In The Shadows | Loki

I WONDERED IF HE'D STILL BE AROUND

      "Sir, there is a jet classified as a "Blackbird" attempting to land on the roof." Jarvis speaks up, and Tony frowns, looking up at the ceiling with confusion. 
        "Excuse me?" It takes a second for the words to register, and I jerk up when I remember who exactly has a blackbird jet. Loki makes a slightly offended noise when I sit up, pulling my head from where it was laying in his lap. 
        "Let them in when they land." I tell Jarvis, who agrees immediately. Tony shoots me look, as I get to my feet. 
        "Do I get to know who is attempting to land a jet on my roof, or shall I just stay in the dark?" He asks dryly, and Bruce snorts from where he's sitting next to him. "Also, why was I not informed they were coming? It's my tower." 
        "If you don't know they're coming-"
        "You can't inform SHIELD." Steve realizes, nodding to himself. He then pauses. "Wait, should SHIELD be worried?" I shake my head as the elevator dings, opening to reveal more people than I had been expecting, but the sight makes me smile anyway. 
        "Ophelia!" I hear a squeal, and Rogue shoves Logan to the side, quickly running towards me and wrapping me in a large hug. I let out a loud laugh, squeezing her tightly. "I made Logan bring me along. I wanted to show you!" I pull back a little, sending her a small look of confusion. Rogue grins, holding her hand between us and wiggling her fingers. It takes only a second for me to realize what she's showing me. 
        "No gloves?"
        "No gloves!" She confirms. 
        "Rogue, I'm so proud of you!" She practically glows under the praise. I don't miss her eyes darting behind me. I follow her gaze, noting that Loki had gotten to his feet as well. He had met everyone briefly after everything with Malekith and the brief stay at the mansion while we waited for the Avengers. I could understand why he was cautious.
        "Rogue, you've met Loki. Loki, Rogue." Loki moves to my left, nodding once politely at Rogue, who sends him a hesitant smile. 
        "I wondered if he'd still be around." Logan mutters, causing Jean to punch his bicep. Storm simply sighs, rolling her eyes. I give him a look, but he doesn't seem to care. 
        "You know, Jean, when you said you'd be coming down to help me, I didn't know you were bringing the whole squad." I nod towards Logan, making her snort. 
        "It was him or Scott." Storm informs me. I plaster a large smile on my face, turning to Logan with open arms.
        "Logan! I'm so glad you're here!" I exclaim, causing Rogue to burst out laughing and Logan to look annoyed. Jean rolls her eyes, constantly annoyed by my dislike of her husband. 
        "Anyway," She begins, trying to get us back on track. "Xavier sent me with the files you asked-"
        "Before we get into it, let's head to my room." I cut her off with a clap of my hands. She raises an eyebrow at my outburst. "C'mon. It's just a waltz down the hall."
        "Why-"
        "She's mad at all of us." Nat offers up as explanation. 
        "That, and I don't want you reporting every word back to SHIELD." I shoot back, crossing my arms over my chest. Nat sighs, looking to Clint for help. Clint quickly shakes his head, picking up his coffee mug.
        "Nope. Don't look at me. You and Steve did this, you and Steve can apologize." Clint says quickly, taking a sip of his drink. Storm and Logan exchange a look with Jean, and I nod towards the hallway. Jean nods in agreement, heading that way with the others following. Loki doesn't move, instead looking to me. 
        "I'd like to help. A threat to your life is a threat to mine." I look at him for a long moment. "I care about you, Love. If I'm to start letting you in, you need to do the same." He adds, and after a second, I nod.
        "Really? Reindeer games gets in on it, and we don't?" Tony asks, and I nod again. 
        "You guys can do it SHIELD's way, I'll do it mine." Steve sighs, but doesn't say anything, letting me go. Loki motions for me to lead the way, and I move towards the hallway the others had disappeared down. Loki stays just behind me, and I take note of the silence that stays in the living room behind me. 
        When I get to my room, Rogue is already laying on my bed, Logan sitting on the end. Storm and Jean are talking quietly near my desk, and Storm looks up when Loki and I walk in.
        "What is going on?" Are the first words out of her mouth. "Jean showed me the email, and you aren't telling us something. Namely, how you know someone is after you? Or maybe we should talk about whatever just happened out there? Last I knew, you were proudly working for SHIELD. Ophelia, what is going on?" My eyes dart around the room, taking in the four mutants that I had grown to care about. The People who cared about me enough to fly down here. I take a deep breath.
        "My sister and her fiancé are currently living down the hall because they need to be in protective custody. They both need to be in protective custody because someone broke into SHIELD and murdered my brother and two members of the team he had organized to kidnap me. My parents are currently in SHIELD prison for aiding my brother with his attempt." The words come out quickly, and I see all of their eyes grow wider with every sentence. When I finish, Jean takes in a long breath before nodding, digging through her satchel. 
        "I got in touch with some contacts. I've got five files. People who have been overly active in the fight against mutants, mainly the ones who have been violent about it." She pulls the manila files out, tossing them next to Rogue on the bed. 
        "I went underground, like Jean told me not too." Logan adds in his gruff voice. "I got a couple of names." He digs in his pocket before pulling out a small flash drive. 
        "Logan." Jean protests lightly. Storm sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. 
        "Thanks, both of you." I murmur. Logan tosses me the flash drive, and I snatch it from the air, pocketing it. 
        "I just don't understand why anyone would dare to even go after you." Storm says after a moment. "You're the most powerful mutant on the planet. On top of that, you live in a tower full of superheroes. How are they planning to do this? What are we missing?" Jean shakes her head, and Rogue moves, sitting up and grabbing one of the files to flip through. 
        "Whoever it is isn't going to touch you." Loki murmurs, and I turn to him with a raised eyebrow. He doesn't look away from my gaze, his emerald eyes filled with so much emotion that it almost makes me want to look somewhere else. "I don't have many good things in my life. I'm not going to let the most important one get taken from me." 
        Logan makes a gagging noise the same time that Rogue coos.
        "Are you two a thing now?" Jean asks curiously, and I shrug before nodding.
        "A thing?" Loki questions, confused by her wording.
        "A couple." I explain, and he nods once in understanding. "Yes, we are." I confirm. "And I don't need any shit about how he's a criminal. I get enough of it from them, and he was not in control of his actions when attacking New York. I firmly believe that it is not his fault, and I would appreciate it if you all trusted me on that." The four of them exchange a look before Logan shrugs.
        "She's an adult. She can do what she wants." I smile a little at that, and Rogue turns back to her file, seemingly accepting that answer. Storm frowns, and Jena gives Loki a look.
        "Um..." Rogue suddenly straightens, looking up. "I just thought of something." We all turn to her, and her eyes dart around the group. "The main problem is that we don't know how this mystery person could get to Ophelia in the first place, especially with her powers, right?"
        "Yes..?" I agree, confused. Rogue hesitates, licking her lips before looking back down at the paper.
        "I know how he could."