A Tale Of Two Couples
It didn’t take long for Loki’s wandering hands to convince Sylvie it was time for bed. She and Natasha had gotten time to talk in private and planned to have lunch the next day, so she relented to the hungry God whose eyes danced with deliciously wicked intent.
Once they said their goodbyes Loki whisked her off, hands never leaving her body as they headed outside. Inside the cab he couldn’t resist tracing fingers along the inside of her arm while the other hand was linked with hers on the seat between them.
Sylvie smirked at him with a haughty air of pride, loving the feeling of power over him. She wanted him just as badly, but Sylvie loved this game—the one were she made him work for it, where Loki chased her till he was a desperate pleading mess.
Loki leaned across the seat to whisper in her ear but the cab arrived before he could whisper anything filthy to make her shiver. He wanted to reprimand the driver for interrupting the moment, but simply huffed and paid the man.
He climbed out of the vehicle after her, enjoying the view of her behind and wanting to pull her back into his lap. This is ridiculous. He thought absently, the overwhelming attraction to her pushing rational thought from his mind.
Now standing outside their hotel Loki straightened his jacket and cleared his throat, resolving to get a better hold of himself.
Sylvie watched with amusement, eyeing him shamelessly.
“Why, min elskede, you seem rather out of sorts, whatever is the matter?” She asked coyly, a wicked grin threatening to spread across her face.
Loki narrowed his eyes at her and stepped close. One arm circling her waist, he pulled her boldly against him in a single quick move, making her gasp softly with delight.
“The matter, my love? The matter is all this petty Midgardian clothing keeping your skin from mine—the matter is the hunger your body instills in every inch of me—come upstairs love, and let me show you precisely the matter which so desperately needs rectifying.”
Sylvie’s eyes danced with mischievous excitement and she grinned harder.
“Mmm beloved, I can’t think of a single thing in any universe I could possibly want more.”
Loki and Sylvie went upstairs, struggling to keep their touches from becoming completely indecent on the journey to their room. They were blessedly alone in the elevator and Loki couldn’t stop himself kissing and groping Sylvie desperately. She gasped and reveled in his worshipful attentions, pushing him away gently as they reached their floor.
Finally inside their room, Sylvie allowed him to shower her with praise and adulation. Loki worked himself up to a frenzy as he kissed every inch of her body.
Sylvie, who had pushed him to take ownership of his past mistakes, but never held them against him. His beloved Sylvie, who was him but not him—who embodied so much of the very best in his nature. She was healing the broken parts of his heart which had fractured so long ago, and when his body could physically resist no more, he showed it by making adoring love to her.
- — • — - — • — - — • — -
Natasha and Matt decided to leave as well not long after Sylvie and Loki did. There was a sense of reservedness to Matt after the other couple left, but Natasha put it down to the emotional rollercoaster of their evening.
He was quiet as they walked out into the crisp air, but held her hand and smiled when Natasha leaned up on her toes to kiss him briefly.
They walked to the BART station in relative silence, then Matt pulled her close and asked her to come stay the night. Natasha smirked with amusement and nodded, as if there were any chance he could stop her.
The next morning Natasha woke to the smell of coffee and stretched leisurely in Matt’s bed. The luxurious silk sheets were just another perk of Matt’s extreme sensitivity to stimuli and Natasha was far from complaining. She decided to head to the kitchen and see what smelled so delicious after her stomach began growling.
Behind the kitchen counter Matt was transferring eggs to two plates and gave her a half smile as she approached.
“Morning,” she said softly, grazing his arm with her fingertips on the way to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup.
“Morning,” he said somewhat distantly, “I don’t have to be in court till later this afternoon, but I’m gonna head to the office early.”
Natasha took a sip of her coffee and nodded. Something had been a little off with him after Matt spoke with Loki, but by the time they’d gotten back to his apartment he’d seemed to have let whatever it was go. Now, it seemed he was once again preoccupied.
“Something about Loki upset you,” she said gently, following Matt as he carried the plates to the table.
Matt heaved a weary sigh as he set the dishes on the table and ran a hand through his hair. He stood up, resting his hands on his hips but seeming to struggle with how to convey what it was.
“Yes…” he said curtly, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
Natasha followed suit, giving him space and eating in silence while they both gathered their thoughts.
