Loki had been coming back to the tower with Thor just about every time the Asgardian had gotten back from spending time off planet. It was all part of Odin's plan to try and rehabilitate the fallen prince, and while the rest of the Avengers were (incredibly) skeptical about it Thor assured them that his brother would be no trouble. His fate on Asgard would be much worse if he was, Thor had said, his eyes looking back to his brother, who scowled and turned his gaze downward.

"I promise not to try and take over the city, or bring an alien race to Earth. . . or toss you out of your own building."

Stark snorted. "Whatever you say, Voldemort. You couldn't throw me out of his glass if you tried. That doesn't mean you can!" He backtracked rapidly, his eyes widening as Loki's lips curled into a smirk.

From the island in the kitchen Natasha watched, quiet, blue eyes taking everything in. At her side Clint had softly disappeared, likely climbing his way through the air ducts to get to Coulson. He'd be extra protective of the Agent whenever Loki was around, Natasha could already guess. No way were they going to take chances with him dying again; they'd been lucky enough to get him back a second time. Coulson was good, but a second miraculous escape from death? That was pushing it, even for the legendary agent. Steve was just as skeptical as Tony, though he didn't voice it, and Bruce just started laughing. Tony had shared the video of what the Hulk had done to Loki the first time they'd met, and it was likely that Bruce knew he had nothing to fear. Loki shirked away from the man's laugh as though it was physically painful, flinching. That made Tony smirk, and he crossed closer to the scientist to clap him on the back.

"Yeah, don't make us sic our well behaved scientist on you. You won't like him when he's angry." He waggled his eyebrows, and the rest of the group shared in a titter of laughter at Loki's expense. The god's expression darkened, unused to being the butt of the jokes likely, but his eyes moved away from the other men to seek out Natasha's gaze. His expression shifted from that of offended to curious. She hadn't said a word, and he called her out on her silence. "Have you nothing to say to me, little spider?"

"Why would I try and humiliate you further when I've already beaten you twice?" She asked, her voice quiet as she slipped off of her bar stool. With silent feet she padded up to him, hating that she had to look up at him as she murmured, just loud enough for them to hear: "I would hate to embarrass you further in front of these gentlemen by kicking your ass a second time, so just save me the hassle and be a good boy, won't you?" Her red lips mirrored his earlier, cocky smirk as she stood on her tiptoes to press her lips against his cheek before sauntering off. Silence followed her words and she could feel every pair of eyes on her as she left. Before she made it to the elevator she could hear Loki curse as he tried to wipe her lipstick off of his cheek, muttering about how it wouldn't come off. Once the elevator doors closed and she was three floors above she started laughing.

She suppose that, if she wanted to be technical, that was where it all had started between them. Since she'd pressed her lips against his cold, pale skin he hardly left her alone, seeking her attention out above all others. She could hardly get away from him, even when he pretended not to be there. Odin had taken away many of Loki's powers, including his ability to clone himself or turn himself invisible, but the god hardly needed his magic to go unseen if he wished. He was nearly as adept at hiding as Natasha and Clint were, though he didn't take into account that trying to sneak up on one of the best assassins was generally not a good idea. More than once she found him in the air vent above her bed, an old favorite spot of Clint's whenever he was worried for her but didn't want to show it, and she rolled her eyes as she would call out to him to show himself.

"You're terrible at this," she muttered when he'd jumped down to the floor without so much as a grunt of effort. Bastard.

"I do not know what you mean. I was simply traveling-."

"Shut it, silver-tongue." She was tired, and when she got tired she had a habit of resorting to name calling. The nomenclature made him go silent as she wished, his eyes curious as they stared at her.

"You are tired."

"Yes. Astute observation, now leave because I need to sleep."

"When was the last time you had a bed mate? You look very tense."

Oh, were they suddenly good enough friends to talk about this? "That's none of your damn business. Now, I asked you to leave. Don't force me to kick you out."

He'd left without much of another word until he got to the door. "If you decide to change your streak of celibacy I would be more than happy to assist you." His eyes searched hers, expression molding until it shone with mischief. "You already know my other name and I would be more than happy to show you how I earned it."

Natasha's eyes grew hard as she glared at him, then to the door, then to him again. He shrugged and left, allowing her to slam and lock the door behind him. Not that it would really do her any good-he was a god after all, powers or not-but it made her feel better, she supposed.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" He asked one night, coming out of the shadows of the dark kitchen. A month had gone by since Nat had outright caught Loki above her bed, though he'd stopped doing it shortly after that. Now he sought to interrupt her late (very late) dinner, breaking the silence that only fell when everyone was either asleep or working in the lab. Except Loki, of course.

