Notes: In which Christmas comes to a close.

Warnings: For a little blatant plagiarism at the very end- see the notes there for details and apologies.

Chapter Fifteen

"If we plan to eat before midnight, we really should start the turkey now," Steve remarked as the group left Natasha, Clint, Tony, and Mrs. Coulson in the living room and went down the hall together. "We should put the leftover tourtière in another container, so we can use the roasting pan- "

"What leftover tourtière?" Rhodey laughed. "We went through it last night like the locusts through Egypt- "

"- I'll explain that later," George told Loki, aside, when Loki turned a questioning face to him.

"- and I think the roasting pan is already washed."

"It is," Loki confirmed. He and Thor had seen to that, and to the plates and cutlery, after they had eaten their late meal upon returning from church.

"Wonderful," Steve smiled. "Let's have breakfast and get the bird in the oven, and then we can work out timelines for everything else."

"Sounds good," Bruce agreed. "And maybe later Thor and Loki can teach us how to play tafl. Unless of course we all want to work all day."

"You're starting to sound like Tony," Jane teased.

Loki's only previous experience with participating in the preparation of a really large meal had come the month before, when he had taken part in the Avengers' Thanksgiving celebration. This business of feeding such a large group over several days was certainly time-consuming. Loki thought perhaps, on his next visit to Asgard, he would endeavour to learn whether the kitchen staff considered themselves to be suitably recompensed for all their work. He was thinking about what sort of approach might be both fruitful and discreet as he searched the cupboards for breakfast cereal.

Steve, thanks apparently to the super-soldier serum, needed a lot of food and was in the habit of consuming a large cooked breakfast every morning. Thor, thanks to… being Thor… also needed a great deal of morning fuel and had the same sort of breakfast. Everyone else, despite their enjoyment of Steve's efforts the previous morning, were quite ready to return to their normal routines. Loki found a box of prepared muesli, which he shared with Pepper and Jane, while most of the others made toast or cooked smaller portions of eggs. There was fresh fruit, and Annie made tea as well as coffee.

By the time Tony and the others rejoined them, the first group had nearly finished with their breakfasts, and Loki was amusing everyone by enchanting Jane's bunny slippers to chase each other around the kitchen. They hopped up to Tony, and then followed him as he made for the coffee.

"Okay," he said briskly, after a long gulp from his mug, "what evil plans have you made to work us all day, Steve?"

"None," Steve replied tolerantly. "I thought we'd get the turkey in the oven, and while it's cooking we can… go fool around outside again, or something. Maybe play board games later." He glanced at Loki and Annie as he spoke of the outdoors, and Loki paused in the act of raising his mug of tea to tilt it in salute.

Tony, who almost certainly knew or at least suspected something of Steve's aversion to cold, smiled. "Great idea, Steve. Everyone else okay with that plan?" General nods. "Terrific. Now, if someone would call off these bunnies, that would be really good, too."

~oOo~

Never let it be said that Steve lacked organizational skills. Between them, he and Mrs. Coulson calculated the length of time needed for the turkey to cook, as well as the large roast of beef Tony had added on the grounds it would be more interesting to have a choice of meats, rather than simply cooking two turkeys for the large group. Then they worked out an acceptable time to eat their Christmas dinner, as well as cooking times for the vegetable dishes and desserts, figuring backward to determine when each must begin to cook.

Once this timetable was in place, the two actually synchronized their watches, and Agent Coulson set appropriate alerts on his mobile phone to ensure no deadline was missed. Really, Loki felt tired and rather dizzy just listening to them.

Clint, apparently recovered from his bout of sentimentality, proposed a snowball fight as their outdoor game. This did not sound like much fun to Loki. It was not that he distrusted Clint's intentions- much- but after all the songs of peace on Earth and goodwill toward others, it seemed an inappropriate activity for Christmas. And it must be admitted, it also seemed like the kind of activity he would prefer not to engage in with known assassins.

