In The Shadows | Loki

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR EAVESDROPPING

 "Well, that lead was a bust." I sigh, shutting the file and leaning back in my chair. "How many do we have left?" Logan shifts through the remaining files, looking a little annoyed at my statement. 
        "Six." He replies. "You sure on that one?" He gestures towards the closed file, and I nod. 
        "He has absolutely no connections to anything in the dark web or black market, nothing with any secret government organizations, and no connections that could get him a cure or anything equivalent. For once, there's a Politian who hates mutants and is squeaky clean." Logan huffs, handing me a new file. 
        "Here's a rotten senator. Have fun." I sigh and nod, taking the thicker looking file and opening it, my eyes beginning to scan the information that had been jotted down. Logan and I had been at this for a while. Rogue was in the training rooms watching Nat and Loki do their usual morning training. Storm and Jean had decided to take the jet back to the mansion in case they needed it for a mission. They were also informing the Professor of our theories before driving back to the tower. 
        Only a few more minutes of quiet reading passed before someone entered the common room. Logan and I both look up, watching Steve make his way towards the elevator. He raises an eyebrow when he sees both Logan and I observing him. "What're you two up to?" He asks, and I shrug.
        "None of SHIELD's business." I reply casually, earning a chuckle from Logan. Steve sighs. He wasn't stupid. He knew I had been avoiding him since I had quit SHIELD, and I had every right to avoid both him and Natasha. 
        "Ophelia, really? Not everything that happens will go to SHIELD."
        "This would." I snap back, turning my attention to the file again. I know Steve is giving me a look, stopped in the middle of his pathway from the hallway to the elevator. 
        "Ophelia-" Steve stops himself, letting out a long breath. "Fine. Fine." I hear him murmur, continuing to the elevator. I don't move until he's inside it and the doors are closed. Logan releases a huff of air that sounds suspiciously like a laugh, glancing up at me. 
        "Didn't you date him or something?"
        "Logan..." I trail off in warning, shooting him a glare. He chuckles again, not sorry at all for his comment, before returning to the file he was looking over. We return to our respective files, and I type a few key words into my laptop, doing a basic search for anything shady with this guy.
        "So." I look up, raising an eyebrow. "You and that magic guy. It's serious?" Logan isn't even looking at me. 
        "Jean or Storm?" I ask, wondering which woman had told him to poke and prod into my love life. I knew he hadn't chosen to ask on his own. It wasn't his style.
        "Both." I let out a snort of laughter at that. I could practically see the two women ganging up on Logan to make him ask while they were out. 
        "But seriously. You and the genocidal maniac?" He prods, actually looking up at me this time. I give him a look.
        "He isn't a genocidal maniac, Logan." I snap, and he raises a hand in surrender. "He wasn't in control, it wasn't his fault. Those deaths are not on his head." He raises an eyebrow at my defensive tone, and I let out a long breath. "I think it's serious, yeah. He's... He really cares for me, and I really care for him. More than I've ever cared for someone before." I admit. "He makes me feel like... like myself. I love that about him. He's there for me, and he understands." I shake my head, looking down. "I know to everyone else it doesn't make sense, and I know it seems insane, but Loki is the one that I want. He's the one I need in my life, if not for always, then at least for right now." I feel a small smile tugging at my lips. "But I don't think this is going to be some temporary thing. I think we're going to last." It's quiet for a few heartbeats.
        "Well, you were right about it looking insane." Logan comments, and I scowl, tossing my pencil at him. He easily deflects it with a small smirk, returning his focus to his file. "I'm glad you've got someone, kid." He huffs out. I let a small smile rest on my lips at that. My relationship with Logan was an odd one, I knew. It was like he was like an odd uncle that no one really knew what to do with and everyone loved. He was a large part of the small family I never knew I needed.
        "Thanks Logan." 

