Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Locals have to recognize us from the distance by now, I swear,” Mobius murmurs under his breath as he and Loki appear on Pompeii again.

They’ve visited the place so many times, he lost count. Ever since he agreed to take Loki here for the first time, the god seemed to fall in love with this location, taking them there whenever an opportunity appeared. And not that Mobius was about to complain much about it, because he was not, but the thought about how suspicious they might look wouldn’t leave his mind. Sure, people tend to visit places they love constantly, yet, the problem with the pair is they appear out of nowhere and disappear into the thin air just as suddenly. Which is not normal. 

Then, once again, as if they hadn’t come across much bigger problems. This should be a rather relaxing experience for both of them. 

As they walk by the ruins, watching what’s left of the city destroyed by Vesuvius, a young pair of humans is making their way across the landscape as well. They’re holding hands, walking very closely, being basically all over each other. From the conversation, they are holding in French, Mobius manages to catch that they are on the so-called “honeymoon.”

Interesting human tradition as Mobius perceives it. He found out about it only recently and thought it might be a nice thing to do with the God of Mischief, no matter how strange that sounds. And then, after checking a few more things, it turned out that inhabitants of the Earth usually do that sometime after getting married. It’s worth mentioning that Mobius does know what marriage is, he found out about that tradition a rather long time ago.

He’s not even sure if Loki knows about any of these. Do gods propose to each other? Do they even have marriages or do they just hold some sort of… parties? Banquets? To celebrate that the two are in a relationship.

The former TVA agent never bothered asking him that actually. On the one hand, it’d be surely useful information, on the other, he didn’t want Loki to suspect anything. 

He didn’t want the god to have any suspicions about what Mobius is currently clutching in his hand inside the pocket of his coat. 

It might be cliche, but when the idea appeared in the mortal’s head, he just thought to himself, “fuck it, why not?” and just like that decided to propose. They’ve been together for long enough and they were together through a lot. He feels that literally, no one in the entire universe would be able to understand him as well as Loki does. Hell, he knows it. Because to understand you had to be there when their lives were turning upside-down. And the God of Mischief has been there with the human all the way. 

Mobius notices Loki slows down gradually, stopping in the end. That’s the opportunity the former TVA agent is determined to take. He clears his throat, as the god still remains turned to him with his back. The next few movements are quick, mastered; he gets on one knee, takes the small box out of his pocket and opens it, making the ring inside visible now. It’s a sort of ring that is shaped like a small, silver snake. When worn, it looks like a snake is climbing onto the finger, wrapping its body around it. 

The second the agent looks up he realizes the god is kneeling as well, which causes Mobius’ heart to skip a bit, because- Did Loki decide to propose as well? 

The tug on the god’s lips makes it rather obvious that Loki is trying hard not to laugh at the entire situation, as they have to look really ridiculous right now. Mobius more than anything looks embarrassed though. 

But right when he thinks the situation can get any weirder, the half-jötun seems to remember that he should be taking out a ring as well. So he shuffles a little bit, getting the object out and when he does, Mobius realizes that he isn’t holding any ring. He’s holding a dagger. And, oh dear Odin, thank god there’s no one around to see them like this. 

Loki holds the dagger flat on his palms. It’s a rather long weapon, both the handle and the blade are black and shiny. It has some silver decorations on the lower part of it as well. The last thing the agent notices is the ribbon wrapped around the blade itself. 

“You gotta be kidding me-” Mobius finally speaks up after the first wave of shock goes away.

“I am not, I can assure you I am utterly serious,” Loki’s voice is casual, a small smirk still playing on his lips, yet the look in his eyes betrays the fact that he’s actually rather nervous. “It’s a human tradition that I don’t fully understand yet, but let me just ask you this; will you marry me?” 

The agent stares at him, a shadow overcoming his expression. Which, of course, makes the god even more scared and anxious. What if he did something wrong? Maybe he should’ve asked in some other way. But he saw people do it like this, why would this be wrong?

“You have to stop stealing my lines, Lokes.” The mortal eventually finds his words again, his expression almost immediately changing into a bright smile. He laughs upon seeing the confusion still visible in the god’s features. “You stupid oaf, of course, I’ll marry you!” 

Loki’s breath hitches. There is a second there when Mobius thinks the half-jötun is actually going to cry, as his body trembles slightly, surely not from the cold. The agent is ready to catch the dark-haired if he happens to fall, but after another several seconds, the god’s voice is audible again.

“Did you just-” he makes a choked sound. “Did you just call me an oaf?!” 

That does it. Mobius literally ends up on the ground, wheezing from laughter, which causes Loki to get over his annoyance, a smirk returning onto his face as he gets closer to the man. He then takes the box out of Mobius’ hand and gets a closer look at what’s inside.

“So this-”

“It’s for you,” the agent confirms. “I found you a boring ring, just like regular humans do.” He struggles to catch his breath after laughing in certain for so long.

“It’s not boring,” the god slowly puts the ring on his finger and observes it carefully for a while, his eyes sparkling. “It’s a snake. Snakes cannot be boring.”

“Whatever you say, Lokes.”

They fall silent for a few minutes just enjoying the evening, Mobius still laying on the ground while Loki remains seated right next to him, his eyes focused on the volcano visible ahead in the distance. 

“I gotta give it to you, though,” the mortal breaks the silence once again, earning the god’s attention immediately. “Dagger is so much cooler than a ring.” He smiles as he hears Loki laugh.

Well, now it’s official.

He’s gonna hear this laugh for the rest of his life. 

Dear lord-