When Natasha had returned from her mission to S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, she could feel the tension in the room where Clint and Fury were in. And the way Clint's face showed many emotions (—It was so easy to read all his emotions by just looking at his face. He tried to hide it, but Natasha was able to read them.)
Betrayal, fear and absolute terror were written on his face.
And she felt concerned about her teammate because she had never seen him like this since the invasion of Newyork.
Only the mention of Loki could make all these emotions appear.
"Thor had brought that motherfucker back to Earth." Fury had said angrily and he felt helpless because he wouldn't be able to do anything.
Tony fucking Stark has threatened to spill every S.H.I.E.L.D's deep secrets, and the way Captain America was overprotective of S.H.I.E.L.D's most wanted criminal.
And don't forget about Thor, Fury doesn't want to enter into a war with Asgard by harming its prince.
It was impossible to put the asshole in a cell. And on top of that, he was a fucking child with no memories of what he had done.
Fury was, well, furious.
"And they are saying that there is someone else behind his attack." Clint said, calmly, but Natasha could hear the tremor in his voice. Many nights went without a hint of sleep, filled with exhaustion and the waiting for an attack or anything bad that might happen.
That's why Natasha had returned back to the tower after Thor departure, to asses the situation in her own view—
Because what if Loki was trapped in his small body, but faking it?
They still can't believe that Odin is the one who returned him to his younger self.
The first time she went to the tower, Loki never left Steve or Tony's side, he was looking at her as if she would beat him. She observed his every move, reporting everything to Fury.
"So, the motherfucker is still acting?" Fury had said to her. He was enraged because he was sure that Loki was up to something.
"No, I am sure this is not an act." (—because Loki was showing his vulnerable side in front of them. All of his childhood secrets were bared to them. "And he doesn't have any memories about anything, Director Fury."
********
"— and then I transformed back into myself." She could hear Loki talking excitedly as she approached the common room one day. "And said Ha! It is me." He giggled which made the other person laugh. He was probably Steve and she was right.
Steve and Loki were sitting on the couch, a sketchbook in Steve's hands and he was drawing Loki who tried to not move while he was telling Steve about what happened. It probably has something to do with Thor.
"Thor was angry at me for tricking him," Loki pouted. "But Amma told me that he didn't tell the — father." It was Loki's little slips that made her feel as if Loki was like her in their childhood.
Treated as if they were tools, not human beings, but like monsters. She shudders every time she remembers what they were doing to her in the red room.
"Dreykov and his network of Widows. He takes more every day. Children who don’t have anyone to protect them. Just like us when we were small. Maybe one in twenty survives the training, becomes a Widow. The rest, he kills. To him, we are just things. Weapons with no face that he can just throw away." Yelena had told her and together they would destroy Dreykov and his organization, but they are still planning how they will do it.
She was pulled from her thoughts by Steve's greeting and she could see that Loki was trying to make himself invisible.
"Hey, Steve. '' and as if she didn't notice how Loki was still looking at her in fear. "Hey, Loki. " she said and made her way to the nearest chair as if they sit everyday like this. "What are you both doing?" She asked, expecting an answer from Steve, but it was Loki who answered —
"Steve is drawing me," he said shyly and she tried to smile at him, but she knew she failed because Loki shrinked back in his seat.
She tried to lighten the mood by asking. "Can I see it?" Trying to break the tension that filled the room.
"I didn't finish it, Tasha." Steve blushed. "But I guess it won't be good."
"Everyone knows that you are a good artist, Steve." She said, rolling her eyes because every time She told Steve that, he always denied.
"Yes, Steve." Loki said, trying to not appear like a coward in front of Natasha. And Natasha knows that look on his face —trying to hide the fear in his eyes— because she always had this look when she was young, trying to appear brave. "What Lady Natasha said, it is true." He continued. And isn't that cute? Calling her Lady Natasha. Do all the Asgardians call the ladies by that?
Of course Steve refused to show them the drawing until he finishes it.
So Natasha didn't have anything to ask except —
"So tell me Loki, what are your other pranks on Thor?"
And Loki was hesitant at first, but then when he was sure that she was enjoying her time, he began to talk more freely to her.
************
What also made her become closer to Loki and what surprised her the most was that Loki is not afraid of the Hulk and treated him as any other person.
On that day, something had ticked off Bruce, making him angry. Probably it was Tony, trying to see if the Hulk would come out.
The way Tony was excited when he saw the green colour began to taint Bruce's skin, it seemed as if Tony was a suicidal person.
