4

Mischief Afoot

Cats and Christmas trees don't mix. ~Loki

The kids stood around the fallen tree while Mischief looked up at them with a bored look and Sam sighed.

"Dad is going to freak," Nate said.

"It really wasn't Odin's fault. He was trying to keep her away from the tree," Vince said with his arms around the dog.

The sound of the front door opening made the kids turn as Loki, the toddlers and Thor walked in the main hall and the rest of the Avengers followed. They each had a grocery bag as they stood in the hallway and Loki glanced from the tree to the pets then back. Most of the ornaments were smashed, as was most of the tree, and pine needles were spread over the carpet.

"Dad...," Sam said when he placed the grocer bags down, shifted into his cat form and sauntered over to Mischief. The kitten looked at him with a blank look and he sat down.

"Mind explaining what happened, Kitling?" he mewed.

"I was looking at the pretty tree when that beast barked and started chasing me," Mischief mewed with a sad look.

"Is that what really happened?" Loki asked Odin, who laid down and placed its head on its paws.

"She was looking at the tree, but she had that look she gets when we're outside and she wants to climb something," Odin barked.

"Did you tell her not to climb this tree?"

"Yes! I told her this was a special tree, but she didn't listen."

"I do what I want," Mischief mewed, but Loki ignored her.

"And you chased her to make her stop?" Loki asked and Odin nodded.

Loki shifted back into his normal form when he took hold of Odin's collar and the dog stood. He walked Odin to the corner when he motioned for Odin to sit and the dog sat facing the wall. Loki picked up Mischief when he walked into the kitchen and placed the kitten in her carrier. He closed the door when he knelt down to look at her and the kitten gave him a hurt look.

"You do the crime, you do the time," he mewed and Mischief curled up into a ball with her back to him. Sighing, Loki walked back into the room and looked at the tree.

"Think you can fix it, Reindeer Games?" Tony asked. Loki arched his eyebrows up as if Tony asked him the stupidest question in the world then he smiled. With a wave of his hands, Loki cast a reconstruction spell and the tree returned to normal. He cast another spell so the tree wouldn't topple over again and the kids cheered.

"Do you really think that's going to stop her from climbing it?" Steve asked. "I remember my grandmother's cat was constantly climbing their tree or knocking it over."

"I have an idea," Loki said and waved his hands. In the corner was a green wood cat tree with several ledges and yarn ornaments hung down from unbreakable string. At the top was a yellow wood star and the trunk was made of something she could sharpen her claws.

"What a great idea, Brother!" Thor said.

"You're going to reward her for knocking the tree down?" Clint asked.

"No, it's to make sure she doesn't do it again," Bruce said.

"What about Odin, Dad? He really didn't do anything wrong," Hunter said and Loki waved his hands.

Next to the tree was a fabric dog house with ODIN printed over the doorway and a green and red checkered pattern cushion was inside. The doghouse looked like a little gingerbread house and even had fake snow on the roof. Odin turned to look at his new house as he walked over and sniffed it. He walked inside then turned around three times and settled on the cushion.

"Do you like it?" Loki asked.

"Yes!" Odin barked and the kids giggled. Loki walked into the kitchen when he opened the door to the carrier and looked at Mischief.

"You can come out now," Loki mewed, but Mischief just slashed her tail at him. He shifted into his cat form when he squeezed in as much of his body as he could into the carrier and nudged her with his head.

"Go away," Mischief hissed.

"Now, Kitling, you know I have to punish you when you do something wrong," he mewed, but her tail just slashed back and forth.

"I wasn't going to climb it."

"Yes, you were," he purred and her tail lightly smacked his nose.

"It was so pretty," she mewed, sadly. "I ruined it."

"Come now. You know nothing stays broken or ruined in this house."

"You...? You fixed it?"

"Yes, and I even have a surprise for you," he said as he backed out of the carrier and waited. Mischief slowly walked out of the carrier as he shifted back into his normal form and picked her up. They went back into the room as she looked at the tree and he gently stroked her fur. She then saw the cat tree when she hopped out of his arms and ran to it. She looked back at Loki as he nodded and she climbed up onto the top ledge. He walked to her when he patted her head and she rolled onto her back. "I take it you like your surprise?"

