Loki oneshots

Beneath The Green Spaghetti Tree (Lokius)

And, to be fair, there is something behind him now. It's just Alioth, blocking his exit and paying no mind to him. That doesn't help very much. At least he still has the TemPad.

"You shouldn't have come."

Mobius whips around, slapping a hand over his heart as though he can physically hold it back from pounding out of his chest. The spaghetti noodles have moved, he sees, creating a clearing in the middle of the noodle tree trunk, and, sitting right inside of it, is Loki.

Somehow, this is both the most relieving and the most terrifying moment of his entire life. Loki's here. He's alive. He's okay. He's more than okay, it looks like – he's gushing with power, with life. He is life. He doesn't know how he knows it, but he does. Loki is life itself.

And yet he looks absolutely miserable.

Still, it's Loki – it's his Loki; his all-time favorite of the hundreds of Lokis he's met – and he'll be damned if he's going to let him wallow here in misery all by himself. So he cracks a smile, gives him a lighthearted shrug, and says, "Well, I don't think your guard dog got the memo, 'cause he just let me right in."

Loki takes a deep breath, in and out, but he remains silent.

Mobius has to admit, he doesn't feel all that welcome right now. But that's fine. This is fine. Everything's just fine. He'll make this work, one way or another.

"It, uh..." Mobius tucks his hands into the pocket of his jacket and looks around. "It's a nice place. Could use some work."

Loki doesn't move, doesn't even blink. He just looks at him, silent, wordless, expressionless. It's weird, seeing him like this. He's usually so full of life, so full of energy. Now, he just looks drained.

"How's it going up here?" Mobius asks. If he just keeps saying things, Loki has to answer eventually, right? He's not just going to stare at him for the rest of eternity? Because he doesn't know how long Loki thinks he can hold out, but he knows for a fact that he can and he will hold out longer for even the slightest chance of seeing Loki crack a smile.

"I can't leave," Loki says, as though he's answering a question he hasn't been asked.

"Well, I didn't ask you to leave," Mobius says, "so I guess that works out." He flashes his friend a smile.

"You're going to," Loki says, his voice even, level. "You're going to ask me to go back with you, and I can't."

Mobius chuckles, a bit nervously. "What, you have mind-reading powers now?" Because that sure was exactly his plan. He didn't think it would work, but it sure was his plan. And if Loki could see him thinking about that, he doesn't want to know what other thoughts he's seen, because there are some that he would very much like to keep to himself.

"I saw you talking to B-15," he says. "And she was right. You shouldn't have come."

"Yeah, well, I did, so..." Mobius shrugs. "Guess you're stuck with me now."

Loki sighs, dropping his gaze and lowering his head. "Go home, Mobius."

"What home?" he asks. "What, you want me to kill Don and steal his kids?" He shakes his head. That's not his life. None of that is his life. Not the house or the kids or the jet skis. That's not home for him. That's never going to be home.

Loki lets out a long breath, but otherwise, he's silent.

Mobius rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're so moody," he says. "Come on, cheer up."

Loki just shakes his head to himself.

Mobius sighs. He knew that wasn't going to work. He just doesn't know what else to do. Loki's not really working with him here.