Unfettered (Loki x Reader)

Chapter 6 - More Flies with Honey

After tossing and turning all night, it's the aroma of fresh, roasted coffee beans that finally pulls you from your nest of twisted sheets. Grabbing your Stark Industries-issued cell from the bedside table, you see it's only half-past five. You toss your cell aside, and follow your nose in a zombie-like trance out of your room, your bare feet slapping against the marble floors.

"You look awful," Natasha snarks as you shuffle around the corner with a yawn, rubbing the lack of sleep from your eyes.

"Thanks," you grumble back, heading straight for the coffee maker.

Natasha holds her mug between her palms just beneath her lips. Her eyes follow you across the kitchen to the cabinets, then over to the coffee pot. The empty coffee pot. 

"Of all the mornings," you sigh dramatically, setting your empty mug down on the counter.

Natasha hums in quiet laughter, setting her own mug aside and wandering over to the pot. "It's early. Even for me," she says. "I didn't think anyone would be up for another couple hours."

"You couldn't sleep either?" you ask.

"I don't do well with strangers in my house," she says stoically, pulling out the old filter and replacing it with a new one.

As Natasha scoops out fresh grounds, you notice that she's already dressed. And in her gear, no less. The same gear she had been wearing the night before. She even has her pistols in her holsters. Natasha never wears her gear in the tower.

"Wait," you say suspiciously. "Did you stay up on watch on Loki's floor last night?"

Natasha hums in response as she grabs the salt, throwing just a pinch in with the grounds before running the maker. "The first night in any prison is when you're most tempted to do something stupid," she says. "Just wanted to make sure he didn't do something, you know, stupid."

"Like what?" you laugh. "Escape? Thor brought Tony materials from that Asgard place to fortify the floor. He even used some kind of magic dust in a bag on all the windows and the balcony door to seal it off magically. He can't get out."

"He's a god," Natasha says, watching the coffee drip into the pot in a steady stream. "I'd bet he can do a hell of a lot more than we think he can."

"So...did he try anything?" you ask, curious.

"Not as far as I can tell," Natasha says. "But I stayed in the security chamber. And there's no cameras in there, so I couldn't watch him."

"Well, if he didn't try anything that's good, I guess," you say thoughtfully. "Maybe he's accepted his situation."

Natasha stifles a laugh, but ends up snorting as she pours your coffee. "Sure he has," she says sarcastically.

You shrug. "Regardless, he's stuck in there. He's not going anywhere."

"If you say so," she sings, sliding your full mug over to you before grabbing hers from the table and heading back toward the hall. But before she rounds the corner, she stops, and catches your eye. "How are you gonna do it?" she asks, a biting curiosity in her gaze.

"Do what?" you ask.

"Get him to tell you what he knows," she says.

"You're the spy," you say. "How would you do it?"

Natasha smirks. "Thor said they questioned him the entire month they were in Asgard," she says, completely ignoring your question. "They didn't get a thing out of him. So how are you gonna do it?"

You laugh and shake your head. "Honestly?" you say. "I have no idea."

"Well when you figure it out, let me know," she says. "And if you need an extra gun when you go in there, don't hesitate to ask."