Hello my loyal audience! I hope you enjoyed my last chapter at that you enjoy this one as well. I have officially decided that the next chapter will be the one where Natasha, Clint, and Bruce discover Loki. And like I said in the last chapter, it is gonna happen with a bang. This chapter will be almost nothing but fluff between Loki and Diana.
Loki: Exactly what kind of bang are you talking about?
Silver: You will find out next chapter Loki. And Diana, I do apologize about what will happen then.
Diana:*sighs and waves away the apology* It's ok Silver, I'll be fine. I just better not die.
Silver: I have no intentions of that, trust me. *murmurs* least not in that chapter…
Diana: What was that?
Silver:*smiles brightly and innocently* Nothing! Now onto the disclaimer.
Diana: *looks skeptical* 666Silvermoon is in no way, shape or form the owner of anything in the Marvel Universe or Norse Mythology. The only things in here she owns are me, my animals, my family, and any other future OC's or places she makes that are not in the Marvel universe. She is not making any money from writing this story; it is purely for her own amusement and to entertain others. Enjoy Chapter 12!
Chapter 12
Diana's P.O.V
"There!" I exclaim proudly as I paint my signature at the bottom right hand corner of my painting in white. "It's finished."
After spending the majority of the morning with painting, with rests in between every few hours to only take care of my animals or for bathroom breaks, I finally finished my first painting. It had taken an extra two days, mostly because I kept getting distracted from my mind bringing up the memory of Loki kissing me two nights ago. I sighed in happiness before hurriedly standing and sticking my head out of the room.
"Oy, Loki! Come down here please! " I called up to him happily, knowing he had been in the library for the past hour finishing up Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I happily looked at my painting before grabbing a ten pound block of sculpting clay and unwrapping the plastic from it.
"You called Lady Diana?" Loki said as he stood in the doorway of my self-proclaimed studio. I gestured happily towards my finished painting as I worked at softening the clay.
"I finished the first painting." I said excitedly. Loki scanned the painting, and I tried looking at it through his eyes. A starry night sky as a back drop, with shadowy trees and grass; a large black horse whose coat shined in the light of a full moon and whose mane blew in the wind. A rider atop the horse's saddle, his body covered in a cloak of various dark shades of blue and green, his face partially covered by the hood of his cloak but on the part that isn't hidden you can see a wide grin on a handsomely angular face with an emerald green eye that seemed to glow; the rider's hand, with long and pale fingers, is outstretched towards the viewer, with a bright mass of green and gold magical energy swirling in his palm. I happen to think it's one of my better paintings.
"What do you think?" I ask Loki. He is silent for a few minutes before turning towards me with an amazed look in his eyes.
"I have never seen such work. It's so realistic, not even the painters of Asgard use their talent like this. They paint only war scenes or royal portraits. This is a truly remarkable piece Lady Diana." He says to me in wonder, and my cheeks inflame with blood as I hotly blush.
"I am glad you think so highly of my work." I softly say once I get past the lump in my throat. I don't see him smile but I hear him walk closer and feel and see him take my hand and lay a kiss upon my knuckles.
"You truly are a remarkable being, my dear." He says with a smile, and I feel myself blush harder as I clear my throat.
"T-thank you Loki; I do appreciate your opinion." I tell him, cursing myself for stuttering at my words at first. He smiles happily though and looks at the clay in my hands.
"What are you gonna do with that?" He asks me as I knead the clay in my hands.
"I'm thinking about doing Fenrir, cast in chains like you said he would be." I tell him, and at that moment my stomach chooses to growl.
"Maybe it would be best if you ate something first, since I know you haven't eaten anything today yet." Loki said with a smirk as I sheepishly laughed.
"You're probably right." I say as I head out to grab an apple from my kitchen. I scarf it down as fast as I can before heading back to my art room.
Loki looked at me with wide eyes. "Well that was surprising. I've never seen a woman eat an apple that fast."
"Well I wanted to show you how I normally sculpt with clay." I tell him, ignoring the slight burning in my ears. I move my hands over the clay, eyes glowing as I manipulate it to my will.
"I use water based sculpting clay, so it's easy for me to manipulate it using my powers. Granted I could do this by hand, but it would take a lot longer. Plus this gives me more practice with my powers." I say as I move the clay in mid-air by using my fingers like a puppeteer, forming it into a basic wolf shape. I mold the chain links around the legs, back, and muzzle as I add more details, like fur texture and claws. I make it as realistic as I can, before I stop using my powers and look at my handiwork.
