Chapter SEVEN

A RECONNECTION

The house was empty.

Of course it was, but it was the kind of empty that felt like even if it had people living in it, it would still feel lifeless and bare. Natasha and Loki went in through the backdoor which turned out to be another entrance to the kitchen. The kitchen was simple. Cupboards still holding a random assortment of non-perishables were intact. The counter looked like it was newly washed. The tiles were coated with a layer of dust. The two runaways walked out of the kitchen, and into the dining room. It looks like the family that used to live here just walked away from a meal. Some chairs were pulled out and dirty plates were on top the smooth mahogany. "How did you know that this house was empty?" came Loki's question, breaking the delicate silence. Natasha stepped onto the carpet of the living room, running her hand through a fur couch, and she said "When you arrived in Stark Tower, and when I arrived, I was lost. Trapped inside a nightmare that…you brought. I wanted to escape, so I planned my own route and searched for houses and stop-overs that were empty. I knew I could've just left the country, but I thought of my team. Somehow, deep in the recesses of my screwed up head, I found it in me to stay here, but farther. And then I decided to take you with me."

The agent sat on the fur couch, looking at the dull wallpaper on the wall. The whole picture was depressing, and she was impressed that SHIELD even found a house like this.

Or they raided the home and took the family with them. It explains the dirty dishes on the table and strewn chairs.

Natasha took the bag and opened the contents. In it were her weapons –which were mostly hand-held devices and guns—and the essentials. Money, clothes, medicine, phones and trapping devices. You never know when the sudden mutant might just come along. Loki tentatively sat beside her, and Natasha didn't trust Loki but she placed a dagger in his hand. The ex-god looked confused, to which Natasha replied to with a curt nod. "You never know what might happen. You have no magic, no weapons, nothing proper to withstand against blows or attacks. I hear you're handy with this," Natasha said, and from the corner of her eyes she could see Loki looking at it, watching it glint in the sunlight.

The murderess checked her weapons, loaded and re-loaded her guns, and said "We're only staying here for five hours, wait the day out. Then, we're stopping over for sustenance and maybe gas if we need to." She looked at Loki, trying to find out if he was listening, and he was, but he was more focused on the dagger.

Natasha shivered.

Sometimes, she questioned herself about SHIELD. SHIELD was an intelligence organization that was formed to protect the world. They were supposed to be the good guys, the people who protected innocents. But do they? SHIELD agents and workers are all trained to be master assassins and skilled spies. How much blood do they all have on their hands? And what about Fury? He talks about peace yet wields a giant bazooka aimed at someone's face. Maria Hill? Coulson? They've killed as well.

Now here they were, on a mission to execute an ex-god with no way of protecting himself, and they call themselves the good guys.

Natasha shook her head, and watched as Loki ventured around the house, stopping by family portraits and the old piano pushed against the wall. The agent smiled a little, as the ex-god began playing a few keys, giving life into the house. The agent stood up, walking silently towards Loki, and she said "I didn't know you could play," the ex-god shrugged and said "We had similar instruments like this…piano, but the Asgardians don't care for them. They called me weak and pathetic for learning how to play them. Entertainment like this wasn't very popular in Asgard, you see. These were instruments to the poor, to those who couldn't battle like a proper Asgardian should."

The agent pulled the stool out and sat in front of the piano, making Loki take a few steps back. An old Russian piece came to Natasha's mind, and her fingers tapped the keys lightly. The tune was splendid. High and low notes strung together, forming intertwining melodies that filtered the musky air. Awe swirled in the ex-god's emerald eyes, Natasha was transported to another world. Somewhere safe, in some place when those hands were a pianist's, not of a murderer's. Black and white stood in rows, dipping down when ivory fingers touched them. This continued on. The peace and melody danced in the air for a few more minutes, and eventually died a good death. Natasha opened her eyes.

Loki's eyes were fixated on Natasha, awe and wonder dancing through his wide eyes before he quickly caught himself, and looked down. The agent stood up and pushed the stool back in, walking away like nothing happened. She sighed. This tension cannot last because then, Loki would get suspicious.

She walked back, and when Loki looked up with a tinge of hopefulness in his eyes, she felt warm.

"Can you play anything?" Natasha asked, but Loki didn't answer. A battle clearly raged within Loki. Natasha sighed, and bit her lip. In this mission, she had to take a few drastic measures, and this was one of them. She reached up, the ex-god being taller than her even in his mortal form, and caressed his cheek. All at once, the universe stopped buzzing, time stopped ticking, and they were still.

She felt Loki freeze. She felt Loki's breath hitch as if her touch was icy or searing or both. Natasha bit her lip, which to her was a sign that she was racking her brain for something meaningful lie to say, but to Loki, it looked like nervousness. "I…want you to trust me, alright? This isn't easy for me and I know it's not for you but with a master assassin trained to kill since eight…and an ex-Asgardian god, when will it be ever easy?" The agent laughed a little. The ex-god eased into her touch a little, and Natasha resisted her urge to slap him. Loki looked down, unable to digest the fact that this was all happening and he felt pathetic for feeling this way.

Natasha walked away.

Strangely, she didn't feel hurt or angry or in any way like she was betraying herself and her own choices. No, she felt like she did something good. She felt like a hero.

NO she told herself. Firmly.

That all dissolved when she felt arms wrap around her in an awkward kind of hug.

The silence was thick and filtered the air like honey. Natasha didn't move, she didn't speak and she didn't even breathe. Those arms were gentle, but they were the gentle that could only be described as hesitant, not caring.

The agent released a breath, and turned around, pushing Loki away, her face flowing with color. A slightly hurt look washed over Loki's eyes, and he stepped back, realizing that the extremely thin line the both of them were walking on was even more fragile.

"Excuse me," Natasha stiffly said and walked down the hallway. She didn't care where it led, or how she made Loki feel.

Her heart felt funny, and she would be lying if she said that she didn't want to cut it out and figure out what the hell was wrong with her.

No matter what the chapter title of this story tells you, this isn't a reconnection. It's seeing everything you've felt and deciding that you didn't understand how your connections and disconnections worked.

So do not be confused.

But in a twisted, secretive sort of way, this was a reconnection of sorts.