Work Text:
For a long time, alcohol was the only thing that helped Mobius relax. He never drank, except when a day's work had been too hard. The sensation of the sweet burn of alcohol going down his esophagus helped him to forget the difficult moments, the injuries, the loneliness.
But with time and because he didn't like the numbness caused by the alcohol, he replaced it with cigarettes.
He was not a frequent smoker, actually, he very rarely smoked. But something about the warm sting of the smoke in his throat and the rhythm of his slow breathing as he inhaled and exhaled helped him find some relief.
Then he'd quit, relegating the last of his cigarettes and lighter to the back of a drawer. But there were those days, like today, when melancholy filled his chest after a failure, and he would have given anything for a cigarette. He glanced at his desk drawer and quickly turned his head away.
He rubbed his tired face, blinked several times, feeling the exhaustion take over his whole being.
Mobius had no more strength to resist, he opened his drawer and quickly found the package and the lighter at the bottom. He relegated his feelings of guilt to the back of his mind, stood up and dropped into the armchair of his office. He undid his tie and opened the pack of cigarettes. There was only one left.
He took it out, carelessly threw the pack on the floor and lit the cigarette. He inhaled deeply and exhaled, enjoying the euphoria of the smoke burning his throat and the stress he felt coming out of his body as he exhaled.
Suddenly, he heard a sniff and the door to his office closing.
"It smells like cigarettes."
He suddenly saw two arms slide down his chest as Loki kissed the top of his head.
Mobius chuckled softly, "How insightful." then leaned into his lover's warm embrace, suddenly finding more comfort in it than in a puff of cigarette smoke.
"Rough day?" asked Loki softly before leaning in and kissing him gently on the cheek.
"Hmm..." replied Mobius.
He looked down at the cigarette burning between his fingers and realized that he didn't want it at all anymore. The warmth of Loki's arms and kisses, his understanding without him having to say a word about it, gave him all the comfort he needed.
He was about to crush it, when Loki stopped him, "Wait!"
Puzzled, he saw Loki grab the cigarette and bring it to his lip.
"Loki! Since when do you smoke?"
Loki smiled and shook his head, "Oh I don't smoke, well I did during some escapades on Midgard, but not for a long time."
Mobius asked, " Then why now?"
Loki replied with a mischievous smile on his face, "I have every intention of kissing you to take your mind off whatever is bothering you. But I'm not going to kiss you when your breath smells like cigarettes. And I'm not going to wait until we get home. So I'll take a puff or two and we'll be even."
Loki put his money where his mouth was before crushing the cigarette and sitting down on Mobius' lap without waiting.
Then he put his hands around his neck and brought his lips close to Mobius', he couldn't hold back a little nose wrinkle and said, "Damn, it still smells awful."
Mobius chuckled and closed the distance between them as he pressed his lips to Loki's, then he gently pushed him away and said in turn, "I assure you that your breath smells just as bad as mine."
Loki laughed in turn and captured Mobius' lips again. He kissed him again and again, until their mouths tasted just like Mobius and Loki's again. He continued to kiss him until Mobius forgot what made him want to smoke.
And as Mobius let himself go and indulged in his lover's arms, he thought that it just took one person to finally replace a bad habit with a good one.