Loki had sworn to never hurt Natasha, never on any circumstance. It seemed that the war had to change that though, for were he to consider every aspect, this was not Natasha. Even as he was thrown across the ground by her blow to his chest, her laughter rolling over him in waves, he just couldn't find it in him to hurt her. Not Natasha.

The war had started hours ago, the Avengers and a large team of agents coming in to help. There was blood, roaring from the opposing army, as well as screams of the dying. The Muspelheim army had taken it upon themselves to draw out how they killed their victims, slowly, painfully. It seemed the team had been divided into sections by now, despite missing their one team member. Tony and Clint were working together, Steve and Bruce were working by themselves, and Loki and Thor fought side by side as they once did, many years ago. The time they parted though, when Loki was thrown across a bare patch by an unknown enemy, he knew this wouldn't be good.

When he stood next, turning to face Natasha, cape fluttering in the wind as the battle raged on behind them, he couldn't help the pain that filled his chest. Her face was a mask of evil, something that had not been there before, at any time. There was blood trickling down her face and there were healing wounds beneath her armour that he could sense. "Natasha….What did they do to you?" He whispers, lowering into a defensive crouch just in case.

She didn't answer, or perhaps she did, but it was masked by her sudden movement. When they corrupted her mind they trained her with new forms of fighting, how she could increase her speed and moves. They were impressed, as she managed to bring down their best warrior with out breaking a sweat. Loki soon noticed this, as he had trained with her and fought with her.

"Natasha, please! Try and get through the cloud in your mind! Remember who I am!" He yelled at her, jumping to his feet and wiping blood away from his face as she had just managed to clock him right in the nose, causing a large break. His wounds greatly outnumbered Tasha's, but hers were much worse. He had a few stab wounds, very shallow though, a few broken ribs as well as a twisted ankle. Not to mention the bruises. Natasha had only a few injuries, despite the severity. She had head trauma, mainly the blood running down her face, and what was looking to be a broken arm possibly. They were injuries sustained before Loki and Natasha found each other in the battle, as he could not bring himself to lay a finger on her.

"You are a fool, Loki Laufeyson, to ever think we could be together!" There was an edge to her voice, something that just made it not quite right.. "I remember you fine, all those things we did together. Disgusting! I hope I can get those filthy memories out of my mind once you are disposed of!" Loki winced at her words, knowing they were only part of the warriors scheme, but it hurt nonetheless.

"That isn't you Natasha! It is the evil clouding your mind and judgement! I would know, it has happened to me before!" That caused her to stutter slightly, the red flickering before coming back blazing. Now she was pissed.

"You did not recognize the true power you wielded and therefore could not control it! I am the strongest I have ever been and it is time to end this! I shall not be laden down by some whimpering pup of a mate!" Ok, this was out of hand. Loki couldn't even believe the words coming out of her mouth now, and he had had enough. He charged her, a duplicate appearing behind her to trip her up. When they collided, they both fell to the earth with a harsh thud, his hands easily pinning hers. He had always been stronger, it was just a matter of getting a hold of her actual limbs. There was a moment of silence between the two of them, green eyes gazing into blazing red, the bold colour flickering slightly at the close range. Perhaps there was a way to bring her back without hurting her… In one split second movement, their lips collided, a pair of desperate ones against resisting ones. After a moment he felt those lips soften though, becoming more urgent against his as she tried to pull away from his hands holding her wrists down. Just as he was about to open his eyes to see if she was back, he cried out, being pulled away from her and a spear shoved through his chest. He glanced down in shock before his green eyes slowly lifted to meet clear blue ones…

