This chapter and the next are dedicated to a very good friend of mine, Arie. She knows why. ;) The theme song is "Stutter" by Maroon 5.
Chapter 50: A Novel Idea
When Natasha awoke the next morning, Loki had already disappeared. She got up, dressed, and went to find the others. She wandered around a while before finding Darcy and Tony seated on the clubhouse patio.
"Hey, where's everyone else?" she asked by way of greeting.
"Snorkeling," Tony explained.
"Why didn't you guys go?"
"I slept in too late," Darcy admitted. She looked as though she was still half-asleep, her hair mussed and dark circles under her eyes. "Bruce told this really scary story last night, and I spent most of the night curled up alone with my flashlight."
Tony cackled gleefully. "You haven't heard that one before?"
Natasha frowned. "Where was Jane?"
Darcy rolled her eyes. "She's bunking up with Thor, now."
She looked to Tony. "And your excuse?"
Tony tapped his arc reactor. "Prolonged exposure to salt water tends to make the edge of the cavity irritated. And it would be kinda weird if I wore the suit." He gave Natasha a mischievous grin. "Since you and Loki left early last night, I guess we all know your excuse."
Natasha gave him an exasperated glare and went to look for some juice at the bar.
"Hey, no need to be shy about it! The way you two tore up the dance floor on Saturday, I'm surprised you didn't lock yourselves in your cabin for the rest of the trip!" he called.
Darcy laughed. "Man, I wish I could have seen that," she admitted.
Tony frowned. "Where were you?"
She didn't meet his gaze, fiddling instead with her pastry. "Busy," she said evasively.
The gleeful sparkle returned to his eye. "Busy doing what?" he wheedled.
"Distracting Clint," Natasha supplied plainly as she came back to the table.
"Nicely done," Tony said, impressed. "We'll make a spy of you yet!"
Darcy laughed. "Hey, that reminds me," she turned in her seat to face Natasha. "Word of warning: don't call Loki 'Sir.' Apparently it pisses him off or something."
Natasha almost choked on her juice, and set it down, trying to smother a smile. "I'm sure he'd find you doing that unsettling, the way you two play at flirting."
She frowned, but a grin slowly crept over Tony's face. "Oh, come on, Lewis, haven't you read 50 Shades of Gray?" he teased.
"Oh, god that book was awful! I didn't even finish-" Darcy stopped mid-sentence, her eyes going wide. "No way!"
Tony dissolved into a fit of giggles, and Natasha was hard-put not to follow.
"You're telling me Loki is into all of that freaky stuff?" she demanded.
Natasha looked from her to Tony, considering. She desperately wanted to talk to someone about her relationship with Loki, and the usual candidates, Clint and Femme Loki, were clearly out of the running. "If I talk, you can't repeat any of this."
"Right," Darcy snorted, "Who am I gonna tell, Clint? Hey Babe, here's a list of the kinky things the guy who mind-fucked you is doing to your ex-girlfriend. That sounds like a fun conversation."
"I meant Jane," she drawled.
"Jane already thinks Loki is going to slit her throat in her sleep," Darcy explained. "I'm not going to feed her imagination."
They both turned to face Tony. He seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle. At last he sighed heavily. "I guess either way, I'd have nothing to tell. Ok. At least this way I know." He scooted his chair in closer and leaned forward eagerly.
She sighed. "Well, there's not a lot to tell. Yes, he's into that sort of thing, we've talked about it before. But we haven't done anything all that out of the ordinary. I mean, yeah, he's pretty controlling in the bedroom, and he's a big fan of the ruthless quickie," she laughed-they hadn't even made it to the bed the night before, and she was surprised to find this morning that the wall didn't have scratch marks on it- "but that's it, so far. I think maybe he's wary of scaring me off at this point."
"Why? I can't see Loki being shy about something like that," Darcy frowned.
Natasha leaned back. "The first time... He went a little rough. Left a couple love-marks, nothing too bad. But it freaked him out. Once he realizes I'm not made of glass, though, I think he'll start breaking out the whips and chains," she joked.
