NATASHA

"Lesson Number One: Father Christmas" Banner had constructed a board with pictures of Father Christmas, and was using his wand to point at it.

I had rallied the Avengers, and convinced them that Loki and Thor needed to know about Christmas. We all decided to teach different lessons each day. Banner had volunteered for Father Christmas, Stark wanted to talk about the food, Steve the music, Barton trees, and I was left with Mistletoe. Go figure.

Loki was leaning against the windowsill, listening avidly to Banner talking about chimneys and reindeer. His brow was slightly furrowed, and I noticed almost subconsciously he was biting his lip. Thor was standing next to him, his enormous arms crossed; they had similar expressions as they were informed about Christmas.

What was he doing? I spent almost every waking moment with him, and he didn't seem to be hatching some nefarious plot to take over the world in some cruel way.

He seemed to be acting like a normal teenage boy. He kissed me, he did his homework, and he didn't do his homework…normal. But he wasn't. This was a man who had just a few months ago, killed over one hundred people and tried to take over the world.

Maybe Odin had done something to him? Something that would make him come back to earth, Normal.

Hearing how much hate he got from everyone disturbed me, especially because some of it had come from me. Thor had gotten so mad at him when he thought I was pregnant, you would have thought Loki had murdered Thor's only child. I wondered if that is what it had been like growing up.

And Loki still jumped at thunder and lightning. I could tell it scared the living daylights out of him. That simple fact, he was scared of something as scientific as lightning, made him seem…human.

And he wasn't all bad. Sure he had made some mistakes, but haven't we all? Loki wasn't born badly. From what I'd seen, he didn't seem like the kid with the magnifying glass burning ants on the pavement, I would actually more attribute that kind of behavior to Thor.

I stood beside Tony Stark, staring at Loki as he listened to Banner talk about Father Christmas, and watched as Banner flipped the chart from time to time. He noticed me staring, and smiled. Involuntarily, I smiled back.

Tony glanced between us, "you excited to teach about mistletoe?" He whispered. I glared at him, and he shrugged, "It's not a bad gig. I mean…"

"Tony…stop talking now." I said, "You are starting to sound like Regulus."

"Regulus? Black? The one that…."

"Yes that one." I sighed.

"He was worried about you last night, said nether you or Loki showed up. And then you missed breakfast." I sighed again. No point in lying to Tony.

"We fell asleep in the library. Nothing happened" I said. Tony whistled.

"The black widow falling asleep on the job?" He asked. I said nothing; there was nothing to be said.

I had, for the first time, fallen asleep in someone's arms, someone who wasn't my father. I hadn't even gotten remotely sleepy when I was dating Barton, and we were actually dating!

But I had fallen asleep in Loki's arms. I wondered what part of me thought I could trust him, because that part would have to be stopped before it got carried away.

"Father Christmas brings presents to children on Christmas day; he puts them under the Christmas tree." Banner was saying.

"Tree?" Thor asked,

"That's my lesson, tomorrow is Trees and Stockings" Barton said.

"So, Father Christmas lives in the North Pole, and he has an army of—"

"An Army?" Loki interrupted, and then looked down, "sorry…"

"An army of hardworking, happy elves that made toys." Bruce said pointedly,

"So an army of slaves?" I smiled internally.

"No…they worked for him willingly." Banner said, flipping the page to a picture of elves with green and red hats, pointy ears, and bells on their shoes smiling and making trains and teddy bears "see?"

"That is a hand drawn picture!" Loki said, "They had to serve him willingly, what choice do they have? They are trapped in the frostbitten north, with no way of escape…" Banner sighed,

"They are Happy! They are making toys!"

"Why are they happy?" Loki asked. He was being ridiculous. Steve was chuckling on the other side of me.

"It's just a story!" Banner responded, Stark took a step forward,

"Calm down…" He said, glaring at Loki, "stop aggravating him. You are just as much of a target as the rest of us!"