"Yes!" she purred.

"So you will stay away from the Christmas tree?"

"Yes, Papa, I will be good."

Loki rubbed her chin then walked to the others and picked up the grocery bags.

"Let's go put these away," Loki said as he headed for the kitchen. "I have an auction to go to."

"Not this time, Max." Loki said and ruffled his hair. The boy frowned, and looked down. "Maybe the next event?"

"O.K. Daddy!" Max said and started helping to put the groceries away.

They placed the grocery bags on the table while Loki explained where the groceries were supposed to go and Tony smiled when he picked up the box of Thoreos.

"Um, care to explain this, Point Break?" Tony asked, showing Thor the box.

"Thoreos? Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel Pietro love those," Clint said. Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel Pietro were Clint's kids and Loki reminded himself to bring down the highchair for Nathaniel.

"At least it's cereal. I have my photo on packages of hot dogs," Steve said, rolling his eyes.

"The prize is a key chain," Max said, pointing at the bottom corner of the box.

"Hmmm," Tony said, handing the box to Thor.

"Laura wants to know if there is anything you want her to bring for the dinner," Clint said.

"Just you and your family is fine," Loki said with a grin. After the groceries were put away, Loki led Thor and the Avengers to the door then turned and looked at Sam. "You're in charge until I get back."

"Right, Dad," Sam said with a nod and he vanished in a puff of green smoke.

Derek paced as he looked at the people who had arrived for the private auction when he felt someone tap his shoulder and turned, seeing Loki behind him.

"Is everything ready?" Loki asked.

"Yes, Sir," Derek said.

"Then lets get this over with," he said and they walked on stage. He nodded his head as they applauded and he held up his hand to silence them. He tapped the microphone when he looked at the screen behind him and sighed. "Hello. I guess we all know why we're here. Apparently, there was an error in the printing department and we had one hundred covers for our new game that are, well, they're not kid friendly."

The people in the room laughed as he shrugged and held his hand up again.

"All but five of the covers have been shredded and we are going to auction off the remaining covers. The money will be going to the Autism Foundation of NYC," he said and people applauded. He stood back so the auctioneer could start the auction and Loki Looked at the screen. A soft clicking sound filled the air as the image of the cover appeared and Loki felt the heat of the blush move across his cheeks.

"Ooooooo!" some of the women said at the sight of Loki lounging naked on a couch with his helmet on his head and a blanket covering a certain part of his anatomy.

"Norns protect me," Loki thought as the auction started and each of the covers sold for between five hundred to seventy-five hundred thousand dollars. Loki noticed the buyers were all women and he smiled while signing the covers. Loki thanked everyone for their bids, some even donated money without bidding on the covers, and he left the room with Derek walking next to him.

"That went well," Derek said.

"Yes. And you're sure the other covers are gone?" Loki asked.

"Yes, sir. And the women who made the covers are on report."

"No. Don't do that. They didn't mean any harm."

"Yes, sir."

"Merry Christmas, Derek."

"Merry Christmas," Derek said and walked passed him. Once Derek went around the corner, Loki shook his head and vanished in a puff of green smoke.

Loki arrived home to find that Thor was still over the house along with Jane and Darcy.

As Loki appeared in the kitchen he saw the brunette with glasses standing by the table watching the kids breaking apart what looked like cat litter in foil pans with small hammers.

"Hello. What are you all doing?" he asked.

"Hey. Uh... so I saw this idea for kids on Pintrest... you hide toys and rocks in the cal litter, get it wet and let it harden. They do their own dino dig" Darcy said and Max looked at the pan. Serena carried in a third pan and some brushes and sieves.

"That seems quite educational as well." Loki said, and they heard Jane and Thor arguing in the front room.

"Yeah, and I thought it would keep the smaller kids from having to listen to that. I will clean up the mess." Darcy replied, putting everything on the table. The shouting picked up, and Darcy cringed.

"Can I dig in this one?" Max asked, picking up the wooden hammer and a brush.

The kids filtered out and Darcy looked down at her feet. She handed him a small box and fidgeted with her hands.