Little did Loki know, Natasha had been fighting against herself this entire time, and when the kiss came, she took the chance. That kiss had done something to the corrupting cloud in her mind, which came to be by drinking some weird liquid, and it had disbanded. Just as she came to, she heard his cry and shot up, reaching out with a frightened expression. "Loki! No!" The soldier tossed Loki to the ground, his hands curling around the wound with a light whimper of pain. The battle was short, and the guard was soon dead. Instead of going to Loki, she ran across the grounds to where Tony was dispatching a soldier. He turned his guns on her but she waved her hands, face stricken with pain. "Tony! Please, help Loki! He…he's hurt really badly! Please!" He gave a sharp nod and within moments they were back by his side. The first thing she noticed was his shallow breathing, the next was the amount of blood he lost. Before she could do anything, Loki was gone in the arms of Stark, leaving her there to weep and try to be positive. Her eyes caught a rise in the dirt, a slight sparkle, and as her curiosity got the best of her she reached forward, picking the object up. It was the wedding ring he had proposed to her with, but now instead of a clear diamond, it had a swirl of red spiraling up from the bottom and branching out at the top. Almost like what he said the bifrost looked like encased in ice. With a slight sob, she slipped the perfectly sized ring on to her finger, watching the light dance on it.

After a few minutes of getting herself together, she picked up her weapon and strode forward back into the raging battle to help pick off some of her captors and teachers. Nobody shed more blood that day than Natasha Romanoff, though there was no human blood mixed with it. When the team was standing in the middle of the bloodshed, their enemies all torn down around them, only then did they notice Loki and Tony were missing. Of course, Thor was the first to notice Natasha and so he was the one who strode over and gripped her shoulders gently.

"Lady Natasha, what has happened…?" He didn't notice the ring luckily, so she just sighed and shook her head.

"Loki managed to wake me, but not before he could defend himself from another soldier. I retrieved Tony from the fight and he took Loki away to a hospital. I don't…I don't know what is going to happen to him…" A few tears trickle out of her eyes before she was enveloped in a hug by Thor, despite her protests. She wasn't a hug person and there wouldn't be an exception made now. After a moment though, he swooped her up in his arms, lifting his hammer.

"We shall meet you at the healers where my brother is being kept. Do not waste time." He says to Bruce, who had changed back by now, Steve and Clint. They nod and within moments they were off, Natasha's startled scream lingering in the air.

When Steve, Bruce and Clint arrived at the hospital, they immedietaly demanded the room number. The nurse showed them of course and they walked quickly down the hall before bustling into the room. The first thing they heard was a shushing noise, Thor standing protectively in the corner and glaring at his noisy teammates. Tony would be passed out in a chair in the far corner of the room, snoring the lightly, and other for that it would only be the sound of machines beeping in the room. It wasn't hard to spy Natasha though, as her armour sort of stood out. She was seated in a chair near Thor, right beside Loki's bed. She had her head on her arms, obviously asleep, one hand under her head while the other gently gripped Loki's pale one.

Even if the team hadn't known Loki, not seen him before or even heard of him, they would have been able to tell he was sick. His breathing was shallow and fast, as if in extreme pain, or as if his body was working over time to provide something. There were bandages circling his entire body it seemed, from his armpits down to his abdomen. The wound must have been severe, as they had many different things hooked up to him. When Natasha first walked in, she practically burst Tony's eardrums with her scream, then he had to console her through the ringing in his ears, though her sobs were loud enough to be heard anyways. Now though, after Thor, despite being the giant he is, got them settled in a quiet fashion, they were all either playing on their phones, asleep or gone to get food or other minor injuries looked after. The fight wasn't easy and they all needed some care in one way or another. Even Tony, but nobody dared to wake him.

After a few hours, Natasha woke to see everyone in the room, though they all seemed to be asleep. She scanned everyone before looking up and almost careening back with shock to see Loki's eyes open. His eyes brightened and he parted his lips to say something, though a finger against his lips shushed him. Natasha shook her head with a smile before flashing him the ring. He quirked an eyebrow and she gave a slight nod, kissing her fingers before touching his cheek. He leaned a tiny bit toward her hand with a smile, green eyes bright with happiness. After staring into each others eyes for a while, they both fell back to sleep, each smiling happily.

(This is not the end! I have a fair few more chapters, don't worry.)