Written for the 2018 Enchanted Wonders holiday writing event

Assigned Prompt:
Pairing: Phil Coulson/Hermione Granger
Enchanted Item: Mistletoe
Holiday Word Prompt: Festive Drinks
Word Count ≤ 2500

The festive drink ideas came from the "Christmas Cocktails" Article #g2768 at Country Living online.

MERRY MIXER

"Who is he?" Hermione asked Wanda. She had been the Scarlet Witch's mentor ever since their first meeting in England when Hermione immediately noticed Wanda's struggle to control her own special kind of powers. At that time, she had welcomed both the enhanced girl and her not-exactly-human friend into her home. After she learned more about their history, however, she invited them to stay as long as they wanted. After all, Hermione could definitely relate. She also knew what it was like to live life on the run after refusing to be registered just for being different…and she still had the Undesirable #2 poster in her old beaded bag to prove it.

By the time Wanda and Vision had been notified of the danger that Thanos presented when he started to collect the Infinity Stones…like the one embedded in Vision's head, they had become inseparable friends with Hermione. Therefore, she also answered the call to arms with them when it came time to fight. She did not come alone, either. She brought her other friends, the best of Britain's Wizarding War veterans with her.

…

Therefore, the combined might of the Magicals, the Avengers, and the Guardians (as well as a few other friends and allies), easily neutralized the threat of Thanos before he could cause any real harm – and before any causalities were experienced by their side. In order to celebrate such a monumental victory, Tony decided to throw a riotous party at the Tower for all of those who had been involved. The proximity to the Christmas holiday only made the occasion even more special!

The party turned out to be a huge success, of course. Everyone had a great time. The drinks flowed and the music blared. Crossover friendships were cemented and romantic connections were formed – especially since WWW-patented Enchanted Mistletoe popped up randomly among the guests and froze their feet to the floor until they shared a kiss.

…

At Hermione's question, however, Wanda looked away from the amusing sight of the mistletoe's inventor, George Weasley, who was trying to prank Rocket into eating a charmed sweet in order to see what effect it would have on the genetically enhanced Raccoon. She followed Hermione's line of sight and realized that her friend was referring to the good-looking man behind the bar. He stood out a bit from the rest of the crowd because he was dressed in a nice suit instead of the casual clothing that everyone else wore. He was also talking animatedly to Nat and Clint and looked like he was having the time of his life as he mixed colorful festive drinks and handed them out randomly to the partygoers who passed by and greeted him with familiarity. He seemed to be very well-liked, especially by the original Avengers. Wanda's brow furrowed in confusion, though, when she did not recognize him.

"I don't know," she answered. "I've never seen him before, but Tony mentioned that a lot of old friends came out to help against Thanos…some of whom were even presumed dead before – just like Fury. Nat and Clint seem really friendly with him, though, so maybe he was with SHIELD?" She turned to ask Vision if he knew, but he had joined the group that now laughed heartily at the bright yellow wings that Rocket had sprouted after he gave in and tried one of the Canary Creams.

"He has a nice smile," Hermione said to nobody in particular since she noticed that Wanda had been detained under the roaming mistletoe just then with Charlie Weasley. "Lucky girl," she thought - especially since she knew from her mistletoe experiences during holidays at the Burrow that Charlie's kisses were as fiery as the dragons that he worked with at the sanctuary!

Hermione was soon distracted from her pupil's not-so-unpleasant plight, however, when the mystery guy from the bar suddenly looked up, caught her eye, and cast another of those charming smiles in her direction. He did not look away, either. Therefore, she felt a surprising little frisson of excitement sweep through her and tried to determine whether to go and introduce herself. Nat, however, noticed the interaction and cheerfully waved her over. After all, the two kick-ass women had hit it off immediately when they met. Consequently, Nat was more than happy to perform the introductions between her two single friends as soon as Hermione finished weaving her way across the chaotic room.

"Coulson, this is the newest Avenger, Hermione. She has agreed to join us since she has been helping to train the little witch over there for a while now, anyway."

