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“Everything has changed, but at the same time, nothing has.” Bea said as she led Mobius towards the back of the room where her desk stood. She placed his personal file into a tall filing cabinet and turned around to face him.
After Loki saved them all, the TVA underwent a re-brand and a shift in its purpose. Bea had taken the lead, working closely with the other council members to reshape the TVA into an organisation that aimed to protect the multiverse rather than prevent it.
However, Mobius had left before he got to see all of her hard work come to fruition. After everything that went down with Loki and the Loom… He had to get away, even if it was just for a short while, feeling an undeniable urge to go see what they’d been protecting for All Time.
Never look, never know.
So, he looked.
“We kept your desk just as it was.” Bea said, reaching for something on her desk then paused, her voice becoming quiet. “None of us could bring ourselves to move your stuff.”
“Aw, that’s rather sentimental of you, Bea,” he teased gently, swaying on his feet slightly as cast his eyes around her office, trying to take it all in before he was inevitably kicked out for his remark.
He turned to her, their eyes locking, and they shared a soft laugh, both feeling a little out of place in their new roles.
“Yeah, alright, just take your damn uniform and get out of here,” she chuckled, handing him a plastic bag containing a brand new TVA-issue green shirt.
Mobius playfully tipped an imaginary hat as he headed toward her office door.
“Mobius?” Bea called out.
He paused, turning back to her with a warm smile.
“I’m really glad you’re back.”
“Me too.”
***
Mobius hooked his tie into the collar of his new shirt and stared at himself in the mirror as he wrapped it around itself. Changing back into his uniform after nearly a month of wearing shorts and Hawaiian shirts would take some adjustment, but he couldn’t deny the sense of comfort he felt as he slipped on his jacket.
The new shade of green for their uniform shirts was apparently Casey’s idea. He had once overheard Loki expressing his disdain for the original shirts, calling the colour “awful” and claiming it made everyone appear “dull and washed out”, so Casey thought that he might appreciate the change when he returned.
He felt a great sense of great relief when he found out that his friends, along with most of the TVA, were optimistic about Loki returning to the TVA at some point in the future.
People spoke of him in a different light now—remembering him as a god rather than just a mischievous variant who happened to stick around and make a difference.
During his absence, the TVA had erected statues and painted murals in Loki’s honour, and while Mobius valued the gesture, he was unsure about how quickly everyone had reverted to idolising gods. He wondered if they were truly celebrating the Loki they once knew or just romanticising a myth born from their desire for a hero.
As he walked through the halls toward his workspace, he couldn’t shake the feeling even Loki himself would find it all to be a bit too much.
***
Bea was right, everything on his desk was exactly as he’d left it, with one exception: a welcome back card and a brown envelope propped up against his computer keyboard.
He grabbed the card and couldn’t help but laugh at the drawing of Miss Minutes winking and giving him a thumbs up on the front. As he flipped the card open, he was met with a whirlwind of messages and names inside, some packed together so tightly together that he had to squint to make out some of the handwriting.
He placed the card beside his paper organiser with a smile, then picked up the large brown envelope. On the back, next to the seal, a small note in green ink read, “Enjoy the gift.”
With a curious raise of his eyebrow, he carefully opened the envelope and reached inside, slowly pulling out the piece of paper within. He’d only pulled the contents out a quarter of the way before he paused, letting out a soft gasp.
He’d recognise that shade of green and those horns anywhere.
He took a shaky breath in and pulled it out further, revealing a stunning illustration of Loki’s profile. His head was tilted upwards but his face was obscured by a wash of green and a flurry of timelines. Mobius stared at it closely, hoping that if he concentrated hard enough, they might shift aside, allowing him to get a glimpse of the face he missed the most in the multiverse.
With trembling hands, he removed the poster from the envelope fully, letting out a dumbfounded laugh as he read the golden text across the bottom half of the page:
LOKI4EVA
He sniffled slightly while rummaging through his drawers for some thumbtacks to attach the poster to his cubicle wall. Once he found them, he pinned it up right next to a post-it note he’d kept from Loki.
Before Loki left, they had been on numerous failed missions to locate Ravonna. And each time they returned to the TVA, Mobius found himself growing more and more frustrated.