"I'm super sorry for all that drama I caused you. It was really stupid, and I know this is a super bad excuse... but I sort of went through a bad break up before that date...You know how it is and stuff." She said and looked uncomfortable. "I got that to say sorry too... and Merry Christmas... or whatever you Gods of Asgard celebrate."

Max tapped at the hardened cat litter with the hammer and giggled, Aleta joining him and both kids sat at the table together. Sam and Serena listened, and Loki put a hand on Darcy's shoulder.

"I forgive you. And thank you for the gift." He said, Darcy smiling as he leaned in to whisper to her. "How long have they been arguing?"

"Since this afternoon. Big Blondie came and said he was late because he had to handle something for your Dad. Something about some lady and treason." She sighed. "Jane was freaking out about it all. I hope they mellow out soon."

"Daddy! I found a dinosaur in my tray!" Max shouted and pointed at the plastic brontosaurus.

"That's great, Max!" Loki said, going over to see it. "Wow! He looks cool!"

The other kids were happily digging away and Loki gently placed the box on the counter and said, "Excuse me for a minute." Then he walked out of the room and into his den, where Jane and Thor were arguing over his being late for the Christmas party the night before because he had some business to settle for Odin.

"The world doesn't revolve around you and your Asgardian politics, Thor!" Jane was saying.

"I have duties to Asgard that supracedes a mere holiday gathering!" Thor argued.

Loki sighed and lifted his hands. Then he chanted in Old Norse, "Cease thy quarrel, calm they anger, peace be upon thee, all disagreements mended. I, head of this household, make it so!"

His calming spell settled over the two and they blinked, all their argument forgotten. Jane smiled and asked Thor to light a fire in the fireplace and Thor shrugged and did so.

Loki left then and returned to the kitchen where Darcy waited with the children.

"What did you do, Loki?" asked the brunette.

"I persuaded them to stop arguing in my house," the god answered. "That kind of thing isn't something that I allow. Too traumatizing for my kids to have to listen to that for hours." He picked up the box Darcy had given him. "So what's this?"

"A present," she said.

He untied the bow on it and opened it. Inside was a book. It was called World Without End by Ken Follett. "How lovely!"

"I hope you didn't read it," Darcy began.

"No. I haven't," Loki said. "Thank you."

"Fancy that!" Thor laughed. "A book you haven't read."

"There are a few, Thor," Loki coughed.

"How did your auction go?" his brother asked.

"Fine. I donated all the money to charity," Loki replied.

"Cool." Darcy said and smiled with Aleta as she's found a Rose Quartz heart in her tray.

"Daddy! This is fun!" Aleta said and Darcy shrugged at him.

Loki laughed. "That was a good idea, Darcy. Okay, now I am going to make my cheeseburger macaroni casserole and a salad for dinner."

"I found it on Pintrest." Darcy shrugged.

"I do like this meal." Thor said, Jane rolling her eyes at him.

Loki took three large pans of the casserole from his huge freezer and thawed them easily using his frost magic in reverse, to remove the ice. He preheated the oven and put all three pans in it. "Thirty to forty minutes and it will be done. That'll give you time to find a few more treasures and then clean up." Loki said, and summoned several tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and a mild onion to the counter along with a knife and a large bowl. "Thor, can you cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions while I make the dressing?"

"Yes, Loki." Thor said and began slicing a tomato.

While Thor cut up produce, Jane and Darcy helped the kids rinse their treasures and then clean up the kitchen. Loki made apple cider vinaigrette whisked everything together in a large bowl to toss with salad.

"Daddy? Can we do that again?" Max asked, holding a piece of quartz and showing him the rock.

"Yes, imp. That's a good activity for you two to do," Loki agreed.

"What stone is this Dad?" Serena asked, showing him a pale Moonstone heart.

"That's a moonstone, darling," Loki replied.

"It is pretty." She said and smiled at him. "Moonstone. Like my nickname."

"You pulled a woman out of bed and skipped the party!" Jane shouted in the next room. Darcy sighed, crossing her arms.

"She was deemed a traitor! She was not executed, she is merely sanctioned by Father in an act of charity!" Thor shouted back.

