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Newton had a hypothesis that needed confirmation. And what kind of scientist would he be if he decided not to carry out research that would indisputably verify that he’s right? He’s always right. Okay, maybe just most of the time. That being said, to verify anything he needed to observe and learn. And observing his lab partner was proving to be a much more difficult task, than he initially thought.
He kept catching little glimpses of Hermann munching on something almost constantly. It wasn’t annoying, not really. To be honest he was more fascinated by the phenomenon. Come on, stuck up, professional Doctor Gottlieb chomping on something like all the time? What were his snacks of choice? And more importantly - where in the world did he get them?!
So many questions that just begged for an answer and so little to go on. Newton wasn’t even sure if what he saw really happened or if he was just projecting his craving for sugar that was getting worse the longer the war with Kaiju continued. Snacks, especially sweet ones, were hard to come by. Everything was becoming hard to come by and since they started rationing it was nearing impossible to get one’s hands on chocolate, toffee or any other sweet dainty. He tried. He really did.
And yet. Hermann. Was. Eating. Something. So Newton needed to investigate, but he also wanted to be sneaky about it. Seeing as previously he did everything he could so that he would not be able to see, and thus get annoyed by the other man during work hours, it wasn’t an easy task. He started by getting up early. No one said that getting his hands on those precious snacks was going to be easy!
Normally, Hermann would be in the lab long before Newton strolled in, so he wasn’t sure when the man started work. That’s why he came, or more accurately, crawled into the lab at 5am. It might have been a slight exaggeration of the mathematician’s tendency to wake up early, but better to be safe than sorry. Now he had the whole lab to himself before Hermann came in.
He wasn’t really sure how it was different from having the whole lab to himself after Hermann left for the night, but it was totally different. It was Mission Impossible stuff. He started snooping around the side of the lab that wasn’t his, humming the series’ theme. He just got into the mood of doing something he wasn’t supposed to do.
Newton started his inspection by checking Hermann’s desk - a zone that was so off-limits that he’d never even touched it before. Even now he did it through a pair of disposable gloves, the kind he normally used while working with Kaiju samples. He didn’t really think that the mathematician would check for fingerprints, but it also wouldn’t be the strangest thing that he’d seen the other man do.
Upon finding nothing of interest, Newt huffed an annoyed breath and sat at his own desk to plan out his next steps. His leg was bouncing up and down, a soft staccato of his boot hitting the floor creating the only sound audible in the lab, besides the ever-present humming of his sample tanks.
“Good morning.” Newton did not, at all, expect someone to stand behind him, much less greet him so suddenly. He jerked upright, nearly tumbling to the ground in the process, and turned sharply to face a potential threat. Which turned out to be Hermann. Carrying a mug of tea and looking way too put together, considering it was just after 6am. “What on earth are you doing here so early?” asked the mathematician suspiciously, after Newton stood there dumbfounded for a moment.
“Working!” Newton sounded a bit like a squeaky toy that just got squeezed. He tended to do that when he was suddenly forced to lie. He cleared his throat and leaned casually on the backrest of his chair. “You know, it's also my lab…” he said nonchalantly. Hermann just narrowed his eyes and, without a word, went to his chalkboards. He kept sending Newt little, leary glances every once in a while.
The biologist was not going to give up. To be honest he couldn't give up - by now he was too fixated on the mystery to concentrate on anything else. So he went to make himself some coffee. As soon as he crossed the line dividing two halves of the lab, he could feel Hermann's eyes drilling a hole in his skull. Sometimes managing the lab felt like managing a medieval country. As empowering as an analogy to him and Hermann being kings of their respective halves of the lab was, it was a huge pain in the ass. They had signed pacts for crying out loud. Actual treaties, on paper and everything. One was on rules regarding The Yellow Line of Doom.
They agreed that “nothing shall cross the border that is not human or a piece of paper”, so technically Newton was allowed to go to Hermann's side and make himself a coffee using the only kettle in the lab. And yet every time he did cross the line he felt like an intruder with the way Hermann would look at him. Seriously, if looks could light people on fire he'd turn into a small pile of ashes the first time he dared to touch the yellow tape. Fortunately they didn't, so he could continue to be a rockstar on The Other Side.