The wolf has chains crisscrossing his body, but his eyes are open and showing defiance, almost human, and his ears are more pointed than an average wolf's and are pulled back. His fur bristles along his back down to his tail, which juts straight out and puffs up. His lips are curled back in a snarl to show razor like teeth despite the chain links trying to keep his jaws shut. His muscles are taught, showing off his malnourished body but sinewy muscles. His front paws semi-resemble hands, with longer toes than normal for a wolf with a sharp claw topping each digit.
I looked up at Loki for his intake, and found him staring at the statue with such a deep seated longing that I almost stepped back. He reached out his hand, gently stroking the cheek of the wolf.
"He…I miss them, so much…" He says softly. His hand falls to his side, and I step up next to him, gently taking his hand to try and comfort him.
"You'll see them again Loki, one day." I tell him with conviction in my voice. He sighs, squeezing my hand before releasing it.
"Maybe I will, but that day can't come soon enough sometimes." He tells me before leaving the room. I sadly watch him go, not knowing how to comfort him.
Later that day, after I had dried the sculpture, I looked in on Loki in the library once I had finished preparing a simple dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. I found him aimlessly staring out the window, watching the horizon as the sun slowly started setting. I bit my lip, before going back downstairs. I put the newly made dinner in a large Tupperware, grabbed two bottles of water, a few apples, four of my mother's strawberry tarts in a smaller Tupperware, two plates, and some silverware. I packed it all up into a saddlebag, along with my cherry red I-pod Nano and a speaker, put on my black riding boots, and went out to saddle Apollo and Domino, since they have the best eyes when out on the trails at night. I slipped my 20 gauge pump action Browning shotgun against the back of Apollo's saddle and covered it up with a thick wool blanket, just in case I had to use it against a bear or something else. I slapped my cowboy hat onto my head and made sure my house animals had water and some food before heading back to the library. Loki turns to me as I enter, his eyes scanning my outfit.
"Come on you, we're going on a night time trail ride." I say with a wide grin, before grabbing his hand and tugging him downstairs. I put my extra cowboy hat on his head, a slightly scuffed black hat with a rattlesnake skin band around it. He grunted a bit as I put it on his head before we got outside.
"Woman, where are you taking me?" He asked in a slightly annoyed tone, probably from me manhandling him.
"I told you, we're going out on a night time trail ride, and then we're gonna have a picnic under the stars. There's supposed to be a full moon tonight as well." I tell him with a smile as I got up on Apollo's saddle.
Loki looked at me incredulously before mounting up onto Domino's saddle. "How come I cannot ride Angus or Commander? I'm not as familiar with this mare as them." Loki asked me, looking at Domino's neck. She brought her head around to look at him with a snort, like she was insulted.
I softly giggled as I turned Apollo towards the only trail pointing north. "It's because Angus can't maneuver the trails in low light like this, and Commander can't go as far as we are without needing a few breaks. And I wanna make it to our destination before the sun sets." I set Apollo in a steady canter and lead the way, Loki following at a safe distance behind me.
"I hope you didn't mind the bit of manhandling I did to get you out here. I just figured you might've been a bit bored up in the library all alone." I tell him after a half hour of riding. "This was all spur of the moment after all."
"No, I was just surprised is all Lady Diana. I wasn't expecting that from you." Loki said as Domino caught up to Apollo.
I turned my head to face Loki with a smile. "Oh, you'll find that I'm simply full of surprises. I can be very spontaneous when I want to be."
Loki's eyes seemed to gleam in the slowly dying light as he leaned in towards me with a smirk on his face. "And I can't wait to find out what those surprises are my dear." He says lowly, his words almost dripping with sex appeal. I softly cleared my throat as a faint blush colored my cheeks and spurred Apollo on a bit faster.
"Well, you'll have to wait a bit longer for that!" I say over my shoulder, and hear him laugh in delight as he spurs on Domino to try and catch up with me.
"And I have no doubt that it'll be worth every bit of patience I have my dear!" He replies back, and I can imagine the smile stretching his face. I softly smile to myself as Apollo canters under me, Loki and Domino close behind us.
After another half hour of cantering, I slowed Apollo down as I saw a break in the trees. Loki and Domino came up next to us as I turned to face him.
"I use to come here all the time as a kid with my brothers and cousins when they would come and visit." I tell him as I lead him through the break in the trees, and out into a large meadow of wildflowers, with a single large oak tree growing right in the middle of it almost shining in the setting sun. I heard Loki's intake of breath, and knew he found it just as beautiful as I always have. I smiled over at him, and spurred Apollo into a gallop to the oak tree. "Race you to the tree!" I shout at him, and hear his indignant shout at my head start but I soon hear Domino thundering after us. My smile widened as I felt the exhilaration of riding Apollo, the feeling of flying over the meadow. I threw my head back with a holler of joy as Apollo and I passed the tree before Loki and Domino. I slowed Apollo down and turned him back around to the oak tree, bringing him to a stop next to Loki and Domino.
