Mobius's neck was still burning when they returned to Aeyhle. The sharp edge of the dagger had been bad enough, but when it had started heating up Mobius began to wonder what he did to deserve this. He knew he was too harsh to Loki, but still. Was it really so irrational to want the god to confide in him? In his personal opinion, Mobius had stuck his neck out far more for Loki than Sylvie had, and look where that got him.

He knew Loki was sorry, but Mobius couldn't ignore the new part of him screaming to run away. Loki was just too powerful, too dangerous. Being around him was like having every sense heightened to the point of overload, and then having them all stripped away. Like touching a live wire and going numb after the shock.

"Teach me how to fight." Mobius lowered himself onto the couch, watching Loki stumble into Aeyhle carrying about five bags on both of his arms. Loki looked up at him, surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: teach me how to fight. I'm getting real tired of having things pointed at my neck," Mobius replied pointedly, tilting his head to the side. (which hurt more than he was expecting.)

Loki dropped all the bags with a flourish.

"Hey my mac and cheese-" Mobius started. Loki interrupted him.

"Of course I'll teach you. I'm surprised you don't know more, weren't all the TVA analysts minutemen first?"

"Yeah…" Mobius started. "But it's been… a long time since then." In all honesty, Mobius could barely remember being a minuteman. He had been at the TVA for so long… "Loki, how am I alive?" Mobius asked suddenly. Loki had been bent over sorting out the frozen foods, and he stood up at Mobius's question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean-" Mobius hesitated. "We were under the impression that the TVA worked outside of the flow of time, right? But that can't be true… what we did there still ended up impacting events, so we had to be operating within some alternate current… otherwise Sylvie couldn't have sent you to an alternate TVA after the multiversal explosion… and we know there's multiple TVAs now…" Mobius had one hand on his chin while using the other to gesture with his words. Loki was just watching him. "As long as I've known, I've looked like this. I didn't age or anything… So am I going to start aging now? How old am I really? It could be thousands of years…" He trailed off into thoughtful, awful silence. Against his will, his eyes were misting up. I guess once you cry in front of Loki, you can't stop. Loki broke the silence slowly.

"Mobius I- I don't have the answers to your questions," he said, looking worried. "I wish I did, I-"

"I had a childhood, somewhere," Mobius started, staring into nothingness. His voice held a sort of terrifying awe. "Somewhere in time I might've had a jet ski, I could've been married… I don't even technically know if I'm human or what… I know nothing about myself." Loki was starting to look almost panicked, but Mobius didn't notice.

"That's not true. If you can't remember those things, then they didn't actually impact who you are now, right?" Loki said. Mobius wasn't listening to him.

"And I'm assuming they kept adding variants to our workforce. That's what they- I mean he- was going to do with you, I think…But none of us would be allowed to remember that they started as variants… How many times were our minds wiped?" Mobius's voice was becoming panicky. It was all hitting him now. He had been trying so hard not to think it through, not to let the thoughts overwhelm him. There wasn't time, there was never time.

"Mobius," Loki had moved over to sit beside him on the couch. "Breathe." Mobius was messing with a hole in his mesh suit.

"Oh how the tables have turned," he quipped, avoiding looking at Loki. Carefully, gently, Loki reached for Mobius's right hand. Their fingers interlocked. Loki's hand was bigger than Mobius's. And it wasn't sexy, or romantic, really. It was just… there. Solid. (the only thing in the world.)

Mobius's left arm was bent on the armrest to support his head. His eyes were closed, and he used his thumb to trace around the socket of his left eye, mindlessly. They sat like that, in silence, for a while. Because what was there to say, really? There was no right way to address all that he'd been through (or couldn't remember going through). It was fractured and twisted and unjust. What do you say to that?

(What do you do after everything falls apart?)

Mobius was the first to speak. "The frozen food is going to be ruined if we don't put it away."

"I'll do that," Loki offered. Mobius thought it was very nice, but also knew the god of mischief still felt guilty for almost slitting his throat.

"Then I'll take a shower," Mobius said, standing up. They had bought more shampoo and soap, as they'd already ran out of the meager samples they started with. Mobius also grabbed the neosporin and gauze patch he had snuck into the cart without Loki noticing.

I'm not about to get an infection from being held at knifepoint in a Target.

…

It was more difficult to dress a wound in the most vulnerable part of your neck on your own than you'd think. Loki was in the shower now, and Mobius was wearing his new striped sweatpants and trying to look at his cut in the mirror. He could sort of see it if he tilted his head back all the way, it was a thin cut, but burned around the edges from the hot metal. Slightly bruised from when Loki shoved off of him. Tilting his head back like that stretched the skin, which hurt. Mobius huffed, exasperated.

