The next day was hectic in the office. Everyone was running around like something was terribly wrong. As I was walking to my office I grabbed the arm of an agent who was rushing past me.

"What happened?!" I asked, a tone of urgency of my voice.

"Nothing major, just a lot of little bad things making one big, bad thing." He answered with a smile.

"As in?.."

"Just a bunch of computer viruses hitting us at the same time. Don't open any zip files in your email."

With that he pulled his arm away and walked briskly in the opposite direction. I shrugged my shoulders and went walking back towards my office. After making a cup of coffee I sat down at my desk and turned on my computer. When I opened my email there were tons of unread messages. Most of them were the virus email that that agent had told me about. One email was from Agent Coulson and it didn't contain a .zip file so I opened it.

Agent Evans,

I would like to speak with you today after your meeting with Loki. Please come to my office at 14:00. Don't bring anything with you. Don't try anything, I will know.

Agent Phil Coulson.

I finished reading then leaned back in my chair. Does this have anything to do with Tony's visit? Or with what I didn't tell him yesterday? Whatever the case I would be there. I stood, grabbing my cup of coffee and sipping it on my way down to the cell. I stepped out of the elevator and set my empty cup in one of the dirty dishes bins which are put next to all of the coffee makers. As I went through all the security doors I pondered what I was going to talk with Loki about. I had purposefully not planned anything for today so we could talk about whatever he wanted to. I nodded to the agent who was at the side of the wood door and walked through. He was nowhere in sight at first glance. I closed the door without turning around.

"Loki-" I started to say, then I was cut off by cold hands grabbing me from behind.

One of his hands clasped over my mouth the other latched around my waist. Locked in this position, I attempted to break free but with no avail. His face was right next to my ear. He laughed, his breath was cold as it ran down my neck. I struggled and tried to bite his hand. His grip was so strong that I felt like no air could leave my mouth. My waist felt like it was being crushed.

"Human life." he whispered. "So fragile. I could end you in an instant. Somehow you always get the better of me. Not this time."

He moved his hand from where it clamped over my mouth into a chokehold. Immediately it cut off my breath. I quickly grew lightheaded and dizzy. I only had about a minuted of useful consciousness. The lock he had around my waist prevented me from doing anything with my feet. It also, unfortunately, cut off my access to the button I had which let me alert the agents outside if I was in danger. I couldn't figure out how to escape, I wasn't going to be able to keep him from choking. So, instead of fighting him I let my head fall back on his shoulder and my body relax downward. He seemed stunned by this response and released me.

I fell to the floor, sputtering and coughing and just trying to breath. Once I regained my ability to speak I looked up at him, my hands on the ground.

"Why?" It was the only thing I could manage to cough out.

When I looked at him he seemed just as shocked at what he'd done as I felt. He took a step backward as if he was afraid he would hurt me again.

"I don't know. Stay away!"

I was so stunned I didn't know what I was doing.

I stood up and walked towards him. My hand came up and grabbed his shirt.

"You bastard." I growled. " I almost trusted you. You almost had me. I will never make that mistake again. I will never trust you. Don't worry though, I'll keep coming. Until you admit to your mistakes, I will keep coming."

I let go of his shirt.

"You're a psychopath, an unfeeling psychopath. You may try but even if everyone forgives you for what you did. I will never."

He was obviously upset, but he deserved it. It's what you get when you nearly kill someone I tried to walk out of the room but my legs gave way. I used one of the chairs by the table to support myself. I finally gave up on walking and sat down in the chair. He came up and sat down in the other chair. I glared at him while he avoided eye contact.

"I apologize." he whispered, nearly inaudibly.

"Thank you for your apology, I will not forgive you."

I stood up, this time my legs were able to support my weight. I looked at him for a moment, then I turned away. Walking to the door, I took my card out and was about to slide it through the slot when he said something.

"Why do you torment me?"

"What?" I snapped, turning back to him.

"You are so… unpredictable. You make me think one thing then you do the opposite. You are very, very different from the humans I am accustomed to."

"I could say the same for you."

I turned back to the door and held up my to slide the card. In an instant he was next to me, forcing my hand away from the card reader. The funny thing is his hand wasn't cold that time. He must've been able to activate the power at will. Or, maybe the cold skin only happened when he was in certain moods. At any rate...

"Please stay for a while longer, you don't usually leave after so little time."

"Would you stay to have tea with the assassin who tried to kill you?"

"No, but that was not me... I was not myself. Please understand."

"I don't understand, you just tried to kill me. Now you're trying to get me to forgive you."

"Don't you see, I realised what I was doing. I stopped, is that not the important thing?"

"No it's not, because next time you might not realise and stop in time. Next time there might be casualties like there were in New York."

"But, I know now."

"You know what?"

"I know whom I will not harm. I know who I want by my side the next time I take your world."

"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

And that was when I left.

With that question hanging in the air, a question I couldn't answer, I left too afraid to face it.

After leaving I wasn't sure what to think. I sat at my computer, thinking about what I could possibly say in my report. When I remembered my meeting I figured I would just give him my report verbally.

At twelve I went and ate my lunch: a sandwich with a quick cup of coffee, which I knew I was going to regret later. Back in my office I reorganized my desk. It was my way to keep my mind busy when I was nervous. What was I going to say to Coulson? I wasn't sure what I could say. I don't want to get put off this assignment. I could get Loki to be a better person. I just needed to be left on. What could Tony have wanted? Did it have something to do with Coulson or was it just Tony being Tony? I guess I'll find out.

