In The Shadows | Loki

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

When I wake up the next morning, I'm relieved to find that my arms and legs have almost completely healed, save for my fingers and a few places on my feet. It probably helped that I had been asleep for twelve hours. Jarvis informed me that Loki had stayed in his room since Pepper, Tony, and I had led him there last night. Nat was in the training rooms, and everyone else is apparently in the kitchens. Lunch. 
        I quickly change and leave my room, walking past Loki's door without blinking twice. I'd talk to him later, but first, I needed to figure out how today was going to go. I needed to figure out if I would be fighting everyone on keeping Loki a secret or not. 
        When I walk into the kitchen, and the quiet chatter stops. I take a few steps in, raising an eyebrow. "What? I don't look that bad, do I?" I ask, and Tony snorts.
        "Nat is still pissed at you." Clint informs me.
        "I figured." There's a long pause before Clint speaks again.
        "She won't tell Fury." He informs me. "I talked to her last night. Neither of us are exactly happy about it, but I understand why." I nod once, thanking him. "Also, Steve made pancakes."
        "Yay." I say with a weak smile, moving towards an empty stool. "Wait, isn't it a little late for pancakes?"
        "It's never too late for pancakes." Steve replies. I smile as I sit down, and Steve puts a plate in front of me.
        "So where's the dark prankster at, hm?" Tony asks, raising an eyebrow. "I haven't seen him yet, and we need to set some ground rules." I frown and shrug.
        "Jarvis told me he hadn't left his room." I inform him. "I'm not surprised, to be honest. With the way you all were acting yesterday. Especially you." I point at Clint, and he puts a hand on his chest, looking offended. "You punched him."
        "He did voodoo on my mind."
        "He wasn't in control of his own mind."
        "He tried to kill all of us."'
        "Clint." I sigh, and he stops. "We can do this all day. Just talk to him, and you'll see." 
        "Ah, no. No thanks. I'm good. I'll stay away from the psychopath for now, if you don't mind." Clint replies dismissively. I just shake my head, trying not to snap at him. I turn to Tony instead, grabbing the syrup from in front of him.
        "If you want to set ground rules, you have to ask him to come down here. I'm not going to be some sort of Loki messenger." Tony shrugs, nodding in understanding. 
        "Jarvis?"
        "I'll inform him, sir." Jarvis replies. I dig into my pancakes, glancing up at Steve when I notice him staying unusually quiet. He just raises an eyebrow, and I shrug, shooting him a small smile. He smiles back. "Mr Odinson will be here in a moment."
        "Thanks J." I glance towards Thor, who is sitting at the other end of the counter, watching carefully. He was staying worryingly silent, focusing on his food. 
        "Tony, can I borrow your phone? I kind of lost mine somewhere on Asgard." He nods absentmindedly, handing me his phone. I quickly punch in Jane's number and hit call, bringing it to my ear.
        "Hello?"
        "Hey Foster, cheer up your boyfriend." I say before putting the phone on the counter and sliding it to the god of Thunder. He looks a little startled, and I just nod towards the phone. He picks it up hesitantly.
        "Jane?" He smiles after  moment, and they begin to talk. I feel a light tingling on the back of my neck, and I frown before turning in my seat. Loki was standing in the doorway, glancing around cautiously. Tony follows my gaze.
        "Hey, great. You're here." Loki's gaze snaps to Tony. "Time to talk about you staying here."
        "And you're talking about it with me here? I'm impressed." 
        "Oh no, we're just telling you the rules you're going to follow, alright?" Tony replies. I frown.
        "I'm sorry, what? I thought you said we were talking about the rules with him here." I interrupt. "Not just laying down the law." Tony hesitates before answering me.
        "We already discussed it. Cap and Thor wanted you here, but the rest of us thought it'd be better if you weren't here. Less to fight about." I bite down hard on my lip, shaking my head. 
        "Are you kidding me?" I ask quietly, and no one says a word. 
        "So, the rules." Tony continues after a long moment. I scowl, my teeth grinding together in frustration. "Since you're staying at the tower, you do not leave the tower. In fact, you have access to only twelve floors, and that's me being generous." Loki purses his lips, and I know he isn't happy about it. I wasn't either, to be honest. "You don't go anywhere near any Stark employees, or Pepper for that matter. Jarvis will know where you are at all times too. You don't attack us, you don't use any of your magic on us, nothing. I don't care what you do here, as long as you aren't a threat, got it?" 
        "Understood." Loki replies through gritted teeth. Tony licks his lips, glancing at the rest of the Avengers.
        "If there's anything that you try that isn't allowed, Jarvis will let you know." Tony finishes, shifting awkwardly. I let out a huff of air, angrily slamming my fork down. "Shakespeare, you can't tell me that's not fair."
        "I thought you trusted me." I reply. "You don't have to trust him, just trust me. Yes, your rules are fair, but you should've talked to me. I'm still a part of this team, no matter what connection I have."
        "We still have no clue how strong whatever connection is that you two have. But that's not why we didn't wake you up for the discussion of the rules." I frown. "You've always trusted him. Always rooted for him more than you want to admit."
        "I'm sorry that I believe that mind control is a reasonable excuse." Clint looks down at that, not saying a word. "Look, I know none of you like him, and I get that."
        "Thanks love." Loki murmurs.
        "Shush." I snap. "But like I told his father. He isn't a dog."
        "You're right. He's a god with daddy issues." Tony snaps, getting frustrated. I throw my hands up, nearly screaming.
        "And I'm an all powerful mutant who's family threw her out when she was twelve. Are you going to restrict me to twelve floors too?" I ask, standing up. 
        "It isn't the same." Clint protests.
        "Really?" I ask, crossing my arms. "What's the difference? We both attacked heavily populated cities while not in our right minds, we're both seen as killers, and I'm really not seeing any difference here!" 
        "Ophelia." Someone touches my arm, and I jerk back, spinning around. Steve holds his arms up in mock surrender. I let out a long breath, making myself relax. "The rules are fair. We can talk about them in a  few weeks if things are going alright."
        "They won't change their minds, love." I glance towards Loki. "I don't need to be the god of lies to see that." He glances around. "Now, if you all don't mind, I will be in my cell. Oh, sorry. My room." He corrects with a wry smile. He turns around, only to stop suddenly. He steps to the side hesitantly, and I realize that Nat is in the hallway too. "Widow."
        "Psychopath." She returns his greeting. She glances towards me, jaw set, and Loki quickly steps around her before walking down the hallway. "You don't like the rules, I take it?" Nat asks. 
        "I don't have to." I reply. She tilts her head slightly, frowning. She shrugs after a long moment, turning to leave.
        "Not the first time you've been stubborn."