Chapter 4
There were certain types of people in the international community of espionage that were the lowest of the low. The structure of espionage was diplomacy and Thor knew this. He had had to engage many times in such diplomatic pursuits with his father in the other nine realms. Some were successful and some weren't. More often than not, Odin had asked him and Loki to step in and settle the score, to remind the natives why Asgard was the most powerful of the nine realms.
Midgard however didn't function the way the others did. They consisted of only one species, none of which seemed to possess more power than the other and which were constantly locked in a struggle. They didn't have anything that would make them particularly imposing to Asgard, but the whole espionage system consisted of posturing. They used excessive diplomacy and seemed very reluctant to engage in outright warfare privately, while their public opinions dictated otherwise.
Thor would be the first to admit that he didn't like to engage in warfare when there were other ways to solve problems. But he also understood that there were times when war was necessary to override the system.
Natalia seemed to understand that as well because when he saw her step from behind the potted plant into the light, he knew things were about to get ugly.
Some of the civilians were poking their heads out from under the tables and looking around to see if whether or not the coast was clear, the ones that were caught were dragged out on their hands and knees, shotgun barrels pointed at their heads and crying as they were screamed at in German.
Only about three of them managed to make their way to the blonde. He pushed the window open and gestured for them to hurry out quickly.
"Thank you sir, oh thank you so much," one of the older women whispered painfully. The blonde gave her a swift nod. "Get as far from this place as you can and contact the local authorities."
"You should know that this room is soundproof," one of the diplomats added as he slid halfway out the window. "We're connected to the hotel, but there are no rooms above us and underneath the wood, the doors are solid steel, I doubt that the sound of gunfire will emit too far and at this time of night, there won't be many people around."
Thor nodded his thanks for the information and left the window open a crack. He glanced back toward the ballroom where in the centre of the pillars, most of the civilians were still lying face down on the ground, hands behind their heads. Many were shaking and crying and he felt his blood boil. If things got ugly, like they most likely would, they would be the collateral damage and being responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen civilians wouldn't really sit well with his conscience.
"I see it really is true what they saw about Germans," said a voice with a sarcastic rasp and Thor saw Natasha step into the light to begin addressing Konrad. She shrugged as if completely calm.
"They really don't know how to use words. It's always the guns that speak for them. I would have thought evolution would be in your favor, but I guess I was wrong."
Konrad whirled about and came face to face with the beautiful red head. His expression was one of disbelief and then glee. He threw back his head and laughed.
"Well, well, well, I didn't think I would be seeing the Black Widow again for a very long time. I thought I would have frightened you into hiding after our last meeting."
Natasha snorted, "You don't scare me."
"Oh but you should be. Because there are twenty men in this room who answer to me, you are all alone, and as good as you are, there is no way you can dodge bullets."
"Suppose she doesn't have to."
Natasha nearly winced when Thor's deep voice sounded from the corner and the tall blonde stepped into the light. He stood at least a head taller than any of the men and he exuded a cool confidence that seemed to be infectious because some of the civilians began to look up at the sound of his voice.
For a moment Konrad looked almost uncertain. Then his smirk returned. "And who might you be? A passing vigilante with a deranged obsession for thrill seeking?"
Natasha locked eyes with the blonde for a brief moment and bit the inside of her mouth as he smirked. "Certainly not," he said. "I wouldn't have made myself known if I was certain that my partner and I could walk away."
Konrad raised an eyebrow, then he turned to the red head. "A partner? Do you recall what happened the last time you had a partner in this situation?"
He paused to let the memory sink in and Natasha locked her jaw. It was something she still blamed herself for. If she'd just been a little faster…..
"I took his head off," Konrad said gleefully, relishing in the memory as much as she abhorred it. Natasha snarled, the look on her face turning feral.
"The only head that will be taken off this time is yours," she said in a low growl. Thor glanced up and noticed the skylights above his head. They might prove useful should he need to make a call.
"This discourse grows tedious," Thor muttered. Konrad looked in his direction as if he had forgotten he was still there.
