6
A Very Merry Mischief-mas!
A very merry Yule and Christmas to all! ~ Loki
Loki quietly got up when he headed for the front door and Odin followed him.
"Papa, there is something on the roof," Odin whimpered and Loki hushed him. Opening the door, Loki changed into his Jotun form and walked outside. The pawing sound grew louder as he looked at the roof and blinked.
"What the Hel?" he whispered and used his powers to rise off the ground. He landed soundlessly on the roof when he saw someone heading for the chimney and the large sleigh with what appeared to be a large horse harnessed to the sleigh. He recognized the sleigh and the horse as he smiled and silently walked closer.
"Hello, Sleph," Loki whispered to his oldest son and the horse turned his head.
"Father?! Why aren't you sleeping?" Sleph asked.
"I was until I heard you land on the roof.," Loki said.
"Sorry about that. It's a little slippy up here."
"Why are you here?"
"I'm just doing what I always do this time of year."
Loki thought for a few minutes when he thought of something and his eyes widened. Odin was the one who brought toys and gifts to everyone on Asgard during the Yule, but was he...?
"Loki, why aren't you sleeping?!" Odin asked as he headed for the sleigh and Loki looked at his father. Odin was dressed in ice blue clothing lined in white fur, an ice blue long coat, ice blue leather boots and an ice blue hat lined with white fur. He placed the large sack in the back of the sleigh as Loki blinked and changed into his normal form.
"I was sleeping until I heard you land on the roof," Loki said and Odin smiled.
"Ah," he said with a nod. "You always were a light sleeper."
"Father, are you...? Are you the one the people of Midgard call "Santa"?"
"Yes, but they call me by other names besides that one."
"And you use my son to pull the sleigh?"
"Well, I used to use Thor's goats, but Sleph was able to cover more homes and was faster."
"And I don't mind, Father," Sleph said.
Loki was stunned.
He shook his head as if he wasn't sure if he was dreaming.
"Are you alright?" Odin asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. It's just Aleta asked me if Santa was magic and, I guess, he is," Loki said with a grin.
"Well, I hate to cut this short, but I need to go."
Nodding, Loki lowered himself to the ground when he looked up and watched Odin, Sleph and the sleigh lift off the roof. He watched the sleigh vanish after he heard a loud "Ho-ho-ho!" and he smiled, going back in the house.
He was very curious to see what his father had left for his children.
Loki summoned the presents he had bought and wrapped with Mandy and placed them beneath the tree, next to several presents wrapped with green, ice blue, and gold trim with bows that glittered like new fallen snow. Those bore a tag which said, "From Santa."
He walked over to the mantle to check the Yule log, which was still burning, and saw all the stockings had been filled also. To his shock he saw a green stocking with "LOKI" on it and a red and blue one with "THOR" hanging beside his children's.
He turned and saw the plate of cookies and the glasses of coconut milk and Yule mead beside them were empty and a note with the words Thank you they were delicious! upon the plate.
Smiling, Loki went and took his new book to bed, where he fell asleep soon after snuggling into his blanket with the kitten on the pillow. He was awakened Christmas morning by two scamps screaming at the top of their lungs, "WAKE UP, DADDY! IT'S CHRISTMAS!"
"Norns," he sighed as Mischief dived off the bed and ran out of the room. The door opened as Max and Aleta ran to the bed and hopped onto the mattress.
"Come on, Daddy!" Max said, pulling on his hand.
"Get up!" Aleta said, moving the bedding down.
"Go fetch my robe and slippers," Loki said as they got off the bed and ran to get his green flannel robe and green slippers. After he got dressed, he took their hands and they left the room.
"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Aleta shouted and the bedroom doors opened.
"What time is it?" Sam asked, scratching the top of her head.
"It's a little after eight," Loki said with an apologetic look.
"Too early," Serena said as she turned to go back to bed, but Belle turned her back around.
"Let's go downstairs!" Max shouted.
"I need to get Nate up first," Loki said.
"I'm up," Nate said as he moved the wheelchair into the hallway and smiled at them.
"Come on!" Aleta said as she headed for the stairs and Max was right behind her. Sighing, Loki pointed with his hands and they headed down the stairs. Thor was waiting for them as he yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Merry Christmas, Brother," Loki said and Thor nodded. Loki had his phone in his robe pocket as he turned and removed the phone. The kids were on the top of the stairs as he nodded and used the phone to record them running down the stairs. He moved the phone to get Nate leaving the elevator then head for him and Loki lowered the phone.
"So, should we eat breakfast first or open presents?" Loki asked.
"Presents!" the kids said at once when a knock on the door made Loki turn and walk to the door. He opened the door to see Mandy and Mystic and he saw the sadness in her eyes.
"Merry Christmas, dearie," she said.