"She was also the leader of the Magicals during the recent foray." Clint piped up once he had finished the Mistletoe Margarita that Phil had absentmindedly pushed in his direction when he had first been distracted by the sight of the bewitching woman.

Before Hermione could demur, however, Nat noted with satisfaction the impressed look that Coulson sent towards the newcomer before she continued. "Hermione, this is Phil. He was Fury's right-hand man at SHIELD before his own death...and then became the secret Director himself after Fury died." Nat shrugged at Hermione's incredulous look. "It's complicated!" She then smiled up at the tall dark man with the eyepatch who strolled up and grabbed a drink off of the bar. "Speak of the devil" she said playfully. "Come dance with me, Sir." Nick Fury just glowered at her with his one good eye…but he let her pull him out onto the dance floor, anyway – even though he took his Butterscotch Martini with him.

"Only Nat could get away with that," Clint said with a lonely-sounding sigh until Hermione pointed him in Luna's direction. She had just noticed that her ethereal blonde friend was trapped between the wall and Drax, as the large man earnestly tried to engage her in a conversation about something. Clint's sigh immediately turned into a smile as he went to rescue the too-polite-to-leave-or-to-hex witch by asking her to dance instead. Hermione smiled to herself as she watched them also get caught under the enchanted mistletoe before she turned her attention back to the attractive bartender.

"You're very good at that," she remarked as he quickly whipped up a variety of fruity seasonal cocktails and gestured for her to pick one for herself. She flushed a little as she realized that they were now alone together at the bar...and that her words had sounded quite suggestive.

However, he did not seem to notice her sudden embarrassment. "I worked my way through college by bartending," he explained cheerfully and then grinned widely when she moaned delightfully at her first taste of the blue Jack Frost cocktail that she had chosen. "Sometimes I still miss it. It was kind of nice having a job where you didn't have to worry about things like being stabbed in the heart with a magical staff or having your hand cut off in order to prevent your entire body from turning into a statue." He paused in order to wave at her with the now-obvious enhanced prosthetic that he wore on his left arm before he continued. "However, even though I haven't been around for a while, I always used to enjoy playing barkeep at Tony's parties. He keeps the place extremely well stocked!"

"Yes, he does like to have the best of everything." Hermione answered as she reluctantly tore her gaze away from his in order to reach for another drink. She ended up choosing a Pomegranate Orange Sangria this time - and sipped it slowly - especially since she was in no hurry to leave the company of the intriguing man – nor did he seem eager for her absence, either. She also noticed that he did not seem to have any trouble or lack of flexibility with his left hand as he shook, mixed, and poured the creative holiday drinks. She did not know if it was his fascinating company…or the alcohol…or a combination of them both…but she soon found herself wondering exactly how dexterous that appendage could be…

"I'd like to think that includes his friends, as well," Phil said, breaking into her questionable thoughts as he picked out a Raspberry Russian for himself from the most recently created batch.

"I'll drink to that," she answered cheerfully and they clinked glasses. They each took a sip and then shared a look of mutual appreciation, both for the drinks...and each other...before they slipped easily into casual conversation about their respective lives and mutual friends for a while. The pleasant interlude continued until Phil reacted instantly to something in his peripheral vision.

"Nice try, Spider Kid!" he suddenly exclaimed as a knife-like attachment from his new hand popped out to sever the web-like material that Peter had shot over in an attempt to surreptitiously snag one of the cocktails. "Here…try this instead." Phil quickly mixed up a couple of virgin Jingle Juices. "It's like fruit punch with a bit of a kick. Take one for your tree friend, too." The boy thanked him sheepishly. Then Hermione and Phil watched as he scurried off with the drinks past Bruce and Ron, who were attempting to play a game of chess despite the noisy chaos, on the way back to the corner where the teenaged Groot sprawled out with his video game.

Hermione just laughed at the unexpected interaction and was about to compliment Phil's perfect response. Instead, she winced painfully when the already-too-loud music around them suddenly increased even more in volume. Phil noticed her expression and a hopeful look crossed his handsome face as he asked, "Would you like to get out of here and go somewhere a little quieter? Maybe for some coffee?"

