Broken Underneath, 2/5. Loki/Natasha. NC-17.
Title: Broken Underneath
Series: #4 in Ready For The Siege
(#1 - Look Over Your Shoulder, #2 - Armed Up To The Teeth, #3 - Misery Inspires)
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Loki/Natasha
Disclaimer: Not mine! Some comic backstory is incorporated into characterizations, but this is still primarily movieverse. Incoprorates a prompt from avengerkink round 7: I'd love to see Loki bring someone right to the edge again and again, but never letting them come. Not even when they're a quivering, whimpering mess, begging him for release. and also a prompt from round 4: Loki knows all of Natasha's secrets, and uses them to break her down completely. I want pyschological torture and Loki being relentless and cruel.
Spoilers/Warnings: Post-movie. Screwed up people doing screwed up things to and with each other, though that might be a draw. ;)
Title and series title from "The Royal We" by Silversun Pickups
Summary: Loki might have had some plans for Natasha, but that didn't mean he didn't intend to have a little fun with her first. It was only too bad that she didn't figure that out until it was far too late.
Previous chapter:
One - Glittering Shards of Ice
Two - Out Of Time
"He said I missed a week."
Clint looked at Natasha, who was sitting on a hospital bed in the helicarrier's infirmary. She had a mulish expression on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Otherwise, she looked exactly the same as when he had last seen her. She knew all the proper authorization codes when Fury and Hill had interrogated her, and the medical team had cleared her of any active infections, pathogens or toxins. Her hair, blood and urine samples all matched tissue samples kept on file, so this was the same person they had dealt with.
He still found it difficult to let go of his mistrust, however. This was Loki they were dealing with, after all. Something underhanded had to be happening.
"You were gone for nine days," Clint said after a moment.
That gave Natasha pause, and she looked over at him in surprise. "Directory Fury didn't say that it was nine days. Then again, he was too busy interrogating me."
"Did you think he wouldn't?"
Natasha shook her head and unfolded her arms. "No, I rather expected that. I tried to catalogue everything I saw, any scrap of information I could get about him."
"What did you do there?" he asked, curious. He sat down across from her, impulsively reaching out to grasp her wrist. Before she had been taken, he thought there were extra lines on her wrists, something like scars that had faded. Looking at it now, he was sure of it, and didn't think Natasha had injured herself.
"Took a bath. Had a nap. Fucked Loki."
Her voice was so bland and emotionless, and Clint looked up in surprise. "Wait, what?"
"I would have guessed only a day or two passed at most," she continued in that same flat tone, giving him a half shrug. She probably didn't want to worry him, but that kind of thing only made Clint worry even more about her.
"Natasha..."
"He's powerful, and playing at being a god. But he is lonely and sensory deprived. I know how to work with that. I've worked with that before."
Clint wanted to sigh and pull at his hair in frustration at those words. "He's planning something, you know he is. He doesn't have your best interests at heart, and I worry about you," he said, finally admitting it aloud.
"You know what I have to do sometimes," Natasha told him, eyebrow raised at him in query.
He did, which was part of the problem. She would go to any lengths whatsoever to get the final objective done, as if her own needs weren't as important. She would become anyone and anything, and Clint was afraid she would lose herself in the process. No matter how often she reassured him she was still herself, he couldn't help but wonder if it was true. Her mind had been fragmented so badly since childhood, and he had experienced it only once. That one time had shaken him to the core, leaving him unable to imagine going through that repeatedly.
Her hand was warm over his, and she leaned into his personal space. It wasn't to tempt or distract him, but to reassure him of her presence. "Clint," she murmured.
"This is different. He's different, you know that."
"I do."
"There's a game he's playing. If he's not after Jane Foster and her bridge, if he isn't interested in the Bifrost and Asgard, we don't know what he'll go for. We don't know what his play is, so it's going to be that much harder to predict him."
Natasha nodded, and Clint knew she would have considered this herself while locked away with Loki. Still, he had to remind her, if only to keep himself from shaking her. She was stubborn, though, and nothing he said would deter her, really.
"You have to keep yourself safe," Clint murmured, slinging an arm around her shoulders. It was possibly too demonstrative, too possessive, but she allowed it. "I will do whatever I can to help you, you know this. Even if Fury won't allow it, I will be there. You have friends, Tash. Don't let Loki take you away from them."
"I won't," Natasha promised, her gaze perfectly clear and her expression as earnest as Clint had ever seen it.
Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was lying.
***
Armed with two Glock 19 pistols, about a thousand rounds of 9 mm ammunition and the proper headgear, Natasha walked into the range. It was deserted, which was not usual for that time of day. Frowning slightly, she took in the lanes and the sensors for each one. They were all functioning properly, and the clerk at the armory hadn't mentioned anything wrong with the range or that the time was allotted for a special class.
Stepping forward, Natasha looked for a slight shimmer in the air that might signal displaced light or a portal of some kind. She could only think that this was Loki's doing, given how often he seemed to find her in random places and times.
Sure enough, she found it in a corner of the range. The displacement was only noticeable because she was searching for it, and was roughly Loki-sized. Natasha thought of calling for Clint or Steve for an instant, then dismissed it. This was her op, her intel. She would have to handle it herself, not go calling for backup before she even ascertained the threat.
