Chapter 4
After what seemed like an eternity of staring at Mobius's terrifyingly silent face, a portal opened behind Loki's back and he heard the familiar steps.
Bea knelt down next to Loki and Mobius, checking the fallen man's pulse.
A moment later, Loki was pulled aside and Mobius was attended to by medics.
The only thing the black-haired god remembered doing was incoherently reporting that they had kept two variants on the roof of the building.
"That machine that shot Mobius is there too." - He added after a moment of thought, grabbing Bea's wrist before she moved away to go to the roof.
She just gave him a brief grateful nod and then turned to give orders.
They had to escape quickly, because someone must have heard the sounds of a fight or gunshots, and they couldn't get caught.
When the analyst was taken on a stretcher and taken to the time door, Loki followed them without a word.
After a few minutes, everything was cleaned up and the prisoners were secured. The hunter-in-chief ordered them to return, and so they all did. And a calm but lively night could reign over this city in this universe again.
However, no one noticed that downstairs, near the garbage cans, between pieces of bricks, there was a broken bracelet that was supposed to prevent the agents from being detected in this timeline. It was a technology that had still not been invented in this day and age, but no one at TVA in the heat of the moment had ever noticed it missing from the wounded agent's wrist.
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Loki paced nervously, on the verge of panic, around the waiting room in the medical ward at TVA. Bea was called there by a worried receptionist who, after repeating for the tenth time that he had not yet received an update on the condition of Agent Mobius, when asked by the worried god, thought that he would tear his head off.
Even though Loki proved his intentions were good, he still worried other TVA employees in his state.
"Why don't you sit down? It's not even about you anymore, it's about the fact that you're making me feel dizzy." - Bea informed the god, hoping that he would finally listen to her.
Loki looked at her from the corner of his eye, and then glanced at the receptionist, who immediately, seeing his eyes on him, hid behind one of the files, spreading it in front of him, hoping that if he was not seen, he would not be torn apart like a victim.
The dark haired man finally sat down, still in his dirty outfit, on one of the chairs. He spread his legs and sighed.
The huntress just looked at him, one eyebrow raised, as he refocused his predatory gaze on the receptionist.
"Loki!" - She snapped her fingers in his face so that he would pay attention to her.
God looked at her, anyone would probably shrink under his gaze at that moment, but Bea had dealt with worse.
"O.B. is already working out what the machine is and TVA medics are working on Mobius, so stop scaring the poor workers and calm down." - She scolded him.
Behind them, the door suddenly opened, leading to the part of the ward where Mobius was taken, as if saving Bea from further dealing with the god.
A short woman with warm eyes and dark brown hair tied in a neat bun on her head stood in the doorway. She was wearing a medic's outfit and had a stethoscope around her neck.
"Are you here for Agent Mobius M. Mobius?" - She asked calmly. To which Loki responded by suddenly jumping to his feet.
"Yes, what about him? Is he alright?" - He immediately asked, looking at someone who could finally tell him something about his friend's condition.
She just smiled in response - "He's stable and luckily didn't suffer any serious injuries. In fact, surprisingly, he didn't get any at all, which I wouldn't expect from someone who fell several stories down." - She said - "If you want, you can see him." - She added.
"Yes please." - Said Bea, grabbing Loki's arm so that he wouldn't run somewhere on his own.
The kind doctor turned and led them back from where she had come.
When the door closed, the receptionist just looked out from behind the briefcase and then breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw that the terrifying god was gone.
We still don't know how this machine could have affected Agent Mobius. However, his life is not in immediate danger. And the technician is already working to find out what this machine was for. Mobius will be able to be discharged once he wakes up and is fine. However, in this case, I would suggest that he come to visits during which we will check his health." - She explained on the way.
Loki listened to her like a mantra, but Bea, hearing that Mobius would have to 'come for checkups', only groaned in her mind and muttered something about the fact that she now had two children to look after.
They finally reached the room where Mobius was lying and Loki immediately rushed in.
The doctor just chuckled lightly - "There's a button you press if something happens or he starts waking up, okay? I'll discuss the rest of the results with Bea, and you can deal with that with your husband." - She winked, closing the door.
Loki didn't even have time to protest that he wasn't his husband. As he sat down on the stool next to the bed and focused his attention on Mobius' pale face.
Here, lying in front of him in the hospital bed, he looked so sickly.
Or maybe Loki's mind was just playing tricks on him because the doctor said Mobius was fine.