"Well la de dah! You still missed that party! Couldn't it have waited?" Jane shot back and Sam sat at the table.

"Sorry." Darcy said to Loki and sighed. "I think she has PMS or something."

"IT WAS FOR ASGARD!" Thor bellowed, the house shaking. "I WILL BE KING ONE DAY!"

"Just like that," Loki said, then he walked back out into the den. "That's enough!" Loki said icily. "This is my house. Take your arguments elsewhere. I want peace in my home, not a war."

"Let us eat. I am starved." Thor said, glaring at Jane.

"Come, Brother. I have the table set." Loki beckoned to him.

The timer on the oven beeped and Loki went and took the pans out. Two he placed on the table along with the salad. The third he had on the counter in reserve. Pitchers of iced tea, cucumber flavored water, and beer were served.

"Thank you." He said. "I am sorry Loki, but Matters of State come before all."

"I understand. Do you forget I am a prince too?" Loki teased. He drew his brother into the kitchen.

"I sometimes do forget." Thor laughed.

Jane sat in her chair, Darcy sitting next to her and grinning at the kids. They made faces at each other, and Thor began laughing.

Loki shook his head. "Go sit down, airhead." He smirked. He sniffed the air. "Mmm! I do love how this casserole smells."

The aroma of it was just like a freshly cooked cheeseburger and it tasted just like one too, except with macaroni instead of a bun.

"It smells great." Darcy said and grinned. "I may take off after dinner, I'm flying home to Seattle to see my parents. Dad says his construction company is doing great."

"That's nice to hear," Loki said. He served everyone a plate full of the casserole and the salad went in bowls next to their plates.

"What does he build now?" Thor asked and she grinned.

"He has six apartment towers going up now, and he is expanding a hospital." Darcy replied, and ate some salad.

"Fascinating." Jane groaned.

Loki took a bite of his casserole, savoring the taste of the cheese, ground beef, pickles, and ketchup. "How is your research going, Jane?" he asked politely.

"I almost have things stabilized, but took a break to work with Darcy's Dad on some train project." She groaned. "I ran out of funding."

"You are working on the Light Rail, and they needed someone who could do the math for the wattage." Darcy sighed. "The rail is going to replace buses and is completely electric. They dug it under Seattle. And the new expansion takes it across Lake Washington and into Bellevue."

Loki arched an eyebrow. "Sounds very progressive. How much do you need?"

"No more polluting buses?" Belle asked, looking excited. "That is so cool Dad!"

"What? No more doing math for Darcy's Dad?" Jane said, her eyes going wide.

"Dad offered you a good salary Jane, he was being nice." Darcy said and told Belle about the vehicles, describing how they were building a special floating bridge across the large lake.

"I know, but I'm a physicist not a mathematician," Jane said staring at the check in her hands. "Loki, can you really afford this?"

"Of course," the God of Mischief replied, smiling. He hoped that would now keep the peace between her and Thor.

"Dad, they should build something like this in New York!" Sam said, listening to Darcy. "No more busses and traffic."

"Yes, but that's something that the mayor and the City Council would have to approve," Loki said. "What sort of formulas were they using?" he asked Darcy.

"The usual. They were having problems getting the current to flow properly, but Jane fixed it."

Loki nodded. "That's good. "

"Yeah. Good." Jane groaned and Darcy shrugged.

"Once Jane goes back to her research, will you need another mathematician?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, someone with some engineering skills." She said and nodded. "You know someone?"

"Tony. Why don't you ask him?" Loki suggested. He didn't mention he could probably do it also, because he had a family and a company to run.

"Sure. I can ask Stark for her." Thor said.

Aleta tugged on Loki's sleeve. "Daddy, can I have more?"

Loki saw she had eaten all her salad and cheeseburger macaroni. "Certainly, spark." He gave her another large spoonful.

One pan had been polished off and the other started. Loki put the third pan on the table.

"This is good. You are an amazing cook." Darcy said and grinned.

Kathy

"Thank you. I make this one a lot. Because it's quick and it tastes great even leftover."

"Not that we have some of it leftover," laughed Lucy.

