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Chapter Text

When the world gets too heavy, put it on my back,

I will be your levy,

You are taking me apart, like bad glue,

On a get well card

Loki could barely stumble through the next Timedoor, holding a hand against his ribs, where he had been hit by the sharp end of a Time Stick. 

At the very least, he had to be grateful to have been struck by the sharp end, and not the other. Still, it was uncomfortable, and combined with all the other various injuries he'd managed to sustain, it likely wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. 

He'd been through countless versions of this entrance. As he stepped through the door and it phased shut behind him, walking stiffly out into another perfect copy of the Time Variance Authority that he had hated so much, but yet was desperate to find again now. 

He didn't think he could manage another fight. Physically, he could probably force himself to survive. The first TVA, the variant Mobius and B-15 had been friendly. They'd believed he was an analyst, like Mobius, and had never worried that he might be a variant himself. After some convincing, they'd handed him a TemPad, and before he had left, he'd grabbed a Time Stick of his own, so that he wouldn't be without a weapon. It had been too close a call during the audience with the Time Keepers, when he'd tried to fight off Minutemen with nothing but his bare hands. 

B-15 couldn't bother to find the daggers she'd taken from him, but she'd brought Sylvie her -

Loki didn't want to think about Sylvie. She was beside the point. The point was that physically, he knew he could keep winning fights. He had never been the best fighter on Asgard, but he could hold his own against Minutemen. 

The problem was, physical fighting wasn't what was putting a toll on him. He was exhausted. He was reeling from what had happened in the Citadel. 

All he had learned, all he had seen, all that had happened. 

He didn't know if he had it in him to face one more betrayal. It wasn't real, they didn't know him in those realities, but in the first few TVAs he had tried, he had run for Mobius as fast as he could. 

It was lucky for Loki that the analyst was not a skilled combatant in any reality. 

What wasn't lucky was that after the fight in the Citadel, Loki couldn't make himself raise a weapon against another person he considered a friend, much less actually injure any version of Mobius. Activating the Time Stick and pruning Mobius was utterly unthinkable. 

And the whole while he faced TVA after TVA, the true threat had loomed over him. Sometimes in the statues and imagery, sometimes it was back to the stupid space lizards, but Loki always knew it was there. 

The true threat was He Who Remains. Loki could have sworn he had seen that very man, or some version of him, a couple of times while he fought or ran to escape another wrong TVA. 

He saw a flash of movement from the corner of his eye, and for about the millionth time that… day? Week? He didn't know how long he had been searching for the former Sacred Timeline's TVA, and it was impossible to gauge from a world that existed entirely outside of time, anyways, he cursed the fact that there was no magic in the TVA. He whirled around to face the unwelcome host, immediately recognising her to be Hunter B-15. He pointed the Time Stick at her, taking a defensive stance. His right knee threatened to buckle under him, and he cursed the Minuteman about six realities ago who had forgone honour and tried to sweep his leg. Loki had kept his feet, but now, aggravated and bruised, the joint was giving him trouble. 

"Hey now, Loki, stay calm," B-15 said, reaching for something at her belt. 

It should have been enough that she recognised him, but it wasn't. Loki had faced this same situation and come face to face in combat with this very hunter too many times for him to simply trust her. 

"Keep your hands up!" He ordered. She gazed at him, clearly concerned. 

"I'm just gonna call Mobius -"

"So you can get the jump on me? No. If you know where Mobius is, take me to him."

B-15 contemplated that. "Fine."

She moved to take the lead, and Loki took a step back at the same time. "Time Collar and Time Stick. Hand them over."

"Are you nuts?" 

"Hand them over!" 

"I'm not giving you my weapons. You drop yours, and I'll drop mine."

Loki didn't say anything. He kept the sharp edge of the stick level and pointed at B-15. 

"What is going on here?" 

He heard the voice behind him and immediately took a step back so he could get both the hunter and the newcomer in his peripheral vision. A hot lump formed in his throat, maybe fear, maybe hope, when he saw the second person approach him. 

He didn't carry a Time Stick. In his hands were a TemPad and a collection of TVA files. His tan suit was creased and wrinkled, as though he had not changed it in several days, his silver-grey hair was similarly mussed. "Loki! Why are you threatening B-15?" Mobius demanded. 

"He's acting real paranoid, Mobius, maybe you should stay away," B-15 warned. Mobius completely ignored her, taking a few more steps towards Loki, shortening the gap between them to an unbearable, unacceptable limit. Loki readjusted his stance, keeping the blade of the Time Stick between himself and Mobius, trying not to let his hands shake so badly that the agent would be able to tell he would never manage to use the weapon against him. 

"What's going on, Loki, tell me what's wrong," Mobius said, keeping his voice calm and even, like he was speaking to a frightened animal. "We've been searching for you since I got back from the Void, where have you been?"

"Don't come any closer," Loki warned. 

"Alright, I won't. Tell me what's going on, Loki."

"What Timeloop did you put me in, Mobius?" Loki demanded. 

"I don't see how that's important now, Loki -"

"Tell me!"

Mobius sighed. "I stuck you in with Lady Sif, after you cut off her hair. She slapped you in the face, insulted you, kneed you in the groin and then punched you. Might have been a bit overkill on my part, probably could have found you a bad memory with less -"

"And what did you call me, before you threw me in there?" Loki asked, cutting him off. "What sort of a folksy, dopey insult did you come up with?"

Mobius frowned. "I didn't come up with anything, I just called you an asshole and a bad friend. Will you explain to me what is going on?"

"One last question," Loki forced himself to say, even though he wanted to accept Mobius as the real Mobius already, but he needed to make sure. "What are you going to do to the TVA?"

"Burn it to the ground," Mobius replied, "now please -"

Loki dropped the Time Stick, his fingers going numb with relief. "It's you," he managed to say, taking a few staggering steps back. "It's really you." 

His back hit the stone wall and he let it take much of his weight, he took several gasping, deep breaths which stung the cut on his ribs. "I found you."

"You've been looking for us, like we've been looking for you," Mobius said, "can you tell us what happened? I know we said we would burn the place to the ground, but I wasn't expecting quite so many branches at once and once they were there I couldn't -"

"It was impossible to know where we were compared to the other timelines. I know," Loki managed to say. 

"And what about Sylvie? Is she with you?" 

"She -" 

Loki's voice died in his throat. 

"Loki, is she okay?"

"I - I don't know," he managed to say, "we met Him. The one behind all of this. The one in the Citadel at the End Of Time. He - he offered us control. He said -"

"Wait, he offered you control of the Timeline and you turned it down?" 

"Yes - no - I - not really? I thought we should think about it because the alternative - the alternative was much, much worse. But Sylvie - she wouldn't even think about it, she said he was a liar and assumed I wanted the throne but I didn't, Mobius, I just wanted her - us all to be safe."

"Slow down, Loki," Mobius said patiently, "you can tell us all the details later, when you're a bit more calm, okay? Does someone need to go and look for Sylvie, or is she safe?"

"She betrayed me," Loki said slowly, "she threw me out of the Citadel and she killed the one man who could stop multiversal war. I don't care if she's safe."

He wanted to sound angry, but his own voice just seemed anguished to him. 

"Okay. That's fine, you haven't got to care if she's safe right now, I'm just glad you are. Loki, can we get someone to take a look at you? Make sure you're not hurt too badly?" Mobius glanced over at B-15. "B, could you go and make sure there's an open bed in the Med Ward, if Loki wants it?"

Hunter B-15 eyed Loki once more. "You're feeling… less stabby?" She asked pointedly, cocking an eyebrow. 

Loki only spared her the slightest of glances, before turning his focus back to Mobius, his ally and friend Mobius, the one he'd searched countless timelines for and finally found. The agent's clear blue eyes sparkled and his lips quirked into a smile. "Loki's not a threat to me," he said, with all the brazen confidence of a man who knew he was telling a bald-faced lie, which Loki supposed Mobius was doing. "He's just a little pussycat, not a dangerous variant. Besides, aren't we all technically dangerous variants?"

Mobius chuckled at his own joke, but B-15 didn't laugh. "I'll be back as soon as I've checked in with Med Ward," she said, "be careful, Mobius."

She walked away. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," Loki said quietly, staring down at Mobius. "She doesn't need to worry."

"I know," Mobius agreed, "and deep down, she does too. She's just being cautious. You did swing a Time Stick at us both, are you ready to tell me what that's all about?"

Loki gave a humourless laugh. "Not all your variants are as friendly and trusting as you are. I - I don't even know how many timelines I searched, hoping I would find the right one -"

"You found variant timelines of the TVA? And variants of all of us agents?"

Loki nodded. "Dozens. Maybe hundreds. I - I lost track of how many, I lost track of how long I was looking, I just knew I had to find this one."

Mobius took a well-deserved moment to process what Loki had just told him. "We've been looking for you, too, Loki," he said, "B-15 and Casey and I. I realised after I came here that I had no way of getting back to you two, no way of checking to see how things went. But we've been trying to isolate where you were. If you were jumping around, that probably explains why we couldn't pin down which timeline you were in."

Loki didn't say anything. Without another word, Mobius held his arms out to him. 

"What -"

"If anyone, including you, asks, I needed a hug," Mobius said, "it obviously wasn't you who needed it, you're a tough guy. Come here."

If he really wanted that to work, Loki should have put up more resistance instead of pushing his back off the wall and leaning into Mobius's offered embrace. He pulled his arms tight around the agent, mindful of the fact that if he wasn't careful, he could probably actually hurt Mobius, but desperate to hold onto him. He tucked his chin down and pressed his face into the crook of Mobius's neck, tears burning his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. 

He felt Mobius let out a shaky, heavy breath, and his hand patted Loki's back. 

It felt like a weight was slowly being lifted off his chest. Even with Mobius squeezing as tightly as he possibly could, which wasn't that tightly against an Asgardian ribcage, but Loki wasn't going to tell him that, it felt like for the first time since the Void, when he'd said goodbye to Mobius and embarked on Sylvie's crazy plan, that he could truly breathe. 

If Mobius noticed Loki shudder, or felt the way he suddenly started to relax in the agent's embrace, he didn't say anything about it. "You're safe now, Loki," he said, "we're gonna get you looked after in the Med Ward, find you something to eat, and then hopefully, you can get some sleep. Sound okay?" 

Until Mobius said it out loud, none of those things had even occurred to Loki. Now, he was stunned that he could have thought of anything but. He was starving, and exhausted. The only part of that which didn't sound like a good idea was letting a TVA doctor poke around at him. Loki didn't trust most of the variants in the TVA, and the medical staff were no exceptions. 

"I don't suppose there's a way I get out of this without going to Med Ward," Loki said. 

"Well," began Mobius, "technically, I can't force you to go. It's not like I could pick you up and carry you there, you've got that ridiculously high Asgardian density thing weighing you down, literally. I would appreciate it if you would let the doctors have a look at you, though. You're clearly injured, you just told me you're injured and - some of it is my fault."

"No," Loki said firmly, "that's ridiculous. You're not to blame if your variants attacked me."

"Loki, my variants shouldn't have been able to touch you. When I say you're not a threat to me it's not because I could overpower you in a fight," Mobius leaned back just a bit, Loki didn't slacken his grip and let him get far, but it was far enough for him to reach up and brush a thumb over a bruise that had formed, dark and vicious, on the point of Loki's cheek. The god flinched away. "What happened? Did you not fight back?"

Loki ducked his head down again so he didn't have to look Mobius in the eyes. "I could have pruned them," he admitted softly, "or incapacitated them but - I couldn't lose any more friends. Not even the ones who weren't really my friends to begin with."

"That is truly the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Mobius said fondly, "Loki, you sentimental idiot. You need to look out for yourself next time."

"Not intending on a next time," Loki grumbled, "didn't intend on the first time."

"There's a bed in the medical wing," B-15 declared, and Loki jumped back from Mobius, whirling to face the Hunter. "Spooked, are you?"

"You would be too," Loki said, "believe me."

"We'll have to, soon," Mobius said, cutting off their chat before B-15 could list what she would rather do than believe Loki. 

"The reference we have for Asgardian biology is shaky at best," the doctor told Mobius. Loki didn't think that was a particularly good enough answer, considering he had allowed Mobius to convince him to come and get examined by a man who was now admitting he didn't know anything about what he was seeing, but Mobius nodded. "Throw in the fact that you picked yourself a shapeshifter who isn't even really Asgardian, and -"

"I'm right here," Loki hissed, glaring at the doctor. 

He was an older man, with curled brown hair and wrinkles etched deep into his face. He looked down at Loki like he was a bit of muck on the bottom of his shoe, and then continued speaking to Mobius. "In all, I don't think he's severely injured. Ice for the bruises, I'll come back and sew that cut on his ribs shut."

"Don't bother," Loki seethed, "wouldn't want to confuse you with my alien biology. It'll heal just fine."

"Not sure why you want to work with this variant, Mobius."

"I like 'im just fine," Mobius said, "you don't have to. If Loki says he doesn't need stitches, I believe him. You can go now."

The doctor left. 

"I thought you told me you were going to burn this place to the ground. Instead, I come back and I'm still getting pushed around by the same windbags as before," Loki said sullenly. 

"Yeah, that's true. Look, I was gonna tear the place apart, but when the timeline started branching, things got chaotic. We had to deal with some variants who found the multiverse pretty quickly. Started wrecking havoc, colliding timelines into one another, completely destroying others…"

Loki's eyes widened. "Who was the culprit?"

"The one and only, Doctor Stephen Strange. He's a right menace anytime he turns up where he's not supposed to be. Who did you think it would be?"

"I don't know his real name," Loki said quietly, "and I don't want to discuss him. As long as it wasn't him…" 

"Well, unless your guy is Doctor Strange, you're good," Mobius said, "I'm gonna go and find you some food, and then leave you to get some sleep, alright? I've got paperwork to get done and you could use some shut-eye."

Loki almost managed to let him leave, but he reached out and caught Mobius's wrist at the last second. 

"What is it?"

"Don't go."

It sounded pathetic, weak and helpless, in his own ears, but Mobius gave him a crooked smile. 

"Let me get us both some food, and I'll find something that can pass for a desk while I'm here. You want me to stay, I'll stay."

Loki slept in the strangest of positions. 

Mobius had noticed before that the variant, whom he supposed he should stop thinking of as a variant like it somehow set him apart, everyone Mobius knew, including himself, was a variant, could sleep anywhere. Loki would doze off in the middle of a pile of paperwork, his head curled onto his crossed arms, or slumped back in Mobius's creaky office chair. The spare room that had been found for Loki, since no one was going to allow him to sleep in communal barracks, had actually once been Mobius's tiny closet, and he was quite certain it wasn't big enough for Loki to comfortably stand or lay down in, and yet Mobius would always have to wake him in the morning when he unlocked the door. 

Ravonna and B-15 had insisted on installing a lock on the outside of the closet so Loki could be locked in. Mobius thought it was stupid, Loki could probably break the lock without even trying, but he never did try in the first place. 

Now, Mobius understood why the uncomfortable positions hadn't seemed to bother the god. He looked vaguely like he was trying to twist himself into a pretzel as he slept. He didn't quite snore, but Mobius found his own breathing matching up comfortably to the audible, rhythmic inhale and exhale. 

Under the thin med wing blanket, Mobius could only see his shoulders rise and fall amidst his lanky tangle of limbs, and the very top of his tangled mop of black hair, peeking out from under the blankets. Mobius made a mental note to find some hygiene supplies for Loki in the morning. Without magic to tidy up loose ends, Loki would probably appreciate a toothbrush, some mouthwash and deodorant, and a brush. 

Maybe a leave-in conditioner if he could find one. Mobius didn't know much about hair care, but he did know the all-in-one shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the communal showers was not good for it. 

Mobius usually didn't find Loki particularly distracting. Awake or asleep, when there was research or work to be done, he was usually unobtrusive, unless he found something important, or wanted to intentionally provoke Mobius to get his attention. Mobius found his previous analogy of a cat to be fairly accurate as the days had gone on, and Loki had immediately reminded him of a stray cat, begging silently for scraps but hissing if you got too close. 

He'd worked with worse. 

Only this time, Loki was distracting. He wasn't doing anything, just getting some well-deserved rest, but he felt his eyes continuously drawn back to the sleeping god. Checking in on him every couple of minutes, watching the easy rhythm of his breathing. 

He hoped Loki was getting some easy rest. 

"Brother, please, if you're out there, I need to speak with you," Thor whispered, and he almost hoped Loki wouldn't answer. 

He had seen the fallen warriors of Valhalla in his dreams before. Odin did not even need him to sleep, he would suddenly find himself standing on the grassy shore in Norway, his father standing beside him. 

Heimdall had come to him after Jane had died. He'd come to tell Thor that she was comfortable and celebrated in Valhalla, honoured among all the fallen warriors, and to thank him for saving Axl. That day, Thor hadn't been able to bring himself to ask after his brother.

If Loki never came to him in a dream, and Heimdall or Odin never told him of his brother's fate, it was possible Thanos was wrong, and Loki was out there somewhere, waiting to make sure the coast was clear before he dared show his face again. 

But Thor was at his wits end. With Jane gone and all of his new responsibilities as Love's Uncle Thor, he was at a breaking point. And Axl had gone to Valkyrie and told her that he thought he saw trouble stirring in the fringes of the realms, and she had relayed the message to him.

And Thor needed advice. And though he could have asked his father, it was Loki who he had always believed would be his advisor when he took the throne. Both brothers had always assumed they would be the one chosen as Odin's successor, and some days, Thor still thought it should have been Loki. His brother had a much better head for politics and ruling. He wouldn't have wound up handing the kingdom over to Valkyrie. 

But if they had both lived and things had continued as normal, Thor would have taken the throne, and Loki would have been his advisor. 

And Thor needed to hear his brother's voice, even as he prayed he wouldn't. 

A warm summer breeze blew over Thor, despite the fact that it was nearly winter in Norway, and a hand gently touched his shoulder. "Hello, brother," Loki said softly, "I've missed you."

Thor turned to see his brother, his long black hair in a loose plait, dressed in very uncharacteristically white clothing. His green eyes were sad as he gazed at his brother. "Life has been unkind to you," he said, "I'm sorry. It's not fair. I've spoken with  our family, and with Jane Foster. They send you all their love."

"No, you can't have spoken to them," Thor said brokenly, "please, you can't have spoken to them because if you have - Loki, I need you to come back, please. You're here now because you've decided to come back and -"

His brother gave him a sad smile. "I answered your prayer, Thor, that's all, and you knew what that meant when you prayed," he said, "my time with you, in this world, is through. I wait for you with our mother and father now."

"But you've come back every other time!" Thor pleaded, tears filling his eyes. "You've always come back, Loki, you need to come back! Come home!" 

Loki shook his head. "They weren't real, brother, you know that. I did not truly meet an end falling into Yggdrasil, nor on Svartalfheim. The same does not hold true this time. You can't possibly think that by coincidence I appeared exactly when you prayed for me and I didn't come from Valhalla."

"You can't stay gone," Thor said, "I still need you here. You're my little brother and I'm not ready for you to be gone."

"I'm sorry," Loki said, "I wish it didn't have to be like this. But the truth is that I have been as good as dead since I fell and the Black Order found me. I've been in Valhalla, catching up on my reading and dealing with our family drama. Our sister also died in battle, so you can chew on that and imagine how much fun I've been having. My point is, this is the best I can do in terms of coming back. However, that doesn't mean I can't send you some help."

"I don't just need help, I need you. I need my family, Loki."

The God of Mischief smiled. "Good, because that's what you're getting. You're realising, slowly, that your world is more complicated than it once appeared. And things are only going to get worse, Thor. Someone is coming for you, to destroy you and your entire timeline. But you're not alone."

"What does that mean, Loki?"

"When your friends were in the past, I was watching over you all, along with our father. I'm a little offended that you didn't stop to say hello, I was right there. Anyways, they made a mistake, Thor. A lot of bad things happened when Stark, Rogers and that strangely miniscule man went back to New York, but the most important is that they let me get away with the Tesseract. Well, not me, per say, I wasn’t there, but the version of me that was there.”

"I don't understand."

"Someone is coming to find you, Thor. Someone who can help you, but he needs just as much help from you. Please, treat him kindly, he's younger than you remember him, and hasn't lived the same things you remember."

"What are you saying?" Thor asked. 

"I can't ever come back to the real life and world, Thor. The most I can do is walk through your dreams. I am here with our mother and father, in Valhalla, and we wait patiently until it is your day to join us. But there's a version of me out there, alone and afraid, barely out of New York and in over his head. Father sent me to his dreams last night, and he makes his way to you," Loki said, "he's not quite who you remember. He never returned to Asgard after New York, he knows what happened but he never lived it. And he was the first to meet the man who is coming for you and your entire reality."

"If you know all of this, why can't it be you?" Thor asked, reaching out to place his hands on his brother's arms. He felt smokey and vaguely insubstantial. Thor could hold him, but barely. "The Allfather is the king of Valhalla, he could send you back!"

Loki shook his head. "Thor, I know it's hard to accept, but I'm where I'm meant to be," he said, "I'm with our mother and father, I never thought I'd see them again. I didn't think I would ever be welcome in the halls of Valhalla, and I am content here, although I miss you dearly. I'm truly sorry, brother, you did not deserve to lose your entire family like this, but there was nothing we could do. We each had our own fates, fates we've known for a long time now. This won't be the last time we see each other, Thor. I promised you that the sun would shine on us again, and I didn't lie."

"How is that possibly true, if you're in Valhalla and I am here?" Thor asked. 

"There is only fair weather in Valhalla, brother. The sun shines each morning. When you join us here, when it is your time, the sun will shine on us again. In the meantime, you have my adorable niece to look after, and you're about to have a slightly younger version of me on your doorstep. I think you have your hands sufficiently full."

"Do you have any advice for Love?" Thor asked suddenly, "and her magic?"

Loki smiled. "Finally, you ask for something I can offer. I'll see if I can't pay her a visit and offer some advice on controlling her powers. If I can't, our mother should be able to."

The air around them seemed to change. The warm summer breeze faded, returning to the chilly Norway wind. Loki sighed. "I have to go, brother. I cannot stay forever, and you must be ready when my counterpart arrives."

"It's not the same," Thor said, "it's not you. We fought side by side on Svartalfheim, and Sakaar, and during Ragnarok and against the Mad Titan. And he-"

"He didn't," Loki agreed, "he is different, yes. He was not tried by Odin after New York. He did not spend two years in the dungeon, and he did not lead the Dark Elves to our mother, as I have known I did for years now. I believed I sent them to you, but it was Frigga and Jane who awaited them. But he has just recently escaped the Black Order, and although he isn't ready to speak of it, that will change him, and not necessarily for the better. I know it's not the same, Thor, but just like you need your younger brother, he needs his older brother. His timeline was destroyed, and for you, I died five years ago. This is the only way you both get what you need."

"You really can't come back," Thor said, trying to convince himself he should accept that. "No matter what, you can't come back."

"I can't," Loki agreed, "this is where I am meant to be. But that doesn't mean I'm gone forever, brother. I will be waiting to greet you in Valhalla, Heimdall can take the day off that day, and I am always here if you need me. Our father isn't the only one who can walk into your dreams. If you really and truly need me, I'll be there."

"And what if I needed you all the time?" Thor asked.

"Well, that's what the other version of me is good for. Oh, by the way, he may be bringing friends. An older man with a mustache, he's almost certainly coming, possibly a blonde woman, a child and an alligator, all of whom are reportedly some version of me as well, besides the man with the mustache. You'll like them, especially the woman. She's very brash like you, I think you'll get along."

Thor let his hands drop from Loki's arms, and his brother took a few steps backwards, which was as far as he made it before Thor surged forward and pulled his arms around his brother, foggy and insubstantial or not. Loki let out an amused sigh, and patted Thor's shoulder. "I'm not much of a hugger most of the time-"

"Liar. You just pretend you don't like them," Thor interrupted. 

"Fine, you've got me. And I suppose I do owe you this one, since I didn't let you hug me on the Statesman."

"Promise me I'll see you again before Valhalla," Thor said, "this version of you, he doesn't replace my brother. Promise me that you won't just leave."

"Thor," Loki said seriously, "I will never leave. I'll always be with you. But yes, I will come back again to see you. Now I really must go, and you need to get back to where I told him to go, which is your house. If Love finds him first, she might decide he's a demon and zap him, and I have no other variants of me to offer you." 

Thor still didn't let go for another few seconds. Then he reluctantly let his arms drop. "One last thing, brother," he said. 

"Make it quick, Thor. We're running out of time for this to all work out."

"I'm sorry for what I said. You were never the worst, you were the best little brother I ever could have asked for."

"Well, that's a stretch, I did send the Destroyer to Earth to kill you and stab you many, many times. But don't worry. I knew you never meant it," Loki said. 

"I love you, brother," Thor said. Loki smiled. 

"I know. I love you too."

And then the icy sea breeze blew him away, and Thor opened his eyes. 

I'm a fly that is trapped in a web

But I'm thinking that my spider's dead

Lonely, lonely little life

I could kid myself in thinking that I'm fine

- Always, Panic! At The Disco, VICES AND VIRTUES (2011)

Chapter Text

What if I'm far from home?

Oh brother, I will hear you call

What if I lose it all?

Oh sister, I will help you out

Oh, if the sky comes falling down

For you

There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

"Mobius M. Mobius, if you tell me I got the directions from my weird, Valhalla-sent variant dream wrong again, I'm going to take back what I said about never stabbing anyone in the back again," Loki growled, "I'm the one who had the dream with dead-variant-me telling us to come here!"

"I don't think that was a variant, Loki," Mobius countered, "if he was dead and sent us to what used to be the Sacred Timeline, he probably is the Loki from the Sacred Timeline. That means he isn't a variant. What I want to know is why would your brother be here instead of in New Asgard? It's only a little ways away! I think we should search there, first."

Loki sighed. "You're the TVA agent," he replied, "you tell me why my brother comes here in the Sacred Timeline. The only things I know about the future are what you told me."

"You watched that tape all by yourself," the grey-haired agent retorted, "I showed you what happened to your mother, that's true, but you decided to play the rest of the tape and see how everything ended. That's not on me. Besides, I told you, I specialised in the capture of dangerous variants, I never needed to know how the Sacred Timeline ended because they weren't at the end of the timeline. There's only been one variant of you that has survived Thanos, and Thor really doesn't create many variants of himself."

"Of course not," Loki muttered, "my brother, always perfect."

"Your brother is a perfect disaster," Mobius said, "but he fulfills his purpose in the Sacred Timeline properly, so long as someone, usually you, doesn't interfere. That's just the facts. We pruned a frog Thor once."

"A frog? I turned Thor into a frog, once."

"Yeah, this one didn't get found by your mother. He started causing problems, and we had to reset the timeline."

Loki bit his tongue to stop from saying that Mobius had decided to reset the timeline. He had met He Who Remains. He knew that what the TVA had done, establishing one timeline, had been necessary, even if Sylvie couldn't see it. 

"I really don't think Thor is here," Mobius said, "maybe you got a crossed signal in the weird dream."

"Remind me why I searched through so many different timelines to find you, again? I don't enjoy being second-guessed," Loki asked, raising an eyebrow. "This is where I told myself to find Thor, as confusing as that sounds. He's on Earth, in the Sacred Timeline. We're in the right place. Besides… I think I can feel him here."

"You're adopted brothers, not psychically linked twins, how could you possibly feel Thor's presence?"

"I should have left you behind," Loki muttered, rolling his eyes. "It's not a psychic link, it's a presence. With any luck, he can feel me, too."

"Loki, would that really be lucky? I've seen your brother's reactions to you turning up alive in your file. He tends to throw you at things. Or throw things at you."

Loki scoffed. "You didn't watch when he caught me impersonating Odin closely enough," he said. 

"I'm inclined to disagree. I know everything about you, Loki, that's how I was going to catch Sylvie."

"If you had watched it close enough, you would have seen Thor push me out of the way before I ever gave up the disguise. He was never going to let Mjolnir hit me," Loki responded. 

"How could you possibly know that, you never even lived that."

"You're the expert on me, supposedly. I'm the expert on my brother. How else could I manipulate him? I know he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he killed me, so he pushed me out of the way. Now come on, I think I see something down there."

Loki pointed to a small plume of smoke peeking out from the trees, near an open clearing. Mobius shaded his eyes with his hand, peering down to where Loki was pointing. 

"I don't see anything."

"It's right there, how can you miss it?"

"I'm not a god or a giant, Loki, I'm just a human variant," Mobius said defensively, "and I just have regular vision. I can't see what you're pointing at, but lead the way."

Loki decided not to comment on Mobius's vision, and instead led the way down to the trees and towards the smoke. 

It was a Viking longhouse, and that gave Loki no doubt that this must be where his brother was. 

It was no palace of Asgard, but it was a spacious place for his brother to dwell. At least three times as long as it was wide, with dark wood-plank walls that bowed slightly to give the building the faint shape of an overturned boat. The wooden roof continued the illusion of the hull of a ship, but Loki could see the stone chimney that hinted at the fireplace within the center. And just below the edge of the tall roof were long thin windows that would let in some light even if they were placed too high for anyone to enjoy the view of the Norwegian countryside.

It could be almost anyone's home if it wasn't for a few details. Such as some of the intricate carvings above the doorway that looked far too similar to the palace in design to come merely from a Midgardian's imagination. Or the unfamiliar space craft that he could glimpse parked behind the longhouse.

"We are just outside Tønsberg, Norway, Loki. It could just be the New Asgard settlement. I'm sure someone in the settlement could tell you where Thor really is."

Loki shook his head. "This is my brother," he said stubbornly, "come on, Mobius, admit it. A settlement right where I was told to go? I got the instructions right."

He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. 

"Maybe it's biometric," Mobius suggested, "we could find you another eyeball to liberate."

"One time," Loki hissed, "that was one time. Keep harassing me about it, and I'll liberate yours."

"Well, then I really wouldn't be able to see things you point at."

Loki ignored him. He knocked his fist into the door. "Thor! Open up!"

He realised something was wrong only a second before the door opened. 

There was a presence in the house, true, but it was not his brother. 

It was much more powerful. 

The door pushed open to reveal a young girl, and she shouldn't have seemed threatening, only Loki knew the presence was hers. 

"Do we get to go and beat bad aliens now, Un -" she stopped, staring at Loki and Mobius. "You're not Uncle Thor."

That was all the warning he got. Loki shoved Mobius to the ground and ducked as a flash of purple light erupted from the little girl's eyes, blasting into the ground behind them and burning a smoking hole in the ground. 

"You can't hate me that much, you just saved my life -" 

Mobius stopped when Loki hit him, hard. "You bastard!" 

"What?"

"You told me I knew everything important about my life! You swore up and down that the file had everything I needed to know to come and find my brother on the Sacred Timeline!"

"It did!"

"So who the Hel is she, and why is she calling my brother her uncle?" Loki demanded, "you know what that means, don't you?"

"I mean, maybe," Mobius allowed, rubbing his jaw where Loki had punched him. "You had a sister, too, didn't you? And Thor has his human girlfriend, maybe the child is related to her side!"

"She has magical powers, Mobius!" 

"You make a good point. She could still be Hela's daughter."

"I watched the file! When did Hela have time to spend nine months having a baby?"

"Well, there's one way to sort this out," Mobius said reasonably. He slowly got to his feet. "Hello there, little girl. We're friends of your Uncle Thor's. If he's your Uncle Thor, who is your father?"

"Gorr," the girl said calmly. 

"See? Not you," Mobius said.

"Not necessarily," Loki countered, "I'm not her father is all that means. I always did have the worst taste in men, no wonder she's got such a dark energy about her. I swear I've heard the name Gorr before. I can't believe you didn't warn me!"

"I didn't know!" Mobius protested, "honest, if I had known, I would have told you! Sad and pathetic as it is, I thought the only person who cared that you died in the Sacred Timeline was Thor!"

"Love!" A familiar voice shouted behind them. "Love, do not blast those two, they're our friends!"

"Thor," was all Loki had time to say, before his brother practically bowled him over from behind, squeezing his arms around Loki's chest so tight that he thought he might now understand how he had felt on the Sacred Timeline before he died. "I can explain -"

"You don't have to," Thor promised, and he held tightly for a few more seconds before letting Loki go and moving to face his younger brother. His hand reached out and hesitantly touched Loki's face, brushing the side of his cheek. "You're younger than I remember. I… I almost didn't expect it, even though he told me you would be."

"You know who I am," Loki said slowly, even though he wanted to protest that it had not been so long since New York, even following to this point of the Timeline. 

"I do," Thor agreed, "I spoke to… you, really, in a prayer. He told me you would come. He said you would be coming directly from New York."

There were tears sparkling in Thor's eyes. He had one golden eye now, instead of both electric blue, and Loki made a mental note to ask about that sometime soon. Thor gazed at his brother for a few more seconds before he crushed Loki back into a hug, his arms squeezing uncomfortably tight around Loki's middle, borderline crushing his ribs or breaking his spine. With a soft smile, he pulled his arms around Thor, patting his shoulder. "It's good to see you, too, brother," he said softly, "I missed you. I don't think it's been that long, for me, but I missed you."

"What's this? Loki Odinson, admitting he missed me?" Thor said, but his teasing voice sounded mostly tearful. "I missed you too."

The name was unfamiliar. In theory, Loki knew that he and Odin had made peace before the Allfather died on the Sacred Timeline. But it had been a long time since Loki had thought of himself as Odin's son, where he was now, and the TVA was rather unrelenting with calling him Loki Laufeyson. He'd stolen his own file from Mobius' desk while he was supposed to be watching training videos. They had everything else right, so it stood to reason that the name was, too. 

"Are you going to introduce me to this man?" Thor asked, squeezing Loki one last time, lifting him off his toes before letting him go. "You… well, not you, but you said that you might bring friends."

"Right," Loki agreed, "Thor, this is Agent Mobius M. Mobius. He's a human, as far as we know, so don't squeeze the life out of him like you just did me, you'll crush him to death. Mobius, this is my brother, Thor Odinson, which I'm sure you already knew."

"Well met, Agent Mobius," Thor said, holding out his hand to shake, and probably half-crushing Mobius' hand when he did. 

"Pleased to meet you, Thor. I've seen a lot about you, but never had the chance to meet you."

"And who is she?" Loki asked, eyeing the little girl again. "She called you her uncle. Does that…"

"What?" Thor raised an eyebrow. Mobius snickered. 

"Loki heard her call you uncle and is worried he missed something in the files."

"It would be you who missed it, you're supposed to be the expert on me!" Loki protested. 

"Oh!" Thor bellowed a laugh, clapping Loki on the shoulder. "No, she's not your daughter. She is the child of Gorr, formed from the spirit of Eternity."

Which was a lot to unpack on its own. The little girl who had tried to blast Loki and Mobius was Eternity? The spirit Loki had only heard of in story?

"I told you, once we knew you weren't her father, there was no way," Mobius said, also laughing. 

Loki sniffed, "I am a shapeshifter whose gender is as fluid as my form, and we know absolutely nothing about Frost Giants and their reproduction. I've never seen a Jotunn female, for all we know, they're all capable of both roles. It was a reasonable enough conclusion, considering she calls my brother 'uncle?'"

"Except for the part where I could have told you there wasn't time on the Sacred Timeline for you to have been pregnant."

"Oh, so now I should assume that you know how long a Frost Giant's gestation period is?"

"I have to ask, because I'm both not enjoying discussing anything this close to my little brother's physical relations and because I need clarification, what does that mean?"

"What, gestation?"

Thor smacked him, more playful than anything, on the shoulder. "I know what gestation means, I'm not an idiot. The Sacred Timeline. What does it mean when you told me that you were coming from New York? How is that truly possible? Also, if you're coming from New York, does that mean you're still set on world dominion and war?"

"Easiest question first: no, I'm not still trying to conquer Earth. I was, until B-15 dragged me out of my timeline and to the TVA."

"Is it true you were forced?" Thor asked, grabbing ahold of both Loki's hands, pulling his brother to face him. Loki focused on the ground, not his brother's eyes. 

"You could say that. As for the Sacred Timeline and how I'm here, but also in Valhalla… maybe we should go inside and have a drink while we talk."

Loki had to admit, even though it was all full of propaganda and utter hogwash, the TVA was a lot more comprehensible in the video he'd been shown, with Miss Minutes, than it was coming from his own lips. Mobius did a lot of the talking, but he was still working out where the truth ended and the lies began in the TVA, and Loki had to take over quite often. 

"From what I understand," Loki finished, "Odin and the version of me from the Sacred Timeline sent me here because neither one of us can find the version of each other from our own timelines. Your Loki is dead, as was meant to happen, and my Thor would have been annihilated by Alioth the moment the branch was reset and arrived in the Void. Individuals who are pruned have a better chance of escaping his notice, but entire realities attract him almost immediately. You and everyone else from the 2012 branch I created are gone, with me as the exception. As the cause, I had to be apprehended and brought to stand trial."

Thor had assured them into the longhouse without much fuss. Beyond the door was an appropriate place to store boots, cloaks, and weapons when entering the home. Mjolnir was already sitting there, currently covered in a layer of glitter and what appeared to be pink paint.

Two rows of supporting columns ran the entire length of the longhouse. Mostly they were freestanding in the main room, which seemed to serve as a kitchen, dining area, and living quarters with the large fireplace in the center. Several couches and chairs were arranged in front of the fire, but also in view of what appeared to be a Midgardian entertainment system. The stove, oven, and other appliances were at the far end of the room with a wooden table. Most of the surfaces were covered in colorful soft toys, blocks, drawings, and children's books. There were also boxes of board games, both Midgardian ones and some that Loki had played when he was young.

And at the far end of the longhouse, the columns were suddenly incorporated into walls. Splitting that part of the house into a hallway in the middle and a few rooms on either side. 

It was a cozy and chaotic-looking space, but fairly ordinary. Though there was one strange thing that he couldn't help noticing. At various places on the walls or ceiling were burn or scorch marks that seemed to keep repeating in sets of two.

Loki realised after a brief contemplation that they were from Love's eye-blasting.

Now that they had finished their explanation, Mobius was looking around the house appreciatively, just like Loki had as they spoke.

"Did you build this place yourself?"

Thor shook his head. "I'm not much of a builder, but I did help. It's a good place for Love and I to stay when we're on Earth."