"You minx, you cheated." He said with a smile, and I smugly grinned back.
"I did not; I was simply faster than you." I said as I dismounted, grabbing the pack with the food and the blanket and heading to the tree, Apollo at my heels and Loki leading Domino as he too dismounted. I spread out the blanket under the tree and set down the pack, taking the food out and spreading it on the blanket. I untacked Apollo and Loki untacked Domino, leaving the bridle and reigns on them though and tying them loosely to a low hanging branch of the tree. I looked up at the sky that was shot through with purple, blue, yellow, orange and red in a kaleidoscope of colors.
I sighed happily before I started to pick the various flowers around Loki and I, forming a small bouquet of flowers in yellow, blue, orange, and white. I took half of them and set them aside, before taking the other half and advancing on Apollo and Domino.
I felt Loki watching me as I braided the flowers into the horses' manes, but I paid him no mind for now. "There, don't you two look nice." I said with a smile as I braided the last white flower into Apollo's mane.
I turned to Loki with a grin. "Now it's your turn; unless you'd rather have a flower crown."
Loki softly laughs before grabbing my hand and twirling me to face away from him. "That's not happening. I'd much rather braid the rest of the flowers in your hair Lady Diana."
I laugh and let him do as he pleased as he took my hat off, but I swiped a blue flower when he wasn't looking. I felt his fingers gently moving in my hair, parting it and braiding it while weaving the flowers in. I looked up at the sun slowly dipping past the horizon and the sky growing darker.
"We should get a small fire going soon, just so we're not in the dark all night." I tell him as he continues braiding.
"Excellent idea my dear. Would you be using your powers to start it?" He asked me gently. I nod, but stop as he gently tugs my hair.
"Yes. I'm gonna be using my powers more often, I'm tired of burying them inside me and getting rusty with them. Who knows, they may save my life again one day." I tell him.
"Again?" He asks in a bit of confusion.
"Yup, back when Thomas put me in the hospital and whenever the nurse would bring me a jug of water, I would always use it to heal my wounds faster. It helped a lot, and got me out of the hospital faster than if I was a normal person." I tell him.
He soon finishes putting multiple braids in my hair with flowers in each one, but he left plenty of my hair to fall freely down my back.
I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek before I started serving up the spaghetti and meatballs. As I passed him his plate, I giggled at the confused look on his face. "I told you that I was full of surprises Loki."
He smiles back, his eyes almost shimmering. "Indeed you did, but that still caught me off guard."
"I meant it to." I told him with a wink before digging into the spaghetti. His smile widens before he too starts eating.
After we had finished our main course, I surprised Loki with the strawberry tarts. The way he eyed them like a lion about to pounce on a zebra made me glad to pass two over to him. He ended up finishing his two before I had even finished one of mine. In the meantime I hooked up my I-pod to the mini stereo I brought and let it play.
I paused as I saw him licking his lips to get the strawberry juices from them, but I hurriedly went back to enjoying my own tarts with the music in the background before my mind started thinking dirty thoughts. As I finished my second one I licked my fingers, getting the last bit of chocolate syrup from them. With him teasing me I might as well tease him back, at least that's what I thought as I saw him watching me lick my fingers.
"So, I'm gonna get the fire pit started before it gets much darker." I told Loki as I stood up. The sun had just sunk beyond the horizon, and it was now twilight. I stepped far enough away from the tree so any stray embers wouldn't spark it up, but I stayed close enough for it to give us some light. I used my powers to make a shallow hole in the ground, and then to bring up a circle of solid rock around it, so the fire wouldn't spread past the firewood. When that was finished, I untied Apollo from the low branch and rode him bareback back towards the trail, gathering whatever fallen branches I could. It took me a few trips, but I finally gathered enough wood to last us a few hours. I piled the wood up against the trunk of the oak tree before setting a small pile in the fire pit and lighting it with a small ball of fire from my hand.
I lay down next to Loki, glad he had packed everything back up except for the bottles of water and the apples. I fed one each to Apollo and Domino from my position on the blanket, seeing how I decided on tacking them in bit-less bridles for this trip. As the sky darkened I looked up at the stars that started coming out and the full moon glowing in the sky.
For a few moments the only sound heard was the soft nickering of Apollo and Domino, the crackle of the fire, and the insects chirping out in the grass. I finally cut through it as I turned on my side and propped my head up on my elbow.
"I use to have night time picnics like this with my dad around this time of year, before he died. It would be our little secret, but everyone in my family knew. It would be something only my dad and I would do, you know?" I tell him, looking at his face. Loki just watches me, a curious tilt to his head that told me he was intrigued.
