Half an hour later, I found myself walking briskly down the street, Loki on my left and Brita right between us. She clutched my hand, skipping gaily and humming a little nonsensical tune.

I wanted to despise Loki for his actions, but I couldn't – I just couldn't. Not only had he done it with such subtle, careful moves that it was impossible to track them all, but as soon as we were out of Westminster hall, he changed. His careful masks fell away, revealing a boyish, ecstatic joy. Loki was innocently proud of his work, overjoyed with his success. The usually austere demigod now seemed like a young child on Christmas morning. How could I hate him when every movement, every word, was full of pure joy and happiness?

"What do you want, Natasha? You can have anything—everything."

"I didn't help much, did I?" I decided, raising an eyebrow.

"You delivered the news to Mr. Quinn that he would become Prime Minister this morning. I believe you also saved his life afterwards." I frowned, considering his words. I didn't remember telling him about Coulson...

"And here's a delightful reward for the both of us," Loki said suddenly. "We're going to go on a holiday." Loki wasn't finished, but I was already starting to stammer in surprise.

Holiday? As in, a road trip? A vacation? Do they do that sort of thing in Asgard?

"Afterwards, when your Midgard has settled down, we will begin moving the pieces of America's chessboard. I have already prepared for the game, and my pawns await my command. But now we will go west, Natasha, to see the greatness of my new country."

His grin was so radiant that Brita smiled back at him and reached up to grab his hand as well as mine. To my utter surprise—considering his reaction to her childish antics the prior morning—his smile never faltered, and we continued down the road in this way for some time. When we reached the flat, Loki told me that I should change into something a bit warmer, and also that I should pack whatever I thought I might need. Then he vanished. Typical.

It was unclear from his words whether we were leaving permanently or actually coming back someday in the future, but I changed into soft leather boots, blue jeans, and a knitted turtleneck that I decided, after looking in the mirror, was very flattering. After throwing on a coat I had found in the back of the closet, I stuffed as much as I could into the leather suitcase.

"Here we go again," I murmured, remembering all the pleasant places I'd had to leave behind in the last month.

"Where?" Brita's sing-song voice and familiar soft hand pulled me back to reality. "Where, Na?"

"Wherever Loki tells us to go," I announced, perhaps a bit unkindly, as I helped her into a little jacket.

"Oh, I'm sure you will find our new accommodations every bit as welcoming as your beloved forest house." I pressed my lips tightly together to keep from lashing out at the demigod, and turned around stiffly, my suitcase at my side. Loki was standing right where he had been ten minutes earlier, and although his infectious smile was gone, I still detected a tinge of laughter in his dark eyes.

"I hope so," I said hotly.

"You need not hope, Natasha," he assured me, taking my hand. "You will find everything perfectly suitable."

I attempted to glare at him, but our surroundings were whisked away in a breathe of freezing wind, cutting off my look. We materialized in the back corner of a loud, but tiny, shop.

"Uhh..." Loki, now dressed in a green button-down shirt and expensive jeans, kept hold of my hand as he wound through the crowd and out into a large airport. I glanced over my shoulder at the store we had exited, noting the racks of books, magazines, and newspapers.

"We're flying?" I asked.

"I'm borrowing Stark's private jet again," Loki said with an impish grin. "The inventor landed here in Heathrow not fifteen minutes ago. He is out in London now, hunting for us."

Brita tugged a little on my hand as I stared at Loki. The gall...

"This way!" the demigod said, setting off through the glass-walled airport. Shaking my head, I trailed after him. After a minute, Loki pulled an iPhone out of his pocket and called several people, but I couldn't hear his words over the general roar of thousands of people.

The small jet was at a relatively empty end of Heathrow through two sets of guarded doors. Not one of the men blinked as we walked up. Loki just opened the door and continued on until we reached the tarmac.

"Are you sure he's gone?" I demanded, hopping a step to keep up with Loki. Brita mimicked me, and proceeded to hop like a bunny the rest of the way to the stairs.

"Quite," Loki assured me, taking the steps two at a time. I followed close behind, making sure Brita didn't trip on the way up.

"And isn't it very stupid to take his jet, again?"

"Probably," he replied cheerfully. A suited woman opened the door for us and followed us in, shutting the door and locking it.

We sat down in our seats with Brita between us, happily humming and flipping through a picture book. Where had that come from? As the plane rolled backwards, away from the main building, I couldn't help glancing over at Loki. He was so calm, so confident, despite his stupid plan. Tony would be beyond furious when he discovered that we had taken his jet. Again.

