Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Natasha wasn't sure what to make of the situation they were now in. They had a chance to bring everyone back. She still didn't quite understand exactly how, but she still desperately clung to the thing she hadn't felt in a long time; hope. Hope was not something to be taken for granted.

It broke her heart to see Clint without hope, wanting to hope, but unable to let himself feel anything other than numbness. Without the numbness, without the emptiness, he would break and shatter like glass. If he allowed himself to hope, but then if the hope was snatched away, Clint would be unrepairable. It was something she had too much experience with.

The fact that their only hope was a fantasy did not help. It's not everyday someone decided to build a time machine. She wouldn't put it past Tony, but it hadn't even been Tony's idea.

Then there was the fact that Loki was here. Loki, the same lunatic who tried to take over New York. The lunatic who cost Clint months of no sleep, waking up screaming. The lunatic who knew how to hurt her, the lunatic who killed Phil. Yeah, she had to work with Loki of all people.

You'd think she'd be able to forgive him. Especially given the new information they had learned today. It made sense, she'd seen the footage, she'd seen him. He didn't exactly look healthy. Yet she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't fathom it, because that meant that they were on the same level and Loki wasn't just a villain. How could he be, when they were the same? If they were all villainous because of collateral damage, because of the lives they took in the past, because of the choices that they made to escape, then everyone in this room was a monster. Some moreso than others, but in the end, they always knelt to their demons. Had everything that Loki had said had had a double meaning?

Her fingers itched to hold a gun, a knife, anything. The younger 'god' had offered to be locked up, but none of them wanted him out of their sight. Mostly because they didn't trust him, but Thor didn't want him out of his sight because he needed reassurance he was alive. Thor did not look good. Well, he looked both better and worse. He had that look in his eye, one that said he had hit rock bottom and simply gave up trying to climb out, but someone had finally yanked him out of the hole. Now his brain was trying to comprehend everything that occurred whilst he was stuck. Physically, he looked horrendous.

Nebula, Clint and Bruce seemed to be the only ones comfortable, but not dependent upon Loki staying in view. Nebula had always reminded her of Yelena. Yelena. This had to work. She would get her sister back. She had to.

Clint was keeping something from her. Something to do with Loki. He was much more at ease around Loki than she would have expected from her partner. Clint wouldn't even go home for months after New York for fear of scaring the kids. Yet another reason this had to work. Whenever New York was mentioned, he wanted Loki killed. Certainly she should know when her partner was lying?

Then there was Bruce. She was happy that he had been able to make peace with the Big Guy. Things were still slightly awkward and tense for obvious reasons, but the fact that he had trusted Loki to go into his head. How could she possibly be the only person who didn't trust Loki?

Perhaps most would think she had just been acting to get him to give away his plans, but that wasn't the case. At least, not entirely. Sure, she would never show so much emotion in front of the enemy. She would hardly show that much emotion in front of friends. Especially back then. Now, well now was different. The point was, Loki had known exactly what words would cut deep, exactly what to say to break her. In fact, according to him, he had played them all like chess pieces. He had played Thanos, escaping right under his nose. He had played them, setting them up for victory. He had played Asgard, finding sanctuary in prison. It was all so clear, yet she didn't want to believe such a monster could actually be on their side. Was she really that blind? Go talk to him, a voice whispered in her head.

Pushing her chair back as she got up, the Black Widow strode over to Loki. She couldn't help but notice how Thor moved slightly closer to his brother. Please, they were decently matched when they were both at full strength. Loki rolled his eyes, likely thinking something similar.

"May I help you Miss Natasha?" Those green eyes seemed to bore into her soul.

"If what you say is true, how do we know you aren't playing us now?"

"And why, pray tell, would I want that monster to win? I assure you, my intentions are good and they are clear." After a beat, very quietly, Loki added,

"I have red in my ledger, I simply plead you to give me the chance to wipe it out. It will always be a part of me, but perhaps the meaning can change. After all, red represents love as well as hate. Just as blue can be both ice and fire." The significance of the color blue was lost to her, but Thor smiled at the words. Satisfied that Loki wasn't going to kill them or go rogue, she went over to a dismal Steve.

"Hey, this is going to work."

"Last time you said that, we came home alone."

"Do you truly believe you are alone?"

"Do you?"

"I've been lonelier." With that she turned to go outside. She needed some fresh air.

A/N: Still having technical difficulties, in case you're wondering why everything is in regular text/font. Moving on to the actual story, hopefully things are making sense. Thanks for reading!