Georgia Frost

Christmas Party

"Merry Christmas!" Tony Stark yelled outside Aubrey's door. Aubrey rolled over and buried her face in her pillow.

"Stark, it is Christmas Eve, not Christmas day," she groaned.

"I know, but come on! We gotta start getting ready!" he said. Aubrey sat up and glared at the door. Sometimes she really hated that guy, she decided.

"For what, pray tell?" she said. He didn't seem to notice her sarcasm.

"Well. One, my party tonight. Two, we have to finish decorating. Three, it's Christmas. You need to be excited," he said. Aubrey stared at the ceiling, praying he'd go away. Of course, he didn't. 

"Fine," she said, getting up to brush my hair. "Give me a second." Aubrey heard his footsteps fade away from her door. When she finished and left the bathroom, he, Thor, Steve, and a very grumpy Clint were waiting in the living room.

"Finally," Clint said. "Okay, what's up, Stark?" He grinned.

"We have got decorating to do," he said. "Clint and Thor, you've got lights, Steve, go buy some Christmas trees, big and small, Aubrey, you got desserts - make little cookies, chocolates, whatever, and fill up the kitchen. I will supervise everybody, and also run errands to buy whatever we need that we don't have. Got it?" He looked at each of us excitedly.

"So Christmas is a big deal around here, I take it?" Aubrey said.

"I guess. It's my first Christmas here, too," Steve answered. "Come on, Stark. You need to help me out with those trees. I know next to nothing about where to find them." He stood up and stretched - apparently Clint and Aubrey were not the only sleepy ones, and Tony followed him out.

"Why do you get the easy job?" Clint asked Aubrey. She raised her eyebrow. 

"Baking isn't easy. Besides, you're a disaster in the kitchen, and you know it," Aubrey said. "Not to mention that I been baking cookies and stuff since I was, like, three. It's practically in my blood." 

"Fine," Clint said. "Come on, Thor. You can fly, right? I'm going to need you to get the places I can't reach." He got up and left. Thor chased after him, asking a lot of questions. 

Aubrey headed to the kitchen, wondering where Nat was. She hadn't yet seen her that morning. Maybe Tony hadn't worked up the courage to wake her up. Aubrey wished he was that scared of her. 

It got stressful in there. About halfway through, Clint came in, saying he was taking a break, and started snacking on my cookies and cakes. He only stopped when Aubrey threatened to get Nat. She had come in earlier and warned me about Clint. When he left, Thor came in only fifteen minutes later, looking for Clint. Then he stayed and pestered me with questions about Christmas. He seemed to be trying to figure out whether it was or was not the same holiday as a similar one they had in Asgard.

Aubrey finally finished and left the kitchen. Nat was in the living room, setting up decorations. She smiled when Aubrey walked in.

"Want to help?" she asked.

"Yeah, alright," Aubrey agreed. They made small talk while working on the decorations.

"Can I borrow a dress or something?" she asked. "Stark has a party tonight, right? I don't have anything nice to wear."

"Of course. I've got one or two that you might like," Nat said.

"Thanks!" Aubrey said. Just then, Tony walked in.

That evening, Aubrey slipped into the dress Nat let her borrow - a pretty green one that reminded her of the woods - and prepared for the party. Guests had just begun to arrive when she left her room and headed toward the floor where Tony had told her they'd be. Her stomach felt nauseous and Aubrey couldn't help but shake a little. She'd had social anxiety before she'd been kidnapped, and she still felt nervous about big events like this.

Aubrey reached the floor and had to consciously stop herself from covering her ears. It was so loud! Whatever. It's okay. She found Nat at the bar and sat on a stool next to her, feeling awkward.

"Hi," she muttered.

"Nervous?" Nat asked. 

"Is it that obvious?"

"No. I'm just observant."

"Oh. Well yeah, I am."

"Don't worry. I was too, the first time he invited me to one of these." Nat sipped her drink. Bruce walked over to us, clearly nervous. Behind him, Tony was grinning.

"U-um, Nat?" he said. "D-do you want to, um, dance with me?" Surprised, Nat blushed. My jaw dropped. She was...blushing...

"Yes," she said. The two got up and walked onto the dance floor. Aubrey smiled. She had had suspicions before...but this proved it. 

"Miss?" said the bartender. "Do you want anything to drink? You're just sitting here."

"Hm? Oh, uh, no thanks. Actually, no, can I have a iced tea, please? Not alcoholic... wait, does iced tea even come al- whatever. Iced tea, please,"  Aubrey said. The bartender found one for her and slid it over. As Aubrey drank it, savoring the familiar southern taste, she watched the noisy commotion of the party around her. People had already begun to stumble drunkenly...and it was only around nine thirty.

After she finished her tea, Aubrey decided to wander around for a while. She hadn't really seen this floor before, and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so. But she started to get a really bad headache only a moment later. Probably the noise. Or...could there have been something in her drink? Surely not...right?

Nevertheless, Aubrey felt just about done anyways, and she left. She never much liked loud, crowded events, and even though she was willing to participate every now and then, she couldn't take it for long. Her room, with it's cozy lamps and fluffy bed awaited her.

And Loki.

Aubrey opened the door to her room and stopped dead in shock. Loki stood next to her ceiling high bookshelf, running his hands over the covers, browsing. What was he...was she hallucinating?

"Loki?" she said. "Is...is that you?" Loki looked up. Aubrey rolled her eyes. She was 100% sure he had heard the door open - if he was there - and was just being dramatic.

"Yes, my darling," he said. Aubrey felt herself blush. Why?! Why did she have to blush so easily? Aubrey blushed even more because she realized she was blushing.

"Hi? Why are you here? Aren't you in prison? Or shouldn't you be?" Aubrey said.

"I should be," Loki said nonchalantly. He pulled a book from the shelf. "What is this? A ring-lord?"

"Lord of the Rings," Aubrey corrected. "Fantastic series, if you have the time. But you haven't answered me yet!"

"Yes, yes," Loki sighed. "No time to live in the moment, I see." He was speaking infuriatingly casually.

"Loki..." Aubrey warned. He raised his hands in defense.

"I'm here," he said. "Because somebody wishes to use you."

A/N

Hello! What do you think? I'm planning on having this story pick up the pace soon, more action and all that good stuff. Anyways, please comment/vote if you feel thus inclined, and thank you so much for reading! Love y'all!