He is the most beautiful creature Tony has ever seen. It can't be Loki. He saw Loki destroyed during the Siege, trying to rectify the situation he had created. The beautiful, chaotic, mischievous mess of a man had been destroyed.
It had broken Tony's heart a second time.
But there he is, wrapped tightly against the cold. His dark hair sticks out from under the hat that covers his ears in a way that can only be described as adorable. He is so normal…so mortal. He can't be Tony's Loki, and yet he is. Tony knows it, he can't explain it, he just does.
He forces himself off the bench, moving his scarf out of the way so that his charming smile is not obstructed. His feet crunch in the snow as he walks forward. The flakes are large and they stick to everything.
But then a man comes out of the shop and hands Loki a cup of coffee. Loki smile is brilliant; it's like summer in the middle of what has been a cold, dark winter. Tony has never seen Loki smile like that before, not even at him.
He does not even realize he has stopped in the middle of the street until the car horn blares and tires slide across the ice.