Christmas had come to Knowhere just in time for Loki and Sylvie to join in the festivities. The merry minded inhabitants milled about this way and that, decorating and caroling and consuming vast quantities of Earth inspired cuisine (all fairly unrecognizable to anyone who'd actually been there to know better).

"Oh shit!"

Loki placed a firm hand around Sylvie's upper arm and pulled her back around the corner.

"Hey! What's wrong?" She complained.

He looked back and forth frantically, then turned towards the wall.

"Nothing, I just… forgot to zip."

Sylvie slapped her hand to her face, "You nearly yanked my arm off for that? I would think you could deal with it yourself by now."

"I mean the zipper always get caught in these pants and-"

"Out with it," Sylvie told him bluntly, folding her arms as she waited for a closer approximation of the truth.

"Out with what?" He evaded, dramatically yanking on his zipper to sell the excuse.

"It. You know whatever it is that has you all in a tizzy."

"I am not in a tizzy," Loki objected, throwing his hands on his hips.

She scoffed, "Do you know what that is, then?"

"Enough to know I'm not in one. I just needed some… fresher air."

Sylvie blinked in disbelief, this explanation was even more nonsensical, considering they had just passed Groot's quarters and it was definitely not more fresh in that direction.

"Loki, you should know by now, I will always know when you're up to something stupid, and this feels pretty stupid already."

He ran his hand down his face. "Ok, fine. You know how before I went to Earth I was working for Thanos? And some people here were working for Thanos, and some of them — one of them — may have uh… not been overly fond of me."

"Fond?"

Loki took a deep breath and began a gesture laden explanation while intently looking everywhere but Sylvie's eyes.

"Ah yeah, she threatened to… rip out my spine if she saw me again. You wouldn't want me to have no spine would you? I should steer clear… of her. Yeap."

"So Nebula then?"

"How did you know?"

"Process of elimination. She's not working for Thanos anymore. I'm sure it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be. She's a friend."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, but it's… a whole thing. Trust me on this, she won't be happy to see me, I'll just make myself scarce. It'll be fine."

"You sure? I'll talk to her…" She offered, trying to reassure him.

Loki shook his head emphatically, "No! No don't, um… really, it's good."

Sylvie raised a suspicious eyebrow. It was entirely possible that he and Nebula were neck deep in a deadly feud. It was, however, much more likely that he was hiding something either ridiculous or annoying (she'd put her money on both).

So she suggested he hide out while she got caught up with the friends she'd made in Knowhere, under the Brady Bunch inspired alias 'Marcia'.

Kraglin stopped short in the doorway as the tall red fin he'd inherited from Yondu brushed something unusual hanging from the doorframe, making a small jingling sound.

He squinted up curiously at the tiny bundle of leaves (complete with red berries) tied round with ribbons and tiny bells.

His telepathically gifted companion, Cosmo the Spacedog, sat at his feet sniffing the air.

"What's tiny tree doing there?"

"I'm not sure, Cosmo. We should ask Quill, he'll know."

"Maybe we should say hello? I AM groot!" Cosmo barked, attempting communication in the only plant based language she was aware of.

"I really don't think it can talk."

Kraglin called over to Peter, who was nearby trying to explain to Drax why Frosty would be back again one day.

"Hey Peter! I got a question for ya."

"Oh yeah?" Peter called back, grateful to have an excuse to exit the futile conversion. He quickly made his way over to his side leaving Drax to puzzle out the song out on his own.

He slapped Kraglin on the arm, "You want to know what's in the eggnog, right? Everyone's been asking that! It's nutmeg, it's completely harmless. I promise your eyelashes won't fall out."

Kraglin shook his head, "No, I just wanted to… you sure? 'Cause I kinda like my eyelashes and I just drank three glasses of that stuff."

"Promise."

"That's a relief, but no, I wanted to ask you what this little plant is." He pointed up at the small bunch of leaves in the doorframe.

"Oh that, it's an Earth tradition, two people stand under the mistletoe and you're supposed to kiss or something," Quill said with a shrug.

"Really?" Kraglin pondered, gazing at Peter.

"Yeah," Peter confirmed, staring back.

Cosmo sat on her hind legs wagging her tail on the ground. "So, just like Peter and Kraglin stand under there now?"

