Infatuated with a God

Chapter Forty-Nine

Fury had demanded we debriefed him in the morning and so we had all planned to just rest up when we got back to the compound. I was relieved for the space we were all given, emotions had run too high today and I still needed to properly rest. Thor had guarded Loki on the way back, none of the team trusting his statement that the men were dead. It was slightly insulting, honestly, for them to doubt me by extension. Of course, it was never personal, but I was worried that it hurt Loki more than he let on. Still, he seemed content in the knowledge that I believed him, even if I was yet to fully look into the memories with more power. The lengthy flight home had allowed for my magic to recharge enough that I would ask him to look thoroughly once we were home. I wanted to be alone to do so, their distrust of him would tarnish the vulnerable moment. Plus, I still needed to address the fact that I was so willing and ready to kill the men without hesitation. But when we stepped into the compound Alex and two of his friends surrounded Loki and Tony told them to assist him to the cells. No one, not even Thor, said anything. And I lost it.

"You have got to be kidding me, Tony." I muttered through my exacerbated sigh.

"This isn't negotiable, Kaya. Stop taking this personally."

"How could I not take it personally? I told you he did not let them escape." Alex hesitated as we spoke, watching the scene unfold with confusion.

"Even if that is true he just killed five people, kid. Nothing has changed. He is still the same homicidal maniac from four years ago." Tony looked exhausted, but it wasn't an excuse for this mistake. In reality it had become clear that everyone was waiting for a mistake. No one else had any faith in his ability to change from the person he was. Despite all of their flaws and growth, they couldn't accept that he could grow too. Especially Tony. He was too absorbed in his trauma from New York that he refused to view Loki as anything but a horrific villain.

"They deserved to die. I was going to kill them. If I had I wouldn't be taken to the cells." No one said anything to that, the hypocrisy clear for everyone to see. "I get that you don't trust him. Neither do I. But until he does something worthy of our suspicion he does not deserve this treatment." Steve stepped in, trying to speak to Tony. Once again an argument developed between the two and I sighed. Eventually, they had agreed to allow him into his room but with his magic still bond. It was enough, and thankfully Loki didn't say anything. I took charge leading him back to his room, Thor too involved in the argument now to care. It was a relief to get away from them, their disagreements had become too unbearable to be around.

"You didn't have to do that, I believe their suspicion will fall further to you now." Loki stated, his mask forcing a monotone voice that always felt too distant for him.

"I don't care anymore. I'm too tired, too drained, and too confused. I'm going to need to see more of what happened, Loki. But tonight, I just want to sleep." He nodded curtly as the elevator doors opened to our floor. With whispered goodnights we went our separate ways and I crashed hard.

The annoying alarm woke me up and I cursed knowing I was running late for the meeting. The rest helped with my magic but not with the foul mood I had found myself in last night. Too much had happened too fast. I was barely here a year and yet Hydra kept coming up again and again. It was entirely exhausting, and I didn't fully believe that they were gone. Perhaps I'll never feel safe until Tony can figure out how to disable the commands. As I was late for the meeting, I just stood at the back of the room, near Loki who looked exhausted. I wonder if he managed to sleep at all, and if it was the events of the day or the band that prevented him from resting. The meeting was pretty mundane when I entered, talking about the data gained and there were mentions of the sleeper agent project. Most of it made little sense to me and I would have to get Tony to dumb it down later. It wasn't until the incident with Loki was brought up that anyone acknowledged my presence.