Work Text:
Serendipity
(n) finding something good without looking for it
1.
When Mobius entered the room, he almost froze. He hadn't expected to see Loki here. He was sure the man had fled. He expected even less to see him undone like this. Sitting on the ground, head in his hands, the tesseract lying beside him. The image of defeat.
He called to him softly, "Loki?" he paused before adding, "Nowhere left to run."
When Loki looked up at him, Mobius saw that there was no trace of the pomp and arrogance he had displayed since his arrival.
Loki looked immensely sad as he replied, "I can't go back, can I? Back to my timeline. I don't enjoy hurting people. I..."
He sighed deeply before continuing, "I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to, because I've had to."
Mobius was taken aback, he hadn't expected Loki to admit this so quickly, after years of believing that this was his destiny, to live by these principles.
He had studied Loki's life so much that he thought he knew him perfectly, but to be around the man was something else.
He wanted to push further, to have Loki explain to him why he thought he had to do this. Loki, who seemed so unashamedly uninhibited, was the last person you'd expect to say that he had to do something he found no pleasure or satisfaction in.
So Mobius asked, "Okay, explain that to me."
Loki didn't even hesitate before answering, as if it were a lesson he'd learned by heart, "Because it's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."
Baffled twice in so short a time, this time by the sadness implied by what Loki had just said, Mobius showed him that he understood, "A desperate play for control. You do know yourself."
Loki looked even more defeated if that were possible, and replied with a sigh, "A villain."
Mobius was quick to correct him, because he couldn't let Loki believe for a moment that Mobius thought of him as such.
He replied softly, but firmly, "That's not how I see it."
Loki looked at him strangely before grabbing the tesseract and playing with it, as if to divert his attention, not to dwell on what Mobius had just said.
Mobius did not insist, he would have enough time to convince Loki of his true value.
2.
Mobius stopped in the doorway where the desks were located, his gaze fixed on his own desk.
When he had assigned Loki the task of learning the laws and functioning of the TVA, he had not expected Loki to take it seriously. This is why he was more than surprised by the scene that was unfolding before his eyes.
Loki, with his feet up on his desk, was flipping through a magazine. At first sight, with the casual and indifferent air that characterized him, one could say that he did not take his task seriously at all.
However, if you listened closely, you could tell that he had done his assignments in some way.
Miss Minutes called out to him, "Okay, y'all, let's review what we've learned. What happens when a nexus event branches past red line?"
Loki, not looking up from his "reading" replied in a dull tone, "Very bad things."
Apparently well versed in Loki's antics, the little animated clock replied, "Come on, Loki. What is it?"
Loki sighed and recited, "It's when the TVA can no longer reset a nexus event. Okay? Boring."
Mobius, couldn't help but smile fondly. Although Loki hid it under layers of arrogance and condescension, at no time had Mobius doubted his extreme intelligence. So yes, learning lessons like that must have been beyond boring, but yet again to Mobius' amazement, he had complied.
Miss Minutes resumed her lesson in her school teacher tone, "Right. And that would lead to the destruction of the timeline and the collapse of reality as we know it."
Now Loki had that gleam in his eye, as if he were planning a dirty trick. Mobius waited, sure that Loki would not try anything rash.
Loki addressed Miss Minutes with a charming smile, "Can you hear me? Are you a recording? Or are you alive?"
The bastard, the smile on his lips widening, rolled the magazine as the clock answered, "Uh, sorta both."
"Ah..."
Loki looked over his shoulder, Mobius stepped back a little to get out of his line of sight.
Then Loki tried to swat the clock several times. Miss Minutes tried to avoid his blows while cursing the god of mischief, before resuming her place in the monitor and calling him a jerk.
Mobius put his fist in his mouth to stifle his laughter. There was something refreshing about Loki's childish behavior, it seemed his variant couldn't help but distill a little chaos wherever he went.
Wait, since when was he HIS variant? Where did that possessive feeling come from?
Mobius put aside this disturbing question and thought to himself that there was something rather charming about this sort of chaos.
Yes, his variant never ceased to amaze him.
3.
Mobius was pissed.
Loki had behaved exactly like the Loki he had studied all those years. Not like the Loki who had started to charm him. But like the persona he was portraying.
Mobius knew that he was not rational. What had hurt him, what had frustrated him, was not the fact that Loki was like this, not even the fact that he had tried to manipulate him. After all, he knew that it would be a long way until Loki understood that he didn't have to play this game. That he was brilliant without the tricks.
What annoyed Mobius was the fact that Loki felt compelled to be that way with him.
He felt that Loki had taken something away from him. As if he wanted to make Mobius forget that he had let his guard down in front of him the other day, that he had shown himself vulnerable.
