Faces That You Meet, 4/8. NC-17
Title: Faces That You Meet
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Loki/Natasha, Natasha/Winter Soldier, Loki/Natasha/Winter Soldier.
Disclaimer: Not mine! Not even by a little bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: MCU AU. Based off of futurerustfuture-dust's initial dark!blackwinterfrost idea. I didn't use the written material you sent me exactly, but here's hoping you like this one, too. :) Russian words have hovertext translation thanks to Google Translate, so please let me know if I goofed something and I'll fix it. Title, epigraph and chapter titles are all from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot.
Summary: A left turn instead of a right, and Loki tumbled down into the frozen tundra of Russia, right outside the Red Room. An honest mistake, but it soon changed everything. And he was never one to share his toys.
Prior chapters:
One - Disturb The Universe
Two - Spread Out Against The Sky
Three - The Corners of the Evening
Four - Descend The Stair
The room was dank and reeked of mildew, only a sliver of grayish light available from the window, which was mostly covered by a torn window shade. There were no curtains or furniture in the small room, and the sound of a slow drip falling into a puddle near the doorway. Groggy and with a raging headache, the room's sole occupant sat up. While he was dressed in a suit, it was mussed, torn and had splotches of blood on it. He managed to stagger to his feet, and stumbled to the door. It was locked, and he banged on it with his fist. "Hey! Let me out of here!" he shouted at the door.
No response, no sound. There was no indication of anyone being on the other side of the door at all, making him nervous.
"I'm a US Senator!" he shouted. "I am Senator Stern from Pennsylvania! I know very important people in the military! I have money! Influence! I can help you!"
Still no response, and he sagged to the floor. He was tired, hungry, thirsty and dizzy. His skin crawled, and he felt the itch of unwashed skin and the ache of bruised limbs. This was a new experience for him, and he didn't like it at all.
He liked what came later even less.
Falling asleep where he sat, Stern had ended up on his side near the door. It banged open, hitting him in the face and breaking his nose. That was a rather difficult way to wake up, but then a very tall man with deathly pale skin and vivid blue eyes picked him up with one hand so that his feet dangled over the floor. "You will tell me who your associates are."
"I'm a US senator," Stern replied, gasping for breath. "You might want to be a bit more specific."
That earned him a shake that was enough to rattle his teeth and send the blood from his broken nose down the back of his throat. Stern choked and shook, grasping the man's wrist to try to relieve some of the pressure on his chest. The man looked entirely displeased, and Stern realized that his status as a US senator would get him nowhere.
"The associates you have in Hydra," the man intoned, pitiless gaze fixed on him.
"I don't even know what that is," Stern tried to say.
Tossed across the room, Stern cracked his head on the wall and saw stars. Jesus, he was going to die in here, and he had no idea where here even was. Or how he had gotten there. He had been with some gorgeous green eyed blonde with a generously endowed chest that wanted to get an interview, and he had managed to convince her that he would only give a very private interview in his apartment. Without clothes, preferably. He couldn't remember anything more after getting into his car.
"You will tell me. Or it will begin to hurt."
"Begin?" he sputtered. "Jesus, buddy, you have no idea what the hell is going on here."
The man advanced, and there was something chilling in the way that he had absolutely no expression whatsoever. Stern could tell that not only was he going to die, it was going to be very messy, very painful, and very prolonged.
"You got to give me something to work with," Stern pleaded.
"Hydra. Names. Now."
"I don't know what you want-"
The man picked him up by the throat with his right hand. His left caught Stern's right hand and squeezed so tightly that bones ground together. The pain was excruciating, and he shouted. The man continued to squeeze, until Stern started begging for him to stop. Even then, he squeezed just a bit harder, just enough that Stern felt the shift of fracturing bone.
Stern shrieked in pain and terror, then began to sputter. "You don't understand! They'll kill me if I say anything!"
When the man squeezed his hand again, breaking more bones, Stern broke. He said everything, names, dates, positions of those in power that he suspected but didn't know for certain were Hydra members. Impassive, the man merely stared at him with his soulless eyes. Stern had heard that there were tools out there, things that had once been people, objects programmed with a set list of instructions, no mercy or soul. All he had was fear and pain and a bottomless well at the end of this nameless man's gaze.
And when Stern ran out of names to give, he gratefully shut his eyes when the man brought out a hunting knife. Its edge was so sharp, he barely felt it drag across the skin of his throat.
***
Natasha was curled in Loki's lap, nuzzling his chest and tracing odd patterns into his skin, enough to make him shiver. He cradled the back of her head with one hand and kept his other on the warding crystal that would tell him when Bucky was done. He was tired, so very tired, not used to using this much magic in such a short span of time. But the glamour on Bucky had to be done right, the wards couldn't be shortchanged, and he wouldn't allow any trace of Bucky's presence or his victim's be left behind.
"You're worrying about him," Natasha said, flicking his nipple with her tongue. "It will all be well. He's a professional. The best."
"I will be glad of it when he's back with us."
She laughed then, a lighthearted sound that at least took the edge off of his anxiety. She knew him well, after all, and Loki was new to this. He could only hope that the talisman around his wrist and his increasing facility with portal magic would be able to keep them all on similar timelines. He couldn't bear to think what would happen if he slipped sideways into the wrong time frame and couldn't return to them.
Shifting in his lap, Natasha straddled his waist, her naked body pressed tightly to his. "Then let me distract you again. It worked for a few hours."
Loki smirked at her. "Do you really think you can distract a god?"
"Are you a god?" she asked, almost taunting. "Or just a gifted man playing at godhood?" She leaned in and licked his lips, her slit rubbing against his soft cock. Neither had bothered cleaning up after their last bout of lovemaking, and she was still sticky and wet, his seed dried on her thighs and smeared across his legs. "Or maybe I make you feel like a god."
Letting go of the ward crystal, Loki grasped her ass and shifted her hips, making her rock against him, teasing them both. "Perhaps I make you feel like a goddess. Or a princess, worthy of the finest that the Asgardian court could offer."
Natasha smiled, a calculating sliver of her lips, then seized his mouth in a kiss. It burned his blood, made him tighten his fingers enough to bruise. That was enough to fan the flames of his desire, to get him growing hard enough. She was clever, knowing he liked the challenge and struggle of it, that he wanted the dance of limbs and will and longing, that he couldn't have it be simple or given outright. He had to earn the right to bury himself inside her, and she had to make him feel she was worthy of that desire.
It was a good thing neither of them liked easy conquests, instead being drawn to the more dynamic and complicated.
There was nothing gentle this time around, no lazy exploration of each others' bodies with the express purpose of creating a long enough distraction. This amount of time meant that the other senator was being obstinate, as they expected him to be, and that Bucky needed more time than they originally thought. He hadn't wanted Natasha or Loki along with him, and felt that the ward crystal would be enough to let them know if he needed backup.
Some ghosts could only be exorcised alone.
Loki grabbed Natasha's hips as she yanked on his hair, exposing the line of his throat. She mouthed it, nipping with her teeth as she gyrated her hips. He groaned, hardening further, nails digging into the soft flesh. "Keep this up, I'll spill outside of you."
She bit down hard on the meat of his shoulder, and Loki thought perhaps she might have broken the skin and tasted blood. "Do that, and I'll really have to punish you."