"You really did give up the throne, then," Loki remarked, raising an eyebrow. "You wouldn't have done that, the last time I saw you."

"I was close, then. If the Bifrost had not been destroyed and I could have still seen Jane, I likely would have told Father to focus his efforts on finding you, as Mother did, because you were his only choice of heir."

"Mother only found me once I was already observing Midgard. I doubt Father would have done any better," Loki said, taking a long sip of the mead Thor had poured for him. He preferred wine, if he was honest, but it was very good. "Norns, I've wanted a drink since I got to the TVA."

"I offered you a drink," Mobius protested. 

"You offered me an aluminum can with something inside that can only be described as sickeningly sweet. Thor offered good, Asgardian mead."

"See if I share any of my Josta with you in the future," Mobius grumbled. 

"That's not even the sort of drink I'm referring to. Even if the beverage you had didn't seem to consist entirely of various sweeteners, I've been wanting a proper drink. The Vikings were notorious for their celebrations and the amount of drinking they would do during those celebrations, and they partook in all those festivities and all the drinking to honour the gods. You really think they honoured us with something we didn't ourselves do?"

"Yeah, there's no alcohol in the TVA," Mobius conceded. 

"That has to be a criminal offense," Loki said, taking another draw from his glass. "We need to rectify that immediately. That and the lack of baths. "

"We have showers for cleaning up!"

"I'm not talking about cleaning up, Mobius. Everyone should have a good soak with a glass of wine every once and a while, it's good for you!" Loki replied, "but enough about the TVA. Brother, tell me what has led to this all! You are a family man now! And I must admit, if it does not bother Love for us to discuss it, I would love to know how a little girl ended up being formed from the spirit of Eternity."

Thor happily filled them in. Loki was stunned to learn of Doctor Jane Foster's death, he had almost expected her to turn up at any minute. His brother had been crazy about her, and now that Thor was back on Earth, he had imagined he would rekindle things with his former flame. 

Thor told them of visiting Omnipotence City and meeting with Zeus, and of stabbing him with his own lightning bolt after he attacked one of their friends. He told them of fighting Gorr the God Butcher with the Necrosword, and how the former priest had tried to reach Eternity to have the spirit destroy all of the gods. He told them of how Jane had convinced Gorr to reconsider in her dying moments. 

"So now I feel I must ask," Thor said when he was finished, "why come here? You tell me that the TVA and all it stands for is in jeopardy, the Sacred Timeline has been fragmented and branched more times than can be managed, and yet you are here, and not trying to fix it. Do you have a reason to avoid the TVA?"

Loki took a moment to answer. "B-15 can handle the TVA for a while. Maybe she can handle it forever. I never wanted to be there, Thor. I don't know what Mobius might want now, we have not yet discussed it, but I am unsure if I want any part of the TVA now that they have lost their power over time. I - we could stay here. We could be happy here, even. Kang variants will come for this timeline eventually, I am certain, and we could stay here and defend against him. Right now, I came here because I was sent here, and because it's true that I needed to find you. You're my brother and my only remaining family, Thor. As soon as my variant -"

"Not a variant," Mobius interrupted. 

"- there is no Sacred Timeline anymore, just a big mess. He's every bit as much as variant as me. As I was saying, once my variant told me where to find you, I knew that I needed to."

"This Kang," Thor said, "do you believe that is who Axl has seen, causing trouble at the fringes of the realms?"

"It's possible," Loki allowed, "but if it is, then this isn't about the Nine Realms, or however many of those are still standing to this day. Eight? Seven? I know Asgard is gone."

Thor blinked. "I guess with all you've told me about the TVA, I shouldn't be surprised that you know about Ragnarok."

Loki remembered reading over the first file on Ragnarok he had found. Officially, there were several different versions of an apocalyptic event on Asgard, Ragnarok was only one of them. There was even a version where Laufey had won the war against Odin and the Einherjar, which became an apocalypse upon Asgard. The remainder of that timeline had been reset soon after, because without Odin to steal Loki as a baby, and without Thor to be sent to Earth for being a hothead, the proper flow of time could not be assured. 

However, the first Loki had read had been a true apocalypse. The entire civilization, all of his people, his brother, Heimdall, everyone he had ever known, had all died. Surtur had been unleashed as planned, to stop Hela, but no one had escaped. 

Later, Loki had read the version which happened on the timeline, and learned what had gone wrong. 

As usual, it was his fault. He had decided not to return to Asgard, to remain hidden on a distant planet called Sakaar rather than directing a ship called the Statesman back to his home. Without the ship, no refugees could escape Asgard, and the entire population had died. 

"I've seen several different versions. This was the best one," Loki assured Thor, "you did the right thing. I know it must have been hard to accept that Asgard could not be saved."

"Asgard is not a place," Thor said with a forced smile, drinking deeply from his cup. 

"It's a people," Loki agreed.

"We didn't save many of our people, either, though," Thor said mournfully, "not you, or Heimdall, or any of our friends, except - well, Sif is here! We found her!"

Loki forced a smile. "How fortunate. The only one of your friends left alive, and she's the one who most wants me dead. I've had a recent reminder of how much she hated me. And believed I should never have any children."

"I probably shouldn't have left you in there to take that many hits," Mobius said, "surprised you didn't come out black and blue."

"So am I," Loki agreed, "she just kept hitting harder!" 

"That's not possible, Loki, it's a time loop. She did the exact same thing, every time."

"No she didn't," Loki interrupted, "I got her to change course… twice. One time was just for her to pause, hear me out and then hit me, but the last time I got her to stop. She still told me I would always be alone, but she didn't hit me."

"What are you talking about?" Thor asked. 

"The TVA has time-loop prison cells," Loki replied, "they throw you into an endlessly repeating cycle of a bad memory. Mobius decided to throw me in with Sif, just after I cut her hair."

"You just have to be able to mess with everything, hey Loki?" Mobius said fondly, "causing a Nexus Event in an apocalypse days after you proved it was impossible, changing the course of present time-loops…"

"What can I say, my mere existence threatens the TVA. I guess you should have let Renslayer sentence me to deletion. By the time you mouthed off and got yourself pruned, I might have been devoured by Alioth."

"No, no," Mobius protested, "we both know that without you, I wouldn't have been pruned at all."

Loki shuddered, remembering the horror as he had watched Mobius dissolve away to nothing. He knew now that it wasn't painful, it just felt like teleportation. Loki had done a couple of teleportation spells in his day, although he didn't use them often. It was a strange feeling, to sense every atom of your body suddenly separate and travel, faster than light, to a new location. It was frightening, if you weren't the one doing it, if you didn't know where you were going, but it didn't hurt. 

He hadn't had that reassurance when he'd watched Mobius disappear. He hadn't known there was something after being pruned. He had learned the truth once Renslayer had pruned him , before the ruins of the fake Timekeepers. When he'd seen D-90 prune his first friend, he had believed that was the end. And when the child variant and the others had awoken him in the Void, he had allowed himself to believe that Alioth must have already gotten to Mobius. 

But the frustrating and tenacious agent had managed to make it back after all. Had managed to find Loki in the void. 

"You're right," he managed to say, "you would have just continued serving a bunch of fake, fascist lizard men."

"Touché."

Hey brother

There's an endless road to rediscover

Hey sister

Know that water's sweet, but blood is thicker

Oh, if the sky comes falling down

For you

There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

• Hey Brother, Avicii, TRUE (2013)

Chapter Text

Every minute and every hour

I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more

Every stumble and each misfire

I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more

What Loki didn't tell his friend while he was complaining about having wanted a drink for ages now was that he was one of the quickest drunks on Asgard. He really wasn't one to complain much about strong alcohol, because Thor had seen him many times after a few more than a few horns of mead, drunk off his ass and acting like a warrior who had just drank several barrels. 

Although Thor didn't think his brother was entirely aware of it, it was plain that he was close to this Mobius fellow. Closer than Thor remembered seeing him with anyone. 

Now they were several mugs into the mead, with Mobius having imbibed much of the stores of Midgardian alcohol that Thor kept on hand for his friends. If it was true that this TVA they had spoken of had no alcohol of its own, Asgardian mead might kill the older Midgardian. As a result, Mobius appeared drowsy and Loki wasn't faring much better. He had his head leaned on Mobius's shoulder, his back half against the back of the sofa and half against the agent, and Mobius had an absent-minded hand in his tangled, messy black hair. 

"Did you know," Loki was saying, although it wasn't clear to whom he was speaking. "That bet I lost with you, Thor? Where I had to go to Midgard and hijack that plane?"

Thor smiled. "How could I forget? That's still an unsolved mystery here, apparently!"

"Huh," Loki said, "I guess they can't be expected to figure out that I caught a ride back to Asgard on the Bifrost."

"So what about the bet?"

Loki frowned. "I don't remember."

"I still can't believe you were DB Cooper," Mobius chuckled, and Thor was frankly stunned his brother didn't hear how absolutely besotted he sounded. Then again, the same appeared to be true of Mobius. Loki didn't let just anyone invade his personal space, and he certainly didn't force himself into theirs the way he was with Mobius. Thor had taken more than a few daggers in the stomach when he crossed too far into Loki's bubble, and here was a mortal, playing with his hair without even thinking about it, and if anything, he thought Loki might be enjoying it. "One of the most famous unsolved robberies in Earth's history, and it was you."

"You know what they say," Loki said, finishing his mug of mead before he continued. He looked like he wanted another, but didn't want to get up, and Thor didn't offer. His brother was a nightmare to deal with when he was hungover. "Go big or go home."

As he finished speaking, he tipped his head back with a huge yawn, and Mobius chuckled. "You haven't gotten much sleep lately, have you?" He said fondly, "maybe you should try and get some now."

Loki looked like he wanted to protest, but all he managed to do was yawn again. He set his glass mug to the side, blinking jade-green eyes drowsily. 

"I have a guest bedroom," Thor offered, "but there is one problem. I've only got one guest bed."

Thor watched Loki's face as the massive ship appeared before the hull of the Statesman , and that was when he got the idea this may be a bad thing. 

He had been about to suggest that someone had seen the destruction of Asgard and had come to search for survivors. Perhaps they could offer supplies for the hungry and weary refugees. But when he saw the abject terror on Loki's face, he knew that was not the case. 

His brother masked fear well. He had appeared jovial and joking before Odin during his trial, had shown nigh but grim determination fighting Malekith and the Kursed, had even kept his calm while fighting the draugr and Hela, the goddess of death herself. 

But now, Loki could not hide his fear. He clearly recognised the ship, and knew who had come for the Asgardian survivors. He clearly knew this was not salvation. 

"You know something about that ship," Thor said, not a question but a statement. "Tell me."

Loki glanced over at Thor, seeming almost nervous to take his eyes off the ship. "I don't get out of this without telling you the truth, do I?"

"No, you don't," Thor agreed, "and I'm better at working out your tricks than you give me credit for. What is that ship, why do you know it, and why are you afraid?"

Loki bristled. "You would be afraid, too, if you knew what I know."

"Then tell me."

Loki sighed. "The ship is called the Sanctuary II . It is the base of the Black Order and the man they serve."

"And who is that, Loki?"

His brother hesitated for a moment, picking at the inside of his palm, like he did when he was anxious. He behaved so much like their mother, especially when he was nervous, that Thor sometimes forgot they weren't truly related. Loki may have looked different from the rest of their family, but he acted like one of them. 

Besides, he looked quite like Hela. 

"Do you promise to believe me, brother? Because the answer is… convenient for me, in some respects."

"Tell me the truth, Loki, and I will believe you. Are you capable of the truth?" 

Loki didn't dignify that with a response. "They serve a man called Thanos. His enemies call him the Mad Titan. The members of the Black Order call themselves his children. He seeks to collect the Stones I sent you looking for. He takes them from the worlds that house them, and he balances those worlds when he does so."

"What does that mean?"

"Thanos believes there are too many living beings in this universe. When he comes upon a planet, or seeks one out for the Stone it holds, he slaughters half the people in the name of balance. It's what he would have done to Earth, had I succeeded."

Thor had been about to ask several million follow-up questions, mostly including how Loki knew all of this, when his voice died in his throat. "New York," he managed to say, "I was right. Someone sent you."

"I had my grievances with you, it's true," Loki said, "with you and all of Asgard. But invading Earth with an army of Chitauri was not how I would have chosen to resolve those grievances. When… when I fell," Loki seemed to hesitate on that point, as though he was genuinely unsure if he had fallen or been pushed from the Bifrost. "When I fell, I was found by the Black Order, in the Sanctuary. They gave me the scepter with the Mind Stone and sent me to Earth to take the Tesseract."

Thor's face hardened. "Then they have come to find their ally," he hissed, "is that the truth of it? Another Child of Thanos?"

"No!" Loki said, and Thor would later admit that the horror on his face seemed genuine. "Had the invasion on Earth been a success, I cannot say for certain where I would stand on this issue now, but I assure you that I was never an ally of Thanos or his Black Order. They simply saw fit to make use of the Asgardian they found, Thor. All that I did was by force."

Thor considered Loki for a long moment. "Please, brother," Loki said quietly, "this is why I asked if you could be sure you would believe me. I am no ally to Thanos or his children. I assure you, if they were to find me, the only thing they would do is fulfill their promise of a long and drawn out fate which would make me wish for death."

That day, on the ship, Thor had not asked for proof. He knew now that Loki likely could have given it, had Thor insisted. He had been forced, and Loki likely had scars to prove the incentive he was given. 

That day, Thor was unsure why it was that he had given his next order. "Evacuate as many of our people as you can," he said, "take Valkyrie and Korg and Miek to the emergency vessel, fill it with as many of our women and children as you can, and escape."

Loki had already been ruffled over the accusation, and now Thor could see hurt and fury upon his face. He took a step back from his brother. "That leaves you with only yourself, Heimdall and the Hulk to defend this ship," he said, "you should not send me away. Send Valkyrie to pilot the vessel, I will stay and fight."

"No," Thor said sharply, "this is an order from your king. You will not remain aboard the Statesman. You will evacuate with the friends I have named, and as many refugees you can fit aboard the vessel."

"Because you don't trust me to have your back," Loki said, his tone blithe and cold. "You think I will betray you the moment Thanos steps aboard this ship, don't you? You truly think I won't die to defend you and our people?"

Thor could have tried to convince Loki he was doing this to protect him. That because he had believed himself to have watched Loki die twice already, he did not wish to do so again. 

But the truth was, he did not know if that was the case. 

"You think you need to get me off the ship so I cannot reunite with an old ally, don't you?" 

"Go!" Thor roared, "I do not have to answer to you, Loki. My reasoning is my own, and you will obey, or face penance for treason!"

Something hard and cold flashed across his brother's face, and Thor wished he could take his words back the moment he said them, but it was too late. Loki stooped into a low, exaggerated bow, arms spread wide out at his sides. 

"As my king commands."

He stood and stalked away, not giving Thor a chance to speak again, cape snapping at his heels. 

"I know what it’s like to lose," the enormous creature who had stepped onto the ship said, walking over to stand beside Thor. Thor fought to get to his feet, but he couldn't. "To feel so desperately that you’re right… yet to fail, nonetheless." 

He thought Thanos, for it must be Thanos, was speaking to him. The Mad Titan reached down and grabbed Thor by the collar, hauling him off the ground. He gripped his massive hand around Thor's head. "It’s frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it’s here. Or should I say…I am."

"You talk too much," Thor said, spitting out blood, "and I don't want to hear it."

"I wasn't speaking to you, God of Thunder," Thanos said, and he turned his attention from Thor to someone standing before them. He was surrounded by four of Thanos's allies. The only woman was on his right, holding a three-pronged spear at head level. The one who had done all the talking stood just slightly behind him. The figure, thin and seemingly hooded, who had walked behind the one who had spoken, slaying any Asgardian who moved, was on his left, and beside that figure was the hulking giant that Thor had fought. 

And in the center of that half-ring was someone who should not have been there. Black hair messy and tangled, skin pale and sallow. He had a fresh bruise on one cheek, a cut above his left eye. His jade-green eyes did not waver as he stared at Thanos. "The Tesseract, or your brother’s head. I assume you have a preference."

Loki's expression betrayed nothing. His face stayed hard as stone as he glanced between Thanos and his brother, his mouth set in a hard line. "Oh, I do. Kill away!"

It was harsh, but they had no other choice. Loki didn't have the Tesseract. There was nothing he could do to stop the Titan. 

Thanos pressed his metal gauntlet to the side of Thor's head, and his enormous fingers squeezed tight around his skull. Thor screamed, pain and pressure building in his head and behind his eyes faster than should have been possible. The purple stone in the gauntlet, which must have been one of the Infinity Stones, glowed bright as Thanos squeezed. 

Thor tried to say something, anything, to make Loki turn away. He saw tears fill his brother's eyes, and he tried to tell him not to watch. There was nothing to be done. 

All that came out of his mouth was another howl of agony. Loki cringed and turned away, blinking tears from his eyes.

"ALRIGHT, STOP!" Loki shouted. Just like that, Thanos released Thor. He hit the ground of the ship, hard. 

"We don’t have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard!"

Loki looked back to his brother, seeming almost guilty, and held up his right hand. 

After a brief moment, the Tesseract appeared in his palm, glowing blue and flashing with energy. 

"You really are the worst, brother," Thor said, exhaustion and pain in his voice. It was a cruel thing to say, but Thor didn't have any kind words. Loki should have left the blasted thing to be destroyed. Perhaps Thor should have known that he wouldn't.

Loki stepped towards Thanos slowly. "I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again," he said softly, looking at Thor as he held out the Tesseract. 

And suddenly his brother was hanging from Thanos's gauntleted fist, no longer fighting for his life, accepting of his fate. Thanos squeezed tighter and tighter around his brother's neck, blood dropped from Loki's eyes and nose. "You -" his brother wheezed out, with his final breath, "will never be… a god."

Thanos squeezed harder, and Thor awoke to the sound of a deafening crack. 

Loki had died believing that Thor thought him a traitor. Worse, Loki had died proving he wasn't. 

Thor threw back the covers, sitting bolt upright, gasping for breath. Tears streaked his cheeks, and each time he closed his eyes, he saw his brother looking back at him, as though making sure that Thor knew why he was doing all he had done. 

All at once, Thor was struck by the need to check on Loki. The one sleeping in the spare bedroom Thor had prepared in hopes that Loki would someday return, having faked his own demise again, was not the one who had been strangled by the Mad Titan, but he still needed to see that some version of his brother was still there. Still breathing. 

He slid from his bed and crept out his door. He heard soft snoring from the common room, where they had stayed late into the night, drinking and sharing stories, and he saw a head of silver-grey hair resting on the arm of one of the couches. Mobius must have offered to sleep on the couch and allow Loki to take the bedroom with only one bed. 

Thor slipped down the hall, as quietly as he could, pushing the door to the room next to his open. 

It was a fairly plain room. It had a small, empty closet, a writing desk in the one corner, a nightstand with a green-shaded lamp on it. The blankets on the bed were all emerald green as well, Thor's way of refusing to accept his brother was truly gone. The spare room in the longhouse had been set up for Loki from the moment it was built. 

On the bed, under the blankets, was his little brother. The plain, Midgardian-style clothing he had been wearing was folded on the nightstand, and Loki appeared to be wearing sleep clothes that were very similar to a pair he once had on Asgard. Thor imagined that Loki did not have much of a choice when it came to clothing, his brother had never worn anything so drab in a thousand years on Asgard. 

Loki was sound asleep on his stomach, head turned out to the side so that he could breathe. 

Thor watched the blankets rise and fall with his breathing for several minutes before he was calm enough to return to his room and try to sleep again. 

Loki awoke before Mobius and Love, but not before Thor. He groaned and sat up with a long, languid stretch, pushing his arms up above his head and hearing his spine pop a couple of times. He slid out of bed, waved his hand to clean and mend the dress shirt and slacks he'd been wearing yesterday before he put them back on, tying the striped tie back around his neck and stepping out the door of the spare room that couldn't more clearly have been set up for him all along. 

It felt like squeezing a vice around his heart, knowing that Thor had prepared a room for the brother that never would have come home, if things had played out properly. The spare bedroom with the green blankets and lampshade would have stayed empty forever, dust collecting in a space his brother would likely refuse to touch. 

Absently, he wondered if it had truly been planned that way, or if he was meant to survive. Without the Tesseract, Stark and his allies would have to try elsewhere to collect it. The records for the Sacred Timeline said they went back to the nineteen-forties, but if Loki wasn't meant to take the Tesseract, that would have made them variants as soon as they stepped foot there, too. 

Loki made himself stop thinking about that. He didn't want to think too hard about He Who Remains. 

He searched around the kitchen until he found a roll and some lingonberry jam for dagmal, which Mobius was still trying to convince him to call breakfast, but he wasn't so willing to give up every part of being Asgardian, including the language. 

He stepped out of the longhouse with the roll in hand, and found his brother sitting outside in a wooden chair, sipping a cup that smelled like coffee. Mobius drank the stuff almost as much as the sickly-sweet energy drink he had offered Loki the first day, and Loki found it repulsive. On days when he really needed a boost, he drank strong tea. 

"I see Midgard got you hooked on that stuff, too," Loki said, wrinkling his nose. "Mobius drinks it like a fiend."

"I take it that you don't like coffee, then," Thor said, plainly amused. 

"I do not," Loki agreed. 

Thor motioned to the chair next to him. Loki took a seat, biting into his roll. The jam had far too much sugar, lingonberries were meant to be tart, but he didn't complain. 

"I trust you slept well?" Thor asked, "the room was comfortable?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "It was, but you really don't have to be concerned, or check. Sacred Hospitality doesn't apply to you brother, I don't think, whether I'm truly related to you or not."

Thor looked at him in concern. "That took you a long time to accept, in this timeline," he said. Loki forced a wry smile. 

"Well, then it's good to know I have some time before I'm being unreasonable." 

Loki took another bite of his roll. The jam only got worse the more he ate it. 

"It's not right," Thor remarked, "I've tried making it myself, buying any brand I can find, I can't get Mother's recipe right. She used to make it herself."

Loki nodded. "We asked her once, why she didn't let the servants in the kitchen do it, she said that some things tasted better if you made them yourself."

"I trust you know…"

"Of her death? Yes," Loki agreed, "and Father's. I did all I could to be caught up with this timeline, to know how things had progressed since I left it. Obviously, I missed some things, like Love, but I know most of what would have happened in our lives. Truth be told, I don't know whether to be grateful I missed it, or…"

Thor looked at him in concern. "Or what?" 

Loki didn't answer the question. 'Can you take me to where it happened?" He asked instead, "I know it's around here."

"Where what happened?" Thor asked.

"Where… where our father died. I - I know that we reconciled in this timeline, I know that I was there when he died and got to say goodbye, but that wasn't really me. I… didn't really get to say goodbye to either of them," Loki replied, "when I got to the TVA, Mobius was responsible for interrogating me, and trying to get me to break and tell him what he needed to know. He wanted me to help him find another version of myself." He gave a rueful smile. "I did find her, but the interview didn't really help. Either way, he asked me why I enjoy causing pain and suffering. Showed me some of the things I did on Earth, and then… then he showed me Asgard."

Thor didn't say anything. 

"I… I saw myself talking to Frigga, telling her she wasn't my mother, because Odin wasn't my father. And then I saw myself tell the elves where to go. Apparently, I thought I was sending them to you, but they found our mother instead. That's when I found out she was dead in my future. I came back and watched the rest of my file, and that's when I saw that our father was gone, too. I'd… I'd like to pay some respects."

Thor looked away from him for a second, and Loki swore he saw a look of abject fury on his brother's face before he recovered. Loki ducked his head before Thor could look back to him. 

If his brother was angry that he had killed Frigga, it was well within his rights. It wasn't as though he would be more angry with Loki than Loki was with himself. 

He tried to tell himself it wasn't his fault. It had never come to pass that way. He was a variant, he may never have returned to Asgard at all. He may never have been there when the Dark Elves attacked and his mother was murdered. 

In the timeline that had been reset when he was captured, Frigga could still be alive. But telling himself that never made him feel better. He knew the truth was unavoidable; it didn't matter where he had been interrupted. He had killed his mother. Frigga was dead, and it was because of him. He didn't doubt that something similar would have happened had he not been apprehended. He probably owed Hunter B-15 a debt of gratitude for apprehending him before he would watch the same events unfold in real time.

Sylvie had asked him if he thought being a Loki meant they were destined to lose. At the time, he'd told her that he didn't with such conviction that he almost believed himself. 

No. We may lose, sometimes painfully, but we don't die. We survive.

The trouble with surviving was that it didn't mean you didn't lose. And Loki was starting to believe that the fundamental truth of being a Loki was that he was destined to destroy anyone who cared for him, and that meant that Thor and Mobius should run while they could. 

Loki was one of two people alive who had faced He Who Remains and survived. He was one of two people who knew exactly who had decided his life should be the endless, meaningless tragedy it was, one of the few people who knew for certain that no matter how much he had struggled, he had never been free to make his own choices. 

And he knew already that didn't wash the blood off his hands. It was like he had told Agent Romanoff. So much red didn't wash away. If the agent's ledger had been gushing red, what did that make his own? 

And it meant that it didn't matter what he told himself was the case. He blamed himself for Frigga's death, and he knew that it was his fault, whether he had personally lived it or not. 

Thor recovered quickly. He forced a smile. "Of course I can take you," he agreed, "are you up for a hike? It's only about an hour from here."

Loki didn't think a two-hour round-trip hike with his brother was necessarily a good idea, but he agreed anyway. 

Mobius awoke to a small poke on his shoulder. 

He was feeling his age more here than at the TVA, and he was going to regret sleeping on the couch before the night was through, but this was Loki's brother's house. There was only one spare bedroom, and he would be a gentleman and take the couch, no matter how many cricks it put into his neck and back. 

He also had a pounding headache. Loki and Thor had simultaneously agreed, no Asgardian mead for him, and that was probably for the best. Just the regular mead Thor had in the longhouse made his mouth feel like death, his head ache like it had been split open by Mjolnir, and his stomach roil.

He opened his eyes and saw Love staring down at him. Her hair was now messy in its braids, pulled around in her sleep. She had a large green hoodie on backwards. "I'd like panflaps for breakfast," she said, waiting expectantly for his response. 

Mobius shifted, blinking a few times. "I'm sure your Uncle Thor could make you some," he suggested.

"Uncle Thor and Uncle Loki aren't here," Love said, matter-of-factly, "could you make panflaps, Uncle Mobius?"

Uncle Loki made sense. Thor had introduced his brother to Love as her uncle. Mobius wasn't expecting to get that title. It took him aback, a little. 

Uncle was a word used on Earth for part of your family. As far as Mobius remembered, he'd never had a family. He didn't know if he wanted to remember his old life. Loki had offered, once he'd woken up in the med wing, explaining that he'd learned to enchant from Sylvie, in the Void, and could try to uncover Mobius's memories, like Sylvie had done to Hunters C-20 and B-15. Mobius didn't know if he had rejected the offer out of fear of what had happened to C-20, or fear of how he would feel if he knew the life he had been forced out of. 

After he had refused, he had assumed he wouldn't ever have a family. 

"Could you?" Love asked again, and Mobius made himself sit up. He walked over to the kitchen, searching around the pantry until he found a box of what appeared to be cereal. 

"I don't know how to make panflaps," he admitted, "do you want some of these?"

The box was red, with what appeared to be a frog on the front. The label read 'Kellogg's Honni Korn Smacks.' Mobius was familiar with the brand, although he had never tried them himself. Kellogg's had been making breakfast cereals for decades on the Sacred Timeline, and in most other branches and apocalypses he had visited. 

Love considered his offer for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. Mobius searched around for a bowl and some milk. 

"Do you know where your uncles went?"

"You're right here," Love said. Mobius smiled, pouring what appeared to be puffed wheat into the bowl he found, and adding some milk. 

"I suppose I am," he agreed, handing the bowl to the little girl. She carried it diligently to the table and sat down to eat. "Do you know where your other uncles went? Uncle Thor and Uncle Loki?"

As he spoke, he sniffed the cereal curiously. It smelled sweet and good enough, so he poured himself a bowl, as well, and sat down across from Love. 

"I dunno," Love said, "Uncle Loki left a note on the fridge, but it says your name on it so I didn't read it."

Tired and with his head pounding, Mobius hadn't even noticed the note. He took up and slid it out from under the magnet. "If you didn't read it, how do you know Uncle Loki wrote it?"

"He has nicer handwriting than Uncle Thor," Love said. 

The note was short and to the point. It told Mobius that the brothers had gone on a hike, and would probably not be back for several hours. Loki added that Thor said to tell him he could have whatever he wanted from the kitchen for dagmal, and Mobius still thought it was sort of endearing that Loki refused to call meals by their English names, and that Love would probably be happy with some cereal or a roll when she woke up. He also included that there was coffee in the carafe, and Mobius enjoyed picturing this disdainful look Loki had probably worn while adding that part. Loki hated coffee almost more than he hated Josta, and Mobius only knew he hated Josta more because after a sniff at one of the cans, Loki wouldn't even taste it. 

Mobius was beginning to think that it was good they didn't have candy on Asgard. Loki didn't appear to care much for sweets. 

"It says your uncles will be back in a couple of hours," Mobius told Love, who nodded. 

"Okay," she agreed, munching happily on her cereal. She didn't appear concerned by Thor's absence. "Uncle Thor told me a bunch about Uncle Loki," she said, "he said they used to go on adventures together, and were best friends! But he said he was dead, like my papa and Doctor Jane."

"That's a little complicated," Mobius admitted. Love had been there when Loki and Mobius had tried to explain the Sacred Timeline, variants and Nexus Events, but she had been colouring intently, and not listening very closely. It was probably a little advanced for a child, anyways. "This Uncle Loki is… sort of like a different Uncle Loki."

"So he's not the one Uncle Thor went on adventures with?"

"No, he is," Mobius corrected, and then realised that made it even more complicated. "This Uncle Loki just… took a different path, about thirteen or so years ago. So he isn't dead, like the other Uncle Loki, but he didn't live out the last few years that the other Uncle Loki had."

"That's weird," Love decided, "I think I'll just call him Uncle Loki, and the other one Uncle Loki, too. Not The Other Uncle Loki."

Mobius smiled, scooping a spoonful of puffed wheat into his mouth. He knew immediately that Loki would hate it, complain about it being sugary-sweet and insist on giving whatever bowl he had poured to Mobius and finding something else. It had happened in the TVA while they worked on finding Sylvie. "I think that makes sense," he told Love. 

When she was finished her cereal, she drank down the remainder of the milk and put her bowl in the sink. "Colour with me?" Love asked, but it wasn't so much of a question as an expectation. 

And who was Mobius to disappoint her?

Loki was quiet for a long time, watching the grey waves swell and crest in the salty sea, sitting on the very same outcropping of rocks that he and Thor and Odin had sat on so long ago. 

Only that had never happened for this Loki. He had not been there when Odin had died, had never heard Odin's praises, heard the soft and gentle way Odin had called him his son.  

"He said this was home," Loki said, very quietly, "I - Mobius had this moment on the file he planned to show me, that I watched without him. Or, at least the very end of it. I don't know if there was more. I was never been able to make myself look, even when the Archivist gave me all the files about myself and my other variants."

Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder. He was standing behind his brother, not wanting to invade his brother's space, to presume too much by sitting beside him. Even just touching his shoulder, he worried that Loki would react poorly. "He told you that Mother would have been proud of you," he said, "I think he chose that, because he did not think you would believe him if he said that he was proud of you. He told us he could hear our mother calling him. I thought it was one of your tricks, at first, but it was true. He could hear her beckoning him to Valhalla, to her side once more."

He could only barely see the edge of Loki's face from where he stood, but he thought he saw tears shining in his green eyes. "I told him that he favoured you, all of our years. That he only claimed to love me."

"I don't think you're entirely to blame for feeling that way," Thor said, "I think maybe it took him until he was dying to realise how much he did love you, or at least, to realise he needed to tell you that he loved you. Especially once you knew the truth."

"That I'm a monster," Loki said brokenly, "the terrifying creature from children's bedtime stories, the ones that keep them from misbehaving or sneaking back out of bed. A beast wearing this skin as a disguise."

"No," Thor said gently, and now he couldn't stop himself from taking a seat beside his little brother, pulling an arm tightly around his shoulders. If he got stabbed for crossing the invisible boundaries Loki put up around himself, he would deserve it, but he was pleasantly surprised when Loki simply allowed Thor to pull him close, leaning against his side. "You're no monster, no beast . You're my little brother."

Loki forced a jagged smile. "To this planet?" He asked pointedly, "here, where I invaded two continents and killed nearly one-hundred people? To Jotunheim, after I slaughtered my own father and turned the Bifrost against their realm? To you and your friends, after sending the Destroyer to kill you?"

"I have never looked upon my brother and seen a monster. And my mind would not change if this very second, your shapeshifting failed you and you sat beside me in a different form. I've seen you hurting and angry, but not monstrous."  

"You weren't there in Stuttgart," Loki said, remembering Mobius's jibe, the one that shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. The one he didn't even think Mobius intended to hurt. 

"You were not yourself on Earth," Thor said firmly, "I do not expect you to tell me why. I have my suspicions -"

"The Black Order," Loki said, and that was all he needed to say. Thor knew that it was likely no words could ever explain the horrors Loki had been through at the hands of Thanos and his children. 

"You do not need to speak of it, unless it would bring you peace or comfort to do so," Thor assured him. 

"It won't."

After a few more long minutes passed in silence, Loki tore his gaze away from the crashing black water. 

"Come, brother," Thor said gently, "Father told us to remember this place as home. Come and see what we have built here, to honour his wishes."

New Asgard was not nearly as lavish as the Golden City had been. Loki thought he preferred it that way. 

Thor had looked at him funny when he had cast a plain-faced, nondescript illusion over himself, the sort of person anyone would forget only a few minutes after meeting him, but Loki reminded him that he was dead in this timeline. It wouldn't be good for him to be seen strolling around New Asgard. 

Thor brought them first to an ice-cream shop, called Infinity Conez, and Loki wondered who in all the Nine Realms had greenlit that. It has a huge gauntlet sticking out of the front of the building, golden with each of the Infinity Stones fixed into it. The same gauntlet that the hand he had watched strangle himself in the TVA files had worn, with what Thor called an ice-cream cone in its fist, rather than his throat.

Loki thought it was completely distasteful, but they sold a cranberry-lemon ice cream that was finally properly sour, so he decided to forgive it for now. Thor left with a huge cone of something coffee flavoured, which reinforced Loki's idea that there was something far more addictive than caffeine in coffee, if so many people wanted to consume it so often. Thor offered him a bite, saying it wasn't just coffee flavoured, it was coffee and chocolate, but Loki still refused. 

There was a tavern called the Black Raven, and Loki saw Huginn and Muninn on perches above the sign for the tavern. He thought they were statues, until one of them squawked at him and fluttered down, landing on Thor's outstretched hand. Thor stroked the bird's feathers. "They still watch over us for Father," he explained, "even in Valhalla, he can see through their eyes."

Loki wondered if their father was watching now, and if that meant he should say hello. He decided against it. 

Among other things, there was a stage. Loki was going to walk past and ignore it when the people being depicted caught his attention. 

"Look at this place. Home," the man Loki realised was playing Odin said wistfully. 

"Home," the man who must have been meant to be Thor, dressed in a ridiculous amount of layered jackets, said.

"Yes, home, father," a man who was clearly meant to be Loki, in a poor rendition of the all-black suit Loki had seen in the files, agreed. 

"We've come to take you home," Thor continued. 

"Yes. To planet Asgard."

Loki was quite sure he didn't talk like that, just repeating whatever Thor said with more details, but he let it slide, curious to see where this was going. Incidentally, he also knew Asgard was never a planet. 

"Asgard is not a planet, my sons," Odin said, "it is people. It is you! And now, it is time for me to pass onto the spirit realm."

Loki was completely torn by being frustrated with the play, calling Asgard a planet and Valhalla the spirit realm, and being completely entranced, watching an artistic version of how his final moments with his father would have played out. 

The actor playing himself let out a whimper, ducking his head to seemingly spray water at himself. 

"Valkyrie insisted they put that in," Thor said, "said she needed a joke about how greasy you always were if she was going to approve the play."

"I will take my place in the great banqueting hall of Valhalla, the resting place of the gods," Odin said dramatically, getting to his feet. "Oh, one more thing. You have a sister. And so now, I turn into godly stardust, and say farewell. Oh, look. Do you see? It’s happening. I’m disappearing."

The actor dropped a bunch of golden glitter, and walked off the stage. Loki stopped watching. 

"It's not very accurate," Thor told him, "but it isn't worse than the one you commissioned the playwrights to write about your own death, when you were posing as Odin on Asgard."

A portly Midgardian man turned around and shushed Thor aggressively, not seeming to realise he was shushing the very same man who's poor rendition on the stage was shouting "Mjolnir!" as he threw the prop hammer towards the actress who must have been meant to be their sister.

Thor led Loki away from the stage. "I've never told anyone the exact details of what happened on the Statesman, for fear it would get back to the playwrights and the next I would know, they would have a man painted purple, strangling that poor actor who keeps being cast to play you."

Loki gave a faint smile. "I think I'll consider that lucky. I've already watched it happen once."

Caught off guard by your favorite song

I'll be dancing at a funeral

Dancing at a funeral

Sleeping in the clothes you love

It's such a shame we have to see them burn

Shame we have to see them burn

- Bastille, Good Grief, WILD WORLD (2016)

Chapter Text

Aim, throw your best shot right at me

'Cause pain, I can take it easily

Did you really think I'd fall to my knees

Just to pray for some sweet simplicity?

"Can we finally talk about what happened?" Mobius asked, after Thor and Love had retired for the night. 

"I'm going to need you to be more specific," Loki replied, stretching out languidly on the couch. His leg landed half in Mobius's lap, and he didn't do anything to adjust it when the agent didn't complain. "There has been a lot going down of late."

Mobius sighed. Loki thought he saw a fond twinkle in his eyes, and he didn't like how fluttery that made him feel. 

It was ridiculous to even think about getting attached to the agent. He was a mortal, for one thing. Had he not mocked Thor for his obsession with Jane Foster? Who was he to befriend Mobius, now? 

