Oh? Had something gone down recently in Dunwich? Loki simply hadn't noticed.
That wasn't true. He'd noticed plenty. But Loki had decided some months ago that unless something was within their wheelhouse or directly overlapped with the Pickman House or the people they loved (out loud or quietly), there wasn't much of a point in getting involved. There were quite literally over a hundred other people around who enjoyed playing hero already as it was. And Loki ... preferred to be a bit more subtle than that, when they could help it.
At least, right now anyway. According to Mobius that wouldn't always be the case. But there was no reason to hurry any of that along.
Anyway, Loki had a house to decorate. There'd been entirely too many pale blues in the bathroom for their taste, and too many cheap looking pull blinds.
It was getting better. And now that Stephen had helped complete the room extension slash portal to Loki's room in Pickman, it was worth showing off. Which was exactly what Loki was doing now. "So?" they asked, upon giving a halfhearted tour of their, frankly, opulent home.
Honestly, Mobius might have been more surprised if Loki never found a way to upgrade his room at Pickman, but it was still just a tiny bit familiar to step through a door in Pickman and find himself somewhere entirely different. It wasn't just like a Time Door of course, but it was certainly something he had a bit more experience in than your average person.
The tour that he'd received was brief at best, but he was more interested in Loki than he was the number of bathrooms in his new home. "I think you probably have enough room here," He said, one corner of his mouth turning upward just slightly, amused.
"How are you feeling about it?" He asked. Loki had been in town far longer than Mobius had after all, but hadn't considered claiming more space than the small rooms afforded to them until now, it made him wonder if something more had changed.
“I like it, I think,” Loki said, glancing around them – they’d ended up in what Loki decided would be the living room, even though there were several rooms that might work with a name like that. One for dining, one for… well, he hadn’t really figured out what else it might be for. But this one was definitely going to be where the books and the television wound up.
“I hadn’t considered moving out previously,” he admitted. “Not when the other version of you owned Pickman.” It would have felt like a betrayal, or something close to it. Abandonment, perhaps. “And then not when I got the deed for it, for obvious reasons.” Loki smiled, one eyebrow raising. “And then I remembered that I can have more than one thing at once if I like.”
Was Loki talking about more than a room at Pickman that opened up to an entire house that was technically located elsewhere? Perhaps.
Mobius nodded, it would take a little time to truly become suitable for Loki he was sure - but it certainly had more than enough potential to be everything and more most people would want here. Or anywhere for that matter, what was more important was that Loki saw some sort of potential in it.
"It seems like you've managed to find your own solution to the problem." Which didn't surprise Mobius, that was sort of the way Loki worked in all things, finding their way to solutions that weren't always forthcoming to others.
"It's a pretty clever bit of magic," He admitted, head tipping in the direction of the door, "You come up with that on your own?"
It was clever, wasn’t it? Loki looked pleased with the compliment because they had been the one to come up with it – the way it was less door by way of perception, more simply… a part of the space.
“I’m obviously not the first person to create a doorway from one place to the other,” Loki said with a one shouldered shrug even though he was still a little smug. “But I had the idea. And then I made Stephen help.”
And by help, Loki meant do most of the work. That part was not said.
"Of course not," Mobius agreed, but that was hardly the point - it was nice to see Loki finding ways not to feel limited despite keeping himself tethered to Pickman. Mobius knew well enough just how limiting it could be to feel stuck in a single place like that, and he'd been there far less time than Loki.
As for Stephen. Well that was something else entirely. "Delegation is an important part of leadership." Mobius said thoughtfully, though he imagined Loki's idea of delegation was a little bit different than his own in practice.
"And I'm sure he was happy to help," Though in what Mobius had seen of Stephen Strange on the sacred timeline he wasn't entirely sure happy was ever a word he'd have applied to him.
Mobius had been in Pickman less time, but he’d had another desk job before all this, and that one had gone one for eons. If anyone understood Loki’s thought process on this, it was Mobius. And Loki, for one, was glad that Mobius seemed to be pleased about his decisions. Which was a stark contrast to how Strange had reacted, at first, by moping.
