"Expect company," Fury said without any explanation. "Don't let them shoot him. Merry goddamn Christmas." He hung up at that.

Steve blinked, having heard the whole conversation, and frowned. Don't let them shoot who? It wasn't like Fury to send someone over to them.

Elaine was equally confused.

"That was different," she commented. "That... wasn't like him."

"No, it wasn't," Steve said quietly. Although it only took half an hour to figure out what the call was all about.

The elevator door dinged open and Coulson stepped out into the living room. All activity stopped, including Kae and Tony (Kae had long since run out of ammo in Tony's gun and so had borrowed Natasha's, and then Bruce's, to continue chasing down her cousin; naturally, he was now flustered and disheveled and rather multi-hued).

Only a few moments later, Clint and Natasha had both pulled guns and had them aimed at Coulson, who looked mildly amused. Tony was too busy gaping, and even Steve had to scramble to get his brain back in working order.

"Coulson?" he asked quietly.

"Fury said not to shoot him," Elaine parroted at the two assassins before her brain really caught up to what was happening. She had no idea who he was, of course, but clearly he was both well-known and important.

"Clint," Coulson said quietly. "Put that away." When Clint didn't move, he sighed and looked at the assassin evenly. "Budapest."

That one word told Clint all he needed to know, and his weapons vanished. He looked at Coulson for a few long moments.

"...It's good to see you, sir," he said, only the tiniest of wavers in his voice betraying him.

"You, too." Coulson actually smiled a little, and then bit back a yelp when he was suddenly covered in Clint and being wrapped in a whole-body hug.

Bruce watched the entire exchange.

"You're going to have to explain this one to me," he said to Phil.

"Son of Coul!" Thor boomed. "You've returned!"

Coulson waited until Clint had scrambled off him again, looking embarrassed, before he took a seat.

"I wasn't quite dead," he said quietly. "Loki didn't manage to kill me. A few medics got there in time. I've spent most of this time recovering. Fury decided it would be best if you were to think I was dead. To keep the group strong." His tone suggested he did not approve of or agree with this decision.

"Then maybe it should be him next time," Bruce replied mildly. Nope, no love lost there.

Coulson snorted before turning his attention to the two girls. "Stark, you want to explain this?"

"My cousin and her best friend, also current squeeze of the Capsicle." Tony grinned, peeling off another nerf dart from his forehead. Kae just groaned and put her head down in her hands.

"What Tony means is that the girls helped us with a little problem not too long ago, and Fury put them on SHIELD payroll rather than keep compensating them for babysitting Tony," Bruce corrected, a bit of amusement in his voice.

"Ah." Coulson nodded. That made perfect sense. "Well, then, I'm glad he found someone willing to do it, and I pity you two."

Kae shrugged. "It's not so bad most of the time."

Coulson snorted his disagreement of that, although in a way it made sense. They didn't actually have to try to make Tony do anything. Like paperwork.

"Well, while you all keep talking, I'm going to go give the first gift," Elaine said, sifting through the pile. She pulled out the package wrapped in green and silver (Kae's handiwork, she knew) and left the room. Time to find Loki. It didn't take her long, and she made sure to knock on the door first.

The door opened and Loki looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "What is it you want?" he asked quietly. He wasn't trying to be harsh, but people didn't just go find him unless they wanted something.

Elaine paused for a moment, just looking at him.

"You're not quite like I pictured," she said. She held out the package. "Here. This is for you."

Loki blinked, looking at her. "You have regained your sight?" he asked quietly, taking the gift cautiously. "I was not aware humans could do that." He turned the package over, trying to figure it out.

"Tony and Bruce built this thing, it sends signals to tell my brain what it should be seeing," Elaine said. "I think that's the general idea of it, there were a few other parts I almost understood." She shrugged a bit and gestured to the gift. "Open it. Did anyone actually tell you that today is a traditional gift-giving holiday?"

"My brother mentioned it," Loki said dryly. "He has been rather excited for the past week." He unwrapped the gift slowly, blinking down at the package. "What exactly is the meaning of this?"

"A book of sleight-of-hand tricks," Elaine replied. "Us mere mortals don't have actual magic, not the good stuff, anyways. This is the best we can do. Kae and I thought maybe you'd want to learn some of it." She paused. "And the square boxes have puzzles in them called brain teasers, because they're ridiculously complex and are supposed to take a while to figure out how to solve."

Loki paused, considering the objects for several long moments. "Challenges worthy of my intellect, and human games for entertainment." He nodded slowly. "Very well. This... gift is satisfactory. You have chosen well."

For all his lofty tone and attitude, he was feeling very surprised and rather gratified. And then wondering what he could do to repay her.

"Yeah, we thought so too," Elaine replied with a grin. "Of course, we got Thor a plasma globe, so that should also be amusing." Almost as an after thought, she added, "of course, I gave my own brother pretty much the same thing."

Loki snorted. "Yes, brothers are a good source of entertainment," he agreed, his voice dry. He was quiet for a few moments.

"I do not have a gift I can give to you. Not as I am now." His lip curled a little. He was definitely looking forward to getting his magic back.

Elaine waved a hand.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Kae and I just wanted to make sure you weren't left out." She grinned a bit. "And now you have things to keep you occupied."

"I believe I will enjoy figuring out these puzzles," Loki agreed quietly. "It was kind of you to try to include me." It was about as close as he'd get to an actual thank you.

Elaine nodded.

"You do that," she said. "I have to get back upstairs before they send someone looking for me." She gave him a little wave and headed back to the main group.

Once Elaine was back, gifts started going round to everyone. Tony pulled out a keyring that had a bright green laser-pointer on it and tossed it to Bruce, grinning.

Steve looked at Elaine before pulling her down on the couch next to him, settling in there.