The second thing was that Mobius was functionally his jailer. He'd been sleeping in Mobius's closet since he was brought to the TVA, with only enough space to sit down with his knees hugged against his chest. It was too short to stand in, and too narrow to sit comfortably, let alone lay down in. And Mobius had kept him there, locked in with an external lock they both pretended would hold him. 

Every instinct in him told him not to let Mobius get too familiar, even as something else has driven him to search endless timelines for the agent. 

"You said that a mistake was made at the Citadel," Mobius said slowly, "but you haven't explained what. You said Sylvie killed the man in charge, I thought that was the goal!"

"It was," Loki agreed, taking a huge breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Mobius hadn't been there. He hadn't met He Who Remains. He didn't know what exactly Sylvie had unleashed upon every world. Every timeline. "But - but the man we found in the Citadel, He Who Remains -"

"Super creepy name," Mobius interjected. 

"- he was the lesser of two evils," Loki said, ignoring the interruption. "We could either treat with the dictator and accept his offer -"

"The offer to rule," Mobius cut in again. 

"Yes," Loki agreed, "the offer for Sylvie and I to rule the timelines, while he retired. We would keep the timeline unified, decide how things would go, control the TVA."

"A tempting offer," Mobius said, "was sorta your plan all along, wasn't it, Loki? Kill the Timekeepers and seize control?" 

Loki shot him a glare. "That's not why I considered it," he spat, "I considered it because the alternative was multiversal war."

Mobius took an appropriate amount of time to think about what that meant. "Sylvie wouldn't reconsider, would she?" He managed to ask. "Killing the people behind the TVA and as many of our Minutemen as she could was her entire life. She wouldn't give that up no matter what the stakes."

Loki must have looked about as angry as he felt about the matter. 

"You did reconsider. And she acted -"

"Like she never should have trusted me to start with," Loki said bitterly, "she accused me of betraying her, but she's the one who got me to let my guard down and then threw me into a random timeline's TVA."

"Hold up," Mobius said, "I've never seen you let your guard down. You've been on high-alert since you were brought in by B-15. What did Sylvie do in order to manage that?"

Loki felt his cheeks grow hot, and he covered it as best he could with a withering glare. "I'm just going to tell you how Sylvie managed to trick me. Right. Because I was clearly born yesterday, not over one thousand years ago."

"You're embarrassed," Mobius said, and something else flickered across his face before he plastered a playful grin over it. "She did something you're embarrassed to talk about. The only thing you've ever shut up about around me is your feelings for her. She played in those, did she? Classic Loki move. I almost feel you should have seen it coming."

"What, you think I don't know that?" Loki snapped, and that seemed to change something with Mobius. Immediately, his demeanor shifted. 

"Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed that."

He wasn't really sorry, though. He and Loki had played this game in the Time Theatre, constantly. Mobius's transition from antagonist to sympathetic friend was so seamless, someone else might not have questioned it. But Loki had been questioned by Mobius too many times to be fooled quite so easily. The glare didn't leave his face for a second. "If I tell you what she did, will you drop the subject?" 

"Loki, you know I'm not trying to harass you. I'm just trying to get the information you have so we can figure out what we need to do next."

"That's a no," Loki surmised, "I think the last time I tried to avoid your questions, you called me a cockroach."

"Loki, I've called you a lot of things. You know how investigation works. I call you names, try to destabilise your feelings and self-worth, you crack like a nut and tell me what I need to know. Any master manipulator knows that trick. I hardly think cockroach is the worst thing I've ever called you."

"And what do you gain now?" Loki asked, "if I tell you how Sylvie tricked me, what insight does that give you? How to break me later, when you don't need me anymore?"

"No!" Mobius had the gall to act hurt by the implications. "Loki, I just want to find Sylvie! No tricks!"

Loki's control over his emotions faltered. He turned sharply away from Mobius so the agent wouldn't see the hurt and betrayal flashing across his face. "Of course," he said slowly, feeling the ice return to his tone after a few minutes, and he looked back up at Mobius, confident he wouldn't see anything in his expression. "Why would I be so foolish. That's all this has ever been about."

"Loki, what is that supposed to mean? What do you think I've just told you?"

"You've only ever cared about finding Sylvie," Loki said, "she's the only part if this you've ever cared about. All you want from me now is to tell you what I know so you can go back to catching her. Then you'll take your TemPad and leave, because I'm just the inferior variant."

Loki didn't give Mobius a chance to argue. He stood and stalked down the hall, towards the spare room where Mobius wouldn't intrude to follow him. 

He did, however, underestimate how quickly Mobius could move. A hand caught his wrist as he reached for the doorknob, and although the agent wasn't strong enough to actually hold onto him, Loki turned around. 

"What?" 

"If you walk away from this conversation," Mobius said severely, "I won't chase you and force you to have it, but you'll prove yourself right. I will leave if you refuse to talk to me, Loki, because that's not what friends do. You searched dozens of TVAs for me, you can't just walk away because I ask you hard questions. Finding Sylvie is not the only thing I care about."

"You care about her more than anything else. More than you claim to care about me, considering you're meant to be my friend."

"Oh, isn't that rich?" Mobius scoffed, "you really want to go there?"

Loki'd had enough. "Why are you still so mad at me? What gives you the right? I didn't claim to be your friend and then capture you and stick you in a Timeloop!"

"I'm not mad at you, Loki," Mobius said, too quickly, and confirmed exactly what Loki suspected. 

"Yes, you are," he retorted, "you've been mad at me since…"

He wanted to say that it was since Lamentis I, but that wasn't true, and didn't make sense. Mobius hadn't seen him on Lamentis I until the Nexus Event, and Loki was quite sure that the disgust the agent had expressed at the cause of that event had been to get under his skin, nothing more. He wanted to upset Loki and put him on the defensive, to force him to defend what had happened and therefore answer Mobius's questions. 

But that wasn't really it, was it? Mobius had been angry before the Nexus Event. He had shown up angry, and even now, when they established that Loki had been right to follow Sylvie, and they had found out important information they never would have had if Loki had waited for Mobius instead, the agent still seemed angry with him. 

"Since Roxxcart," Loki said finally, "you've been angry with me since Roxxcart, and I don't know why."

He thought about trying to trick an answer out of Mobius. To do so, he would have needed to leave out that last bit, but he didn't want to try and toy with the agent. He was quite sure Mobius had been toying with him, trying to manipulate him for an answer, but for once, he didn't want to return in kind.

He simply wanted Mobius to answer him. To choose to answer him. 

Mobius shot him a look at Loki couldn't decide was full of further anger, or just hurt. "You really don't know, do you," he said, not so much a question as a statement of a fact. "You're so clever, but you really don't know why I would be upset with you."

"Obviously," Loki agreed, "that's why I'm asking. Mobius, honestly, I'm being upfront with you. I'm not trying to trick an answer out of you, or to mess with your head somehow so that you'll answer, I'm simply asking outright. Can't you show me the courtesy of doing the same, and simply answer me?"

He could see that Mobius didn't want to. He could watch the way the agent considered telling a lie, to get himself out of this, probably considered telling Loki to figure it out himself, before defeat softened the lines in his face, and the resolve behind his blue eyes melted. 

"You left me standing there like a fool, Loki," Mobius said softly, "you worked with me in the TVA, let me train you to help catch the Variant -"

"Sylvie," Loki said quickly, although he didn't know why he defended her all the time, insisted that Mobius call her by her name and not 'the Variant.' He didn't like it when her name was brought up, it was strange that he would demand Mobius use it, now.

She had betrayed him. She had done exactly what a trickster and backstabber should do, she had seen the confliction in his feelings about her and played that to her own gain. 

She had done exactly what a Loki would do, even though she claimed she wasn't a Loki anymore. But still, Loki defended her.

"Sylvie," Mobius agreed, "and I risked a lot bringing you into the field that first time."

"I don't know what you were expecting, Mobius. You knew all along I had no intentions of following along with the TVA's doctrine, I was just waiting for a situation I could play to my advantage."

"Yeah, but I stuck my neck out for you, Loki, again and again!" Mobius retorted, "from the very beginning, I stuck my neck out for you. When I rescued you from your sentencing -"

Loki cut him off, "don't pretend you cared a lick about me when you interrupted the judge. You needed a Loki to help you catch Sylvie, that's all."

A twinge of a smile flickered on Mobius's face. "Clever as always. Yeah, I didn't care much about you when I convinced Ravonna to let me take you. But that was then, Loki!"

"And what changed?" Loki demanded, "what magical threshold was I supposed to know we had crossed?"

"I defended you, again, after the disaster at the Renaissance Fair!" Mobius said. 

"And you stuck me on desk duty and thought I would be there for the next several years, admit it!"

"Just how much do you expect me to confess before you accept that you're not a saint, Loki!" 

"I only did exactly what I always do," Loki hissed, "I looked out for myself, because no one else has ever bothered! I'm just a convenient scapegoat for everyone who doesn't want to admit they did anything wrong, and I'm sick of it. You just wanted to use me and get rid of me, didn't you? 'Audience with the Timekeepers,'" Loki scoffed, and he saw from Mobius's expression, shocked and hurt but not angry, not defensive, that he was on the right path. "Judge Renslayer didn't go rogue when she decided to prune us both after the interviews. You planned to do that all along, didn't you?" 

It wasn't a question, and that was good, because Mobius didn't answer. 

"He's just a Loki," Loki said, imitating Mobius's frustrating Midgardian accent. "Only a Variant."

"Loki, stop that," Mobius said, but Loki didn't feel like stopping. He knew he'd struck a nerve now, and that was what he wanted. 

"Once we've got'em both, we prune 'em, end of story. We just have to keep him cooperating until we catch the other one," Loki dropped his fake accent. "Ringing any bells, Agent Mobius? Have I worked out all the details of the devious little plan that you made with the judge? Is it a bit harder now that you know you're no better than the rest of us, is that what changed your mind? Or are you going to insult us both and try to convince me you ever really gave a damn about me?"

"Is that how you really feel?" 

"Can you prove I should feel otherwise? Give me a reason to think I might be wrong?"

"Honestly? There's only one question to ask, Loki. If you've known this all along, why did you come and find me?"

Loki had been about to fire back the first response, probably an insult, he could come up with. 

Instead, his voice croaked in his throat and he snapped his teeth shut with an audible clack. 

"You're too clever for your own good, you've got an answer for everything. But even I can't figure out why you would search eternities worth of alternate TVAs, trying to find the man you think doesn't care about you. Make it make sense, Loki."

All of Loki's knowledge of several different languages, most of which he was fairly certain Mobius spoke, vanished from his mind at the tip of his tongue. On Asgard, it was rare that someone could shut him up so thoroughly, and he wished he was back there, verbally sparring with his brother and winning with ease. 

And that was the answer, wasn't it. "Where else was I supposed to go?" 

Mobius had clearly assumed he'd won with that comment, and he snapped to attention when Loki managed to speak. 

"What do you mean by that?" 

"Where else could I go?" Loki didn't respecify, choosing instead to make Mobius think about it. "My people, my home, everyone I ever knew. You took them all away from me, you and the rest of the TVA. Where else could I go? I couldn't go back to the Citadel, I didn't know what Sylvie would do if I did, I didn't think I could trust her."

"But you came here. If you were looking for someone to trust, and you know you can't trust me, why come here, Loki?"

"I don't know!" Loki shouted, but he knew that was a lie. A lie he wanted to believe, but a lie nonetheless. "Because you said that we were friends and I wanted to believe you, even though I knew I shouldn't. It's just part of being me, isn't it? I know the world is a horrible place, full of horrible people, I even know that I'm one of those horrible people, and I know I can't trust anyone but I still try. I keep trying until someone like you makes it so I can't. And the last one who did it to me was Odin."

"Always the victim, aren't you, Loki?" 

"No." Loki said angrily, "I know I'm to blame for a lot of what's happened in my life, but I'm not to blame for deciding not to lay down at your feet like a good little dog until you have no further use of me. She betrayed me, it's true, but I don't regret following Sylvie into that Timedoor."

"She used you just the same as everyone else, Loki," Mobius countered, "if you really hate me so much, you have to hate her, too. And your brother, and father. You're so desperate to believe that you're nine steps ahead of everyone all the time, that all someone has to do to manipulate you is let you believe that. When you should be thinking that it's too easy, you pat yourself on the back for being that good. You're the biggest narcissist I've ever met, and you can't even pretend to understand why. And that cosmic narcissism is why you let her use you without even thinking about it, and why when you fell in love for the first time, after over a thousand years, it was with a better version of yourself."

"You don't know fuck about who I've loved."

"I've watched your whole life, Loki, and you die with only one person in the entire universe who cares about you."

Loki glowered at him. "You're so concerned about the people I care about, Mobius," he snarled, "so convinced I have to see them just as badly as I see you. Why is that? Why are you so interested in my relationships, especially with Sylvie? If I didn't know better, I would assume you were jealous."

"Dammit, Loki!" 

Loki tried to demand just what he was being cursed at for this time, it was an unfortunately familiar experience, but he didn't make it even a breath in before Mobius, reaching up, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him against the wall. It would never have worked had he not surprised Loki, Mobius was nowhere near as strong as him. Still, Loki took the step back, his back striking the wall with surprising force. 

"For once in your life would you just stop assuming that you know everything?" Mobius snapped.

"When someone proves me wrong, I'll consider it."

He was slower to process what was happening than he would have liked, but he worked it out in that moment. He glared down at the agent. "If you want to tell me I'm wrong, you're going to have to prove it," he growled, "can you do that?"

He knew he was being antagonistic. He may have even crossed the line from antagonistic to just cruel, or at least behaving like an ass, but he didn't care. If Mobius wanted to claim he was always wrong when he tried to figure out how much or if someone cared about him, then Mobius was going to have to do better than making him guess. 

"I was right," Mobius grumbled, "you are just an asshole."

"I'm flattered. But do you really think recycling your insults gets you out if this? What's next, bad friend? Scared little boy? Pussyc -"

Lips crashed into his own and he stopped talking, stopped taunting, stopped breathing. 

He hadn't thought Mobius would do it. Loki ruined everything he touched, every relationship he ever had. He'd always been too afraid of letting someone in that close to him to allow anyone to try. He'd had a chance with Lady Sif, and when he'd awoken in her bedchamber, while she was still asleep, he'd panicked. He'd done the first thing he could think of that would ensure she would hate him for the rest of their lives, and would ensure that this would never happen again. She would no longer want to be close to him. 

He'd shorn a weft of hair off the side of her head and fled, and when she found him, he got what he wanted. 

Well, he hadn't wanted to be attacked, but he'd wanted her to hate him. Hate was safer than love. 

And as he let Mobius hold him up against the wall, lips pressed against his own, tasting the TVA agent's breath on his tongue and feeling his moustache tickle his upper lip, Loki knew that as soon as he gave himself a chance to think, he would ruin this, too. He had thought that he already had ruined it. He'd thought by picking this fight he had ruined any chance he would ever have of admitting to himself or anyone else that he had feelings for the agent, feelings which scared him more than anything in the world. 

And yet, he hadn't. He'd said every horrible thing he could think of to Mobius, and Mobius had still kissed him. Was still kissing him. 

He wanted to cry. He felt like he couldn't breathe, and more surprisingly, he didn't want to. He was content to stay in that exact, perfect moment for the rest of eternity, which was why when he felt Mobius begin to pull back, he was suddenly seized with the knowledge that he couldn't allow either of them time to think or reconsider. If either one of them tried to speak, Loki would ruin this, just like he ruined everything he touched. 

Mobius's grip slackened on Loki's collar, which reminded the god that he really needed to find more flattering clothing than the TVA suit someday soon, and Loki took the split-second opportunity he had to immediately switch their positions, his hands fisting into Mobius's lapels, lifting him up onto his toes, pressed hard against the wall, not allowing their lips to part for a second. 

Not least of all because Loki didn't want Mobius to see the look on his face, the absolutely desperation he couldn't cover up for this to be something real, something that was going to last. 

Mobius let out a faint gasp of surprise against Loki's lips, but that was all the protest he put up. Even up on the tips of his toes, he tipped his head back ever so slightly, reaching up to Loki. 

He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to do anything but this because if he did, he would break it. If he used his lips for anything but kissing Mobius, he would say something that couldn't be forgiven. This would all end, and even though Loki hadn't been certain that he wanted this until Mobius had kissed him, he knew now that this was exactly what he wanted and he couldn't risk losing it to his own stupidity. His own carelessness, the same carelessness that had ruined every other relationship he'd ever had. 

Loki destroyed his relationships. He ruined things with the people he loved. But he couldn't do that so long as they were here.

Mobius tapped his shoulder, and Loki ignored him, pressing his lips even harder against the agent's. 

Mobius tapped his shoulder again. 

Loki reluctantly pulled away, bracing himself for whatever Mobius would say next, resolving to just hold his silence and try not to ruin this for as long as he could hold out, but the agent laughed at him, breathless. 

"Forget we need to breathe, didja?" 

All at once, Loki felt foolish. Mobius had probably been trying to pull away and breathe when he had first moved, and Loki hadn't let him. The former analyst had held his breath as long as he could before making the problem known. 

"I don't -" he managed to say, and in a mortifying twist that only someone who had watched years worth of footage detailing his entire life could pull off, Mobius already knew what he was trying to say. 

"You won't ruin this," he promised, "if you were going to, it would have been while you were still shouting at me. You're stuck with me, Loki, and we don't have to talk if you don't want to, but talking isn't going to ruin things. You can't chase me off, I know everything about you. You -"

Loki cut him off with another kiss. He didn't know if he did it because he was still worried, or because he needed the taste of Mobius's mouth like he needed air to breathe. Moreso, even. Mobius smiled against his lips, curling his hand gently around the side of Loki's face, cupping his cheek. Loki kissed him breathless once again, only pulling back when starving lungs made him. Mobius was gasping for breath, his face flushed pink. 

"You aren't going -"

Loki didn't finish. Sympathy washed across Mobius's face for just a second. 

"That's what she did, hey, Loki?" He said gently, "she played with your feelings for her. She kissed you, got you to drop your guard, and now you aren't sure you should drop your guard for me."

Wordless, Loki nodded. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," Mobius said, his voice impossibly soft. "I am never going to hurt you, Loki. You trusted that I wouldn't hurt you when you came and found me, after the Citadel, trust that I won't hurt you now."

"I trusted her," Loki breathed, "I knew it was stupid. I knew I couldn't trust her. I knew I shouldn't have trusted someone who would never trust me. I'm sorry I left with her."

"You don't have to apologise," Mobius told him, "you were right. I was working on how to get out of it, but Renslayer would have ordered you pruned after the second failure. She wanted you gone after the renfair. We don't need to talk about this now."

Loki nodded. "We -"

Mobius seemed to be a few steps ahead. He grabbed Loki's ugly striped tie and pulled on it gently, guiding him into the spare room like it was a collar and leash. Loki felt a bit of a thrill, pulling at his stomach, and he thought to himself that maybe he didn't hate the TVA uniform quite so much. 

Mobius pushed open the heavy wooden door, leading Loki in behind him. "Did you do some redecorating, or was it already like this?"

"You know my whole life, Mobius," Loki said, "you know how my brother reacts to my dying. I haven't changed a thing."

Loki didn't have to let Mobius pull him around by his tie, but he allowed it to happen anyways. The agent touched his shoulder, pushing him down onto the bed. He clambered up beside the god, leaning back in to kiss him. "You truly want to do this?" Mobius asked, reaching carefully for the knot of Loki's tie. 

"Hedonist, remember? Of course I want to do this. You… have watched this happen before, haven't you?" Loki asked tauntingly, cocking an eyebrow. 

"Only for research purposes!" Mobius protested. 

"And when you watched," Loki continued, heedless of Mobius's protest, "what was your preference for me?" 

"What does that even mean?" Mobius asked, unraveling Loki's tie and going for the buttons at his throat. 

"I can do anything you want," Loki said, "be anything you want. What's your fantasy?"

"Loki," Mobius trailed off, "I don't want you to change for me."

"That's ridiculous," Loki scoffed, "I'm sure you have a preference, everyone does. Sif and all the others. I don't care, it's fun no matter what. I just want to know what you want."

"No shame, no embarrassment, and try not to play shy on me now, alright? I'm genuinely asking."

Loki didn't really want to let Mobius ask questions. He'd let the mortal, the probably considered average, middle-aged mortal that he was so enamoured with he couldn't even explain it to himself, get them this far, interrupting, questioning, teasing, and he didn't want to allow for it anymore. He wanted Mobius to shut up, and use his lips to keep Loki silent, so he couldn't make some stupid, asinine comment and watch this all blow up in his face, like it did every time he tried something like this. He leaned back in, peppering soft kisses to Mobius's lips, and really, it was embarrassing how easily he had let Mobius pull him around, sprawl him out on the bed of Thor's spare room that had obviously been set up in hopes that the proper Loki from the proper timeline would someday make it back, against all odds. It was embarrassing how easily he had settled into this at all, honestly. But that didn't mean he wanted it to stop. 

"Hey now, pussycat, you can't just do that everytime you don't want to talk about something," Mobius mused, "although, maybe you can. I am feeling rather hard-pressed to try and stop you."

"You're gonna want to dissect whatever answer I give you," Loki replied, "'nd 'll tell ya what I don't want. Don't want that."

"Loki, if you tell me not to dissect the answer, I won't. But we don't continue this until you let me ask the question, okay?"

"Fine."

"Have you ever done this without trying to figure out what the other person wanted?" 

"I don't usually have to try," Loki said, "I can either figure it out without asking, or people tell me."

"All I want is you, Loki. Just you. Can you do that?"

Loki hesitated for a second. "Yes," he managed to say, surging forward to kiss Mobius again. 

'Cause woah, you're squeezing my heart

Too hard in your bare hands, they hold too tight

And woah the air is on fire

This room feels electric, cord here in your sights

Power, power

I will never understand the power you're holding over me

Power, power

Oh you've had it too long, yes you've had it too long

- Bastille, Power, WILD WORLD (2016)

Chapter Text

Well I trust you

But not enough to place this gun in your hand

I've got a past you couldn't understand

I could love you

But that alone is the reason why I can't

Love is nothing but a weakness

Even if he hadn't bothered to open his eyes yet, Loki knew that it was still early when he slowly started to wake. Early enough that the sun had not made it above the horizon. He didn't have to move yet. And Loki certainly did not intend to do so.

Loki was too comfortable to even open his eyes. Lying on his side, he felt warm from the firm presence pressing against his back, his muscles were completely relaxed, and his body was pleasantly sore in all the best ways. A drowsy smile tugged at his lips. He was warm and sated in a way he hadn't even had time to realise he needed until now.

How long had it been since the last time that he was with anyone like this? It must have been before Thor's coronation. Before he planned his bit of mischief to ruin his brother's big day that snowballed into his entire life crashing down. It had been far too long.

Before then, Loki had been no stranger to having a good time with a variety of partners. Sometimes multiple at once. He had plenty of experience and Mobius...

Judging merely by technique, Mobius was not the best that he had ever been with. And yet Loki couldn't remember ever enjoying himself more. 

Perhaps because there were no illusions between them, literally or figuratively. Mobius already knew him better than any past lover; he knew Loki fully and yet still wanted him.

What Mobius lacked in the decades of experience, he made up for with enthusiasm and honest emotions. The way that he looked at Loki, how he sounded in the middle of everything, and the way his arm remained curved around Loki's waist even now in an unconscious effort to keep him close overcame any clumsiness. Besides, Mobius seemed eager to learn last night from his greater experience. And he would undoubtedly get better with experience. Next time, they would...

Next time...

Next... time…

The warm content pooled in his stomach turned to ice-cold dread in an instant. Loki didn't do next times. His partners weren't partners, they were a means to an end. They had their fun, and if he could time it right, Loki slipped out in the dead of night, leaving whoever he'd allowed to bring him to bed to wonder if it had truly been the younger Prince of Asgard they'd just spent the night with. 

It wasn't as though Loki was a selfish lover, he always ensured everyone had a good time, but it was always without strings attached. He didn't want a relationship, he wanted a fun night, and maybe, if they were especially good, a second go-around when they both awoke before they went their separate ways and never spoke of their night together again. 

It was better that way. Loki hurt everyone he ever cared about. His mother, his father, his brother, no one was safe from the path of destruction that followed him around. He was born to cause pain and suffering, just like Mobius had said. He wasn't good for people. 

And it was far too risky to fall for someone, to hand them the power to hurt him willingly and wait to see if they would take the weapon and use it to carve his heart from his chest. 

Historically, they did. He still remembered the press of Sylvie's lips against his, the way her expression had turned cold as she pulled away. 

"But I'm not you."

It still hurt like it had happened seconds ago, even though he knew it had been many days, maybe even weeks. Love was a dagger, and he'd foolishly pressed it into Sylvie's hands and asked her not to hurt him with it. 

She hadn't even hesitated to deny his wish. 

Mobius was the first friend Loki ever had who was truly his friend. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three only tolerated him because of Thor, and he'd had many allies in his life, but never friends. Not until Mobius. 

Why would he let himself end up here, where he was guaranteed to ruin everything? 

He had to go. He couldn't stay here, snug and wrapped up in Mobius's arms, basking in the warmth and content of the afterglow. He had to move, to get away. 

Luckily, Loki was well-versed in escaping clingier lovers than Mobius. The only one he had ever woken was Fandral, which was fine, because the show-off swordsman hadn't been interested in pursuing a further relationship. He had merely proposed a wager which had led to Loki finding out how many of Thor's friends he could sleep with, without his brother finding out. 

Thor was rather unobservant, so it would have been all four, had Volstagg not let out a booming laugh and said he would have considered it, were it not for him being happily married, which Loki had expected. 

Slowly and carefully, Loki began to extricate himself from Mobius's embrace, slipping the pillow out from under his head to replace his body with so that the agent would still be holding something. 

Mobius let out a slight noise of protest, pulling his arm tighter around Loki, lips pressing sleepily to the back of his neck. Loki froze, waiting to see if Mobius was going to wake up, but he felt the agent settle again a few moments later, and finished sneaking out. He stuffed the pillow in behind him, and Mobius snuggled up to it instinctively. 

A large part of Loki wanted to go back. He wanted to lay back down, next to Mobius, to curl up in his arms and pretend that there was no way this would go badly for both of them if it continued. 

But Loki was a realist, maybe even a pessimist. This would not go well. His relationships, his encounters, they never went well. Loki hurt everyone he ever got close to. If he didn't want Mobius to be the same, he had to break this off now. Maybe, they could still be friends. Loki hoped they could still be friends, Mobius was the only friend he'd ever made himself.

Mobius would understand, even if he didn't understand today. He knew Loki's entire life, he had seen the way Loki handled Sif. He had seen the way that everyone Loki ever got close to either got hurt, or hurt him. He would understand

Still, part of Loki wanted to believe this time could be different. That they could do this, and no one would get hurt. There had never been anyone like Mobius, no one who truly knew exactly what they were getting into. 

Even his family, and the familial ties he had with them, hadn't truly had the benefit of knowing what he was like. But Mobius did.

A nagging thought picked up the back of his mind. Mobius wasn't the only one who could get hurt here.

Love was a dagger that cut both ways. If Loki now held the power to hurt Mobius, Mobius had the same power to hurt him. He had handed it over, a weapon he could only ask nicely that no one used. 

And the last time, that request hadn't worked out so well for him. He thought he loved Sylvie, he thought that she loved him. But that was a lie, just a way for her to get close enough to manipulate him. And Loki had fallen for it, so openly desperate for someone to care about him that he made it easy for her to use him. If he went back to laying in that bed, slipped the pillow out from under Mobius's arm and went back to sleep in his embrace, he would be doing the same thing again.

Mobius had hurt him before. It wasn't such an unreasonable thing, to think he might do it again. Mobius had lied to him about Sylvie's fate, had done everything he could to manipulate Loki, to make him hand over information. In that interrogation, he'd been belittled, ridiculed, outright mocked. Mobius had done everything he could to hurt Loki, intentionally. And now he was supposed to trust that the agent would never do it again? That nothing could come along and convince Mobius the TVA had been right, make him feel justified in what he did?

If he didn't walk out the door, and take the dagger with him, he was just waiting for Mobius to plunge it back into his chest.

As he stepped out of the room he thought he could hear Sif, calling him a craven and telling him he would be alone for the rest of his life.

She was probably right. 

To his frustration, Loki didn't immediately leave the longhouse. He wanted to, because as it stood, if Mobius woke up, he wouldn't be very hard to find. But a stupid part of him wanted to be found, the part that just couldn't get with the program and realise that it didn't matter what he wanted, he had to protect himself.

And if that meant giving up something he wanted, so be it.

The trouble was, Loki didn't seem to be able to get his mind and heart on the same page. A reasonable, yet undoubtedly wrong part of him said that he wasn't in any danger at all. Mobius would never hurt him. He just needed to relax. Once he relaxed, he would feel better, and he could go back to the spare bedroom before Mobius when knew he wasn't there. 

He wound up in the bathroom of the longhouse, filling a tub with hot water and a strange, foaming bath oil scented like lilacs. Loki would have preferred lavender, and he also would have preferred it not to bubble, but he supposed it was called bubble bath. It was also the only sort of bath oil Thor seemed to have.

Still, he had been complaining about the lack of baths in the TVA. He had not appreciated the agency's dedication to ruthless efficiency leading to small, cramped shower stalls which required token payment if you wanted hot water for longer than ten minutes. Mobius had always handed Loki two of them when the god would decide to shower, giving him half an hour, which was nice of him but still frustrating as a whole. He'd never really had a reason to consider how high-maintenance he might be, being a prince and all, he was raised with many of the finer things in life barely seeming like a luxury at all, but apparently, he was quite a bit too high-maintenance for the TVA. 

So, after giving the instructions a glance, because it was Thor who would find a new product and use it without knowing how, he had poured a generous splash of the liquid into the filling bathtub, and now the surface was covered in foam. 

He had not bothered to get dressed to begin with, knowing that with the sun still below the horizon, Thor would not be awake for several more hours, so he simply slipped into the tub once it was full. The hot water enveloped him comfortably, soothing at his stiff and sore muscles that were not entirely sore because of last night. He'd not had much of a chance to try and relax his aching body since making it back to the right TVA.

He sunk up to his chin in bubbles and hot water, and closed his eyes. 

You're only delaying the inevitable. You know that, don't you? You deserve to be alone, and you always will be.

Loki shook his head, frustrated. It was just Sif, she had gotten in his head, one of the thousands of times it seemed like they had replayed that scenario.

But who put you there? Who handed you off to Sif? That's your history, you lived it ages ago. It wouldn't get in your head, unless someone put it there, unless someone sent you there to relive it, and you know who sent you there.

Mobius was the one who had sent him there, because of course he was. It was as though he'd been reminding Loki of what he knew. Reminding him that any happiness he thought he had would be short-lived and temporary. He didn't deserve to be happy. He had hurt too many people to still deserve to be happy. If he fell for this now, it would just be more narcissism. Believing that somehow, he was worth actually caring about.

No, it was time to go. He had been right when he first woke up, this couldn't last. If he let himself believe that it would, he would be a fool. 

Loki was suddenly not enjoying his bath. He managed to convince himself to stay in the tub for about another five minutes, and then he allowed himself to get out. It wasn't helping calm him down, if anything, having a chance to be alone with his thoughts was only stressing him out further.

He unplugged the bath and stepped out, rooting around in the cabinet until he found a plush bath towel. He was even more upset than he had been before he'd had the brilliant idea of taking a bath, and all the more frustrated for it. 

After taking a moment to dry his hair, he tied the towel around his waist and walked back to the spare room, needing to take a moment to ascertain where his clothes had ended up before he could get dressed. Somehow, one of his socks had ended up behind the nightstand, and he could see it when he peered over the edge, but could not reach it without waking Mobius, so he would have to go without it. 

Once he was dressed again, less one sock, he should have just slipped out of the room. There was nothing there for him. 

Still, he looked back at Mobius's sleeping face, lips just slightly parted as he snored, the slightest shadow of a beard beginning to cover his cheeks and chin, which Loki recalled as being scratchy last night. Loki had taken the time to clean himself up after he'd woken up in the TVA's med wing, not wanting to stay covered in dirt and grime. His cleaning up had included a shave, and apparently, Mobius had not taken the same time to clean up. 

Mobius was still curled up around the pillow he thought was a god, holding it impossibly close. Looking at him made Loki's entire chest ache. 

He crept up to the bed, leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping agent's mouth. His breath tasted awful, but Loki didn't care. 

"Thank you," he whispered, "for a second, I even believed this was different."

Mobius's breathing stuttered for a moment, as though he had been jostled, and Loki froze, only to hear him mumble, "just five more minutes, Miss Minutes," undoubtedly mistaking Loki's disturbing him for the annoying AI which doubled as an alarm clock. 

"Five more minutes," Loki agreed, reaching over to the nightstand and sliding his stolen TemPad off the charger. He snuck out of the room before booting it up, Miss Minutes walking in place with an exaggerated gait signaling it turning on. Thankfully, this one really was fake, and couldn't talk to him. 

Once the handheld unit had fully turned on, Loki tapped it a few times, pulling up a menu where he could choose where to go. He didn't trust the saved locations in this TemPad, it wasn't his, it wasn't even from his TVA, but he managed to come up with a good option, who's year he could recall. 

He didn't need somewhere he could stay forever. He would have to come back, his brother would be waiting for him. Thor's actual brother, the one from this timeline, had told him that Loki was meant to come here. He'd told Loki the same thing. He couldn't just disappear.

But he could leave, and stay away either until Mobius left, or until it was obvious to them both this needed to remain just a good memory. 

He inputted a location in 2018, although not on the Sacred Timeline, and the golden door winked open in front of him. 

He didn't hesitate. 

As soon as Loki stepped through the Time Door, he felt the chill of the endless purple twilight of Vormir coil around him and the faintest snow flurries dust his face. Not that the cold had ever affected him strongly. He didn't want to think about the reason why. 

All that mattered was that the dead world was essentially empty. The existence of his elder Variant in the Void had taught him that it was not merely apocalypses that could hide someone; complete isolation could also conceal them from the TVA. And that was what Loki needed: isolation and somewhere that Mobius wouldn't be able to find him. He'd even switched timelines to ensure that no one would find him in his dark, rocky, and mountainous hiding place until he was ready.

Though he did make certain that he would be able to find his way back before traveling to a new timeline. He had no intention of becoming lost once more.

Loki had never known much about Vormir. His lessons had included worlds and people beyond the Nine Realms, but it had been empty of anything beyond ruins in the highest mountains for long enough that it wasn't worth the effort for in-depth studies. But while the TVA barely gave him access to any files beyond what Mobius decided was absolutely necessary for the mission, he was allowed to view his own file. Which had included the "Time Heist" that left the Tesseract at his feet and had also listed the other locations that the Avengers had traveled to in order to collect the Infinity Stones. Vormir was the resting place of the Soul Stone. But Thanos would not be collecting it until after he... retrieved the Tesseract. As long as Loki chose a time prior to his predestined demise, there was no threat to worry about.

Pacing back and forth, Loki fidgeted with his hands even as it felt like something was crushing his chest and there was a lump in his throat. He needed to calm down. Everything was under control. This was for the best.

He knew that the rocky outcropping on the dim and dead world would suit his needs perfectly. No one would find him. There was no one that he could hurt or who might hurt him. No hidden metaphorical daggers. No potential betrayal waiting for the most painful and vulnerable moment. No inevitable instant where it all goes wrong and he somehow destroys everything that mattered. He was safe from all of that. Loki was alone. 

Always alone.

Screaming in frustration, heartache, and countless other emotions that he couldn't contain, his magic flared out in a brief flash of green that sent the loose stones and dust flying back. An uncontrolled and childish outburst that he should be ashamed of. But Sylvie was right on Lamentis-I; it did make him feel a little better. 

Like the topic of his origins, his mind shied away from thinking about her. Trying to run away from the memory. Just as he'd run away from Mobius.

"Thor, have you seen your brother?"

"I was about to ask you the exact same thing," Thor admitted, looking wearily at the agent over the rim of his coffee mug. "I believe I need to insist on having a conversation about shared walls, but it should wait until you're both here."

"Oh, god," Mobius groaned, putting his face in his hands. 

"Yeah, I heard a lot of that one last night," Thor complained, "really, the arguing was inconsiderate enough, but if you and my brother are going to make me realise how grateful I am that our bedchambers were not in the same hallway of the palace, you might remind him to do some magic for a little soundproofing."

"I thought you said we needed to wait for your brother to get back before we did this," Mobius protested, but he knew it was a weak protest, at that. When he figured out where Loki had run off to, because he was starting to suspect he was no longer in the longhouse, he was going to kill him for leaving Mobius to deal with Thor by himself. 

"We'll just have another talk when Loki's here, it'll do you good to have a reminder. I've half a mind to put you two in charge of Love for the day, because if I didn't sleep, I'm sure she didn't, and when Love doesn't sleep, she has eyeball laser tantrums. And look, it's not that I'm not happy for the both of you. I'm very grateful that even though he needed to get yanked out of time in order to do it, Loki found someone who makes him happy. But if you could do that being happy a little quieter next time, it would be much appreciated."

While he spoke, Thor rummaged through the cabinets, pulling out what Mobius recognised as flour, sugar, and other powders. 

"Can we please save the rest of this lecture for when Loki is back?" Mobius asked, "getting chewed out by the God of Thunder, who's mad at me for sleeping with his brother, wasn't on my list of things to do today."

"I'm not mad that you two had sex," Thor said, "sex is not such a taboo thing on Asgard as on Earth, I wouldn't even be mad if I thought you two were just passing the time, and that you didn't actually care about him. I'm mad about how loud you both were. Really, I didn't want to know that my brother moans like a who -"

"Please, I'm begging you. Let me figure out where Loki went before you finish that."

Thor froze, halfway through scooping out a cup of flour. "Odin's beard, he did not ," He spat, throwing the cup into a mixing bowl. "He ran away! Like he always does. I shouldn't even be surprised! That little weasel -"

"Of course he did," Mobius said, although it had not occurred to him before, it was the only answer which made sense. "He's probably panicking over letting someone in that close. The important thing is, he's around here somewhere. The only Bifrost you have is attached to that axe of yours, so he can't have gotten far."

