Summary: Mobius is feeling lost and alone after Loki's sacrifice to save the multiverse. Loki tries his best to comfort him yet still Mobius finds a way of returning that comfort.
A/N: Just a little one shot. I haven't written any Loki fanfics for 2 years so there isn't much plot.
Word Count: 1.8k
Mobius no longer kept track on how long it had been since Loki's selfless sacrifice. Mobius had somewhat convinced himself that Loki would return as if nothing had changed but Mobius was a realist, always had been. So here he was; at some bar, drinking some kind of alcohol that burned his throat, though he'd much rather have it burn his thoughts instead.. He wasn't too drunk —Mobius knew better than to do that, he was smart..but smart men don't drown their sorrows with their terrible taste in alcohol, smart men don't wait around for time to simply pass, waiting for what exactly? Okay, so maybe Mobius was no longer smart and realistic..
The bartender came over cleaning a glass and asked Mobius if he wanted another drink. Mobius rubbed his eyes, staring into his empty glass.
He shook his head, forcing a friendly smile. "No, got places to be. Time waits for no man, or so they say." Mobius got up and left the bar. Outside, he placed his hands in his pockets with a brief sigh as he leaned against the brick wall. The sun had only just begun to set; the warming rays weighed heavily against his sight causing him to close his eyes but Mobius stayed where he was — it had been far too long since he'd felt any kind of 'warmth' recently. Maybe he should of never left. But since Loki had left and the truth of the TVA being revealed, it was no longer the same. He was just another old man sat at his desk like the rest, nothing and no one important. Good old Mobius with his heavy heart of gold had somehow lost his spark.
Mobius stretched his back and shifted his eyes slightly open; with a frown, he realised the sun's rays became a tinted shade of green. Sparks of golden woven into it. Maybe Mobius had drank a lot more than he thought.
He moved away from the sun, the tinted shades of green turned into soft tendrils of smoke which seemed to be moving away from him towards the distance. Like a hopeless fool, Mobius followed.
His chest felt tight, feet walking faster by the second. It wasn't long till he was met with some form of portal. Unlike the TVA timedoors, this was more circular; outlined with the same dark green tendrils with a pitch black centre of silver lights as if looking up at the night sky. This could of been a trap but Mobius did not hesitate and step straight it.
Within seconds, Mobius had been transported to the End of Time. And goodness, it was breathtaking, his eyes widened in awe. Shades of iridescent green, hints of soft lavender clouds. The shade of blue was harder to describe; it reminded Mobius of the outlines of a lighting bolt. Which was rather fitting as there was an almost constant thundering sound coming from within these smoked walls. Mobius stepped out of the portal, his feet landing on black marbled floor cracked with slivers of pulsing green veins.
And there he sat on his throne made of gold. A god in all their glory.
During their time at the TVA when Loki was clothed in uniform like the rest, Mobius could almost pretend Loki was one of them; just a simple man in a suit and tie protecting the sacred timeline. Now he truly did look like a god made to rule with his marvellous glossy obsidian horns. And for the first time Mobius wondered if he felt intimated by the reality of it all.
Loki's face was almost unreadable as if he was analysing Mobius from afar, Mobius had to tilt his eyes slightly upwards to meet Loki's own unwavering eyes full of uncertainty.
Mobius spoke first; "Is this the part where you ask me to kneel?" He questioned sarcastically. Loki's expression relaxed in an instant as he laughed at Mobius's joke.
"Hello, my friend." Loki greeted with a warm smile.
Mobius placed his hands on his hip, moving his head around to admire Loki's new residence. "Like what you've done with the place, Loki. Real nice, all these little personal touches with the green..Might I suggest making it a little more comfortable."
Loki's warm smile stayed content on his lips as he listened to Mobius ramble on. "Duly noted." Loki nodded and then stood up from his throne and began to descend the black smoked stairs. Loki moved down with careful precision, full of grace and power. Mobius, to his internal surprise, felt suddenly self-conscious.
They now stood close to one other, Loki somehow looking far more taller than before. Despite his warm smile, there was a mixture of anxiety in the god's gaze. They both stayed silent for a few seconds, taking in the site of each other. Loki wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed for Mobius on the timeline, Loki himself was still trying to decipher how all this worked. He had all the time in the world to figure it out.
Loki relaxed his posture and spoke again; "You left the TVA." Loki stated. It wasn't a question. Of course Loki knew.."Why?"
Because you left, was what Mobius wanted to say but instead he said; "Things change, Loki." Mobius shrugged. They both knew that far too well. Loki's warm expression changed to something more worrisome. "Needed a change of scenery."
"But that was your home...It was all you'd ever known, you were happy." Loki spoke, his words were a puzzle of confusion and guilt.
Mobius frowned; "Hey, this isn't your fault, you know, Loki. You can't go blaming this all on yourself. I mean, just look at you; you're like Atlas! Holding up the world!"
Loki couldn't help but smirk at Mobius's remark.
"I'm fine, Loki. You've got far more important things to worry about than me." But Loki did not look convinced in the slightest.
"I've been watching you. Mobius, you're not fine."
"Should that make me feel flattered or a little creeped out?" Mobius joked but Loki wasn't having any of his humour right now. Mobius let out a sigh. "Can't a man have drink once in awhile?"
