Loki caught himself thinking of ways to cheer up Tony, not that the other man needed it, he seemed to be in a good mood, yet something told him that he should do something. The problem was that he didn't know what to do. Tony was always eager to hear stories about his mischief and the adventures he'd been on, that it made his foolish heart to skip a beat at the warmth in the other man's eyes during those moments. Bantering was out of the question since it was basically their way of interaction, his jokes were met with amused smiles, but all of those things were regular occurrence. He was absent, staying away for more than a month in order to get his priorities in line, to clear his mind and come to terms with the fact that during his time on Midgard he'd grown to like it.
Like probably was a strong word, yet it wasn't enough to describe the change of heart which didn't go unnoticed by Thor who even dared to tease him about it, still to Loki's surprise he didn't say anything to anyone. By anyone he was referring to the avengers, the old and the new team, the same ones that managed to be both boring and interesting in their own way. Everyone except for one genius, billionaire, whose mind was as fascinating as the galaxy, a thought that he didn't share with anyone, the one that he kept hidden in the back of his mind as a reminder to pay more attention to said man.
That's how he ended up spying on him, while he was sitting on the big balcony, staring at the stars with an expression that wasn't easy to read yet there was something familiar in it that tugged at Loki's heartstrings.
Longing, maybe a hint of sadness...
Foolish, the unknown reason that made the genius look like an abandoned kitten.
Frustrating, because he didn't know what it was and what was worse was the fact that he didn't know how to help as well.
Helping people wasn't his thing, but Tony wasn't anyone, he was a friend, someone whose opinion Loki valued and whose presence brought him amusement and according to his over sentimental brother, happiness.
He makes you happy.
He rolled his eyes at the statement, only to realize that he wasn't as good at deceiving his brother as he used to be, so he settled for a glare which got his point across.
Yes, he does, more than he'd ever know
That was why he wanted to do something for him, to brighten his night and chase away the bad thoughts that wouldn't let him be, it was the least he could do for...for his favorite mortal.
And that's what he was, the only thing he could be.
Friend
Still he wasn't able to stay away from Midgard, from him, drawn to him unlike anything before despite how strong willed he prided himself to be.
Asking the genius's friends and teammates for help was worse than admitting his growing feelings for the man, plus he was certain that even though the avengers started to warm up to him they weren't eager to become his friends, not that he minded.
He was just about to remove the enchantment that made him invisible and show himself when he heard footsteps. So he waited to see what would happen, maybe someone was going to pull Tony out of his mind and cheer him up, someone who actually knew how to do it properly.
Not me
Pretty soon, from the corner of his eye came a flash of red hair, for a second his mind went to Miss Potts, Tony's ex-girlfriend and in a split of a second he contemplated leaving the place in an instant, but then the face got revealed. It was agent Romanoff.
Knowing that he couldn't be heard or seen he followed, a few steps behind unable to keep his curiosity under control. He might be able to learn something useful and that was the one thing that always put him in trouble, his curious mind.
"Hey Tony, enjoying the view or the chill ?"
"Did you miss me, agent Romanoff ?" he joked.
"You know you're irreplaceable." was the answer that was clearly a joke, yet there was a hint of truth in her tone that made him smile at her.
"Nah, you just want me for my genius and my looks." then his gaze locked on her and with softness in his voice said,
"Aren't you cold ?"
"I've been colder, aren't you ?"
"I've been colder, don't really mind it, it's not as cold as it should be."
"For winter ?" the same curiosity in her question that was burning in Loki.
Tony nodded, his eyes looking ahead of him, yet he seemed lost in memories.
"Snow, it needs snow. There's no winter without snow."
"Yes." her voice was quieter as if she was lost in thoughts as well.
They sat in silence for a while before agent Romanoff lifted herself on her feet and with a touch on Tony's shoulder she left.
Not wanting to waste the chance, Loki acted on impulse, on pure emotion, he closed his eyes and put his magic to work, both his seidr and his abilities as a frost giant even though he still wasn't comfortable using them.
He opened his eyes at the sound of a delighted chuckle and saw the beautiful smile on Tony's face as he stared in amazement at the falling snow. It was a small thing for such a heartwarming sight that for once he felt thankful for his ice powers for helping him to bring joy to someone.
He was about to walk away and leave Tony to enjoy the sight now that he did what he intended to do, when he heard his name carried on the wind amidst the snowflakes. It came out unexpectedly that he revealed himself, fortunately Tony's back was facing him, so he still had a chance to leave before getting noticed, but he found out that he didn't want to. Instead once again he let his feelings guide him as he stepped forward and said,
"Enjoying the snow Anthony ?" his expression must have revealed something that made the genius's eyes widen in surprise before he huffed in both amusement and awe.
"You did this ?" there was no doubt what he was talking about.
"Yes." the expression on Tony's face was unreadable, but the warmth and gratefulness in his eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything else.
"It's...amazing, but why ?"
Because I wanted to cheer you up, to make you smile
How could he say that without revealing his feelings, because no matter how much Tony was oblivious to his looks, he wasn't stupid, he would read the rest from his eyes. He was special like that.
"As a part of...the Christmas cheer I believe that's what you mortals call it." his answer got the desired effect, Tony chuckled, shaking his head as if he knew that he was joking and hiding his real reason, but he was content enough not to ask too many questions.
"And here I thought you'd be a Grinch about it."
"Well...green is my color after all." his heart skipped a beat at how Tony's eyes lit at his words.
"You're truly something." he whispered before he got up and approached him, then their gazes met.
"Thank you for this winter miracle, Loki." then in a second his expression turned into the face of an overexcited little boy who had gotten a new toy.
"Did you do it with your ice powers or your magic godly powers? How does it work? Can you control the weather ? Can..."
"As much as I find your enthusiasm adorable, I'd rather keep most of those answers to myself..." he wanted to express his reluctance to speak about something he still wasn't comfortable with.
"Oh, I understand, sorry for..."
"Anthony...I might not be able to share some things with you, but I don't mind showing you how I did it."
He almost blushed at the smile he got in return, before he was grabbed by the hand and dragged along.
Loki spent the rest of the night, since the stubborn genius refused to sleep too immersed in his words and the way his hands moved while he used his magic. He made hot chocolate for the both of them and continued listening to Loki's words until sleep-deprivation made him so relaxed that he pressed a thank you kiss on his cheek before he wished him a goodnight and left him.
Loki created the illusion of a falling snow in Tony's room before he went to sleep, unable to wipe the smile on his face at the thought of the other man's happy face.
Maybe there was a winter miracle for him as well.