Let it Snow (B. Banner)

Chapter Five

Bruce has been trying to get more into the whole Christmas thing. Thanks to Neva, he has seen a different side to it. One that's not about his father yelling or...drinking, or tearing down the tree. A side that's pure and joyful and full of wonder. How Christmas should be. How it should have been for him, for every child out there. He's started listening to the old classic Christmas songs, going back to Bing, to Sinatra, to Cash, to...well even the Darkness. He finds with each song, that he understands them more, he understands the true meaning of Christmas. Bruce rubs at his eyes with one hand whilst the other pulls the headphone from his ears. All the Avengers are gathered together in the main communal room.

"What's going on?" Bruce asks as Clint peers at a label on a Christmas themed gift bag. There is a row of them, all set out, waiting. And each bag has a different Avenger name on.

"We have gifts?" Natasha asks moving to her bag.

"Yeah, so it seems" Clint whispers picking up his bag. Tony grabs the envelope sitting on coffee table with the collective Avengers name on, he opens it and pulls out a handmade Christmas card from inside.

"Dearest Heroes" He reads. "It is only fair that for the joyous occasion just around the corner that you all look the part" he looks up, concerned now. Steve takes the card from him to finish reading it. Tony moves to the bag with his name on.

"Inside your bags you will find something special to mark your first Christmas as a team" Steve reads softly. "As well as a little something from Miss Christmas, please wear them to the 1st Annual Rudolf's Rockin' Reindeer Bash" Tony smirks a little. "Happy Holidays. From The North Pole Store and Diner" Steve lowers the card. They are all watching him, waiting for him to give the okay for them to open the bags. "Go ahead" he teases. Steve then swears he's never seen grown adults tear into gifts so fast before. Inside each bag is a ribbon wrapped sweater, a collection of holiday candy and a black box.

"I love it" Natasha states with a smile as she holds her Black Widow themed Christmas sweater to her chest. "It's got a spider on it!" Clint laughs and pulls out a collection of gift wrapped candy canes, each one decorated in purple and black instead of the traditional red and white. "How did she find one with a spider?"

"Fa-la-la-la-la-Valhalla-la" Thor reads from his sweater and then smiles. "That is witty" They each get a sweater, and each one is themed specifically to the Avenger it was gifted to. Steve's is more vintage in design, like something out of his childhood with a white star at the top of the tree on the front. Bruce smiles at his own sweater, it has a Christmas tree on and state; Oh, Chemist Tree.

"Okay, offensive" Clint states, outraged as he holds up his sweater. There is an image of the Green Arrow on the front. Natasha laughs and then motions to the back, Clint turns it around to find it a post it note stuck to it. "'Sorry, they didn't have a Hawkeye one" he reads. "But it's basically the same, right?'....No, no, it is not" he scolds but smiles a little. He actually kind of likes it. He sets it down and pulls a black box from the bag. Pulling the lid off he is surprised by the snow globe inside, he picks it up. "So we get sweaters and..." Clint cocks his head at the snow globe in his hand. "A snow globe?"

"It's beautiful" Natasha offers shaking her own.

"Bauble makes them" Tony admits, his own snow globe has a small Iron Man inside. Steve smiles sadly at the old style city scape in his, Brooklyn's skyline noticeable. Bruce's is a musical snow globe that has a scene from It's A Wonderful Life in, it was his mother's favourite movie, he doesn't know how she knows that, but he is grateful because this gift is beautiful.

"She really outdid herself" Steve comments as he looks at Tony. "Now I know this party is going to be amazing" He means that, because he can how much thought and detail goes into something so simple as a gift for them, and he knows that for something she is passionate about, like the orphans, she is going to go above and beyond. Thor's bag has one extra box in, the same as his own black box, the one that held his snow globe but with a green gift tag on it. Thor pulls the box from the bag and checks the tag, his eyes widening slightly as he read; For Loki. He raises an eyebrow and glances up at the others. None of them are looking at him so he glances back at the box. That is thoughtful. And he kind of really wants to look inside. He takes a breath and lifts the lid to find another snow globe, this one with a scape of Jotunheim in and an inscription on the stand; A beautiful thing is never perfect. And real beauty is to be true to oneself.

"What is that?" Bruce asks Thor who turns to him.

"It's for Loki" Thor answers. "She got Loki a gift" Bruce raises an eyebrow. "Why would she do that?" Thor asks.

"I don't know" Bruce admits. "But it's...beautiful"

"Yes" Thor agrees and smiles at the snow globe. Clint has two more boxes than the others. He checks the tags before he pulls them out.

"How did she know?" He whispers to himself reading his children's names on the tags.

"There is also an invitation in here" Steve holds up the envelope their card was in, in his other hand is the handmade invitation. "It's this weekend, her...Rudolf's Rockin' Reindeer Bash so I guess that means we have three days to get ready"

"Can we go?" Natasha asks. "I want to try my sweater on" Steve smiles and nods.

"Yes, dismissed....and don't eat all that candy" he warns with a look at Clint who already has three canes sticking out of his mouth.

"I hope there is actually a reindeer there" Clint admits as he walks away with Natasha. "I've never seen one"

"Bruce" Steve starts, Bruce turns to him as the others leave. "Have you thought any more about...attending?" Bruce takes a deep breath and nods.

"Yeah, I would like to" He answers. "I really would but..."

"You know we all have your back, right?" Steve asks him. "And if something were to happen, we would make sure that every single child is safe..." Bruce gives him a small thankful smile.

"I know" Bruce assures him. "And...I definitely want to be a part of it, to say that...I am good for something other than destruction, that I can do something more than....smash" he looks to the sweater in his hand.

"She gets to you, doesn't she?" Steve asks with a smirk. "Somehow Miss St North looks at you and sees deep into your soul?"

"Yeah" Bruce agrees. "First glance you can't help but judge her because of all the....Christmas" Steve snorts a laugh and nods. "But there is something...."

"Magical about her" Steve finishes, completely understanding where he is coming from. "Maybe it's because she's..untouched by everything we have been touched by" Steve offers, Bruce nods a little. "There is a light in her we lack"