LokixSigyn One-shots

The Christmas Party

The Avengers Christmas Party was in full swing. Tony mentally patted himself on the back, though truth be told the whole thing was more due to Pepper's and Sigyn's organising abilities than to anything he did, except provide the money. Still, everyone had fun and that was the main idea.

Sam, Rhodey and Steve were lounging on the couch, playing a good-natured round of "I've survived worse than you", a game which Steve tended to win. Thor occasionally chimed in, though he mostly listened silently with a wry smile on his face. At the bar, Jane was talking with Bruce about some last minute discovery she had made at the laboratory. The drink in her hand was constantly in danger of sloshing over because she gesticulated so excitedly with her arms. Darcy seemed to try to stop her boss from talking about work, but from the looks of it she had no luck. Instead the brunette turned around with a shrug to where Pepper and Natasha were embroiled in a quiet but passionate conversation about the proper way of handling annoying business partners in meetings. Clint, standing behind the counter and playing bar keeper for the evening, offered the occasional remark together with samples of brightly coloured drinks he had concocted, which were met with sometimes more, sometimes less approval. Even Maria Hill had found the time to drop by and stood chatting with Sigyn near the glass front of the room. Loki's wife, as the official host of the party, had properly embraced the Christmas spirit and had a red Santa hat perched on her white blonde hair. At this moment she threw her head back and laughed unabashedly about something Maria had said.

Tony still stood next to the ginormous Christmas tree they somehow had managed to fit into the living room under which he had just dropped off his part of the Avengers Secret Santa exchange. He had drawn Steve as the receiver of his gift and had at first been tempted to buy him a "Computers for Seniors" book. But ultimately he had remembered the two old issues of original 40s Captain America comics he had found in his father's S.H.I.E.L.D. box years ago. He had enlisted Jarvis' help in finding them again and then spent a very entertaining evening hunting down the other issues on the Internet until he had managed to get a complete set. And just for the laughs of it he had also burned a DVD of the old black and white Captain America movies he had found.

Tony tried to picture Steve's face on opening the parcel when Loki sauntered over from where he had stood listening to Jane. He nodded to Tony, bent down and pulled two carefully wrapped parcels from thin air, one slightly bigger than the other. One had Thor written on it in Loki's elegant scrawl, the other sported a chicken scratch of something that was maybe supposed to read Natasha.

"Show-off", Tony mumbled into the glass of whiskey he had just taken a sip from. The corners of Loki's mouth quirked up as he straightened and looked down at the shorter engineer-billionaire.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Or what was that about you flying to a business meeting in your Iron battle armour?"

"Point taken," Tony admitted, raising his glass and toasting the Norse god. "Don't you have something to drink? Barton's experiments not to your liking?"

Loki's eyes flew over to the bar, where Clint served a round of lime-green shots to Pepper, Natasha and Darcy. The looks on their faces when they downed the alcohol told Loki and Tony that this was one of Clint's less palatable concoctions.

"Since I have not yet been able to determine whether the Archer is trying to poison everyone or not, I am content with my own beverage, thank you." Loki replied with a chuckle, turning his hand palm up and suddenly holding a tumbler with a clear amber liquid. He took a sip and closed his eyes in delight while the smell of honey and wood smoke hit Tony's nostrils.

"Hey, Tony?" Natasha suddenly called over to him, barely contained laughter in her voice.

"Yes, Ms Rushman?" Tony grinned back. He still enjoyed occasionally riling her up by calling her some of her undercover names he was aware of.