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It happened in an instant.
One moment, Tony had been standing in the middle of the Avenger Christmas party with a drink in his hand and a Santa hat on his head. He had been laughing at something Clint had said when Loki had stalked through the crowd and snapped at him, “Stark!”
Tony had turned, flinching and his hand flying up on instinct to catch the green blur that had been hurled at his face. He managed to grip it, although a leaf did manage to break off and fall in his drink.
He stared, uncomprehending, at the mistletoe in his hand. It wasn’t the kitschy, fake or glamorous kind seen in movies or used by professional decorators; it looked like it had been hacked of the closest plant without any kind of finesse.
The people around him had fallen silent as Tony looked up at Loki’s scowling face, still clutching the item. “Um.”
Loki took another two steps until he was well inside Tony’s personal space. His voice was low as his hand came up and he lightly cupped Tony’s neck, his thumb encouraging Tony to tilt up his jaw. “You never linger near these plants.”
Tony blinked. “I thought you wanted me under it for a joke.”
“No,” Loki informed him, before bending down and bringing their lips together.
The kiss was chaste, but far too full of contained emotions to be anything like the light-hearted, meaningless kisses of tradition.
When Loki pulled back, he also let Tony go and stepped away. There was laughter and a few claps but the noises were secondary to the way Loki smirked at him with eyes so beautifully soft.
Tony was the first to look away and glance at the mistletoe still clutched in his hand. He’d gripped it tighter during the kiss, surprised but far from unhappy at gaining something they’d both been dancing around for almost a year.
He slowly released his fist before he looked up at Loki again with a smile pulling at his lips. Tony then shifted his grip and grasped the stalk before very slowly lifting it above his head. Loki’s eyes flared with pleasure as he watched its ascent.
“Technically,” Tony told him, “that wasn’t underneath.”
This time the cat-calls and whistles were even louder as Loki kissed him much harder and Tony dropped the plant to bury his fingers in Loki’s hair.
He smiled against the other man’s lips and felt Loki match his grin.
Merry Christmas to all, Tony thought, because I’m in for a hell of a good night.