Natasha continued to think about his words as she boarded the jet back to Moscow. For weeks, she thought about Loki and their amazing night together. She tried not to feel anything for him, but, at night, she couldn't stop thinking about him.
It was almost two months before they sent her on another mission to plant a bomb in an embassy in Lagos.
She had just finished her work and was busy fleeing the scene when she rounded the corner and almost walked right into Loki's solid chest.
Loki grinned wickedly as his dark green eyes fell on the beautiful woman in front of him. He had been thinking of her nearly nonstop since their night together. "You are always in such a rush, darling, I'm sure you can spare a couple of minutes for me."
Natasha jumped back in surprise, but recovered quickly. She looked around before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him down an alley, "Oh my god…What are you doing here? How did you find me? We're in real danger here…I can't tell you specifics—-" Natasha was cut off by the sound of a nearby explosion.
"…it might have something to do with that…" she said evenly as the sounds of sirens began quickly drawing closer. "I'm about to have a lot of people on my ass, and I don't think you want to stick around for that…"
"I don't think you have to worry about that," Loki smiled as he looped his fingers around one of her long lush curls. "Not as long as your with me anyway. I want to get you to a bedroom as soon as possible so when is this little business of yours going to be over?"
Natasha's eyes widened as she simultaneously pushed him out of her way and against the wall while she snatched her gun out of the inside of her jacket and fired two shots down the alley, easily killing both of the men who were approaching, weapons drawn.
She rushed to the end of the alley with her gun still raised as she checked the pulses of her would-be assailants. They were dead. After quickly glancing around the corner, she turned back to Loki, "today's a pretty busy work day…but the bedroom sounds tempting."
Loki stared at her with a prideful gleam in his eyes. He liked the fact that she thought to protect him. Even if it wasn't really needed. She was quite something. He had a feeling she would rival lady Sif in combat. "Are there more of them or can we go now?"
Natasha sighed and put her gun in her holster as she turned back to look at him, "We have to move…"
She walked fast, but he didn't seem to have any trouble following her. As tall as he was, one of his strides equaled out to three of hers. They made it to a more high end part of town and checked in under a false name. Once they were in the hotel room, she put her hands on her hips, "…either you're working with someone or you're following me….which is it? There's no way you can convince me that it's coincident that we ran into each other in two completely different cities that were halfway across the world…"
"Well, of course, it wasn't a coincidence, darling," Loki smiled as he strutted toward her swiftly and fisted his hand in her long, red locks as he pulled her in for a heated kiss. "I told you that I would come to you, remember, there was no way I wasn't going to see you again, Natalia. You have no idea how bored I was during your absence." He crushed his lips back to hers as he lifted her up in his arms before tossing her onto the bed with a devilish grin.
Natasha stared up at him as he approached her. Both of them had a predatory gleam in their eyes…they were ready to tear each other apart. The Black Widow shrugged out of her jacket and slipped off her boots before popping open the button on her jeans.
"This has gotta be the craziest thing…I'm getting stalked across the world by a man just so he can fuck me…and we don't even know each other's last names…"
Loki laughed softly at her words as he quickly rid himself of his clothes. He half wished that he could tell her who he really was just so he didn't have to waste the time ridding himself of this mortal fabric by hand. He would have already been inside of her by now if he could use his magic in front of her. He crawled over her like a panther. "You're definitely worth a trip around the world, pet. I daresay, I'd even travel across the universe just to have you again." He gave her an impish grin as he eased himself inside of her, burying himself all the way as he claimed her mouth once more.
Natasha would have retorted with something witty, but feeling him enter her stole her breath away. She gasped and shut her eyes as she threw her hands up, taking a hold of the metal railing of the headboard as she returned his heated kiss. As he began driving into her, her hips rose to meet every thrust, willing him to penetrate her deeper as she panted and gasped against his mouth while their tongues played against each other.
"Oh…god…Loki…" she whimpered helplessly. She was lost within him right now…that sort of thing never happened.
It was no surprise really. It was like this during their first time together. She'd never experienced total euphoria until him. It was like he fit her perfectly, and now, he felt even better than she remembered.
Loki collapsed against her, keeping the bulk of his weight on his forearms as buried his face in her luscious red curls. His breathing labored as they came down from their climax. He didn't want to move, staying inside of her as he lavished her neck with suckling kisses. "I think you're a goddess whose bewitched me," he jested as he moved his lips along her skin. "Two months is far too long, my pet. It can't be that long ever again."