"Indeed, so let's make this more interesting. I get the beautiful red head and Dr. Kirkwood, I happen to think Stark Industries and the Red Room would pay a pretty price for your return." He glanced at his goons. "Take them."
And that was his first mistake. As soon as the German idiots started in their direction, Thor lifted his hand and a rumbling could be heard from outside. All eyes looked toward the ceiling and Natasha took that moment to start running. She ran to the German nearest her, wrapped her legs around his neck and by wrenching her knees just so, she broke his neck, jumped free and watching him fall to the ground like a rag doll.
Several loud screams caused her to look up and then there was a loud crash as if all the windows in the room had broken.
Which somehow they had. A white hot arc of lightning tore down through the broken skylight and struck the floor with the force of a title wave. Natasha had just enough time to see it coming and jumped high in the air so the concussion wouldn't rock her off of her feet.
When she came down again, the floor had been blackened from the force of the electrical heat and the walls were steaming. She wanted to ponder what had happened. Had it suddenly started raining when they were in the ballroom for the conference? And was that why the lightning had occurred as a stroke of incredible luck?
She didn't have time however, because she had men to take down. She had recovered faster and the fight that ensued after was dizzying.
Because of the lightning, most of the guns had been dropped and thrown to floor on opposite sides of the ballroom. Which gave her an advantage. She lost Thor in the fray but it didn't really matter.
Natasha dashed for the first man and used his height as a ladder to scramble up his back. Wrapping her legs about his neck, she gave a violent twist before jumping off and shoving him into the man that coming at her from the other side.
Once that was finished, she pulled the small circular tasers that were disguised as gems on her bracelets out and flung them at the two men about ten feet away from her. The weapons weren't very big but they contained powerful electric shocks that would render a grown man incapacitated, kind of like the overgrown imbeciles that Konrad had hired.
Sure enough the shocks worked and they both dropped like stones. Natasha snatched one of the switchblades off the fallen guards as she had left her gun in her clutch across the room with the handprint of Kirkwood.
She whirled about to deal with whoever was behind her and stopped short when she saw that it was Konrad.
He grinned today is the day I ensnare you in your own web my Black Widow," he leered and Natasha laughed at the cliché line.
"You know if you spent more time fighting then you did making up supervillain monologues, this fight would be over by now."
He drew his own knife as he had dropped his gun in the electrical storm and the two of them went at it hammer and tongs.
Natasha would later grudgingly admit that he was good. He was definitely trained well, and he was stronger than she was, but not by much. He did have the skill to back up his ridiculous monologues pre confrontation.
But at the moment, all she was focusing on was dodging his strikes. She was good, but so was he and after about five minutes, it became obvious that the two of them had reached a stalemate.
Natasha cursed mentally. They couldn't go on forever like this, she needed to end things and this time. She had to do it for her partner.
So she did something she hadn't done in a while. She slowed down.
And the moment she did so, she felt the harsh pick of steel plunge into the skin on her leg. She didn't cry out, just wasn't her nature. But her face must have shown a grimace because Konrad's eyes widened in triumph and he lowered his guard just long enough for her to do what she needed to do.
Take her own victory
Faster then she would have thought possible, Natasha spun on her uninjured leg and stabbed Konrad in the gut. His face went white from surprise and she shoved it in farther. The German gave a strangled gasp and fell to the floor.
His eyes were wide and his hands clutched at the knife in his stomach in a futile attempt to pull it out. Natasha stood over him, ignoring the slowly growing pool of blood and the screams from the civilians around her.
When the fight ensued, they had seen the broken window and had gone running for the nearest exit. They had all seen their chance and taken it when the windows shattered. There was no one around except the fallen German guards, Thor Natasha and a rapidly dying Anton Konrad.
The ballroom floor was scorched and blackened from the blast of white hot lightning and Natasha absently saw that the hair on the back of her arms was burned. She glanced down at the man who had been at the top of her hit list for three years.
"That was for Nikolai, you son of a bitch," she whispered. His mouth opened and he tried to form words, but all she was able to catch before he stopped moving completely were the words: "I'm not the only one."