"The last time we came out here for a late night picnic was a few weeks before he was murdered, just before I went back for my final year of college. We ended up spending the night out here, with nothing but the moon and the stars to light the meadow. He looked over at me and said, 'Diana, I won' always be here, but I hope you know that you'll always be my grand lass, and that'll I'll always love ya.' " I said, thickening my Irish accent to match my dad's.
"What I'm trying to say Loki, is that even though the people we love are not always with us, our love for them will always be in our hearts. And one day we'll all be together again."
Loki looked at me for a few moments, a thoughtful expression on his face before a warm smile graced his lips. "Thank you for trying to lift my spirits Lady Diana. I appreciate it."
I smile and nudge him with my shoulder. "I'm pretty sure we've been friends long enough for you to simply call me Diana Loki."
He smirks and nudges me back. "If you insist Diana." I smile and nudge him again before rolling to my feet to dodge his attempt to nudge me again.
"Nuh uh, you're gonna have to catch me first!" I exclaim before turning and running out into the moonlit meadow. I hear Loki laugh and give chase.
Third P.O.V
Loki smiled as he chased Diana, glad that the moon and stars gave them enough light to see each other by. Once he was within range he tapped her on the small of her back before turning and running.
"Now you'll have to catch me!" He called back to her as he ran. He welcomed the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he ran. He enjoyed the wind in his face as he heard Diana's feet pounding behind him.
She indeed was chasing him, her eyes like a cat's chasing its prey. Once he was within range she jumped to tackle him without a second thought.
Loki let out an undignified yelp as he was tackled from behind. They hit the ground rolling for a few seconds before stopping, Diana pinning Loki as she laughed. Loki started to laugh as well as he looked up at Diana, but his laughter soon died in his throat as he saw her.
Her eyes with their long lashes seemed to glow in the moonlight, the pupils were wide slits like a cat's in low light, and her hair shone the rays of the moon back, giving it an almost silver sheen. Her lips were pulled into a smile as she looked down at him, her hands on his chest to keep herself from falling forward. To him, she looked like a goddess, feral and beautiful.
Diana looked down at Loki as she continued smiling. He truly was handsome, with his pale skin, his strong nose and jawline, his high cheekbones and bright green eyes framed by dark lashes. His inky black hair was splayed around his head like a dark halo, and gave her the urge to run her fingers through it and see if it was as soft as it looked. She knew that because of the adrenaline that was pumping through her that her feral side was showing a bit but she couldn't find it in her to care. Her smile softened as her eyes edged down to look at his lips.
Should I kiss him? I know I told him I was afraid of his intentions, and I may still not know why he cares for me, but…I do care for him. I can admit that to myself. And I'm tired of being afraid. Diana thought in her head, her eyes darting back up to look into his. She found that they were warmly looking at her as his lips moved into a close mouthed smile, showing off his cheekbones in profile.
Is she going to kiss me? I certainly hope she does. I know I care for her, and I know she cares for me. Does she care enough to give me a chance to show her how beautiful she is to me though? Loki thought in his head, before all thoughts fled as Diana slowly started leaning down.
Diana's heart thumped in her chest as she leaned down, her eyes slowly closing before she pressed her lips against his. She felt his heart beating in his own chest as he started kissing back, moving his lips against hers expertly. She softly felt him sigh, and she took that opportunity to hesitantly lick at his lower lip.
Loki was pleasantly surprised that Diana brought up the courage to bring her tongue into play, but he didn't disappoint her. He extended his own tongue and entwined it with hers; causing her to softly moan as his tongue massaged hers.
Diana's heart started beating a bit faster, Loki's taste exploding on her tongue. He tasted crisp, like a snowfall in winter or like wintergreen, and like the strawberries from her mother's tarts. Her hands slowly moved up to rest on his neck, her thumbs softly stroking his jawline.
Loki's blood was pounding in his ears, his body responding to Diana's kisses and her caressing. Her own taste exploded on his tongue, warmth and strawberries and spice, like her scent. His hands slowly crept up to rest on her side as he brought his head up a bit to put a little more force into the kiss.
Diana softly gasped, giving Loki the chance to slip his tongue past hers and into her mouth. Diana let him, playing with his tongue with her own as he explored every crevice and surface of her mouth. She certainly didn't mind, if the heat pooling in her lower stomach was any indication. However, she was not about to let him have all the fun so she boldly pushed his tongue out of her mouth and back into his as she did her own exploring of his.
Loki moaned softly as Diana boldly took charge of the kiss. In the past he had always been a bit more dominant with his partners, but Diana turning the tables on him was causing blood to pool in his groin. However, before anything further could happen, Diana gently broke the kiss.
"Wow…" She softly muttered to herself through her tingling and kiss swollen lips, but by the smug look Loki gave her he heard it.
