The Talk
Chapter 33: The Talk
Kevin had mentioned having a movie night with dinner and Loki, anxious that this might be the last night he spent with his family was anxious to make any last memories he could he agreed immediately.
"There's a movie Sean told me about not to long ago that he liked when he was younger, but before I came into the picture. It's called Night at the Museum. What do you two think?" He asked as they all settled down on the comfy couch in the living room and Mobius snagged the remote.
Kevin's eyes lit up again. "I remember that movie! It's been ages since I've seen it, but it's good. It's funny. I think you would like it cause it's got some smart jokes in there to."
"It's lighthearted." Mobius said in agreement. He made quick work of calling up the movie and they all settled in to watch.
Loki did find very quickly that he did like the movie. The father in the movie did kind of irritate him in the beginning, but he could see there was a want to try so it didn't last long. He was very charmed by the little men. Jebediah and Octavian. "Jeb kind of reminds of you. With that cute little mustache. His eyes kind of remind me of yours to." He whispered to Mobius. Apparently not quiet enough though.
Kevin giggled next to them. "He's right dad. He does kind of look like you."
Mobius laughed just laughed at both of them and shook his head as he pressed a kiss to Loki's cheek.
***
After the movie Kevin helped both of them clean up the kitchen and do the dishes before he headed up to his room for the evening. Once he was safely in his room and his door was closed he carved twin protections runes into the wall on either side of the door. He poured some Seidr into both of them, but hid the green glow from Kevin with a small illusion. No one save him Mobius, Kevin and himself would be able to get into the room. There were no windows to worry about save the skylight, but that was already protected. They would not harm his son.
Once that was done he found Mobius waiting for him in the backyard on the love seat they had as part of the outdoor furniture set they had gotten so long ago. He had a cup of tea waiting for him and once he sat down and curled up next to him he wrapped a comfortable weighted blanket around both their shoulders. Because of his strength he didn't feel the weight to much, but he could feel it and it had the same effect. "I don't think I can do this." He whispered at last.
Mobius wrapped an arm around him under the blanket while the other one took the hand that wasn't holding the cup of tea. "We can do it together. I'll be right here."
That wasn't what Loki was afraid of and Mobius knew that, but he wasn't going to even acknowledge that Loki might be taken from him was an option or a possibility for a way that this so called talk was going to end.
While they waited for their guest to show Mobius spoke quietly about some of the funnier adventures they had had together at the TVA. Managing to draw small laughs from Loki every now and then despite the nerves of what was coming. All that work to get him relaxed went out the window though when from the backyard they heard someone knocking on the front door. He could feel his whole body tense back up. His tea had been finished a little while ago and his hands instinctively gripped at Mobius's shirt.
Mobius reached up and gently coaxed Loki's hands to let go of his shirt. It took a moment or two, but finally he was able to stand. "I'll got get him. You wait right here. I promise I'm coming back. I swear to you." Loki opened his mouth to protest, but Mobius was already walking toward the gate on the side of the house that lead to the front yard.
Mobius unlocked the gate and pushed it open. "Mr. Stark."
Tony turned to see Mobius standing off to the side and still tried for friendly wave. "Hey. Mobius right?"
Mobius gave him an unimpressed look. "I think we'll skip the pleasantries. Your being here is deeply upsetting for my husband and I would rather not make a huge production out of this. Ask your questions and then I'll see you out."
Tony faltered a little, but finally he just gave a nod. "Alright."
Mobius waved him over and once Tony was through the gate he locked it back up before he lead the way over to where Loki was seated. He reclaimed the spot next to him and Loki immediately curled back into his side as he gave Tony a very wary and distrusting look.
Tony a bit awkwardly settled down in one of the chairs across from them and crossed one leg over the other.
A very tense silence hung in the air between all three of them for a couple long minutes. All three of them waiting for one another to make the first move.
"So...how did you fake your death this time?" Tony asked. His tone light and curious.
"I didn't." Loki said quietly. "The Loki that you knew is dead. He died on the Statesman just as Thor likely told you. His neck snapped by Thanos."
"What do you mean the Loki I know?" Tony asked as he leaned forward. Possiblities already starting to spring up in his head.
Mobius looked to Loki. "I think it better if we just start from the beginning sweetheart."
Loki scoffed as he glared over at Tony. "He would never keep his mouth shut long enough for me to get through all of it. He would be asking questions left and right."
"I can be quiet you know." Tony chimed in from his chair. "I could just write down my questions and ask them afterwards."
Loki gave him a doubtful look. "Can you keep quiet? You tend to be quite the chatterbox. Most variants of you are."
Tony's eyes went wide and he was about to ask what a variant was, but he saw the test that it was and he kept quiet.
Loki sighed. "Fine."
Tony started to pull out his phone, but it was quickly called to Loki's hand stuffed in a pocket dimension. "No Tech. You're not going to use this as a cover to call in the other's."
Tony gave him a slightly annoyed look. "Then what am I supposed to use to write down my questions? I already told you I'm not calling in the other's."
"And I've already made it more than clear that I don't trust at all. I won't believe you until I wake up tomorrow in my own bed next to my husband free and allowed to make breakfast for my son if I so choose." He snapped back.
Tony was about to say something more, but he cried out in surprise as something kind of heavy hit his face rather hard. "Ow. What the hell? Where's that southern hospitality I hear so much about?" He grumbled as he looked down to whatever had landed in his lap and found a mini notebook with a good pen tucked into it's spirals.