Natasha walked directly to the shimmer, which gradually resolved itself into Loki. He was wearing that black suit and forest green shirt she had seen him wear while walking around in New York City, his expression lighting up in amusement. "It seems you have found me again, dear spider," he said softly.
"It's a question of knowing where to look."
If anything, that reply made him laugh, throwing his head back and exposing the smooth column of his throat. She remembered digging her hands into his windpipe, or pressing her lips to the skin to make him shiver beneath her. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that she carried pistols with her and had been intending to shoot them; Loki clearly was up to something, but Natasha didn't have enough clues to guess at what he was up to yet.
Loki reached for her, a slight jerk betraying a hesitance to touch her. "Do you know me so well, then?" he asked.
"Does anyone?" she asked back. That earned her a slight twitch of a smile, and she nodded at him slightly. "What brings you here?"
"I thought to watch you."
"Is that why no one else is here?"
Now his smile was wide and as genuine as she had ever seen it. "A slight glamour, a trace of fear to chase away the weak minded. I wouldn't have our time interrupted."
Natasha laid a hand on his chest, confident he wouldn't move out of the way. "It matters that much to you?" she asked, slight curiosity in her tone.
"You are amusing to me," Loki said, a sharp edge to his voice. Ah. Falling back on sarcasm and grandiosity again. She had struck a nerve, though she didn't know what exactly had triggered it. Was it that she saw through him? Or that she was unsettling his plans for her?
"I have training planned for this afternoon." Natasha let her hand trail down his chest invitingly, suppressing a smile when he looked down at her hand. He was entranced, longing for some kind of contact. Of that she was certain.
He needed recognition, however he could get it. She just had to give him the right kind, and he might actually want to stay with SHIELD willingly.
"You are quite skilled," Loki murmured.
"Perhaps. But there's always someone better. Or at least better prepared." Loki watched as she stepped back, lips quirking into a slight smile. "Care to try a weapon of your own? The entire range is open to us, and I only need one lane."
Pondering for a moment, Loki finally nodded. "I haven't used that type. That isn't the way of Asgardians or Jotunn."
"They're more melee combatants, aren't they?"
"Your archer friend would not feel misplaced in their company."
Natasha nodded slowly, thinking of how Clint and Thor could bond over movies, popcorn and talk about weapons. "Perhaps. Some things never really change, do they?"
"Oh?"
"The need to protect what's yours."
He was at her side in an instant, glowering down at her. "You play games, little spider."
"Do I?" she asked, looking up at him without fear. "You wait for me with glamours, you pretend to be an agent, you whisk me away to some kind of dimension and leave me trapped there for nine days and don't send word to those that know me."
His smile was a shark's bearing of teeth. "Those are trifles."
"I don't need trifles," Natasha told him, turning and walking toward one of the open lanes. Her back was to him, and she walked tall and proud, as if his glowering figure meant nothing. As she thought he might, he rushed after her. "I intend to practice here, Loki. What are your intentions?"
"Today? Nothing untoward."
"At least there's that."
He watched her take out the Glock and check that the chamber was empty before loading in a magazine and beginning to shoot at the target. His presence didn't throw off her aim or stance, and she made sure she had tight, precise groupings over different parts of the figure. She hit the return to change paper targets, but Loki snapped his fingers and the used target was neatly exchanged for a fresh one. Natasha nodded her thanks, then sent the target back to the fifty yard mark on the lane. She went through about half of her supply before switching out to the second Glock, and she didn't bother explaining for Loki's benefit, even though the curiosity was evident on his face. In utter silence, she checked the second pistol, loaded it, and proceeded to fire at the target. Every time she changed or reloaded magazines, he switched used targets for fresh ones, watching her spare, efficient movements carefully.
"I don't think I like those kinds of weapons," Loki said slowly, when Natasha finished with all of her ammunition. She swept the shells away and scooped them up into the bin, and moved back to the table with the Glocks to return them to their cases.
"It's not your style, no," Natasha agreed.
"You use that weapon with either hand," he observed.
"It pays to be prepared."
He stood behind her as she snapped the cases shut, then trailed his long fingers down her arms until they rested at her wrists. The scar on her abdomen throbbed painfully, as if it wanted to pull right through her body to connect with him. "I would try one of those, perhaps, but it is too impersonal, too distant."
It was what she had thought. Not enough recognition, no way to feed his ego.
"What was your plan for today?" she asked, putting the cases down and turning around in the circle of his arms. Her scar twitched and fell silent, simple scar tissue once more.
Loki smiled, a possessive baring of teeth. "Come with me. Let me take you from here, where we may speak at length."
Natasha lofted an eyebrow at him. "Am I going to lose nine days again?"
He chuckled. "Not unless you wish it."
"I don't," she said firmly.
"Then we may leave and return to this same time, as if we had never left at all."
"That would be a neat trick. I'll believe it when I see it," she commented dryly.
"You don't trust me," Loki said, a playful pout on his lips.
"I think you've made it clear so far that I shouldn't," Natasha returned easily. There were certain things she could count on when it came down to this man, but absolute trust would be a long time in coming for anyone.
He chuckled again and wound his arms around her. "Perhaps I could earn that trust."
Natasha thought of asking why he would want to, but instead merely quirked her lips. "Let's see you try," she challenged. That would be more effective for him than subtle digs into his psyche.