"Merry Christmas," he said, moving back so she could enter. He took her coat while Mystic ran to see Odin and Mischief and he placed the coat on the peg. "He didn't call?"
"No, but I brought my phone just in case," she said and he nodded.
"Merry Christmas, Missus Mandy," the kids said and she smiled.
"Merry Christmas," she said.
"We're going to open presents!" Aleta said.
"How nice," she said and looked at Loki. "Need help with making coffee and hot chocolate?"
"Yes," Loki said and they headed for the kitchen. "No touching any presents until we get back."
"Da-a-d!" they all groaned. "Hurry up!"
"Yeah, we're dying over here!" complained Hunter. He mimed collapsing to the floor.
Loki rolled his eyes. "No zombies on Christmas, wolfling. Resurrect thyself!"
Hunter sat up. "Can you please hurry?"
"Okay," Loki laughed. "But you know I need my coffee in the morning."
Loki put on the percolator to brew, but made himself a quick cup with his Keurig. Mandy began to boil some milk on the stove and filled each child's mug with two scoops of Loki's hot cocoa mix.
"Here," Loki said as he handed her a mug and she sipped on the coffee.
"Thank you," Mandy said.
After the coffee and hot chocolate was made, Loki pushed the cart into the living room and Mandy sat on one of the recliners. Mystic, Mischief and Odin sat near her as Loki looked at her and smiled.
"Da-a-a-a-ad!" came from the hallway and he removed his phone from his pocket.
"Come and get it!" Loki said. The sound of cheering and footsteps came from the hallway as he filmed the kids running into the room and their eyes widened.
"Whoa!" they all said at once.
"Wait for me!" Nate said as he entered the room and he smiled. "Wow!"
"He came! He came!" Aleta cried, jumping up and down.
"He ate the cookies and drank the milk!" Max said, pointing to the empty plate and glass.
Loki used the remote to turn the stereo on and Christmas music filled the room. He also checked to see if he had enough trash bags for all the wrapping paper then went to sit on the couch next to Thor.
Thor chuckled, watching the small child. "Reminds me of us when we were that age. Remember, Loki?"
"I remember. You and Balder use to almost trample me getting to the tree first," Loki recalled, laughing.
"And Mother would scold us, saying, Watch out for your brother, you hooligans!" Thor grinned.
"Remember the time the tree fell over? You and Balder stood there and yelled "Timber!"
"You got out of the way," Thor said with a laugh.
"Of course I did. You think I'm stupid?" Loki said.
Thor shook his head. Sam and Hunter helped Max and Aleta open their presents while the other kids opened theirs and Aleta yelped when she saw the Baby Belle doll.
"Daddy! Look!" she said, holding up the box. She got up as she ran to Loki and handed him the box. He carefully got the doll out of the box when he handed the doll to her and she hugged it to her chest.
He took a picture with his phone.
Hunter shouted with glee over his new iPod. "A new one! Thanks, Dad!"
"You're welcome," Loki said.
Max opened his present when he saw a pair of plastic Ironman gloves and mask and his eyes went wide.
"Wow!" Max said as he got up and ran to Loki. "Daddy! Look!"
"Wow, Imp, those look cool," he said and got the gloves and mask out of the box. He noticed Santa forgot the batteries as he opened the small drawer in the table next to the couch and removed the right batteries. After placing the batteries into the gloves, he helped Max put the gloves on and Max pushed the buttons. A soft whirring noise came from the gloves as he smiled then placed the face mask on top of his head.
"Your Uncle Tony is going to be jealous," Thor laughed.
"Yeah, " Max said when he pushed the face mask down and Loki took a photo. He looked at the screen then he sent a copy of the photo to Tony.
Mandy's phone rang and she jumped up and ran into the kitchen to answer it.
"Must be her grandkids or Iris," Loki mused.
Loki filmed the children for several minutes, until he realized he needed to charge his phone, then he plugged it in and set it down. It was then he recalled the two stockings at the end of the mantle. The children were still opening their presents under the tree, so he stealthily unhooked his and Thor's stockings and said, "Looks like Santa didn't forget us, Thor. And I know why."
Thor eyed his brother. "Loki, you have that look in your eye. What do you know that I don't?"
"A lot." Loki twitted. "But seriously, let me tell you what happened last night." He then sent to his brother how he had discovered a sleigh with Sleph on the roof, and then found Odin dressed up as the Asgard version of Santa.
Thor's eyes almost bugged from his head. "It was really . . . him?"
"I swear by the Nine." Loki said solemnly.
"What are those?" he pointed to the stockings.
"Our Christmas stockings," Loki said, and handed Thor his. He couldn't help but notice they looked just like ones they had when they were boys in Asgard.
They probably are, Laufeyson, he thought. You know Mother saves everything.