Now it was his turn to laugh. "You? What can you do?"
"Oh," she began, a throaty sound that went straight to his cock. "I have such ideas for you, my lord," she purred. "If only you let me loose."
"You say that as if I constrain you."
"Don't you?" she challenged before biting down again. Loki couldn't help but groan and lift his hips a little, rubbing against her more. "Certain things, I can tell you simply won't want me to do. It would offend your royal sensibilities. It would debase you, make you nothing more than trash, wouldn't it?"
"Of what do you speak?" Loki asked, intrigued.
Lips quirked, Natasha slid off of him. "Will you let me have my way with you?"
"We'll give it a try. Until Bucky returns."
"Well, he can join in then," she returned brightly. At Loki's pause, she tilted her head to the side and contemplated him. "I see. The culture thing," she said, running the edge of her fingertip down the length of his nose. "The requirements to a noble prince."
"I am a prince of Asgard," Loki replied, reaching for her and settling his hands on her hips. "There are responsibilities and duties I must attend to."
"And you run away from them to come here." When he stilled, she gave a mirthless chuckle and ran her thumb across his lips. "You are frighteningly easy to read, Loki. In that, you are like any other man they trained us to observe."
"I am not like other men."
"In this? Yes, you are. You are born to wealth and privilege. You have your whims satisfied, and you aren't limited in what you might ask for, as long as you conform to what they want of you. As long as you fit their ideal of a true man, as long as you do what they say, behave as they wish, follow the rules laid out for you. Rule. Lead. Be strong at all times. Be fierce and bold and resolute." Her lips quirked a little as she took his cock in hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He couldn't breathe at the truth in her words, but there was no sense that she was saying this to punish him or taunt him. "You are to always be strong, Loki, but inside, you want to break. You want to shatter. You don't want the control they demand of you. You don't want to rule. That's why you're so content with the shadows, of the advisor's role. The power behind the throne, not the face in front of it."
"You think you know me so well?" he asked, a slight rasp to his voice.
"Powerful men are powerful men, whether they're politicians, generals, or princes." Her tone was pragmatic, not insulting. "You tire of it, Loki. That's why you found us. And we're your distraction. Oh, you were truly outraged on our behalf, I believe that. You truly want to help us. But you only found us because the need to escape was strong."
"There may be some truth to that," he hedged, which only made her laugh. "Natasha-"
"Loki." Her grip on his cock was tighter, but that edge of pain only made his blood surge and his desire mount. "I suppose the rules on Asgard are quite strict, given how much care you took to tell Bucky what he can't do for you."
Mouth dry, Loki could only nod. "Social pressures," he finally said.
"We're not on Asgard," Natasha purred. "And if I tie you down, I can have my wicked way with you. I can force you to do nothing but feel. For a time, you would belong to me, just as you ask me to belong to you. Isn't that why you really asked it of us? You want to trust us, so you don't have to command us at all times. You want to be able to let go, and with us you can." She leaned in and licked his earlobe, making him shudder. "So I will tie you down, and you will let go."
"You really think you can hold me?" he scoffed.
"If you want to be held," she replied softly, "you will be held. I trust you with my mind and my body and my heart. You would have to trust that I will do the same for you."
He trembled a little, hands tightening on her hips. He wanted so badly, and was afraid to want it at the same time. "This is unheard of on Asgard," he temporized.
"We're not on Asgard," she repeated. It sounded as though she had infinite patience, as if it didn't matter what his answer would be.
But she was right. He had swooped in, and she hadn't known if he was a test or really one to set her free of the Red Room. Her sense of self had been erased and overridden so many times, and nothing was hers, not even her identity or memory. He had promised her that she would have them in exchange for loyalty, but what would he actually want to do with that loyalty? Why not use it, have her skills truly at his disposal for personal pleasures as well as a distraction and challenge for his magic? Why not see what this tantalizing offer was all about? It would be lovely not to worry about defending his honor and manhood constantly, just because his skill with magic was not common in a man unless he was unmanned in some way. Loki was a skilled fighter and mage, if not necessarily possessing the brute strength of Thor and the Warriors Three. And Hogun was from Vanaheim, not even Asgard! For him to occasionally add to Thor's jibes rankled painfully, especially when Thor laughed and didn't defend Loki.
"What would you do?" Loki asked, eagerness in his tone.
Natasha smiled at him indulgently, though her eyes raked over him as though she wanted to devour him alive. Oh. To be seen this way for himself, not for his position at court in the royal household, not to be used as a stepping stone to Thor's side... It was heady enough as it was, and Natasha had no idea of this kind of power she wielded. Or perhaps she did, even if she didn't know the particulars. Her understanding of his position was eerily accurate.
Loki let her push him onto his back and take the ties from his tunic to bind one wrist to the headboard of the bed. She couldn't find another similar one, so Loki merely duplicated the tie for her. There was an almost regal tilt to her head as she nodded at him that almost reminded him of how Frigga communicated with glances and gestures at Odin. It struck him suddenly that if no one knew she was human, she could very well pass as a member of court.
"If it's too uncomfortable for you," Natasha began, a thread of challenge in her tone, "I'm sure you can break free of that. But I think you can take whatever I give you. I think I can push you, and you can take it, and you can prove yourself a better man than the fools you ran from."
Oh. Clever girl, giving him and out and taking it away all at once. He laughed, delighted, and gave a testing tug at his wrists. He certainly could break them, the string wasn't nearly strong enough to truly bind him, but this was symbolic. He understood that they were feeling each other out, that she was pushing him to see where her place in his life could be. If she could offer him something no Asgardian could, she would be secure. Loki would protect her and Bucky, and she could see it as a simple bargain, an exchange where they each got what they wanted. It could be seen as mercenary, and protect them all if feelings were hurt or his reputation was at risk. Clever, clever girl.
Natasha used her mouth and hands to lick and suck his balls, then she pushed his thighs up and out of her way, his knees drawing close to his chest. That gave her better access, and then her tongue dipped down, tracing a line down toward the puckered hole of his ass. Loki gasped, not thinking she would dare such a thing, but then she did, licking back and forth, then in circles around the edge of the muscle. Now he understood what she meant by her words, and he found himself endlessly fascinated and turned out by her touch. The tip of her tongue worked its way into him, and a shiver of pleasure worked its way up his spine.
She laughed and wet her finger, eyes alight with mischief. Oh, he loved that look in her eyes, the way it mirrored his own. It wasn't all bad on Asgard, he would have to disabuse her of that notion, but when he felt slighted, he resented it badly. Most of the time, his spells were fairly well received. He just didn't want to feel less than, and at this moment he certainly felt so very far from that.
Taking his cock with one hand, she slipped her wet finger into his ass and then mouthed his cock. Loki couldn't help but moan, the pressure from her finger sinfully delicious. He squeaked when a bolt of pleasure shot into his balls, legs jerking. He nearly kicked Natasha in the head, making her pull back and sit on her haunches, laughing at him. Her finger was still crooked inside of him, the tip pressing against that spot, and then it felt almost like he was seeing stars. Loki groaned, pulling on the ties a little, but not intending to break them. No, he was writhing, hips jerking, breath coming in short pants as he rode the pleasure in that touch.