“Something Loki said… when you two were alone…” Natasha prompted carefully once they’d finished and Matt sighed, getting up and collecting the plates to take into the kitchen.
“Not exactly,” Matt was still distracted as he began washing the dishes and Natasha walked carefully over to the countertop, leaning against it to study him.
“Natasha I’m not a target, if there’s something you want to ask then come out and say it—”
“Matt. It doesn’t take a spy to sense that more than just Loki’s past is bothering you—but if you’re not going to tell me then I’m not playing twenty questions with you.”
Matt shut off the water from the sink, wiping his hands on a towel before tossing it onto the counter and crossing his arms. He stared directly at the place he knew her to be with an unreadable expression.
“What are you not telling me Natasha?”
“You’ll have to be more specific, I’m a woman of many secrets,” Natasha teased dryly.
“Loki and Sylvie. They smell… the same.”
“Don’t most couples smell like each other?”
“Not beneath the perfumes and product, the base notes… the ones no one else can smell…”
Matt walked around the counter to face her, “they have the same heart as well, just a flicker different than the average human’s—but identical to one another. It’s a bit jarring to be honest,” Matt said flatly.
“Same heart, how romantic—”
“Natasha.”
“Honestly Matt it isn’t my secret to tell,” Natasha sighed, “but please believe me when I tell you that its really nothing for you to worry about.”
Matt paused for a moment, listening to her heart and considering her words. He didn’t like not knowing, and it wasn’t like him to let something like that go.
He’d never met two people who smelled and sounded so nearly identical and it was troubling. After everything that’d happened the first time Loki had come to Earth, the strangeness of it all made him bristle. But then while talking with the man, pretending to be more drunk than he had really felt, Matt couldn’t pick up on any signs of malice or deception.
For all intents and purposes, Loki had come across as genuinely interested in turning over a new leaf. It felt like a mystery which needed solving—but Matt also knew that Natasha didn’t withhold important information from him lightly.
Eventually his feelings for her won out and he sighed with resignation.
“Okay. I trust you Natasha, so if you say it’s not an issue… I’ll try to get past it.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, “I know it isn’t easy for you…
Matt hummed in agreement and walked closer, “It isn’t… but I— I care about you, a lot—I trust you, and…”
He sighed with frustration at the range of conflicting emotions warring inside, but ultimately knew that underneath everything was the steady constant of his feelings for her, and they gave him strength.
“Tasha… I think—I know… that I’m really—I’m really falling for you…”
“Good,” Natasha murmured in understanding, bringing her arms up to rest on his shoulders, “…because I’m rather partial to you as well.”
“I couldn’t tell,” he teased with a cheeky grin as she stepped even closer into his space.
“You need me to remind you?”
“Desperately,” Matt smirked and kissed her softly as she leaned up expectantly.
Matt was incredibly intuitive when it came to giving her what she wanted. He always knew just how much pressure to use to keep her wanting more. He was attentive and adaptable in a way which was unusually addictive.
Natasha hummed with satisfaction and pressed a little more firmly. She chased his lips with a relentless and unyielding intensity like fire nipping at his heels.
Matt ghosted teasing kisses along her jaw to her neck.
“You know, you taste different than any woman I’ve ever met…” Matt murmured softly into her ear.
Natasha leaned into his kisses, “And what do I taste like?” She asked with a cheeky smile, “Not coffee and eggs I hope…”
Matt chuckled softly, “Mmm no, under that is your taste… distinctive, but difficult to define—like tasting notes of bourbon… with hints of cardamom and allspice….” he murmured as he made his way back to her lips, “like a warm hearth in the dead of winter…” he breathed her in between open mouthed kisses, “your heat burns on my tongue like alcohol… and soothes it with the sweetness of your lips.”
Natasha sighed contentedly, “Sounds like Christmas-time in Moscow,” she nipped teasingly at his lips between kisses.
“I’ll have to take your word for it… until six months ago I’d never even left Manhattan…” he smirked faintly, “but somehow I can’t imagine anywhere could taste as good as you.”
“Careful Murdock,” Natasha murmured, “talk like that could put ideas in a girl’s head…”
He hummed low and sultry, “I should hope so… this one’s been in mine for months.”
Matt slid his hands around her waist to support her weight as she climbed into his arms and he lifted her off the ground.
Natasha breathed huskily into his ear as he carried her effortlessly back to the bedroom, “Well then counselor, the floor is yours.”