“What are you plotting, Newton?” asked Hermann, leaning back in his chair and glaring at the other scientist over his old-man glasses.
“Why do you assume I'm plotting anything?” countered the biologist diplomatically, turning towards his lab partner, who looked back at him with a completely unreadable expression.
“You've been staring into that cupboard for the last three and a half minutes.” stated Hermann, crossing his arms on his chest. Newt must've zoned out for a moment, but he wasn't going to admit it.
“I've been choosing. You know, between tea and coffee.” saying that, Newton smiled innocently.
“You never drink tea in the lab. Besides, there is no tea in that cupboard. In fact, there is only one packet of coffee, one of sugar, some cream and three spoons.” stated Hermann calmly. “You're lying about what you're doing on my side of the lab, you were here before me in the morning, you’ve been weirdly skittish since yesterday. What. Are. You. Plotting?” he finished suspiciously.
It was much too early to think clearly. Much too early. And Newton really wanted those sweets. He was also ready to admit that stealth wasn't his strong suit. Frontal attack that is.
“I want access to your stash of sweets!” he blurted out, moving towards Hermann's desk.
“My what now?!” asked the man in an uncharacteristically high voice. Newton smirked. Got you, doctor Gottlieb.
“I know you’re hiding them somewhere, I just don't know where!” Newton shouted, slamming his hands on Hermann's desk in irritation.
“You're crazy.” Hermann said, leaning back towards his work.
“What I am is right!” exclaimed Newton, pointing his index finger towards his labmate in warning. “You have a private supply and I demand that you share it.”
“I won’t share it!” yelled the mathematician, outraged.
“So you admit that it exists!” shouted Newton with delight.
“I admit no such thing.”
“Dude, you just did.”
“I did not.” answered Hermann stubbornly. “And even if I would, I’m not sharing anyway, so it doesn’t matter if this theoretical collection exists or not.”
“But why?!” Newton cried out, making his best kicked puppy expression.
“Because they are mine.” Hermann explained simply.
“But… you can’t just… Hermann! Please, dude, I’m going to shrivel up and die without sugar and it’s going to be your fault!” at this point Newton wasn’t above begging.
“You know perfectly well that a human being can’t ‘shrivel up and die’ from the lack of excess, unhealthy sugar.” the mathematician looked sternly at the other scientist, who still tried to appear as miserable as he was physically able to. “Oh fine” Hermann spat out after a moment of silence, rolling his eyes. “I know you’re not going to let it go. I don’t want you interrupting my work for something so insignificant.”
As much as he projected irritation, Hermann felt it all evaporate from him as soon as Newton’s smile lit up his entire face. With a quiet sigh he reached under his desk and put his thumb onto a scanner embed into the wood. It made something inside click. A hidden compartment opened quietly, seemingly out of nowhere. Hermann rolled his chair back and gestured for Newton to come closer. As soon as the overeager man dived beneath the desk he let out a shriek of pure joy.
“Oh my god, Hermann! You have like a little bit of everything in here!” he exclaimed, rummaging through a secret drawer “Is this instant chocolate blancmange?!”
“Yes, ah, it might be quite old, but if you boil some milk it should still taste good.” answered Hermann almost shyly. Newton just grinned and scrambled from the floor, running to their little kitchenette built into the far corner of the lab, away from potentially lethal experiments.
“Why don’t I have a cool secret drawer in my desk?” Newton asked conversationally, just as he was opening a fridge.
“Probably because you keep most of your notes in digital format.” replied Hermann, sliding the drawer closed “I needed a place where I could securely keep confidential documents like Jaegers’ designs or notes containing valuable data, for example a composition of alloy used in a plasma cannons.”
“And where do you keep those confidential documents now?”
There was a pause before the mathematician answered.
“Beneath a packet of powdered candies.” he finally mumbled, making Newton break into laughter.