Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.
''He was like this when I entered,'' Loki told the Asgardians when they questioned him about the events that had led to the collapse of their king. ''He was so distraught from his fight with Thor. Combined with his exertions in battle it is no surprise that he fell to Odinsleep.''
Natasha was still waiting in the room, and frowned when she heard this. Her gaze sought out Thor, who had hurried to Odin's room when news reached him of his father, and watched as his chin fell to his chest. His expression was sorrowful, and Natasha felt a conflict of emotions pass through her.
After a while she saw Loki slip from the room, and she was quick on his heel. She was not sure if the tension in his shoulders was from the events that had just taken place, or because he knew that she was following him.
Her silent inquiry was answered when he reached his room. He pushed open the door and stepped aside for her to enter first. She moved to stand at the middle of the room, and Loki switched on the light as he entered and closed the door behind himself.
''Why did you lie?'' she demanded.
Loki ignored her, and brushed past her as he crossed the room. She caught his arm, stopping him, and he jerked it roughly free before turning to face her again. ''You had no reason to be there,'' Loki snarled at her. ''What you saw was no business of yours.''
She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued before she could.
''It is your fault that it came to this,'' Loki hissed, drawing in dangerously close her. Her hands clenched to fists at her sides, aching for a weapon to defend herself. ''Somewhere deep down I knew I was different. I had ignored it, suppressed it. And then you came along and surfaced all of my fears and all of my doubts-''
''You're reaching,'' she interrupted calmly. ''You don't have to do that, you don't have to find someone to blame. You're allowed to be angry.''
Loki turned sharply from her and gave her his back. ''I do not know why I lied. There is already so much resentment toward me in Asgard, it is not as if it would make much of a difference for them to know I was at fault.''
''It wasn't your fault,'' she said. Loki let out a sharp breath of contempt, and turned to look at her.
''They would find blame in me, Agent Romanoff, I assure you. And imagine if they were to know the whole truth,'' he said, a smile twitching at his lips, but it was bitter and without humor.
''You should not have blamed Thor,'' she said. ''That was unfair.''
''You think Thor above blame?'' he demanded, his false amusement gone and his anger surfacing again. ''You think him better than that? If he knew the truth of my parentage, he would hunt me down as ruthlessly as he does the other Frost Giants.''
''You're his brother,'' she persisted, and he was suddenly there in front of her, his chest pressed against hers and his face dangerously close to her own. Her breath caught in her throat, fear making its way past her normally cool exterior.
''He is not my brother,'' Loki spat. He moved away from her, as quickly as he had come, letting her breathe again. ''I suppose somewhere deep down, he had the same suspicions that I had. He never respected me, always treated me like I was beneath him. It hurt more when I thought we were truly brothers. I suppose I can take a small comfort in that.''
It dawned on him suddenly that he was spilling everything to a stranger, things he had long kept suppressed inside of himself. Perhaps another time he would laugh at his own foolishness, but instead he grew more angry.
''It would be wise for you to leave now, Agent Romanoff,'' he said, and though his voice was calm it held warning. ''And even more wise for you to keep what you heard to yourself.''
Natasha's jaw tightened. ''I have no reason to tell anyone.''
Loki caught her wording, and narrowed his eyes at her. ''And if there were reason later?''
She did not answer him, just pressed her lips into a hard line, and that was answer enough. He grabbed her arm roughly, but the action was expected and she slipped her arm easily free. She turned sharply on her heel and headed for the door, but just as she started to pull it open Loki pressed her so hard against it that it slammed back shut.
She grunted it pain, and his grip on her wrist forced her to turn around to face him. He was frighteningly close, and his breath was sharp and cold and angry on her face.
''You will give me your word that you will never speak of this,'' he snarled.
Natasha said nothing, just stared blankly up at him.
He slammed his hand against the door beside her head, making her flinch. ''I am a god!'' he spat at her. ''You would not dare defy me, you mewling quim!''
