I don't own Loki or the Avengers. This chapter's theme song is "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson, which is sort of Femme Loki's theme song in my head.
Chapter 32: Night on the Town
On Saturday, Natasha found herself standing before the door of Thor and Loki's apartment. She sighed at her own hesitation. "This is not a date," she muttered to herself and knocked.
Thor answered, but before either of them could speak, Loki shouted "It's for me!" She hurried over and nudged a surprised Thor out of the way. "Hi," she grinned at Natasha.
Natasha's eyebrows shot up as she took in Loki's outfit: a form-fitting green sweater dress with grey leggings and black knee-high boots. She had changed the ruby necklace to match the one she wore in London, and now wore matching earrings. "Hi," she said absently. Did Loki think this was a date? No, she decided, it wasn't that much fancier than what she usually wore.
Suddenly, she felt a little self-conscious about the T-shirt, jeans and matching denim jacket she had worn. "Ready to go?" she asked, shrugging it off.
"Sure! Bye Thor," she said shortly, and closed the door on his very surprised expression.
As they made their way down the stairs-Loki still didn't like the elevator-a golden-brown jacket appeared on Loki's shoulders.
"Hey, no magic in public, ok?" Natasha reminded her.
"Oh, yeah. Okay."
When they got down to the parking lot, Natasha handed her a pair of small earpieces, much like the ones they used on missions. Loki gave her a questioning look.
"Something Tony whipped up," she explained, sticking her own into her ears and pulling her iPod out of her jacket pocket. When she pressed a button, music started playing for both of them.
Loki's face lit up. "I like it," she nodded her head to the beat.
"Diving teams use something similar, to help synchronize their internal clocks. I thought it might help," she explained.
"Help with what?" Loki asked.
In response, Natasha held out the keys to her motorcycle. Loki blinked at them a moment, and then looked back at her. "Really?" she asked quietly, as if she were afraid it might turn out to be a joke.
She laughed and tossed her the keys. "Yes, really. Now get your helmet on while nobody's looking." She picked her own up off the bike and put it on.
Loki, helmeted in the blink of an eye, hopped onto the bike and got it started. She backed it out of the stall a few paces, and Natasha got on behind, holding onto Loki's hips. She was a little worried how they would communicate, since she had no idea where they were going, but when she paused at the entrance to the apartment complex, Natasha nudged her to the right, indicating which way they should go.
In this subtle way Natasha directed them toward their unknown destination. Loki was exhilarated by the sensation of speed, the responsiveness of the bike. Natasha was, of course, a good riding partner, and helped Loki to know how much she needed to lean into the turns. At last they pulled into a parking garage, and Natasha turned off the music.
"That was incredible!" Loki said as soon as she got her helmet off. She set it down on the ground, looked to make sure they were alone, and vanished it.
Natasha grinned as she took her helmet off as well. "You did really well," she complimented. "Come on, the theater's only a block away from here."
"Theater?"
"Yeah, I thought you might like to see a movie without Tony talking your ear off," she joked.
"What kind of movie?" Loki asked as they made their way toward the stairwell.
"Well, that depends..." they discussed their options as they walked. By the time they reached the theater, an old-fashioned venue tucked away amongst taller, newer buildings, they had decided on a scary movie. It was that or a chick flick, so the choice was a bit obvious as neither of them really went in for that sort of thing.
Halfway through the movie, Natasha finally admitted to herself that it was, in fact, a date. At a particularly startling moment, Loki had jumped and grabbed her arm, and did not let go for a good half hour. She was a little surprised that Loki was so affected by the movie; scary movies never really got to Natasha, the gore was too fake and the plots all fairly predictable. She worried that maybe it had been a bad choice.
But afterward, Loki was ecstatic, chattering about her favorite parts as they made their way to Natasha's favorite Thai restaurant. It was there that Natasha realized what felt so off about the date. Loki read the entire menu, and then sheepishly asked if she had any suggestions.