Fortunately, Pepper and Jane rejected the suggestion out of hand, citing the same reservations as Loki was thinking of. Bruce agreed, adding that being hit in the head with projectiles of any sort was not especially conducive to his own good temper. George helpfully proposed instead a contest, to see who could make the best snowman.

"For real?" Clint began to object, and Loki decided the peaceful working of the group called for a gesture on his part.

"You do not wish to participate only because you know you cannot make a better man of snow than can a Jotun," he challenged. Clint's eyes gleamed.

"Okay, now, those are fighting words," he announced.

Which was how Loki found himself in his Jotun form- to say nothing of his ridiculous red shorts- building snowmen with his housemates. The others were formed into teams scattered about the grounds, with Agent and Mrs. Coulson serving as judges of their output.

Loki required a certain amount of guidance- this was not a game played by Aesir children, and since this winter had not been very snowy in Bristol, Loki had not recently seen any snowmen in the parks and so had no suitable mental picture to follow.

"They're not meant to have legs, Loki," George argued.

"Of course they must have legs," Loki argued back. "Does not the song say that Frosty the Snowman had to hurry on his way? Are we expected to believe he rolled over the fields of snow, using his bottom as a wheel? And besides, the animated program we saw on the television, about the little boy who befriends the snowman, clearly showed- "

"But that snowman only got legs when he came alive," George insisted, pushing his spectacles up his nose.

"Also," Mitchell added, "I'm pretty sure neither he nor Frosty was an exact portrait of Helblindi." All four of them paused in their work of collecting snow to look up at Loki's twelve-foot-tall construction of the wise old Jotun councillor. Mitchell added, "Not that it isn't dead impressive, mind."

"Well," Loki sulked, "being tasked with making a man out of snow, I saw no reason not to make a specific man. And who could possibly be more suitable for such a portrait- "

"Really, this is more of an ice sculpture, I think," Annie said peaceably. "But it definitely proves your point to Clint." That being exactly what Loki had had in mind- the fact he had issued his challenge mostly as a distraction did not mean it was not in earnest- he now permitted himself to be guided in the construction of a true Midgardian snowman.

Well, snowwoman, actually- all of them agreed in the end that their creation somehow bore a more-than-passing resemblance to Professor Sprout from the Harry Potter stories. With that in mind, they added a few snow flowerpots around her feet and a pointed hat on her head, completing their work just as the Coulsons arrived to call time on the contest.

Walking around the grounds, it became abundantly clear Loki was not the only one who had initially misunderstood the point of the activity.

"Brother, this is a fine portrait of Volstagg!" Loki exclaimed, looking with admiration at the vast bearded figure Thor had created with the assistance of Jane and Bruce.

"Thank you, brother," Thor replied, face glowing with cold and exercise. "It seemed to me he was an excellent model."

"Couldn't agree more," Bruce said cheerfully, as Jane surreptitiously patted at the details of their snow-armour.

Tony's group produced the most traditional-looking of the snowmen, which was rather less surprising when one considered his group included Pepper, Rhodey, and Steve. They were also the only group to have thought of using props, in the form of a scarf, an old hat, and a long-abandoned pipe, to decorate their creation. In spite of his own competitive urge to be best, Loki found himself agreeing that this snowman really did look the most like the one from the television program.

Clint, Natasha, Fury and Hill did not make a snowman at all- their creation turned out to be a carnivorous dinosaur, aimed down the hill toward the snowman created by Tony's group, complete with slavering snowy fangs and little clutching snowy arms.

"How very Calvin & Hobbes of you," Tony remarked obscurely, as he walked around the creature, stepping carefully over its tail.

By the time Coulson and his mother gave the honours to Tony's group, nobody was terribly concerned about who had won- there being no actual prize at stake, all Loki cared about was the look on Clint's face when he first beheld Snowblindi, and that was indeed gratifying.