"Are you alright?" Thor asked as he came up beside her. She nodded and was about to turn to thank him when she saw something that made his blood run cold.
There was a wrist watch on Konrad's arm. She hadn't been paying attention to it before. But now the screen was staring her right in the face and she saw big red numbers.
Slowly counting down to zero…
"He's going to blow the place up," she whispered. There wasn't time for anything else. Thankfully the fight ended right by the potted plant so Natasha had a second to reach in and seize her clutch bearing Kirkwood's hand print.
And then the two of them hauled ass for the window. Natasha practically threw herself out and dropped lightly to the ground. The good news is that the parking lot behind the hotel wasn't very far away, the bad news was that she landed on her injured leg and let out a loud hiss.
There wasn't time for any conversation as no more than twenty seconds passed before the ballroom of the Hampton Hotel exploded.
Chunks of the building flew into the air and the two agents stopped in the back lot so they could witness the fireworks. Thankfully, they were far enough away and behind the hotel a few hundred yards back was an abandoned industrial complex.
As fire engulfed the Hampton Ballroom and screams from passing spectators could be heard, Thor turned to Natasha.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes and-" he broke off when he saw that she in fact wasn't. "You're bleeding. We should get someone to look at that."
Natasha shrugged off his concern. "It's only a flesh wound. Konrad and I had reached a stalemate. I knew in order to win, I would have to let him think that he won. He let his guard down and I was able to use it to my advantage."
She took a deep breath suddenly feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Nikolai is avenged."
Then she noticed that she wasn't the only one with a wound. Thor's left shoulder was bloody. But it wasn't the wound itself that drew her attention. It was the fact that his blood was the color of gold. It soaked through the sleeve of his white dress shirt and suit coat, drawing her attention like a magnet.
"You're wounded as well," she pointed out and he nodded absently. She looked away, hoping he hadn't notice she was staring.
Thor ran a hand threw his long pale hair. "Suppose we find a place to lay low for a while until the local authorities deal with the aftermath? We could both do with a rest."
As he said the words, the telltale sound of sirens filled the air. Natasha growled. "I detest police departments, they are so slow and never have the drop on any sort of crime. There are completely inefficient."
Thor gave a rough laugh. "Suppose you bemoan the inefficiency of law enforcement from wherever we lay low?"
"A good idea," Natasha said. She reached into her clutch, being careful to avoid the left side where the palm print was, and pulled out a cellular device. "Let me make a call."
Ω
About twenty minutes after Natasha made the call, a dark car pulled up in front of the industrial complex. It was far enough away that it would attract the attention of the police who had swarmed the Hampton like flies to honey.
Natasha limped toward the car and her partner followed. As soon as they were inside, the car took off for parts unknown.
The red head informed the blonde that the Red Room had many safe houses for their agents all over the world and Miami was just one of the cities.
The car drove along Miami Beach for about a mile until it pulled up in front of a beautiful beach front house marked private. It wasn't enormous, but it was in a secluded spot with a whole section of the beach to themselves and at this time of the night, there was no one there.
Natasha got out of the car and said a few words to the driver in Russian. Then the car turned and peeled off.
From this distance, they could see the bright lights of downtown Miami far off across the water. But where they were was utterly silent.
"What is this place?" Thor asked.
"We are in a part of Miami where the wealthy have their beach front houses. The next house is about two miles down the beach from here, and because it's November, it isn't likely that there is going to be a lot of people around. The bureau buys small secluded houses like these around the world and keeps them well stocked with food and furnished for any agents that need to lay low for a while for whatever reason."
Thor took a look at the small house. It was sort of quaint, it had an old feel to it. There was a wraparound deck with solid oak chairs and a screen door. It was two stories and had white clapboard siding and pale blue shutters.
When they walked inside, they were greeted by a small sitting room and a fireplace, a back door and windows that were floor to floor glass which looked out onto the beach and the crashing waves. There was a small kitchen well stocked with food which Natasha would admit looked like heaven after fighting twenty men.
But that could wait. She turned to her partner. "Let's get cleaned up."
She didn't even want to know what they looked like after walking out of a hotel that just exploded.
