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“Thor, I’d like you to meet my…” Loki paused, searching for the words that would do justice to his relationship with Mobius.
The word ‘Friend’ felt too simple, and ‘best friend’ didn’t quite capture what he felt either, even though both were technically accurate. But using something more profound seemed far too intimate, too close to admitting the feelings he’d stubbornly pushed aside since leaving The End of Time. And even though this was Mobius—someone he felt he could almost say anything to—he wasn’t quite prepared for that kind of vulnerability just yet.
So, he settled for simply, “Mobius,” and winced. It sounded painfully inadequate.
Thor’s eyes lit up, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips.
“Your Mobius?” he exclaimed, throwing a quick, teasing glance in Loki’s direction before shaking Mobius’ hand with surprising strength. “It’s great to meet you finally! Loki shared all sorts of tales about you during our last meet-up.”
Oh, Gods. His Mobius? He hadn’t meant for it to sound like that at all. Heat rushed to his face, embarrassment burning across his cheeks.
Thor noticed and grinned in delight, much to Loki’s dismay.
“Only good stories, I hope,” Mobius replied, his smile wavering slightly as his eyes flicked down at his hand, skin white from Thor’s grip.
“Good and bad,” Thor replied with a cheeky grin.
Loki bristled, shooting his brother a warning glance. “Thor…”
“I jest,” Thor said, rolling his eyes at Loki’s tone before giving Mobius a conspiratorial wink. “I promise, Loki kept all the juicy stories to himself.”
“There is nothing of the sort—”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Mobius smirked, glancing at Loki with a mischievous spark in his eyes. He placed a gentle hand on his waist and squeezed it ever so slightly, leaning closer with a playful grin. “I bet Thor would love to hear all about that time with you and the Flerken.”
“We absolutely do not need to revisit that!”
“Yes, we do!” Thor interjected eagerly. “I must hear about this Flerken!”
Mobius laughed, giving Loki’s waist another squeeze before stepping back, flashing him a faux-innocent smile before turning to Thor. “Why don’t I tell you all about it over a slice of pie, Thor?”
Thor nodded enthusiastically and Loki groaned.
Now he remembered why he’d put off introducing his brother to Mobius for so long. He knew that he’d be insufferable, and, as always, he was absolutely right.
“Your Mobius has an incredible sense of humour,” Thor said, clapping Loki on the back as they followed Mobius down the hallway to The Automat.
“Not ‘mine’,” Loki hissed under his breath, jabbing Thor in the side with his elbow.
Thor just grinned wider. “I like him.”
From then on out, Thor refused to refer to Mobius as anything else.
“Your Mobius would enjoy the food in New Asgard. You should bring him here to visit.”
“How is your head? Your Mobius messaged me letting me know that you walked into a pole… You must watch out, brother.”
“Are you and Your Mobius free this weekend? Val would like to meet him.”
“What about Your Mobius?” Thor asked a few days later, “What does he think?”
“Please can you stop calling him that?” Loki blushed, placing his TemPad on his desk and glancing around, hoping Mobius wasn’t nearby to overhear. “He’s not ‘my’ Mobius. He’s… just Mobius. My friend, Mobius. Please, refer to him as such.”
Thor’s booming laughter erupted from the TemPad speakers, resonating so forcefully that it sent crackles through the device. Loki snatched the TemPad off his desk and desperately fumbled with the volume button.
“Please, Thor,” he hissed, irritation creeping into his voice as he heard Thor gasping for breath. “Mobius will be here any moment, and I’d prefer not to explain why you’ve lost your mind.”
“Brother,” Thor replied once he’d collected himself, his tone now serious and earnest, “that man is as much Yours as you are His. Not even the Norns could foresee two souls more perfectly destined for one another.”
A wave of warmth and embarrassment washed over Loki. “I’m hanging up,” he said, trying to keep his tone light but failing.
“No! Loki, wait! Don’t you dare hang up on me!”
With his finger hovering over the end call button, Loki let out a resigned sigh. “What now?”
“Just…” Thor began, exhaling deeply. “Think about what I’ve said. Mobius is a good man. You deserve someone like that, don’t you agree?”
“Goodbye, Thor,” Loki replied quietly, the weight of his brother’s words lingering in the air long after he disconnected the call.
***
Mobius discovered him a short while later, his head buried in his hands, a picture of despair.
