Mobius POV
Mobius woke to a throbbing pain in his head. His mind felt as though it had been dipped in cotton, and it took him several long moments to remember where he was. He vaguely recalled hunting down the Lokis and running into one of them, but after that, everything was fuzzy. Mobius wasn't even sure where he currently was other than the fact that it was cold.
His senses started to filter back in slowly, and it was then Mobius realised that he was tied up. His hands and feet were bound tightly together with rope that scratched into his skin, drawing blood. The reason he could taste blood in his mouth was because of the gag that had been stuffed in there. Every part of his body was riddled with exhaustion and pain. The headache he had managed to get worse with every breath he took, and even those were becoming laboured. If Mobius didn't get help fast, he didn't even want to think about what would happen.
He tried blinking his eyes open in a futile attempt to focus on the world around him, but his vision was spotty. Despite that, he could faintly make out the shape of a human figure in front of him. Peering closer, Mobius thought it looked a lot like Loki.
He was lucid enough for fear to course through his veins at that possibility. Mobius tried to shift away, but when he put a small amount of pressure on the wound on his side, he let out a groan of pain and doubled over.
"Mobius?" Loki's voice was uncharacteristically soft. It was almost... concerned, Mobius registered.
Loki took a few hesitant steps forward, his hands out and eyes wide as he took in Mobius's state.
"What happened to you?" He whispered. Mobius made another noise of pain in response, unable to form words due to the gag.
Loki's brow creased, and he kneeled down by Mobius's side. The tips of his fingers lit up with green magic, and jolts of panic ran through Mobius. He flinched away, and in an instant, the magic was gone.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Loki said, and there was no mistaking the gentleness in his voice this time. He slowly reached out to cup Mobius's face in his hands, and Mobius couldn't help but lean into the touch. Loki carefully removed the gag from his mouth, and Mobius whimpered at the soreness it left behind.
"Shh, it's going to be okay," Loki gave him a small smile.
Mobius knew he needed to say something now that he could talk. He had so many things that he had wanted to speak with Loki about, so many feelings he needed to express. But now that Loki was here, right in front of him and looking so kind and with his hands on his face, none of those thoughts came to mind.
"L-Loki?" Mobius said instead, with utmost elegance.
"It's me."
Loki's hands dropped from where they had been holding him. Mobius's heart fell at the loss of contact.
"W-why?" He hiccuped.
There were many ways that could be interpreted. Why are you here now? Why did you side with the Evil Variant? Why did you betray my trust? Why did you leave me?
Loki didn't respond, just moved onto his next task, which was the bindings on Mobius's limbs. His hands glowed green again, but this time he looked up at Mobius for permission. Mobius managed to nod, and with a flick of his wrists, the rope was all gone.
Mobius immediately moved to rub his arms together, the flesh still raw and burning, but Loki stopped him. He gingerly placed his own hands over Mobius's, and a surprising warmth spread through his body from his fingertips to his toes. When Mobius looked down at where his injuries had once been, and watched in awe as the skin slowly stitched itself back together and blood dried away.
"Why?" Mobius asked again. What did Loki have to gain out of healing him? Especially if he was working with the person who had beaten him up in the first place? Was this all some elaborate ploy to gain and break Mobius's trust again, or did Loki just enjoy playing with Mobius's feelings like this?
Once again, Loki just shook his head. His hands were still entangled with Mobius's.
"Go back to sleep."
Mobius tried to shake his head frantically. The reality of the situation he was in was finally beginning to creep up on him. He was stranded in the middle of nowhere with a wanted criminal whom he was supposed to kill. He had no idea where B-15 was, if his equipment had been taken, or what the Variants were planning to do with him. This was the worst possible thing that could've happened.
"No, no, no. The TVA they..." Mobius trailed off as Loki shushed him.
"You look exhausted," he said. "Go to sleep."
Smiling sadly, Loki disentangled his hands from Mobius's and moved to stand up. A time portal opened up behind him. Mobius's eyes widened. He pushed himself up from the floor, and was quickly met with the consequences of that poor decision.
For a blindingly dizzy moment, Mobius had no idea where anything was. The world around him spun in a blur of colours and flashes of light. The pain in his head grew tenfold, and Mobius placed his hands on his head to try and block out the incessant ringing in his ears.
It was Loki who grabbed his shoulders to steady him and lower him back to the ground. Mobius let out a sigh of relief when he touched the cold floor and his vision cleared again.
Loki shook his head and chuckled to himself.
"I can't let you do that, Mobius," he said, sounding a little guilty. "I'm sorry."
Mobius opened his mouth, desperately trying to speak.
"The TVA... have to hunt you... kill you..." Mobius's words slurred together with exhaustion. His eyelids were drooping. Loki was right- he was tired, and the idea of sleeping seemed more and more appealing by the second.
"I know," Loki told him, voice still impossibly soft. "It's okay."
He pulled away once more. Mobius tried to reach out one hand to grab him, but when he curled his fist, he was met only with empty air.
"We'll meet again," Loki assured him. Mobius wasn't sure if that was true or if he would want to meet Loki again knowing what he had to do, but in the moment, the idea sounded nice. He smiled, and Loki smiled back
"For now," Loki placed two fingers on Mobius's temple, who barely recognised the fact that they were green. "Close your eyes and rest."
Obeying, Mobius squeezed his eyes shut and let himself fall into deep slumber.
YOU ARE READING
A Guide to Fixing Broken Things
Fanfiction"I'll kill Loki!" Maybe in hindsight, Mobius promising to kill the Variant he had grown unreasonably attached to was a bad idea. He had been told he had an affinity for broken things. And maybe that was true- after all, he had placed faith in Loki...
