Hero (Loki & Avengers)

Twelve

"Well I don't," Clint says, standing up and walking up to me, "So this is on you the next time he stabs us all in the back." He points at me, hitting his finger against my chest, before walking away in anger.

I stand there, slightly shocked at how angry he was with me.

"I hope you're sure about what you just did." Cap says, walking away as well.

Suddenly I feel very small as they all begin to file out of the room, going off to do their own things. I hope I haven't just lost their trust completely. Even Tony walks away without saying anything.

"Don't worry, they'll come around." Natasha says, patting me on the shoulder. She leaves the room in the cool and calm way she always does, leaving me alone with Loki.

He straightens up and smooths out his clothes, which I've realized is a nervous habit of his. He clears his throat, and says, "Thank you Cassidy, I know you didn't have to stick you neck out for me."

I walk in front of him, and hold out my hand. He looks at me with a confused expression, but then I flip my palm over and the cuffs fly up into my hand. I hand them to Loki.

"Don't make me regret it." I smile at him, and then I walk out of the room as well.

I don't know why I did that, and some part of me feels like it was an unspoken rule that I just broke. Loki can stay, but we can't trust him. That's what everyone else agreed on. I barely know him, and yet I was the one that broke the rule. I bet they all feel like I'm overstepping my boundaries, like it wasn't my decision to make.

They're probably right.

But another part of me thinks maybe I know Loki better than all of them. Maybe I see him as an outsider who wants to be on the inside, and maybe that feels all too familiar to me.

I walk back into my room and sink to the floor in the corner, curling up against the wall. I sit there in silence for a long while, mentally and physically drained after yesterday, and then I reach for my phone on my bedside table. It doesn't get much use these days, partially because of Tony's suggestions and partially because I'm always a little bit scared of the questions I'll get when I call people.

But I dial that familiar number and hold the phone to my ears anyways.

"Hello?" The line asks, and my body relaxes.

"Mom, hi." I let out, a smile forming on my face. My voice breaks in the middle, and the tears begin to flow. I don't stop them, I just let myself miss her as much as I actually do.

"Cassie, sweetie, hi! How are you? What's wrong?" She asks, picking up on my light crying.

"Nothing, I just had a really rough day at work yesterday." I tell her, sniffling along the way.

"Well tell me all about it." She says, and I do.

I tell her about my coworkers not having much faith in me, and how I had to beg for some real responsibility. I tell her that there's another company that hates us, and how I swear they're out to get me. She laughs at my exaggeration and says everything will be fine, but she doesn't know that nothing will ever be fine again.

She doesn't know that my coworkers are superheroes and killers, and that those two things are one and the same.

Then we talk and talk until she has to get back to work after her lunch break, and I say goodbye to her once more. I promise to visit soon, though I know I won't. After the call, I decide to take a walk to get some space from everyone.

I walk and walk until I reach a hill, and from yesterday's flight back to the compound I know what's on the other side of it. The Asgardian camp. Curiosity gets the better of me and I walk into it.