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Loki has been fueled by his need to get revenge since he was told Mobius was in a coma. The mission they had went on had seemed simple, especially to Loki who could just rewind things if it ended up really bad…except what he hadn't accounted for, was just how protective Mobius had gotten ever since Loki had come back into their lives again. Every time something went wrong like the Kang variant suddenly having a backup plan for the backup plan, Mobius would suddenly spring into action like he's indestructible. He'd use his own body to shield Loki every. Single. Time. No matter if Loki made sure Mobius was behind him or if Loki just teleported to the variant instead.
Somehow, Mobius was there to save Loki by sacrificing himself. This was the only outcome where Mobius seemed to live…It was either this or watch Mobius die in a horrific way he didn't deserve. Loki clenches a fist against the blanket on top of Mobius as he sleeps on the hospital bed, Loki's other fist clenching the orange blanket that was put on him. He doesn't quite understand why the doctor's had put it on him once they told him the news, he's not shaking from sadness, he's shaking with the urge to just go back in time to when they still had pruning sticks and just…just-!
"Mobius. Stay asleep if I should go down to the holding cell where our criminal is." Loki whispers rapidly as he puts both palms onto the bed, leaning forward to observe his partner closely. He stares, staying still, listening to Mobius' breaths, the ticking of the clock on the wall…then he smirks, patting Mobius softly as he gets up.
"I knew you'd see it my way!" Loki says with a feral grin, tilting his head he playfully asks "Are you sure?" More silence "If you say so~" he turns around and goes to the door of the hospital room, grabbing the handle.
He turns his head and says "When you wake up? We're having a talk about your reckless behavior." He swings open the door dramatically, stepping out of the room, makes a motion like he's about to slam the door, and then closes it softly. He huffs at how his body subconsciously seems to coddle Mobius in a way he can never bring himself to do consciously.
"Ugh, I have gone soft." Loki scoffs as he starts to walk away swiftly, his mind racing with ideas, he can't help but turn his head to look back at the closed hospital room door. He gives a small smile, "Room number 353, it's like the universe is mocking me for being omnipotent. But I won't complain about a number suiting Mobius a bit too well." Loki practically has to force his head to look forward to keep going. He's doing this for Mobius. He's going to break possibly a lot of rules for Mobius, but it'll be worth it, and they'll both be laughing by the end of this.
Loki passes by TVA workers and Co-workers alike, giving small nods to their greetings. It still feels a bit odd to Loki, being greeted with such cheer and trust. He's used to being glared at, being gasped at, or just being straight up ignored. But here…these people all seem to genuinely like him and trust him with their lives. It's a bit jarring to see other Loki variants not as respected nowadays because of it, if Mobius were awake, he'd probably tell Loki that thought was a bit upsetting.
But that it suited him.
"Hey! Loki? Where are you going?" A voice calls out. When Loki turns to see who it is, he sees Casey jogging over with a grin on his face, but curiosity making his eyes shine. Loki can see the strain on Casey's face, not because he's faking his happiness at seeing Loki, but because everyone has been keeping an eye on him since Mobius…fell asleep.
Loki stops walking and fully turns around to face Casey, he feels himself tense up as Casey squints his eyes "You're supposed to be resting. Where's your shock blanket?" Casey says with a hint of worry. Loki scoffs "Shock blanket? That's what was put on me? I'm not-I'm not in shock nor am I traumatized, and no Casey, I was not traumatized at the time of that blanket being placed on me either." He points to the elevator "Why isn't Mobius the one getting things like that? He's the one one who took the hit for me! He's the one in shock! The one who's hurt! Why is no one taking this as seriously as me?" Loki can't help himself as he starts to rant his frustrations, glaring at Casey. He knows he's going to feel bad about it later, the poor guy was just trying to help-and yet no one is helping in the way Loki WANTS. Mobius would've known instantly what he wanted, he would've just gave a small laugh with a shake of his head, then give a large grin that lifts his mustache, putting his hands on his hips as he playfully decides if he'll help Loki on his mission or not. Loki lets out a long sigh as Casey grabs him by the arm softly and puts him down on an office chair nearby, then he sits in a chair across from Loki, using the wheels to move closer.
"Mobius told us not to say this…but I think you need to hear it." Casey puts his hands on his knees with his own sigh as he then straightens up. Loki in response leans forward at the words, curious. 'Just what could Mobius not want me to know?' Loki thought to himself, as Casey nervously grabs a bright orange stress ball from the desk next to him and starts squeezing it.
Casey takes a deep breath "When you were…away for a bit, Mobius took it pretty hard. He tried to keep on smiling for the rest of us but, well, he'd be reminded of you in someway and his smile would just…" Casey looks in the direction of Mobius' desk, continuing his words "…Fade." Casey looks back at Loki and grabs the back of his chair, he slides in his own office chair, pulling Loki's chair along for the small ride towards the desk. He points to the poster of Loki in his God Of Stories appearance with a sad smile.
