"Aw man, working here is great, don't you think?" Clint Barton rambled, "I mean, so much better than working for SHIELD, eh Nat? We get to help with a greater purpose. I feel so, so, so… purposeful. Don't you think it's just the greatest thing ever?"
Natasha Romanoff rubbed her eyes tiredly, having listened to her friend go on like this for about an hour as they stood guard outside the foreign queen's room. Normally, neither of them would be standing guard of anything - their skills were better served doing other things - but with Loki, Lusca, and this Lewis Layn guy all in the room and talking about classified information, it was best to have the best ready for action.
"And these uniforms! So comfortable, am I right? Why didn't SHIELD ever let us wear cotton? Just because Fury has a thing for leather doesn't mean everyone wants to wear it. Cotton breaths. Leather just sits there. Dead. And, I mean it is dead being skin from a cow and all, but you know-"
"Wait! What was that sound?" Natasha shushed, crouching.
"I didn't hear anything."
"There it is again!" She glanced at her partner to see if he was buying it, "Clint you'd better go check it out, it sounded like it was coming from the elevator shaft!"
"Crap, why does this stuff always happen on my watch?" Clint groaned and jogged off to the elevator around the corner.
"Finally, some quiet," Natasha leaned against the door with a smug grin. It lasted for about fifteen and a half seconds before the door to the room swung open and she was back standing at attention. Stiff as a board and eyes looking off vacantly, she bowed slightly as Loki passed by. The king had his arm wrapped around the intruder's shoulders and seemed to be filling him in on the details of the mysterious island, Lyron.
"And once the Bugle has published that story I'll have another for you right away," Loki said, gesturing back to the room they'd just exited, "One about my 'good friend' and myself."
"Alright, and you promise you won't kill me?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die as it is said," He got a crafty look in his eye, "And if this little symbiotic relationship keeps up, Lewis, I'll even see about taking care of that terribly sick little brother of yours, hmm?"
"How'd you know-?"
"I have my ways," Loki smirked and Natasha had to suppress an eyeroll. The "all knowing king" actually wore an earpiece and Natasha herself often fed him information through it when he thought it would be useful. When he wasn't cheating, he usually was simply observant and came off a bit omnipotent to the average person.
"Okay, yeah, um," Lewis fiddled with the strap on his backpack, "I'll talk to JJJ tonight about publishing that story. Might even get it on the front page tomorrow. It'll be all over the web too, and TV."
"Wonderful. Now you get home to your dear worrying mother and get that story published," He clapped the boy on the back and turned to go. Natasha took this as her cue to escort Lewis from the premises and stepped forward to do so. Before she could, however, Loki cleared his throat.
"Have Barton escort him out. I'd like to have a word with you."
"Yes, sir."
When Clint came back around the corner with reports of nothing odd going on in the elevator shaft, Natasha dumped the boy on him and turned to follow the king. She stayed an appropriate distance away from him and did her best to stare dazedly ahead. They walked back into Queen Lusca's rooms, where the islander glared at both of them. Natasha could practically feel the daggers being stared at her.
"I know you aren't an ordinary man, but frankly that was uncalled for!" Lusca snapped.
"What? Giving out information about Lyron? It would have happened eventually."
"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," Her hands balled into fists and Natasha couldn't help but route for the younger woman to take a swing at Loki since she was currently unable to.
"You're referring to the kiss then?" He sneered, "What? Didn't enjoy it?"
"You vile-"
"Not important," He turned to Natasha, "I'm reassigning you. Barton and Rogers will take over security and the general running of this place. You are to be Her Majesty's personal bodyguard."
"I don't need a bodyguard. I'm not going anywhere, am I?" Lusca crossed her arms.
"Not yet," He glanced out the window, "Besides, I'm sure you two will have fun. Talking about… eh…" he shrugged, "Outfits? And hair? Perhaps the best way to kill a man?"
"You're right," Lusca furrowed her brow, "Perhaps Ms. Romanoff can give me some tips on how to deal with unwanted suitors."
"And you can, in turn, teach Romanoff how to single handedly ruin a country," He winked and straightened his shirt sleeves, "She'll be moving into the suite next to yours so you'll have plenty of time for all of that heart to heart and hair braiding."