“I’m not sure this fell under Stephen’s job duties,” Loki said wryly, because yes, Loki supposed that they employed the sorcerer also, but that wasn’t really why he was at Loki’s beck and call, most days. “But yes, he was pleased enough for it.”
"You do have that effect on people," Mobius said with an amused grin, himself included. Maybe that was part of what made Loki who they were or maybe it was something else entirely, either way, Mobius knew more than most just how easy it was to enjoy spending time near Loki.
"You two are getting close," He said because he wasn't stupid, not to this conversation or things that happened around Pickman, and if Loki wanted someone he was certainly not going to say no, but he was curious.
“Thank you,” Loki said, head tipping to the side slightly like this was a perfectly good compliment and they were going to take the praise in a way that was not at all humble.
Not everything had to be handled with grace, was all.
“Are you bothered by that?” Loki asked, sitting down on the couch – plush leather in a green that was so dark it was almost black – and inviting Mobius to sit with him with just a gesture. He wouldn’t deny it, or ever assume Mobius was stupid. He wasn’t.
"Bothered?" Mobius quirked an eyebrow at Loki as he sat, pausing a moment to consider the situation, the connection between Stephen and Loki, and whether or not it had any true bearing on his feelings. And in the end decided perhaps not.
Mobius sat down with Loki, closer than he might have in another life. Things were different here though.
"No," He shook his head, "I'm not bothered, your time is yours to do with as you please." And the same was true of him, after so long having demands on his time, on his very being, Mobius could hardly fault anyone for seeking out their own path.
"I think you are capable of far more depth than most would give you credit for." And Mobius was not about to assume that Loki's feelings towards him were in any way diminished if Loki also had feelings for someone else.
“Hm,” Loki said, letting that sink in because for all that he might not have listened to Mobius’ opinion he did value it (that meant two very different things, obviously). It didn’t hurt, in this instance, that the opinion mirrored what Loki thought.
Then again, he supposed that wasn’t surprising. There was no one that knew Loki better than Mobius. Not even Loki themselves some day.
Loki moved closer, not at all subtle, until their shoulders were pressed together. “He’s married,” they said after a moment of contemplation. “To a different version of me.”
Mobius hadn't expected the revelation that not only were Loki and Stephen spending time together, but that Stephen had been married to a version of Loki. "That - I did not expect." He admitted, which was something of a revelation all on its own.
He let himself lean just a little into the press of Loki's shoulder against his own. It was silly maybe, but they should get moments like this after everything they'd been through, and everything they might one day return to.
"How do you feel about that?" He asked, curious what Loki thought about that particular addition to their connection.
“Really?” Loki asked, eyes narrowed thoughtfully – not over Mobius being surprised but over the fact that in all his time studying Lokis, that it was something he’d never seen before. That was curious. Thousands of timelines and … nothing.
Except that it’d happened at least once. Outside of time though. In a place very much like Dunwich.
“Curious,” Loki admitted, going lazy and nearly boneless until he was leaned up properly against Mobius and they were unlikely to figure out who was holding who up – right until someone moved, of course. “Sort of. I know not every Loki is the same, but…” Loki hummed out a little noise, uncertain of how to word it.
It didn't seem like something that should happen, after all Mobius had seen so many iterations of Loki's possible paths on the timeline, it should have in time led to every eventual possible outcome, and yet this was something that left him surprised. But then Mobius supposed, that was what this place was good for, providing him with experiences he'd never had, seeing possibilities that might never have come to fruition in other timelines.
Silly or not, Loki certainly didn't seem to have any qualms about pressing close, and Mobius certainly wasn't going to be the one to ask for space when they were pressed to one another, only the weight of the other keeping them mostly upright in that moment as they talked.
"But you feel something," Mobius guessed, he wouldn't guess the depth, and perhaps it wasn't even quite to that level yet, perhaps it was more that there was the potential for something more there. Not every Loki was the same, but they were all Lokis and that meant there were often more similarities than there were differences between them.
"Would that be a bad thing?" He asked.
