a month ago. She watched the swell of her breasts rise with each intake of breath, the muscles in her legs and ass contracting then relaxing with each weight change. She finally shook herself and got dressed, mentally rolling her eyes. Climbing into the bed, she pulled the covers over her body before turning the lights off, laying down and falling asleep within minutes.
Later on, close to around one in the morning, a cold breeze would run through the room, causing a shiver to run through the sleeping redhead, the covers being pulled closer. A tall, lithe figure watched her from the shadows, green eyes shining with delight and a slight curiosity. Loki stepped forward from the deeper shadows, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He moved forward to her side, watching for but a moment before bending down and brushing a curl off her cheek. She smiled gently and Loki grinned, watching for one more moment before whispering in her ear, his words weaving a spell. "I must go for a drive in the mountains tomorrow to do some jogging." He repeated this three times over, sure that the spell had taken place and stayed within her mind. He walked back into the shadows, disappearing as easily as he had come.