Then Mobius had had words that went beyond his thoughts, or rather he had been harsh in the way he said them. When he had called Loki a scared child. From the way Loki reacted, he could clearly tell that it had been a low blow. So when the god had tried to wrap it all up in a stream of words, Mobius had been unable to resist and had shut his mouth with a kiss.
And even if the parenthesis had been pleasant, much more than that if Mobius was honest with himself, even if he had let Loki know that it was more than a way to shut him up, the bitterness of the failed mission and of Loki's attempt to manipulate him was still vivid.
Thus it was with a dry tone that he addressed Loki by showing him a desk covered with piles of folders, "I need you to go over each and every one of the Variant's case files, and then, give me your... How do I put it? Your unique Loki perspective."
He couldn't help but provoke the man, still annoyed by his behavior, "And who knows? Maybe there's something that we missed."
He didn't see Loki's reaction, but he could tell by his tone that he had hit the nail on the head, "Well, you're idiots. I suspect you probably missed a lot."
They were back to sarcasm, all right. Mobius knew how to play that game too.
"That's why I'm lucky I got you for a little bit longer. Let me park you at this desk. And don't be afraid to really lean into this work. Here's a good trick for you. Pretend your life depends on it. I'm gonna get a snack."
Mobius turned around and walked away with a step that betrayed his anger. He didn't look back until he was standing in the doorway and sure that Loki wouldn't see him.
Just as he expected Loki to leave or find a way not to do what he had asked, he saw him sit down, pick up the first stack of folders and start flipping through them, seriously.
Mobius felt that particular pang in his heart again.
Every time he thought he knew how he was going to react, every time Loki surprised him.
He looked at him for a few more moments and then headed for the cafeteria. Perhaps a few moments alone would allow him to see things more clearly.
4.
They returned from their trip back in time to Pompeii, thrilled and enthusiastic about their discoveries.
Mobius was elated at the idea of having made a huge step forward in the investigation that had been holding him back for years.
They headed to the archives, chatting animatedly.
"Doomsdays. The Variant's been ambushing our soldiers and hiding out in doomsdays to cover his tracks."
Mobius couldn't help but be charmed by the slight arrogance in Loki's voice as he replied, "You're welcome."
Mobius had been right to follow his instincts and ultimately trust Loki. Besides, he hadn't had this much fun in years.
Because even if he had to keep a certain seriousness because they had played with time, to see Loki declaiming Latin while he was freeing goats in front of a volcano that would soon erupt, it had been funny.
He couldn't help but smile when he replied, "Yeah. But in order for this theory to hold, the disasters have to be naturally-occurring, sudden, no warning, no survivors."
Loki, without breaking his own smile, asked more seriously, "How many of those disasters could there possibly be?"
"I don't know. We're gonna find out."
A few hours later, sitting at the archive offices, they still hadn't found anything.
Looking up from his file, Mobius couldn't hold back a yawn.
That's when he realized that Loki was sleeping. He wasn't dozing, he was sleeping deeply. His head was resting on his crossed arms.
Looking at him, Mobius realized what a precious gift Loki was giving him at that moment, even if he didn't realize it. To sleep in front of someone you hardly knew. How much trust did that require?
Mobius thought to himself that this was the first time he had ever seen him like this, with a relaxed face.
Mobius had it bad. It hadn't taken more than a few days for the arrogant god to work his way into his heart.
He didn't know what tomorrow would be like, or even the next few hours, but before he woke him up, Mobius told himself that he would do everything in his power to preserve the trust that Loki seemed to have in him.
Whatever it takes.
He leaned forward, and with the tip of a file although he was burning to touch it directly, he gently woke the sleeping man.
5.
After waking him up, Mobius thought they needed to clear their heads before resuming their research.
He led Loki into the empty cafeteria.
Later, sitting in front of their coffees, Loki broke the silence, "By the way, at your desk, that magazine?"
Of all the questions the man could have asked, he chose that one. It seemed that Loki was not done baffling him.
A little cautious, because he didn't know what Loki was getting at, Mobius replied, "Yeah. The one on jet skis?"
Loki nodded before asking, looking genuinely interested, "Why do you have that?"
Mobius, replied enthusiastically, "Because they're awesome."
Loki laughed, his tone devoid of mockery, "I suppose they are."
"Yeah. You know, some things... Actually, most things in history are kinda dumb, and everything gets ruined eventually. But in the early 1990s, for a brief, shining moment, there was a beautiful union of form and function, which we call the jet ski, and a reasonable man cannot differ."
Still genuinely curious, Loki continued, "You ever been on one?"
