Chapter Text
Mobius would never forget the day he met variant L1130, Loki, Prince of Asgard, rightful King of Jotunheim, and God of Mischief.
“It’s done Mobius.”
He looked gorgeous, grimy face, bloody shirt, frazzled hair and all. And the way this man said his name… His name felt right coming from that mouth, like it was supposed to be there, like it had always been there.
Mobius searched his memory for any recollection of the handsome stranger who stood before him. Surely, somewhere, sometime, they’d crossed paths.
“We made a terrible mistake. We freed The Timeline. We found him, beyond the storm…” the stranger continued rambling. His voice was trembling and his eyes were brimming with unshed tears. He was in a complete panic but for whatever reason he had come here, to find Mobius.
Never before had anyone looked at him like that. He looked at Mobius as if he were his entire universe. Mobius’ heart leapt uncontrollably at the sight. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to pull this mysterious stranger to his chest and wipe those tears from his cheek. But he couldn't. He didn’t know this man, despite how desperately Mobius wished the opposite were true.
Mobius dropped his hands to his side and asked the question that would change everything.
“Who are you? What’s your name?”
Those eyes, that were so full of trust just moments ago, fell in horror.
It didn’t take long, nor was it that difficult to figure out this man did know him, or rather a version of him. Variant L1130 seemed to have some idea of what the hell was going on, more than the rest of them did anyway. It was also clear Variant L1130, Loki, needed to return back to his timeline and the Mobius he knew. But the timelines were out of control; it would have taken ages for him to find his way back, if ever.
So, they made a pact. Loki would help Mobius restore order to the Timelines before multiversal war consumed them all and Mobius would help Loki find his way back to his timeline. It was a little tit for tat, a win-win really. It was professional. That’s what Mobius told himself anyway.
“Why would you try to help me?” Loki questioned back in his apartment. His eyes were distant and distrustful, so unlike those eyes from when they met.
“Did I mistreat you so poorly in your timeline, you don’t trust me at all?”
“No, you didn’t.” Loki’s gaze fell to the multiple water rings he’d left on his coffee table and for a moment those trusting eyes returned before they hardened again. “But you’re not the Mobius I know. You’re not My-Mobius.”
Not-My-Mobius.
Mobius ignored the slight twist in his heart at those words. It shouldn’t hurt; it was true. They were strangers. He wasn’t this Loki’s Mobius.
But oh, how he wished he could be.
***
It was always one step forward, twenty steps back with Loki. Some days Mobius got a glimpse into who the god was beyond the frantic search for his Timeline. Some days, Loki’s eyes would soften towards him in the Archives. Some days, Mobius was rewarded with a genuine laugh when he recounted a particularly embarrassing mission. Some days, the tension would leave the god’s shoulders as their legs brushed under the table in the cafeteria. But Loki would always pull back and those walls that were let down for just a moment would return ten times as high.
It quickly became clear Loki loved this other Mobius, even if he didn’t realize it himself. Mobius didn’t need to be one of the best analysts at the TVA to figure that out. It was written all over the god’s face whenever he spoke about ‘His-Mobius.’ His voice turned positively reverent. When Mobius pressed Loki on why, what made that Mobius so special, he would always mumble something about how this other Mobius understood him more than anyone else ever had.
While he was no Loki expert like this other Mobius, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, one day, Loki could be happy with him. He did seem incredibly similar to his other self, right down to his strange obsession with jet skis.
“A jet ski??” Mobius exclaimed excitedly as he and Loki entered the Processing room.
It was a madhouse. All agents, including the God of Mischief masquerading as TVA agent Robert Brown, were called in to help sort through various paraphernalia following a near-disastrous Nexus Event on Earth’s Miami. And there, sitting right in the middle of Processing, was a 750 SXI Kawasaki Jet Ski.
“Not you too,” Lok snorted.
“Oh man, this is awesome,” Mobius continued, ignoring the looks from the other TVA agents.
He ran his hands over the smooth hull. The colors were so much more vibrant in person. He could only imagine how they would shine under a bright summer sun. They would tarnish quicker with salt water, the manual said as much, but to be out on the open ocean, skipping across the waves…
An amused chuckle brought Mobius back to reality.
“Well, is it everything you always dreamed of Agent Mobius?” Loki asked, leaning casually against the jet ski. His face was relaxed, endearing in a way Mobius couldn’t quite handle. He refocused his attention back on the jet ski.
“I mean, yeah! Look at this thing! 75 horsepower engine, electric start, 2 stroke vertical twin reed valves, magnetic CDI ignition…”
“You are absolutely ridiculous,” Loki interrupted. “I knew you spent too much time reading those magazines; I didn’t know you had them practically memorized!”