"That doesn't bother you? He slept with you and then he ran away! Couldn't even wait until the morning to tell you a proper goodbye, he just ran! He does this all the time."

"That's precisely the point," Mobius said, "I'm the resident expert on your brother, in the TVA. I pretty much knew he was going to do this. If you asked me to choose between the two things I thought he was likely to do, I would pick this. The other is stabbing me when I kissed him."

Thor took a deep breath. "Alright, fine. Putting aside the fact that he's acting like a coward, again, where would he go? He can't have gotten far, but there's not a lot of safe places for him on Earth."

"Hold that thought," Mobius said, a cold pit of dread forming in his stomach. He hadn't thought to look at the nightstand when he awoke, he had assumed Loki had gotten up earlier than him again and was out in the kitchen getting breakfast, or something of the sort. 

Now, he tried to remember if he had glanced at the charging station for the TemPads. Had both of them been there, or was Loki's stolen TemPad, shaped just a little differently than Mobius's, an indication that it was from a different TVA, missing? 

Mobius raced back down the hall to check. He threw the door to the spare room open, running for the nightstand even as he saw that his worst fear was correct.

There was only one TemPad on the charger. "Shit!" 

Thor appeared in the doorway behind him. "There is still time for you to change your mind and be mad at him, I think it would be fairly justified.

"No, that's not it. It's that he's making me a liar, he can have gotten far. He took the stupid TemPad, he could be anywhere. And quite frankly, after speaking to a variant who dealt with him, he's not very good at picking where to go."

"How do you find him?" Thor asked. 

"I - it took us ages to find another Loki variant," Mobius said, "one who had a TemPad and was running from us. That's why we brought your brother in, it was to find her!" 

"Her?" Thor repeated, "my brother tends to spend more time as my brother than as my sister. Was this one different?"

"Very," Mobius agreed, "but that isn't the point. The point is that I think Loki could be in trouble, and I have no idea how to find him."

"Why do you think he might be in trouble?"

"Because last time he picked somewhere to run to without thinking, he threw himself and Sylvie onto the one apocalypse they couldn't survive. They're only alive today because they managed to create a Nexus event in an apocalypse, which is supposed to be impossible. If he's put himself on some other dangerous apocalypse, and he's alone , I might never find him. Not to mention, there are now Nexus events every ten seconds because we broke the timeline! They're not rare occurrences, they happen all the fucking time!"

"Mobius, take a breath. If you're right and Loki is in danger, which he probably isn't, but if he is , he needs you to focus right now and find him. Panicking doesn't help. He said he lived out the same past as he does on this timeline, until around 12 or 13 years ago. The Invasion of New York, that's what he said went wrong. What has just happened to him at that time, that he might consider when thinking of a safe haven?"

"The locations of the Infinity Stones. Loki didn't know them in the timeline, but he knows them now. I don't think he would go to try and get them, but he might try to hide somewhere that a Stone was kept. And -"

Mobius tapped around on the TemPad for a few moments. It was basically impossible to tell what any branch might be, but at least now he had an idea of where Loki would go. If he could find a branch that would take him to one of the locations, then he might be able to find the God of Mischief. 

If he had time, if he didn't think that there was a reason to rush, he could have gone back to the TVA and asked Casey or another analyst to help him find a branch that was occurring in one of those regions, or maybe even track Loki's temporal aura. Unlike Sylvie, they had a definitive record of Loki's from when he had been arrested. When Mobius had gone down to the archives to find that record, while Loki was still missing the first time, the analyst who had taken that record had told him a tragically adorable anecdote about how Loki had been worried that he could be a robot, and not know it. The analyst had laughed, as though that was a ridiculous prospect, who wouldn't know they were a robot, after all, but Loki had just found out he wasn't what he thought he was a year before. 

And that was the answer, wasn't it? Mobius had used his TemPad to scour the various new timelines for Loki. The easiest way to track someone in a timeline was temporal aura. Pulling up the devices history, he could easily access his most recent searches, and he could re-input his former parameters, allowing him to search for Loki's specific temporal aura, the way he had in the time between getting back from the Void and watching the timeline implode, and when his Loki had gotten back to him. 

Loki would not go to the locations of the stones in the distant past. He would risk running into their former Guardians, the people who had known about them before Thanos had begun collecting them. In the 1940s, for example, Hydra had seized the Tesseract, but before that, the Norse people had guarded it for Odin. Loki wouldn't go there, lest his father discover him if he decided to check in on the Stone. And in all likelihood, he also wouldn't go to the distant future. Loki was already a man pulled out of his time, the regular world happened in a Time that was the future to him. He had missed 13 years, between the time he was pruned from and now. The future likely wouldn't appeal to him. If anything, he was more likely to go somewhere in the time that he had missed.

That knowledge finally gave him enough parameters. He finally was shown a branch which contained both his Loki's temporal aura, and was taking place in the location of one of the Infinity Stones. The Soul Stone, to be precise. Mobius figured it made sense, it was one of few Stones Loki did not have any personal association to, at any point in the Timeline. No matter how briefly, Loki came into contact with the bearer of each other Stone, or was the one who used it himself. Perhaps, that logic made the Power Stone the most unlikely, considering it was used to kill him. It also made the Soul Stone the most likely.

Loki must have been hiding on Vormir. The problem was, the Vormir branch was developing very quickly, rushing towards Redline even though now, there was no sense in tracking Redline. Mobius remembered the way the branch on Lamentis I had soared, and it only solidified his belief that had to be Loki.

"I found him," Mobius said. 

"I'll go with you -" 

"You can't," Mobius said firmly, "Loki and I still have to do everything we can to protect the integrity of every timeline. We aren't meant to be on them. I can't start pulling anyone from any timeline along with me."

Mobius didn't know if he legitimately believed that excuse, or if he was trying to prevent Thor from seeing something potentially devastating. A lot could go wrong near the Stones, but especially in the time Loki had picked. If something was wrong, Thor didn't need to witness what might be coming. 

Hands shaking, he set the TemPad to mute before he pressed the button to show him the preview of this branch. It would only show him what had caused it, not what was currently happening there, but Mobius already had a sinking suspicion that he knew what could change in the timeframe Loki had chosen, at the location of one of the Stones.

He stopped the video the moment he saw the huge, gauntleted fist, a brilliant purple gemstone already twinkling in one knuckle. He didn't need to see any further to know what that meant. Through bad luck alone, Loki had chosen a branch where Thanos didn't go and find the Statesman first. He had gone to Vormir instead. And while he wouldn't be able to get the Soul Stone, not unless he had brought his daughter with him, if Mobius didn't hurry, the Mad Titan would not consider this visit in vain.

Backup would have been wonderful, if Mobius was going to have to deal with the Mad Titan, but he couldn't put Thor through that again. He couldn't ask Thor to witness Loki struggling with Thanos again, couldn't make him watch that happen again. 

Mobius had to go alone. 

I don't trust you

'Cause you're everything I've been praying for

And I'm scared that you won't find what you came looking for

I can't love you

When I can't even learn to love myself

Love is nothing but a weakness

Shaky hands, and your lips

I feel so safe around you

I beggin', please, just bring me in

- Former Vandal, The Runner and the Lover, FEEL SOMETHING (2014)

Chapter Text

You take the breath right out of me

You left a hole where my heart should be

You got to fight just to make it through

'Cause I will be the death of you

At the very least, Thor did manage to help, once. He asked if Mobius was certain he wanted to go unarmed, which prompted the agent to grab the Time Stick off the nightstand where Loki had left it. Mobius wished he had brought it with him, since he was only just now remembering that Loki didn't have his daggers. The last time Mobius had seen him, before his return to the TVA, the child variant had gifted him a sword, but Loki didn't appear to still have it. When he found the God of Mischief, he was bringing him back to the TVA, finding him his daggers, and duct taping them to his hands. Loki lost weapons the way some people lost pens. 

Really, Mobius could kick himself for letting Loki leave the TVA without finding his daggers, first. Outside the TVA, when he had access to his magic, Loki couldn't be disarmed by normal methods. If he had his daggers, he wouldn't be able to be rendered weaponless. But with them tucked away in Mobius's own locker, as he had been the one to take them off the god the second time he was captured, Loki had nothing but his wits and a TemPad. 

Loki was very clever, and quick, but Mobius didn't think it would be enough against Thanos. The Mad Titan had a vengeance against Loki in almost every timeline, the exceptions being the single one that he just calmly left his home planet and became a farmer somewhere isolated. That had been a nice, quiet timeline, which had of course been pruned because the Avengers had to exist. Loki had to invade New York, and he didn't come up with the plan himself. He did it because Thanos forced him, and when he lost both the war and the Stones, Thanos carried out his death threats the next time they met. 

Without fail. Sometimes he had the time to make it slow, like he promised to, sometimes he did it quickly, like on the Sacred Timeline.

The second exception was a much more terrifying alternative. If Loki played along willingly with Thanos's plan, if he ended up initiated as part of the Black Order, he was also not killed. 

And he successfully took Earth. Loki ruled Earth in Thanos's name as a terrifying dictator. Most of the Avengers died during the invasion, including Thor. The death of his older brother only seemed to harden Loki even more, in that timeline. 

But in the timeline Loki had gone to, he failed Thanos, just as always.

Mobius was horrified to realise that he had to hope it wouldn't be the quick alternative. If Thanos took the time to torment or torture Loki first, he would have more time to get to Vormir and find where he had the god cornered. 

To be kind, Mobius probably wasn't the first to wish torment on a guy he had just slept with. He probably wasn't even the first to do it to Loki. He hoped he had a more altruistic reason to do it than most, though. He didn't want to see Loki hurt, he only wanted to make sure he lived long enough to be saved. 

Holding the Time Stick in one hand, he opened a golden doorway to Vormir. He turned back to Thor. "The door should close almost as soon as I go through, but I mean it - don't follow me."

"Agent Mobius, what is happening to my brother?" Thor demanded. 

"Hopefully nothing," Mobius replied, "I should be back with him in less than a minute."

Loki had a list of times he had really screwed up. It was one thing to make mistakes, quite another not to learn from them. 

Near the top of the list was the drop off the Bifrost, because no matter what his family had done to him after he attacked Jotunheim and Thor, it wouldn't have been worse than what the Black Orders did. Near the bottom, because he was still unsure how he would have handled it better, if given the chance, was cutting Sif's hair off. 

He had to keep track, because despite being the obviously smarter of Odin and Frigga's children, he still had a tendency to do very stupid things. He just learned from them faster than Thor did. 

This may have been the dumbest yet. 

The worst thing was, Loki should have seen this coming. 

If it was the Sacred Timeline, he would have been safe on Vormir for a few days after the Statesman was attacked. Thanos went for the Power Stone in the Nova Corps Headquarters vault first, and then he attacked the Asgardian refugee ship, taking the Tesseract from his non-variant self before snapping his neck, then he went to take the Reality Stone from the Collector, and finally, before meeting Tony Stark, Stephen Strange and some other Avengers on Titan for the Time Stone, he would bring his daughter to Vormir and sacrifice her for the Soul Stone. 

But this wasn't the Sacred Timeline. And this time, Thanos didn't go from the Nova Corps to the Statesman . 

No, this time, Loki realised, as a massive hand grabbed his shoulder and jerked him to his feet and he scrambled for the TemPad, Thanos went directly from the Nova Corps to Vormir. 

His breath felt like ice in his lungs, the TemPad slid from his cold and shaking fingers. It clattered into the rough stone of the ground, and Loki tried to reach for it but he was thrown away from it, lifted from his feet and hitting the ground behind the titan, hard. The air was driven from his chest, and he struggled to get back to his feet before Thanos could get to him. 

"It has been a long time, Asgardian," Thanos said, and ice water flooded Loki's veins. Staring at Thanos's face, he saw the last moment on the reel flashing before his eyes, watching himself kick and struggle for breath and realise that he was going to fail. 

He had to get to the TemPad. Thanos was between himself and the TemPad. If he could get to the TemPad, he could get back to Mobius. 

Mobius. 

Why had he run away in the first place? What was so frightening that he couldn't discuss it with the agent who wanted to discuss everything with Loki? 

"I think you may have mistaken me for someone else," Loki said, trying to sound convincing and failing. He sounded terrified, and nothing more. 

"Silence!"

Thanos reached for Loki again, and Loki just managed to dodge, reaching out to draw his daggers to his hands and finding nothing. 

His daggers were in Mobius's locker in the TVA. The one place he could not reach them, the one place he could not banish them back into his interdimensional pocket and summon them forth to wield. 

What had the old man said about Thanos? In his panic, Loki could not recall the scalding criticism the only Loki to have ever survived Thanos's revenge had offered. The one thing that might save him now. 

"I don't know you!" Loki tried, trying to convince himself it was true. He was a talented liar, but truth was usually more believable than lies. He technically didn't know this Thanos. 

"You are too frightened for that to be true," Thanos growled, "you know why this must happen. Why I choose for this to happen. Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe, but this does put a smile on my face."

Loki shivered. Not from the cold of the dead world, but from the look on the Titan's face. The gleam in his eyes. The recording of the casual murder of his Sacred Timeline's Variant and his own vivid memories of his time suffering Thanos's hospitality crowded his mind. Banishing all other thoughts and leaving Loki's mouth dry.

He was not inexperienced with being in dangerous circumstances where he could lose his life. He had fought in countless battles, usually dragged into them by the brash Thor, even before he led an entire invasion. Death was a familiar spectre. But it never felt quite as close.

He needed to move. Grab the TemPad and flee. Anywhere else would be safer. But he was frozen like a rabbit before the wolf. He couldn't move.

Then the purple Infinity Stone in the Gauntlet began to brighten. And the paralysis evaporated, Loki lunging for the Tempad. Desperate for his chance to escape. Except Thanos had seen where his attention was and Loki barely flung himself away in time to avoid the large fist.

The punch missed Loki, but the purple energy that accompanied it shattered a boulder that was merely in the distant path of the swing, the power extending beyond the physical impact.

"You made your choice, Asgardian, you knew what would happen if you failed me."

Loki ignored his lecture. The only thing that mattered was the TemPad. Thanos could keep talking, but the TemPad was the important part. He had enough charge on the TemPad that he didn't need to be certain to send himself back to Thor's longhouse. He could select the first location he could scroll to and send himself there, and regroup from where he ended up. 

Loki sent up an illusion, a version of himself that struggled to stand, and he tried to shield himself from view, scrambling along the ground to try and reach the TemPad. 

Thanos ripped a massive hand through his illusion, and his protective illusion wavered for a second when the first was dispelled, and that was enough. 

His fingers grazed the screen of the TemPad before Thanos's foot connected with his ribs. Loki couldn't help from crying out, hot pain sparking in his ribs, as he rolled away from the TemPad. 

He landed flat on his back, gasping for air, his side burning each time he inhaled. The TemPad was now at least twenty feet from his hands. 

Magic. He had magic, he didn't have to get to the TemPad, the TemPad could come to him. He reached out his hand, flexing his fingers, and the TemPad skittered across the ground towards him, and he could almost touch it - 

And Thanos grabbed it off the ground. 

Panic seized in Loki's chest. If Thanos figured out how to use the TemPad, not only was Loki doomed, but also every other timeline. The TVA was in shambles and might not be able to stop him in time. 

Thanos did not waste time trying to decipher the delicate device. He took it in his enormous hand and crushed it without a second thought. 

It fell to the ground in pieces. 

Loki allowed himself half a second of despair, because he was fairly sure that meant he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do. Then he forced himself to regroup.

At that point, he knew that his only chance was distance. Keeping as far out of reach possible for as long as possible. Any rational plan or strategy had long since evaporated as he turned and ran. No destination except away .

Loki heard a loud crash as something slammed down behind him. Purple energy rippled out, spiderweb cracks racing out as the ground exploded in a shockwave of destruction. Stone cracked under his sprinting feet before flying up in giant chunks. Loki barely kept ahead of the chaos for a second before throwing him into the air as well.

He crashed roughly. Bouncing, rolling, and getting pummelled by the large stone fragments still glowing purple. Loki screamed as his knee, the barely-healed one, twisted in a horrible direction. Something else hit his back, spinning him around as he rolled across the shattering landscape. His head hit something hard enough to make his visions explode into stars.

He might have lost a little time and blacked out for a moment because then the world was quiet, no longer exploding and shattering apart around him. His body throbbed and he tasted blood. Loki tried to regain his breath as the world spun around him. It was hard to focus as his head pounded and his knee felt like a knife was shredding the joint. He tried to remember why he needed to move so badly.

Then a giant hand abruptly grabbed onto his arm and wrenched hard. Yanking him from the rubble, making his shoulder pop in a new explosion of agony, and abruptly reminding him of the threat.

He was doomed. He knew he was doomed, now, even though he didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't want to let himself think it, didn't want to acknowledge it, but it was true. 

His only chance to survive had been to flee. To keep distance between himself and Thanos. 

With his head spinning, nausea building in his throat every time he moved, and his knee unable to hold his own weight, he couldn't run. With his shoulder dislocated - he knew it was dislocated, he had suffered the injury before, in training - he couldn't fight. He couldn't beat Thanos with both arms, much less with one and no weapons. 

He was dragged back to his feet, his injured leg crumpling as soon as he put weight on it, Thanos's imposing strength the only thing which kept him on his feet. 

Thanos wrapped his gauntleted fist around Loki's throat, like in the horrible recording, and hauled him up off his feet. His fingers squeezed tight around Loki’s neck, his feet kicked helplessly in the air. 

He couldn’t fight his way out of this grip. He already knew that, even without trying. He hadn’t managed to fight his way out of Thanos’s grip on the Sacred Timeline and he wouldn’t manage it here. He had to do something different, something he couldn’t do on that timeline.

He could only think of one skill he had learned beyond what he knew in the Sacred Timeline. Sylvie had told him how to enchant someone. 

“I have to make physical contact, and then grab hold of their mind,” she had said, on their walk towards the Ark. 

“How?”

“Depends on the mind. Most are easy, and I can overtake them instantly. Others, the stronger ones, it gets tricky. I'm in control, but they're there too. In order to preserve the connection, I have to create a fantasy from their memories.”

“And you call me a magician.”

It seemed impossible to imagine that he could do it without her help, but he had to try. Even if he was certain that his role in enchanting Alioth had been mostly to offer Sylvie more magic to draw from. If somehow he remembered how to enchant someone, if somehow he had learned it well enough to be able to enchant Thanos, he had to try­. Nevermind the fact that without a TemPad he may never get back to Mobius and the Sacred Timeline. Right now, he had to focus on surviving.  

With his good arm, he carefully reached out and touched Thanos’s arm, just past the gauntlet, pressing his fingers weakly against his rough purple skin. He closed his eyes, and tried to reach into Thanos’s mind. 

It went wrong almost immediately. Loki was thrown into a torrent of memories over which he had no control. He saw Thanos on his own planet, spurned by his people, shunned and despised. He saw his own mother try to kill him at his birth. He saw Thanos when he had balanced Titan, and the way he had expected to be congratulated as a hero who made a difficult but necessary decision. He felt his resolve harden when he realised it would never be that simple.

He saw himself offer a double-ended dagger which balanced perfectly on his index finger to a young Zen-Whoberis, one Loki recognised from his time spent with the Black Order, not so long ago. He saw Thanos keep the girl sheltered and distracted as the remainder of his followers exterminated half of her planet’s population. 

He saw Thanos pit daughter against daughter, the battle between Nebula and Gamora which had lasted six days, where in the end, he rewarded Gamora even when she lost. He saw himself through Thanos’s eyes, a weak, pathetic creature, so defeated and close to death, saw the way Thanos and the Black Order fought to change him, to mould him into something useful to them. 

If he had succeeded, if he had brought back both Stones and laid Earth and Thanos’s feet, he may have been one of them. A member of the Black Order, one of the Children of Thanos. The thought frightened him more than dying. 

He saw Thanos learn of the Soul Stone’s location, but not how to get it, earlier than he should have. He saw the Titan decide to go to Vormir rather than pursue the Asgardian escape vessel, and it stung, to think that this version of himself may survive, at the cost of his own life. 

He saw everything running through Thano’s mind up until the moment he had grabbed Loki by the throat, and he managed to lock onto nothing. At the end of it, he was forced out of Thanos’s mind, and left being strangled once again. 

He should have known better. Loki was mostly immune to Sylvie’s efforts of enchantment due to his own experience with the Mind Stone. Thanos had never been placed under its control, but he had wielded it long enough to know how to strengthen his mind against that sort of invasion. His mind was probably more fortified than Loki’s, having had the luxury of developing the skill out of desire and not desperate necessity. He was able to take his time building defences, not to throw them up in a perhaps vain attempt to prevent further exploitation.

His lungs were tight and burning, he gasped desperately for a breath he couldn't get. His head spun, his heart pounded in his throat. 

In the reel, he had final words to say to the Mad Titan. This time, Loki didn't have anything he wanted to say to Thanos. His last words would have been to the people he cared about, if he could make them. 

He wanted to speak to Thor. He wanted to tell his brother that he was sorry. He was sorry for everything he had done, he was sorry that he had forced Thor to watch him die, he was sorry that he was going to die now, again, the same way as last time. His brother was going to lose him again, and he may never even know. 

He wanted to find Sylvie. He didn't think he did, until now. He wanted to hate her for betraying him, to hate her for the chaos she had unleashed upon the Multiverse. 

But he didn't. He just wanted to see her again. He wanted to talk to her again, to get to work this out with her. 

He wanted to make sure she was safe. He was worried about her and where she would have gone. 

He missed Sylvie, and he was never going to be able to see her again. He didn't know if Mobius would go to find her, either. 

And Mobius. 

Why had he been so afraid to face Mobius? The first person who ever truly understood him and everything about him, and Loki had been too afraid to face him. Mobius cared about him, and he cared about Mobius, and he would never get the chance to tell him, now. 

Loki had never been in love before. He knew that. 

But he also knew, as his vision tunnelled and his heartbeat started to falter in his ears, he wasn't going to have the luxury of dying that way. 

This will be all over soon (this will be all over soon)

Pour the salt into the open wound

Is it over yet?

Let me in

• Breath, Breaking Benjamin, PHOBIA (2006)

Chapter Text

They don't know how much they'll miss

At least until you're gone like this

Talking to the mirror, say, "Save your breath

Half your life, you've been hooked on death"

Twice the dreams, but half the love

Be careful what you bottle up

The chemistry is a mess, it seems

But me, I'm still a sunbeam

Mobius ran through the TimeDoor, looking around frantically for any sign of Loki or the Mad Titan. He twisted the Time Stick, lighting up the end. 

If he had to, he would prune either one of them. Pruning was disconcerting, not necessarily painful, especially not for someone who could teleport regularly. If the only way to save Loki from the Mad Titan was to send him to the Void, so be it. Mobius would follow him there and find him. 

Hopefully, he could prune Thanos instead. That would be the ideal situation. 

But first, he had to find them. He didn’t know where on Vormir Loki would have gone. He doubted he would go for Red Skull and the Soul Stone, and it was a small planet, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a lot of space to search.

The air was cold, and Mobius wished he had a better coat. 

That was all that Mobius had time to notice before a nearby explosion had him diving to the ground, hands flying up to cover his head instinctively and barely managing not to prune himself in the process. It took a few moments for the sounds of falling and crashing rocks to die down. He could only press himself hard against the cold stone beneath him as he waited for it to stop. His heart pounded hard against his ribcage. But whatever was happening, he was far enough to avoid the fallout and debris. 

He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the voice in his head screaming at him that he was a TVA Analyst and not a Hunter. He was not trained for active combat situations. At least, not without significant backup.

But he needed to find Loki. And on an empty planet, Mobius knew that he must be near the sounds of destruction and chaos. Unfortunately, he knew that Thanos would likely be there too.

Mobius shoved himself shakily to his feet. It was quiet now. That was far scarier than the explosion of power and violence. He wasn't too far from a sheer drop on the mountainous landscape, but the destruction had seemed to come from a different direction. Somewhere on the other side of the steep ridge that stretched above him.

Unless the previously deafening noise had echoed among the mountain range. Which would mean Loki could be in any direction. But he would not consider that option. Mobius knew that he was on limited time and couldn't afford to waste it by searching in the wrong direction.

Loki couldn't afford it.

Scrambling up took more time than he expected or wanted it to. There weren't as many handholds as he would have preferred and it was hard to manage the climb while keeping his weapon in hand. But somehow Mobius managed to make it up. And without making too much noise, which was for the best since he knew better than to risk drawing attention.

The other side of the ridge didn't go down nearly as far as the one that he'd been forced to climb up. It was only a shallow dip about half his height, though it was enough to keep Mobius from seeing anything from his previous location. Reaching the top gave him a perfect view of the cause of the cacophony that he'd heard before.

It was only a miracle that his shock and fear served to paralyse and silence him. Any other reaction would have been fatal.

There was a crater of cracked and scattered rubble. Clearly the results of the chaotic destruction that greeted his arrival to Vormir. And standing in the broken pieces of dark stone, his back thankfully turned towards Mobius, was the towering Thanos. 

Purple skin, a looming stature, powerful muscles, and the Infinity Gauntlet gleaming in the dim light while the Power Stone glowed bright, Thanos seemed larger and more intimidating in reality than he ever did in the recordings. His variants had never been dangerous enough to require Mobius's personal attention. Others had always processed the titan when he required pruning. His sheer size and presence made Mobius want to take a step backwards in response, though he had no plans to fall back off the ridge that he'd just climbed. It would have been so much worse if Thanos was actually looking at him.

And then Mobius saw what was holding Thanos's attention instead of him. He saw the limp shape in his grip. Pale, blood on his face, no longer even trying to fight the crushing pressure around his throat, and showing no hints of awareness. It was like stepping directly into that moment on the Statesman. A moment that Mobius knew far too well.

He was the TVA's expert on Lokis. He knew how it always ended.

Mobius had never had any doubts about why Loki had died terrified. He knew it was true, even though the god had done everything he could not to show it. 

Now, he was stunned Loki had ever been able to make a plan to begin with, much less two. Mobius had no history with the titan, and seeing him standing there, his hand slowly tightening around Loki's throat, Mobius's knees turned to jelly. 

His footsteps seemed deafening to him, the crumbling rock under his feet was far too loud. Each time he moved, he expected Thanos to turn, to see him approaching. 

That would be the end of both of them. The finality of it was terrifying. Mobius had never considered death before he met Loki. He knew Loki had, and the Asgardian was fully convinced that no matter how he died, he was destined for Hel.

The truth may have been far worse. Loki might not have an afterlife at all. His timeline, his world's version of Valhalla and Helheim, no longer existed. Death might just be the end, with nothing after it, for the demigod. 

Mobius managed to scramble down the edge of the ridge, and he crept up to Thanos, holding the Time Stick in shaking hands. As soon as he was close enough, he thrust the glowing yellow end into the titan. 

He didn't stop to consider how that could end. He didn't consider that pruning wasn't instantaneous, and if Thanos panicked, he may close his hand and snap Loki's fragile spine before he vanished. He didn't stop to think that even if he wasn't conscious of what was happening, his grip could tighten on instinct. He didn't think about anything but destroying the titan. 

The gold trailing light worked its way quickly over Thanos, and he winked from existence. Loki fell as the hand vanished, completely limp, hitting the ground hard and staying in the crumpled pile of limbs he landed in. 

Mobius rushed over to him, throwing the Time Stick aside without heed, using Loki's own body weight to tip him to lie flat. Loki's head lolled back as he fell, chin pointed up, neck fully exposed. Dark bruises already decorated his skin, from just below his chin down to where his shirt collar sat. 

Mobius leaned his ear down against Loki's mouth, listening for breathing. He didn't hear anything, didn't feel cold breath on his skin. Loki's internal temperature was lower than Mobius's, and thus, despite not being cold, his breath never felt as warm as it should. He'd first noticed in the TVA when Loki had leaned over him to read a file over his shoulder. He had felt Loki's breath on the side of his face, and could smell his hair, which was a mix of something fruity, perhaps apples, and the standard-issue TVA shampoo. 

He moved his ear from Loki's mouth to his chest, closing his eyes and trying to will himself to hear a heartbeat. Last night he'd felt Loki's pulse against his tongue, pressing kisses against his throat as the demigod moaned at the gentle exploration, but now he couldn't even hear a faint beating in his ear. 

He grabbed Loki's left hand, trying to find his pulse in his wrist, and found nothing. 

Loki wasn't breathing, and his heart had stopped. But that didn't mean Mobius was going to give up. 

He sat up, trying to remember his medical training. His hands were shaking as he reached them towards Loki's chest, using two fingers to find the very edge of his sternum, and placed his other hand, palm flat, just above his fingers. 

He moved his first hand, interlocked his fingers, straightened his arms, positioned his shoulders directly above his hands, and pushed down, putting his whole body weight into the compression. 

Loki's chest moved maybe half an inch. Mobius didn't need to remember his emergency medical course to know that it wasn't deep enough. 

He straightened up, forced his hands down as far as he could. 

"Come on, Loki," he said, feeling the god's chest compress by an inch, at most, but it was more than last time. "You stupid idiot, come on, breathe!" 

He pushed down in another compression, and then another, and another. His mortal strength couldn't win against Asgardian bones, couldn't force Loki's ribs to give as much as they should, but he had to keep trying. 

"You stupid, moronic, asshole!" Mobius growled, slamming his entwined hands back down into his sternum. "You fucking asshole why did you run? I told you I knew what I was getting into, why did you fucking run?" 

Another few compressions. Mobius cursed as he realised he hadn't been counting. He couldn't remember if the medical staff had said compressions or rescue breaths were more important, and he didn't want to risk missing a breath. He stopped his compressions, leaning down over Loki's face. 

He tilted Loki's chin up, remembering that it was meant to open up his airways. He pinched his nose shut so the air couldn't escape, and sealed his mouth over Loki's, a grotesque parody of the way they had been last night, unsure where one's lips ended and the other's began. By the time he had drifted to sleep, Loki's breath had tasted as familiar as his own. 

Now, the god's mouth tasted of blood, and there was no breath to speak of. Mobius exhaled forcefully into Loki's mouth, glancing over to see if his chest rose. 

It did, and after a second, Mobius broke the seal, letting Loki's chest deflate, before doing the same thing again. 

Two breaths, thirty compressions. It came back to him now. He was meant to call for help, first, because once he began CPR, he couldn't stop until Loki woke up or professionals arrived. 

There would be no professionals. Mobius had to continue until he couldn't, until Loki woke up, or until he was prepared to call it himself. 

Mobius didn't know who he would have called, anyways. He went back to his compressions, trying to find a steady rhythm. He was meant to do one hundred to one hundred and twenty compressions a minute. That was more than one per second, and it just didn't seem possible. Not when he had to fight for every fraction of an inch, Loki's ribs being much stronger than a human's. 

He watched Loki's face as he strived to manually beat his heart, searching for any sign of life. Unlike at the end of the reel Mobius had watched too many times, Loki's green eyes were closed. A rivulet of blood dripped from his nostril. 

Mobius's mental count hit thirty. He allowed his arms the break as he reached over to do his two rescue breaths. 

"Come on," he muttered, as he sat back up with the taste of blood on his lips. "Come on, Loki, you're not allowed to die now. Why would you come here? Dammit, Loki, can't you ever think before you act? How many times am I supposed to clean up your messes?"

Once he started, he couldn't stop. His terror turned to fury. Fury with Loki for running, even though he had known Loki would do it. Fury for him refusing to be careful. Fury for him for having come to Vormir. 

"Dammit!" Mobius hissed after every compression. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, why do you do this?" 

His heart was pounding in his chest. His lungs burned. His arms felt like they were going to fall off.

Mobius didn't care.

"Please," he begged, somewhere between rage and despair, " breathe ."

His mental count hit the mark and Mobius leaned in again. Copper in his mouth once more as he breathed out. Making Loki's chest rise slightly. Doing the task that his body failed to perform.

"Breathe, Loki, you have to breathe," Mobius hissed, "you have to breathe. Come on."

His arms were burning now, aching with every compression. His breath was starting to stutter, to become harder and harder to draw. He no longer had the breath to curse at Loki, to curse about how stupid it was for Loki to have come here. 

He leaned down and forced two breaths into Loki's lungs, gasping in a gulp of air between the two. 

Mobius pulled back again, panting hard from exertion, from running low on breath himself, and from furious panic from Loki's continued stillness. Like a perfect copy of the events of the Sacred Timeline.

"Come on ," he hissed as he resumed chest compressions,  "you... stubborn... idiot ."

He didn't even know if his efforts were making a difference. He was more slamming his weight against Loki's chest than anything. Emergency medical training, required even from those who rarely go into the field, said that compressions should be strong enough that ribs could crack. But Mobius would never be strong enough to do that to an Asgardian. 

But he had to try. If there was a chance it might work, he had to try.

" Breathe , Loki. You're not... dying on me. Thor survived... in space ."

But the cold of space might have been why he could be revived. Huge rule about water rescues. The cold water could buy the victim more time. They aren't dead until they are warm and dead.

Loki was never the warmest, but he wasn't the cold of space or icy water. He was just chilled, silent, and still. His face discoloured, bruises darkening already in gruesome fingerprints, and coppery blood that Mobius tasted with each breath that he forced into those lungs smeared across his lips. 

Loki had never been in love before. He knew that. 

But he also knew, as his vision tunnelled and his heartbeat started to falter in his ears, he wasn't going to have the luxury of dying that way. 

He thought about Mobius, once more. His clear blue eyes, the terribly soft look on his face, gazing down at him last night. He thought about the taste of his sour breath that morning, the way he had mumbled about wanting five more minutes to sleep. 

He thought about Sylvie. He thought about her fury in the Citadel, but also the way she had spoken to him on Lamentis I. 

He thought about his brother, and the guest bedroom and how it would stay decorated in green and gold, waiting for the little brother who was never going to come home. Thor would never give up on him, even as his body rotted on Vormir. 

It hurt his heart to think of Thor waiting for him for four thousand years before learning what happened. 

He was going to die, and no one would ever know. Perhaps he was already dead. 

Mobius forced his shaking arms to do another thirty compressions. He leaned down again, fitting his lips against Loki's.

One deep breath. A seco -

Mobius felt the ragged gasp against his mouth and jerked himself back. It wasn't quite a cough, but there was a rough and painful sound as starving lungs finally - finally - fought to work. His hand brushed back Loki's hair shakily as he struggled to breathe through the bruised throat.

It was a horrible, unnerving, and agonising sound. It was beautiful to hear.

He closed his eyes for just a second. That superior Asgardian healing capacity finally decided to kick in. Loki was breathing. He was alive.

No broken neck. No vacant eyes. No reel coming to an end with unquestionable finality. 

"It's all right," said Mobius quietly, swallowing briefly as his own racing heart tried to settle down. "You're all right."

Loki's breathing slowed to a less desperate speed, though the roughness remained. His eyelids might have flickered briefly during his struggles to remember how to breathe on his own, but Mobius didn't think that he had regained true consciousness at any point. Maybe that was for the best. The laboured breathing and injuries were bad enough without seeing pain in those bloodshot eyes. 

So different than the way Loki looked the night before, staring up at him with surprise, fragile hope, and timid happiness. How could things have gone so wrong?

Mobius was still shaking badly as he pulled off his jacket. Lying on the hard stone ground couldn't be comfortable. He might not be able to move Loki much, both because of his weight and in case there were other injuries that he hadn't spotted yet, but Mobius did gently tuck his folded jacket carefully under his head.

Then he leaned back, staring up at the Vormir sky as he tried to get enough air into his own lungs. His chest felt too tight and he couldn't stop shaking. Everything from the moment that he figured out where Loki had fled was starting to crash down. If he was even a few seconds slower, if Thanos had spotted him, if the Titan had tightened his grip instinctively when he was pruned...

Mobius closed his eyes, counting his own breathing as he tried to stave off hyperventilation. It didn't happen. Loki would be fine. He was alive. Mobius could still hear his laboured breathing. He just needed to work on his own now. That and the shaking and nausea from the adrenaline.

Mobius lifted his arms, laying them above his head, opening up his chest and allowing himself to breathe more deeply than before. 

He felt a sob tear from his throat as he finally let it sink it, just how close it had been. Loki should have been dead. The fact that Mobius had managed to save him was the exception, not the rule, and it could have so easily gone differently. 

He didn't know how long he laid on the hard ground of Vormir, before he noticed Loki begin to stir. He sat up, watching Loki's face twist in a frown before he opened his eyes. 

There was blood in his sclera, and he looked around frantically, trying to sit up. Mobius's arms felt like lead, but he leaned over and put a hand on either of Loki's shoulders. "Stay down," he muttered, "you're safe. He's gone. It's going to be hard for you to breathe, so you need to stay still."

Loki didn't listen to any of that, which wasn't surprising. He forced himself to sit up, a hand flying to his throat, and that was when Mobius had to stop him. 

He caught Loki's cold, trembling hand, pulling it away from his bruised flesh. He pulled both arms around Loki before he could move any more than he already had, pulling slightly, trying to get him to lean against his chest. Loki could have fought him, but he didn't. The god's breathing was rough and painful, but Mobius could now feel his chest swell with each breath, not just hear it. He wrapped his arms gently around Loki. 

"Just breathe," he murmured, "you're alright, just breathe."

Loki's breathing was more like gasping, and Mobius imagined that wasn't just from the damage to his throat. Loki had seen the end of the reel, although Mobius hadn't intended to show it to him. He'd spent his year with the Black Orders and knew exactly what Thanos was capable of. He must have been just as terrified as Mobius, if not more. 

Mobius held him close against his chest. Loki was freezing, and Mobius reached down to pull his wool blend jacket onto Loki's shoulders. 

"You're okay," he whispered, pressing his face into Loki's black hair. "You're okay," he repeated, more for his own sake than for Loki's. He needed to remind himself that it was true. The CPR had worked, Loki was alive. He was safe. He was going to be okay. 

Loki was still breathing heavily, still gasping. His entire body was shaking. 

Mobius didn't have a lot of experience with medical situations, but he didn't think it was entirely a physiological problem. 

"Loki," Mobius said gently, running a hand against his back. "Loki, please, take deep breaths. Big inhale with me," he said, reaching down to take Loki's hand, pressing it against his chest. He took a deep breath, felt Loki try to rasp in a breath for as long as he did. 

It ended in a shuddering cough, and Mobius rubbed his back some more. "That was on me," he said soothingly, "smaller breath this time."

