He stood up slowly, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes, then puffed out his chest with fake bravado. "For the future harem," he whispered to himself dramatically, "a man must be willing to make sacrifices. Great men of history all faced setbacks. Tonight… it's just me and the couch."
He gave a tragic look at the closed bedroom door, as though Selene were some cruel goddess punishing a loyal worshipper. Then, just as quickly, his expression shifted into one of shameless determination.
"She'll calm down eventually. They always do in novels, right? The cold wife softens over time, then accepts the sister-wives with a smile. Heh… my heart really is too big, isn't it?"
He patted his chest proudly, as if his ridiculous delusion was an undeniable fact.
Like that, night arrived.
Luke was munching on a slice of pizza in a small restaurant, lazily scrolling through his mobile.
The warm smell of melted cheese and garlic bread filled the air, though his attention was only half on the food. The neon sign outside cast a faint glow across the window, making the late-night city feel almost cozy.
Then someone sat down across from him.
Natasha.
She was wearing a crisp white shirt tucked into a black skirt, the kind of outfit that hugged her figure in all the right places.
The faint click of her heels, the way she crossed her legs and leaned forward just slightly… it was all practiced, deliberate. To Luke, she seemed like she had stepped straight out of a spy movie—or maybe a "honey trap" scenario.
"You do know that your current getup is basically a honey trap," Luke said with a smirk. He wasn't the type to fall for cheap tricks, but he wasn't above appreciating the view.
Natasha tilted her head, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. "So… why are your eyes glued to my chest?" she asked, her tone teasing but edged with steel.
Luke leaned back slightly, feigning casualness, though his gaze lingered a beat too long. "It's purely due to the center of gravity. Big objects attract more attention."
His eyes were shamelessly locked onto her cleavage, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. She's showing them, so what's wrong with noticing? he thought. Purely academic. Science stuff.
Natasha's eyes flicked to him, narrowing slightly as she suppressed a sigh. Yet the faint twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed her amusement.
This man… completely shameless.
And then, deliberately, she leaned forward a little more, as if to test him. The curve of her chest became more prominent, framed perfectly by the subtle dip of her blouse.
Luke's grin widened. "Ah… yes. Definitely important for balance and stability. Can't ignore physics." His voice carried an unrepentant mischief, like he knew exactly how far he could push.
Then, in a softer but weightier tone, he added: "And Natasha… you should just leave S.H.I.E.L.D. Your future is really dark if you stay with them."
The words slipped out half like a warning, half like a playful prophecy.
In his head, though, Luke's thoughts were far less casual. Yep… her future is doomed—single, alone, and dying on Vormir.
And as a man with both a heroic sense of duty (and shameless curiosity), it was his mission to save her from that fate… and conveniently offer her a proper home in his bedroom, on his bed.
"Can you even predict the future?" Natasha asked with a faint, skeptical smile. She didn't buy into his theatrics for a second, but she played along. All of this was part of her mission: coaxing Luke into cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fury had made it clear—her job wasn't to fight him, but to make him cooperative, to ensure that he could be called upon when needed. Hence the carefully chosen outfit, the way she leaned down just enough to draw his attention.
She was confident in her beauty, and Luke… well, he clearly wasn't the kind of man who resisted temptation.
So she listened, patiently, quietly taking in his nonsense.
"Yes," Luke said, lowering his voice and leaning forward as though sharing classified intel. "Let me tell you something that would probably shock Fury himself. The Tesseract—the one currently in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands? It's basically a time bomb waiting to go off."
Natasha's lips parted ever so slightly, but she covered it with a quiet sigh. Outwardly, she looked unimpressed. Inwardly, however, she was making mental notes at a rapid pace.
The Tesseract… how the hell does he know that name?
That information wasn't exactly whispered in hallways. It was compartmentalized, buried under layers of clearance.
She only knew the bare minimum—that it was an artifact S.H.I.E.L.D. had been researching, and that it was supposed to be some form of energy source. She had never seen it herself, never been told much more.
But Luke spoke of it casually, like a man pointing out the weather.
Is S.H.I.E.L.D. info leaking this badly? Or does he have some other source?
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is experimenting with it to make weapons… not even knowing its true nature," Luke continued, his tone casual, as if discussing the weather, but with the weight of the universe behind his words.
"What nature?" Natasha asked, tilting her head in confusion. S.H.I.E.L.D. had researched the Tesseract for years, yet even they didn't fully understand its essence.
"Well," Luke said, tapping his fingers against the table, "during the Big Bang—the birth of the universe—six gems were created. Each one representing a fundamental law of existence: Time, Space, Power, Soul, Mind, and Reality. Collectively, they're called Infinity Gems."
"So," Luke continued, "the Tesseract you guys have? That's the Space Gem. It represents infinite space itself."
