Legal Disclaimer: My work is my own creative intelligence and property, but I do not own the original source material it stems from (I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if it was). The opinions and interpretations of characters reflected in my stories may not follow what is portrayed from the source material. Please don't sue me, I'm a stay at home mom.

Author's Note: [Clears throat] Episode 4 has brought me a lot of pain, and there was a lot of hurt and betrayal and jealousy floating in the air. My thoughts to it were simple of course: Would one small change ease any of that? Maybe only a little...

Word Count: 495

A Glimmer of Trust

Loki was never so intrigued yet curious about another person before. It had to be because this woman was him, and he was her in a sense, that pushed him over the edge and into a silent awe that kept him from further engaging. He watched as she opened the time portal before looking directly at him. Expressionless, she gave her fingers a wiggle his way before stepping through it. Loki felt like he came back into himself when he heard Mobius' voice shouting his name.

There were only seconds left before the portal closed. He turned to look at the fast approaching agent. The two Hunters were not far behind, batons set to prune. He knew that if he stayed he would be done for, Mobius would not be able to save him again. Every nerve in him screamed for him to run through the portal, to forget about him and pursue the Variant instead.

But if he did… it would be a deep betrayal to Mobius and everything they'd built up to that point. It was a risk he didn't want to make this time. The voice in his head doubted this very messy, absolutely reckless idea, but he had to do it to preserve whatever it was he had with his handler.

"Loki, Wait!" Mobius shouted, and Loki did not hesitate.

With a quick flex of his hand, random items from the shelf nearby suddenly pelted the Hunters, slowing them down just enough. Mobius threw his arms up to shield himself as he continued to run ahead. Loki teleported to his side, grabbing his arm with a jolt, and pulled him through the portal right as it closed behind them.

When they stepped out into the locker room at the TVA, Loki was strangely unsurprised. Mobius, however, was completely rattled. Loki scanned the red lockers, stopping on the one where B-15 placed the daggers.

He went right for them.

"Loki! What are you doing?" Mobius questioned, gaining his composure and confidence of where he was.

Now armed, Loki turned to Mobius, positioning the daggers in a defensive manner while approaching his handler. The look in his eyes flashed with fear, and it hurt just a tad that he would think Loki would harm him. Instead, he countered it with reassurance.

"My job," Loki said simply, ignoring Mobius' sputtering protests. "Get back up, I'll hold her off."

Catching up to her was easy, apprehending her, however, was not. She was squirmy and ruthless, whereas he was holding back, not actually wanting to harm her. When Loki saw Ravonna appear at the end of the hall was when the actual panic set in. Mobius appeared a heartbeat later, B-15 in tow, but Ravonna was already coming for them, and Loki thought hastily.

TemPad in hand, buttons frantically pressed, he only had a breaths second to meet Mobius' gaze before being swallowed by the portal, clipping whatever it was Mobius was trying to say.

"Loki—!"