Thor, as was his wont, reached into his stocking immediately and pulled out . . ."Coal? Loki, this isn't funny!"
But the God of Mischief wasn't laughing. "I didn't do it!" he protested, In his own hand was another lump of coal.
He reached into the stocking again to see if there was anything else and his fingers encountered a piece of paper down near the toe. Pulling it free, he read, Coal is actually a hidden treasure, for it is a diamond in the rough. Tap it to discover what's inside.
Thor groped in his stocking and found a similar piece of paper. "Loki, why would he give us coal?" he hissed. "I swear I was good . . . well mostly . . . unless you count the time I got drunk on Thanksgiving and sang that song about Lola's Lucious-err . . ."
Loki hit himself in the forehead. "Thor, you lummox! It's a joke!" He shook his head. "Oh Norns save me!"
He eyed the lump of coal. "A very clever one too." He grinned and tapped the coal against his end table.
The coal shimmered and cracked open like an egg to reveal . . .a large leatherbound spellbook with gold runes on a purple cover, a delicate lacy crystal on a gold chain, and a square casket of an ancient design. "Holy Valhalla!" Loki gasped.
"What is that?" Thor queried.
"The spellbook is one I've been looking for a long time-a few centuries. It's the Grimoire of the Wisdom Keeper. The crystal is one that a mage can use to dowse for anything-a lost pet or child, water, gems. And this-this is the Casket of Ancient Winters."
"The casket that Father had in his vault? That he . . . err . . . stole from Laufey?"
Loki nodded. "Yes, but now it returns to where it belongs-with me, who is heir to the throne of Jotunheim."
"A throne you've never claimed." Thor pointed out.
"Anymore than you have yours," Loki returned. "Regardless, this belongs to me, as the Prince of Jotunheim."
"True." Thor agreed. Then he tapped his and this time the coal split apart to reveal-a shiny new battle helm, with wings of gold on it and a hammer etched into the front. There was also a gold and silver flask with a rune on it. Thor opened it and smelled it. "Mead!" he cried in delight and drank some. "Mmm! Nothing tastes like Asgardian mead!"
The third object was a brooch for his red cloak-fashioned of silver and gold with a lightning bolt on it.
Loki examined the helm and said, "That's got some enchantments on it, brother."
"It does?"
"Yes. Mainly ones to prevent an enemy from spilling your brains out on the ground," Loki told him.
"What about the flask?"
"It's an ever full one." Loki replied.
"And the brooch is one that can heal a bad wound. Good for when you go fight again."
"What about when you go and fight?"
"Thor, my magic can do everything your helm, brooch, and flask can." Loki reminded him. "I have many enchanted objects like them. Father knows this."
"You're right. I keep forgetting you can kick ass and take names, Loki." Thor admitted.
"Damn straight, brother mine." Loki said. He sent the Casket of Ancient Winters to his lab and put the crystal about his neck. The spellbook he held, reluctant to let go of it. "Merry Christmas, Thor."
Thor saluted him with the flask. "Merry Christmas, Loki."
Loki picked up his cup of coffee and returned it. Then he set the mug down and hugged his brother. "This is a great Christmas. And there's more yet to come!"
The Yule log popped in the fireplace and Loki took that as the signal to go and put in the breakfast casseroles he had made, "Thor, please have the kids clean up the wrapping paper while I go make breakfast."
"Yes, Brother," Thor said and Loki left the room.
Once in the kitchen, Loki took out his two casseroles-one was a sausage, egg, and cheese one and the other was a pancake with bacon and apple one. There were two of each kind and he popped two in the oven, humming an old Norse carol. He swapped his robe and slippers out for his black jeans and green and white reindeer sweater Sam had gotten him last Christmas.
"Daddy, what is that song?" Max asked, his head to the side.
"That's an old Norwegian song about a merry mouse," Loki replied. He hummed a few more bars.
Max repeated the bars and Loki nodded. He taught Max the rest of the song and Max smiled.
"That's a neat song, Daddy," Max said.
"I always liked that song," Loki said. He noticed there were crumbs on the floor. "Go get the dustpan and the little broom, imp. You can help me clean."
"Ok," Max said and went to fetch the little broom and dust pan. He started sweeping up the crumbs when he started humming again and Loki went to check on the casseroles. "All done!"
"Thank you," Loki said and Max handed him the dust pan.
Loki emptied it into the trash. "Okay, these are nearly done. Then I'll put in the others."
"Can I help you with anything else?"
"No, I don't want you near the oven."
"Because I could get burned," Max said with a nod.
"Right," Loki said then removed a cookie from the tin. "Here is your reward for being such a big helper."
"Thanks!" Max said and ran out of the kitchen.
"Why do I have a feeling..."
"Daddy, where did Max get a cookie?!" Aleta hollered. Max ran back in the room as Loki handed him another cookie and Max ran back to the living room.
