Title: Christmas Eve

Summary: A story in which SHIELD holds a Christmas party for their employees, and a certain child tries to explain the holiday to a very confused Norse god. AU because Thor and Loki haven't returned to Asgard! Also, an agency like SHIELD probably wouldn't have a Christmas party.

'The colder it grows in Midgard,' Thor thought, 'the stranger these mortals act.'

It had been a couple of months since the Chitauri invasion and since his and Loki's original departure date for Asgard. The two scientists of the group had complained loudly (which meant that one complained and the other kept working) at the idea that their new toy would be taken away. Fury and Thor then decided that he and Loki could stay for a while so that Tony and Bruce could study the Tesseract.

The days passed by and Thor took to observing the mortals around him. Today, he was standing in one of the larger cafeteria rooms aboard the Hellicarrier, when he noticed several SHIELD agents had removed the many tables and were currently pulling in large boxes filled with shiny, sparkling objects.

"My friends," he announced, startling the agents with his booming voice.

The closest agent turned and greeted him warmly. "Good morning, sir," he smiled. The man picked up a bag filled with paper and asked, "Will you be coming to the party tonight?"

"Certainly," Thor responded. "What sort of festivities are planned?"

"It's our annual Christmas party, sir."

"Christmas?" Thor asked. He had heard the word said many times during the last few weeks, but no one had really explained it to him. Any response the agent would have made was drowned out by the arrival of Tony, Steve, and Clint.

Thor considered asking them about Christmas, but after the frightening description of what Midgardian children went through every year on the night of hallows, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Thor, buddy!" Tony's voice sounded from behind him.

"Man of Iron! Is it not too early to be imbibing in your drink?" Thor asked, slightly concerned that the man would be drinking in the morning.

"Trust me, pal, it's never too early for alcohol when it's Christmas Eve."

"You're a disgrace to the Christmas spirit," Steve muttered as he walked around tony. His arms were holding a box full of what looked like bouncy, flexible metal that was connected at some point.

"Don't worry, Steve. I'm sure those three ghosts will catch up to me at some point and show me the error of my ways."

"Yeah, and maybe they'll take you with them when they depart," Clint said with a smirk as he and another man walked by with a large evergreen tree held up between them.

"Well at least I can't be stabbed in the heart with an icicle!" Tony retorted.

Clint grinned and responded, "You could always get run over by the reindeer!"

"Enough, boys," Natasha said as she walked up. The instructions she proceeded to relay were lost on Thor as he considered what the others had said.

This 'Christmas' event sounded dangerous, and he feared that he was unprepared for it.

Bruce appeared with yet another box and called out to Thor, "Come help with the ornaments!" The two walked over to where Clint and a few others were standing the tree upright near the wall.

"So Thor, all we have to do is take out the ornaments and hang them carefully from the branches," Bruce explained, demonstrating with a small, blue bauble.

Thor grabbed one and nearly crushed it in his hand. He was surprised at how fragile they were and wondered what purpose such things held during a potentially dangerous event.

The two worked quietly for a while before Thor needed to ask, "What purpose do you have for decorating this tree?"

Bruce's eyebrows rose slightly, but he wasn't that surprised that Thor didn't know. "Well, it's for Christmas. Everyone gets a tree and decorated it and oftentimes people exchange gifts. The holiday is to celebrate Christ's birth... though I can't recall how the tree became a part of it."

Thor hummed in agreement. It was a very strange way of celebrating someone's birthday, even by Midgardian standards. He had been under the impression that one was supposed to give gifts to the birthday person.

Thor shrugged and asked his next question. "Is this 'Christmas' a very violent holiday?"

Bruce did look surprised that time but quickly responded, "What? No... Though I guess it can be a hard holiday for lots of people, and suicide rates are always higher at this time of year... But it's not particularly violent."

Thor nodded with a good amount of confusion. How could these Midgardians so happily and enthusiastically decorate and celebrate a holiday that caused so much hardship? He reminded himself that Mjolnir was at his waist if he needed it, but he still hoped that no blood would be shed tonight.

