The theme song for this chapter is "Can't Let You Go" by Matchbox Twenty


Chapter 72: Perspective

The weekend passed without much fuss, Loki staying at Natasha's for the duration. They watched TV, read books, talked, and generally enjoyed each other's company. When they made love again, it was slow and tender, both of them reverently in awe of their new-found trust. Neither of them looked forward to Monday, when work and magic would prevent them from being in constant contact.

Natasha worried about the new level of attachment that she had developed with Loki. It went against everything in her training and experience to allow herself to be so dependent on someone else for anything, even happiness. It had been this way with Alexei - the heady, intoxicating effect of his presence, the rush of satisfaction when something she did pleased him in any way. And yet she could not pull herself away.

She reminded herself that with Loki - unlike Alexei - she need not worry about ulterior motives. He had been very up-front about the nature of their relationship. He found her attractive, and enjoyed her company in all its forms. He had little to gain by seducing her, the rest of the team was as likely to distrust him for succeeding where all others had failed as they were to trust her defense of his character. It rankled her a little to think that her irrational feelings were probably unrequited, but-she thought resignedly - at least one of them had their wits about them.

Loki, on the other hand, worried very little about his feelings. He had learned that denying them had the exact opposite effect of controlling them, and so saw little purpose in it. Unlike with Angerboda, he already knew Natasha would turn on him if and when her duty required her to. He respected her for it. He would just have to take measures to delay that eventuality as long as possible.

What he did worry about was his counterpart. She was given to displays of emotion, and could neither deny nor control them. If She were to reveal the depths of their affection for Natasha-for he was certain that this was one emotion they shared completely-then it might cause problems. Natasha believed that love was not a worthwhile endeavor, and perhaps, as he had once thought, not even real. He was fairly certain he might someday convince her otherwise, but it would take a lot of time and subtle manipulation. Fortunately, Loki had both in ample quantities.

Late Sunday night he came to a conclusion. He would have to write Her a very clear note on the subject. There really was no alternative. Glancing up at the clock, he saw that it was nearly midnight.

Natasha noticed, and put down her book. He had sat behind her on the couch to give her a back rub, and they had settled into a comfortable position there. She turned against him, the move subtly alluring in the casual way she so often was. ''Come to bed with me?"

He smiled a little. He knew she didn't mean it as a sexual invitation, she was merely asking if he was going to sleep with her in the conventional sense. But it was hard to interpret it otherwise when she was just so damn sexy. "In a bit," he agreed, kissing her. "I have to write the note."

"Right," She pulled herself off the couch and into an impressive stretch in one languid movement. When she was done, she noticed Loki's avid observation. "What?"

For the first time in many centuries, the words 'I love you' sprang spontaneously to his lips. Instead, he said, "You are exquisite."

She smiled, flattered. "Well, I'm also exhausted, no thanks to you," she teased.

He smirked wickedly. "I shall take that as a compliment."

Laughing, she sauntered towards the bedroom. "You would."

Loki watched her go, and then pulled out the little notebook he carried in his pocket. He had already written a summary of the mission progress and other occurrences of the week, and need only append with this new information. Staring out the darkened window for a moment, he thought, and then began to write.

I need to ask you a favor, and this time in deadly earnest.

I know that you feel the same way about Lady Natasha that I do. You can no more hide your love for her from me than I can from myself. I do not ridicule you for your affections, as I might as well criticize my reflection. But I agree with your suspicion against expressing this affection to its object.

In time, we may find a way to turn her heart towards the purpose of love, but I suspect it needs must be done with great care. I would not risk the chance for enduring contentment on a moment of ecstatic bliss. Please be cautious in your words and actions towards our fair lady.

I cannot as of yet conceive of something by which I might purchase your cooperation in this. I am afraid I must place myself in your debt for the time being. It is my hope that my willingness to do so will communicate how important this is to me.

He sighed. He detested owing favors, and could only hope that she, being less vindictive than he, would not find some highly unpleasant way to call in his debt just to spite him.

While I believe I have solved the problem of Natasha's nightmares, I am still concerned about her fighting this would-be sorcerer. It is essential that you take any measures necessary to protect her in the event of a conflict. I will gladly assist if you find you must call on me, or if your measures prove too dishonest. Nothing is worth losing her.

In order to convey the seriousness of his request, he signed the note with his rune. It would have to do.


