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Loki had decided that life had an ironic slant to it. Whatever force propels us likes to pull and push us into different directions.
Loki had been taken. Stolen out of his timeline and was now a prisoner in the TVA. A secret organisation that has spied on mankind for who knows how long? He’d had no idea. He’d been under the illusion that his choices were his own. And maybe they were. But it was humbling to know that he wasn’t the only Loki Laufeyson that the universe had to offer.
He was a Loki variant. One of many. But he hadn’t been pruned yet, so he counted that as a blessing. He would sit across Mobius’s desk, staring at him. That dull human flesh, encased in a suit. The aged face with its soft folds and the gentle eyes nestled under a relaxed brow. He wasn’t like the other TVA drones. He had no taste for pain. No desire to see a broken body bleed. He was softly-spoken. He took his time. He never demanded anything from anybody. And unlike all the other people who roamed these halls — he was an omega. Loki had smelt it on him the moment he met him. That sweet omega scent made him feel faintly dizzy if he sniffed for too long. That explained Mobius’s placid calmness, then. Omegas naturally had a nurturing nature. Or so they say. Loki wasn’t sure how much stock he placed in these things. He’d always believed that a stalwart spirit can overcome biological designs.
Loki rarely lost his temper with Mobius. Not when he questioned him. Or showed him pictures of the ‘victims’. The men and women who had been slain by a Loki variant. Not him. Somebody else. And he was intrigued. Wanted to meet them. See if they were vicious or clever — or both. If they were a Loki who could be bested. Wondered if they would join him, form an alliance so the two of them could overthrow the TVA and steal back their freewill.
But Mobius smelt different today. He walked in and Loki immediately honed in on several differences. Minute differences, barely noticeable. But there was nothing to do here. The walls were beige, they stretched on forever through winding halls. The only thing that had any colour to it was Mobius’s face. So can you blame Loki for studying that face so intently? For committing it to his memory?
And his face looked different today. The cheeks were flushed, a pleasant pink softening the tanned skin. His eyes were bloodshot, with bags underneath them. And his hair was unbrushed.
“Your doppelganger got another one of our men,” Mobius mumbled, by way of greeting. He sat down at his desk, across from Loki. Opened a drawer and took out a little box, which he opened and shook out on his palm. Something fell down into his hand and he popped it in his mouth. He gulped and the lump in his throat bobbed. Loki watched.
“I’m surprised you have an appetite,” he said, deciding then to goad him. “If my variant has slaughtered another of your people, you should be mourning them. Not mindlessly eating.”
“I’m not eating. That was a pill. Speaking of pills, stop being one. Look at this.” He slid a photograph across the desk, showing a body lying on a marble floor. Loki barely glanced at it. Mobius was more fascinating than a dead human body.
“You’re unwell.”
“You’re observant,” Mobius snorted. “Care to try and use your amazing detective skills on the murder case?”
“Not until you tell me why you’re sick. It might spread. You might touch me and infect me with whatever you’ve got.” Mobius wouldn’t touch him. Why would he? They weren’t friends or lovers. He didn’t think Mobius had an alpha. He would have been able to smell them on him.
“I’m not gonna touch you,” Mobius mumbled gruffly. “And it’s not contagious. Can we focus on the case?”
“Fine.” Loki studied the photograph while Mobius sipped water and fanned himself with his Jet Ski magazine. “It looks like it was taken outside. The hunter? She looks young. Somebody pounced on her from behind. The back of her skull has caved in. They used force. Or magic. Perhaps they used magic to animate a heavy object and—”
But before he could continue his thought, he heard a sound. A crash and a thump. He looked up, the photograph was forgotten on the desk. Mobius. He’d fallen off his chair. Loki leapt up and rushed to him. He was lying, still with his legs bent over the chair, his arms fanned out at his sides. Eyes closed. Loki reached for him, laid his hand on his brow. Hot. Sweaty. Dropped his head down to his chest and listened. His heartbeat was steady. He was alive. Loki sat back on his haunches, still with one hand on Mobius’s shirt. Relief zipped through him but drained him of strength. His legs felt weak. He didn’t know what to do. It didn’t even occur to him to take advantage of the opportunity — search Mobius’s pockets for a key to get out of this place. No, he sat there like a lowly creature protecting its master. Sat there and waited.
Some nameless minuteman wandered in and immediately spotted them. He yelled. Called for his men. Bodies rushed in and pulled Mobius away from him. Mobius flopped limply in their arms like a doll and Loki screamed. Cursed them. Told them to be gentle. Mobius wasn’t like them. He was soft. Couldn’t they tell that? Couldn’t they understand that they needed to be gentle with him? They hauled Mobius off, bundled up in their arms like a roll of carpet. And some minutemen grabbed Loki and dragged him to a cell.
