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Loki woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door of his quarters at the TVA.
“Come in!” he called, yawning. He groaned as he sat up from the couch, stretching to work out the kinks in his joints. Glancing at the table Loki sighed. He had been going through some case files and must've fallen asleep on the couch… again. As the door opened, Loki turned to face his guest. It was Mobius, his best friend and lover.
“Hey there Lok… woah you look terrible.” When the god turned to scowl at him, Mobius winced and apologized. He could see that Loki had a bad case of bedhead. The analyst went to the kitchen, dampened a cloth, and walked over to his lover.
“Did you have another long night Hun?” he asked as he gently wiped Loki's face. The warmth of the cloth caused the god to exhale blissfully. Then Loki sighed, turning towards the coffee table.
“This accursed case is driving me crazy.”
Putting the cloth down, the analyst reached out to run his fingers through Loki’s hair, carefully working out the knots and said, “Well, you can put it aside for now.”
Loki glanced up at Mobius, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Mmm, why is that?”
The analyst smiled and booped Loki’s nose.
“Top Brass wants us to check out something in Asgard.”
Loki turned and placed his forehead against Mobius’. “Aww, that is not as fun as what I had in mind.” Mobius chuckled at the pouting sound in Loki’s voice.
“When we come back, I can help you with your case and we can do whatever you have in mind.”
"Hold on!" Loki said, his usually carefully guarded voice tinged with excitement as he spoke into the silence that had followed Mobius' compromise. The analyst didn't say anything in response, only raised a sandy-blonde eyebrow as he waited for the God of Mischief to continue his thought.
"Did you say we were going to Asgard?!" Mobius couldn't stop himself from laughing, not knowing why this was the reaction. Perhaps it was how Loki's eyes shone with boyish excitement, or how his words were woven with hope. It certainly wasn't out of any sort of cruelty or a desire to belittle the man he loved. Though as Loki's face changed, falling into an almost hurt pout Mobius realized how it could be taken that way.
"I'm sorry Loki, I didn't mean to laugh," Mobius said after he'd managed to calm himself down, his pale cheeks now flushed scarlet in the sincerity of his apology. Silence once more fell between them, though this was an awkward sort of silence that had not arisen since their early days of meeting.
"I apologize if my laughter has hurt your feelings in any sort of way" Mobius finally said after a few excoriating moments of trying to think of a way to explain. "It was not my intention. Yes, we are going to Asgard," he said, placing a hand on Loki’s cheek. The god of mischief gave a small smile, “I forgive you.” After another silent moment, Mobius shyly took out his TemPad.
“Shall we go?” Loki nodded.
“Do we know what's going on?” He asked as the analyst entered the coordinates.
“Not sure. An alarm went off for a split second then went silent.”
“Interesting.”
Once the Time Door opened, the two men walked through it and stepped out into a room. Looking around Loki guessed they were in a guest room at the palace. Beside him, Mobius checked his TemPad.
“Nothing out of the ordinary here,” he said, pocketing the TemPad and heading for the door. Out in the corridor, there was little activity. Makes sense, mused Loki as they walked down the corridor. This portion of the palace was reserved for Odin’s guests when he threw grand celebrations. The mere thought of seeing the All-Father filled Loki with a mixture of emotions.
As if sensing Loki's distress, Mobius’ hand found its way to his. Their fingers interlaced. This made the god of mischief feel calmer and he couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips as he lifted the hand to kiss the knuckles.
As they approached the main floor of the palace, the sound of activities from the staff could be heard. Maids gossiped as they went about their work. There was the sound of the Einherjar training and somewhere in the distance the sound of dishes could be heard.
Once they reached the main area of the palace, Mobius gave a quiet whistle in awe. He had never seen such splendour. The hall they were in was long and there were tapestries on the walls, some depicting different events in Asgard’s history. As the wall ended, Mobius noticed it not only continued straight ahead but expanded to the right. On the left, there was an entryway. It most likely led to another part of the palace.
Returning his attention to the right, Mobius could see two doors and what looked like a carpeted walkway. The analyst picked a door and walked to it. Opening it a crack, he was greeted with sounds from the village. Right, the entrance to the palace. He thought, chuckling to himself, turning his attention towards the second door.
As he neared the second door, Mobius glanced at the carpet, which was dark green with gold borders. Looking back at the doors, he saw how much taller they were to the front doors. The doors themselves looked rather plain with iron vines slinking vertically. The pillars on either side of the doors were covered in dark green scales, while the transom had beautiful gold Celtic-like knots engraved in it.
Opening one of the doors, Mobius was amazed by the sheer size of the room. As he walked in, he noticed that the floor was covered in gold and black knot designs and that the walls were burnt gold. On either side of him, there were six pillars intricately decorated with a dark green colouring and thin gold lines serpentining through them. In front of the pillars stood tall braziers. Near the room's rear, Mobius could see a set of stairs with a dais. As his eyes followed the stairs to the platform, he saw not one but two thrones.
Not wanting to look at his surroundings, Loki kept his attention on Mobius as he looked around. The god of mischief didn't want to be reminded of what could have been his, of his cruelty, and of his anger. He hadn't forgotten but he also didn't want to go back to dwelling on these feelings. Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath then slowly let it out. He was in a much better place. He had friends, one of which became his lover, and a place to call home.
