Legal Disclaimer: My work is my own creative intelligence and property, but I do not own the original source material it stems from (I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if it was). The opinions and interpretations of characters reflected in my stories may not follow what is portrayed from the source material. Please don't sue me, I'm a stay at home mom.
Author's Note: At this point it is one of those things that you have to write at least once, right? Add to the pile and everything, but I tried to put my own spin on it. Hope I did it justice! Enjoy.
Competition/Challenge Block
Written for/Stacked with: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Term 14); Monthly Challenges for All (Year 4)
Hogwarts: Auction: D13A2 [[AU] Time Travel]
MC4A: Hunt (Sea/Ocean; Lotion; Lounger; Grill; Guitar); Ship War (Best Friend Test); Ship Bingo (Love At First Sight); Summer Bingo (Cruise)
Word Count: 2,890
Warning Tag: Devastating Apocalyptic Scenario
Beauty in Destruction
Time Variance Authority - Mobius' Cubicle
Mobius kept shaking his head as he listened to whatever silver-laced words that were coming out of Loki's mouth. They just got back from Pompeii, so the information and revelation of this little discrepancy swirled in his mind, and apparently Loki's, too.
"Come on, Mobius. Weren't you just saying earlier how you can only ever dream of riding one because you couldn't actually experience it?" Loki prodded, looming over Mobius sitting in front of his desk. "You already know that nothing will happen, why not take advantage of it while you still can?"
"Because we have no idea where the best place to go would even be to do it at, Loki," he responded evenly.
Loki gave him that look that said he knew something that he didn't. Mobius sighed, taking the bait even though he really shouldn't.
"What are you hiding?"
"Any beach in California, 2042," Loki said simply, smiling devilishly. "It'd be perfect!"
"And why is that?" Mobius questioned, running a hand through his hair.
Loki rolled his eyes. "Were you even reading the apocalypse files?" Loki scolded, folding his arms together.
"Apparently not or I wouldn't be asking," Mobius said snarkily. "I already broke a ton of rules once already for you. Why would I willingly want to do it again?"
"Because you aren't breaking them for me. You're breaking them for you!" Loki explained. "Try and live a little. Nothing bad is going to happen by indulging in your dream when the worst will happen regardless."
"You've yet to state what that is, by the way," Mobius pointed out, tapping his fingers on the desk.
"The San Andreas Faultline splits the state in two, plummeting it into the ravine it creates and the rest falls right into the ocean!" Loki said all too excitingly. "You can get a good run in well before that happens and maybe even get an exciting show along the way."
"Your excitement about this makes it all the more unnerving," Mobius said slowly, placing a hand on his forehead and closing his eyes.
Loki slapped the jet ski magazine down in front of Mobius, prompting the agent to sigh and glance at the glossy pages looking back at him.
"What say you?" Loki leaned closer to him, hovering over his shoulder. "You know you want to. And you will never get another chance once this hole gets revealed and patched up."
Mobius reached for the magazine, opening it to the page with the full image of a jet ski with ease from it constantly being creased open on it. Loki could feel his hesitance radiating off him still.
"Or keep being the mostly punctual, straight-laced, do no wrong agent and take this to your superior. I am indifferent about it either way," Loki stated crisply, tucking his hands in his pockets. "But at least the praise will be abundant, right? Nothing like the wind and sea foam in your face as you skip across ocean waters on this fine contraption. Sun glistening all around you, sparkling off the bluest cerulean waters as you soak it all in. But..."
Loki clicked his tongue then, grabbing a vacant chair from the desk opposite and casually sat down, kicking his legs up on Mobius' desk. "You do you, Mobius."
Mobius pushed his legs off, rescuing the magazine from being crumpled up. "Alright, fine."
Loki smirked, leaning into his personal space yet again. "I knew you'd come around."
Laguna Beach, California - 2042
"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," Mobius muttered, looking out at the white sand-laden beach before them.
Loki couldn't keep his eyes off Mobius, however, beaming at him for agreeing to do this. With some magic help, he had them donning appropriate beach-wear, too. Of course, Mobius was content wearing his suit there but Loki wasn't having any of that. Instead, he fixed him with a cerulean blue Hawaiian shirt that had a white hibiscus pattern on it. Mobius left it undone to reveal a simple white cotton tank top underneath. It went well with the solid dark grey board shorts and black strap-on sandals, and blue and gold reflective sunglasses sat over his face. Loki wore a deep green shirt buttoned up that had gold outlines of large palm leaves on it and equally dark green board shorts to match, sporting black gladiator sandals and the darkest sunglasses one could get to finish his look. It contrasted strangely well against his pale skin.
Mobius tried to not notice all the head turns Loki received as they headed for the docks. He knew he couldn't exactly help it, people naturally gravitated to pretty people, it just so happened he also had that god energy that was extremely alluring that added to it, too. Unable to not fidget or worry, Mobius kept pulling the TemPad from his pocket to sneak a look and check and see if it picked up their presence on the timeline just in case. Nothing, not even a blip.
