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Mobius arrived home from the market just after lunchtime. He’d been there far longer than he wanted to, as people kept stopping him to chat. Every time he reached a new stall, they’d ask him variations of the same question: “How’s the gardening going?” “Where’s your partner?” “Did you hear about the village meeting next Thursday?”. It was almost as if they were all reading off a script.
He didn’t mind chatting with the people in their village; they had been so kind to welcome them into their community with open arms, but he did want to get back home to Loki quickly. They hadn’t had lunch yet, and he promised that they’d make pizza with the ingredients he bought.
“I’m home!” He called.
Loki stepped out of the kitchen with a smile and moved towards him to kiss his cheek. “Welcome back, dear. Whatever took you so long?” He plucked the shopping bags out of Mobius' arms and turned back towards the kitchen.
Mobius sighed dramatically. “Where do I start?” He scoffed, bending down to take off his shoes. “Everyone and their mother wanted to talk to me today, and I couldn’t get away without being impolite.” He heard Loki laugh from the other room and continued his rant. “Can you believe that they’re doing roadworks on the main road again? They weren’t there when I walked into town this morning! And even though I walked home, I had to follow a diversion; it’s ridiculous!”
“Sounds like you didn’t have much luck today.”
“Tell me about it.” He said and moved towards the kitchen door.
“If you could be so kind as to wait there for me, Mobius,” Loki called, “I have a surprise for you!”
He paused. “What’s the occasion?”
Loki reappeared and leaned against the kitchen doorway, smiling at him fondly. “Can’t I do something nice for my husband without needing an occasion?”
“Loki, last time you surprised me, you used your magic to grow ivy on the front of the house, but you forgot to limit the spell, so it grew over the front door, and we couldn’t get out.”
“You said that you wanted ivy growing on the house when we first moved in.” Loki pouted.
He moved closer to wrap his arms around Loki’s waist. “I do, but we could’ve grown it ourselves and maintained it properly.” He placed a quick kiss on Loki’s lips. “You don’t have to give me everything that I wish for.”
Loki tipped his head up defiantly. “Yes, I do.”
He’d told Loki multiple times that he didn’t need him to buy or conjure anything for him to be happy, but Loki always replied with a flutter of his eyelashes and a “But it makes me happy, Mobius.” Loki knew how to use those beautiful eyes to his advantage, and the sweet expression melted Mobius’ insides every time. He’d let Loki do anything if it meant that he was happy, so he yielded yet again.
“Okay, sweetheart, what have you got for me this time?”
Loki jumped, vibrating with excitement. “It’s outside in the garden. Something you’ve always wanted!” He held his hand out to Mobius and grinned. “Close your eyes and take my hand.”
Mobius raised his eyebrows at his husband curiously, and Loki winked at him, wriggling his fingers for Mobius to take.
It must be something big for Loki to ask him to do this. Normally, surprises were just sprung on him; no secrecy was needed. This one, however, seemed more planned than the average surprise he’d gotten used to.
He closed his eyes and took his hand, yet again falling so easily into the trap set by Loki. He couldn’t resist how excited he looked, and if he were being honest, he was kind of excited too.
Just then, a thought struck him, and he opened one eye quickly to look at Loki. “You better not have enlarged another Venus fly trap. Flies are supposed to be outside, y’know.”
"I won't repeat that mistake,” Loki tsked before guiding him through the kitchen towards the large French doors to the patio.
He could feel the sun on his skin as he reached the threshold, and Loki let go of his hand to take hold of his arm gently. “Watch your step.”
“Wait there,” Loki said when Mobius was safely outside.
Anticipation bubbled in his stomach. What on Earth had Loki got for him? Perhaps it was that barbeque he’d been eyeing at the shop the other day? Or the bench that he’d seen online that was 40% off—that was too good of a deal to pass up. Or maybe it was something extravagant, like a fountain.
He listened carefully to the sounds of the garden, but all he could hear were Loki’s footsteps as he moved around the patio, obviously arranging things and the wind chime that Loki had bought at the craft market last month.
He felt Loki’s hands on his arms again, and he moved forward a few steps.
“Perfect,” he said. “Now on the count of three, open your eyes.”
“One, two, three!”
Mobius opened his eyes.
“SURPRISE!”
He blinked rapidly and looked around in an attempt to take in the scene before him.
The patio had been decorated for a party. Balloons were pinned to the trellis that lined the wall by the door, and streamers had been draped over the camellia bushes nearby. A gold tablecloth draped over the patio table, and on top was an array of party food. But what stood out to him the most was a large, key lime pie with candles poked precariously around the edges.
The garden was full of all of their friends, old and new. He looked over to see O.B., Casey and B-15 hovering by the table, and O.B. waved at him enthusiastically. To the left of them was a group of his friends from the town. He saw a few of the people who held him up at the market, and they smiled knowingly at him.
Everything clicked into place. Loki had orchestrated the whole thing. The incessant chatting and the roadworks were all part of his plan to stall Mobius long enough to set this up.
In front of all of them stood Loki, who beamed at Mobius, his eyes shining with what looked like tears.
“Happy birthday, Mobius,” he said, opening his arms for a hug.
Mobius felt himself well up. No one had ever done anything so thoughtful for him. He flung himself into Loki’s open arms and squeezed his waist tightly as he tucked his head into his neck.
Loki kissed the top of his head and ran a soothing hand down his back. “I knew that you’d forget the date that you chose for your birthday,” he said quietly. “So, I thought I’d do something special to remind you.”
He lifted his head and kissed Loki firmly on the lips, which earned a muffled sound of surprise from Loki and some cheering from their friends. He smiled into it, wondering what he’d done to deserve the love that Loki gave him so freely.
When he pulled away, Loki had the tiniest blush on his cheeks. Mobius kissed him again quickly, for good measure. He delighted in making Loki flustered.
“I love you so much,” he murmured against his lips. “Thank you for this.”
Loki kissed his cheek and whispered, “Anything for you.”
“Now, what do you say we celebrate with the pie that Casey made for you?”
Loki held his hand out again for Mobius, and this time he took it happily. He allowed Loki to guide him towards their friends, and they all took turns hugging him.
He really was home.