"I'll order for both of us," Natasha reassured her.
"Oh good," Loki sounded very relieved. "And thank you for offering to pay for all this. My poker winnings have grown a bit slim since He isn't sharing."
That's when it struck her. She was the guy in this date. She had planned it, picked up Loki, provided transportation (although she didn't drive, at least) and paid for it. She had been on hundreds of dates-thousands, if she counted missions-and on every single one she had been cosseted, treated and shown off. It was kind of nice to be on the other end of it once.
As they ate, Natasha couldn't help but wonder what a date with the other Loki would be like. She was pretty sure there would be dancing, she doubted he would pass up such an obvious excuse to be in close, physical contact with her. But beyond that, she was unsure. Would he stick to the archaic pattern his society dictated? Or would he surprise her again?
"You're thinking about Him, aren't you?" Loki interrupted her train of thought.
"Sorry?" Natasha asked, unsure if she should be.
She sighed and shook her head, poking at her food. "Do you wish He was here instead?"
"No," she said, just firmly enough to be really convincing. "I'd rather not spend my night off playing complex mind-games thank you very much."
Loki smiled a little in spite of herself. "He can really be an ass sometimes, can't he?"
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You would know better than me," she pointed out.
She frowned a little, but said nothing more on the subject.
As they were walking back to the parking garage, Loki regaled her with tales from her past.
"...and so then I said, 'give us a kiss!' and he burst out laughing!" she giggled, and Natasha found it infectious.
"Did he really call you 'cow?' I can't imagine Thor being rude," she asked.
Loki rolled her eyes. "Oh, that just shows that you don't know him very well. He can be quite rude when he wants to. But yes, he did, although it's not such an insult when you're not..." she glanced down at herself, "you know."
Natasha nodded. "I guess not," she started to say something else when she froze. There was a figure in the alleyway ahead of them, and she had seen someone lurking in the one they had just past. Ambush, she thought. She continued on, though, waiting for them to make the first move. Loki seemed to sense her hesitation, and glanced at the alleyway furtively. A look of recognition sparked her expression briefly, and then she resumed chattering as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly the man jumped out of the alley. Glancing behind, they saw the other man emerge as well. Loki clutched Natasha's arm as she had in the movie, but not tightly, and she could tell it was only for show.
"Now ladies, there's no need to be frightened. Just hand over your things and you're free to go. Honor amongst thieves, you know." He grinned cockily.
Loki returned the grin, and on her it was altogether more terrifying. "Oh yes, I know all about that," she said, and raised her hands ominously.
Natasha grabbed her wrist. "Remember what I said?" she hissed through clenched teeth.
Loki pouted at Natasha. "Oh come on, please? Just a little? They have it coming you know, and they won't remember it anyway," she whined.
The two men gave each other a nervous look.
Natasha noticed, and let a sly and dangerous smile cross her own expression. "Well... okay, but only a little. Don't turn them into anything... unnatural."
"Of course not," Loki said politely, and the space between her hands began to glow.
The eyes of the man in front of them grew large in the green light, and the one behind them cried out and began to run away. Suddenly they both stilled, and the far man came back in a slow, shuffling pace. They stood side-by-side, and regarded Loki with blank stares.
"Now," Loki tapped her lips thoughtfully. "I should really like to do something nasty, but since you asked," she glanced over at Natasha, who watched the scene with a carefully empty expression. Loki sighed. "Repeat after me. It is not nice to take what isn't yours," she instructed.
"It is not nice to take what isn't yours," they intoned dully.
"And you shouldn't scare girls for fun,"
"And we shouldn't scare girls for fun," they repeated in unison.
Loki thought a moment. "You want to go home and re-think your lives."
"We want to go home and re-think our lives."
She smiled. "Good!" She snapped her fingers, and they seemed to come out of whatever trance they had been in. "Off you go, then."
They looked at her and their surroundings as if very confused, and then hurriedly ran off.