"So you see," she purred, leaning over to press a kiss to the head of his cock, "there are so many ways I can play with you. All you have to do is feel it." Another swipe of her finger, and he was nearly howling with pleasure, nearly coming right there like a boy with his first girl. "Just feel, my lord Loki," Natasha said, voice husky and warm, wrapping itself around his senses. This was a magic all her own, wasn't it? "Feel what I give you. It's a gift, Loki. I give you this, you give me your surrender. I'll take care of you. I'll take care of this." She leaned down to kiss his cock again as he moaned and nearly sobbed at the intensity of the pleasure flooding him. "I've got you, Loki. I've got you."
Natasha put her mouth over him just before he came, and swallowed down his seed. She kept sucking, kept moving her finger in and out of him, kept pressing at that spot that made the pleasure almost unbearable. He cried out, pulling at the ties, consumed by the feel of her, by the sensation along his skin, as if his spine was melting and his bones were liquid fire.
"By the Tree," he gasped, "I cannot, stop, Natasha, too much!"
She sucked a little harder, until he sobbed and shuddered, and retreated. Making sure she had eye contact, she pulled the ties at his wrists loose and held him close. "I've got you," she repeated firmly, stroking him gently.
It was calming, but he wasn't coming down from his high. A lassitude was in his limbs, a peace in his heart he hadn't felt before. Loki grasped her and pressed his lips to the center of her chest, her generous breasts pushed against his face. It felt less erotic and more like comfort. "And there's more than this?"
"This? That was nothing yet. I can get toys or other tools. I can reduce you to jelly, leave you sobbing for more. I can fuck you, Loki, give you such pleasure. Bucky can do it, too, if you want him to. Not because we're stealing your manhood or whatever nonsense the stupid gossips on your world would say, but because we'd want you to feel good."
"To protect you. To keep you safe," he said, her body slightly muffling his words.
"Because you're ours as much as we're yours. Isn't that so? That's why you came back, even if your mother didn't want you to. That's why you're here and helping us instead of going back home. You love your studies, you love your family, you love your stupid society. But you love us, too, and you can't leave us behind."
"Love is..." He pulled back to look at her, lips twisted into a wry expression. "Not exactly."
Natasha kissed him, his lower lip caught between her teeth for a moment. "Love is for children, they used to say. Madame B's favorite saying as she whipped us into shape, as she kept pushing and pushing and pushing. But what else do we call it? Why else risk so much for just a little bit of pleasure? Why risk punishment for loyalties that shouldn't be?" She kissed his cheeks and then his lips again. "It's not always the child's utter faith, but it's a tie just as well. It's a need, a burden, a weight. But we bear it gladly, don't we?"
Loki let his arms encircle her. "Yes, we do."
The ward crystal emitted a low pitched whine, and Natasha lifted her head to turn toward it, her lips twisting into a smile. "He's done. He's coming back to us."
As the conditions of the spell on the crystal were met, a portal opened behind it. Bucky stepped through, blood on his glamoured hands and clothing. As the portal shut behind him, the glamour dissolved in golden glitter. The blood remained, and he looked at Loki and Natasha curled on the bed with an impassive expression.
"The other senators were just as guilty as the first," he said after a moment. Almost like an afterthought, he lifted his hands and looked at the dried blood. "It took longer to work on them, though. Stern was a pushover."
"Feel better?" Loki asked, drawing back a little to get a better look at Bucky.
He stopped to consider that. "Yes, actually. I wasn't sure, but I feel... free, I suppose. The ones left don't all know me. Not just because of the magic, but they don't know of me. I don't exist. I'm not real to them. And they can't capture a ghost."
Opening an arm wide in a fit of magnanimity, Loki smiled. "Then come here."
"I'm covered in blood."
"So?" Loki shrugged. "It will wash. You've done so well."
It was all the encouragement he needed to come to Loki's side, to let himself get enfolded in an embrace from him and Natasha. There was only the briefest of hesitations before Loki kissed him, and Natasha pulled at his weaponry and clothing. She did it with practiced ease, stripping him efficiently and quickly, until he was as naked as they, flakes of dried blood still on his skin and making his clothes stick to each other. His eyes flicked to Loki, as if he wasn't sure what he should do next.
"Not that you've ever been squeamish before, but if you care, we can shower," Natasha commented, nodding toward the bathroom. "All of us at once."
"We won't fit," Bucky disagreed, shaking his head. "Two, sure, but not three."
"What use is magic if not to make things more convenient?" Loki declared, seeing the curve of Bucky's lips and thinking of Natasha's full ones. The both of them on their knees in front of him, mouths on him... He suddenly wasn't so very tired anymore.
Bucky was almost overwhelmed by the two of them soaping him up and scrubbing him clean of blood. Impulsively, Loki grasped Bucky by the back of his neck and pulled him in close for a filthy kiss as Natasha scrubbed at his stomach and nuzzled his abdomen. As he was starting to realize, Bucky was only too eager to follow their lead. There was still too much missing in his mind, too many empty blanks that he felt self conscious about. Natasha had been filled with false memories and personalities, and could fall on that if she felt out of place. Bucky had nothing to rely on but their lead, having only brief flashes of memories. It was coming back, but until he was fully back to himself, it was easier to let go and let others take control. Having been in just that position moments ago, Loki looked upon that state with a far kinder view than he would have even the day before.
Loki wasn't concerned with Bucky grabbing hold of him with the metal hand as he tried to remain upright and breathing normally. The assassin was only too aware of his strength, and was holding himself back for fear of hurting Loki. Charming, but unnecessary. Loki nipped Bucky's lip, rather like Natasha had done to him earlier, and raked his nails down Bucky's spine. "No need to be gentle if you don't want to be. I won't break. I'm made of stronger stuff."
He groaned and tightened his hand on Loki's arm. It was too tight, but it wasn't the kind of hurt that Loki found unbearable. Rather like Thor's grip on his arm, actually. He sent a thread of magic into his body, enough to get his body ready for sex for as long as he willed it.
Bucky pulled on Natasha so that she would stand up. "I can't... Won't break you two. Can't hurt you when you mean too much..."
"Idiot," Natasha said fondly, leaning into him and pressing her breasts against his chest as she started to stroke his cock. "You won't break us. You won't hurt us, and no one will ever make you do it against your will."
Magic words indeed, because Bucky's resolve crumpled. After losing everything, even his own sense of self, he had needed to hear that. He leaned in to kiss Loki, his mouth closest, hunger in the way he moved. Natasha pulled Loki closer and stroked them both, pressing their cocks together in her soapy fist. Oh, that wasn't terrible at all, surprising Loki. This was frighteningly intimate, for all of his words at dominating them, and he found that it was easier to go along with her suggestions than he thought it would be. Was this the reward for her loyalty? She would see to his needs, even ones he didn't know he had, and all he had to do was help preserve her sense of self? That was a simple enough request to fulfill on this world.
Natasha murmured low words in Russian, comforting ones, about how well loved Bucky was, how skilled he was, how wonderful it was to remain together. As with Loki, the sound of her voice seemed to add to his desire. His hips bucked against her and his entire body trembled in their arms. He made whimpering noises, a soft helpless sound that made Loki break their kiss so he could sink his teeth into Bucky's throat. That made Bucky throw his head back and moan, hands tight around his lovers. It didn't make him seem weak to Loki, as much as he used to think it would, because the vulnerable cast to him only made Loki feel possessive and protective of him. This was his assassin, his. No one else but Natasha would ever see him this way, ever know how gentle he could be. Everyone else would get the hard edges and cold eyes, the solid metal fist and the burn of pistol fire.
