Chapter Text
“Can I ask you something?”
They are standing in the same corridor where Loki had offered to take Mobius across the nine realms.
“Since when do you ask for permission?”
“Because there is a possibility that you might not like it.”
“You think I would react poorly.”
“It is a possibility.”
“What is it that you wish to ask?”
“Have you ever thought about accepting your Jotunn heritage?”
“...”
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“Why this question suddenly?” Loki asks as they pet the TVA kitten.
“Just curious, I guess. I have met more variants of you who had embraced it.”
“And yet, the Loki of the sacred timeline never did.”
Mobius gives a short bark of a laugh.
“Perhaps, they are brave those who did,” Loki continues. “I would like to know too how one looks at their own reflection and accepts the monster they had been taught to hate and kill. Or, how the monster parents tell their children about at night could now live.”
Mobius grits his teeth, anger towards Odin resurfacing. He never understood it despite watching footage worth of centuries and meeting all the Loki variants. How does one even raise a child like that?
“Maybe, the first step is to accept that not everything we are told by the people who love us or, are supposed to take care of us is correct.”
Loki laughs and looks at Mobius. “Irony?” Mobius looks away. “I hear what you say. I truly do but … “
“Yeah,” Mobius says softly, “it’s difficult to accept.”
“It is easier for me to admit to my own faults than my parents’.”
Not sure of what he could say to make them feel better, Mobius changes the topic.
“Are you sure it is a cat?”
“Of course.” The little animal meows right on cue. “Isn’t it adorable?” Loki strokes its back, smitten with it.
“Sure.” Mobius takes out candy from his pocket and says, “Here, kitty, have this.” He dangles it in front of the cat who hisses at the man, turns around, and snuggles against Loki’s chest. “I really don’t think it’s a cat. Maybe a flerken.”
Loki smirks at him. “It would have bitten off your hand by now. It is a cat that roams in your office.”
“I had never seen it before. Did you kidnap it from somewhere?”
“Your humor has me in stitches,” Loki says sarcastically. Mobius grins. “What are you smiling about now?!”
“You are really like a cat.” Loki would have taken an offense at that but the fondness in Mobius’ cadence stops them from doing so. “It only takes someone to know you.”
The kitten rubs against Loki’s chin and purrs. Loki peers down at it and scratches behind its ears, feeling a warmth spread in their chest.
“Yes, Mr. Expert in Loki Variants,” Loki says with mock exasperation. Argument with Mobius only proves his point.
“Do you want it?” Mobius offers the candy to them now.
“Is it a blue one again?”
Mobius unwraps it and says, “I guess it is.”
“You really are fascinated by blue. Is that why you take so much interest in the Jotunn variant? Because you fancy the blue version of me? Is that why you’re encouraging me to ‘accept’ my heritage?”
Mobius splutters for a good few seconds as Loki looks at him with a Cheshire smile.
“You’re just …” Mobius shakes his head and stands up. “I only want you to be free from the pain.”
“...”
“You’re right. I fancy the ‘blue’ you.” Mobius says staring in their eyes with restrained anger. “But it’s only the half-truth.”
Mobius stuffs his hands into his coat’s pocket and begins to casually walk away. Loki adjusts the cat on their lap and says,
“Just say the rest of it.”
“I fancy all of you, Variant L1130. That shouldn’t be hard to tell.”
Loki almost drops the cat who then slaps them with a paw in annoyance.
Mobius strolls down the corridor.
*
Loki is the God of chaos so even when they do not actively do things to create it, time and space conspire to cause it.
Is it then part of the dictated sacred timeline?
Cause problems for others or be punished.
Loki is at the TSY floor, reading on the ‘eternals’ and ‘deviants’. They don’t want to entirely admit that they are reading to understand Thanos’ history and if there is any way in the future they can prevent Thanos from causing Asgard’s destruction. Not the place but the people. Even if it means they cannot be a part of it.
The chair screeches against the brown tile as it is pulled back and someone occupies it.
As the only person other than Mobius who willingly interacts with them is Roosevelt, Loki doesn’t bother looking up from their book.
“Hello, Roosevelt,” they greet, turning a page over.
As they complete reading the page and are about to turn it over, they realize they didn’t receive a reply. Loki looks up, ready to pass a comment only to be cut short by their surprise. They try to school their expression but it is all for naught.