She turned to him, one eyebrow raised, as she finished chewing. "What reason do I have to be afraid of you?"

"I nearly destroyed your world, took your partner hostage, and more than that I threatened you personally with what you fear most. How are you not affected by that at all?"

If she hadn't been so well trained she might have snorted. He honestly thought that was enough to be afraid of him? "Because you were nothing but a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum. Now you're just in time-out, and honestly, you may have been ill-advised enough to have thought taking over the world would be easy but you are not an idiot. You know better than to come after me, or any of the others."

There was more silence as he weighed her judgement, and as soon as he'd come he'd disappeared again, footsteps as silent as Natasha's were. She watched the door close behind him and shrugged. Huh, weird.

He stopped hiding after that, and for the most part left her alone. She had a feeling she knew what he was doing: by removing himself from the situation she would wonder why, and the constant time spent thinking of him would bring her back to his proposal. He was good, she'd give him that, and couldn't help but wonder how many times he'd done it to women before. No, she didn't need to know that, didn't want to. She wasn't going to start pining after him like some love-struck teenager, and she certainly wasn't about to try and 'change' him because he was Loki, and she understood from the get go that he only ever did what he wanted. Nothing more, nothing less. If he wanted her, though, for whatever the reason, she was going to make him work for it.

It took two months for him to eventually come up to her again, fed up with waiting, and ask her if she'd thought about his proposal.

"Mm?" she asked, looking up from her book. He'd sat himself down beside her, sitting on the other end of the couch. The room was entirely deserted, the other guys having gone out to a bar that Natasha had no desire to go to, and they trusted her well enough to babysit the homicidal maniac beside her. There was no way that Loki would be stupid enough to try and harm Natasha, no matter if he still resented her for foiling his plans. No, he would try and exact his revenge in a different way, and this was all part of his plan.

Well, maybe wanting it more badly than she did wasn't.

"You know what I am talking about-do not play coy with me." Loki's eyes narrowed. "A simple yes or no answer will suffice, thank you."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"I've thought about it."

He let out a low growl of frustration. "And?"

"And what?"

"Little Spider, I could crush you beneath my boot if I so-."

"You won't." She set her book down after marking the page. Her eyes sized him up, from his hands balled into fists at his sides to the slight tremor that rippled through his shoulders. He was doing his best to hide it, but it must have been some time since he had a-what did he call it? A bed fellow?-of his own if he was getting this desperate. "Because you want this more than I do, but I don't see why I should give it to you."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You think too highly of yourself, Widow."

"Then go fuck another girl."

The challenge had been presented, and even as he sat there opposite her, glaring for all it was worth, she knew he wouldn't move. The knowledge made her stomach do flips the same way it had on the hellicarrier when he'd betrayed his plan to her. Hah. Three times, indeed.

"Natasha." He tried for a pleasant voice now, and it made her laugh.

"Oh, are we on a first name basis now? Lucky me." She was practically bursting with glee, though she contained it as much as she could. Now wasn't the time to lose her head. If she played it just right he should crack in three, two.

The couch shifted as he moved. His desire had apparently won out over his pride as he brought himself to crouch in front of her. But not kneel. She doubted he would ever kneel without being told to, and she intended on telling him to one of these days. "Lady Romanov."

"No, please stick with Natasha. You were doing much better that way." And she was thoroughly enjoying jerking him around. He took it all into stride as he reached for one of her hands. She let him take it, curiosity winning out over her skepticism as he pressed his lips to the back of it. "You asked me why you should take me to your bed; simply because I am the most skilled, and will make you the happiest. I swear it to you."

"Really? Better than Thor?" She couldn't resist winding him up, but he didn't take the bait.

"If you require I can provide, I believe they are called character references for you to decide for yourself, but of the, ah, feedback I have received in the years tells me yes."

Oh. Well that was a different matter entirely, then. She pulled her hand away from his grip, staring down at him as she forced her face to go blank. She had to play this very carefully if she was going to do what she wanted to. There was no way in this world or the next she'd ever let him gain the upper hand. Slowly, she leaned forward, giving him an ample view of her cleavage as she leaned closer to whisper in his ear, her lips pressed against his skin: "I want you on your knees for this. We do as I say, or we don't do this at all. Understood?"

There was a low hiss as the air left his lungs through his clenched teeth. She knew that would get him angry, but now the matter was in his hands. Just how badly did he want it?