Natasha moaned softly, enjoying the way his lips continued to move against her skin as she felt him softly twitch inside of her. She'd be ready to go again in mere seconds if he kept this up…
She smiled lazily as she gently scraped her fingernails up and down his skin, "I don't have control over that…neither of us do..although I'm starting to believe that you have more information about my future whereabouts than you let on…"
Natasha gasped as she felt him pump into her gently, "Who are you…really?"
Loki ignored her question as he felt himself come alive inside of her all over again. He shouldn't be ready again so soon but this woman was like an aphrodisiac. He couldn't get enough of her. After he spent the next few hours reacquainting himself with her body, they lied there on the bed side by side as he played languidly with a curl of her hair. "You don't have to be suspicious of me, you know, my name really is Loki and I'm not involved in any kind of espionage or whatever you call the work that you do. I found you because I really like you. It was actually not as easy as I originally thought it would be but I've got the hang of it now."
Natasha sighed and allowed a smile to touch the edge of her lips as she stared at him. She closed her eyes slowly as she felt his fingers trace the outline of her spine. Every single one of his touches was so delicious and sweet…she wasn't used to this.
"You shouldn't like me, Loki…I may look like a regular woman…but I'm nothing but a machine…a killer. I don't have the ability to feel…I'm hollow…"
"Well now, I know that's a lie," Loki whispered as he pressed a kiss against her shoulder before leaning in to kiss her lips. "You are anything but hollow… I've felt you, Natalia… I feel you now."
Natasha gazed into his eyes and whispered, "What do you feel in me?"
"Passion and affection… you have a very warm heart and a fire in your belly," Loki caressed her cheek softly, his thumb running along her bottom lip as he stared into her dark blue eyes. "Darling, you aren't hollow. You are filled with emotions, you just not use to letting them out but you have no choice when you're with me."
Natasha stared at him and slowly moved to her back as she looked up at the ceiling.
"Being with me could get you killed. The people I work for are very…possessive of their assets…and in their most valuable one. Anyone who takes an interest in me is eliminated because they're afraid they'll tempt me away from this lifestyle…so they destroy everything and anything I could ever hold dear…that's why I never hold anything dear. I can't afford to."
She slowly sat up, "I have to go."
"It doesn't sound like you work for them. It sounds like you're a slave to them," Loki remarked as he watched her get out of bed and begin to redress. Another tedious part of living like a mortal. He would have to follow suit. He was used to calling his clothes to him in an instant. "I mean is it even what you want? Because if you don't want to then you shouldn't go back." He pulled on his pants as he reached for his shirt before walking toward her and placing her face in his hands. "You needn't fear for me. This pitiful organization of yours can't hurt me."
Natasha laughed humorlessly, "It's not like I work as a waitress at the Red Lobster….even if I wanted to, I couldn't just quit. That's not how they work. If I no longer work for them, I'm a threat…a threat that needs to be eliminated."
She pulled on her jacket, "Either way, I'm dead."
"They will be dead before you. I promise you that," Loki stated coldly. He needed to find out more about this organization of hers. It hadn't been as easy to locate her again as he had thought. He had known of a locating spell that he could cast from a strand of her hair but making it work had taken time to perfect. If he had Heimdall's sight he could find out all the answers that he wanted but unfortunately he needed her cooperation. "I want you to tell me about these people you work for."
Natasha slowly shook her head, "I'm sorry. I can't do that. I don't even really know who you are. I don't even know your last name…and you still haven't told me how you found me in Lagos. For all I know, you're trying to gather intel before you kill me."
"My last name is Odinson," Loki answered as his dark green eyes observed her carefully. "Do you really think that I would kill you? Natalia, I wouldn't hurt you.. I want to help you."
Natasha sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed, "No personal offense meant. This line of business kind of teaches you not to trust…in fact, one of the main guidelines is to never trust a soul…not even your own. Which may account for why I don't have one."
"You can trust me, Natalia," Loki promised sincerely as he knelt down in front of her and placed his hand along her knee. "You will always be able to trust me. If you won't tell me about them than I will find out about them on my own. You should be free to do whatever you want and I'm going to make sure that you are."
Before she could stop herself, she began telling him everything. She told him about the Red Room…about all of the horrendous things she'd done, how they recruited her as a child and forced her to take the super serum.
By the time it was all said and done, she had lost track of time. She didn't know why she felt inclined to reveal everything to him. She'd put herself…and him in grave danger by doing so.
Natasha glanced at the clock and shoot to her feet, "Oh god…I'm late to the rendezvous point. If I don't show up, they'll send a team after me."
"You are not going to any rendezvous point." Loki ordered forcefully as took hold of her arm to stop her from leaving. "You're done with them. I'm sorry, Natalia, no child should have to go through what you did. I told you that I was going to take care of you and I will." This piddling team she was referring to would be taken care of in a heartbeat. Their little weapons were no match for his powers.
