The next morning Sylvie got coffee with Loki again. Sitting at the same booth and mixing their coffees half and half once more, though it wasn't a game this time. They both had genuinely liked the mixed version of the beverage, and Sylvie thought they'd probably started their own little morning ritual. At least, she hoped so.

Despite seeing him that morning, she was still looking forward to having lunch with him that afternoon. There were very few people Sylvie could see that frequently and still enjoy their company, but it seemed Loki had quickly become one of them. Which was nice, considering she was in a whole new world, after all. Had she actually made a single other friend? Or even had a non-work related conversation with anyone else? Well, besides Thor.

"Bad day at work?" Loki raised an eyebrow as he slid into the seat across from her.

The cafeteria in the main production building was large, but still mind numbingly cozy like everywhere else in the North Pole. Sylvie was starting to get sick of it. Still, it was nice that her and Loki's offices shared a building so they could meet up for lunch without having to go out into the snow. The buffet was lined with all sorts of food options, not just Christmas dinner staples, and Sylvie had been told it changed weekly so she wouldn't get bored. The seating was way nicer than any high school cafeteria, instead resembling more of a restaurant with booths lining the walls and tables made for four to eight people filling the center of the room, though Sylvie and Loki got a table to themselves as no elf would dare be that close to the future Krampus by choice.

"Good and bad, I suppose," Sylvie sighed. Loki didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue, so she did. "Good because word definitely got to your parents about our little coffee date. Bad because Thor has been assigned to work with me in Cookies for the foreseeable future."

"What?" Loki leaned closer to her. "What excuse did he give?"

"Something about Santa wanting him to have a good understanding of all aspects of the North Pole," she waved her hand as if waving off the absolute bullshit excuse. "Thor can't really expect me to believe that, can he?"

"I'm sure he believes it. He's not the brightest nose on the Rudolf," Loki sighed.

"But he has to know why I'm really here, right? They had to have told him."

Loki took a bite of his lunch and chewed for a moment as he thought it over. "I thought they would have told him, but now I really don't think so. As annoying as my brother is, he's not a bad guy. I don't think he would be too happy if he knew what was really going on, and he's just dense enough not to figure it out."

Sylvie let out a long sigh as she leaned back and rubbed her eyes for a moment. "That'll make it a little easier to deal with him, but he's just…I mean, I was baking all morning and he's…"

"A bull in an ornament shop?" Loki guessed.

"Exactly."

"I don't envy you," Loki said.

Sylvie shook her head. "Anyway, more importantly. Cookies."

He raised an eyebrow at her curiously. "Cookies?"

"Yes," she nodded as she pulled out a plastic container with several cookies inside. "I need you to taste test these and tell me which ones you like better."

"I mean, if I must," he said with a dramatic sigh, but was grinning at the assignment.

Sylvie had him take a bite of several, not telling him what was what. She had him try the old sugar cookie recipe, then her new one, the old chocolate chip recipe, then her new one. He chose both of the older ones as the better options, but she wasn't completely surprised. Even she couldn't improve upon perfection, though she had given it her best go. However, he absolutely loved her new creations. A sugar cookie with peppermint frosting that was swirled red and white to look like a peppermint candy, a double chocolate cookie with dark chocolate chunks, and his absolute favorite was the orange creamsicle cookie since it added something completely different to the line up. Overall, Sylvie was pleased.

"Do you think people will be mad if I just throw out everything except these two," she pointed to the two classic cookies, "and replace them?"

"Oh, they'll be furious," Loki nodded, watching Sylvie's expression fall. "But do it anyway. These are better, and after they get over themselves they'll see it."

A slow smile spread across her lips. "Sometimes traditions need to be shaken up."

Loki knew that once his parents found out about this he'd be in a world of trouble, but he was having too much fun implementing the scheme with Sylvie to care. Instead of going back to work after lunch, he took a walk to the building that housed Decorations and took a large bouquet of poinsettias. No one dare stop him, or even ask what he was doing, but he did get several odd looks as he carried them back to the main building and over to Cookies. He knocked gently on Sylvie's office door.

"Come in," Sylvie called.

Loki held the flowers behind his back as he peeked through the door. Perfect, Thor was with her.

"Hey," Sylvie smiled warmly up at him, standing up from her desk chair and starting to make her way around the desk towards him. "I wasn't expecting you."

Loki shrugged. "I just wanted to bring you these," he smiled as he held out the poinsettias to her.

Sylvie blushed deep red, almost the same shade as the elfs' cheeks. "Well…thank you. They're beautiful." She took them gently in her hands, as if it truly was a precious present. She was such a good actress, he had to remind himself.

While it looked to the world as if Loki's full attention was on Sylvie, he was discreetly monitoring Thor's reaction. His brother had been oddly silent for the interaction, though all his thoughts were plainly written across his face. He clearly thought there was something going on between Loki and Sylvie, as Loki intended for him to think, and Thor clearly thought this was adorable. Was his brother happy for him?

Loki reached up to gently cup Sylvie's cheek, lifting her gaze to meet his eyes. It was all very…Hallmark movie, if Loki did say so himself. He was a good actor as well, though he tried not to think about how the look in Sylvie's eyes made his heart beat a little faster. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked softly.

"Coffee shop again," Sylvie nodded, a small smile dancing on her lips.