After one particularly disastrous mission—which resulted in their entire team being covered from head to toe in mud—he sat at his desk, silently seething at the audacity of Ravonna’s betrayal. It felt as though she were deliberately leading them into the worst locations imaginable purely out of spite.
Then, without a word, Loki slid a pale green Post-it note across the desk. On it, he’d doodled a picture of their table at the automat and scrawled the question, “PIE?” above it.
Mobius glanced at Loki hesitantly, and he replied with a casual shrug, leaving it up to Mobius to decide what they should do.
He didn’t have to think long before arriving at his answer. He nodded at Loki and watched as his eyes sparkled with excitement in that familiar way they always did when he’d successfully managed to read Mobius.
And as Loki swiftly guided him out of the office and towards the elevators, his hand planted firmly on the small of his back, Mobius burst out laughing at how terrible Loki’s doodle was. Nearby coworkers glanced over at them curiously, but Mobius didn’t care. It was the first time he’d smiled all day.
Mobius leaned back in his seat, admiring the newly decorated corner of his desk. A cascade of conflicting emotions and questions swirled in his head as he contemplated the origins of the poster.
He grabbed the envelope again, opening it wide to see if there was anything else hiding within. There wasn’t. Other than the cursive green handwriting on the back, the envelope revealed nothing.
Who was the mysterious gifter? Were they attempting to upset him or uplift him? Who was the artist? Was the poster created at the TVA, or was it taken from a timeline? And if that was the case, how did someone know where Loki was and what he was up to?
Regardless of where it came from, having Loki in poster form was pretty nice, he thought, as he grabbed his pen and started clicking its retractable mechanism repeatedly—a little habit he picked up from Loki. He figured he could pretend it was actually Loki watching over him while he worked, just like old times. That was a much more pleasant thought than wondering where Loki really was.
Before starting the tiresome process of catching up on all his mandatory training, he gave the poster one last once-over. The timelines surrounding Loki’s silhouette seemed to shimmer the longer he gazed.
A familiar grin began to form on Mobius’ lips.
“Hey, Loki.”
Mobius had too much time on his hands. He knew this because he was once again staring at his Loki poster, wondering what his expression would look like if he could see it. Would he look proud? Sad? Determined?
The artwork was beautiful, but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated with the artist for not conveying any hint of Loki’s emotions.
Why did they choose to paint only a silhouette?
He knew it was a ridiculous thing to be upset about, but he couldn’t help it. He had nothing else to do but think. And all he could currently think about was: is Loki okay?
Although, now that he thought about it, if the artist had chosen to capture Loki’s face, they would’ve had to actually speak to him to understand how he felt.
The mere thought of that made him bristle, and he felt his jaw clench. What gave the artist the hypothetical right to speak to Loki before he had the chance to? Who were they to have access to something he desired so intensely?
He huffed and leaned back in his seat, crossing one foot over the other as he continued to stare at the poster.
Admittedly, he wanted to be the first to know if Loki was doing alright—no one else. And now that he thought about it, he didn’t care if that came off as selfish or pathetic. Loki was his friend, not the artist’s. Out of everyone in the multiverse, didn’t he deserve to—
A gentle cough pulled Mobius out of his one-sided feud with the unknown artist, and he looked up to find Bea looking at him, a hint of concern on her face. “Are you alright?”
“Bea!” he exclaimed, wincing at the overly cheerful tone of his voice. “Yeah, I’m doing great! Just another day in paradise, am I right?”
Bea squinted and folded her arms.
“People usually say that ironically, Mobius.”
“They do?” he said, forcing a grin.
His gaze flickered between the poster and his hands as he began to pick at the skin around his nails. This was the third time recently that Bea had caught him with his head in the clouds. He looked into her eyes again, silently pleading for her to let him off the hook, but she held his gaze and lifted her eybrow. She wasn’t going to give him a break.
“Okay, you caught me,” he confessed, grabbing clicking his pen off and throwing it to his desk. “I’m just feeling a bit off today, but that’s nothing a steaming cup of hot cocoa can’t fix,” he added quickly, trying hard not to look towards Loki, but he couldn’t resist.