Sitting opposite to them is a very young-looking Mobius except it cannot be him because Loki knows it is ‘Roosevelt.’ He has his golden blond hair brushed back for the first time, only its roots dark and his glasses pushed onto his head. The resemblance is uncanny. He also is clean-shaven now unlike the usual tired, haggard look accompanied with stubble.
Gone is the bumbling, callous air from the man. He is sitting relaxed, an arm over the backrest, the very picture of an arrogant, egotistical person who is nothing like Mobius.
Loki refuses to ask any questions, their glare as the only answer to the man’s challenging smirk.
There was a time when Loki would have been attracted to this but now wants to slit his throat with a knife.
They sit in silence locked in a staring duel. Loki feels foolish. They always brushed aside the resemblance as an effect of growing sentimentality but it turns out the sentimentality was in the rejection of the very obvious idea.
“Alright, I gave you the chance to ask your questions.”
His eyes are blue. Not grey like Mobius’.
Loki doesn’t budge.
“Okay then. No regrets later~” he singsongs and stands up from the chair. “See you later then or … never?”
Loki balls their hands into fists.
“Cool.”
His reaction to Loki’s variant question had felt so genuine that they couldn’t have ever guessed they were the same person.
The question of who he is is apparent.
As the First Variant of TVA saunters towards the bay area, Loki forces themself to ask,
“Why?”
He turns around, beaming and Loki stops breathing. He really does look like Mobius when he is excited about something.
“Not the question I was expecting but okay.”
Loki slowly stands up from their chair. “Why?”
He walks backwards through the aisle between the book stacks, grinning. “Why what? Why am I here? Why I called m-”
“Why do you wear his face?” Loki knows the answer.
I am a clone.
He scowls. “If anyone is anyone, he’s me.”
Loki frowns feeling a sense of deja vu.
“Why hide here?” Loki takes a step forward.
“Wrong question.”
“What is the purpose of hiding?”
One step back. “Right questions need to be asked at the right time.”
“What questions should I be asking then?” Loki takes another step closer.
“Wrong question.”
“Are these riddles or are you wasting my time?”
“Now you’re asking the right ones.” Then in one swift motion, he slams Loki against the nearest bookcase. Some of the books topple over from the shelves. Loki’s ears ring from the sudden assault as their head hits the edge of a rack with force, caught off-guard by the unexpected display of strength. “TVA isn’t an organization. It’s a religion serving one man’s needs,” he whispers furiously.
Loki’s eyes widen in surprise. “The Time Keep-”
He flicks them on the lips and Loki recoils from it, repulsed. “Be careful whose name you utter from those lips.”
“Have you seen L30?”
That’s Mobius’ voice.
“No, sir.”
Loki takes in a sharp breath and The Variant gives a sly smile. “I know how you look at him,” he scoffs. “He brings a god to their knees. Impressive. Always has been.” He ogles at them and licks his lips in the exact way Mobius does. Or, it just looks similar. It sickens them. It is as if there are two people at the same time in front of them.
Loki gives them a baffled look, at a total loss in following the conversation. God? Since when do TVA people hold any reverence for ‘gods’ or Asgardians as gods?
As the footsteps draw closer, He steps even closer and whispers, “They need us.”
we need us
Then he steps back and Loki lets out the breath they have been holding in, their head throbbing. They clutch their head, trying to process the sudden influx of images flashing through their mind.
Loki
It is the voice that always calls them.
Loki.
Loki opens their eyes and immediately screws them shut from the blinding pain in their head.
“Hey, what happened?” It is the soothing voice. Mobius. They remind themself. It is Mobius. They open their eyes slowly. Mobius is looking at them with concern. “Do we need to go to the infirmary? What is wrong?”
“’s fine. Everything is fine.”
Mobius helps them stand up and props them against the bookcase they had just hit their head against. Not that he would know.
“What happened?”
It was only a few days ago they were joking about Mobius being a bad influence and Loki not needing to lie anymore.
As they tighten their hold on Mobius’ hand, they lie with a sickness churning in the pit of their stomach.
“I fell asleep, I think.”
“Asleep?”
“Not had enough food and sleep.”
“Let’s fix that.”
Mobius ushers them out of the Library and in a very long time, Loki feels guilty about lying.