Tony had a thoughtful look on his face. "What about the better half?"
"What?" Natasha blinked.
"You know, Femme Loki," Darcy prodded.
"What about her?" Natasha glanced between them, suspicious.
"Is she a freak between the sheets, too?" Tony asked, as if it was obvious.
"I'm not-we haven't-No!" Natasha laughed, surprised.
"No?!" Darcy sounded shocked. "Why not?"
"Yeah, everybody just kind of assumed..." Tony waved a hand, "Y'know, what's good for the gander is good for the goose?"
"She's my friend," she protested.
"So what's He?" Darcy teased.
"Point taken," Natasha admitted. "But we're not like that. She's not attracted to me like that. I mean, she seems curious, but..." she trailed off at their expressions.
Darcy and Tony stared at her in disbelief for a moment, and then exchanged a glance. "Then you haven't been looking," Tony said simply.
She frowned. "Really?"
"Really really. She looks at you like I look at cheesecake," Darcy drawled.
Natasha sat there a moment, stunned. She had noticed a marked difference in Loki's behavior since they had come to the island, but she had attributed it to a discomfort about her relationship with Him, and then an inner turmoil over Thor and Jane's engagement. She had never imagined that it could be shyness.
"Tell you what. Dinner tonight is supposed to be swanky. Did you bring anything sexy to wear?" Tony asked.
She gave him a sarcastic glare, and he laughed. "Of course, I forget who I'm talking to. Wear it, and bring a compact with a mirror. When Darcy or I give you the signal, it means Loki is giving you the look. Then you can see for yourself."
She raised an eyebrow. "What's the signal?"
Tony rubbed his nose as if it itched. Darcy caught on quickly, doing the same. She laughed and shook her head and laughed again. "Alright, it's worth a look."
Natasha smoothed her hands over the dress, and took a deep breath. She had chosen this piece with Loki in mind: it was green, and cut low in both the front and the back. It was one Clint had already seen, so she didn't risk catching his attention as well. But she had not intended to use it on this Loki.
The Loki in question had left for dinner a full half hour previously, using her magic to prepare dress, hair, and makeup in one fell swoop. When Natasha had glared with loathing at her own bags of makeup and curling irons and hairspray, she had even offered to do the same for her. She almost took her up on the offer, curious how Loki would dress her up, but in the end she turned her down. This needed to be a surprise.
Darcy came by to see if she was ready, and whistled low when she saw the dress. "If that doesn't work, nothing will!" she joked. They walked up to the clubhouse together, and just before they got there Darcy stopped her. "Wait here a minute," she suggested. "I'll go in and distract her so she won't see you when you first walk in."
"Right." Natasha stood on the path and waited, feeling like an idiot, for a full five minutes. This was ridiculous. Surely Tony and Darcy were mistaken. Or maybe they were seeing the hints of His personality that sometimes pushed through Hers. That's what it must be! she thought. She would look, and she would see the same possessive, burning gaze that she had often seen when He thought she wasn't looking.
Reassured, she strode up to the clubhouse confidently. Inside, about half of the guests milled around, chatting and sipping cocktails. Loki and Darcy were nowhere to be seen, but Tony was loitering near the bar, so she went to stand near him, putting her back to the room.
He eyed her dress and hair appreciatively. "Nice choice."
Natasha touched her hair self-consciously. She had smoothed it into a 1920's-esque wave, parted on the side so it half-hid one side of her face. "Where is she?"
Tony sipped his martini. "She and Darcy have gone to the bathroom to 'powder their noses,' which in this case I think is code for Darcy begging magic makeup off of poor Loki."
She laughed. Tony was right-Darcy was a whiz at the distraction tactic.
He glanced at something behind her for a split second. "You might want to touch up your lipstick, you got a smear," he pointed to the corner of his own mouth.
She knew her makeup was perfect, but she got the cue and took out her compact and lipstick. She fiddled with the cap a moment until Tony started rubbing his nose furiously. Lifting the mirror, she quickly found Loki's reflection, and froze.
