Let The Time Pass | Chapter 1/3
Summary
❝Mobius wanted to burn everything down. He’d make his sacrifice worthless, so he had no choice but to come back to him. Why did they need to disobey, to listen to the goodness in their hearts? Morals meant nothing without him. The TVA meant nothing without him. He meant nothing without him. Nothing mattered anymore. He had nothing left to lose, so what’s stopping him? His hands craved great destruction, for vicious chaos, to raze down the TVA until dust floated around in a pocket, to rip apart each branch until he retrieved his heart.❞
What if Loki confessed his love for Mobius before his sacrifice
A rewrite of the last episode Glorious Purpose
Notes
uh so how we feeling after the last episode
keep in mind, i wrote this on a whim with minor edits. this idea has been begging to crawl out of me. i am not a smut writer and i never experienced a panic attack, so i tried my best. please be kind <3
full chapter posted on ao3
Before
Nobody else noticed.
Things had been going great. As great as things could be with the looming threat of the Temporal Loom exploding and destroying the TVA, but their questions were finally reaching resolute answers, so he held onto hope for a little longer. He had too for the sake of the timelines and the god standing near him. They retrieved He Who Remains’ variant, Victor Timely, a strangely fitting name, and Sylvie came back to help. Well, that part he wasn’t entirely happy about, he wished he’d been able to rant to Brad about her and Loki’s odd, egotistical romance since nobody else seemed to understand. It’s unnatural, yet abnormally predictable for a Loki to fall for themselves, he tried not to let his thoughts get carried away but whenever Loki uttered her name, Mobius clenched his jaw to ignore the nagging in his gut.
He wouldn’t let anybody know the satisfaction he felt watching Loki fight her to defend Victor, he almost smiled at the sight but Ravonna glaring at him as if he pruned her first stopped him from celebrating his small victory. He had to deal with her first. When the chaos erupted, as often happened with Lokis around, Mobius found what he could much to Loki’s dismay, he wouldn’t admit his glee when the god silently threw his leg over the tandem bike in defeat.
He wouldn’t dwell on Sylvie’s return. Not right now when things were finally looking up for them and she wasn’t acting as dagger-wielding violent as usual.
Loki had been standing beside them, nodding along to the rushed ramblings of O.B. and Victor about the loom and using the prototype while Casey commented when he could among the mad scientists. Mobius had no clue what any of it meant. Sylvie looked anxious to find a solution, bickering with Loki about timelines and godhood, so she could return to her shift at McDonalds and the little life she created for herself. He’d been tempted to ask how they made the apple pies but then it happened.
Loki’s eyes were blank for a moment then his shoulders tensed ever so slightly as if an unseen force grazed his spine, he looked around like he needed to recall his surroundings. The sudden change left Mobius uncertain and concerned, the urge to reach out and steady a hand on his back came over him.
A while after the time-slipping incident, he hovered over Loki afraid of the god disappearing again in sudden awful bouts of chaos. He was worried. What if he slipped again never remained, always to be stuck out beyond his reach. The thought terrified him. Mobius touched him more than usual; a firm hand on his arm, their legs tangled under his desk, his fingers on his shoulder while he leaned over him, reading a file on his desk; a touch on his back reserved for elevator rides. Loki seemed pleased from all his light affections; he was a god who still experienced mortal worship until he snapped at him for turning into an unbecoming nuisance with the little offended pout he always had when people frustrated him. Mobius laughed it off and ceased his need to reach out to feel him, to assure he remained, but the nervousness never faded, he never stopped thinking; what if he slips again?
Mobius couldn’t imagine living in a world without a Loki Who Remains.
“Hey, you okay?” The scientists didn’t hear him over their constant exchange of ideas over the clattering of tools and material. Sylvie glanced over; her eyes ran over his body to check for any changes in his condition. Mobius wanted to snap at her to mind her business, she didn’t care about his wellbeing when she was fighting him in a Ferris Wheel, but Loki had his attention.
“Mobius, yes, I’m fine.” Loki came over to him in big strides then grabbed his arms with a reckless need. Mobius grunted from the force, almost stumbling back as Loki leaned closer to him. The frantic, near desperate look in his eyes resembled his days of madness in New York. “I need to talk to you. In private.”
“We don’t have time. We need to-“
“To stop the Loom from imploding so you can return to your precious timeline.” He said with a rushed exhale, “I get it, Sylvie. But I need to speak with him, now.”
Loki shook where he stood. Mobius’ gut clenched as he stared at him, trying to look around to see if anything bothered him but Loki only tightened his grip if he dared move too much. He was normal a few minutes ago. He remembered the hatred in his eyes after calling him a scared little boy, but he truly looked frightened as if he’d crumble into dust without holding him. As Mobius reached out for his shoulders, his eyes ran over the paleness of his skin and lingered on the unshed tears in his eyes. Who hurt him? Who did he need to hurt back? Mobius cradled the side of his face; Loki closed his eyes and grabbed his wrist.
“Where do you wanna go?” He whispered.
Mobius hated how weak Loki made him feel. For the longest time, Mobius believed he’d been a model analyst of the TVA even with his workaholic tendencies. He became stern and unrelenting, not able to bend to anyone's will except for Ravonna. He appreciated the order, always planning his next step ahead while watching a trickster wreak chaos on a timeline beyond his reach. Mobius knew with all his centuries of observing Loki that he would find a way to disrupt the balance with his ramblings of glorious purpose in those brilliant green eyes. He’d nestle into his peaceful life, sleeping on his desk with his dark hair framing his face and listening to his fears over a slice of pie as if Mobius weren’t a mere mortal in the grace of a god, a force to be reckoned with.
That’s why he lov-
No, it’s ridiculous to entertain such a notion. Loki didn’t belong to him, he never did. He always belonged to himself. He’d never belong to Mobius. After Timely and O.B. fixed the loom, he’d jump between different timelines in search of his glorious purpose elsewhere. There’s no room for Mobius in his future. He shouldn’t have let a variant turn him soft, but the desperation in his watery eyes silenced the judgmental voice in his head. Right now, Mobius wanted to ease his pain, and nothing would stop him. If Loki told him to run down the gangway in the bulky suit, to stand until all his skin peeled away under immense radiation, he’d do it to get rid of the fear in his eyes.
“I-Is there some…something t-the matter w-with the wizard.”
“The realization must’ve hit him that we all face a fiery doom if we aren’t successful.” O.B. said while crouched behind the counter, the sounds of his hands rummaging through a box of junk. “I had similar feelings of dread when the loom started to expand beyond our control.”
“Let’s not think too much about it.” Casey said with a nervous smile. “Let’s think about what we have to look forward to afterwards.”
“I’m going to write another book!” O.B. shot up with the proper tool in his hand.
Casey perked up. “Will you sign it for me?”
“Of course.”
“M-May I h-have a signature a-as well?”
“Let’s focus! We have no time for chatting.” Sylvie said, looking pointedly at Loki’s back. Mobius wished he’d prune her when he had the chance.
Loki opened his eyes. Mobius’ breath hitched at the unease in them, from the god leaning into his touch. He ached to hold him close until the loom took away everything precious to him. Everyone else be damned.
Mobius swallowed. “It’ll be quick."
Note
hi again um this is honestly me coping with everything. i hope you enjoyed the snippet. the full chapter is ao3 and it's a doozy. not me having crippling writer's block then popping out 10k+ lokius fic on a whim. is this what the cool kids call hyperfixation?
