"Is that… for me?" Mobius looked at the single yellow rose in Loki's hand.
Loki opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Sylvie hadn't texted like she had said she would until the night before and it was only to say to meet him at the coffee shop he had first met Mobius at all those weeks ago. He spent more time picking out the dark blue jeans and hunter green sweater he had on than he had on any outfit in the past few years and asked a florist on the way to the coffee shop which flower would be best for a sincere apology.
Feeling defeated, Loki slunk down in the chair across from Mobius and buried his head in his arms, hand still clutching the flower.
"Pretty bold of you to put your face that close to the tabletop, Loki," Mobius said, trying to lighten the mood. "Can I get you some—what was it—lawn clippings steeped in week-old pasta water?"
Loki's back shook ever so slightly from a reserved chuckle and then he raised his head. "Thank you, but no. I'm fine, thanks."
"Are you though?"
With a scowl aimed at himself, Loki sat up, but leaned back in his chair, sporting a posture more like a sullen teen who was just given detention. "Is she mad at me?"
Mobius sighed and took a sip of his sugary coffee concoction. "I think she's mad at herself." He could tell Loki was going to ask why, but Mobius held up a hand to stop him. "She hasn't told me anything about anything, so don't bother asking because I honestly don't know."
Loki tossed the flower on the table and ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't understand, Mobius. One minute we were having a laugh, and then as soon as I told her about my 'stuff,' as you put it, she left."
"Wait, you told her?" Mobius asked, slightly shocked.
Dark brows furrowed. "Why are you so surprised? You're the one who introduced us on the premise that we both had things we didn't want to talk about. Well… we've talked about them. Kind of. I mean, I was trying to."
"And how did that go?"
"Did you not hear me? Sylvie walked away from me. And pie."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Loki sighed. "I guess it was all kind of frustrating? I thought things were, I don't know, cordial between us? She picked on me quite a bit about my clothes, but for the most part I thought we were getting along. She was someone I began to look forward to seeing, I guess?"
"Oh shit," Mobius uttered.
"What?" Loki said with a hint of panic in his voice.
"I was asking 'Do you want to talk about it?' thinking you were going to talk about where you're at about being adopted, but you're talking about Sylvie. Like Sylvie is the problem here. Well, not problem. Problem's the wrong word. But she's…" Mobius cocked his head and looked Loki square in the eyes. "You like her?"
Loki was taken aback. "What?"
Mobius chuckled. "You like her. Does she like you?"
"Now, hang on a moment," Loki said, flustered.
"You brought her a flower," Mobius said, grabbing the yellow rose off the table and smelling it.
"Mobius, I…" Loki looked at the flower and then at Mobius, a pained expression painted across his face.
"Does she know?" Mobius asked, almost giddy.
"How could she?" Loki frowned. "I didn't even know."
Mobius grimaced, realizing what he had done. "Hey, I'm sorry. This isn't any of my business. I shouldn't have said anything."
"But you did say something," Loki pointed out. "And now I… I'm going to go." He jerked a thumb toward the exit as he stood up and nearly tripped over one of the legs of his chair. He steadied himself, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes back up he looked at the flower and then at Mobius. "Please don't say anything to Sylvie."
Mobius nodded. "I won't." He held up the flower. "What do you want me to do with this?"
Loki shrugged. "Tell her it's from you."
Loki left the coffee shop, but didn't head back to his apartment. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked aimlessly for blocks, paying just enough attention so as not to get hit by vehicles or other pedestrians.
He tried to rationalize with himself that he couldn't possibly have real feelings for her because he barely knew her. But he did enjoy spending time with her. He cared what she thought about things. He liked hearing her laugh and was genuinely concerned when she was upset. She was smart and quick-witted. She wasn't actively trying to impress him, she was just impressive on her own. And resilient. And frustrating. And bossy. (Assertive, he corrected himself.)
Well, he could be assertive too.
Before talking himself out of it, Loki pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted Sylvie.
Dinner Friday?
He was surprised to see three little dots pop up right away.
Friday wasn't their normal meet up day. Evening wasn't their normal meet up time.
OKAY
Okay.
Great – I'll send details later this week
Those three little dots popped back up. Then they disappeared. Then they popped back up again.
SOUNDS GOOD
Loki smiled as he shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked up to see where exactly he had walked to in order to figure out how to get back to his apartment.
"Sounds good," he muttered to himself as he headed west.
It wasn't a date, per se, unless she also wanted it to be. But it was something.