"I could say the same for you my dear." He told her softly, the smug smile never leaving his face. She unconsciously licked her lips to get the lingering taste of him from them, and Loki watched the movement.
"Does this mean you'll be willing to give me a chance Diana? A chance to show you how I care and to make you see how beautiful you are to me?" He softly asked her, his eyes looking into hers.
Diana looked down into Loki's eyes, and saw the emotions he was trying to hide; the slight pleading, the small amount of fear that she would reject him, and the still lingering sadness from thinking about his children. That cemented her decision towards him, because she could see that he had turned her into his anchor, since she was the only thing holding him in place.
Diana let a smile blossom on her face, and Loki's breath caught in his throat at the beauty of it. She leaned down to give him a chaste but lingering kiss, causing her lips to tingle again before she pulled back.
"Yes." Diana said softly, causing Loki to smile more widely and lean up to continue kissing her.
Later on that night, as Diana was lying next to a sleeping Loki on the blanket, listening to 'Rebel Yell' by
Billy Idol as it played through her speaker she couldn't help but contemplate what had happened over the past few hours. After they got back to the blanket once they finished their spontaneous game of tag, they shared infrequent kisses between each other in between Diana showing Loki all the constellations she could see.
"I think you would enjoy seeing Asgard. From the Bifrӧst you're able to see even more stars than this. And I know you'd enjoy the animal variety there, I think you'd even like the bilgesnipes." Loki told her after she pointed out the Pegasus constellation.
"What's a bilgesnipe?" she had asked, and he told her it was a large scaly beast, with a giant set of antlers that causes great damage when stampeding or when protecting their young.
Diana smiled as she looked over at Loki, his face being the most relaxed she had ever seen as he slept and his hair pulled back into a single braid that she had snuck the blue flower from earlier in. She quietly turned off her I-pod and speaker and packed it back up in the saddlebag before she lay on her side facing Loki and closed her eyes. She soon fell asleep to the soft snoring of Apollo and Domino, the sound of the last of the crickets chirping, and the fire slowly crackling away.
Side Section:
You think he's gonna make his move on the Mistress? Kida asked Taboo as they watched Diana and Loki head out on Apollo and Domino. Taboo finished scratching behind his ear with a hind leg before answering.
I should think so, since the tension between them is ridiculous. I'm surprised it hasn't happened before now. Don't you think so Cleo? He asked the Siamese Queen as she was grooming herself in a patch of fading sun on the floor.
Well I'd certainly say so. It would be so romantic, don't you think? Cleo said with a dreamy sigh.
Kona, who had been batting at a catnip mouse toy across the living room floor, stopped at looked over at Cleo. What do you mean? They don't act any different from normal humans. He meowed in confusion, his mismatched eyes staring up at her.
Cleo walked over and sat in front of Kona, putting a front paw on his head daintily. That's because you're not old enough to see it Kona. She said primly.
I'm plenty old enough! Kona yowled as he batted at Cleo's paw. I'm not a kitten anymore.
Enough. Atlas said as he lifted his head from his napping place on one of the couch end pillows. There's no need to fight over this like newborn kittens over milk.
Well, do you think Loki will make a move on the Mistress tonight Atlas? Kida asked, since Cleo and Kona were feeling thoroughly chastised.
Atlas took his time answering as he stood and stretched, yawning widely. I personally think that the Mistress will be making a move on Loki, if you must know.
The Mistress? What do you mean by that? Taboo asked Atlas with a tilt of his head.
Atlas would've rolled his eyes if he could, but he settled for narrowing them. I mean that she's the one who took him out on a night time ride, and packed up their dinner like a picnic. Obviously she'll be making some sort of move on him, especially with how she's been looking at him the past two days.
Taboo opened his mouth to say something, but it snapped shut as he swiveled his head and ears towards the front door. Kida's ears and head followed as her nose twitched.
What? Is it the Mistress? Kona asked innocently.
Taboo stood up, every muscle in his body poised as he stepped forward a bit, before a deep growl escaped his throat.
No, and it's not anyone from her pack either. He said through his growl before he advanced on the door as the doorknob started slowly turning.
-End Side Section (1)
With Bruce, Clint, and Natasha
"We've got movement guys." Clint said, pulling Natasha from cleaning one of her guns and Bruce from reading the latest science magazine. They sat next to Clint on the bed in his and Natasha's room, a queen sized number with a white bedspread with a multitude of roses printed on it.
On the small video monitor he held they saw Diana heading out to the barn and then coming out with two horses all saddled up, a big black Friesian and a black and white leopard Appaloosa. Clint pointed at the Friesian.
"That's the horse that almost took a chunk outta my arm two days ago. Mean son of a bitch." He said with a grumble.