Is Loki delusional? Is this a figment of their imagination? Is it a cruel, elaborate illusion by someone? Which is it?
*
Mobius and Loki are standing outside a tent in Knowhere. B15 and the minutemen are inside. They are investigating the accidental death of a variant and several minutemen.
Mobius is standing with several files in his hand, glancing at Loki every few seconds.
“You stare more when I am like this,” Loki comments unable to help themself.
“Like what?”
“When I am presenting as a woman.” Loki shifts, uncomfortable and regretting immediately for voicing their doubt aloud.
“No. It is always the same. You are just more conscious of it.”
Loki sniffs. “So, you find me attractive in both forms?”
Mobius snorts. “All the time.”
“Really?”
“A hundred percent.”
Loki gives them a curious look. “How’s that possible?”
“Just sometimes…” Mobius huffs and trails off.
“Just complete the damn sentence.”
“Just that sometimes I don’t want to be a gentleman and keep my hands to myself.”
Loki’s eyebrows could climb to their hairline in surprise at the admission.
“You are lucky I am not interested in smiting you.”
Mobius laughs. “Oh, why not?”
“Losing you would be a shame,” Loki answers nonchalantly.
He smiles, happy and Loki feels a fuzziness swarming in their chest.
“Then let’s never do that, shall we?”
B15 bursts out of the tent and glares at them.
“You have exactly one unit.” She tells Mobius who whistles.
“Let’s make the most of it.”
“What is happening?” Loki asks, but instead of replying, Mobius grabs their wrist, shoves all the files to B15, and opens his TempPAD with the now free hand. He taps on the screen thrice and replies,
“Time to not be a gentleman.”
Mobius pulls them through the temporal door into a small bathroom.
“Why are we here? Did you really bring us here because -”
“Yes. Can we get on with it? You heard her. Just one unit we got.”
Loki stares at him alarmed, amused, and aroused.
“You are unbelievable.”
“What? I thought you would be more accepting of this.”
"B15 was right. I am truly corrupting you to my wile ways.”
“Oh shut up.” Mobius pulls them down by the tie, snaking an arm around their waist. “You can’t make me do what I already don’t want to.”
Loki puts their arms around his neck. “Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe for later.” Mobius pecks them on the lips. He hooks a finger on the knot of their hair and gives it a tug unraveling their entire hairdo. “That had been distracting me the entire time.”
“ My hair?”
Mobius kisses them on the throat. “Your neck,” he breathes.
“It took me so long to tie it,” Loki whines and runs their arms along Mobius’ shoulders, feeling the muscles underneath.
“It was just a snap of your magic.”
Loki breathes heavily, tipping their head back as Mobius continues to kiss their exposed throat, earlobe, and the skin behind their ears.
“Where did you even learn how to do it?” They ask refusing to lose their train of thought.
“What do you mean? I have always done that.”
Mobius squeezes them on the thigh and Loki jumps upon him, wrapping their legs around him. They stumble backwards and crash into the wall. Even though they hit with a force, Mobius doesn’t let go.
He instead nestles his face into their breasts murmuring, “Times like these, you are really a god.”
Loki groans, losing all train of thought.
*
Mobius is at his desk going through his paperwork when he notices a very thin file in the pile of folders. He pulls it out, curious. It has but just one piece of paper with a tiny note stuck on it. The instruction says he needs to sign and that’s it.
If Mobius’ heart worked like others then it would have stopped. It is a document that lists Commander C-20’s ‘status’ as deceased. The last time Mobius had seen her was when he had brought her back from where they had found her in 2055. She had been uninjured but delirious repeating over and over again that Sylvie isn’t lying, Loki is the key, and that she had seen the truth. She never explained. Or, perhaps, hadn’t been given the chance to explain. C-20 had been transferred to a different department and no one heard a word from her again.
Now Mobius has to officially sign off her ‘death certificate’ and end her existence in TVA. After all, once deceased one’s presence is erased in the TVA.
He doesn’t want to sign. They should have been allowed to talk to her. Mobius knows that the cause of her death is not ‘on-site accident- Variant Loki’ but TVA however, he has no way of proving this.
There is a sense of guilt that gnaws at him. He should have asked her. He should have been able to save her. Did they prune her immediately after? Did they interrogate her? Torture her?
