Chapter Text
“Okay, we have a handful of time before Casey looks into his desk and realizes that I swindled him, so this isn’t going to be the leisurely activity that it should be.”
Your cheeks were red with heat and your breath was coming in shallow bursts. Between your disheveled state and the tote bag that you were clutching to your chest as delicately and protectively as if it was the crown jewels, you were practically screaming that you were up to no good. Perhaps the concerned and curious looks you were sent (Mobius and Loki, respectively) should have come as no surprise.
“If you’re trying to rob the man of his infinity stones again, I thought we already figured out that that was useless,” Loki replied, eyeing your bag curiously. “However, I’m disappointed that you didn’t involve me in whatever scheme you had cooked up.”
“Cooked is an interesting, only slightly accurate word,” you sat ungracefully on one of the T.V.A.’s uncomfortable, standard issue chairs, “but this wasn’t an infinity stones thing. Just wait.”
You swiftly pushed the files that they had been looking out of the way, ignoring Mobius’s light protests and dumping the contents of your bag onto the table.
For all that you had attempted to make it a stealthy affair, that changed as soon as you tipped the canvas material over. The crinkling was surely enough to alert all the citizens of all the universes of the T.V.A.’s existence, and the bright colors might have blinded anybody who looked in your direction. You had gotten it all; Butterfingers, Snickers, Milk Duds, Starbursts, Sour Patch Kids, and one of the few non-confiscated sticks of Kablooie that lived within the timeless confines of the organization. If it had over twenty grams of sugar in it, you could find it in Casey’s desk, and if you could find it in Casey’s desk, it wasn’t that difficult to sneak into your possession.
“Oh, no way,” Mobius said, leaning forward, “can I get the Whoppers? Love those things.”
You slid the beige box in his direction before turning to squarely face Loki, who was looking at the table with deep set confusion on his face.
“You’ve never had candy,” you said, running over the speech you had been preparing the entire walk over, “and that’s an absolute travesty. Personally, I think it’s dumb that a land of gods and hedonism has no candy, but that’s not what’s important here. What’s important is that we’re doing a taste test and we’re going to figure out what your favorite candy is.”
“How, exactly, is this supposed to help us locate the variant?”
You huffed, arms working quickly to sort the provisions into ‘chewy’ and ‘chocolate.’
“First of all, you’ve been hanging out too much with Mobius if your first question is how this helps the case. Consider this a lunch break.”
“He’s not great at respecting those,” Mobius stage-whispered, punctuating it by dropping a malted milk ball in his mouth. “Keep him away from your salads.”
“Fine, it’s a dessert break. More important. Anyways, soon, poor Casey will be opening the file drawer and realizing that his candy stash is gone and has been replaced with a very apologetic note informing him that I needed sugar for a science experiment, and he’s going to want to know what that experiment is, so happy eating. Hope you’re hungry.”
“Have you already gotten into the candy?” Mobius asked, lips turned up in a smile.
“There used to be a few more boxes of M&M’s, and I needed energy. I skipped lunch to do this.”
He hummed, turning expectantly to Loki, who was still looking utterly baffled by the turn of events, especially given the fact that he now had two pairs of eyes staring at him and watching to see what his next move was. You gently pushed both of the stacks forward, and he hesitantly reached for the Sour Patch Kids.
“Solid choice,” you nodded wisely. “Brand appropriate. Green. I like it.”
Deft fingers opened the small bag, and he slowly pulled out one of the small soft candies. He held the blue candy creature, turning it over delicately, still looking unsure of what to do. You grabbed the bag, picking out a red candy and sticking it in your mouth, quirking a brow at him.
“You’re not letting me get out of this, are you?” He sighed, watching as you chewed with a smile on your face.
“Nope. You deserve to know what delicious things are.”
“The food in Asgard isn’t bad, for the record, we just don’t have candy.”
“Well, now you do. Bottom’s up.”
He finally put the candy towards his mouth, taking a delicate bite out of the head. You and Mobius watched in rapt curiosity as his face puckered slightly before he continued chewing. He set the body down on the table, and you motioned for him to speak.
“Not a fan,” he finally said, gently dabbing at his mouth with a napkin, “this might shock you, but I don’t care for sour things.”
“Not an issue, most of these are super sweet,” Mobius replied, handing him a box of Milk Duds. “You might be more of a chocolate guy, so am I.”
Warily, Loki grabbed the rectangular box, and you watched as he fiddled with the cardboard. Finally, he plucked a single candy out, repeating the same ritual he had done with the Sour Patch Kid. You watched as he turned it over, examined it, and gave it a small sniff. This time, it was Mobius who grabbed a candy from the box he was holding, tossing it in his own mouth.
“They’re good. Caramel. Try it.”
The god let out a deep, long-suffering sigh, before putting the small chocolate in his mouth. To your delight, you watched as his face shifted from tepid curiosity to sheer delight. A wide smile broke out across your face as he went back for another, and then a third.
“These, I like.”