It sounded like the children were all happy about the gifts they had received, and Loki grinned. Then again, he had never known his children to not be happy on Christmas morning since he had adopted them.
He removed the casseroles from the oven then placed the second casseroles in and closed the door.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. Thor went to open the door and barked a laugh at the sight of Tony wearing a Santa's hat.
"Are you trying to be a jolly old elf this year, Man of Iron?"
"Only if I was drunk," Tony smirked.
"That is what Uncle Thor does." Aleta said, giggling.
"Little niece, must you remember everything?" the Thunder God groaned, thinking Loki had been right, as usual, when he said that toddlers were like elephants, they never forgot anything.
Tony gave him an amused look then walked by him.
"Clint said he'll be here later with his family," Bruce said.
"That is fine. He deserves to spend the day with them," Thor said, closing the door.
Loki appeared in the hallway when he saw Tony and his eyes widened.
"Have you changed headgear, Stark?" Loki asked.
"Don't laugh. I got one for you, too," Tony said as he walked to Loki and handed him a Santa hat.
"Go on, Brother. Put it on," Thor teased. Sighing, Loki placed the hat on and Tony took a photo.
"That's a really interesting sweater you have on, Reindeer Games," Tony remarked, looking at Loki's green and white sweater with the reindeer jumping up on it. "Looks like those reindeer are playing some rather naughty games."
"Tony!" Steve gasped.
"He knows I'm kidding."
"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, Tony," Loki snorted.
"He can't. It's stuck there," Bruce teased,
"Poor Pepper," Natasha teased.
"Ha-ha," Tony said, rolling his eyes.
"Where is Pepper?" Loki asked.
"Off visiting her mom. She'll be here for dessert."
Nodding, Loki turned when he heard the oven timer chiming and looked toward the kitchen.
"The kids are in the living room" Loki said and they nodded, going into the living room, Loki went to check on the casseroles when he removed them from the oven and closed the door.
"Dad! I got new makeup!" Sam said, grinning.
"That's great, butterfly," he said, walking back into the living room. "Who was that from?" He swallowed sharply, thinking first she has a boy over the house to bake cookies and now she has makeup.
"The tag said Santa Dad." She replied and smiled.
By the Nine, Father! Loki thought. You're determined to give me gray hairs!
"There are lip glosses too!" Belle said, pointing to the tubes.
"Gross!" Vince cried.
"Now Loki, don't go getting out your scepter just yet," Tony teased. "You can make the poor guy kneel and swear fealty to you after Clint and I background check him and threaten to tape his eyelids open and watch Teletubbies if he gets outta line."
"Is that before or after Thor breaks his legs?" Steve asked innocently.
"Thanks guys." Sam groaned, putting the set down and picking up another gift.
"What are Teletubbies?" Thor looked at Tony.
"A horror show, buddy." He replied.
"Dad, look at this!" Vince held up a snowboard. "It's the new aerodynamic model-the Snowmeister!"
Loki's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Where did that come from?" Not only was that snowboard expensive as hell, it was also made for competitions.
"Santa brought it to me!" answered his son. "I can't wait to try it out."
I think Santa and I need to have a talk about appropriate Christmas presents, Loki thought. Father, what were you thinking? How to give me a heart attack? What's next?
"Dad! Look!" Nate said, holding up a top of the line computer.
"By the Nine!" Loki nearly fell out of his recliner. "That's better than my laptop!"
"Dad! Santa got me the Lego Rapunzel's Castle!" Lucy cheered.
"Somebody shoot me!" Loki muttered.
"I got a toy piano!" Aleta cheered.
I'm running away from home! Loki thought.
He stood up when the timer on his phone beeped. "Okay, breakfast is ready."
Mandy returned from Skyping her grandkids, smiling. "It smells delicious, Loki."
"Thank you, Lady MacAllister," Loki said suavely and offered his arm to her.
She took it and they processed into the kitchen, where he seated her to the right of him at the table. Everyone devoured the food, exclaiming over how flavorful it was.
While Steve and Natasha washed the dishes, Loki returned to the living room to gather up all the trashbags with the paper and found Mischief inside of Nate's empty computer box.
"Is that your new bed?" he laughed at the black kitten.
"I like this, Papa," she mewed. "It's cozy."
Loki sent the trash into the pail in the garage, and was organizing things into piles when the doorbell rang.
When he opened the door he saw five little children on the other side with a smiling Mrs. Trainor standing behind them. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Laufeyson!"
"Merry Christmas! Are you going to sing for me?" he grinned.
"Go on, children!" urged Mrs. Trainor, who was the school chorus director. "Sing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas."
Loki listened, smiling, as the kids sang, then applauded when they were finished. He gave out small chocolate bars. Then the kids sang, "Up on the Housetop" and "Rudolph."
