"So?" Natasha says. "How're we feeling 'bout this new arrangement?"

"'New arrangement'?" Steve repeats, a brow raised. "With how the last few weeks have gone, you're gonna have to be a little more specific."

"I was thinking the Loki thing," Natasha says, though he does make a good point. Even just having the team together is a new arrangement. Hell, she'd say even the two of them together is still fairly new in the grand scheme of things, though sometimes, it really feels like they've known each other their whole lives. "You think we can trust him?"

Steve just looks at her for a few moments.

"Okay, stupid question," she concedes. Obviously, they cannot trust him. "Do you think we'll be able to work with him, is a better question." Will he cooperate? Will he listen to them? Will he stab them in the back at the first opportunity?

Steve raises his shoulder in a half-shrug. "I don't know," he admits. "I just hope Thor knows enough to keep a close eye on him. The last thing we need is for him to get too comfortable and let Loki get away with something."

Natasha nods in agreement. "I think we're all gonna have to pitch in on the 'watching Loki' front. If Thor really just sees him as the guy who risked his life for him..."

"He's not gonna hold the reins very tight," Steve finishes for her, lips turning downward in a frown.

"I just hope we can keep his hands off the scepter," Natasha adds. "I don't mind letting him take out some of HYDRA's people for us, but I don't want him anywhere near that thing." She's heard Clint's horror stories of his time under the scepter's control. She's seen the aftermath of those panic-inducing nightmares it's caused. The last thing they want is to give him that power back.

"If we're not letting him go off on his own," Steve says, "we shouldn't have that problem."

Natasha cocks an eyebrow. "What, you think one of us could pry the scepter out of his hands?"

Steve pauses to think about that; then, "I really hope Thor is going to take this seriously."

Natasha huffs. "You and me both," she says. This is either going to be the best or worst thing they could have done, and they won't know which until they finally find this scepter. Honestly, if the stakes weren't so high – letting HYDRA run free with a scepter that can control a person's thoughts and actions sounds like a very bad idea – they wouldn't have considered even for a second letting Loki come aboard. But there's only a chance that Loki will do something bad, and it's a guarantee that HYDRA will. It's a risk, but it's a risk they have to take, even if it's going to make them all very uncomfortable all the while.

Speaking of uncomfortable...

"Has anyone actually seen Loki since he got here?" she asks him. As far as she knows, it's been hours of radio silence. She's not sure how to feel about that.

Steve shakes his head. "Hiding in his room, is my guess."

"And that doesn't weird you out?" she asks. "The fact that we have no idea what he's up to right now?"

"No, not really," Steve admits. "Thor's here. He'll take care of him. That's the deal, right?"

"Well, yeah, but..." She frowns. She's just not sure she trusts that. Unless Thor is going to watch his every move... Loki's the God of Mischief. She can't imagine it takes much time for him to get into something he shouldn't.

Steve sighs and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Don't," he says.

"Don't what?"

"You know what."

Natasha sighs. "Okay, fine," she says. "I'll leave him alone."

"Thank you," Steve says. He gives her a small smile, and she gives him one in return. He really is cute – by far her favorite new teammate-slash-friend to come out of this whole 'teaming up to take down Loki and save the world' thing they got sucked into.

Steve's gaze drops to his hand on her shoulder, and he quickly takes it back, his face flushing a faint shade of red. She can't help but smile to herself. Again, cute. They were just making out on a mall escalator a few weeks ago, but he's too much of a gentleman to touch her shoulder for more than a moment. He really is just adorable.

