“Loki, did you find those files I asked for?” Mobius asked, approaching her desk where Loki had her feet kicked up. She was flipping through Mobius’s jet ski magazine again when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Of course,” She feigned offence, “when do I ever not do as you ask, darling?” She smiled coyly at Mobius.
“Well, when I ask you not to put your feet on my desk,” She swatted Loki’s leg gently, then took the folder Loki offered.
Their current assignment was rather dull, in Loki’s opinion, so she’d decided to take the liberty of fabricating a little evidence, just to keep things interesting.
Loki sat back in her chair, one leg crossed over the other, her ankle was just brushing the hem of Mobius’s trousers. She watched Mobius analyze the file, searching for any hint of suspicion. Mobius pushed a silver lock of hair away from her face, then placed the folder back on the desk. Loki smiled innocently.
“Looks like we’re taking a trip to Cali.” She’d taken the bait. Mobius finished the last sip of coffee from her orange mug, leaving a faint lipstick smudge on the edge. Loki’s eyes lingered there a little too long before she finished her own mug. She was ushered along by a gentle kick from Mobius in her black Mary Jane’s. The quick clicks of Loki’s heels against the floor always made Mobius roll her eyes. Loki had somehow managed to get her hands on a pair of black heels, as well as a TVA uniform skirt that was just a couple inches shorter than normal, ending at her mid thigh.
Loki followed Mobius through a labyrinth of dimly lit hallways, past murals of TVA history and posters of Miss Minutes giving advice to the loyal workforce.
“We won’t need to pick up much gear, it’s been a while since the variant was spotted in this location.” Mobius hit the button for the correct floor as they got in the elevator. “We’ll just look around and try to figure out where they’ve gone.”
“Can I have my daggers?”
“What? No. Weren’t you listening? You won’t need them, and B-15 still doesn’t exactly trust you.”
“Oh come on, Mobius!” Loki nudged Mobius with her elbow.
“No! Also, can’t you just conjure some with magic?”
“Yes, but I like the ones that have been confiscated.”
“Loki, you have a habit of stabbing people. We can’t let you walk around with knives.”
“That seems unfair, the hunters could prune anyone at any moment, it’s the same thing!”
“No it’s not! Don’t worry, your daggers are safe.”
“Well they’d be safer with me.”
“I’m sure they would be.”
***
Loki had had enough of the TVA, and she’d only been there a few weeks. Or a few months? She understood now what Mobius had meant when they first met, about time moving differently here.
Perhaps it was because Mobius had never had a life on the timeline, but she seemed content to remain faithful to her job, tucked away in this strange corner of time. Loki sometimes wondered if the TVA had any entrances or exits that didn’t involve the use of a TemPad. She had never seen any natural light while inside the organization, and she was curious about what she might encounter outside if she did find the way out.
Mobius seemed immune to such curiosities, and Loki didn’t understand it at all. She leaned her shoulder on the locker next to where Mobius was gathering her things, watching as she put on her suit jacket and straightened the cuffs as a habit. She then tied her hair up in a ponytail, the curled ends bouncing against the collar of her coat. Loki had seen the routine before, and knew that with a nod of her head, Mobius would usher them through a time door, and onto the timeline where they did their work.
The salt air on the warm breeze fluttered the strands of her hair as she stepped out of the time door. She inhaled, and began to feel a tingle at the tips of her fingers as her magic returned to her.
The pair was standing on a beach, in the shade of a pier that was densely populated with tiny, neat, white and blue houses. Loki removed her heels, which had sunk deep into the sand, and hid them away with magic so that she wouldn’t have to carry them.
“Hey, could you be a little more inconspicuous with the magic, Loki?” Mobius looked around the beach, no one was paying any attention to them at all. “Actually, could you take mine too?”
Loki rolled her eyes, but accepted anyway. If anything here was conspicuous, it was their outfits. With a flick of her hand and a flash of green light, they were adorned in appropriate beach attire. Mobius looked down to find herself wearing flip flops, brown cargo shorts, and a white tank top with an open floral shirt on top. Probably what she would’ve picked for herself. She looked up at Loki, who looked truly like a god in her conjured clothing. She wore an emerald green dress, low cut with thin straps. The flowy skirt ended a couple inches above her knees. With all her height and pale skin and black hair, she was hard to look away from. The curves of her shoulders and collarbones seemed to reflect a gentle light, even in the shade of the pier. Mobius’ eyes followed the lines of the god’s neck up to her face, over her lips and straight nose, up to her eyes which were looking down and darkened by makeup.
Mobius sighed gently, causing Loki to look up, her piercing green eyes staring into Mobius’s. Loki smiled gently at her, the end of her right eyebrow raising slightly higher in the middle than that of the left. Mobius forgot what she was going to say.
