Disclaimer – I claim no ownership to the characters used in this fan work. The characters rightfully belong to their creators such as Monty Oum and their other respective owners at Roosterteeth.
Apathetic Sisters
Chapter 2: The Errand
It was the middle of yet another late Monday night. Walking across the downtown sidewalk were both Yang and the eldest of the Malachite twins. The two side by side, but still roughly several people apart.
Earlier, back at the apartment, Miltiades had discovered the pair were running low on a few sparse groceries from their kitchen and refrigerator.
When the longer haired sibling volunteered to go take care of the errand, Yang practically jumped over the couch. Anything was better than idly whittling the hours away alone on that piece of furniture. Despite refusals and offhanded complaints, the blond had found a way to brute force her way into tacking along.
Melanie had thrown on a pair of simple gray sweats for her trip. The upper half, a partially zipped up cheap jacket which revealed her basic white undershirt. Some slipped in throwaway black and white sneakers covering her feet.
Normally, the huntress in-training would have opted to ride her motorcycle to their destination. With the convenience store being located quite literally around the corner of the block, the black haired girl would have no part in it. She had witnessed exactly how she drived.
"Milk, carton of eggs, and..." Pausing for a second, the blond looked next to her over to the other long haired girl she was walking with. "What was the last thing?" Yang asked. The teen's arms stretching above her head momentarily before dropping back to her sides.
The seemingly cheerless girl never took her eyes off of what was in front of her, even as she responded. "A loaf of bread." A small sigh prior to her answer painting the annoyed tone in her voice quite well.
Rounding the corner, the pair found small neon lit convenience store. When Melanie started heading for the front door, the blond quickly altered her path to coincide with this.
Walking through the parking lot seemingly barren of cars, Yang couldn't help but notice a handful of older guys hanging out in the corner which hugged the store. As they drew closer, she noticed the group staring.
Upon reaching the front of the store, the black haired teen reached for the door handle closest to her. Just when she was about to grab it, a partially larger hand moved passed her's and swung open the door for her. A bell hung inside, ringing to alert the owner of a customer.
Stopping in place, Melanie looked over her shoulder to see it was Yang who was holding the door open for her. Silent, she blinked up at the girl as though studying her.
Staring down, the blond raised a partially knitted brow. "What?" The girl quizzically asked.
Without responding, the jade eyed girl turned forward once again. Walking inside, she immediately headed for the refrigerated section on the back wall.
Frowning momentarily to herself at the other's attitude, Yang stepped inside and followed after her.
Apart from the loosely attentive clerk up front, it seemed the store was completely empty at the moment. The two new arrivals being the only customers.
The blond stepped away when she spotted the bread section in one of the middle isles. Walking halfway down the shelves, she stopped when she leaned over and scooped up an adequate loaf. About to leave and rejoin the other, the goods on the next section over caught her lilac gaze.
Hung up on tiny racks were an assortment of treats and bagged candies. They were the kind you would pick up for on the road or for small children. "I should pick something up for Ruby." The teen mumbled to herself as she picked up a fruit flavored bag of candy.
Examining the selection, she bent down fully. Her hands resting on her exposed knees. "Hey, Mil- M-Melanie!" The typically easy going blond called out over the isles, correcting her mistake partway in hopes that it would go unnoticed. It didn't. "I'm gonna pick up some sweets. Want anything?"
Just closing the glass door which sealed off the chilled and cooled goods of the refrigerated section, the teen now held a carton of eggs in one hand. Upon hearing her companion's question, she silently shook her head. Knowing full well by now that if she didn't answer, the blond would just continue to ask over and over until she did.
"Just pick up some dark chocolate or something." The more petite of the two called back. Settling on something simple to appease her.
"Yuck!" Yang shouted in return, not shy about voicing her distaste. "I can't stand that stuff. I don't know how you can like it. It's so bitter." As though her own comments were a form of deductive reasoning, her eyes widened a bit. "Oh." She replied with a perky tone of new found responding obviousness.
As Melanie rolled her eyes at the other's comments, the bell from the opening door rang out again. Glancing over to the entrance, she saw the three squatters from outside walk in.
Instead of looking around, they all singled in on her. They traveled as a group as they walked right over toward the back of the store. When Melanie was about to leave, the three moved in and surrounded her on all sides to entrap her movement.
The man in the middle leaned in closer when the teen faced him. He was tall with slicked back auburn hair. A pair of unneeded frameless sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose so that he could see passed the tinted glass.
"I thought I recognized you." He spoke up, his voice slow but not nearly as deep or suave as he probably assumed it was. "You're one of those two cute girls who hang around at Junior's club, right?" A sleazy looking smile widening across his face.
When Melanie went to walk way, the man's hand reached forward and was pressed on the glass behind her, blocking her path. Turning to face the man once more, she continued to wear her unenthusiastic stare.
Chuckling to himself, the man stepped a little closer still. "C'mon, sweetheart. Why not spend some time with me and my friends tonight? We'll make it fun. I promise." A small round of snickering laughs springing from this invitation among the men.
