Chapter Text
Loki remembered the fear that crept in like ice following his nightmare, and he remembered how Mobius melted it away with his gentle embrace and soothing words. Mobius was so patient and kind it was...unhinging, strange. Loki hadn't expected such kindness from a stranger, but then again Mobius wasn't a stranger, not anymore.
Loki groaned softly, his nose pressed against a soft, warm fabric. That was beating, a gentle and rhymic sound that almost coaxed him back to sleep. Loki opened his eyes and suppressed a gasp when he saw the origins of the beating. Mobius was asleep on his chest, eyes closed and long lashes fluttering. He looked so much younger like this, with all of the worries of the world forgotten. The pressures of everyday life melted away when sleep took over and now Mobius was here, absent from this reality into a pleasant scene of his own waking. His lips twitched upward slightly and Loki wondered what he was dreaming about. He hardly knew anything about the officer other than that he was young and derisive and clever. There was a sort of southerness that also shaped his personality.
Everything about him was so different from everything Loki had ever known. He was definitely a country-boy, and all of Loki's friends)if he could call them that) were very city-like. Trends and fashion were a big thing and even wearing the wrong type of pants was considered a sin. He was someone he didn't even recognize, someone who liked vinyl records and cafes where the drinks were $26 dollars. His life before the night that had changed everything was very trivial, very material-focused.
And now he was here with a guy who owned 3 shirts and one type of pants and there wasn't anything around here for miles except forest.
It's not like Loki wasn't himself before he came to Virginia, but he felt like he hadn't been all of himself, as if a part of him was missing and hidden. That was partly because all of his life had been spent in the limelight, pestered with questions from reporters, followed by paparazzi wanting to take a quick shot of his personal life. He hadn't really had a personal life when he lived in L.A.
He was the prince of L.A. and his father's greatest failure, which made for an even greater story.
They wanted him to keep busy, and busy he was. There was about a scandal in the paper every week and he'd expect to make the front page at least once a month. Busy, busy, busy.
He couldn't remember the last morning he hadn't gotten up for a run and then buy some overpriced kale smoothie. It was nice, peaceful here.
The sun peered in through the swaying curtains and flooded onto the carpet, lighting up the living room.
Loki watched Mobius breathe in and out slowly. It was a perfect little moment that Loki felt like he shouldn't be a part of, as if he'd stolen it.
The urge to reach up and brush strands of hair out of his eyes was too strong and so he did. His hair was as soft as it looked and Loki giggled softly.
✦☂︎✦☂︎✦☂︎✦
Mobius shifted, flipping over. He rolled and tumbled to the living room floor which was an abrupt way to start the morning, but not unusual for him. Why was he sleeping on the couch? He opened his eyes and indeed he was laying on the living room floor. The smell of bacon registered only a moment later, along with the distant sizzling of a pan.
"Good morning, Mobius."
He flipped so he was lying on his back and saw Loki standing over him, leaning down with a smile on his face.
"I made breakfast."
"You did, did you?" Mobius' voice was deep and scratchy and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Is there coffee?"
"Depends on if you get up fast enough to drink it," Loki smirked, walking back to the kitchen to handle the rest of breakfast.
Breakfast ended up being pancakes, bacon, and coffee as Loki promised. Mobius couldn't say he wasn't surprised when he saw it all set up on that little table.
"Where'd you learn to cook like that?" Mobius asked before shoving another syrupy pancake into his mouth.
"I spent a lot of time home alone, so I took up a little hobby. Pancakes were a personal favorite of mine."
It was then that Mobius noticed that Loki didn't eat much, other than two strips of bacon and maybe half a pancake with a dollop of syrup. The other half was still untouched on his plate, sitting there as if it too had given up on the prospect of being eaten.
"Was?"
"Yeah, I don't eat much of that anymore," Loki looked down for a second.
Mobius didn't say anything about that and only continued eating. The pancakes were so good and he was so hungry that he almost forgot his manners. "Well, this is delicious."
"I'm glad you like it," Loki smiled, already starting to clear off the table. "Unfortunately, you can't just survive off of coffee and yogurt, Mobius."
"Hey! I've been surviving just fine, thank you very much."
Loki looked back at him with a particular glint in his eyes. "Not anymore."
✦☂︎✦☂︎✦☂︎✦
"This really is the middle of nowhere," Thor complained as they drove on the endless road in the middle of nothing. They'd rented some cheap car, full knowing that if they'd tried to bring their own car out here it'd get ruined on the road. Sylvie was the one behind the wheel, focused on the path unfolding ahead.
Even though it felt like ages since they'd been driving, it'd only been 30 minutes after getting off their flight to Richmond.
"We're almost there," Sylvie said after a moment. "We're close. Harpersburg is only 15 minutes away."
"Good, I've been craving a gas station slushie."
Sylvie cast him a look like 'why are you like this' but in all honesty, she was craving one too.
They'd be there soon.