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

Chapter 31

He was still there, though he was now talking to a woman that I guess worked for Stark. Loki was speaking right now, looking amused, but I watched him trail off and look over at me, his mouth open mid-speech and his eyes sad. His mouth snapped shut and I could see his jaw clench from here. I realized why. Bruce still had his hand on my cheek, and we were close. It looked like we had just kissed, or were about to.

I pulled away from Bruce and took a sip of my drink. Bruce and I conversed about what had been happening with us in the past few months. We had seen each other recently, but we didn't have a lot of time to catch up with one another.

When the conversation finally trailed off, it was almost nine o'clock. Over an hour had passed since we arrived. Loki was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, do you know where Clint is?" I asked Bruce, indicating the other gift in my hand.

"Yes. I saw him pass by a couple of minutes ago. I think he's by the couches."

I nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "See you later," I said as I walked away.

Clint was, indeed, sitting on the couch. He was chatting with Maria Hill. I sat next to Clint and waited until they stopped talking to make Clint aware of my presence.

"Hey, Clint," I said. He turned toward me.

"Nat! How are you?" Clint asked with a smile. I smiled back and hugged him.

"Good," I said while handing his gift.

Clint's eyebrows raised. He unwrapped it, and smiled when he saw it. He didn't lift it up in the air because it wasn't something he wanted everyone to see, though his eyes still shone with appreciation. 

It was a picture of me, him, and his family. No one else knew he had a family, as he preferred to keep them a secret in order to protect them.

"Thank you," Clint said, clutching the picture tightly. "Really, thank you."

He smiled at me, and I was quickly reminded of how close we were. I hated the uncertain distance between the two of us recently.

"Hey, so, um, I have to find...Bruce," I lied. "I'll see you later."

Clint nodded, so I got up and began to search for Loki. I looked around the entire floor for him, starting conversations with people as I went, but I didn't find him for an entire ten minutes. Finally, I saw him sitting by the window, staring out at the city.

It was in a private, darker part of the floor. There were people nearby, but their conversations were fainter what the main party being farther away.

Loki was resting his elbow on the window sill. His hand was pressed against his cheek, keeping his head up.

"Hey," I said, sitting next to him. Loki glanced at me but said nothing, so I continued desperately, "look, I know I've been cold to you, today, but I just didn't want to ruin things with me, Clint, and Bruce."

"I get it," Loki said coldly, staring out of the window.

"Loki," I said, touching the side of his chin to turn his face toward mine. "I'm sorry," I insisted.

Loki took a deep breath, so I took the chance to pull his present out of my back pocket. I handed it to him.

"What is this?" He asked me, not moving his hands to take it.

"A present," I responded gently, shaking the small box so that he would take it. He did, looking at me cautiously.

"What...do I do with it?" He asked me, the wrapping paper crinkling in his hands as he held it.

"Open it," I said, starting to tear at the wrapping paper for him. Loki finished, letting the wrapping paper fall to the ground. He held up a phone. Again, he looked confused.

"It's a phone," I confirmed for him. "So we can contact each other when we're away, or something."

I saw the beginnings of a smile on his face. "Thank you," he said.

"I already put my number in. I can teach you how you can text and call me later."

He nodded, looking a little less sad. We stared at each other for a moment before he said with an edge to his voice, "So...you and Bruce..."

I blushed, really not wanting to talk about my relationship with Bruce with Loki.

"There's really nothing to talk about," I said.

"Yeah, but--"

I cut him off by putting my hand over his mouth. "Please," I said, desperate not to talk about a relationship even I wasn't sure about. I was more sure about my feelings for Loki than my feelings for Bruce.

When he nodded, I pulled my hand away from his face.

There was a long pause. I moved to sit closer to him in that time and leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. After a while, I was close to falling asleep, until Loki said, "the city looks so beautiful. What did it look like...before?" He asked with regret heavy in his voice.

I opened my eyes and turned my head slightly to look at him and his perfect jawline and face. His eyes were glittering with the reflection from the city lights, so I looked out of the window at the city. The view wasn't nearly as beautiful as the god sitting next to me.

The city was shimmering with lights in the dark. I could see many buildings still completely destroyed and some being fixed from the New York invasion.

"It's in the past," I told him, knowing he was feeling guilty about the destruction. "It was beautiful then, and it's still beautiful now. Besides, everything will be rebuilt, better than before."

He pressed his cheek against my head which was still resting on his shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered, so quietly, I barely heard him.

We were silent again, and I felt myself slip into a comfortable sleep, breathing in Loki's familiar smell. I wasn't worried about Bruce or Clint seeing Loki and I together in this dark corner. I knew if someone saw us, we would be in for an awkward situation, maybe even one where I might lose my job.

But it was just me and Loki right now.

And who even cares, anyway?

Hey, everyone! I'm officially back! I was having really bad writers block for a while, but I'm good now, so updates will be more frequent. I actually finished writing the rest of this book, so I just have to edit and publish. So, anyway, I will be updating much more in the next few days.

Also, I don't know if any of you noticed, but I changed the title from Twisted (Blackfrost fanfic) to Twisted [Degenerate Series, Book 1][Blackfrost]. That's right, this is book 1 in a SERIES, so there is much more to come that I hope you all will enjoy! 

Furthermore, there will be a few more chapters left in this book that I hope you all enjoy. Have a wonderful day, and don't forget to vote and comment! I really appreciate the support!