"I don't need to be taken care of, Loki…and trust me…you don't want any part of my life. I'm not this wonderful, romantic woman that most men want. I'm sex. That's it. That's what you want from me and that's all I can offer. This body was made to draw men in…to entrap them. Don't let yourself get pulled into the same trick. I'm not worth the trouble", she said, snatching out of his grasp.
"I have to go", she said continuing toward the door.
Loki moved in front of her and blocked the door as his dark green eyes narrowed in growing irritation. "You're just spouting what they've told you. What they've spent year's making you believe. By the nines, you were taken as a little child. But it's not true. It's not. When you and I are together we have a connection. It's not just mindless sex. You come alive when you're with me and I know you feel it. You're just afraid of it."
Natasha's eyes narrowed in response as she took a step back. He was bigger than her, but she could take him down if need be. She went against targets twice her size all of the time.
She clenched her fists at her side, "You don't even know me. You don't know what I'm capable of…"
"I'm fairly certain I know what you're capable of," Loki drawled as he leaned back against the door. "I've seen you in action. Are you sizing me up, Natalia. Do you think you can get passed me? I assure you that you can't. But why would you even want to? Do you really want that life? Is that what you really want? I don't think so. I think you want what you have right here when you're with me."
Natasha was confused. She wasn't used to feeling conflicted or dealing with her emotions. She didn't "want" anything…did she?
She shook her head and moved toward the window, "We don't know each other! We've fucked twice! I don't mean anything to you and you don't mean anything to me! There's no point in turning our worlds upside down. It's just good sex."
"Darling, I wouldn't be standing here if you didn't mean anything to me," Loki revealed honestly as he moved towards her, taking her face in his hands. "Look in my eyes, Natalia. Does it look to you like I only came here because you're a good fuck as you like to put it? You have no idea how far I came to see you. To see YOU not just to have my way with your body. I like your spirit… I like the way you talk… I like everything about you."
Natasha shifted uncomfortably as she tried to look away, but his hold on her face was unrelenting. Her eyes began filling with tears as she shook her head, then forced herself to meet his gaze. She began to feel an unfamiliar stirring in the empty space where her soul used to be and almost panicked.
"…Loki…they'll come for me…they'll—"
An explosion suddenly blew the door inward, knocking them apart and sending her smashing into a wall before she crumpled to the floor.
Loki conjured a dagger into his palm in repeated succession as he whipped them straight into the throat of three of the men that stormed into the room. The fourth man was not nearly as lucky as he aimed his weapon at Natasha who was still knocked out on the floor. He casted a shield in front of her, blocking the bullets from their target as he stormed forward and ripped the weapon out of his hands before slamming a dagger into his gut. Pushing it upward as the man moaned in agony. "Do you know how long it takes a mortal to bleed to death?" the young god seethed with venom. "I've read it's a very painful way to go." He dropped him and let him fall to the floor as he turned to check on her. Her dark blue eyes staring up at him from her place on the floor.
Natasha couldn't believe what she'd just seen. It was as if the daggers appeared out of thin air…he was highly trained and fast. Impossibly fast. She'd heard of mutants and super soldiers…but something told her he was neither. He'd protected her with some sort of force field and it honestly looked like magic to her. Then, she remembered his name.
Loki…the Norse God of Mischief and Lies…no. It couldn't be….could it?
Natasha felt a shooting pain in her ankle and cringed as she struggled to her feet. She knew that her ankle was likely sprained…or broken. Either way, she couldn't walk on it.
She stared up at him, "Who are you…really?"
"I already told you who I am," the young god replied as he reached for her arm to help her stand. "I'm Loki… Loki Odinson…you're hurt." He sighed slightly as he realized that it was time to explain exactly who he was. If the All-Father ever found out that he had revealed himself to a Midgardian he would be extremely displeased. Even more angry than he would be if he discovered he had been visiting this planet against his express orders to the contrary.
"I am second Prince of the throne of Asgard. It is another realm quite far from here. We should leave here, Natalia, you're injured. I'm going to take you to a place that I stay at sometimes. It's going to feel strange for a minute but it will be over before it has even started." Without waiting for her response he cast his spell and brought her to a small apartment in Paris where he liked to come sometimes.
The room was littered with paintings that he had done and the canvas currently on the easel was unfinished. His sketchbook was lying on the marble coffee table with his pencils and charcoal sprawled out around it. "Here let me help you to the couch."
Natasha was panicking. When he transported her, she was stunned in to silence and just sat there in shock. She didn't even realize she was shaking until she noticed the tremor in her voice when she spoke, "You're not…you're not human? That's…it's not possible. You're actually…the god of mischief? No…how…?"