Loki sat on the lab stool, staring down at the note in her hands. She was irritated and releived in equal measures; relieved because she no longer had to hide what she felt from Him, but irritated that He felt the need to instruct her not to tell Natasha. How stupid did He think she was?

Still, his hope and cooperation had her in high spirits, and finishing the last of her restoration this week would be immensely relieving. Now she had a new project to replace the repairs to New York-try to earn the heart of the fair Lady Natasha. It was the sort of fairy tale Loki had loved as a child.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Tony, who appeared on the screen nearest her. "Hey, chica, we need you in the conference room, pronto."

Loki rolled her eyes. Steve had fallen in love with Western movies, and Tony had been alternately imitating John Wayne and peppering his speech with Spanish words to tease him. She was just collateral damage. "All right, I'll be right there."

She hopped off the stool and made her way to the elevator. After all this time, they were starting to bother her less. She even used the one in her apartment building when she was too tired to climb the stairs. As it went up, however, it stopped at another of the R&D floors, the doors opening to reveal Dr. Banner.

"Oh, um," he shifted uncomfortably. "I'll take the next one, if you like."

Loki, whose anxiety level had risen at the mere sight of the timid doctor, suddenly felt very sorry for him. Her hand shot out, stopping the doors as they tried to close. "No, it's ok," she offered quickly.

He raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"

She nodded, and he ducked inside before the doors could try to close again. As they ascended, he glanced at her warily, and then sighed.

"What?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"I hate elevators," he admitted.

"Me, too," she laughed. "Especially going down. Something about being dropped in a metal box..." she shuddered.

He gave her a thoughtful look. "I think the metal box part is enough for me."

She nodded her head. "Makes sense."


The remainder of the team was treated to the astonishing sight of Loki and Bruce entering the conference room mid-conversation. At the open stares, Loki cut off her response and quickly sat in the chair between Thor and Natasha that had been reserved for her. As soon as the last few members trickled in, Tony began the meeting.

"I just got off the phone with the Mayor," he explained. "I told him you plan to finish up this week," he glanced at Loki, "And he's decided to make an event of it. The Met is reopening this Saturday, and he wants to throw a gala. To celebrate the restoration of New York. You're all invited."

Some of the Avengers, Steve and Thor included, seemed enthusiastic about the idea. The rest stared at Tony in disbelief.

Fury chose this moment to speak up. "So basically it's a security nightmare. The invitation is open to all Avengers, but no one's feelings will be hurt if you don't show." He made it clear that the fewer who attended, the easier this was going to be.

"I'm out," Bruce said quickly.

"Pass," Maria agreed, and Steve shot her a disappointed look. "I hate opera."

"It's not opera, it's ballet," Tony argued.

"Ugh. Worse," Maria made a face.

Steve sighed. "Ok, I'm with you there."

At the mention of ballet, both Loki and Clint had turned to look at Natasha. "Which ballet?" she wondered.

"Swan Lake," Tony said proudly.

"Crowd pleaser," Natasha reasoned. She was not about to admit in front of the team that it was her favorite. "What do you think, Clint?"

The archer looked thoughtful for a moment, and then glanced up at Fury. "I want a box seat, where I can watch the crowd."

Fury looked to Tony. "Done," the billionaire agreed.

"Perhaps you should take Lady Darcy with you," Thor suggested cheerfully.

Clint shot him a sarcastic look. "It's a mission, not a party."

Loki and Thor both frowned. "What?" Loki asked.

Natasha turned to her. "It's bait. For Pierce. He hasn't made a move yet, because he wants attention. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to strike."

"Then why do we not all attend?" Thor asked, sharing Loki's confusion.

"The members who are not 'attending' will be working security, in and around the Met," Fury explained.

Thor nodded. "Well then I certainly suggest you bring Darcy," he said seriously. "Pierce strikes me as the kind of cur who would strike at his foes through those closest to them. I intend to bring Lady Jane with me, and I believe Darcy is more than capable of defending herself, should the need arise." He smiled at this last bit.

Clint frowned a little. "What?"

"She tased him," Loki pointed her thumb at her brother. "I mean, he was human at the time, but yeah. Knocked him out cold."

Thor chuckled.

"Darcy can always be there as Pepper's assistant," Tony offered. "She'd kill me if I tried to stop her from going, mission or not. As the CEO of Stark industries she has to - we've been the main backer of this project."