No matter what it was, Loki grabbed Mobius's hand and laid his tired head on the edge of the bed so that he could still look at his mortal's face.
All of this stress and tiredness must have gotten to him because before he even realized it he fell asleep.
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He only woke up some time later when someone was moving around. When he opened his sleepy eyes, he noticed that it was the doctor from earlier.
Loki rose to a sitting position, only now noticing the blanket that someone had thrown over him while he was sleeping.
Loki rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
His eyes fell on the woman who was standing near the monitors, writing something down.
Seeing that he was awake, she looked at him and smiled.
"Welcome to the world of the living."
"Yes, yes, good morning..." - He greeted, and then, to his embarrassment, he yawned.
"You know, at first I thought you were already a couple or something, but Bea explained everything to me. I was about to scold Mobius and be offended that I wasn't invited to your wedding." - She said half jokingly, half seriously, looking again at the monitors.
All Loki could think about was where did she get such conclusions? It was true that he was worried about Mobius and he might have been a little irrational because of it. He cared about him, loved spending time with him and trusted him implicitly! But they were not a couple!
“...But it would be nice, right?” - Loki thought suddenly, and before he even realized it, that warmth in his chest had reappeared.
As he reworded it in his mind, he suddenly realized that maybe I actually felt something towards the man lying on the bed.
Just the thought made him turn red as a beet.
However, the doctor, unaware of his sudden revelation, continued - "How do you even know him? I mean, Mobius can be friends with almost anyone and all, but he's never let anyone this close to him." - She said finally looking at Loki with her hazel eyes.
Loki, unable to express himself in any way now, said - "...Somehow."
Loki was about to ask how she even knew Mobius when the man in question started stirring on the bed.
"Finally, sleeping beauty wakes up." - She joked friendly behind Loki's back.
The black-haired god leaned over Mobius, blocking the waking man's entire field of vision.
As for Mobius, he didn't complain that the first thing he saw right after waking up was Loki's cute face.
"..Loki?"
"It's me." - He said with a goofy smile that he was recognized.
Mobius stretched out his hand slightly and Loki immediately grabbed it.
"It's okay, we're in TVA." - Loki reassured him.
"More specifically, in the medical ward." - The doctor interjected, saying that this was the perfect moment to remind them of her presence.
This made Mobius lift his head slightly and turn his eyes to her, and when he saw her he just fell headfirst back onto the pillow and sighed in defeat.
"Grunting and groaning won't help you." - She reprimanded, taking the flashlight from her front shirt pocket. Then she held his eyelids and looked into both eyes. Then she told him to follow the turned off flashlight with his eyes, and then she told him to move his legs and arms.
Finally, after all those exams, she was satisfied enough - "I guess you're perfectly fine for someone who fell off a building." - She commented - "How are you feeling overall?"
"I'm sore and I feel a little weird, but it's okay,... wait, did I fall off a building?" - He suddenly realized what she said.
"A whole eight floors down." - She commented dryly. Suddenly she became serious - "Don't you remember?"
Mobius sat on the bed and scratched his head with his free hand - "Honestly no, the only thing I remember is that Loki and I were on the roof of this building and there was a little commotion and then a flash and nothing." - He described.
"That's basically what happened in a nutshell." - Loki said, drawing attention back to himself - "When I found you downstairs, you were already unconscious."
Mobius looked at his friend's worried expression and squeezed the hand he was still holding in a comforting gesture.
The doctor just looked at them in disbelief, because Bea said they weren't together, the dark-haired man denied it too, and then they stared at each other like lovers. Seeing this behavior, she couldn't help herself so she blurted out - "Are you sure you're not together?"
The two men looked at her as she spoke, and as her words became embedded in their brains, their faces turned red and they immediately began to protest.
But she only drew their attention to their still intertwined hands.
They too, as if noticing it only now, immediately let go, both of them not looking into each other's eyes.
The woman just looked at the ceiling as if praying to an invisible deity, then decided it was time to introduce herself to Loki - "I don't think I've introduced myself before, but my name is Kate." - She said friendly.
"I am Loki." - He introduced himself politely.
"I know." - She smiled warmly - "And it's not from you, Mobius." - She reprimanded - "The only time you come here is when you're injured or sick! Isn't it worth visiting an old friend?"
"Friend?" - Loki asked curiously.
Mobius slightly embarrassed - "You see K11, I mean Kate, now, right?" - He asked for confirmation and received a slight nod in return - "We used to work in the field, she was one of our unit. I worked with Ravonna in pairs, but we also worked with K11 very often. Before they withdrew me, she changed jobs and resigned to become a medic. " - He explained.