"Why are you lookin' at me like that, Kraglin?" Peter questioned, warily.

Kraglin sniffed evasively, "You know I really can't remember the last time I been kissed."

Peter rocked back and forth on his heels for a few seconds. "Hey! You know, I think I just remembered Kylosians are allergic to nutmeg. I better warn Drax before anything happens. Maybe if you stand there long enough you'll find some takers, though."

As Quill made a hasty retreat and went off to avert a potential disaster, Cosmo leaped up on the melancholy ex-ravager, "Don't worry Kraglin, I give you kiss."

Kraglin winced as Cosmo gifted him with an entire shower's worth of doggy kisses, "Ugh, thanks Cosmo."

Just then Sylvie appeared behind him in the doorway, mildly amused at the display.

"Oh hey, Marcia. Enjoying the party?"

"Sure am," she grinned, glanced up at the mistletoe and lifted up on her toes to plant a quick kiss on Kraglin's cheek, immediately drawing a bashful blush.

"Ah thanks, Marcia."

"Sylvie actually," she corrected.

"Oh yeah?" Kraglin nodded approvingly, apparently not feeling the same disappointment the other's had at finding out she was not actually the Marcia Brady.

"Have you seen Nebula by any chance?" She asked.

"Sure, she's right over there sorting through that big pile of Christmas lights, but I'd be careful, she's in a really bad mood. Mantis asked her to help get them working and she's already threatened to remove several people's vital organs if they bothered her again."

Sylvie pursed her lips thoughtfully, and decided to get right to digging for the dirt. If anyone had heard anything about Loki's dealings with Nebula under Thanos, it would be Kraglin.

"I'll keep that in mind. Hey, you ever hear any rumours about the time she was working for Thanos? Maybe something to do with someone by the name of Loki by any chance."

Cosmo jumped up on her hind legs excitedly, "Oh, I know, I know!"

Kraglin waved for the bouncing pup to sit still, "Shussh, we shouldn't go around spreadin' gossip like that," he chided.

He did not, however, take his own advice.

"Ok, so what I heard from Halfnut, who heard from Oblo, who heard from Taserface, who heard from his nephew's cousin's father's cost accountant, was that Loki and Nebula were quite the item back then."

Sylvie stifled her amusement, "Oh really?" Loki had mentioned a few of his past flings, but nothing about this.

"Yep, then they had an ugly breakup and tried to kill each other a bunch of times."

Sylvie narrowed her eyes, "The plot thickens."

"Yeah, uh, but you didn't hear it from me ok. I don't need Nebula finding out."

Sylvie placed a finger on her lips, "Mum's the word."

Cosmo barked excitedly, "Can I tell?"

Kraglin threw out his hands, "I just said not to! Do you want to be a bad dog?"

Cosmo rubbed her snout with her paw and sulked, "No, fine."

Next to a massive jungle of Christmas lights, Nebula sat muttering a string of passionate violence under her breath — by which she had cleared the general area, the inhabitants of Knowhere having learned to give her a wide berth.

"Need any help?" Sylvie offered, regarding the impossibly tangled pile (nearly waist deep).

"Hey Marcia." Nebula greeted her flatly. She pulled lightbulb bearing wires through her fingers, removing one light at a time, replacing it, then growling in frustration as the lights refused, yet again, to light up.

"I will not be defeated by a pile of twinkly lights!" She declared angrily, mostly to herself.

Unfortunately, the lights Mantis had swiped from Earth had been the kind where a single burnt out bulb would shut down the whole string. Two lights burnt out? You should probably just give up entirely, but Nebula was nothing if not perseverant.

Sylvie sniffed a bit nervously, "Ah, it's Sylvie actually, I was sorta lying about the name before."

"That much was obvious," Nebula deadpanned.

"Really? The others were pretty upset about it."

"They're idiots." Nebula replied matter-of-factly, and examined the next lightbulb with a contemptuous glare.

"I did pick up on that. I guess we both have a soft spot for idiots." Sylvie suggested, scratching her neck.

Nebula replaced the bulb and cursed sharply before responding.

"These idiots or do you have more?"

Sylvie picked up one end of a string and attempted to untie a particularly daunting knot.

