Day 9 - 12 days of Christmas challenge (2022 edition)
Title: Cultural differences
Theme: Mistletoe (Dec 21st)
Fandom/Character(s): Loki x reader
Warnings (if applicable): none <3 fluff with plot
Word Count: 1128
December writing challenge prompted and organized by @12daysofchristmas
âBut wonât you look at that!â, you exclaimed as Loki passed by your side. He stopped in place and raised an eyebrow.
âWhat?â.
âIt seems weâre both under the mistletoeâ, you said.
He frowned.
âYes, it seems so. Excuse meâ, he said, and began walking away. Now you frowned. You grabbed the plant from where you had hung it and began following him to see what was up with him. He stopped once again. âWhy are you following me with that thing?â.
âThe mistletoe?â.
âYes, are you trying to say something? Because I donât appreciate you doing this to me. Especially youâ.
âIâ no, I just thought it would be nice toâŠâ.
âWell, it clearly isnât nice for me. Now, let me through, I have things to doâ.
Your mouth was open but no words came out.
âLoki, Iââ.
âSee you later. Donât bring that thing aroundâ.
You sat on the kitchen island of the compound and sighed out in frustration. You knew you could be rejected by him at some point, but why did he have to be so rude about it? He usually was much nicer and kinder to you. You began drawing up some Christmas cards for the Avengers to wrap with their gifts, and left the mistletoe lying on the counter, thinking about throwing it to the fireplace once they light it up.
Later on, Cap and Thor walked in and grabbed some mead from the fridge, sitting in front of you.
âHey pal, would you like some?â, asked Steve as he poured you a glass anyway.
âSureâ, you said, your tone slightly drowned.
Thor sat by your side and looked at the giftcards.
âThose look very niceâ, he said, as heâd talk to a frustrated child. He was slightly older. Just slightly. Still, you chuckled sadly and let him go for it. âYou seem sad, are you alright? Would you want to talk about it with us?â.
âYeah, you can trust usâ, said Steve, and looked at the mistletoe on the table. âOh⊠you got rejected?â.
âBrutally rejectedâ, you nodded, and left the coloring pencils on the side to take a good spiteful look at that damned plant. Thor seemed confused.
âCan we know by who?â.
âCap, I think you can figure it outâ, you pressed your lips in a thin line. Everyone in the compound knew you liked Loki. And everyone also thought Loki liked you back, but none of you were ready to potentially ruin your precious friendship. Up until just now. âI didnât expect him to be so mean about it. Maybe he got upset because I may have ruined our thing? Heâs a big fan of unspoken things. Maybe he wanted us to be in this non-verbalized special relationship without putting more pressure into itââ.
âIâm sorry, what are you talking about? What does all of that have to do with that treacherous weed?â, interrupted Thor.
You frowned.
âYou donât know what the mistletoe means here?â.
âYes, I certainly do. Itâs a dooming sign. Why would you declare yourself with it near you? And to Loki?â.
You stood up.
âThatâs not what it means at all! And I never said the words, I just thought he knew what being under the mistletoe means!â.
âWhat does it mean?â, he asked with a frown. You began walking around the kitchen island and fidgeting with the plant.
âWhen youâre both under the mistletoe you have to kiss. I just pointed out we were under the mistletoe. I didnât even say anything about it. What did he think I was saying, then?â, you said, eyes wide and still pacing around.
Thor grabbed his face and then put his hand on your shoulder to stop you.
âIn the myths, Loki starts Ragnarok by using a mistletoe to kill Balder. The literal end of our world! Itâs a terrible augury, a horrible omenâ.
You sat, bewildered.
âNo wonder he got offendedâ.
Thor patted your back.
âI think you better mend it rightâ.
That same night, you knocked on his door and heard him pace around before opening up a small crack to see who it was. When he saw you, he sighed out.
âWhat do you want?â, he asked tiredly. His hair was tied up in a messy high bun, and had an unsharpened dagger through it. âIâm busyâ.
âIâm sure you arenâtâ, you tilted your head to see the accumulating pile of books on his bed and his unarranged bedsheets. He had been laying there reading all afternoon, you were positive. âI brought you somethingâ.
âDid you bring a heartfelt apology with you?â, he joked. You chuckled.
âYou know very well I donât have a heartâ, you said as you went through and sat on his bed. He looked down at you and smiled lightly.
âAnd you know better than anyone thatâs not trueâ, he said, and then sat by your side. âSo, what did you bring me?â.
You gave him a small box, and he looked at you quizzically, before opening it with curiosity. He unfolded the soft paper inside of it and found a fresh batch of his favorite type of cookies. He looked at you with glistening eyes.
âMint and chocolate?â.
âYupâ, you smiled proudly. He jumped to hug you.
âOh, thank you! You know I love these!â. You sank in his hug and hugged him tighter.
âIâm sorry about the mistletoe thing. I spoke to Thor about it and we both have very different concepts of it. I didnât even know about the bad omen. Iâm really sorryâ.
He pulled out of the hug, but kept relaxedly holding you by the elbows.
âOh?â.
âYeah, Iâm sorry. If I had known I wouldn't have done it. It was a very stupid thing. Your friendship means everything to meâ.
âThatâs totally okay, I was taken aback because it seemed so unlike you to joke about something that would make me feel badâ, he admitted. âHold on, so⊠what did you mean with that?â.
âHuh?â, you raised your eyebrows and cleared your throat. âOh, yeah, I was just joking, you know. A midgardian normal stupid jokeâ.
âHeyâ, he grabbed your face. âWhat was it?â.
You blushed to an extreme degree and Loki didnât let go of your face, as funny as you looked. He stared into you with his usual intensity. Well, what was getting rejected twice anyway?
âIt means⊠well, whoever two that end up under the mistletoe must kissâ.
Loki raised his eyebrows.
âAnd we ended up under the mistletoe togetherâ.
âYesâ, you whispered, getting even redder.
âYou said âmustâ kiss. Not âcanâ kissâ.
âI⊠guess I did say that, yeahâ, your voice got thinner and thinner.
âWe have no choice but to kiss, thenâ, he smirked slightly.
âI guess notâ, you said, and he caressed your cheeks with his thumbs as he hunched closer to your lips.
Taglist: @lucywrites02 , @louieboo87 @the-departed-potato , @jesuswasnotawhiteman , @idontknow296 , @beksib , @geekwritersworld , @mysticunicorn7 @shadowolf993 , @joscelyn02 , @t00-pi , @selfship-mishaps , @sallymagnoliaposts , @deadgirl88, @vicmc624 @theaudacitytowrite @bi-andready-tocry @alorev @justasmisunderstoodasloki @theetoastyghosty @lokiprompts @sarahpaq08 @lostgreekgod @likeitloveitblogit @tsnelf7 @asgardwinter @lalalalokii @christineblood @asgardianprincess1050