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

        "How's the show?" I ask, sitting down next to Rogue. She was leaning with her back against the training room wall, watching Natasha and Loki spar. 
        "Can I just somehow magically know how to fight like that?" She asks, watching the two with rapt attention. I smile at the awe in her expression. It takes her a moment to tear her eyes away from the fight. "Did you and Logan find anything?" She asks in a quieter voice. I shake my head, and a small frown forms on her lips. 
        "Who do you think is going to win?" I ask, nodding at the two fighters and diverting her attention back to the sparring ring. Her spirits lift a little as she refocuses. 
        "I want to say Agent Romanoff, but Loki is really fighting back hard. Is he allowed to use his magic in these fights?" She asks, remembering to take that into account. I shake my head, and she makes a humming noise, focusing.
        "You've got to remember too, that Loki is nearly a thousand years old. He has hundreds of years of training behind him, and Nat is still holding her own." Rogue's lips press into a thin line.
        "Who do you think is going to win?" Rogue asks. I watch the fight for a moment, taking note as Loki quickly blocks Nat's punches. 
        "Loki." I decide on. "I've seen them both win these fights, but both you and I are here, and men tend to work harder when there's a woman they like there to impress." I don't miss the huff of disbelief that comes from Loki, and I look back just in time to see, and feel, Nat nail Loki in the stomach with a roundhouse kick. I can't help but let out a small gasp of pain, bending over slightly and clutching at my stomach. 
        "Nevermind." I whisper. "Nat's going to win." Rouge cackles at the sudden turn of events, watching Loki try to recover as Nat suddenly comes at him, seeing her chance. Fists and kicks fly, and I can feel the hits before Loki is pinned facedown, one arm twisted be hind his back to keep him there.
        "That's what you get for eavesdropping." I mutter, earing another laugh from Rogue. Nat lets go of Loki, and he climbs to his feet, scowling at both Nat and I. Rogue has a wide smile on her face, and Nat tilts her head, looking at the young girl. 
        "You know how to fight?" She asks, and Rogue blinks in surprise, glancing at me before making a so-so motion with her hand. 
        "I'm not the greatest, but I know what I need to know." She replies vaguely. Nat shrugs, motioning her over. Rogue looks nervous, but gets up anyway, moving towards the assassin. I watch as Nat has Rogue begin to show her what she already knows, pointing out little things to be improved. 
        "You said you hadn't found anything certain?" He asks quietly, and I shake my head. 
        "A few people to watch, but nothing certain, no." I confirm. "And don't eavesdrop." Loki hums, not saying anything. "Logan was going to tear his own eyes out if we kept going without a break. We'll be back at it again once Jean and Storm get back." Loki nods, watching Natasha and Rogue. 
        "Did you want to work on magic?" He asks after a moment, looking at me. "We can use the other sparring mat."  I glance over to the empty ring. It wouldn't be any harm, and wouldn't cause any questions from Nat, especially since I had mentioned wanting to learn before everything started happening. I nod, getting to my feet and moving towards the mat he had mentioned. 
        To be honest, it was a little odd not knowing how to use an ability I had gotten more than a few months ago. I usually tried to master the ability as quickly as possible to avoid any accidents, but Loki's magic... it was different from mutations. I wasn't familiar with the odd feeling of it, and I had no clue as to how to control it. I had seen Loki use it, yes, but not in a way that told me how. Now, knowing that it might be the only thing that I can use to defend myself, I was anxious to figure out how to use it. I was also nervous that I'd try to do something that took Loki centuries to learn, and I'd completely fail.
        Loki has me sit down in front of him and mirror his pose, crossed legs and arms resting on his knees, hands open and palms facing the ceiling. 
        "With this magic, the easiest and most useful thing you can learn quickly are illusions." On is right palm, a small mouse appears, scrambling around on his hand and sniffing the air, looking realistic. "The problem with these illusions is that they are simply that. Illusions. there is nothing physical about them, and they will falter when coming in contact with something that is actually there." He demonstrates, showing how the illusion faltered when he ran his index finger through it. "It's simple in theory, but takes time to master." I nod silently, wondering what I had just gotten myself into. "Ready?"
        "Not really. Let's do it."