There was a kind of power in this, too, Loki realized. As Bucky spilled into Natasha's fist, as Loki neared another climax, he realized there was a sense of power in being able to completely undo another being, to render them insensate from pleasure. "Ready him," Loki rasped, looking at Natasha. "I'll make him mine."
She slipped her slicked fingers between Bucky's legs, smiling when he gave a humorless, tired laugh. "You think I can do any more tonight, doll?"
"I could gift you with a spell to allow that if you wish it," Loki said, pushing his wet hair out of his face. He gave Bucky an almost predatory grin. "Cheating, perhaps, but I would not be so ready for you both without it."
Bucky snorted, then turned around so it would be easier for Natasha to slide her fingers inside him, stretching and stroking him from the inside out. He groaned, eyes falling shut and mouth open as he leaned against the side of the shower stall. Loki watched, fondling one of Natasha's breasts, taking over when she shifted out of the way. Bucky was tight, and pushed back to meet Loki's thrusts. He growled something that Loki couldn't understand, but the tone of it was a demand for more. Loki thrust harder into him, and turned to grasp Natasha close so that he could kiss her. She had a delighted flush in her cheeks, her eyes blown wide with desire.
When Loki came, he sagged a little, hips pushed flush against Bucky's ass. He had a loose smile on his lips, limbs loose. "God, I needed a good fucking," he murmured.
Natasha laughed and shut off the water. "I get the next set of Hydra scum," she said, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You stay with Loki, relax." There was a naughty cast to her smile. "He's very good at what he does, and I think he'll let you show him how good you are."
The idea didn't repulse Loki, oddly enough. Maybe because this was Midgard. Maybe because Bucky didn't seek to overpower him. Maybe because it really had nothing to do with his measure as a royal prince of Asgard, nothing to do with his sense of worth.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. But even coming to Midgard had been based on a maybe, a theoretical aberration in the palace that shouldn't have even existed. Why couldn't this be true as well?
"Why wait?" Loki asked, feeling too good after his release to really appreciate the consequences of what he said.
Turning on the water again, Bucky grabbed a soapy washcloth and set about to lathering up Loki's body. His touch was strong and sure, but Loki could almost feel the tenderness in his touch, the affection for him. Bucky gently turned him, and braced his left hip with the metal hand as he slid the washcloth between Loki's legs. "Not as good as lube," Natasha said, squeezing something cold onto Loki's skin, "but this should help."
"Conditioner?" Bucky scoffed, obviously thinking it was ridiculous. Natasha only giggled, and Loki would have said something if the cool, slick substance didn't mean that Bucky's fingers slid easily into him. Natasha had loosened him somewhat earlier, and his pleasures before meant he was relaxed and open.
Leaning behind them both, Natasha reached around Bucky to stroke his cock and get him hard and ready. Loki almost second guessed his desire to go through with this; it wasn't quite a misgiving, exactly, but a spark of anxiety low in his gut and a fear of pain. But Bucky's finger inside him stroked the same spot that Natasha had hit earlier, and the bolt of pleasure shot down to the soles of his feet. "That there," he said. "Do it again."
"I think he's ready," Natasha chuckled, shifting to run one hand along Loki's flank. He shivered at the contact, and shut off the water. It was starting to run cold; while he didn't mind the cold exactly, and had a better tolerance to it than Thor, he didn't want anything to cool his desire.
And then Bucky was pushing his erection at Loki's rear entrance, slowly and deliberately moving, the conditioner helping to smooth the skin on skin slide. Loki hissed, making Bucky stop and ask anxiously "You okay?"
"It feels... good," Loki admitted, a little surprised. "I'm okay," he said, turning to look at Bucky. He bit his lip and considered pushing backward, but Bucky was moving forward already. He was slow and steady, being careful. It was a thoughtful thing to do, and wasn't the Asset at work, but the Bucky that he used to be. With a growl, Loki pushed back, forcing Bucky to bury his cock all the way in. Natasha grinned at that, the little minx, and kept touching them both. Loki reached behind him with one hand to grab hold of her, and she actually moved closer to make it easier for him to do so. "You're enjoying this."
Natasha laughed, nodding, and licked her lips as she watched Bucky start to thrust into Loki. "I like how you look," she said, curling her fingers to run her nails down Loki's flank. "That you want us. That you trust us."
Loki couldn't do more than make incoherent grunts as Bucky picked up speed. There was only a little pressure, and Bucky kept hitting the spot that felt exquisite. He could understand why some men would flirt with the ergi taint, why some would do just about anything to stay with their lovers. He felt just as overwhelmed and nearly boneless as he had when Natasha had curled her finger inside of him, but this felt even more intense. This time, his orgasm was torn from him, a fire rippling along his spine and burning out every nerve ending. He sagged against the shower stall, Bucky and Natasha holding him up.
"Not so bad, huh?" Bucky laughed, trailing his fingers along Loki's spine.
He allowed them to towel him off and then led him back to bed. It was sticky and messy there, so all Natasha did was strip off the dirty sheets and take another blanket from the closet. The three of them laid in the center of the bed, and Loki had an arm around both of them, the braided talisman on his wrist a reminder of how entwined they had become.
It was startling when Natasha poked at his face, rubbing her finger along the furrow forming between his brows. "You're thinking awfully hard about something."
"I don't wish to leave you."
"But you have duties elsewhere," Natasha said with a slight nod.
"And we got more guys to kill," Bucky added.
Without even realizing what he intended to do, Loki found himself fashioning a curse spell that would target Hydra agents. It borrowed heavily from the spá, which was not normally his forte. He was particularly gifted at seidr, not the intricacies of fate. But then, when his spell was intended to sever all the life forces founded, it was easy to twist that kind of magic to his whim. Aware of Bucky and Natasha watching his fingers move through the air, he wondered what it was that they saw. He gave voice to the spell as it took shape, syllables of the Allspeak tongue melodious and almost like a song.
They respectfully waited in silence until he was done, and a clear globe rested between his hands. It resembled glass, with a milky gas caught inside of it.
"What's that?" Bucky asked.
Loki smiled, a baring of teeth that resembled a death's head more than his usual charming ones. Darkness glittered in his eyes, and it would have frightened Frigga if she had seen it. Neither of them were perturbed, and he looked from their expectant expressions to the globe in his hands. "I hold death to our enemies, to agents of Hydra that would slip past our sight."
"Will that get them all?" Natasha asked, hand raised as if she would touch the globe. She hesitated, inches from it, and looked up at him with an eyebrow raised in question.
"This won't harm you. Only those that claim alliance to Hydra. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Perhaps because I'm not overly fond of the spá, but that was the most efficient way to put together this curse."
"How do we set it off?" Natasha asked, gingerly touching the surface of the globe.
"Find a member of Hydra, bind this to him, and let the curse spread like a contagion."
Bucky smiled, a sinister one that mirrored Loki's earlier one. "We'll start with Pierce. All the senators agreed on that name as important, so he'll know lots of people."