"Southern hospitality only pertains to guests and guests are people you invite." Mobius said with a charming little smile. "Also Ohio isn't actually part of south it's part of the Midwest."
"I was invited though." Tony said petulantly.
Loki glared at him. "Like I had a choice right? Like you would have just taken no for an anwer and left me alone. I assure you it was not willingly. The guns, arrows and hammers were just hidden in the trees."
Tony threw his hands up, but he realized this argument was going nowhere so he relented and pointedly flipped open to the first page of the notebook.
Loki rolled his eyes, but started in an explanation. "I don't know when this timeline branched from the Sacred Timeline, but you weren't supposed to have defeated Thanos in Wakanda and for a long time that was the only way things could go. He would have succeeded in turning half of everything to dust. You would have found a way to go back in time, collect the stones temporarily and the snap would be reversed. You would have sacrificed yourself to do so."
Tony was already scribbling furiously in his notebook and twice he had started to open his mouth, but then would seem to think better of it and stick to writing things down.
"During that time heist when one of the groups of your team came back to the 2012 invasion to collect the mind stone and the space stone, the tesseract, things turned into a mess. The Tesseract wound up getting knocked out of it's case and right over to me. I had just been packaged up nicely to be put in front of Asgard's throne for sentencing, so I bent down, picked it up and disappeared with it. That's where the TVA got me." He gestured for Mobius to take over.
Mobius started in on the beefy explanation about the Time Variance Authority. What they had originally stood for. The propoganda he had ate up and believed in and lived by for so long. Explained what Pruning was and how he thought that things were just wiped out of existence. He explained what Variants were.
He explained about having been assigned to another Loki's case and the flash of brilliance he had had in recruiting a Loki of his own at this part of the story Loki actually did relax just a little. He let himself close his eyes as he remembered the first time he saw Mobius. His lips twitched a little. "I threatened to burn it all down."
Mobius laughed at that as he pressed a kiss to his forehead. "And I told you I would take you to my desk. That you could start there."
Tony just blinked at the entirety of the exchange in dumbfounded fascination. Was this really the same guy that had tore through New York with a puffed up chest and a God complex? Though he supposed that didn't really count when he wasn't him. Maybe this is what he used to be like. Or maybe this was just a being who had lived a long, hard life like himself and was just wanted to worry about his kids grades instead of interplanetary warfare.
Mobius continued with the story. About Loki finding out about hiding in apocolypses, Loki going with Sylvie, finding him and Sylvie again. Loki took over at that point for a little while as he explained about the time keepers not being real. About Mobius being a variant himself who had just had his memories locked away by the TVA, but he had to stop and let Mobius take over as he started to reach the part where they both ended up in the void. His hands clutching to Mobius just a little tighter as he remembered that very first time Mobius was pruned right in front of him.
He only took back over when it came time to explain about the end of time and the citadel and Kang. The fear that man had caused him and as they both spoke he saw Tony occasionally write down questions, but then cross another off as if it had finally been answered. He was hanging onto every word.
They then explained about the loom and how it was responsible for weaving the sacred timeline and the absolute headache (understatement really) it had been to fix it so that it would be able to handle multiple timelines and leave room for expansion.
When the story finally drew to a close silence hung between them once more. Loki was focusing on some breathing excercises and reminding himself that it was over and Mobius was right here and he wasn't going anywhere.
Mobius rubbed small circles on Loki's back as he looked over to Stark with a challenging expression. "Any questions?"
Tony flipped through everything he had written down, but he just shook his head. "I...no. I don't think so." He said in a distracted voice as he processed his everything he had been told. "Well yeah actually I do. Can I-"
"Loki will tell Thor when he is ready. He knows what he's going through, but Loki has been through more and he's..." Mobius sighed. "He's fragile."
"Hey..." Loki said weakly from beside Mobius.
"I'm sorry kitten, but it's true." He murmured before he looked back over to Tony. "If you have nothing more to say and you truly did just want to talk then prove it. Get up and leave."
Tony raised his hands as he set aside the notebook and stood. "One, I need my phone back so that I can call my daughter later. Two, I know your other son lives in New York. Don't be so afraid to visit the city from now on. I'll make sure you're left alone, but...could I call on you? From time to time? If I ever have a serious enough problem?"
Loki gave him a very, very long look. Assessing the truth of that request before he finally pulled Tony's phone from a pocket dimension and held it out to him. "If you ever need me, send me a prayer. I will consider answering if you tell me what is going on. I will hear it."
Tony pulled a small face as he took his phone back. "Not really...the praying type. Could I just like...have a phone number?"
Loki shook his head. "Prayer is not so different from sending a text Stark, just with a little more intent. I'll know then that you truly are desperate if you have resorted to prayer."
Tony sighed. "Fair enough. Alright...well...you two have a good evening."
Loki gave a wave before watched him go. Letting himself out the gate. Only once he heard a car drive off did he finally relax just a little.
"All things considered...that didn't go to bad." Mobius said at last.
Loki shook his head. "No, but the real test will be if I'm still here in the morning...let's go inside." He said as he gave an uneasy look around their yard.
Mobius nodded and stood. Letting the blanket fall fully on Loki as he stood as well. He followed Mobius as he went over and locked the gate before they headed inside for the evening.