The red head grabbed the first aid kit from the kitchen cabinet…..they were always in the kitchen cabinet, and had her partner sit down on the large couch.
"You're going have to take off your shirt," she said as she opened the first aid kit. "I can't get to the wound otherwise."
Natasha bent over the case and began taking out bandages, solvent and braces. The wound in her leg had stopped bleeding and was beginning to naturally cauterize. It hadn't hit any major arteries or muscles so she wasn't worried.
She tore off a strip of gauze with her teeth, dabbed some of the solvent on her leg and then ripped her dress up to her thigh so she could tie the bandage around it. When her crude cleaning method was complete, she turned to her partner so she could address his wound.
The blonde had taken his shirt off like she asked, and while Natasha was pretty much asexual, she could admit that her partner's physicality was distracting. He had the looks of a god and the body to match, but the muscle mass on him wasn't excessive. His build was broad and well proportioned. Given his sapphire blue eyes and strong jawline, he could have could any number of the pathetic women in the country.
She turned to examine the gunshot wound to his shoulder.
It wasn't actually as bad as it had looked at first. Like hers it hadn't hit any major muscles, but the bullet had torn almost clean through his shoulder and when she looked carefully, she could see that it was still in there. The worst part was that it had broken up when connected with his shoulder so there were shrapnel bits embedded in the skin. If she didn't get them all out, his shoulder could become infected.
Although given the fact that his blood was the color of liquid gold, she didn't think that was likely.
As she reached out to put her hands on his shoulder to examine the wound, she could feel the heat rolling off of him in waves, far too hot for that of a normal human, but she could tell he wasn't feverish. It seemed to be the natural temperature of him to be this warm.
Another thing she noticed the closer she got and began to see how deep the wound was, was the almost heady scent he had emanating from every pore in his skin. It was a deep scent that was sharp and reminded her of the smell of the wind right before a storm hit the earth. It had an odd way of stabbing right through her senses and made her almost dizzy.
"How bad is it?" he asked, watching her facial expressions carefully. Natasha glanced at him before answering. "You're going to have some discomfort, but you'll live. Although the golden blood does concern me a bit."
She didn't look at him as she said it. Natasha pulled the tweezers and gauze from the kit as well as a small bowl and began the painstaking work of removing each piece of shrapnel from his shoulder.
Thor sighed, he wasn't sure if she could connect him to the lightning, but after seeing his blood coat the sleeve of his shirt, he knew wouldn't be able to pass that off as a trick of the light.
"I don't expect you to tell me anything," she said calmly as she reached carefully into wound with the tweezers and pulled out a fragment of the bullet before dropping it into the silver pan next to her. "We all have our secrets, you told me so yourself."
He didn't flinch as she was digging around in his shoulder.
"Indeed, but when the secrets that you have may endanger those around you, it sometimes calls for those secrets to be told."
Natasha glanced up as she rubbed solvent with the medicinal gauze around the wounded area to keep it sterile.
"So in the spirit of airing out old secrets, I take it this doesn't hurt does it?" she said gesturing to the wound. He shook his head.
"Not really. I could feel it when it hit me, but I don't typically feel pain. The sensation is there, but none of the unpleasant symptoms."
"And the uh…the golden blood?"
The blonde let out a bit of a breathless laugh. "That….is something that is much more complex than human genetics."
"Yes?"
"Yes, and I fear if I were to tell it to you, you may not believe me," he said. Natasha's brow furrowed as she picked out another piece of shrapnel. She dropped it into the pan along with the medical tweezers and sat back.
"I'm what you would call a genetically altered human being. I've been taking the serums for it since I was fifteen years old. My hearing is highly acute, I can move faster and see farther than the average human. My cells are in a constant state of neurogenesis and my metabolism is faster than any known human. It will take a very long time for me to age. It's unlikely I'll die from natural causes given the serums I'm required to take by the agency. So I can die, but someone will have to murder me for it to happen. I think I can fairly judge on what I can and cannot believe."
Thor folded his hands together and leaned forward slightly, eyes never leaving hers. She found that no one, not even Stefan had as an intense a gaze as he did.