Loki noticed after the third time and swiped it to magic it away. "No working while on vacation."
Mobius let out a sigh and shook his head. "I'm going to need that back."
"Relax, I am not going to lose it."
Deciding to take in his surroundings, Mobius looked around them as they walked. There were quite a few people out enjoying the prime summer day. Several lazied about in lounger chairs, others were applying lotion and sunscreen to each other and themselves. There were people grilling food and playing on their guitars. All of them wore a form of swimwear or other, and a lot of skin was exposed in general.
Realizing that the bustling of the beach-goers, surfers, boaters, and everything in between surrounding them was soon going to face a catastrophic devastation in about an hour from now was horrifying to think about now that they were actually there. No one had any warning aside from the barely detectable tremors that growled deep enough below they weren't being felt on the surface. They were all blissfully enjoying themselves and indulging in what life had to offer. Unaware that their world was going to literally collapse before them…
"I am starting to think this is in poor taste, Loki," Mobius said as they set foot on the docks, feeling that pang of dread.
"I wondered when it would sink in," Loki replied, snickering at his own terrible joke. "You won't be dwelling on it for too long, I assure you."
He proceeded to put on the most jaw dropping smile when an attendant came out of the rental building, charming his way through the process of obtaining a pair of their jet skis. Mobius hung back, looking over his aviators at the fine specimens docked in front of him. It was exhilarating enough to see one in person, photos certainly didn't do them justice that was for certain. Someone whizzed by the docks on one then, skipping over the water so fast it looked like it was legitimately flying over its surface. Mobius grimaced at the sight. It didn't take long before Loki returned to his side holding two keys and a pair of life vests.
"Ready?"
Mobius bit his lip, lightly shaking his head. "I don't know…"
Loki gestured to a white and cerulean blue jet ski parked right in front of them. "I got your favourite color, though. And forged your license. Did you know you needed one of those?"
"Loki…"
"Put this on." He handed Mobius a life vest and gave him the key. "Hope you have fun."
Mobius was dumbstruck, dropping the key when he slowly put the vest on. "This was your idea, aren't you coming, too?"
"Figured I would admire the view first," Loki replied with a wink over the rim of the sunglasses. "Besides, despite how I look, I am quite dense. Deep water and I aren't exactly friends."
Mobius eyed the jet ski again before glancing out at the horizon where a couple were skipping across the waters at neck breaking speeds together. The distance didn't help, but they still looked like they weren't even touching the water. Loki put his own vest on when he wasn't looking, picking up the key Mobius dropped and already forgot about and offered it to him again.
"Time is ticking, Mobius."
"I'm sorry, I—" he started to say but swallowed back the rest, looking away from Loki in shame for being scared of something he deeply admired on paper.
His wrist was grabbed by slender fingers and he followed it up to meet Loki's soft eyes unobscured by sunglasses. He grazed his knuckles with his lips before giving it a firm squeeze, seeming to pick up on his fear and doubt.
"I've got you."
Loki continued holding Mobius' hand and guided him over to the black and neon green two-person jet ski, climbing onto it with such grace. Mobius hesitantly got on behind Loki, trying to contain his shaking as he quickly released his hand and slipped his arms tightly around Loki's waist while he plugged in the key and secured the strap. He scooted as close as he possibly could to Loki, clenching his knees into his hips and took in a stiff breath.
"Do you even know how to operate one?" Mobius managed to ask, face hovering beside Loki's as he looked over his shoulder.
Loki inspected the controls for a moment before holding the red button down, effectively starting it up. Curling his hands around the handles, he rested two fingers around the accelerator trigger and very gently pressed it in, sending the jet ski forward.
"I think I can handle it," Loki said after a beat, moving away from the docks and shifting his weight slightly to direct the jet ski toward the open ocean at a delicate speed.
Mobius tightened his hold once they started moving, even though they were crawling at a granny's pace, at least until Loki felt like they were clear from the docks.
"Hold on."
Mobius didn't need to be told twice. He buried his face in Loki's neck, feeling the contraption lurch forward as it picked up speed and his heart dropped to his stomach. The wind started whipping against his face and whirling in his ears, and thanks to Loki's magic holding it in place, Mobius was spared being eaten by his silk-soft hair. Once it seemed like they were at a decent speed did he dare open his eyes, not realizing that he closed them or that he was clinging so hard against Loki's back it was a wonder why he couldn't breathe properly. The water sparkled brilliantly ahead of them for miles, the cloudless sky and bright sun mixed its warmth with the cool spray that speckled around them and over their faces.
He felt himself finally relax, his body thanking him for it as he slowly peeled himself away from Loki to properly take in a breath and look around at the retreating landmass behind them. Mobius chuckled at how silly he felt now being scared to do this, this wasn't so bad, actually.
