Twisted [Degenerate Series, Book 1][Blackfrost] ✔️

Chapter 19

"Hello?"

"Hey, Clint, it's Natasha."

"Hey, Nat. Is everything alright?" He asked me. I heard distant concern in his voice. Why was he being so distant with me lately. Or maybe he wasn't, and I was just being paranoid? My hesitation made him repeat his question "Nat?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know that Loki..." I paused.

"Loki? What about him? What happened?" Clint sounded a bit more urgent now. I knew of his hate for the demigod, the desire to hurt Loki. I wondered if that's what was distancing myself from him. The fact that I wasn't hurting Loki on Clint's behalf was betrayal at its finest for everything Loki did to him.

"No, no, it's fine. I just...I got some information."

"Oh?" Clint sounded slightly more interested. "Well, is he planning anything?" How did I respond to that? I didn't even know myself. But, he has an army...of sorts.

"Yes." I responded.

"I knew it. That tricky bastard. Thor should have just let us kill him when we had the chance." I knew he was referring to the incident roughly a month ago when Tony had impulsively dropped Loki and the cage he was in out of the sky from the helicarrier.

I didn't reply. "What else?" He asked when I didn't answer after a while.

"Um...well...he has an army of sorts, like we thought. They want him to retrieve something. I don't know what."

"Well, that's a good amount of information." Clint said after a second.

"Thanks." I replied uncertainly.

"Why did he tell you?"

Should I tell the truth? That I didn't really do anything? If I did, would everyone ease up a bit, see that Loki would eventually tell us everything on his own?

But at the same time, if I told the truth, Clint might be angry that I was acting neutrally, even kindly toward Loki.

"It doesn't matter," I said after a second. "What matters is that he told me something. And he's close to telling me more."

There was a pause. "Ok," Clint responded. "I'll talk to you later."

Desperate to get off the phone, I said, "alright," and hung up.

I then proceeded to leave my room. I decided to go in to SHIELD headquarters to tell Fury the news in person. Not only was I completely stir crazy and desperate to get out of my house, but Fury's voice was hard to read. I knew I would have trouble gauging his opinion on my information if I told him the news via phone.

Loki was sitting on the couch, staring at the black TV. He turned around when he heard my door open. I suddenly became conscious of how loud I was talking on the phone. For some reason, I didn't want Loki to know I was telling Fury and Clint. It made his sacrifice seem more work-related, rather than personal. And it made me feel like I was betraying his trust somehow.

It is work-related, I told myself. Nothing about this is personal.

"Hey." He said when I approached. He had his hands deep in his pockets, and a strand of his normally neatly groomed hair had fallen in front of his face. He looked a lot younger than he actually was. He also looked calm but nervous, which was unlike him.

He looks very handsome, I thought to myself.

I hated but loved that thought.

"Hey." I replied, wishing I could slap the blush off my face. Why was I feeling this way?