She found Loki already sitting with Helbindi, the enormous giant's arms folded over his chest as he took in the advisor, stoic gaze calculating his elder brother. Though Natasha had thought it would be tense, having a Jotun prince at the castle in the midst of all the other chaos, she was pleased to be wrong this one time. Helbindi's presence was if anything hardly noted in the insanity of the time, and not even the Aesir could bring themselves to cause problems with the dignitary or any of his men. Natasha was proud of them for that, hoping for once the old habits of centuries past would be traded for a new peace between the two. It would be the last thing Thanos would want at the time, and anything that made him mad or dampened his plans was a boon to Nat.
Not wanting to disturb the two she pointedly looked for a seat elsewhere in the dining hall, thinking she might visit with Hogun and see how things with Vanaheim had been going, but Loki caught her attention and beckoned her closer. 'Oh, very well then.' Smiling, she kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand when she grew close enough, tipping her head to Helbindi in respect. They weren't too fond of being overly pleasant.
"Sister." The Jotun's voice was deep, mirroring the rumbling of an earthquake, and she echoed the sentiment as she took her seat at Loki's side, turning to the side to survey the enormous man. Loki said nothing, choosing instead to take a sip of water and Natasha felt her heart stutter slightly. What in the Hel was this silence supposed to mean?
"My father would prefer we visit to sign off on the treaty between Asgard and Jotunheim," Loki finally spoke, each of his words obviously weighed carefully as his green eyes met Natasha's. "He is unwilling to leave his throne for fear of-."
"Our father does not fear anything," Helbindi growled and Natasha heard his knuckles crack as his grip tensed. Loki backtracked with a barely muffled sigh.
"He worries about the restlessness of the stone giants and so desires we visit him. From there we will visit his armies and set up a method with which to contact one another, as well as approve the creation of a second Bifrost upon their land."
Natasha's head spun. The Bifrost was a new revelation, she supposed, having known about the other stipulations the treaty had begun to center around. She wondered how long it had taken Laufey to construct these ideas after having met Loki at their wedding.
'The craftiness of the pair of them is really astounding.'
"How long will we be gone for?" Natasha asked, keeping her voice even as she considered the two.
"Two weeks at the least," Helbindi said, and here Loki's hand tightened on hers. Ah, the problem then.
She took a moment, pretending to consider it as she looked down at her lap, before turning back up to Helbindi. "I'm afraid we cannot agree to that length of time," she said and for a moment she felt a twinge of irritation rise towards Loki. He knew that they'd each agreed on a week at most, Thor having been adamant about it when they'd been discussing possible scenarios. It would be far too dangerous for them to be longer, no matter what the cost. Seven days and seven nights, that was all that could be spent away. So why hadn't Loki already haggled his way out of it? Why did he have her take care of the issue?
Helbindi's body tensed and he drew himself up to his full height. Even seated Natasha had had to look up to him and so him standing had certainly succeeded in making her feel tiny. As if she needed help with that; Loki might've been a runt, but he was a damn tall one.
"You will do my family great insult by not accepting. My father wishes to ensure the sincerity of Asgard extends further than their immediate need for soldiers."
The noise had risen in an attempt to allow the trio more privacy, Volstagg commanding more attention as he retold one of his more well known stories. Nat felt gratitude well within her as Helbindi looked perturbed by the lack of a response around him, as though he'd been intending to prove how false Natasha and Loki supposedly were.
"Helbindi," Natasha said, beckoning him to sit once more. His gamble hadn't paid off and she was growing tired of his childish activity.
He glowered but did as requested, jaw clenched tight. Loki visibly relaxed, having prepared for a fight, but Natasha knew better. He'd not gotten the empowering reaction he'd wanted and so had nothing to validate his violence. If he started a fight word would inevitably reach his father that his son and emissary had let his temper get the best of him, and the King did not seem like the sort to take misconduct lightly.
"I mean no insult in refusing your terms," Natasha began in earnest, leaning in to intimate that she knew and understood his fears once he'd sat back down. The frost giants had not been handled well in the past, and while it had not been Natasha's own fault she was in a position to fix it. Fix it she would. "But as your father cannot in good conscious leave the throne for too long, as royal advisor neither can Loki or myself-."