I still had twenty minutes until our meeting was supposed to start. But, I thought that heading out early would be the best because it usually takes a long time to get anywhere in the building.

I shut the lights out off before I left, after making sure I had shut down my computer. Navigating the hallways seemed to take an eternity and the elevators seemed to crawl through the shafts. As I dismounted the elevator at the proper floor, fifteen minutes after I had left my nerves had considerably grown. Was he going to fire me? Put me on some dangerous field mission where I was certain to die? I was so unsure of what to expect. Why couldn't life be simple? When I arrived at Coulson's door I took a few minutes to compose myself. Just tell him exactly what's happened, hopefully he'll understand. I raised my hand and rang the door chime.

"Come in." Coulson's voice replied. I pressed a button on his keypad and the door slid open.

His office was organized chaos. Lots of papers sat in his 'out' bin and twice as many in his 'in' bin. His computer was a large desktop Mac. I couldn't see the screen, but if I had to guess he probably had twenty tabs open.

"Agent Evans." He nodded. "Please sit down."

I obliged.

Before he could say anything I quickly got something out of the way.

"Sir, am I going to lose my career with Shield?"

"No."

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure. I'm fine if you want to continue."

"Thank you. I would like to know why Tony Stark has taken an interest in you."

"I have no idea. I just know that he visited my apartment once. Has he shown any other activity that makes you believe that he has an interest in me?"

"He has googled you, as well as searched for you in Shield's database."

"You monitor his web activity?"

"Yes, we like to make sure he's not getting into too much trouble."

"I'd assume Pepper would take care of that."

"She does, we provide just a little extra support. Tony tends to get in a little too involved when he's working." Coulson laughed. "The same could be said for all of us I suppose. We wouldn't be in Shield if we couldn't get caught up in our work."

I laughed.

"Many of the Avengers have been showing interest in you. Thor in particular, but Tony has been far more aggressive in pursuing information about you."

"I really don't know why that is."

"Could it maybe be the role you played in the attack on Manhattan? In your statement you said that Tony rescued you from one of the alien soldiers."

"That could be it. That coupled with me working with Loki could have brought me to their attention."

"And how is that going, working with Loki? It seems I've not gotten a report on today's session."

I took a deep breath.

"I thought it would be better to give the report in person, sir. It's just…" Just say it, just say it. "He tried to kill me."

Coulson leaned back in his chair and opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Sir, I'm so close to connecting with him. He's just" I shuddered "A very… distracting person. He's very misdirecting as to showing what emotion he feels toward me."

"I'm not sure I understand." Coulson cracked his neck.

"He's has shown... romantic feelings towards mme. Along with several others: dislike, hatred, empathy and trust. He is very misdirecting."

"That's what I've heard from Agent Romanov. I could have her accompany you for your meetings."

"No, no, that would make it worse. He'd that I don't trust him."

"Do you trust him?"

"Well, no, not really."

"Then why do you think you should provide the illusion that you trust him?"

"Because Coulson," My frustration, with both Loki and Coulson, showing a bit through my words, "If he thinks I trust him he'll be more likely to trust me."

"Evans, your life was in huge danger and I honestly don't like where your relationship with Loki is going."

"I can do this. I know I can do it without developing a romantic relationship, please let me keep going with this."

"I think it sounds a bit too late to keep you from having romantic involvement with him."

"No, you don't understand. I haven't even looked at him. He's the one who's been initiating it."

"All the more reason we should pull you out, or at least have an Agent in there with you to make sure he isn't able to initiate anything further."

I took a breath.

"I may not agree with your chosen course of action but I don't have a choice if I want to keep my job."

"Very correct. Before your meeting with Loki on Monday I am going to have you meet Agent Romanov in the coffee room."

"Yes, sir."

"I am about to be deployed on a field mission. I will not be around over the next few weeks. I trust that I won't hear anything negative when I get back."

"Yes, of course, thank you for meeting with me."

"Wait for one moment. You remember how I told you that the Avengers want to meet with you? I said I would arrange meetings with you for them. Do you have a preference to if the meetings are as we're doing now, or over dinner, or maybe over coffee?"

"Any of those would work fine."

"Alright then, please watch your work schedule to see when they are."

"I will."

"Thank you, dismissed!"

I stood up and left his office. My hands fidgeted out of the leftover nervousness that was jumbled up in my body. Was that a good meeting or did it go awfully? I couldn't really tell. I wish Coulson had listened to more of what I had to say. He didn't think I knew what I was talking about. He might also think I'm in cahoots with Loki… Which I wasn't or, at least I didn't think I was. I got back to my office and shut everything down. Looking forward to my weekend, I whistled as I walked past the other offices and down to the first floor. I took the stairs this time, instead of going in the always crowded elevator. My footsteps echoed through the stairwell. While walking down I didn't pass anyone, and I wondered why, if we were all so fit, that we didn't take the stairs. It was just as fast, if not faster than waiting forever for the elevator so why? Maybe we felt that we deserved to be carried everywhere. But once in awhile you'll need to get up and walk by yourself. I think you should be prepared for that moment, so down the stairs I went, preparing to walk on my own.

((Quick note: I realize that Natasha's real name is Romanova, and that in this fic I change the spelling around. That's just because she does use multiple names and spellings for "Romanov/Romanoff" so I just wanted to clarify in case it upset anyone. ^-^))