He felt like he was facing his own execution. But when he’d first come here, they’d wanted to kill him. And it was Mobius who had saved him. Pleaded with them. He’d wanted to use him to find the killer variant. But perhaps he’d also wanted to save him.
Loki blinked back tears. He was weak. Trapped like a rat in a sinister organisation. And Mobius? Where was he now? Had they fixed whatever was wrong with him? Or had they decided to cut out the weak link? Loki’s throat closed from sudden pressure. He gasped, painful breaths sliced his chest. It physically hurt to think of this. They wouldn’t...they wouldn’t prune Mobius. He was too valuable to them. Wasn’t he?
He was saved from darker thoughts by a visitor. He jumped up from the plain white bed. Composed himself. Straightened up to his true height, like the prince he was. Faced them with a cold smile. It wasn’t Mobius. It was a minuteman. A beta.
“He’s asking to see you,” the man said. He beckoned.
Loki was led through an infirmary. Thin white beds lined the walls but all of them were vacant. He was led through one long room to a smaller one. The minuteman shoved him in with a hand on his shoulder blades. Loki stumbled in, and heard the door click behind him. He was alone.
“Loki?”
He wasn’t alone. He breathed deeply. That smell. Familiar and comforting. Like old books and soft wool. And something honeyed in the bass notes. That omega smell. Mobius.
A faint click and light flooded the room. The room was small and not unlike the cell he’d been in. Pale brown walls and a yellow light overhead. Windowless. With a small white bed, and a pillow. And a brown bookshelf with a book on it. And Mobius, sat in the bed, with the covers pulled up to his chest. Looking a little tired but otherwise fine.
Loki dithered and lingered. Fidgeted. Until Mobius gestured at him, that universal sign amongst all sentient creatures. Hug me.
Loki rushed over and threw his arms around him. Mobius smelt so good. So sweet. He shouldn’t be in such an ugly room. He should be somewhere nice. Somewhere far away from the minuteman. Alpha brutes. Loki told him this and Mobius laughed until it turned into a wheeze.
“Nice. I appreciate that. Uh, that’s the alpha in you talking. It’s not your fault. This is all me, I’m afraid.”
Loki couldn’t sit beside him on the bed, it was too small for that. So, he perched on the foot of it, watching as Mobius fluffed his own pillow and set it back under his head.
“You collapsed. In the office. I thought—” I thought you’d die. “I thought they’d think I’d done it.”
“You didn’t want to get pruned, I get that,” Mobius said and Loki wanted to deny this. His own self-preservation hadn’t crossed his mind. But he said nothing and merely waited for Mobius to continue. “I’m okay, Loki. Seriously. I don’t know if you’ve been around many omegas before, but our biology is different to yours.”
“Different how?”
Mobius raised his eyebrows. For some reason, his expression made Loki feel awkward. Like a child again. “Please don’t say I gotta give you the birds and bees talk? I’m in heat, Loki.”
Oh. Oh. Heats. He knew about heats. He’d always found the concept rather funny. People who were so deeply affected by their body’s processes that they become incapacitated with a desire to breed. But looking at Mobius’s tired eyes, Loki didn’t feel like laughing.
Heats. Mobius needed to breed. To fuck and mate. Loki swallowed. He felt like the room had lost its air. Mobius looked as flushed as he felt.
“I thought omegas could stop their heats. Didn’t your scientists create something for that?”
“I take pills,” Mobius said pointedly. “But lately, they haven’t been doing the trick.”
“What does that mean?” He wished he knew more about omegas. Would Mobius die? Could the heat be strong enough to kill him?
“I need an alpha,” Mobius told him. “It’s not safe for me to be without one. You’ve seen the hunters and the minutemen, Loki. They’re all alphas. If they smell me in heat, they — they won’t be able to control themselves.”
A chill coursed down his spine. They’d force themselves on Mobius. He was plagued with a sudden, visceral vision of a hunter pushing Mobius down on the floor. He clamped his teeth around a snarl.
“I’ll be okay,” Mobius said hurriedly, accurately reading Loki’s mood. “They’re looking for somebody now. If they can find somebody to mate with me without giving me a bond bite, I can get through the heat and be in the clear. And once I’m done with the heat, I can go pester our doctor to give me some new meds.”
He should have been reassured but he wasn’t. He felt sick. Mobius would be mated. By another alpha. They’d lay him down and undress him. Fuck him. Fill him up with their seed. They wouldn’t bond with him but that was little comfort. He was supposed to be… No, but that was foolish. He wasn’t Loki’s omega. Loki had nothing in this place.