"Yeah, you're lucky Mobius because I was about to tell you off for not inviting me to your wedding." - She repeated again, because the last time she said it the analyst was still unconscious.
"...Wedding?!" - Before he made a sound as if he was choking on air alone. - "What the hell are you talking about?" - He asked more calmly.
Kate just shrugged with an all-knowing smile, but didn't answer. Winkling knowingly at Loki, who quickly looked away in embarrassment.
Mobius looked between the two, completely clueless as to what was going on.
Finally gathering her professionalism again, she said - "We'll be able to discharge you soon and you'll go rest in your own bed." - Seeing that he wanted to protest - "At least for today, and Loki will watch over you, you'll do it, right?" - She asked the god, who nodded in agreement with a serious face.
To this Mobius only muttered under his breath - "Traitor." - But Loki pretended not to hear it.
"Well, of course you have to come for medical check-ups, if you don't do it, I'll come to your place to examine you, I know where you live.”-The last sentence it sounded like a bit of a threat for agent. - “ If something happens, feel free to come, ... anything else?" - She added to herself after a while, thinking for a moment - "No, okay, I guess that's all for now. You can ask Loki or Bea for details. I'll bring the discharge note soon." - She said, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
The moment she left, there was complete silence in the room, which worried Mobius a little. Because his partner really couldn't keep still most of the time.
"Lokes, are you okay?" - He asked quietly, looking at the god sitting on the table next to his bed.
The black-haired man looked at him - "I guess I should ask you about that."
Mobius smiled slightly at Loki - "You know that if there's something on your mind you can tell me? I wasn't the only one who went through the wringer today." - He joked at the end, which earned a slight lift of the corner of the black-haired man's mouth.
"Yes, I know." - Loki said quietly, playing with Mobius' sleeve.
There was no further conversation between them, but the doctor soon came back with a discharge note and instructions for the analyst not to overwork himself and to take care of himself.
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And that's how they ended up here in the old Mobius quarters at TVA.
After Loki helped Mobius onto the couch, he suggested that Loki go take a shower since he was still wearing his mission clothes.
Loki quickly agreed and said he would be back in a moment.
Now that Loki had just entered the bathroom, Mobius could finally take a moment to comprehend what had happened.
Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he leaned against the headrest of the couch and looked at the ceiling.
It was hard for him to understand what exactly happened and how he felt about it.
The man stretched his right hand above his head to take a closer look at it. Ever since he woke up, he felt strange, and his hands, especially the right one, were tingling strangely.
“In fact, everything that has happened in recent days is strange.” - He thought, putting his hand back on the couch.
After sitting in silence alone with his thoughts for a while, Mobius decided that he was actually thirsty.
So he got up from the couch and went to the small kitchen in his apartment to pour himself a glass of water from the tap.
When he held the glass under the tap and was about to turn it on, something strange happened.
Instead of turning on the tap, the handle was in Mobius's hand, and the water was now pouring out in a large stream, already pouring from the overflowing glass into the sink.
The man stared at the faucet handle in his hand for a moment, as if not understanding what the hell had happened.
When it finally clicked that it shouldn't be like that and the handle should still be connected to the rest of the tap, he panicked.
"Oh shit." - He muttered, putting down the glass full of water and trying to attach the part back to the rest of the tap.
However, something went wrong again and this time, instead of just the handle, Mobius also had the entire faucet in his hands.
At that moment, the water was spraying not only into the sink but also onto the countertop and the terrified Mobius.
"Fuck!" - This time he screamed, grabbing some cloths from the cabinet and trying to stop the flow of water.
Hearing the blasphemies and screams of a man with wet hair, Loki ran out of the bathroom.
"What happened?!" - He shouted, looking around for a potential attacker.
However, seeing that his friend was struggling with the faucet and there was no attacker, he simply put the faucet back together using his powers.
Mobius pulled away and breathed a sigh of relief.
Loki looked at the soaked man and reprimanded him, venting his emotions on him.- "You were supposed to be resting on the couch!"
"I was thirsty." - Replied the gray-haired man, grabbing a glass full of water, which he placed on the counter and then started drinking. Trying to ignore the displeased god in front of him.
He was constantly aware of the look Loki was giving him.
Seeing this expression on his face, he involuntarily tensed slightly, already knowing that he would have to listen to the lecture.
