ɑgɛɳt ɱѳɓiuร (jetskiing) wrote in noexits, @ 2022-04-29 07:34:00 |
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Having a private space on a campus that wasn’t exactly chock-full of places to hide away was incredibly important - Mobius was both impressed and touched that Loki would do this, that he and Sharon would work on it together. Maybe a part of it was Loki desiring to show off and really get a chance to weave magic the way he effortlessly knew how - but Mobius also knew it was because of feelings too (I think they called that growth), and he fully planned to be appreciative and express how much the work meant to him. Now that he was here with Sharon, he’d definitely thanked her thoroughly - and maybe a little break was needed before showing more appreciation; it gave him a chance to gaze at the cool toned colors and the aesthetics, the vibe of the furniture and the plushness of it and also twitch a little smile when he considered the fact that they all had personalized monogrammed bathrobes (his was gold, Mobius really liked the gold). He’d never had anything like that before, not in all of his days of owning a drab TVA-issued apartment with a closet full of TVA-issued brown suits. He didn’t necessarily need a mattress so soft it made him think he was the graham cracker and he was lying on a marshmallow - but somewhere between hard and soft, that was the ticket. The bed that was in this room was perfect, however, and his bones ached at the thought of returning to the cramped quarters in Butler. “I feel really spoiled,” he chuckled, shifting to hold his weight carefully atop Sharon - but he didn’t crush her, it just put him in closer proximity to give her a kiss that was breathless and delivered with plenty of affection. “I also have to imagine that you talked Loki out of making everything green and black, with hidden horns in symbols on the wallpaper.” Like how Disney did Hidden Mickeys? Hidden Loki’s. "Good," Sharon breathed out in a laugh, shifting her hands to find a good place to hold on to. Not that there was a bad place, really, which was possibly why her hands kept wandering. For now she was settled against his hips, and she was watching him. "I had to admit that it was a little better than animal furs, no matter how nice the furs." Although she didn't think she'd ever regret that their first time had been in a little primitive hut that they'd put together, maybe if dinosaurs had attached in the middle of it, but there was something about just the fire and the furs and Mobius, but this was definitely softer, and less likely to be interrupted. Sharon was still a little surprised that Loki was sharing the space with her, but she was definitely grateful for it. Not that she couldn't work something out with Bucky - but the bed in her room was not easily going to hold both her and Mobius, and the floor didn't have nearly as many cushions. "The blue was my suggestion," she admitted. "I figured if I didn't stop him, it'd be all green. I actually wasn't sure he'd listen to the suggestion, but when I walked in, he'd already incorporated the navy blue and it was pretty… incredible." “You have good taste,” Mobius replied, then added a thoughtful, “I think blue suits me. Or - I like blue. And it doesn’t even have to be space stone blue either.” No, that type of thing brought up all sorts of thoughts, both contemplative and just plain distressing; but he also oddly had good memories associated with that chunk of time, with that color - it sort of brought him and Sharon together, or at least, that seemed to be what set it on the path even if there were hints of walking down that road ever since Schmigadoon. At least for him, anyway. He balanced on his elbows, his bent forearms, and dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose before moving to sort of lie propped up at her side. The sheets were soft too, he wasn’t sure what they were made of - fine materials, probably, since Loki wouldn’t use magic to create something subpar (like polyester, perish the thought). “You two are getting along decently though?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow, clearly curious. “Which clearly means you have good taste,” Sharon returned in an easy quip, but she smiled, offering a contented sigh. “But I don’t think that was ever in doubt.” She actually didn’t want to move which felt like it could be a problem eventually. Ah Well, if she really never did she had no doubt Loki would show up to boot her out - with magic if necessary. “I - yes?