When he opened his eyes, Loki noticed that Mobius had disappeared. The god of mischief looked around the hall but there was no sign of Mobius. He muttered a curse and went off to look for his missing friend. Following the hall, Loki came to the concourse that Mobius had come upon and immediately turned to the right, nearly colliding with a maid. She squawked in surprise and nearly dropped her armload of towels.
“I am terribly sorry, your Majesty.” the maid said with a quick curtsy.
“Not at all. Entirely my fault. I shouldn't have been in such a rush.” Loki replied, looking about the larger hallway.
“May I help you with anything, Sire?”
“You wouldn't have seen a man with sandy blond hair?”
“I'm sorry, Sire, I haven't. If he has business with you. He may be waiting for you in the throne room.” When Loki looked at the girl, she realized she had made a mistake, lowered her eyes, apologized and ran off to finish her chores. Loki called out to the girl but she was around the corner and gone. He didn't mean to scare her. Loki sighed.
As he made his way to the throne room, Loki thought about his conversation with the maid and how she had addressed him. The girl had called him Majesty. Is it possible that the Loki of this timeline was able to become king of Asgard? Is this why that alarm had gone off? Because a Loki had succeeded, while the others had failed? Loki couldn’t help feeling a little jealous but he was also proud.
When he entered the throne room, Loki found Mobius standing in the middle of the room. The analyst seemed to be preoccupied with something. Quietly Loki approached his friend. Then he leaned in close.
"What has captured your attention so?" he whispered in the older man's ear, enjoying how Mobius tried to control the shudder. As he gently nipped at Mobius’ earlobe, Loki noticed the thrones. “Were you imagining us on those thrones together?" he asked, his voice light and playful. Mobius turned to face the God of Mischief, a playful glint in his eyes. “Maybe.” Suddenly feeling shy, Mobius looked away. Placing his index finger on the older man's chin, Loki gently turned his lover’s head so they faced each other.
“If it were possible I would be happy to have you by my side to rule Asgard with,” Loki said then leaned in and kissed the analyst. Although the kiss was gentle and exciting, the god wanted more. Loki laced his fingers in the older man's hair and then started to trace alluring kisses along his jawline and down his neck, which caused Mobius to moan slightly. But when Loki groped his ass, the analyst let out a shout and pushed himself slightly away from his lover. Not here, not now! Mobius thought as he tried to catch his breath.
“Listen here, you troublemaker. We are not here to fool around.” Mobius said, trying to sound serious, while his heart was beating a mile a minute.
“You do know who you are talking to, right?” Loki said, smirking. He leaned in close, his lips lightly brushing against Mobius’. “Besides I can hear the desire in your voice.” Feeling the heat of embarrassment rise throughout his face, Mobius coughed and then tried again.
“We are here on a job, remember?”
Loki puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms. “Fine.” He said pouting. “But when we get back, you owe me big time.”
Stepping away from his lover, Mobius pulled out his TemPad. “I know.” he said, “I'll make it up to you, I promise.”
While the analyst walked about the room, Loki decided to take a closer look at the thrones. Both were adorned in gold and had wolf pups decorating the bases. That is where the similarity ended. Looking at the throne directly in front of him, Loki noted the colour of the cushions, dark green with black and yellow trimmings, and the snakes that decorated the back of it. Turning his attention to the other one, he noticed the back of this throne was beautifully decorated with swallows and bees. The cushions were iridescent blue-black with gold trimmings.
As he reached out to trace a snake’s head, someone called out to him. The voice was soft and feminine. She sounded surprised to see him. Loki turned towards the woman, his eyes scanning the room for Mobius. No sign of him. Either the analyst didn’t see her enter due to his focus on his task or he saw her and chose to stay hidden so as not to spook her. Regardless, Loki descended the stairs to greet her. She was a beautiful woman. Her black hair was loose with some braids. Atop her head, she wore a crown adorned with blue and gold gems. Her dress was off her shoulders exposing her slender neck. The fabric was a shimmery iridescent blue-black and the bodice hugged her torso beautifully. The flowing skirt made it look like she was walking on water. Once he was close enough to her, Loki smiled. Offering his hand out to her, which she took, he bowed slightly and kissed her hand.
“My Lady, you look radiant,” he said respectfully.
“Thank you, Ástin mín.” the woman said, smiling. The smile seemed to change her face, and Loki was certain she was Midgardian, however, for the briefest of moments with how her face shone, he could have sworn she was of Álfhemir.
Ástin mín? He thought, straightening up only to freeze as she hugged him.
“Welcome home. I've missed you," she said, kissing him. It wasn't a terrible kiss, it was quite sweet and loving, however, it was still a surprise . Their connection only lasted a mere moment, before she pulled away.
"I-" he started, cheeks flushing.
"You are not my Loki." the woman said, her eyes searching his face as her hand came up and gently pushed some of his loose hair behind his ear which made him flush deeper. It wasn't just the kiss that told her this man was different from her husband. There was something about his eyes. They seemed to have seen many hardships.