“Shall we?” Loki began to walk away, but Mobius caught up and grabbed her arm. At first she thought the dress was a little much, it would draw attention to them, but with another glance at the soft looking fabric, she decided she didn’t care.
“Let's go.” She placed a hand on Loki’s back to guide her toward the boardwalk on their left.
***
“Mobius, this hardly seems like a priority.” Loki looked around distastefully at the hordes of people waiting around for their orders.
“Hey, this area has a lot of foot traffic, it makes sense to look for clues of the variant here.” She looked around for the first time in a couple of minutes.
“Right, of course.” Loki replied.
“And, we need fuel to stay sharp. You can’t blame a gal for needing a snack.” Mobius shrugged.
“No, certainly not.” Loki mocked. She watched Mobius’s face brighten when the cracker-jack man called her name, holding out two small bags of the caramel popcorn. Mobius handed a bag to Loki and dug in. They continued down the boardwalk.
“Well, what do you think?” Mobius bumped her shoulder into Loki’s arm. Loki realized she hadn’t tried it yet. She took a bite and made a bit of a show of pondering whether she liked it.
“It’s very sweet.”
“Well that’s the point. It’s the perfect mix of salty popcorn and sweet caramel.”
“I like it.”
“Do you? You’re not eating it.”
Loki rolled her eyes and threw another handful into her mouth.
Occasionally Mobius remembered to fake looking around for evidence of the variant, but Loki knew she wasn’t paying attention. Loki didn’t even know what Mobius was looking for. The variant had never been here, but the only way to get Mobius out of the TVA was for their mission, so she’d enlisted the help of Casey, who’d reluctantly helped her alter the variant’s file. This was a vacation for Mobius. Loki would tell her eventually. Or she’d figure it out. It didn’t matter really.
“Seen anything that might help us find the variant?” Mobius asked between bites. “I haven’t seen anything.”
“Oh, me neither, though I don’t really know what we’re looking for.”
“Anything out of the ordinary.”
“Mobius, I don’t exactly know what ‘ordinary’ is for this place.”
“Come on, I know you know more than you let on. It’s kinda your thing. Also, you once managed to execute an intricate plane heist! I know you know a thing or two about Midgard.”
“Not this again.”
“You were D.B. Cooper!”
Loki sighed. “I am never living this down.”
“Never. Any signs of the variant yet?”
“No, but you do have cracker-jack on your chin.” Loki reached up and brushed it off with her thumb, causing Mobius’s cheeks to flush red.
“Oh sure, when it comes to that you’re suddenly observant.”
They continued down the boardwalk, listening to the sound of the waves crashing to the shore and the gulls overhead. When their hands were finally free from the cracker-jack containers, Loki laced her fingers through Mobius’s. Mobius didn’t even pause her sentence, she only smiled faintly. The gesture felt so natural, like her hand was made to fit perfectly into Loki’s.
The boardwalk took them to the end of the main beach and into a bay area cluttered with boats and other watercraft. Mobius walked a little faster as she searched the docks for jet skis.
“Oh! Loki look at this,” she pointed at one bobbing in the water, “This is a Jet Ski Ultra 310. It’s new now, but it sure stands the test of time.” She stared at with admiration, hands on her hips. “A beautiful union of form and function.” She whispered.
Loki smiled, grabbing Mobius by the elbow and dragging her along. She brought her to the door of watercraft rental place, holding it open and guiding her inside.
“What are we doing here? Do you think the variant was here?”
“No, I just thought you might want to check this out.”
“Hey Loki, we’re still here on a mission, we can’t just ignore that and… rent a jet ski? Loki what’s going on?”
The man behind the counter had handed Loki a set of keys, the then reached up to the wall behind him and handed her two life jackets. She gave one to Mobius and then placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Mobius, the variant was never here, I just wanted to take you somewhere nice, give you an experience I know you’ve always wanted.”
“Loki, we have work to do-“
“Mobius, please. You deserve this.”
She deliberated for a moment, then sighed. “Yeah, I do.”
She saw the jet skis through the glass door at the back of the shop, walking past Loki to get a better look. She paused in the doorway to admire them.
“Wow.”
The pair stepped on to the dock, and with a green flash their outfits changed again. Mobius’s cargos had been replaced with blue and green patterned board shorts, and her shirt with a blue bikini top. Loki’s dress transformed into an emerald green bikini top and a black mini skirt, and her hair was suddenly up in a ponytail, but it was still long enough to cascade over her shoulders.
Mobius however, wanted to feel the wind through her hair, so she untied it and ran her fingers through the roots.
Loki was mesmerized for a moment by the scene before her, the beautiful woman in the deepening twilight. Mobius noticed, and turned to her, eyes soft but exited at the same time. She stepped closer, placing her hand gently on the nape of Loki’s neck.