"How do you do it?" I finally asked.

He met my eyes, a contented smirk on his face. "Do what?"

"You know exactly what I mean," I accused.

Loki sighed pleasantly and leaned back in his comfortable leather seat. "Your Director Fury's little group of 'heroes' are predictable to the point of being laughable," he informed me cheerfully. "The Captain of America is never without an entourage of SHIELD agents, a monster like Banner is ridiculously hard to hide – even in his more agreeable form – and Tony Stark's ego usually precedes him. The man is incapable of being discreet. No, Natasha, it is not at all hard to locate them, if desired, or avoid them, which is preferred. They're about as stealthy as a herd of bilge snipe."

Bilge snipe? I hid a wryly amused smile from him. It quickly became a frown as I thought about the Avengers... or what was left of them. Where was Cap now? And what had happened to Banner?

I finally pushed those annoying thoughts aside: I would find out eventually, I told myself. Settling back in my seat, I closed my eyes and almost let myself relax—before a sudden thought popped into my head.

"Loki."

"Yes, Natasha?" His voice was warm and mellow, and still sounded remotely happy. I hoped my question wouldn't change that: his current frame of mind made him much less frightening than usual.

Yes, I still fear him, I realized with some discomfort. Did I still hate him? I wasn't sure.

I clasped my hands together and refused to open my eyes. "Did you... is my third power... gone?"

A momentary pause made me flinch.

"Gone?" he repeated. A hint of confusion colored his voice, and I heard him shift slightly beside me.

"My—your—my nightmares," I said uncertainly.

The silence that followed was so cold that I had to fight back a shiver. "I don't—uh—I don't have them anymore," I explained, swallowing nervously. "I was hoping—I was wondering if maybe you had—taken them away."

I stopped talking and held my breath, realizing how stiff I was. I tried to relax, but found it impossible to so much as loosen one muscle. Even my eyes were squeezed tightly shut. The worst thing in the world that could happen to me would be to have another one of those horrible dreams.

Then a less frosty voice broke the silence: "Your powers cannot be removed."

I cracked an eye open, glancing surreptitiously at Loki. He was not looking at me. Both eyes were wide, but staring blankly into space, and his slender hands rested on his knees.

"They can't?" I ventured, blinking and turning to look at him directly. I was sure my heart was visibly throbbing under my jacket.

"No," he murmured. "Your power was to face your past, not have nightmares. Those memories were merely a tool."

I folded my arms across my chest, trying to stifle a surge of anger. "Well, it didn't work," I grumbled. "And what business is it of yours whether I face my past or not? I don't understand how that can be a power, or a gift, or even a curse. It's voluntary," I asserted.

"Is it?" Loki hissed quietly, finally turning to look at me. His eyes latched onto mine, and I froze, feeling cornered. "Is it a choice, Natasha?"

I pulled away, but he reached out and snagged my wrist. The freezing coldness of his bare skin seared my arm, but I clenched my teeth and glared up at him, feeling a surge of panic. "Believe me when I tell you that changing someone's identity is beyond even your capabilities."

"Oh, but I have, haven't I?" Loki leaned down, his breath cold on my face—but he was smiling again. This time it was a smug, self-satisfied smirk that was both nauseating and obscenely attractive.

"...Have you?" I found myself whispering, slightly overwhelmed by his closeness. The scent of whatever cologne he was wearing was enough to make my spine tingle, and I noticed for the first time that there was a sapphire ring around both of his pupils. It melted into the jade of his irises, and I wasn't sure where the blue tinge stopped and the green began.

"I guided you back to the light, did I not?" He moved just a little bit closer, still holding my wrist. "You have come to realize your full potential, just as I had hoped."

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but found that all words left my mind. The silver tongue which had so efficiently swayed parliament earlier in the day now held me in a similar trance.

"If indeed your phantasmagorical memories have ceased, then your past no longer hinders you as it once did. You should be grateful, Natasha, for my intervention."

I fought against the influence of his voice, pulling away weakly. "I still know enough not to fall for your stupid mind-games," I mumbled, only half-believing it as I said it. "And I don't need your help. Not now... or ever."

Turbulence suddenly rocked the jet, and reality hit me like a winter wind. Shaken out of my daze, I yanked my wrist away from Loki and leaned away. "I was at peace with my past—before you came and took my future away from me," I snarled.

