Who: Loki and Roy. What: Random Encounter. When: Mid-December. Where: The mall. Rating: Low. Status: Complete.
With Christmas fast approaching, Loki supposed he should get the few Christmas presents he needed to worry about getting. He abhorred the thought of the mall, but it was a necessary means, and at least he knew what he needed to get. It could be a quick in and out situation if all went according to plan.
And it was. Until he wandered by a specialty chocolate shop and his eye caught the hand-rolled dark chocolates in the window. They seemed too good to pass up, really, and since his shopping was more or less done, he wandered inside to examine his choices.
Roy was doing some shopping for Lian for Christmas morning. At ten she knew that Roy was Santa, had known since she was eight actually when she’d found the gifts he and his parents had bought her from Santa, but that didn’t mean she didn’t get anymore presents ”From Santa”. Knowing Roy, he would probably write ‘From Santa’ on Lian’s gifts even when she was sixteen. That was just the way Roy was.
Shopping bags in hand, Roy was walking through the mall, trying to decide what store to hit up next when he also spied the chocolate shop. If there was one thing Roy had a hard time passing up, it was chocolate.
The selection was even better than Loki had first thought. He stood in front of the display case that held the varieties of truffles and squares, trying to make up his mind. Pistachio was what he kept going back to. While the girl behind the counter began to box some up for him, she handed one over, and Loki popped it into his mouth with a nod of approval.
As Roy walked into the store he was overcome with the aroma of chocolate and was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to be leaving empty handed. He was looking at a few various boxes, wondering what kind of chocolate Darcy liked when he noticed the sale’s associate helping another guy and never being very good at minding his own business he approached them, “What kind was that?” He asked, gesturing towards the piece of chocolate the other man had just eaten.
Loki glanced over his shoulder, then finished with the chocolate quickly before answering. “Pistachio. It tastes a bit like these chocolates you can get in Austria, very good.”
"Austria, huh? I take it you've been there before?" Roy asked, glancing from the man to the sale's woman, "Can I try one of those?" He asked with a smirk that was just the right amount of charming then glanced back at the man, "Oh hey, hope you don't mind me joining in."
“Once or twice.” It seemed to fit Loki’s over-all look. The well-made coat, all the bags in his hands coming from upscale and luxury stores. He had the look of a snob, he knew, and he enjoyed it, but he shrugged anyway. “By all means.”
The girl who had been helping Loki smirked as she handed Roy one of the same chocolates and he popped it into his mouth, “That is good.” Roy hadn’t really taken notice of the bags the other man was carrying and even if he had, they wouldn’t have made much of a difference to him. As far as he was concerned, money didn’t make a person better than someone else, “Question, would you get a girl chocolate for Christmas or is that one of those faux pas? It’s been awhile since I’ve done this.” Whether he was talking to Loki or the sale’s girl, he wasn’t clear.
It was the sales girl’s job to sell chocolates, so she naturally agreed right away, and very enthusiastically. For his part, Loki shrugged. On a normal day he’d ignore the man all together, but he felt somewhat compelled to be a little kind. Maybe it was just the holiday season getting to him. “I don’t see why not. Though, unless she really loves pistachio, I’d suggest going for some other flavors. Most people aren’t necessarily wooed by it.”
"Good point," Roy said, nodding then turned his attention back to the sale's girl, "Why don't you finish up with him first. I've already cut the line enough, I think." He smirked then moved aside so that he wasn't quite in Loki's personal space anymore. "As you were."
Loki gave Roy a somewhat absent nod of thanks and finished getting his own box of chocolates. As he went over to pay, he looked back at his fellow shopper. “You know, if you’re attempting to impress the aforementioned girl, they make a surprisingly good lavender truffle here. And you really can’t go wrong with any of the liqueur ones.”
While the girl finished helping Loki, Roy wandered around, glancing at the various chocolates they had for sale. When Loki was finished and spoke to him, Roy glanced over at him, “Lavender truffle, huh? Wonder if Darcy would like that. I don’t think I’ve ever had those.” He’d heard about them, but had never been in a position to try them.
Loki’s eyebrows raised, and for a brief instant he looked a bit thrown off his guard. But, he reminded himself, Darcy wasn’t exactly an uncommon name. There could be several in Orange County. And, honestly, what did it matter to him in the end? “I guess it depends if she’s the sort to want to try new things, or if she’s more fond of classics.”
Roy thought about that for a moment, “Probably the tries new things type.” So far Darcy was the only Darcy he’d ever met so as far as he was concerned it was uncommon to him, but it also made Darcy special. “Maybe I’ll take some lavender truffles and regular chocolate truffles.” It seemed like a good idea.
“That does seem like the safer route. And most people like chocolate, so either way, I don’t think it’ll hurt you too much, in the end.” Loki smiled, though it didn’t seem like a very friendly one. Mostly, it looked like he did it because he was simply trying to be polite.
Roy either didn’t notice or didn’t seem to care that the guy was just trying to be polite. “Yeah, I think I’ll go with that. Thanks for the advice.” Roy’s smile, unlike Loki’s, was a genuine one as was the norm for him. “And if she doesn’t like them, I don’t think it’ll put a strike against me.” Darcy didn’t seem like the type of girl who would stop talking to him just because he got her chocolates that she didn’t like.
“It is the thought that counts, right?” Loki realized that, by now, he was done getting everything he could possibly need at the mall, and he was really doing nothing but prolonging his time there. He took the bag with the chocolates in it and gave Roy a slight nod. “Well, best of luck to you. I’m certain you’ll be fine.”