Thursday 9:00 AM
Natasha had been up half the night, seriously considering breaking into Loki's room and getting a little…"help" with her insomnia. She knew that it was a crazy idea the moment her brain processed it. Instead she just lay in bed, looking forward to the next day when she would see him.
She got out of bed that morning and decided to go for a run around the indoor track. Even though it was indeed indoors, the track was surrounded by trees and a pond and even some small animals. It was a replica of a park somewhere in New York, and it truly was breathtaking how they had managed to make it seem like she was really running outside. It was good for her since she had to go on duty at noon and did not really have time to leave base.
She finished her run around ten and went to the dining hall to grab some breakfast. She smiled as she saw Bruce and Tony already there, talking science as usual. She ordered up a cheese omelet from the chef and sat down next to them, sipping on some orange juice.
"Isn't it a little early to be getting your guys' nerd on?" she quipped.
Bruce just shrugged, "I might say the same thing about exercising, Nat," she chuckled, "I guess you have a point there." A little bell dinged, signaling her to get up and get her omelet from the chef. She brought it back to the table and Tony immediately stabbed it with his fork and stole a bite.
"Hey!" she pouted.
"Thanks, I was starving." Tony smirked.
"And why couldn't you order food?" she questioned.
"I am meeting Pepper for lunch, and once I start eating I won't be able to stop. Gotta save room! That bite should hold me over for the next hour or so." He grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile back, a man that charming could get practically anything he wanted. She thought she could probably out-charm him if it came down to it. She had some serious acting skills.
"So," she attempted to subtly change the subject, "how have your guys' watch duties been so far? Anything interesting?"
Tony snorted, "Yeah, right. Watching Loki is almost as interesting as watching water boil. I never see him come out of his room."
"Same here," Bruce added. "He seems to be very cut off from people, like he hates being forced to come in contact with us."
"Obviously," Tony remarked.
Natasha just chuckled. If only they knew.
She headed up to her room after breakfast and brushed her teeth and hopped in the shower. Once she got out she actually thought about what she was going to wear for once. Not that she thought it really mattered. She just wanted to look nice for some reason. She eventually decided on a semi-tight dark red v neck and boot cut jeans. She thought about wearing heels, but then tossed them aside and put on some black leather, ankle-high boots instead. She decided to put on a little mascara and some blush this time and laughed to herself. She didn't normally put in this much effort to guard a prisoner.
When it was getting close to noon she grabbed a deck of cards and shoved it in her back pocket. She strode over to Loki's room and knocked. Steve opened up this time, very ready to leave.
"Thank goodness, I was just about to nod off, and that could have ended badly with a crazy person in the next room." She almost spoke up in Loki's defense but then mentally slapped herself. She really was losing it.
"Black Widow to the rescue," she said, almost half-heartedly. Steve didn't seem to notice anything though. As she walked in he added, "Hey, what are those cards for?"
She swallowed hard, "Oh, I was just going to, um, play some solitaire! Yeah…not much else to do around here," she sighed, it sounded true enough.
"Oh cool, maybe you can teach me next time? I get bored in there and I have never played that," he replied merrily.
Steve was amazingly cool. "It would be my pleasure." With that she waved goodbye and stepped into Loki's living room, locking the door behind her.
Loki immediately came out of his room and gathered her in his arms. "Solitaire huh? Getting bored of me already?"
She smiled, "Actually I had something much more fun in mind. I am going to be teaching you how to play poker!"
"Be wary, my little spider, I am a very fast learner," he warned, kissing her neck lightly.
They sat down at the table in the kitchen together and she started to go over the basic rules. "So this is Texas Hold'em. It is pretty straight forward. The hands go in order as follows of lowest to highest: pair, two pair, 3 of a kind, straight, flush, full house, 4 of a kind, straight flush, and royal flush. Or if nobody has anything, the highest card wins." She tried to explain all the rules as best she could.
"What should we use to bet?" she asked him when she was through.
He just smirked, and she immediately knew where this was going. "Well obviously money means nothing to me. I think we should bet our clothing." His smile grew at the thought of her stripping for him.
"Let me stop that thought right there." She smirked. "Are you sure you want to, I mean you have to face the facts here, you probably won't get me out of a single thing," she said cockily.
He just smiled, "Challenge accepted, Ms. Romanoff." She hated when he called her that, but it just fueled her competitive attitude even more. She was ready to kick this conceited god's ass. Poker was a game of luck, but it also required a good liar. This was something they were both obviously good at. But, since she had just taught him how to play, she knew she had an unfair advantage. With a smug look on her face she held out her hand, "Let's do it. Loser has to stay naked for the rest of the night."
He laughed at that. And then the game began. Natasha beamed at him as she won the first hand with a full house, kings full of nines. 'Looks like tonight is my lucky night,' she thought. She wanted nothing more than to humble Loki and prove yet again that she was not one to be messed with. Loki took off his shoes reluctantly.
For the rest of the game Natasha just could not catch a break. Loki seemed to know exactly what she was thinking every hand. There was no way this was his first poker game. When she was down to just her bra and underwear she confronted him, "You've played this before, haven't you?" she asked, giving him an accusatory look.
"Dearest Natasha, I have been around a very long time and traveled to many different realms, you really thought I had never played poker in my lifetime? I guess I am a better liar than I had previously thought," he mused.
She just glared at him. "I refuse to walk around naked all night," she glowered.
"I am afraid rules are rules," he said, laying down yet another flush. She hesitated at first, and then decided she didn't want to seem like a coward and unhooked her bra. As it fell to the floor she reassured herself that she had been through much worse, and this was nothing save a little embarrassing.
