Natasha felt a shudder run up her spine as a pair crimson eyes bore into hers. Loki's frosty blue skin and intimidating glare were a startling change, but his silky voice and the hidden loneliness in his eyes still remained. "You're like Doctor Banner," she began, keeping her voice even.
"The mindless beast," Loki grunted, recalling her hulking green companion.
The assassin managed a smile as she stepped towards Loki. "In all those times you came to me, you never changed. Not once," she mused.
"This isn't permanent." As Loki spoke, he held his hand out and watched as his ivory skin began to return. She was masking her fear much better than he thought…
"You're some kind of alien?" Natasha prodded, watching the red of his eyes bleed back into his skull.
"No," he growled.
"I always figured you were something like that," she shrugged. "It sounds cooler than being a magician. At least to me, it did."
Loki was taken aback at her humour. Wasn't she repulsed? Then again, she didn't know what Frost Giants were…
"Thank the Fates you're all safe!" Frigga first ran to Loki and threw her arm around him just as the light blue was fading from his cheeks. "My sweet boy," she murmured, running her fingers through his messy black hair.
"You dare say that even after seeing what I am?" he whispered, wrinkling his nose.
"You can't push me away, dear," Frigga warmly smiled. "I am your mother, and you are my boy."
Thor was next to come running to Frigga. "The threat is no more, and Father sleeps safely."
"It might be safe here, but things were pretty bad back home when I left," Natasha interrupted.
"Then we will make amends on Midgard," Loki promised. He summoned an orange gem into his palm and showed it to Natasha. "This will bring us back to your own time. Do you wish to accompany us, Thor?" Loki questioned.
The blond god nodded. "Aye. Now that all is safe here."
"You're sure we'll be back right when we left?" Natasha asked. The last thing she wanted was to return to a post-apocalyptic New York where Fury and Barton had been dead for years. She didn't want to know what happened after she left. All those aliens…
"Yes," Loki promised, taking her small hand in his. Thor smacked him on the back and Loki took that as his cue to bring everyone to Midgard.
Natasha expected there to be damage, hell, she expected the end of the world. To find that the streets were cleared gave her some relief. The most damage she could spot from Fury's office window were a few damaged buildings billowing smoke up towards the portal in the sky. Iron Man was the next thing she saw, zipping right past the trio. An alien riding its chariot was close on his tail. Natasha grabbed her gun and shot at it through the broken window and smirked as its brains oozed from its skull before it fell from its scooter. "Stark!" she shouted.
Iron Man froze in mid air and turned around to fly towards her. "Made it back in one piece, huh?" he said as his face plate lifted up.
"Still no way to stop those guys?" she asked. "At least bullets seem to work…"
"Banner's on it!" Tony promised. "Or he was until some guys wanted to pick a fight. That man goes from genius to rage monster in six seconds!"
"And you couldn't finish the job for him?" Natasha snapped.
"We're all a little busy right now," he reminded her, throwing his thumb back towards the city.
"You fight, and we will stop this," Loki interrupted.
Tony turned to Loki, eying the unusual leather costume, then to Thor wearing his armour and dusty red cape. "I didn't know you had cosplayer friends, Romanoff."
"Stark, focus!" Natasha bit back.
"My place," Tony stated, all playfulness in his tone now gone. "We were in the process of launching a missile from the top floor. How much do you know about explosives?"
"Breaking out the illegal toys?" Natasha smirked.
"Do you still have that stone on you?" Tony abruptly asked. "Banner said if we can harness the power coming from that, we can close the wormhole after we clear out the source. If you can get up to my place, I'll meet you right after I take down some freaks harassing a coffee joint," Tony wagered. "Contact Fury, he's been barking orders-keeping the people safe is the main goal."
Natasha wasn't going to argue with that. These people were in no way prepared for an alien invasion… "See that building over there?" Natasha pointed straight ahead to Stark tower, settled between several skyscrapers. "Stark Tower. It's even labeled for you," she told Loki.
"That is where we need to be?" She nodded, so Loki wrapped an arm around her waist. "Hold on tight," he said, a smirk across his lips.
Natasha grabbed his arm, only to have Loki force her body closer to his before taking off. "Damn," she heard Tony breathe as they disappeared from sight. A split second passed in between the thirty mile voyage across the city."You sure you can't teach me that?" Natasha teased as she eyed a large metal briefcase marked as property of Stark Industries.
"Perhaps I can make an attempt in teaching you once all of this is over." The metal clasps of the briefcase clicked as Natasha unlocked them. "You plan to obliterate their race?" Loki wondered.
"Why not?" Natasha shrugged. "Look at what they're doing now. If we let them live, who knows what'll happen if that wormhole ever opens up again?"
"Thanos opened up their realm to yours and he is no more," Loki added with a tightened fist.
"So you're siding with the enemy?" Natasha glanced from the missile to Loki. "They nearly killed me! Hell, they're trying to kill everyone right now!" she hissed, rising to her feet.
A race of murderers. Where else had he heard that story? "Have you no faith that they will change? You and Frigga seem to have such high hopes for me," he added with bared teeth. "Unless you see me as a monster?"
"There's no reasoning with these guys, Loki." Natasha pressed down on a bullet around her wrist and heard the gentle hum of her stingers preparing to strike. "You can't let this get personal-not when a city's in danger," she reasoned.
"Do you intend to kill me?" he wondered, watching her hands clench into tiny fists. "Then by all means, please do. Finish off two races of killers in one day," Loki challenged.
Natasha wasn't being left with much of a choice. Loki was bringing this on himself. Right now, she had orders to protect the city. If Loki wanted to stand in her way, then so be it. His hand outstretched to grab her neck and just before Natasha could deliver an electric shock to his gut, a subtle splitting of the air between them sent Loki reeling back.