His gaze always seemed to find its way back to him.
She sighed and stepped closer, her expression softening as she caught him sneaking yet another glance.
Busted.
“He wouldn’t want you to sulk around like this, Mobius,” she said softly.
“I’m not sulking! I’m just… y’know… waiting for my next assignment,” he replied, shifting restlessly. Rising to his feet, he brushed off nonexistent lint from his jacket, buttoned it up and puffed out his chest, trying his best to look put together.
But, as he straightened the lapels, he felt the fabric constrict around him, and with a sigh, he popped the button and placed his hands on his hips, striking what he hoped was a confident pose to convince Bea he was ready for action.
“Look! I’m itching to get back out there, Bea! Let me get out on the field again!” he urged, desperation creeping into his voice. All he needed was a distraction—something, anything—to pull him away from thoughts of Loki and that lingering void he left behind…
Bea smiled gently, her hand resting reassuringly on his shoulder as she guided him back into his seat. “You can do that once you’ve completed the training you’ve been putting off,” she replied, a teasing glimmer in her eyes.
Mobius let out a defeated sigh.
“I’ve been here longer than most people; don’t I get a pass?”
“Nope. I can’t be seen giving anyone special treatment.”
“Not even for your favourite analyst?” Mobius teased, giving her a cheeky wink.
“No, not even for you.”
Mobius broke into a mischievous grin, and Bea’s eyes widened comically as she realised what she had just insinuated. He glanced back at his poster and said, “Y’hear that, Loki? I’m her favourite.”
“I didn’t say that!” She exclaimed, swatting Mobius lightly on the shoulder. “Just finish your training already so I don’t have to watch you sitting here pining every day.”
Mobius’ heart stuttered at the accusation. He wasn’t pining. He simply wanted things; was that a crime? He wanted key lime pie; he wanted a mission to sink his teeth into… If he wanted his best friend back, big deal! That didn’t mean he was pining.
“I’m not pining!” he said, crossing his arms defensively. “What even gave you that idea?”
Bea gave him a pointed look, then shifted her gaze to the Loki poster before exhaling deeply.
“Gods give me strength,” she said under her breath, “If only you could see him now, Loki, you’d never let him hear the end of it.”
She gave him a pat on the back, then turned to walk back towards her office.
“I’m not pining!” Mobius shouted after her, drawing the attention of his coworkers, some looking surprised while others regarded him with sympathy.
“I’m not,” he repeated softly, this time to himself.
He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince.
Unsurprisingly, talking to Loki became a daily habit for Mobius.
“…Bea knocked this guy out with one punch, you should’ve seen it! Though, I guess she did the same to you, didn’t she…”
“…O.B. and Casey are getting on like a house on fire! Casey has set up shop with O.B., and they’ve been working on some secret project I’m not allowed to know anything about…”
“…Remember when I told you that O.B. reset Miss Minutes? Yeah, well, somehow, she’s got even more of an attitude than before…”
He knew it was pretty pathetic to be gossiping to a poster, but he figured there were worse coping mechanisms he could have.
Speaking of gossip, he had an update on the mystery of the missing pie, which he had dubbed ’Pie Gate’—a reference that Loki wouldn’t understand but would likely roll his eyes at nonetheless.
He glanced around the room before leaning closer to the poster and whispering, “You won’t believe this. It was C-30 who had been stealing all the pies in The Automat.”
He paused, as if waiting for Loki to respond, before continuing, “It turns out they had been keeping an animal from one of the timelines in their apartment, which is still prohibited, by the way. I’m working on it, though; I’m gradually trying to win Bea over. Mark my words, I will get a cat someday.
“Anyway, I digress. They had been feeding their new pet an entire wall of pies every day, which is wild to me, even as a key lime pie connoisseur myself. After staking out the place for a while, I caught them smuggling pies into their post cart!”
Pausing for dramatic effect, Mobius leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms proudly. “I followed them to their quarters and cornered them. They confessed everything and promised never to steal again!”
This was usually the moment when Loki would sarcastically congratulate him and then make a comment about how he was too wrapped up in other people’s business, as if he weren’t the nosiest person Mobius knew—except for himself. But since Loki wasn’t actually there and Mobius was speaking to a literal piece of paper, there were no such comments.