"Very well then," he said. "Since you are a step above the average human, what do you think in your professional opinion, is the next step up from that?"
Natasha picked up the bowl and continued picking the shrapnel out of his shoulder and dropping it into the dish. The consistent ping was the only sound that could be heard in the living room as she thought about his question. She removed the last piece finally and set it on the nearby table before flushing the wound with rubbing alcohol and binding it tightly with the gauze.
"If you had asked me that a couple of hours earlier, I probably would have said nothing. That this is as far as science has been able to go, that there is no next step right now. But given the circumstances," she gestured to the dried liquid gold on his bare shoulder. "I'm inclined to believe that that is not the case."
"No, you would be right. But perhaps a demonstration would be key for emphasizing my point. Would you open the back door please?"
Natasha frowned. "I beg your pardon?"
"Trust me, I will be able to better elaborate in a moment, but I don't want to break anything. If you would?" He gestured to the sliding glass door that opened onto the beach and Natasha shrugged before getting up and pulling it to one side.
The blonde turned and angled himself towards the door. He raised his hand in a reaching gesture and all of a sudden the room began to hum. The table began to shake Natasha could hear the glass dishes clinking together in the kitchen cabinet.
Then with a force that was almost deafening an object came hurtling over the ocean across the sand of the beach and into the blonde's outstretch hand. Natasha blinked.
It was a hammer. But no ordinary hammer that one would use for work in a hardware store. It was like a mallet in that its face was large and square and almost looked as if it was made of lead or some kind of silver. In its face were carved runes that looked ancient. It's handle was brown and laced through with silver. Its pommel was also made of silver and carved with intricate designs.
He held it up slowly so she could get a better look at it. Natasha, curious, went and sat down next to him. This wasn't any type of magic she had ever seen before.
When she was eight years old she had seen her father perform all kinds of magic, but it had always been with a wand. Was her partner a wizard?
The red head looked him and the weapon over carefully. No, he had to be more than that.
"Your ancestors called it magic Natalia, you call it science. I come from a place where they are one and the same thing."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why do I feel like you're not talking about planet earth?" The blonde laughed and she would grudgingly admit that she rather liked the sound of it.
"No," he said. "I'm from somewhere much more fantastical where my powers like mine are not unusual."
"You're not human at all are you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. He shook his head. "I am several thousand years old and in possession of abilities beyond the lot of humans. I don't feel pain and unless I am killed by someone like me, I will never die. What does that make me?"
"A god," Natasha said even as the truth came over her. He nodded and she barked out a laugh.
"Of all things, I certainly wasn't expecting that," she murmured. "But now that I can see it, I suppose it really isn't as unfathomable as it is theoretically."
"I'm not really something that exists by a theory," he said quietly. Natasha cocked her head to one side and looked up at him. "No I suppose you're not," she said.
They were quiet for a moment, each pondering what they had learned. The screen door was still open, emitting the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and Natasha got up to close it while she still remembered and drew the curtains.
The last thing she needed was to have curious onlookers wandering along the beach and peering into windows.
"Who was Nikolai?"
The unexpected question nearly caused her to flinch. Thankfully she quelled it, but she also decided not to look at him while she answered.
"There's a reason I work alone. It's simple, there's no one to rely on if something goes wrong. There's more responsibility in working alone, but also more freedom. Nikolai was my partner. The only one I felt I could trust. We worked together for three years and became very close." She stopped and looked at the blonde suddenly feeling the need to have to elaborate.
"In a strictly plutonic sense of course, I don't do romance." The blonde chuckled deep in his throat.
"Then one of our lead scientists was kidnapped and held for ransom by Konrad and his goons. They operate on the Black Market and they are well known for having no country to call their home. As you might expect, the Red Room doesn't negotiate, and Nikolai and I were sent in to retrieve the scientist. He was the one in charge of manufacturing the genesis serum which was what was used on me. They also managed to upset our only store of the serum meaning that if we didn't get our scientist back, then our most crucial weapon in nuclear advancements would be gone.
