She stood just outside in the hall after Loki had disappeared into Thor and the other men's room, and though Thor boomed his greeting to his brother the other seemed less than thrilled.

"What exactly am I supposed to be seeing here?" He hissed. "She's been hurt, Thor, do you know what? Do you want her remembering it all?" He sounded as though he could barely hold it back, voice shaking slightly, and Nat could only imagine his face drawn tight as he glowered at his brother.

"What's the problem?" She could hear Clint now. "Did you get some of her memories back?"

"Yes. I wish to know what happened to her when she grew up." Loki said, sounding less than thrilled to have to deal with Barton, not that Nat could understand why. It wasn't as though the archer had done anything to offend him. Well, not that she could tell at least. They were all taking their cues from Thor, after all, and it didn't seem that the two brothers were on the very best of terms.

Clint hesitated just long enough to make Loki growl. "Tell me or I'll not go any further with this job."

"Why does it matter so much?" Clint asked, his voice defensive. "You agreed and even said that you were curious enough to take the damn job. You'll do it no matter because it'll eat you alive until you do."

"I'll not torment her to memories that will break this person that she has been allowed to become. Have you considered that perhaps this is a blessing in disguise?" Loki demanded, his voice very quiet but nevertheless stiff and immovable. "Some of us would be better off if we could forget. If the sins of our past were eradicated from our mind. Do not let your past with her cloud your judgement about what is best for your supposed best friend."

There was silence then a muffled thud, followed by Thor's muffled growl and an ominous rumble of thunder that seemed to come from within the room itself.

"Agent Barton release-."

"You want to know what fucking happened to her?" Clint demanded, his voice shaking, thick with emotion that made even Nat's stomach bottom out. For half a second she considered moving away. Did she even want to hear all this?

She didn't think she could escape Barton's words even if she tried, though. "She was taken in by a real monster of a man. Thor told me that you consider yourself to be a sort of freak, an outcast because your parents didn't want to tell you about your past, so sure you think it's best that she doesn't know. She was pulled apart from a young age, broken down to her basest skills, taught how to kill and how to lie and how to use her body as her main weapon since she was a child. This man that took her in? He specializes in breaking young girls, and he wasn't the only one who worked on Natasha. She's been in and out of her own head more times than she's even told me, and all because the bastard who found her and raised her saw her as a weapon. As a little girl that he could manipulate and fuck with until there was nothing left in her that he didn't want. You want to talk about a fucked up life? She's well into her nineties. That's ninety years of killing, of seducing, of being forced into life that she wanted nothing to do with and shouldn't have had any part in."

There was a shuffle, a couple grunts, and Nat could practically see Loki trying to struggle out of whatever hold Clint had put him in. She guessed it wasn't working because the archer began anew, his voice more venomous than before. "You want to talk about what's fair to Natasha? What's fair is giving her those tools back, so she can finish what she's been trying to do: erase the damage of the past. You want to talk about what would be best for her? Those men that hurt her are still alive. Still very much present. You take those abilities and everything that she's been able to do for herself, how she's been able to take care of herself whether she's alone or with a team? You're killing her. I don't care if you take her to that golden city of yours or not, they will find a way to track her down or pay someone to get to her, and they will end her unless you make sure that she has the tools to stop them again, and again."

His voice was at its breaking point, having shouted as the emotion and pain bled through the walls. Nat didn't have to crouch by the door to hear it all, her stomach bottoming out and her mind blanking as the stories barely registered.

"And if you inadvertently kill her there's no fucking place that you can ever escape to that I will not find you, and make you pay for what you did. Have I made my point fucking clear?"

"Skills can always be taught once more," Loki growled, though his voice was far more strained than Nat had ever heard it, rasping as though air was difficult to find. She could only imagine Clint had tightened his grip on the man's throat, most likely. She swallowed thickly and stood up, opening the door. As expected Clint had Loki by the throat, his forearm trapping the tall man against the wall and pressing even harder against his larynx. Thor looked about to say something before Nat's presence shoved them all into silence. Without another word Clint let Loki down, the man dropping onto his feet and rubbing his throat, though his eyes only ever focused in on Natasha.

"I need to know what happened, Loki," she murmured, suddenly unsure why she'd even come in. She didn't want either of them fighting, though the affection and care was touching, but it wasn't worth them coming to blows or choking for that. "Thanks for your considerate thought, Loki, but I think Clint's right. I need to know." Her arms started trembling, and she wrapped them around herself in order to try and make it stop. That was annoying. "I don't want to relive my life not knowing what I'm running from, or what I've done with it."

"You say that now only because you do not know. There are things you may not wish to have learned again," Loki reminded her, his expression near unreadable as he stared at her.

She shrugged. "Then you can wipe my mind again. Right?"

He scowled. "I'm not able to fix everything, and to tamper with your brain so many times would cause irreparable damage. You are fortunate that, thus far, there isn't anything that has gone incorrectly with either this ceremony or the ones that took your memories."

"It seems to be a speciality of mine, recovering from mental trauma. Right Clint?"

The archer was frowning, and his expression only darkened with the reminder. He sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Then we'll take that chance. But for now? I'd like to know my past, please." She added the last bit to try and soften the command, and judging by how Loki's body relaxed it had at least worked a little.

"Very well. If that is what you want, then that is what I will do," he sighed. She felt a faint pang of gratefulness for the man. Would he truly have stopped if she'd said she didn't want to, despite Clint's threats and the word he'd already given at the beginning of this whole mess? That sort of loyalty was touching, and she found herself shooting him the smallest of smiles.

"Now, can we get some food?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood. "I haven't had breakfast yet."

A/N: A short update, but an update nonetheless right? Thanks so much for sticking with this through all the delays in writing, and I hope you're enjoying what's been written so far! As ever, thanks a million for your reviews and kind words-they're inspirational and help me keep going. Thanks again!