Loki, on the other hand, was more excited than Tony because he let out a loud squeal -that if the old Loki knew, he would wish to be buried alive- and saying. "Hulky!"
And Natasha was like — What the fuck is wrong with these two? She loves Bruce, but she wasn't comfortable around the Hulk.
"Excuse me," Bruce said, before leaving the room immediately and making his way to the cell that Tony had designed for the Hulk.
"Jarvis." Tony said after Bruce left which made the A.L let out what seemed to be a sigh.
"Yes, sir." Natasha could hear the sound of the elevator and she didn't register what Tony would do (—she is known to predict what would happen, but with Tony, it seems she would never be able to predict his next moves.)
Apparently Loki was thinking the same way as Tony because as soon as the door of the elevator opened, he and Tony rushed to it and didn't give her and Steve any time to register what they were doing. And that made her and Steve look at each other and with a sigh from Steve. "I guess we have to follow these two." He said.
When they reached the floor that held the Hulk's cell, Natasha found Loki talking to the Hulk excitedly, his hand was on the glass and the Hulk's large hand was on the other side of the glass and he didn't seem to be angry.
"I want to enter." Loki said, looking at Tony who was watching the whole scene with a soft smile as if he was —
A parent proud of his own son and Natasha's eyes narrowed at that — the idea of Tony Stark adopting the God of Mischief —
Fury would have a heart attack because of that.
"Why are you keeping him locked up?" Loki continued. "Hulky is our friend."
"Hulk is Loki's friend." Hulk said, he looked upset, not angry, for not being able to reach for his friend. "Hulk won't harm any of his friends."
"Please, Tony, please, please. " Loki kept saying and Tony seemed to be thinking about opening the cell.
"Tony. " Steve said in a warning tone, but of course Tony pretend as if he didn't hear anything because he opened the cage and Loki ran inside it and then —
He hugged the Hulk. His small frame was dwarfed by the Hulk's larger frame.
"You are really big." Loki giggled as if it was the funniest thing he had ever said. "I am happy that I finally met you."
Only Natasha stayed in front of the Hulk's cell until Bruce had gained back control and returned to himself.
And the little God of Mischief was asleep, face nestled in Bruce's chest which made Natasha (who dared to think that this was a cute scene. ) smile.
************
"You have to get back to the tower, Clint." Natasha had told him after she had a small meeting (it only lasted for 7 minutes) with Fury and Clint about Loki.
"He is friends with the Hulk?" Fury looked at her incredulously and at her nod, he sighed and grudgingly accepted the fact that Loki would still be on Earth.
"I told you, Tasha, that I won't enter the tower with him there."
She knew that Clint loves children and she didn't feel any guilt when she used it against him. Maybe Loki would remind him of Lila.
"He is just a kid and he doesn't remember anything." She said and continued hesitantly. "Besides, maybe he wasn't the one behind the attack, he was coerced to attack Earth."
Clint's jaw clenched and he glared at her, but she was trying to let him think about Loki in a different way (—if someone told her before that she would think like that, she would have killed them.)
"And what made you change your opinion about him like that?" Clint narrowed his eyes, trying to know why everyone, even Natasha, is okay with this bastard.
"He reminds me of myself." Natasha said quietly. Clint could see the vulnerability that showed on her face and his face softened.
"But I can't, Tasha. He is—"
(Loki, the bastard who made him kill people and his friends.)
"He is just a kid now. Give him a chance." Natasha said. "Maybe you could change your mind about him."
*********
Because of all what happened and after Loki's breakdown and telling them what Odin and the kids were doing to him in Asgard, Natasha found herself the next day, asking Thor if she could borrow Loki for some time.
They were sitting in her room in the tower, brushing Loki's hair who had turned into a girl to show her one of his new dresses.
Aladdin was playing in front of them on the T.V and Loki was horrified when Genie— (who was blue like Stitch and the frost giants, but both of them were nicer than the frost giants.)— used magic.
How could he use magic in front of all these people? Loki had asked Lady Natasha, but she said magic is cool and maybe Loki could show her his magic too.
It is like what Tony had said to him! And Loki couldn't believe that they wanted to see his magic.
"Can I join you?" Loki heard Sir Clint speaking from the entrance of Lady Natasha floor and he hid himself before Sir Clint saw his female form.
"Loki," Natasha said softly. "Clint won't say anything. Besides, if he said something, I would kick him, right Clint?" She said, looking at Clint when she said the last two words.
"Unfortunately that's right." Clint said awkwardly (Natasha had told him to try to act nicer around Loki and spend more time with him.) "It's okay, Loki."
