Chapter 4
“Hold the door, please,” a voice called behind him.
Mobius turned around to see a man in a plain black tuxedo. It reminded him of the one he'd worn to the party he had met Loki and Zemo at. Based on what everyone else was wearing, the man somehow looked underdressed though. But perhaps he was waitstaff. Mobius stepped aside and held the door open for the man.
“Thanks,” the man said, making his way inside. “You don't look like you're working here.”
It was said as a statement but Mobius could hear the question behind it.
“Oh, I'm not. Not tonight anyway. But I'm not here for the red carpet either so I was told to come in this way,” Mobius explained. A knot twisted in his stomach as he hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.
The man's face brightened though. “Of course. That makes sense. You must be someone's guest,” he slid closer to Mobius, “Who did you come with?”
The knot in Mobius' stomach tightened. He wasn't sure if he should tell this man anything but he was bound to see them all later on in the night and the man seemed trustworthy enough.
“Loki and Zemo,” Mobius answered in a quiet voice.
The man raised an eyebrow. “I'd heard the two of them were on the outs. Interesting. Are they fighting over you then?”
“They've been competitive but I wouldn't say they've been fighting,” Mobius responded, thinking about their interaction earlier that night. They'd been at odds with each other but fighting? That seemed too strong a word for what had happened.
“Really? Well, maybe it's just for show then. So, tell me about yourself. You said you weren't working tonight, so you work in food services? Anywhere I might have eaten?” the man asked. He was smiling brightly but that somehow put Mobius less at ease.
Mobius glanced over his shoulder at the door to the event. They'd been standing in the kitchen, chatting, and Mobius could hear people on the other side of the door. He was supposed to be in there, for all he knew Loki and Zemo were already in there too. The kitchen was also getting busy with waitstaff and chefs and Mobius could see that this man wasn't a part of them.
“I do. But I doubt you would have. I'm just a barista by day. Are you working tonight?” Mobius asked, trying to find his way out of the conversation.
“I am, yes,” the man answered.
“Then I will probably see you out there later,” Mobius said, stepping away from the man.
“Before you leave, I didn't catch your name,” the man asked.
“Mobius,” he answered and then politely asked, “And yours?”
The door between the kitchen and the event opened and Mobius saw Loki enter, followed closely by Zemo. Even in the harsh fluorescent lighting of the kitchen they looked stunning. Every piece of Zemo's hair was artfully tucked into place and Loki’s eyes almost seemed to glint and glow as if they were one of the jewels on his suit. Their expressions seemed curious as they opened the door. They were searching for him, wondering what had held him up. When they found him, their faces turned murderous.
“Paradox,” Loki barked. “You know you aren't supposed to be here.”
“I'd wondered why you weren't harassing me on the red carpet,” Zemo hissed.
“Ah gentlemen, I was simply trying to do my job to find the most interesting story. Sometimes that means breaking a few rules,” the man, Paradox, replied. “It was so lovely to meet you, Mobius.”
Loki guided Mobius out of the kitchen and toward the open bar. His warm hand on Mobius' lower back felt comforting and a little possessive as he refused to remove it even after arriving at the bar. They ordered their drinks and Loki whisked him away to a quieter corner. The banquet hall was huge with long tables set up on one side meant to seat dozens of people. The other side of the room was left empty, meant to be used as a place to mingle before dinner. It was filling up with people already, as more trickled in from the red carpet outside, and the sound of chatter bounced around the room.
“Where did Zemo go?” Mobius asked, the absence weighing on him.
“He went to take care of the trash. He's rather good at it,” Loki said, taking a sip of his drink, “In another life I think he would have been part of some kind of special forces. Taking out bad guys or toppling governments or something.”
Loki smirked but the knots in Mobius’ stomach twisted. He couldn't help but feel that he had done something wrong. He sipped at his drink but it did nothing to soothe his thoughts. He didn't know who Paradox was when he was talking to him and he'd said so much.
“You don't have to worry,” Loki murmured in his ear, “Mr. Paradox was in the wrong to be speaking with you like that. The press isn't supposed to be anywhere inside, only down at the red carpet. His superiors will be furious.”
Mobius took a sip of his drink and forced himself to relax. Everything would be fine. Instead, he focused on the party. A few months ago, he wouldn't have imagined himself going to anything like it, but there he was, mingling with people he'd only ever seen on his television.
When Zemo returned he looked about the same as before. Even the flower in his lapel still looked crisp and fresh. The way Loki had described it almost made him think Zemo was going to fight Paradox and come back with bruised knuckles or something but there was no sign of any physical altercation. The only change might have been the smug look on his face.
“Don't worry, Angel. He won't bother you again,” Zemo purred.
His curiosity was getting the better of him, so Mobius leaned over to ask, “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing really. I may have implied he'd lose his job if he published anything you said. And then I gave him a better story to go sniffing for,” Zemo said.
Mobius debated whether he wanted to know what the better story was and decided he didn't. He'd probably find out soon enough anyway from one of the tabloids that Brad brought to work. He decided to enjoy himself instead, allowing himself to be led around the room to be introduced to people he could have only dreamed of meeting.
There was still a question weighing on him, one that had been weighing on him all night. Mobius wanted to know the answer so badly and yet, not at all. As much as he didn't want to ruin the wonderful evening, he needed to know.
“I think we need to talk about us,” Mobius blurted out.
Neither Loki nor Zemo reacted much. Loki raised an eyebrow. Zemo smirked. But neither of them seemed all that surprised.
“What about us?” Loki asked.