That was not the arrogant, self-assured leer that would have leaked through from Him. Instead, Loki looked like the proverbial starving woman, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. She licked her lips, the oldest tell in the book, and gave Natasha's figure a long, thorough sweep of the eyes. There was something odd about it, though. She looked pained, and Natasha was instantly reminded of one of her sisters-in-arms from the Red Room gazing through a store window at a beautiful dress she could never hope to afford.
Natasha snapped the compact closed and stowed the lipstick.
"See?" Tony said in a teasing voice.
She nodded tersely, too surprised to answer. Yes, she had seen, and yes, Tony and Darcy were most certainly correct. But what she was going to do about it was another question altogether. She turned and deliberately sauntered over to Loki. She watched closely, but now that Natasha was turned towards her, her expression was carefully guarded.
"Loki! I didn't get the chance to tell you earlier how gorgeous that dress looks on you," she said casually, and smiled. She would test her, and see how she responded to attention.
Loki glanced down at the dress she had fabricated, a long, black affair made of lace that fairly dripped off her and swept the floor. "Thanks," she said, smiling shyly. "Lace is coming into vogue," she explained.
Natasha fingered the sleeve appreciatively. "You're always so trendy," she complimented. "I just threw this old thing in my suitcase in case Stark felt like getting fancy."
"Oh, I think it's a beautiful dress!" Loki gushed. "It looks very nice on you..." her eyes dipped for the barest of seconds to the ample cleavage it revealed.
"Really?" she asked, feigning uncertainty.
"Yes. I like the color," she smiled, but then her eyes widened. "I mean, not just because I like green. It brings out your eyes, and it makes your hair look like flames," she said, her voice a little dreamy. Then she seemed to catch herself again, and darted away, ostensibly to greet Thor and Jane, who had just arrived.
Natasha put her hands on her hips, thinking. With women it was always difficult to tell if they wanted her or just wanted to be her. She was not completely convinced it wasn't the latter. And even if it were the first, it was possible Loki wasn't even aware of it. She would just have to bump up her game a notch and see what kind of response she got.
The remainder of the guests had arrived, and Tony led them through to one of the well-appointed ballrooms, which had a beautiful table laid out with gold-edged plates and sparkling crystal. Little name cards designated who should sit where, and there was some laughter as everyone found their seats and some even tried to trade places.
"Hey!" Tony complained. "Pepper put a lot of thought into the seating arrangements."
Pepper rolled her eyes. "Oh, let them sit where they like," she laughed.
In the end, everyone ended up in their original spots anyway. Natasha was impressed, Pepper had a real knack for such things. Tony sat at the proverbial head of the table, with Pepper on his right and Natasha across from her. Loki sat to Natasha's left, and then Darcy, Clint, and Thor. Across from Thor was Jane, and then Steve, Maria and Bruce filled up the remainder of that side. No one was far from anyone they would prefer to speak with, and Darcy was perfectly positioned to keep Clint distracted.
Tony was in rare form as a host, he must have flown in half a restaurant's worth of gourmet cooks. The food was mostly local, and tasted delicious. The conversation was continued from the evening before, and ranged from the philosophy of government (largely dominated by Thor and Steve, who debated the benefits of benign monarchies and democracies respectively) to a discussion of the movies soon to start at Tony's end of the table.
"I can't wait for Les Mis to come out!" Darcy gushed. "I loved The Phantom of the Opera."
"I hear they're going to do Wicked soon, too," Pepper agreed excitedly.
Tony rolled his eyes. "But you can see those on Broadway. I want to see Django Unchained!"
"Oh god, not another Tarantino film. Steve almost had a heart attack when you showed him Inglourious Basterds," Pepper lamented.
"What about you, Bruce?" Natasha asked, leaning over. As she did so, her thigh brushed against Loki's, and she heard a quick intake of breath. "You strike me as the serious type. Maybe Lincoln?"
Bruce smiled and chuckled. "Actually, I'm really looking forward to The Hobbit. I'm a big fan of Tolkien."
"What's Tolkien?" Loki asked, clearly trying to distract herself from Natasha.
"He's a fantasy author who wrote back in the 60's and 70's. The Hobbit is being made by the same people who made movies out of his Lord of the Rings trilogy," Bruce explained.
"Oh, I've seen those," Loki said, looking to Tony and smiling. "They were gorgeous... but a little boring at times. A lot like the literature back in Asgard."
"That makes sense," Bruce said thoughtfully, "since Tolkien was emulating Anglo-Saxon poetry."
As Bruce explained the relationship between the various Norse and Germanic peoples of northern Europe, Natasha carefully placed her empty water glass in such a way so that when Loki turned to reply to a comment from Tony she knocked it off the table.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, quickly pulling her dress away.
"It's ok, it was empty. I got it," Natasha said kindly, and then bent down to retrieve the glass, affording Loki an excellent view right down her cleavage. When she came up, Loki was blushing furiously and pointedly looking away. Darcy, on her other side, was grinning like an idiot and gave her a surreptitious thumbs-up.
Throughout dinner, Natasha continued to employ her bag of tricks. By this point, it was obvious that Loki was indeed very attracted to her, but she was having too much fun to stop. For the dessert course, they were allowed a choice of several different dishes. Natasha selected Devil's Food cake with Godiva ganache frosting, and Loki decided to try Tiramisu.
After her first bite, though, Loki frowned.
"What's wrong?" Pepper asked, always the gracious hostess.
"It tastes like coffee," Loki lamented. "I hate coffee," she added quietly.
Before Pepper could offer to get her another, Natasha spoke up. "Do you want to try mine?" she asked.
Loki looked at the decadent cake, and then at Natasha, her expression changing little. "Sure," she said with a small smile. She began to reach for her fork, but Natasha moved faster, cutting a piece off and holding the fork out invitingly.
She blinked at the morsel which hovered in front of her face. She hesitated a moment, and then opened her mouth to take the bite. Her eyes slid shut as it touched her tongue, and Natasha withdrew the fork slowly.
Ignoring the slightly scandalized looks from Pepper and Bruce, Natasha grinned as Loki made a sound of pure enjoyment.
"That is so good," Loki admitted at last.
"I'll trade you," she suggested, lifting the plate of cake.
"Ok," Loki agreed happily, passing her the Tiramisu.
Pepper looked as if she would ask a question, and then stopped suddenly, glancing down at the table and then looking at Tony with a frown. Bruce just shrugged and turned to make conversation with Maria.
After dinner, they all got up and wandered out to the patio for more drinks and conversation. Natasha circulated once, to give Loki a chance to catch her breath, and then came back with a trademark move.
"You've got some chocolate on your lip," she lied.
"I do?" Loki asked, touching her lips and darting her tongue out to try and catch it. "Did I get it?"
"Here," Natasha brushed her thumb across Loki's bottom lip, and then brought it to her own mouth, relishing the imaginary crumb of chocolate.
Loki's lips parted, and she watched with rapt fascination. Natasha took this opportunity to step closer, but when her hand brushed Loki's hip, she jerked back, snapping out of it.
"I-I-I..." she stammered. "I have to go," she said in a rush and hurried off.
Natasha frowned. Either she had pushed too hard, or...
Just as Loki was about to leave the patio, she turned and glanced back at Natasha, hesitating for the briefest moment before she bolted.
A sly grin spread across Natasha's lips. Or she wants to be chased, she mused. It made sense, suddenly. Just as the other Loki had pursued her relentlessly, this Loki, as His opposite, would desire to be pursued. Well, she certainly knew how to do that. She found Tony and made her excuses, which wasn't difficult since he and Darcy had been watching the whole exchange like some kind of sporting event. Then she turned and took the path Loki had fled down at a leisurely pace, preparing to do something she knew she was very, very good at.
Seduction.
A/N: *Extended evil cackling* *clears throat* Sorry, I'm having waaaaaaaaaay too much fun with this. Tune in next Wednesday when things start to get hot in Chapter 51: The Flame and the Blade.