Not intimidated, Melanie instead stared up at the man with a tired expression for a few seconds. When it became clear he had no intention of leaving on his own, she opened up the carton in her hands and pulled out a single egg. The man looking on with a curious and mirthful stare. Pulling the egg up, she tapped it on the lower ridge of his nose, cracking the shell down the middle. Reaching up further, she pulled at the opposite sides with her fingers and caused the yolk to drop square onto the top of the man's head. "Go away." She ordered painfully unemotional. After, she ducked under his extended arm and started taking a few steps beyond and over to the counter.
With a clenched fist, the poor unlucky suitor's arm started shaking in a growing aggravation. Wiping the egg off his head with his other hand, he soon after reached over and grabbed the teen by her forearm. Yanking her closer to him as he leaned in with his head and furious glare. "Where do you think you're going, doll face?"
Looking over her shoulder, the uncaring girl's callous stare narrowed in a peaking annoyance.
… … …
In her hands, Yang held two small parcels of varying chocolate. She was contemplating which the other would prefer more. Deciding on one of the packages, she placed the other bag back on the rack as she stood up.
As she did, something heavy in an adjacent isle falling over caused the entire rack to shake for an instant. When the blond turned to the front, about to go investigate, one of the men who had been loitering outside flew into the front counter top. Slumping roughly off, he landed heavily and disgracefully onto his back.
As Yang approached, she noticed a dirty footprint tattooed over his face and now busted sunglasses. This along with the dazed look on his barely conscious and disoriented state caused a wry smile to develop on her face.
The two remaining individuals backed off a few steps from the teeny but clearly still dangerous girl. "Wha-What the-?" One of the two spat out, much more timid than earlier.
Turning to the male on her right, Melanie gave her back to the other. Placing a hand on her hip, she kept up her threatening glare as she sauntered forward.
The man behind her seeing this, he reached for a single beer bottle from inside the refrigerated shelf. After, he flipped it upside down and held by the neck. Raising it above him, he was preparing to use it as a weapon and slam it down on the unaware teen from behind. Just as he attempted this, someone grabbed his arm during it's back swing.
"Whoa there hot stuff." A woman's voice spoke up in a sultry tone. "Why not spend some quality time with me instead?" When the man turned around, he found the buxom blond was what was holding him back. A seductive look plastered across her facial features.
Her jaunty tone and smile soon washing over with rage as she bore her clenched teeth. With her free hand, she pulled back her arm, the weapon beginning to activating around her wrists. Enveloping her fist as soon as Yang started her swing, it soon made contact with the center of the other's face.
… … …
Having just left the store a few minutes ago, both girls casually set off on their return trip. The commotion from the store not seeming to effect the two as much as a minimalistic hiccup in their small chore. The two of them far from shaken up or even flustered.
Walking back up the same sidewalk they had came down on, the only real noticeable difference being a small plastic bag now being held in Yang's offhand.
Staring forward, the student played with her lower lip. Sucking it in her mouth lightly or playing with the inner side with her tongue.
A lucky hit on her while she was preoccupied resulted in her receiving a small bruise. The blow only grazing against her, she wasn't worried that it would develop into anything even close to resembling a fat lip. Yang would still borrow some ice from the twins to make sure no unexpected swelling would transpire overnight nonetheless.
Apart from a few comments when they had initially left the store, the two had been heading toward their destination in a comfortable silence. As they strolled forward, Melanie would on occasion glance over and see the taller blond playing with her wound and blemish. Intentional or not at this point, it was fairly obvious it bothered her, at least to some extent. Afterword, she would immediately look away in contrast, as though the other would catch her glimpses.
"Don't worry about it." The pale skinned girl finally said, continuing to avert her jade eyes. Her tone the standard borderline disinterested monotone. The way she had said it, it almost seemed as though the other's actions offended her.
Yang looked over surprised at first. After a moment, she smiled. Far from expecting words of sympathy from one of the Malachite twins, this was a nice change of pace. The brief partially scolding words more than enough to satisfy her. "That's-"
"Besides..." The long black haired girl spoke up again, instantly cutting the other off as soon as she opened her mouth. "...you can't get much uglier than you are already." The rude and callous remark given without remorse or hesitation as she now stared off straight ahead.
The blond's grin wavered for a second at this. Instead of blowing up, she let out a single scoffing laugh. With a playful shove, she pushed the girl away. "Don't be such a brat." Yang mentioned, still all smiles.
Recovering from the light shove, Melanie moved back over to where she had been walking previously. "Whatever." The teen replied more so habitually than actually annoyed. After correcting her walk path, she subtly took one more step closer to the blond. The distance between them shrunken, if only just a little bit.
Author notes:
This wasn't going to be a multi-chapter story. I was fully committed to making this a one-shot. Did not expect this to be so well received. Oh well. I'm sure I can make this drabbles-esque or something.
Also, I enjoy the premise of the twins dressing in cheap and unflattering clothing. Expect more of that.