"They're not so bad."

"So more then?"

Sylvie clicked her tongue, "Changing the subject, I don't mean to pry, but I heard some of the guys talking. Did you ever work with a Loki Laufeyson by any chance?"

Nebula stood bolt upright as if she'd seen a ghost, "Loki? He's not here is he?"

Startled by her reaction Sylvie took a step back.

"Would it be a problem if he was?"

Nebula gaped at her, wide eyed, "A big problem, a very big problem."

Sylvie furrowed her eyebrows, she'd never seen Nebula react this way to anything. "Care to elaborate?"

The normally direct Nebula became unusually evasive, "He-I owe him money. Yes. He threatened to turn me into a…a-"

Just then one of the small vermin that fed on the trash in Knowhere's market scurried out from under the pile of lights.

"-skrat! Yes, that's it! If I didn't pay him back."

"A skrat?" Sylvie replied, skeptically. Nebula had many skills but lying obviously was not one of them.

"And I… also badmouthed him to Thanos on many occasions. There's no telling what he might do, so if he's here, I really must stay out of sight. You won't tell him will you?"

"My lips are sealed," Sylvie reassured her with an understanding (but mischief tinged) smile.

"You're a good friend Marcia," Nebula thanked her, visibly relieved.

"Sylvie," she corrected.

Nebula sat back down and went back to her endless task.

"Whatever."

How much of each of the three stories was true and how much hastily made up on the spot (or pure hearsay) Sylvie didn't know. They all seemed to agree on the potential for extreme violence.

However, both Nebula and Loki were terrified of the other and completely lacking in anything resembling vengeful anger. For some reason they were both lying through their teeth, and as she passed under the mistletoe once again (receiving a wet doggy kiss for her trouble) and climbed up to the second story balcony to find a seat from which to watch the band play, she devised a plan, clever but elegant in its simplicity.

And she did say so herself.

If she played her cards right, she'd have the information she desired in no time.

Or she'd have to prevent her friend from killing her boyfriend and vice versa, but she had no doubt she was up for the task in either case.

The party was picking up below, a band belted out their own brand of Christmas cheer, and the gathered crowd danced and jumped along.

By contrast, the balcony Sylvie had picked out offered a more relaxed atmosphere. She waited for Loki at a small table overlooking the revelry and drinking a large glass of eggnog.

Despite Kraglin's insistence that they shouldn't spread gossip, it was apparently all that he and the Spacedog had been doing since their brief conversation. Everywhere she went people were whispering their various theories about the cause and likely outcome of Loki and Nebula's animosity. Fortunately, they all seemed to have the good sense not to mention any of it to Nebula.

With silent footfalls, a tall cloaked figure approached her table. Actually, partially cloaked as the garment in question was several sizes too small, but it did the job of hiding the wearer's face well enough.

It didn't fool Sylvie, however, she nearly spat out her drink when she saw him, "Was my cloak the only disguise you could find? You look ridiculous."

"It was available and got the job done," Loki replied with a shrug, throwing the hood back from his face.

"And you've been looking for an excuse to wear it since we met." She chuckled.

Which definitely was an excuse, considering he could have just used magic to look like anyone he wanted.

"That too." He agreed, snuggling the cloak up under his chin as he inhaled her familiar scent in adoration, then sat down beside her.

"Can I have it back now?" She asked, curling a smile with her hand outstretched.

"What if I need to hide again?" He worried.

"Oh for crying out loud — look — Nebula is right down there. See that big pile of lights? She's been at that all day, and there's no end in sight. Stay out of her way and you're all good, alright? Try to relax for a bit."

Loki took a nervous breath, unhooked the cloak from around his neck and handed it over to her, "Ok, I'll try."

"Wonderful," she said, swirling the final mouthful of eggnog around in her glass before swallowing it down.

"You know, I don't think you can ever have enough eggnog," she mused, examining her empty glass sadly.

"Oh yes you can!" A hunched over Kylosian moaned passed them (holding his stomach) on the way to find a convenient location to lose his lunch.

"Well, I can never have enough," she sniffed. "Do you think you could be a dear and get me another glass? The bowl is just down there on a table along the wall."