“Hey! These things are cool,” Mobius protested, ignoring the way his heart leapt at the sound of Loki’s laughter. “You know most things in history are actually kinda dumb. Everything gets ruined eventually. But for a brief, shining moment, in the early 1990s, there was a beautiful union of form and function that we call-”
Loki suddenly pushed himself off the jet ski and took a step away from Mobius, his eyes clenched shut against some invisible pain.
“No- don’t,” he whimpered.
“Don’t what? What did I say?”
Loki opened his eyes. To Mobius’ horror they were full of unshed tears. “We’ve already had this conversation. I don’t need to hear it again Not-Mobius.”
Not-Mobius? When had Loki started calling him that? What did it… ah, short for Not-His-Mobius. Of course. How could he ever forget.
***
It didn't take long before Commander Renslayer and The Supreme Timekeeper discovered L1130. Something about the variant intrigued them. Mobius was too scared to ask why and honestly, he didn’t care. Their reasons didn’t matter. As long as he could keep Loki safe.
Those confusing feelings that arose when they first met had only grown with time. Loki was exceptional, powerful, brilliant. He was also annoyingly clever and persistent. There was nothing that would keep him from ‘His-Mobius.’
But Loki didn’t know. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t return to his timeline. TVA-199999, His-Mobius’ TVA, was about to be burned to the ground in this multiversal war. If Loki returned, he would be killed right alongside ‘His-Mobius.’ He was in danger.
And that’s how Mobius found himself wrestling Loki to the ground in a desperate attempt to stop him. The Commander had already given the orders to attack TVA-199999. Mobius couldn’t let him return.
“Get off me,” Loki hissed.
“Wait, Loki, listen to me-”
“For more lies? I don’t think so.”
He pushed Mobius to the side and the agent grabbed him weakly by the arm.
“Please listen to me,” Mobius begged. “Your TVA isn’t safe. The Commander-”
The god let out a loud yell of frustration and pushed Mobius to the ground.
“No. You are a coward, Agent Mobius. We are not friends. We’re strangers. You’re not My-Mobius and never will be. I’m going to find him. I’m through being a pawn in someone else’s game.”
Mobius dropped his arms to his side. Loki was right. He was a coward, a selfish coward, trying to keep Loki for himself.
“Follow him Agent!” Hunter K5-E yelled at his side. “The variant trusts you! We need eyes on the target. He can get us to Richards.”
Mobius ignored K5-E. He let Loki go. Maybe he was a coward, maybe he always would be, but maybe he could change.
***
Loki found His-Mobius. And ‘Not-Mobius,’ found them too. He needed to help them. He needed to atone for the sins he’d committed at his TVA. He needed to prove he could be something more than a coward. So, he joined this ‘Director Mobius’ and Loki on their quest to defeat The Supreme and protect the multiverse.
Granted, saving the multiverse wasn’t nearly as glamorous as he thought it would be. Their small crew was on The Chimera, a spaceship stuck in some isolated piece of the universe on Timeline-49032, hiding out from The Supreme. And Mobius had the heroic job of restocking decades old canned corn in the supply room. He always got the most boring jobs.
A voice, his voice, broke the silence of the supply room.
“Lokes, I promise, as soon as I finish taking inventory I’ll go to bed.”
“No. Give me that. I’ll take inventory.”
“I’m not even tired. It’s almost done anyway! Look, I just have…”
Mobius ducked behind a shelf. Loki and his Director Mobius were arguing on the far side of the room, no doubt about the Director’s poor sleeping habits. That was another trait they seemed to share. In fact, Mobius wasn’t sure he’d seen his other self sleep more than 4 cycles straight now that he thought about it.
“I don’t care how little you have left. You’ll just find a new project and that is unacceptable.” Loki wrestled the clipboard from the Director’s hands.
“Hey! Give that back.”
“Absolutely not. You need sleep. I need to know My-Director is taking care of himself.”
The Director cocked his head with a wry smile. “Aw, you like me.”
“Ha, don’t go getting any ideas. This isn’t selfless. Inventory is easy but I can’t have you passing out on me when we’re doing invoices.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Now that I’m Your-Director maybe I’ll just delegate some work. I’ve always hated doing invoice forms too. If only there was someone who would actually obey any of my orders…”
Loki turned with a predatory smile and took a step closer to Mobius’ other self, forcing the Director back against the shelves.
“As much as I would love to see you try to boss me around… one, you know it won’t work. And two, you’re trying to distract me. You need sleep… and a shave.” Loki’s hand gripped the Director’s chin softly. “I don’t remember My-Mobius with this much stubble on his face.”
My-Mobius. Not him. Mobius shrunk back against the shelves that hid him away. He suddenly wished he had made his presence known earlier.
“There wasn’t much time for that,” the Director whispered, not daring to move away from Loki’s grasp. “I had to find you. I’ll always find you, Loki.”
