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There was a timeline, a direct branch off the Sacred Timeline where Loki never made it off Sakaar. The variant on that timeline would spend the rest of his very long life performing increasingly degrading acts for the pleasure and entertainment of the Grandmaster and his successors. Every attempt at escape ended in failure, and sometimes torture. It was more than Mobius could bear to watch, and if the TVA let him, he would have pruned the entire branch.
Now he stands, staring at Yggdrasil on the monitor, trying to communicate telepathically with his Loki.
“I could save you again. It's not like it would shatter the multiverse,” he thinks to himself.
And so he does.
He has often used his tempad for selfish purposes behind the TVA’s back but this was on another level. He opens a time-door and steps through. The variant is sitting on the edge of a queen size bed, alone and crying. The Grandmaster would be entering soon so Mobius had to act quick.
Loki stares in shock and fear at the orange portal and at the man stepping through it. He raises himself from the bed and stands against a wall, his hands out in front of him pulsing with green power.
“Loki, I know this is strange. You don't know me but I know you,” says Mobius calmly and evenly, “If you want to get out of here this is your only chance. Just step through with me.”
He gestures at the time-door trying his best to maintain eye contact and then giving up to let his gaze drop to the floor. Loki is wearing nothing but a simple strip of animal hide tied around his waist.
The variant looks around the room in confusion and then hears the Grandmaster’s voice just outside the door. With no time to hesitate, he steps through the time-door.
It's cold and dark in the barn they step into. Loki uses his magic to dress himself in dark green leather and a cape. Mobius knows he's going to have a lot of explaining to do but he came prepared for that.
He starts by explaining that he's from the TVA and then explains what the TVA is. Loki stares at him in confusion but does not interrupt. At the end Loki asks a few questions trying to clarify how time and the multiverse work. Mobius answers them all. The god frowns as he tries to process it all, his beautiful black hair partially obscuring his face as he stares at his own feet.
“And is your organisation, the TVA, in the habit of simply plucking individuals out of time and space to save them from suffering? Because if they are, they're doing a terrible job,” says Loki, getting louder with every word, “All the suffering across my universe alone and you choose to save me. Why?”
It's now Mobius's turn to stare at his feet.
“I was not sent here by the TVA. I broke the rules. For you,” says Mobius, “It's a little selfish, I know, but I can't watch you suffer.”
He looks up to meet Loki's eyes and the god looks back, perplexed. Mobius answers the unspoken question, “A long time ago there was only one timeline. The Sacred Timeline. The man who created the TVA, He Who Remains, ordered us to prune every other branch, so we did. But then a variant of yours came along and changed everything. It's a bit more complicated than that but that's essentially what happened. That variant now sits at the end of time, watching over the multiverse, literally holding all the timelines in his hands.”
Loki laughs, “As hard as all of that is to believe, it still does not explain why you saved me.”
Mobius stares at his feet again.
“That variant of yours... I fell for him. It hurts to be so far away from him and I thought if I saved you it would ease the pain. Because I can't save him,” says Mobius, doubling over when he says the last sentence. He sinks to the floor, not caring that it's covered in hay and dirt. Loki would have been sceptical- extremely sceptical if the man hadn't started to sob. He chooses to pretend.
“This is absurd. A variant of mine is the literal god of the multiverse? And you're in love with him? I pity you old man, because he probably seduced you in order to get to that throne at the end of time,” says Loki scornfully.
Mobius shakes his head but realizes there's only so much he can explain verbally. He knew it would come to this. He checks his tempad. His ‘inside man’, a young female hunter who obviously has a crush on Loki, is in position. She texts him that the TVA entryway is clear.
Mobius opens a time-door and steps through. Loki hesitates for only a moment before following. He’s too curious. The magic dampeners come into effect and Loki is back in the animal hide. He gasps. The female hunter grins at him, biting her lower lip as she hands him a blanket before handing a package to Mobius. Loki wraps the blanket around his shoulders and seethes, “This is a trap isn't it? Luring me away to a place where I can't use my powers? Damn it, why won't it work?”
“Magic dampeners,” says Mobius as he takes Loki by the arm, “Can’t have variants escaping.” He steps into an elevator. Loki breaks free from him grip.
“If they catch you they'll prune you. I'm your only hope if you want to survive,” says Mobius with an apologetic smile. Loki rolls his eyes and stands beside Mobius. The lift starts moving upwards. The analyst opens up his package to reveal the standard issue TVA jumpsuit. “Put it on,” he says.
