"What did he mean with the whole 'betrayal' thing?" Natasha asked as she pressed her back against the door.

He kept his back to her and lowered his eyes as he spoke. "We made a deal," he began. "This was when I had first arrived on Midgard. It was Thanos who had lent me the Chitauri army in exchange for the Tesseract."

"You went through all that for world domination?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Believe me when I say that I regret my mistake." He turned around to face her.

"You didn't plan on giving back the Tesseract, did you?"

"That was the plan." His brows raised as a grin formed across his face.

She shook her head, clearly un-amused by his antics. "This isn't funny."

"He won't stop until he gets his revenge. I would assume that means my death," he continued, the smile no longer.

"Loki," she growled, dragging out his name. She brought a hand to her face and sighed.

"I deceived him." He reached out to touch her face. "I fear him."

Natasha's eyes fixed upon his face as he spoke.

"While I was kept locked up, it was he who freed me." The memory had left him scarred and his eyes narrowed as he told her his story. "He made me take him to the Tesseract. I knew Odin had it kept locked up, so I showed him into Odin's chamber room. Then, I learned that Thor had taken it with him to Midgard." He suddenly felt disappointed. "Odin had probably entrusted it to Thor. After all, who better to carry such responsibility than him?"

"You already mentioned that he freed you. What happened then?"

He looked away from her, feeling overcome by a strong sense of guilt. "I ran away. To Midgard… I hoped that he would kill Odin while I made my leave. Odin's death would have left Thor tormented for leaving his home."

"Did you think that when Thor returned, Thanos would kill him, too?"

He lowered his head in response.

"You want revenge now, though. You can kill him yourself." She brought a hand to his face and forced him to look at her.

"Only after Thor's life is restored," he added.

"I'll have Fury know the plan. Let's go back home now." She grabbed his hand and held it as they left the facility. Before getting into her car, Natasha sent Fury a text about needing to discuss the gauntlet with everyone. They made their way back to the Avengers Tower and returned to Natasha's bedroom. It was nearly 4 AM when they arrived. Loki removed his coat and draped it over the stool before her vanity.

Natasha was seated on her bed, cross-legged as she watched him.

"You should get some rest," he told her as he unfastened the leather skirt that hung at his waist.

"Give me a sec." She stared at him blankly, then looked away as she felt a wave of nausea kick in. "Shit!" she cursed as she ran to the connecting bathroom with a hand over her mouth.

Curious, he watched as she left him so abruptly, only to follow her out of concern. Before he could join her in the bathroom, she had slammed the door in his face. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Go away!" she groaned as she sat hunched over the toilet. The bile rose up in her throat and she began to retch until her sides hurt. Her body felt weakened afterwards, most likely from the lack of sleep.

"Forgive me," said Loki as he hovered over her shoulder.

She turned to him, clearly taken by surprise by his sudden appearance. "Just go away," she whispered in defeat.

In his outstretched hand, he held a damp washcloth for her.

"Thanks…" She accepted it and wiped the corners of her mouth, slightly embarrassed he was seeing her in a moment of weakness.

"Are you well now?" he blinked, continuing to stare. His hand tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"For now," she said as she reached up to flush the toilet. "Just go to bed without me. I think I might be sick again," she warned him.

"I'll stay," he offered.

"I don't want you to." She didn't mean to come off as rude. The hormones, she figured.

Loki stared at her from beneath his lashes. "I'd prefer not to be alone." He forced a weak smile to hide any traces of his sadness.

She pursed her lips, unable to say no to him. Seeing him like this reminded her of a puppy. Or a child in need of his mother…She rose to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth of the bile. A hand ran through her slightly unkempt hair. "I feel like a mess."

Loki stood behind her, staring into the mirror with her. "Ridiculous," he murmured into her ear before kissing her cheek.

A smile formed on her face and she perked up almost instantly. "This is all your fault, you know," she playfully reminded him.

His brow arched in curiosity.

"The things I have to go through for this kid…"

"It will be worth it in the end, will it not?" His hand trailed over her flat stomach.

"That's easy for you to say," she playfully added.

He leaned in to kiss her. After they pulled apart, Natasha insisted on sitting on the floor for a while longer. Eventually, she had fallen asleep with her head against his shoulder. Carefully, Loki lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed.