Song: "Come Along" by Vicci Martinez and Cee-Lo Green
Chapter 60: Turnabout is Fair Play
Later turned out to be much later. Jane and Darcy left, and Thor with them. He likely wouldn't be back until late—it seemed to take a long time for him to say goodbye to Jane. Loki stationed himself near the apartment's front door, reading and waiting for the sound of Natasha's return. He would have waited in her room, if he could, but he didn't have a key. Besides, he chuckled, she might not appreciate such... surprises.
He was on his third book in a series of thick paperbacks that he was finding highly amusing, when he heard the sound of Natasha's key in her door. He carefully marked his place, and went into the hallway. He closed his door just as she was opening hers.
"Hey," Natasha greeted him tiredly, with a quick glance. She went in, and he followed, hovering near the door.
"You seem tired," he said hesitantly. "Perhaps I should come back tomorrow..." It was Friday, and he knew she had the weekend off.
"Loki, that's very considerate of you," she said as she poked in the fridge for something to eat. "But I have had a shitty day, as Clint would say, and now all I want to do is just spend some downtime with you."
Her words engendered a strange reaction in him: it was as if something had been squeezed tight in his chest, and now was let loose. He was flattered, too, that she would consider him her respite. He took a few steps forward, and smirked. "I only ask because what I had in mind requires quite a bit of stamina. Here, let me do that," he took the box of instant macaroni from her hands and scowled at it. "On second thought, wait here."
Replacing the box on its shelf, Loki left the apartment for his own, and came back a few minutes later with a steaming plate of rice and chicken curry.
"God, that smells fabulous," Natasha admitted from the table where she sat.
He placed the dish before her with a flourish and took the seat next to her. "Leftovers from Darcy's experiment," he proclaimed.
The fork hesitated a few inches from Natasha's mouth, and she raised an eyebrow.
He grinned at her. "I helped."
She took the bite and chewed, thinking. "It's good," she said at last. "Really good. But it doesn't taste like curry."
"It's a long story," Loki waved his hand dismissively.
She nodded and continued to eat. "So what, exactly, did you have planned that takes so much stamina?" she asked slyly.
The corner of his mouth twitched and he picked at a non-existent spot on the table. "I've been toying with the idea of bondage," he admitted.
She gave him a mildly surprised look. "Any specific reason?" her voice and her face gave nothing away about how she felt on the subject.
Loki had spent a lot of time thinking how to phrase this. "I've heard it told that there isn't a pair of handcuffs or a rope that could hold you. I think it would be intriguing to test this theory."
At this she smiled as if she knew a secret.
"What?" he asked.
"Do you know what I was doing when I was first informed you had... arrived?" she searched for the neutral word.
He leaned back and gestured for her to share.
"I was interrogating an arms dealer, when Phil called." She paused, it was the first time she had mentioned Phil in his presence. "I told him I was busy, that the guy was giving me everything. You should have seen the look on his face. You see, at the time, I was tied to a chair and being dangled over a three-story drop."
Loki grinned at this detail. "And they let you answer your phone?"
"It wasn't my phone, it was one of the dealer's goons'. I don't know what Phil said to them, but they gave me the phone. He had a way with words like that." She took another bite before continuing the story. "I was a little pissed at the interruption, to be honest, but then Phil said that—" she glanced at him, her hesitation lasting less than half a second, "—Barton had been compromised." Her voice was a little strained from the remembered emotion.
"So what did you do?" It was strange, to think that his actions had affected her so strongly before he even knew her.
She smiled, shrugging off the somber mood. "I kicked their asses."
He blinked. "While tied to the chair?"
Natasha's grin became cocky. "In the chair, and with the chair."
He tried to picture it, shaking his head. "I would have paid good money to see that... It must have been magnificent."
"I am a little attached to these chairs, but if you find one you don't mind being broken I'd be happy to give a demonstration," she said teasingly, picking up her empty plate and setting it in her sink to wash later.
Loki's head tilted and his eyes narrowed a little, thinking. She was implying something more than her consent, and he was determined to figure it out. "You have rope?" he said at last.
She did not meet his gaze in the mirror above the sink. "The question is not if I have rope, but rather what kind to use. Tools of the trade," she reminded him. Her voice was matter-of-fact, and her continued lack of eye contact told him that she was more nervous about the concept than she let on.
"Silk," he said simply.
Now she did meet his eyes, her curiosity sparked once more. He made a mental note to keep her curious. "Stronger?" she guessed.
Loki stood and came to stand behind her, looking at their reflections in the mirror. He picked up one of her hands and brought it to his face, kissing the inside of her wrist. "Softer," he explained, "less likely to chafe."
She shuddered beneath his touch, and he could not resist the urge to press himself against her soft curves. He looked for her reaction, but she only seemed amused.
"I wouldn't have thought comfort could be taken into consideration when tying someone to a chair," she teased.
He just smiled back, and whispered in her ear, "Oh, I'm not going to tie you to a chair..." He slid his hands around her, claiming her by the handful and eliciting a delicious moan from her lips. The edge of her shirt was lifted, and he slid a hand beneath it, tracing the lacy edges of her bra. In no time at all she was gripping the edge of the sink hard, her breath coming quickly.
"Natasha," he whispered against her hair. She moaned absently in response. "I want you to do something for me, darling," he said sweetly.
His tone raised warning bells in her mind, and she opened her eyes to find the reflection of his. "What?"
A wicked smirk accompanied his answer: "Go get the rope."
That weekend Natasha was relieved of the illusion that she knew everything there was to know about ropes and knots. She knew every which way to secure a prisoner, and several different methods for killing with rope, and she had assumed that was all the more there was to it. But Loki knew more knots than a sailor, and found inventive ways to use them that put her stamina and flexibility to the test.
And yet, she could sense he was holding back. He would tie her up like a Christmas present, and then he would be gentle and slow with her, like he was afraid she would break. It was infuriating. She missed the heated passion of the mirror game, and found herself intentionally provoking him to get a response. But he would just smile that sly grin of his and tie the knots tighter.
After two days of this torture-that-wasn't-torture, she was almost glad to see him go. Almost. She was, however, extremely glad to see his counterpart sitting in her living room when she got home from work on Monday.
"I hope you don't mind that I let myself in," she said sheepishly.
Natasha just smiled. "No, problem. I should get you a key."
Loki continued to look guilty. "No need to bother," she hid a smile and held up a key.
"You know, that would be damn handy on some missions," she admitted.
"Well, maybe someday I can help you out again," she suggested hopefully.
She studied Femme Loki carefully. She had been a valuable asset on their mission to London. So why did she suddenly feel that SHIELD details were too dangerous for her? Loki had not gotten any less capable, in fact, over the past few months she had seemed to grow far more confident and independent. Natasha puzzled over her reaction.
"You look frustrated," Loki pointed out. "His fault?"
She sighed gratefully at the change of topic. "Somewhat." She sat gracefully on the couch very close to Loki.
"He tells me that you've been... what was the phrase He used? 'Quizzing Him on His knot-tying skills.' I assume that means you've been trying more games?" she asked, pretending to be only mildly interested in the subject.
"Yes and no," Natasha grumbled. "We've been playing with ropes, but I'm not sure his heart's in it. He doesn't seem terribly enthusiastic."
"Oh, but I love the tying arts," Loki gushed, before realizing what she had just said and blushing. "That is... I mean... in the past, it was... rather a favorite hobby."
She couldn't help but smile at her response. The unfettered enthusiasm was more reassuring than Loki might have guessed. "It's just... sometimes He ties me up and just leaves me there for a while. And when he does take advantage, he doesn't take full advantage," she huffed.
Loki had a very amused look on her face. "That's... actually part of His fun. Working you up like that. Don't worry, it won't last forever. I... that is, He usually gets bored of that pretty quickly."
Natasha leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes. "And I feel like... I wish this was reciprocal, you know? Like I could get him back for the tricks he pulls. It seems a little unbalanced. I suggested it to Him, but he just laughed. I guess I've got a week to think of something."
Loki was silent so long that Natasha finally opened her eyes to gauge her expression. She seemed to be on the edge of saying something, as if wondering if she should. She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought.
Leaning forward, Natasha kissed her, pulling her lip into her own mouth and biting it playfully. "What?" she asked when she let it go, still hovering close.
"Um, you could... you could always reciprocate on me," she suggested quietly.
It only took Natasha a split second to analyze the consequences of her idea. She knew the other Loki was in there, watching, and anything she did now would affect him somehow. She smiled when she thought how royally ticked off he would probably be. She kissed Loki again, more forcefully this time, moving so that she straddled her slim hips. Beneath her touch, Loki trembled, and Natasha felt her own stomach flutter at the familiar high.
"That," she breathed against Loki's lips, "is an excellent idea."
A/N: Just a quick note today, my sis is getting married tomorrow, and things are way crazy around here. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I love hearing all of your fabulous reviews!
