LOKI s02e05 SPOILERS!!!

This takes place after season 2 episode 5 ends and Loki time slips back to the beginning of the series

He just has to get through the trial.

He just needs to do exactly what he did last time and get through the trial.

Everything will be okay if he can just get through the trial.

Unfortunately, he does not remember everything he's ever said and done in the thousand years he's been alive, and this is one of the very few things that will not be in the TVA's very large stack of papers documenting his every word.

But that's alright. He'll be alright. He just has to get through the trial.

"How do you plead?"

He remembers this part. He remembers how it all began. It's strange to think that this was his first meeting with Ravonna Renslayer; that his first impression of the woman who would one day become the near-bane of his existence was that she was just another boring TVA agent.

She's much more than that. He knows that now. They're all much more than this. B-15 holding his arm, she's much more than this, too – a doctor! He never would have guessed! But he knows better than to expect any cooperation from her just yet, so he's going to wait.

He just has to get through the trial.

He huffs a laugh, as though the question he's been presented with is absolutely ridiculous – and it is, truly. Is anybody ever not guilty? Still, his answer is the same as it was the first time he was asked:

"Madam, a god doesn't plead."

Ravonna looks less than amused.

"This has been a very enjoyable pantomime," Loki continues, "but I would like to go home now."

Home.

Is that what he'd said, the first time he was presented the question? He wanted to go home? What did he consider to be home? If asked now, he'd say he doesn't have one. It's why he couldn't settle down like Sylvie tried to; he didn't have a home to return to, and he didn't know how to make one.

But then, he supposes he already has made one. It's here. The TVA is his home now. That's why he's fighting so hard not to lose it.

"Are you guilty or not guilty, sir?" Ravonna asks, growing more exasperated by the moment. If only she knew then what she knows... now...? No, if only she knew now what she knows in the... Oh, forget it. Time travel messes everything up.

What did he say to this? Is this when he tried to use his magic? He supposes that could be a good idea. If he could do it earlier (which is now later), maybe he can do it now (which is actually earlier).

He glances over his shoulder. Mobius isn't here yet. He's not sure when he arrives, but it must be soon. It wasn't all that much later after this show of non-magic that he stepped in. He should be here any minute now.

Until then, Loki has some magic to test. This is going to be a lot easier if he can use his powers.

So he answers, a smirk on his face, "Guilty."

Ravonna raises her brows.

Loki spreads his arms, his smirk only growing. "Of this."

He tries to summon his seidr. He tries with everything in him – and with all that's on the line, there is a lot in him. But it doesn't work. And of course it doesn't work; OB hasn't disabled the security protocols. But it was worth a try.

What did he do the first time around? He tried again, didn't he? He tried to use his magic again. He did it until somebody said something. He should do that now, then. He needs to kill time, and what better way to do that than exactly how he did it the first time he went through this: by making a fool of himself?

B-15 chuckles, but he doesn't think that's when he stopped. It was later. It was when somebody said something, wasn't it? How did this go, again?

Ravonna shakes her head to herself. "What's going on?"

There. That's what it was. That's when he said...

What did he say here? He's awful at this. He should have time-slipped a few minutes later, when Mobius stepped in.

Fortunately, even without his input, B-15 is able to answer with a very amused, "He's trying to use his powers, ma'am."

Ravonna raises her brows. "Magical powers?" she repeats, unimpressed. "They're no good in the TVA, Mr. Laufeyson."

Loki grits his teeth and drops his arms to his side. Does she have to call him that? He'd prefer "the Variant" to a name he doesn't associate with.

He glances over his shoulder. Still no Mobius. But it must be soon. It was right after this, wasn't it? She'll sentence him to be pruned, and Mobius will show up at the very last second and he'll stop it.

Shit.

He missed a part, didn't he?

He missed an entire part of the conversation.

They were supposed to talk about the Avengers. That took up a large portion of their short time together. Will this conversation – this trial – last long enough for Mobius to appear, even if they don't take the time to talk about the Avengers?