Stepping toward the door, he snapped his fingers and both women were suddenly wearing pink polka dot pajama pants and tops with matching fuzzy slippers. He laughed like the maniac that he was and vanished down the hallway.
"Where in the world would he even have seen pajamas like these?" Natasha muttered, irritated to find that her gun was missing from the new ensemble, "Has he been watching old Disney Channel sleepover movies?"
The next few days proved to be extremely productive. Lewis Layn's article lead to many scientists wanting to question Loki and Lusca, whom the article mentioned was staying in New York on a diplomatic mission. There was a press conference, which both monarchs handled marvelously and then another article surfaced about how Loki had heard about a terrible fire on Lyron and was now assisting by exporting goods to the island. People were eating up the idea of a magical island and the public loved Lusca whenever they caught a glimpse of her.
Loki didn't want her to be too well known, just yet, however. That would come after a few more weeks - maybe even a month - and then the world would get to see the strange queen as much as they liked. When they were to the point of adoring her, he'd have Lewis circulate the rumor that Loki and Lusca were becoming an item. When the rumor was burning strongly a real article would come out about how they were courting.
Time depending on how well that was taken, he'd eventually stage a romantic proposal. In fact, he'd arranged for a ball of sorts to take place in three months time to celebrate the first ever complete union of all of the Midgardian countries. It would be an ideal place to pop the question for the eyes of the public and there would be plenty of reporters there to spread the news.
Now he just had to keep Lusca out of the way and well behaved enough to play her part and they could be married easily within the year. That ought to keep his advisors happy for the time being.
Currently searching through the penthouse kitchen, he found himself pleased enough to be humming an old tune his mother - Frigga - used to sing to him. As he was digging food from the refrigeration device he heard soft footsteps behind him and turned to see Lusca, dressed as primly as ever and looking at an speaking into a cellular phone. Evidently, she hadn't yet spotted Loki so he blinked and made himself into a repair man. As the queen settled on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, he pretended to be fixing the fridge while listening in.
"...finally was allowed a phone. I know," She sighed, "I know, Zac, I understand that you were worried."
There was a long paused and Loki assumed Azzaca was ranting about how Lusca was supposed to have called the moment she landed, but had instead waited four days.
"How is Agwe holding up? Good, good," she grabbed an apple from a fruit basket and rolled it back and forth across the countertop, "And… Raeni?"
Loki glanced over his shoulder at her and saw that her eyes were a tad wet. He supposed she must miss the idiotic island princess, and probably the island itself - not to mention the fool Azzaca.
"She did what?!" Lusca exclaimed, "Is she there? Let me talk to her! Raeni! How could you? All the way to Puerto Rico? With him? What were you thinking?!"
So the princess had left the island… and been taken back by the sounds of things.
"No, no! I've had enough of that boy! You are forbidden to see him anymore. I don't care if it's unfair, it's final. Oh no, don't you drag that alien into this. You know that he has nothing to do with this. No, I will not put him on the phone. He's busy, that's why," she was gripping the apple tightly now, "I don't know what he's doing, but I'm not going to interrupt him so you can ask him to overrule my decision. He has no business in the affairs of our family-"
"Though you're aunt is completely right and your boyfriend is a lowlife who cares nothing for you, I am pleased you sought me for answers, Princess," Loki had snatched away the phone and dropped his disguise, "Therefore, I will grant you the right to see him whenever you like and even leave Lyron if you wish it. You're welcome. Farewell," he hung up and handed the phone back to Lusca.
"Do you want her to get herself hurt? And, in the future, please do not eavesdrop on my conversations!" She hopped down from the stool and began walking away at a brisk pace.
"I don't really care what happens to the girl, but I do like to get you riled up. And, in the future, don't have your conversations where anyone can hear them if you don't want me listening in."
She looked as if she were about to snap at him again, but instead she took a deep breath and turned away. Walking briskly, she was out of the kitchen and headed for the elevator. Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes and followed her. When they reached the elevator she pushed the "down" button.
"Your room is on the floor above us," Loki commented.
"I am aware."
"So where are you going?"
She looked him in the eye and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize no one had informed you that this symbol," she pointed to the arrow on the elevator button, "Means 'down' on Midgard."
