A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I love you so freaking much, every single one of you and I'll be forever grateful for every single message.

This chapter is sorta an explanation as why Loki did not spend the night with Natasha. It came out of the blue, I wanted to write "da sex" scene (which obviously WON'T be smut or anything because I suck at it) but I added this instead. There will be THAT scene, don't worry.

Fran

The rejection, though it was not entirely one, she got from Loki the previous night disturbed her. She sensed he wanted to stay with her but maybr she had read it wrong, or maybe there was something bothering him or perhaps she had said something wrong. It had bothered her, and the thought hadn't let her sleep the entire night.

She ended up outside Loki's room very early in the morning, knocking softly. It wasn't long until the door opened for her, the dark circles around his eyes told her he hadn't sleep much either.

"Good morning" Loki greeted her, bowing briefly. "I hope you had a good night, Lady Natasha."

"I didn't," she responded "and neither did you, I can tell"

"Well yes…I did not have a very good night"

"May I ask why?"

He merely shrugged, disregarding her question at once.

"Loki, did I do something wrong?" she asked again, receiving a confused frown from him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean from the way you practically ran away from my room last night." She wasn't the one to beg, but the answer to that question was eating her alive.

"You have not done anything wrong, Lady Natasha," he spoke, gently walking a little bit closer to her "I did not mean to frighten you that way."

"You did. Especially since you didn't say another word but just left."

"I did explain that I wanted you to be well rested."

"That was an assumption, that I was tired when I wasn't"

"What did you want then?"

She blushed, slightly. Remembering the things she thought about, for a moment, what she should have been doing last night with him, even if the thought barely crossed her mind it was enough to make her cheeks turn crimson red.

"For you to stay…and act like the married couple that we are," she stopped when Loki grinned mischievously "Not in that way, what I meant to say is that people are going to talk if they realize you've been sleeping on separate rooms. They do think we married because we're in love."

"Of course, I have forgotten about that."

"So, are you going to stay with me tonight?" it sounded so weird asking him that, but yet so natural.

He seemed slightly disturbed and uncomfortable with the question. It wasn't complicated, at least to her, because she wasn't asking for them to do something, just pretend to be the perfect married couple everyone expected them to be. But he looked frighten.

"I…do not believe I should do so." he whispered, staring at the ground. Natasha frowned at his statement.

"Why?"

"Do not be offended, my Lady. There is nothing more pleasant than your company, I just…" he sighed heavily, closing his eyes for a brief second. "I do not wish to disturb your nights."

"Disturb my nights? What do you mean?"

"I…cannot stop the nightmares from coming." he spoke, looking embarrassed at his confession.

"You're getting nightmares?"

"Yes. Ever since I had arrived in Asgard. They haunt me every night, every second and then more, I wish them to vanish, the more they return."

Natasha understood why he wanted to be apart from her. It wasn't because he didn't want to spend the night at her side; it was because he was afraid she would hear his cries and moans. He looked so fragile before her and it broke her heart.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because it is not something that is pleasant to speak about."

"Maybe, if you tell me about them, I can help you make them go away." she suggested. Watching him suffer because of his dreams made her sad.

"Nobody can help me" he whispered, his eyes meeting hers were full of grief and regret. He was hurting so bad all of a sudden, the happiness he had felt the day before seemed to have vanished and the Loki she had seen before had gone along with it.

"Loki, don't shut me out. Let me help you" she begged, holding his hands between hers. He was giving in slowly, breaking the barrier between them gently.

"They were about you" he whispered "of the day I destroyed people's lives, the day I thought I could conquer the world and make everyone kneel at my feet. I saw you…I had you, in my arms, and you…I had killed you. There was blood everywhere. I tried to stop it, I begged for you to live but you were gone…I had taken you away."

A single tear rode along his pale cheek and his last words became sobs on his lips. Her thumb caressed his face and wiped away the tears. He had closed his eyes to her touch, leaning in slowly to rest his forehead upon hers. He held onto her, breathing heavily at the sobs he was trying to suppress, perhaps too embarrassed to show any sign of weakness.

"I will make them go away." she whispered.

"Will you promise?"

"I do. I promise I will"

He went to her room. He laid next to her on her big mattress. They both stared at the ceiling, unable to move, afraid to break each other's personal space. She eyed him, his eyes drifting close slowly and she smiled, watching the rise and fall of his chest. Somehow it soothes her having him around, as if after the intimate moments they had shared she just couldn't keep him away from her.

Then her eyes drifted close, only to be awoken by a soft whimper, a cry coming from him. He was shifting on his spot, crying her name, begging for her. He whispered an apology, a single tear running down his cheek, a sob escaping his lips. She softly touched his hand, fingertips caressing gently, letting him know it was just a dream and nothing else. His cries subside when she rested her head on his chest, the rapid beating of his heart calmed upon feeling her close.

They feel asleep like that, holding into each other's bodies, seeking for the warmth they both craved. There was nothing else she needed, nothing more than she ever wanted.

TBC!

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