“Oh,” was all he said. They talked for a bit. Not about anything important. Certainly nothing related to heats or omega anatomy. They spoke about food and Earth. Mobius told him about the time the TVA had to correct the timeline of a famous Earth actress. It was nice. Or it would have been if the situation had been a little different. But they were soon interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Ah, Dr. Alston. Please tell me you have good news.”
“Hello, Mobius.” The doctor was as bland and beige as the rest of the TVA so Loki paid him little mind. He wasn’t an alpha, he was a beta. So he wasn’t a threat. “I’ve found an alpha for you. Somebody who has kindly agreed to help you through your heat.”
“Excellent. Who is it?”
Dr. Alston consulted his clipboard. “It’s Hunter-K20.”
Mobius gulped audibly. His hands had been resting, lax, on the covers. They tightened, folds of fabric clenched in his fists. “Okay, good joke. Who is it really?”
“With all respect, sir, I am a busy man. I have other cases to attend to. I’ve found you an alpha. I shall go and fetch him for you.” Alston turned to leave but Mobius jumped up from the bed and physically prevented him from leaving. Blocked the door with his body. He wasn’t wearing his suit. He was dressed in black pyjamas.
“Doc. Please. I’m not ungrateful. I know that what you do is important. But K-20? He hates me. He still hasn’t forgiven me for what happened with Murdock. Please, I’m begging you. Anybody but him.”
Alston measured him up. Straightened his glasses on his face. Smiled a humourless smile that was devoid of any warmth. “All of the TVA’s workforce is dedicated to hunting down this—” He pointed at Loki. “—creature’s psychopathic variant. There aren’t any alphas to mate with you, Mobius. K-20 is the only one not actively working right now. You should be grateful for his help, you little omega bitch—”
Loki stood so quickly that his back twinged in pain. All he wanted to do was slam a fist into Alston’s flat, sallow face. Feel the jagged bones break under the thin skin shield. Maybe grind his glasses into shards and jab them into his eyeballs. But he was too slow. For Mobius had got there first. Mobius shoved Alston back with force and the man fell. He wouldn’t have been able to do it to an alpha. But Alston was now flat on his back.
“I am not—” Mobius broke off and the sound he made could have been a sob. “—I’m not letting that bastard touch me. He’s insane. He likes hurting people and he’s been looking for an excuse to hurt me. Damn it. I’ll go through the heat myself.”
Alston got to his feet, readjusted his glasses. “You’re mad. You’ll suffer without an alpha.”
“I’d suffer with one if it was K-20. Get the hell out, Alston.”
Once Alston had left them, Loki turned to Mobius.
“Who is Hunter K-20?” he asked urgently.
Mobius sighed deeply. “He makes Hunter B-15 look like a little sweetheart. He...relishes hurting variants. Be glad you’ve never met him. And I think he has a grudge against me because I stopped him from pruning a variant before. I gotta be honest with you. I wouldn’t like my chances if I was in a room alone with him. Especially during my heat.”
“If you try to endure your heat alone, won’t you — won’t it hurt?” Loki hated how young he sounded. Despite his powers and cleverness, he was useless right now. He knew nothing that could help Mobius. Had no resources to offer. He wouldn’t even be able to protect Mobius from other alphas. His powers were suppressed by the TVA collar around his neck.
“Yeah. Yeah, it won’t be great. But it’ll be better than it would be with a guy like K-20.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“I mean, we’re both stuck in here…” said Mobius. A slim, fragile fragment of hope wedged itself in Loki’s mind. The two of them. In this room. Mobius needed an alpha. Loki was an alpha. “I guess what I want is...to feel like everything’s okay. If you could sit there and talk to me, that would be nice. Don’t talk to me like I’m an omega. Talk to me like I’m your friend.”
But you’re both, Loki thought. But he had to do as Mobius said. He didn’t hesitate.
They talked for a while and through it all, Loki was aware of Mobius. He could hear the pitch of his voice shift from light and conversational to something lower and more intimate. And he could smell him.
Mobius changed position a lot. Went from sitting up to lying down. Lay on his side, fussed with the blankets. He was still clothed but even the pyjamas couldn’t mask his scent. That rich aroma permeated the entire room, invading his senses. It was the smell of an omega in need. One that needed to be laid down and fucked.
Finally, he felt brave enough to say, “How are you faring, my friend?”
“Things must be dire if you’re calling me your friend,” Mobius rasped and Loki risked a glance at him. His face was flushed and sweaty. His hair was messy. Loki had retreated to the end of the room. Sat on his floor with his back against the door. To give Mobius ‘privacy’. He wanted to abolish that privacy right now. Wished to pull back the covers and climb in there with him. Mobius didn’t look like he’d refuse. But he couldn’t. Mobius wouldn’t… He doesn’t want that.
