This story was written for the Hermione's Holiday Hideaway Advent challenge to meet the following criteria:

Pairing: Hermione Granger / Steve Rogers

Location Prompt: Aruba

Word Prompt: Eggnog

Word Count: 500 - 2000 words

The Best Present Ever

Hermione's head throbbed as she groaned and rolled over in bed. Just a few seconds later, however, she bolted upright and reached for her wand when she came into contact with a very firm, and judging by what she had just felt brush up against her thigh, a very male body. She glanced down at herself and sighed in relief when she realized that she was still wearing her pajamas. The male body in question then also groaned and slowly pulled off the pillow that had been covering his face – presumably to keep the bright morning sunlight out of his eyes.

"Steve!" she exclaimed in a mixture of both relief and confusion when she saw the handsome face of her unexpected bedmate. She had joined the Avengers about nine months previously by the special request of both Kingsley and his American counterpart after the Loki fiasco in New York proved that the team needed someone who could both understand magic and use it well. During that time, she had come to realize that Steve Rogers was the most honorable man that she had ever met with a saving-people complex that even surpassed Harry's. Therefore, she knew that he would never have tricked her into bed. (The fact that she had known very soon after meeting him that he wouldn't ever need to resort to trickery to get her there was an entirely different matter altogether.)

At the sound of her voice, Steve also shot upward in the bed - obviously as confused as she was. "Hermione?" he ventured faintly as the tension in his body relaxed when he recognized her and as his quick visual assessment of the room proved that they were in no immediate danger. At that point, Hermione could see that he was still fully dressed in his pajamas, as well. (Now that's a pity! she thought and her mind drifted momentarily to the delightful thought of a nude Steve in her bed before she was brought back to reality by his questions.) "What happened? Where are we?" he asked before he noticed her close proximity in the bed…and then his awkward morning problem. His voice trailed off as he shifted positions to conceal it from her.

"I don't know," she admitted, while purposely ignoring his predicament. She knew that Steve was still very old-fashioned about some things. In fact, it was one of the many characteristics that she liked about him. She didn't want to fluster him further, though, so she kept her eyes forward as she answered. "However, this is obviously not the Tower, and I am certain that it is not New York, either!" she exclaimed as she pointed to the other side of the room where, through the wide glass doors, she could see the balcony…and a palm covered beach beyond that. "In fact…it looks like the Caribbean."

Steve looked around the luxurious accommodations. "Well, I guess that we can rule out the possibility that we were kidnapped by Hydra or some other evil organization, then. They wouldn't have put us into such a nice cell. This seems more like Tony's idea of punishment, since it is obviously just a fancy suite...and not the penthouse one…or the presidential one…or the…."

"Honeymoon one…" Hermione finished for him when he paused to rub his temples with another little groan. Then she winced herself as the sound made her head throb again. It certainly felt like a hangover headache and she just couldn't remember last night very well. Consequently, she knew what needed to be done. She slipped out of bed and pulled out the shrunken bag that she always kept in her pocket – a habit left over from the war. She magically enlarged it and then pulled out a smaller bag full of potion vials. She selected two containers of her own special blend of a combination Sober Up and Mental Clarity potion. She then charmed off the tops and handed one to Steve, who smiled gratefully. Almost as soon as they downed the contents, the pain eased and most of their memories of the previous day returned.

Christmas day at the Tower had been very pleasant, even though the team was missing a couple of core members. Thor was back in Asgard and Clint had sneaked off to the farm a day earlier to be with Laura and the kids. However, the rest of them had stayed in the Tower to celebrate the holiday with each other, especially since none of them had any other family left. Hermione could have gone to Grimmauld Place or the Burrow, but she felt that she was needed more in NY. She suspected that Steve especially might appreciate having a friend nearby. After all, Clint had his family. Tony and Pepper were together. Even Bruce and Nat were becoming close. That just left Steve. All of his friends and family had died a long time ago and the only woman in whom he had ever seriously been interested was now a 90-something year old in a nursing home. Consequently, Hermione had stayed at the Tower to be there for him.

She was glad that she did, however, because it had been a really fun day. The six of them spent it lounging around the penthouse all day in their matching plaid flannel pajamas. They had been a sort of practical gag gift from the Barton family - who consequently received many text pictures of their recipients wearing them throughout the day while doing stupid and/or embarrassing things. The Tower group also ate a lot of Chinese takeout and partook in a classic Christmas movie marathon. Each of them picked their favorite holiday movie that they thought Steve might like because, of course, he had missed all of them during what Tony liked to irreverently call his Capsicle stage.