“Files giving you a headache?” Mobius teased, his voice gentle as he approached.
Loki jerked upright, blinking rapidly as the harsh fluorescent lights stabbed at his eyes, making him squint. Mobius stepped forward, positioning himself to block the blinding glare.
“No, but my brother certainly is…” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut in frustration before letting his forehead drop to the desk with a dramatic, echoing thud.
“Well, that’s not gonna help,” Mobius laughed, pulling out the chair beside Loki and lowering himself into it. “What has Thor done this time?”
“He’s just being an oaf, as usual,” Loki muttered. He rolled his head to the side on the desk to sneak a glance at Mobius through unruly curls. “I’ll fill you in later,” he added quickly, lifting his head just enough to meet Mobius’ eyes, a silent plea for distraction in his gaze.
“Right now, can you help me decode this file? I can’t make sense of these markings, and my brain doesn’t want to cooperate after everything I was just put through.”
“Sure thing, partner,” Mobius replied with a bright grin, scooting his chair closer until their thighs brushed.
Loki’s heart fluttered, a jolt of warmth blooming in his chest at the smallest touch. His fingers twitched against his thigh, aching to bridge the distance between them; to reach for Mobius’ hand, to confess all the things he kept hidden behind careful words.
But he couldn’t.
Because, no matter what Thor insisted, Mobius wasn’t His, and he wasn't Mobius’.
Over the next few weeks, his brother’s words echoed in his mind, popping up during the most inconvenient times and causing him to act rather embarrassingly.
Whenever he and Mobius were together, which was, other than when they went to bed, quite literally all the time, Loki was unable to focus properly. He felt guilty for not giving his friend his entire attention, but he couldn’t help but be mesmerised at how animatedly Mobius talked about Jet Skis, or how his eyes closed in bliss when trying a new flavour of pie on their weekly trip to Mobius’ favourite cafe on the Timelines (which were most certainly not dates, much to B-15’s insistence).
Mobius always caught him staring, though. Of course he did. Thankfully, besides an occasional raised eyebrow when Loki pretended to pay attention, he never said a word about it. That is, until they stopped by The Automat for a quick bite after returning from a particularly tough mission.
During their time on… whatever planet they were on, Loki barely lifted a finger, much more focussed on the way Mobius looked in his Hunter gear than the task at hand. The way the vest hugged his body and how he effortlessly commanded attention left Loki breathless, and he had to fight the urge to sigh dreamily as he imagined running his fingers along that sleek chest plate.
“You’re doing that thing again,” Mobius said to him as he shovelled another forkful of pie into his mouth.
“What thing?”
“The staring thing.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Liar,” Mobius replied, pointing his fork at Loki in an accusatory way. “You’ve been doing it all day, don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“Really,” Loki spluttered, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about…”
“Do we need to get your eyes tested, or something?” Mobius pressed, leaning in closely to stare at Loki, his eyes scrutinising what felt like every single part of him, including his soul.
Loki averted his gaze. “I can assure you, my vision is perfectly fine.”
“Yeah, thought so,” Mobius said, looking down at his plate and letting out a little sigh. “That’s a shame.”
“It is?”
“Mhm. A real shame,” Mobius replied, sneaking another glance at him, his voice dropping slightly. “You’d look amazing in glasses, you know.”
“Glasses…?” Loki echoed, his thoughts derailed by the unexpected compliment.
Mobius took another generous bite of pie, savouring the taste with a soft moan of satisfaction that sent a shiver down Loki’s spine.
“So, are you finally going to tell me what’s been on your mind?” he asked, licking his lips to catch any leftover crumbs. “You’ve been acting a bit off since your chat with Thor a few weeks back. Did you two have it out?”
A flush crept up Loki’s cheeks as memories of Thor’s words replayed in his mind—his claim that Mobius might just be more to him than a friend. Was he right? Was Mobius... His, for lack of a better word?
“It’s just…” Loki’s voice faltered, uncertainty swirling within him.
Mobius paused, his fork resting momentarily as his expression turned serious. “Do I need to have a word with him?”
“Gods, no,” he blurted, perhaps too urgently. “Please don’t… I…" He scrunched his eyes closed, taking a deep breath to steady his racing heart.
“Loki?” Mobius said softly, his brows knitting together with concern.