"No, I'm not human… I'm an Aesir. My father is the All-Father, the ruler of all the nine realms." Loki could see that she was trembling as she sat along the sofa. He hated the thought that she might be afraid of him. "There is nothing to be scared of Natalia." He reached out toward her and grasped a curl of her hair as he sat down at her side.
"I'm not scared, I'm freaking out! Three minutes ago, I'm in an African hotel room with a guy who'd apparently followed me to two cities across the world just to bed me and now he's saved my life with, what looked to be, magic and we traveled to an entire other continent in the blink of an eye! I'm sorry if I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this!" she panted as she pulled her boot off to survey the damage to her ankle. It was already swelling.
"Shit…look, I'm grateful for you saving my life but…I…I'm still a little confused. If you don't live here…or you don't belong in this realm, what is it that you want from me?" Natasha paused and shook her head, "I guess the fact that you're a god shouldn't be at hard to believe…that was the best sex of my life."
"The best in your life," Loki grinned impishly. "You know how to give a compliment, Natalia. I already told you what I want. Where I come from doesn't change that." He moved his hand to caress her cheek as her turned her head slightly to face him before leaning in to kiss her.
Natasha returned the kiss, but ended it quickly thanks to the throbbing in her ankle, "I need to have this looked at…it might be broken…"
She looked at him and shook her head, "You actually went clear about what you wanted from me. I'm The Black Widow, Loki…I don't know about relationships. I was made to kill. I know seduction, espionage, assassination and five advanced forms of martial arts…I don't know the first thing about relationships or…being with someone after I've had sex with them…I'm pre-programmed. I can't give you any more than amazing sex…"
"The Black Widow? You mean the spider? Should I be afraid you're going to bite my head off the next time we are intimate… Eh heh heh heh… you keep reciting the same stuff to me over and over," Loki mused as he stared down at her swollen ankle. "No matter how many times you repeat it to me won't make it true." He was going to have to take her to the hospital. If it was broken she would need a cast.
Natasha sighed, "The Black Widow is my code name…the deadliest of my program…they only give it to the most brutal of operatives…I wore it like a badge of honor for a long time…now…"
She shook her head, "We should go to an urgent care or something…"
Loki grasped her hand and cast an enchantment taking her to the side alley of the Paris hospital. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the front entrance of the ER. After she gave them her fake information, they wheeled her into the examining room and Loki followed. The nurse advised them that the doctor would be with them shortly before she left them alone. "What are you thinking, darling?"
She shook her head and let out a slow breath, "I dunno…I mean…you want…me. Like all of me…not just to pop in and fuck me…you want…everything. I'm just trying to digest that. I'm a loner…but I guess now, I need you. The Red Room will be after me with a vengeance now."
Natasha ended up having to communicate with the medical staff in French. They informed her that it wasn't a break, just a "nasty sprain". They wrapped her foot, then gave her some useless pain meds.
Within a couple of hours, they returned to his apartment.
Loki helped settle her against the couch and conjured her something to eat. His dark green eyes observing her closely. "Is there anything else that I can get for you? You are safe from the Red Room here. And I won't go anywhere until you are completely healed, I promise to keep you safe, Natalia." His mother might begin to worry if he was gone from Asgard for too long but it couldn't be helped. He was well hidden from Heimdall, he would just have to come up with a good story when he finally returned.
Natasha shook her head and sat back as she nibbled on the sandwich he conjured for her. She couldn't even begin to appropriately wrap her head around the information he'd given her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, "I'm not used to being taken care of…"
"Well, you're going to have to get used to it, I think," Loki smiled as he sat down on the arm of the couch and ran his fingers along her curls. "You're not alone anymore, Natalia."
Natasha looked up at him, "I have no idea what you see in me…you're a god. You could have a goddess, or any other woman in this entire, crummy world. But no…you pick the most fucked up, emotionally scarred woman you can find…"
She sighed and looked down at her hands, "How do you know it's not just the sex you fell for? I was trained to be that good…I'm trained to make men think that they're falling for me…to be appealing in every way. How do you…well, how do I know that this is real?"
"How do I know? Because I feel it. I feel connected to you… something just clicked when I met you… I think you felt it, too," Loki divulged from his place at her side. "I know that after everything you've gone through that it is hard for you to trust it. You may be a deadly little spider but I'm not exactly easy to kill. You asked me what I want from you. I want you to be happy. I want you to have the life that was stolen from you. The freedom to do what you want. Whatever it might be. And I want you to be mine. I want you to be my little spider."
