When Mobius suggested they host a picnic for all of their friends, Loki was beyond excited.
When he noted that everyone should bring a dish and make it a potluck, he panicked.
Despite having watched nearly every moment of his boyfriend's life, Mobius forgot one important fact...
Loki can't cook.
*************
"Sylvie I need your help with.....what are you doing?"
He'd barged into the apartment she shared with B-15(now going by her real name of Beatrice) to discover a flurry of flying utensils.
"I'm making pies."
"You can cook?!"
"Duh, you have to have some basic skills to survive in apocalypses. What are you bringing to the picnic?"
"That's the problem," Loki said as he plopped down onto a dining chair and banged his head against the table," I have no idea."
"Well, what's the easiest thing you know how to make?"
"Anarchy."
Sylvie whacked him on the head with a spoon.
"I meant food wise you clown!"
"Right that....see the thing is, I've never learned how to make food, the servants in the palace always took care of that."
"Well what about conjuring something with magic?"
"Tried that," Loki said as he let out a sigh," Casey didn't leave the bathroom for weeks as a result."
"Eugh, best not go route then..."
She took one pie out of the oven and slid another one in while Loki continued to moan about his lack of culinary prowess. She went to make room in the fridge for the dessert to cool when inspiration struck.
"Loki, I've got it!"
"Got what?"
"The solution to your problem silly."
"Well come on, out with it," Loki said as he leaned forward in anticipation," Tell me what glorious dish I can prepare that will be worthy of Mobius's festivities."
"A salad!"
"Hmm, that's just cutting up some vegetables and tossing them into a bowl right?"
"Pretty much.."
"Well then, surely I can't mess that up! Pass the ingredients over."
************
Loki could, in fact, mess that up.
Despite assistance from Sylvie(and Beatrice later on),his salad looked like someone had put the entire produce aisle through a wood chipper. Unfortunately, it was far too late to try again, so he wrapped plastic over the bowl and prayed to the Norns that his lover wasn't too particular about the asthetics of their feast.
*************
The mage's stomach was in endless knots the day of the picnic. When he opened the time door to the event location, he saw that the others had already set their dishes up on a long table. He went to set his bowl down on it as well, but when he saw how amazing everything else looked....suddenly Loki became painfully aware that the salad wasn't good enough......
He wasn't good enough.
He spun around with the intention of throwing the conglomeration into the trash.....and bumped right into Mobius.
"Hey Lo, where you heading with the food?"
"Oh this? It's not fresh so I'm just going to throw it out..."
"Nonsense, let me take a look," Mobius said before snatching the dish out of the Góð's hands," alright, a salad! I was hoping someone would make one..."
"Well I wouldn't get your hopes up about this one, it's as much of a failure as it's creator."
Seeing the double meaning for what it was, the agent sat the salad down and began mixing it up before covering it in dressing.
"You know, love is kind of like a salad....you take these bits and bobs that normally wouldn't mix, put them together, and create something really beautiful...kind of like you and me."
"I'm....not sure how we equate to a pile of lopsided vegetation, Mobius..."
"What I mean is, you're not perfect and neither am I," he said as he wrapped his arms around the mage," but that's okay, cause what we have together is really beautiful."
Loki smiled and leaned his forehead against Mobius's.
"I love you."
"I love you too, now how about we dig in before someone else gets ahold of those pies."
"Sounds like a plan."