The next day, Loki and Thor were to be sent off back to Asgard along with the Tesseract at one o'clock sharp.
Natasha and I arrived together in a hired S.H.I.E.L.D car, Steve on his old motorbike, Tony and Bruce in one of a custom Iron Man designed car, and Loki and Thor arriving with Dr. Selvig.
Loki wore a heavy looking mouth guard, stopping his trickster tongue from talking. He glared at each of us one by one, and I felt every muscle in my body tense in hate for that stupid man.
We all circled around him, and I reached for my back pocket. I only have one shot at this.
I withdrew my sharp dagger, snapping it open behind my back. I was ready to strike, to slash that mans eye out of his socket, but when a small hand circled my wrist and stopped me from moving, I sighed. She pried the weapon out of my hand, slipping it into her own pocket of her brown leather jacket.
I stood ridged as Thor turned to nod at all of his friends.
"Until we meet again." He smiled lightly.
We all nodded, and Natasha leaned in, her mouth only centimeters away from my ear.
"All the horny men in the prison in Asgard wont be too happy with that mouth guard covering his lips." She whispered, and I couldn't help but smile slightly at her inappropriate humor.
And then they vanished in a flash of blue light, leaving all five of us staring up into the sky.
"Director Fury told me to inform all of you that you are free for a month to do whatever you want. He said he'll organize a meeting to discuss everything after that. But now, he's got a city to clean, and he thanks you all for your courage." Dr. Selvig smiled, nodding to us all. He turned to get into his car, but I jogged after him.
"Hey, Doc, what has Fury done with Loki's Scepter?"
"Agent, I don't even know." He sighed, hopping into his car.
He looked down at me, and smiled lightly.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, son. It wasn't your fault, okay? It was none of our faults! He used our bodies as knowledge for what he didn't have. You need to accept what is. I did."
I seemed to have forgotten that I wasn't the only one who had been under Loki's control. Dr. Selvig had made the machine that opened the portal, and I helped get the tools needed, but it wasn't us.
"Thanks, Doc." I smiled.
"You have heart," he repeated the words that Loki had said to me before he took over my body. "Use it well."
He slapped me on the shoulder before closing his door and starting his engine, driving away and out of sight.
"Where are we heading." Natasha came up behind me, touching my hand and turning me around.
"Lets go to Paris." I shrugged, walking over to the car. I shook everyone's hands, smiling and thanking them for what they have done. Natasha hugged all the men, saying the same.
The car was full to the brim with petrol, and I hopped in the drivers seat, starting the engine and turning corners, heading to the airport. S.H.I.E.L.D can pay for everything we bought, Fury owes us something.
So we drove in silence, arriving at the airport, which had managed to stay up after the war, only private flights were flying out though, and luckily, being the two deadly assassins who helped saved the world, we got our privileges.
The seven hour flight seemed to drag on forever, and we sat there for hours in silence, watching the view or reading or playing a DVD or just thinking. Eventually I spoke up.
"When you told me that you had been compromised by Loki…what did you mean? What did he do to you?"
She looked up from one of her native Russian book, irritated that I had interrupted her. She sighed, folding the corner of the page and placing the book beside her, turning her attention to me.
"You already know what he was going to make you do to me, right? Rape and kill me?" she said slowly, eyes staring into the distance at the memory. I just nodded.
"Well, I was sent to interrogate him… and he said some things to me. They didn't effect me at the time, I just put the act on… and then he said 'I won't touch Barton, not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull!'" she mimicked his voice with perfection.
She looked at me then, eyes glistening slightly.
"The thought of you dying, it just… never really seemed like it would happen, until he said those words, and I knew he was capable of doing it. He revealed a knew part of me, Clint. And when I heard that you were on the Helicarrier, I was the first to respond. He made me realize that I love you. More then I knew I did, anyway." She smiled lightly, shaking her head and looking away.
"I was so scared I was going to loose you before I got to tell you that." She whispered after a long moment of silence, voice shaky and weak.
"I fought for you." I said eventually, taking in what she said. "Every moment, I fought for you, you're the only reason I didn't give up. I made a vowel that those images of you dying that Loki had put in my head, wouldn't happen. And it didn't."
She smiled up at me again, nodding.
Our relationship had always been like this. Always walking on the blade of a knife. We kept our distance; love only leads to danger on the field. I stopped myself from taking things too far when we kissed, to always pull back when things got heated. And I knew she would do the same if I didn't. I'd seen her body and she'd seen mine, only during missions of course, where we had to get dressed in the same room or shower together; but it had always come naturally. We remembered each others scars, knew and old, each one holding its own story. We knew each other like we knew ourselves, every glint in the eye, every fold of a frown, every tone of voice or tensed muscle, we were like open books, but only to each other.