So we went. He was in a holding facility in Poland. But it was a trap, Nikolai and I walked right into an ambush and while covering me and the scientist as we made our escape, he was shot in the back. Konrad wielded the gun. The extraction team met me halfway and we hauled ass back to Russia. Since then Konrad has been at the top of my priority list."
"And this was not love in the slightest?" Thor asked carefully. Natasha looked at him, her face utterly expressionless. "Love is for children. I owed him a debt and tonight, I was able to repay it."
"And do you feel release?" Natasha pondered the question carefully.
"I do. You were the first partner I've had in three years. Stefan always wanted to pair me up with someone because he said that I was too reckless. That I took too many chances. I suppose he may have had a point. I never got anyone killed, but I there were a few times when I didn't do things strictly by protocol because in my mind, there was a better way to do them."
Thor didn't say anything for a while but when he did, his response surprised her. "I have a tendency for being slightly reckless as well."
Natasha barked out a laugh. "Yes but that's different, you're a god, you're allowed to do things a little differently. I would do."
"It all operates under the same principle though," Thor said and he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as the two of them looked out on the beach at the crashing waves.
"There was a time when I did things so recklessly that I nearly got myself, my brother and my comrades killed. My father was so enraged that he stripped me of my powers and banished me here."
Natasha raised her eyebrows. "You must have done something incredibly stupid then." A smile of memory touched the blonde's mouth. "Indeed, I nearly started a war which I dragged my brother into. My father thought that if I were to see what life would be like without my abilities then perhaps it would teach me some humility."
"And did it?"
"I like to think so. Took me nearly getting killed as a human to bear myself as worthy before I could return to Asgard."
Natasha blinked. "I'm sorry, where?"
"My home is a place called Asgard. It's one of the Nine Realms that makes up this galaxy. Earth is another of the Nine Realms, but it is the only one that is completely unaware to the others existence."
The red head frowned. "And why is that? It seems as if it would be beneficial to the peoples of earth to have access to the knowledge and resources of a whole other world."
"Ah, you think that now, but if you were to see Asgard, then you would understand why. The natural resources there are astonishing and technology is light years ahead of what earth is doing. In fact it is such that it reaches the realm of the metaphysical."
"It sounds lovely, perhaps if the circumstances were different I could have seen it," Natasha murmured as she gazed out at the ocean. Thor was quiet for so long that she glanced back at him and found him watching her with an unfathomable expression.
"I believe that if that were possible, it would have been a memorable experience for you," he said. Natasha ducked her head out from under the heat of his gaze, uncomfortable when something moved in her lower stomach, something she had long thought was dead.
"But then again, would it even be possible for me to go there, because I am not an immortal being?" she asked turning back to look at him. He was still watching her, in that way he had where he read every inch of her face.
At first it was a little irritating because he could do it so well, and seem to know exactly what she was thinking, but in some ways it was a bit of a relief because that way she didn't have to explain herself each and every time.
"I would find a way," he said softly.
It was then that Natasha realized the proximity that they were in. She blinked and glanced up from this realization to see that his sapphire eyes were trained on hers like shot gun barrels. The space between then narrowed.
It was then that Natasha realized he was going to kiss her. The idea was so shocking that her brain went dead for a second as this was something she was almost entirely unfamiliar with.
The scent of his skin suddenly assaulted her and overwhelmed her other senses with its sharp smell. The heat that his body was giving off seemed to be so hot it would scorch her and appeared to grow even warmer the closer he got. There was a curious gravity that was pulling them together with absolutely no physical ties between them and not only did Natasha feel powerless to resist it, she also didn't want to.
The closer they got, the more her own breathing seemed loud in her ears and the more the heady scent of him sharpened all around. It was almost as if a crescendo was building based on pure power and electrical surges that seemed to spark between his skin and her hand as it was still upon his shoulder from the wound.
Her own skin almost began to feel hot to touch and she wondered absently why before ignoring the sensation entirely as the gravity of the situation and the sharp awareness it was awakening in her was too intense to ignore.