"Loki," he called, "You're fogging up the mirror."

"Sorry, I like hot showers," Loki said from behind the shower curtain. Mobius rolled his eyes.

"Would you-" he started, and sighed. "Would you mind helping me with this cut when you finish?" It's not like he really wanted Loki that close to the place he almost slit open, (or maybe he really did, but that's beside the point), but he didn't have many other options. And Mobius wasn't so prideful that he'd risk making his wound worse.

"Of course," Loki answered. Then he began humming. Mobius didn't recognize the tune, but he could tell Loki had a beautiful voice (of course he does). Mobius crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Loki to finish, his back leaning against the door. He couldn't stop thinking about the TVA, about all their lies. About who he might've been.

Eventually, the water switched off. Mobius stared fixedly at the fogged up mirror as the shower curtain whisked open. He could still see Loki's blurred silhouette though, all pale skin and limbs. The TVA was no longer at the forefront of his mind. Mobius closed his eyes and swallowed hard (which hurt).

"You can open your eyes," Loki said cheekily.

"You're not naked?" Mobius replied.

"Oh please, I have a towel on."

"If you say so." Mobius opened his eyes.

"Now why would I lie," Loki teased. His dark hair hung around his face, dripping, and his skin glistened in the artificial light of the bathroom. The whole room was hot and smelled like body wash. Sharp and heady. Wordlessly, Mobius handed him the neosporin and the bandage.

"This creamy stuff is going to help?" Loki asked.

"It's an antiseptic," Mobius sighed, exasperated. Loki just looked at him.

"Whatever you say." Loki squeezed a bit of the ointment onto his finger, then looked back at Mobius. "Tilt your head up."

"The whole reason you're helping me is because doing that hurts," Mobius shot back.

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Then tilt it back as far as you can?"

Mobius grumbled, and tilted his head back slightly so it rested against the door. Loki moved towards his cut.

"I'm sorry," Mobius blurted out. "About calling Sylvie your sister… I haven't been very-" he cleared his throat. "Supportive."

Loki's hand froze. He laughed, throwing his head back. Genuine laughter.

"What?" Mobius asked, feeling a bit stung.

"I didn't like her like that," Loki answered. The room was steam and mirrors.

"But your nexus event-"

"Look, I don't know what our nexus event was, maybe it was the fact that in that moment, I completely trusted her. Maybe it was that for just a second in my life I saw someone that was me and I wasn't disgusted. Or it could be a thousand other things." Loki's voice was turning bitter. "And I did love her, loved her as someone who understood. It felt like I wasn't-" he stopped, looking down at Mobius. "-Wasn't alone anymore. But I didn't desire her."

Mobius was quiet. He brought a hand up to Loki's wrist, frozen motionless between them. Loki's skin was cool and his arm was strong.

"I'm sorry," Mobius repeated, voice hushed. Silence hung between them. He spoke again. "It's just, it wouldn't be insane for all those emotions to get confused. I don't blame you if-"

Loki interrupted him, moving closer. It was closer than they'd ever been, closer than Mobius had ever been to anyone. A drop of water fell from Loki's hair onto Mobius's bare shoulder. Mobius was looking fixedly at their hands.

"Mobius, I wasn't attracted to her. I know what attraction is." Loki's voice was so low that it was almost husky. They were stuck in time like bugs in resin.

Mobius cleared his throat. "My cut?"

"Right," Loki said. Mobius dropped his hand from Loki's wrist, and the god stooped a bit to get a better look. Mobius focused on the ceiling, on the round artificial bathroom light. Loki took a sharp intake of breath through his teeth.

"Oh it's all burned too- gods I'm sorry," Loki's voice was all concern and guilt.

"Yeah well-" Mobius started. Loki interrupted him.

"Hold still," Loki said softly, bringing another hand up to brace his neck, resting his thumb on Mobius's jugular. Loki's fingers were at the base of his hairline.

He literally holds my life in his hands, Mobius thought to himself. His heartbeat sped up, whether from fear or something else, and he knew Loki could feel his pulse. Mobius tried focusing on the solidity of the door at his back.

Loki started applying the neosporin with featherlight touches, more gentle than Mobius would have ever expected. This is going to be what drives me insane, I'm certain of it. Loki's towel was pressing against Mobius's hip.