"Fine," Clint agreed, shrugging. Despite his show of casual, his shoulders remained tense.

"Can I go?" Loki asked suddenly. "Disguised, of course."

"Can you go?" Tony laughed. "You're the guest of honor!"

At Loki's blank look, Fury sighed. "We've been feeding the public a story about Lucy Norling, a prodigy sculptor who has been recreating New York's lost statuary at a frantic pace."

Loki turned from Fury to Tony, still looking flabbergasted.

"We had to have some explanation for where the statues were coming from!" he argued. "At first, it was just a way to keep them from asking more questions. When they wanted to meet you, we'd just say 'Oh, she's too busy, she doesn't want her work to be interrupted,' but now that you're done they're practically breaking down my door."

"Wait, who's 'they'?" Loki asked slowly.

Fury sighed. "The Press."

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered something in Russian.

"So let me get this straight," Loki drawled. "You want me to attend a gala as bait for a wanna-be sorcerer, then give a press conference where I have to pretend I'm someone else."

"Yup," Tony said gleefully.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Fury asked.

Loki rolled her eyes. "Oh, well, no, there's just the whole I can't lie thing, unless you want Him to show up in front of a crowd celebrating getting over all the destruction and havoc he wreaked?"

"Don't worry," Tony made a placating gesture. "I'll be there the whole time, hogging the spotlight. If you can't answer something, I'll step in. It will be fine. Besides, we probably won't even get to the press release before Pierce makes his move."

"Wow," Loki put a hand over her face. "I actually want that maniac to show up, now."

"That's the spirit," Tony joked.

With a sigh, Loki looked around the table. "Ok, but on one condition:" she folded her arms and glanced at Natasha. "I get to take her as my date."

There were chuckles around the table, and Natasha smiled and shook her head. "Who else were you going to take?" she laughed.

Loki blinked, surprised. "I thought... appearances..." she mumbled, but Thor reached over and squeezed her hand, understanding.

"It's not the same here," he reminded her.

"The press will eat that up," Tony agreed. "You'll probably trend on twitter."

"You know, Tony, sometimes I don't think you realize just how much of an asshole you are," Maria shot at him.

"Just one more service I offer," he spread his hands wide.

The rest of the team exchanged looks, and Fury stood, effectively ending the meeting, and everyone else followed suit.

"Aw, come on guys," Tony whined. "Somebody had to do something to get that nerd out of his mom's basement," he protested.

Thor clapped him on the back, making Tony wince. "I think it is an excellent plan. It reminds me of a time when my father, Odin, decided to hold a feast outside of a fortress he was sieging..."

"Quick," Loki whispered to Natasha. "Let's escape while we still can." They managed to sneak out of the room without much notice, in between a brooding Clint and Steve and Maria arguing the merits of opera.

Once they had made it out, Loki laughed. "He always takes forever to tell that story, it's one of his favorites."

Natasha grinned. "Thanks for rescuing me, then." She threaded her fingers through Loki's and tugged her towards the elevator. "Let's go shopping for dresses," she said excitedly.

Loki smiled, entranced. "Well I like this part of the plan!" she agreed.


A/N: I keep writing 'em, so I'll keep posting 'em!

Dear Faithful Reader,

Your reviews are worth waiting for. I specifically wanted to reply to the third part of your comment. To be honest, the missions are the absolute hardest part of this story for me to write. It's true that there's a great deal of similarity between the Polish job and the Ruse, and I hadn't really thought of that before. But the job in London was different, and earlier in the story Natasha would leave for periods of time while on missions alone or with Clint. I figure once Fury found out about Loki's crush on Natasha, he kind of took her off that sort of duty to keep Loki distracted. Natasha will probably call him on it at some point.

As for the scope of their missions... I admit I'm kind of guessing on this one. A lot of my perception of what it is that Natasha does is based on the scene at the beginning of the Avengers and other fanfiction I've read. I got the impression that pretending to be bait/the victim was kind of Natasha's specialty. Anyway, kudos for finding the soft underbelly of my writing lol. I know it's an area that needs a lot of improvement... If only I was inspired to write stories that didn't involve fighting and intrigue. Alas, my muse has never been terribly cooperative to begin with.

Thanks again for your lovely review, and I hope you enjoy this last part of the story!