But the moment, his mouth touched hers it was as if someone torched the room with electricity. She honestly felt as if she had been zapped. It was as if a living fire had sparked between the two of them and as his arms moved to enclose her, the weight of them made her almost want to melt as it was a delicious feeling of pressure.
And before Natasha knew it, she found herself responding. It was unethical, it was wrong, it would complicate so many things. She knew all this, but she didn't do anything about it. Every sensation after that seemed more acute, every sound seemed louder, every color sharper, every touch more sensitive, her skin especially as it began to feel as if she were being shocked with the finer points of static electricity but in the most pleasurable form she could imagine.
And the last thought Natasha had before she lost herself to a haze of dark red and gold tones was: Aw screw it, I'm probably never going to get to do this again. No one has to know, what could go wrong?
She would find out later just how life altering that thought was.
Ω
It was early morning on Miami Beach and the only person on the beach for miles as a tall blonde who had just come up from the water. He stopped to yank off the shirt he was wearing and examine the wound on his shoulder. He had removed the gauze when he got up and was unsurprised to find that the wound was fully healed and even the scar was disappearing. He was never someone that stayed wounded for long.
Thor sighed and sat down on the sand facing the sun as it rose over the ocean. The water had been cold but nothing like Asgard. He had hoped that a swim might help him think after the events of last night.
It hadn't.
Natasha was still sleeping. He had carried her upstairs and covered her over with a blanket so she'd be more comfortable, all the while praying that she wouldn't wake until later so he could figure out something to say to explain all of this.
Why in Odin's name had he done something that stupid? He had been sent to Midgard on a diplomatic mission for his father and he may have bungled the whole thing because he couldn't keep his hands off a beautiful red head.
Granted she hadn't disagreed with the whole thing, but that was beside the damn point! It was unethical, it was unprofessional and it was just wrong on so many levels.
But bloody Odin it had been amazing.
Thor dropped his head into his hands and gave a quiet groan. "This is a nightmare."
"Somebody's in trouble," sang out a telltale voice behind him.
Thor growled quietly deep in his throat not even having to bother turning around to know his brother was there. "Not now Loki, I need to think."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Someone's in a bad mood. I don't know why, sex always puts me in a better mood," said the dark haired god as he came around to face his brother.
Thor got to his feet, not in the mood for idle conversation. The two of them were about the same height, but where Thor was muscled, Loki was more willowy.
"It is not that aspect that's troubling me," Thor began.
At the skeptical look on his brother's face he changed his tune. "Alright perhaps it is. But it's only because last night was completely unethical and unprofessional."
"You're acting as if you can blame genetic makeup," Loki said calmly. "Anyone would be attracted to a woman like that. She's as much to blame for this as you."
"Loki if this is supposed to be a pep talk, it is not really helping me right now."
"I haven't gotten to that part yet," Loki defended. "Look she seems to be the type of woman who is professional to a fault. She's likely to be just as bothered by what happened as you are. So my advice is to act as if nothing happened."
"You think that will work?" Thor asked disbelievingly.
Loki shrugged. "Why wouldn't it? You told me that her work is more important to her then anything. She doesn't seem to have any other type of life outside of it. If she thinks that that life might be threatened by something that happened between the two of you, then she will stop at nothing to put her normalcy back together again. You want to fix this problem? Act as if there isn't one."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure," Loki looked indignant, "I'm always sure."
He turned and walked a few yards away from his brother to make his intent that he was leaving to return home clear. "But even if it never happens again, at least you'll have the memory of it."
There was the sound of his laughter and then nothing more as he disappeared in a flash of light.
Ω
When Natasha awoke, she was lying in the bed in the upstairs bedroom covered over with a flannel blanket. She was alone, but that wasn't entirely surprising.
What was surprising was the memories of what had happened the night before. She groaned and pounded her fist against one of the pillows.
Damn it all! How could she have let that happen?!
She was an agent of one of the largest espionage facilities in the world and one night with a good-looking man and she loses all self-control. How the hell had this happened?
