Chapter 36
After eight hours of nonstop Christmas nonsense, Loki just wanted to go to bed.
Not that Christmas nonsense was bad, per say. On the contrary, Loki enjoyed all of the little intimate things that Midgardians did for the Yuletide holiday, much more than the boisterous feasts back in Asgard.
It was just . . . a lot.
They drew the line at taking pictures.
“Smile!” Tony crowed, raising a camera as Bucky handed Loki a carefully-wrapped gift.
“Absolutely not,” they huffed, dropping the gift, taking their reindeer headband off, and ducking away from the camera to retreat to the kitchen. Bucky followed them, a little closer than strictly necessary.
“Oh come on,” Bucky pouted (he must have had too much eggnog, his breath smelled awful), “We want these memories to last forever.”
Loki gently pushed him away, “I thought you couldn’t get drunk?”
“That’s Steve,” Bucky frowned, “Where is Steve, anyway? Shouldn’t he be getting pictures, too?”
“He’s probably hiding,” Loki answered, selecting a cookie from the counter to eat, “It would be the smart thing to do.”
Bucky glared at them through narrow eyes, “He loves pictures. He’ll take one with me.”
“Sure,” Steve’s voice came from behind them, holding his phone up, “I’ve already got a few good ones, but I can take some more.”
Loki snatched the phone from him, scrolling through a wall of different photos of the Avengers. A few of Tony and Bruce in Santa hats, and Bruce and Natasha with matching elf ears. There were dozens of Bucky and Loki wearing reindeer antlers and bells.
“You’re supposed to be in them with us,” Bucky slurred, looking over Loki’s shoulder, “Silly Goose.”
“Alright, Buck,” Steve sighed, coming between them to take a picture, “Good?”
Bucky nodded and turned to Loki, “Now are you going to open your gift or not?”
“I hate you,” Loki muttered, though a smile tugged on their lips as they went back to the living room.
“Have fun in there?” Tony asked as they settled on the couch.
Natasha smacked his shoulder.
“What? I’m just saying.”
“You dropped this,” Bruce said, handing over the gift Bucky had given to them before, a good-sized box covered in shiny green wrapping paper. The tag said it was from Bucky and Steve.
Inside the box, a green scarf, made of the softest material Loki had ever touched.
“Oh,” Loki breathed, bringing the fabric up to touch their face, close to tears, “I love it. Thank you.”
“Bucky bought it,” Steve said, “No idea where, but he took some of my money, and I wrapped it, so . . .”
They exchanged the rest of the gifts. Loki gave Steve and Bucky both magically-made blankets, a blue one for Steve, and a red one for Bucky.
Tony got them all cringey Christmas Mugs, the kind with puns on them. Natasha and Bruce exchanged matching outfits, and Thor gave Loki more Wilwark's honey.
By the time they finished, Loki felt a little more at ease, falling into conversation with the Avengers easily.
“Alright,” Tony clapped his hands together after the clock had struck midnight, “Movie time! What movie?”
Upon voting, Home Alone won.
Steve sat sandwiched between Loki and Bucky. Not even halfway through the movie, Bucky passed out, sleeping against Steve’s shoulder. Loki leaned against his other shoulder, not quite ready to fall asleep yet, but content nonetheless.
The next few months passed quickly. Thor left to take care of Jane in February, and sometime mid-way through March, the Avengers each received a text with dozens of pictures of their new baby boy.
When Loki got the text, he’d been in bed with Bucky while Steve finished brushing his teeth.
“Ari is a cool name,” Bucky commented, leaning over in bed to see the pictures on Loki’s phone, “Is it short for something, though?”
“No,” Loki shook his head, “It is norse for eagle, though.”
“Ah, makes sense, I guess.”
“Can I see?” Steve asked, sliding in bed next to him.
Loki handed him the phone.
“I still can’t believe you’re a godparent now,” Bucky said as Steve scrolled through the pictures.
“I still can’t believe it,” Loki agreed.
“And now we’re gonna be parents, too,” Steve breathed, handing back the phone.
“Oh no,” Loki said, looking at his phone screen, “Thor’s typing.”
He could practically feel it coming.
“BROTHER! I MUST MEET WITH YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!”
Must he always type in all-caps? Loki thought Thor had been past that.