Her regret was immediate and tangible, curling her tongue with the same bitter taste as if she'd accidentally happened upon a mouthful of unsweetened chocolate. Of course he would have to imagine little of Loki, as he'd lived for a time with the man himself in his head, hadn't he? Natasha knew what that felt like, perhaps not Loki specifically, but she well knew what it was to be a vessel for another's machinations. She and Clint had never made a business of tiptoeing around each other and she didn't plan to start now, but her comment had been careless and she knew it.

"I know," she said in response to his comment on Loki, and his statement that he trusted her. "I'm sorry."

She moved her hand from the table to hold it loosely in her lap, though she did nudge at his knee with hers. "There's some big things I need to tell you about," she said. "About work, so we should probably talk about that in private. Did you get your room yet or do you just want to come back to mine? I have vodka."