"And what future did you have, Natasha? What hope was there for you—betrayed, abandoned, used by SHIELD, a slave to your own memories?" Loki's voice had suddenly sharpened, and I shrank away.

"I was at peace," I repeated firmly, struggling to believe myself.

"Then explain to me why, when I found you, you were still a tortured, desperate soul?" His pupils flared slightly, giving him a cat-like appearance. "Still floundering for purpose. Still running from your shame."

"At least I didn't try to bury my past in another bloodbath! You're the one who killed all those innocent people—"

"It was their own foolishness—"

"—your own cruelty—"

"—that sent them to their graves."

"And the prime minister—"

"The prime minister was unfit to lead his country."

"And you think you can do a better job?"

"By rights, Midgard should be ruled by one king, as the other worlds have been for centuries. Not these scattered, squabbling diplomats who cannot even think beyond their own selfish ambitions."

"Better them than you!"

A loud wail brought our spat to a jarring halt, and we turned as one to look across the aisle. Brita had crawled between two of the seats and clamped her tiny hands over her ears. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks, and her big blue eyes were taking in our whole shouting match.

I stared helplessly. Now what did I do? The girl continued to sob, although her heart-wrenching wails stopped. Loki stood up and moved to the back of the plane – as far away from Brita as possible – and began to read a novel he conjured out of thin air.

I got up and walked toward Brita, but a flight attendant rushed to my side. "Sit down please, Miss. We're landing."

"Oh. Erm, alright." Truthfully, I was glad for the excuse to leave Brita alone. Screaming children were not my specialty. Slowly, I sank back down into my seat and stared resolutely at the flight information in the plastic pouch in front of me. Brita continued to cry furiously. Why was she so affected by our argument? Sure, she trusted me, but Loki still seemed to be an enemy in her eyes.

Was Loki my enemy?

Before SHIELD, before Barton, I would have answered yes. Before all this, I would have answered yes. He was a madman trying to conquer the world. Even a rogue assassin had to fight against that, right? But as I thought about it, my mind whispered a quiet no. He wasn't killing people anymore. I wasn't killing people anymore. Well, in theory. It was just theory for both of us, really. Loki wasn't murdering dozens of people – just Brita's mother that I had seen. Who had I killed since the bad days? When I had served as a distraction during our second trip to London, certainly. And a few agents in SHIELD when I had gone on my self-appointed mission to rescue a demigod.

In that way, at least, we were similar.

The plane landed quickly and smoothly. As soon as the wheels touched down with a squeal, Loki stood up and walked up to the front of the plane. I watched him walk – watched his precise movements under his expensive suit. After spending so much time with him, it was easy to see that he was not human. Loki was demigod who had lived for thousands of years. I had killed, sure, but he had survived countless battles, countless family quarrels, only to fall into his brother's shadow. Thor had mentioned that Loki had fought at his side for almost every battle the future king had been in. Didn't that make them equal? Was Loki's resentment justified?

But still, taking over planet earth... I might be able to justify his past with twisted logic and perhaps a bit of sympathy, but I could never justify that.

Although... The former prime minister had been a meth addict. Maybe he had done Great Britain a favor. Or maybe not. America was waiting for Loki's next move, so only time could tell.

The cabin door opened, letting in a flood of red light. A rather plump, matronly woman rushed up the steps and into the plane. "Mr. Laufeyson?" she asked briskly, facing Loki. Her eyes skimmed over to me and latched onto Brita's curled up body. "Is that the child?"

"Yes."

"And there has been no changes to the schedule that was sent to me?"

"In the last twenty minutes? I think not," Loki said coldly.

The woman was unaffected. "Very well then." She swept past the demigod and bundled Brita into her arms. "Hush, hush, child. Nanny's here now." Brita's cries immediately stopped and she stared at the new woman with wide eyes. "Let's go get an ice cream, alright?"

"Ice cream? Brita likes ice cream!" the little girl assured her, patting the woman's hand.

The nanny laughed and carried her off the plane without a look at us. I watched them go, mouth hanging open to protest, but nothing came out.

"There," Loki said, sounding immensely satisfied. "We will have a few days of peace."

I looked over at him suspiciously. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going on holiday."

"Where are we?"

"Southampton."

"What?" I stood up, extremely puzzled. "That's only an hour and a half away from London..."

"Or a ten minute flight," Loki said, nodding. "Surely you noticed we were not long in the air?"

I frowned at him. "Of course I noticed. But I'm still confused."