“ and Sharon certainly sounded a bit surprised by this, because she didn’t really know what she’d expected but the time they’d spent working on this had been almost enjoyable. “I suppose you could say that. I was honestly a little surprised that he didn’t want to show you this himself. Because blue aside, and I feel like you do look rather good in blue, most of this was his magic. I certainly couldn’t have done anything like this.” Her fingers slipped against the sheets, which were absolutely the softest thing she’d felt in a while. Mobius’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he grinned. It was sweet that Loki wanted Sharon to have first dibs at showing Mobius the room - much like what happened on the dinosaur island, privacy was a thing that Loki was open to giving them and Mobius was grateful for it; he knew that Loki could be thoughtful and astute about the ways of emotion, even if he claimed otherwise. They called that growth, or something - to be here and witnessing it, well, Mobius definitely felt grateful. “Magic is a crazy thing,” he drawled, stretching out beneath those silky sheets a little - if only everyone was as lucky to have their own space for intimacy. But alas, they didn’t. “And, well - speaking of that. There’s something I should probably bring up.” He purposely didn’t preface it with can we talk because damn if that didn’t sound awful no matter who said it or when. Spiraling into anxiety wasn’t the goal here. "I like it better this way," Sharon admitted as she glanced around the room. She'd seen it used against people; and had, in fact, seen the clean-up end of Loki's magic being used against people. But she supposed that, like anything, it had its good uses and its bad uses, and it was worth not dismissing it. "These sheets? Chef's kiss. Don't tell Loki I said that though, he'll be insufferable." She rolled over on her stomach, so that she could prop herself up on her elbows and look down at him. "What is it? You don't have magic do you?" “Not this time,” Mobius laughed lightly - and he was pretty sure that the only time he did have magic, it had been the same time Sharon did. In that medieval-esque place with Der Leth (what a name) being their source of knowledge and where wizards abounded and so did elephant people, and you were happy to frequent unwashed taverns because it meant entertainment; he’d been pretty good at the magic then too, if he did say so himself. He’d managed to make an enchanted ring for Loki and even if the unicorn effect was no longer valid, Loki still wore the band on his finger. But no, no magic to be found crawling through these veins - not the same way power coursed through the veins of his variant. It was an echo of whispers in his chest (though steadily growing louder), dragging searing invisible fingers across his lungs with every breath, his heart. He reached over and let fingers gently fall in Sharon’s hair, stroking through and twisting some of that adorably mussed blonde around and around; she looked so pretty this way. All the time. “I’ve been wanting to uncover more of my past - I mean, what the TVA took from me,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been wanting awhile, really, but thought that it wouldn’t be best to dive into it until we were actually settled someplace. Since this week was quiet, I had Loki see what he could find - just one memory. Something simple. We had talked about it before and he didn’t want to look but - I think with Sylvie gone now, he changed his mind.” There was no one else who could do it. "I was going to have to be envious," Sharon returned back in an easy smirk, choosing to ignore the way that her body reacted when he reached out to touch her hair. There were things she was willing to dive into, but the attachment beyond simple attraction wasn't in that list of categories just yet. Still, he did have an impact, and she couldn't entirely deny it. Her expression softened, into something that was more thoughtful. She nodded at the idea that he would want to uncover more of his past. It made sense. She couldn't imagine not knowing her history, or what a void that might leave. It was something she knew was true for him, and she could feel supportive of him doing that. Although the idea that it was Loki doing it? Loki had messed with minds before. Sharon knew this wasn't the same, of course. She'd spent that time with him putting this room together, a room he'd offered to her just the same as it was his and Mobius'. She had her own robe and it was just as gorgeous as the other two. But that didn't keep the initial niggling of worry from curling up and hooking. Because this was Mobius and because, well. She pushed strands of that blonde hair behind her ear and she could feel herself going into data mode. It was easier than thinking about the implications of the worry. "Did it… did you find something?" Ever since Loki had pulled that one memory free from the swamp marsh it had been buried in, Mobius stubbornly clung to it. “A beach,” he replied. “Not sure which one, but it wasn’t really one of those touristy beaches - more like someplace fishermen frequented, and it was calm and...rustic.” No bathroom buildings, no stands that had those drinks with little paper umbrellas, no concession stands or snack bars offering up expensive cold-pressed juices. Only the beach in its simplicity - and, honestly, Mobius loved it. “I think it was the last time I saw it - whatever my nexus event was, it must have happened soon after,” he continued, idle musing. Of course he didn’t know for