"Every morning, he'd pray to it. He'd even pause as if he could hear you responding to him. It would've been funny the way he'd banter like you guys tend to do…except it wasn't. Seeing him like that after knowing him for so long…? It…" Casey looked down at the stress ball he was currently crushing at this point, tosses it into the air, then catches it. He doesn't continue his sentence, but Loki understands, it's how he's feeling right now about Mobius being in a coma because no matter what Loki did this was the best outcome.
Sad.
That's what Loki feels. All of these emotions bubbling up within him are all signs of a deep sadness, not depression, although that might just be because Loki doesn't want to think of Mobius being in such a state just because Loki made his own sacrifice that day. He turns to look from the poster to look at Casey.
"Seems he was mourning a man who doesn't truly die." Loki says simply, not knowing how to respond then to give himself a little ego boost. He can see Casey tensing up as if a little offended on Mobius' behalf and it just makes Loki wish his partner would wake up. Mobius would've made that line into a joke, but he would've also seen that Loki was trying his best to contribute to the conversation. Casey ignores the comment and continues his story which feels more and more like torture the longer Loki has to sit here, listening to it. Instead of rushing back to Mobius' sleeping body and begging him to wake up so he can call him a fool.
"Anyways, we're not sure how-B-15 said it was due to some kind of crow? Raven? I don't remember-but Mobius found out that He Who Remains had been pulling the strings even when he was dead, about how he messed with your mind, made you feel hopeless. And he-I don't know what other way to say it…he just…lost it. Completely." Casey is now squeezing the stress ball once more, then he looks down at it, and passes it to Loki who has been clenching his own hands.
"Mobius doesn't like when you hurt yourself."
"If Mobius wants to stop me he should just wake. up." Loki says with clenched teeth.
Casey as always, doesn't seem to be good at realizing the deeper tension within Loki and continues the retelling.
"Mobius had instantly rushed down to our storage area where we were slowly destroying the numerous amount of Prune Sticks and grabbed one. Then he just…stabbed himself with it. Like…like this." He simulates turning a pruning stick and activating it. Casey looks back at Mobius' desk and pokes a bobble-head of Loki, watching the little guy's head swing, Loki is too busy silently begging Casey to keep talking, to tell him what happened next.
"After that, Mobius was gone for a while…He came back, covered." Casey motions at his own body as he describes it "Covered in ashes and smelling like…like death. Not fresh death, but like. Bones. Yeah." He snaps his finger as he finds the correct words. Loki does his best not to show his shock…had Mobius…did he go to the end of time? To where He Who Remains' body was? Had he crushed what was left of the man for Loki? Did he tell to the sky about the unfairness of it all?
Because Loki had yelled at the sky sometimes. Sitting in that tree, watching all kinds of people live their lives freely…looking at variants of the man he knew and wishing it were Mobius he was watching instead. Loki would sometimes see a bird flying through the timelines as if that was just normal…maybe that's the bird who told Mobius? Loki isn't going to judge Mobius for speaking to animals, he's also a bit of an animal whisperer too. Maybe they can talk about it when Mobius wakes up.
"Loki? Hey! I wasn't done yet!" Casey calls out. Loki hadn't even realized he had gotten up and started walking towards the elevators again.
"I apologize, Casey, but I've changed my mind! I will in fact NOT kill the Kang variant that caused this." Loki calls back to him without looking, rapidly walking towards the elevators. The elevator doors open and a woman gasps at how fast Loki walks in, pushing her aside in his stride. He presses the button rapidly to go back up to the hospital floor, yeah he knows Mobius is still asleep, but to hear that he'd crushed He Who Remains' bones into dust? Even if he was technically already dead, something in Loki is giddy to tease him. After all, the doctor also said that Mobius can hear everything. The human had spoken to a poster, praying to him, he might as well return the favor.
Once the elevator opens with a loud 'ding!' Loki doesn't even wait for the doors to fully open as he walks forward. His body that was once full of anger and grief is now full of confidence and whimsy. His co-workers (Or is it that they're his employees now?…Doesn't matter.) watch him speed past the sign in desk, the nurse at the desk watches him go with a raised brow, then turns to the doctor she was talking with.
"Should we stop him…?"
"With the way he looks? He might blast you for even approaching him."
"Ah. I forgot that his powers are too much for our technology to hold back now."
Loki ignores the idle conversation in favor of going towards Mobius' hospital room. Did he take the long way? Of course he did! Loki has always been a dramatic man, even if he did rush here, that doesn't mean he shouldn't take his time now that he can!
"Room 353…or was it 535? Damn." Loki mumbles to himself as he enters the corridor where room 353 is, only to stand stock still in shock at seeing Mobius in his hospital gown leaning tiredly against the doorway. Loki's face goes from confident to distraught as he sees the old human giving him a nervous smile while he stands there and practically shakes with his weakness "Soooo, did you end up hurting our new criminal or is he still in one piece?" He clears his throat before adding, "Also, I would like to say, that my reckless behavior is caused by your presence." Mobius points a shaky finger and wags it at Loki who is now helping Mobius up and back into his hospital room.
