Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.


Natasha, Clint, Loki, and Sif made it out of the parking garage without further confrontations. There had been other Frost Giants, but they had managed to get by without drawing their attentions. The amount of Frost Giants around meant that Loki had managed to transport them pretty close to Laufey's location.

They escaped into a back alley from the parking garage, and moved in the opposite direction the Frost Giants had been travelling when they had seen them earlier, hoping it would lead them to Laufey.

The sky was growing dark, and when Loki noticed that Natasha and Clint were both trembling so violently they could no longer speak, he suggested they find a place to settle for the night. Sif remarked that if the two humans had not come along, they would be able to continue their journey, but a look of warning from Natasha made her hold her tongue from speaking further.

They found a door to the boiler room of the building they edged as they progressed further down the alley. The burns on Natasha's hands made it painful to hold the tools, but she made quick work of picking the lock. They escaped inside the room and locked the door behind them. They found a few heavy crates stacked at the side of the room, and moved those in front of the door as a barricade.

The room was small, but would still fit the four of them comfortably. The air in the room still fogged as they breathed, and Clint set to starting up a fire. Natasha found a vent on the wall beside the door, and opened the flaps to allow air inside so that the fire would not consume all of the oxygen in the room.

Clint and Sif discarded the sacks they held with their supplies, and the four of them settled down beside the fire, with one at each side. Natasha went to warm her hands, but the heat made the burns on them sting. She hissed and pulled them away.

Sif reached for her bag and shuffled through the contents. She pulled out a jar, and slid it across the cold concrete floor to Natasha. ''The Allfather sent this with me. I understand now why he did.''

''Here, I'll help you,'' Clint said, picking up the jar and opening the lid. He sniffed the earthy green substance inside and gagged, before setting it back down beside Natasha. ''That's disgusting. You're on your own.''

Natasha shot a glare at him, and she winced as she lifted up the jar to apply it herself. But before she could begin, slender fingers gripped her wrist and took the jar from her hand.

Natasha's eyebrows raised in surprise as Loki shifted closer to her, keeping his hand on her wrist as he did. He did not say anything as the thumb of his free hand dipped into the balm, and he pressed it to the center of her palm.

She tensed for the pain but it did not come, and she gradually relaxed as Loki's thumb massaged the balm into her skin. He did not speak, his expression remaining cool and composed. His eyes were hooded slightly, as if narrowed in concentration, but his face was calm and relaxed.

When he finished with her palm, his thumb gently made its way up to each fingertip in turn. When he finished with the first hand, he released her wrist and took the other roughly. If he were a doctor she would say he lacked a bedside manner, but she was grateful for his help nonetheless.

When he finished, Sif returned the jar to her bag again and Loki moved away.

''Loki,'' she said, and his eyes flickered from the fire to her. ''Thank you.''

He did not say anything, just returned his gaze to the flames.


With the vent open, the room was still cold. They laid down in their spots beside the fire and clung to the little bit of warmth it provided, hoping for sleep. Natasha thought she could see tremors running through Clint next to her, but she feared it was her own body convulsing from the cold.

''I cannot sleep with all of that chattering,'' Sif growled from across the fire, and it was only then that Natasha realized her teeth were clicking together. She tensed her jaw, succeeding mostly in suppressing the noise, but still a few clicks prevailed. She closed her eyes shut and begged for sleep, if only to escape inside of her head from the cold.

She thought of the winters in Russia, the worst in the world, that did not even compare to this. She thought then to the summers, hoping memories of the sun burning her skin would chase away the cold, but it only made it more bitter.

She jumped when something heavy landed on top of her, and she sat up on her elbows to see Loki standing above her. He had shed his outer coat, and she fingered the thick leather covering her body.

Before she could open her mouth to ask, he answered her. ''Sif is not the only one you are keeping from sleep,'' he said to her, his voice sharp. There were deep circles under his eyes, and his expression was drawn slightly in annoyance.

''Aren't you cold?'' she asked him, her eyebrows raising.

Loki hesitated, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. ''It does not bother me,'' he said after a moment, but the words sounded more like a question than a statement.

''That is concerning,'' she said carefully.

''Yes,'' he said lowly, his voice barely even a whisper. He disappeared from above her, and resumed his place by the fire. She pulled the heavy leather around herself and curled into its warmth. She ducked her nose beneath the collar, and was surprised by the scent that lingered there. It was faint, like distant rain, and she found it soothing.

Sleep took them all in its gentle grasp, and got them through the worst of the night.


A loud crash woke them a few hours later, as the crates burst and broke on the floor beside them when they were pushed away from the door. The four of them leapt to their feet, and drew their weapons in the face of the group of Frost Giants that were gathered in the doorway. The fire had gone out, and the smoke had escaped through the vent and alerted the Frost Giants to their presence.

Loki was swift with a swing of his scepter, sending them back and out the door. They escaped into the alley, and made quick of the Frost Giants so that they would not be discovered further.

Natasha dared a peek out of the alley, to find the streets bursting with life. She ghosted back to where the others were waiting for her, her face grim.

''I don't think we'll make it there on the ground,'' she said to them. ''There are too many of them around.''

''Roof hopping?'' Clint suggested with a raised brow.

She shook her head. ''Too much exposure.''

''Then do tell how else you expect us to travel,'' Sif sneered.

''Underground,'' she replied lowly, her eyes narrowing. She spotted one of the large, heavy metal lids flush with the concrete floor of the alley, and carefully removed it. She slowly lowered herself inside, and then dropped down completely. The air was still crisp and she could not see, but the walls were free of ice and it appeared to lead straight through where they had originally been headed.

The others followed hesitantly, with Clint dropping down first, then Sif, and then Loki.

Clint sighed his relief. ''I thought this was a sewage tunnel,'' he said. He fingered the long, thick wires that covered the walls and the ceilings. ''It's just a service tunnel.''

''We couldn't have the Asgardians see us humans walking in our own filth,'' she muttered to him lowly.

''They might think less of us,'' Clint added, completing her thought, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

He let out a small snort, which drew the attention of the others. Natasha moved innocently away, and held her hand out to Clint for one of the flashlights he was pulling from his sack.

He handed one to her and to Loki, who would lead the way, and he and Sif walked at their backs. The further they went, the colder the air in the tunnel grew. It was obvious they were getting closer, and they steeled themselves for what was to come next.


Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!