What was the truth she had seen?
How many of Mobius’ colleagues had been pruned or reset this way just because he and everyone else had been complacent?
It feels like he has been rudely awakened from a deep slumber. Only he wishes it was actually sleep and not blissful ignorance.
He gets up from his seat and wanders out of his cubicle, dazed. Loki had asked him many times why he trusted TVA.
Did they really kill C-20 because she was 'compromised'? What does this 'compromised' mean in this case? Is it because she learned some truth about the TVA they don't want the others to know?
He walks aimlessly out of his department, a nagging suspicion somewhere at the back of his mind.
*
Loki takes a detour on the way to their quarter. The view of TVA from their ‘favourite’ corridor is the best and they usually stop by there for a calm reprieve. They are surprised to see Mobius on the bench a few feet away. He doesn’t look up hearing their footfalls.
Not till they are standing right next to him.
“Is there any reason you’re so preoccupied?”
Mobius looks at them and smiles. “What makes you think I am preoccupied?”
“I could sneak up on you and attack you.”
“Would you?”
Loki sits down to his left.
They begin hesitatingly, “If something is… bothering you, you could share.” They rub their hands together, awkward. “With me. If you wanted to.”
Mobius sighs and looks at them. “Nothing is -”
“Before you lie to me, remember who I am.”
“God of Mischief?”
“Yes, but-”
“Tiny Frost.”
“You’re deviating from the point.”
“Pampered Prince?”
“Now that’s just -”
“Pussycat.”
“Okay, that’s enough.”
Mobius raises his hand and Loki tries to suppress the flinch. He frowns and puts his hand on their shoulder. “I am okay. I really am. Just tired from some work.” Mobius looks away before he completes the sentence. “Just … dealing with some work.”
Not a lie. Not a complete lie.
Loki doesn’t know how they will deal with it if Mobius starts lying to them.
“Is there …. anyway in which I- it can be made better?” Loki feels guilty although they have no idea what has happened.
“It’s too late.”
Loki misses the warmth of his touch.
Mobius has always - since they met - tried to help Loki. In fact, he has gone out of his way to make things easier. Loki wants to be able to help them too; show that this relationship of theirs didn’t have to be one-sided. Seeing him distraught is unsettling.
Mobius clears his throat loudly and says cheerfully, “I was thinking …”
“You’re not being very subtle with this topic change.”
“It’s not meant to be. I am not trying to hide anything from you.”
“Okay.”
“Just …” Mobius flails their hands around at a loss for a description of his emotions.
“This once I will let it go.” Loki shifts on the bench. “What is that you were thinking?”
“Errr … right. What would you call someone like … us in Asgard?”
“Like us,” Loki echoes.
“You know…” Mobius points at both of them. “Us. You are a Prince. Would I also be honored with the title of Prince?”
“What?” Loki is taken aback. “Unless you have been secretly a royalty all this time then no, no you won’t be bestowed with Prince. Or, any title. In what context?”
“Really?” Mobius glances at them, surprised. “And here I thought I was going to get something out of it.”
Loki narrows their eyes at him, contemplative, and says haltingly, “Perhaps… a Royalty bedfellow.”
Mobius splutters, affronted. “Bedfellow? No, what the hell is that!”
“A consort then?” Loki offers, confused.
“Consort? No way. Boyfriend is better.”
“Boyf- No.” Loki makes a face. “That is childish. You’re too old for that.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Not to mention, very Midgardian and not fit for a Prince’s partner. If you are of another noble house or kingdom, then you can be a Prince or a Princess otherwise, no.”
“Not even if I was your husband? I would still not get one?” Mobius genuinely looks curious. Loki smiles, amused.
“Are you really talking about marriage?”
Mobius shrugs. “Just good to know.”
“Didn’t those files of mine teach you this?” Loki teases him and Mobius stares at them, biting his lower lip, restrained delectation for the person opposite to him reflected on his face.
“I was trying to learn about your history, not Asgard’s monarchy.”
“Right. Well, for most of us, our marriages are alliances. The name is self-explanatory.”
“So they only have to be royalty?”
Loki laughs in disbelief. “Do you- are we really talking about marriage here?”
“I’m just curious. I like to know.”
“Ouch, and here I was thinking you were asking for my hand in marriage.”