The air shifted between them. Loki’s grip turned tender and he leaned in. “I’m glad you did. For the record, I was never going to stop looking for you either. I was always going to find My-Mobius.”
My-Mobius. My-Mobius. My-Mobius. The words rang in his head, a painful contrast to the name that he heard most often nowadays: Not-Mobius. He wasn’t supposed to be here. This moment was private. He had to escape.
A loud crash sounded by the doorway as Casey entered the room. Loki and the Director jumped away from one another at the disturbance.
“Oh. Hi you two,” Casey said. “What were you doing? I was looking for-”
“I was just going to bed,” the Director proclaimed loudly. “You’re right Loki, I could use some shuteye.”
The god cleared his throat and awkwardly straightened his coat. “Very good. Yes. I’ll, um, go see what’s going on in the, uh, engine room. Bye!”
The two left in abruptly different directions. Mobius breathed a sigh of relief and walked out into the main entranceway.
“What was with them?” Casey asked.
“They’ll figure it out,” Mobius replied with a fake chuckle.
“Hopefully soon. I heard B-15 telling Sylvie she planned to lock them in a room together until they admitted their feelings.”
“That obvious to everyone, huh?” Mobius asked.
“Yes. I don’t think Mobius ate or slept after he discovered Loki was lost. It’s amazing he’s still alive. … I’m a little worried about them to be honest. If they’re not careful they’re going to get themselves killed.”
Mobius paused at Casey’s words. It was true. If it wasn’t clear before, it was clear now. There was nothing either one of them wouldn’t do to protect the other. Mobius had been around the Timelines long enough he knew an undying love when he saw one.
They were going to get themselves killed.
***
The Director was definitely going to get himself killed. Baiting The Supreme was too much of a risk and his other self knew it. Mobius watched the Director’s hands fumble while getting his morning coffee and saw the slight sheen of sweat on his brow as they approached Canticle 8, the planet where they planned to launch their surprise attack.
Loki wasn’t faring much better. The god was practically buzzing with anxiety. Mobius wasn’t sure it was possible for the pair to be standing closer to one another unless they literally merged into one being.
“I don’t like this plan,” Loki said as they entered the planet’s atmosphere. Panic rolled off him in waves.
“Yeah, we know,” B-15 replied with an eyeroll.
“What if-”
“Loki, please, it’s the best plan we’ve got,” the Director interrupted. “I trust you, trust me. I can do this.”
“Okay,” Loki whispered. “Just… please, Mobius… I can’t lose anyone else.”
“I know.” The Director’s hand twitched at his side as if he wanted to pull Loki into his embrace but he stopped himself.
The ship shuddered to a halt. They were here. The red sands spread out before them like a never-ending sea and the Director grew another shade paler at the sight. This plan was too risky. He knew it.
Anger rose within Mobius. How could his other self do this? How could the Director not see how much Loki loved him? Loki would never recover if something went wrong. His-Mobius was his entire world. Why would his other self throw away that precious gift?
“I’m, um, going to freshen up. I’ll meet you all at the drop site,” the Director said, giving Loki a wobbly smile. “You and Syls got this. Wouldn’t bet against a pair of Lokis…. We’ll be fine. I’m not worried.”
It was a lie.
The Director left and Mobius followed, a plan forming in his brain. He couldn’t let Loki’s Mobius take this risk but he could let a Mobius take this risk. He was done being a coward. It was time to be brave.
***
Mobius fell to the ground with a painful grunt and the world blurred out of focus. He looked down at his hands, they were stained red from the planet’s radioactive soil and the blood currently pouring from his abdomen.
“Mobius- Mobius- M-Mobius,” Loki stammered. The god dropped to the ground beside him and brought a trembling hand to Mobius’ wound. A small flicker of green swirled around his fingers before it was gone instantly. Loki had lost his magic, there was no saving him.
“Y-you’re going to be fine. Okay? You’ll be fine.”
Loki continued trying to stem the flow of blood but it too late. Mobius felt a rush of relief that it wasn’t Loki’s Mobius bleeding out in the Canticle 8 desert. The Director was safe, knocked out and tied up in The Chimera’s supply closet, right where Mobius left him.
“It-it’s okay,” Mobius stuttered out.
“Mobius, please,” Loki sobbed.
“N-n-not your Mobius.”
Loki froze in disbelief and Mobius gave a sad smile. He was honestly surprised Loki hadn’t noticed the switch before. While he and his Director self looked identical to everyone else, Loki almost always could spot the difference. Almost.
“C-couldn’t let him,” Mobius continued over the searing pain radiating from his wound. He took another wheeze and clenched his eyes shut, trying to get the words out. “...switched places. You both can be… happy.”
Mobius’ vision swam and darkened. Loki shook him awake.
