New York City — a warm, crowded pizza restaurant that smelled like fresh dough and cheese. The four of them had taken a corner table, though only three sat like normal people.
Selene, Alice, and Jill were already done with their food.
Luke, meanwhile, was still working his way through what had become a quiet spectacle. He was on his twentieth pizza — full-sized, deep pan, extra cheese — eating as casually as if it were his first meal of the day.
He wasn't rushing, just steadily clearing slice after slice with a comfortable rhythm. The women watched him with the kind of expression that came from running out of words to describe something.
"Stop staring at me," Luke said, still chewing. "You're making me lose my appetite."
They all turned toward him with matching deadpan looks, the slow kind that didn't need any words to express what they were thinking.
Lose his appetite?
Now?
After twenty pizzas?
Jill whispered, "Pretty sure he doesn't have one."
Alice crossed her arms. "He eats like he's absorbing it directly."
Selene let out a small, amused breath. "If this is him losing appetite, I don't want to see him hungry."
Luke rolled his eyes and reached for another slice, but his hand paused. Something about his expression shifted — nothing dramatic, just the sort of look someone gets when they notice something familiar.
A small, simple smile tugged at his mouth.
"And speaking of appetite," Luke said, glancing casually toward the restaurant entrance, "someone important is coming."
The three women looked at him with matching confusion. Important? Who?
Luke tilted his head slightly, that familiar subtle awareness settling over him. A moment later, the restaurant door opened, letting in a brief rush of cool air.
Natasha stepped inside, wearing her usual composed expression as her eyes swept across the tables. It didn't take long for her gaze to find Luke — and once it did, she started walking straight toward them.
Alice leaned a little closer to Luke, keeping her voice low. "Friend of yours?"
Luke gave a small grin. "Something like that."
Selene's eyes narrowed just a touch, recognition flashing across her face.
She had seen Natasha before — very briefly, but enough to know the woman wasn't just another operative. And she certainly remembered the story of Luke's… creative attempt to catfish her.
Alice and Jill picked up on the shift immediately. Whoever this redhead was, she wasn't just someone — and she clearly had some history with Luke.
Selene let out a quiet breath, more amused than annoyed. "Of course it's her," she murmured under her voice.
Natasha reached the table and came to a stop beside Luke, taking in the scene in front of her.
Luke sat there with sauce at the corner of his mouth, a small mountain of empty pizza trays stacked like battlefield trophies, and a strangely satisfied look in his eyes as he continued eating like nothing around him was unusual.
"We need to talk," Natasha said, her tone crisp and controlled.
Luke didn't bother pausing. He pointed at the empty chair across from him with the same casualness he used to order another pizza. "Then sit and talk."
Natasha's gaze moved from him to the rest of the group.
Her eyes lingered on Selene for a second — she remembered her from their earlier encounter.
The other two women, though, were new faces. A blonde and a brunette, both with the kind of posture and sharpness that told her they weren't ordinary bystanders, and both clearly comfortable around him.
Natasha didn't comment, but her thoughts were immediate and very dry.
'Of course he vanished for a year and still managed to surround himself with new women. This man really doesn't take a break from being a playboy.'
Luke kept eating like the situation around him didn't exist.
Natasha, meanwhile, was mentally preparing herself to convince one of the most unpredictable and dangerously capable men on Earth to help with a problem he had absolutely nothing to do with. The thought alone was exhausting.
"It's important," Natasha said, her voice firmer this time. "Not something we can talk about in a place like this."
Luke finally swallowed, wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, and gave her a mildly interested look. It was the same laid-back expression he always threw at her — the kind that made it impossible to tell if he cared or not.
"You know," Luke said casually, "if it were anyone else walking up to bother me while I'm eating, I would've thrown them out of the restaurant."
He said it like he was mentioning the weather. The message was clear: he hated being interrupted mid-meal. Of course, Natasha got a pass.
Beautiful women always did — Luke didn't hide that, and he never pretended he had shame about it.
He stretched, pushed his chair back, and stood up. "Ladies, head home. I need to go somewhere."
Selene raised a brow. Alice and Jill exchanged a small glance. None of them were surprised — Luke got called into random chaos way too often for this to feel unusual anymore.
The three women didn't argue. They stood up together, each giving Luke a quiet, unmistakable look before leaving — a simple "don't overdo it" reminder without a single word spoken.
He answered it with a small nod. Once they walked out, the atmosphere around the table shifted.
Luke turned his full attention to Natasha.
He stepped in front of her, close enough to make it clear she had his focus, and met her eyes directly.
"So, Natasha," he said, his tone almost conversational, "one year ago, I told you to pass a message to that bald-headed boss of yours. I said very clearly: don't mess with the Tesseract."
"But what happened? He ignored it. You all poked it, prodded it, experimented on it… and now an alien god strolls in, steals it, and turns it into a world-scale problem. And here you are, coming to me for help."
He didn't need her to confirm anything. He already knew the timeline. Loki stealing the Tesseract fit perfectly.
He tilted his head and gently hooked a finger under her chin, lifting it just enough for her to meet his eyes again.
"So tell me, Natasha…" he said quietly, not unkind but very direct, "do you really think I'll help?"