“Well, about the three of us…” Mobius said, the words sticking in his throat, “I don't want to have to choose between you.”
Loki hummed in what seemed to be agreement. “Yes. That.”
An announcement came for everyone to take their seats for dinner. People began moving toward the tables, taking their drinks and conversation with them. Mobius didn't budge though.
Zemo took Mobius' arm in his. “We'll talk about it after dinner, when there's more time.”
Reluctantly, Mobius allowed himself to be led to the table near the back of the room. He was seated between Zemo and Loki and shortly after sitting, dinner was served to them. It was some kind of chicken dish and while it was one of the tastiest things he'd ever eaten, Mobius felt so nervous about the conversation they would have that he couldn't properly enjoy it. A band began playing from the stage at the front, providing ambience and background noise for peoples’ conversations.
He didn't notice the way his knee was bouncing until Zemo's hand was there to steady it. He shouldn't have been so anxious, he should have just been happy to have gotten as much time with both of them as he did. He still didn't know which of them he would choose when it came down to it. He liked both of them so much but he knew how competitive they were. It would never work out.
Zemo's hand stroked up and down his thigh in a soothing motion throughout dinner. It was comforting. Mobius took another bite of the meal and let himself enjoy it. After all, it wasn't often he had such good food and company at the same time. Loki finished their plate before he did, setting his cutlery down and pushing the plate away from him. Loki's attention turned to the band on stage. He stretched his arms back and when they came down, one of Loki’s arms rested on Mobius' shoulders. Their fingers rubbed lazy, gentle circles into his shoulder. It felt good. Mobius eased into their touches.
As dinner finished up people took to the dance floor. A flurry of colour and movement as light reflected off satin and silk and jewelry with every turn. Mobius was content to watch from the sidelines. He wasn't much of a dancer. A tug on his hand from Zemo was all it took, however, to make him change his mind and join the dance floor.
Zemo led the dance, which was good since Mobius didn't know the steps. His hand on Mobius' lower back guided him with the lightest pressure. The swaying motion, the romantic music, the atmospheric lighting all leant itself to making Mobius swoon, or maybe that was just Zemo, who was gazing into Mobius' eyes with such care and adoration. Mobius could have danced all night.
He wished to stay like that forever. To never have to make the choice he knew he was going to have to make soon. For now, he decided he would pretend midnight wasn't coming and that nothing would turn back into a pumpkin.
“You seem to have some worries on your mind,” Zemo murmured.
“It's nothing,” Mobius hummed, “Just thinking about how nice this night has been.”
“And worried the bubble will burst when we talk about where this is going?” Zemo suggested, breaking eye contact to look over Mobius' shoulder.
Mobius shrugged, not wanting to put it into words.
“I think I'll let Loki start. He does love to do the talking,” Zemo said before spinning Mobius away from himself and into Loki’s arms.
Loki caught Mobius and continued the dance without even a misstep. Mobius fell into his arms, Loki's hands taking the place of Zemo's.
“Zemo and I have already spoken about this and we were waiting to bring it up with you. Now seems as good a time as any,” Loki said, leading Mobius around the dance floor.
“You have?” Mobius asked.
“Yes. And we have decided that it's only fair for both of us to continue seeing you. We can share,” Loki smiled, “Only if that's alright with you of course.”
Mobius looked to at Zemo, who was standing on the edge of the dance floor and gave Mobius a smile when he caught his eye.
“You want to share? I thought you…” Mobius drifted off, not quite sure how the conversation was even real, but he turned his attention back to Loki who was smiling so earnestly and his eyes were so full of emotion that Mobius couldn't deny they were telling the truth.
“As I said, we've already spoken about it. We're completely fine with it, though there will have to be some ground rules in place. We can discuss those in more detail later though,” Loki said.
“Yes,” Mobius breathed.
The dance was coming to an end and Loki had led them closer to Zemo.
“What was that?” Loki asked.
Mobius took a breath. “Yes. I want that.”
The dance had come to its end and they swayed their way to a stop. Loki's eyes sparkled and Mobius couldn't help himself. He leaned up to kiss Loki, his hand snaking its way to the back of Loki’s neck. Loki took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, licking into Mobius' mouth and pulling him in closer until they were flush together. Mobius moaned into the kiss before he could stop himself.
Loki broke off the kiss first, eliciting a whine from Mobius. Twice that night Loki had ended the kiss sooner than he'd hoped and Mobius was determined the next one he wouldn't.
“I'm hoping it was a good talk then,” Zemo said beside them.
Mobius nearly jumped, forgetting that anyone else was around, but Loki's hand on the small of his back kept him steady. He'd almost forgotten anyone else was around. The band had started up a new song and everyone else was dancing or chatting and weren't paying them any attention. But Zemo was standing there waiting patiently for them.
“Am I still going to be calling you my angel?” Zemo asked, tilting his head to the side.
Mobius smiled, letting the warmth of that name wash over him for a moment. Two wonderful, gorgeous men wanted him enough to share. He didn't know how he had gotten there but the feeling was intoxicating. It made him feel confident and brave. He stepped closer and leaned in to whisper in Zemo's ear.
“You can call me anything you want to, Sweetheart.”
He stepped back just enough to gaze into Zemo's eyes and watch how those words affected him. Zemo looked dazed, a grin spreading across his face, before he pulled Mobius back in for a kiss.
“We should celebrate. A round of champagne?” Loki suggested when Mobius and Zemo finally broke apart.
“And more dancing,” Mobius proposed.
“Anything you want,” Zemo said.