"Excellent. And in no time, I can take you with me to Asgard."
***
***
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Loki/Natasha, Natasha/Winter Soldier, Loki/Natasha/Winter Soldier.
Disclaimer: Not mine! Not even by a little bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: MCU AU. Based off of futurerustfuture-dust's initial dark!blackwinterfrost idea. I didn't use the written material you sent me exactly, but here's hoping you like this one, too. :) Russian words have hovertext translation thanks to Google Translate, so please let me know if I goofed something and I'll fix it. Title, epigraph and chapter titles are all from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot.
Summary: A left turn instead of a right, and Loki tumbled down into the frozen tundra of Russia, right outside the Red Room. An honest mistake, but it soon changed everything. And he was never one to share his toys.
Prior chapters:
One - Disturb The Universe
Two - Spread Out Against The Sky
Three - The Corners of the Evening
Four - Descend The Stair
The room was dank and reeked of mildew, only a sliver of grayish light available from the window, which was mostly covered by a torn window shade. There were no curtains or furniture in the small room, and the sound of a slow drip falling into a puddle near the doorway. Groggy and with a raging headache, the room's sole occupant sat up. While he was dressed in a suit, it was mussed, torn and had splotches of blood on it. He managed to stagger to his feet, and stumbled to the door. It was locked, and he banged on it with his fist. "Hey! Let me out of here!" he shouted at the door.
No response, no sound. There was no indication of anyone being on the other side of the door at all, making him nervous.
"I'm a US Senator!" he shouted. "I am Senator Stern from Pennsylvania! I know very important people in the military! I have money! Influence! I can help you!"
Still no response, and he sagged to the floor. He was tired, hungry, thirsty and dizzy. His skin crawled, and he felt the itch of unwashed skin and the ache of bruised limbs. This was a new experience for him, and he didn't like it at all.
He liked what came later even less.
Falling asleep where he sat, Stern had ended up on his side near the door. It banged open, hitting him in the face and breaking his nose. That was a rather difficult way to wake up, but then a very tall man with deathly pale skin and vivid blue eyes picked him up with one hand so that his feet dangled over the floor. "You will tell me who your associates are."
"I'm a US senator," Stern replied, gasping for breath. "You might want to be a bit more specific."
That earned him a shake that was enough to rattle his teeth and send the blood from his broken nose down the back of his throat. Stern choked and shook, grasping the man's wrist to try to relieve some of the pressure on his chest. The man looked entirely displeased, and Stern realized that his status as a US senator would get him nowhere.
"The associates you have in Hydra," the man intoned, pitiless gaze fixed on him.
"I don't even know what that is," Stern tried to say.
Tossed across the room, Stern cracked his head on the wall and saw stars. Jesus, he was going to die in here, and he had no idea where here even was. Or how he had gotten there. He had been with some gorgeous green eyed blonde with a generously endowed chest that wanted to get an interview, and he had managed to convince her that he would only give a very private interview in his apartment. Without clothes, preferably. He couldn't remember anything more after getting into his car.
"You will tell me. Or it will begin to hurt."
"Begin?" he sputtered. "Jesus, buddy, you have no idea what the hell is going on here."
The man advanced, and there was something chilling in the way that he had absolutely no expression whatsoever. Stern could tell that not only was he going to die, it was going to be very messy, very painful, and very prolonged.
"You got to give me something to work with," Stern pleaded.
"Hydra. Names. Now."
"I don't know what you want-"
The man picked him up by the throat with his right hand. His left caught Stern's right hand and squeezed so tightly that bones ground together. The pain was excruciating, and he shouted. The man continued to squeeze, until Stern started begging for him to stop. Even then, he squeezed just a bit harder, just enough that Stern felt the shift of fracturing bone.
Stern shrieked in pain and terror, then began to sputter. "You don't understand! They'll kill me if I say anything!"
When the man squeezed his hand again, breaking more bones, Stern broke. He said everything, names, dates, positions of those in power that he suspected but didn't know for certain were Hydra members. Impassive, the man merely stared at him with his soulless eyes. Stern had heard that there were tools out there, things that had once been people, objects programmed with a set list of instructions, no mercy or soul. All he had was fear and pain and a bottomless well at the end of this nameless man's gaze.
And when Stern ran out of names to give, he gratefully shut his eyes when the man brought out a hunting knife. Its edge was so sharp, he barely felt it drag across the skin of his throat.
***
Natasha was curled in Loki's lap, nuzzling his chest and tracing odd patterns into his skin, enough to make him shiver. He cradled the back of her head with one hand and kept his other on the warding crystal that would tell him when Bucky was done. He was tired, so very tired, not used to using this much magic in such a short span of time. But the glamour on Bucky had to be done right, the wards couldn't be shortchanged, and he wouldn't allow any trace of Bucky's presence or his victim's be left behind.
"You're worrying about him," Natasha said, flicking his nipple with her tongue. "It will all be well. He's a professional. The best."
"I will be glad of it when he's back with us."
She laughed then, a lighthearted sound that at least took the edge off of his anxiety. She knew him well, after all, and Loki was new to this. He could only hope that the talisman around his wrist and his increasing facility with portal magic would be able to keep them all on similar timelines. He couldn't bear to think what would happen if he slipped sideways into the wrong time frame and couldn't return to them.
Shifting in his lap, Natasha straddled his waist, her naked body pressed tightly to his. "Then let me distract you again. It worked for a few hours."
Loki smirked at her. "Do you really think you can distract a god?"
"Are you a god?" she asked, almost taunting. "Or just a gifted man playing at godhood?" She leaned in and licked his lips, her slit rubbing against his soft cock. Neither had bothered cleaning up after their last bout of lovemaking, and she was still sticky and wet, his seed dried on her thighs and smeared across his legs. "Or maybe I make you feel like a god."
Letting go of the ward crystal, Loki grasped her ass and shifted her hips, making her rock against him, teasing them both. "Perhaps I make you feel like a goddess. Or a princess, worthy of the finest that the Asgardian court could offer."
Natasha smiled, a calculating sliver of her lips, then seized his mouth in a kiss. It burned his blood, made him tighten his fingers enough to bruise. That was enough to fan the flames of his desire, to get him growing hard enough. She was clever, knowing he liked the challenge and struggle of it, that he wanted the dance of limbs and will and longing, that he couldn't have it be simple or given outright. He had to earn the right to bury himself inside her, and she had to make him feel she was worthy of that desire.
It was a good thing neither of them liked easy conquests, instead being drawn to the more dynamic and complicated.
There was nothing gentle this time around, no lazy exploration of each others' bodies with the express purpose of creating a long enough distraction. This amount of time meant that the other senator was being obstinate, as they expected him to be, and that Bucky needed more time than they originally thought. He hadn't wanted Natasha or Loki along with him, and felt that the ward crystal would be enough to let them know if he needed backup.
Some ghosts could only be exorcised alone.
Loki grabbed Natasha's hips as she yanked on his hair, exposing the line of his throat. She mouthed it, nipping with her teeth as she gyrated her hips. He groaned, hardening further, nails digging into the soft flesh. "Keep this up, I'll spill outside of you."
She bit down hard on the meat of his shoulder, and Loki thought perhaps she might have broken the skin and tasted blood. "Do that, and I'll really have to punish you."
