"When was the last time you slept?"
The man winced at the question. B-15 looked at him reproachfully. He noticed that she was holding a tray in her hands.
"You need to eat something. You can't help Loki by dying of exhaustion while he's gone."
At the mere mention of Loki, everything inside him contracted painfully. He looked at the food. Bea brought buns and a juice.
"How can I eat?" asked the man looking away from the tray. "He's out there, all alone. What If he is hungry, what if he feels bad? He might be hurt, or..."
B-15 placed the tray in front of Mobius and sat down beside him.
“I know our Loki very well,” she said. “And I know he would be angry if he saw you like that. Mobius? Please."
She picked up a juice box and handed it to Mobius. The agent didn't look up for a while, then he was relieved to see that the juice was orange. Most likely, Bea did not even think about it, but today Mobius could not drink the grape juice, that the trickster loved so much.
Too many memories.
Mobius gritted his teeth to keep from thinking about it. But he still pictured his apartment and the pile of books that the trickster liked to stack beside the sofa. Mobius often stumbled over them. It seems like only yesterday they were fighting over this.
Mobius imagined the kitchen, where there was a green cup with Asgardian ornaments on a separate shelf. He couldn't see it all without crying.
Loki disappeared last night.
Mobius is used to the fact that time in TVA does not go like in timelines. But he had no idea that time could stop for him personally. The minutes seemed endlessly long.
They quarreled yesterday, but this had happened before. God could slam the door and leave on a mission without saying goodbye, because he wants to prove what he's capable of, to show independence.
But yesterday the squad returned without a trickster, and no one could say for sure what happened.
Mobius had no idea what exactly had caused their quarrel. Just a week ago, they were discussing plans for the future, Loki was dreaming of a long weekend. After everything they'd been through, God deserved a little rest. Mobius remembered his voice, his childish delight as he said, "There's over a hundred varieties of ice cream, can you imagine this? We'll have to try them all!"
Mobius remembered how he replied "Loki, you know I love the simplest vanilla ice cream." And Loki rolled his eyes and slowly said, "I can't believe I love a boring bore like you! I'll make you try all the ice cream they have! You won't get away!"
God of chaos. God of Mischief. Loki.
And then there was a very strange evening. It was as if God had been replaced by someone else. Loki just walked into the room, didn't smile, didn't sit next to Mobius. He was pale and collected. The agent was well aware of that look and that facial expression. He was silent for most of the evening, and when he spoke to Mobius, it sounded so cold. He left the apartment and did not say where he was going. Mobius was lost in conjectures... He went over in his mind all the events of the last days and could not understand how and when he had offended Loki.
Then there was night. And the trickster didn't come home. For the first time since they met.
When Mobius found him the next morning, Loki didn't even say hello. He nodded briefly and walked down the corridor. Of course, Mobius could not resist. He caught up with Loki, he was trying to talk and must have said a lot of stupid things. But Loki did act very strangely.
Cold and sticky horror rolled over from time to time, then let go for a while. Could Loki have betrayed him? Mobius sadly thought that it would not be so scary. He would forgive deceit and betrayal. He was ready for something like this. Mobius trusted Loki, but he promised himself a long time ago: Loki has the right to make a mistake. The agent told him about it many times.
Whatever happens, the main thing is that he is alive.
"Mobius?" B-15 distracted him from all these thoughts. "We checked all the timelines. No deviations."
The agent took a deep breath.
"Could it be because of me? Maybe he doesn't want me to find him?" he asked sadly.
"Do you know what he said to me the last time we fought?"
There was so much pain in his voice that Bea realized that it was very difficult for Mobius to remember all this. But he continued.
"He said we need to take a break from each other. That he can't live with me. That he needs freedom and not this cage. He yelled at me... But I don't believe him, you understand? I can't believe he was telling the truth."
B-15 asked:
"He's not just for nothing called the God of Mischief, is he? Do you think you can tell when he's lies to you?"
Mobius nodded.
"I always could," the man nodded. There was absolute confidence in his voice.
“I should review the camera footage from the last days, maybe I missed something. Maybe I'm going crazy? But I think something happened to him. He never trusted anyone. Something happened, and, most likely, he decided that he can handle it himself."
* * * *
The agent was reviewing the records. He didn't even know what he was looking for. There were cameras almost everywhere in TVA, on the residential floors and in the archives, in the cafeteria and in the boardroom. Mobius tried to find at least some clue and could not.
The man was sitting in front of the monitor, sullenly staring at empty coffee cups, when B-15 entered the room.
The woman walked over to his desk and started typing something quickly on the keyboard.
"I don't know if this will help us," she said, "I'm sorry I watched this tape without your permission..."
She opened the video. It was their last fight when he caught up with Loki in one of the corridors. It pained Mobius to think of this quarrel. After that conversation, Loki just disappeared. Mobius realized that he had never reviewed this video.
Loki was facing the camera, his voice on the tape sounding indistinct. Mobius stood in front of him, his head bowed. He didn't dare look at Loki's face while he was screaming. The agent clenched his fists and looked away from the monitor.
"Mobius, I told you: don't follow me! I don't want to see anyone! Please! Leave me alone."
