Someone was tapping on Loki's shoulder. Loki rolled his eyes, stepping away from Mobius to turn around. And then his heart stopped. It was him. Like, him, exactly. Same face, same slightly mad smile.
"Sorry to interrupt, but people are saying you're a king? I might have a… proposition for you," the man yelled over the music. He was wearing purple parachute pants and a sleeveless collared shirt with a purple bow-tie. Loki couldn't answer. He couldn't breathe, or think. He was back in the Citadel at the End of Time, tears running down his face, muscles aching with exhaustion, fighting with Sylvie. Mobius stepped up from behind him, launching into action.
"Of course he's a king, and we'd love to hear your proposition. Can we go somewhere quieter?" Mobius yelled to Bob, reaching out to shake his hand. Bob shook his hand and nodded, turning around to lead them through the crowd. Loki noticed numbly that the back of his shirt was cut out. Following Bob, Mobius squeezed Loki's hand.
"Are you okay," he whisper-shouted, quiet enough so that Bob couldn't hear them. Loki tried to swallow, tried to answer. He was shaking. "Hey, take some deep breaths."
Loki closed his eyes, taking a shuddering breath, letting Mobius pull him through the crowd.
"Just wait!-NO-Evil Loki's master plan-I don't want a throne-*shove*-I don't want a throne- I just want-Evil Loki's master plan!-GROW UP SYLVIE-I just want you to be okay-MURDERER, HYPOCRITE,-well I'm not you"
Loki's mind was a cacophony of that day. It was too much to handle. He felt like he was back in the alternate TVA Sylvie had sent him to, staring at the wall, her betrayal burning in his veins.
But he didn't get the privilege of falling apart now. There were more important things than his weakness. His mind filled with fury, fury at himself. He kept sucking in deep breaths, opening his eyes, blinking back the tears. His skin was crawling. The thump of the bass was resonating in his very soul. Mobius was still holding his hand, it was the only thing in the world.
Maybe I can convince him to never let go.
Bob led them to a door in the back of the club, opening it and ushering them inside. Loki shook himself when Bob turned away. Mobius was looking at Loki, worried expression on his face. Loki leaned to his ear.
"Stop looking at me like that, he's going to think something's wrong," Loki whispered. Mobius nodded once, and Loki could practically hear his unspoken reply: but something is wrong.
Bob turned back to them. "Can I get you both a drink?"
Mobius shook his head. Loki nodded.
"Dirty martini, dry as the desert please," Loki said, leaning nonchalantly against the wall. There were four other men in the room, burly bodyguard looking types. "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
Bob shot him the toothy smile Loki recognized, and he ignored the band of fear around his heart.
"Well I would introduce myself, but the matter I intend to discuss is a bit… sensitive." Bob squinted his eyes patronizingly. "Here, take a seat."
Loki and Mobius made their way to the chairs Bob gestured to, deep maroon, plush, more like beanbags than chairs. The threads shimmered with real gold.
"You see," Bob began, sitting across from them and handing Loki his martini, "I was actually supposed to meet with someone else tonight, but they haven't arrived yet. And hey, I'm an opportunist!"
Hopefully, you won't live to meet with them.
Loki chuckled and brought the martini glass to his lips. Ah, thank gods for alcohol.
"Anyway," Bob continued, voice sparkling with showmanship, "I have recently had an astonishing idea, and I intend to find someone to share this exciting burden with me. I mean, I'd hate for something to happen to me, and that idea just dies! But I also don't want to give it away to just anyone."
This must be why Aeyhle brought us here, Loki realized. He was going to tell someone about his multiverse theory. After that, it would be too difficult to stop him.
Loki took a long swig from his martini, then set it on the table with a sigh. He stood up. Bob was just watching him. In the corner of his eye, Loki saw Mobius twist the pruning stick so that the tip began to glow dangerously. Loki pulled the flaming dagger his child variant had given him out from under his waistband, watching it catch the light. The bodyguards stiffened. Bob raised a hand, silently telling them to stand down. He stood up too, just a few feet away.
"Well you see," Loki began, still looking at the dagger. "I'm not just anyone." He made eye contact with Bob, and the dagger went up in flames. "I'm Loki." He lunged.
The room erupted into chaos. The body guards rushed towards Loki, and Mobius intercepted them, pruning three before the last one caught the pruning stick and tried to force it back on him. Loki didn't have time to watch and make sure Mobius was alright.
Bob had caught Loki's daggered hand and shoved it away, reaching for a gun in his back pocket. Mentally, Loki chastised himself for not noticing it. Look at where your weakness got us. Bob took a shot, and Loki disappeared, reappearing behind him. Bob ducked, feeling the movement, and Loki rolled over him with the force of the attack Bob had dodged. He was shooting again, haphazardly.
"Loki," Mobius yelled, and Loki risked a second to look back at him. Mobius was grappling with the last bodyguard, both had their hands on the pruning stick and were pushing it against each other. A shot had narrowly missed Mobius's head. He had to get Bob to stop shooting. Loki whirled back to the variant, who was holding the gun straight at Loki's heart. The god raised his hands in surrender, then disappeared again, casting copies of himself so Bob didn't know which one was real. He shot at all of them rapid-fire.
