A light went on in Natasha's eyes, widening slightly as she searched him for some kind of answers, clarification, hope. It made perfect sense, logically, that in this other universe, Coulson might still be alive, but hope was a cruel thing to give someone, used often purely for the sting of its loss. Her throat tightened and closed around the words, an instinctual refusal schooled into her by the red room that refused to allow her to give him that much. Her interest was concern-based, and that made it an exploitable weakness.
More to the point, if she dissociated from her emotional response for a minute, she found that it gave her something new to know about Loki: he selected the name with purpose. He knew to expect her to know Coulson, and not just that, but Phil was unscathed. That was a reassurance that had to know what he was reassuring against.
He knew something. She could use that. ]
Actually, as I understand it, it was dark elves that killed him. But if you know it killed Coulson, you probably already knew that too.
[ She canted her head slightly to the side, inviting him to expand on that without giving him any inclination as to whether she bought into this notion that he could be the good Loki, as if such a thing were possible. As if somewhere in some other version of Earth, she might actually be a ballerina with the Bolshoi. She had made her choices. Someone else's didn't really matter, yet she still resisted entertaining them. ]
no subject
A light went on in Natasha's eyes, widening slightly as she searched him for some kind of answers, clarification, hope. It made perfect sense, logically, that in this other universe, Coulson might still be alive, but hope was a cruel thing to give someone, used often purely for the sting of its loss. Her throat tightened and closed around the words, an instinctual refusal schooled into her by the red room that refused to allow her to give him that much. Her interest was concern-based, and that made it an exploitable weakness.
More to the point, if she dissociated from her emotional response for a minute, she found that it gave her something new to know about Loki: he selected the name with purpose. He knew to expect her to know Coulson, and not just that, but Phil was unscathed. That was a reassurance that had to know what he was reassuring against.
He knew something. She could use that. ]
Actually, as I understand it, it was dark elves that killed him. But if you know it killed Coulson, you probably already knew that too.
[ She canted her head slightly to the side, inviting him to expand on that without giving him any inclination as to whether she bought into this notion that he could be the good Loki, as if such a thing were possible. As if somewhere in some other version of Earth, she might actually be a ballerina with the Bolshoi. She had made her choices. Someone else's didn't really matter, yet she still resisted entertaining them. ]