Tuesday 3:00pm

Natasha was back on Loki duty. Thinking back on when she was first assigned her shifts, she could not believe how much had changed in such a short period of time.

She had sent a message to Thor in Asgard to get down to Earth ASAP and talk to her about an urgent matter concerning his brother. She hoped this would get his attention. If she was right, the Chitauri would attack again on Friday, framing Loki in the process for stealing the tesseract and killing Fury.

She could not let that happen.

She had been with Loki for the past 3 hours; just typing up some reports on his progress (of course, she left out all the juicy details). She had her head in his lap, her knees propped up, and her laptop resting on her stomach.

Loki let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" she teased.

"I am not yet accustomed to having so little to do," he said drearily.

She shot him an over exaggerated look of pity. At that he slapped her laptop shut and tackled her, rolling them both off the couch and onto the floor.

She used all her strength to try and push him off her, but to no avail. He still had this aspect of his Æsir form.

He was kissing her neck now, pushing her firmly against the carpet. "And just what do you suggest I do about it? You spoiled little prince."

At that he bit her earlobe, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"How dare you insult me, do you know who I am?" he questioned, giving her that little smirk that drove her absolutely crazy.

"I've heard plenty," she retorted whilst trying to bat him away with her hands. She was never going to get any work done.

"Hmmm," he pondered. "How shall I punish you for such insolence?" He began slipping his cool hand under her shirt, stopping just before reaching her bra. The surprisingly gentle touch of his soft skin sent a wonderful chill down her spine.

She glared at him. "Can't you find a hobby? Why don't you take up knitting or something, I'm sure you'd be wonderful," she scolded sarcastically. "I have important things to do you know. I am supposed to be keeping an eye on you."

"And I think you are doing a wonderful job. The best yet in fact," he grinned.

"I wonder why that is," she said flatly.

He laughed, "Natasha you are the most amusing woman I have ever met. How can you expect me to just sit here and watch you type all afternoon? I enjoy your conversation too much." He winked at her before slowly kissing up from her neck to her jawline.

He had just reached her mouth when the front door burst open. Loki froze on top of Natasha. From an outsider's perspective, this would definitely look bad…very bad.

He had her hands pinned to the carpet. She had been glaring at him, playfully, mind you, but the person barging in didn't know that. He was atop her in an extremely compromising position.

Giant footsteps pounded towards the god of mischief, followed by a large hand grabbing him by the back of his shirt and throwing him across the room.

"Thor!" Natasha yelled, absolutely horrified.

Loki groaned, "This isn't what it looks like."

Thor was fuming. "Do not toy with me, brother. You were attacking the lady Natasha! I saw it with my own eyes. How dare you do such a thing to one of my dearest friends! I shall report this to father!"

"Your father, not mine." Loki shot him a menacing glare.

Oh boy, things were not off to a good start. Natasha attempted to ease the tension.

"Thor, listen to me, Loki is telling you the truth. He wasn't attacking me," she said slowly, gauging his reaction. She had been dreading the moment she would explain to Thor her relationship with his brother.

She went over to Loki and helped him up off the ground, intertwining her fingers with his.

Thor furrowed his brow, obviously baffled.

She tried to find the right words, "We are…well we kind of…you see…"

Something in Thor's mind clicked "You are in love!" he boomed delightedly.

Alright, not exactly the reaction she was expecting, but it was better than him murdering Loki.

She found herself wincing at 'love,' "Well, I am not sure that is exactly how I would put it; we have only been close for a short while…"

She shot Loki an apologetic look, he just looked more annoyed than anything. She knew it was a lot to ask for him to even be in the same room with his brother, so she was just happy he was making progress.

Thor walked over and placed both of Natasha's hands in his own. "I cannot tell you how pleased I am to hear this news Natasha. I could not have picked anyone better for my brother."

Then he walked over and looked Loki in the eyes, "Do you truly have feelings for this woman? I know how you have been in the past." He said doubtfully. Natasha could tell he wanted this with all his heart, because it meant that Loki could change, in one way or another.

"Not that I need to explain myself to you, brother," he spat, "but indeed, I do feel a strong attachment to Natasha. And I was about to show her just how deep my feelings go when you stormed through the door and interrupted us, you big oaf," he insulted, smirking and shooting Natasha a wink.

She rolled her eyes. "Ok, we seriously need to get to the important shit now."

"Thor, I'm really sorry. I know this is a lot for you to take in. But it just happened and I couldn't stop it. And honestly my attachment runs too deep to try and stop it now. Once I explain everything to you that has happened, or is about to happen, I am sure you will understand. Just please, listen to me with an open mind." She pulled him aside and whispered so only he could hear, "I know how badly you want your brother back, I know how much it hurts you to see him imprisoned, and I really think that with my help maybe your father will see the change in him as you and I do, and his sentence could be reduced."

Thor squeezed her shoulder gently, silently agreeing with her, and sat down in one of the love seats. "As you Midgardians say, I am all ears Natasha."

She explained her period of unconsciousness to him as she had to Loki, of course leaving out some minor details about their intimacy. She did not really feel comfortable telling those kinds of personal details to Thor of all people.

When she had finished, he stroked his beard thoughtfully, taking into consideration her insane notion that this was all bound to happen some way or another, and they had to work together to stop it.

Finally, he spoke, "I have heard of this happening to mortals before, Natasha. And there is only one way for us to find out if what you say is true."

"How is that?" she asked him anxiously.

"I shall have to spy on Lady Sif," he said determinedly.

Loki sneered at that, "You a spy brother? I think we might as well give up on this whole plan now. Our cover will be blown in five minutes, tops."

Thor shot him a hurt look, "I am quite capable of following one woman around Asgard and finding out what she is up to!" he yelled angrily.

Natasha realized it was probably time she stepped in.

"Loki, I'm sure Thor is a very capable spy," she glared at him somewhat playfully and he smirked, "however, I think I have a better idea."

They looked at her anxiously. She let out the breath she had been holding in, determined to put her specific skill set to good use. "I will go to Asgard and spy on Lady Sif."

Loki shot up, "Impossible, I will not allow it. You will just get yourself killed."

"I think you underestimate me," she replied hotly. "You know of my abilities, I am not an ordinary mortal. I can do this."

He crossed his arms, obviously unconvinced.

"I agree with Natasha. She has been on hundreds of missions like this. I trust her to complete this task." Thor said, attempting to convince Loki that the idea was sound. "We should leave tomorrow Natasha, I shall visit my lady Jane while I wait for you to prepare. I will be back early in the morning, and we shall return to Asgard together. I will tell everyone you are there to report Loki's progress to Odin and discuss his sentencing, so as not to raise suspicion."

"Until tomorrow then," Natasha said, feeling a mix of dread and excitement at the prospect of traveling to Asgard.

Thor said his goodbyes and left; Natasha glanced at the clock. It was 7pm. Time flies when you're having fun, she mused to herself.

Loki was just staring at her. She knew he didn't like this plan. Did he really care for her that much? She knew it had been a short period of time, but she had never felt this level of infatuation with anyone prior.

She walked over to him and touched his cheek lightly with her hand. "Trust me, I'm a professional," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. He wasn't budging.

"Loki, I have to do this. Deep down inside I'm convinced those events I dreamt of are meant to pass. Don't you trust me?"

"You are the only one I trust," he replied, placing a light kiss on her lips before walking into his bedroom and closing the door.