Maybe it wasn't the eons alone that made him crazy. Maybe he was like that the whole time.
The music in the club must be loud enough that no one was coming to check on them. Loki lunged at Bob from behind, drawing his dagger inches from the man's throat. He smelled burning flesh. And then Loki saw Mobius. The bodyguard had wrestled the pruning stick away from the former analyst and was now standing over him, aiming the rod at his neck. The flame on Loki's dagger went out.
"Again?" Mobius asked, exasperatedly. Bob was laughing, cackling. Loki knew that laugh. He was losing everything again, again, again. The laugh was haunting his dreams. He felt so cold, Loki fought desperately not to lose all control. His hands were turning blue.
Loki slit Bob's throat in a spurt of blood, throwing the body aside and lunging at the bodyguard. Everything was turning green. He made contact with skin, and a thousand neural networks popped behind his eyes like fireworks. Loki reached all the way in, feeling the bodyguard's veins crackle with magic. "Stop. Breathing."
The bodyguard collapsed, choking and gagging. Loki sunk to all fours, shaking, taking ragged, haphazard breaths. He felt like he might throw up, the martini was burning in his throat. His muscles were still trying to explode out of his skin. His fingertips were still blue. Dark hair hung ragged around his face, and he was drenched in sweat. There was silence. The bodyguard was still. More silence. Blood rushed in Loki's ears like a waterfall.
"Loki?" Mobius questioned, voice low and soft. Frightened. Loki swallowed hard and flipped his head upwards, shooting an award-winning smile at Mobius, who was still on the ground.
"Want to go grocery shopping?"
…
The god of mischief was pushing a shopping cart down the candy aisle in a Target. Mobius was having the time of his life. Now, they were in 2025. Loki had wiped the blood and makeup off his face, as had Mobius, but they were still wearing the mesh suits. Mobius had a bruise on his forehead, and Loki had a splitting headache.
"Aw we should definitely try these," Mobius said, tossing a bag of twizzlers into their cart. Loki didn't answer, just kept looking around impassively. His face was a mask.
"Ok, uh, what else do we need?" Mobius asked, putting his hands on his hips and looking up at Loki. Loki just shrugged. Mobius moved closer to him. "You ok?"
Loki waved a hand flippantly, rolling his eyes. "I'm fine." He stepped away from Mobius and studied the chocolates.
"Did you have a panic attack or something back there?" Mobius asked slowly, following Loki. The god sneered.
"Of course not."
"Then what happened."
Loki sighed dramatically. "He just reminded me of the Citadel, that's all."
"So you had a panic attack?"
"What, do you care?" Loki replied mockingly, walking to the other side of the aisle, his back to Mobius.
"Well I'd like to not need to hold your hand every time we go out on a mission," Mobius replied. His voice was suddenly crueler than Loki had ever heard it. It felt like someone had driven a thin blade straight from Loki's throat to his naval.
"Real nice," he snarled back, face heating up. "You still talk like you're at the TVA," Loki scoffed. "'Missions'."
"No really, did kissing your sister give you PTSD?" Mobius shouted at him. Before Loki even knew what had happened, he had whirled back around. One hand was pressing Mobius's shoulder against the candy, and the other held a dagger flat to his throat.
"Oh you little…" Loki started, shoving Mobius harder against the display. A bag of sour patch kids fell to the ground. His voice was dangerous.
"'You little' what, Loki?" Mobius shot back. "Don't be shy now!"
"Bastard," Loki spat.
"Why don't you tell me things," Mobius said, voice full of rage. "How am I supposed to trust you?"
"Because that's not what I do." Loki was just inches from Mobius's face.
"You did it with Sylvie," Mobius challenged, voice raised, eyebrows scrunched.
"Gods get over it Mobius!" Loki was yelling now.
"NO," Mobius answered, teeth gritted. He poked a finger into Loki's chest for emphasis.
Loki pressed the blade harder into the other man's neck.
"Do it." Mobius's voice was deadly. His eyes were flint. "Betray me in a supermarket again. Be free of my nuisance."
"It's tempting, believe me," Loki growled. The blade was becoming hot. Mobius didn't answer. Just stared back at him. Challenging. Everything Loki had ever done up to this point was roaring in his ears. He readjusted his grip on the blade, pushing it deeper. Mobius had to tilt his head up, and gave a strangled laugh. A tear ran down the side of his face. Loki felt like he was burning apart from the inside out.
Loki backed up in a rush, shoving Mobius so hard into the shelves that candy rained down around him. Mobius sank to the floor, coughing. Loki took a few steps away, everything was green at the edges of his vision. It was too much. There were two voices in his head. One sounded like Sylvie, and one sounded like himself. He buried his head in his hands.
You're a god.
You're a failure.
You are better than this mortal.
You aren't good enough for him.
Kill them all.
Kill yourself, I should've when I had the chance.
Make a choice.
Make a choice.
Be everything, take it all.
Snivel and cry and fall on your sword little boy.
You're the villain.
You're the villain.
"That's not how I see it."