Natasha studied the horse as Diana packed up a saddlebag, shotgun and blanket onto the back of the Friesian. "Good gait, shiny coat, high step. She takes good care of her horses, from the look of those two."
"You like horses Natasha?" Bruce asked a bit surprised.
She nodded. "I love them. Sometimes they're better than people."
They went back to watching before Clint made a noise in confusion.
"Who the hell is that?" He asked, pointing at the figure being dragged out of the house just behind Diana. The figure was obviously male, and was dressed in black jeans and a grey long sleeved shirt, with scuffed cowboy boots on his feet. They tried to see a face, but it was obscured by a black cowboy hat like the one on Diana's head, but while Diana's hat had a leather band with small bits of turquoise on it, his had a band of what looked like rattlesnake skin. They could tell that his hair was black, as it framed his face in curtains that were a bit longer than shoulder length, and they could see he was a little on the paler side from the color of his hands and neck. Anything else they couldn't tell as he and Diana mounted up on the horses, him on the Appaloosa and her on the Friesian, before they headed north.
"Where do you think they're going?" Bruce asked aloud, and both Natasha and Clint shrugged.
"Don't know, but this would be a prime time to check inside her place and see if Loki's there, or if that was him that just left with her." Clint said, and Natasha looked like she agreed.
Bruce looked slightly uncomfortable with the idea, so he ended up volunteering to stay behind in the Jeep to warn them in case Diana and her mystery guest came back early. That decided, they grabbed their ear pieces with attached cameras before they headed out to Diana's place.
"So do you think that was Loki that rode off with Diana?" Clint asked Natasha after they had hooked up their earpieces and cameras and were steadily advancing on the house.
"Not sure, but I'm not taking any chances that it is. We're keeping an eye out for when they come home, and if it is him we're letting the Director know at once." Natasha said, fingering the sleeping gas spray gun at her side.
"Why did you bring that anyways? It's not like you can use it on Diana." Clint told her.
"Did you honestly forget that she has two dogs?" Natasha asked as they stepped up onto the porch and Clint started picking the front door's lock.
"No, but I figured that they'd be small dogs, like a toy poodle or something." Clint said with a shrug.
Natasha smacked him against the back of the head. "Not only is that sexist, but it's also stupid. Do you honestly think that an ex- amateur women's MMA fighter like her would keep a toy poodle around?"
Clint went to reply, but at that moment he got the door unlocked and opened it, and a snarling mass of black and brown fur threw itself at him. Clint yelped as he fell on the ground and as the dog clamped its jaws down on his arm, and he was thankful he had worn extra thick wraps around his arms before Natasha spraying sleeping gas in the dog's face, instantly making it limp on top of him.
"It's about time! What took you so long?" Clint asked as he pushed the blanket patterned German Shepherd off of him gently. Natasha simply pointed at the chocolate Labrador snoozing on its side as she stepped over it to get inside the house.
"Oh." Clint said as he picked up the German Shepherd and brought it inside, laying it down beside the Labrador. "Now I feel like an idiot for assuming that she had small dogs…"
Natasha smirked at him before she entered the entrance hall. To her left was a large living room; to her right was the kitchen. Down the hall she could see three different doors, which she assumed were the two first story bedrooms and bathroom, and right in front of her were the stairs leading to the second floor.
She raised an eyebrow at the two cats that were sitting on the stairs. One, a Siamese with pale gray face, ears, paws and tail hissed at her with narrowed blue eyes. The other cat, a rather large silver tabby Maine Coon with eerie yellow eyes simply watched her and Clint.
Clint shuddered as the Maine Coon brought his eyes to him. "Kinda creepy that they're looking at us like that."
"Yeah, like they know why we're here huh?" Natasha said as she moved to the living room and Clint moved to the kitchen.
"You guys ok?" Bruce asked in their ear, and they gave the affirmative.
"We're ok Jolly Green, don't worry." Clint said into his ear piece as he stepped over a six month old ginger tabby cat with one green eye and one blue and looked around the kitchen, moving his head enough so Bruce would be able to see what he does. "Only got slightly mauled but no blood, so no foul."
"Ignore him, he's being overdramatic and it's his own fault for underestimating the type of dogs Diana owns." Natasha said as she studied the living room, seeing the comfortable grey sectional sofa with a white and green crochet blanket over its back, the dark brown coffee table and side table, bright white walls, and large blue area rug with gold Celtic knot work around the border in front of a dark grey stone fireplace, with a TV mounted above the mantle, along with a VCR and DVD player. The wall behind the sofa had dark brown shelves containing various movies, in both DVD and video tape form, and colorful vases with small statues of various animals next to them.