The air shimmered around them, more controlled than the rapid portal he had used at Stark Tower. Or Avengers Tower, as she should probably start thinking of it. Loki walked backward, leading her forward into the portal, through time and space and into his icy cell. It looked the same as before, though the ink spill was cleaned up. Natasha reached up and touched his jaw gently, startling him. "You are very good at being in control," she murmured.
"As are you," he returned, tilting his head so that his lips pressed against her palm. "That kind of control you have is extremely hard won, is it not?"
"It was," she agreed, not bothering to elaborate. "Much as I imagine yours was."
Of course, the thing of it was, at times he had no control at all. There was a flash of surprise on his features before the indifferent mask settled back into place. "Perhaps," he allowed after a moment, gaze raking across her face. "Would you give up that control to me?"
"Why would I want to do that?" she asked. He might have remembered their second encounter, outside of her safe house in the city. Perhaps he remembered she was turned on by being tied up and held, control wrested from her but consent still hers to give. Natasha's insides seemed to flutter a bit in anticipation.
Loki grinned and lifted her up easily so that they were at eye level. "In some ways, little spider, I don't think you've been challenged overmuch. I saw you, in that insipid little bar as you made your appointment with pieces of filth. I saw you scrabbling for scraps of information, working your way through the shadows. You try so hard to understand, to act on behalf of your masters, and I see something in you needing more."
Her mouth was dry, her breath caught in her chest. "And what do you suppose that more would be, Loki?" she asked, voice even and cool despite the sudden burst of adrenaline in her system. He was dangerous, just as she was, and he saw far too much into her, just as she saw far too much into him. She would have to tread even more carefully.
"I can give you more," he purred. "I can take control, show you how sweet surrender can be. I can be a master you can serve."
Natasha let out a bored sigh, though her heart skipped a beat. "This again?"
"This time, it would be a more personal level. Natasha," he purred, leaning in closely. "It's lonely," he said, his voice an intimate caress. "Holding yourself apart, not able to lean on those fools you work with. For a time, you can be mine." He gave a brilliant smile that managed to look almost shy at the same time. "And perhaps, for a time later, I can be yours."
She touched his face with both of her hands, thumbs brushing at the corner of his mouth. "What are you proposing, then?"
"Shall we satisfy our needs together, you and I? I don't think your fellows would understand this, or would be able to surrender to me." He looked at her earnestly. "I perhaps went about it the wrong way before. Your kind has changed over centuries, ours has not. Collectively, there is no wish to be ruled, but individually, momentarily... That, I can give you."
"And it would satisfy your needs as well, wouldn't it?"
"We all have needs, dear one," Loki replied, a sad smile on his face. "Some we can meet, some we cannot. Some things we can never have."
Natasha smiled when he sucked one of her thumbs into his mouth, his teeth lightly abrading her skin. "Then show me what you mean. Let's see what you can do."
"You didn't do your worst to me," he reminded her. "Would you have me try my hand at it?"
Now her smile was genuine. "Give it your best shot."
Loki removed her clothing slowly, mouth hovering over her bared skin. Occasionally he pressed his lips or tongue there, smiling when she shivered in the cold. "Would you still say magic is cheating, dear spider?" he asked, breath warm against her navel.
"Depends on how you use it," she replied.
"To be sure you submit to me," he said, looking up at her. He was kneeling in front of her, hands at her knees. Natasha knew he was kneeling only to undress her, not to imply weakness or that she was superior to him. He was smirking, in fact, making her think he had all sorts of rather depraved things he would like to do with his magic.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, appreciating the silken softness for a moment. "You can use your magic this time, then."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than his magic held her wrists and ankles. She was maneuvered over to his pile of sleeping furs, which tickled her bare skin. It was comfortable, but she was definitely securely bound and unable to move from her spread-eagled position. She could turn her head, but nothing else. Loki loomed over her, a satisfied expression on his face, and then he moved to her side and kissed her thoroughly. Natasha couldn't help but respond to him licking into her mouth as one hand slid down her stomach, his fingers brushing across her scar on their way to the juncture of her thighs. He chuckled into the kiss when her abdomen twitched and she tried to twist beneath his touch. She couldn't move at all, and her breath quickened in anticipation.
More magic was applied, as she could feel ghostly hands caressing her breasts and pinching her nipples as his actual hand carded through her pubic hair before tracing her folds. Natasha tried to keep herself from moaning, but it was almost too much sensory input. Loki was licking her lips, paying them careful attention while the magic filled her, teased her and brought her just to the edge of orgasm. All sensation abruptly stopped then, and she cursed viciously. Loki laughed and sat back on his haunches. "It burns you to have come so close."
"You smug bastard," Natasha said, trying to get herself under control. "Are you even going to finish things?"
"I told you, darling spider," he purred, leaning in to lick one taut nipple. "You must cede control to me completely. You haven't done that yet, have you?"
"The last ones that tried doing that are dead now. Plan to join that illustrious company?"
Loki laughed. "You'll beg me for release. And perhaps I will even give it to you. Someday."
Natasha struggled a little, but it was no use. She hadn't been expecting this, though she probably should have. Her anger now was as much embarrassment for being so easily caught with her emotions exposed as it was for being at his mercy. His touch on her abdomen now was soothing but not sexual, making her ground her teeth together in frustration. She wanted, so badly, and he was going to be a fucking tease about it. Perhaps her old marks used to feel this way when she taunted them, but at least she gave them a good time in the process.