“It doesn’t matter. Mobius, look at me. You’re going to be fine. You hear me?”
“It’s too late-”
“No-”
“It’ll be fine Loki.”
“No, it won’t! You are a good man Mobius. And things like this can’t happen to men like you.” Loki squeezed his eyes shut, tears dripping down his chin. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Once again Mobius wanted nothing more than to wipe those tears from the god’s face. Loki looked so heartbroken; he could hardly stand it. But his arms were so heavy; he couldn’t lift them.
Besides, he wasn’t this Loki’s Mobius, he never would be. And that was okay. This, this right here, was his purpose. Thanks to him, somewhere, in some timeline, Loki and Mobius could live happily ever after.
“The multiverse doesn’t make sense. Just promise me you’ll make the most of it, okay?”
Make the most of it. That’s all he wanted; that’s all he needed. For Loki and his other self to finally admit their feelings to one another and make the most of the life they had together. It might not be his life but it was a pleasant thought. Somewhere, some version of him could be happy, loved.
Loki shook his head in despair. Mobius felt his body grow numb and panic surged through him. He needed Loki to promise him. He needed to hear it.
“Loki, make it worth it. Promise me, please,” Mobius choked out.
Loki nodded and Mobius sighed. That would have to do. Something told him the God of Lies would honor this promise. His breathing slowed and that numb feeling gave way to a chill but he felt safe, warm. He allowed himself to be pulled closer into Loki’s embrace as he let his eyes close one last time.
But that wasn't the end.
Before Mobius understood what was happening, he was saved, plucked from his timeline by some future version Loki and His-Director-Mobius. Saying the multiverse didn’t make sense was an understatement. The multiverse really was weird.
Loki and the Director filled Mobius in on how he had died in their timeline and, because of his sacrifice, they defeated The Supreme with an army of Lokis from The Void. They formed the TVA Coalition, a conglomeration of TVAs dedicated to preserving the multiverse and defeating anyone who attempted to prune the timelines. Director Mobius, well Executive Director Mobius now (of course) led them all with Loki by his side.
Mobius smiled. Loki had honored his promise, he had made the most of it. They were both safe, happy.
“We could use your help,” Loki said to Mobius in a spare Time Theater after a lazy afternoon spent in the sun filled with jet ski riding and Josta. “If you’d like to join us, I have an assignment for you. Timeline 59125.”
Mobius didn’t think twice. Whatever Loki needed; Mobius would be there.
“Sure. What’s special about Timeline 59125?”
Loki’s hand hovered over the case file on the desk next to him and he hesitated for a moment. “I’ll be honest Mobius, we do need your help but this next part of my plan isn’t entirely altruistic.”
Mobius cocked his head in confusion. Loki pulled up the case file on the big screen before him.
“Timeline 59125. In this timeline, after my… ‘debate’ with Sylvie over He Who Remains during our first visit to the Citadel, Sylvie sent me through a timedoor to a TVA that’s run by a variant of Nathaniel Richards. Except at this TVA, there was no Mobius to catch me when I fell. And,” Loki looked down to the ground before those brilliantly green eyes met his own. “I could really use a Mobius to help me.”
Mobius’ brain spun with this new information. Loki, a version of him anyway, was trapped, stuck in a TVA that seemed as ruthless as his own.
“He’s trapped alone?” Mobius choked out over his panic. He quickly grabbed the case file from Loki’s hand and scanned the information. There wasn’t much.
“He is.” Loki calmly handed Mobius a TemPad with the coordinates for Timeline 59125 already plugged in.
“It took a while for us to hack into this TVA but it appears this Loki was captured and is being held by their Timekeeper in the time cells on the lower level. You’ll find a map already preloaded into your TemPad. My team can run tech on the breakout, you’ll find our contact information saved. B-15’s made contact with her other self, who’s more than happy to help defeat her Timekeeper after the death of her friend C-20. You’ve got yourself quite the team already. You should be able to slip in and out undetected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this earlier Loki,” Mobius snapped. “Instead of going to the beach, we could have-”
“Trust me when I say some version of me spending a few extra hours of boredom in a timecell is well worth you getting a happy afternoon. You’ve made enough sacrifices.”
“But-”
“I’m not going to argue this with you, Mobius,” Loki said firmly.
“Fine, okay. I-” Mobius looked down again at the case file and TemPad before meeting Loki’s gaze. This was it. The TemPad suddenly seemed heavier in his hand. “Thank you, Loki. For today, for everything. I... I’m very lucky to have met you. I guess this is goodbye?”
“This is where we part ways for now,” Loki replied with a soft smile.
With a final goodbye, Mobius stepped through the timedoor.
No matter what happened, he would rescue Loki. He would always protect Loki. He had just been given his second chance and he was going to make the most of it.