"As usual," Loki said cheekily. Before I could reply, he had vanished down the stairs. Annoyed and frustrated, I followed him down, trying to think of any local landmarks Loki would find appealing. Nothing came to mind.

Loki strode across the tarmac to a white Mini-Cooper. I could see a few suitcases in the back. "Oh no. Are we actually driving that?"

"I find it rather charming, don't you?" Loki asked, looking faintly surprised.

"Eh." I eyed the tiny car. "Depends on how far we're driving."

"About an hour."

"Then it's horrible."

"Get in, Natasha." Loki opened the passenger door for me.

I crossed my arms, standing about thirty feet away. "Can't we just teleport or whatever?"

"No."

"Why not?" I challenged.

"Because we have to blend in until all the excitement dies down. I will be unable to cloud people's memory, as the Avengers will be looking into any report of the strange. Teleporting there, as you call it, would also attract attention, because there is no empty or crowded area to teleport into." He paused. "And I just took over all of Britain, so I'm quite tired."

I blinked. "Um, alright." Reluctantly, I slid into the Mini and fastened my seatbelt. Loki got in the other side and within five minutes, we were heading north on the M3 at a frightening pace. I clung to my seatbelt until my knuckles were white. "You drive even worse than Barton!" I shouted over the engine noise.

Loki grinned at me. "Thank you. I have been practicing."

"When?" I demanded.

"Oh, day before last. I drove for the first time in this very car."

"This is only the second time you've driven?" I cried. He swerved, almost hitting a truck, then sped up until we hit over eighty miles an hour. "Pull over!" I shouted. "Pull over now!" He glanced at me, making the car swerve again. "NOW!" I screamed.

He pulled over onto the shoulder.

"Get out," I ordered.

He got out.

I ran over to the driver's side and sat down before he could change his mind, glaring at him. "I will drive."

"You don't know where we're going," he pointed out.

"Give me directions then." I flicked on the blinker and merged onto the freeway again. "We're going to get to wherever it is safely. I refuse to be killed in an insane accident because you drive like an idiot."

Loki shrugged infuriatingly. "I suppose this would be less obvious."

"Slightly," I ground out sarcastically. "Tell me if I need to get off."

He nodded and reached for the stereo. The classical music station immediately blasted out of it and played nonstop for the next forty-five minutes. I did my best to ignore it, concentrating on the road, but the strains of Bach and Vivaldi flooded my mind. I found myself tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of a cheerier number. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki smile.

A few minutes later, Loki told me to get off at the next exit. A mile later, a sign caught my attention. "Stonehenge? Are we seriously going to Stonehenge?"

"Not tonight, Natasha. In the morning."

I sighed and pulled of the freeway. "Why Stonehenge?"

"It is a lovely place that I have not visited in centuries."

"Oh, only a few hundred years," I said, shooting him a look.

He smirked. "Turn left."

The rest of the ride was quiet save for Loki's instructions. We drove out of the more populated areas into the rolling green hills England was famous for. Occasionally, huge mansions appeared in the distance. At a large, elegant iron-wrought sign, Loki gestured for me to stop. "This is it."

"The Lainston House?"

"Yes."

I paused, staring at the huge, elaborate gates before slowly rolling the Mini through them and onto the smoothly paved road. A full minute of driving past before the mansion hotel came into sight. Backed by both woods and a spectacular sunset, the Lainston House glowed cheerily. It was like stepping back into the 18th century, except for the expensive cars parked out front. And the tennis court. But the nearby stables certainly matched the vine covered stone walls of the mansion.

"It's gorgeous!"

"I thought so," Loki said smugly.

Two suited men met us at the main entrance and opened our doors. One grabbed out luggage while the other one took the keys and drove off. "This way, if you please Mr. Laufeyson, Miss. Romanoff." He bowed to us in turn, held the massive double doors open, and followed us inside. In a whirlwind of pomp and circumstance, we were settled into separate rooms.

I didn't know about Loki's room, but mine was covered in lush gold and red decorations. Every square inch felt rich and modern, although heavily influenced by the lovely old building. I fell back onto the king-sized bed. No Brita demanding something. No Loki – for the moment. I was alone in a wonderful room with nothing to do but...

Sleep.

I sprawled luxuriously across the bed, taking up every inch of the plush comforter, and within minutes I had fallen asleep in my clothes.

Co-written with Alassiel

Happy New Year's everyone!

Insanity- Great news! Lassie just uploaded her own story, called How To Live With a Demigod 101. It's hilarious, cute, and definitely worth a read! Check it out!