"I like the chicken with biscuit casserole too," Max added.

"It is super good." Sam said.

"I love that one!" Hunter said.

"It sounds good." Jane said.

"Dad, can we have that one tomorrow night?" pleaded Serena.

"Yes, because I have some frozen," Loki answered.

"Awesome!" Vince said and cheered.

"Where did you learn to cook if you grew up a prince?" Darcy queried.

"My best friend's mother was the Head Chef," Loki replied. "But a lot of these recipes I made and tinkered with a bit myself."

"Cool." Darcy said and rubbed her stomach. "I'm stuffed."

"Then I won't serve dessert right away," Loki said. "But you can take some home if you want."

He thought about the large serving bowl of chocolate pudding with crushed Oreos and gummy worms on top of it-also known as "Dirt" in his fridge. He took it out and placed it on the table.

"That looks awesome!" Darcy said. "I will take a bit for the plane."

Loki fixed her a sundae cup of it with a lid and a plastic spoon. "A To Go box," he chuckled.

"Thanks! I need to get going if I am going to make my flight. Have a good Christmas." She said and grinned.

"Have a safe trip," Loki replied, his emerald eyes sparkling.

"You are the boss." She replied and hugged him. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Darcy," he returned the hug.

She walked down the walk to her car, getting in and waving as she drove away.

Loki smiled to himself, glad that he and Darcy could be friends. He sighed, looking up at the sky and wondering if there was someone out there for him. A small snowflake falling and landing on his cheek, he closed his eyes a moment and he saw a warm smile and a set of blue eyes framed with gold hair looking back at him. He shook his head, frowning and went back inside as the soft flakes began to multiply and settle into the grass.

When Loki returned he found a dish of dessert at his place and a cup of coffee. The kids were cleaning up the kitchen while Thor was giving Jane a goodbye hug.

"Good luck on your studies." Thor said and sighed.

"Thanks." She said, and kissed his cheek lightly. Then she turned to Loki. "Have a Merry Christmas, Mischief Man." She gave the startled god a hug. "Gotta run, but I'll see you around. Thanks for this!"

She patted her purse where the check was and waved as Thor escorted her to her car and she drove off.

"I cannot believe you gave her that." Thor said and sighed

"I wanted to keep the peace between you. Unhappy people argue a lot," Loki pointed out. "Besides, it's just money. I made seven times that on my auction today."

"What were you auctioning, brother?"

"A rather racy game cover for adults only," Loki coughed.

Thor raised an eyebrow. "Of you?"

Loki flushed. "Yes but don't you dare say anything or I'll kill you."

"I won't." Thor promised. "I am weary now. Father has put a great deal of troubles on my mind." He said and walked into the house.

Loki followed and watched as Thor went and lay down on the green leather sectional in the den, as the fire crackled and Mischief sharpened her claws on her cat tree while Odin slept in his new doghouse.

"Happy Yule, Loki." Thor mumbled, dozing off.

Loki put a throw over Thor, who was soon snoring. He headed into the kitchen to finish eating and drinking his coffee, then he went upstairs to wrap the last presents he had bought.

"Aleta, Uncle Thor is asleep on the couch. He needs some Christmas Cheer." Max said and poked his sister.

"So what are we gonna do?" Aleta looked at her imp of a brother curiously.

"Lookit what I found on Daddy's phone!" Max pointed to a picture on Loki's phone of a man in a Christmas tree costume. The man had blonde hair like their uncle and was smiling. "We could dress him up like a Christmas Tree." Max said and clapped his hands

"Cool! Let's do it!" Aleta cheered. "I know where Daddy has the leftover box of ornaments."

The two toddlers ran into the foyer and opened the closet. Inside was a box with extra ornaments and velvet ribbons, a packet of glitter, some tinsel and other decorations.

"Do we want gold garland?" Max asked.

"Yes!" Aleta nodded, and also dragged out a string of large plastic lights that were battery operated.

The two scamps marched into the den where the Thunder God slumbered. Aleta went and tied the green throw around Thor's waist like a skirt.

They carefully wound the blinking lights about his broad frame and then hung the plastic ornaments all over his shirt and the skirt. Next came the gold garland, draped artistically about him.

