"We look ready to go to a funeral," I noted when Loki and I both stood in the kitchen together, ready to leave. It was true. I had on a black dress and Loki had on a black dress shirt and pants. It was almost depressing.
"I can change," Loki offered quickly, but I waved him off.
"It's fine."
I began to head to my car and Loki followed quickly and obediently.
I felt bad.
I had decided that I was going to give him a cold shoulder at the party so that nothing seemed too fishy between the two of us. Also, I knew Bruce was going to be at the party, and if I could not ruin things with him over my run away feelings for the God of Mischief, that would be great.
I ignored Loki all the way to Stark Tower. I could tell he noticed, because he kept glancing at me, judging my mood and waiting for me to do something. So, naturally, I did nothing.
I got out of the car and grabbed my presents for Loki, Clint, and Bruce. I shoved the present for Loki in my back pocket, but I had to carry the ones for Clint and Bruce.
The two of us were welcomed in immediately and ushered to one of the more notable floors in the tower. It was a large room, basically the entire floor, and it had two bars on both sides of the room, a large seating area with couches in the middle, and giant windows on the far wall. Plus, there was a large Christmas tree, cheerful music, and Christmas decorations strung about.
"Natasha, you made it!" I heard Bruce say. He came over to me wringing his hands, looking as timid as ever.
"Hey, Bruce," I said. I saw it reasonable to hug him, so I did, glancing awkwardly at Loki as I did so. Loki looked down at his feet and my heart clenched.
"Do you want a drink or anything?" Bruce asked, and I nodded. Bruce pulled me off toward one of the bars, leaving Loki behind. "So how have you been?" Bruce asked when we sat. I ordered a drink as he spoke. "I see Loki's alright."
I couldn't exactly read the emotion in his voice, but then again, Bruce was the best at hiding his emotions.
"Yeah..." I replied, "Thor brought him back." I thought it would be best not to elaborate on my desperate rescue mission and tender moments with Loki afterward.
"Good. I mean, it's good that he's safe," I could practically hear the unsaid 'I think' in his voice.
I smiled shyly, desperate to move the conversation away from Loki. "I have a present for you, actually." I said.
"I noticed," Bruce said, looking at the two gifts in my hands. I handed him one, as the other was for Clint.
Bruce thanked me and unwrapped the gift I had handed him. He laughed as soon as he saw what it was. I defended myself quickly, grinning as well. "I was thinking, maybe, you didn't have to 'always be angry,'" I said referring to the battle of New York three or four months ago when he had transformed into the Hulk to fight the Chitauri.
Bruce held up a box of tea bags, a mug, and a packaged CD of relaxing music. "Thank you, Natasha," Bruce said, his eyes shining with amusement.
"No problem," I replied, the corners of my mouth pinching together as I smiled. I took a quick sip of my drink that had just arrived.
When I put the glass down, I saw how close Bruce was. I think I would have pulled away except I knew that would make things between us too awkward and strained.
"Do you mind if I...?" Bruce asked, his face close. He didn't finish the question, but I knew he wanted to kiss me.
I finished his question by kissing him first. Bruce's hand moved tenderly to my cheek. It was our second kiss, and again I was the first to pull away. I glanced over to where Loki had been standing.
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!