Gluttony and Greed Walk into a Burger Joint

Chapter 6 - Kiss and Tell

"She what."

Alus grinned and leaned back, hands behind his head in the dining room table chair, making it stand up on the two back legs to balance himself just so. Arek had one hand on the table, looking down at him with his usual blank but stern face.

The Twins possessed a lovely two bedroom condo for their current purposes. It ran up and down  more than side-to-side with three smaller floors. Alus scooped it up based on the fireplace in the living room and the gargantuan kitchen on the second floor boasting a walk-in pantry and plenty of counter space.

By their usual standards, it was modest, but they never remained in one place long. Arek and Alus weren't the settling type.

"Swear to you," came Alus's cheerful reply.

Arek took a deep breath in through his nose and tilted his head to the ceiling. His head gave a single, near-imperceptible shake, then he blinked those violet eyes and lowered his gaze to his brother again.

The silence between them stretched tight and thin.

Alus grinned wider, his white teeth sparkling.

As always, Arek who broke first. "Well?" He almost shouted the question.

Lips slowly covering his teeth but not hiding his smile in the least, Alus couldn't keep the chuckle out of his voice. "Well what, Buttercup?"

"Well how was it?"

Alus's burst of laughter nearly knocked him backwards out of his chair. He steadied himself with one hand on the table to keep from falling over, but Arek snarled and reached forward to hook one of the two balance points and tugged. The chair tumbled over with a crack, surprise stealing Alus's breath for a brief moment before a new round of laughter started, louder and harder than before. He held up his hands to ward off his brother. "Hold it, Ace! Hold up!"

Arek scowled. Alus controlled his uproar and grinned up at his brother, still halfway in the toppled chair, then held up a hand. Arek took it without pause and pulled harder than necessary until both twins stood. Squeezing his brother's palm, Arek's growl came from low in his gut. "You deserved that."

"Absolutely, I did." The smile left, but Alus's eyes remained shining with good humor. Releasing his hand, Arek swatted at the side of Alus's head, to which his twin obligingly ducked and backed away. "If I thought you'd believe it, I'd tell you she was all over me. It was quick, and then she ran away. So it must not have been all that great."

Arek paused, then broke into a rare, scoffing grin. "Hells."

Simple as that, the brothers were brothers once more.

Arek bent and picked up the chair to right it, his thoughtful voice quieter when he broached the next topic. "Runeak came to visit while you were away."

"Wha-y?" Both surprised questions tried to come out of Alus's mouth at the same time.

Shrugging, Arek took a seat in his brother's former chair, propping one ankle over a knee and leaning back with his arms crossed. "She said she wanted to make sure we had taken care of 'it'. I told her you were going to go see Dani today."

"And how did that go, Mister Transparency?"

Arek shot his brother an annoyed look. "You'd rather I told Runeak you planned on making out with her?"

"You think she would have gone for that? Maybe I should have pinned her arms behind her waist and demanded more than the kiss she gave. She might have been into it." Alus had the grace to pretend to look thoughtful.

"You know what I mean."

"Sure. Although it might have been better if you hadn't implied I was going to go kill her."

"What else could I have told her?"

"Good point."

Comfortable silence fell between the Twins as Alus adopted a slow pace to the other side of the room and Arek continued to stare across it, both of them lingering on the same thoughts.

"Neither of us wants her dead," said Arek.

"Brilliant."

"But her soul is amongst the brightest I think any of us have seen in centuries, isn't it?"

"Agreed."

"If Runeak tells Father—"

"She hasn't."

"She may."

"She hasn't."

"She may!"

Alus stopped mid-pace and shrugged, holding his hands out to his sides. "And what if she does?" It wasn't a defensive question, but far more light-hearted. 

Arek wasn't in the mood for Alus's compliant nature. "If she does, we'll be commanded to harvest her. She's already showing signs of being willing to pledge herself to you, you daft asshole! Do you want to be the one to kill Dani?"

Alus half-smiled, but—for once—not like he was happy. "What do you think, Brother?"

Frowning, Arek didn't answer right away. "She's gotten to you, hasn't she?"

"Sister Dearest?"

"Not Runeak. Dani. Dani has gotten to you. You don't get attached."

Alus shrugged again and turned away with a more pleasant half-smile, reaching a hand up to scratch at the back of his head. "To use a human phrase, seems like you're the pot, I'm the kettle, and you're calling me black."

"I've done the attachment thing before. You never have."

Alus laughed again, but it came subdued. He resumed his pacing. "I'm not that attached."

"Liar."

"Nosy wife."

No one could surprise Arek into a laugh like his brother. 

Once the moment of mirth passed, they shared another few breaths of amiable quiet before Arek broached the next topic. "What do you think makes her different?"

"Miss Malice says she's human."

Arek nodded thoughtfully. "Do you feel like you've met her before?"

The question stopped Alus in his tracks. His head tipped to the side in quiet contemplation. "You feel a familiarity as well?"

Arek nodded again.

"Hrm." Alus pursed his lips, the more genial of the Twins rolling over the inquiries. Squinting his eyes, Arek would have sworn his brother recalling something and almost demanded he spit it out.

Instead, the next thing which came out of Gluttony's mouth proved unpredictably predictable. "Can't think on an empty stomach. Late dinner?" 

Thank you so much again for continuing to read! Alus loves food, I love votes, and I'd be over the moon if you could please remember to click that button before moving on. <3