Loki swallows hard. He has to stall. She can't sentence him to be reset yet. He needs to stall. But how...?

But then Ravonna speaks. "Why do you keep looking behind yourself?"

Loki doesn't know how to answer, so, of course, he does what he does best: he lies. With a condescending smile on his face, he says, "I am waiting for my brother. I imagine he'll arrive any moment to smite you where you stand."

Ravonna lolls her head back in exasperation. "Your brother is not coming. He certainly is not going to 'smite' anybody."

"Oh, you don't know my brother, then," Loki says. If anybody could break into the TVA and smite somebody, it would be... Sylvie, actually, now that he thinks of it, but Thor would be a close second.

Ravonna shakes her head to herself. "The court finds you guilty." She bangs her gavel against the desk. "I sentence you to be–"

"Mobius!"

Loki has never run so fast in his life. He's made it down the courtroom hall within seconds, and he grabs Mobius's shoulders, looking at him in wonder.

"Mobius, it's so good to see you again," he breathes. "I could just kiss you."

Mobius's brows shoot up.

"I know where the Variant is," Loki says quickly. "Her name is Sylvie, and the TVA is going to prune her – and us – and she's going to kill the man responsible for..." He gestures around vaguely. "All of this, and it will set the timeline free, except the Temporal Loom won't be able to handle all the branches and the multiverse will start to fall apart. But if we can get OB to fix the Temporal Loom before Sylvie kills He Who Remains, then the multiverse will be saved, and the TVA can continue to exist while containing the multiverse and the growing branches and we–"

"I'm sorry," Mobius interrupts, "I'm gonna stop you right there." His face screws in confusion. "Have we met?"

"Yes, we have," Loki says. "But you don't know that because we only meet now – which is awful because it means you won't remember anything we've been through, but I had to go back to the beginning or this wasn't going to work."

Mobius just stares at him.

This isn't going as well as he'd hoped.

Mobius cranes his neck to look at Ravonna. "Did you tell him about me?"

"Of course not," Ravonna says.

"Mobius!" Loki cups his hand around the back of his neck, forcing his attention back on him. "I know that you don't know me, but I need you to listen to me. Reality as we know it is disappearing. I saw it disappear. I saw you disappear. And I know how to fix it, but I need your help."

"Okay..." Mobius takes his hand and carefully removes it from his neck. "I'm going to be honest: I don't understand what is happening right now."

"I'm from the future," Loki says. "I've already done all of this. We've already found the Variant. Then you arrested me – again – and I told you that you're all Variants, but you don't know that because the TVA erased your memory, and you didn't believe me but then you realized I was right and then she found out–" He nods pointedly towards Ravonna. "And pruned you and then–"

"Ah, ah," Mobius tuts, silencing him. He once again looks at Ravonna. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"Forget about her," Loki insists. "Listen to me. I know that you don't know me. I know that you don't know yet that you'll one day trust me with your life. But everything is falling apart, and you're the only person I know I can count on to help me fix it. But I need you to trust me. Please."

Mobius just looks at him, silent, and the lack of familiarity in his eyes hurts. He knew this was going to happen. He knew that this would be another Don situation, another post-Void situation. He knew that Mobius wouldn't know him; wouldn't remember him; wouldn't care for him the way he used to, the way he's supposed to.

He thought it would be okay. Sylvie was right: he'd been doing this for selfish reasons – to get his friends back. And that's not fair, to them or to him. So if the only way to truly save the TVA is to go all the way back to the beginning, to break those bonds he's been building up for so long, he'll do it. But standing here in front of him right now, knowing that he'll never have his Mobius back, that all the time he's spent with Mobius is gone now, it hurts.

Mobius's expression softens. "You really believe this."

"Because it's true," Loki insists. "You were the most important person in my life, and I know that that means nothing to you, but..." He shakes his head helplessly. He can't even imagine being in Mobius's shoes right now. This must sound like some elaborate trick from the latest in a long line of tricksters to walk through this door. To him, Loki is nothing, but to Loki, Mobius is everything.