The next thing that happened, and it had never happened to the man before, was that the glass Mobius was holding shattered in his hand.
"...Damn it." - He muttered in defeat as his blood mixed with water and glass on the floor.
Loki immediately grabbed his hand with a worried expression on his face, without saying anything, he used a bit of seidr to remove the shards of glass that remained in the man's hand and healed the wounds.
"Thanks." - Mobius thanked when the wound was closed.
"What was that, Mobius?" - The dark-haired god finally asked after a moment of silence. Apparently unsure of what he had just witnessed. The problem was - "I haven't the slightest idea." - The gray-haired man answered truthfully.
After that statement, Mobius really had to use all his strength to convince Loki that no, he didn't need to go back to TVA's medical section immediately. Because he feels fine and there's nothing wrong with him. Or at least there is nothing wrong with him that he can explain.
The dark haired god was still not very sure about it, but after his friend stated that he just wanted to get some rest, he gave up.
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This time (remembering that he could do it and having enough energy for it) Loki conjured up a bed for himself and placed it on the opposite side of Mobius's bed in the bedroom.
The room wasn't too big, so their beds were close enough that if something happened, the other person would be within arm's reach.
Finally, after an eventful day, they both closed their eyes and fell asleep. Or at least Loki did, because Mobius continued to stare at the ceiling while listening to the calm breathing of the other man in the room.
Mobius rose to a sitting position as quietly as he could. Trying not to wake Loki, he swung his legs over the end of the bed and quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
He turned on the light in the living room again and sat down on the couch.
He was about to put his face in his hands, but before he did, he hesitated, remembering the previous incidents.
Now he looked at his hands again, but he still didn't see anything unusual about them.
Upset by his inability to fall asleep, he unceremoniously threw himself down on the couch letting out a defeated sigh.
As he did so, he heard a shuffling sound.
Unsure what the sound was and at the same time curious, he looked out from behind the back of the sofa and saw only a lamp standing on a table by the door.
Mobius narrowed his eyes at her, but seeing nothing unusual, he was about to look away.
Suddenly the lamp made a screeching noise again, this time moving across the table in front of Mobius eyes.
The man stared at her with wide eyes in surprise.
Seeing how she didn't stop and kept moving towards the edge of the table, he stood up and took her in his hands before she could fall and make a noise.
Mobius turned the lamp over in his hands, examining it like it was some valuable exhibit.
After a moment, he put it back in its original place, and this time it didn't move.
Mobius narrowed his eyes at her before looking back towards the bedroom.
“Maybe Loki woke up and that's his way of telling me to go back to bed?” - thought Mobius.
So he quietly entered the bedroom and stood over Loki's bed, where the man was still sleeping soundly.
In disbelief, Mobius waved his hand in front of his face.
This light gust caused Loki's face to frown slightly and after a moment he opened his sleepy eyes and looked at Mobius.
"Moby..? Why aren't you sleeping? Did something happen?" - He asked, sitting up.
Mobius, looking at the man in front of him, forgot all his suspicions.
The sleepy look on Loki's face, dark curls sticking out in all directions, dressed in some green pajamas, looking at him with those beautiful sleepy eyes.
The only thing Mobius was processing in his head at that moment was how adorable Loki looked now.
He also had to admit that seeing him like this was also a real pleasure, because the Loki of the sacred timeline would never have allowed anyone to see him like that, not even his own mother.
And now he's here in front of Mobius in all his sleepy glory and...
“It must look a little strange that I'm standing over Loki and staring at him.” - Mobius suddenly thought.
During this time Mobius' monologue in his head, the tired look on Lokis face was replaced by a concentrated look and a worried frown on his forehead.
"Are you okay?" - He asked, his voice clearly dripping with worry.
"Uh, yeah! I just...was in the bathroom! And I am returning to my bed now." - Mobius said quickly, already returning to his own bed.
Loki clearly recognized the slight lie in Mobius' statement, but he said nothing about it.
He just waited until the mortal was in bed and with a light gust of seidr turned off the lights in the living room, which Mobius had left on in all this personal turmoil.
"Good night." - Loki said calmly and laid his head back on the pillow.
"Yes, goodnight." - Mobius replied.
And this time, somehow, the man finally managed to fall asleep. Maybe he just needed to look at Loki again? Whenever he is with him, his life isn't just so boring and somehow everything falls into place. Because this is what Loki’s specialize in - despite all sorts of adversities, they always manage to cope.