Demons and Spiders

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Thor walked them into the castle past crowds of brilliantly dressed Asgardians. Jane walked by his side, shoulders hunched, she was probably feeling what Natasha was, underdressed. Thankfully, no one was paying attention to either girls outfits, the fact that Natasha was carrying an unconscious Clint through the castle seemed to be the main spectacle. Thor offered to carry him but Natasha had waived him off, winking at Jane. She hoped the two would wander off alone. She had knocked him out, carrying his unconscious form around was her burden to bear.

She wasn't sure how the immortal god and future king of this godly realm would make a relationship work with very human, very mortal Jane but part of Natasha was rooting for them. Some part of her that her old masters had been unable to kill. Some part of her the KGB couldn't take away. She squeezed her eyes shut, don't think about your past. Don't think about your past.

She released a strangled breath. It was no coincidence that Clint's recent mind control was bringing her own trauma back up. She was starting to think she hadn't healed at all, she had merely repressed her torture. Which made the things she'd been preaching complete and utter bullshit.

Fury had thrown them on this mission far too soon. Clint wasn't ready in the slightest. And when he found out about Loki walking free, not even the Allfather would be safe from Fury's wrath.

Thor walked them up a grand, winding staircase and she carried Clint with ease. The poor man probably had a foot of height on her but he hadn't been eating, he was losing weight like crazy. Natasha had been surprised that Fury was even willing to send her partner out on missions, the man was clearly not okay. She wasn't sure how to fix him and it sure wasn't time to try.

They soon stopped at a set of twelve-foot high oak doors, with gold filigree swirling through it.

"This will be your room ladies," Thor smiled, Natasha looked at him confused, quirking an auburn eyebrow at him.

Jane turned to Natasha, "Oh, I asked to bunk with you, I hope that's okay."

"Uh, I guess that's alright," Natasha wasn't sure what to make of that. She barely knew the physicist, the most of her interactions with S.H.I.E.L.D. members had been with Agent Coulson and Hill. Natasha was usually dealing with more hostile situations not babysitting.

Thor pointed down the hall, "You can put Hawkeye in the last room to the left, that will be where he will stay."

Natasha shrugged, "I'll just keep him with Jane and I, if he wakes up in a strange place by himself, he might lose it."

"Aw, understood," Thor glanced away, giving her a weak but supportive smile, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have business with the Warriors Three, I will see you at dinner, someone will stop by to guide you to the hall."

Thor gave Jane a squeeze of a hug and took his leave. Jane stared after him for a moment and Natasha watched her in awkward silence. Natasha finally cleared her throat, her arms were starting to go numb from carrying Clint. Super hero syndrome injection or not, it was not an easy task.

"Oh sorry," Jane turned to push the large oaken doors open, after a few seconds of struggle she was able to push them open. Natasha ran through the doorway and precariously dumped him on the bed closest to the door.

Stretching her achy arms, she looked around the room. It was oddly plain, save for the silken bed sheets and ornately carved headboards and bed frames on the two beds. Empty walls and of course no television. Another large set of doors on the left wall of the large suite was probably the bathroom, Natasha figured.

Jane paced in after her, "I guess you're taking that bed."

"Yeah, I always pick the one near the door, security issue," Natasha nodded. "So why did you want to stay with me, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I wanted to stay with Thor but I guess it was insisted upon that we have separate rooms, I figured why waste a whole other room when I'll just be sneaking off to wherever his room is," Jane shrugged, a mischievous smirk on her face. "You get me right?"

Jane gestured to her and Clint. Natasha chuckled a little, "Oh no, you've got it completely wrong, we are far from together."

Not that Clint hadn't been trying, especially after his brainwashing. Something was different, he was clinging to hard to her. Before his mind control, she was certain he thought of her as a little sister.

"Oh I'm sorry, I just assumed," Jane gave her an awkward smile. "Imagine that, a physicist who can't pick up on social cues."

That actually made Natasha laugh.

"Yes, I got the straight-faced, ever-stoic Black Widow to laugh!" Jane threw herself on her bed and sighed. "This is a thousand times more comfortable than my office desk and chair, perhaps even a million times."

"Don't you have a bed at home?" Black Widow asked, knowing how stupid it sounded.

"I'm not sure, I barely ever leave my lab. If it had a Starbucks and a shower, I'd probably be a shut in," Jane sighed, comfortable. "So what do we do now?"

"I guess from the way we were escorted to our rooms immediately, I take it we are to stay here until dinner time."

"So, someone will probably show up to escort us around then," Jane sat up, grabbing a gigantic feather pillow. "Until then, I plan on laying on those lawn chair contraptions on the balcony."

Natasha turned to look at the north wall of the suite, it was entirely made of glass and led out to a white marble balcony. It was covered in lawn chairs and large flowering plants. If there was anything grand about the room, it was the balcony. Because of the way the balcony faced, Natasha couldn't tell where the sun was and therefore the time was a mystery to. It made her uneasy.

"Jesus Christ!" Clint shook awake and Natasha glanced down at him. He glared up at her, his hand massaging his temple, "Nat, what the hell?"

"I understand the distress," Natasha whispered. "But we are on a mission and it is imperative that we keep our cool."

"They're letting that psycho walk around free! How am I supposed to act like I'm okay with this?" Clint growled, sitting up.

"Because I don't believe that reformed Loki thing for a second, you are going to avoid him and do your best to stay calm while I try to expose whatever he's planning," Natasha sighed, sitting on her bed next to him. The bed squished down, making her slip more closely to her partner. She attempted to scoot away from his but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Clint hugged her tightly and she struggled not to knock him away from her, "You always know what to do, Nat."

She could hear his heart beating rapidly, she quickly shook him off and smiled, "Let me show you your room."

He gave her a sad smile, "Alright."