Later, Tony's infamous homemade eggnog appeared. After several cups of the surprisingly strong stuff, Hermione thought it would be a good idea to charm some mistletoe to pop up randomly around the room in order to surprise the occupants. Therefore, at some point or the other, Hermione ended up kissing everyone. She learned, unsurprisingly, that Tony was an enthusiastic kisser and that Bruce was a shy one. At some point, she even realized that Nat and Pepper could also make a girl seriously consider switching teams. However, Hermione's favorite kiss of the day occurred right at the end when the mistletoe finally popped up between her and Steve. Enough of the potent eggnog had been consumed by that point, so there was no awkwardness between them. He had simply cupped her face in his hands and given her one of the longest and sweetest kisses that she had ever experienced in her life - even though he only gave quick pecks to the others during their turns. It was only after the rest of the group had cheered and a camera flashed, however, that they realized that they had an audience - and the two of them broke apart reluctantly. Hermione canceled the spell on the mistletoe after that, but they continued to drink the eggnog. Eventually, they also started to open presents and when it came to Tony's turn, he announced that his private jet and pilot were on standby and waiting to take them to…

"Steve!" she exclaimed with sudden insight. "I think I know where we are…"

"Tony's gift," he answered. "I remember now. It was…"

"Aruba!" they exclaimed together and then laughed, pleased to have solved one mystery, at least.

"That means that the others are somewhere around here then, but that still doesn't explain how we…" Hermione paused and they both thought about the surprise of waking up in bed together. "What in Merlin's name was in that eggnog?" she went on to ask hurriedly. "I remember yesterday now, but I still don't know what happened after taking off from that little airport that Tony uses."

Steve shrugged. "I don't remember much either, so it must have been vodka – in addition to all of the rum that I saw Tony pour in," he replied. "My…um…new and improved…body can usually metabolize most alcohol quickly without effect…with the exception of vodka, for some strange reason."

"Ugg, I've never done well with vodka, either," Hermione admitted while trying not to think about Steve's aforementioned body. "Nat knows that very well, too, especially after that embarrassing incident in Russia…" her voice trailed off as she noticed their luggage on the other side of the room. "That's weird. I don't remember packing, but that is definitely my suitcase."

Steve followed her line of sight and frowned. "That's my duffle, too."

He jumped up, grabbed their luggage, and set it on the bed. Hermione immediately opened up hers and saw a note from Nat. She proceeded to read it while Steve headed to the bathroom. When he came back, however, he found Hermione standing on the balcony – just looking out over the ocean. He paused to simply admire her for a moment, but then he noticed the frown as she held the note limply in her hand.

"What's the matter, Hermione?" he asked, concerned for the woman whom he knew he considered to be more than just a friend.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Steve," she murmured. "Apparently, we have been the victims of an elaborate matchmaking scheme," she explained as she half-heartedly waved Nat's note in the air. "The team set us up. They purposely got us drunk, brought us here, and then left us."

"What?" Steve asked bewildered. "Why?"

"Because…well…maybe you should just read the note." Hermione said and shoved the paper into his hand before escaping to safety as she took her turn in the loo.

Steve read it quickly, smiled, and silently thanked their crazy but well-meaning friends for this opportunity. When Hermione returned, he immediately set her mind at ease. "I can think of many worse things than being stranded with you in paradise," he reassured her. "I hope that you are not too upset, though, because this is all my fault." When she looked at him questioningly, he explained further. "Nat wasn't wrong, you know. I may have mentioned to Clint that I would like the chance to get to know you better without Hydra, supervillains, or aliens and the like always ruining the moment. Apparently, he told the others." He paused and looked at her uncertainly. For all of his confidence in battle, Steve was still unsure around women – especially Hermione.

The opposite of upset, Hermione flushed with pleasure at his words since she had no idea that he felt that way, too. Therefore, she also ventured to tell him the truth. "Well," she confessed slyly, "I may have had a similar conversation with Nat." With that admission, she allowed her eyes to meet his and they both grinned with relief that their mutual attraction was finally out in the open.

No longer uncertain, Steve closed the distance between them eagerly. "A few days to get to know each other better without duty and distractions certainly sounds…nice…to me. What do you think?"

"Well…I don't ever want it to be said that I can't accept a gift graciously," Hermione replied with an inviting smile that Steve accepted immediately. He finally bent to kiss her and they soon lost themselves in each other's arms.

Meanwhile, Nat's note fluttered unheeded to the floor only to land face up where the words were clearly visible.

Yes, we tricked you. Get over it.
We just gave you the gift that you both obviously wanted.
You have three days. Use them wisely…
(We will expect details…)

Merry Christmas from the Team!

However, neither Hermione nor Steve noticed it until much later. In fact, it was the next day before they even left the room to see some of the island. They were too busy enjoying the best Christmas present that either of them had ever received...each other!