Mobius winced with a sharp intake of breath and a soft "ah." as Loki accidentally scratched the cut. Loki froze, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry-" Loki started.

"Don't worry about it." Mobius interrupted. He could feel Loki's fingers bob on his Adam's apple. "Your fingers are cool, it's nice."

"Perks of being a frost giant." Loki shrugged faintly. He stepped away to grab the bandage, and Mobius realized he had been holding his breath.

There was a soft ripping noise and Loki turned back around, holding the patch of gauze between his index finger and thumb. Mobius closed his eyes, and felt Loki gently smooth on the bandage and straighten up. He didn't move away, though.

Mobius opened his eyes. Loki was just inches from his face, dripping hair beginning to curl into ringlets. His face was soft, concerned, but with the slightest hint of a cocky smile. So different from the man with a knife to Mobius's throat just hours before. His eyes were blue. Loki exhaled, and Mobius could feel his breath. He felt drunk. Part of him was almost begging to close the gap, but another part could still feel the burning dagger to his throat. Remember the hate that had been in Loki's eyes.

Silently, Mobius reached behind his back for the door handle, giving it a slight push. He backed out of the bathroom. "Thanks."

And then he was gone.

…

The next morning, the duo were back in Aeyhle's control room, studying a holographic image projected on the front windows. They were drifting somewhere in space and time.

"So that's where we killed Bob," Mobius said, pointing to a little glowing junction on the massive, tree-like timeline that was being projected.

"Yes, I think so," Loki agreed. Mobius was wearing a white button up and a blue tie, which Loki had made fun of. It just wasn't easy for Mobius to drop the TVA dress code after countless years. His slacks were blue to match the tie.

They had the projection set so that timelines Bob-variants existed on were glowing purple. Timelines where he was starting to pose a real threat (AKA, realization of the multiverse among the general public) glowed red. Now, there were just purple and white timelines. Mobius studied the tree, feeling like something was off.

"Wait a minute," Mobius started. Loki looked at him. "Can we reverse this display to what it was before we killed Bob?"

"Uh, maybe," Loki answered, leaning forward and clicking a few buttons.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Mobius snorted, and Loki looked back at him mock-offended.

"I'll have you know I am a computer genius," Loki replied. Mobius just smiled at him. "Uh, maybe this will work?" Loki tapped a button, and the screen shifted.

"Huh, just goes to show how many new timelines are cropping up constantly now…" Mobius trailed off, then leaned closer to the screen.

"What is it?" Loki asked, looking from Mobius to the glowing timelines. In an effort that Mobius was sure was purely to make fun of him, Loki wore a matching outfit but in green. (are we just going to match clothes from now on?)

"Look," Mobius was pointing at a specific cluster of timelines. "Here, all these timelines are purple, meaning Bob exists in them. But if you check it now…" Mobius kept his finger in the same spot while Loki adjusted the projection. "...All these timelines are white."

"We wiped him from those timelines-" Loki finished in awe.

"I mean, I guess it makes sense…" Mobius started, furrowing his brow. "We're not pruning off the entire timeline, just affecting it. Like adding dye to a river. So when we killed him, the timeline just rearranged to fit with the new source."

"Then that means every single person is acting within their own timeline," Loki said. Mobius looked at him. "Because Bob's death wasn't enough to just shut all those timelines down. Here." Loki pressed a couple more buttons at random. Mobius was now almost certain he didn't know what he was doing.

Suddenly, the projection exploded into billions upon billions of tiny glowing filaments. They were woven together, intersecting, knotting in some places and diverting in others. It almost looked like-

"The very fabric of reality…" Mobius whispered. Blood was rushing in his ears. "We are the very fabric of reality." Loki was just staring at the projection.

"We are in way over our heads." He said in a breath. Mobius nodded.

"Totally. Hey wait…" Mobius tapped Loki on the arm. "Where are we in all of this, like us specifically." Loki looked thoughtful, and the projection shifted again. It wasn't waiting for Loki to press random buttons anymore.

Now, it was back to the branching root-like structure it had been before, but there was a new thread, weaving in and out of it. Glowing green. It intersected in a few spots, including the spot where Bob had been killed.

"We're making our own timeline by dipping in and out of the flow of time-" Mobius started. "Wow."

Mobius looked at Loki. The god was just staring at the timelines in awe, the white glow illuminating his features (beautiful, always beautiful). They both just stood like that for a while. It was all so overwhelming. (what do you do with this information?) Suddenly, Mobius was very grateful he wasn't doing this alone. No matter their differences and their circumstances, Loki meant a lot to him. Just by being there. Just by staying. Just by telling him the truth.