sure but - he had a pretty good feeling, anyway. “I do want to see more though. I’ve just felt empty for so long and as I build the future I decide to build I want to know who I used to be. It’s gone now and I’ve accepted that but I still want to know.” He continued carding his fingers through Sharon’s hair, and it was a reverent kind of touch - he’d been in love with Loki for years and knew what he felt; with her, he was learning how to navigate those feelings actually in the moment instead of watching in a Time Theater. It was pretty exciting. Slow-building. And it would feel well-earned. “Are you - okay with it? You’re not worried - or are you?” Sharon's lips curled up just slightly, as she leaned into his touch while he painted a picture - limited though it might be. It sounded nice, and well, it sounded very like some place she could see Mobius enjoying. She rather suspected that both her and Loki might have richer tastes than Mobius. She hadn't really been born to them, but she'd learned to appreciate it since she'd left government employment - a truth that felt a little ironic. "Of course I'm okay with it," Sharon returned easily. But also that was too easy wasn't it? On the surface she absolutely was. Mobius needed his memories. She could understand that, at least as much as it was possible to understand it when you hadn't walked that path, she could empathize with it certainly. Exploring some avenue of returning those memories even if it required a little risk - like what they were doing with Delerth and the timeline - it was his decision to make and she could support that. She could also wish it wasn't Loki. But she wasn't certain how to navigate that. Because also it was Loki. Loki who Mobius obviously loved. Loki who… hadn't been that bad in any interaction she'd had with him since she and Mobius had talked. But also Loki who had created havoc in New York and manipulated a SHIELD agent and scientist to that end. She didn't even know if that was a conversation to have with Mobius. Or Loki. She supposed complicated emotions about her and Loki's past intersections were bound to show up sooner or later. Sharon leaned her head down, allowing him better access to her neck, in a half request to move his fingers that way, that wasn't really any request at all. "You should have your memories if you can, Mobius." A pause. She breathed in and added, cautiously, although it really wasn't a question: "You trust Loki." “I do,” Mobius confirmed right away. He obliged Sharon, backs of his fingers gliding down the side of her neck - though he slipped around and massaged there too, working at any possible knots of muscle, any tension. And he also moved in closer, seeking warmth, so he could drape an arm over her and dust kisses along her neck, down the same path that his fingers forged. “He didn’t want to at first, like when we first talked about it. He’s afraid I’ll remember a life I’ll want to go back to - but even if I did, it’s all gone anyway. That was the point of the TVA.” If he said it bitterly, that’s because he was still bitter. He hated that they took everything from him, didn’t even give him a choice - but he couldn’t change it. Mobius knew that - it’d be pointless to try. The closure was all he wanted, so he could fill in those painful holes that seemed to have a life of their own. “He didn’t want to do it but he did it anyway,” Mobius continued. “Because it meant a lot to me, so yeah, I trust him. But I understand why you’re more apprehensive about it.” He wouldn’t try to tell Sharon how to feel about it, or Loki in general - she was absolutely entitled to her own feelings there. Sharon hummed her appreciation at his fingers. It was difficult to truly engage in worry while he was so expertly addressing the tension that might have worked up in those muscles over the past few months she'd been at Delerth. It was interesting that he hadn't wanted to. And she was at least ready to admit to herself that she might not have a complete picture where Loki was concerned. And there were likely those who, if they knew her secrets, might consider her also untrustworthy. She closed her eyes for a moment letting the tension sink out before she turned onto her side and looked at Mobius. "Our memories are important and someone stole that. If you want them back and there's a way to get them, then you should. I am apprehensive; but we're going to try to anchor this campus to a timeline, so in the scheme of things that could go wrong, honestly…" Her lips turned up, and she reached over to slide fingers through his hair at his temples. She didn't really feel the need to say anything else - yes, she was apprehensive, and it felt right to say that, but at the same time there were risks that they were taking every day. Right, their lives were just filled with things to be apprehensive about, weren't they? "Yeah, the mess in my head is definitely low on the list of things that people should be concerned about going wrong," Mobius quipped - his eyes were closed but he squinted one