When her heart rate and breathing slowed, Loki knelt down and suckled on one of her breasts. One hand was still on her abdomen, the other was at her side but not touching her. She managed to suppress a groan of frustration, but then the magic touches started in again. Ghostly fingers slid through her slippery folds and touched her clit with lazy strokes, and another mouth latched onto her other breast. Natasha gasped and tried to wriggle a bit, but her hips remained firmly in place. She couldn't twitch against the ghostly touch, making it more intense or speed it up. She could feel him smile against her skin, the smug bastard, and she was determined not to beg for release no matter what he did.
Though Natasha tried to resist succumbing to Loki's touch again, the magic had the effect of four pairs of hands working at her flesh. Her breath quickened in spite of herself, and she squeezed her eyes shut to avoid looking at his expression. That made the sensation more intense, so that she could feel two fingers rubbing at her clit, two fingers inside her, a third rubbing at her backside, one hand pinching her nipple and a separate pair of hands caressing her thighs and calves. Loki moved to lick at her lips again, so another ghostly hand materialized to flick the wet nipple he abandoned. Natasha moaned against his mouth, her eyes opening slightly. Instead of looking smug the way she thought he would, he seemed to be just as lost in the sensation as she was. Perhaps this magic use was an extension of his mind after all.
The magic touches abruptly stopped again as Loki leaned back on his haunches. There was a slight flush to his pale cheeks, and the heavy lidded gaze told Natasha how aroused he was. Still, he was more interested in denying her release until she begged for it, damn him.
"Has anyone treated you so?" he asked, an undercurrent of lust evident to his voice.
"No," she replied shortly. Though she tugged again, the magical bonds held fast. "I was trained to kill and to move without being seen since childhood," she said, looking at him evenly.
Loki ran a finger along the L shaped scar he had given her. "I suppose in that, our lives ran in parallel, have they not?" He smiled gently, an almost tender expression on his face. "Yet you have boon companions and I do not."
"We've made different choices along the way."
"Do you really think you can erase all the red dripping from your ledger?"
"I can try."
"Would it make you any less a murderer? Any less evil?"
Natasha got the feeling he wasn't talking about her sins anymore, but let it pass. She had agreed to bow to his whims so far, though she really didn't plan to cede control, only the appearance of it. "I'm looking for balance."
"Can there be balance? With that much red?"
His gaze burned, and the scar beneath his finger seemed to throb in agony. That drove all remnant of pleasure from her system. "Perhaps if enough innocents are saved, I'll find it."
"Are there truly innocent souls out there?" he asked, and the scar burned in sympathy.
"Yes."
"Interesting."
She hadn't thought she was giving anything away, but Loki behaved as though she had. Once more the magic touch descended upon her. Natasha gasped at the abrupt sensory change. Now her scar seemed overly sensitive to touch, pleasure flooding through her instead of pain. Magic stroked her clit and labia, caressed her thighs and belly, delved into her soaking center and suckled at her breasts. Loki was naked now, and she readily opened her mouth to take in his cock. He thrust deep into her, hitting the back of her throat, his own breath a hiss of pleasure. She was filled and surrounded by his presence, unable to buck up against him. Natasha sucked hard on him, making him cry out. In reflex, the magic touches were harder, more sure against her flesh, making her nearly spasm from how close she was riding to orgasm.
He might have wanted to pull back again, but Natasha sucked hard again, opening up her throat as best as she could from that angle. It felt like he had three fingers thrusting up inside her and another finger slicked and moving inside her ass. She moaned around his cock, the vibration making Loki grunt in pleasure. "Do you yield to me?" he groaned, leaning forward a little to look at her eyes. "You lie beneath me at my mercy," he panted, thrusting a little harder against her mouth. "Do you yield?"
Obviously, Natasha couldn't speak with his cock in her mouth. For now, she thought, jerking her chin slightly. The pressure of his magic was steady, keeping her coasting on the edge of orgasm without letting her tip over. She wanted to come, needed to come, and he knew it. He was the only one that could let it happen, and he reveled in this moment of mastery.
He seemed to see her answer in her eyes. Loki thrust into her mouth until he came, bitter against her tongue. Only then did the magic move faster against her clit and inside her. Natasha nearly screamed as the pleasure hit her, nearly whiting out her vision.
The magical bonds loosened, but Natasha couldn't move. She felt wrung out and exhausted, utterly spent. Loki shifted position to kneel beside her sprawled body. He tenderly stroked her cheek, watching her fluttering breath.
"One day," he said softly in a possessive tone of voice. "You will not fight the fate I give you."
Natasha gave him a lazy smile and pulled him down beside her. "We'll see."
Loki licked her lips and pressed his lips against the tip of her nose. With an amused smile, he licked her eyelids and laughed at her puzzled expression. "I'll find you, Natasha," he murmured, moving to lick at the shell of her ear. "Wherever you are, I will find you. Perhaps I will help you save your innocent souls, perhaps not." He moved to nuzzle her neck. "When you are ready, I'll take you back. Same time and place, as I promised."
She pulled his head up to give him a kiss. "In a little while."
Grinning, he kissed her back and moved to cover her body with his. "Yes. In a little while."