"Alright." Ravonna hits her gavel against the desk. "Mobius–"

Mobius waves a hand in her direction. "No, give me a minute."

"Mobius!"

Mobius is still for a moment, then nods once. To Loki, he says a quiet, "Hang on a second," then makes his way to Ravonna's desk.

Loki slips his hand into his pockets. So... now what? He just stands here? He just waits and hopes that this will work? Maybe he made a mistake, coming back this far. Maybe he should have gone back to their first few moments in the Time Theater. They could have had this conversation alone, without interruption from the woman who's somewhat responsible for this whole mess they're in.

He can't hear their conversation, but he can certainly watch it, and Ravonna's exasperated expression would almost be amusing if all of reality wasn't in jeopardy right now. But that's okay. If he can get Mobius on his side, it will be okay. He just needs his best friend. He truly believes that there's nothing he can't do if he has Mobius with him.

Finally, Mobius comes back up to him, and he gestures for him to follow. Loki cocks an eyebrow, but he does so without question. He wasn't really expecting Ravonna to agree to this – not after everything he's just said. He'd nearly expected to have to take her down here and now, right in the middle of this well-guarded courtroom. It seems that Loki isn't the only one who trusts Mobius's judgment.

It's quiet for the first minute or so of the walk, and Loki can feel his anxiety growing with every step. He's wasting time. He has time to waste – the timeline hasn't even been freed yet – but he's wasting time, and that feels wrong.

Until finally, Mobius asks, rather conversationally, "Ever been to a Time Theater?"

"A few times," Loki answers, admittedly a bit distractedly.

"It was probably the first place I took you, huh?"

Loki rolls his eyes at the memory. "Yes, you showed me a lovely display of all of my worst moments, past and future."

Mobius clicks his tongue. "That sounds like me," he agrees.

It was a test, then, is what Loki gathers from that. He knew what his first move would be. He wanted to know if Loki knew, too. It's smart. It's subtle. Truly well done. He's impressed.

"Well, that's where I'm gonna take ya," Mobius tells him. "I figure it'll give us some privacy; a good place to talk."

Loki nods once. That sounds good. He just needs somewhere they can be alone. This is going to be hard enough without Ravonna breathing down their necks.

They make it to the Time Theater, and Mobius opens the door, gesturing for him to go in first. Loki finds himself hesitating, and he hates it. He wants to trust him. He used to trust him with his life, and Mobius trusted him right back. He risked his life – and his literal skin – for him.

But this Mobius doesn't know that. This Mobius doesn't know him – not beyond the hundreds and hundreds of files he's read and Variants he's researched. He doesn't know that he can trust Loki, so Loki doesn't know if he can trust him, and he hates that. He hates that the relationship they once had is gone.

But when Loki steps into the room, Mobius follows him, closing the door behind them both, and Loki feels himself begin to relax. So Mobius isn't going to lock him in here and leave. That's a good start.

Mobius wastes no time in getting back on topic. "You do know how all of this sounds."

"I do," Loki says solemnly.

"Are you sure?" Mobius asks. "'Cause it sounds..."

"Ridiculous," Loki finishes for him. "Unbelievable. Contrived. I know. And if I was lying to you, I would have thought of something better. But I'm not lying, and I need you to believe that. I need you to believe me. Because if you don't..." He lets out a long, shaky breath. "Because if you don't trust me, then I have no one left."

Mobius sighs, a look of sympathy on his face, but that's not what he wants. He doesn't want his pity. He wants his help. He wants his trust. And if he can't get that, he doesn't know what he'll do.

"Please," Loki says quietly. "You're all I have."

Mobius nods slowly, thoughtfully, eyeing him with an expression he can't quite read. "You're saying we know each other. In the future."

"Yes," Loki says. "We were dear friends – partners, really. Wherever you went, I went, and wherever I went, you went." And the very few instances where that wasn't true ended poorly every time.

Again, Mobius takes a few moments to process this. "Can I ask a weird question?"

"Of course." Though he's not sure he understands what question could possibly be weirder than every piece of knowledge that Loki's just imparted on him.