open, playfully. And if he did kind of a kitten-esque headbutt into Sharon's touch, obviously encouraging more, then so be it - he was just as much of a sucker for it, and would never complain about her fingers easing his knots of tension. "It'll be okay though. My head and - remembering everything. We'll go slow." He didn't think that everything all at once was a good idea - he'd seen what happened to C-20 when Sylvie scrambled her brain with too much, too quickly. It practically leaked out of her ears, and Mobius didn't want the same thing happening to him. "And we're gonna anchor this Derleth mess eventually too - and we'll have plenty of art galleries to go to. Intellectual stimulation and all that," he teased, hand gliding up and down Sharon's ribcage in a teasing, feathery sort of touch. "Just remember I like your head," Sharon told him with some extra special massaging of said head, well, and neck too. After all, it seemed only fair to return the favor. And while this week had not been as stressful as the week before, it had definitely had its own series of complications and challenges. Maybe Delerth was always going to be a little complicated and stressful - although hopefully not if they figured out the timeline thing. It was something Mobius had been working on consistently, and Sharon leaned forward to drop his forehead a light kiss, significantly more chaste than the ones they'd chased earlier in the evening. "Art galleries, theaters, museums, maybe a library or two. Although I suppose we've got those here." She caught her breath at those feather light touches. "Here I was thinking we could fall asleep," she chided, but the smile on her lips suggested that she was anything but annoyed. He felt kind of melty (that wasn’t a word, but Mobius would insist it still applied) at the return massage, the gentle digging into muscles that were a little bit sore - and while he wouldn’t go so far as to say he always had a headache, let’s just settle on how Derleth constantly challenged him. Sometimes in ways that felt like his skull was caught in a vice, actually. But there were even more melty feelings over that forehead kiss - it was sweet, and affectionate, and Mobius appreciated the intimacy of it too. Of the whole setup here, and the situation and building what they were building - you couldn’t go too fast, or force it, or it wouldn’t be real. It’d fall apart - he didn’t want that. It also made him want to really take those moments where he actually felt at peace in the middle of this timeloop hurricane and hold on. “A library with books bound in human flesh,” he chimed in, as if that was completely normal. His part smirk, part smile suggested that he was not even close to being annoyed either. But - “I’ll let you sleep, if you want,” he allowed, as he drummed his fingertips along Sharon’s side, since they had the space for it and things were calm now. Sharon made a face. "The fact that books bound in human flesh isn't even the strangest thing that Delerth has thrown at us does say everything about Delerth, doesn't it?" She could overthink this, and try to define every single little thing. There was certainly a part of her that could lean towards that, but she'd also rather intentionally determined that maybe this wasn't the way to go with her and Mobius, and with whatever this was. There were too many pieces and variables, including her own sense of the thing. Right now she was content, and in the ways that Delerth switched everything around on them, she didn't really feel the need to push anything one direction or another. They could enjoy this moment. "Hm, you know if I am always falling asleep on you, I'm going to start having a complex. You should get some rest too. There's no dinosaurs you need to look out for today." “I guess there’s not, no - just the dodos on the green,” Mobius laughed and, well, that was Loki’s dodo army anyway - plus they seemed to be content wandering around and pecking at grass and that was the most action this week had seen (and blissfully so). There were no greater threats to contend with, no crushed monoliths that released floating eyeballs monsters, no overrun clinic and tired healers who just wanted it all to stop. So he settled, giving Sharon another kiss as his eyelashes fluttered closed - a sweet kiss, like candy red apples at the fair kind of sweet and wholesome, maple sugar shapes made in the snow. Definitely a stark contrast from the passion they’d gotten up to earlier but Mobius sort of enjoyed both aspects - he would take either, whatever the mood called for. “We’ll both sleep?” he suggested, finding a cozy spot - as long as Sharon was nestled against him, it’d be fine. "It's the only way to really be able to tell Loki if his sheets were acceptable," she murmured, as she shifted, settling in to wrap a leg over one of his, and tuck herself against his side. Existential threat of life secrets being blasted across campus aside occasionally Delerth allowed a few moments of peace and Sharon was happy to grab some of them tonight. |