Before Loki could second-guess himself any further, the question burst out of him: “How do you see me?”
Mobius blinked in surprise. “Uh, with my eyes?” He tilted his head, regarding Loki curiously. “What are you getting at, Loki?”
Loki took another deep breath, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. “I mean, what are we?”
“Well, I’m Human, and you’re Jotun.”
“Don’t play with me, Mobius,” Loki scowled, leaning across the table into Mobius’ personal space. “I’m asking: what am I to you?”
Mobius tensed, eyes looking anywhere but Loki’s face. “Well, uh. You’re… you’re my friend. Are you not?”
“Of course I am. You’re my best friend, Mobius,” Loki said sincerely. “But I…”
Mobius’ eyes sparkled as they met Loki’s again. “But?” he prompted gently.
Loki took a deep breath, summoning the courage he had been unknowingly gathering since Thor’s suggestion of ‘something more’ between them had infiltrated his mind and driven him crazy.
“I was hoping you might see me as more than just a friend…”
Silence hung between them, and Loki’s heart plummeted, a wave of anxiety washing over him as he watched Mobius swallow hard.
“I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine,” Loki hurriedly added, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. “You can think of me as just a friend, or a close friend—maybe even a best friend! Who am I to dictate how you feel? But I—”
“Loki,” Mobius interrupted, trying to cut through Loki’s spiralling thoughts.
“—I was just… My brother, well, he… Thor said that maybe you—”
“Loki, hey,” Mobius said again, drawing out the ‘o’ in his name. Loki's heart flipped unexpectedly, and his words tumbled from his mouth even faster.
“—And I was thinking that we could—Well, we could… You know what? Forget it, I’ll just leave and—”
“LOKI!” Mobius exclaimed, his voice rising just enough to catch Loki off guard, causing him to jump in his seat. Mobius reached across the table, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but you weren’t letting me get a word in edgeways!”
Heat flooded Loki’s cheeks, and he mumbled an apology, berating himself internally for being so tongue-tied and awkward. Why was it so hard to find the right words around Mobius?
Gods, he was always ruining things.
“Now, before you start beating yourself up, thinking that you’ve ruined things,” Mobius said with a pointed look, “You are my best friend. But, honestly, you’re more than that. God, so much more.”
Loki felt his breath catch, hope igniting in his chest like a vibrant flame.
“Really?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah, really,” Mobius replied, a smile spreading across his face, “You’re everything to me, Loki. I thought that would be obvious by now.”
“I thought you were just a fan.” Loki couldn’t help but tease.
Mobius chuckled, his laughter warm and infectious, and Loki felt like his heart was about to burst.
“Well, you’re not wrong,” he said, leaning closer, their faces just inches apart, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “But I’m also completely and utterly head over heels in love with you.”
Before he could fully grasp what was happening, excitement surged through Loki, propelling him from his seat. “You—what?” he spluttered, his voice echoing around the empty Automat.
In a heartbeat, he was on the other side of the table, enveloping Mobius in a fierce embrace that stole the breath from both of them. He squeezed tightly, feeling the racing heartbeat of his friend—no, his ‘more-than-friend’—His Mobius—against his chest. Giggling in sheer disbelief, Loki buried his face in Mobius’ shoulder, overwhelmed with joy and relief.
“Loki, okay, okay!” Mobius gasped, laughter bursting from him as he struggled for breath. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, sweetheart, but I gotta breathe.”
Loki pulled back slightly but kept his hands on Mobius’ shoulders, their faces just inches apart.
“You love me,” He grinned, breathless.
“Yes,” Mobius nodded, leaning close enough for their lips to touch, “I love you.”
***
“Ugh,” Loki grumbled, pulling back from Mobius’ lips and letting his head fall against the arm of the gaudy orange sofa in Mobius’ quarters.
“Um, sorry,” Mobius said, shifting awkwardly on Loki’s lap. “Did I… did I push things too far?”
“Not at all, my love,” Loki replied, his tone softening as he leaned in once more to capture Mobius’ lips in a tender kiss. “It’s just that I’ve come to a rather irritating realisation…”
Mobius blushed as he allowed himself to be pulled into Loki’s embrace.
“And what might that be?”
Two days later, as they stepped through a Time Door into New Asgard, fingers intertwined, Thor’s voice burst through the air like a thunderclap.
“I was right!”