Loki glares at him and then lets the blanket drop. Mobius struggles to regulate his breathing when the god starts pulling on the jumpsuit. He bites the inside of his cheek when Loki turns around to untie the animal hide, taking in what he can from his peripheral vision.
All of a sudden, Loki turns around with a mischievous smile, the top half of the jumpsuit gathered around his waist. “If you were in love with him, this must be torture for you,” teases the variant, inching closer to the blushing analyst. Mobius turns his head to face him, looking the variant up and down. He then locks eyes with Loki and says, “Yes, it is.”
If Loki wanted to have the upper hand then why not let him? It was the only way to subdue the God of Mischief. The grin disappears from the variant’s face as he silently finishes putting on the jumpsuit.
When they get off the lift they nearly bump into a hunter. Fortunately the man has his nose in a tempad and barely notices the variant. Mobius picked a good day to break the rules. Everyone was busy dealing with a new Kang variant. Mobius was supposed to be working on the case too but he supposed taking a few hours off wouldn't hurt anyone. The variant didn't seem all that dangerous anyway.
They head into the time theatre and Mobius puts on the new training video. “This should answer your questions,” says Mobius sitting down and gesturing for the variant to do the same. Loki looks at him incredulously but obliges. Mobius immediately picks up that this variant is a lot more patient and submissive. Sakaar really did a number on him.
The training video briefly explains the history of the TVA before cutting to an image of Loki- Mobius's Loki. The analyst feels a pang in his heart, a dull and familiar ache. The video then explains how Loki and Sylvie killed He Who Remains and how Loki then replaced the temporal loom to give everyone free will. The video ends, plunging the room into silence.
“What now? Are you hoping I'll fall for you too so you can get your happily ever after?” asks Loki, attempting to sound scornful again but Mobius hears a hint of sympathy in his voice.
“No. I'm going to give you a home on a timeline where you don't exist,” says Mobius, “Because every timeline deserves a Loki and every Loki deserves a second chance.”
The variant steels himself against the affectionate words, stiffening. Mobius opens a time-door.
“On the other side is Asgard. Give yourself a new name and get yourself a place to stay. I can provide you with currency to get by for a while but you'll have to earn your living,” says Mobius, placing a small sack on the table.
Loki looks inside to find it full of gold and silver coins. “What do you want in return?” asks Loki.
Mobius shakes his head saying, “I just want you to be happy.”
Loki shakes his head back at him. “That can't be it." He smiles coyly, continuing, "Perhaps you want to see if you're worthy of holding old Mjolnir, or maybe you want to prune me with your special time-stick,” teases Loki.
Mobius's breath hitches in surprise. He laughs to cover it up. “This isn't Sakaar, Loki. You're safe now,” says Mobius trying to hide his grief at having to say goodbye again.
Loki stares at the orange portal and then takes a step towards it. He falters and turns back to face the analyst. “Come with me, Mobius,” he says, “You said you've worked for the TVA for centuries. You deserve to rest, don't you?”
Mobius's heart aches at the thought. Starting a new life with Loki on an Asgard that never sees Ragnarok? But he's soon overcome with guilt. What right does he have to be happy while the love of his life spends eternity all alone?
The orange portal turns green. Mobius's eyes light up.
He steps through, pulling the variant with him. A beautiful expanse of green fields stretches out before them. The sun glows green for a brief second. Then a green butterfly lands on Mobius's nose before it flutters away to sit on the variant's head.
“He speaks to me,” says the variant, his eyes widening with surprise. Mobius faces the variant, a spark of hope burning a hole in his chest. Then the variant closes his eyes, pressing his fingers to his temples. He looks up at Mobius.
“My Mobius. It's me!” exclaims Loki pulling the analyst towards him in a tight hug.
“Are you my Loki?” asks Mobius, too scared to believe it.
“Mobius, it's me,” says Loki pulling away, “I've made it so that the variant and I can exchange our consciousness from time to time. He guards the multiverse for now so I can be with you. I knew that variant had potential!”
Mobius sees it all now, why he felt so strongly that he must help that particular variant. It was Loki influencing his mind. All of it part of the god's final scheme to be with his Mobius again.
He looks into Loki’s eyes and knows that the mind behind them is the one he fell for. They're the same blue eyes but kinder and wiser, broken and full of yearning.
“My Loki,” says Mobius and presses their lips together in a gentle kiss full of eternal love. Loki places his hands on Mobius's face, kissing him back. The kiss feels as light as innocence, as heavy as grief, and as powerful as passion. Mobius strokes the god's cheekbone with his thumb, his free hand resting on the god's hip.
“I love you, Loki.”
“I love you too, Mobius. For all time, always.”