***
***
To Chapter Three - Connections
Series: #4 in Ready For The Siege
(#1 - Look Over Your Shoulder, #2 - Armed Up To The Teeth, #3 - Misery Inspires)
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Loki/Natasha
Disclaimer: Not mine! Some comic backstory is incorporated into characterizations, but this is still primarily movieverse. Incoprorates a prompt from avengerkink round 7: I'd love to see Loki bring someone right to the edge again and again, but never letting them come. Not even when they're a quivering, whimpering mess, begging him for release. and also a prompt from round 4: Loki knows all of Natasha's secrets, and uses them to break her down completely. I want pyschological torture and Loki being relentless and cruel.
Spoilers/Warnings: Post-movie. Screwed up people doing screwed up things to and with each other, though that might be a draw. ;)
Title and series title from "The Royal We" by Silversun Pickups
Summary: Loki might have had some plans for Natasha, but that didn't mean he didn't intend to have a little fun with her first. It was only too bad that she didn't figure that out until it was far too late.
Previous chapter:
One - Glittering Shards of Ice
Two - Out Of Time
"He said I missed a week."
Clint looked at Natasha, who was sitting on a hospital bed in the helicarrier's infirmary. She had a mulish expression on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Otherwise, she looked exactly the same as when he had last seen her. She knew all the proper authorization codes when Fury and Hill had interrogated her, and the medical team had cleared her of any active infections, pathogens or toxins. Her hair, blood and urine samples all matched tissue samples kept on file, so this was the same person they had dealt with.
He still found it difficult to let go of his mistrust, however. This was Loki they were dealing with, after all. Something underhanded had to be happening.
"You were gone for nine days," Clint said after a moment.
That gave Natasha pause, and she looked over at him in surprise. "Directory Fury didn't say that it was nine days. Then again, he was too busy interrogating me."
"Did you think he wouldn't?"
Natasha shook her head and unfolded her arms. "No, I rather expected that. I tried to catalogue everything I saw, any scrap of information I could get about him."
"What did you do there?" he asked, curious. He sat down across from her, impulsively reaching out to grasp her wrist. Before she had been taken, he thought there were extra lines on her wrists, something like scars that had faded. Looking at it now, he was sure of it, and didn't think Natasha had injured herself.
"Took a bath. Had a nap. Fucked Loki."
Her voice was so bland and emotionless, and Clint looked up in surprise. "Wait, what?"
"I would have guessed only a day or two passed at most," she continued in that same flat tone, giving him a half shrug. She probably didn't want to worry him, but that kind of thing only made Clint worry even more about her.
"Natasha..."
"He's powerful, and playing at being a god. But he is lonely and sensory deprived. I know how to work with that. I've worked with that before."
Clint wanted to sigh and pull at his hair in frustration at those words. "He's planning something, you know he is. He doesn't have your best interests at heart, and I worry about you," he said, finally admitting it aloud.
"You know what I have to do sometimes," Natasha told him, eyebrow raised at him in query.
He did, which was part of the problem. She would go to any lengths whatsoever to get the final objective done, as if her own needs weren't as important. She would become anyone and anything, and Clint was afraid she would lose herself in the process. No matter how often she reassured him she was still herself, he couldn't help but wonder if it was true. Her mind had been fragmented so badly since childhood, and he had experienced it only once. That one time had shaken him to the core, leaving him unable to imagine going through that repeatedly.
Her hand was warm over his, and she leaned into his personal space. It wasn't to tempt or distract him, but to reassure him of her presence. "Clint," she murmured.
"This is different. He's different, you know that."
"I do."
"There's a game he's playing. If he's not after Jane Foster and her bridge, if he isn't interested in the Bifrost and Asgard, we don't know what he'll go for. We don't know what his play is, so it's going to be that much harder to predict him."
Natasha nodded, and Clint knew she would have considered this herself while locked away with Loki. Still, he had to remind her, if only to keep himself from shaking her. She was stubborn, though, and nothing he said would deter her, really.
"You have to keep yourself safe," Clint murmured, slinging an arm around her shoulders. It was possibly too demonstrative, too possessive, but she allowed it. "I will do whatever I can to help you, you know this. Even if Fury won't allow it, I will be there. You have friends, Tash. Don't let Loki take you away from them."
"I won't," Natasha promised, her gaze perfectly clear and her expression as earnest as Clint had ever seen it.
Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was lying.
***
Armed with two Glock 19 pistols, about a thousand rounds of 9 mm ammunition and the proper headgear, Natasha walked into the range. It was deserted, which was not usual for that time of day. Frowning slightly, she took in the lanes and the sensors for each one. They were all functioning properly, and the clerk at the armory hadn't mentioned anything wrong with the range or that the time was allotted for a special class.
Stepping forward, Natasha looked for a slight shimmer in the air that might signal displaced light or a portal of some kind. She could only think that this was Loki's doing, given how often he seemed to find her in random places and times.
Sure enough, she found it in a corner of the range. The displacement was only noticeable because she was searching for it, and was roughly Loki-sized. Natasha thought of calling for Clint or Steve for an instant, then dismissed it. This was her op, her intel. She would have to handle it herself, not go calling for backup before she even ascertained the threat.