"The living room is very nice. And so is the kitchen." Bruce commented as he got the footage of both. The kitchen had a walk in pantry big enough for a deep freezer, wide enough for the walls to be full of various canned and boxed goods, and tall enough to hold wire baskets of fruit. The countertops were dark granite, and the floor was polished hardwood. The walls were grass green, and the cupboards were coffee brown, with antique looking brass handles. The kitchen island had a few bar stools around it, and a few cabinets on the bottom, and a small potted plant on its counter. All the appliances were modern, like the blender, coffee maker, gas stove, sink and dishwasher. It had the antique homey feel that came with the house, but was modernized.
"So is this bedroom." Natasha said as she studied the first floor bedroom, with pale blue walls, queen sized bed with dark blue bedding and lighter blue pillow, walnut furniture and a mirror atop the chest of drawers. Natasha opened the drawers and looked through the men's clothing in it, but didn't find anything nasty like a knife or alien rock like she expected if this was Loki's room.
She quickly left the room and opened the first door across the hall and found the bathroom, where the theme seemed to be purple, with its pale purple walls and its dark purple tiles that reached about halfway up the wall, with irregular grey slabs of stone making up the floor and a claw foot tub. The sink, toilet, and medicine cabinet with attached mirror were more modern.
"Whoa, this girl has some serious skill. Nat, come here." Clint said from the room next to the bathroom. Natasha followed entered that room, and found an art haven. Blank stretch canvasses of all sizes were propped up against the multi colored paint splattered walls; a jar of brushes of all types stood on a table next to a stained pallet and easel. Blocks of sculpting clay, bottles of acrylic paint in a multitude of colors, a few watercolor palettes littered the floor, a few open boxes containing oil pastels, graphite and color pencils, and charcoal sticks were scattered around the room.
Clint whistled as he looked around the room. "Steve would love it in here." He said, referencing Steve's own artistic skill. Natasha nodded in agreement before her eyes caught a finished but unpainted sculpture. She studied the wolf in chains, seeing how realistic it was. If it wasn't unpainted then she would almost think it was ready to attack something. As it was, it still looked incredibly realistic, with its fur texture and detail in its body, though the ears were a bit more pointed than the average wolf, and its front paws looked more like hands.
Clint was studying the finished painting in the corner, before his face started to pale. "Holy shit…" He cursed as he saw the resemblance to Loki that the figure on horseback took on. Natasha came up next to him and studied the painting herself, and even she admitted that the figure took on an almost uncanny resemblance to Loki. However, a painting wasn't physical evidence to Loki being harbored by Diana, so pretty soon they ascended the stairs to study the rest of the house together.
The first room they came upon was done in red, black and grey, with black furniture, a red bed and black pillows spread on the queen sized bed, and grey walls. The wall closest to the window had a black tree painted on it, with blooming red flowers.
The next room was a bathroom done in a beach theme, with blue walls fading to a sea green near the ceiling, with a few tropical fish painted on them and sandy brown floor tiles. Various shells were glued around the medicine cabinet mirror, and the soap dish, hand soap holder, toothbrush holder and other accessories were in the shape of different shells. The shower curtain even had a beach scene printed on it.
The next room was the library, which held floor to ceiling shelves and plenty of family portraits. The room next to that was the master bedroom, and Clint and Natasha were almost floored at the creativity in the wall sized murals painted on each wall. The looked in on the attached bathroom, and saw a warm orange and brown bathroom, with dark brown flooring, dark orange walls with white border, and orange accessories with black leaves printed on them. The tub was separate from the shower, and the tub was an old fashioned claw foot like the one on the first floor.
The final bedroom seemed to be done in an Asian theme, with a white bed and walls, red curtains with Chinese lettering along the edges, Chinese lanterns for lighting, dark brown furniture, red pillows with bamboo printed on them, and a large Chinese dragon painted above the headboard of the bed.
The final bathroom was a forest themed, with green walls with brown borders, leaf shaped accessories, hardwood flooring and a forest printed shower curtain. It even had a metal towel rack shaped like a miniature tree. Each room was done up in its own unique way, with both modern and antique touches.
Clint and Natasha looked over every nook and cranny in the house, even looking over the attic, which was filled with full boxes and old trunks, but they saw that there were only a few hours left till dawn, so they soon left the house, locking the door behind them. It was just as well, since they had to check in with Director Fury, and Diana's dogs seemed to be waking up.
"So you're telling me that the only thing that points towards Loki being there is a chest of drawers full of men's clothing, a painting that resembles Loki, and someone who could've been Loki who you saw heading north with Diana on a horse resembling an overgrown Dalmatian?" Nick Fury said as he looked at the monitor on the Helicarrier. Natasha and Clint's images were up on the screen as they reported in together from the front seats of their Jeep. Fury could see Bruce sitting in the back, politely ignoring the conversation coming from the front.
