THE GOLDEN CHIMES
SITTING ON THE SHAG CARPET, EATING COOKIES, LOKI FEELS MORE THAN A LITTLE OUT OF HIS ELEMENT. He’s too used to gold and marble and the shimmer of magic to feel at home here.
Even just watching the mother of the house unpack her new cookware from Bruce, he’s not entirely sure what to do with himself.
Christmas, as a holiday, is foreign and maybe a little confusing. Rebecca Banner (sweet as she is) will never measure up to Frigga. Bruce’s presence as a whole is leaving him constantly on edge.
“Leo~,” Olivia coos, pulling his attention up. She grins, amused, as though she’s been calling for a while. “We’re all opening our presents from Mom. It’s your turn.”
He glances at the siblings’ unwrapped presents, finding an art kit for Olivia and a bunch of Transformers comic books for Bruce. The title of the series, somewhat ironically, is ‘More Than Meets The Eye’.
He turns his attention back to his gift, wrapped in sparkly paper.
“I hope it wasn’t too much trouble,” he hums smoothly as he pulls the paper off and opens the box.
Inside is the most hideous Christmas sweater he’s ever seen. For some reason it has Pom-poms, glitter, and a string of lights on it. But it was obviously— lovingly, even— hand-knitted. He pulls it out of the box slowly.
“Wow,” Olivia gapes. She laughs, even as Bruce cringes. “That’s— that’s so bad! You… I mean, you outdid yourself this year, Mom. Really.” Said woman grins.
“Thank you, Olivia,” she replies. Then, she directs her attention back to Loki. “There are also a pair of more palatable socks, if the sweater is completely unwearable.”
“It is… truly awful,” he commends her. “Thank you, for reminding me why I should never accept gifts from a Banner.” She laughs, and he sets the box aside, feeling warmer than he has in years.
No, this isn’t his home at all; but that isn’t entirely a bad thing.
The sweater is too hideous to even consider wearing. But he’s going to keep it very, very safe.
“Know what,” Olivia decides suddenly. “I don’t have the patience for this; we’re going person-by-person again.” She picks up the gift for him with Bruce’s name on it, thrusting it out for him to take.
He raises his eyebrows, chuckling at her as though he didn’t have an epiphany because of a terrible sweater just now.
“Why are you so impatient for me to open my gifts?” he wonders, rhetorically. Nevertheless, he opens it. His brows knit together as he pulls out… a cast-iron skillet, for some reason.
He glances at Bruce, who looks a little guilty.
“It— uh… I didn’t really… know you would be here,” he admits slowly. Loki glances down at the skillet, which has less use to him than a rock picked up off the side of the road, and shakes his head.
“No, I… like it,” he lies, not even trying to be subtle. Olivia pretends her shoulders are shaking because she’s cold, rather than because this is the funniest thing she’s ever witnessed.
…whatever. Karma will come for her, even if he has to induce it himself.
***
Finally, Olivia gets around to the last present of the day: Loki’s gift to her. She glances around at the other gifts he’s given today— the baby chemistry set for Bruce, the beautiful bracelet for her mother.
She has no idea what it could be.
She takes her sweet time with the ribbon; not because it’s too pretty to untie, but because she’s not quite sure how she’s intended to go about it. It’s a complex knot— way too complex for a Christmas present, anyway.
She makes a mental note to ask him to teach her some of his knot-tying skills, later.
Sliding the top off the box, she falls still.
Inside is a familiar, beautiful golden wind chime. She pulls it out ever-so-delicately, running her fingers over the intricate pattern carved into the chimes.
“How did you… even find this?” she wonders softly, abruptly feeling a little out of breath.
“I have ways,” he replies with a wide, mischievous grin that tells her he was abusing his power as king.
She falls in love with him all over again.