Tony Stark's need for extravagancy was exactly the reason why the Avengers couldn't have nice things. The evening started out fairly ordinary. Everyone was given the week off for Christmas (unless something went horribly wrong) so Natasha decided to spend one of her free afternoons cooking a nice dinner for her and Loki. Since it was their first Christmas Eve together, she wanted to do something special for dinner- ham, potatoes, fresh vegetables, the works... As for the rest of the team, they were doing their own things for the night since Steve had everyone in agreement to spend Christmas day together.
Natasha and Loki were just finishing up dinner, watching the sunset from their large bay window. The soft orange light filtering through helped to set up a romantic ambiance. "So," Natasha grinned, a glass of wine in hand, "a god's first Christmas. Do you think Santa's gonna leave you presents in the morning?" she teased.
Loki wrinkled his nose at her comment. The idea of what Christmas was had puzzled him, so he asked Steve what all the fuss was about. The blond started off by rambling about how his faith viewed the holiday before going on to mention a 'Santa Claus' who brought presents to all the good children. Loki asked him what kind of a god this 'Santa' was-Loki was honestly curious! Why would such a man deliver gifts only to Midgard? If he had the power to travel the whole realm in one night, then why not come to Asgard, as well? Tony happened to overhear the whole conversation and within hours, the whole team, Fury, Coulson, and plenty of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents knew the story of Loki, the grown man who believed in Santa Claus. "I'm not fond of your jests," he sneered, casually sipping his wine.
"Well, I have a present for you, so you're guaranteed at least one," Natasha winked.
"How very kind of you," Loki nodded. "I believe you will find a full stocking tomorrow, as well," the god hinted. He took a final bite of his meal before leaning back into his chair. "This was delicious. Thank you, Natasha," he grinned. It was rare for her to cook such a dinner. Their usual meals were something quick and easy, and occasionally, take-out. He saw how busy she was in the kitchen throughout the day and he was highly pleased with her effort.
"I'm excited to see what kind of cake you bought," she commented as she left the table to put her dishes in the sink.
"With such a selection, it was hard to choose only one," Loki chuckled. He headed towards the fridge to reveal a white, square cardboard box. "Natasha, I would like to watch the movie about the reindeer to start us off." To better get into the holiday spirit, he and Natasha planned on marathoning all of the traditional Christmas specials.
"Just let me clean these, first." Natasha turned the sink on and swore she could hear Tony yelling something from downstairs. She thought nothing of it until the whole penthouse faded to black and the water stopped running.
"Tony!" Pepper screeched.
Natasha quietly laughed. Clearly, the power outage was the fault of a certain resident downstairs…
"Natasha, look." Loki carried the cake box towards the nearest window. The once brightly lit skyscrapers surrounding their penthouse had all gone out. Even the streetlights had gone dead.
The red-head hurried to Loki's side and raised a brow. "Wow," she breathed. "This hasn't happened since his birthday…" The city lights all flickered back to life simultaneously, except for her apartment, which was still in darkness. "Looks like the movies will have to wait…" she doubtfully told the god.
"Ms. Romanoff," Jarvis' voice resounded over an intercom, "pardon the interruption, but my emergency back-up power supply is online to inform you that there has been a slight malfunction in the tower's power source."
"'Slight?'" Natasha asked, rolling her eyes.
"Mr. Stark would like to inform everyone that power will resume as soon as possible."
"May we ask what happened?" Loki wondered aloud.
There was a pause before Jarvis began to speak again. "One too many electrical appliances were running at once."
"Typical," Natasha muttered. Outside, the sky was growing darker, so she decided to hunt for some candles. "Mind giving me a hand?" she called out after rummaging through a drawer to no avail. "We must not have candles…Do you know something to get this place up and running again?"
"I'm glad you asked," Loki smirked. With the wave of his hand, dozens of tiny, flickering balls of light danced in the air around them like stars. "Unfortunately, this is the best I can do for us," he admitted.
Natasha looked around in wonder before she reached out to touch one. The glowing orb was warm to the touch and left her in awe of what Loki was capable of.
"This is far more romantic if I do say so myself," Loki observed.
"Beats watching movies all night," she agreed.
"Would you like some dessert?" Loki offered. As he walked towards her, the lights followed him.
Natasha led him over to the living room couch. They sat down before the coffee table and Loki summoned two plates and forks. "Who needs electricity when you have a god around?" Natasha widely grinned. "I'm kinda glad Thor and Jane are on Asgard. He would've had this place back up and running, but I prefer things just like this."
Loki softly chuckled as he cut her a slice of chocolate cake topped with strawberries. "The feeling is mutual, then."
"I think I'm sensing a new tradition," she added, accepting the plate from him.
"Are you implying that you wish to spend more years me?" he asked, flashing her a sly smirk.
Natasha took a large bite of cake as his words sank in. She wasn't one to openly express how she felt, but with Loki, things were different, they felt right… "Years and years." She set her plate aside to give him a kiss on the lips.
Loki hummed in approval as he tasted chocolate on her tongue. "You, Ms. Romanoff, are a masochist for putting up with me," he chuckled.
"Sometimes you can be a huge ass, but I love you," she freely admitted, cupping his cheeks.
'Thank you,' he mouthed before kissing her again. The power soon came back on, but Loki forcefully made all of the pesky lights fade out.
"Much better," Natasha murmured against his lips.
"Natasha?" Loki gently inquired. She pulled away, eying him curiously. "Cake first. We will resume this afterwards."
She rolled her eyes, but gave in to his simple request. Natasha curled up against his side as they ate, watching as Loki's mystical lights changed colours in the space surrounding them. "How are you liking the holidays?" she suddenly wondered.
"I am enjoying things very much," he stated. "Although, I think next year will be hard to surpass this one," he told her with a smile.