Now it was his turn to laugh. "You? What can you do?"
"Oh," she began, a throaty sound that went straight to his cock. "I have such ideas for you, my lord," she purred. "If only you let me loose."
"You say that as if I constrain you."
"Don't you?" she challenged before biting down again. Loki couldn't help but groan and lift his hips a little, rubbing against her more. "Certain things, I can tell you simply won't want me to do. It would offend your royal sensibilities. It would debase you, make you nothing more than trash, wouldn't it?"
"Of what do you speak?" Loki asked, intrigued.
Lips quirked, Natasha slid off of him. "Will you let me have my way with you?"
"We'll give it a try. Until Bucky returns."
"Well, he can join in then," she returned brightly. At Loki's pause, she tilted her head to the side and contemplated him. "I see. The culture thing," she said, running the edge of her fingertip down the length of his nose. "The requirements to a noble prince."
"I am a prince of Asgard," Loki replied, reaching for her and settling his hands on her hips. "There are responsibilities and duties I must attend to."
"And you run away from them to come here." When he stilled, she gave a mirthless chuckle and ran her thumb across his lips. "You are frighteningly easy to read, Loki. In that, you are like any other man they trained us to observe."
"I am not like other men."
"In this? Yes, you are. You are born to wealth and privilege. You have your whims satisfied, and you aren't limited in what you might ask for, as long as you conform to what they want of you. As long as you fit their ideal of a true man, as long as you do what they say, behave as they wish, follow the rules laid out for you. Rule. Lead. Be strong at all times. Be fierce and bold and resolute." Her lips quirked a little as she took his cock in hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He couldn't breathe at the truth in her words, but there was no sense that she was saying this to punish him or taunt him. "You are to always be strong, Loki, but inside, you want to break. You want to shatter. You don't want the control they demand of you. You don't want to rule. That's why you're so content with the shadows, of the advisor's role. The power behind the throne, not the face in front of it."
"You think you know me so well?" he asked, a slight rasp to his voice.
"Powerful men are powerful men, whether they're politicians, generals, or princes." Her tone was pragmatic, not insulting. "You tire of it, Loki. That's why you found us. And we're your distraction. Oh, you were truly outraged on our behalf, I believe that. You truly want to help us. But you only found us because the need to escape was strong."
"There may be some truth to that," he hedged, which only made her laugh. "Natasha-"
"Loki." Her grip on his cock was tighter, but that edge of pain only made his blood surge and his desire mount. "I suppose the rules on Asgard are quite strict, given how much care you took to tell Bucky what he can't do for you."
Mouth dry, Loki could only nod. "Social pressures," he finally said.
"We're not on Asgard," Natasha purred. "And if I tie you down, I can have my wicked way with you. I can force you to do nothing but feel. For a time, you would belong to me, just as you ask me to belong to you. Isn't that why you really asked it of us? You want to trust us, so you don't have to command us at all times. You want to be able to let go, and with us you can." She leaned in and licked his earlobe, making him shudder. "So I will tie you down, and you will let go."
"You really think you can hold me?" he scoffed.
"If you want to be held," she replied softly, "you will be held. I trust you with my mind and my body and my heart. You would have to trust that I will do the same for you."
He trembled a little, hands tightening on her hips. He wanted so badly, and was afraid to want it at the same time. "This is unheard of on Asgard," he temporized.
"We're not on Asgard," she repeated. It sounded as though she had infinite patience, as if it didn't matter what his answer would be.
But she was right. He had swooped in, and she hadn't known if he was a test or really one to set her free of the Red Room. Her sense of self had been erased and overridden so many times, and nothing was hers, not even her identity or memory. He had promised her that she would have them in exchange for loyalty, but what would he actually want to do with that loyalty? Why not use it, have her skills truly at his disposal for personal pleasures as well as a distraction and challenge for his magic? Why not see what this tantalizing offer was all about? It would be lovely not to worry about defending his honor and manhood constantly, just because his skill with magic was not common in a man unless he was unmanned in some way. Loki was a skilled fighter and mage, if not necessarily possessing the brute strength of Thor and the Warriors Three. And Hogun was from Vanaheim, not even Asgard! For him to occasionally add to Thor's jibes rankled painfully, especially when Thor laughed and didn't defend Loki.
"What would you do?" Loki asked, eagerness in his tone.
Natasha smiled at him indulgently, though her eyes raked over him as though she wanted to devour him alive. Oh. To be seen this way for himself, not for his position at court in the royal household, not to be used as a stepping stone to Thor's side... It was heady enough as it was, and Natasha had no idea of this kind of power she wielded. Or perhaps she did, even if she didn't know the particulars. Her understanding of his position was eerily accurate.
Loki let her push him onto his back and take the ties from his tunic to bind one wrist to the headboard of the bed. She couldn't find another similar one, so Loki merely duplicated the tie for her. There was an almost regal tilt to her head as she nodded at him that almost reminded him of how Frigga communicated with glances and gestures at Odin. It struck him suddenly that if no one knew she was human, she could very well pass as a member of court.
"If it's too uncomfortable for you," Natasha began, a thread of challenge in her tone, "I'm sure you can break free of that. But I think you can take whatever I give you. I think I can push you, and you can take it, and you can prove yourself a better man than the fools you ran from."
Oh. Clever girl, giving him and out and taking it away all at once. He laughed, delighted, and gave a testing tug at his wrists. He certainly could break them, the string wasn't nearly strong enough to truly bind him, but this was symbolic. He understood that they were feeling each other out, that she was pushing him to see where her place in his life could be. If she could offer him something no Asgardian could, she would be secure. Loki would protect her and Bucky, and she could see it as a simple bargain, an exchange where they each got what they wanted. It could be seen as mercenary, and protect them all if feelings were hurt or his reputation was at risk. Clever, clever girl.
Natasha used her mouth and hands to lick and suck his balls, then she pushed his thighs up and out of her way, his knees drawing close to his chest. That gave her better access, and then her tongue dipped down, tracing a line down toward the puckered hole of his ass. Loki gasped, not thinking she would dare such a thing, but then she did, licking back and forth, then in circles around the edge of the muscle. Now he understood what she meant by her words, and he found himself endlessly fascinated and turned out by her touch. The tip of her tongue worked its way into him, and a shiver of pleasure worked its way up his spine.
She laughed and wet her finger, eyes alight with mischief. Oh, he loved that look in her eyes, the way it mirrored his own. It wasn't all bad on Asgard, he would have to disabuse her of that notion, but when he felt slighted, he resented it badly. Most of the time, his spells were fairly well received. He just didn't want to feel less than, and at this moment he certainly felt so very far from that.
Taking his cock with one hand, she slipped her wet finger into his ass and then mouthed his cock. Loki couldn't help but moan, the pressure from her finger sinfully delicious. He squeaked when a bolt of pleasure shot into his balls, legs jerking. He nearly kicked Natasha in the head, making her pull back and sit on her haunches, laughing at him. Her finger was still crooked inside of him, the tip pressing against that spot, and then it felt almost like he was seeing stars. Loki groaned, pulling on the ties a little, but not intending to break them. No, he was writhing, hips jerking, breath coming in short pants as he rode the pleasure in that touch.
