Imagine Loki

Christmas Cookies

You put the last batch of cookies in the oven, sighing as you dusted off your hands. You'd been baking for hours and barely finished with the last bit of dough you had left. It'd always been a tradition in your family to bake cookies for Christmas, but one thing your family lacked was the ability to determine what an appropriate amount of cookies was. Since you came from a large family, that amount generally meant enough to feed a small country. You turned around to look at your kitchen and, sure enough, cookies littered every surface. "I have no self control," you said to nobody as you started cleaning up. There was no way you were going to finish all of those cookies on your own, so you needed a bit of time to determine just what you were going to do with them.

By the time you had finished cleaning, you had a vague idea what to do with all of the cookies. You put aside a couple dozen cookies for yourself, and then started separating the rest into sandwich baggies. After doing this, you found an empty box to load your cookies into. Twenty minutes later, you left your apartment with the box in hand and made your way to the elevator. Before you did that though, you looked over to your neighbor's door. You shrugged then walked up, knocking on the door as well as you could with a box filled with cookies in your hands. A few seconds later your neighbor opened the door, messy hair and pajamas letting you know that he hadn't been doing anything. It was unfair that he looked good even like that. "What's going on, (y/n)?" He asked.

"Hey, Loki, so I was making Christmas cookies and I kinda made too many," you explained with a sheepish smile. "I was wondering if maybe you wanna take some?"

"At what point did you think that you might have made too many?" Loki asked with a small smirk, looking at the box of cookies in your hands.

"Probably after the fourth or fifth dozen," you laughed, almost dropping the cookies in the process. Loki immediately reached out, helping to steady you. "Thanks. So, do you want some or not?"

"I'll take some," Loki told you with a small laugh. You handed him a couple baggies and he placed them on a small table next to the door. "What're you planning to do with all of those, anyways?"

"I dunno, probably ask around the building if people want them," you replied with a shrug. "I'll probably get a few doors slammed in my face but whatever."

"Why don't you take them down to the children's shelter? I'm sure they won't turn you away," Loki suggested.

"Yeah, alright. Where is it?" You asked. You were almost positive you must've passed it once or twice on your way through the city, but you probably just didn't notice it.

"If you wait a few minutes, I'll take you there," Loki told you.

"Alright, I guess," you said, shifting your hold on the box so it now rested on your hip. "Just don't take too long."

"You know I won't," Loki said over his shoulder, already making his way to his bedroom to change. You stood in the doorway, unsure if you should wait in the hall or go into his apartment. You decided to wait in the hall.

//

When Loki came back, he was significantly less bundled up than you were. "I don't chill easily," Loki dismisses your questioning look with a small wave of his hand. "Shall we go then?"

You nodded, following him down the hall and into the elevator. When he noticed you still struggling with the cookies, he turned to you with a sigh. "Here, let me take those."

"Uhm, I mean, I've got them. You don't have to," you fumbled. This was already the longest you've been with Loki, everything else being fleeting greetings in the halls or asking for small favors, and you weren't used to him quite yet.

"I insist," Loki said, already taking the box from you. You mumbled a small thank you, and Loki just nodded in response. The rest of the elevator ride and the way to the children's shelter was filled with idle chit-chat and actually getting to know your neighbor. You'd lived next to him for years, but you discovered that you knew almost nothing about him. You were actually a bit disappointed when you arrived at the shelter, enjoying your talk with Loki about Shakespeare. Well, Loki did most of the talking, you just listened. But seeing the change in Loki's attitude when he walked into the shelter made you forget that disappointment.

"C'mon, let's hand these out," Loki told you after talking to the women at the front desk. You nodded, following him to what appeared to be a common room. Almost a dozen kids immediately ran up, recognizing Loki. That was another thing you didn't know about your neighbor: he volunteered here a lot. Loki knew all of those kids by name, and it was honestly heartwarming to watch his interactions with all of them. He set them to task, making sure that every kid in the shelter would get a baggie of cookies. Sure, you always found him attractive, but knowing that he was a good person just made him that much more attractive.

You were done within twenty minutes, every kid wanting to come to you and thank you both for bringing the cookies. On the way back to the apartment building, you and Loki talked more about your interests, finding out that you had a lot more in common than you would've thought. "So, when did you start volunteering there?" You asked about halfway home.

"It must've been years ago," Loki said, looking at the snow on the ground. "It was when I first moved to New York. I'll admit that I didn't have many friends, so I spent a lot of time looking for worthy causes to donate my time to. The children's shelter was the one I found the worthiest."

"You know, I wouldn't have pegged you as a kids kind of person," you told him.

"And why's that?" Loki asked with a raised brow.

"It's not anything bad, I just kinda picture you as more of a cool uncle type of guy," you said with a shrug. "It's nice that you volunteer there, a lot of the kids seem really nice."

"They are," Loki agreed. "And it's amazing to see how much they light up with even the smallest things. It really helps to put things into perspective and keep you humble." You nodded, unsure how to respond to that. Luckily, Loki noticed and changed the topic.

It wasn't until you reached your apartment that you felt the need to just be with him more. You enjoyed seeing him outside of the building and actually getting to know him, and you didn't want it to end just yet. As you watched him unlock his door and begin to step inside, you decided to take a chance. "Hey, Loki," you called out. Loki pauses and turned to you.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Would you, I dunno, maybe want to come in for some coffee? I still have a couple dozen cookies left," you invited him with a small smile. Loki looked at his apartment then back to you, closing the door behind him.

"I'd love that," he told you, walking towards you. You opened the door wider to let him in, smiling as you watched him enter your apartment. You were excited about this, even if your heart was pounding slightly at the idea of your newfound crush. You took a deep breath before turning back to your apartment and closing the door. It's just coffee and cookies. What can go wrong?