Imagine Loki

Caught Under the Mistletoe

You looked around the crowd of unfamiliar faces, already wanting to go home despite the fact that you'd been here for all of ten minutes. Somehow, Tony had managed to convince you to come to the annual Avengers Christmas party. Sure, you were technically an Avenger, but you didn't live with them nor really go on missions with them, so you might as well have been just a story. The last time you even talked to anyone other than Tony was right after the Battle of New York, and that meant that you recognized all of six people in the room. You thought about going home again, wondering if there were any new shows on Netflix that you could binge instead of being here. Before you could seriously consider just leaving, someone approached in your peripheral.

"You don't look like you're having a good time," a smooth voice told you as you sipped at your drink. You knew Tony didn't make it; it wasn't nearly strong enough to be one of his drinks. You looked over at the newcomer, seeing a tall, raven-haired man that looked awfully familiar, but you couldn't quite place a name to the face.

"It'd be a lie to say that I am," you told him as you lowered your glass.

"I haven't seen you before, are you a new recruit?" The man asked, settling in on the barstool next to yours. You shook your head.

"Nope, I've technically been a part of all of this since the beginning," you told him. "I just prefer to stay out of the spotlight. I'm (y/n), and you are?" The man's eyes widened slightly at the mention of your name, and you resisted the urge to roll your eyes at his reaction.

"You're (y/n), as in Inferno Angel?" He asked, using your old code name. This time you actually did roll your eyes. It was a name Tony had given you, and you used it for a couple of years before just going back to being one of those mutants with the flames. And, if you were being honest, you thought that code name was just a bit of a mouthful.

"Yeah, but I don't go by that anymore," you replied. "It was a bit tired. And you are?"

"Right, right, sorry," the man said. "I just got a bit caught up. I have to say, your combat style is one of the most sophisticated ones I've seen."

"Thank you, but I still don't know your name," you laughed. You saw the man's cheeks flush slightly, and you were loving this effect you had on him.

"My name is Loki," he told you. This time it was your turn to react to the reveal, but you simply arched a brow.

"Huh, this is interesting," you said, taking another sip of your drink. "So you switched sides, have you?"

"Yes, I have," Loki said with a nod.

"Good, because that entire thing was a dick move," you replied easily. "I wouldn't've pegged you as a Christmas party kind of guy, so what brings you here?"

"Stark," Loki told you. That was all he really needed to say, if you were being honest. For the first time since you'd arrived, you weren't bored. You and Loki settled into an easy conversation, which you were a bit surprised at considering the last time you'd seen him, he'd been trying to take over the planet and kind of kill you in the process. The entire time that you were talking, you found him to be intelligent, sophisticated, and, despite your wishes, charming - which was a high compliment considering the room of people you were in.

--

When you next checked the time, you were surprised to see that a few hours had passed. You and Loki had moved from the bar to the balcony, overlooking the snow-covered streets of New York. "Aren't you cold?" Loki asked after a few minutes of you being outside, looking at your jacket-less figure.

"Nope, I run warm," you told him. You turned to him, holding your hands out. "Give me your hands." Loki seemed a bit reluctant at first, but you motioned for him to hurry up and he placed his hands in yours. You were surprised that, even taking your body temperature into account, his hands were still cold. You looked up at him with a questioning look.

"Let's just say that I run cold," Loki explained. You nodded, allowing him to leave it at that. It wasn't until nearly a minute later that you realized you were still holding his hands, and you dropped them as your face started flushing, stuttering out an apology. Loki laughed slightly at your reaction, and before long the two of you had settled into a comfortable silence.

"You know, I was planning on leaving after I showed my face around here," you admitted, breaking the silence. Loki looked over at you, an unspoken question evident on his face. "I don't like this kind of thing. Crowds, this much attention, it's not really my kind of scene. That's kinda the reason I don't do Avenger things."

"It can get overwhelming at times," Loki agreed. "It just takes some getting used to."

"I'll admit something else: you actually made this Christmas party somewhat bearable," you told him, a small smile on your face. You slightly wished that you still had your drink, feeling that it would have been the perfect time to take a sip, but it had been abandoned long ago.

"Really? Only somewhat?" Loki teased, leaning in closer. You could feel your heart starting to beat out of your chest at his proximity, and were convinced that he could feel it too.

"Yeah, somewhat," you said with a teasing smile instead, managing to keep your cool. You didn't understand why all of a sudden he was having this effect on you, but you suddenly felt like your roles from earlier had been reversed. You caught yourself momentarily lost in his eyes. It didn't go unnoticed by him if his smirk was anything to go off of. Your eyes quickly darted away, looking behind him for any relief. Your gaze briefly landed on something above the two of you, but darted away once again, hoping it would go unnoticed by him. Of course it didn't, he almost immediately looked up, eyes landing on the exact same spot yours had only moments earlier. His lips curled up into a slight smirk as he realized what it was.

"We're under the mistletoe," Loki commented, looking back at you.

"It would appear so," you replied, desperately wishing you had your drink again. You were not equipped to deal with this sober. Loki saved you from having to overthink it, much like you did everything else, as he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. Your heart began racing once again, and you could almost feel the butterflies in your stomach erupting.

"I hope I didn't-"

"No, no you were fine," you cut him off, surprising the both of you. Your cheeks flushed once again as you quickly went to try and explain yourself. "I mean, it's only tradition, right?"

"Right," Loki said with a slight nod as he turned back to the streets. You could feel yourself finally beginning to calm down once again as you followed suit. As you snuck a glance at Loki's profile, you were glad that you'd decided to stay for a little longer instead of leaving immediately like you had wanted to.