This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 6 January 2021.
This was written for DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns for the Stockings of Joy event. I hope that you love it! It also happens to be my piece for the 12 days of Enchanted Wodners even hosted by Marvelously Magical Fanfiction. Happy holidays and happy reading! xxDustNight
Huge thank you to starrnobella for reading this over and to GaeilgeRua for allowing me the use of her Grammarly subscription to read this over. Any other mistakes are definitely my own.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. Marvel belongs to Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.
Wandering through the busy market, Pansy tried to remember that this was supposed to be a joyous time of the year. Around her, families, couples, and even people alone like her were clearly having the time of their lives. Why couldn't she get into the spirit? Maybe it was because she hated all things Christmas, or that she had no one to celebrate with…
Okay, that was a lie. She had her family and her friends, but this year Pansy didn't want to be bothered for some reason. Sighing heavily, she continued to walk through the market, wrapping her arms around her waist. The sun was setting, and a chill was settling in as well. She was rounding a corner, still looking for a gift to buy her mother, when she noticed a familiar face.
Not wanting to bother him, she stayed a few booths behind, hoping to find out what on Earth Loki was doing at the Christmas market. He appeared to be perusing the tables of crafted goods just as she had been doing before spotting the God of Mischief. Pansy followed him around for the better part of ten minutes before abruptly losing sight of him.
Pansy paused, glancing back and forth. She knew that Loki was there. She'd seen him with her own eyes. Starting to think she was crazy, pansy nearly jumped out of her skin when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Whirling about, her eyes grew wide to find Loki standing there. "You nearly gave me a heart attack," she hissed, eyes narrowing.
"Why are you following me?" Loki inquired, raising a single eyebrow.
Taking a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves, it took Pansy a moment to answer. When she was able to talk again, she said, "I saw you and wondered what the hell you were doing shopping at a Christmas market."
Loki narrowed his eyes. "Why didn't you just come up to me and ask."
"I didn't want to bother you, to be honest," Pansy replied, shrugging one shoulder. "I came here to get away, so I thought maybe you did too."
"You came to a busy market to get away from people?" Loki asked, struggling to hide a smirk. "Seems a bit strange to me."
Pansy playfully pushed at his arm. "Very funny. I know it makes no sense, but I just couldn't stand to be around my family or friends anymore today. I needed a break, so I came here." She gestured to the busy market, knowing her explanation probably made no sense whatsoever.
"Thor encouraged me to try and get into the holiday spirit. 'Tis the season,' he said, so I sought out this market with the hope of finding whatever he meant by that," Loki told her, obviously choosing not to comment on her own reasons for being there. "So far, I have found it to be rather, what do you Midgardians say? Oh, right, lame."
"It's not that bad," Pansy said, chuckling. "Come on, we can browse the tables together. Maybe if we have someone to talk to, it won't be so bad."
"Now that I have a familiar face to spend the afternoon with, it will be much more enjoyable," Loki said with a real smile as they began to browse the tables once again.
"That's what I was thinking too," Pansy replied, fighting back a blush.
Together, Loki and Pansy shopped through the marketplace in search of their missing festivities. They never did find it exactly, but they did chat amicably as they walked, playful banter coming easily in a way that surely appeared to be flirtatious to those who saw. After a small lunch, they wandered through yet another row of tables littered with handmade gifts and trinket.
"Wait," Loki said suddenly, tugging her hand and causing her to stumble back toward the booth they'd just passed. "I have seen this cloak before." He dropped her hand to gently lift a cloak from the table. Loki's thumbs brushing over the worn fabric as he examined it more closely.
"Really?" Pansy said, taking a closer look as well. "I don't recognize it."
"It's the Cloak of Levitation," Loki explained, turning to meet Pansy's curious stare. "It should be in Doctor Strange's possession, so why is it here?"
"No clue," Pansy said before looking around for the booth's owner. "Maybe we can ask whoever is selling it and then try and return it."
"Ask the owner," Loki said, laughing. Then he held out his hand, and added, "Take my hand."
"What are you planning on doing?" Pansy asked apprehensively, although her wariness didn't stop her from placing her hand in his.
Loki didn't reply, but he did use his magic to teleport them away from the busy marketplace and right into the midst of a bustling city. Recognizable by the tall buildings and copious yellow taxicabs, Pansy tried to regain her footing and wrap her head around what had happened.
"How did you do that?" Pansy sputtered as she dropped his hand and turned around in place. They'd gone from standing in the middle of a pleasant Christmas market in northern England to the busy streets of New York City. "I thought you were going to make a run for it, not completely jump continents!"
"Unimportant," Loki said, but Pansy thought for sure she saw him make a bright blue box disappear behind his back. "Now, I do recall Doctor Strange residing somewhere around this location."
"Bleecker Street," Pansy told him, pointing in the correct location. When Loki gave her an inquiring glance, she shrugged. "Hermione and I came here for a party once. It sounded weird, so I remembered it."
"Very well," Loki said, striding the way she pointed. "Let us hurry so we can depart this bloody city."
"You're not supposed to be here," Pansy noted, recalling Thor mentioning Loki was never to step foot in New York after the havoc he'd caused.
"It will be a quick trip," Loki said, not glancing her way. "We return the cloak and return to the market."
Pansy decided it was best not to reply as they walked along the busy city street. Loki was always going to do as he wished, and it wasn't her palace to try and stop him. Anyway, she enjoyed his mischievous side having always found him rather entertaining when he caused trouble. A few minutes later, they arrived at 177a Bleecker Street and knocked on the door.
After a few minutes of knocking with no response, Loki simply placed the cloak by the door. "I'm sure it will make its way back to Strange eventually." Turning to Pansy, he once again offered his hand. "Shall we find someplace to spend the rest of the afternoon before I return you home?"
"What the hell," Pansy said, giving up and giving in. Even though today had been entirely different than she planned, she wanted to spend more time with Loki. Accepting his offer, she added, "After all, 'tis the damn season."
"Excellent," Loki replied, a satisfied smirk gracing his lips as he prepared to whisk them away once more.
The blue box was revealed once more, to which Pansy merely rolled her eyes. "Take us away, mischievous one," she instructed, feeling more carefree than she had that morning. Wherever they end up next, Pansy knew that it would be okay in the end. She'd finally found someone willing to escape with her when the world became too much, and that was precisely what she'd been looking for today.