He took another inhale, forcing himself to make it more shallow, so Loki didn’t end up coughing all the air back up. He held it for a moment, and then exhaled.

Loki’s breath was raspy and shaky as he followed suit. 

“That’s it,” Mobius said reassuringly, “nice, easy breaths. I really don’t think you can afford to have a panic attack right now, Loki, so I need you to take nice, deep, easy breaths.”

Maybe reminding Loki of the fact he was close to a panic attack wasn't a great strategy for keeping him calm, but Loki kept breathing in rhythm with Mobius. So long as Mobius remembered he was responsible for two people's rate of breath, it meant Loki was getting enough air. 

He didn't notice when Loki's gasping turned into sobs, but he wished he had. He wished he wasn't playing catch-up when he felt something wet drip into his shirt and realised the god was crying. 

"It's alright," Mobius whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of his head. "You're alright. He's gone, he can't hurt you. You're safe."

Loki sat up suddenly, when he eventually did sit up. He shook himself a bit as he moved, as though resetting himself. He reached up, dried his eyes, and forced a smile. 

"Even Thor couldn't manage that," he rasped. 

"You do not get to crack a joke and forget about this, Loki! It is one thing to run away, I expected you to do it, even though I don't know why you thought you had to. But how dare you just run off without a thought about your own safety? Did you ever think about us? About the people who care about you?"

"I didn't know!"

"You didn't check!" Mobius said, furious, "you didn't check, you just picked a destination and ran! A simple glance would have told you Thanos was coming for the Soul Stone before the Tesseract in this world! You would have been safer on the fucking Statesman!"

"Why are you so angry? It's not you that got strangled, it's -"

Loki cut himself off, hacking and coughing. 

"Why am I so angry?" Mobius repeated, completely blown back. "You're really going to ask me that? You weren't breathing! Your heart stopped! I did CPR on a god with no idea if it would work, and no idea if I was even strong enough to manually beat your heart! Are you genuinely that obtuse, or are you trying to make me angry?"

Loki opened his mouth to speak, but Mobius didn't let him get a word in edgewise. "I care about you, Loki, you're my friend. You could have died. Why would you be that stupid?"

"I didn't think -"

"No, you didn't," Mobius agreed, "you're usually so clever, Loki! It's something I admire about you. But then you run off and do something like this."

Loki's eyes were welled with tears, and he wiped them away angrily. "Needed to clear m'head," he said softly. 

"I get that, Loki, but you could've at least picked a safe timeline and left a note! I'm not asking you to know exactly how you feel right now, I'm not asking you to not run off and put yourself in danger!"

"Mobius, I'm sorry," Loki muttered, "I get it. I'm sorry."

"I don't really think you do," Mobius said, reaching over into the pocket of his coat, which was of course still over Loki's shoulders, and pulling out the TemPad. "But I'm not the only one who's going to be trying to remind you."

"Mobius, you can't tell him."

"Explain to me how you're going to hide it," Mobius retorted, dialling up the door back to Norway. "I'm telling him."

Kiss my cheek, baby, please

Would you read my eulogy?

I will never ask you for anything

Except to dream sweet of me

I will never ask you for anything

Except to dream sweet of me

Tell me, when the party ends

Will you still love who I am, I am?

• Fall Out Boy, Heaven, Iowa, SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST (2023)

Chapter Text

God, it's been so long wide awake that I feel like someone else

I'll miss the way that you saw me or maybe the way I saw myself

But, I came back to you broken and I've been away too long

I hear the words I've spoken and everything comes out wrong

I just can't get this together, can't get where I belong

(Who do you love?) who do you love? (Who do you love? Who do you love?)

"Thor, I need your help and I need you to ask questions after we're done, not before."

Thor didn't expect the golden door to appear behind him rather than in front where it had been about a minute ago, and he whirled around to see Mobius struggling to walk Loki through it. Loki was leaned heavily on his shoulder, and Mobius could barely put one foot in front of the other. 

Thor raced to Loki's other side, and went to grab Loki's arm and wrap it around his shoulders when his brother shook his head frantically. 

"Don't do that," Mobius said helpfully, "his shoulder's out of place, you need to put it back. I can't do it on my own."

"How did his shoulder get out of place?"

"Questions after," Mobius said again. 

"Let me onto that side," Thor said, "I'll have an easier time carrying him."

He couldn't understand how Loki could have wound up injured. Where had his brother been?

"If we bring him back to the spare room, we can get his shoulder relocated and he can stay there to rest," Mobius said. 

"I want an explanation," Thor insisted. 

"You'll get one," Mobius promised, "after you've fixed his shoulder and he's comfortable."

"Fine," Thor agreed, hoisting Loki up the extra couple of inches that Mobius wasn't tall enough to lift him so he could fully extend his legs. Loki managed to take one step forward, but on his second step, his right knee buckled under his weight and Thor had to hold him up entirely by himself. 

At first, Loki looked like he'd been in a fistfight. That would be unlike Loki, it was Thor who was prone to starting fights to vent off steam, but not unheard of. His bloody nose and mouth would have been easily explained by a well-aimed couple of punches Loki hadn't managed to avoid. 

But there were problems with that explanation. A dislocated shoulder in a fistfight was strange indeed, as was an injured knee. There was a knot on the back of his head which had bled, making Loki's black hair all sticky and matted, and although it was possible he'd been knocked into something and obtained the injury like that, the wounds were becoming too difficult to explain with a simple round of fisticuffs, even assuming Loki had been on the losing side. Unless Loki had tried to go a couple of rounds with the Hulk, he shouldn't have been this wounded. Thor loved his Midgardian friends, but Loki had been able to take each of them in single combat, but for the Hulk. Only another Asgardian or someone stronger would be able to do this sort of damage. 

He pushed the thoughts out of his head and focused on getting Loki into the spare room. "Mobius, go and get one of the kitchen chairs. It will be easier if he can sit and I can stand behind him."

"Right," Mobius agreed, and slipped back out of the room. 

"What did you do?" Thor asked, turning on his brother as soon as Mobius was out the door. 

Loki only replied with a slight shake of his head. His neck seemed stiff. 

"What, you won't answer without your boyfriend here to defend you?"

"He's not -"

"- Your boyfriend. Save it."

Loki's voice rasped like chalk on a chalkboard. 

"Whatever stupid thing you ran off and did, I'm going to find out," Thor said, "I'll pry it out of one of you. I can start with this, though. You're an asshole ."

"What?"

"You ran off! You kept the whole house up with your antics last night and then you ran off without even saying 'hey, I had fun last night!'"

"I -"

"Loki, I told you that you're on silent mode for a while," Mobius scolded, dragging a chair into the room. "Take a seat and let your brother fix your shoulder. We'll talk about what happened once you're fixed up a bit and in bed."

Thor snorted as Loki snapped his mouth shut with an audible and annoyed clack, but didn't disobey Mobius's instruction. He'd never known anyone who could actually shut Loki up, much less this rather average looking Midgardian. Even Mother couldn't silence him so effectively, he usually got one last comment in before she shot him a look and he piped down. 

Thor carefully maneuvered Loki into the kitchen chair. "Sit up straight."

Loki glared at him. 

"This is fun," Thor crowed, even though it really wasn't fun seeing the brother he had just gotten back wounded with no explanation. "I can see you have a nasty thing to say, but you can't, because your friend here will give you shit."

Loki glared at him some more. Thor stuck his tongue out, which was a mistake. Loki flicked two fingers and green wisp of magic flashed up and zapped his tongue. "Ow!"

Loki snickered at him. He didn't need to hear Loki speak to know he was being called an idiot. 

"Alright, just hold still," Thor said, putting one hand around his bicep, just above his elbow, and the other braced on his shoulder. "Wait, do we have anything for him to bite? Love is still asleep and this is going to hurt."

"We could stuff his tie in his mouth," Mobius suggested, "might keep him from talking, too."

Thor didn't need to be able to see his face to know that Loki's frosty green glare was fixed on Mobius now. 

"Am I meant to be afraid of you?"

Loki held his tie down with one hand and Thor could see his jaw flex as he clenched his teeth shut. 

"Fine, but you've gotta stay quiet."

Loki nodded. 

Thor slowly began to roll Loki's arm back by his elbow, to gently coax the joint back into his socket. He moved his hand from Loki's shoulder briefly to move his hair out of the way, since it slid under his fingers and made his grip shift. He was about to replace his hand when he saw a bruise. 

Huge and dark, up under Loki's ear. 

In the shape of a finger. There were others, down the side and back of his neck. Several fingers, wrapped around his throat. Thor staggered backwards. 

"Thor!" Loki hissed, as he jerked his injured arm back, but Thor wasn't even thinking about his dislocated shoulder anymore. He dropped Loki's elbow and moved in front of him, tipping his chin up. 

There was a deep, hand-shaped bruise around his neck. Thor let his chin drop back down and took a step backwards. 

"What did you do?"

His voice sounded like a growl, but it was all he could get out. It felt like he couldn't breathe. He knew those bruises. He had seen them once before, seen blood run from his brother's nose and mouth and eyes, it was there in his eyes, his sclera were red, the blood just hadn't spilled down his cheeks. 

Loki wouldn't look him in the eyes. 

"I'm mad at him too," Mobius said, "because he's an idiot and he didn't check, but he didn't do it on purpose. He didn't go looking for -"

"Thanos," Thor cut him off, "Thanos is the one who did this. Just like last time."

"Not just like last time," Mobius said soothingly, "Loki is alive. Can we put his shoulder back in place before we have this discussion?"

Thor took a huge, deep breath. As he reached back for Loki's shoulder, thunder cracked overhead. 

He couldn't even try to stop it. Loki winced when he heard it boom, and Thor knew his powers getting out of control freaked Loki out, but he couldn't help it. 

As he placed his hand back on Loki's shoulder, his little brother reached up with his good arm and gently touched Thor's hand, giving it a gentle pat. 

"Scared me too," he whispered, barely audible at all. 

Thor nodded, slowly pulling Loki's elbow back and rolling it upright. Loki clenched his teeth shut, breathing heavily through his nose, but didn't cry out. 

To be fair to him, this wasn't the first time Thor had put his shoulder back in place. Loki was a bit more fragile than Thor and his friends, a bit smaller and slighter, and if someone on a battlefield got their hands on him, he was a bit more easily broken. He usually didn't get back out of someone's grip without serious injury.

Thor felt the joint snick back into place, and Loki immediately let out a sigh of relief. "I'm going to go and find a sling, god or not, you need to wear one for a few days," Thor said stiffly, and another crack of thunder rolled overhead. "Then we can talk."

Loki looked over at Mobius, wincing as another deafening boom of thunder rolled overhead. 

"All things considered," Mobius said, "if it sticks to the thunder, it's better than we might have hoped. We should get this blood cleaned up before you lay down. I'll go get a bowl of water and a cloth."

He went to leave the room, and something seized in Loki's chest. He reached out with his good arm, caught Mobius's wrist, harder than he meant to. 

"Loki, ow," Mobius complained, "you really gotta remember you're stronger than I am, you did this last night, too. I take it you don't want me to leave?"

Loki nodded, slackening his grip, but not letting go.

"I guess we can send Thor back out for it once he gets back with the sling," Mobius allowed, "I didn't ask before because it was clear you weren't - are you okay? You can actually talk to answer me, I won't tell you off this time."

"I… I don't know," Loki admitted. Speaking felt like driving a blade into his throat. His voice sounded as though he had gargled broken glass. "It didn't even…"

"It didn't occur to you that he might not go to the Statesman first," Mobius finished for him. "Between the two of us, we probably saved the version of you on that Timeline. You and Thor and the other Aesir will make it to Earth in one piece."

"Shame Sylvie and I just unleashed He Who Remains on every timeline," Loki rasped, "he'll -"

"This is about you right now, Loki," Mobius said gently, "can you breathe okay?"

"Mostly," Loki said, "it's not easy, but I can."

"Good. Your responsibility is to keep breathing. Everything else is secondary. You scared the shit out of me, Loki, and your brother. That's why we're upset. You scared us and the fact that you scared us doesn't seem to matter to you."

"It does," Loki said, suddenly feeling a hot bit of shame crawl up his throat. "I just -" 

How could he explain it? How could he explain that the last time he'd gotten hurt, Thor had yanked him up off the ground as soon as he started trying to stand, cuffed him, and to add to the indignity, muzzled him when he didn't feel like dealing with Loki's jibes. 

The time before that had been in the Sanctuary. His injuries there were intentional. No one cared how bad they were, only that they were bad enough to break him. Enough to leave him bleeding, broken and desperate enough to do anything if it meant they would stop . 

How was he supposed to cope with this reaction? With Thor so distraught a thunderstorm now brewed above their heads, and Mobius angry enough to yell at him for the very first time, but not because he was angry but because he was scared. 

Well, maybe both.

"Maybe I was wrong," Mobius said, "but I thought last night at least suggested that we care about each other, Loki. In some way. Running off alone and putting yourself at risk and then acting like you can't understand why I'm upset about that doesn't make me feel as though we were on the same page, and that worries me. I don't need you to know exactly how you feel, Loki, I just need us to be on the same page about it."

"It felt like someone was standing on my chest. When you woke up, you were going to have questions about what the two of us were, and I didn't have answers. I didn't want you to ask them."

"So tell me that, pussycat," Mobius said, "or, hell, I don't care, run if it makes you feel better, just run somewhere safe!"

“I wasn’t ready to talk,” Loki said stubbornly, “but I didn’t want to hurt you by telling you that.”

“You hurt me much worse when you needlessly put yourself in danger instead of just telling me that you don’t want to talk. I don’t expect you to have all the answers right now, Loki. Don’t forget that I know you, Loki, I know that if - and I don't want to presume you are - you're worried that this means more than it has before, it may be one of the first times you've confronted this, although not the first, and honestly, I would have preferred if you just cut my hair off."

Loki couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't want to find out if you can hit like Sif can."

"Don't worry, I doubt that I can. Sif is a goddess, I'm just an old man."

"You could never just be anything. I've… I've never had -"

Loki stopped, coughing instead. 

"Alright, that's enough of that, for now," Mobius said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Can't have you hurting yourself worse."

"I -"

"Later," Mobius said soothingly, running a gentle hand through his hair. "Thor should be back soon, with a sling. We'll get you cleaned up and you can get some sleep. It'll be good for you."

Thor walked through the door as he was speaking, placing an armload of supplies on the bed. "I brought ice packs!" He said proudly. 

"We could use a cloth and some water, too," Mobius said, "did you bring some? I can go get them, if you didn't."

Loki grabbed his wrist again. 

"Loki, you're going to have to face your brother alone eventually."

Thor shook his head. "It's fine," he said, "I'll go get them."

"A cool cloth will be better for his throat, too, I think," Mobius said, "ice might be too much. They'll work for his head and shoulder, though. And his knee."

Mercifully, Mobius seemed content to allow them to sit in silence while Thor left the room again. Loki didn't have anything else to say, he didn't have any words to explain why he had done what he did beyond the ones he had already shared. Mobius had made it clear those weren't enough, they didn't explain his actions, not with the amount of risk he had taken. What else could he do but sit in the shame and wait for someone to start yelling again?

Thor poked back in with a bowl and some cloths shortly after. "Love's awake," he said, "I can keep her out of here but I've gotta get her some breakfast. She's demanding panflaps since Uncle Mobius couldn't make them yesterday. Can you get him onto the bed?" 

Mobius nodded. "We'll manage. Go take care of Love."

After Thor had left, Mobius turned back to Loki. "I have to be honest, I not only can't make them, I have no idea what a panflap is."

Loki shrugged. Thor wasn't good at adjusting to new places, perhaps panflap wasn't the right word for what Love wanted, anyways. 

"Right. Let's get you cleaned up and resting."

"Uncle Thor?" Love said as he walked into the kitchen. "Are Uncle Loki and Uncle Mobius okay?"

"Why do you ask?" Thor bit his lip, hoping not to have to explain it all just yet. He hadn't gotten a full rundown from either one of them, and didn't know if he could explain it all. 

"I heard them fighting last night," Love said, matter-of-fact. "They were yelling a lot. And then they weren't yelling, but it sounded like someone was hurt."

And Thor had even less of an idea how to explain that. He also hadn't been thrilled to learn Loki moaned like a cheap whore, he had no idea what he was meant to tell a girl who probably had never even gotten the birds and the bees. 

He hoped she hadn't. His sex talk with Odin had been traumatic and had nearly driven both himself and his brother to permanent abstinence.

Then again, if it actually had, Thor wouldn't be having this conversation. Their father had gone into explicit details of his wedding night with their mother, all in the name of explaining how important it was to completely sexually satisfy a partner on one's wedding night. "It sets the precedent for the rest of your marriage," Odin had said, "you must bring your wife her pleasure as many times as you physically can. Your mother and I -"

Thor had intentionally forgotten the number of orgasms Odin had claimed. In his opinion, for that one, single case, Loki was lucky to be adopted. 

At least those details weren't about his biological parents. Thor had never been brave enough to ask how much longer his parents had been married than he had been alive. 

What if he had been made to listen to the details of his conception? 

"They did have an argument," Thor agreed, remembering that he needed to say something. "And technically speaking, you're not wrong that someone is hurt, but the two are unrelated."

"Someone is hurt?"

It wasn't worth lying to Love. When she found out the truth, and realised she had been lied to, it was a good way to have to deal with laser eyes. Thor didn't have another frying pan to spare. "Yes," Thor confirmed, reaching up into the cupboard and pulling down the fixings for panflaps. "Uncle Loki got into a fight this morning, not with Uncle Mobius. He's recovering in his room. You don't need to worry about him, though, he's going to be just fine."

Thor barely believed it himself, but he needed to convince Love that he believed it. Love needed to think her uncle, whom she had only just met but already liked very much, was going to be okay.

Thor needed to believe that his baby brother, the brother he had just gotten back scant days ago and could hardly look away from for even a minute without needing to remind himself that Loki was alive, he was there and he was alive, was going to be okay. 

He had played it off to his friends that it was the culmination of losses that had broken him down. To the humans, to Stark and Rogers and Romanoff and Barton, he had pretended Loki's death did not affect him at all. It was for their benefit, not one of them would have mourned the loss of the god who once held New York City hostage with an army of aliens. Banner knew the truth, that Thor and Loki had been in the process of repairing their relationship when Thanos had snapped Loki's neck. 

But even Banner didn't know just how much Loki's death had bothered Thor. His loss came to mind most often, more than his Mother and Father, whom he had always known he would outlive, and although he felt the losses of the Warriors Three and Heimdall, his oldest friends, it was his little brother's death that haunted him. Knowing that this time, Loki wasn't coming back. 

That Loki had died because he had chosen to save Thor. 

In truth, when his friends had come to him with the plan of the Time Heist, Loki's name had no longer been on his lips because it was the one he reached for the bottle most to forget. Thinking of the man he should have gotten to fight side-by-side with for the rest of their lives hurt too much. Loki had seemed to be dead before, but that time… 

That time, Thor had known it was really, truly real. 

And to come so close to it happening again… 

"Uncle Thor?" Love said, "are you okay?"

Thor forced a smile, pulling out some chocolate chips. "Yes," he promised, "I'm fine."

"We should make Uncle Loki and Uncle Mobius panflaps, too!" Love decided. 

Thor didn't think Loki was going to want to eat with a half-crushed throat, and Mobius was likely not thinking about his stomach, but he nodded anyway. "That's a wonderful idea, Love. I don't know if your Uncle Loki likes chocolate, though. We didn't have chocolate on Asgard while we were growing up."

"We can make blueberry panflaps instead," Love suggested, "blueberries are tasty, too."

"Your uncle is lucky to have you," Thor said fondly. 

"Which one?"

"All three."

Mobius was painfully gentle, wiping away the blood from the back of Loki’s skull. Loki was borderline uncomfortable with the careful attention he paid, his mouth dry, trying desperately to stay calm and not squirm under Mobius's soft touch. 

The knot stung when the cloth touched it, the blood was matted in his hair and didn't come out easily. At any point, Mobius could have decided that enough was enough and it would wait. Loki would have already decided that. He would have already given up, flopped onto the bed and resolved to get it clean the next time he bathed. 

Not Mobius. Mobius was still gently running the damp cloth through his tangled and blood-sticky curls, clearly not about to quit until it was done. 

He had already cleared the blood from Loki's face, out from under his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. There was tenderness in his shaking hands that Loki knew he didn’t deserve, not after what he had just put Mobius through. But still, it was there, underneath hands that had not stopped trembling since Loki had woken, hiding beneath the pained and angry expression Mobius wore. 

He didn’t understand it. 

"Tip your head a bit," Mobius said softly, breaking the silence, his fingers touching Loki's jaw, near his ear, and guiding him to tilt his head to the left. "You did a good job of this."

"Power Stone," Loki whispered, "got thrown around pretty bad."

"I know the feeling," Mobius said, "damn-near pruned myself when I got tossed around. Woulda been bad news for you and humiliating for me. Where else are you hurt, I'm nearly done here."

"Besides the obvious?"

"Yes, Loki. Besides the obvious. You don't have to tell me your throat is half-mangled or that your shoulder is in bad shape."

"My side," Loki said, "he kicked me."

"That can't be pleasant," Mobius said, wiping away the last of the blood and putting the cloth back into the bowl of water. "Anything else?"

Loki hesitated. 

He didn't want to mention the last one, because he had a feeling he was in for a separate lecture about it. Mobius had wanted him to rest his leg after he had gotten back to the right TVA, and Loki had insisted he would be fine. 

Now it was seeming like Mobius would be right. 

But there was no way to hide it. Loki was limping badly, and he was certain the joint would be bruised and swollen. Eventually he was going to have to take off his slacks, and someone would notice then. "My knee," he said reluctantly, "same one. Go ahead."

"I'm not going to say anything, I just want to know where to put the ice packs," Mobius said, "come on, let's get you up onto the bed."

Loki struggled to his feet, letting Mobius help hold him up, trying to keep most of his weight off his bad knee. It was an awkward hobble over to the bed, but they made it eventually, and Loki flopped down gracelessly onto the mattress and closed his eyes. 

"Nope," Mobius said, "we're getting you more comfortable before you go to sleep. Tie off, you can keep your shirt if you'd like, but I'd like to check your side, figure out if your ribs are okay, belt off, and shoes off. Then we need to put the sling on."

Loki forced himself to sit back up, pressing his good hand against his side as he struggled. Mobius reached out and began unraveling the knot of Loki's tie, unwinding it from around his throat and unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt. The shirt, now almost as bloodied and grimy as the one he had worn in the Void, hung open to just below his clavicle when Mobius was done. 

"God," Mobius breathed, gently tipping his chin up, inspecting the bruises. "That's not going to be fun when it swells. You've got bruises from just under your chin down to here," he said, touching his fingers lightly to a spot just above Loki's collarbone. "And all the way up under your ears."

He also unbuckled Loki's TVA-standard issue belt with the heavy, logo-emblazoned buckle, which he had done last night, too, but this time was much less appealing. He pulled it out of the belt loops and cast it aside, untucking Loki's shirt to peer at his ribs, touching a hand lightly to them. Loki hissed and flinched away, and Mobius lowered his hand. 

"They might be broken," he said, "but I don't think they've punctured anything. We can probably leave them alone and let them heal on their own."

Loki nodded. 

“Let’s get your shoes off,” Mobius decided, “there’s nothing I can do about your knee. I think we should ice it and have a look at it in the morning, and if it looks really bad then, we may need to go and get medical attention.”

“From who?” Loki said, voice blithe, “the hospitals on Midgard? Or the doctors at the TVA who hate me and take every excuse to point out that I’m a monster they don’t know how to treat.”

Mobius let out a heavy sigh. “I would tell you not to be so dramatic, but it really is that bad, isn’t it.”

“How many times did the doctor I saw there point out that you should have picked a pet who’s easier to treat?”

“He shouldn’t have said that,” Mobius said soothingly, “he didn’t say pet, first of all, Loki, but he shouldn’t have spoken about you like you weren’t there, you’re right. We’ll have to think of something if your knee doesn’t get better on its own, but for now, we’ll cross off going to see a doctor.”

Mobius knelt at Loki’s feet to untie his shoes. The action held a different sort of intimacy than the frantic undressing from last night, but it was impossibly more powerful. Loki couldn’t tear his eyes off of Mobius as he pulled at the messy bow. 

He slid the left one off his foot without incident, but started chuckling when he pulled the second one off. “Loki, where is your sock?”

“Behind the nightstand, where you threw it,” Loki said, “or maybe I threw it there, not sure.”

“Why didn’t you grab it?” Mobius asked, still chuckling. 

“I didn’t want to wake you up by fumbling around.”

“Loki!” Mobius was full-on laughing, now. “We’re not in the TVA, you have your magic! You wouldn’t have made any noise if you just waved your hand and grabbed it that way!”

“I didn’t think of that.”

It was a long time after Loki had laid down, Mobius curled behind him, an arm rested gently on his side, avoiding his aching ribs, that Loki managed to broach the subject that was really bothering him.

"You should just go," Loki whispered, a lump heavy in his throat. "Back to the TVA. I know you're going to, after everything I've done."

He heard the most fragile exhale behind him, refused to roll over and face Mobius. The mattress creaked and flexed as the agent climbed onto it, settling down slowly, touching a cool hand to Loki's burning shoulder. "Is that what's bothering you?" Mobius asked, his voice raw and gentle. "You think I'm going to leave, because you panicked and ran?" 

Loki didn't respond. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, and he was not crying, he told himself that he would not cry, even as tears slipped down his cheeks. 

"Loki?"

He didn't want to answer, but it was clear that wasn't one of his options. "Why wouldn't you?" He asked, his tone blithe. He couldn't even find the strength to sound angry, to make it seem like it was his own idea. 

"Because I thought you might run from the very beginning," Mobius said gently, his thumb moving soothingly over stiff muscles, still trying to get Loki to relax, to roll and face him. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be clear enough that you didn't feel you had to. I'm not going to hurt you, Loki. I know everything about you, and I know what I'm getting myself into. I know what happened with Sif, what you've felt the need to do to everyone else you've ever let get close to you. I know it probably feels like you have to do it, especially now, after what happened with Sylvie. But you can't scare me away like you did the others."

Loki didn’t say anything.

"You aren't quite the pussycat I told you that you are," Mobius murmured, his breath warm and comforting against the back of Loki's neck. "Pussycat suggests that someone has tamed you. No one's ever managed to do that, have they? Plenty of people have tried, putting names and rules on you and expecting you to play along, but you never quite do."

Loki didn't say anything. Speaking was painful. Every breath he took rasped and rattled in his chest, stinging and burning his aching throat, and he was starting to regret bringing up this discussion.

"The TVA had the wrong idea for you," Mobius said, curling his arm tighter around Loki's stomach. "They gave you a collar, stuck you in a cage. That's not what you needed. That's what you thought I might do."

"You've done so in the past," Loki rasped. 

"I have," Mobius agreed, "I'm the one who put the collar back on you on Lamentis I, we both know that's true. But I've realised something, Loki. You're not just a pussycat -"

"You really like that metaphor."

"It suits you," Mobius said fondly, "although I know you prefer snakes. You're more wild than a housepet, though."

"I should hope so."

"You fall somewhere between a scarred and angry stray, or a small wildcat."

"I like the latter better."

"I thought you would," Mobius agreed, "you're like a lynx or a bobcat, for this analogy, then, although I think stray cat makes more sense for it. If someone puts you in a cage, you're going to fight as hard as you can to get out. But if the door to the cage is never closed, eventually, you might decide that's home, anyways. You need the space to run to make sure you go back to where you want to be. I want to give that to you, without risking your life."

“So…”

“So we’re going to find you some places to run,” Mobius said, “some places you’ll actually be safe, some places you can go, and I’ll never follow you, but you won’t be in danger. But we’ll do that later. Get some more sleep.”

When Loki opened his eyes, it was Thor in the room with him, not Mobius. He handed Loki a plate of something round and fluffy. 

“Panflaps,” Thor said, “they’re cold now. Love said she wanted to make breakfast for you both, but I didn’t think you would want to eat earlier. You don’t have to eat now, either. I’ll make them disappear and tell her you said they were delicious.”

Loki sat up painfully, poked the panflap with the fork he was given. It oozed some sort of sticky, viscous fluid. 

“Maple syrup,” Thor explained, “I don’t really have a better explanation for what it is besides sweet.”

Loki didn’t really like sweets, but he carefully cut a piece of the panflap anyways, sticking it in his mouth and chewing methodically. 

It was cloyingly sweet, with blueberries scattered throughout it, which was the only part Loki liked. He forced a smile as he swallowed, despite it feeling like swallowing a blade. “They’re great.”

“You don’t have to pretend, Loki.”

“Good,” Loki set the plate to the side. “But still tell Love they’re wonderful.”

Thor was looking at him curiously. Loki shifted, uncomfortable. “What happened to your eye?” Loki asked, trying to break the tension. “Didn’t used to be gold.”

“Our sister cut it out,” Thor replied, “said it made me look more like Father. I did, actually, with the eyepatch. A friend of mine gave me this one as a replacement.”

Loki nodded. Thor went back to staring.

“Is something wrong?”

“You really are ten years younger than I remember you,” Thor said, “you haven’t got the same lines on your face as you did. Haven’t got the same look in your eyes.” 

“You’re older than I remember,” Loki confirmed, “it’s the nature of playing with time.”

“I just…” Thor trailed off for a second. “Even when you - he - told me that you would be younger than I remembered, I didn’t really consider it that much. I didn’t expect to be able to see it. You really never left New York.”

Thor was still upset. There was rain pattering on the roof, Loki could hear it. He needed to tread carefully - New York may be a difficult subject for them both to agree on, regardless of Thor’s apparent knowledge of Thanos’s involvement. “Well, I did,” Loki said slowly, “only not with you. I went to Mongolia. Didn’t really plan it, just where I ended up. That’s where B-15 and the other Minutemen found me. Pruned the branch and brought me to the TVA. Judge Renslayer would have had me pruned, too. Mobius intervened.”

“What does that mean, pruned?”

“At the time, I didn’t know,” Loki said, “only it looked terribly painful, and according to the TVA agents, it was akin to a permanent deletion. You would cease to exist. That’s not actually true, of course, it’s not as painful as it looks, and both myself and Mobius have been pruned. You end up in the Void at the end of time, and if you can survive the giant cloud monster, the hordes of cannibalistic marauders and pirates, and the near-endless variants of myself who have a habit of surviving and making life miserable for anyone they encounter, it’s really not so bad.”

“How did you get back?”

Loki tried for a smile. “A… friend,” he decided, unsure of how to even broach the subject of Sylvie with Thor beyond that. “She pruned herself, wanted to come and find me. Us. Mobius and I.”

Only Sylvie hadn’t known that Mobius had been pruned. She had only gone after him. 

Or had she just pruned herself because she thought it was the next step to finding He Who Remains?

“Anyways, she had a TemPad on her when she did it. She gave it to Mobius, that’s how he got back. I was supposed to go with him, but I told her I wanted to stay and help her get past the cloud monster. We… barely survived. A friend of ours didn’t.”

The Void at the end of time didn’t sound like the sort of place you left and got to Valhalla from, but Loki hoped - wanted to imagine, at least - that the elderly Loki variant who had given his life to Alioth to help Sylvie and Loki had made it to Valhalla, and been reunited with his brother that he had missed. It was unlikely, but he wanted it to be true. 

“Where is your friend now? It’s just you and Mobius here.”

Loki picked at his fingernails. Thor reached out and swatted his hands, instinctively, a habit from when they were younger and Loki used to do actual damage to his hands with his nervous tick. Now, it was harmless, but Thor still overreacted sometimes. 

"When… when we got to the Citadel, past the cloud monster, and met the man behind all of this… we disagreed on what to do with him. I disagreed on what to do with him. I changed the plan. She… she was apprehended when she was just a girl, spent her whole life running from the TVA. She couldn't change her plan of killing whoever was behind it all even when we heard the risk. I could. I… I betrayed her and I didn't even mean to. She tried to get rid of me -" and Loki was determinedly not remembering the feeling of her lips against his, chapped and more rough than Mobius had been. "- tried to send me back to the TVA, where Mobius was supposed to be destroying the place. But… there's more than one TVA now, and I ended up in the wrong one. I don't know where she is now. It's just been Mobius and I since I managed to find him."

"That brings me to my own point," Thor said. "Mobius."

"What about Mobius?" 

"I don't understand how you could do this to him!" Thor said, "Mobius says he does, and I guess that's all that really matters, but you finally have everything you could want. Why would you run away from it? Why would you risk your life trying to avoid being happy? Do you truly hate yourself so much that you won't allow yourself any happiness, Loki? What makes you feel as though you can ruin not only your life but his?"

Loki did not say anything. He blinked, not expecting this sort of outburst from his brother. 

"I don't know if somehow you need someone to tell you this," Thor continued, "if you're so completely oblivious to yourself and your own feelings, but you love that man. I can see it on your face every time you look at him, and every time you hear his voice! And damn it, Loki, he loves you too! You've got this golden chance to be happy, the kind of chance that some people don't get, and you're trying to ruin it. This is a chance that by your own admission you shouldn't have gotten. You're meant to die on the Statesman . You're not meant to meet this man. The fact that you have is a gift, why would you try so hard to give it up?"

"Do you know what my role on the timeline is?" Loki asked pointedly, "do you know what the only thing I am ever meant to do is? I'm not the hero, my story doesn't end with me heroically saving the world and falling in love. My story ends after I have caused as much pain as I can, when the world no longer needs me to hurt people in order to make them better. My role on the timeline is to drive my father and brother away from me, to cause our mother's death, even though she's the only person who ever believed in me and the only person I cared to protect at the time. When I finally stop hurting the people that I love, I die. Because that's all I was ever good for. Causing pain. I'm not meant to be happy. I am meant to lose everything that was ever important to me, except you, and then be the last driving force, the very last reason you need to destroy Thanos. Or, try to destroy Thanos. My supposed glorious purpose, the most important act I take on the timeline, is to invade Earth and force you and your friends to become heroes. To work together to defeat me. And my fate matters so little after that, that no one on this timeline even knew why I did it. Not even you. So you'll have to excuse me for not feeling that I can trust being happy."

"Loki!" Thor said, clearly frustrated, "you're not on this so-called Sacred Timeline anymore. You left it! By the Norns , don't throw that away!"

Loki looked away. "I'm really tired, Thor," he said, which was a lie, but he wanted the conversation to end. "Could you shut the door on your way out?"

Despite Thor trying to change the subject, Loki didn't stop thinking about Sylvie for the rest of the night. Thor brought him a hot bowl of fish stew for nattmal, which he enjoyed a lot more than the panflaps, and was easier to eat, too. 

She hadn't just betrayed him. It wasn't one-sided, although Loki had wanted to believe it was. He had betrayed her, too. She had one goal, her entire life, and in the blink of an eye Loki had asked her to give it up. He had been right, but that didn't make it fair to ask of her. 

He needed to see her again. He sat on that thought until Mobius came to sit with him after they had eaten, and Loki decided to go back to sleep. 

"We need to find Sylvie," he said, not wanting to elaborate further than that. 

He felt Mobius tense beside him, for just a fraction of a second. Then he relaxed, touching a hand to Loki's shoulder. "We'll start on that in the morning, then."

"I'm sorry," Thor said to Mobius, "for him. He won't apologise, but he should. That's no way for him to treat someone he cares about. Not the way he cares about you."

Mobius looked up from where he was laying beside Loki. Loki was snoring ever-so-slightly, probably just because of his injured throat. He was a few degrees colder than Mobius, and the analyst was finding it a lot like always having a cool side of the pillow. 

"What do you mean?"

"The running away. I know you said you expected it, but it's no way for him to treat someone he loves."

Oh, how Mobius wanted Thor to be right. But those weren't the feelings Loki had for him. Mobius had suspected that might be the case, even the night previous, but Loki had confirmed it before he went to sleep. 

"Your brother isn't in love with me, Thor," Mobius said confidently, "you don't need to lecture him about hurting me because you think he shouldn't hurt someone he loves, he doesn't really love me."

"Of course he does!" Thor said, "what do you think this has all been about?"

Mobius gave a rueful smile. "What, the fact that we slept together?" He chuckled, "Thor, you and I both know that your brother had slept with a lot of people. All but one of your friends, and Volstagg only really turned him down because he was already married, he thought the bet was hilarious. Sleeping with someone doesn't mean your brother loves them. And he's not really in love with me. He doesn't realise it, but he told me so."

"He did not."

"No, he didn't say it in those words," Mobius agreed, "but he did say it. It's alright. I'm not angry, I'm not jealous, but the truth is, your brother isn't in love with me, he's in love with someone else." 

"Nonsense," Thor said, "he would have told me."

"Unless someone made him feel like he shouldn't," Mobius said, "which I do believe I managed to do. I should specify, I guess, that I'm not jealous now. I was when I saw the two of them the first time. I said some pretty nasty things about him and his feelings for her."

"Her… the woman he mentioned. The friend he betrayed?"

Mobius sighed. "It might take you a little adjustment, I should tell you who she is before Loki brings it up. It's not really as weird as it sounds, but it caught me off-guard. Yeah, it's the woman he betrayed. From the sounds of it, it was a mutual betrayal. Her name is Sylvie, now, but that didn't used to be her name. She's the variant Loki was brought in to catch."

Thor paused. "Loki told me you saved him from deletion to catch another version of himself."

"I did," Mobius agreed, "before she called herself Sylvie, she was called Loki, the Goddess of Mischief. I told you, it takes some getting used to, but when you see the two of them together, it's not so weird, after all. They get each other."

"You're telling me that my brother isn't in love with you because he's in love with another version of himself." 

"He told me he wants to find her. When we do, and you meet her, see the two of them around each other, you'll get it. They're the ones meant for each other. Ol' Mobius, he's just here to be a friend to your brother. Really, it's alright."

"If that's true," Thor said, "then you're just letting him use you right now."

"Is that what you assume sex without romantic feelings is? Because if it is, then your brother has used a lot more people than just me. Really, Thor, it's okay. Just stop guilting Loki and acting like he's in love with me, and you'll see what I mean about Sylvie soon. I'm happy just being his friend, and at the moment, I believe the term would be friend with benefits."