Mobius raises his hand again towards Loki’s face but drops it abruptly.
A TVA clerk holding several files passes by without a second’s glance at them.
Mobius looks away. “Well… I’m a TVA employee.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What future do I, a mere analyst from TVA have with the Prince of Asgard?” He says, self-deprecatingly.
“You are hypocritical, you know.”
“I am?” Mobius raises an eyebrow, mirth dancing in his eyes. Who the target is of the mocking is unclear.
“Yes. You do not rest till you find out what might the issue be with me if there is any and yet, look at you now! You don’t allow the same for you.”
“Because it’s my job.”
“I am your job?”
“Not… I don’t mean it like that. I am sorry.” He whispers. “I am tired. Sorry.”
“What’s wrong, Mobius?” Loki asks softly, a discomfort rearing its head in their chest.
“You could ask something else.”
Loki is disappointed at the constant snub. They rub their hands together hard. “You are cruel.”
Mobius puts his left hand on theirs and stops the wringing.
“I don’t mean to be.”
“It feels like rejection.”
“it’s not about you, Loki” Mobius starts to draw their hand away but Loki holds it tighter.
“It never is and somehow ….”
“Somehow what?”
They fall into silence for some time.
“Can I ask you something?” Loki asks.
“Okay?”
“Did … my brother become the king Allfather saw as his destiny? That much you can tell me, right?”
Mobius nods. The tension his body loses at the question doesn’t go unnoticed by Loki. “Yes. He does. I don’t know what your father saw as his future but … he is beloved by your people.”
Sounded like Thor, it did.
“The Aesir always loved him anyway.” Then they tack on quickly, “It is good to hear regardless.”
Mobius looks at them with a questioning gaze. “You never asked to go visit New Asgard.”
“Should I have?”
“Just thought something you’d want to do.”
“Can I even go?”
“No.”
“Thought so,” Loki says with resignation. “Besides, trying to insert me into a story where I don’t belong … I don’t think I will survive that disgrace a second time.”
Mobius pats their joined hands and then absentmindedly continues to caress it.
As a new pair of footsteps are heard, Mobius pulls away from them and slides an inch or two on the bench from them.
Loki doesn’t wait for the TVA employee to be out of earshot before they say petulantly,
“All those talks of marriage and yet you are running away as soon as somebody else arrives.”
“I’m not running away.”
“You should stand by your words. Be an honorable man. My mother would never allow me to be associated with any suitor who would dishonor me like that!”
“How am I dishonoring you?” Mobius asks perplexed.
“There are certain rules to a courtship. Trying to hide from other people who you are courting isn’t one.”
Mobius turns towards them, reducing the gap between them. “Tell me then, what are the rules you gods follow. A mere being like me would never know.” He sighs as if burdened with the thought of it and continues, “I dunno. Is a person like me even qualified to be with someone like your Highness? A Prince of Asgard. Of the Heaven’s. I am just a-”
“Oh shut it. Now you are full of ‘bullshit.’”
Mobius finally smiles and flicks him lightly on the mouth. Loki blinks.
Same face, same action but two very different people. Mobius looks very much like Roosevelt at the moment and not.
“What?”
Loki looks down. There are a lot of questions but they do know one thing.
With both their hands, they hold Mobius’ right hand and slowly lift it towards their mouth.
“I haven’t officially courted anyone since I came off age. Either Thor chased them away or they never… or, they were not requited. But mostly, they weren’t … real.” Mobius watches them with rapt attention. “You may be a mere TVA analyst or even a Midgardian -”
Mobius scowls. “I am not.”
“If I still had a future,” Loki continues unperturbed, “if my mother was here, I would introduce you to her.”
Loki had thought in sharing the truth they would become vulnerable but it only makes them feel stronger. Better.
Mobius smiles, the corner of their eyes wrinkling. “Thank you. I would have been happy to meet her.”
Loki kisses the back of his hand gently. “I don’t know what future has in store for us but …” Their chest hurts, making it difficult to breathe. Everything Loki has ever wanted only been snatched away from them. “I will fight for you. And, me. Till my dying breath.”
That is all their life has been about. Fighting for acceptance, validation, and now freedom. And, maybe, love.
Maybe.
They fear giving it a voice.