Mobius spoke again. "I- I feel like there's something else I'm supposed to realize right now…" He trailed off. "Like I have all the puzzle pieces but I can't put them together." Loki swallowed, and straightened up.

"Do you want me to try to show you how to fight?" he asked. Mobius was suddenly reminded of his question from the day before.

"Yeah... sure," he answered. (apparently, it was easier for them to ignore that they had just discovered what reality was made of.) "I mean, it's not like I know nothing-" Loki interrupted him with a scoff. "Hey! I deserve some credit."

"Of course you do," Loki said, mock seriously. Mobius just rolled his eyes.

What I wouldn't do to be able to kick his ass, he thought wistfully.

…

Mobius was not kicking his ass.

"Ok, ok," Mobius relented, and Loki rolled off of him. They were breathing heavily. "This isn't very fair, you know." Mobius grumbled, sitting up. "You didn't teach me anything, you're just attacking me over and over again." Loki sat up too and looked at him, leaning back on his hands.

"You were supposed to be learning by example." Loki replied.

"How am I supposed to do that when you just keep bowling me over and pinning me to the ground, that's not even how you normally fight."

"So you have watched me fight before!" Loki sounded delighted.

"Not exactly," Mobius answered. "I studied all of your combat styles when we were trying to hunt down Sylvie, I know a lot about you. Still doesn't explain why you're treating me like a punching bag instead of teaching me." Loki sighed dramatically.

"I've never taught anyone anything before," he whined. "I don't know how to be a teacher."

"So this is really just you getting to knock me down over and over again and call it teaching?" Mobius asked, cocking his head, which stretched the bandage still on his neck. They had cleared out the room Shane had been using in her brief time on the Aeyhle and Loki had magicked some mats on the ground to cushion their fall.

"Yes, and we've learned that I can successfully knock you over!" Loki said cheerily, standing up. "Class dismissed."

"Loki," Mobius sighed. "You're not even trying." Loki rolled his eyes, then helped Mobius up.

"Alright, alright," Loki relented, then spent a minute in thought. "Ok, well, a lot of fighting relies on using your opponent's weight against them, like moving away from what they were expecting would be there to support them, or using centrifugal force against them."

Mobius took a step back and stared at Loki, calculating, well, him. For training purposes, Mobius had demanded he not use magic. Loki used his arms when fighting more often than his legs, which would make his attacks top heavy. He was taller than Mobius by a good few inches.

"Ok, let's try again. But stop just charging me. Fight me like you would actually fight me without magic," Mobius said.

"Alright, if you insist." Loki smirked, but Mobius noticed he looked briefly uncomfortable.

He doesn't want to feel like he's actually fighting with me, because he uses his rage in combat, Mobius realized.

They stepped to opposite sides of the room from each other. Loki had taken off his tie and pushed his sleeves back. They probably could've picked more breathable clothes to practice in, but they never seemed to be granted the privilege of fighting in helpful clothes in the field, so it didn't really make sense to change.

Each time Loki had lunged for Mobius before, he had started with his left leg. But if he had been purposefully fighting unlike his normal self, then this time he would go with his right. Of course, this was largely based on conjecture…

Loki stepped with his right foot. Which meant, with the distance between them, that his weight would be coming from Mobius's right.

Mobius dodged to the left, and felt Loki stumble slightly, but the god had still managed to catch himself on Mobius's shirt with his right hand, so Mobius shoved Loki down with his right elbow. Loki was on all fours for just a moment, and Mobius kicked him in the side before jumping back.

"Ow," Loki growled, staggering to his feet. His eyes looked murderous. "I just had to say one vague thing about using your opponent's weight against them and you can do that?"

There's that rage.

Mobius smiled, and Loki lunged again. He was already becoming sloppier. With a bit of panic, Mobius realized that Loki had somehow gotten his dagger. But Mobius shoved the panic down. In the split second while Loki lunged, Mobius was reminded of a conversation he had with Ravonna ages ago.

"Cool and collected Mobius, that's like, your brand."
"I'm sure I can be as emotional as the next guy."
"Maybe, but that's not your advantage."

If Loki fought all explosions and rage, then Mobius was all solidity and patience. He had learned to be very patient over the years.

And the past few weeks, with everything falling apart, I had forgotten that.

