Pepper & Loki
"Is that all, Miss Potts?" The smaller brown woman asked as she placed a stack of papers on the table.
Pepper diverted her gaze to her, trying for a moment to figure out what her question was. "Of course, go home now, Amelia. Happy Christmas," she wished her and even managed to conjure a small smile on her face.
"Thank you. Happy Christmas to you too, aren't you going home?”
"Any minute, I'll just finish the last few things that need to be done," she replied neutrally. Amelia gave her a look, but in the end, she decided not to say anything and finally went home. It wasn't hard to notice that her boss hadn't been in her shoes for the past few days. But her life was a bit dear, and she had grown accustomed over the years to the fact that Pepper wasn't quite right at times. Even so, she always worked one hundred percent.
Pepper looked around her office. She had it decorated more than usual this year, as Peter stopped by at the beginning of December and insisted that she decorate her office. She had a feeling he had decorated their entire company. She didn't mind. She always liked Christmas. But she didn't want to celebrate this year at all. It was her second worst Christmas, after extremis. She tried not to think about what had happened. However, she could not get the image of the dying god of mischief out of her head. Thor convinced her that his brother wasn't dead, that it was just a trick he would pull from time to time. And she knew it. She had witnessed it before, but it had been a month now, and there was no sight of Loki. What took him so long? Tony also tried to calm her down. He was still not very enthusiastic about the friendship that was going on between her and the Asgardian, but he had learned to tolerate him. After all, after he saved her, he had no choice.
With a sigh, she looked at the wall clock that hung above the door. She really should go home by now. She no longer had a job, and a few more gifts were waiting for her at home. In addition, Peter is definitely waiting for her with a Christmas movie ready for tonight. He did it every day in December. He made her watch a movie with him every night. He made a mug of hot chocolate for them two every night, exactly as Tony had done, and curled up in a blanket with her. She knew she was doing it so she wouldn't even think about what had happened to Loki. She also knew he was worried, too, but Peter was always optimistic, so he believed the dark-haired man would show up soon.
"I thought you had a holiday where you like the whole family together," a male voice said.
Pepper had to close her eyes and take a deep breath before opening her eyes again and looking in the corner of her office, where a god of mischief really stood beside a small Christmas tree. She didn't hesitate for a second, reaching for the first thing that came to hand, which in this case was the candle she'd received from her secretary, and tossed it at him. The Asgardian did not expect it, so it struck him in the chest and fell to the ground.
"What was that?" He asked confused. He came here to wish her a beautiful Christmas because he knew how much the Misgardians were relying on it and she was throwing candles at him!
"So you're here. That's good," she said slightly sharply, rising from her chair. She strode over to him, and Loki already had his hands in front of him, like a feeble attempt to avoid her anger, no matter what.
"Pepper?" He said heavily as she stopped in front of him with an unreadable expression on her face. He guessed she would either start yelling at him or crying. He didn't understand either.
"What did you think?! Are you crazy? He wasn't really going to do anything, so why didn't you just stay in place and let me work it out?! And where have you been all month?” She yelled at him as she tried to control her tears. She didn't want to give him joy and show her weakness in front of him. He had teased her for caring about him already.
"Really," he snorted. He didn't understand that she was giving a show for this. "You mean like last time?"
"It was a difference! That's where I asked for your help. I needed you then," she said softly. Sometimes she wondered how much Loki didn't understand emotions. She had to explain everything to him to understand.
"I told you, I won't let anything happen to you. What does it even matter?”
"It matters because you died in front of my eyes and then you didn't show up for a month!" She cried in frustration. She couldn't hold back her tears.
"I had some work to do," he said incomprehensibly.
"But that's not how it works! You have to let us know you're okay," she moaned. This was a thousand times worse than with Tony. "Everyone around me is in constant danger. It's not the first or last time anyone's hurt, but at least I always know they're fine. I know my family is fine," she explained.
"Should I apologize? Because I won't do it, you know that," he said slightly uncomfortably, because that's how he felt. He didn't see such a problem, but her words made sense.
"Please, I know you well enough," Pepper scoffed.
"Then you must have known I was fine-"
"How? I'm not a fortune teller, Loki. Next time, just let yourself know about yourself, okay? I don't want anything more from you," she asked him surrendering. She didn't like arguing with him.
"Sure," Loki promised, then opened his arms a little awkwardly, into which the redhead slipped without hesitation. She had only recently taught him a hug, and until now she had always been the first to begin their hug. This was just another big step in their friendship.
"Merry Christmas," she muttered, tightening her grip on him as if to make sure he was really here one more time.
"Merry Christmas, Pepper."