Needless to say, she really likes Steve. It makes her feel a little bad about what she's about to do.

~~~

Natasha knocks on the door.

She doesn't expect to gain much from a knock, but she does it anyway. She's not trying to start a fight on their first day by barging into his room with no warning. (She's not necessarily against starting a fight today, but she's not actively seeking one out, either.)

But, to her surprise, she's greeted within moments by Loki's voice saying, "Come in."

He sounds very... normal. He sounds human. He doesn't sound like a murderous, manipulative psychopath right now. It's hard to wrap her head around it.

Natasha opens the door slowly, cautiously, and she's met with the sight of Loki lying on his stomach in bed, shirtless and showing off his chiseled back and arms like a whore. It only takes her a moment to figure out why: he has a gaping wound through his back, with a few streaks of dried blood running down his side. She grimaces at the sight. And she'd thought her old gunshot wound was bad. That was nothing compared to this.

Loki furrows his brows, a frown on his lips. "You're not Thor."

"You noticed that, did you?" she quips.

Loki glances around, like he's expecting something else, someone else, until he finally accepts that this is all he's getting. "Can I help you?"

"What're you doing?" she asks, almost conversationally, but with just enough insincerity for him to understand that this is really nothing short of an interrogation.

"Absolutely nothing," Loki answers evenly.

"And you've been doing absolutely nothing for the last..." She looks down at her watch, as though she doesn't already know exactly how long it's been since he arrived. "Four and a half hours?"

"I have," Loki replies. "Is that a problem?" He raises an eyebrow, a challenge of a sort. He knows what she's doing, and he's making it clear that he won't be intimidated.

"It's a little weird, yeah."

"Well, I've never exactly been normal." He flashes her an insincere smile.

She can't help but roll her eyes. "What happened to your shirt?" She doesn't really care; she'd just like to see if she can get him flustered. She'd like to get something out of him beyond this confidence that borders on cockiness.

"I took it off," Loki says, and he doesn't seem at all bothered by the question. "The leather was irritating my stab wound – the wound I got from selflessly risking my life for our dear friend, in case you've forgotten."

"Uh-huh," she hums monotonously.

"If you're worried that I'm going to do something evil" – he rolls his eyes at the word – "I'm afraid you're wasting your time. I am not here to cause problems; I am here to get out of Asgard."

"And why's that?" Natasha asks. "It's gotta be bad if you decided you'd be better off crawling back to us."

Loki plasters on a fake smile. "Maybe I just missed your presence so very much."

Natasha rolls her eyes once more.

Loki pushes himself up with a groan until he's seated with his back against the headboard, and he hikes one knee up as though trying to shield his hands from view as he presses them against his wound. He grimaces, but then his face shifts back to that cocky little smirk he loves so much.

Natasha gestures to him with her chin. "You guys don't have some sort of magic healing spells in Asgard?" For a wound he's had for months, it still looks like shit.

"Not for a wound of this kind," Loki says, whatever that means.

"And you don't think that's going to mess you up when you're trying to get your scepter back?" Natasha asks. "You're just gonna fight with a hole through your chest?"

"I plan to," Loki says. With a sarcastic smile, he asks, "Why? Are you worried about me? Afraid I'll get hurt?"

Natasha huffs. "More like hoping you will." She doesn't mean it, if she's being honest. She doesn't want to have Loki here. Nobody actually wants him here. But he's a powerful ally to have, if a concerning one, given his history of stabbing his allies in the back. If he's going to be here, she'd like him to help. If he finds himself on bedrest, he'll be a nuisance and nothing more – the worst of both worlds.

Loki's eyes crinkle in amusement. "I assume you're here to ensure that I'm not getting up to any mischief?"

"You assume correctly," Natasha tells him. "So? Any mischievous plans for the evening?" It's an insincere question, of course. If he has any mischievous plans, they're certainly not ones he's going to share ahead of time. But she'll be interested to hear what his answer is. Maybe he does have a plan, and he lets something slip without meaning to. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

"Not as of yet," Loki tells her, "but that very well may change in the near future."

Natasha makes a show of grimacing at that. "Ooh, bad answer," she says. "Now we're not gonna be able to leave you alone." She shrugs, an exaggerated apologetic look on her face. "Sorry 'bout that."

"'We'?" Loki repeats, and he raises an eyebrow at the word. "Or you?"

Natasha cocks her head to the side, a silent request for elaboration.

"I will admit, I'm hoping for the latter," Loki tells her. "I suspect the others won't be so..." He pauses, lips pursed as he tries to find the word.

"Hmm?" Natasha raises a brow. "So what?"

Loki takes another moment to think; finally, he settles on, "Lighthearted."

Natasha cracks a smile. She's not quite sure how to take that, but she will admit, she's not upset about it. All she says on the matter is, "I guess we'll see."

"I guess we will," Loki agrees, adjourning a faint smile that matches her own.

"See ya later, Lokes," she says.

"I'm counting on it," Loki replies.

Natasha steps back and begins to close the door, but just before she latches it, she pauses. "Oh, and Loki?"

"Yes?"

"Stay out of trouble, will you?"

Loki chuckles. "I make no promises about that, Agent Romanoff."

Natasha shakes her head to herself and shuts the door.

She doesn't like Loki. She's not going to pretend that's changed. But if his whole stay goes like this conversation did...

Well, it might not be as bad as she'd feared.