She didn't have to wait long to answer as he shifted onto his knees in front of her, his eyes staring up into hers with a mixture of loathing and intrigue. Good, just how she wanted him.

Her fingers moved slowly down her hips, skimming the waist of her pants before she unbuttoned, unzipped, and shimmied out of her jeans. His gaze was reverent as he watched her expose inch after creamy inch of her skin, and by the end of it he was licking his lips as he stared at her. God was she glad she decided to go commando for the day. Without so much as a prompt he settled himself between her legs, pulled her hips forward to allow himself a better grip on her hips, and went to town.

Well, she couldn't say he hadn't earned his name.

She was screaming-actually screaming, not pretending or anything, by the second time he brought her to her climax. Her legs were holding him closer, wrapped around him like a vice, and though he had initially paused (because oh did he know how she could kill a man with those thighs) he adapted and continued licking, sucking, and nipping lightly at her most sensitive parts, as though he had written the manual on eating a girl out.

Hell, he might have for all she knew.

She pushed him away after the second orgasm left her breathless, kicking him away from her so he tumbled backwards more out of shock than having lost his balance. She grinned as she took in his own glazed look, before she slipped down onto the floor. With shaky hands-damn him-she removed her top and bra, and laid down bare on the carpet. When he hadn't moved, eyes transfixed on her body, she rolled her eyes.

"Do you need me to hold your hand through this?" she asked, sarcastic and irritated that he hadn't gotten the message. There she was, ready to go, and he was wasting her time oogling her? Priorities!

He made up for the lost time, however, practically tripping over himself in his haste to remove his clothing and get to her at the same time. As he aligned their hips, however, she stopped him, one hand on his chest as she stared up at him.

"This is about me, not about you. If you don't make this worth my while, I swear to . . . well, God, or your dad, or whoever that I will leave you whether or not you or I have finished. Understood?"

His vigorous nod was enough, and she removed her hand from his chest to grab his hair and pull him down into a kiss. While their lips were locked he pressed into her, making her breath catch in her throat, stars popping just behind her vision. Oh. Wow. She expected something like that from Thor, or even Steve but, really Loki? She had to tell him to stop for a moment, her voice hoarse, as she willed her body to adjust to his size. As promised he stopped and didn't move a muscle, though Natasha had to shut her eyes to keep from seeing that damn self-satisfied smirk on his lips.

"Shut up," she growled.

"I didn't say a thing."

He didn't have to, but he only started pushing slowly into her when she gave him the go ahead, pausing once more when he was fully seated in her. She could barely stop the keen from leaving her throat, and judging by how his face was screwed up in concentration it was taking everything he was to keep from making this about him. Good boy. She purred the complement into his ear after telling him to start back up again, and though he gnashed his teeth hard together at it he didn't let his performance falter at all. In no time she was screaming, as she'd demanded, and Loki wasn't far behind her after she'd finished for what felt like the hundredth time (though in reality it had to have only been the fourth, maybe the fifth. Damn him for being good.) He'd brought his hand between their bodies, thumb worrying away at her clit as he'd pushed himself faster and faster into her, before she came for the last time, sinking her teeth into his throat. That had been, apparently, all he needed, and while she tightened around him he cried out and came as well, his hands literally pulling up carpet as his hands clenched the floor.

Neither moved for some time, struggling to catch their breath in the heavy silence that had fallen between them. His throat was bleeding where Nat had bitten him, but neither made notice of it as he pulled himself from her. She whined, then her eyes widened, horrified at the noise she'd just made. Damn him!

He made no other note of it than with a grin, and she rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she muttered. This time he knew better than to snark back, gathering her clothes to give back to her before doing the same for himself. Neither spoke as Natasha took her place back on the couch and opened her book once more, Loki taking his place on the other side, his eyes staring out at the carpet.

It became a weekly habit for them to meet like that. Always it was Loki who came to Natasha, and it very nearly always followed the same pattern. He would put up a bit of a struggle, see how far he could push her, and eventually gave in to doing what she wanted as they both knew he would. Sometimes he would stay afterwards, and other times she would kick him out of bed because hey, he turned into quite the blanket hog and she needed her rest more than he did. But always after they'd finished she would grin over at him, thrilled to know that not only would the Avengers have her back no matter what, but hey, another god would, too. What more could a girl want than that?

A/N: Characters don't belong to me! They belong to Marvel, I just like to play around with them. The title of the chapter comes from the song of the same name by Ludo. Thanks for reading!