Thor considered that. "I do look forward to meeting this Sylvie woman," he decided, "but that doesn't change that I'm certain you're wrong."

"I guess only time will tell," Mobius replied. 

Well I've been deep in sleeplessness

I don't know why

Just can't get away from myself

When I get back on feet I'll blow this open wide

And carry me home in good he alth

- Who Do You Love, Marianas Trench, ASTORIA (2015)

Chapter Text

I got my stitches stitched, I got my fixes fixed

In my aching heads I got my kisses slipped

Our gossip lips stuttered every word I said, I said

I got your love letters, corrected the grammar and sent them back

It's true, romance is dead, I shot it in the chest then in the head

"We have to go back to the TVA if we want to find Sylvie," Mobius admitted, "I barely managed to track you with just the TemPad, and we never could track Sylvie with the TemPads to start with. We'll need all the resources we can get if we want to find her."

"Okay, well, you have to open the door, my TemPad got broken on Vormir."

"I know that," Mobius said, getting the sense that Loki was impatient. He wanted Sylvie back, that was clear. "We'll get you issued a new one when we get there. The only thing is, even once we have B-15 and the others looking for Sylvie, it's probably going to take a while. And I was thinking… Maybe there's some other people we want to help?"

"Who?"

Mobius raised an eyebrow. "You're comfortable leaving the Lokis that helped save your life in the Void with the cloud monster?"

"Can we get to the Void with a TemPad?"

Mobius flipped through the settings on his TemPad. He pulled a face. "It needs something in time to lock onto," he admitted, "and there is nothing in the Void. That's the whole point."

Loki grimaced. "Are you telling me that we have to prune ourselves to get back there?" He asked.

"It does seem that way," Mobius admitted, "I mean, not knowing was half of what sucked, wasn't it? Now that we know that the Void is there, and it's not just permanent deletion…" 

"It's just the violently ripping yourself from time and space and reappearing somewhere else beyond your control left to contend with," Loki agreed.

"Is it really that much different than a teleportation spell?"

"Yes it is," Loki said with a sniff, "I have complete control over where my teleportation spell brings me. Also, it doesn't feel like a million little pins and needles."

"Do limbs not fall asleep on Asgard? That's all it feels like!"

"I'm going to put it this way, I don't even know what that means."

"Lucky Asgardians," Mobius complained, "do you know how many times I've sat at a desk long enough that my entire leg falls asleep?"

"I still don't know what that means."

"The pins and needles feeling that you're describing? It happens when the way that you're standing or sitting or otherwise cuts off proper circulation to one of your limbs. Your whole limb goes all tingly and then it starts feeling like pins and needles and it hurts to walk on, if it's your foot."

"Sounds awful."

"I mean, it's definitely no picnic, but it could be worse."

"So we're going to prune ourselves to get chased around by murderous variants of myself, cannibalistic pirates and cannibalistic marauders -"

"Nobody had actually ever mentioned cannibals to me," Mobius interrupted, "I mean, I still think we should do it but I want to stay for the record that I didn't know they were cannibals there. Besides, if we don't, you're basically telling me you think an old man, a child and an alligator should spend eternity there."

Loki made a face. "Only the child and the alligator," he said, "the old man isn't there anymore. Besides, where are we going to bring them?"

"Hold up, where is the old man?" Mobius asked, "did he escape?"

Loki shifted uncomfortably. "In a way, I suppose," he admitted. 

It still hurt Mobius's heart to look at him. The bruises were as stark as ever against his pale skin, his arm still in a sling. He still wore the drab TVA uniform, and now that they were safe and on the timeline, where his magic was readily available, Mobius had expected his wardrobe to be one of the first things Loki changed. 

The TVA agent wondered if it was a bad sign. If it somehow indicated that somewhere along the way of fighting Sylvie and being half-killed by Thanos, he had lost the will to care. 

It had been a week now since Vormir. Thor had lectured Loki several more times about his poor decision to run off to such an unsafe place, and taken one more opportunity to scold Mobius and Loki about the amount of noise they had made the night before everything had happened. He made a big deal of warning them that if they ever kept Love up like that again, the eye-laser tantrums would be theirs to deal with in the morning. 

Loki took the warning to heart, at least, and in the two occasions that he had persuaded Mobius that his broken ribs and dislocated shoulder were healed enough for some light exercise, and given him that cocky grin that said he knew Mobius would agree, despite his better judgement, he had placed enchantments on the room to block any sound from escaping. 

Loki had a lot more experience with sex than Mobius did, at least, that he remembered. He was masterful and deliberate with every move, every well-placed touch or kiss. 

Mobius knew it was temporary, but selfishly decided to indulge while he could. Someday, those fingers and that tongue and those beautiful, jade-green eyes would be only for Sylvie, and Mobius wanted to savour the time he had before that day. Loki would move on from Mobius like he had every other lover he'd ever had, as though somehow, a force stronger than the TVA and the so-called He Who Remains pulled him towards Sylvie, making him leave everyone else behind. 

He didn't resent either of them for it. He had wanted to, when he had realised the scope of Loki's affections for the other variant in the interview, but he couldn't. Not once he had seen them together, two sides of the same coin, expertly made with edges that only matched with one another's. It almost made sense, that the only person who could truly understand - or be loved - by a Loki was another Loki. Mobius had studied Loki for as long as he could remember, and the more he thought about it, the more it seemed right.  

For now, he would enjoy Loki’s casual affection and allow them both to benefit from his desire for companionship, and when the day came that it was over, he wouldn’t complain.

“I couldn’t distract Alioth,” Loki admitted, and his voice sounded heavy and pained. “I tried, but even with a weapon, there was nothing I could do to it. It wasn’t beatable, I couldn’t wound it, and couldn’t keep its attention. It realised that Sylvie was the threat and turned on her. It would have devoured us both, but…”

He trailed off for a moment. “He came back. Cast an illusion that looked like the whole of Asgard, drew Alioth to him while Sylvie and I tried to enchant it. We managed it but… not before he was devoured by the beast. If the Norns are kind, he is in Valhalla with his family, now. He survived Thanos, went into hiding, and was pruned when he tried to get back to Thor.”

Mobius hadn’t been the one to prune an elderly Loki variant, but he felt guilty nonetheless. The god before him, on another timeline, had survived the Mad Titan only to be pruned for not wanting to remain in isolation for the rest of his life. He thought of the way his Loki had pretended not to care about finding Thor, pretended to only be doing it because of the dream, and had failed to hide the tears shining in his eyes when he finally saw his brother again. He thought of the way that on the Sacred Timeline, Loki signed his death warrant to save Thor. 

“So just the kid and the alligator, then,” Mobius said, wanting to get off the uncomfortable topic, even though he knew it was selfish. It was hard being faced down with all the wrong he had done. He had thought he was acting for the good of everyone, the entire universe, only to learn that he was just destroying innocent lives. “We should get them out.”

“And bring them where, exactly? The TVA? They would probably hate that even more.”

“Why not here?” Mobius asked, “I mean, look at your brother. Are you telling me that he wouldn’t be pleased as punch to have two more Lokis hanging around?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Loki admitted, “the kid… he said his Nexus Event was killing Thor. He could easily try that again.” 

Mobius thought he remembered some things about that file which would make that circumstance unlikely, but he couldn’t be sure. “A trip to the TVA first, then. Check the kid’s files, make sure B-15 is okay, get the wheels in motion for finding Sylvie. We could even go and chat with Repairs and Advancements.”

“Why would we do that?” Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You hate that there’s no magic in the TVA, you complain to me about it every chance you get. If we go and chat with the folks in R&A, they might have an idea why there’s no magic and how we could make you an exception to the rule.”

Loki’s eyes went wide. “You would do that for me?”

Mobius smiled. “Loki. There’s no more variants, just people. You may not officially work for the TVA, but you’re helping us fix the place, and most importantly, I trust you. There’s no reason for you to be restricted while you’re there. When we find Sylvie, we can make her an exception, too, for if you two decide to visit Ol’ Mobius in the TVA.”

“Visit?” Loki repeated, seeming confused. Mobius didn’t want to make him pretend, so he changed the subject. "Is there anything else we need to get done at the TVA, or just asking B-15 to start the procedure to find Sylvie?"

"Why would I need to visit you?"

"Never mind, it just came out wrong. Don't worry about it. Come on, you should tell your brother where you're going. You know if he shows up and we've both disappeared again, he'll panic."

"Alright, alright. Help me with my shirt, you still keep getting mad at me when I try to do it myself."

"You are still recovering from a dislocated shoulder, don't make me sound like the unreasonable one here."

"I guarantee you that it's better. It's not a break, it'll heal fast." 

"Humans need to spend four to six weeks in the sling, and it can take up to six months for them to regain full use. You can stop complaining about the two weeks I'm insisting on."

"Right. We need to get my daggers, that's what else we need. I believe they're still in your locker."

"Is that your way of sticking my nose in the fact that I'm the reason you didn't have a weapon on Vormir again? Because you could have taken the Timestick. I wasn't even awake to stop you."

"I was just stating the last location that I knew they were in," Loki said, feigning innocence.

"Sure you were. Need I remind you of the literal millions of places you could have gone that were safer?"

"Are you going to help me with a shirt, or not?"

L

His brother insisted that they eat breakfast before they go. He called it breakfast, Loki knew that was the Midgardian term and refused to embrace it. Dagmal was what he had called it all his life, and dagmal it would remain. 

Thankfully, Love had not made any more so-called panflaps. Mobius was quite sure his brother was mixing up two terms for the same thing, either pancakes or flapjacks, but no one wanted to try and correct Thor when he believed he was right. 

Due to the absence of pan flaps, Loki was free to warm up a roll and add some of the still-too-sweet lingonberry jam. He was really going to have to convince Mobius to let them go back to Asgard purely to get the proper recipe. He had a feeling Mobius would still insist on going by himself, trust was all well and good, but only a fool would bring Loki back to his home and expect him not to do anything.

He actually wouldn't, but he might think less of Mobius if he didn't expect him to. He was supposed to be such an expert on Loki, after all.

He did honestly just want the recipe, though. That being said, maybe it would be wise not to trust him if he got to see Frigga again.

Knowing what he knew, how could he not try to warn her? How could he stand there and send her to her death, knowing it would be his fault?

Perhaps they were better off without her recipe, faced with those sorts of decisions. He knew he wouldn't be able to look her in the eyes and allow time to pass as it should.

Even if he wanted to, he had never been able to lie to her. She was the only one he couldn't lie to. She would know he was hiding something, and that would be the end of it. He would spill.

"You'll be back soon, right?" Thor asked, concern plain on his face. 

"I mean, we weren't planning on having no time pass, that's kind of exhausting, but it will be quick. Probably not as long as we actually spend in the TVA."

The catch they had both figured out after coming back from Vormir, although to be fair, they had both been exhausted for other reasons as well, was that when you spent a long time somewhere else and came back a minute after you had left the first place, you essentially had to live those hours over again. Within the TVA, it didn't matter. Somehow, the TVA had safeguards against its employees actually needing sleep. Seventeen minutes rest was all any employee was ever afforded in a one day cycle. Mobius usually used this to eat some sort of salad for lunch. Once, he brought Loki to something called the Automat, and indulged in a slice of pie. He'd given one to his partner, as well, and Loki had felt a little guilty about the fact that he didn't like it. 

Mobius, apparently, was the exception to the rule in that he actually got a few hours every few cycles of complete downtime. 

Either that, or he had just been taking pity on Loki, allowing him to get a few hours of sleep in the converted closet while he continued to work in his dorm. Loki wasn’t beholden to the same standards as the other TVA employees because the motivation and job were not the same. He only had two options: be efficient, or be pruned. If he slept a few hours, it didn’t matter, so long as his efficiency remained steady. 

“You’re leaving already?” Love asked, “you just got here!”

“We’re coming back,” Mobius said reassuringly, “we just have some work to do. You’ll barely even know we’re gone!”

Love looked sceptical. 

“We just need to go back home for a few hours,” Loki said, “we have a friend that we need to find.”

“This would be Sylvie, yes?” Thor asked, and Loki’s breath caught in his throat. He looked up sharply from his roll. 

“Who told you that?” He asked, even though he knew the answer. Only he or Mobius could have told his brother about the other Loki variant, and Loki had intentionally only called her a friend. He hadn’t explained who - or what - she was, and he hadn’t told Thor her name. He hadn’t wanted his brother to know anything about her. The last time he had spoken to Thor about her, he hadn’t even been certain he wanted to see her again. 

Thor seemed to realise that he had slipped up. 

“I told him,” Mobius said, completely unbothered, crunching on some sugary cereal. Love had a bowl of the same. Thor, despite being the one who insisted that Loki and Mobius eat before leaving, only had a cup of coffee. 

Mobius had one as well. Loki had gotten sick of being offered coffee and had convinced Thor to get a box of green tea bags for him when he went back to New Asgard. He had decided not to make himself a cup that morning, since he wanted to leave in a hurry, but watching Mobius nurse the cup of coffee he had made him realise there had definitely been time, and they wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. 

He tried not to be annoyed, and failed. He wanted to get moving, to set wheels in motion to find Sylvie. 

He was worried about her. He'd let her isolate herself in the Citadel and hadn't tried to find her, since. Surely she wouldn't stay there, but that meant she could be anywhere within the branching timelines. 

I promise you from my heart, this isn't about a throne … All I know is I don't want to hurt you. I don't want a throne. I just - I just want you to be okay. 

She had thrown him away, like a tool that has outlived its purpose, but it was still true. He just wanted her to be safe, and okay. He didn't want to lose her. It didn't matter that she had hurt him, he cared about her. He would deal with his pain once he knew she was safe.

Mobius looked over at him, watching his fingers play against the wooden table. He picked up his coffee mug, looked inside, and held it to his mouth, gulping the last of it down, and got up to put his dishes in Thor's kitchen. Loki leapt up to follow him with his own plate, knife and the jar of jam.

"You seem impatient, pussycat," Mobius said sympathetically, once they were out of earshot from Thor and Love. He probably knew Loki would gut him with the butter knife he had used to spread the jam if Thor found out about that particular nickname. 

"I don't even know if she's safe," Loki said, "she could be anywhere. Any of her hundreds of apocalypses, and maybe one of them goes differently this time. Now that the timeline's been branched, it's impossible to say."

"Sylvue has been surviving on her own, outwitting MinuteMen, myself and Judge Renslayer alike, for who knows how long now. She can handle herself in some apocalypses, even if they go differently than she's expecting. Besides, now that the timeline's branched, don't you think she would go somewhere nice?"

"I don't know," Loki said, agitated, "that's the problem. We didn't talk about any of these things because the goal was just to find He Who Remains and kill him. I couldn't go through it, so I don't know what she planned after she finished. If I hadn't turned on her…"

"You did what you thought you had to, and maybe you were right. We don't know yet. You might have done the right thing, defended the right point, and Sylvie just needed this too much to see it. You shouldn't blame yourself, but you shouldn't blame her either."

"I don't blame her for not wanting to change her mind," Loki said, "it's just… she acted like this was inevitable. Like no matter what, I was always going to betray her. Like it had been foolish to trust me in the first place, and I did everything I could to earn her trust and what was the point?"

"Well, maybe you can ask her that when you see her. I think, the fact I think I know , that you two are going to be able to work this out. You're both hurt, you both kind of betrayed each other. It's going to take repentance and forgiveness from both of you. And we can set these wheels in motion, start trying to find her, but it's probably best that you don't go see her until you're ready to do that."

"I just wanted her to be okay…"

"But she thought this was the only way she could be."

Loki had to admit that he sort of enjoyed the change in the TVA. The Time Variance Authority had been ruthlessly organised when he had arrived. Nothing was out of place, everyone completing exactly what they were meant to do. The introduction of a Loki into the workforce had added a little bit of chaos, but for the most part, he got in trouble. When he tried to do that. He was meant to behave and help catch the variant. 

Now, with their god's dead, the timeline branched beyond hope of salvation, and the revelation that everyone in the TVA were variants, chaos ruled. Even if the workforce wasn't in a blind panic over having their world turned upside down, No one had any idea what they should be doing. They weren't pruning branches, B-15 was adamant about it. Those were lives, and they couldn't be taken away. Each of them had to be protected. 

Loki wondered what she had seen of her life. Mobius didn't want to know, at least not yet, but B-15 hadn't gotten the choice. Sylvie had shown her, whether she wanted it or not.

The first step was in records. Records was a wing that was only barely better than archives. Apparently, if Loki wanted to be issued a TemPad, even now that the TVA had all fallen to pieces, they had to fill out five separate requisition forms. As much as Loki was grateful that Mobius did most of the writing, leaving him to just sign his name on each of them, it was still tedious.

Mobius then had to fill in three separate rush order forms, just so that they could be assured that they would receive the TemPad within the next three cycles.

"So we're going to the Void with only one," Loki said.

"I've had an idea," Mobius said, "you hate the idea of having to prune yourself, and we have no guarantee that when we do that, we end up in the same place. I'm going to send myself through and open a door back to the TVA, right here. We know it can be done, that's how I got back the first time. When the door opens, you walk through it. But first, we find your daggers. I'm not sending you anywhere unarmed."

"I was unarmed the first time," Loki said. 

"And now you have broken ribs. It's not happening."

"I definitely want them back, I'm just saying that it's ridiculous to make it sound like they would have helped me at all. Remind me, how well did they do on the Sacred Timeline against the Mad Titan?"

"Do you want to be allowed to come? Cause if you do, you should stop mouthing off about how helpless you might be. I can't save you with a timestick this time, we'll be in the place you go when you get pruned."

"Give me my daggers and I'll show you helpless," Loki warned.

"Please don't threaten Mobius flirtatiously in the workplace," B-15 said tiredly, walking into the room. “We don’t have an HR, but we will soon, and someone will report you two.”

“What have we done wrong?”

“Grossing me out,” B-15 said, “come on, you can’t even tell him you’ll stab him if he keeps it up without making it sound like it’s full of tension.”

“B-15, are you here for a reason?” Mobius asked. 

“Distribution denied the request as soon as it touched their desks, they’re currently striking against me and anyone accepting the death of the Timekeepers and the we’re-all-variants thing. I got Casey to go and claim he lost his TemPad, and tell them he doesn’t believe we could possibly all be variants, they issued him a new one no problem. Don’t do shitty things on it, Loki, it goes under Casey’s name.”

She held out the device. Loki took it and slipped it into his pocket. 

“Right. That leaves us with just two pit stops left. Got to get your daggers, and talk to R&A about magic.”

Loki cleared his throat and looked over at B-15. “I think you’ve forgotten the main reason we’re here.”

“I kind of figured you were going to do your part here, Loki. If you want me to get B-15 working on that, as well, fine, I guess, but you could tell her, too.”

“What do you need?” B-15 asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you two were taking some time off from TVA business. Suddenly you’re back here and need favours?”

“We need you to set up a trace on Sylvie’s temporal aura again,” Mobius explained, “she doesn’t have any reason - that she knows of - to keep trying to hide, so she might not give us so much trouble to find this time. She thinks the TVA is gone.”
“Why do you want to find her?”

“I just need to talk to her,” Loki said quietly, “I need to make sure she’s alright.”
“Last time that I spoke to you about her, you couldn’t care less if she was alright or not,” B-15 said, “what changed your mind?”

“B,” Mobius said, “she’s his friend. Think about it, they tried to survive Lamentis I together. Have you ever read that file? Because after we caught them there, I did. One of the worst apocalypses we have in our archives. Complete destruction of the planet and moon, no escape vessel makes it off, total, 100% casualties. And they came close to changing it. Figure you do that without bonding a bit?”

B-15 looked between Mobius and Loki. “Look, I don’t want to be mean, but I didn’t get the sense she cared much about him. She never asked about him once.”

“No one was allowed to talk to her, B-15, you broke in against the rules,” Mobius said quickly, “she didn’t have anyone to ask about Loki. Trust me, she cared.”

Mobius seemed like he was holding something back, too. Loki glared at him. “Will you just tell the truth? Spit it out, whatever it is,” he demanded, “whether or not she cares if I’m alive doesn’t change my mind. I care to know if she’s alive.”

He picked at his hands, made himself stop when he remembered that Mobius would know why he did that. He didn’t want to seem nervous, even if he was. 

“It’s nothing concrete, it’s just… when I found her in the Void, she had only just gotten there, and already assumed you were dead.”

“Without help, I would have been,” Loki said easily, “it’s a reasonable assumption. Now you want us to go back there, to rescue people who might not want to be rescued, so can we get on with it?”

B-15 nodded, “I’ll set up the trace. No telling if it’ll be successful, but if it is, I’ll come and get you. Unless this return means you’re coming back to stay?”

“Nope,” Mobius said, “just popping in for a quick hello, a couple of errands.”

“Hey! Welcome to R&A!” A chipper voice called. Loki looked over the turquoise desk, covered in hundreds, maybe thousands , of different devices.

The voice came from a short man in a tan oversuit that reminded Loki a bit of the jumpsuit he had been forced into when he arrived, only it had blue-green accents and an apron with tons of pockets. He was lowering himself down on some sort of pulley mechanism. 

He had black hair and thick glasses, and he smiled brightly at the two of them.

“Good,” Mobius murmured, “we’re in the right place. Hey, we wanted to chat with you about -”

“Mobius!” The man cried, clearly recognising the analyst. One quick glance at Mobius said he did not recognise this man. “Wow! Great to see you again!”

“Good to see you, too,” Mobius said uncomfortably, “yeah, I - Loki, I wanna introduce you to…”

He trailed off, holding a hand out to the man, clearly hoping he would introduce himself. He took a considerably long time to do so. “I’m Ouroboros!” 

Loki shook his hand, which immediately knocked one of the hundreds of things on his desk over. He hurried to stand it back up, but Ouroboros didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.

"Ouroboros!" Mobius repeated, like he had remembered it himself. 

"Ouroboros,” Loki confirmed.

"But he calls me OB,” Ouroboros continued. 

“I - yeah,” Mobius stammered, “I - I call him that. Cause that’s like a - like a nickname that I have.”

“Wow,” OB repeated, “how long has it been?”

“Could it be…” Mobius began, “three or four -”

“Four hundred years!” OB finished for him. 

“What?”

Loki had known that Mobius was older than he looked, but he didn’t really have a grasp on how much. Four hundred years was a good chunk of time, even for an Aesir.  

“Feels like a thousand, right?” Mobius said, with an uneasy chuckle. 

“Yeah!” OB said, “remember? You got off on the wrong floor, and I told you it was the wrong floor?”

“Wait, that’s right!”

Loki didn’t actually think Mobius had figured it out. “Yes, because then I stayed for a little bit, you took me over -”

“You stayed?”

“No!” OB chimed in, “you left immediately.”

“Well, I’m back,” Mobius said weakly. 

“Yes you are.” OB, for his part, did not seem fussed in the slightest about the fact that Mobius didn’t remember him, and didn’t remember the encounter. “Believe it or not, he was my last visitor.”

Loki couldn’t help but cut in, to add to Mobius’s discomfort. “Reunited,” he said, “four hundred years.”

Mobius tried to laugh it off. “That’s right, yeah. Hey, uh, how are the other guys doing?”

“What other guys?”

This just kept getting better and better. “What other guys?” Loki asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s just OB,” Mobius muttered. 

“It’s just OB.”

“Yeah,” Mobius bit his lip. “O-B.”

"So, what's the situation? OB asked, seemingly unperturbed by Mobius's lack of recognition.

"Right," Mobius said, clearly more comfortable now that they were on a topic that didn't require him to remember someone he did not remember. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about how the TVA blocks magic."

"Oh, that's easy! We have magic dampeners! It's part of the general interface of the TVA, including Miss Minutes and everything else!"

"Okay, how would we go about getting around those?"

OB frowned. "I could turn them off," he suggested, "that would allow all magic to be used in the TVA! I take it you have a reason why you want to allow magic?"

"Yeah, Loki's not a prisoner, he's working with us, and it doesn't make sense to have his abilities as hindered as they are here."

" As a quick solution, I definitely could turn them off. It would allow any magic users or magical items within the TVA to be used to their fullest potential."

"Perhaps that's not a good idea," Loki interrupted. He didn't want to tell OB not to do that, He wanted to be able to use his magic as soon as possible, but the truth was, that could cause more problems than it solved. "You have a drawer full of Infinity Stones that employees use as paper weights. Within their own universes, those Stones have the power to change everything. We probably don't want to give that power to anyone who thought they looked pretty and decided to decorate their desk a little."

"Thank goodness you work here," Mobius said, "I didn't even think of the Stones. You're right, OB, we're gonna need a more specific way to do it. Got any ideas?"

OB frowned. "I suppose I could work on a way to exclude Loki from the dampeners, using his temporal aura as a reference…"

"Sounds great," Mobius said, "do you need a new scan of his aura, or can you use the one we took when we arrested him?"

"The one we have on file should be plenty," OB said, "anything else?"

"Nope, that should be all. See ya later, OB."

"Perhaps sooner than four hundred years," OB said brightly, "it would be good to have some company!"

Which came first, the music or the misery?

We're high-fashion, we're last chances

Which came first, the music or the misery?

We're high-fashion, we're last chances

• The Music or the Misery, Fall Out Boy, FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE (2005)

Chapter Text

I've got demons running 'round in my head

And they feed on insecurities I have

Won't you lay your healing hands on my chest?

Let your ritual clean

“You're not pruning yourself. I'm not watching that again,” Loki said suddenly. Mobius looked at him in surprise. 

“Loki, we've only got one way to the Void. Both of us don't have to do it -”

“Hand me the stick,” Loki said, cutting him off. 

“You were just complaining that you didn't want to be pruned!” Mobius protested. 

“I don't care. I'm not watching you be pruned again, whether we know that you'll be fine or not. I can't watch that again, Mobius, please.”

He thought there were tears in Loki's eyes. “Okay,” he agreed, handing the Timestick over to Loki. “Okay, you don't have to watch. Do you have the coordinates for this place in your new TemPad? I just need you to be prepared, Loki.”

“I have them,” Loki promised, “now, I'm going to go into another room to do this.”

“Loki, you don't have to do that,” Mobius said. 

“I do. You don't need to see it,” Loki said, “I'm going into another room, and then I'll open the door when I get to the Void. I'm not putting you through that.”

Loki glanced around the time theatre they had hidden themselves in after collecting their supplies and speaking to OB. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Mobius’s cheek. “I’ve seen a lot of terrible things, but watching you go through that… that was the worst. I won't let you have that same memory.”

Mobius didn't know how to react to the casual touch and affection that Loki showed anymore. He wouldn't do it in public, but when it was just the two of them, he would lean over and kiss Mobius breathless and then act as though it was nothing, just normal behaviour. 

And yet they were searching for Sylvie. That was his answer, no matter how confusing Loki made it, no matter what mixed signals he got. Loki wanted to find Sylvie. He loved Sylvie. Mobius didn't know how he could be so sure when this had never happened before, but he knew it for a fact. He'd seen it in the way but Loki had panicked when he thought that Sylvie was dead. He loved her. There was no way around it. And just like Mobius had thought from the beginning, this was a distraction. One they were both enjoying, but a distraction nonetheless. 

This would all come to an end, Loki would be with Sylvie, Mobius would return to the TVA, and everything would be as it should be. It was the way of the world. Who could understand the God of Mischief better than the Goddess of Mischief? 

Maybe he should have started pulling away. Asking Loki to stop mixing signals. But if he did that, would he be pulling Loki's steady lifeline as well as putting an end to his brief fantasy life? He might not find Sylvie for a while. They both needed the comfort this offered. 

It was a good arrangement, even if it confused him a bit. “Be safe, Loki. I know you won't be there on your own for long, but we both know how bad that place can be.”

“Of course,” Loki said confidently, walking to the door of the time theatre. “One doorway to the TVA’s rubbish bin, coming up!”

“Hey, I mean it, be careful!” Mobius shouted after him. 

“Just like having a limb fall asleep,” Loki repeated, like that was going to make him feel better. Having a mortal body sounded like a nightmare. 

He decided to try a different tactic. “Either you do this, or Mobius does.” 

It suddenly became an easier choice. He would not let Mobius go through it again. It didn't matter how much the agent tried to underplay it, Loki had gone through it too. He knew just how bad it was.

He twisted the time stick, cursing the fact that he never would have considered doing this for anyone before he had been abducted out of New York. Back then, he would have let Mobius do this part without hesitating. 

Instead, he grit his teeth, turned the stick towards his chest, squeezed his eyes and shut and touched the glowing yellow end to his sternum. 

It stung and burned like a ton of needles, and when he opened his eyes, daring to glance down, he could see himself disappearing, the burning, stinging, freezing sensation following the glowing orange edges of the growing hole in his chest. 

He shut his eyes again, and that was a mistake. He had totally forgotten that there was a fall involved, and he opened them when he began to drop.

By then it was too late to stop himself, or try to catch himself or land in a graceful way, and he was grateful to have avoided an audience when he hit the ground with a thud, splayed out on his stomach. 

He groaned, flicked his head back to knock his hair out of his face. “I hate this place,” he said to no one in particular, since there was no one around him to hear. He forced himself back up onto his feet, looking around to make sure the area was clear of the cannibalistic marauders and pirates the youngest variant had mentioned last time he was in the Void. He didn't want Mobius walking out into an ambush. 

As a further nightmare, he also had to look around for murderous versions of himself. The TVA pruned more Lokis than almost anyone else in the Multiverse, and it wasn't truly a shock how many Lokis survived in the hellish place, but it was certainly irritating. 

Once he established that there were no risks in sight, he pulled out what had used to be Casey's Tempad but was now his, and opened up a door for Mobius. To his credit, since Mobius didn't tend to be the most careful person Loki had to give him credit where he could, the TVA agent peeked his head through the door and looked around before he walked through. 

“It's not so bad here, when the cloud monster isn't trying to kill you,” he remarked.

“Why would you say that? Now when the cloud monster comes out of nowhere, it's your fault.”

“Fine, it can be my fault if it makes you feel better. Now, how do we find them?”

“It was your idea to come here. You're telling me that we came here and you have no idea how we're going to find these two? Tracking down variants of me was supposed to be your entire job!”

“Okay, not my entire job. I did have other variants to track, not just you. Technically, you were just a hobby.”

“Just a hobby?”

“I've made a mistake saying that.”

“Just a hobby?”

“If I apologise, can we forget that I said that?”

“I'll consider it. If I like your apology.”

Mobius gave him that big dopey smile. “I'm sorry, Loki. You're not just a hobby. Ravonna said my interest in Lokis was a hobby, that's all I meant.”

He leaned towards Loki, and he thought he was going to get a kiss, which would incentivise him to forgive the comment, but instead he just got a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Let's go try and find that old rundown place we had the fire last time.”

If that was what Mobius thought was a good apology, Loki was disappointed. He would have decided to exile Mobius to the couch that night, but it couldn't have been good for his back, and Mobius was beginning to show his age on the timeline. 

That was a whole other fear. 

Mobius was starting to slow down. It was only a little, but Loki had, realistically, known it was coming, and known to watch for it. In the TVA, he was mostly safe from the hazards of ageing. But on the timeline, his age would catch up with him. 

He just didn’t think it would be that fast. 

“Mobius, come here for a second?” Loki asked, and Mobius didn’t even hesitate. He walked the few steps, right up into Loki’s space, somewhere he never would have let anyone stand before. Loki liked having his own space. 

But not from Mobius. He didn’t mind having Mobius in his space. He even liked it. 

Loki placed his hand on Mobius’s shoulder. A green glow spread from the edges of his fingers, swirling over Mobius’s body before centering around his chest, swirling around in a whirlpool pattern over his heart before it disappeared. 

“What was that, Loki?” Mobius asked. 

“Protection spell. You’re a mortal, there’s no way I’m letting you wander around the Void again with no protection.”

“Loki, you don't have to worry about me,” Mobius said with a smile, “I can handle myself.”

“Not going to happen,” Loki said, “never going to happen, not if I have a say.” 

Mobius held his gaze for a moment before he glanced away. “So, any ideas on how we find the kid?”

“I know where he is.”

“Why didn't you say that before?” Mobius complained. 

Loki bristled, slipping his daggers out of his sleeve. “Because I didn't say it.”

“I know your voice, Loki, you said it.”

“No, I didn't.”

“Well, then who did?” Mobius asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“That would be me.”

The illusion shimmered away just as Loki figured out where the voice was coming from and threw his dagger. 

The variant ducked it. He grinned an annoying, wide grin, spreading his arms. “Oh, so then you didn't miss me?”

“That is freaky,” Mobius breathed, glancing between Loki and the variant. 

He was dressed the same as last time. A golden crown with short horns, a tattered suit, chevron partnered tie and a green waistcoat. The red, white and blue Loki for President button was still affixed to his lapel. Stuffing still appeared to be pulling out of the right shoulder of his blazer. Following that sleeve down to his wrist, Loki saw that the hand which had wound up in the alligator’s gullet appeared to have been replaced by a ghostly green copy, a magical prosthetic. It was impressive work, Loki could admit, begrudgingly. 

Although he didn't want to acknowledge it, he knew why Mobius had been confused, and now found the whole thing strange. Unlike the other variants Loki had encountered, the old man, the child, the alligator, that boastful braggart who had betrayed them, and especially Sylvie, this variant shared his face. Shared his voice, his tone, even some mannerisms. He had to wonder, absently, what the Nexus Event had been for this one. Had he gotten as far as New York and been pruned because he attempted a legitimate political campaign, rather than an attack? 

“What do you want?” Loki demanded, glaring over at the copy of his own face. “Last time I saw you, you were organising a coup to crown yourself King of the Void, which is a very imaginary title. Shouldn’t you be happy with that?”

The variant frowned. “Don't play stupid, you know how that turned out.”

“Not my problem,” Loki retorted, “I'm not the idiot who recruited an army of the universe’s most reliable backstabber.”

The variant raised his eye and turned to Mobius. “That one has some claws,” he remarked, “we haven't met. I'm -”

“I know who you are,” Mobius said, “Variant L-0105, United States Presidential Candidate, Loki Laufeyson. I read over your case.”

“Well, I guess that puts me at a disadvantage,” the variant said, “all I know is that you're a TVA agent, here in the Void. How curious. That makes two of you here now.”

“Two?” Mobius repeated, “who else is here?”

The Loki in the crown shook his head. “Oh, no, your feisty little pet doesn't want my help. I don't see why I should offer it if he wants to be rude.”

“Pet?” Loki demanded, hackles rising. 

“Are you not his little pet variant?” The would-be president asked. “That was the sense I got. Of course, you did cover him with a protection spell. Perhaps you see it as him being your little pet human.”

Loki opened his mouth to snark back, but Mobius interrupted. 

“My name is Agent Mobius, it's a pleasure to meet you. Loki's a bit prickly lately, we’re missing some friends who are very important to him. I would really appreciate it if you could share whatever information you have.”

“And what do I get out of this deal?”

Loki swallowed a frustrated snarl. “I've asked you what you want, you haven't answered. Mobius is allowed to assume you don't want anything after that.”

“Well, first of all, I do want the child out of the Void. He's rather annoying, and apparently, since he was quite hands-off, he was a popular king. He has quite a bit of support. I presume you're taking the alligator as well.”

“Yes,” Loki confirmed, “and I guess a piece of you, too.” 

“Hah,” the would-be-president didn't seem thrilled with Loki's joke. “My condition is that I want out of here someday.”

“What?” Loki shook his head immediately. “How would that even be possible?”

“Oh, don't you play coy with me, pet. I know what you and that female variant were doing. You went to take down whoever is behind the TVA, which means the timelines are freed. I don't care what sort of Hel you want to put me in, but I want another chance on the timelines. It wasn't right to take me away from my own. And in case you want to argue that what I was doing was wrong, just how did you try to take Earth?”

Loki didn't answer. 

“Chaos and a Chitauri army, I see. Death and destruction, and you left ruling a realm of ash. I happen to think I had a better idea.”

“He's got a point,” Mobius said, “running for presidency of the United States is really the least bad thing he could do on Earth. He's got you beat, in terms of benevolence. I say, if he wants to help us, we give him a chance. When all is ready, and everything has been brought back into hand, we’ll come and get you. We'll need to make sure you leave the Void eat-or-be-eaten attitude behind, and then you can go to a timeline. Be the president of the United States. I've looked at the Sacred Timeline, you can't be much worse than what they've already had, there. Just so you're aware, we wouldn't put you on the Sacred Timeline. Not that such an idea will exist by that point, but the one that used to be the Sacred Timeline is not the one you'll end up on.”

“Condition accepted. Do we have a deal, pet?”

“Call me that one more time and we won't. Barring that, I suppose we do,” Loki said irritably. 

“Fantastic. If you’ll just follow me, I’ll find you the kid,” the other Loki said. 

Loki placed himself strategically between the traitorous version of himself and Mobius, making sure the mortal was always fully sheltered. He would not let Mobius get hurt because of this foolish plan. 

The presidential candidate turned would-be king in the Void caught on to Loki's movements sooner than he would have liked. “He's defensive,” he said over Loki's shoulder, looking at Mobius with a raised eyebrow. “Can't think of anything that would make me this protective of a human, unless… oh, that must be it. Are you well-endowed?”

His green eyes roamed up and down Mobius, lifting back to the crotch of his trousers and staying there, one eyebrow raised. 

“We do not have to talk,” Loki said, interrupting while Mobius stammered. 

The other Loki cackled. “That's certainly not a no! I can't say I don't understand, everyone needs a good -”

“Shut up,” Loki said through gritted teeth. 

“Wouldn't have taken him for someone with a cock to impress a god, though -”

Loki waved a hand at the would-be president, and until he realised what had happened and used his own magic to counter it, his lips found themselves glued shut. 

“Rude,” he said, “I'm just making conversation. You should learn some manners.”

“Says the one who wouldn't stop hypothesising over the size of my penis,” Mobius retorted, “not exactly polite conversation either, now is it?” 

“Ignore him,” Loki said, “he's just trying to get under our skin.”

“And it's working, on you,” Mobius said, “I can handle myself, Loki, I promise. Worry about yourself.”

Loki despised being told what to do, even by Mobius, but he had to acknowledge that the agent was right. This Loki was having fun digging at Loki and trying to make him respond. He grit his teeth so hard he thought they might crack, but held his tongue. 