Natasha moved to get out of the bed and frowned. Other than the racing of her thoughts, she felt incredibly relaxed as if every muscle had been warmed continuously and then massaged within an inch of its life. She felt warm almost as if she had been near a fire all night. Her skin felt incredibly sensitive as if it had been shocked over and over and than rubbed raw by a pair of rough hands.
The correlation was a little too close to home though.
She threw back the blanket and got out of bed to begin rooting around in the small closet by the door. Upon finding a silk dressing gown, she threw it on and disappeared into the small bathroom.
As she took off the robe, she noticed that her skin indeed looked somewhat red and when she touched it, she felt little tingles rising on her skin.
She also noticed a peculiar scent all about her and when she brought the tip of her nose to the skin of her shoulder, she winced.
It was his scent.
It was all over her like a mist, mixing with her own natural scent and creating a combination that was almost intoxicating in its scent.
As the red head was about to get into the shower however, she noticed a small red scar in the shape of a lightning bolt at the base of her neck leading to the top of her collarbone. She frowned, that wasn't likely to disappear with time.
I could just say that I fell, she thought to herself and then jumped into the shower, determined to wash away any remnants from the previous twelve hours.
She would grudgingly admit to herself that it had been one hell of a night. It probably wouldn't have happened on a normal day. But factor nearly getting killed and walking away from a hotel explosion….well she was sure it had a little more to do with that than just simple hormones.
But now she was left with aftermath and the nagging question of what she was going to do. No one could ever find out what had happened. The Agency would question her credibility, she might be stripped of her position.
No, this could never get out. And there was nothing to talk about anyway. It had been a one-time thing, a lapse in judgement, nothing more. If it didn't matter to her, then it wouldn't matter to him. She would just have to act completely nonchalant. She was here on a job, that was what she needed to do.
If only that idiot Stefan hadn't paired her up with Thor in the first place! Now everything was ten times more complicated.
But as she allowed the warm water to wash over her, a thought occurred to the red head. All she had to do to make this go away, was pretend as if it never happened. If she refused to talk about it, then there would be nothing to talk about.
Already feeling a little better, she got out of the shower and found a pair of jeans and a tank top in the closet. It wasn't as professional as she would have liked, but she would suit up later.
Making her way downstairs, Natasha looked around carefully, hoping that he might not be in the house. She walked to the front door and opened it to see if he was on the deck but no such luck.
At her feet though, was the morning paper. She knew for a fact that the paper didn't get delivered this far out of the city and to a house that was usually abandoned twelve months of the year which only meant one thing.
Someone had dropped it off.
She bent down and snatched it up before carefully closing the door and looking down at the headline.
Vigilantes Rescue Hotel Guests from Armed Hitmen
The article went on to say that during the international weapons conference the previous night, terrorists had broken in and held the guests hostage and that two vigilantes a man and a woman rescued the hostages.
Thankfully there weren't any pictures of them, but one of the guests identified them as a tall blonde man and a red head.
Natasha cursed. If Stefan saw this he was going to have a field day. Their covers had nearly been compromised.
She looked farther down the article and saw with growing trepidation that the paper also listed the guests who had been attending the conference that night and their cover names were listed. The last line said that police were investigating.
She sighed. The gig was up.
The sound of a slamming door caused her to look up and see her partner walk. There was a towel wrapped around his neck and his chest was bare belaying the fact that he had just bee for a swim. He saw her and stopped, blue eyes watching her carefully.
She held up the paper for him to see. "Our covers' been compromised. We need to get to Stark Industries, get the weapon and get back to Russia. Tonight."
Ω
So...I didn't bother to write a sex scene between our two favourite Avengers in this story for a number of reasons. Doing something like that is really not my forte. I like romance...not smut and I really don't think a scene like that would edify me as a writer or you as a reader in any way. If I tried, it would just come out sounding goofy and forced and that is not something we need. I truly think that when it comes to scenes like that, that less is more. I don't need to see a bunch of sexually intimate scenes to know what's going to happen and when I come across scenes like that in a story, I skip them because I really don't think they're necessary. Anyway, I'm sure you all know that the events of that action have now set in motion things that cannot be undone *cough Hermione cough.* Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to review :)