She raised her chin stubbornly, meeting his heated gaze with her own. She brought her hands to his chest and shoved him back from her. It did not move him far, but it gave her space to move. She advanced forward, making him back up a step in turn.
When she looked up to his face again, she found his eyes wide and his anger gone. His expression was incredulous, as if he could not believe that she would not fold to his will.
''Do not give me a reason,'' she suggested, and though her expression was still blank her voice held venom. Loki did not say anything, just continued to stare at her in shock, absolutely confounded by the woman before him. She slowly turned and left the room, and this time he did not reach to stop her.
When the door shut behind Natasha, she rubbed her wrist where there were sure to be bruises later. She found her legs unsteady beneath herself, and caught the wall to ease her descent to the floor. The exertion of the past few hours had drained her already weak body, and she felt herself slide down the wall and hit the floor just before the world went completely black.
Natasha woke just as she felt her back press against the cold sheets of her hospital bed. She gazed blankly up at Loki, whose lips were pressed into a hard line as he gently set her down. His arms as he slipped them from beneath her body were still tense in anger, and she was surprised he hadn't just tossed her onto the bed or left her unconscious on the floor outside of his room entirely.
He backed away from the bed to leave, and Natasha opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, a voice boomed through the hall, calling out for Loki in anger. She recognized Thor's voice even before he barged into her room, and Loki cast an embarrassed glance back at Natasha before approaching his brother.
He put his hands on Thor's chest, trying to persuade him from the room, but Thor shoved them aside. ''You lied to me, brother!''
Natasha saw Loki flinch at the sentiment, but he held his tongue. ''I assure you I did no such thing,'' he replied calmly.
''You said that father fell to Odinsleep because of me, but he was awake when you entered his room!'' Thor persisted, not allowing Loki's denial to distract from his anger.
Natasha was not surprised that the God of Mischief could keep his face blank even after his lie had been exposed. He was as stubborn as she, if not even more so. ''What evidence do you have to support that claim?'' Loki demanded, contorting his face in false confusion.
''The man of iron showed me. Something called a video recording. There were moving pictures,'' Thor explained, though he fumbled slightly over the unfamiliar terms. He waved his hand angrily through the air, as if to dismiss his confusion. ''It is magic I do not understand, but I cannot deny what my eyes saw!''
Loki's mask crumbled beneath this, and Natasha saw fear blatant in his eyes. ''Did you... Did you hear us speaking?''
Thor shook his head, and the relief on Loki's face was instant.
Thor stepped impossibly close, and Loki's eyes were afraid again in the face of Thor's anger. ''You would wrong me so, brother? After I kept from father the truth about the Frost Giants breaking into Asgard?''
''Be mindful of our audience, Thor,'' Loki said urgently, his eyes flickering to Natasha.
But Thor persisted, his hand finding the back of Loki's neck and applying a painful amount of pressure. Loki winced but did not complain, silently begging Thor not to continue.
''You did not mind to give me the burden of father's fall into Odinsleep. That burden is yours to bear,'' Thor rumbled. Natasha saw the defeat in Loki's eyes before Thor even spoke the final words, knowing they were coming. ''As the burden of this war is yours to bear.''
Natasha blinked in surprise, the severity of the words slow to sink in. It was such an outrageous declaration, but given Loki's reaction she knew it to be true.
Loki's eyes fell to the floor, and Thor stepped away. He turned to Natasha, his anger placated. He gave her a small bow to excuse himself, and walked slowly from the room. His departure left Natasha and Loki alone in the room again, a heavy silence fallen over them.
Loki stood frozen in place for a long time, staring after Thor like a lost child. After a while he sat down on the ledge of Natasha's bed, and put his face in his hands. Natasha was slow to move, afraid of scaring off the volatile god, and reached out to touch him. She gently brushed her fingers through his hair, and sat with him while he silently imploded.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have been loving the reviews, so thank you all for submitting them. Please continue reading and reviewing!