Natasha walked directly to the shimmer, which gradually resolved itself into Loki. He was wearing that black suit and forest green shirt she had seen him wear while walking around in New York City, his expression lighting up in amusement. "It seems you have found me again, dear spider," he said softly.
"It's a question of knowing where to look."
If anything, that reply made him laugh, throwing his head back and exposing the smooth column of his throat. She remembered digging her hands into his windpipe, or pressing her lips to the skin to make him shiver beneath her. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that she carried pistols with her and had been intending to shoot them; Loki clearly was up to something, but Natasha didn't have enough clues to guess at what he was up to yet.
Loki reached for her, a slight jerk betraying a hesitance to touch her. "Do you know me so well, then?" he asked.
"Does anyone?" she asked back. That earned her a slight twitch of a smile, and she nodded at him slightly. "What brings you here?"
"I thought to watch you."
"Is that why no one else is here?"
Now his smile was wide and as genuine as she had ever seen it. "A slight glamour, a trace of fear to chase away the weak minded. I wouldn't have our time interrupted."
Natasha laid a hand on his chest, confident he wouldn't move out of the way. "It matters that much to you?" she asked, slight curiosity in her tone.
"You are amusing to me," Loki said, a sharp edge to his voice. Ah. Falling back on sarcasm and grandiosity again. She had struck a nerve, though she didn't know what exactly had triggered it. Was it that she saw through him? Or that she was unsettling his plans for her?
"I have training planned for this afternoon." Natasha let her hand trail down his chest invitingly, suppressing a smile when he looked down at her hand. He was entranced, longing for some kind of contact. Of that she was certain.
He needed recognition, however he could get it. She just had to give him the right kind, and he might actually want to stay with SHIELD willingly.
"You are quite skilled," Loki murmured.
"Perhaps. But there's always someone better. Or at least better prepared." Loki watched as she stepped back, lips quirking into a slight smile. "Care to try a weapon of your own? The entire range is open to us, and I only need one lane."
Pondering for a moment, Loki finally nodded. "I haven't used that type. That isn't the way of Asgardians or Jotunn."
"They're more melee combatants, aren't they?"
"Your archer friend would not feel misplaced in their company."
Natasha nodded slowly, thinking of how Clint and Thor could bond over movies, popcorn and talk about weapons. "Perhaps. Some things never really change, do they?"
"Oh?"
"The need to protect what's yours."
He was at her side in an instant, glowering down at her. "You play games, little spider."
"Do I?" she asked, looking up at him without fear. "You wait for me with glamours, you pretend to be an agent, you whisk me away to some kind of dimension and leave me trapped there for nine days and don't send word to those that know me."
His smile was a shark's bearing of teeth. "Those are trifles."
"I don't need trifles," Natasha told him, turning and walking toward one of the open lanes. Her back was to him, and she walked tall and proud, as if his glowering figure meant nothing. As she thought he might, he rushed after her. "I intend to practice here, Loki. What are your intentions?"
"Today? Nothing untoward."
"At least there's that."
He watched her take out the Glock and check that the chamber was empty before loading in a magazine and beginning to shoot at the target. His presence didn't throw off her aim or stance, and she made sure she had tight, precise groupings over different parts of the figure. She hit the return to change paper targets, but Loki snapped his fingers and the used target was neatly exchanged for a fresh one. Natasha nodded her thanks, then sent the target back to the fifty yard mark on the lane. She went through about half of her supply before switching out to the second Glock, and she didn't bother explaining for Loki's benefit, even though the curiosity was evident on his face. In utter silence, she checked the second pistol, loaded it, and proceeded to fire at the target. Every time she changed or reloaded magazines, he switched used targets for fresh ones, watching her spare, efficient movements carefully.
"I don't think I like those kinds of weapons," Loki said slowly, when Natasha finished with all of her ammunition. She swept the shells away and scooped them up into the bin, and moved back to the table with the Glocks to return them to their cases.
"It's not your style, no," Natasha agreed.
"You use that weapon with either hand," he observed.
"It pays to be prepared."
He stood behind her as she snapped the cases shut, then trailed his long fingers down her arms until they rested at her wrists. The scar on her abdomen throbbed painfully, as if it wanted to pull right through her body to connect with him. "I would try one of those, perhaps, but it is too impersonal, too distant."
It was what she had thought. Not enough recognition, no way to feed his ego.
"What was your plan for today?" she asked, putting the cases down and turning around in the circle of his arms. Her scar twitched and fell silent, simple scar tissue once more.
Loki smiled, a possessive baring of teeth. "Come with me. Let me take you from here, where we may speak at length."
Natasha lofted an eyebrow at him. "Am I going to lose nine days again?"
He chuckled. "Not unless you wish it."
"I don't," she said firmly.
"Then we may leave and return to this same time, as if we had never left at all."
"That would be a neat trick. I'll believe it when I see it," she commented dryly.
"You don't trust me," Loki said, a playful pout on his lips.
"I think you've made it clear so far that I shouldn't," Natasha returned easily. There were certain things she could count on when it came down to this man, but absolute trust would be a long time in coming for anyone.
He chuckled again and wound his arms around her. "Perhaps I could earn that trust."
Natasha thought of asking why he would want to, but instead merely quirked her lips. "Let's see you try," she challenged. That would be more effective for him than subtle digs into his psyche.