And then he applied a little ice magic to the snowrannosaurus rex, to make it more lifelike, and followed the others back into the house. He stepped into the study to the right of the entry hall, closed the door, changed forms, and put on the clothing he had left there. By the time he emerged, Clint and Natasha were busy mopping up the snow that had fallen from everyone's clothing, and the others were divided between tidying the discarded wrapping paper in the living room (JARVIS reporting that Philip, Elizabeth, and Scamp had retreated upstairs to the bedroom to sleep) and activities in the kitchen.

Thor and Jane stepped out of the living room when they heard the study door.

"Brother," Thor addressed him, "I wonder if you and your friends would agree to join Jane and me in a few minutes, upstairs in our room. We have presents."

"As do we," said Loki, who had been wondering when they should make this private exchange. "We will come find you shortly."

Which, after retrieving their gifts from the carpet bag, Loki and his friends duly did.

They had agreed among themselves to keep their presents quite small, although they had not declared a specific limit to cost. The housemates, among themselves, had decided to make certificates for each other, redeemable at any time of the year: Loki will do the washing-up for Mitchell; The whole household will watch P&P with Annie, and so on.

The gifts between Thor and Jane and the housemates were a little more traditional. It was apparent from Jane's expression of anxious excitement that she had taken the lead in making the selections.

Everyone sat on the floor and distributed the presents- Loki, Mitchell, and George received from Thor and Jane what seemed to be the same thing, judging by dimension and the feeling of the parcels. And, when they were opened, they turned out to be the same thing: neatly folded grey t-shirts.

Mitchell unfolded his first- and let out a shout of laughter. He held the shirt up to his chest so that everyone could see the image of a sharp-toothed Muppet wearing a monocle and cape, the legend around him declaring How I Love To Count!

Loki's shirt depicted the furry blue monster, Grover, wearing a makeshift helmet and red cape, with the label Super Grover! beneath him. Jane's expression indicated momentary apprehension that Loki might fail to see the humour in being compared to a furry blue monster, even a superheroic and lovable one, but she seemed much reassured when he burst out laughing and then leaned over to hug her.

"How did you know Grover is my favourite Muppet?" he asked.

"I didn't," Jane admitted. "I just thought… and Thor said you might- "

"I will not wear this to cook in," Loki said, "but I will put it on after supper."

"So will I," Mitchell agreed. "George?"

George, giggling, displayed the image of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, the bespectacled Muppet scientist.

"I was expecting Animal," he admitted.

"Well, you don't play drums," explained Jane. "And except for the full moon- "

"I do see the resemblance," George agreed. "Thank you."

Annie received a DVD set of a program called Upstairs, Downstairs, which Loki had been asked to ascertain would be welcome. She seemed surprised and pleased.

"Sorry, we couldn't get hold of Colin Firth for you," Jane explained.

"Well, said Thor, "we could have, but I believe there are laws forbidding such a thing, and he might have proved difficult to wrap."

Once appropriate thanks had been given, Loki and his friends watched Thor open his own gift. He looked a little befuddled at the small appliance the removed paper revealed.

"It's a toaster oven," explained Jane, who had offered assistance in the selection of this gift- she and Annie had chosen it between themselves. "See, you can use it to make toast, or heat up a snack- Loki, you said you came to the States to buy it, right?"

Loki nodded. Apparently there were differences in electrical currents, or some such. "Annie and I took a short excursion some weeks back."

"So you can use it at my place, or Tony's," Jane explained, and then added, "But the most important thing is- Loki?"

"I have placed a small enchantment on the controls," Loki explained. Thor looked puzzled, and Loki spelled it out: "An enchantment against breaking off in anyone's hands. You should be able to enjoy your Pop-Tarts in peace now, brother."

"That is remarkably thoughtful of you all," Thor said, cradling the appliance in his large hands. "Thank you very much."