"So you see," she purred, leaning over to press a kiss to the head of his cock, "there are so many ways I can play with you. All you have to do is feel it." Another swipe of her finger, and he was nearly howling with pleasure, nearly coming right there like a boy with his first girl. "Just feel, my lord Loki," Natasha said, voice husky and warm, wrapping itself around his senses. This was a magic all her own, wasn't it? "Feel what I give you. It's a gift, Loki. I give you this, you give me your surrender. I'll take care of you. I'll take care of this." She leaned down to kiss his cock again as he moaned and nearly sobbed at the intensity of the pleasure flooding him. "I've got you, Loki. I've got you."
Natasha put her mouth over him just before he came, and swallowed down his seed. She kept sucking, kept moving her finger in and out of him, kept pressing at that spot that made the pleasure almost unbearable. He cried out, pulling at the ties, consumed by the feel of her, by the sensation along his skin, as if his spine was melting and his bones were liquid fire.
"By the Tree," he gasped, "I cannot, stop, Natasha, too much!"
She sucked a little harder, until he sobbed and shuddered, and retreated. Making sure she had eye contact, she pulled the ties at his wrists loose and held him close. "I've got you," she repeated firmly, stroking him gently.
It was calming, but he wasn't coming down from his high. A lassitude was in his limbs, a peace in his heart he hadn't felt before. Loki grasped her and pressed his lips to the center of her chest, her generous breasts pushed against his face. It felt less erotic and more like comfort. "And there's more than this?"
"This? That was nothing yet. I can get toys or other tools. I can reduce you to jelly, leave you sobbing for more. I can fuck you, Loki, give you such pleasure. Bucky can do it, too, if you want him to. Not because we're stealing your manhood or whatever nonsense the stupid gossips on your world would say, but because we'd want you to feel good."
"To protect you. To keep you safe," he said, her body slightly muffling his words.
"Because you're ours as much as we're yours. Isn't that so? That's why you came back, even if your mother didn't want you to. That's why you're here and helping us instead of going back home. You love your studies, you love your family, you love your stupid society. But you love us, too, and you can't leave us behind."
"Love is..." He pulled back to look at her, lips twisted into a wry expression. "Not exactly."
Natasha kissed him, his lower lip caught between her teeth for a moment. "Love is for children, they used to say. Madame B's favorite saying as she whipped us into shape, as she kept pushing and pushing and pushing. But what else do we call it? Why else risk so much for just a little bit of pleasure? Why risk punishment for loyalties that shouldn't be?" She kissed his cheeks and then his lips again. "It's not always the child's utter faith, but it's a tie just as well. It's a need, a burden, a weight. But we bear it gladly, don't we?"
Loki let his arms encircle her. "Yes, we do."
The ward crystal emitted a low pitched whine, and Natasha lifted her head to turn toward it, her lips twisting into a smile. "He's done. He's coming back to us."
As the conditions of the spell on the crystal were met, a portal opened behind it. Bucky stepped through, blood on his glamoured hands and clothing. As the portal shut behind him, the glamour dissolved in golden glitter. The blood remained, and he looked at Loki and Natasha curled on the bed with an impassive expression.
"The other senators were just as guilty as the first," he said after a moment. Almost like an afterthought, he lifted his hands and looked at the dried blood. "It took longer to work on them, though. Stern was a pushover."
"Feel better?" Loki asked, drawing back a little to get a better look at Bucky.
He stopped to consider that. "Yes, actually. I wasn't sure, but I feel... free, I suppose. The ones left don't all know me. Not just because of the magic, but they don't know of me. I don't exist. I'm not real to them. And they can't capture a ghost."
Opening an arm wide in a fit of magnanimity, Loki smiled. "Then come here."
"I'm covered in blood."
"So?" Loki shrugged. "It will wash. You've done so well."
It was all the encouragement he needed to come to Loki's side, to let himself get enfolded in an embrace from him and Natasha. There was only the briefest of hesitations before Loki kissed him, and Natasha pulled at his weaponry and clothing. She did it with practiced ease, stripping him efficiently and quickly, until he was as naked as they, flakes of dried blood still on his skin and making his clothes stick to each other. His eyes flicked to Loki, as if he wasn't sure what he should do next.
"Not that you've ever been squeamish before, but if you care, we can shower," Natasha commented, nodding toward the bathroom. "All of us at once."
"We won't fit," Bucky disagreed, shaking his head. "Two, sure, but not three."
"What use is magic if not to make things more convenient?" Loki declared, seeing the curve of Bucky's lips and thinking of Natasha's full ones. The both of them on their knees in front of him, mouths on him... He suddenly wasn't so very tired anymore.
Bucky was almost overwhelmed by the two of them soaping him up and scrubbing him clean of blood. Impulsively, Loki grasped Bucky by the back of his neck and pulled him in close for a filthy kiss as Natasha scrubbed at his stomach and nuzzled his abdomen. As he was starting to realize, Bucky was only too eager to follow their lead. There was still too much missing in his mind, too many empty blanks that he felt self conscious about. Natasha had been filled with false memories and personalities, and could fall on that if she felt out of place. Bucky had nothing to rely on but their lead, having only brief flashes of memories. It was coming back, but until he was fully back to himself, it was easier to let go and let others take control. Having been in just that position moments ago, Loki looked upon that state with a far kinder view than he would have even the day before.
Loki wasn't concerned with Bucky grabbing hold of him with the metal hand as he tried to remain upright and breathing normally. The assassin was only too aware of his strength, and was holding himself back for fear of hurting Loki. Charming, but unnecessary. Loki nipped Bucky's lip, rather like Natasha had done to him earlier, and raked his nails down Bucky's spine. "No need to be gentle if you don't want to be. I won't break. I'm made of stronger stuff."
He groaned and tightened his hand on Loki's arm. It was too tight, but it wasn't the kind of hurt that Loki found unbearable. Rather like Thor's grip on his arm, actually. He sent a thread of magic into his body, enough to get his body ready for sex for as long as he willed it.
Bucky pulled on Natasha so that she would stand up. "I can't... Won't break you two. Can't hurt you when you mean too much..."
"Idiot," Natasha said fondly, leaning into him and pressing her breasts against his chest as she started to stroke his cock. "You won't break us. You won't hurt us, and no one will ever make you do it against your will."
Magic words indeed, because Bucky's resolve crumpled. After losing everything, even his own sense of self, he had needed to hear that. He leaned in to kiss Loki, his mouth closest, hunger in the way he moved. Natasha pulled Loki closer and stroked them both, pressing their cocks together in her soapy fist. Oh, that wasn't terrible at all, surprising Loki. This was frighteningly intimate, for all of his words at dominating them, and he found that it was easier to go along with her suggestions than he thought it would be. Was this the reward for her loyalty? She would see to his needs, even ones he didn't know he had, and all he had to do was help preserve her sense of self? That was a simple enough request to fulfill on this world.
Natasha murmured low words in Russian, comforting ones, about how well loved Bucky was, how skilled he was, how wonderful it was to remain together. As with Loki, the sound of her voice seemed to add to his desire. His hips bucked against her and his entire body trembled in their arms. He made whimpering noises, a soft helpless sound that made Loki break their kiss so he could sink his teeth into Bucky's throat. That made Bucky throw his head back and moan, hands tight around his lovers. It didn't make him seem weak to Loki, as much as he used to think it would, because the vulnerable cast to him only made Loki feel possessive and protective of him. This was his assassin, his. No one else but Natasha would ever see him this way, ever know how gentle he could be. Everyone else would get the hard edges and cold eyes, the solid metal fist and the burn of pistol fire.