The lift arrived with a cheery ding and both of them climbed inside. Lusca, despite her confident expression, kept a good distance between them, wedging herself in the corner. Loki automatically leaned on the wall far too close to her for her to comfortable.
"If you won't tell me what you're up to then I'll simply have to follow you wherever it is you are going."
"I'm meeting Lewis Layn in a conference room. He requested pictures of Lyron and I am going to show him a few to see if he would care to use any in his articles," she moved forward as the elevator arrived at its destination - the twentieth floor - but Loki put his arm in front of her to prevent her from leaving.
"Be sure you don't say a word about our… marital arrangement. I don't want word getting out yet."
"I would never!" she smiled again, "I don't exactly want word going around that I'm engaged to the most insane man I've ever met so you've nothing to worry about."
"Good. Be back upstairs by six. We'll be having dinner, you and I, with some formerly important people. Should be loads of fun."
"Quite."
After showing a few dozen photographs to Lewis, Lusca realized that it was getting near to five o'clock and she hadn't even determined what she was going to wear for her first meeting with other countries' dignitaries. She said her farewells to the young reporter and rode the elevator up to the penthouse levels.
In her rooms she found Agent Romanoff sitting on the sofa, viewing security camera footage on a tablet device. The redhead looked bored and Lusca felt bad that she'd been taken off her other job to babysit her.
"The king informed me that there is to be a dinner tonight with a plethora of political guests," Lusca noted, kicking her shoes into the corner and draping her blazer over the back of a chair, "Any ideas as to what to wear?"
"I think he had someone drop your clothes off," Natasha pointed to Lusca's bedroom, never taking her eyes off the screen before her.
"He did?"
The queen went into her bedroom and found a floor length, simply elegant dress hanging in the closet. It was lovely, but it was also a dark shade of green. Lusca wrinkled her nose at the color. The queen of Lyron always wore cobalt to formal events as that was the color of her people. Wearing green would break a few centuries of tradition and on top of that it wouldn't match her tiara.
"Oh no, this will never do."
Instead she dug through the things she'd brought with her until she found what she was looking for: a knee length, cobalt, sleeveless dress with matching heels. It was one of her favorite things to wear to formal outings because the way the sheer hem was sewn reminded her of waves.
Once she'd put it on, she decided to go with the semi-formal tiara instead of the much heavier one she wore at important events back home. It wasn't as if these people would know the difference.
Glancing in the mirror, she decided she was satisfied with her look and she still had loads of time before dinner. This gave her the chance to sit down with her iPod and listen to a few songs to build her confidence.
Fidgeting with the tie on his suit, Loki approached Lusca's suite. He had planned on just barging in, but he figured that he'd already annoyed her more than enough today so with a roll of his eyes he knocked briskly. There was no answer for a minute and then Romanoff cracked open the door.
"She's still getting ready, sir."
"Still?"
"Well, I don't know that for sure, but she hasn't come out of her room yet."
"Absurd. We've got to be in the dining room in five minutes," He shoved past the agent and strode to the door to Lusca's bedroom and knocked loudly. There was no response so, with the turn of his wrist, he broke the lock and barged in.
"...now we're sharing the same dream, and our hearts, they beat as one. No more love on the run… Gah!" She'd been dancing around with her iPod in hand, but when he entered she jumped a foot and dropped the music playing device.
"You know, there's a reason I had the other dress delivered - I wanted you to wear it," He scowled at her blue ensemble.
Her chin lifted haughtily.
"A queen of Lyron never wears green to a public or formal event."
"Is that so?"
"Yes," She picked up her iPod and silenced it, "And it's too late for me to change now so don't bother putting up a fuss."
"Majesty," He sneered, "Really, you must remember that in a short time you will no longer be Lyron's queen, you will be mine."
"And does that mean I have no say in what I wear?"
"Or what you say or do in public. Every move you make will be strategized to further my agenda. You'd best get used to it now."
"As I said, it is too late for anything to be done now. Let's go before we are late," She dropped her iPod onto the bedside table and turned to go. Loki quickly caught her elbow as she moved past him and offered his arm to her. With a loud sigh, she took it and they headed for the elevators together.