Jane now unwrapped her gift, disclosing a book in ancient leather binding. The title was worn off the spine, so she opened it, blinking as the runes inside rearranged themselves into English text.

"Is this… is this what I think it is?" she asked softly.

"It is from my old collection," Loki explained. He had no hand in the spell on the book, it was one intended for use by scholars of any realm. "I apologize, it is meant for… not children, exactly, but the young. As an introduction to the history of the Nine Realms. It was very old when I acquired it, and… It was written before the war, you see, and so its depiction of Jotunheim is rather less… I did not believe it, particularly, when I read it as a boy, but I now think it is more accurate than the later accounts that were used as the basis for Thor's and my education." He thought of the book Annie had brought from the library of Asgard, also written before the war, also depicting the Jotnar as a people instead of mindless beasts. He wondered whether the writers of these books had regretted the change in perception of Asgard toward its neighbour, or whether they had told themselves the mistake was theirs.

"Oh, Loki," Jane breathed, carefully turning over the pages, which were now all written in clear English, and in many cases beautifully illustrated. "It's wonderful. Thank you. Thank you all," she added scrupulously, understanding that Loki had simply chosen a gift for them all to give her, much as she had selected the t-shirts on behalf of herself and Thor.

"Merry Christmas," Mitchell said, smiling at her.

~oOo~

Loki leaned back on a sofa in the gathering room, pleasantly full of Christmas dinner and rather sleepy. All the plans of Steve and the Coulsons had come to fruition, and dinner had been excellent. Even Tony, under the guidance of Annie, had mixed a batter for Yorkshire puddings and produced crusty golden puffs to serve with the roasted meat and vegetables. Tony's pride in his accomplishment was both well-deserved and ill-concealed. Loki could only think of his own first attempts at cooking, and how pleased he had been when his friends praised- and ate- his efforts.

While waiting for dinner, Thor and Loki had taught the others to play tafl, coaching Bruce and Jane through a game as an illustration. Thor, as giver of the gift, had insisted on advising Bruce as its recipient, which meant Loki sided with Jane, who was victorious. Bruce had probably seen through Thor's ruse but seemed amused, and also eager to take on other comers tomorrow.

Now, with the washing-up done- not even Steve had objected to the use of magic tonight- and the leftovers safely stored for later consumption, everyone was happily settled in to digest, and wait for Tony to set up the last of his cherished Christmas records. Loki, with kittens in his lap and Annie leaning against him as if she too were full of dinner, perked up a little when JARVIS spoke:

"Mr. Stark has asked me to tell you, this is one final ritual of Christmas: you are all going to be read a story." Not even Natasha, her hand curled around something small and egg-shaped, or Clint in his new jumper, had anything derisive to say. Tony walked back into the room and snuggled down in the place Pepper had saved for him, just as from above they heard the characteristic popping hiss of a very old record album.

And then a rich Welsh-accented voice began to speak:

"One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now, and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep- "

"This was another thing Dad used to do, when we had Christmas here," Tony said softly, and then fell silent so they could all listen:

"All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand, into that wool-white, bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea- "

Loki raised his head a little in surprise, and glanced at Tony. With his arm around Pepper, Tony was smiling, but he was looking up at the speaker whence came the voice, and he was not in the same room with the rest them.

Loki let his head fall back again, and the voice washed over him.

~oOo~

Mitchell did not express distress when it was time for bed, but Loki and Annie still gestured toward their staircase, in a wordless invitation that he and George wordlessly accepted.

A short time later, night time ablutions performed, clad in pajamas, with everyone else settling down for the night, Loki took one last look through the bedroom window, out into the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow.

He turned the thermostat down. He got into bed. He said some words ("Good night, and happy Christmas, everyone") to the close and holy darkness- and then he slept.

Note: Many of you will be aware the last two paragraphs of this chapter are not entirely my creation. For those of you who might not have been, credit and thanks are due to Dylan Thomas and his story, "A Child's Christmas In Wales."