There was a kind of power in this, too, Loki realized. As Bucky spilled into Natasha's fist, as Loki neared another climax, he realized there was a sense of power in being able to completely undo another being, to render them insensate from pleasure. "Ready him," Loki rasped, looking at Natasha. "I'll make him mine."
She slipped her slicked fingers between Bucky's legs, smiling when he gave a humorless, tired laugh. "You think I can do any more tonight, doll?"
"I could gift you with a spell to allow that if you wish it," Loki said, pushing his wet hair out of his face. He gave Bucky an almost predatory grin. "Cheating, perhaps, but I would not be so ready for you both without it."
Bucky snorted, then turned around so it would be easier for Natasha to slide her fingers inside him, stretching and stroking him from the inside out. He groaned, eyes falling shut and mouth open as he leaned against the side of the shower stall. Loki watched, fondling one of Natasha's breasts, taking over when she shifted out of the way. Bucky was tight, and pushed back to meet Loki's thrusts. He growled something that Loki couldn't understand, but the tone of it was a demand for more. Loki thrust harder into him, and turned to grasp Natasha close so that he could kiss her. She had a delighted flush in her cheeks, her eyes blown wide with desire.
When Loki came, he sagged a little, hips pushed flush against Bucky's ass. He had a loose smile on his lips, limbs loose. "God, I needed a good fucking," he murmured.
Natasha laughed and shut off the water. "I get the next set of Hydra scum," she said, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You stay with Loki, relax." There was a naughty cast to her smile. "He's very good at what he does, and I think he'll let you show him how good you are."
The idea didn't repulse Loki, oddly enough. Maybe because this was Midgard. Maybe because Bucky didn't seek to overpower him. Maybe because it really had nothing to do with his measure as a royal prince of Asgard, nothing to do with his sense of worth.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. But even coming to Midgard had been based on a maybe, a theoretical aberration in the palace that shouldn't have even existed. Why couldn't this be true as well?
"Why wait?" Loki asked, feeling too good after his release to really appreciate the consequences of what he said.
Turning on the water again, Bucky grabbed a soapy washcloth and set about to lathering up Loki's body. His touch was strong and sure, but Loki could almost feel the tenderness in his touch, the affection for him. Bucky gently turned him, and braced his left hip with the metal hand as he slid the washcloth between Loki's legs. "Not as good as lube," Natasha said, squeezing something cold onto Loki's skin, "but this should help."
"Conditioner?" Bucky scoffed, obviously thinking it was ridiculous. Natasha only giggled, and Loki would have said something if the cool, slick substance didn't mean that Bucky's fingers slid easily into him. Natasha had loosened him somewhat earlier, and his pleasures before meant he was relaxed and open.
Leaning behind them both, Natasha reached around Bucky to stroke his cock and get him hard and ready. Loki almost second guessed his desire to go through with this; it wasn't quite a misgiving, exactly, but a spark of anxiety low in his gut and a fear of pain. But Bucky's finger inside him stroked the same spot that Natasha had hit earlier, and the bolt of pleasure shot down to the soles of his feet. "That there," he said. "Do it again."
"I think he's ready," Natasha chuckled, shifting to run one hand along Loki's flank. He shivered at the contact, and shut off the water. It was starting to run cold; while he didn't mind the cold exactly, and had a better tolerance to it than Thor, he didn't want anything to cool his desire.
And then Bucky was pushing his erection at Loki's rear entrance, slowly and deliberately moving, the conditioner helping to smooth the skin on skin slide. Loki hissed, making Bucky stop and ask anxiously "You okay?"
"It feels... good," Loki admitted, a little surprised. "I'm okay," he said, turning to look at Bucky. He bit his lip and considered pushing backward, but Bucky was moving forward already. He was slow and steady, being careful. It was a thoughtful thing to do, and wasn't the Asset at work, but the Bucky that he used to be. With a growl, Loki pushed back, forcing Bucky to bury his cock all the way in. Natasha grinned at that, the little minx, and kept touching them both. Loki reached behind him with one hand to grab hold of her, and she actually moved closer to make it easier for him to do so. "You're enjoying this."
Natasha laughed, nodding, and licked her lips as she watched Bucky start to thrust into Loki. "I like how you look," she said, curling her fingers to run her nails down Loki's flank. "That you want us. That you trust us."
Loki couldn't do more than make incoherent grunts as Bucky picked up speed. There was only a little pressure, and Bucky kept hitting the spot that felt exquisite. He could understand why some men would flirt with the ergi taint, why some would do just about anything to stay with their lovers. He felt just as overwhelmed and nearly boneless as he had when Natasha had curled her finger inside of him, but this felt even more intense. This time, his orgasm was torn from him, a fire rippling along his spine and burning out every nerve ending. He sagged against the shower stall, Bucky and Natasha holding him up.
"Not so bad, huh?" Bucky laughed, trailing his fingers along Loki's spine.
He allowed them to towel him off and then led him back to bed. It was sticky and messy there, so all Natasha did was strip off the dirty sheets and take another blanket from the closet. The three of them laid in the center of the bed, and Loki had an arm around both of them, the braided talisman on his wrist a reminder of how entwined they had become.
It was startling when Natasha poked at his face, rubbing her finger along the furrow forming between his brows. "You're thinking awfully hard about something."
"I don't wish to leave you."
"But you have duties elsewhere," Natasha said with a slight nod.
"And we got more guys to kill," Bucky added.
Without even realizing what he intended to do, Loki found himself fashioning a curse spell that would target Hydra agents. It borrowed heavily from the spá, which was not normally his forte. He was particularly gifted at seidr, not the intricacies of fate. But then, when his spell was intended to sever all the life forces founded, it was easy to twist that kind of magic to his whim. Aware of Bucky and Natasha watching his fingers move through the air, he wondered what it was that they saw. He gave voice to the spell as it took shape, syllables of the Allspeak tongue melodious and almost like a song.
They respectfully waited in silence until he was done, and a clear globe rested between his hands. It resembled glass, with a milky gas caught inside of it.
"What's that?" Bucky asked.
Loki smiled, a baring of teeth that resembled a death's head more than his usual charming ones. Darkness glittered in his eyes, and it would have frightened Frigga if she had seen it. Neither of them were perturbed, and he looked from their expectant expressions to the globe in his hands. "I hold death to our enemies, to agents of Hydra that would slip past our sight."
"Will that get them all?" Natasha asked, hand raised as if she would touch the globe. She hesitated, inches from it, and looked up at him with an eyebrow raised in question.
"This won't harm you. Only those that claim alliance to Hydra. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Perhaps because I'm not overly fond of the spá, but that was the most efficient way to put together this curse."
"How do we set it off?" Natasha asked, gingerly touching the surface of the globe.
"Find a member of Hydra, bind this to him, and let the curse spread like a contagion."
Bucky smiled, a sinister one that mirrored Loki's earlier one. "We'll start with Pierce. All the senators agreed on that name as important, so he'll know lots of people."
"Excellent. And in no time, I can take you with me to Asgard."
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