"You should not let your personal liaison influence your politics else you may not find you are in power for much longer," Helbindi interrupted, sullen, not even trying to hide the threat in his words. Natasha froze and felt her blood heat up. As if it were any of his business, honestly, and though her gaze frosted over her lips twisted into a smile.
"And you ought not to speak about what you know not about," she hissed, reaching over Loki and snagging Helbindi's arm. Rather than freezing as she thought she might, his skin seemed to burn beneath her grip, so much so that the giant's own expression changed to one of surprised pain as he tried to pull away. She held fast.
"My personal dealing sare none of your business, brother mine. What worries me is not the beast that bellows the loudest but the one who waits in the shadows until the others have exhausted themselves. Now, if you wish to keep charging in, assuming every breath I take is an offense to you, your father, or whomever you desire to bring up then fine, but I intend to fight Thanos, and I intend to win. You can scream and declare me what you wish, a whore, a traitor, whichever, but once I am finished with Thanos and have made him suffer for the atrocities he committed to my people I will certain to turn my attention to those who once screamed at me, those who refused to support me, and deal with them myself."
She hadn't noticed that her voice had risen until it rang in the silent hall, and this time not even Volstagg could come to the rescue. She refused to let her face heat up as she released the giant and, with a small flourish, stood up to exit the hall, her head held high. She barely made it out, the large doors swinging shut behind her, before she had to pull away into one of the darker nooks of the hall, her breathing shallow and her hands trembling. What the hell was she doing, threatening him? They needed him, pompous ass though he might be!
"Stupid," she muttered as she ran a hand through her hair, struggling to remember just how to breathe. "You royal fucking idiot-."
She went silent as the door to the hall opened, then shut once more. The heavy footsteps told her it was Helbindi, and Natasha forced herself to straighten, muscles going tense. She was grateful, then, for the many knives constantly strapped to her body, but whether he didn't notice her or didn't want to speak with her any more, the giant passed her by. Good. Waiting until he'd gone far enough that his footsteps became muffled, she stepped out in time to see him disappear down the hall to the scrying chamber, where he'd attempt to converse with his father likely. Assuming Laufey was in a good mood they might be able to get away with avoiding being another target.
She didn't want to think about that, though, and after palming her hands on her skirts she stepped out of the corner and made her way back towards her room. She'd eat breakfast alone, not wishing to mess up again like that.
Not that she'd get any peace, of course, not after what she'd pulled. Loki met her there not a few minutes after she'd sent food up, bursting in without so much as knocking. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded, and she could all but taste the way the air around him had changed. He was furious, terrified, and it made her stomach turn.
"Did he already get a response from Laufey?" She asked, rising from where she'd sat at her desk.
"No, but I'll be amazed if he isn't on the Bifrost and back to Jotunheim within the hour," he spat. "You know how hard I worked to try for peace with them, Natasha? Do you understand how much time I put to even get him here?"
"Well then he should've realized to hold his tongue, shouldn't he? It's none of his business what you, Thor, and I do so long as it doesn't interfere. Besides," she said, remembering and stepping towards him. "You knew that we can't stay anywhere longer than a week, Loki. Why didn't you bother telling him that, or fight with him about it?" She'd stopped to stand in front of him, her eyes narrowed, neck hurting from having to look up. Why did all the men in her life have to be so obscenely tall? "Why'd you bring me over? You knew that I'd not agree to it."
It was Loki's turn to grow silent, and once more he was on the immediate defensive, explaining that he wasn't getting anywhere because his brother wanted to hear her opinion. He got a few minutes of conversation out before Nat snarled.
"You fucking coward," she spat. "You didn't want to tell him no, so you brought your wife over to do it for you, because I'm a woman and if things all go to hell then you can blame them on me. Norns, I thought we were over this need for approval shit!"
"What are you talking about?" He asked, stepping closer, his own voice hitting the same, dangerous low tremors that Helbindi's had. Had it been any other time she might've taken pause, or noticed how her pulse naturally raced at the sound of his voice hitting such a low tremor. Now? She shoved him backwards, beyond furious.