Loki looked to Natasha, who raised an eyebrow. "Star Wars?"
She returned the expression perfectly. "The Lord of the Rings?"
Natasha pressed her lips together. "I didn't know you could do that sort of thing without the spear," she said instead.
Loki frowned a little. "The spear made it easier, I can't hold it very long or at a distance. But I'm not usually that obvious about it." She thought about it a little more. "I was never terribly comfortable with it, actually, but it seemed the right thing to do."
"I suppose," Natasha admitted at length. "We can't change what you are, but as long as you're 'using your powers for good' as Steve puts it, it should be alright."
"Good," Loki smiled, and hooked her arm into Natasha's as they set off for the parking garage again.
Natasha frowned to herself. She had started to enjoy her role this evening, and had looked forward to coming to the rescue and beating the thugs up. But Loki was right, it was a better option than leaving them bruised and bloody. And she was an idiot if she thought Loki would ever need rescuing.
The next morning, Loki slept in late. She had been showing off to Natasha somewhat, and it had used up the last of the extra reserves from Him, which she had taken to carefully doling out through the week. When she emerged from her room, she was surprised to find Thor alone, sitting on the couch and reading a newspaper.
"Hey," she said by way of greeting.
"Good morning," Thor said cheerfully. "How was your date with Natasha?"
Loki laughed. "It wasn't a date silly. Natasha's... well..." she frowned at Thor's skeptical expression. "Well it wasn't. Are Jane and Darcy coming over today?"
"Not until later," he explained. "Jane is getting a tour of her new workplace before she starts tomorrow, and Darcy is shopping with Lady Potts."
She frowned as she spread butter on a bagel. "Pepper?"
He nodded. "Yes, Darcy has agreed to work as her 'Personal Assistant,' from what I can gather it involves a lot of shopping and talking," he explained.
She flopped down on the couch next to him. "Well that should make her happy."
Thor laughed. "Indeed."
Loki sighed as she took a bite of her bagel. "Alone at last," she joked.
His smile disappeared.
"What?"
"It's just..." he looked uncomfortable. "The last time you said that..."
Loki blinked, and then rolled her eyes. "I forgot. Forget it."
He didn't look as if he believed her.
"What? I'm not allowed to want to spend time with you at all?" She pouted jokingly.
"No, it's only..."
"Look, I promise to behave in a sisterly manner towards you, alright?" she offered, taking another bite.
Thor thought about that. Obviously, if she had been lying, she would no longer be there. Then he thought of something, smiling a little. "For how long?"
For a moment, Loki pretended innocence, but a grin crept into her expression. "You know me far too well. For today. Then you'll have Him to contend with, which is another challenge altogether."
He chuckled. "I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."
Now it was Loki's turn to look as though she didn't believe him.
"You know, I seem to recall you as being the soul of politeness and tact for many a century. Just because you got in a bad temper for a year doesn't mean that you're suddenly an awful person," Thor argued.
She frowned, and finished off the bagel. "Thor, you have always thought far too highly of me," she said sadly. "What happened wasn't really a change... I... He... We, whatever, always had a lot more going on behind the scenes than you were aware of. It was really more just taking off the mask that hid it all."
He frowned. "I don't believe that. I think you were influenced, somehow. Anyway, He's been very polite to Jane, and aside from pestering Natasha a little, quite nice to the rest of the team as well."
She mirrored his expression for a different reason. "Well if He has, then He's done it for a reason. He's up to something, whether you know it or not."
Thor shook his head and smiled, not taking her seriously for a moment.
A/N: Please forgive me for the goofiness in this chapter. As I have said before, I simply cannot take myself seriously all the time. However, I promise that things are about to turn deadly serious, and you will all see precisely what Loki is 'up to.'
So tune in on Wednesday for some naughty shenanigans, in "Nothing is for Free."
Also, brownie points to anyone who knows where the scene Loki is retelling to Natasha in the alley before they're ambushed comes from! As always, reviews are my absolute favorite thing.
