In The Shadows | Loki

FINE,I'LL FIGURE IT OUT

Everyone was staring at me. The quinjet was running on autopilot, so it meant that literally everyone had their eyes on me. I shift uncomfortably.
        "I'm sorry, what?" Tony breaks the silence. "Okay, let me see if we've got this straight."  Tony pauses before continuing. "You and Mr. Genocide there are connected, but you aren't quite sure how strong this connection is." I nod, and Tony stands. "If one of you dies, the other one dies. If one of you gets hurt, the other one feels it as well." I nod again. "And the reason you're connected in the first place is because you're twin souls, whatever the hell that is, and he wanted to save your life." 
        "Yeah." I whisper. "That just about sums it up."
        "What the hell do you get yourself into?" Nat hisses angrily, running a hand through her hair. "Can't you take a break for a few months? Stop putting yourself through shit."
        "I didn't choose this Tasha! This wasn't something I planned." I exclaim. "You really think I want this? I was dead if Loki hadn't done what he did, and if I hadn't done what I did-"
        "London may not have been attacked. People wouldn't be terrified of you." Nat snaps back. 
        "Natasha!" Clint looks startled by her, and I was too.
        "What? We're dealing with a shitshow that's just getting worse." Nat turns on him, crossing her arms. "People are more terrified than anything of a valuable member of our team, and that member is tied to a psychopath that could try to kill us all at any second. But now, we can't kill him without killing her, and to top it all off, we don't know what the hell we're going to do with either of them." Loki's hands clench into fists, and I can feel pinpricks of pain on my palms when his nails dig into his own. 
        "Romanoff, go cool off. Now." Steve orders. Nat clenches her jaw but stands, moving past me and towards the back of the jet. "Ophelia." I look up at Steve, and he nods towards the front of the jet. I sigh and stand, walking with Steve to the pilot's chair. Steve lets out a long breath, resting on the back of the chair on his arms. 
        "I'm not going to apologize." I say after a second. 
        "I'm not going to ask you too. You did what you thought was right, and it's what any of us would've done in your situation if I'm honest. As for the connection..." He shakes his head. "that isn't on you. Loki saved your life, and you couldn't have predicted that." I purse my lips, thinking.
        "He's not going to attack anyone." I say after a second. "I can't explain how I know that, but...." I shrug. "I guess me saying that I can feel it is now a valid thing that should be taken into consideration." Steve chuckles. 
        "Yeah, I guess so." He murmurs. "Fury isn't going to like it, though. He won't listen to that. I don't know what he's going to want to do with Loki. He attacked New York." I bite my tongue, looking down and fiddling with the ends of my bandages. 
        "We could not tell him." I offer. "Steve, he isn't a bad person. Trust me on that." Steve glances back at the team. 
        "I trust you, Ophelia. It's him I don't trust." He replies after a second.
        "And you aren't going to trust him if all you can see is him in a jail cell." I reply. "If he stays in the tower, if you're around him, you'll see what I see. He was being controlled, and he's more than what you know." I tug on my bandages. "He's saved my life twice, and he kind of saved the universe when he stopped me in London." Steve takes a deep breath.
        "You have to convince Tony that's a good idea." He says. "And figure out how to get Romanoff and Barton to be on board with this." I snort.
        "That's easy. We tell Nat and Clint that you gave the report to Fury, and you to Tony that Fury ordered him to let Loki stay." Steve shakes his head.
        "No." 
        "Oh, C'mon." He shakes his head. "Fine, I'll figure it out." I look out the front window, watching the city come into view. 
        "You know.... we could figure it out. Over dinner." I blink in surprise, turning to look at Steve. "I'm sorry, was that too forward?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "I'm sorry, this was bad timing. Especially with everything going on."
        "No, I...." I stop his rambling. "I'd like that. Just, um, maybe we should wait until I'm healed and probably won't get attacked on the sidewalk."
        "That's a good idea." He agrees, and I smile.
        "Alright, so I'm going to go try and figure this out, you make sure the jet lands in the tower. Sound good?" He nods. "Alright. Great." I take a few steps backwards before turning around and heading back to my seat. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        "Ophelia! Oh, I saw the news, and everything that happened. Are you okay? What.... oh." Pepper trails off when she looks over my shoulder and sees Loki. "Hello?" Loki turns and nods once in her direction. "Um..."
        "Yes that is Loki, no he isn't dangerous." I answer her unsaid questions. 
        "Alright then." She says after a moment. "Okay. I'm going to take your word on that." Tony quickly moves to Pepper's side, clearly protective.
        "Don't worry, we're going to have SHIELD pick him up." Tony murmurs. 
        "Stark, I really must protest." Thor says quickly. "My brother is not a criminal." 
        "Point break, he literally just got banished from his home realm. Today. I'm going to call him a criminal." Tony replies, glancing at Loki. "Yes he did something good, but...." Tony shakes his head. "Sorry."
        "You used to make weapons that were distributed around the entire world to be used in wars, but I'm not blaming you for mass murder, now am I?" I ask, and Tony blinks in surprise. "That's because you had no control of that situation, and stopped it when you were able to." Tony looks startled by me snapping at him. Pepper on the other hand is pressing her lips together, trying not to laugh at her boyfriend being shocked into silence. "Sorry, I'm just... Sorry. It's been a long week." I glance towards Thor. "Actually, speaking of, we will not be telling Fury about this, and Tony, I would really appreciate it if he could stay here." 
        "Seriously?" He asks, and I send him a sheepish look. "You're bipolar." 
        "I'm tired and hungry, so... yeah."
        "We're telling Fury." Nat says with a scowl. 
        "No." I reply. "Sorry, but not happening. He's going to shoot first and ask questions second. Like Clint." I give Clint a look. "And that's not how I'm going to die." 
        "SHIELD needs to know that there's a threat here, Winters." Nat's voice is cold, and it's clear she's still pissed. 
        "Okay, let's just calm down." Pepper says quickly. "We can discuss this in the morning, yeah?" When neither of us answer, she glances at the group. "Loki, there's a spare room next to Ophelia's. You can stay there."
        "Thank you." He murmurs after a second. I turn on him.
        "Oh, now you have manners? Where was the please when we first met?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. the corner of Loki's lips twitch, hinting at a smile.
        "You weren't exactly polite either, if I remember correctly." I raise an eyebrow.
        "Oh, honey. Bad move." I murmur, narrowing my eyes. "Do you wanna fight? I'll fight." 
        "You're too injured to do much."
        "Excuse me?" I ask, surprised.
        "If I can still feel pain in every step you take, you shouldn't be fighting." He replies easily. 
        "You know what, I'm calling it a night. Let's all try to sleep. Clear our heads." Steve says loudly. "No more fighting tonight." There's an almost collective sigh at Steve's words, but he's right. I really needed sleep. I walk past him, towards the hallway that led to our rooms. I pat him on the shoulder.
        "You sounded old there, just to let you know." I murmur, and the scowl on his face just makes me laugh.