Loki let out a low whistle. "Every time I see you it is like the first time." She blushed a little at that.
When they finished the game, Natasha was completely naked and Loki had only lost his shoes, socks, and shirt. She was pissed! Here she was thinking she was going to kick his ass at this game and get to rub it in Loki's face, and now she was stark naked trying to cover herself with a small throw pillow she stole from the couch.
"Ah ah ah," he said, waving one long finger, "I do believe pillows count as clothing." He grabbed at the pillow but she ducked out of the way, rolling behind the couch. He laughed. "I'm going to get that pillow eventually, young lady."
"I'm not that young," she argued, throwing him a dirty look.
He laughed, "You are to me. I have been alive for quite some time."
She decided she did not really want to know how long he had been alive. Soon people would start thinking she was only after his money…She chuckled to herself, and then realized how sad it was that she laughed at her own jokes in her head.
Before she had time to think Loki had grabbed her by her ankles and dragged her away from her precious pillow. He crawled over her as she hopelessly tried to cover herself. She glowered at him, "Fine you win, I will just have to find something else to beat you at."
He looked pleased at that. "I know something that you are quite good at Natasha, and I do wish I could figure out your secret." He stared down at her, both puzzled and lustful.
"What might that be?" she questioned.
"Bewitching me. You are so very tempting," he said, running a light finger all the way from her neck down to her navel and then stopping. "Why is that?" he asked, as if the answer truly eluded him.
The truth was she wanted to know the same thing regarding him. At that moment though, she didn't really care. She just wanted to give into him.
He sensed what she was thinking and leaned down and kissed her. She opened her mouth, tasting him for the first time in what felt like forever, when really it had only been a day and a half. She forgot about being totally naked on the living room floor and just focused on what she felt in that moment: complete and utter happiness.
Loki scooped her up off of the floor and carried her to his bed. He laid her down and discarded what remained of his ensemble. When he got into bed he pulled the covers over them and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed his forehead to hers and they just remained there for a moment with their eyes closed, breathing each other in and enjoying the closeness.
He bent down to kiss her, softly at first but then more eagerly as she deepened the kiss. She rolled him over so she was straddling him. He smirked, "I hope you do not think this is another competition, Natasha." She smiled at the sound of her name on his lips.
"Oh, no, of course not," she lied. He just laughed and flipped her back over.
"You need to stop challenging me, you are only going to lose," he whispered huskily in her ear.
She let out a small gasp as he grabbed a handful of her hair and crashed his lips into hers. He bit her lip, not drawing blood but just painful enough to be quite pleasurable. She could play at this game to.
She broke the kiss and went to his ear, nibbling on it and licking until he groaned for more. She ran her nails down his back as he enveloped her and smirked as he let another low moan escape. He kissed her fervidly, only breaking the kiss when she cried out in satisfaction. He finished shortly after her and remained there for a moment, not wanting to move and relishing the feel of her and this sort of closeness he had never felt. When their breathing finally slowed, he rolled off of her and pulled her close to him, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. She smiled up at him, "I don't suppose I could trouble you for a glass of water?" she batted her lashes innocently.
"I would do anything for you," he said-sounding genuine-as he got up. It surprised her a little, just because of who it was coming from. She had no idea how much she meant to him.
They just lay in bed the rest of the night, seeing as she was required to stay naked anyways. They talked and read and slept. She could not believe that her life had taken this unexpected turn, but she was grateful it had.
She left at midnight, making sure not to leave any of her items of clothing lying around that were forgotten about during and after the poker game. She didn't want to raise any suspicions. She went to her room and felt sad that she could not just stay and sleep in Loki's arms. She dreamt of the day she would tell everyone about them and knew it was dream because nobody tried to strangle her.
Friday 10:00 AM
'This will never work', she thought as she got out of bed. She was just going to have to enjoy it while it lasted. For some reason though, she couldn't bring herself to think of the end.
She got ready for her shift, right as she was brushing her teeth she realized what day it was. It was Friday, the day the Chitauri were meant to attack again. She was not really comfortable with the idea of hiding in Loki's room and leaving the fighting to everyone else. She knew they could handle it, but if something went wrong, she might just have to disobey Fury's orders. She mentally prepared herself for the day's upcoming events, hoping that it would just be a false alarm. It was the first time in a while that she actually prayed for nothing to happen; normally she was always ready for a good fight, she enjoyed the thrill of it. Now she just wanted to enjoy her quality time with Loki in peace, without anyone attempting to kidnap and torture him.
When it started to get close to noon, she headed over to his quarters, anxious to get the barricade going. Clint was there. "Hey Nat, good luck, I would hate to be the one who had to lock myself in a room with Loki—nobody in or out," he chuckled. She just smiled, "I think I can handle it."
When she got into Loki's living room, she locked the door and began moving things around. When she had all the heaviest things in the room in front of the door, with Loki's help, she felt satisfied.
"Now what?" he questioned.
"Now we wait," she sighed. "Hopefully this is all just for nothing."
Suddenly they heard a huge bang. It sounded like a bomb going off right outside the base, or perhaps inside, she wasn't sure.
"Well, shit," she said, looking at him worriedly.
"I am glad I have you here to protect me Natasha," he said jokingly.
She was too worried to laugh. Normally she didn't get this nervous when it came to a fight, but she was legitimately scared for Loki. She grabbed his hand, not sure if it was more for him or for her own comfort.
She smiled up at him apprehensively, "Here we go."