"Wonderful!" Loki clapped. "Would you like some hot cocoa?"
The kids all said yes, and Loki turned to get the to-go cups and his carafe of cocoa when he felt a small hand tug his leg.
He looked down and saw a little girl with adorable brown eyes and thick curly hair. "Hello, darling!"
"Are you Santa?" she asked softly.
"Well . . . uh . . ." I'm his son, he thought.
"You have his hat on so's you are," she said then.
Loki knelt and she climbed up on his knee. "I'm Carol!" she told him.
Mrs. Trainor gasped. "Oh, Carol, honey, that's not—"
Loki waved her to silence. "I'm pleased to meet you."
"I wanna tell you what I want for Christmas," she lisped, and then leaned over and whispered, "My daddy can't come home for Christmas, cause he's a soldier over in the Middle East, but I wanna see him really bad, Santa. So that's what I want for Christmas."
Loki felt his heart melt into a puddle. By the Nine, Laufeyson! You can't disappoint this little girl. He thought quickly about what he could do to make this poor child happy and his facile brain came up with a solution.
He quickly wove two illusions, one was so Mrs. Trainor and the other children would only see what he wished them to, which was him telling Carol she would see her daddy soon.
But the other illusion was for the child alone. He saw in her memories what her father looked like in his uniform and then he cast a simple charm that made him appear in front of her as a hologram.
"Daddy!" the child shrieked, and went to jump off Loki's lap.
"No, hon. He's not really here." Loki explained, holding her. "It's a projection, like in the movies. But he can talk to you, darling."
"Hello, Carol." her father said, waving. "How you doing, baby?"
"Fine! I miss you!" Carol cried, waving and smiling.
"Miss you too, honey. Did you get my letters and emails?"
"Uh huh. But when are you coming home?"
"As soon as they say I can, darling. Then we'll do something fun together, okay?"
The little girl nodded. "Okay. Mommy and I baked cookies for you and we mailed them."
"I can't wait to taste them!"
"Will you be home by New Year's?"
"I sure hope so, darling. But if I can't come home then, you tell your mommy to give you a kiss from me. I love you, princess!"
"Love you too, Daddy!"
Loki blinked back tears and then wriggled his fingers, making the illusion solid for a moment, so it could "hug" the child.
"Merry Christmas, Carol!"
"Merry Christmas, Daddy!"
Then he made the illusion fade.
"I'm sorry, but my magic only lasts a little while," Loki told her. "But he'll be home soon."
She threw her arms about his neck. "Thank you very much, Santa!"
"You're so welcome, sweetie," Loki said, hugging her back.
He banished the illusion over the rest of the kids and Mrs. Trainor.
"Carol, sweetie, we have to be going," the teacher said. "We need to sing for some other neighbors."
"Okay," the little girl said, beaming happily. She climbed off Loki's knee. "Bye, Santa! I like you better without the beard!"
Everyone giggled, and waved at him before they went down the porch stairs.
"That was sweet of you, Loki," the chorus teacher said, giving him a pleased smile. "The poor thing really misses her dad."
"It's hard when kids and parents are separated on holidays. I was happy to help," he said sincerely. "Have a Merry Christmas!"
He watched as the children and the teacher marched through the snow and down the sidewalk, singing happily. He felt a warm glow in his heart thinking about the joy on the small girl's face when she saw her father. I think the Norns will forgive me for that little white lie, since it was to make a child happy. I pray he comes home to her soon.
He turned to go back inside the house and nearly banged into Tony. "You were terrific, Reindeer Games. I don't know what you did, but whatever it was sure made that little kid happy."
"It was . . . just a bit of magic," Loki coughed.
Tony suspected it was more than just "a little bit" of magic. It was probably some high level magic that only Loki could cast because he was a master sorcerer. But he said nothing further except, "Time to tell Bruce to break out the eggnog."
"Just make sure you keep the one with the alcohol away from the children," Loki warned. "I had better start the turkey and the ham."
While Tony went to grab a glass of eggnog from Bruce, Loki went back into the kitchen to put the turkey into the roaster, the ham in the oven, and the other sides, like the asparagus au gratin on the counter to be put in when the meats were almost cooked.
The kids scattered to play with their new Christmas gifts, leaving Loki and Mandy to cook in peace. Natasha helped Vince learn how to use his new snowboard along with Thor, while Tony and Bruce helped Nate and Belle with their electronics.
Soon everything was almost ready and then the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Sam said, racing for the door. She opened the door as Peter smiled at her and she smiled back. "Hi!"
"Hi," Peter said then looked at his aunt. "This is my aunt, May Parker. Aunt May, this is Samantha Laufeyson."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Sam said. "May I take your coats?"
"Yes. Nice to meet you." Aunt May replied, Sam shocked by how young she was.
