Archive of Our Own

Growing up as a Pureblood in the Wizarding world means that Christmas is anything but quiet. From multiple social obligations to spending Christmas with all your relatives, or rather the relatives that your family actually recognises, it's a busy and loud time. All Pansy wants is peace and quiet.

Is that really too much to hope for? One would think it wouldn't be, and that hope was part of the reason Pansy moved away from Wizarding Britain. She ended up in America, working for MACUSA in the Auror department until she moved up to the Major Investigation Department. It was while working on a case for the MID that she first met the Avengers.

That had been over five years ago. Now, at nearly thirty years old, Pansy still had somehow never had a quiet Christmas. While she lived in Wizarding America, Pansy ended up with the same obligations she had while in Britain, and when she moved into the Muggle world to join SHIELD and the Avengers, she quickly learned that Tony Stark had other ideas.

His ideas were why she was currently holding a rather ostentatious invitation in her hands. She had to chuckle as it was somewhat ironic that she found something gaudy when that was the life she knew as a child.

She glanced down to read the invitation.

Pansy was pulled from her thoughts when a voice asked, "What's wrong, Parkinson?"

She looked up to find Natasha sitting on the other side of the table from her. Pansy held up the invitation she just received by way of explanation.

"Are you planning to go?"

"I feel like I have to," Pansy replied. "Don't you?"

"Not really," Natasha shrugged, "I may not always show it, but I do enjoy spending time with the others."

"Oh! That's not it at all!" Pansy exclaimed. "I enjoy spending time with everyone, I just…" she trailed off.

Natasha nodded in understanding. "Want some peace and quiet?"

Pansy smiled tiredly. "Exactly."

"If you could do anything on Christmas Eve and Day, what would you do?"

"Honestly?" Pansy sighed. "Nothing, or as close to. I don't want to feel like I have to be there for anyone else, no obligations whatsoever." Pansy frowned. "Does that make me a selfish person? I love Christmas, but everything can be so overwhelming."

"No, you're not selfish," Natasha said with a quirk of her lips. "You deserve time to yourself. We all do with everything we deal with on a nearly daily basis. Why do you think Clint kept his family secret for so long?"

"True," Pansy agreed.

The two women continued to talk, not realising that they had someone listening in on their conversation. As they moved on to work-related topics, the man quietly walked away, a plan forming in his head.

Christmas Eve in Upstate New York dawned brightly upon a layer of freshly fallen snow.

Pansy silently stared out the window of the compound's kitchen, a mug of dirty chai latte in her hand. When she first moved to America, she had only drunk tea, usually chai latte, but one of her coworkers at MACUSA suggested trying coffee and then later adding coffee to her chai, and she hadn't looked back since. She was an early riser and enjoyed the calm before the others woke and disrupted the stillness.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Sam walking towards her. He sent a smile her way, and Pansy returned it with a quirk of her lips.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked.

"Not at all," Pansy replied.

He stepped up next to her.

The two stood in silence for a while, quietly drinking until Sam spoke again, "I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Natasha the other day. If you still don't want to go tonight, I have a suggestion for you."

Pansy's gut reaction to what Sam said was to be upset, but she stopped herself and thought about what he said. "What's your suggestion?"

"Popcorn, cocoa, and a movie of your choice at my apartment in the city," Sam offered. "And it doesn't even have to be a Christmas movie."

It didn't take Pansy long to think about what Sam suggested. She turned to him with a relieved smile. "That sounds wonderful."

"It even has a working fireplace that you can warm up by," Sam told her.

She laughed as it was well known that she was always cold. It looked like she had a text to send to Tony. "Sold."