"Listen, I've got something to tell you," I said as I opened the door to the small one bedroom house S.H.I.E.L.D. had condemned me to. I looked over at the couch and saw Loki sitting up straight and staring at me. He was either staring at me or just plainly, at my hair. The second option wouldn't have surprised me. "We got told something about your helmet today."

"You and those various men you work with?" he asked, as if who I was with at the time was more important than the information I now possessed.

"I work with women too. But this is important." I was going to leave out the part about Jane having a test run next week but he had a right to know about the helmet.

Loki practically rolled his eyes at me, which if you asked me, was much too human a gesture for him. "Do tell," he said. I wondered what happened while I was out today that made him revert back to the way he was when I first met him.

"They said they know who the helmet belonged to. They said your name and that you were Thor's brother and that it was common knowledge that you sent the Destroyer here. They're unsure whether you're actually on Earth but they know for certain that the helmet belonged to you."

"It's taken them three weeks to figure that out?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You're not surprised by this?"

"There's no chance they'll find me. You are taking care of that, aren't you?" I nodded. "Don't worry about it. We're completely safe."

"I don't think we are, Loki. I can't keep you hidden forever. Surely, you know that."

"I don't see why not." He clearly seemed confused, as if he figured I would rat him out when that wasn't the case. It's just that S.H.I.E.L.D. is smart and eventually, Thor would return.

"Inevitably, I have to go back to New York with them. I thought you understood that. This isn't a permanent house; S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't supposed to be out here for very long."

He narrowed his eyes at me, as if I was honestly stupid. "Are you saying I can't go with you?"

"Why would you want to? We leave here once we've gotten Thor and convinced him to work with us. I'm assuming that if he's gotten here, you'll want to leave the same way he came." I didn't want to suggest the idea because of how used I was to having Loki around but I thought for certain that that was his plan anyway.

"I do not believe I should go back there, at least not now." He avoided completely looking at me and I knew he hadn't been totally honest with me.

"Were you actually the one who sent the Destroyer?" I asked, slowly inching toward the couch he was sitting on. He turned and gave me a glare that made me stop in my tracks.

"I don't have to explain my actions to you."

"You owe me an answer to that. I'm not asking for a confessional here. I'm asking for yes or no. That's all I want. I told you I won't press you for information but I need to know this. They truly believe you did it and if they think that, I have to believe that Thor said it to Jane. There's only so much I can do for you." I was pleading with him but he was coldly ignoring my advances for answers.

"You've done enough for me, Charlotte. You do not need to defend me to people who do not realize that I'm even here. I'm not your son. I'm your lover." I stepped back from him and threw my purse on the small two person table.

"You're right. I'm sorry." He was right, that was true. I had been more than paranoid and it was one of many flaws of mine. Maybe how protective of him I was, was a flaw too and I hadn't realized it. "I'll stop obsessively taking care of you. In fact, if you want, you're more than welcome to go out during the day while I'm at work." He smiled at me, like he'd gotten exactly what he'd wanted. Loki may not realize it but clearly, I was the mother and he was the son. His petulance and how naïve he was in the ways of Earth were incredibly childlike. "So you've decided to call us lovers even though we've never slept together?" I asked, changing the subject.

Loki's lips curved into a smirk that I know he knew was attractive. "It's inevitable, don't you think?"

"What kind of girl do you think I am?" I asked, almost sweating profusely. Kissing him was one of the weirdest experiences of my life; I couldn't imagine sleeping with him.

"Why do I make you so nervous?" I turned and walked into my bedroom. There was no question that he made me nervous but he seemed to want to capitalize on things like that. I heard him follow me and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm about to take a shower so go back to whatever you were doing before I came home. If you're not worried about your helmet, then at least, I told you." I pushed past him and shut the door to the bathroom. Loki really liked to drive me up a wall and he was terribly good at it.

"You still didn't answer my question," he said through the door and I laughed. I got in the shower and finally started to relax after these hellish few days. Then I heard the door to the bathroom open.

"I'm getting the feeling that you didn't tell me everything," I heard Loki's melodic voice say.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I screeched, poking my head out of the shower, using the clouded curtain to cover myself.

"I like your hair wet," he mentioned nonchalantly. "But as I was saying, I don't think you told me everything earlier. Why did they tell you that about my helmet?"

"Loki, seriously, what the hell are you doing? Couldn't this wait?" Besides being appalled at him just busting into the bathroom while I was showering, I was shocked that he had picked up on my leaving something out. I guess I had to spill about Thor. "Let me get out of the shower and then I'll talk to you, okay?"

"Are you shy?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Clearly, he wasn't too distraught by me not telling him about Jane's tunnel.

"Actually, yes, I am so please give me a minute." He rolled his eyes then closed them, as if that was all the reassurance I needed. "Loki, can't you go in the living room or something?" He openly sighed and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He clearly didn't understand that humans had boundaries.

I got dried off and got in a nightgown quickly, trying to think of a game plan. Hell, why was I even bothering? I could just tell him straight up. He wasn't planning on going back to Asgard once Thor got here… but that didn't exclude him wanting to hurt Thor. There was an obvious amount of animosity between them and I was worried that it would come to blows. Damn, even if Loki didn't wish to go back, once Thor was here, he would inevitably be exposed and then I, of course, would be exposed.

"It's about Jane, okay? What I left out is about Jane," I said, walking into the living room barefoot and in my nightgown. Loki looked up at me from the couch and it was like telepathically he told me to sit down beside him. I knew he didn't but it always felt like he was in my head whenever I was home. Sometimes even at work, I thought he was around; which should be totally impossible, right? "Next week, she's having a test run to see if she can get to Thor. I doubt it will work right the first time but you never know." I sat on the opposite end of the couch than Loki and put my legs up beside me. I kept trying to convince myself to be calm but it was practically impossible.

Loki turned and said, "If he indeed does come to Earth next week, can be sure and not mention me being here? I'd hate for him to hunt me down. We didn't end things on great terms."

"You got it." Well, that was incredibly easy; much easier than I expected.

"Besides, I don't wish for you to be in jeopardy at your job or at all." I didn't quite understand that and it threw me for a loop.

"Thank you," I said and then finally, I was the one who initiated the kissing and whatever else was to ensue.