“Thank you, Loki.” She whispered. Tilting her head up, she pressed her lips softly to Loki’s, letting her other hand find her waist and pulling her closer. When they separated, Loki smiled.
“You’re welcome, Love. Now c’mon, let’s try this.”
Mobius was a natural. The jet ski zoomed along at top speeds. Mobius shouted with excitement, then settled in to enjoy the ride. Loki rested her chin on Mobius’s shoulder, her arms wrapped tight around her waist. Splashes from the waves sprayed their faces, stinging their eyes. The waves were calm, and the sun was setting. They made their way along the coast. Watching couples lounging and children playing in the water.
“Look, there!” Mobius pointed to the horizon, where a pod of dolphins cheerfully leapt out of the water.
Mobius closed her eyes and inhaled, committing the moment to memory. The wind in her hair, the sunset on her face, and best of all Loki’s chest pressed against her back. Or maybe the best was that she was riding a jet ski. She couldn’t decide. She slowed the jet ski to a stop, they were facing the sinking sun. She turned in her seat to face Loki, whose face and hair looked wind blown, and gently brushed her fingertips over Loki’s knee.
Loki raised an eyebrow, silently asking why they had stopped. Mobius didn’t respond, instead she maneuvered her legs around so they were both on one side of the jet ski. She hugged Loki with one arm and sunk in to her, letting her cheek rest on Loki’s chest. Loki silently wrapped her arms around Mobius’ shoulders, then gently kissed the top of her head. The jet ski drifted with the waves as the women watched the sun dip below the horizon, taking the day’s light with it, and plunging them into a deep blue evening.
Without a word, Mobius turned back around and started the engine. The ride back was silent, the beaches now free of any excited children. The calm of the bay welcomed them, they were the last people out on the water. Mobius brought the jet ski up to the dock and Loki tied it in place.
The jet ski bobbed as Loki climbed off, then turned around to offer her hand to Mobius. The warm glow of the rental shop light illuminated their faces, reminiscent of the dimness of the TVA hallways. It felt familiar and entirely new all at once.
“Are you hungry?” Loki asked as though the question was spontaneous.
“Yeah, I could eat.” Mobius shrugged. She actually was pretty hungry. The clicks of their life jacket buckles unclipping echoed across the bay.
“Perfect, I know just the place.” Loki rested her hands on Mobius’ waist. “But first…”
She threw Mobius off the dock, all Mobius managed to say before she hit the water was half of Loki’s name, cut off once her head was submerged. A moment later she pooped back up, wiping water from her eyes and smoothing her hair.
Loki laughed, jumped high into the air, then came down in the water right next to Mobius, making the biggest splash possible and soaking Mobius again.
Mobius chuckled faintly, “God of mischief.”
Loki’s wet black hair shone in the dim light, her smile wide as she grabbed on to the ladder on the dock with one hand, and pulled Mobius in with the other.
Loki was happy like she’d never been before. She was loved by a woman so perfect for her, it seemed as though they were made for each other.
Loki could feel the goose bumps on Mobius’ arms, and thought of the fact that no such thing would ever happen to her. The reminder of her frost giant heritage stung for a moment, but she shook the feeling.
She looked at Mobius, at her blue eyes and playful smile. She would do anything for this woman. She leaned in slowly and kissed her. Sweetly. Lovingly. Then pulled away.
“Let’s get you out of the cold.” She pulled them both up out of the water, surprising Mobius with her strength. Water dripped off them, leaving puddles on the dock. In an instant, they were both dry, Loki having used her magic. She also conjured a blanket around their shoulders to ward off the cold.
“So you’d mentioned food…” Mobius trailed off in a question.
“Ah, yes, right this way, Love.”
On a small hill overlooking the ocean, stood an elegant white gazebo. Strings of twinkling lights tangled in the beams of the ceiling illuminated a table hosting a variety of foods Mobius liked, as well as some asgardian delicacies.
Mobius began walking towards the gazebo, but Loki stopped.
“Mobius, wait.” Loki grabbed her hand and spun her around in another flash of green light.
“Really? Again?”
Loki was now wearing a low cut, floor length, shimmering green gown, her hair done elegantly and held with gold pins, and her wrists and neck adorned with both silver and gold jewelry. Mobius was also in a long gown, hers was of a beautiful sunset orange colour, and on her shoulders rested a pristine white fur wrap. On her left hand, she noticed a ring set with diamonds and a green stone. She glanced up at Loki who was smiling slyly.
“Do you like it? I thought it was a nice touch.”
“I love it.”
“I love you.”
They kissed again, barely able to contain their smiles, then, hand in hand went to enjoy their evening by the sea.