So when she scooted over in her seat, leaned in, placing her hand on the side of my face and pulling me down, I didn't resist. It was too late for that now. It seems that thanks to Loki, we have been bought closer then we ever have been before.
Then she kissed me. Not the normal, quick kisses we share after missions or for comfort, but a kiss that came from deep inside.
She cupped my face with both hands now, and I pulled her onto me, her thighs on either side of my body. I hugged her close, her small waist pressing into my chest as she knelt up slightly.
Our kiss was slow, intimate, with so much love and feelings going into it that it was overwhelming. Our breathing was ragged and we fought for dominance with our tongues, a never-ending battle.
She ran her hands through my hair and down my back, over my arms and tracing my chest and stomach, making me shiver and bite her lip, which caused a moan to slip through her lips. I smiled slightly, traveling my arms up her spine, down her waist and back again. She was perfect.
She pulled away then, and my lips traveled from her lips to her jaw line, down to her neck and to her collarbone. She sighed loudly, tilting her head back and digging her nails into my neck.
"Clint…" she gasped, cupping my face once more and staring me in the eye, both our breathing ragged and loud. Her eyes glistened with something I had never seen before. Lust? Love?
It was a new page for me to read of my open book.
Then she yawned, and I looked out the window, realizing how dark it was and that it was probably late.
"Sleep. I'll wake you when we're about to land, won't be too long now." I scooped her from off my lap, laying her down on the cushiony seats and draping a small blanket over her as she propped her head under the plane pillow. She smiled lightly up at me before closing her eyes, her breathing leveling out finally as she fell into unconsciousness. I decided to hum a random tune, I knew she loved listening to my voice to get to sleep; it made her feel safe, and eventually I rested my head against the seat and dozed off as well.
The five star hotel we stayed at was said to be the best in Paris; perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, a tropical pool setting, the best room service and a restaurant down by the lobby, not to mention the beach that was just a twenty minute walk away. The first thing on our list was shopping; Natasha claimed that she had never actually had the chance to shop like the woman she was… she never had the time. And Paris was the best place to shop, according to her.
I let her take care of all the talking. She can speak so many different languages that it was overwhelming, she sounded like she'd been speaking French since she was born.
She walked through the streets like she belonged there, slinking past in her tight jeans, black high-heel boots and black coat that went to her mid-thigh with large buttons. He grey scarf kept her warm and her hair blew around her face in a flurry of red; she looked perfect.
"Keep up, Barton." She called behind as I pushed my way through the crowed, wearing my own jeans and loose black button up top.
Word seemed to get around fast; the Tesseract Event happened three days ago now, and already people were staring in shock as we wandered in and out of shops, small crowds following eagerly.
"We're famous," I joked, pushing her lightly on she shoulder. She still had a small limp, only something I could notice, but both our wounds had heeled rather fast.
"I'm sure they're only looking at the sexy archer and your arms." She joked, pushing me back.
"Nat, we both know they're all jealous of the beautiful woman who was the only female that helped save the world. And looking at your ass," I added.
She laughed, something that was like music to my ears, as we made our way into another shop.
She looked through the racks, examining items closely but not choosing anything in particular.
"You haven't bought anything." I mused, looking around the shop.
"Nothing's caught my eye." She replied as she pulled out a light blue ½ sleeve shirt, pressing it against her body before putting it back again.
"Hey, I liked that one." I quickly grabbed it, hanging it over my arm. She smiled, raising an eyebrow, and something behind her caught my eye. I walked over to the mannequin, taking the grey woolen slouch beanie from its head and plopping it onto her head before readjusting it.
I turned her around so she faced the mirror. It suited her perfectly.
"You're getting that one, too." I said, grabbing it off as she made a fuss about her red curls.
She went and bought them, putting them on Fury's tab for him to pay when the bill was sent. I carried the bag for her like any gentleman would do as we walked out.
"I think I'm done for today."
"You hardly bought anything?"
"We have a whole month for shopping." She smirked, putting her hands in the pocket of her coat. It was chilly out.
"So, where to now?" I said after minutes of silence.
"I don't know, lets go to-"
"Well, well. Small world, isn't it?" a voice interrupted a she began to talk.
We turned, confused, only to see Tony Stark standing with his arms out, Pepper smiling shyly behind him.
"Oh, great." Natasha mumbled, before smiling.