Despite her sudden discomfort, Hermione smiled softly at his implication. She slipped her wand out, however, and cast a Muffliato, instead. The spell not only made it harder for their conversation to be overheard, but also dampened the noise field around them.

She sighed gratefully at the immediate decrease in noise before she answered his question. "I don't normally pick up strange men at parties, you know – especially when I've been drinking." Her slightly teasing smile, though, let him know that, even though she was speaking the truth, her words were not an automatic rejection.

She was pleased to see that he looked startled at her insinuation for a moment, because that meant that his offer had no ulterior motive. His look then faded into one of disappointment. It was obvious that he had not taken offense, however, since he continued to banter with her. "Well, you may want to stay away from that guy then," he joked and gestured towards the sorcerer on the other side of the room. At the moment, however, Doctor Strange was frozen in place and looked horrified since he had just been caught under the mistletoe with Tony…while his friend and fellow sorcerer, Wong, just laughed heartily.

Hermione laughed merrily, too, at Phil's clever name pun…and at her situation in general. She could not believe how fun this night was, and how interesting things were turning out. Even though she had a good life in England, it was becoming obvious that the move to New York with Wanda and Vision was going to be exciting. Besides all of the new friends she had made, she also had an amazing new job…and perhaps even a new romance in bloom, too. At that last unexpected thought, she flushed a little. To cover up her embarrassment, she quickly chose just one more of Phil's delectable creations off of the bar before they all disappeared. As she sipped the Winter Wonderland cocktail, he snagged himself the last Cherry Mojito.

"What about you?" she asked curiously.

"Well...I'm about as normal as you can get…with this crowd, anyways," he reassured her. "Except for this, maybe…" here he paused to wave at her with his left hand, again. Then he looked thoughtful as he added "…and the fact that Romanoff was correct. I have actually died a couple of times."

"Oh, really?" Hermione asked. This time he was the one who was pleased by her reaction. She seemed completely unperturbed by the information, so she had probably seen her share of crazy things in the magical world. Hopefully, that meant she would not be easily scared away by his life. "So has my best friend, Harry, over there," she replied as she pointed at the man who had obviously visited the bar more than once himself – especially since he was now dancing energetically in a group with Ginny, Gamora, and that Star Lord bloke. Hermione just laughed since she knew how much Harry hated to dance when he was sober. "He ended up at the Kings Cross Station in his temporary afterlife," she continued as she looked back at Phil curiously. "Where did you go?"

"Tahiti," he answered with an almost sad smile. "It was a magical place."

"Sounds nice," Hermione remarked even as she wondered about the sadness...and her sudden urge to comfort him. She did allow herself to reach over and daringly take his hand, though, as she continued. "Nevertheless, I must say that I'm glad your…vacation…wasn't permanent."

"Me, too," he smiled again, much more cheerfully this time, as he looked at their now interlaced fingers – especially since it was obvious that she had purposely chosen to hold his prosthetic hand. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet you."

Two hearts thrilled then as the look of mutual understanding and intrigue between them deepened when he reached for her other hand, as well. "About that offer for coffee…" Hermione started to say until the two of them were completely distracted by the mistletoe that popped up between them and froze their feet in place.

"Finally!" Hermione muttered gratefully at the same time Phil sheepishly admitted, "I hoped that would happen." They shared a smile before leaning in for a sweet but surprisingly heated kiss then...and they both instinctively knew that it would not be their last one of the night.

In fact, nobody actually noticed when they slipped out together – especially after Steve and Bucky, the only completely sober ones left in the Tower due to their super soldier engineering, had set up the karaoke machine. Mantis and Neville, after meeting under the mistletoe, performed "Garden of Feelings" together first. They were followed by various other unconventional couples or ragtag groups until the wee hours of the morning - when Tony finally sent everyone still awake to the downstairs apartments with instructions to sleep it off. If some new friends chose to use that time to connect even further, then their host was certainly not one to criticize.

…

Meanwhile, Hermione and Phil spent the rest of the night enjoying each other's company over coffee, conversation, and even more kisses before they explored the possibilities...and pleasures...of a closer connection themselves!