“All in a day’s work for Detective Mobius,” he murmured to himself as he looked around his desk in search of the mug he had used that morning. He had forgotten to wash it, and the hot cocoa had hardened slightly around the edges.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, addressing no one in particular. “I need to refill my cup.”
When he returned to his desk, fresh cup of hot cocoa in hand, O.B. and Casey were standing by his chair, whispering quietly to each other.
“Hey, you two,” he greeted them, which made them both jump, their eyes widening comically.
“H—Hey, Mobius!” Casey croaked, grinning uncomfortably wide while nudging O.B. with his elbow, as if reminding him to speak. “Oh Yeah… Hi, Mobius,” O.B. said, unusually quiet.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking between them suspiciously, which only made them tense further.
“Well, uh—” Casey began, but before he could finish his sentence, Mobius caught a fleeting movement in the corner of his eye that sent a chill down his spine.
He turned toward his desk and nearly dropped his mug.
Loki was gone.
The poster was still pinned up, but the space where Loki’s silhouette had stood was hauntingly empty. All that remained were the timelines, shimmering ominously without their guardian to hold them.
“Where’s Loki?” Mobius demanded.
“What?” Casey stammered, glancing nervously at the poster, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.
“The poster,” Mobius said slowly, his voice low. “Did you change it?”
“Oh, no! We—we wouldn’t do that,” Casey stuttered.
O.B. stood silently beside him, his eyes flickering around the room as if searching for something—or someone.
“It kinda looks like you did,” Mobius accused, narrowing his eyes as he struggled to meet either of their gazes. “Neither of you will look at me, and you’re both standing there sweating like you’ve committed a crime.”
“Mobius we—” Casey started, but was promptly cut off by an alert coming through on Mobius’ TemPad.
Looks like his friends were off the hook, for now.
He pulled out the device and flipped the screen open to reveal two messages.
BEA: Meet me in my office.
BEA: Now.
“Shit,” Mobius muttered, biting his lip nervously as he put his TemPad in his pocket. He set his hot cocoa on the garish Miss Minutes coaster he kept on his desk simply because it freaked Loki out and grimaced as he looked at his friends. “Looks like I’ve done something to get called to the headmaster’s office.”
“Headmaster?” Casey asked, scratching his head. He glanced at O.B., who just shrugged and went back to staring into the distance awkwardly.
“Bea summoned me to her office.” He explained.
Casey’s eyes widened in realisation, and he lowered his head, whispering something that sounded like, “Oh man, it’s happening,” under his breath.
Mobius raised an eyebrow at Casey’s reaction, but he didn’t have time to question it. He didn’t want to mess Bea around; he’d already annoyed her earlier with his incessant questioning about whether they could look for Loki.
“If I’m not back in thirty minutes, send a search party.”
“Okay! Have fun,” O.B. said, while Casey swallowed hard, offering a queasy smile.
“We’re finishing this conversation when I’m back!” Mobius called just before leaving the room.
***
“Knock, knock,” Mobius said as he peered around the door of Bea’s office. “I come in peace,” he joked, holding his hands up as he opened the door wider and stepped inside, the door swinging shut behind him with a soft thud.
To his surprise, Bea wasn’t at her desk. In fact, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Bea?" he called out, a sense of confusion settling over him. She was usually busy, caught up in a whirlwind of tasks, but if she needed to step away to handle something else, she always made a point to let him know.
He ran a hand through his hair, a slight feeling of unease nagging at him. He pulled out his TemPad, his thumb hovering over Bea’s contact. “Maybe she just stepped out for a moment,” he thought, tapping out a quick message.
MOBIUS: I’m here. Where are you?
MOBIUS: Everything okay?
After a few moments, her reply came through.
BEA: Turn around.
Mobius spun around, a wide grin spreading across his face. “There you are! I thought you might have run away from… me…” His voice faded and his TemPad slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor as he stood frozen, taking in the sight before him.
There, standing with that familiar, impish smile that had haunted his mind ever since he left, was Loki.