Sam took their coats after they came inside and she placed the coats on the pegs.
"Dad! Peter and his aunt are here!" Sam called out and Loki walked down the hallway.
"Hello. Welcome to my home," Loki said.
"Hello." The unsurprisingly young woman said, smiling at Loki. "Peter did not tell me how tall you were. Do you have to raise the door way to get through?"
Loki chuckled. "I'm why this house has cathedral ceilings." He indicated the arching ceiling overhead.
Aunt May laughed when Thor walked in the hallway and she gasped.
"You're Thor!" she said and Peter rolled his eyes.
"Aunt May," Peter sighed.
Greetings," Thor said with a nod.
"You remember Sam's friend, Peter. This is his aunt, May," Loki said.
"I do. Hello Lady May."
"Sam, take Peter and his aunt into the living room. Dinner is almost ready," Loki said and Sam nodded.
The bell rang again and before Loki could move, the door burst open.
"Merry Christmas, Uncle Loki!" screeched four excited children as they raced into the house and swarmed all over the God of Mischief.
"Merry Christmas," Loki said as he hugged Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel Pietro and Nichole.
Presents!" Nathaniel said while pointing to the tree.
"Yes, presents. But we can't open them until after dinner," Loki said, picking up the toddler. Laura Barton came in as she sighed and gave him an apologetic look.
"Sorry," Laura said and gave him a small hug.
"It's fine."
"Hey, Nichole, wanna come and play with my piano?" Aleta said, coming into the hallway.
"Yeah!" Nichole said, running into the living room.
"May and Peter Parker, I would like you to meet my friend, Clint Barton, his wife, Laura, and these are his children, Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel Pietro, and that one is Nichole," Loki said.
"Hello," May said.
"Hi,"
"Hello," Clint said and Laura waved at them.
*Hi," Peter said.
"Aleta, come and say hello to Aunt May," Loki said as his daughter ran past.
"Hi!" Aleta turned and waved. "Nichole, there it is!" She pointed to the child-sized piano on the floor.
"Down," Nathaniel said and Loki placed him down. Nathaniel toddled after his sister and Aleta while Clint helped Laura off with her coat and placed the coat on the peg.
"Thor, please take Missus Parker and Peter into the living room and introduce them to the others while I finish dinner," Loki said.
"Yes," Thor said and he and Clint led everyone into the living room.
"Daddy, Little Nate is bugging us," Aleta said as Loki sighed and shook his head.
"Let him play with the piano, Spark," Loki said.
"He's just hitting the keys," Nichole said.
"Excuse me," Clint said as he walked by him and picked up Nathaniel.
"No!" the toddler cried as his father carried him into the room and Loki headed for the kitchen.
Odin trotted in from the backyard and Loki quickly wiped the snow off of him and said, "Go say hello, but no jumping!"
"Yes, Papa!" Odin woofed and then walked into the living room.
Loki set both the table in the kitchen and the long one in the dining room. The kitchen table was for the children. the other for the adults. Each place setting had a Christmas cracker on it. The adults had wine glasses, the children had sparkling cider.
Loki quickly carved up the turkey and ham and brought the platters into the dining room. Because there was so much food it couldn't all be placed on the table, so a lot of the sides were on the long buffet. There was chestnut and cranberry stuffing, the asparagus, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, fresh sesame seed rolls with butter and lingonberry jam, and corn fritters with maple syrup.
Loki had also made macaroni and cheese for the kids, since some of them loved to eat it, with a baked Ritz cracker crust on top.
He checked to make sure everything was ready when he went into the hallway and smiled.
"Dinner's ready!" he shouted. He backed away as the kids charged out of the living room then into the dining room and kitchen and the adults appeared in the hallway.
"Did a herd of wild animals just go by?" Tony teased,
"Looks like some animals escaped from the zoo." Loki replied.
Laughter filled the hallway as Clint and Loki went into the kitchen to get the kids settled and the others went into the dining room.
"Ok, guys, remember. This isn't home. No food fights," Clint reminded his kids and they nodded.
"But food fights are fun!" Max said.
"Maximus," Loki warned and Max frowned.
"Sorry, Daddy," he said and Loki ruffled his son's hair. Loki and Clint left the room then went into the dining room and Clint went to sit down.
"To family and friends, both old and new, may we all have happiness and joy in the coming year," Loki said and they clinked glasses.
"Is someone going to say grace?" May asked.
"I will," Mandy said, and they all said the blessing over the meal, though Loki and Thor silently asked the Norns blessing as well.
"Now, let's eat!" Thor said, and they all passed plates back and forth and rose to serve themselves from the dishes on the buffet.
From the kitchen came little popping sounds as the kids pulled their Christmas crackers and laughed at the silly toys and paper crowns inside them.
"Whoa! I got a new set of earbuds!" Nate said.