"Hmm . . ." Max studied him. "He needs something . . ."

"I know!" Aleta clapped her hands. "We gotta do his beard to match!"

She ripped open the packet of glitter and applied it to Thor's beard, mustache, and eyebrows. Then she streaked his hair also.

"That looks really good, Aleta," Max praised.

"We need tinsel, too!" she said and Max opened the box, carefully handing her the tinsel. She placed the tinsel in Thor's hair when they stood back and checked how he looked.

Last but not least she added some velvet ribbon and tied a big bow on Thor's head.

"Perfect!" Max said and they did a high five.

They quickly dragged the box back into the closet, proud of their handiwork. Just then, Loki returned, wanting another cup of coffee, and noticed lights kept blinking on and off in the den.

Did a light burn out? he wondered.

He saw the toddlers with the box as they glanced at each other and he smiled.

"Are you two responsible for the blinking lights?" he asked.

Max shrugged. "They just started doin' that."

"And what are you doing with the decoration box?"

"We were putting it away," Aleta said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. Something told him mischief was afoot and he strode into the den to see what they had added to the tree. He stopped dead when he saw the Thor-mas Tree on the couch.

"Sweet Valhalla on a ski sled!"

"Doesn't Uncle Thor look Christmas-y, Daddy?!" Aleta asked with a grin.

"By the Nine, spark!" Loki exclaimed and began to laugh until tears came to his eyes. "Oh . . . oh . . . where is my phone . . . oh Norns . . .!"

Loki went to get his phone when he ran back to the living room and took several photos.

"I need to send these to Tony," he thought and sent the photos to Tony's phone with the heading Rockin' Around the Thor-mas Tree.

"Are we in trouble, Daddy?" Max asked.

"No, imp," he said with a shake of his head.

He couldn't wait for his brother to wake up and see his Christmas surprise.

"What's so funny, Dad?" asked Vince, coming into the den to see why Loki was laughing so much.

"We turned Uncle Thor into a Christmas tree," Max said.

"Holy hopping horned toads!" Vince cried and doubled over laughing. "Hunter! Ya gotta see this!"

Hunter and the rest of the kids ran to the den when they looked at Thor and broke out laughing.

"He... He has tinsel hair!" Serena said, giggling.

Loki's phone beeped and he looked at it. There was a text from Tony. LMFAO! I almost peed myself, Reindeer Games!

Loki smiled when he saw Thor stirring and Max and Aleta hid behind him.

"What's so funny?" Thor asked with a sleepy tone.

"Open your eyes and see," Loki said and Thor opened his eyes. He looked at the ornaments, the blanket skirt and the blinking lights and Thor's roar of laughter echoed in the room.

"Who did this?" he mock-growled. Then he saw the two scamps behind Loki. "Ah ha! I think I see the culprits now!" He stood up and crept over and picked up the two toddlers and tossed them into the air.

"We wanted to cheer you up," Max said.

"Well, it worked," Thor said.

"You have glitter in your hair and beard, Brother," Loki said as he waved his hand and a mirror appeared. He walked to the couch then handed him the mirror and Thor looked at his reflection.

Loki giggled as Thor shook his head and began to tickle his small niece and nephew.

"You didn't take any photos, did you, Brother?" Thor asked and Loki gave him a mock shocked look.

"Who?! Me?!" Loki asked then laughed. Sighing, Thor rolled his eyes and Loki shrugged.

"We posted them on Instagram!" Hunter howled.

"What? C'mere, you little-" Thor bellowed in pretend anger and chased Hunter.

"Ahh! Mad Thor-mas Tree!" Hunter giggled.

"We're going to be killed by a Thor-mas Tree!" Belle shouted as Thor chased the kids then scooped them up one at a time into his arms and hugged them.

Loki picked up Aleta and Max as they watched Thor tickling Vince and Serena when Odin and Mischief walked out of the living room and looked at Loki.

"Why is he dressed like a tree?" Odin barked.

"Aleta and Max decorated him to cheer him up," Loki explained and the dog and kitten looked at each other.

"People are weird," Mischief mewed as they went back into the room and Loki laughed.