He sharply exhaled between his teeth as he glowered at the arrowhead lodged in his palm.
"Barton, stand back!" Natasha snapped.
The archer stood on the rooftop's edge, readying another arrow. "I've got this guy," he breathed. Something about the dark haired stranger wasn't right, and it wasn't just his leather getup. His voice held an odd familiarity to Clint, one that made his brain hurt to think about.
"'Barton,'" Loki mused, pulling the arrow out and tossing it aside as if nothing had happened. "The man sent to kill you is now at your defense." Blood trickled from his hand and landed on the paved roof. It only took a few seconds for the god to feel the tiny hole close up, good as new.
"Funny. If you wanted me dead, you should've let him shoot years ago," Natasha taunted. "Stop making yourself the victim, Loki! These things are trying to overrun the city!" She noticed Clint pull back his bow string and she signaled him to stop.
"What makes you think that they are incapable of changing their ways?" Loki hissed as the assassin drew closer to him. "Will you help to murder an entire race out of spite?"
"You made me a murderer." Her voice was like lead as her hardened eyes met with his. "You have no right to even be opening your mouth!" she threatened as she made an attempt to shove him back. Loki stood his ground and Natasha began throwing punches to his chest, trying to do at least a little damage. "Do you know how many people I've killed because of you?!"
"Killing is all a part of my nature, Ms. Romanoff. Do you not understand that?" he calmly asked.
"Because I'm so sure that Frigga taught you to kill-I saw her save a man's life! She isn't a killer!"
"And she is no mother of mine. Frigga is not part of this!" he seethed, gripping hold of her windpipe. Clint fired an arrow, but Loki caught it midair and brought the archer down with a gust of wind from his hand. "I will end this right here and now, Natasha," he promised, watching her struggle for air. "I will right my wrongs and it will be as though none of this ever happened…" The assassin continued to squirm and kick his thigh.
"And let me die?" she choked out. "I'd be lying if I said I could make it on my own."
Loki's glare softened as he loosened his grip. "You had a future. I ruined it out of my own selfishness."
"I had death coming!" she hissed, nails scraping into Loki's slender fingers. His hand suddenly felt ice cold and Natasha's body shuddered as she saw a blue hue creep into his face.
"You would rather live a killer than die as an innocent child?"
"Are you asking me, or is this one for you?"
The question left the god dumbfounded, forcing him to release Natasha and let her fall on her feet. She saw right through him. Then again, he always knew she was a clever one…
Natasha looked straight into his crimson orbs as she rubbed the icy burn around her neck. "You're not a killer, Loki. You saved my life when I was young. Do you think murdering a few bad men makes you a killer? You saved my life. You killed because it was just, not because it's in your blood…" She took a step towards him, but he backed away. "If anyone needs happiness right now, it's you," she remarked with a small smile. "People like me kill of our own free will. You're not like me at all." Natasha grabbed his hand and heard his breathing steady. "We'll close the portal," she wagered. "But any of these guys left in the city need to be killed." She turned around, eying Tony as he hovered behind her. "Got that?"
"If that's the only way to make Blue Man Group happy, then fine," Tony agreed.
Loki frowned until Natasha turned her attention to him. "Loki? Is that a deal?... We won't kill all of them." He nodded and let his Jotun form fade.
"I will get Thor and we will seal the void from Asgard. Sealing the void will use up much of our strength. It will be wise if we do it from home."
Natasha shrugged. "You can always stay here and relax for a few days. I still need a new apartment," she hinted.
Loki tilted his head to the side as he blinked. "You are coming back with me, Natasha. To Asgard."
The red-head laughed and shook her head in reply. "That's not where I belong, Loki."
"Then you will visit once all of this is over," he agreed. "Time will not be an issue with the stone," he added.
"You think so?" she asked. "Cuz part of me wonders if time is working against us for a reason…"
Loki's brows knitted together in confusion. "I do not understand…"
"Yes you do." Natasha stood up on her tiptoes and brought her lips close to his ear. "Find your own happiness, then we'll talk." Before he could answer, she gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "And don't tell me that I'm the only one who can make you happy," she winked, a genuine smile across her lips. "You've got a family who seems to really care about you. How about you make amends with them for starters?"
Loki was far from happy at the woman's words. He felt like a child being abandoned by his mother. But Natasha seemed adamant about her agreement and he couldn't blame her. She looked happy, and Loki wished that he could look at her with a similar smile, bright and hopeful. "So you believe the paths of a god and assassin will cross again?" he smirked.
Natasha began to laugh. "Yeah," she nodded. "I do… Now go so I can start kicking ass."
There was a bittersweet pain to her words that made Loki want to wallow in his sorrows. But instead, he chose to smile and chuckle. "Until I find my own happiness," he agreed. "Farewell, Natasha."
Just like that, Loki was gone as suddenly as his random appearances and disappearances in Natasha Romanoff's life. But every time he disappeared, he always managed to return. Natasha looked forward to whenever his surprise visit would come next because next time, he would be happy. Happiness. That was what everyone needed in their life. Especially a broken god and a vengeful assassin. Those were the two who deserved happiness most of all.
Natasha was certainly happy. Once the alien mess was cleaned up, she returned to her apartment complex to find that her home was back, completely damage-free and not a book out of place. Loki certainly lived up to his promises-she liked a man of his word. She was definitely happy. Now, it was Loki's turn. Natasha wondered what he was doing on Asgard. She actually thought about it quite often. Was he finding happiness of his own? She hoped so, because she eagerly waited for when the mysterious god would pop up in her life next…
"If you must go
I wish you love
You'll never walk alone
Take care my love
Miss you love"
A/N: Thank you so much to my readers and for the reviews! I hope you guys enjoyed this one, and i will see you all again soon!