"We were wondering where you two love birds were nesting. Now we just need to find Steve! Bruce is down the street with his girlfriend. Betty, I think her name is." Tony smiled, and Pepper nodded, almost to herself.
"Well, tell Bruce we said hi. We were just heading home." Natasha smiled, nudging me slightly with her elbow. I smiled and nodded.
"Oh, alright. See you soon though. By the way, have you guys gotten as much attention from random's as us? I'm even more famous than before!"
"Unfortunately, yes." I answered coolly.
"How is that unfortunate?" Stark raised an eyebrow.
"Well, when you're a spy, you kind of need to keep your identity a secret. Now everyone knows who we are, it's going to get in the way of our work."
"Oh, nonsense." He waved it off, chuckling lightly.
"Well, we best be going. See you later Stark, Pepper." Natasha smiled, nodding and hugging the older woman.
"Great, Stark's in Paris. I thought this was going to be a peaceful holiday." She muttered as we entered our hotel, stomping into the elevator and ignoring the stares we both got.
"Yeah, we're just going to have to avoid him for a while. We can do it." I joked, bending down to kiss her lightly on the forehead. She leaned into me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
We stood like that until the elevator doors opened, and we walked slowly to our room, unlocking the white door.
The bed had been re-made and the room cleaned by the maid we requested, and it was nice to just plop onto the comfy king-sized bed and kick my shoes off. Natasha shrugged off her coat, removing her scarf and taking off her white shirt from underneath. She put on her newly bought shirt, and it hugged her body perfectly.
"I told you it was nice." I sat up, watching as she examined herself in the mirror, turning to see herself in different angles. She smiled, taking off her black boots and plopping down beside me.
"A whole month." She whispered, mainly to herself. "How are we going to keep busy for that long?"
"Maybe we don't have to be busy, lets just relax." I laid down again, pulling her into my chest and breathing in her sweet scent. She sighed, her warm breath tickling my neck.
We watched through the window as the sun set, the city alight with a golden glow. Paris really was beautiful.
"We'll go out to dinner tomorrow night, dress up nice and fancy." I said after a while, and she rolled off the bed, cracking her neck and looking down at me.
"Sure thing," she smiled. She seemed to be smiling a lot lately.
She grabbed a towel and walked to the bathroom, and I listened as she turned the shower on and washed herself. I hummed lightly, turning on a lamp by the side of the bed. It was very peaceful here.
She walked out in a mid-thigh silken robe, the golden colour making her legs look creamy underneath. She ran her fingers absentmindedly through her wet hair, sauntering over to her suitcase and pulling out a pair of silky black panties and a black singlet. She began to pull her robe off her shoulders, but cast a glance my way.
"Look away, Barton. You don't need to see me naked unless its necessary." She smirked, and I growled, grabbing a pillow and covering my face. I listened to the rustling of fabric, and finally she pulled the pillow off my face, crawling under the covers. I smiled.
"My turn." I stood up, heading for the shower myself. The water was hot against my skin, a nice change from the cool wind that had been whipping at me all day. The hotel soap was a rich coconut scented bar, and I lathered myself in the bubbles before walking out with my towel wrapped around my waist.
She lay in bed, almost expectantly, watching me as I grabbed my own boxers. I raised an eyebrow, and she giggled, grabbing the same pillow and covering her own eyes, although I could still feel her watching as I slipped them on.
I joined her under the covers; her skin felt like silk against mine, no clothes to ruin the contact. I ran my hand up her freshly shaven leg, and she eventually turned, hitching her leg around my own and pulling me close.
Her lips smashed into mine, and I cocooned her in my arms, tracing her spin from under her singlet. She wore no bra, and she pressed her breasts firmly against my chest. Soon my hand lingered near her own chest, before I slowly grasped one full breast in my hand, massaging it softly, a soft moan escaping her lips.
We were crossing a huge boundary with this contact, but after years of holding back, it felt so right. And eventually I pulled away, breaking the kiss and causing a growl to escape her lips.
I chuckled lightly, still holding her close, before he leaned over me and turned off the lamp. She felt under the pillow for our guns, making sure they were there, before curling up against my chest.
"Goodnight, Nat." I whispered, kissing her lightly on the head.
"Sleep tight," she replied, hugging me a little bit tighter before we drifted into an easy sleep in each other's arms, listening to the crashing of the waves nearby as the cool wind blew through the window, giving me another excuse to snuggle in closer to the angel in my arms.
Yay for another chapter, just something to fill in the gaps. Please review!