"You're so obsessed with getting the approval of a paternal figure-it doesn't matter if it was Odin or Laufey, now that he's at least somewhat stepping up and trying to act as though he's your father. You don't have to make them proud, Loki! Dammit why can't you just be your own person like-."
"Like Thor?" He snarled, cutting her off, one of his hands reaching to grab her chin and squeeze, hard. Her hand stretched out to strike him so hard across the face she was surprised at herself.
Second mistake of the day, it seemed.
"No. Like me." She ground out. "Since when have I ever asked or demanded your approval? Or anyone's? We do what we have to because it is for the best and-."
His lips crashed against hers, hands holding her face so that she couldn't pull away, taking advantage of her mouth being already opened to speak. She wanted to hate him, and bit at his bottom lip and tongue until she tasted blood, beating against his chest as he held her there and devoured her whole. In the end she melted against him, as she always did. She backed him up against the nearest wall, pinning him there, her hands snaking upwards to undo the leather belting and buckles that kept him from her.
"I hate you," she breathed against his lips when they finally pulled away to suck in air, eyes half-lidded and lips swollen.
"I love you." He mirrored, kissing her again. "And I'm sorry."
"Good. Then you can make it up to me," she huffed, moaning as he traced her jaw with his lips, biting and sucking at the flesh until it reddened and purpled beneath his attentions.
He endeavored to, snaking his hands down to cup her backside and hoist her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. Their clothing disappeared, skin hot as they pressed together all the closer, looking for more friction. Loki moaned as Natasha sucked on his bottom lip, and he managed to steer them towards the bed, cock already pressed up against her slick heat. She groaned when he laid her down and pulled away, tugging her legs so that he could bring his mouth to her already wet slit from where he knelt in front of her, sucking on the swollen flesh while his fingers kneaded the soft flesh of her thighs. She shouted in surprise when his tongue ran from top to bottom before circling around her clit, fingers already breaching her as he sucked at the bundle of nerves. She trembled and ran a hand through his hair, grabbing hold of it as he made short work of apologizing for his actions, whining when he pulled away just before she came.
"Ass," she huffed, though when he lifted her hips up to wrap her legs around his waist, sliding into her with ease and a soft groan, her thoughts went silent, little left to think about except that she just wanted more. It wasn't often that she and Loki got time to themselves, and she welcomed the rarity. He did as well, never taking her eyes off of her as he pushed into her maddeningly slowly, before withdrawing, cutting off her plea to go faster by snapping his hips hard against hers. There. Much better.
Laufey, as it turned out, was more or less impressed by Natasha's spirit, so while Helbindi had indeed complained to him the king had told them that a week was more than acceptable and fair. They'd agreed to set out in a few days time, Natasha's stomach flopping as the time passed far too quickly for her liking. Seven days and seven nights, that was promised, and Thor had assured her that he'd understood when she'd gone to him to let him know that both she and Loki were required at the meeting. He kissed her quickly and smiled down at her, his enormous hand cupping the side of her face, a comfort. It was always a comfort to see him standing, smiling back at her, when she'd been so afraid before that she would never see it again.
"Be safe," he said. "Try not to let your fury get the best of you."
She laughed though she didn't quite feel it in her gut, the sound coming out less than as strong as she'd hoped. "I'll save all the fury for you and Loki when I get back, shall I?" She teased, moving his hand to her lips so she could kiss his knuckles, before Loki knocked on the door and informed Natasha that it was, indeed, time for them to get going. She squeezed Thor's hand once more before he walked her towards the door, Loki having finished making the appropriate arrangements for them to travel and stay. He'd taught her a couple simple spells so that she would be able to keep herself warm, Loki not likely to have that problem considering his blood, and Thor left them at the start of the bridge, kissing Natasha's cheek in order to help them save face before helping her get onto her horse.
"Have safe travels you two. Contact mother if you need anything." Thor said, looking to Loki, who nodded. Natasha pressed one of the two stones that Loki had given to her before, Loki still holding onto the second, into one of Thor's hands. "If there's trouble," she said with a stern nod. They could never be too careful, especially not then. Thor assured her he would let them know the moment something happened, and with a soft pat on the rump of Natasha's horse he sent them off to meet Laufey.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading, following, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far!