"Want to try?" Loki yelled over the purr of the engine and the wind, releasing the accelerator and allowing them to coast to a stop.
"I am perfectly content back here, thank you," Mobius said, still not brave enough to try it for himself.
Loki jerked the jet ski forward then, almost launching Mobius backward from it and into the water before he clung right back to him. He couldn't see the wicked smile on his face at the reaction.
"I think I like it, too."
He kept going out to sea, wanting to put as much distance as possible between them and the impending doom about to happen behind them. After what felt like a solid twenty or so minutes later did Loki start to turn and face back toward land. It was nothing more than a thin line in the horizon at this point, but Loki let the vehicle coast to a stop and shut it off to stare out back at it. Mobius allowed himself to stretch, needing to loosen his muscles from the heavy tension they had been put in. Of course Loki looked as cool as a cucumber, leaning over the handles and draping his arms over the front.
"You could've said something," Loki commented, looking over his shoulder.
Mobius shrugged sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and feeling the heat tinge his cheeks. "Yeah, maybe."
"It's okay to be scared," Loki continued, looking back at the horizon. "You just need to feel the fear and do it anyway. Builds confidence, I hear."
Mobius didn't have an answer for that, instead he just let out a deep breath and gently leaned against Loki, nuzzling against the shell of his ear.
"Thank you."
"Was it everything you thought it would be?"
He nodded slightly. "That and more."
Mobius could feel him take a deep breath and slowly release it. "It was my pleasure."
A quiet, comforting silence settled between them, leaving the ocean breeze to dance and whisper around them. They felt the air shift after a couple of minutes, relishing in the eerie calm before the storm. Loki adjusted somewhat in the process.
"Any moment now…" he muttered, trailing a finger over the damp sleek surface of the jet ski.
"You're so twisted," Mobius commented, biting his lip as he looked out over the landmass in the distance.
The waves gently swayed them as they waited. It didn't take long for them to hear the Earth groan from the catastrophe that quickly broke out in front of them. Loki stood up then, expertly keeping them balanced still as he did so, watching as the land shifted upwards and downwards in a fury of motion.
He summoned the TemPad and handed it to Mobius, sitting back down in the process to start the jet ski up again.
"Better not lose that, and I apologize for what I am about to do," Loki said quickly, his voice laced with mischief as he slowly started moving forward.
Mobius wrapped an arm tightly around him, trying to maneuver the TemPad at the same time with difficulty. "Loki, could you wait? I don't have this ready…"
But it fell on deaf ears as Loki picked up their pace, heading right back toward the nightmare unfolding ahead. Mobius held the device with two hands in front of Loki, straining to look over his shoulder to see what he was doing in order to pull up a time door for them.
"Better pick a good spot because I am not stopping!" Loki shouted over the engine and ever growing waves they skipped over.
They were becoming aggressively more violent, sending them flying over them only to skip off another. Mobius held his breath, clinging for dear life while white-knuckling the TemPad, moving his fingers as swiftly as he could over its face to get it prepped for a portal.
"You're going to kill us, Loki!" He yelled, mistakenly pulling his attention away to see the Earth violently swallowing itself in front of them.
The horrible sound reminded him of a chair scraping harshly against the sleek floors back at the TVA. It's groan and resistance of material against metal colliding was exactly what it sounded like, actually.
"Loki!"
The tidal wave that was now forming and growing upward very rapidly and quickly in the distance raced right for them. It touched the heavens easily and Loki quickly, and remarkably skillfully, turned them back around and raced as fast as the throttle would allow. They weren't going to outrun that.
"Get the door, Mobius!" Loki shouted.
Mobius pressed a button and tried to gauge where to place it but they were moving too fast for it to locate them properly.
"Mobius…!" he heard Loki shouting again, and they raced past a door then.
"I'm trying!" He barked as the door opened just shy of them again.
They could feel the spray prickling behind them now from the wave gainin ground.
"Mobius!"
The door opened right in front of them and they sped right through it, a large splash of water coming with as they arrived in a film room, jet ski and all. They hit the wall and were pushed back with the water flooding the space, and once it settled them in the middle of the room did Loki start to laugh. Mobius was glued to his back and felt the vibrations slowly loosening him free. He felt like jelly now that his nerves were completely shot.
"That was fun, yeah?"
"You're fucking crazy!" Mobius sputtered out.
Loki got up then, easily bringing Mobius to his feet along with him and they hopped off the vehicle and into the knee deep water. He gave the jet ski a light pat, still holding Mobius upright on his shaken legs.
"Well… you have your jet ski now," he said, and Mobius wanted to send it right back from where it came and slap Loki senseless.
"I hate you…" his words held no malice.
But he was pretty sure he'd never get on a jet ski ever again after that twisted stunt. How was he going to explain this to Ravonna?