She'd made the suggestion, and now for the linchpin. The slight smile, the scrunched up nose, the adoring look she'd learned would get Loki to cross whole universes to get her whatever she desired.

"But… ah, ok," he meagerly protested. Taking her glass, he screwed up his courage (as one heading to battle) and proceeded down the stairway.

Before he was even out of sight, Sylvie was against the railing waving at Nebula below to get her attention.

A combination of hand gestures and mouthed words on Sylvie's part had been enough to let Nebula know (falsely) that Loki was coming from the opposite direction and she should hurry up to the balcony to avoid him.

Loki stepped into the doorway and made the fatal mistake of looking up to examine the tiny bundle of leaves hung above it just as Nebula was backing through, eyes still fixed on the dancing party goers, looking for any sign of the very man she was about to bump into.

The music stopped abruptly (thanks to the unplugged power cord twirling casually in Sylvie's hand) and inevitably all eyes in the gathered crowd turned to see the two of them locked in a terror filled gaze.

"I AM groot."

"Let's wait and see what happens," Rocket reassured him.

"They'll murder each other," Mantis warned.

"Who do you think will lose their spine?" Drax said, excitedly.

Quill didn't share his enthusiasm, "We should probably separate them before somebody gets killed."

Drax cupped his hand around his mouth to shout over, "Nebula! If you win, can I have his spine?"

Mantis slapped Drax with the back of her hand, "Drax, don't encourage them. And you have enough spines as it is."

Drax protested, "It's a collection."

Mantis grimaced in disgust, "It's not a collection when you leave them lying around everywhere."

"Maybe you could get me a case to display them in then."

"I'm not getting you a display case for spines, that's gross."

"Can you two shut up! We have a serious situation here." Peter shouted, holding his blasters out in front of him.

Rocket calmly walked closer, "Look, I'm sure whatever happened with Thanos sucked really bad, but there's no reason we can't work it out like the civilized morons we are."

Drax whispered to Mantis, "I just need one more for an even set."

"No Drax!"

Loki nervously flicked his eyes between the battle ready multitude on his right and the equally stunned wide black eyes in front of him. He swallowed loudly, then smiled and leaned over to lay a gentle kiss on Nebula's cheek.

"It's nice to see you again," he greeted her warmly.

She sighed, "Likewise. I guess we're not getting out of this."

He grinned, "I don't know, maybe the truth is just the lie we need."

"Ha, I knew they were sweet on each other," Kraglin smiled.

"Does this mean I'm not getting his spine?" Drax complained in disappointment.

Mantis frowned at him (with her mouth and her antennae), "Ugh, just get rid of one if it bugs you so bad."

"I can't do that! Each one is special."

"Can you morons pipe down, I wanna hear what their deal is," Rocket complained.

"Ok ok, let them speak," Cosmo barked.

They both stepped closer to the crowd, who waited for their explanation with bated breath.

Nebula began, "When we were both working for Thanos, after one of my many failures to please him, he questioned my loyalty and sent me on a solo mission to Varkus 7 to cull half the population with an implanted virus."

She took a deep breath, "Varkus 7 is a time dilated planet only accessible from our relative time for three days every 92 years. To ensure I completed the task as ordered he sent Loki to watch over me, since he knew we passionately hated each other."

"When we got there…" she shook her head, "I couldn't go through with it. I was sure Loki would tell Thanos and he would finally kill me or worse."

"But he didn't?" Cosmo questioned.

"No, he promised to cover for me. We — looked out for each other after that."

"That's beautiful," Kraglin wiped a tear from his eye.

"You saved a whole planet from Thanos," Mantis declared in amazement.

Kraglin cheered, "You're heroes! Did you go right back to Thanos then?"

Loki shook his head, "No, we couldn't return immediately to avoid suspicion," he gestured over his shoulder, "so we fucked off to Wyler 2 for a couple months to lay low."

Nebula grit her teeth and glowered over at Loki incredulously, "Why would you tell them that part?"

Loki shrugged, "What? It's not like its going to mean anything to them."

"Did you get knocked too hard in the skull when you were on Earth? Of course it's going to mean something."

"Well, there was this Hulk person," Loki explained.

Rocket stroked his chin, "Hey isn't Wyler 2 that planet with the crazy game show they broadcast across the quadrant?"