“Hey,” Mobius whispers placing his other hand on Loki’s neck and makes them touch their foreheads together. “Whatever time we have right now … and whatever we may be, I am blessed to have it.”
Loki takes in a shuddering breath, emotions overwhelming them.
What have they done to deserve this man?
“Can I kiss you?”
Loki smiles. “Yes, you may.”
It is a chaste kiss that has all the warmth and adoration Mobius looks at them with. It is short because within these walls this is what they can get away with.
“I should go back to my room,” Mobius says groaning and stands up.
“...”
“It is getting late.”
“...”
“What?”
“Won’t you ask me to go back with you to your quarters?” Loki asks annoyed.
“Is such a thought appropriate for a prince? Odin’s youngest child?” He jokes.
Loki glowers. “I am not a Prince here, am I?”
Mobius beams at that. “You’re not.”
He holds out his hand for Loki who grabs it with too much force intending to cause pain. In retaliation, Mobius pulls them forward roughly and Loki stumbles. Mobius, of course, wraps his hand around Loki’s waist to stabilize them.
Their joined hands are pressed between their chests. Mobius smiles at Loki.
“You’re too tall.”
“You are too short.”
“You’re childish.”
“You are.”
“...”
“...”
Mobius with the hand around the waist pulls Loki even closer.
“Someone will walk in!” Loki protests.
“I know.”
“You cannot be so blase about it.”
“I can.”
Loki tries to pull the hand off their waist. “Mobius!”
“You’re no fun.”
“And you are mad. We are right in the middle of the corridor. Guards will be around the corner. It’s their shift change.”
Mobius huffs, displeased. “Alright.” He lets go of Loki.
“Sometimes you’re even more reckless than I am!”
“...”
They start walking towards the wing that houses the employee’s flats.
“You can be unpredictable, Mr. Analyst.”
“Why do you even know it’s the guard’s shift changing time?”
“I am not stupid. I am observant.”
“Right.”
“I am always right.”
“No. You were wrong earlier.”
“About what?”
“You said earlier that I was too old to be called boyfriend.” Loki wrinkles their nose on cue. “Did you mean that you’re not too old for that?”
“What does it matter? Old is old.”
“Yes or no.”
“I suppose, it would … suit me better.”
“See,” Mobius begins delighted as they turn around the corner and begin to take the stairs exiting the wing, “that’s where you’re wrong.”
“Don’t say you are younger than I am.”
“I am.”
“You said you have lived centuries.”
“I have and so have you.”
“But… you look like this!”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“Oh, this is too much.”
“I thought you were digging this look.”
“I cannot believe this.”
They continue to bicker all the way to Mobius’ quarters poking fun at each other.
*
It is only when Loki is beginning to drift off to sleep that Mobius confesses he has always looked this way. It wasn’t his choice. He is just a clone.
*
Mobius finds B15 in one of the Time Theaters.
It says ‘End of the File’ on the screen.
Mobius slowly approaches her.
“Can I sit here?”
She is gazing at the screen but her eyes seem lost.
“You can do whatever you like."
Mobius takes the seat opposite her.
They both stare at the screen in silence.
“Why are you here, Agent?” B15 asks, sighing. “ How can I help you?”
“I don’t need help.”
“You look like you do.”
Mobius laughs halfheartedly. “Maybe.”
“Your boy giving you trouble?”
“Wh- No. Not Loki.”
“I dunno what I could help you with.”
“Why do you think I am looking for help?”
“You came looking for me.”
“Maybe I just saw and decided to stop by.”
“You can see through doors now?”
“Right. No, it’s not help. D-”
“Is this about C20?” Mobius presses his lips together in consternation. She snorts at his silence. “Did you sign on the document?”
“Yes.”
“What was the cause of her death?”
“Loki Variant.”
She glances at him and they stare at each other in silence acknowledging the unsaid.
It is a lie but they cannot say it aloud with the TVA walls surrounding them.
“When and where?”
“Every other information was redacted.”
“And you signed off on this?”
“Yes.”
She sighs wearily and looks back at the screen.
They sit like that for the longest time till B15 breaks the silence.
“I understand his rage now.”
“About?”
“It used to make me wonder sometimes meeting all his variants. Why so much rage, why so much chaos on discovering his father had hidden the truth about his nature. His true existence.”