The Avengers spent the next few hours helping to decorate tables, hang lights, and lay out candles that were shaped like beautiful woman with wings. Thor quite liked those, though the disturbing positions that Tony arranged them in confused him.

It grew darker and Thor was glad when they had finally finished with the decorating. The room looked very festive now, with red and green garlands trailing the walls. Silver snowflakes hung from the ceiling and the tree had become lit up with a mass of tiny lights that made it glow warmly.

Everyone turned as Director Fury walked in. Though everyone else had some sort of snowflake, tree, or antlered animal painted on their clothing, Fury looked just as he always did. Still, Thor wondered if he should find something more festive. He didn't want to disregard Midgardian traditions.

"Well, Director Fury, don't you look festive!" Tony exclaimed over his drink.

Fury eyed Tony and his "I Love Iron Man" t-shirt and responded, "Yes, well, not all of us can be as festive as you, Stark."

The others laughed while Tony held up his drink in a mock salute to Fury. Thor heard Clint mutter something about icicles being shoved somewhere else, which he didn't understand. Fury spoke before Thor could question it.

"Alright kids, the real children will be arriving soon and I want you all to be on your best behavior. If any of them go home crying, then I'll make sure that you'll all be stuck working at children's birthday parties for a month!"

Thor didn't think that was such a terrible idea, but Tony and Clint groaned in agony and promised loudly to be good.

"Please, Santa! I'll get on the nice list this time! I promise!" Tony exclaimed, giving Fury a strange version of puppy-dog eyes.

Fury scowled and said, "Keep it up Stark, and I'll have you running a daycare for life!"

The Avengers spent the next hour greeting the other employees and their families. Thor had been told that he could invite Jane, but she was too busy to be able to get away from her research.

The children were very entertaining to watch. They ran around the room and were somehow able to find candy everywhere. He sat near the Christmas tree and watched everyone mingle and dance to the festive songs and almost didn't feel a small hand tapping his shoulder.

Thor turned and saw a cute little girl with dark eyes and braids smiling at him. She was holding out a red and white striped stick that he had seen many children eating throughout the night.

"You don't have a candy cane, so I brought you one," she said happily.

Thor grasped the proferred treat carefully so that he wouldn't break it. Mimicking what he had seen the children do, he licked the end of it. He frowned at the lack of flavor as the little girl giggled at him.

"You have to unwrap it," she said, showing him how to pull the plastic wrapping off the treat. After that, the candy tasted much better, and Thor resolved to bring some back to Asgard when he and Loki left.

While he and the little girl were enjoying their treats, a little boy ran over and declared, "Candy canes are the best part of Christmas! They're what this whole holiday is about!"

Thor was about to agree, but the girl shook her head and said, "My daddy told me that Christmas is about family, not candy and gifts."

The boy obviously disagreed because he stuck out his tongue at her before saying, "Good! More candy for me!"

The little girl looked up at Thor and asked without hesitation, "Where is your family? Mine is over there," she said, pointing to the opposite end of the room.

"Ah, my family is very far away," Thor answered.

"You don't have any family here?" The expression on the little girl's face made it seem that Christmas without a family around was a crime.

"Well, my brother is here," Thor answered sadly. "But he would never be allowed to join us here. He has done too much ill to be forgiven by the Midgardians."

The girl frowned in confusion and stated, "But my daddy says that Christmas is a time to forget about stuff like that."

'Yes, stuff like almost destroying a realm, trying to kill me, and attempting to take over another realm...' Thor thought. Out loud he said, "As much as I wish he could join us, I do not believe that this agency, nor Directory Fury, would allow for it."

The girl seemed unphased by the odds. She reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling on it. "I bet he'll say 'yes' if you say 'please.' Uncle Nick really likes me to use manners."

Thor didn't think that asking for candy and asking for Loki to be allowed to attend this party were anywhere close to being on the same scale. Nevertheless, he let the little girl pull him towards Director Fury.