President Loki clicked his tongue. “So touchy,” he chuckled, “you’re lucky you got out, you never would have survived here.”

“How much further?” Loki asked pointedly. 

“Is he always this impatient?” The other Loki asked, looking around Loki to eye Mobius. 

“Yes,” Mobius replied. 

“It's not that far, anyways,” the president variant admitted, “although I do almost wish it was, it’s fun to irritate this one. 

Loki glared at him.

Not very far turned out to be about another hour. Another hour of having to put up with the president's mocking and Mobius feeding into it. He didn't even seem to mind the flirting that was really just barely-masked innuendo. 

Loki was infuriated by it all. 

It was stupid. They needed to stay in the good graces of the highly unpredictable variant, and Mobius was doing that by entertaining his irritating commentary with further joking or teasing chiding. 

Loki just hated every minute of it. 

Finally, they arrived outside some strange building. There was a cartoon rat on the logo, but all that was left of the name which had once been beside it was “Ch k E. he.” Loki had no idea what it was meant to spell. 

“He's in here,” the president said, “with the alligator. The loyalists have been trying to find him, but no one expects him to actually behave like a kid and go to a place like this.”

“Thank you, Loki,” Mobius said, “truly. We would have been searching forever without your help.”

“Don't forget your promise,” Loki said simply, “I'll expect you back here someday.”

He walked off. 

“We’re not coming back for him,” Loki said immediately. Mobius shook his head. 

“Green might be your colour, pussycat, but I think you need to try a different one at the moment. This jealousy is funny, but not particularly helpful. We'll come to get him when we have somewhere for him to go.” 

“Let's just get the kid and the alligator and go.”

Desdemona, won't you liberate me?

When I'm haunted by your ancient history

Close these green eyes and watch over as I sleep

Through my darkest of dreams

• Send Them Off!, Bastille, WILD WORLD (2016)

Chapter Text

Pack your bags it's time to go

Cause we got brighter lights back home

I've got achin' feet

From walkin' over miles of concrete

And I can't wait to dream

But the city, you know she won't go to sleep

Mobius told him that they were in front of the remains of a Chuck E. Cheese, whatever that was supposed to mean. 

When he said it, he clearly expected it to mean something, and it took him a moment to remember who he was speaking to. “Right. I guess when you went to Earth, you weren't really in search of child friendly diners. It's a restaurant and an arcade. This one looks like an old one, so it will probably be pretty creepy.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. 

“Listen, Mister Viking Prince, you can mock me all you like, old dilapidated robots are creepy. I don't actually care if you agree.”

“I didn't say anything, Mobius. How could I be to blame if you're reading into my silence? Let's just go and get the kid. I don't like you being here.”

“I know,” Mobius said frustratingly. “You seem to think that I'm a frail old man who didn't survive centuries of working at the TVA long before you came along.”

“I am used to my traveling companion being Asgardian. They're quite difficult to hurt. You, on the other hand, are squishy and soft. I like that a lot about you, but it does not change the fact that it is a weakness in this place,” Loki said, “you'll have to forgive me.”

Mobius seemed to have a reply for that, but frustratingly, he hesitated and didn't say anything. Loki didn't know what to make of his strange reluctance to say what was on his mind. Loki had always liked that Mobius didn't appear to pull punches, when he didn't have to. He was frank and didn't go out of his way to avoid saying something uncouth or offending Loki. He'd claimed it was because he needed Loki to be honest and that meant breaking down all of his so-called bullshit, but it had continued even after they were no longer trying to catch Sylvie and they could just be friends. More than friends, even. Throughout that change, Mobius said what he was thinking. 

But not anymore. Loki didn't know what he had done wrong to make Mobius feel that he couldn't speak his mind, but he didn't like it. He wanted to undo it and make sure to never do anything of the sort again. 

“Let's just get this done with. I don't like being here.”

Loki pushed the door open. 

He should have foreseen a trap. It was a Loki’s hideout. An automaton with a peeling rubber mask, its once-smiling but probably still nightmarish face decayed, rubber hardened into crackled pseudo-leather that broke and flaked away from the moving hinges of its jaw and eyes now seemed downright ghoulish. Loki yelped and jumped back, a dagger in his hands, and he heard Mobius chuckling behind him. 

The creature had grey, rubber flesh, and tightly curled orange hair in a puff over its head. Much of the rubber on its face had peeled and flaked away. It wore a pink and white dress, and when it moved, brandishing a knife - the only part of any of this that reminded Loki of his childhood - its oversized and, since this was clearly meant to be an animal, unnecessarily present breasts bounced up and down with some robotic squeaking. 

Mobius was still chuckling to himself when Loki got his wits about him and planted a kick into the center of the animatronic’s chest, sending it toppling over backwards. 

“I seem to recall you not believing you would be scared,” Mobius said. 

“What is this thing?”

“It's been a while since I had to look into a Chuck E. Cheese, but I'm pretty sure this is a badly decaying Dolli Dimples. She's meant to be a hippopotamus.”

“Do children tend to enjoy hippopotami with jumping breasts?” 

“I’m honestly not sure. She may have been designed with horny men in mind, instead.”

“And human men wish to fornicate with hippopotami?” 

Mobius sighed. “I genuinely do not know. I might be human, but I haven't lived like one for years. I have no idea what interests human men. Maybe an anthropomorphic hippopotamus with large bouncing breasts do it for a lot of them. The Egyptian Pantheon has a hippopotamus woman, Tawaret, as the goddess of fertility and childbirth, so it's possible that people really were attracted to a hippo, at least enough to make her the goddess of fertility!” 

Loki sniffed. “I'm Asgardian, not Egyptian.”

“If you're going to use an earthly region, you should compare both earthly regions. Norse and Egyptian would be the comparison.” 

“Right. Either way, we have the twins, Freyr and Freyja, for fertility, not a hippopotamus.”

“Right. And someone who knows Freyr and Freyja can really talk with all authority on weird sex things. You know, considering they were twins and reputed to be married before they came to Asgard?”

“I expect better from you,” Loki scolded. “You're supposed to be an expert on me and my culture, how do you not know that that was a rumor Zeus started after they refused him and his offer of a threesome? Freyja was married to Odr, He died centuries ago. She's been a widow since then, refusing all offers of remarriage. She's much more interested in being a free woman, sleeping with whom she pleases and having no responsibility to any of them.”

“Did Zeus start all the sexual rumours about Asgardians?” 

“A lot of them. Not mine, though, I was too young. For the record, I never slept with a horse. He was a centaur.” 

“Yeah, that I knew,” Mobius said, making a face. “I skipped over most of your exploits in my research, but that one slipped by my filters once.”

“Having someone hung like a horse was not all it was cracked up to be, honestly,” Loki said.

“Would you two shut up?” An irritated voice snapped from behind them both. “I don't want to hear any of that!” 

“I found the kid,” Loki said helpfully, “he's whining about hearing what would have been his life.”

“Thank the Norns I'm a variant,” the youth groaned, “why would you fuck a centaur?” 

“That is the wrong question. The right one is why wouldn't I? I mean, before I knew it was going to hurt.”

“Shut up!”

“In his defense, which is very slim pickings In terms of defense, you did ask a follow-up question,” Mobius said. “Good to see you're still alive, kid.”

“Of course I'm alive. I've lived here in the void for longer than he's existed,” the child Loki said spitefully, jutting his chin towards Loki. “I'm surprised you two idiots survived going back to the TVA, or going to find whoever's behind it. I'm more surprised that it seems like she didn't. She was obviously the most competent of all of you.”

“To the best of my knowledge, Sylvie is alive. She's just not here,” Loki said. 

“I see. She got sick of dealing with you?” 

“In a way.”

“Can't say I blame her. Anyways, what are you both doing in the Void? Did you get pruned again?” 

“No,” Mobius said, “we came back for you and the gator.” 

The child frowned. “I told you the last time you left that I don't wish to leave. You've wasted your time. Go away.”

“You can't seriously want to stay here,” Mobius protested.

“Why wouldn't I?” The child snapped in return. “I've spent longer here than I ever did on the timeline! This is my home now!” 

Mobius flinched. “I'll admit, that never should have happened, but -”

“But nothing!” 

Mobius wasn't stupid, which was good, since Loki loathed stupidity. It would be an extremely unattractive quality in his lover. When the child shouted, Mobius shut his mouth. 

“Why would I want to leave? I know the Void. In a matter of time, I'll be king here again, the president who usurped me is a fool. He won't be able to hold power. I can't think of a single reason for me to leave.”

“To finish growing up?” Mobius suggested. 

“Right. To do something most people would rather not do. How brilliant.”

Mobius sighed. “Would you back me up, here, Loki?” 

“You're doing a wonderful job screwing this up all by yourself,” Loki replied, “I don't think I could underwhelm him with reasons to go back any better than you're currently managing.” 

Mobius answered his teasing with the strangest look, the sort that made Loki wonder if he had done something wrong by trying to be funny. 

He couldn't think of a way that he had messed up, but he must have. The look was just so strange that Loki almost didn't know what to do about it. 

He decided, in the end, to just go easy on Mobius. Perhaps the Void had him more on edge than usual after all. 

“Loki,” he said, “what if I offered you a timeline where you could have your brother back.”

Loki stared at him. “Why would he trust me to come back, after what I did?” He whispered. 

“He has no idea what you did,” Loki replied. “Thus, he has no reason to distrust you. Even if I tell him, he won't change his mind. He trusts us exhaustively, regardless of what we do.”

“Why would you trust me to go back to him? After what I did?”

“Because if you want to go back, the only thing you have to do is swear to me, on our mother, that you'll never do it again. If I know one thing about us, we will never break an oath made on our mother's name. On Odin's name, absolutely. Not on hers.”

The child was quiet for a moment. “It was an accident. I'll never do it again, I swear it. On our Mother’s name, Frigga Fjorgynnsdottir, I will not kill Thor. Now… you'd better come inside,” he decided. “The alligator is napping, we’d best wake him up.”

“Are there more weirdly breasted creatures waiting to attack us that I should know about?” 

“No, none of the rest have breasts,” the kid replied, “and they won't attack you if you're with me.”

“Good,” Loki said. “That thing was unnatural.”

“Says the god who fucked a centaur,” Mobius snickered. 

“I will dig through your history and find the worst thing you've ever done, Mobius, don't think I won't. Even if it turns out to be remaining a virgin while committing genocide against innocent timelines.”

“Mention sex once more, Loki, and I'll wake the hippo up again.”

The inside of the restaurant was extraordinarily colorful. The floor was covered in a brightly patterned carpet, with neon hues and strange designs. 

Lining the walls were old, mechanical contraptions. They appeared to be some form of games, some of them still operational, flashing bright lights and emitting strange noises, and half of them did nothing. On one that seemed to have little rodent creatures that popped up on a random pattern, there was an unused mallet sitting beside them and a knife driven into the head of one of the rubberised animals.

“What did whack-a-mole do?” Mobius asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I'm supposed to hit them, am I not? The mallet was so ineffective. The knife kept that one down.”

As he walked, the kid picked up a large orange ball from one of the gates, passed it between his hands a couple of times and threw it at a basket. 

It missed. The kid swore. He didn't bother to pick up one of the many other balls that sat with that game. 

Loki eyed it suspiciously as he walked by. 

“It's basketball,” Mobius said. “You throw the ball through the basket, you get a point. Give it a whirl, if you want.”

Loki was still suspicious of a trap, but he picked up the ball closest to him and threw it at the basket. It sank through the orange rim. The game whooped and a 1 appeared on the digital board that Loki assumed listed the score. 

“Beginners luck,” the other Loki said dismissively. Loki had the next ball in his hands to prove the child wrong when Mobius interrupted. 

“Don't start fighting,” he said, “I get enough Loki-related migraines without needing to keep you two civil. Put the basketball down, Loki, that's not a request.”

Loki had half a mind to ignore him, but he wanted to be on Mobius’s good side by that evening. He had plans for the TVA agent and the now-soundproofed spare room. Needing to apologise for causing issues would only waste time. 

Loki put the ball back down. 

In the very back, it was a pile of colorful, cheaply made stuffed animals. From the looks of it, the pile had been serving as a bed. In the opposite corner, There was a pit full of colorful plastic bulbs. Loki thought that was all that was in it until he saw a pair of horns poking out of it. 

“And the gator is napping in the ball pit. This just keeps getting better!” Mobius chuckled. “Ready to wake him up? Tell him you're going back into the land and properly flowing time? Get to see your brother again? Oh, and the little girl he's adopted as his niece! I guess that would also make you her uncle. We already had the conversation, she's not related to him through you.”

The kid looked skeptical, at that. 

“She's a lovely little girl,” Loki said, “likes panflaps, which are not good.” 

“I don't know what those are.”

“You'll learn,” Loki said, “wake up the creature, I don't want to spend any more time in this place than I have to.”

“The Void or the Chuck-E-Cheese?”

“Both.”

“Loki, do you want to bring them back to Thor’s on your own?” 

Loki blinked. “Why would I do that?” 

“Because someone should probably go check back in with the TVA, see what B-15 has uncovered, and I don't think our bonus two Lokis want to go back there.”

“Got that right,” the child said, “I'm not going back there, not ever.” 

Mobius smiled reassuringly at him. “I can’t imagine what that place must be like for a kid,” he said sympathetically, “probably traumatising. Of course you don't want to go back. So, I'll head back, check in on our search for Sylvie, and Loki, you can bring Croki and the kid back to Thor.”

Loki was only barely listening. 

Would Sylvie feel that way? About the TVA? She was just a young girl, ripped away from her life, her home, stripped of everything she took for granted. One moment, she was a happy Princess of Asgard, living in a palace, content with her parents. 

The next moment, the TVA filed in and turned her life upside down. They had freaked Loki out, and he was a grown man. Sylvie had been a child. 

Loki had been thinking about the fact that he wanted the people he cared about safe. Sylvie was an Aesir like him, built stronger and sturdier than many other races, with lifespans that eclipsed those of humans so greatly that the race had once believed them immortal. 

Mobius was a human. 

There were a lot of risks, caring about Mobius the way he did, but time was one he hadn't expected to have to mitigate. Returning to the TVA would manage that problem, but would Sylvie ever agree? If she was as traumatised by the whole institution as this child? 

“Loki? Are you going to give me an answer?” Mobius asked.

“What? Right. I'll go back to Thor, that's fine. I just need the coordinates, they aren't saved in my TemPad.”

The child Loki raised an eyebrow. “The TVA gave you a TemPad?” 

“Some members weren't happy about it, but yes, they did,” Loki replied. 

“Are you doing okay? Do you need to be the one who goes and checks? I can bring the kid and the alligator to Thor if you want to go check in with B-15, she might have made progress already,” Mobius suggested. 

Loki didn't even know how to explain that his strange silence had nothing to do with the search for Sylvie, so he just shook his head. “I've got this. You're more familiar with the TVA, less people are likely to try and kill you or send you back here, so you go there. I'll go back to the timeline.” 

“Right. I'll meet you back there,” Mobius said, pulling out his TemPad. “Thor's gonna be thrilled, I'm almost sad to miss his reaction. Let me know what it looks like!” 

“I'm a sorcerer. His expression when faced with three little brothers will live on in illusions forever.”

The willow trees are wavin' 'til we come back home again

Oh I'm sayin' goodbye to the skyline

Hello to the sweet pines

Gonna see you later street lights

I'm headed back to tree lines

To free time and starry nights

To bonfires and fireflies

- Back Home, Owl City, MOBILE ORCHESTRA (2015)

Chapter Text

It's time to forget about the past

To wash away what happened last

Hide behind an empty face

Don't ask too much just say

Cause this is just a game

“This doesn't look like Asgard,” Loki said skeptically, looking around the quiet plain Thor had settled on with Love. 

The alligator was tucked safely in his arms, and hissed his agreement. 

“Asgard was destroyed,” Loki said. “We have a sister, apparently. She got out of hand and drew her power from Asgard, so we - not me, the Sacred Timeline version - unleashed Surtur on the realm. Hela died, but Asgard was destroyed. This is Thor's home, it's just outside the settlement of New Asgard.”

“So then… Asgard is really gone?” 

“Sorry,” Loki said, stepping up to the door and knocking sharply on it. “Thor! Love! I'm back!” He shouted at the heavy oak. “I brought a surprise for you both!” 

Love threw the door open shortly thereafter. “Where's Uncle Mobius?” She demanded. 

“Uncle?” the younger Loki repeated, snickering to himself. “You two moved quickly.” 

“Hush, you. She just calls him that,” Loki said. “Uncle Mobius had to stop by the TVA again, Love. He’ll be back shortly. I brought two new friends for you to meet.”

Love pondered the two new Lokis for a moment. “They look like you,” she said. 

“Very good, they are me,” Loki said. “Where is your uncle?” 

“You're right there,” Love said.

“Excellent sass, but save it for Thor. Where is my brother, Love?” 

“He had to go into New Asgard for something,” Love said dismissively. 

“Does he know you let people into the house when he's not around?” 

Love frowned. “I don't need Uncle Thor to protect me!” 

“I suppose that's fair,” Loki conceded, “anyways, I've brought some new friends. This is Loki-the-child and Loki-the-alligator. We’re going to need some good ways to tell each other apart.”

“He's not as tall,” Love said helpfully, “and the other is an alligator!”

“Of course he's taller, he's old!” The child protested, like he had been insulted and it was not simply a fact. “I'm a king, he's just a lackey for the TVA. We could call me ‘highness.’ Or ‘majesty.’”

“I'm not going to call you either of those,” Loki told him. “You're not a king anymore. You were dethroned by the president variant and now you're here, where not even Thor is the king. He abdicated for the last living Valkyrie. Technically, you're not even a prince. Now, let's not be rude, go inside, wipe your feet, and maybe Love can help find you a snack. I'm sure it will be nice for you to not have to scavenge for something to eat.”

The child variant scowled at him and walked away. He did wipe his boots, so Loki decided to see it as a win. 

He had a feeling that the whole house was about to gain a new appreciation for Frigga. 

“Love? Are your uncles home yet?” Thor shouted as he walked through the door. 

“Uncle Loki is!” Love called back, “Uncle Mobius didn't come back with him.”

“That idiot,” Thor cursed, “what did he do this time?”

“Mobius offered to go back to the TVA alone so I could bring you some new companions directly, brother. I truly do not appreciate you constantly assuming I am the worst. Not to mention, you should really double check that you're alone before you start cursing someone.” 

“You brought more people here?” Thor asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“One person, one reptile,” Loki said. 

“Did you bring a snake?” Thor asked, suddenly excited. Loki sighed. 

“Snakes are not the only reptiles in the world, Thor. I did not bring a snake,” Loki said, “I brought an alligator. Boys, come in and say hello!” 

Loki called into the spare room, but no one came out. 

“If you two are hiding in there so you can go through my things, you're going to be disappointed!” Loki called, narrowing his eyes. “TVA took most of my things. There's a TemPad charger in there, and that's it. You're not getting anywhere with just the charger.”

Still no answer. “Give me just one moment,” Loki said, and disappeared into the spare room. “What's going on?” Thor heard him ask. 

“He isn't going to want us,” another voice said. “He wants you and Mobius. You're his brother and Mobius is with you!” 

“I'm not anymore his brother than any Loki from the Void would be. His brother, as he knows, is dead. He died fighting Thanos. We are all just second-place duplicates of that one, the one from the Sacred Timeline, since this is the Sacred Timeline. That includes me. If he wants me here, he's going to want you here, too.”

Loki started whispering, something Thor couldn't catch from the other room. 

“Fine,” the other voice said. 

“So come out and meet him,” Loki said, “both of you. Just don't bite his hand off, you little miscreant.”

Thor was just about to call out and ask what exactly was going on when Loki walked out of the spare room with a young boy following him. 

He'd never seen the boy before in his life, and yet he knew who he was immediately. He'd had no idea that his brother was going to find anyone, and yet he knew who Loki had gone to get. 

Standing just ever so slightly behind Loki, though he was afraid of Thor's reaction but didn't want to admit if he was sheltering behind another person, was Loki. He had a small crown on his head, wore a scrappy green tunic and old boots. He was holding an alligator in his arms, who also wore Loki's crown. 

“Thor,” Loki said, “meet Loki the Younger and Loki the Alligator. It's been a long time since they had Thors of their own. I'm not sure if the alligator’s Thor was also an alligator, or perhaps they were crocodiles? That would make sense…”

The child looked strangely at Loki, and Thor wondered if he was old enough to have learned the truth yet. 

It didn't matter, though. Thor was done listening. He could feel tears burning his eyes as he stepped forward. The child tensed, but relaxed suddenly when Thor scooped them both off the ground and into his arms. “Welcome home, brothers,” Thor said.

To his surprise, the boy buried his face into Thor's shoulder and whispered “I'm sorry,” over and over again. Thor looked over his shoulder at the older Loki in confusion. 

His brother held his hands up. “I swore I wouldn't tell you,” he said, “it's just been a very long time since he had a brother, and things didn't end so well the last time he saw you.”

“You weren't even really meant to get hurt,” the child said softly, “I didn't think -”

Thor suddenly got the sense that the timeline being pruned wasn't the only reason this Loki no longer had a Thor. 

Even still, he didn't care. This was his little brother, and he needed someone to look after him. “I believe you, little brother. It's okay,” he said softly, “whatever happened, whatever you did, I forgive you. We always were too rough with each other.”

It was so strange, to hold his little brother in his arms like this, to be so much older and bigger. He and Loki had grown up side by side, close in age for Asgardian children, so he had never been much bigger than his brother, unless one counted their different physiques. 

In that case, he beat Loki everytime. 

But now his brother was hardly any bigger than Love, a child while he was grown. “Norns, it’s strange,” he said, “seeing you this young…”

“He’s older than I am, if you believe him,” the grown Loki said. “He simply… didn’t age within the Void. It’s a space outside of time, and thus its inhabitants are unchanged by it, much like in the TVA. There was an older version of us, but he lived to be older on the timeline.”

“What do you mean? You told me that the TVA wouldn’t let you escape your fate!”

“They do if I don’t interfere with anyone,” Loki said. “That Loki survived because he stayed hidden, isolated from everyone and everything. He was finally pruned because he missed you and tried to seek you out.”

That sunk a pit into his stomach. “There's some timeline with a version of me who believes Loki is dead, and never got to know he was alive and trying to come back?”

“The TVA would argue that until the point he tries, that could be this timeline. Be grateful you know your Loki is in Valhalla, not hiding on some desolate rock, terrified to ruin lives by coming back,” Loki said. 

Thor fell silent for a moment. “This place. The TVA. You said it no longer does this?”

“It won't, once Mobius and I are finished overhauling the place. It promises to take forever, at this point, but I suppose the TVA claims to have been around forever, so we have plenty of time. As of right now… it's complicated. It will be a slow place to change. I was only back for a short time, before I came here, but hopefully it has been enough to cease the pruning of variants and branches for now. It wouldn't affect you anyways, you're on the sacred timeline. As of right now, all fates are unwritten. There is nothing you can do to be pruned.”

“You think I'm worried about me?” Thor asked, incredulous. “Loki, I ask because if the TVA was still ruining your life for surviving, I would have no choice but to march down there and rip the place apart piece by piece until they swore they would stop.”

Loki couldn't help but laugh. “I wish you luck. Seidhr doesn't work in the TVA. You could rant and rave at them, your strength might even remain undiminished. But there would be no Mjolnir, no lightning, nothing. I was brought there weaponless and I assure you, even our mother's enchantment does not override the block on magic. I highly doubt Father's would either. Given their drawer full of Infinity Stones, I'm sure they have a closet full of your hammer that they've stripped from the variants of you that have existed.”

“ Drawer full? After all we went through to get them?”

“Quite distasteful, I agree. You lost one of your colleagues trying to get one, didn't you? I believe I saw it in the file.”

“Natasha,” Thor agreed softly. 

His brother couldn't let him remain so solemn, so he sparked a grin. “Indeed. You have a tattoo of her name, I believe? Among other things?”

“Loki!” Thor scolded, as the younger variant repeated “tattoos” in a gleeful tone. 

“They are wonderful work, truly. Who did you have do them?” Loki asked innocently. 

“You know they were done in all seriousness!” 

“I do, but now that you are living with many versions of the little brother who is the focus of most of them, they've looped around and become funny. I'll give you the scroll with the names, but the rest I get to mock you for.”

“Why do you feel the need to mock them?”

“Again, the scroll listing all the names I suppose is sweet. Mother, Father, Heimdall, the other me, Stark and Natasha - kinda rude that you left Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun off of it, though. After that, I could possibly be flattered, but it also just feels excessive. ‘Rest in Mischief?’ ‘Brothers,’ I guess is fine. The real pièce de résistance has got to be the horns, though.” 

“Alright, that's enough out of you,” Thor said, but there was fondness in his voice, and Loki had succeeded in bringing him out of his momentary bout of solemnity. 

“You have tattoos?” The younger variant asked, “about us?”

“In a roundabout way, I suppose so,” Thor said, “truthfully, they're for the one from my timeline, which makes sense, since he's dead, but you two aren’t going to let this drop just because of that.”

“Of course we're not, you wouldn't let it drop if the situation was reversed,” Loki retorted. 

“So do I have two new uncles?” Love asked, “who aren't much older than me?” 

“I think it may be simpler if we skip ‘uncle’ for these ones. One of them is, after all, an alligator, and the other is quite young for you to be calling ‘uncle,’” Thor decided. “Father would be devastated, I've got two children, neither of which are related to me in any way.”

“How about you all get to know each other. I'm going to go check on Mobius.”

“No need for that,” Mobius said, stepping through a glowing orange door that appeared in front of Loki. 

“Has there been any sign of Sylvie?” Loki asked immediately. 

“No news on that yet, I'm afraid. OB says he's making good progress with the magic, though. By the time you go back, if you go back, you should have full access to all the spells you could want.”

“Great. I still think we should give these folks time to get to know each other. They're stuck together for the foreseeable future.”

“If you're trying to get a private moment with your boyfriend, you could just say that,” Thor said, rolling his eyes. “Do me a favor and wear him out, Mobius. He's less irritating when he's tired.”

Thor knew the dagger was coming, so he dodged it easily. “I'll take the kids and alligator to New Asgard for ice cream. If you two haven't finished up by then, I expect you to have locked the door and used a damn spell to quiet the noise this time.”

“You have no way to prove that's what I want space for. Just remember that next time you whine about how you know too much to do with my sex life, got it, Thor? For all you know, I want to have a private conversation.”

“Whatever you're doing, I'm taking them now. Come on Love, go get your boots.”

“I don't want them,” Love said. 

“Are we really going to have this debate again? I don't have another frying pan for you to destroy.”

It took a few minutes for Thor to get the kids and the alligator out of the house, but soon enough Mobius and Loki were left alone. 

“So what do we need to talk about?” Mobius asked.

Loki gave him a funny look. “We don't have anything to talk about. I'm just not going to let my older brother think he's right about the reason that I want some privacy.”

“I thought you wanted to find Sylvie?”

“And I'm not allowed to want two things? If you don't want to spend some time with me, if you run you can probably catch up to the ice cream parade, but I had assumed that wouldn't be a problem.”

Mobius looked strangely conflicted for a moment, like he was considering the ice cream more than Loki had anticipated. Instantly, he felt an uncomfortable twinge of doubt. 

Maybe he was being presumptuous. He'd never had a partner for much longer than a few nights at most, maybe now this affection had overstayed its welcome. Maybe he was being questioned about Sylvie because Mobius couldn't wait to have someone else to pawn him off onto. Maybe he was too much, and Mobius was regretting claiming that he could handle it. “Nevermind,” Loki said quickly, trying to cover for the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between the two of them. 

At the same time, Mobius grinned. Something about it seemed awkward and forced, but maybe Loki was just too sensitive. “Sure. I believe you told me you had something exciting to show me?”

He wondered if he should insist on getting an answer for the strangled nature of their conversation, but he supposed he was just too selfish. Why would he argue now that things were seeming to resolve? He had better things to do with his tongue. 

It's a beautiful lie

It's a perfect denial

Such a beautiful lie to believe in

So beautiful, beautiful, it makes me

• A Beautiful Lie, Thirty Seconds to Mars, A BEAUTIFUL LIE (2005)

Chapter Text

When all of your flaws and all of my flaws

Are laid out one by one

The wonderful part of the mess that we made

We pick ourselves undone

All of your flaws and all of my flaws

They lie there hand in hand

Ones we've inherited, ones that we learned

They pass from man to man

An alarm was ringing both of the stupid TemPads, and Loki wanted to yank them off the charger and throw them at the wall, but he figured that was not the right response. 

It was far too early in the morning for an alarm to be going off, that was why he was annoyed. The strange clock was glowing little numbers said that it was only 8:30, and maybe he was a spoiled prince, but he should not have been awake yet. Getting up at dawn was for young boys who had lessons to get to, not grown men who had been up all night enjoying another man's company. 

“I didn't know it could make that noise,” Mobius groaned, sitting up and reaching for the devices. 

“How long have you worked for the TVA? How do you not know everything those things can do?”

“I haven't been a hunter in a very long time, Loki, and there have been some improvements made. I don't need my TemPad to make noises like this, I'm an analyst.”

“You were a hunter?”

Although Loki had seen versions of this man across the multiverse, wearing the battle armour of a typical TVA hunter, he had never thought about his Mobius, soft and comfortable in an ugly suit he managed to make look good, as a hunter. It was hard to wrap his brain around. 

“I'll tell you the story someday,” Mobius said. “You'll hate it. But we don't have time for that today. B-15 sent us an alert. She got a ping off of another hunter's TemPad, and when they went to go get him, he said he had information about Sylvie. Apparently, he knows where she is and wants to make a deal.”

“A hunter found Sylvie? And we couldn't? That's ridiculous,” Loki scoffed, “just ridiculous enough that I fully believe it.” 

“B-15 can handle it, if you're too tired, your highness. Am I to assume that I, a mere mortal, wore you out last night?” Mobius teased, poking Loki's bare shoulder. “You haven't the energy to get back to the TVA and get information on the woman you've been chasing since I found you? Prince of Asgard, mighty Viking warrior, too exhausted to even get out of bed?”

“No, it's just much too early for this,” Loki groaned, sitting up and stretching out his back. He had a pleasant ache in his body from the night before, and he was rather tired, but he would never admit that to Mobius. The old agent would let it go directly to his head. “And no one, not a single person, has ever called me a ‘mighty Viking warrior.’ You know that. I was lucky if they agreed I was a warrior at all.” 

“You're my…” 

Mobius trailed off before he could finish whatever doubtlessly sappy line he was going to deliver. Loki was definitely not disappointed. “Come on, get up and get dressed, Loki.” 

Loki waved his hand absently and the both of them were suddenly dressed, Mobius in his usual brown dress pants and suit jacket, Loki in something similar, but this time, he gave himself a dark green overcoat. He was sick of all the beiges and browns. “Finished. Shall we?”

“No breakfast, first?” Mobius asked. 

“No. Let's go.” 

“These clothes real? Gonna hold up in the TVA?” 

“Yes,” Loki said, a touch insulted. “Open the door, Mobius. We still don't know if Sylvie is okay and this is our first real lead!” 

A shadow flitted across Mobius’s face, but he acquiesced, pressing a button on his TemPad and opening a gold doorway. “Don't forget yours, you wouldn't want to be stranded.” 

I'm not planning on running off alone,” Loki scoffed, but he picked up his TemPad anyways. Arguing with Mobius was, above all else, annoying. He tended to win, and Loki didn't like to lose. 

“Right. So then should I assume that you meant to run off on your own and get strangled?”

“I had my TemPad, Mobius. Thanos broke it. Let's go.”

Mobius sighed, walking through the door and leaving Loki to follow behind him.

“The hunter’s code is X-05,” B-15 said as they walked into the TVA. “You may have met him before, he's a total ass. He's currently insisting on going by Brad Wolfe. Apparently, in all their infinite wisdom, the TVA saw fit to recruit a movie star primadona, and he remembers that now. I actually have to pay you a compliment, Loki, I didn’t think it was possible for someone to be more insufferable than the spoiled demigod prince.”

Loki flashed her a grin. “I'm entirely god, B-15. Nothing demi about it.”

“That’s the part you objected to?” Mobius asked incredulously.

“That’s the part that's blatantly untrue,” Loki replied, “the rest is debatable. Besides that, what are his demands? Is there any reason we can't agree to them?”

“He wants to be returned to his timeline. Apparently, he's got a big role playing some serial killer in a movie called Zaniac and he wants to be allowed to live out his fame.” 

Mobius didn't respond to that, but Loki didn't understand why. “Is there anything so wrong about that? He Who Remains may have managed to convince me this place is necessary, to an extent, but that doesn't erase the fact that he stole your lives. Is it so unreasonable that Brad Wolfe wants his back?”

B-15 let out a sigh. “Not particularly, ” she conceded, “I’ll even admit that finding out who I was when I was, back when I was Doctor Verity Willis. From what Sylvie did show me, I think I was very happy back then, and sometimes I wish I could experience exactly why. The problem, Loki, is that the timelines don’t exist anymore. It would be like us picking a timeline at random and throwing you back into Mongolia. It would totally disrupt everything that is meant to happen in that timeline! Even if we picked a timeline that didn’t have you in it at that time, you would still change the future of everyone you interacted with. The same problem goes for Brad. If we let him go back to a timeline, we either have to pick one and remove his timeline self from that branch, or we have to accept him changing the lives of everyone he comes into contact with. Trust me, I’ve been talking with Judge Gamble and the rest of the judges council about this option since Brad asked for it, and we can't find a way to make it happen yet. Maybe that could change, but for now, we have to assume acquiescing to Brad's demand is impossible.”

Loki nodded, but resolved to continue considering this issue later. It seemed to him that there should be some options, some recourse, for the members of the TVA who had never wanted to be there in the first place. Just like when he was in Mongolia, they hadn’t been aware that they were doing anything wrong. How could they? They had no idea the TVA existed before they had stepped off the Sacred Timeline. Something should be available for the members of the TVA who no longer wished to be a part of the workforce. Perhaps Brad Wolfe wouldn’t be so unreasonable, after all. 

“Agent Mobius. You still obsessed with those Jetskis ? Taken one out for a spin, yet?” The hunter, dressed in a TVA jumpsuit. He had a handsome face and brown hair, and Loki could immediately tell he was going to regret feeling badly for him. 

“Can't say I've had the chance,” Mobius said, “but hopefully soon. Doesn't have to specifically be a Jetski, though. Did you know that's a brand name? The official name for all of them is a personal watercraft -”

“Mobius?” Brad said, cutting off the analyst. 

“Yes?” 

“I don't care.”

Loki bristled. “Listen, Brad, get to your point,” he said irritably, jumping to Mobius's defense. “We don't have time to waste.” 

Brad grinned. “Ah, our famous saviour,” he said sarcastically, “the ‘god’ who came back from the Void, told us that everything was a lie. Doesn't actually want to do anything about it, though. Content being a pet of the TVA.”

“Tell me where Sylvie is, Brad Wolfe,” Loki growled. 

“No.” Brad said, with a smug grin. “She doesn't want to see you. Says you're a traitor and a liar.” 

“Then why are we here,” Loki demanded, “if you won't tell us where she is, there's no bargaining for you.”

“Oh, if you want to bargain, we can talk.” 

“Brad, I have a limited amount of patience,” Loki said, “and after that, things get ugly.”

“Is that so?” Brad asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Listen. I am not an enemy you want to make. Mobius, Hunter B-15… they've already made their minds up about you. You're nothing but a problem to be solved. But me… I can either be a very powerful friend, or a very dangerous enemy.”

Brad let out a snort. “Powerful friend? Here's some advice for you, Loki. Stop trying to be a good guy. You're not my friend, you're not a hero, you're the villain. You make everyone's lives worse.”

“Alright, that's enough -”

“It's fine, Mobius,” Loki said calmly. “Brad can enlighten me if he so chooses.”

“You and Sylvie pretend that you set out to make things better but all you do is ruin everything for everyone!” Brad declared. “ You are really good at doing terrible, horrible things, and that's about it. All of you Loki's are just the same, anytime we encounter one of you! We watch you destroy the lives of everyone you come into contact with and for god sakes you're supposed to! But it doesn't make it any less pathetic. And now you're keeping up the good work in the TVA. You've made my life worse, you've made b15's life worse, you've made Mobius's life force. Before you got here, you made your brother's life worse, your father’s… and especially your mother's. She'd be alive if it weren't for you.”

For a millisecond, it was a good play. The comment knocked the breath out of Loki's lungs. 

He already knew that it was true. He had admitted as much to his brother. If he had not sent the dark elves to track down Thor, then they would not have found his mother. By this point, he could hate it all that he wanted and it was still an objective fact. 

But knowing that something terrible was true, didn't make it any easier to hear. He had never been one for the truth if a lie was less painful. He was the god of lies, after all. Most of the time, he lied for his own game, not that of others, choose a lie to avoid hurting someone with the truth, if he had nothing to gain by them knowing the truth. 

Which meant that after his brief moment of self-pity and hurt, he had to admit that it was a good call from Brad. The truth did benefit Brad, it might knock Loki off his stride. 

Which meant that he had to pretend it didn't. He had to give it the moment it deserved, and nothing more. 

He had, however, forgotten one key detail. 

He wasn't alone in the room. 

“Alright, You've said enough Brad. Are you going to tell us where Sylvia is, or not? You've made it clear you have no interest in making a realistic deal. How are we supposed to send you back to a timeline that doesn't exist, Brad?” Mobius asked, ignoring Loki's obvious restraint, cutting him off just as things were starting to get interesting. If he didn't love him so much, Loki might have hated him for a moment, for taking away his prey. “Tell me how that works for you. I'm a senior analyst, Brad, you know that I know what I'm talking about. There is no real way to send you back to your timeline, it doesn't exist anymore.” 

Brad winked at Loki. “Mobius to the rescue,” he taunted, then addressed the analyst again. “I already took care of that, Agent Mobius,” he said, “there’s no issues, I can just pop back down to the timeline I was rudely removed from.”

Mobius flipped open a file, scanned it over. “You murdered Brad Wolfe and took his place, X-05.” He said, snapping the file back closed. “That's not an acceptable solution. That timeline is fucked no matter what we do, now, and you think we're going to reward you for murder?”