"Oh? So we're blaming me for you jumping in front of numerous death traps and backup plans as a sacrifice?" Loki raises his brow, moving Mobius to lay back in the bed but Mobius fights him off with a playful grin and makes it so he's sitting up instead, "Loki. I could practically feel your magic screaming with the amount of times you…" He moves a finger in a circle "…Rewound time!" He puts the finger down and tilts his head with a soft look, patting a spot on the bed next to him, Loki instantly sits but slowly and stiffly as he registers what Mobius just said.
"Did you just say…you knew? How? How could you have known?" Loki leans forward on the bed.
"Well, one our little game of 'who almost dies next' needed one of us to uneven the score." Mobius grins, while Loki scoffs "It's JUST a coincidence, Mobius! The only reason I even entertained the thought of fate hurting us constantly one after the other was…was just a joke!" Mobius chuckles at how indignant Loki sounds, making a small 'mhmm' sound with small nods to go along with it. Loki stops ranting and glares, looking Mobius in the eyes "Please don't tell me that is what woke you up?" It was going to be a frustrated statement but comes out as a question instead.
"Yep! But enough about me…The last thing I heard from you was to wake up and stop you. When I didn't hear you for a while I guess I…" Mobius shrugs "I mustered up the energy to go and cause you. Mentally of course. My body is a bit behind." He gives an embarrassed grin to his legs. Loki clears his throat and sits up tall, his face that was once worried is now mischievous "I heard from a little birdy that you have no room to talk~" Mobius looks at him confused so Loki keeps talking, trailing a teasing finger to circle around his face, almost touching it.
"You're a hypocrite."
"Wha-"
"A short old hypocrite."
"Hold on, that's a bit mu-"
"But I love it and I love you." Loki grins widely as he leans down to give Mobius a brief peck on the lips that stops his protests. Mobius stares into space, his tired mind screaming as Loki whispers "Breaking the rules to beat up a man that's already dead? For me?" Loki tilts his head with a teasing flutter of his lashes, a hand on his chest.
Mobius clears his throat as he rapidly blinks back at Loki, but more because he's finally registered what just happened. Mobius grins back "Well, after what I heard? There was no way I was letting him Rest In Pieces." Loki instantly lets out a loud cackle at that. Because of course Mobius wouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed of his own actions towards a man who deserved to be turned into atoms but Loki will settle for dust.
"How did you do it anyways? I heard you had a pruning stick. Did you just…?" Loki makes a motion of slamming the pruning stick down, "Or was it more of a…?" He makes a twisting motion as if turning it on before stabbing into the air. Mobius' grin becomes sly as he grabs Loki's hands "Actually, I only swung the stick once at him. I used my boots to stomp him into dust, which is quite easy with…with the right motivation." Mobius looks down at Loki's lips that are stretched in a closed smile that seems to only be for him.
"Are you going to kiss me or what?" Loki asks, his face becoming bored, Mobius makes a tsking sound, moving a finger to force the corner of Loki's mouth into a smile, which Loki follows with a fond look. Which is then interrupted as Mobius shakily lifts his arms up to make a move, Loki rolls his eyes "Fiiine. I'll kiss you again. But once you're fully recovered I expect you to do all of the work as recompense!" He ignores Mobius' matching eye roll and kisses him, putting his hands in Mobius' hair as he moves up into the bed.
"Not bad…" Mobius mumbles between kisses.
"Not bad yourself~" Loki mumbles back.
Just when the kiss starts to get a bit less romantic and a lot more heated, Mobius' heart rate monitor starts going fast. Which causes a nurse to barge right in on them.
"O-Oh my goodness!" She closes the door, not even seeing the full picture, but honestly she should've known!
"Hey! Why'd you close the door?" Casey's voice can be heard. Followed by muffled and frantic whispering, which is then followed by the sounds of footsteps rapidly walking away.
"Well, that killed the mood a bit, didn't it?" Mobius smiles awkwardly but Loki just leans down and kisses that cute smile off his face "No, not really. I would probably continue kissing you, but you really DO need the rest." Mobius' expression becomes playfully suspicious "You're not going to do anything bad while I'm asleep again?" Loki crosses his heart with a finger.
"I promise, scouts honor as you tend to say!"
"Loki. Do you even know what that means?"
"No, but you're right to say it often, even if I have a feeling you were never a scout either."
They both laugh, Loki leaning against his human, feeling fuzzy inside.
"Okay, enough laughing and talking. Rest." Loki says as he continues to laugh himself, softly patting Mobius' head.
"Fine, Fine. We can talk more about all the terrible things I've done and been through for you later." Mobius' then lays on his side and falls asleep almost instantly. Loki smiles and lays beside Mobius on the hospital bed, pulling up the blanket around them. Loki's eyes slowly close…then he realized what his partner just said.
"…Wait. You said been through? Mobius? Mobius? Mobius! Explain yourself!"