"There's candy in mine!" Max said.
Sam helped the kids put the paper crowns on when Loki and Clint walked in and Aleta grinned.
"Look, Daddy, I'm a princess!" Aleta said.
"Yes, you are," Loki said with a laugh.
"Me, too!" Nichole said.
"Both of my girls are princesses," Clint said.
Loki, Sam and Clint helped get the plates for the kids while Loki noticed Sam and Peter were sitting next to each other and he smiled at her.
"Da-a-a-a-a-ad," she whispered.
"Wha-a-a-a-a-at?!" Loki whispered and they giggled.
He noticed she was wearing one of her new lip glosses and murmured, "That color looks good on you."
"Thanks," she whispered and he swore she was blushing.
"Maccy cheese!" Nathaniel said as he patted the highchair tray and Clint placed the bib around his son's neck.
"Yeah. Yeah. Mister Loki made you maccy cheese," Clint said and Loki placed the plastic bowl in front of Nathaniel.
"T'ank you,"
"You're welcome," Loki said and handed him the small spoon.
The little boy practically dove into the bowl. "Yummy!"
"Slow down, Bud," Clint said with a laugh.
"Daddy makes the bestest mac n' cheese!" Max sang, eating his with gusto.
"It's better than Kraft," Cooper agreed.
"Yeah!" Aleta agreed while Nichole nodded.
"Thanks," Loki smiled. "If you want more just come and tell us."
Loki then noticed Sam and Peter talking in soft voices and blinked.
Knock it off, Laufeyson. They're just friends, he thought, sighing. Loki and Clint left the room as they went back to the dining room and sat down.
Loki happily filled his plate with the succulent honey glazed ham, turkey, stuffing, asparagus, and vegetables. He placed a roll with butter on the side of his plate and then looked at his guests. "How is everything?"
"Everything is delicious, Dear," Mandy said.
"Yeah! Great spread," Tony said when a knock made them look toward the front door and Loki got up. He walked to the door when he opened the door and Pepper smiled at him.
"Hi," she said.
"Hello. You're just in time," he said as she walked in and he helped her off with her coat. "Food's in the dining room."
Loki placed her coat on the peg as Pepper walked to the dining room and Tony smiled.
"There you are," Tony said as he got up and kissed her cheek after walking to her. "I thought you were coming later."
"I know, but Mom got a little demanding about when we were getting married and stuff like that. So, I decided I'd rather be here," she said and nodded to the others. "Hello."
"Hello, Pepper," Steve said. Tony made the introductions then Pepper went to get some food and sat next to Tony.
After everyone was finished eating, the kids went to the living room while the adults helped Loki clean up and Thor took Odin out for a walk.
"So, Reindeer Games," Tony whispered as he helped Loki carry some dishes into the kitchen. "Do you have anything to do with the snowstorm which covered all of New York state, some of New Jersey and some of northeast Pennsylvania?"
Loki thought for a few seconds when he sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I just wanted to make it snow so my kids could have a white Christmas," Loki whispered and Tony laughed.
"It's ok. Fury had the news call it a freak snowstorm."
"Good."
"Hey, do you mind if I take some ham and those corn fritters and that asparagus home?" Tony asked.
"Of course not. Go and get some plastic containers. Second drawer on the right in the pantry."
"I call dibs on the mac and cheese!" Clint said.
Once all the dishes had been washed and put away and the leftovers also, except what was being taken home, Loki suggested they play some party games. "I have Christmas trivia cards here and charades."
"Sounds like fun," Steve said.
"We doing teams or is it just asking questions?" Tony wanted to know.
"Let's do teams of three," Steve said.
Loki, Mandy, and May were on one team. Tony, Pepper, and Steve were another. Clint, Laura, and Natasha formed a third.. Thor, Sam, and Peter were four. Bruce, Hunter, and Belle were on the last team.
Loki took a pad of paper and wrote down all the teams and said, "It's a point for each question answered correctly. Whoever has the most points at the end of two hours wins."
"Tony, here's a card. You ask my team a question and if we get it right, then we get a point. If we get it wrong, we ask you a question." Loki said.
Tony took the card and read the first question. "What religion first celebrated the Yule season by decorating an evergreen tree?"
May frowned. "Well, the tree is called a Christmas tree but somehow I think that's too obvious."
"You're right," Loki agreed. "The Christians adopted the tradition from the Norse religion. The Norse pantheon was also worshipped by the Germanic tribes as well as the Vikings."
"You seem to know a lot about it, dearie," Mandy remarked.
"I do because my parents were mythology professors," Loki replied.
"So, what's your answer?"
"Our answer is the Norse religion," Loki replied.
"And you're . . ." Tony flipped the card over. "Right."
Loki's team high-fived each other. "We're off to a great start."