"No... No. I think a TVA agent showing up on a jet ski on the Sacred Timeline, that would create a branch for sure."
With a strange gleam in his eye that Mobius couldn't quite decipher, Loki replied in a surprisingly gentle tone, "It'd be fun, though."
Mobius couldn't help the longing coloring his voice as he replied, "Yeah, it'd be really fun."
He was taken aback once again. Loki was looking at him with a slight smile devoid of any sarcasm once again with that strange glint in his eye, which looked very much like fondness but which Mobius refused to name.
+1
They were back in the archives, and thanks to their discussion, Mobius had been able to put his finger on a detail. A simple candy bar was the key to finding their culprit.
They were going to be able to narrow down their search. He explained to Loki, "Okay. Kablooie was only sold regionally on Earth from 2047 to 2051. All you gotta do is cross-reference that with every apocalyptic event. I'm gonna give you half. And let's make it a competition, see who finds it."
Loki's eyes lit up with interest as he replied, "Sure."
Mobius, playful, challenged him gently, "You wanna bet something?"
"Yeah."
"Gentleman's bet. Yeah, let's play for pride. Okay. May the best man win. Go."
Loki's eyes shone even brighter as he began to go through all the files. It took Mobius a few seconds to get into it, lost in his stare.
After a few minutes of silence, he asked, "Anything?"
Loki concentrated, didn't even look up and listed all the events that didn't match so far when suddenly Loki simply said, "Got him. That's where he is."
Mobius looked up at Loki who showed him a file on a hurricane in Haven Hills, Alabama in 2050.
At that moment, Mobius realized he didn't know what made him more delighted, the fact that they had a result or Loki's proud smile.
He almost looked like a child, proud to have accomplished what was asked of him and waiting for a reward.
Mobius leaned forward and said softly, "You're gonna take my job if I'm not careful."
Loki's delighted look, his smile and his eyes wide with surprise at being complimented, were a sight to behold
They hurriedly got up to meet Ravonna.
As they walked through the archive room, they passed through a deserted, dimly lit aisle of shelves. Mobius stopped and turned around abruptly.
As Loki followed closely behind, he found himself literally face to face with him and their noses almost touched.
There was only one clear thought in Mobius' mind at this point, God, I want to kiss him .
With all the audacity of an idiot who doesn't really think about the consequences before acting, he pulled Loki forward by the tie and closed the gap between them.
Loki did not let himself be destabilized for long and answered Mobius' kiss with the same level of enthusiasm. God he was a damn good kisser.
Mobius didn't have much time to concentrate on Loki's kissing skills because the god just pushed him against one of the shelves. He let go of Loki's tie, moving to slip his hands over his shoulders. Loki chose this moment to deepen the kiss and Mobius responded by digging his fingers into Loki's shoulders.
Then Loki pulled back, eyes wide and breathless. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it. This made Mobius want to laugh. Had he really rendered Loki speechless once again?
Loki inhaled sharply and said in a defiant, but clearly uncertain tone to Mobius, "And that kiss, was that to shut me up too?"
If it was going to lead to anything, Mobius decided not to use double talk, Loki deserved the unvarnished truth.
He tucked one of the man's long black locks back behind his ear and let his hand linger on Loki's cheek. He said softly, as openly as possible, "I kissed you for two reasons. The first because I am very proud of you and-" Mobius had to pause, because Loki's baffled expression added to the slight blush on his cheeks in reaction to the praise, were too adorable. Then he continued,"and the second reason is because ever since our first kiss in the elevator, I've had only one urge, to kiss you again."
For a long moment, unbearably tense, Loki continued to stare at him while biting his lower lip. Then he pulled Mobius towards him, his mouth half-open as he slid his hands behind his neck. Mobius, pleased with his reaction, pulled Loki even closer, burying his hands in the long black hair. Loki moaned in response and deepened the kiss.
A few moments later, they separated to catch their breath.
They remained embraced, forehead to forehead.
Mobius spoke with difficulty, still out of breath, "Later," he said, "We'll continue this later, I promise. We'll have to talk. But we really don't have time right now."
Loki nodded, and placed one last kiss on Mobius' lips before they parted, their reluctance more than obvious.
Seeing the uncertainty return to Loki's gaze, Mobius took his chin and said firmly with his eyes in his head, "Loki, I'm serious, we really will continue later. I swear I'm not playing, okay?"
Loki scrutinized him for a few seconds before nodding again and answering with that familiar mischievous grin, « Ok, let's go catch whoever thinks they are me."
Then he pushed Mobius forward and they went on their way.
Mobius felt Loki's gaze on his back the whole way and wished that later would come very soon.