When Fury saw them, he nodded at Thor and bent down to the little girl's level. "Anna, what did I tell you about dragging Norse gods around everywhere?" he asked in amusement.

Anna ignored his question and asked one of her own. "Please can his brother join us, Uncle Nick? He doesn't have any other family here..."

Fury reached a hand up to rub at his remaining eye before saying, "His brother would be less welcome here than Auntie Susie, Anna. He's done too much to hurt people."

"But you and Daddy always said that even though Auntie Susie smells and is loud and breaks things that she's still family. And even after she lit the Christmas tree on fire, she still got to come to Christmas."

Thor watched Fury carefully, sensing that the man was searching for an explanation that wouldn't contradict everything that the little girl's family had taught her. Before he could say anything, Tony's voice cut in.

"The kid's got a point there."

"Damn it, Stark."

"And really, between those magic-restricting bracelets and Thor, what could he really hope to accomplish?" Tony asked, taking another sip from his drink. With every word he spoke, both Thor's and Anna's smiles brightened.

"I bet if you ask him nicely to be good, Uncle Nick, then he will!" Anna said excitedly.

Tony almost choked on his beverage. "Is that all we needed to do?" He exclaimed loudly.

Fury looked up to see that Bruce and Steve had come to listen as well. Judging from their amused expressions, Fury figured that they would probably agree with Tony.

"Fine," Fury growled, causing cheers to emit from Thor and Anna. "But if he causes any trouble, then I'll be personally sending him on a one-way trip into the sun!"

"You'd better ask him nicely if he wants to go or not," Tony quipped.

The group, except for Clint, who was too drunk to care, walked down to where Loki was being housed. When Loki saw them, he raised an eyebrow in interest and stood near the glass to face them.

Fury stood before Loki, who was still silenced by the muzzle, and glared at the god. A tug on his jacket reminded him why he was down here, and so he finally spoke.

"We're having a Christmas Eve party."

Loki gave him a dry look as if to say that he'd already known that information.

"My niece has informed your idiot of a brother that Christmas is a time for family, and now they wish for you to join us." Loki's eyes lit up with amusement at Thor's new title as well as the apparent offer. Thor did not look much amused, but didn't want to anger Fury and make the man forget why they had come down here.

"I want you to swear not to cause any trouble whatsoever if we allow you to attend," Fury demanded with a hard voice.

Anna piped up and said, "You have to ask nicely, Uncle Nick."

Fury rubbed his eye in frustration before saying, "Loki, will you please not cause any trouble if we let you attend this event?"

"You'd better threaten him nicely while you're at it," Tony added.

"Loki, if you don't behave, would you please mind if I sent you and Stark on a one-way trip into the sun?" Fury asked tiredly.

Loki's amusement only seemed to grow, but he inclined his head in agreement to Fury's words.

Fury motioned for the guards to open the cell, and when they did, Loki stepped out calmly.

"Why's he wearing that?" Anna asked, pointing at the muzzle.

"Because I got tired of having my agents run away from him, crying at what he said..." Fury muttered. With a sigh, he nodded at the guards and said more loudly, "Remove it, but keep the bracelets on."

The guards complied nervously, wondering why Fury was allowing for this to happen.

Once Loki was free to speak, he turned to Fury and smiled.

"Don't do anything stupid or you'll go right back in," Fury growled. After another tug on his jacket he added, "please..."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Loki spoke, his voice a bit scratchy from disuse.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Anna stepped forward and grabbed one of Loki's hands. She turned and clutched Thor's hand in the other and began to lead the two brothers back to the party while saying, "Come on! I'll show you the Christmas tree!"

As they were being pulled away, Thor heard Stark say, "Cheers to the new Director Fury!"

"Shut up, Stark." Thor glanced to his right and saw Loki smirk at Fury's response.

At the party, Fury made a brief announcement about Loki's arrival. Most of the guests were at least a bit nervous about it, but between the high level of security and the large amount of alcohol being distributed, most people forgot about it after a few minutes.