"You look like him, but you aren't," she said, almost whispering the words as her hands dropped away and she stepped back. One of her hands dropped to her hip and Loki caught sight of the dagger she carried.
"Who are you?" She demanded as her hand grasped onto the blade. There was something of his mother in how she looked at him now and that thought made his heart tighten. Is it possible that Frigga lives in this timeline? And was this woman her student?
“My Lady, I mean you no harm,” Loki said. At this, she pulled the weapon out and pointed it at him.
“You will answer my question or I will have you thrown in the dungeon.”
Loki couldn’t help a small chuckle to escape, before saying, “Already done that. I would rather avoid it, thank you.”
Annoyance flashed across the woman's face, the eyes on him glinting dangerously for a moment. Loki knew this look all too well, for he had used the same expression on others and felt a growing apprehension as he remained silent. Although she was beautiful, this was not a woman you could cross.
"Then I suggest you answer the question," the lady said, responding to the silence as a personal affront. Loki's hands slowly rose as she pressed the tip of the blade to his throat.
"I am Loki, just not this Asgard's Loki," he said slowly. He could tell she had lots of questions and he planned on answering them, to the best of his ability of course, when Mobius came out of his hiding place.
“Right, I've scanned every inch of this place and found nothing. We need to go. I'm going to have to talk to the guys in the tech department.” Looking up from his TemPad, Mobius froze, taking in the scene before him. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What in the world? Loki, why is there a knife at your throat?”
“This charlatan has deceived me into thinking he was my husband.” the woman said, moving the blade slightly closer to Loki’s throat. The god flinched at this. Mobius quickly pocketed the TemPad and walked over to the pair.
“Ma'am, could I ask you to put your weapon away? Whatever my partner has done, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding.”
The woman looked between the two men, contemplating her options. Finally, she retracted the blade from Loki's throat. Mobius thanked her as she sheathed her weapon.
“Now then, Ma'a-” Mobius started saying.
“Svala,” she said walking over to the stairs and sitting down.
“Pardon?”
“My name is Svala,” she replied rigidly. “Since you are not of my Court, you may address me by my name.”
“Ah, that's a pretty name.” the analyst said as he joined Svala by the stairs. He sat on the floor. Looking at Loki, Mobius patted a spot beside him, encouraging the god to sit beside him.
“Absolutely not!”
“Aw, come on.” Mobius pleaded, giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes. Loki sighed as he joined the other two.
“Okay, now that we're all comfortable. Let's get this misunderstanding cleared.” the analyst said. “As I understand it, Svala is accusing Loki of impersonation and deception. Correct?” Svala nodded her head in agreement.
“Hold on, does it count as impersonation when he is a variant of me?” the god asked.
“A variant? I don't understand.”
“There are different versions of your Loki throughout the multiverse,” Mobius explains. “And because of that, this Loki makes a good point. They may look alike but they are two completely different persons.”
“I see,” Svala said. Timidly she looked at Loki. “My deepest apologies, good sir, for my accusations and for pointing my weapon at you.”
“Apology accepted,” he replied.
“I'm glad we were able to clear that up quickly,” Mobius said getting up. He turned to Loki and helped him up, who then turned to Svala to assist her.
“By the way, how did you figure out that this Loki wasn’t yours?” Mobius asked as he pulled out his TemPad to enter the coordinates for home. At the silence, the analyst looked at the pair and noticed both were slightly red. Cocking an eyebrow, he waited for either to say something. Finally, Svala spoke up.
“I… uhm… kissed him,” she said, covering her face as her face grew deeper red.
“I see,” was all Mobius said. Then he activates the Timedoor. Before stepping through the glowing rectangle, Mobius shot Loki a sideways glare and was gone. Loki sighed.
“Oh dear. I may have gotten you in trouble with your Elskuligr.”
“It's nothing I can't handle,” Loki replied, chuckling lightly.
“Take care of yourself, Loki,” Svala said.
“I will.” Loki headed for the Timedoor and was about to step through when he stopped. “Oh, before I go. I accidentally scared one of your maids earlier.”
“I'll see what I can do to console her,” Svala replied. He nodded and he was gone.
As the Timedoor closes, Loki suddenly finds himself pushed against a wall, his arms pinned above his head. Once he gets over the shock, he sees Mobius frowning at him. It almost seemed like the analyst was daring him to say something. So Loki patiently waited while his lover sorted out his thoughts. After a moment of silence, Mobius asked, “Did you kiss her back?”
“Pardon?”
“When that woman kissed you, did you return the kiss?”
“What? No! Mobius the kiss only lasted mere seconds, if that. I barely had time to react before she pulled away from me!” Loki exclaimed, not surprised by the analyst's jealousy. He tried to move an arm, wanting to touch Mobius and reassure him but the analyst's grip was sturdy.
“Mobius, please. I swear it's th-” the god started to say but was cut off when the older man's mouth fell onto his. The kiss was demanding and possessive. Soon the kisses moved from the god’s mouth to his jawline and when Mobius came to his ear he whispered throatly, “You are mine. I will not let anyone else touch you.”
“Promise?” Loki asked breathlessly.
“For all time,” was his response.