The air shimmered around them, more controlled than the rapid portal he had used at Stark Tower. Or Avengers Tower, as she should probably start thinking of it. Loki walked backward, leading her forward into the portal, through time and space and into his icy cell. It looked the same as before, though the ink spill was cleaned up. Natasha reached up and touched his jaw gently, startling him. "You are very good at being in control," she murmured.
"As are you," he returned, tilting his head so that his lips pressed against her palm. "That kind of control you have is extremely hard won, is it not?"
"It was," she agreed, not bothering to elaborate. "Much as I imagine yours was."
Of course, the thing of it was, at times he had no control at all. There was a flash of surprise on his features before the indifferent mask settled back into place. "Perhaps," he allowed after a moment, gaze raking across her face. "Would you give up that control to me?"
"Why would I want to do that?" she asked. He might have remembered their second encounter, outside of her safe house in the city. Perhaps he remembered she was turned on by being tied up and held, control wrested from her but consent still hers to give. Natasha's insides seemed to flutter a bit in anticipation.
Loki grinned and lifted her up easily so that they were at eye level. "In some ways, little spider, I don't think you've been challenged overmuch. I saw you, in that insipid little bar as you made your appointment with pieces of filth. I saw you scrabbling for scraps of information, working your way through the shadows. You try so hard to understand, to act on behalf of your masters, and I see something in you needing more."
Her mouth was dry, her breath caught in her chest. "And what do you suppose that more would be, Loki?" she asked, voice even and cool despite the sudden burst of adrenaline in her system. He was dangerous, just as she was, and he saw far too much into her, just as she saw far too much into him. She would have to tread even more carefully.
"I can give you more," he purred. "I can take control, show you how sweet surrender can be. I can be a master you can serve."
Natasha let out a bored sigh, though her heart skipped a beat. "This again?"
"This time, it would be a more personal level. Natasha," he purred, leaning in closely. "It's lonely," he said, his voice an intimate caress. "Holding yourself apart, not able to lean on those fools you work with. For a time, you can be mine." He gave a brilliant smile that managed to look almost shy at the same time. "And perhaps, for a time later, I can be yours."
She touched his face with both of her hands, thumbs brushing at the corner of his mouth. "What are you proposing, then?"
"Shall we satisfy our needs together, you and I? I don't think your fellows would understand this, or would be able to surrender to me." He looked at her earnestly. "I perhaps went about it the wrong way before. Your kind has changed over centuries, ours has not. Collectively, there is no wish to be ruled, but individually, momentarily... That, I can give you."
"And it would satisfy your needs as well, wouldn't it?"
"We all have needs, dear one," Loki replied, a sad smile on his face. "Some we can meet, some we cannot. Some things we can never have."
Natasha smiled when he sucked one of her thumbs into his mouth, his teeth lightly abrading her skin. "Then show me what you mean. Let's see what you can do."
"You didn't do your worst to me," he reminded her. "Would you have me try my hand at it?"
Now her smile was genuine. "Give it your best shot."
Loki removed her clothing slowly, mouth hovering over her bared skin. Occasionally he pressed his lips or tongue there, smiling when she shivered in the cold. "Would you still say magic is cheating, dear spider?" he asked, breath warm against her navel.
"Depends on how you use it," she replied.
"To be sure you submit to me," he said, looking up at her. He was kneeling in front of her, hands at her knees. Natasha knew he was kneeling only to undress her, not to imply weakness or that she was superior to him. He was smirking, in fact, making her think he had all sorts of rather depraved things he would like to do with his magic.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, appreciating the silken softness for a moment. "You can use your magic this time, then."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than his magic held her wrists and ankles. She was maneuvered over to his pile of sleeping furs, which tickled her bare skin. It was comfortable, but she was definitely securely bound and unable to move from her spread-eagled position. She could turn her head, but nothing else. Loki loomed over her, a satisfied expression on his face, and then he moved to her side and kissed her thoroughly. Natasha couldn't help but respond to him licking into her mouth as one hand slid down her stomach, his fingers brushing across her scar on their way to the juncture of her thighs. He chuckled into the kiss when her abdomen twitched and she tried to twist beneath his touch. She couldn't move at all, and her breath quickened in anticipation.
More magic was applied, as she could feel ghostly hands caressing her breasts and pinching her nipples as his actual hand carded through her pubic hair before tracing her folds. Natasha tried to keep herself from moaning, but it was almost too much sensory input. Loki was licking her lips, paying them careful attention while the magic filled her, teased her and brought her just to the edge of orgasm. All sensation abruptly stopped then, and she cursed viciously. Loki laughed and sat back on his haunches. "It burns you to have come so close."
"You smug bastard," Natasha said, trying to get herself under control. "Are you even going to finish things?"
"I told you, darling spider," he purred, leaning in to lick one taut nipple. "You must cede control to me completely. You haven't done that yet, have you?"
"The last ones that tried doing that are dead now. Plan to join that illustrious company?"
Loki laughed. "You'll beg me for release. And perhaps I will even give it to you. Someday."
Natasha struggled a little, but it was no use. She hadn't been expecting this, though she probably should have. Her anger now was as much embarrassment for being so easily caught with her emotions exposed as it was for being at his mercy. His touch on her abdomen now was soothing but not sexual, making her ground her teeth together in frustration. She wanted, so badly, and he was going to be a fucking tease about it. Perhaps her old marks used to feel this way when she taunted them, but at least she gave them a good time in the process.