"I just want to know why we think that enslaving these poor elves to make our already spoiled children gifts is ok…" Loki said.

"No one said it was ok…it's just how it's been done for years…" Steve said.

"Ok, so if I had shown up and tried to enslave all of you thousands of years ago it would have worked?" I almost smiled,

"No! I mean, yes, I mean…Father Christmas just enslaved one race, you were trying to take over everything." Stark said.

"Oh so genocide is ok? That is what got Thor banished in the first place!" Loki exclaimed, Thor took a step forward.

"Hey! Everyone! Calm down! It's just a Christmas story!" I said, stepping between Loki and Stark who looked to be about to have a go at each other.

"And what does that teach your children?" Loki asked,

"What kind of stories were you told?" Barton snapped.

"True ones." Loki turned to me, "I don't think this will work Natasha…I'm so sorry." He said, before turning and slamming the door behind him. I glared at the Avengers.

"What? He is the one who brought ruling the world into it." Stark said defensively,

"Keep Banner calm, I'm going to get Loki." I said, walking away. The castle hallways were empty, and my footsteps resonated throughout the corridors. I had no idea where Loki could have gone.

Something was bothering him; he wouldn't have lost his cool like that otherwise.

I soon found him on one of the benches in the hallway. He was sitting staring at something I couldn't see. His face was a contorted mixture of bitterness, sadness, hate, and disgust.

I took a step forward and his head snapped up, his face going immediately blank. When he saw it was me he half smiled, "You are the only person who can sneak up on me."He said. I walked up and sat next to him on the bench.

I noticed there was a small clump of Mistletoe hanging in the window. Loki was staring at it sadly. "Mistletoe right? That is what Midguardians call it?" He asked, not looking at me.

"What do you call it on Asguard?" I asked.

"Mistletoe…" He tried to smile but failed. I stared at him with concern; I'd never seen Loki act so…sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Loki shrugged.

"Nothing...it's just…." He took a deep breath, "hard."

"Mistletoe?" I asked. Loki nodded.

"Do you know why people kiss under mistletoe?" Loki asked. I shook my head. Loki sighed,

"There was an Aesir, Prince Baldur eons ago. He was beloved by all. The queen of Asguard, Frigg, loved him so much that she made it so that no living thing could harm him." Loki said, "But she overlooked one plant, mistletoe…" He stopped and took a shaky breadth

'I…I discovered her oversight, and…something drove me to act upon it. I crafted a dart out of mistletoe, and gave it to a blind prince. I guided his hand, so the dart pierced Baldur's heart, killing him." He stared down at the mistletoe in his hands and smiled bitterly.

"Thor isn't my only half brother." The realization slowly hit that Loki was sharing his worst memory, his biggest regret.

"Frigg was so distraught…her tears became the berries on the plant. And now everyone kisses underneath, in memory of Baldur." Loki looked out the window at the snow, lightly falling. Suddenly the mistletoe didn't seem so romantic, it seemed almost morbid.

"it's alright…you can say whatever you want to now..." Loki said quietly. I realized he expected me to judge him, or just walk away. I wondered how many people he had told, and how many had done just what he expected me to do.

"Everyone has red on their ledger." I said, "Some deaths we regret more than others, but you cannot undo them." I reached out and grabbed his hand so that the mistletoe fell to the floor. In a movement to scoot closer to him, I kicked it under the bench.

He looked at our hands, the floor where the mistletoe had been moments before, then up at me. His eyes were watery.

I scooted so I was right next to him, wrapping my arms around him and holding tight. He put his arms around me and I felt him kiss the top of my head before burying his face in my neck.

Eventually we broke apart, his eyes still red but no longer damp. He smiled weakly, "thank you." He said softly. I grabbed his hand and put my head on his shoulder. Loki seemed to feel better now, and somehow that made me feel better.

Why I felt the need to comfort him was beyond me, but all I knew was he was distraught, I couldn't be happy. I had to put that part of my emotions in check soon.