Work Text:
The first thing Loki did when he arrived was to pour himself a glass of mead. His day had been filled with reports and debriefings with the new recruits. He could use a little pick-me-up.
He was supposed to be alone, because Mobius had said he'd be home later, but as he got near the bathroom, he heard the sound of the shower. Mobius must have come home earlier than he thought. Loki knocked on the door.
"Mobius? You're already home?"
Getting no answer, he called a little louder.
"Mobius?"
Still no answer.
"Mobius!" Loki shouted this time, a little worried.
After receiving no response once again, Mobius shouted one more time, "Mobius, I'm coming in!"
He opened the door, the shower was closed, but something was wrong. The air was not thick with steam from the heat of the water. Instead, the room was cold. Loki reached a hand toward the shower door and opened it.
Mobius was sitting on the shower floor, naked and hunched over, his skin reddened as if he had been rubbing himself all the time. His eyes stared into space and his lips and fingertips were tinged blue under the cold spray. Loki immediately dropped to his knees and stopped the water. He touched Mobius' arm lightly so as not to startle him. He was frozen.
"Mobius?" Loki called softly. "Love?" Mobius shivered. He needed to warm him up.Loki grabbed the shower head and turned on the water, adjusting it until it was hot. Then he began to turn the spray on Mobius while talking to him and squeezing his hand.
"I'm here, love. I'm here, it's me, Loki. Look at me Mobius. I'm right here."
"Loki." said Mobius in a broken voice. Loki saw by the look on his face that he was with him again.
"Yes Mobius, I'm here." Loki stopped the spray, put the shower head on the floor and interlaced his fingers with Mobius'. Mobius squeezed his hand back.
"I'm fine." He said, but Loki wasn't fooled and replied, "I doubt it, love." He ran a hand over Mobius' cheek and said, "Let's get you dry, hmm? Then we can worry about other things."
Mobius nodded. Loki helped him up, wrapped a large towel around him and began to dry him off. As he did this, he kept whispering, "It's okay, love. I'm here. I'll take care of you."
Once Mobius was dry, Loki helped him put on sweatpants and an old T-shirt and did the same before guiding Mobius to their bed.
He made him lie down, then laid down behind him, covered them both and put his arms around Mobius. Mobius put his hands on his, on his chest, and they laid there for a long time in silence.
Every so often, Mobius' breathing would quicken, so Loki would tighten his embrace and kiss his neck until his breathing returned to a regular rhythm.
After a moment, Loki whispered into Mobius' hair, "Love, can you tell me what happened?"
Mobius sighed, "I'm fine."
"What caused this?" Loki insisted, pulling Mobius closer to him, "I've never seen you like this. Honestly Mobius, you scared me."
"You don't scare easily, though." Mobius half laughed.
"Since I've known you, I'm afraid of more things though." replied Loki seriously.
"Of what?"
"Of losing you, of you getting hurt, of you getting tired of me..."
"Loki! Never!"
Loki replied, "Maybe, but that doesn't stop me from feeling scared from time to time and when I saw you like that before and again now, I'm scared too. Because I worry about you, love. You have to get it into your head that I care about you, I really do. So when you're not well, I'm not well. So take your time, but I'd like you to tell me what caused this, so I can help you, love."
Loki let the silence settle between them. He kept a hand on Mobius' heart, listening to him breathe and feeling his heartbeat.
"Today, the Void search teams brought back a sixteen year old girl."
Since Mobius had taken over the TVA, he had created a special unit that specialized in finding anyone who might still be on the Void.
"Loki, it was terrible, she looked so traumatized, I'm not the one who sent her, but I wonder how many people I've sentenced to the same fate. How many people have lost years of their lives because of me? How many realities were annihilated? Even if I did in the name of what I thought was right, Loki, I am a monster."
Now that Loki had to face his crimes himself and tried to make amends as best he could, he understood perfectly what Mobius was going through. Moreover, knowing that Mobius was a person of integrity, his sense of guilt was even stronger. If he could, Loki would take all his pain upon himself. But he knew it didn't work that way.
"Mobius, when it comes to monsters I think I know a lot. I assure you that you are not one. I have committed monstrous acts and I was fully aware of them, I know the evil that I have done, but I also know that it no longer defines me, thanks to you, I know that what defines me is what I do good, what I do to make amends, to try to repair the evil for which I am responsible. Just as you are not defined by what you did while working for the TVA. You yourself were a victim who was manipulated. And now that you know this, you are doing everything you can to change things and fix the mistakes that were made. You are not a monster."
Mobius turned in Loki's arms.
Loki placed a kiss on his forehead before placing his head against his chest and hugging him. And as he felt a dampness in his chest, he continued to whisper softly against Mobius' hair, that he was not a monster, how much he loved him, a litany of words of love and comfort until the tears dried up.
After a moment, Mobius raised his head and laid his hand on Loki's cheek. With reddened eyes and a broken voice, he said softly, "Thank you."
Loki pressed a soft kiss to his lips and replied gently, all the love he had for him showing in his eyes, "I'll always be there for you love." he pressed another tender kiss, this time on Mobius' forehead before hugging him again. Then he whispered against Mobius' hair, "Together, for all time, always."