The agent did not understand why she turned on this entry. But B-15 touched his shoulder and spoke very quietly.
"He's crying. I didn't notice right away." Said the woman. "Actually, he didn't want you to leave."
He stopped the frame. She was right - the eyes betrayed Loki. Mobius was enough of this look and a few tears, to understand: in fact, Loki did not want to offend him, in fact, he was hurt by the way he behaved.
* * *
Stones and rocks stretched all the way to the horizon. The area was very beautiful, but too harsh and inhospitable. It was a strange beauty, cold and austere. The agent looked around, trying to figure out if he was on the right track.
The elder Loki explained to him that it would not be difficult to find his house, he just need to find a stream. Mobius would never have guessed to look for his Loki here if not for the alligator.
Last night, when Mobius was still sitting at the monitor and discussing with B-15 the disappearance of Loki, the alligator approached him and just listened to their conversation for a while. And then, he snorted and pulled Mobius by the sleeve. He led the agent to the room of his friend, old Loki.
"Do you think he can help?" Mobius asked.
"Grrrrrrrrp!" answered Croki.
And now, Agent Mobius was walking across an uninhabited planet, to the house where Classic Loki had spent so many years.
Mobius stepped carefully along the path, listening to every rustle. The elder Loki explained to the agent how to approach the house unnoticed. He also said that Loki asked him about this place and that's why old Loki was not at all surprised by Mobius' visit.
"He was obviously up to something, Agent Mobius. He pretended to be just curious about where and how I lived when I outwitted Thanos. But I know your Loki: he was excited about something when he came to me."
Mobius stopped in front of the house. The tree darkened by time seemed damp, the sandy path leading to the door, in some places overgrown with grass. Mobius noticed footprints on the porch and realized that he was not mistaken.
Loki was indeed here.
At this moment, Mobius did not care about his own safety. Loki could arrange any traps or magical barriers. But Mobius didn't think about it. He went to the door and knocked softly.
"Loki?"
No answer. The agent noticed that the door was not locked. He pushed it lightly and peered inside. It smelled of damp and old paper inside the house. But besides that, Mobius felt a faint smell of smoke.
Apparently, god lit a fire in the hearth.
The classic Loki lived here for many years. He did not say whether he himself built this house with magic or the house was here before he appeared. Mobius noticed that there was almost no furniture here, only a few makeshift stools and a tattered sofa.
Loki sat on the floor in front of the fireplace. He didn't turn around, although his posture showed that he sensed Mobius's presence.
"Loki, we need to talk, right?" the man said softly.
God took a deep breath.
“I knew you would be looking for me,” the god replied. "But I didn't think you could find me here. Who spoke up? Old man or this scaly bastard?"
"They wanted to help,” Mobius remarked. "Croki is very worried about you. He came to me..."
“So he told you everything,” Loki said thoughtfully. “No one knew, except him."
Loki abruptly stood up from the floor, went to the far corner of the room and sat down on a stool, facing Mobius. He was pale, his lips were pursed, as always, when the god tried to hide his excitement.
"He's always wandering around where he shouldn't be... He saw the packaging... Getting such news from an alligator is the most stupid way in the world. But, Mobius, I can handle it myself, do you hear me? I don't want you to think that I did it on purpose. Do you think I could do this to you? I know you wouldn't want this, but it's too late now... And yes, I'm scared, damn it! But I can handle."
He paused, catching his breath, and Mobius finally dared to ask:
"Loki? What are you talking about, honey?"
For a second, Loki seemed to be confused. He frowned, looked closely into Mobius's eyes.
"So you... You don't know?"
The agent noticed the god touch his stomach. A strange gesture, as if Loki was trying to defend himself.
Then, the god went to the window. He seemed to be thinking hard about something.
Mobius looked at his hands and at his stomach. He suddenly understood. The world staggered, shrunk to a point, and then exploded in his mind with millions of pictures of a possible future.
"Oh... My God. My dear boy! But Loki, why did you run away? This is so..."
He approached the trickster and gently touched his shoulders. Loki didn't move. Mobius lowered his arms, wrapped his arms around Loki's waist and squeezed his hand in his. Then he decided to unclench his fingers and touch Loki's belly.
"This is the best thing that could have happened," Mobius whispered.
"I thought you'd be angry," Loki said quietly.
"And I thought it was impossible to love you more, but today you proved me wrong...'
He gently kissed Loki behind the ear. Strange: Loki was the same, no external changes were observed yet, but Mobius found himself afraid of touching his beloved too harshly.
"Are you really not angry?" the god asked. "I yelled at you. The alligator saw my pregnancy test. I ran away and did a lot of stupid things. And I acted like a complete jerk."
Mobius chuckled.
"I mean, you were just yourself, honey."
He turned Loki to face him and kissed him gently on the cheek.
“Loki, these past few months have been very difficult for both of us. My world turned upside down, you know... And you were the only meaning of my life. You gave me hope for a happy future. You were my future, you understand? And now you're giving me even more reasons to be happy..."
Loki smiled and pulled Mobius into his arms. And Mobius pressed his god to himself, realizing that now everything would be different. But it was a great feeling. "A new life," Mobius thought. "Our new life."