Anna proceeded to pull Thor and Loki all around the room, giving them candy canes and showing off the decorations. Loki didn't seem very reassured by the fact that Thor liked the candy, but he too found that Anna wasn't an easy person to say no to.

"Tis a strange holiday, is it not, Brother?" Thor asked as the trio neared Fury and the rest of the Avengers. Loki did not respond except to roll his eyes and look away from Thor.

Clint, who had somehow gotten even more drunk, saw Loki and slurred, "Well, ere's Rudolph..."

"Enjoying Christmas Eve yet, Reindeer Games?" Tony asked.

Loki looked around and said, "It seems to be an... interesting holiday."

"Yeah," Tony agreed before nudging Fury and pointing to a red and white hat on the table. "So Saint Nick, get that Santa hat on already!"

Natasha grinned and tossed the Santa hat at Fury, who frowned and tossed it at Loki, saying, "The day I wear that will be the day that he actually is Santa."

Loki caught the hat and inspected it quietly. Anna tugged on his shirt and he sat down in a chair next to Clint so he could look at her.

She took the hat from him and said, "This is Santa's hat. It's very important." With that, she climbed up onto his lap and pulled the hat onto his head.

Everyone within sight of the scene grew quiet as they watched. Loki now sat with a little girl on his lap, smiling at him while he wore a crooked Santa hat that nearly covered one of his eyes.

Anna giggled at him and said, "And then kids tell you what they want for Christmas!"

Loki just stared at her with a slightly stunned look on his face. The look didn't change as Anna started rattling off several things that she wanted for Christmas. When it finally seemed like she had run out of ideas, she smiled at him again.

Just when the Avengers and other agents thought he might finally decide to snap and kill someone, Loki did something that surprised them all.

He gave her a hesitant smile before she leaned in and whispered something that Thor couldn't hear. Loki suddenly grinned and nodded at her.

With a smile, Anna jumped off of his lap. Thor hadn't realized it, but several other children had circled around them as well. Just after she left, another little boy climbed up on Loki's lap.

For his part, Loki smiled at each child and let them ramble on about what they wanted for Christmas. He didn't say much of anything to them, but the kids were delighted nonetheless.

Natasha grabbed a handful of candy canes and stood next to Loki, giving one to each child after they visited with "Santa."

Thor turned to Tony, who was snickering uncontrollably at the sight, and asked "Why do these children sit on my brother's lap and ask him for things?"

Bruce laughed and said, "No one else wanted to play Santa, I guess."

Thor was still confused, but turned and watched again. A rather large group of children were now surrounding his brother. Several had climbed onto his lap twice to ask for additional presents. Loki kept an amused smile on his face throughout all of it.

"I can't believe it," Fury muttered as he observed the scene. "Is this the same evil villain that tried to take over Earth?" The rest of the adults in the room looked on with a mix of nervousness and amusement at how the children seemed to gravitate to Loki.

Thor nodded and said, "My brother always has been good with children. I imagine he enjoys their company." With a fond shake of his head, he walked over to stand next to where Loki was sitting as another child climbed on his brother's lap.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Brother?" Thor asked happily.

Loki's eyes glinted with mischief and he waved a hand at the gathered children who promptly grinned back at him. "Observe, Thor, as my future minions come to worship me."

Thor paled slightly at Loki's words and noticed Natasha roll her eyes, but he didn't have a chance to respond before Tony drunkenly stumbled over and nearly collapsed in Loki's lap, wrapping his arms around the god's neck to steady himself. Loki raised an eyebrow at him as Tony grinned crookedly at him.

"So, Santa..." Tony asked with a smirk. "How can I get on the good list?"

Loki flashed a grin before leaning forward and whispering something into Starks' ear. Thor wasn't able to hear what his brother said, but judging from how Natasha rolled her eyes and how Clint made a gagging motion, he figured he didn't really want to know.

Tony merely snickered and said, "Looks like we'll be taking that trip to the sun after all."

Reviewing gets you a chance to sit on Loki's lap and tell him what you want...

Merry Christmas everyone!