“Hello, Mobius,” he said, holding Bea’s TemPad between his delicate fingers, snapping it shut and pocketing it with a flash of green. His demeanour was so nonchalant that it twisted something in Mobius’ chest.
Bea was right; his longing had intensified to an almost unbearable level, making him question his sanity. He had to be hallucinating because there was simply no way Loki was really standing in front of him.
“Loki…?” Mobius began, his voice trembling. “Is this real? Are you really here?”
“In the flesh,” Loki replied, his tone cool and detached.
With desperation coursing through him and a frantic urge to confirm that he wasn’t a mere figment of his imagination, he rushed toward Loki, arms outstretched, eager to pull him into a tight hug. But just as quickly as he moved, Loki stepped back, brushing aside his cape with an elegant flick, dodging Mobius’ attempt to touch him with unsettling ease, leaving him grasping at thin air.
A wave of despair crashed over him as he watched Loki glide away, moving gracefully toward Bea’s desk like a phantom.
Loki had always been an elusive character, a master at avoiding those who dared to breach his carefully constructed walls. But after everything they’d been throught together, Mobius thought they had grown past that. How could he be so close to Loki yet simultaneously experience an aching, unfathomable distance between them?
“Loki, are you okay?” he asked cautiously.
Loki stiffened, pausing to glance down at the simple golden nameplate on Bea’s desk, tilting his head ever so slightly as he read the words. “Judge Bea, Head of the TVA,” he murmured, “It suits her.”
“Yeah, it does.” Mobius said, taking a step towards him. “You didn’t answer my question, though. Are you alright?”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Loki’s response was quick, but the detachment in his voice felt rehearsed, almost mechanical, as though he failed to convince even himself.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you walked through those blast doors and didn’t come back?”
“Well, I'm back now, aren’t I?” Loki said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Once more, silence fell between them, a thick, palpable tension hanging in the air. Loki’s eyes met his, but only for a second before cleared his throat and began to walk around the back of Bea’s desk, making his way across the room until he stood behind one of the two sofas in the middle of the room.
This wasn’t right… Even when they weren’t as close, Loki liked to talk. And even when he didn’t talk, Mobius was able to break down his walls and get him to open up.
“Okay, You’re kinda freakin’ me out here, Loki,” Mobius confessed, anxiety knotting in his stomach. “Just let me know what’s going on. Do you need help?”
Loki’s expression shifted slightly, a fleeting glimpse of something softer passing over his features before the cool mask returned. With a small smile on his face, he looked up, locking eyes with Mobius.
“The poster,” he started, eyes shining with mischief. “Did you like it?”
Mobius froze, and a cold sweat began to form on his back. “H—How did you know about that?”
“Who do you think gifted it to you?”
“I thought someone was trying to fuck with me.”
“Oh, I was.” Loki laughed. “Although once I stepped into the TVA, I no longer had the ability to be in multiple places at once, so I had to leave its confines if I wanted to come see you in person.”
Mobius flinched, embarrassed. “You were in the poster?”
“Yes,” Loki confirmed, his lips curling into a smirk before he added, “I heard everything, by the way.”
Everything?
Great, now Loki probably thought he was some kind of lunatic for chatting endlessly to him about his day-to-day life. Suddenly, memories flooded back to him, causing his heart rate to speed up—those late-night confessions whispered into the void when loneliness settled in. Words like “I miss you” and “Why did you leave me?” had slipped from his lips almost too softly, filled with a heartache everyone knew he had, but he could barely acknowledge.
His mouth dried up as he struggled to find the right words, desperate to downplay his actions and hide his true feelings for Loki. But before he could find a way to brush it off, Loki continued speaking.
“Anyway, I enlisted O.B. and Casey to create a distraction while I made my exit. Did they manage to keep you occupied?”
Everything now made sense. The reason they had been so jumpy, the awkward conversation, the whispering among themselves, the movement he saw out of the corner of his eye, and the blank poster—all of it clicked into place.
“Barely,” he replied, voice low. “I saw you leave.”
Loki’s shoulders sagged and deep sigh escaped him as he ran a hand through his hair. “Damn it.”
“They just hovered around my desk, avoiding making eye contact like I had the plague or something. Kinda like you right now, now that I think about it.”