Tony turned to Clint's team. "Okay, how about this one? How many ghosts were there in A Christmas Carol? "
"Weren't there three ghosts?" Natasha asked. "The Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future Christmas?"
"Yes, but don't forget about Marley," Laura reminded.
"Laura's right," Clint nodded.
"Answer?" Tony asked.
"Four," Clint replied.
"That's right."
Tony passed the cards to Sam so she could ask his team a question. "What is the traditional drink made with mulled cider, brandy, and spices called?"
Tony looked at Steve and Pepper. "That's so easy! It's wassail."
"Trust you to know anything with alcohol in it," Steve laughed.
The questions continued, and points were won and lost. Loki's team asked Sam's, "Which country gifts the Christmas tree that is placed at Trafalgar Square in London according to tradition?"
"Do you know, Uncle Thor?"
The Thunder God shook his head. "I am afraid not."
"I think I know," Peter said. "It's Norway. I watched a special on TV once about English traditions."
"If you say so. Norway it is."
"That would be correct." Loki said.
"Way to go, Peter!" Sam cheered and Peter blushed.
"Here's one for you, Loki," Thor said. "What color Christmas did Elvis Presley have?"
Mandy grinned. "I know this one! I was around when that song first came on the radio."
"What is it, darling?" Loki asked.
"Blue Christmas, of course!"
Tony's team got the following question, "Which song's second line begins with, "Led by the light of faith serenely beaming?"
None of them could answer it. The same question was asked of the other two teams and they also got it wrong, Until May cried, "I know! It's "O Holy Night!"
The trivia game ended with Loki's team and Bruce's team tied for first. With the others close behind them.
Then Loki brought out dessert. There were the Christmas cookies they had all baked and decorated, there was Norwegian spiced cake, apple cake, and rice pudding with berries.
Coffee, tea, and eggnog, with and without alcohol were served also.
After dessert, Nathaniel tugged on Loki's sleeve. "Unca Loki, presents?"
"Yes, little imp. Now you can open your presents from me."
The kids were delighted with their presents. Lila and Nichole loved their Pomsies, adorable fluffy pom pom kitties that interacted with their owners with light up eyes, purring and sounds. Nichole got Kali, a calico one, and Lila a rainbow one. Cooper got an interactive BB8 and Nathaniel a Naptime Lion that played lullabies so the child would go to sleep.
"What do you say, kids?" prompted Laura.
"Thank you, Uncle Loki!" they all chorused.
"This is for you, Loki," Laura said, handing him an envelope. "Merry Christmas."
Loki opened the card and found a gift card inside to Ferrara's. "Thank you! And my sweet tooth thanks you too."
Laura laughed. "We'll be thanking you when we use that Delmonico's gift card, Loki." For that was what he had gotten Clint for Christmas.
Thor had given Loki and all his children tickets to attend a Viking's home game at their stadium. Loki had given Thor a season pass to all the Vikings games.
Tony and Pepper had gotten Loki tickets to the Game Expo over in LA.
Bruce and Natasha had given Loki Bacon of the Month—a subscription box of bacon, each month was a new flavor.
Loki had given Tony and Pepper a vacation for a weekend in the Caribbean, and Bruce and Natasha had gotten a similar package to a cabin up in Vermont.
Sam darted under the tree and picked up a square box and an envelope. "Dad, this is from us. Merry Christmas!"
Loki hugged her. "Thank you." He opened the envelope first. Inside was a card that said, You Have Been Enrolled in the Coffee of the Month Club for 6 months. "How very cool!" Loki exclaimed. "I will really enjoy that." He opened the box and found a green leatherbound photo album with the words Remember When on it and underneath it The Laufeysons 2018. Inside were all kinds of photos of the children with Loki during the year. They were grouped according to things like "First Day of School", "Plays", Summer Vacation", "Holidays", "Birthdays", "Dad and Us", ect.
"We put stickers!" Max said.
Loki stared down at the album and the pictures suddenly blurred from the tears in his emerald eyes. He blinked them away, reminding himself, There's no crying on Christmas, Loki! "This is wonderful!"
Suddenly he was surrounded by his children, and they all hugged him tightly.
"Didja like your present, Daddy?" Aleta asked, sitting on his lap.
"It was a great present, spark," he told her honestly. "But I have an even better one. Know what it is?"
She shook her head,
"All of you," he replied, and then he smiled so brightly that he lit up the room with joy.
"Maybe next year Santa will bring you a wife." Aleta said, giggling.
"Oh Lord." Natasha said, laughing.
The snow fell and turned the streets of the old city into a wintery wonderland, but there by the fire, the Prince of Asgard and his family, were all cozy and warm, their hearts full of love, and Loki hugged them all to him and thought in delight, A very merry Mischiefmas to all, and to all a good night!
A/N: Hope you all liked!