Okay, that is very awkward — Clint thought. How the hell is he going to teach him?
Loki came out of his hiding which was really awful because he was still visible to Clint. And Loki looked at Clint who waved at him shyly.
Apparently girl Loki wasn't different from boy Loki. They had the same emerald eyes and their faces were the same. The only difference is girl Loki's long hair.
"So what are you doing?" Clint asked and looked at the T.V. to find Aladdin. "Watching Aladdin? It is really a good movie." (One of Lila's favorite movies, but Clint wouldn't mention that.)
"Yes, I like this movie." Loki said, returning back to his relaxed self and Lady Natasha resumed brushing his hair.
Natasha was looking at Clint who kept his eyes firmly locked on the screen, trying to avoid looking at her, but when he couldn't resist and when his gaze landed on her, she mouthed a 'thank you'.
Clint nodded at her and then sighed, another awkward moment. "Are you finished, Tasha?" He asked, motioning for Loki's hair because he asks this to Laura every time she makes a hairdo to Lila.
"Yes, what do you think about it?" Natasha asked and Loki looked at Clint nervously, apparently waiting for his response.
"It looks beautiful—. " and Clint wasn't lying because even if this is Loki, he couldn't deny that the little girl in front of him is cute.
And maybe Clint would like to spend more time getting to know little Loki.
********
Loki had fun today with Lady Natasha and Sir Clint. Finally, Sir Clint is treating him nicely. And Thor didn't say anything bad about Loki's female form, he even said that he didn't know that he had a beautiful sister! And that made Loki giggle and hug Thor.
"You could be whoever you want, Loki." Thor said to him. "You will still be the best brother or sister in the whole nine realms."
But of course, the day had to end and Loki sulked when Thor told him that it was his bedtime.
He is the prince of Asgard, he was old enough to have a bedtime — he had told Thor that, but Thor shook his head and told him that he could have more fun tomorrow. Besides, Loki's mouth (the traitor) was yawning a lot indicating that Loki wanted to sleep.
As soon as Loki's head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep, but he wished that he didn't sleep because the nightmares were back after the night when he woke up in the middle of the night and not knowing what woke him up.
The scene in front of him was terrifying, darkness surrounded the place, but Loki could see a figure huddled at the corner of what seemed like a cell. He couldn't see the face of that person because his face was buried between his hands, the only thing that was visible was his black hair and Loki could see that his body was shaking by sobs (that the person couldn't hold.)
"Brother—" a sob came out of this person and Loki wanted to reach out to help him, but he was afraid. "Please—" and then another sob. "I am sorry, brother."
Why is his brother not here to help him? Why is his brother not like Thor?
Loki could hear another voice in his dream which sent a shiver down his spine.
"What do you want us to do with him, master?" An ugly creature said and Loki tried to hide himself so as to not be seen by these two creatures.
But the voice sounded vaguely familiar to Loki.
"Everything is going according to my plan." The other creature said —his skin colour was purple, that was all Loki was able to see. "Loki Odinson is finally broken.'' it continued, gazing into little Loki's direction as of knowing that Loki was there—
And Loki screamed as all he felt was pain in his mind.
Thor was talking to Lady Jane when he heard his brother's scream. He hurriedly ended the call and made his way to their room quickly.
Loki was still screaming and he was shaking violently. And what made it worst was the green light that came out of his hands, destroying anything that hit.
It was Loki's magic, Thor had never seen his brother acting like that since Loki's magic had grown more powerful and he couldn't control it.
"PLEASE! I beg you! I want to get out of here. " Loki pleaded as Thor touched him when he stopped using his magic.
Thor felt his heart shatter because what if Loki is dreaming about what happened during his fall or about what Odin had done to him?
"Loki. Please listen to me." Thor tried again to reach for his brother and even though Loki flinched, Thor was able to hold him. "You are not there, brother. It is only a dream." He tried to make Loki relax. "I am Thor, brother. And I promised you nothing shall harm you." Thor felt like crying because he couldn't bear to see his brother like this.
Why the Norns have to treat his brother like that? What did his brother do, so that the Norns are punishing him like that?
That was so unfair. Thor wanted to yell at them because why his sweet Loki, his heart and soul, has to suffer in his life?
"I only wanted to be your equal." Why everyone was cruel to his little brother, even him.
And the Norns made everything worse because Thor could feel his skin burn from Loki's touch. He yelped, but didn't let go of Loki. Even if it is burn, he didn't want to let go.
"Thor?" He heard the Steve's confused voice from the entrance of the room. And he found Clint and Tony standing behind him, but their gazes were on Loki.