“I suppose my sudden appearance through video transmission, after however long it’s been, must have thrown them off.” He said, ignoring Mobius’ comment. He began to pace restlessly, his fingers brushing against the rich, velvety fabric of the plush green sofa before he collapsed onto one with an exaggerated flop, “Well, at least they tried.”
Mobius glared at him, breath caught in his throat. He’d had enough. This was not how he’d pictured their reunion. How could Loki be so infuriatingly relaxed? Did he not realise the devastation his absence had caused?
“You were gone for a year in TVA time,” he said, his voice tight, scuffing the sole of his shoe against the vinyl floor as he fought to keep his composure. “And even longer in Earth time. I haven’t seen you in forever, Loki!”
It had been one year, eight months and seventeen days, to be exact. But he didn’t want Loki to know he’d been counting.
Loki clenched his jaw, his body tensing as he stared Mobius down, shooting daggers in his direction. “Do you think I don’t know how long it’s been?”
“I don’t know; you tell me!” Mobius shot back, “Or are you going to keep that to yourself, too?”
Loki’s eyes blazed green, his shoulders and hair bristling as his face reddened with anger. He rose forcefully from his seat with clenched fists. “I have been aware of every single second I’ve been away from you!” he hissed. “Don’t you dare presume to know how I feel!”
Mobius stood firm, unshaken by Loki’s outburst; he was no stranger to his temper, nor was Loki to his. They’d had spats before, and this particular confrontation had been a long time coming.
“Oh, you wanna talk about feelings?” Mobius laughed bitterly, crossing his arms. “Then let’s talk, because I have a hell of a lot to say.”
“Go ahead, I’m all ears.”
“Are you?” Mobius challenged, an edge of sadness creeping into his tone as he took a step closer. “Because you’ve been doing your damn best to avoid even looking at me.” Then, his voice softened even more, tinged with uncertainty as he searched Loki’s eyes for an answer. “Did I do something wrong?”
Loki’s expression faltered at his words, and a shadow of pain flickered across his face. He clutched the arm of the sofa and doubled over with an agonising gasp, collapsing back onto the seat below him with a wheeze.
“Loki!” Mobius shouted, a wave of panic surging within him as he rushed forward. In an instant, all his anger and frustration evaporated, replaced entirely by a piercing concern that tightened in his chest.
He placed a gentle hand on Loki’s shoulder, hesitating only a moment before allowing himself to crouch down beside the crumpled god. As Loki trembled, a pulse of energy surged beneath Mobius’ fingertips, sending a chill throughout his entire body. Startled, he quickly withdrew his hand, his breath catching as he watched Loki take a shaky breath and raise his head to meet Mobius’ gaze.
The glamour Loki had cast to mask his true condition faded away, revealing a heart-wrenching reality. His hair hung limp and unkempt around his face, trailing down to the middle of his back—longer than Mobius had ever seen it. His skin, usually clear and glowing, seemed devoid of life, with deep shadows beneath his eyes that accentuated the hollowness of his cheeks, making the sharp angles of his already chiselled bone structure appear even more pronounced. He looked utterly defeated.
“I’m so sorry, Mobius,” he murmured, his voice trembling. “I truly am. What has been years for you has been a millennium for me.”
“It’s okay, Loki. It’s okay.” Mobius soothed, placing his hand back on Loki’s shoulder, gripping him tightly in fear that he might disappear again.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” Loki sobbed quietly. “I wanted to be strong.”
“Hey, none of that,” Mobius gently scolded, squeezing Loki’s thigh with his other hand. “You are strong, Loki. Unbelievably so.”
Loki didn't respond; he stared into the distance, lost in thoughts that he couldn't seem to escape. Mobius wanted to pull him close and tell him everything would be alright, to ease that heavy burden, but he felt that words of comfort wouldn’t quite cut it. Instead, he took a deep breath and shuffled closer.
“What the shit happened, Loki?” He asked, weariness taking hold of him and causing him to wobble where he crouched. He had been running through every possible scenario in his mind since Loki left, but nothing seemed to add up. One minute they were staring out at the loom, fear rooting them to the ground, the next, Loki was walking away, shutting himself out and leaving to save them all.