When her heart rate and breathing slowed, Loki knelt down and suckled on one of her breasts. One hand was still on her abdomen, the other was at her side but not touching her. She managed to suppress a groan of frustration, but then the magic touches started in again. Ghostly fingers slid through her slippery folds and touched her clit with lazy strokes, and another mouth latched onto her other breast. Natasha gasped and tried to wriggle a bit, but her hips remained firmly in place. She couldn't twitch against the ghostly touch, making it more intense or speed it up. She could feel him smile against her skin, the smug bastard, and she was determined not to beg for release no matter what he did.
Though Natasha tried to resist succumbing to Loki's touch again, the magic had the effect of four pairs of hands working at her flesh. Her breath quickened in spite of herself, and she squeezed her eyes shut to avoid looking at his expression. That made the sensation more intense, so that she could feel two fingers rubbing at her clit, two fingers inside her, a third rubbing at her backside, one hand pinching her nipple and a separate pair of hands caressing her thighs and calves. Loki moved to lick at her lips again, so another ghostly hand materialized to flick the wet nipple he abandoned. Natasha moaned against his mouth, her eyes opening slightly. Instead of looking smug the way she thought he would, he seemed to be just as lost in the sensation as she was. Perhaps this magic use was an extension of his mind after all.
The magic touches abruptly stopped again as Loki leaned back on his haunches. There was a slight flush to his pale cheeks, and the heavy lidded gaze told Natasha how aroused he was. Still, he was more interested in denying her release until she begged for it, damn him.
"Has anyone treated you so?" he asked, an undercurrent of lust evident to his voice.
"No," she replied shortly. Though she tugged again, the magical bonds held fast. "I was trained to kill and to move without being seen since childhood," she said, looking at him evenly.
Loki ran a finger along the L shaped scar he had given her. "I suppose in that, our lives ran in parallel, have they not?" He smiled gently, an almost tender expression on his face. "Yet you have boon companions and I do not."
"We've made different choices along the way."
"Do you really think you can erase all the red dripping from your ledger?"
"I can try."
"Would it make you any less a murderer? Any less evil?"
Natasha got the feeling he wasn't talking about her sins anymore, but let it pass. She had agreed to bow to his whims so far, though she really didn't plan to cede control, only the appearance of it. "I'm looking for balance."
"Can there be balance? With that much red?"
His gaze burned, and the scar beneath his finger seemed to throb in agony. That drove all remnant of pleasure from her system. "Perhaps if enough innocents are saved, I'll find it."
"Are there truly innocent souls out there?" he asked, and the scar burned in sympathy.
"Yes."
"Interesting."
She hadn't thought she was giving anything away, but Loki behaved as though she had. Once more the magic touch descended upon her. Natasha gasped at the abrupt sensory change. Now her scar seemed overly sensitive to touch, pleasure flooding through her instead of pain. Magic stroked her clit and labia, caressed her thighs and belly, delved into her soaking center and suckled at her breasts. Loki was naked now, and she readily opened her mouth to take in his cock. He thrust deep into her, hitting the back of her throat, his own breath a hiss of pleasure. She was filled and surrounded by his presence, unable to buck up against him. Natasha sucked hard on him, making him cry out. In reflex, the magic touches were harder, more sure against her flesh, making her nearly spasm from how close she was riding to orgasm.
He might have wanted to pull back again, but Natasha sucked hard again, opening up her throat as best as she could from that angle. It felt like he had three fingers thrusting up inside her and another finger slicked and moving inside her ass. She moaned around his cock, the vibration making Loki grunt in pleasure. "Do you yield to me?" he groaned, leaning forward a little to look at her eyes. "You lie beneath me at my mercy," he panted, thrusting a little harder against her mouth. "Do you yield?"
Obviously, Natasha couldn't speak with his cock in her mouth. For now, she thought, jerking her chin slightly. The pressure of his magic was steady, keeping her coasting on the edge of orgasm without letting her tip over. She wanted to come, needed to come, and he knew it. He was the only one that could let it happen, and he reveled in this moment of mastery.
He seemed to see her answer in her eyes. Loki thrust into her mouth until he came, bitter against her tongue. Only then did the magic move faster against her clit and inside her. Natasha nearly screamed as the pleasure hit her, nearly whiting out her vision.
The magical bonds loosened, but Natasha couldn't move. She felt wrung out and exhausted, utterly spent. Loki shifted position to kneel beside her sprawled body. He tenderly stroked her cheek, watching her fluttering breath.
"One day," he said softly in a possessive tone of voice. "You will not fight the fate I give you."
Natasha gave him a lazy smile and pulled him down beside her. "We'll see."
Loki licked her lips and pressed his lips against the tip of her nose. With an amused smile, he licked her eyelids and laughed at her puzzled expression. "I'll find you, Natasha," he murmured, moving to lick at the shell of her ear. "Wherever you are, I will find you. Perhaps I will help you save your innocent souls, perhaps not." He moved to nuzzle her neck. "When you are ready, I'll take you back. Same time and place, as I promised."
She pulled his head up to give him a kiss. "In a little while."
Grinning, he kissed her back and moved to cover her body with his. "Yes. In a little while."
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To Chapter Three - Connections