His hand was still burning and when he looked at Loki, he meet Loki's crimson eyes that were staring at him confusedly.
"Brother." Thor let out a shaky breth, but then Loki's gaze flickered to his hands.
Loki's body tensed and he looked at Thor with a panic look on his face.
"I do not want this illusion, Thor." He said in a panicked voice. Tears that formed in the shape of ice fell from his eyes. "I can't changed it."
"Brother, it is — " Thor tried to say, but Loki cut him off.
"Make it go away. " he yelled and tried to get out from Thor's grip, but he couldn't. "I don't want it!"
"Loki, please calm down." Steve said as he made his way to the bed. And it seemed like Loki had noticed the others for the first time because he panicked more and then he vanished.
"Fuck." Tony sweared. "Jarvis, where did he go?"
What if Loki teleportated outside the tower?
"Sir," Jarvis said immediately. "He is in your lab."
Thor didn't waste any time as he ran to the elevator, and Tony was the one who reached it after him.
"Is he still in the lab, Jarvis?"
"Yes, Sir." Jarvis replied to Tony's question.
Thor was waiting impatiently and once the elevator reached the Lab's floor, of course he couldn't access it.
"Stark—"
But Tony didn't say any snark as he let Thor enter the lab, he was also worried about Loki.
Thor could hear the others arrival, but he paid them no mind as he searched for his brother. He could hear the sound of Tony's bots, he looked in their direction and found Loki huddled in the lab's corner, his skin has returned back to its pale colour. Loki wastrying to make himself even smaller than he is. He was shaking violently while one of the bots was making sounds as if it was upset.
"Brother." Thor said and hesitate to move closer to his brother when Loki flinched.
"Dum-E and U, go away from Loki." Tony said because the bots were still there, trying to console Loki and they chipped unhappily, but they obeyed their master after Tony gave them the look.
Thor approached his brother and crouched to be on the same level as he. "Brother—"
But Loki shook his head. "I a-am a-a m-mons-ster, Thor. " he said, hugging himself tighter than before.
"No, you are not. You are my brother." Thor said softly. He etched to reach for Loki, but he waited.
"B-but I-I am a frost giant." He said quietly, but Thor could hear and it seemed that the others heard it too. "That is why f-father h-hates me, right?" Loki asked hesitantly. "B-But I do not understand why you and mother love me?"
And that is when Clint had had enough of this racism and the way Loki was raised to hate his own kind even if he wasn't aware of it. (Thor had told them that Loki was adopted and that's why it had driven Loki to what he did before he fell, but he didn't mention that Loki is from a different race that viewed as monsters in Asgard.)
"Fuck Odin! You're not a monster. You're Thor's brother even if it's not by blood. " Clint tried to make his voice gentle, but inside himself he was angry. "And your mother loves you because you are like Thor, it doesn't matter if you are from her blood or not. She will always love." Clint hoped that he was right.
Loki looked at Thor and Clint nervously as if he couldn't believe what they were saying because the frost giants are monster — all of them.
Loki looked at Steve and Tony because what if they are seeing him as a monster? Would he lose them?
"I don't know why they are telling that in Asgard, but all I know is that you are Loki and I don't care from where you come from." Steve said. "No one is a monster if he didn't do anything bad."
"Oh, I want to say something." Tony raised his hand as if asking for a permission to talk which made Loki giggle and a smile appeared on his face. "You are my science buddy, besides Bruce, so you are awesome. Loki. Defintly not a monster. "
Thor looked at his friends, he was grateful that they accepted Loki. And finally Loki has found someone to love him.
"Can you please come closer, brother, " Thor said finally. "Because the way I am sitting is uncomfortable." He said jokingly, and Loki nodded making his way to Thor.
"I will always love you brother. " Thor smiled and hugged him.
"I really want to kill Odin. " Tony muttered and only Steve heard him.
"Yeah, me too. " Steve said because he had seen some of Odin's torture —sewing Loki's mouth. Steve shudders every time he thinks about that—and he didn't want to know what Odin uses to do to Loki when he was at this age.
This is so messed up.
*********
Notes : Finally, I edited this chapter. I didn't know at first how I am going to write in Natasha's P.O.V because I wanted to write how she became closer to Loki, well she and Clint, so please tell me your opinion about it.
I was about to cry while Loki was having his nightmare, I didn't want to write torture because that would be a lot to a six years old kid. Revealing his true heritage for him was enough *crying*
I hope you liked this chapter and tell me what do you think about it.