“I wish I had my powers,” he muttered, frustrated. He felt useless without them. “I could help you. I — I could manifest ice-cold water to cool you down. Or I could bring you food—”
“Uh, fuck, shut up,” Mobius hissed and Loki stopped. “Sorry, sorry, I — I just. Hm — It’s not — food or water I need — It’s…” He thrashed on the bed and the blankets struggled to stay on his body. “Would you come over here? Please?”
He came to him and Mobius immediately reached for him. Grabbed one of Loki’s cold hands and placed it on his own burning forehead. “Mm, that feels nice. Thought I wouldn’t have to worry about this omega crap when I was older. Look at me, Loki. I’m too old for this. I’m not prime omega mating material…”
“You’re beautiful,” Loki whispered. “Omega or not. Any alpha would — any alpha would be lucky to have you.”
Mobius cracked his eyes open. Hazy blue found Loki’s face. “Even you?” he said, with a crooked smile.
Loki bent his head and answered him with a kiss. Kissed him sweetly on the lips, felt Mobius smile under his mouth. Mobius pulled him down and he let him. Felt his body descend onto a soft mattress. It was like sinking into the earth.
Mobius didn’t kiss him like Loki was something to be feared or hated. He wasn’t the prisoner or the variant. He wasn’t even an alpha. He was Loki and with every stroke of Mobius’s lips, Loki felt a little bit less guarded. He felt his insecurity shed from his body in waves. Until he’d fallen fully to the bed and their bodies were entangled. Mobius’s hand anchored itself in Loki’s hair, tugging on the curls to direct his head. It was hard with the clothes in the way. They pushed hems up. Pulled trousers down. Mobius was burning up. The skin was hot, sweaty. Excited. He pressed the heel of his palm in Mobius’s hip, pushed their bodies flush together. Mobius was hard for him. The knowledge made him want to purr like a cat lying in a sunbeam. Mobius clumsily wrapped his hand around Loki’s cock, his eagerness made him rough. Loki kissed him. Cheek, lips, jaw, back up to the lips. Pulled Mobius’s pyjama pants down to his ankles, spread his legs out on the cramped bed.
He was so wet. That heady omega scent was more concentrated here, breaths made him dizzy and drunk on perfume. He wanted to bury himself in that aroma. He ran hands down Mobius’s sweaty thighs and lined himself up. His cock brushed his hole, felt the omega lubricant drip down on it. Imagined being inside. He pushed in and Mobius scrabbled at his shoulders, dug his fingers in.
“Loki,” Mobius panted. He craned forward, dropped his cheek against Loki’s.
He slipped in, inch by inch. He was submerged in delicious heat. It clung to him, velvety soft and hot enough to scorch him. He needed to be deeper inside. He buried his face in Mobius’s neck and fucked him harder.
Mobius urged him on, digging his nails in his back, sliding his tongue against Loki’s teeth. Kissed him messily, mumbled encouragement in his ear. The cadences sounded nice even if he couldn’t decipher the words.
Mobius felt so hot inside and wet. He took him well. His body opened up so easily for him as if he’d been made to do this. Loki didn’t want to stop but he felt it. That tilting, tipping feeling in his belly. His thrusts were faster, more desperate.
“I’m going to—”
“Not yet,” Mobius gasped. His eyes were screwed shut. Loki fucked him, tried to stop his shaking body from coming. Mobius was holding him so tightly, it felt like if he let go, Loki would shatter into pieces. Mobius kissed him, clawing at his back when he came. Loki felt him seize up, tight muscles lock around him, and Mobius panted in Loki’s mouth. Mobius sank down on the mattress, loosened his hands on Loki’s back. Loki fucked him with renewed energy, held Mobius in place until he felt himself slide down in ecstasy. Liquid warmth took hold of him, shivered down his back and he clung on. Kissed Mobius, whispered promises in his hair. He felt his knot swell inside his omega. Mobius’s muscles squeezed it as his hole filled with the knot. Loki panted, brushed greasy hair out of his eyes. Dropped an absent-minded kiss on Mobius’s cheek and then stopped, unsure.
“Wow,” Mobius laughed shakily. His face told Loki they were going to be okay. “You had to go and drag me into your Norse God hedonism, didn’t you?”
“Oh, please,” Loki scoffed. “If anything, your...omega wiles...seduced me.”
“Hmm,” Mobius mumbled, shutting his eyes. He looked remarkably relaxed. Loki arranged himself on the bed. Still locked inside him, unable and unwilling to leave. The bed was small but they could just about manage it. “Good thing I’ve got plenty more wiles in me. Now, you’ll never be able to leave me.”
Loki smiled to himself. He knew Mobius was right.