"And S.H.I.E.L.D. is just experimenting with it. Don't you think that's dumb? You could accidentally open a portal to another planet, or worse, an entire hostile civilization could walk through because of your experiments." Luke said, chuckling lightly, as if recalling how Loki had casually wreaked havoc that way.
"And across the universe?" Luke said, his voice lowering, more serious now. "There are powerful beings actively hunting for it. Right now, S.H.I.E.L.D. is basically hanging a neon sign that says: 'We have the Space Gem. Come and get it!'"
"That's why I'm telling you to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. Beyond Earth, there are countless civilizations—and one extremely dangerous individual who will stop at nothing to claim this gem," Luke said, his voice lowering slightly as he imagined Thanos and his massive army, capable of wiping out entire civilizations in a heartbeat.
"Alien civilizations?" Natasha's brow furrowed, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. This all sounded… unbelievable.
"Yep. You might not believe it, but mention the Kree and Skrulls to Fury—he'll know exactly what I'm talking about. And…" Luke paused, letting the weight of the words hang in the air.
He smirked, leaning forward in his chair, his eyes glinting mischievously. "That's enough doom and gloom for today. So how about we… talk about ourselves? Make this a… nice date?"
Natasha blinked, caught between exasperation and amusement. For someone who was still technically her target, he sure had a way of turning the atmosphere casual, almost playful.
Focus, Romanoff, she reminded herself. Mission first. Information was what mattered.
Well, she had gotten some—though if she were being honest, 80% of it sounded like some elaborate fairy tale dressed up as classified intelligence.
"Then since it's a date why don't you say something about you?" asked Natasha, tilting her head slightly, her eyes narrowing just a bit as if she was half-interrogating, half-playing along.
"Haha, as expected of you, turning everything in your favor—that is so you," said Luke. He tried to flirt, but instead he got what felt like an interrogation-style question. She wanted information about him, not just surface chatter.
"Then won't you answer?" asked Natasha with a smile, her lips curling just enough to show she was testing him, not letting him off the hook so easily.
"I will, but you will not believe," Luke sighed dramatically, before raising his hand and letting a small flame flicker to life at his fingertip as he continued, "So let's just say… I'm a person with super powers. Like, I can manipulate fire."
Natasha wasn't surprised. She already knew Luke could use fire-based powers; the Harlem incident had been enough proof.
"And believe me, I'm not strong," Luke added, his voice carrying a note of fake modesty. "I'm only strong enough to decimate a street in a minute." He let out a sigh as if he was confessing weakness, In the universe, there may exist beings who could wipe out planets with a snap of their fingers. Compared to them, maybe he really did see himself as weak.
Natasha, who heard this, wanted to shout. Not strong? That was monstrous. How could a human say he was weak when he had the power to destroy a street within a minute? Heavy firearms, explosives, tanks—those were required for that kind of devastation. Yet this man casually claimed he could do it with fire, then brushed it off like it was nothing.
Her thoughts sharpened. Then what does that make the rest of humanity? Just trash compared to him?
"And I'm from another world," said Luke. He spoke the words calmly, with no hesitation, like it was the simplest truth.
He can reveal everything —except his game system and the knowledge that this was a movie universe. Those remain his most guarded secrets.
"Other world… like in novels?" asked Natasha, raising an eyebrow. Here came more bullshit. Some of his words were believable.
Others, however, were outrageous. Multiverse? Other worlds? That was fairy-tale territory, not something a spy could take at face value.
"Yep, other worlds do exist. Like the Multiverse," Luke said firmly, leaning forward slightly. "And I can travel to other worlds. That is how I appeared out of nowhere in this world. The S.H.I.E.L.D should know there was no data on me before two weeks ago" he added with a smirk.
"Yes," said Natasha. She admitted it, though she still didn't believe in "otherworlds." She was an agent, not a scientist.
Still, looking at his eyes, hearing the tone of his voice, she had to admit—he wasn't lying. At least, he believed what he was saying. That much was clear.
"Then, now I said about me… say your three sizes," asked Luke with a grin, his tone suddenly shifting back into playful provocation.
Natasha just smiled faintly, her poker face returning instantly. She wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.
"Good day. Let's meet again," said Natasha as she stood. Her graceful movements were smooth and precise, like she was ready to leave but still alert in case he tried something.
"Wait, wait—can't you at least give me a kiss on the cheek for all the info?" Luke asked quickly, raising his brows in mock seriousness. He had, after all, revealed a lot. Surely some kind of reward was fair.
Natasha only looked back long enough to flash him one last smile. It wasn't affectionate, though—it was the kind of smile that told him she was in control, that she'd gotten what she wanted. "Bye bye," she said simply, before walking away without even acknowledging his cheek request.
"Damn, that woman…" Luke muttered under his breath, watching her leave. He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Not even a kiss. What a stingy date."
"Waiter, a bottle of your alcohol" he asked, needing something strong after that verbal sparring match.
"Sir, this is a restaurant," the waiter replied with an awkward smile, not sure if the man was joking or being serious.