Quill snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah, the one where contestants pretend to be married and vote each other onto an island while competing in crazy challenges and singing show tunes."

"I am Groot."

"How did you find that so fast?" Rocket commented, as the small screen on the wall displayed the opening theme for the show in question, thanks to Groot's search engine expertise.

"Wow, guys! You gotta check this out," Kraglin exclaimed.

All assembled squeezed closer for a peek.

"No! This isn't happening," Nebula breathed out in a panic.

"Oh man, Nebula's wearing a blond wig, pigtails and a tutu!" Quill shouted back at everyone, prompting curious onlookers to jockey for a better view.

"It was part of a challenge. You had to follow the rules or you'd lose the game. Loki was wearing it too!" Nebula huffed out in defence.

"Oh yeah, there he is," Quill gave Loki an approving thumbs up, "not bad."

Loki responded with a nonchalant shrug, taking the whole thing in stride.

Kraglin scratched his head and called over, "Hey uh, if you were hidin' from Thanos, why'd you enter a game show that half the galaxy would see?"

Loki sighed, "We really thought we would both be dead by then."

Nebula moaned in embarrassment, "Is there still time for that?"

Loki gave her a sheepish grin, "At least we had a little bit of fun."

Nebula managed to crack a slight smile in spite of her extreme mortification, "I suppose. It really was the first time I'd had fun since I was taken by Thanos."

Loki held open his arms, inviting her to a hug he figured she very much needed just about now.

"I'm not really a hugger, but maybe just this once," Nebula conceded, accepting a quick embrace.

Exceedingly pleased with herself, Sylvie sauntered up behind them grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, I guess my work here is done."

"Did you plan this?" Loki asked with a sly smile.

"Of course, and it's nice to learn that I am a very good judge of character," she said proudly, wrapping an arm around Nebula, "and now everyone knows you both always had a good heart underneath."

"Thank you, Marcia," Nebula huffed out weakly.

"Sylvie," she corrected, with a smile.

Across the room Rocket cried out, "Are they yodeling now!"

Nebula let out a sigh of embarrassment as the laughter of the gathered onlookers echoed all around.

Sylvie breathed in through her teeth apologetically, "You know what? Marcia's fine," she turned to Loki, "how long does this go on for?"

Loki placed his hands behind his back and stared up at the ceiling far above, "Thirty-two episodes."

Sylvie squeezed Nebula's shoulder in a weak attempt to comfort her. "You should probably just move in with us for a while."

Several members of the crowd were now rolling around uncontrollably.

"Juggling pies? This is too good!" Rocket howled, beating his fist on the floor.

Nebula groaned, slumping her face into her hands.

Sylvie clicked her tongue, "How 'bout some eggnog, you like eggnog? Loki get her some eggnog."

Loki sprang into action, "If I remember what comes next, straight rum might be the better choice."

Nebula sighed again, "If I remember what comes next, just bring the bottle."

Before he got far though, Drax called out from the crowd, "Hey, Nebula!"

Everyone fell silent.

Nebula glared back at them, jaw set.

"Did you win." Drax asked simply.

She scowled at Sylvie beside her (who was mulling over ways to make this up to her that didn't involve major organ removal), then at Loki who was smirking for all he was worth, and finally back at the crowd.

She took a deep breath, threw her fist in the air and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Hell yeah, we did!"

Cheers erupted, applause emerged and over the next several days many songs were sung in their honour (in between bouts of rapturous laughter). And they only had to pull Drax away from the eggnog nine or ten times.

"Everything worked out quite well I think," Sylvie mused, watching the hungover and overstuffed revelers wander by.

Loki smiled, "It certainly did."

"And I don't even think Nebula is that upset anymore."

Feeling guilty for exposing Nebula and Loki's embarrassing (but spectacularly entertaining) secret, Sylvie had asked her if there was anything she could do for her.

Nebula stood up from the table where she was enjoying a relaxing afternoon and waved down to them amiably from the balcony.

"She certainly looks happy enough. Do you really think they need all these Christmas lights, though?" Loki questioned, handing Sylvie the next section of the long string of lights.

Sylvie held up a tiny bulb up, examining it carefully, then replacing the next one in the series.

"She might still be a bit upset."

Afterword

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