Gluttony and Greed Walk into a Burger Joint

Chapter 2 - Polarized

Alus slid in next to Arek and propped the little plastic number (07) at the end of the table, as well as the drinks. "They'll be a while."

"It might do them a favor if we called ahead," Arek said.

Alus shrugged and smiled, leaning forward on his elbows towards his sister. "The triple-meat cheeseburger is right up your alley. They toast the bun and it turns out perfectly crispy on the under, still soft and warm on the over. I should ask if they do it with butter or oil." Gluttony adopted a thoughtful expression. "I want to say it's more of a butter taste. A little salty. Rich and smooth on the tongue. And the burger, oh my, the burger." Alus sighed, shutting his eyes like he could taste it in that moment. Maybe he could. "It's juicy without being underdone and soggy. A little bit of pink in the middle. Hint of charcoal. Seasoned just so with salt and pepper..." Alus's smile spread further as he opened his eyes.

Runeak stared at him across the bench with smoldering rage. She allowed a beat to pass before replying. "I'm leaving."

"Runeak." To her surprise, Arek reached over and grabbed her wrist as she moved. She jerked her arm out of his reach with a snarl so she could stand to her full height of five feet, ten inches, but she didn't storm off. Wrath gave Greed the full weight of her gaze, and he stared back with trademark impassivity.

Alus broke the silence. "Lovely Lady Spite And Malice, we'd be honored if you'd stay and critique these burgers with us."

The Fifth narrowed her eyes and glared at Alus, who wore an innocent smile, the joke ever-present in his eyes. For inexplicable reasons, he could always coax her. Alus was everyone's favorite brother. Even Runeak held no immune to it, though she put up the biggest fight. When she continued glaring, Alus turned his head and offered up his cheek, pointing to it. "Right here will do."

Runeak's hand flashed across his face, a resounding snap echoing all the way down the block. Pouncing on top of the sound of the slap, Alus's laughter rang loud and near-manic as he clutched the side of his face. "Oh, Hells, Little Sister!"

Arek rolled his eyes.

Someone cleared their throat nervously. "Number...7?" A small, female voice. 

Alus's laughter stopped as he choked and glanced behind, then jerked back to the table's chipped-paint surface. To Runeak's surprise, Arek swiveled to face the girl and beamed a smile she'd seen fewer times than she could count on one hand. "Yes, Sweetheart. Number 7."

"Hey, Dani," Alus muttered while averting his gaze, holding one hand over his reddening jaw and cheek.

Runeak stared at the girl, fascinated not with her, but with how she affected the Twins. Arek, suddenly warm and open. Alus, quiet and withdrawn, using a given name. They might as well have had personality transplants.

The girl, Dani, looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had pale skin with dashes of freckles across her nose. A white work polo tucked into a knee-length black skirt with lace boots and no heel to them served as her work attire. Dani's white apron covered the majority of the skirt, only a small lip showing at the bottom. A mess of auburn hair sat atop her head, pulled back into a haphazard bun. Thick, rectangular black-rimmed glasses sat over her hazel eyes, taking up too much of her face. She balanced three plates of fries on one arm and a fourth in her other hand, looking uncomfortable and out of place. 

"Hey." She answered Alus's greeting but kept her eyes on Runeak who stared back. Inwardly, Wrath may have been startled, but her face never showed it. Dani could only hold the stare for so long before blinking and looking away. "Um. Fries. The burgers will take a bit. But fries are done." The young lady slid the four plates on the table, two in front of Alus, one filled with waffle fries and the other sweet potato. A remaining plate of shoe-string and another sweet potato shuffled onto the eating surface, then she reached into her apron and pulled out two bottles of sauce—one ketchup, the other a house-special fry sauce. Each motion came hurried, and she didn't say another word before turning on a heel and dashing back to the hut.