afterglows || loki laufeyson [3]

chapter 27

clint got three boxes of pizza. those were from natasha, and when we asked her what was the reason behind the pizza idea of hers she shrugged, "what's a better gift then a full belly?". we found out later on that there was a picture frame of clint and nat from one of their missions, both of them being sweaty with blood on their uniforms and smiles on both faces.

"no way, no way, no way!", i shouted excitedly as i held the familiar journal close to my heart. it was red once, but the leather had worn out to a dark maroon, the golden engravings shining dully. "where did you find this? they lost it in one of their shows, i think it was in malaysia or maybe in thailand...", i whispered trailing off, my fingers turning the pages carefully. my father and mother's handwriting and drawings looked back up at me. "stole it-", clint started but after being elbowed by nat, he corrected, "bought it in an auction. they had many famous people's stuff there, and i had a good feeling to check there.". "i appreciate the lengths you had to go through to get me this, even if it's illegal.", i said, running to hug clint, "thank you, thank you, thank you!!"

bruce's present was the d.i.y. kids science kits i packed for him, to which he scowled jokingly, scanning each of our faces to see who had given him this. i had a hard time suppressing my smile. when the cd's came next, his eyes brightened and instantly found mine which gave me away pretty easily. when asked why he loved sci-fi movies, he answered honestly, "i love the stupid conclusions and ideas they come up with. they sound interesting and all, but well most of them are theoretically impossible.". let's just say i chose well when i chose time-travel movies. bruce finds these things comedic.

for pietro, bruce had given him goggles, that protected his eyes as he ran. he has also given pietro a bulletproof jacket, which i agreed to immediately. pietro was always the risky one on the team and his safety was most important. pietro had pouted seeing that all he got was safety gear, until bruce pulled out another bag which was filled with new headphones and a purple nintendo switch. pietro was so happy his feet kept on bouncing in excitement.

lastly, but of course not least, sam got his present from pietro. that present consisted of a few things. one, he got cookies, raisin ones to which i grimaced subtly. two, he now sported a new pair of sunglasses, the frame being the shape of an actual falcon, each eye forming the wings and a bird's neck designed on the piece in the middle, connecting the lenses. third, there was also a bag of pistachios, which i almost gagged as sam cheered. i was convinced mine and sam's taste can never align.

we all had eaten up the rest of the food we each brought and after a few more conversations, the night had closed to an end.

loki was drunk again. but honestly, he acts adorable when he is. he laughed loud, long, and unrestrained. i began feeling myself get slightly tipsy too. it wasn't the drunk-drunk, just a slight feeling of words flowing more easily, but also still managing the ability to form a normal sentence.

we both said goodbye and wished a final merry christmas to everyone before deciding it's time to go.

the merriment had dulled on our way home, but the feeling of happiness still coursed through me as we stepped out of steve's car (he insisted on driving the both of us to my apartment). i waved him goodbye, and hooked loki's arm with mine and walked, trying to match our pace.

we both stepped through my door and i locked it behind us. instead of going further in, loki and i ended up sitting down, our backs leaning against my front door, as we sighed in relief. finally, peace and quiet.

loki's eyesight focused on me, a sign that the effects of the alcohol was wearing quickly for his enhanced alcohol tolerance. he seemed less drunk than he did in the car, but the dazed look in his eyes didn't change one bit.

"why are you looking at me like that?", i chuckled softly, leaning on his shoulder, "you look like you're seeing a real life unicorn."

"definitely not that.", he answered quietly, "unicorns are stupid."

"i prefer the pegasi anyways."

"i'll show you the valkyrie's horses one day.", he said with a small smile, then asked quietly, "do you want to come back to asgard with me tomorrow?"

"of course.", i answered immediately, "the only worry is not giving aunt liza and cole their presents from me, but i figure i can ask nat to drop em off for me."

"will they be spending christmas with some company?", he asked, concern in his tone.

"i'm sure they will. cole will be with aves and leila and the rest of their big family. then, my aunt will be visiting my grandparents since the cafe's closed for the rest of the season, at least up til january."

"alright then, i'd hate to pull you away from your family here just so we can go to my home.", he said, laying his hand on my head, stroking softly, "yule in asgard is quite an unforgettable experience, the warmth and the people and all that, it leaves you quite warm."

"tell me more about yule.", i urged eagerly.

"there's lots of dancing and singing, feasting and drinking, and of course the games. it's a very festive time on asgard and the celebrations can last up to 12 days, almost 2 weeks."

"your christmas trees are in fact inspired by our yule trees.", he said, "though unlike your ornaments and all, we decorate with foods and clothes and small statues honoring norse gods," he trailed off then nudged me teasingly, "which includes me."

i grinned, "i'm honored to be spending yule in asgard with you."

"and i also hope to find a mini statue version of you."

"i'm sure we'll find some.", he shrugged with a grin.

"what's your favorite part of yule?"

"the food and drinks.", he said honestly, alcohol allowing him to be blunt, "you are going to love the meat pies, and oh, i'm going to enjoy seeing you drink your first wassail, fair warning it's quite warming. there is an assortment of cakes too, like rum cake, yule log cakes.. oh, oh and the sun wheel bread, i'll definitely make sure you try it!"

i listened closely as he spoke about the foods and activities that take place during asgard's winter solstice. how he described it all made me feel like i was there, like i have seen, tasted, and felt every single thing he's mentioned. i realised that loki truly loved this holiday.

somewhere along the talk of roasted boar and geeses we'll be eating tomorrow, i kissed his cheek, and said with a laugh, "love, we're still on the floor with our clothes from the party."

"i suppose we should clean up first.", he agreed, shuffling to stand up.

and as i discarded my boots, he added, "furthermore, all that talk about food has gotten me a bit hungry, so i think i will make something up before we head to bed. is that alright?"

"that sounds good to me.", i said, wondering what i've done to get so lucky.

author's note:

i'm thinking of what to say, but all i can think of is the nice soothing sound of rain outside and the fanfic i've invested myself in for the past 12 hours, and relishing in obliviousness for a tiny while.