“Time Slipping,” Loki said, gesturing for Mobius to take a seat beside him. “I tried everything, Mobius. I swear. I tried thousands of times. After exhausting all other options and receiving some advice from a very good friend, I made a decision that I thought would save the most lives. And I was right. It had to be me.”
Then, before he could control the surge of emotions rising within him, Mobius blurted out, “You didn’t even say goodbye.”
The moment his words escaped his lips, a tidal wave of realisation washed over him, leaving him breathless. This was it—the heart of the matter, the raw convergence of all his suppressed anger and despair.
They hadn’t said goodbye.
Rationally, he understood that Loki had acted with the greater good in mind, willingly shouldering the heavy burden of sacrifice for the sake of countless timelines. Yet, on a more vulnerable and emotional level, he couldn’t shake the feeling of hurt that Loki never took a moment to share his plan.
Loki lowered his head, shaking it gently. “If I had stopped to talk to you, I would never have left,” he confessed, raising his eyes to meet Mobius’. “I stand by the choice I made, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like Hel to leave everyone behind… Especially you.” His eyes roamed over Mobius’ face, and they began to glisten with tears. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Mobius couldn’t hold back any longer; he flung his arms wide and enveloped Loki in a fierce, desperate hug. He buried his face into Loki’s shoulder, his breath catching as he fought back a choked sob. Loki instinctively tightened his grip, bringing a warm hand to rest on the back of Mobius’ head, drawing him closer as his fingers wove through his hair in a gentle, soothing rhythm.
“I’m so happy to see you, too,” Mobius whispered, clutching Loki’s robes like a lifeline. He felt the sharp intake of breath from Loki, and he pulled Mobius closer.
Much to Mobius' dismay, he couldn't remain wrapped in Loki's arms forever, and he reluctantly lifted his head, offering Loki a watery smile as their eyes locked.
“What now?” Mobius asked, his voice shaking as he wiped a stray tear away from his cheek. He had to pull himself together. “Are you… staying?”
“I’m not really sure what I want to do. I never imagined I’d make it this far,” Loki said, looking thoughtful as he adjusted his twisted robes and brushed back his hair.
“Well, you’re the God of Time now,” Mobius replied playfully, nudging Loki with his elbow. “The universe is practically at your fingertips! Just think of all the adventures you could have; the mischief you could get up to.”
A thoughtful hum escaped Loki's lips as he considered Mobius’ words, his eyes glimmering with possibilities. “That does sound tempting,” he admitted, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “But…”
“But?” Mobius pressed, hope flickering in his chest.
“But,” Loki continued, his smile widening as he reached out to rest a gentle hand on Mobius' knee, “I think I’d prefer to stay.”
“Really?!” Mobius gasped.
“Yes, really,” Loki assured him, his voice soft yet resolute. “I don’t think I deserve to be alone anymore.”
“Do you think you can bring him back?” Mobius asked one day as he and Loki sat side by side at their desk, their thighs touching as they pored over a stack of files together.
“Bring who back?” Loki asked, tilting his head curiously, his long hair falling across his face from where he’d tucked it behind his ear.
Gods, he was beautiful.
“Loki.” Mobius said as if it were the most obvious thing in the multiverse. “Y’know, the one from the poster. Can you bring him back?”
Loki scoffed. “Why would you want me to do that? You have the real thing right here!”
“Yeah, but that corner looks a little lonely without him.”
“Once again, I’m right here, in that very corner of the desk. In real life.”
“I got so used to having him around,” Mobius said with a sigh.
Loki crossed his arms and scowled. “I’m here; you don’t need him anymore.”
Mobius glanced toward the poster wistfully, remembering the way that it used to glisten. “Sometimes I can still feel his presence…”
“Now I know you’re just trying to get a rise out of me.”
“Well, it’s working like a charm, isn’t it?” Mobius grinned, giving Loki a wink and reaching out to thread their fingers together.
“Ugh, you’re impossible!” Loki huffed, trying to scowl, but the corners of his mouth twitched in a reluctant smile.
“Yeah, but you love it!”
Loki looked down at their joined hands and bit his lip, a light blush dusting his cheeks.
“Yes, I do.”