Loki was lunging, and Mobius kneeled. Let Loki come to him in a rush. Because now, where Mobius's torso had been a few moments before, there was just empty air. Loki fell through it, not having enough time to adjust his path, and Mobius grabbed at the wrist holding the dagger, twisting it as Loki flipped over him. The dagger fell into Mobius's other hand.

In a flash, Mobius was on his feet again and away from Loki, who had fallen sideways to the ground. He could've pinned him down there. But that's not what he was trying to do. He had a bigger plan.

Loki flipped his hair out of his face to look at Mobius, sneering.

"Oh very clever," he snarked.

"You're just mad you're losing," Mobius replied, voice steady and calm. He smiled at Loki like the god was a misbehaved child. He knew it was pushing his buttons. Honestly, Mobius's biggest concern was that Loki would just forget about the whole 'no magic' thing and turn Mobius into a frog or something. But maybe Loki had more self control than he thought.

Now Mobius knew Loki was unlikely to try the same charge attack a third time, and he was right. Loki just stood up slowly, and began to walk towards Mobius. The former analyst didn't raise a hand or make a move, he waited for Loki to show his cards. Loki was smiling at him as if they were having a business meeting. The top button on his shirt had become undone.

Then, when Loki was just under a foot away, Mobius saw the faintest flash of movement from his hands. He's going to try to choke me, or grab my shoulders. Mobius couldn't be certain which one it was, but his strategy was the same for both. Mobius waited a half second until Loki's hands were up high enough that he could duck under them, and he spun behind the god. Then shoved the back of his neck as Loki tried whirling around at him. It's all about balance. Loki fell forward, catching himself on the wall and spinning around again. But before he could do anything else, Mobius had a knife to his throat.

Their bodies were flush together, and they were breathing hard. The flaming dagger (although conveniently not on fire at the moment, maybe it was just a Loki thing) was held flat against Loki's neck.

Loki was grinning like Mobius had just asked to have sex with him, and Mobius was just smirking.

"I'm impressed," Loki breathed.

"What do you have a knife kink or something-" Mobius snarked, then as Loki opened his mouth to answer, immediately added "-Don't answer that."

Loki just laughed. Mobius didn't back away. He was enjoying having Loki right where he wanted him.

"I shouldn't have given away the secrets to combat like that," Loki joked, still looking at Mobius with a grin that was driving Mobius crazy.

"A tragic mistake," Mobius whispered. With his free hand, he had grabbed the part of Loki's shirt that had become unbuttoned. Their faces were inches away (they had been inches away an awful lot lately).

Then, in a flash, the smile dropped off Mobius's face. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly. Loki looked confused. Mobius moved away from Loki in an instant, already rushing back towards the control room.

"Oh my God," Mobius breathed.

"What, what is it?" Loki asked, jogging to keep up with him.

"We forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Forgot the person Bob was originally going to meet with."

"Why is that a problem? That version of Bob is dead, right?" Loki asked, looking concerned as they sped down the hallways of Aeyhle.

"But remember how he went on and on about how he couldn't let this idea die with him? He had probably already given whoever he was going to meet with some hints about his theory, otherwise, why would they meet with him in the first place over an unexplained idea?"

"And when they arrived…" Loki started, trailing off.

"Bob was dead, killed by people who had just disappeared, with three guards gone and the other dead by somehow just choosing to stop breathing. And any witnesses will say he had gone in there with two men, one of them a king"

"Which would make whoever he was going to meet with even more suspicious." Loki was realizing the danger.

"And might drive them to put together Bob's idea, especially if they were notable enough for Bob to want to meet with in the first place, they're probably smart and powerful."

"So we might've just made an even bigger monster…" Loki said, sounding concerned.

"By adding dye to the river. " Mobius finished. His face was grim.

They had reached the control room, and Mobius rushed to grab a tablet, beginning to punch information in. Loki stood anxiously in the doorway, not wanting to crowd his space. (since when has Loki ever cared about personal space?)

A display began playing on the tablet of what had happened in that room after Mobius and Loki left. Whoever was going to meet with Bob would've been directed to that room, and when they saw what was inside…

Mobius waited anxiously, speeding up the video a bit, then he saw movement at the door. Someone walked in.

"Loki," Mobius breathed. Loki started towards him.

"What, what is it?"

Mobius looked up at him, eyes wide. "Bob was going to meet with Thor."

today, I offer you the longest chapter yet and a Lokius bathroom scene. Tomorrow? Who knows! Please please please leave reviews, even if you're just on a guest account, and if you're enjoying the story feel free to tell your friends! yes i shamelessly am trying to get more readers. luv you all xx