Mobius wasn't Sylvie. And whoever Loki was when he entered the TVA, he wasn't that anymore. He wasn't any of it. Something in Loki died in that Target aisle, and something else was born. He just wasn't sure what.
He fell to the ground, reached out for Mobius and pulled him close. Mobius was stiff in his arms, then his muscles relaxed. He was shaking. Crying. Loki pulled him so tight, wrapping his arms around him, he almost crushed the man. Their knees were interlocked.
Loki closed his eyes so hard that they hurt. They were burning. (Burning apart from the inside out.) He brought a hand to the back of Mobius's head, who buried his face in Loki's shoulder.
What do people do after everything falls apart?
They just sat there on the white linoleum tile, surrounded by candy, holding each other.
Like it's the only thing in the world. Like it's concrete.
Mobius pulled away first, wiping his eyes, chuckling a bit.
"If we're just going to keep going from dancing together to you-trying-to-kill me every couple hours, I would at least like a heads up."
Loki laughed once in a short breath, sitting back on the ground. It felt cool on his hands. Mobius looked down, then spoke again.
"I do care, by the way."
'He cares about you.'
Loki nodded. "I will do my best not to kill you if you do your best not to bait me," he offered, voice light but face serious, extending a hand for Mobius to shake.
"Deal." Mobius shook his hand.
Suddenly, Loki heard giggling. He turned his head, and saw that four college-age girls were staring at them from the end of the aisle. When they realized he noticed them, one girl clapped her hand to her mouth, two laughed harder, and a blonde one took a step forward.
"Um, are you guys okay?" There was mirth in her voice.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Loki shot back, looking up at them.
"Um-" she started, then her brunette friend interrupted her.
"You're on the ground." She pointed out.
"That's not really your business," Mobius replied, voice serious, but he was smiling.
"If you say so," a third answered, and the group disappeared. Loki could hear them laughing to each other as their voices faded away.
"Ok, I guess that's our queue to get up," Mobius snorted, standing. He grabbed Loki's arm and helped him to his feet. Loki was still shaky.
"I really am sorry," Loki said, still holding on to Mobius's arm. Mobius sighed, looking embarrassed.
"Hey, it's not your fault. I crossed the line."
Loki shook his head. "Maybe, but I didn't need to put a knife to your throat."
Mobius brought a hand to his throat and winced. "Yeah, probably not." Loki realized he was bleeding.
Loki took a step forward, "Your neck-"
Mobius flinched. Loki stepped back again.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Loki stood very still for a moment, unsure of what to do next. He grabbed five packages of twizzlers and dumped them in the cart. Mobius smiled.
"You're paying for those," he joked, following Loki down the aisle.
"Like Hel I am," Loki replied. His heart and head were still pounding. "I'll just enchant the cashier."
"Loki, that's stealing," Mobius said.
"Mobius, we don't have any money," Loki answered. "So it's either the twizzlers and crime or nothing at all."
Mobius hesitated for a moment. "You're a bad influence on me."
Loki beamed. "Why thank you."
They were now in the frozen foods aisle. Mobius still had one hand to his neck, but was using the other to grab any food that had cheese in it.
"Shrimp and broccoli mac and cheese?" Loki asked.
"You forfeited your rights to judge my food choices when you held a blade to my neck," Mobius called over his shoulder. Loki winced.
"Fair enough." They talked almost as if it was some inside joke from years ago, but Loki had the sneaking suspicion this wasn't going to go away. Even if Mobius let it go, Loki wouldn't let himself forget it.
First you almost lost it trying to save him, then you lost it trying to kill him. That's not how you treat friends, Loki. A voice chastised in his mind. It sounded like Frigga. Yeah well I also don't think about how well a 'friend' can move his hips- Loki cut himself off.
"I've decided I'm done thinking." He drawled aloud.
Mobius turned to look at him, blinking. "You were thinking before?"
Loki snorted, looking down at the pile of frozen food that had begun to amass in their cart.
"Oh hey," Mobius started. "I just realized we're even!"
"Even in what way?"
"Well," Mobius replied, holding two boxes in his hands. "We've both cried in front of each other now."
"I've also cried over you," Loki challenged.
"Really? When?" Mobius looked pleased.
"When you got pruned back at the TVA…" Loki trailed off. Mobius was thoughtful. Or maybe he was just struggling over his decision between garlic or bacon mashed potatoes.
"Gosh we sure do make some great memories together," Mobius quipped.
"Hey," Loki answered, leaning on the cart and frowning. "It's not all bad."
"You're right, it's not." Mobius grinned at him, and Loki smiled back.
Maybe it's okay to live on the precipice, Loki thought to himself. He was suddenly struck by the memory of the infinity stones in the TVA drawer. How that moment reframed the course of his life. The realization that all your dreams are dust and sand. Paperweights.
There were more real things in life than power and glory and betrayal. There was a man standing in the clothing section at Target calling a pair of striped sweatpants 'snazzy'.
ahhhhh thank you everyone who's still reading. I love y'all so much. This was the longest chapter yet whoop (and no, the story is certainly not over). Let me know how I'm doing in the reviews!