Loki looked away for moment to compose himself before returning back to face Mobius. "Every night? Watching yourself on the timeline of a life you could of had? And you call that fine? If I could of do something different, I would of. There was no time to explain. I-i need to save you, to save everyone..I tried and tried over and over again..I-i-"
"Loki, calm down." Mobius placed his hand on the shaking god's shoulder which seemed to have helped ground him from his rambling as he took in a deep breath. "I'm fine."
Loki huffed out an unsteady laugh. "You're a terrible liar."
"Clearly I never learned from the best."
They both remained silent for a moment, the thundering sounds echoing within the walls.
Loki placed his hand on top of Mobius's which still remained on the god's shoulder.
"Please, you need to move on." Loki spoke in a low voice. For me.
I can't. "It's not that easy, Loki." Mobius finally admitted.
It's not easy for me either, Loki wanted to say but this is what he chose. He knew the consequences of his selfless actions, it was for the greater good or perhaps a part of it was selfish by leaving Mobius all alone but he never predicted that it would hurt Mobius this much.
"Try." Loki pleaded in a desperate whisper. Loki gripped Mobius's hand before Mobius brought his hand away from his shoulder back down to his side.
Mobius was struggling to maintain eye contact. "But what if you were my glorious purpose?"
Loki froze for a moment, he could feel tears threatening to make an appearance but after years of practise, Loki knew how to keep them from falling. At first he wasn't sure how to reply; ages ago Loki would of laughed at this, the fact he was someone's so called 'glorious purpose'. But thinking about it, Mobius had made Loki who he was today; sat on this throne at the End Of Time. Mobius was willing to give Loki a second chance at life, to become someone good, someone worthy of being loved. Mobius had known all of Loki's mistakes, lies, and every evil action he'd committed and still he believed he could change. He knew Loki far better than he ever knew himself. And who knew it would all lead up to this?
"Then you no longer have any burdens left to bear.." Loki said softly.
"But it was never a burden to me." Mobius replied. You were never a burden to me. "In fact, you were one of the best things that's happened to me." And now you're gone, i have nothing left.
Loki felt his heart shatter like the cracks of green beneath their feet. Mobius stepped closer, only for it to cause Loki taking a step back in response. Mobius knew this trick all too well; the idea of emotionally removing oneself from another person's life to avoid hurting them.
Loki hadn't yet verbally replied so instead Mobius spoke again. "Don't do this, Loki. I know what you're trying to do."
Loki frowned, "And what's that?"
"Pushing away the people you love to avoid hurting them." I'm already hurting. "Pretending that you're not hurting is a common Loki trait."
"I'm sorry, Mobius. I never wanted to hurt you by leaving." Loki's expression saddened with a tight lipped smile. Mobius knew that and for the most part of him; he'd never blame Loki for the pain he was feeling. In fact, he felt proud of him more than anything.
"I know, Loki." Mobius said softly, almost as comforting a frighted child. "You don't need to explain yourself to me."
Loki breathed in deeply, turning his gaze downwards to the floor as if contemplating a thought. It was nice to see that Loki was still the same as he was before he left, a part of Mobius was worried all this sudden power and responsibilities would change him for the worse. But it hadn't, he was still the same god of mischief full of insecurities with the same lonesome look in his eyes which had stayed with him for far too long than they should of been. Them lonesome eyes had almost been cured and locked away during his life at the TVA, but as always, destiny was never kind to Loki, so they returned and stayed as a permanent reminder that Loki was now truly alone.
Loki wasted no time in closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around Mobius. Mobius did not hesitate to return the embrace. So they stayed there, locked in time. Neither of them wanting to let go as they both knew something like this would now be a rare occasion, both had to learn how to live without the other.
Mobius smiled, enjoying the peace between them. He patted Loki on the back before releasing him.
"I'll try." Mobius promised. And he would. He'd try to move on for Loki. It was the least he could do; to unload one of the many burdens Loki now had to carry for the rest of his life.
Some people weren't meant to be together forever; only for a brief moment in time — and that moment in time felt like it would last forever. And it was beautiful.
Anyone not know what to do with their life now that Loki is over? Or more specifically that final 😭 I feel like I’m in mourning. It’s exhausting loving fictional characters, I don’t recommend it.
You taught me that no one gets to stay the same; we all change for the best or for the worse. You taught me that it’s okay to be different from the rest, to be an outsider. To never let anyone define who you are suppose to become. Some people just shine differently, even if they remain in the shadows. You showed me it’s okay to not know who you are, to be a little lost within yourself because trying to define your identity is hard when the world is against you.
You taught me that sometimes people are just lonely..That not everyone gets what they wish for because life is hard. We learn to survive regardless of the outcomes. You taught me that it’s hard to be loved and receive love, but we try anyway because we want a place where we belong.
You taught me that sometimes we have no choice but to move on from the past, to leave those we love behind us. To keep moving forwards because that’s all we can do.
You can’t deny that Loki is now damn well worthy of lifting mjolnir. I mean imagine how happy and proud he’d be and wanting to show off to Mobius so badly 😂 and Mobius is just standing there smiling knowing full well how worthy he’s always been 🥺
Completely forgot that Thor adopted a kid, now imagine Loki reuniting with him and finding out his brother has an adopted daughter, it would warm Loki’s heart so much 💚🥺 This needs to be a fanfic
Love that people headcanon Jake as aroace it brings me comfort as someone who is asexual and may be aromatic too (kind of in denial 😅) Happy Pride Month!