“And you wouldn't?” Brad retorted, glaring up at Mobius. “You've never considered going and popping off whoever you were, thousands of years before the TVA put this massive stick up your ass? Run off into the sunset, ride a stupid jetski? What is it that you do on the timeline, anyways?” 

Mobius didn't say a word. That would have been an acceptable response, had he not also looked down, clearly embarrassed. 

Brad locked on in an instant. “You haven't looked,” he said, suddenly accusing. “You push the TVA to reform, tell us all that we're variants, ruin lives and make people have to wonder who they used to be, and the whole time you're too cowardly to look.”

Mobius still said nothing. Loki thought he seemed embarrassed. 

Mobius was tough and capable. Loki wanted to allow him to defend himself, but he wasn't saying anything, and Brad was taking that to mean he had a point. 

“No wonder you were so happy to run in and ruin the lives of everyone else! You haven't even looked at what yours should have been! You don't have the balls to look because you'd rather remain a TVA puppet! You would prefer to be just a little nowhere man! You're nothing without the TVA! and even though you know how pathetic that is, you want to judge me for what I've done! I've only taken what is rightfully mine!”

“You have no idea why I've made this choice!” Mobius snapped. 

“No, I do! You're terrified that you mean nothing on the timeline! You are terrified that you mean nothing both here and there!”

Loki was about to act, although he wasn't sure what he was going to do. He didn't have his daggers, and stabbing Brad in the throat like he wanted to wouldn't help them find Sylvie, but he couldn't stand the devastation on Mobius’s face seeing the way that Brad’s words got to him. 

Still, he didn't expect Mobius to step up and slap Brad. “ You're a nowhere man!” He said, smacking Brad again, although not on his face, this time. Loki should have stopped him, but he was enjoying letting Brad get what he deserved. “You're a nowhere man! You're just a silly little man!” 

Loki still wanted to let him keep going, to let him keep hitting Brad and keep venting out everything, he always kept bottled up, but it struck him how unlike Mobius this was. Mobius was calm. He was collected. Even when he was hurt, even when he was furious, he kept his cool. He didn't hit people, he didn't yell at them. When he'd wanted to soften Loki up he had refused to do it himself. He put him into the timeloop with Lady Sif and let her beat on him. It wasn't much better, but it was indicative of a principal. A line with the agent didn't cross, and as much as Loki thought he had every right to cross it now, it wasn't right to watch. It made Mobius seem like a thug, which couldn't be further from the truth.

He stepped up without a word, put a hand on Mobius's chest. He wasn't entirely surprised when for a moment, it seemed as though Mobius was going to turn on him, and hit him. He dropped his hand within seconds, but they had both seen it. 

Mobius shook him off and stormed out of the room, leaving Loki only two choices: stay behind with Brad, or chase after him. 

The answer was clear.

He had no idea where Mobius was taking them. The agent must have known that he was being followed, it wasn't as the Loki was being particularly quiet, but he gave no indication of that being the case. He walked through a complete maze of halls, doorways and steps, without ever giving the impression they even had a destination in mind.

“Mobius?” 

He didn't get a response. He tried to tell himself there was no reason to worry. Sure, Mobius had just snapped, hit a man several times and yelled that he was a nowhere man, which was so far from normal behavior that it scared him, but surely after a walk to cool down, everything would be okay. Mobius was tough and levelheaded, he could handle a little taunting. 

They were doubtlessly just taking a walk and regrouping, away from prying eyes and ears. They had no way of knowing if Brad had any allies. There could have been someone lurking, listening to everything that was being discussed and waiting for the perfect moment to sneak in and warn the wayward hunter about their plan. 

That had to be it. Mobius was simply being prudent. It was exactly like the agent to consider something like that, and if Loki hadn't been so distracted, worrying, he would have realised what the plan was. 

He didn't need to worry. Mobius had this under control, if he could just follow the agent's lead. 

Even still. 

“Mobius, what was that?” Loki asked, almost tentative, as they half-walked, half-jogged down a set of spiral stairs. 

“Nothing.” Mobius retorted, too aggressive for Loki's liking. 

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine!”

Loki was fairly sure that no one who claimed to be fine ever was, but especially not Mobius. His hesitant reassurance was fading fast. “What happened back there?” 

“Nothing.”

“It didn't seem like nothing!” 

“It was tactical!”

“Was it? Because it kind of seems like he got under your skin.”

Mobius turned and glared at him. He hadn't had that irritated expression on him in a while, not since he'd been captured after running off with Sylvie. He hadn't missed it. 

“Mobius,” he said, disapproving. It was almost disrespectful, considering how well Loki had taken the insult. “Are you alright? I've never seen you like this before!”

Mobius flailed his arms out in exasperation. “Seen me like what?”

“It's okay, I'm not judging!” 

“It feels like you are! Look, I told you I can play the heavy keys, and I can…”

Mobius trailed off, looking around the bright turquoise room they had just walked into. “Where are we?” He asked, suddenly sounding tired. 

“I was following you,” Loki admitted. 

Mobius turned on him. “No, I was following you!”

“Mobius, you were clearly ahead of me.”

Mobius let out a heavy sigh. Looking up at the sign above the door, which read AUTOMAT , Loki groaned internally as he realised what he had to offer. “How about a slice of pie?”

He knew what flavour Mobius was going to insist on before he even answered. “Key lime.”

Loki hated the key lime pie from the automat, and hated the whipped cream even more. Mobius had been trying to be kind, sharing one of his pie tokens with Loki, despite the rules against it, but Loki had found it utterly revolting. 

Still, he agreed without fuss, touching a light hand to Mobius’s back as he guided him into the dining area. “Okay, great. Come on.” 

“It's really good,” Mobius said appreciatively, once they had both settled down with a slice of pie. Loki opted to just push some of it around his cake in the guise of eating it.

“It is,” Loki agreed, hoping that if he played along, Mobius would let him know what was going on. This whole situation was still so worrying. Mobius's continued distress was making it more and more clear that no part of what had happened was a plan, Brad had truly gotten into Mobius’s head and under his skin. 

Mobius took another deep breath and let out it, casting his gaze downward in shame. “Listen, that wasn't tactical. I lost it.”

Loki shrugged one shoulder. “It's okay. It happens. You know, sometimes the rage builds up and you just have to… let it out.” 

Mobius didn't look convinced.

“Do you remember that time I was so angry with my father and brother that I went down to Earth, held the whole of New York City hostage with an alien army -”

A smile cracked on Mobius’s lips as he scooped up another bite of his pie. 

“- tried to use the Mind Stone on Tony Stark, it didn't work, so I threw him off the building!”

Mobius let out the slightest chuckle. 

“I mean, let me tell you something. It wasn't tactical. I lost it. Sometimes, our emotions get the better of us.”

“You can say that again.” Mobius finally looked up again, meeting Loki's eyes. 

Loki pushed the whipped cream around his plate for a moment before continuing. “Let me ask something, Mobius, just once. You can be angry about it if you want, and I promise, I'll never ask again. But… X-05 obviously touched a nerve. Have you ever wanted to visit your place on the timeline?”

“That's the last thing I should be thinking about,” Mobius said, avoiding the question. 

“But aren't you curious? Don't you want to see the life you would have had, the life you did have before they kidnapped you and brought you here?” 

“Not really!”

“Why?” 

Mobius shook his head. “Because it's not my life.”

“But it could have been,” Loki pressed, forgetting to be wary. 

“But it's not. This is!” Mobius looked around the room. “I'd like to thank the guy who kidnapped me and brought me here! Got me this pie. Gave me…”  

He trailed off, turning his gaze away from Loki’s for a split-second, and Loki felt a funny jolt in his stomach when he realised what Mobius might have stopped himself from saying. 

“If you never look, you'll never know.”

“I like it that way,” Mobius said firmly. “The TVA is the only life I've ever known. I like it.”

Loki nodded, thinking of his own life. “I get it. I mean… you might think twice, in case it's something bad -”

Mobius shook his head. “Or something good! Something bad, I can handle! What if it's something good? Do you think I want to have that rattling around in here?” 

“Of course not.”

“Now, we need to think of a way to get X-05 to talk.” 

Loki's lips curved into a smile. “Leave it to me.” 

“You sure?”

“I'm the god of mischief, aren't I? I can handle it.”

You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve

And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground

Dig them up; let's finish what we've started

Dig them up, so nothing's left untouched

All of your flaws and all of my flaws,

When they have been exhumed

We'll see that we need them to be who we are

Without them we'd be doomed

• Flaws, Bastille, BAD BLOOD (2013)

Chapter Text

I'm a head case, and I'm leading the parade

Rounding up the maniacs, let 'em out to play

Once you get a taste, no, you'll never be the same

Bring the creatures to life

Loki had absolutely guaranteed that the TVA had some sort of a torture machine, and OB very helpfully informed him that it was very similar to a Time door, only. You could create some sort of a box and expand it or shrink it as much as his heart contented, regardless of the material within it. If the box became too small, what was inside of it would simply be crushed.

It had been attempting suggestion, to put Brad into a box and squeeze him until he had no choice but to give in, but Loki preferred to keep things simple. Familiar. 

So he opened the door, daggers in hand. 

“Hello, Brad,” he said calmly, pushing the door shut behind him and twisting the lock into place. “Are you ready to continue our conversation?”

“Where's Mobius?”

“Back at home, licking his wounds. You struck a nerve with him, really got under his skin. I decided that I was perfectly capable of handling you myself. I am, after all, somewhat an expert in the art of coercion. I've both used it and had it used against me, and truly, it is experience that makes expertise.”

“Yeah, right. There's no way Mobius is letting you in here without supervision.”

“Oh, see, that's what's really funny. You think he knows I'm here. What did you call me? His little pet? And you assumed that he would never let that pet off leash, and you might be right. The only problem is he doesn't have me on constant supervision. I've earned a little bit of slack, and this feels like a good way to spend it.”

“So I'm meant to believe that you're going to destroy everyone's trust in you just fuck me up?”

“Well here is the wonderful thing about beliefs, Brad Wolfe. What you believe that I will do does not really matter. If it did, I would likely no longer exist. There used to be this idea that gods needed the belief of people to have their powers, or even to exist, but we don't. We continue to exist, long after people have decided that we must simply be a myth. Just like, whether you believe it or not, I will not be leaving this room without your information. No matter what I have to do. So now I'm going to ask you a very important question, and I do want the truth. Where is Sylvie?”

“You're just not that scary when I know Mobius will be here to muzzle you soon.” 

Loki threw a dagger at Brad’s face. 

It wasn't really aimed to hurt, largely just to startle. It glanced off one of his cheeks and flew towards the concrete wall, where it sunk into the fake brickwork. 

A shallow trail of blood dripped down Brad's cheek. “What the hell?” 

“I do believe you'll find you were given ample warnings,” Loki said casually, “each of which you elected not to heed. I can't force you to make the smart choice, Brad Wolfe, but I will not go back on my word. You are either going to tell me where Sylvie is, or you are going to die. It's not as though the TVA actually cares what happens to you now anyway.”

“The TVA doesn't kill people! You're the proof! You were pruned and you're not even dead!” Brad protested. 

“Not for lack of trying. The TVA sends variants to a garment dump with a beast who devours them, leaving no trace behind. I've seen it happen. If most of your agents saw the fate that awaits those variants, they would agree that death is kinder. That is the fate that awaits you. The TVA has declared that you are to be pruned, and there is no hope of that being overturned. You murdered yourself on the timeline in order to rejoin and take his place. While it is true, an official decision has not been made on what should happen to accommodate you who have been removed against your will from the flow of time, You have not stumbled upon an acceptable solution. You will be dealt with in accordance with the severity of your actions, which means that you will die, either by Alioth or by me.”

As he spoke, Loki twirled his second dagger through his fingers. When he finished his phrase, he suddenly gripped it properly and threw it as well, making a second, deeper cut on Brad's other cheek. 

“You are severely overestimating my goodwill,” Loki said, stalking around in a wide circle to go and collect his daggers. “A few scars will make you intriguing, if you truly believe you'll be able to find a deal we accept and stay alive to return to the timeline. But just how many times -” Loki wrenched his dagger out of the wall and spun it in his hand, “- do you think I can cut you before you're completely unemployable?” 

“Loki, listen…”

“Unless the next words out of your mouth are a location, there is nothing you could say that I am interested in listening to.”

“Earlier I said some truly unflattering things… about your mother? I really didn't mean it -”

This time Loki kept the dagger in his hand. He slashed across Brad's face, splitting open the skin on his nose and just below his eyes. “Keep talking. Keep saying stupid things. It's been a while until I got to do this, I could use the practice.”

He reached up, grabbed Brad beneath the chin and held him in place as he had Tony Stark, a lifetime and yet not that long ago. 

“You're not really a villain! You're not evil, you're just… wildly misunderstood! I see that now!”

“Oh no,” Loki said, pressing his dagger against Brad’s cheek. “I'm a villain. Nothing but evil in me. Thank you so much for pointing that out! Why? If you hadn't opened my eyes, I wouldn't even have remembered that I could do something like this.” That I don't have to be a good guy, because we all know that's just pretend. I can really just cut loose and play to my skills! And how delightfully freeing that is.”

He dug the dagger deeper into Brad's skin, watching the skin split beneath the silver blade. A bead of blood welled up, reflecting off of the mirror finish. 

“Loki, come on! Even if that is true, I doubt you want to prove that to Mobius!” 

“Mobius already knows. He's the expert on me, remember? He spent his entire career studying me, conniving and conspiring to convince Ravona to recruit me. There is nothing I can do that will shock him. He may be disappointed, but not shocked. I've been disappointing people since I was born and my mother left me in that temple for being too small. Do you think it bothers me to disappoint him?” 

He leaned in close, speaking in Brad’s ear in a low growl. “I don't know if you know this, but I have done some terrible, awful things.” 

With each word, Loki took a long stride forward, dragging Brad with him until he could slam him into the wall and replace his hand with his dagger, letting it graze the skin of Brad’s throat. 

“Yeah, I know! You're doing one right now, have some perspective on yourself!” 

Loki grinned. He pushed a little harder on the dagger, but didn't slash. He just let it bite into Brad’s neck. 

“Loki, please, just put it down!” 

“I like you begging,” Loki said, “but that's not what I'm here for.” 

“Do you know what? I made it all up. I have no idea where Sylvie is! Now put the knife down!” 

“Brad!” Loki exclaimed, letting him back off the wall, taking a few steps back, dagger still in hand, grin still on his face. “You're so convincing! I want to believe you, but you're just - you're such a good actor.”

Brad scrambled off the wall and back towards the center of the room, where he must have felt safer. “Look, I really - I really don't know. I swear.” 

“You're so talented!” Loki praised, “you could fool the God of Lies, I tell you. If anyone could, it would be you!” 

“I only claimed that I knew where she was because I wanted a deal!” 

“Please tell me the truth. I know you're lying,” Loki said. “I would hate to have you kill you for it.” 

“Okay! Okay, okay! I lied, okay, I did! I was supposed to go look for Sylvie, but then I bailed, okay? I bailed!”

Loki shook his head, a frown furrowing his brow. “Right. So, they told you to go after Sylvie and you bailed?” 

“Yeah!” 

Loki sighed. “What's the penalty,” he threw his dagger, striking it off Brad’s shoulder and leaving a cut in the fabric of his brown jumpsuit. Blood began soaking into the sleeve. “For a highly-decorated field officer abandoning his mission?” 

Brad didn't say anything. Loki stalked across the room, wrenched his second dagger out of the concrete wall. “I don't buy it.”

“Okay. Look, I swear, okay? I went down there and I went to go get my life! Because… none of this is real!” 

Loki tossed his dagger from hand to hand, the joking smile falling from his face. “Well, if none of this is real,” he said slowly, pulling his arm back to throw it again, not aiming for a glancing blow this time. “I guess you aren't either.” 

“Hey! Wait! Wait, wait, wait!” 

Loki stood, still ready to throw. “Tell me where Sylvie is, Brad.”

“Alright! I'll tell you where she is! She has a new life!”

Loki threw the dagger, just for fun, and as it sailed and Brad shrieked, it disappeared into a green glow. The same green flash flooded across the room, gathering his other dagger, vanishing the blood on Brad and each of the cuts and finally, flooding across himself, leaving him standing in the middle of the room without any weapons in his hands. 

“Why do you have to make it so hard on yourself, Brad?” He turned to the door, where Mobius had been standing all along. “I guess we should tell OB that his efforts paid off. My seidhr is working perfectly.” 

“I see that,” Mobius agreed, a smile on his face. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.” 

Loki faked offense. “You need a reminder?”

“That was a good trick,” Mobius praised. Loki smiled. 

“Well, I wasn't just going to let him run rings around us. He's not the only one who can act.” 

“It was all fake?” Brad asked, shocked. “You can't use magic in the TVA, how could it be fake?” 

“The man who works in Repairs and Advancement is a genius. Someone is really going to have to tell him that, although I suspect he'll say something cute like he already knows,” Mobius said. 

“ I can use magic in the TVA. No one else can though, not yet. We might open up the floor to the possibilities, but blanket permissions would be foolish with so many Infinity Stones in the building. So yes, Brad, it was all fake. But if you think that's a good reason to go back on your word now, the next time it won't be. Or maybe it will, and you'll only find out when I'm done driving my dagger through your throat. Wouldn't that be fun? You would never know if and when I was actually going to kill you. I bet that I could drive you absolutely insane like that.”

“Alright, easy there. I know he pissed you off, although to be fair it was my skin that he got under so I don't know why you were so offended, but you can ease up on the threats. Mr. Wolfe here is going to cooperate, because he's a smart man isn't he?”

Brad didn't seem to know who to look at, Mobius or Loki. “I will do whatever keeps those daggers away from me.” 

“An excellent, well informed choice,” Loki said. 

“He really is a smart man, and a great actor! The zaniac is one of our own, who would have thought?” Mobius added. 

“Well, not any of you, you had no idea you had lives until I came along!” 

“Great, well. I'm glad we all got what we wanted, so you two can pop on over to that timeline and go and bother Sylvie, and I will go back to my timeline and continue making my movies. Can't disappoint my fans, after all. Everybody gets what they wanted, everybody gets what we agreed on.”

“Oh?” Loki asked, raising an eyebrow. “We never made an agreement. We didn't make that deal, and you decided to have a hissy fit rather than making a new one. So no, you will not be returning to that timeline, and no, Mobius and I are not going on our own. You are coming with us.”

“That wasn't the deal!” 

“We never had a deal. If you wanted one, you should have made a reasonable one. You knew just as well as we did, we were never going to give you what you were demanding. You should have made a better one, but you didn't. We owe you nothing.” Mobius said. 

“And thus, you are coming with us so that we know you aren't leading us into a trap,” Loki said. 

“I don't want to go with you! This is your crazy crush trip! As fun as it sounds to watch you get turned down  by a girl who definitely doesn't want you, I have better things to do.” 

“You're In that much of a hurry to go warm a cell? You aren't going back to that timeline. That was never up for debate. The fact that you are so desperate not to come with us tells me that you have something in store for us. Call it a senior analyst's intuition,” Mobius said, “that or having studied the most famous trickster in all the timelines for a very long time.”

“You can't drag me along! No one here will ever sign off on it!” 

Mobius laughed. “The TVA is in complete anarchy. No one has to okay anything, we can basically do what we like. So we’re bringing you with us.”

“And when we’re done, we’ll have fun frog-marching you back to the TVA, where we'll introduce you to the cell that will be your home until we figure out what to do with you. I hope you enjoyed your little stint as a movie star, Because that all ended today.” Loki shot him a false sympathetic look. “Hurts, doesn't it? Having all that potential ripped away because of one mistake.”

My hand out the window just riding the wave

My cares in the mirror just fading away

Yeah, I'm superhuman, don't need to be saved

Don't press your luck, I woke up feelin' dangerous

• Dangerous, Set It Off, ELSEWHERE (2022)

Chapter Text

And we'll all dance alone to the tune of your death
We'll love again, we'll laugh again
And it's better off this way

The smell of cooking oil was the first thing to reach Loki's nostrils. He wrinkled them. “You're not having us on? Sylvie is here ?”

Brad glared at him. “No, I wanted to go through another round of your magic craziness, so I figured I'd lie to you. Yes, this is where Sylvie is. Now can I get out of here?”

“No,” Loki said automatically. “You're staying here until I say you can go.” 

He looked up disgustedly at the glaring red paint and neon yellow arches. He looked over at Mobius, who was grinning from ear to ear. “What even is this place? It smells.”

“Only the biggest fast food chain in the world on the Sacred Timeline! I've never had an excuse to go in one! I want to try the milkshakes and the apple pie -”

“That doesn't answer my question.” 

“It's a McDonald's,” Brad said haughtily. “Which I suppose we should have guessed wouldn't be good enough not to upset the prince's delicate sensibilities!” 

“Do you want to find out what one of my daggers actually feels like? Because that's where you're headed.” 

“I want to get off this timeline,” Brad muttered, “I've been pretty clear about that.” 

“And why is that, Brad? Are you trying to avoid something you haven't told us about? Because it kind of seems like you are.”

“I just don't want to go gallivanting around random timelines with the two of you! Last time I checked, we weren't exactly best friends!” 

“Oh, you're going to hurt our feelings. Here I thought we were bonding! I was even going to offer to buy you a milkshake!” Mobius protested. 

“Variants can be so cruel,” Loki said with a smirk. “Sometimes when we run off with mysterious women who just finished trying to kill us, sometimes we're just a little bit insulting, but we certainly are cruel.”

“So, Sylvie is here?” Mobius asked, raising an eyebrow. “Not exactly what I would expect from a murderous variant who only just stopped being a fugitive. I figured she would find herself a timeline where she can live like a queen and take it easy for the rest of her life, not start slinging burgers and chicken nuggets at a fast-food joint for less than three bucks an hour, in a town that's practically a farmer's field in the middle of Oklahoma.” 

“It is boring, I admit, and not what I expected for Sylvie. Mobius, do you think she came here to taunt you because it's where you're from? It's perfectly boring, like you!” Brad said. 

“Enough,” Loki snapped at him. “This is the only lead we have, and if Brad lied to us, I'll have another round with him. Maybe without the magic this time, he won't know until it's practically driving him insane. But we are going into that restaurant, as much as I don't want to, and finding out if she's in there.” 

“So, do you know what you're going to say to her?” Mobius asked. 

“I'm going to hold her feet to the fire. She did this, the absolute minimum she can do is come back to the TVA and clean up her mess now.”

Brad snorted. “He has absolutely no idea. Which means he's going to make a fool out of himself. That's almost enough of a promise to make me want to be here… and yet I don't.” 

“It's still not a choice for you,” Mobius said firmly. “The only thing complaining is going to get you is no milkshake.”

“Mobius, don't buy him a milkshake. He hasn't done anything worth rewarding.” 

“He may have led us to Sylvie!” 

“After I convinced him I was going to kill him if he didn't!” 

“And maybe if I buy him a shake, he’ll give up his information sooner next time!” 

Loki shook his head and walked into the building. 

It didn't take long for him to find Sylvie. She was standing behind a counter that seemed to lead into a garishly tiled kitchen. She met his eye as he walked in, held his gaze for a long moment, as if begging him not to start this. Not to come in and ruin whatever life it was that she had built here. 

But the way she had gotten here was ruining his. Was refusing to listen to reason for even a minute and costing him a place with the only real friends he had. It surprised him that B-15 and Mobius could be considered his friends, Mobius even more than a friend, when he had been brought to the TVA he had seen them all as obstacles he had to get rid of. Now, ripped away from his life and the others he cared about and then that he fooled himself into thinking might someday care about him, the few friends he had in the TVA were the only ones he had in the world and Sylvie had almost cost him them. 

So he ignored the pleading look on her face, telling himself he did not care. She could go back to her simple little life, if that was what she wanted, as soon as she fixed the ruin she had made of his. 

He walked up to the counter where she was standing. She continued to stare at him, not saying anything, not even looking like she was convinced she was going to accept this as reality. If it hadn't been for the pleading look he had seen in her eyes, he might have truly believed that she didn't even recognise him. She gave no indication of knowing who he was or why he was there.

But he didn't care. No matter what she pretended, she knew why he was there. She knew what was wrong. 

“Are you going to order something? Because I'm -”

“We need to talk.”

She let out the weariest sigh. “Just walk away. Just walk back out that door and we'll both pretend this didn't happen. I have nothing to say to you.”

“You can't possibly think that I'm going to accept that.” 

She looked almost ready to leap over the counter and throttle him with her bare hands. “Please, Loki. Just walk away.” 

“You ruined the only place I ever truly felt safe. I'm not going to walk away.’ 

She looked at the clock. “I have a break in five minutes. Meet me outside, you're going to draw attention in here.” 

“It's a short break, so talk fast,” Sylvie said, walking out of the restaurant, a greasy looking package in one hand and a drink in the other. 

“That's all you have to say to me? No ‘hey Loki, how have you been, sorry for sending you off to who knows where because you wanted to talk things through'?”

“I'm not sorry, and I didn't send you to who knows where. I sent you back to your precious TVA. Right back into the arms of that old man who can't decide what he's loyal to. I still do like him, but he really needs to decide if he's tearing the place down or saving it. So do you. At least that other one knows what he wants. Came here asking me to give him back his life. I can't give him back what the TVA took from him, not that particular timeline at least, but I showed him what his life was. All in all, you should be thanking me. Not coming back here to yell at me.”

“You didn't send me back to the TVA. You sent me back to a TVA. One where I was almost killed by my friends, because those versions of them had no idea who I was. And if you're the reason I have to put up with Brad the way he is, then that's another wrong you've dealt me.” 

“Don't mess with me, there is only one TVA.” Sylvie pulled a lever on the back of a vehicle parked in the lot, and the back flap fell down to create some sort of a seat. She hopped up on it and unwrapped her food. 

“There was only one TVA. Just like we were told there was. But things change when you do exactly what the guy who was in charge of it all was would change everything. Now, after I managed to steal a TemPad, I must have jumped through dozens of them. Each with their own Timekeepers, or He Who Remains, or whatever he called himself in their world but he is there and they are there. And that's all your doing. You couldn't stop and think for two minutes.”

“No, you don't get to act like I'm the unreasonable one. You knew exactly what I wanted and what we were both signing up for. You were with me until someone offered you a throne!” 

“I guess it really is easier to believe that than to accept that I might have been right. I didn't care about the throne, I told you that. I wanted to prevent this .”

“And why should I even believe you?” Sylvie asked, arching an eyebrow. She sipped her drink before continuing. “You're all dressed up in that ugly tan uniform, you've clearly gone back to being one of the TVA's dogs. For all I know, you're here on the behalf of your He Who Remains, still trying to round me up and bring me in.” 

“Why would I do that?” 

“You've betrayed me once.” 

“I didn't betray you, you betrayed me. What else do you call that little stunt?” 

“You know damn well it's called a distraction, and it's not my fault it worked.” 

“Play with people's emotions and blame them when they get hurt. Classic. Once a Loki, always a Loki. You can change your name, but you can't change who you are. You'll always be exactly what you hate about yourself.”

He saw the fury and outrage spread across her face in an ugly sneer. He thought she was going to hit him, or draw her blades and try to cut him into pieces. He imagined that in her mind he would deserve it, although he would have to disagree on principle. Since this fall from the Bifrost, he had become rather attached to remaining alive. 

Whatever she was planning, it was interrupted when a blonde boy wearing a similar uniform to hers walked out of the building, carrying another package of greasy food in his hands. He walked up to Sylvie, seemingly oblivious of the fact that her conversation had almost evolved into blows, and handed it to her. “Your fries are ready!”

“Thanks, Jack. You know I could have just stayed inside and waited for them myself, right?”

“I know,” the young man said, “but our manager is so strict about our breaks! This is your short one, if you had waited you would have barely gotten any time to eat. Plus, you had a visitor waiting for you!” 

He turned to Loki. “Pleased to meet you, sir, I'm Jack! Are you a friend of Sylvie's?”

“No, he's not,” Sylvie said, clearly fighting and losing to keep the ice out of her tone. “Just someone I used to think I knew. He'll be out of here soon.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Jack said skeptically. “Those friends he walked in with just ordered a lot of food!”

Loki fought to keep the grimace off his face. “Mobius did mention a lot of things he wanted to try. Apparently, he's never been to one of these establishments before.”

Jack turned back to Loki with a raised eyebrow, looked him up and down. “If you're not a friend of Sylvie's…” he trailed off. “Is he bothering you, Sylvie? My mom says a gentleman shouldn't bother a lady.” 

Loki gave him a thin-lipped smile. “Then your mother would get along with mine. Sylvie and I are just talking.”

“He's fine, Jack. You should get back inside before you get into trouble. I can handle him.”

“If you say so, Sylvie.”

Loki waited for Jack to have gone back inside before he made his next comment. “What exactly did he think he was going to do to me? He's a mortal child.” 

“He has no idea we exist,” Sylvie snapped. “You won't be here to wreck havoc on the world, twice, for another thirty years. You want to know the appeal of this place? I get to live a normal life.”

“Until your coworkers realise you don't age. Or, you know, a variant of He Who Remains shows up to destroy this place. Or you do magic in front of them, or anything else that proves you and I don't get a normal life. Not after what you did.”

“Oh, because ruling the timeline would have been completely normal!” 

“At least it would have been honest!” 

“A strange hang-up for the god of lies. You want the truth? I don't know why you want to keep controlling and ruining my life, but I know it's what you're trying to do. I don't think there are any variants. I think you would say anything you had to to prove that you were right and I was wrong.” 

Loki scoffed. “I don't know what I was expecting. You'll never take responsibility, you'll just keep playing the victim or the hero, whichever gets you the furthest. I could have brought a variant here and you would come up with a way that it didn't affect you.”

“And you'll scold me for not cozying up to any authority that lets you pretend you have power. Because all you're ever going to be is a spoiled prince, begging to be respected and not wanting to do anything to earn it.” 

“You're impossible.” 

“And you're just such a delight!” 

He was about to retort, until he saw the man walking up to the door of the restaurant. 

His blood ran cold. 

Sylvie followed his gaze, spotted the man walking into the restaurant. It seemed that she recognised him, too. She flexed her fingers and her swords appeared in her hands. “This is just really convenient for you.” 

“You can't possibly think I would want this to happen,” Loki said, heart hammering in his chest. His daggers were in his hands before he even thought about it, and despite his fear, he was rushing towards the door. 

Mobius was in that restaurant, and he wouldn't recognise He Who Remains. He wouldn't realise he was in danger. 

The variant had made it up to the counter by the time Sylvie and Loki got into the building. He was speaking to Jack. Mobius was engrossed in his food, completely oblivious of the danger he was in. 

“Young man, where is your manager? I need to speak with him about the financial revenue of an establishment such as this.”

Even his voice was the same. It made Loki's skin crawl. 

Sylvie walked up behind the variant. “I'm afraid that's not in the menu,” she said, holding her sword level with his chin. 

“Sylvie? What are you doing? Did you have swords in your truck?” Jack asked, clearly only coming up with more questions the longer he spoke. 

“Trust me, Jack, this is one you're going to want to stay out of,” Sylvie said. “Pull the fire alarm, get everyone out.” 

“I really don't know what all this fuss is about, ma’am,’ the variant said. 

“Save it!’ Sylvie snapped. “I know who you are.”

“Ma’am, I believe you have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Mister Gryphon.” 

Jack was still standing, paralysed, unsure what to do. They were running out of time. Loki didn't want to turn his back on the variant, but someone had to do something. 

“Mobius!” He shouted, and the grey-haired man looked up from his meal. 

“Loki?” 

“Get everyone out of here! That's him! That's He Who Remains!” 

Mobius looked skeptically at the man standing before the counter. “The suit? He doesn't seem very scary.” 

“Mobius!” 

“You made him sound much more intimidating!” 

“Mobius!” 

“Alright, alright, don't lose your head about it!” Mobius stood up and ran to a wall with a red handle affixed to it. He pulled it down, and immediately an alarm began ringing through the building. Water began raining down from sprinklers on the ceiling. The patrons started running for the exit. 

“Jack, go with them!” Sylvie urged. The young man finally stopped arguing with her and made for the door. 

“I'm afraid I don't know who this He Who Remains is,” Mister Gryphon said, trying to move towards the exit, but Sylvie blocked him with her sword. 

“Kang the Conqueror, then,” suggested Loki. It was a name he had heard a couple of times while he had crossed through countless different versions of the TVA. “Or Victor Timely, or Nathaniel Richards.”

The man smiled. “Perhaps it was I who was mistaken. You do appear to know who I am.” 

“You're the thief of all free will!” Sylvie snarled. She slashed with her sword, aiming to take the man's head off. 

“Sylvie, wait!” 

But it didn't matter. An energy shield suddenly went up in front of Mister Gryphon, and Sylvie's sword bounced uselessly off it. Mobius ran over to them, and Loki realised he had no idea where Brad had gone. 

“I see the threat much more now!” Mobius admitted. There was water dripping out of his hair, soaking into the shoulders of his jacket. Loki must have been similarly soaked, but he barely even felt the water. 

“Go and find Brad, don't let him escape. Sylvie and I can handle this.” 

“Really? Because you look a little outmatched!” 

“Go!” 

Mobius didn't argue again. He pulled the remote for the collar Brad had been put in out of his pocket and ran outside. 

Sylvie rounded on Loki. “What's your problem?” She demanded, “you come here, furious with me that other variants of this man exist, and now you don't want me to kill him?” 

“What if he has information we need?” Loki asked. 

“Not my problem!” 

Sylvie lunged back at Mister Gryphon, but as fast as she could swing her swords, his shields parried. She couldn't land a single blow. 

Loki decided to take another approach. “I'll take you alive, if you surrender.”

As Sylvie swung again, the man vanished from where he had been standing and reappeared behind Loki. “I fail to see how you're in a position to ask me to surrender,” he said, amused. Sylvie snarled and rushed back at him, but she ran directly through where he had been. 

It was like dealing with He Who Remains all over again.  

Loki took a few swings of his own, not trying to kill him, just slow him down and put him at the disadvantage, but it was equally impossible for him as it was for Sylvie. The man didn't appear to have a weapon, which was good. If he did, Loki and Sylvie would have been doomed. 

And this all was futile. Unless they could come up with a way to stop him from appearing and disappearing, they wouldn't actually be able to beat this man. 

The first thing Loki needed to do was figure out how he was disappearing. It wasn't quite like He Who Remains, who'd had all the locations already in that strange TemPad, knowing exactly where Loki or Sylvie would try to strike before they did.  This wasn't preemptive, it was a reaction. 

It only took him a few more times of watching the man disappear from where Sylvie had been about to strike. They were a soft and subtle blue, difficult to spot unless you were looking for them, but Mr. Gryphon didn't vanish into thin air. A portal would appear just beside him, and he would almost imperceptively sidestep into it. 

The portal he would appear through was also blue, similarly subtle, but possible to spot with a little concentration. 

Loki could have ambushed him, driven his daggers into his throat as he appeared out of his portal, but that wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want this Mr. Gryphon dead. The TVA needed a subdued variant of He Who Remains, it might help them decide what to do next. 

What he needed was a way to stop Mr. Gryphon from escaping through the portals. 

Or to undo it. 

He made a break for the door. “Coward!” Sylvie shouted after him, swinging her sword wildly at Mr. Gryphon to no avail. “Run back to your precious TVA! I'll take care of this, like I always do!”

Loki ignored her. He yanked down a string attached to a set of blinds that hung in a window near the door, pulling it down and bringing it with him, changing it from nylon cord to a thick rope in his hands. He ran over to where Mobius and Brad were standing, yanked Brad’s hands behind his back. Before the so-called movie star could even protest, he wove the rope between his wrists again and again, yanked it tight and fused the ends together with magic. 

“Loki? What's going on?” Mobius demanded. 

“Give me the remote,” Loki said, impatiently holding out a hand as he pushed the ropes into Mobius’s. 

“What?” 

“I need the collar, so give me the remote!” 

Mobius still looked perplexed, but he fished the remote for the Time Twister out of his pocket. “What am I meant to do with Brad?” 

“Hang into the ropes, and don't let go,” Loki advised, pressing the button and taking the collar off of Brad’s neck. He ran back into the restaurant, unsurprised to see Sylvie still desperately trying to hack Mr. Gryphon to pieces, with no success. 

“Look who bothered to come back!” She snarled. 

“You can't truly have the energy to snark at me,” Loki said. “He's running circles around you.” 

“Make your point!” 

“Maybe I don't have one. Maybe I’m just here to watch your crushing defeat. After all, you think I betrayed you, why not let you be right?” 

“You bastard!” Sylvie swung at Mr. Gryphon again, he used whatever device he had to disappear out of the way, and Loki stepped to where the blue light appeared and flicked the collar around the variant’s neck as he stepped free of his portal. 

The man immediately tried to use another one, but Loki flicked the dial on the remote and the Time Twister zapped him back to where he had been standing. 

“You can keep trying, but I'm going to keep doing that,” he said, as the man tried again to escape. 

“I'm taking you back to the TVA,” Loki said, but Sylvie had another idea. Before Loki could react, could jump Mr. Gryphon out of the way or open a door on the TemPad, she threw herself at him, slashing in a wide ark with her sword. 

It cut him open from hip to shoulder. The man stared in shock, watching his own blood and viscera pour out from the deep wound, and crumpled to the ground. As the man gurgled and Loki stood by helplessly, Sylvie drove her sword into his chest. 

The gurgling stopped. 

“Sylvie!” 

“You brought me back into this. You want to know what I'll do if I find another variant? That. I will kill them and kill them and kill them and keep killing them until there are none left. Get out of here, Loki. Don't come back. I've got enough mess to clean up.”

This time, Loki didn't argue. He could have offered TVA resources to help clean up the blood and the body, to cover up what had just happened, but he didn't feel that generous. He felt like making Sylvie solve her own problem. Come up with an explanation for what could happen by herself. He felt like letting her ruin her life, if it came to that. 

He walked out of the restaurant and over to Mobius, pausing only to take the time twister with him. 

“We can go home now.”

Another knife in my hands
A stain that never comes off the sheets
Clean me off
I'm so dirty babe
The kind of dirty where the water never cleans off the clothes
I keep a book of the names and those

- My Chemical Romance, I Never Told You What I Do For A Living, THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET (REVENGE) (2004)