"Yes Director. We couldn't see the face of the man riding with Diana because his hair was framing his face and his hat was low over his face." Natasha said to him, her face betraying no emotion.
"They should be back soon though, and hopefully we'll be able to get a better look at his face." Clint added in, his face still a bit pale from seeing the painting.
"Then watch the house until they get back. Soon as you catch a look at the guy's face, call it in. I'll have a team on standby for extraction if it's Loki." Fury told them.
"Director, what about Diana? What if she doesn't take too kindly to us taking Loki in?" Natasha asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sure you can figure out what to do Agent Romanoff. I did send Dr. Banner with you instead of Rogers for a reason. And just as a precaution, I'll send in an agent with a tranquilizer gun with a dart that holds enough to take down a horse with the team. You'll be taking her in as well." Fury tells them, before cutting the transmission.
"Does he honestly think that that's the best solution? I doubt Diana will be too happy about being taken in like an animal to slaughter." Bruce said softly from the back. Clint turned around to face him.
"Look Doc, you saw the laundry list of powers her file had. We can't afford to have her as an enemy." Clint said.
"And you think taking her in like a criminal will put you on her good side?" Bruce asked with skepticism on his face. "She's part feral; you know she's going to end up fighting, no matter how minor those feral aspects are compared to some other mutants."
"And that is why we're gonna capture Loki first, and then negotiate with her to come with us peacefully." Natasha said. Bruce shook his head and lied down across the back seat. He couldn't see this happening without a big backlash, so he might as well get some sleep before the showdown.
Natasha and Clint stayed awake, or took turns between watching the cameras they set up around the tree line and taking a light cat nap. They kept their eyes scanning the house and trail entrances, wanting to make sure they didn't miss when Diana and her mystery guest came home.
On Asgard
"Thor, be ready to go to Midgard two days from now. Your mortal friends will no doubt capture Loki in the morning, so you must be ready to make sure they treat him like the prince of Asgard he is. But we will wait and see how he is treated first before you arrive there." Odin told his eldest son as they walked around the training area. Other warriors of Asgard were doing a bit of late night training, most notably Sif, who was sparring with two different warriors at once.
"I shall be ready when it is time for you to send me father. What of Diana?" Thor asked as they stopped to look at the sparring warriors.
"She is not your concern Thor. She may have powers, but she is still a mortal, and thus not our concern." Odin said neutrally.
"But father, you know what Heimdall saw. Loki has started to court Diana. He will not be happy if he is treated fairly and she is not." Thor said, trying to reason with the All Father.
Odin frowned lightly. On the one hand, he was glad that Loki was feeling happier, but on the other hand he was upset that it was a mere mortal that was making him happy. "Thor, she is a mortal. In a hundred years she will be dead and gone, and by that time Loki will no doubt be back on Asgard. A mortal's life is a blink of an eye compared to Asgardians. They are nothing." Odin told his son gruffly before turning and heading deeper into the palace.
Thor's heart ached as he watched his father leave, because he knew he was talking about Thor's relationship with Jane Foster as well, granted he hadn't seen her in two years but still. He knew his father didn't approve, simply because she was mortal. Thor heavily sighed, because he felt he had no choice but to follow his father's orders, at least in this matter.
He hoped that his mortal friends were either forgiving towards her for harboring his brother, or that she was strong enough to withstand whatever they would do to her.
1) Here are the thoughts of Diana's house pets. I tried giving each of them a different sort of personality.
Woo hoo! Fastest I've ever updated a chapter. I'm kind of proud of myself. And yes, I made Odin an asshole near the end on purpose, because he kind of is.
Loki: I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that.
Silver: Of course you're not. If people actually paid attention to him during the Thor movies than they would see how much of an ass he actually is. And you're welcome for you and Diana finally getting together you know. And yes, I made it as fluffy and spontaneous as I could.
Loki: *rolls eyes but looks away, a faint blush on his cheeks*
Silver:*turns to Diana* And don't worry, he won't be taking advantage of you anytime soon Diana.
Loki:*sputters in anger and takes a swipe at me*
Silver: *dodges and hides behind Diana* Hey, you can't get mad at me for something that is true!
Loki:*growls and tries to get around Diana to get at me*
Diana:*giggles and pulls Loki into a kiss*
Loki: *face relaxes as he kisses back*
Silver: Well, since he's no longer trying to kill me I hope you all enjoyed chapter 12. I'll get started on Chapter 13 as soon as I can. And just as a reminder, I own absolutely nothing but Diana, her animals, her family, and anything else that doesn't appear in the Marvel movies or in Norse Mythology. Till next time!