Did Loki feel something? Loki considered that for a moment, but then lifted his free shoulder in a lazy shrug. “I think I could, if I let myself,” they decided, which was a lie, because if Loki felt nothing at all, they wouldn’t have bothered bringing it up in the first place. Mobius likely knew this, but was also kind enough to not say so.
At least in a moment like this. Mobius wasn’t without bite of his own, and Loki very much liked that about him.
“I might give it a go,” he said finally. “Assuming willingness on his part.” Which was a thing of its own, because Stephen was adamant that Loki was not a replacement for another Loki. And that, Loki believed. But it didn’t mean there wasn’t room for another.
Which – Loki got. Because –
“And you? Have you decided what you want yet?”
Mobius nodded, it wasn't a surprise - but then he'd always thought Loki capable of far more than most were willing to imagine. Even the good as he'd made certain to remind Loki of, and now here they were together in this place only one of them gainfully employed and it wasn't Mobius. All in all he was pretty proud of the direction that Loki was choosing here.
Even if that direction managed to include one Stephen Strange.
"I'd guess he wouldn't have brought it up if there wasn't some willingness on his side of things." Even if that Loki hadn't been this Loki. But who better to understand the appeal of the many different Lokis than Mobius?
One moment they'd been talking about Loki, about Strange, about those choices and then with just a question they were back to him. And what he wanted. So many things, things beyond his reach and things lost to him, but more than that he wanted an opportunity that he'd never have allowed himself at the TVA. Things were different here though, it was more a matter of accepting that.
And perhaps Loki knew that, they likely did or they wouldn't have asked, but Mobius understood this particular step was one that he'd need to make on his own. "I'd like to give it a go," He echoed Loki's words.
Mobius had a point – if there wasn’t something willing or wanting in Strange, he would have kept his secrets, even if they hurt to keep. He could have avoided Loki, or been more callous. He could have done a lot of things, including not having pouted about the fact that Loki was (only very, very technically) moving out of Pickman. But he hadn’t done those things. He’d pouted. And he’d come when Loki had called. Without question.
And Loki rather liked that.
He also rather liked Mobius’ thoughtful reply, a mirroring of their own words. Who didn’t like a little symmetry? And more so, Loki liked that Mobius had taken the space he needed, had made his considerations, and still come to the conclusion that Loki had hoped for.
“I’d like it if you gave it a go, too,” Loki said, and it sounded a little more like they’d come to an agreement than it did any kind of hopeful. That was before. Now they’d made up their minds.
With the agreement from Loki, things seemed more settled, and at the same time like gates had been opened for a new level of connection than what they had shared up to this point.
Perhaps it was that knowledge that had Mobius shifting just a little, enough that as he moved Loki moved with him so they were less supporting one another as much as Mobius was leaning into Loki, urging them back a little further.
"This place suits you," He said, lifting a hand to Loki's face, brushing back a stray strand of hair. The house, Pickman, Dunwich - Loki was doing well here in many ways.
"I'm glad this is where I ended up," He could have gone anywhere, could have found himself back on any number of timelines, but instead he'd ended up here, with a chance he never thought he'd get to have.
And he was going to make the most of these chances, he didn't know how many more he'd get. It was that thought that drove him to close what little distance remained, his mouth meeting Loki's.
Maybe it did suit Loki. For all its’ troubles, Dunwich was a place where there was no real pretense. There was nothing Loki had to be doing – there were no expectations, no lofty goals he felt it necessary to strive for, no feeling like he had to impress someone to live up to his title or name, or anything else. And for as much as the TVA had been – kind of similar in that (in a strange way), this offered more freedom.
Loki hadn’t done terribly much with it yet, but that was kind of the point, wasn’t it?
And Mobius wasn’t the only one who was glad this was where they’d ended up.
But Loki, for once, didn’t say anything, just made a little humming noise of agreement and approval and leaned into the kiss.
It was better this time than it was the last. Because this time, with this Mobius, Loki hadn’t had to argue to get to it. Not every kiss was better for having no hard feelings involved, but this one certainly was.