As they rode down in silence Loki smirked and waved his hand over Lusca's dress. She gasped and looked down. While he hadn't made the dress entirely his favored color, the hem was now a dark shade of green that slowly faded into the blue. When he looked at the woman wearing the dress she was narrowing her eyes at him with such fury in them that he couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" He snickered, "It's a compromise, is it not?"
Before she could respond, the elevator doors opened and they were now faced with a dozen dignitaries staring straight at them. Loki smiled confidently and when he glanced at his companion she had schooled her features into a polite smile as well.
They moved as one toward the dining area and the other men and women followed suit. Once at the table, Loki greeted each of them by name - if he recalled it, if not he just skipped them.
"Thank you for gathering here today. Before we get started I am sure you all have seen Queen Lusca on the news?"
"Pleasure to meet you," she nodded.
"I'm sure the pleasure is theirs," Loki lifted his wineglass, "To the peace that we shall maintain and to new discoveries."
Everyone drank their wine and once the glasses had been set down, Loki smirked widely. Immediately a man and two women dropped to the floor. Lusca, along with the others gasped.
"No one bother to help them. The antidote cannot be found on Earth."
"You poisoned them?!" The former president of the United States asked.
"Mmm, yes. They were never loved by their people and evidence shows they've been circulating propaganda against me. Unfortunately, they are too important for me to have executed in public. Now they will have mysteriously disappeared."
"And if we say anything about what actually happened?" The former president of Spain questioned.
"I assure you that your deaths won't be as painless as these were."
Worried glances were exchanged throughout the room and then the first course was brought in and served. Everyone was wary of the food on their plates and a few people only nibbled nervously. Lusca was not one of them. Loki guessed that she felt safe in her position as his betrothed and did not fear poison. She was mostly right if that was how she felt. He wouldn't kill her unless he had a very good reason for it… or until he had an heir. After all, he wouldn't need her from that point onward.
Not that he was planning on having an heir anytime soon. Or even killing her after he had one. If he did he was sure his councilors would simply recommend he remarry and on top of that he'd have to fake mourning and then raise a child by himself. All while running a vast kingdom. No, killing Lusca would not be done unless he absolutely had to do so.
When the first course was finished and the second on its way out, he decided to initiate conversation. That started an hour long discussion about what form of currency should be used globally or if they should stick to what they'd been using.
Lusca seemed eager to join in on the conversation, but none of the other leaders were letting her get a word in. Loki himself could barely voice his opinion over the bickering fools. Finally, he slammed his palm on the table, silencing them all. He smiled when they looked to him.
"I'd like to hear Queen Lusca's thoughts," he winked at her.
"Oh!" She put her fork down, "Well, I think those of you who say we should initiate a single type of currency have a good point - if we are indeed all one union now then we ought to act like it - but I side with those who say we should keep things how they are. At least for now. If we introduce totally new idea so soon after we've all come together it might be a tad overwhelming for the people. I say we start one country at a time with a new currency and slowly work it in."
"And the pilot country for this new currency?" The former Prime Minister of England asked.
"America," She stated plainly, "This vast country will not comply to a change that the rest of the world starts with. However, if the USA starts the trend then they will be pleased when others follow. And, of course, we must not start the change now, perhaps in a year's time."
Loki raised a brow, impressed with the idea and how the whole room had quieted. The former president of the country in question appeared somewhat offended, but even he seemed to think it was a good idea. Perhaps his little Caribbean queen had more practice at this whole politics thing than he'd thought. Though he was loathe to even think it, she might have had more practice at it than he did.
He studied her confident uplifted face and pondered. She might be worth more to him as more than just figurehead queen.
A/N: Hello! Long time no write! Yeah... my bad. Actually, not my bad. My computer broke. It sucked. But for the time being it's working again so I thought I'd try to update as many stories as I can find inspiration for. We'll see how long I can get away with writing before my mother yells at me for being on the computer all day and asks me to come downstairs where I will do nothing but sit on the couch and listen to my siblings argue. Don't be fooled, I love my family, they just don't love it when I write all day, which in turn makes me grumpy.
That's kind of off topic. Sorry. You didn't need to hear that.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully I'll get another one up before my computer decides to play dead again.