“You do?” Mobius asks unclear.
“Questioning, doubting the person who you were taught and meant to trust fills one with rage.”
“Y-”
“What is a man of faith when he no longer has any?”
“Some may consider it to be blasphemous.”
B15 smirks. “Ignorance is bliss,” she says cryptically and puts on her helmet. “Later, W681118.”
*
“Would you really introduce me to your mother?” Mobius asks.
“Getting sentimental now, are we?” Loki teases.
“Would you?”
“Yes,”
“But why?”
“What do you mean?”
“I am a TVA-”
“If this is about whether or not you are worthy of a prince-”
“No,” Mobius looks up at Loki, their heads pressed against their respective pillows. Technically, Loki’s is Mobius’. “It is about clouded judgment. Maybe this is wrong.”
Loki gives him a sharp look. “Are you really saying this after what we just shared?” They point at the bunched soiled bedsheet at their feet. “After all that we have been doing.”
“Doesn’t mean it meant anything.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“I was your Supervisor.”
“You are no longer now.”
“No, I am not but I was. You are here because the TVA took you in. Because you are forced to be here. Not because you choose to be.”
“That is correct.”
“Maybe what we have right now is because you have no other choice.”
“No other choice?” Loki repeats. “I know what having no choice feels like. Being under TVA is one of them. Not being in your bed.”
“Maybe you don’t know that. We have an imbalance of power.”
“Now you’re just insulting me.”
“...” Mobius rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and says, “Sorry.” He turns over, his back facing towards Loki. “Sometimes it is just hard to tell right from wrong.”
Loki shifts over to him, slipping their arm under his and around him, their chest pressed against his back. When they talk, Mobius feels their breath against his shoulder.
“You are not the bad guy you think yourself to be. If there’s anyone forcing our hands here, it is not either of us.”
Mobius holds the hand on him and balls them into a fist tightly.
“Why won’t you tell me what is bothering you, Mobius?” Loki whispers. “Do you not trust me?”
Mobius kisses their joined hands. “You’re the only one I am capable of trusting now.”
“Did Renslayer say something?”
“Do you know I have no recollection of my memories in the TVA beyond when I woke up, off-duty all those years ago?”
“I surmised.”
Mobius snuggles back into Loki’s hold and says, “If nothing else in this life matters, still I found you.”
Loki kisses them on the back. “I am thankful that you did.”
*
Loki is pacing up and down the Reading section restless from Mobius’ behavior, their imprisonment, and piling unanswered questions.
As they walk back and forth, they catch the sight of a not-entirely-familiar face on floor TSY of the Archives on the other side.
They hurry over to the other side as fast as they can without arousing suspicion.
As they pass by the section on time-operating devices, a voice says from behind,
“Looking for me?”
Loki turns around.
Not Mobius is lounging against one of the bookcases, arms crossed on his chest.
“Was waiting for you. You’re late.”
“How can I be late to something I hadn’t planned on doing?”
He smirks. “The trick is to find out whether if it really isn’t.”
“I do not appreciate this meaningless circle of words. What is your name?”
“Please. Ask things you don’t know. I don’t have all day.”
“You’re called Mobius?” Loki asks in disbelief.
“Where do you think he gets it?”
“He is a clone. He was given.” Loki retorts.
Not-really-Mobius eyes widen for a fraction of a second before he masks his expression. “I see. Your boyfriend has begun to spill.”
“What do you want from me?”
Variant Mobius stands erect. “Wrong question.”
“Whose variant are you then?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“So your name isn’t Roosevelt?”
“Nah. That’s just Mobius’ - the other guy, not the clone - school.”
“Why does the Sacred Timeline Mobius have a clone?”
“Now you are asking the right questions.”
Variant Mobius starts walking. Loki follows him parallel on the other side of the row.
“When you said the TVA is designed to serve one man’s need, who are we talking about?”
“Good question.”
“So are there no Time Keepers?”
Mobius scowls and Loki almost laughs at that. Then they remind themself it is not their Mobius.
“C’mmon, you’re intelligent. Think.”
“Flattery will not get you anywhere.”
“Clearly it did with his clone.”
“So Mobius is not your clone?”
“...”
“Why was he created?”
“He was made in his image.”
“The Sacred Timeline Mobius’?”
“Perhaps.”