"When you say we were 'partners,'" Mobius says, "do you mean we were together? Like, dating?"

Loki's brows shoot up. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, I don't know," Mobius says, a bit sheepish, "the whole 'you were the most important person in my life' thing kinda sounds like..."

"No," Loki says. "No, we weren't – we were just friends. Good friends." No, he fell in love with Sylvie, and they all saw how that turned out. (And he supposes he shouldn't be mad at her for it. She doesn't owe him anything – her time, her company, her love. But did she have to kiss him like that before literally throwing him out of her life?)

"Oh." Mobius nods awkwardly. "Okay."

Loki furrows his brows. "Were you..." He looks at him uncertainly. "Did you want me to say yes?"

"Well, I mean..." Mobius tucks his hands into his pockets and shrugs awkwardly. "You're a god, and I've never even really gotten to talk to a Loki before, and I was thinking, you know, it would be cool if..." He shakes his head, waving that thought off. "Never mind."

Loki's silent.

He...

He thought...

He wanted...

What?

He doesn't know what to say – what to think, even. This had never even occurred to him. It's felt so far out of the realm of possibility, he'd never even given it a thought. Mobius has always been his friend; nothing more, and nothing less.

But maybe there's been something more there all along. They do everything together. They bicker and argue and laugh and tease each other relentlessly. And, more than that, he feels like a better person when Mobius is around. Mobius makes him a better person, and that's not something he can say about anyone else.

He had this all wrong, didn't he? All this time he's been chasing after Sylvie, and Mobius has been right there the whole time. Why did he never think to look for love from the one person who always gave it to him so freely and willingly?

Why did he have to lose him to realize what they had?

Mobius eyes him warily. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Loki sighs and shakes his head. "Just... thinking of what could have been." If only he'd been a little smarter, a little more aware.

He wishes he could go back to their last few moments together. He wishes he could pull him in close and kiss him, just once, just to know how it would feel, just to know what he would do. Did he even have a chance with him? He must have. He must have. If he'd only thought to try. But it's too late now.

Mobius just looks at him for a few moments; then, "You mean what we could have been?"

Loki nods solemnly. There's no point in lying. He can't tell his Mobius. His Mobius is probably gone now, erased and replaced by this new Mobius of the future he's creating now. This is the closest he'll ever come to confessing his feelings to the man he fears he may have fallen in love with.

"What, I shot you down?" Mobius asks, the corners of his lips twitching up in amusement. "That doesn't sound like me."

Again, Loki shakes his head. "I never asked," he says quietly. Why did he never ask? How did he never think to ask?

Mobius's smile fades at that, though whether it's due to his words or the defeat in his voice, it's hard to say. "Oh."

Loki nods slowly, solemnly. Yeah. Oh. If only he'd had that oh moment sooner.

He sighs. "I'm sorry; that's not why I'm here. I didn't..." He shakes his head to himself. "I'm here because I need help – because all of existence needs help. It's not about me, or us, or what could and never will be. I knew when I came here that I was going to have to give that up, and I don't want you to think that I expect you to be my Mobius, because I know that you're not. You don't know me – not beyond the files you've read and the crime scenes you've stumbled upon."

"But I'd like to."

Loki furrows his brows. "I beg your pardon?" He was going to have a whole big monologue here. He wasn't expecting any sort of injection – and certainly not an interjection like that.

"I'd like to know you," Mobius says again. "My purpose in the TVA is to know you. I've literally studied every moment of your entire life. I think you're fascinating. And now you're telling me that my future is supposed to be with you, basically until the end of time itself?" He scoffs, his smile returning at the mere thought. "I know you're the god of lies and that's kind of your thing, but I really want to believe this." He pauses. "Which is probably how you lie so well."

Loki shakes his head solemnly. "It was your future," he says. "But I'm trying to change it. I'm trying to stop the multiverse from falling apart, even if I have to lose everything and everyone I love to do it."

Mobius thinks about that for a few moments. "But you want my help."

"Yes," Loki says. "There is nobody I'd trust more than I do