“What purpose does it serve?”
Variant Mobius looks around and waves his hands. “What do you think?”
“Right.”
“He was one of our first clones.”
“Why are you so forthcoming with all this now?”
The Variant leaps over the table and is suddenly next to Loki.
“Sometimes you create something with one intention but then it gets out of your hands and you lose control of the narrative of your own creation.” The golden-blond Mobius says, furtively glancing around. “Sometimes others take charge despite your best efforts. You would do well to remember that. That’s the price of freedom you pay.”
Is he implying he is one of the Time Keepers?!
“Is that figurative or -”
He pulls Loki down by their collar and demands, “Have you asked Mobius why he researched on you so much? Why he has no memory from before?”
“The TVA wiped his memories.”
“He told you that?” Variant Mobius is taken aback.
“I don’t think he knows it.” Loki pushes his hands off their collar. “Do not touch me again. You will do well to remember that.”
“Do you know what happens when someone’s mind is wiped more than once?”
Loki narrows their eyes at him.
“It is difficult for someone like your boyfriend to survive yet another mind wipe.”
Loki’s heart pounds furiously. “How many times?”
“Enough to leave lasting damages.”
Loki takes a step away from him, the need to see Mobius right away rising in them.
“Do you know why your boyfriend loves broken things like you so much? Because he doesn’t know he should lament for himself.”
“I will kill you,” Loki says calmly but is burning with rage within.
“Piece it together. You are a god. You will get to the bottom of this. You are Loki.”
“Leave before I skin you alive,” they warn, their voice lowering dangerously.
“You’re not you, yet, Loki. Not yet. Time is linear but is a construct.”
You’re not you, yet
The variant who had stabbed Loki had said those exact words.
“Who are you talking to?” Casey asks, appearing suddenly behind them.
Loki looks at him. “Can you not tell?”
“I see no one.”
The Asgardian looks back and the Variant is gone.
“Where is Mobius?” They demand instead.
“Down where all the analysts are celebrating in Hall 96.”
“Celebrating? What are they celebrating?”
“Well, you know how everything is here. No one really tells you if you’re not in it.”
Loki rushes out of the Archives running towards 96.
The TVA wiped Mobius’ mind just as they had suspected. They are not taking this alone on one questionable man’s words but what other plausible explanations are there?
TVA wipes their clones’ minds if they are perceived to have been wayward. Mobius is stubborn and not like the average TVA employee who accepts everything unasked.
Mobius woke up one day with a loss of memory but an inherent need to study Loki variants. Why?
Had Mobius known Loki before that? Had they known each other longer than Loki knows?
If TVA is capable of jumping to any point in time, what is to say someone else isn’t capable of doing so too?
What if that someone is aware of how TVA and time here work?
What if someone had gone back in time?
What would have been the purpose?
Loki slows down as the entrance to 96 appears in front of them.
What would have been the purpose of Loki’s own variant staging attacks on the Minutemen to stab Loki instead? To stop after that? Where could they have found Loki’s seax and have no temporal stamp on it but just theirs?
Loki pushes the door open to the hall and searches for the man who had breathed new life into their existence.
On spotting Mobius, Loki walks towards him in long strides.
This one trusting man and Loki’s ire will bring down this organization to its feet someday.
They may not have all the answers to their questions yet but it is beginning to be clear.
It is them in the future. That Loki is this Loki.
Future hooded Loki had stabbed them as some form of a message from the future to themself. Besides, it had removed TVA’s suspicion off them completely. Loki had let Sylvie slip away. TVA wouldn’t have let it slide if Loki had let their main accused variant ‘slip away’ too.
Of course, they hadn’t known this in the past but they do know it in the future.
“Loki,” Mobius mouths, smiling widely.
To Mobius and everyone’s surprise, Loki holds their hands in front of everyone and kisses them.
“This is real.”
Loki whispers into his ears, watching Mobius’ face turn a deep shade of red. They smile satisfied despite the lack of answers and turns to look at the front of the crowd where Judge Renslayer is standing.
Loki knows a thing or two about betrayal and often it wears the face of someone trusted.
They will keep Mobius safe. They will tear this place down one day. They had once just uttered it without a second thought. Now they know that they will.
Loki clutches their hands tighter.
They are not them yet but they will be.