"Ok, we are just going to be in and out. Just grab and go, no messing about. You understand the plan, I have an entire route planned out as well as nearest exits. If everything goes well people won't even notice we were there." Miranda says to Ellie as she looks out the window completely stoic and focused. The sun shines in through the front window of the car and glints off the frames of the large sunglasses that she has on. She has gone over the plan many times in her head and this was a tried and true procedure.
"Yeah, you gave me the entire run down already." Ellie says rolling her eyes as she rolls a toothpick around in her mouth, "It is a quick in and out scenario. I follow your lead and we stick to the route. It is "efficient and optimal"." Ellie puts up air quotes as she mocks Miranda's tone
"I just don't want a rookie to slow me down once we get in there. This is something that requires quick execution and any hesitation can bring the whole plan to a screeching halt." Miranda points over to Ellie with deadly seriousness before taking off her driving gloves but not her sunglasses.
"Listen, I'm a pro. I have been around the block more than enough times. This is no virgin run for me, you're not going to be the one to pop my..." Ellie is shifting around in her seat as she is hyping herself up. Miranda is taken aback by what Ellie is saying and takes off her sunglasses so that she is able to properly convey her confusion to Ellie.
"Ellie, this is just a grocery trip." Miranda seems confused about how things got to this point, "I just know that there is a route that lets us go through all of the aisles and not take too much time in there." Miranda shakes her head at the oddity of the scenario and places her sunglasses on the dashboard of the car.
"Oh, I just got caught up in the moment." Ellie looks slightly embarrassed before going back to her usual flippant personality, "I mean, it is just a grocery trip. How complicated can it really be?" Ellie shrugs and takes the toothpick out of her mouth and places it in a coffee cup left in one of the drink holders, "Do you get some weird order at the butcher or you need to check every orange or something?" Ellie chuckles to herself about the image of Miranda's meticulous fruit picking methods
"No, I just don't like wasting my time in there. I have a system and it works." Miranda places her hand on the car door to open it before pausing and looking over at Ellie, "Just promise me that you will just follow my lead and behave in there. If you do I will get you a candy bar when we get to the cash."
"Excuse me, are you bribing me with candy like I am a child?" Ellie crosses her arms and raises her head in defiance, "I will be treated with respect and dignity that should be afforded to a demon of my stature."
"Are you saying you don't want the candy bar?" Miranda is seemingly unmoved by the entire act
"I do..." Ellie glances over at Miranda as she tries to keep the act up
"Are you going to behave then?" Miranda understands the bartering that needs to happen and has become accustomed to it
"Sure... but I get to pick some groceries too." Ellie adds on that extra clause before Miranda could respond.
"Don't you get sustenance off of souls? Why do you need food?" Miranda asks for clarification more out of instinctual curiosity and the hopes that she might be able to talk Ellie out of something with the right information.
"It tides me over when I am unable to get souls because I made a pact with someone so I wouldn't have throw my entire plan away..." Ellie's tone is somewhere between matter of fact and spiteful, "So, can I choose some stuff or not?"
"Okay, but you need to run it past me first." Miranda is aware that if this tricky diplomacy can lead to a simple trip through the store then it is worth going through.
"Hmmm, make it two candy bars and we have a deal." Ellie's eyes narrow and she puts out her hand towards Miranda like that of a ruthless business man.
"Deal." Miranda shakes Ellie's hand and gets out of the car. She looks across the parking lot at the grocery store for a moment hoping that this was just going to be a simple visit. She fishes the list she had made out of her pocket and goes through the items she needs. Noticing that she did not account Ellie's side of the groceries Miranda starts using the top of the car to write some adjustments to the list.
Ellie takes the moment out of Miranda's vision to mutter a quick "Yes!" with a fist bump at her successful negotiation then calms herself down so she doesn't let on to Miranda that she got the better end of the bargain. Ellie steps out of the car and pushes the door closed with enough force to shock Miranda. This lead to Miranda scribbling over much of the list as her focus gets broken by the sudden jolt of the car door closing. The frustrated sigh that comes out of her gets Ellie's attention and she turns around to see what is happening.
"Oh, is that a list?" Ellie asks utterly oblivious as to what she had just done.
"Well... it sort of is... let's just get inside." Miranda scowls at the paper and then puts it back into her pocket. Ellie raises an eyebrow at the statement before shrugging and following behind Miranda.
The parking spot wasn't too far away considering that Miranda intentionally choose to do the grocery trip early in the day so that there wasn't much competition. As they walk through up to the entrance Ellie catches sight of a lone shopping cart that was left in the parking lot. Ellie, upon seeing an opportunity present itself, speeds up to make sure that she can get to it before anyone else does. Miranda, upon seeing Ellie race off, stops and tries to reason with her.
"Ellie, what are you doing?" Miranda asks with both of her hands on her hips in mild disapproval. Ellie looks back but keeps walking.
"I'm getting a cart. Ya know, for the groceries." Ellie shouts back to Miranda, "I'm being helpful!"
"Ellie, we can just get one of the carts closer to the entrance." Miranda starts speed walking to try and catch up, "That one probably has a broken wheel and won't turn well."
"But it is right here." Ellie, standing beside the cart, gestures towards it then places her hands on the handle bar and gives it a few quick turns, "See, it turns fine." Ellie says as she struggles to make it turn left
"Alright, whatever. I guess I can just bring it over to the other ones and we can find a better one when we get there..." Miranda puts her hand out to grab the handle bar but Ellie pulls it away from her, "Ellie, what are you doing?"
"I get to drive the cart. Finders, keepers." Ellie holds the cart as far away from Miranda as possible. Miranda just takes a deep breath and realizes that this is not worth fighting over. Also this should mean that Ellie will have to stay with the cart. If she is with the cart then Miranda can keep an easier eye on her. After thinking it through Miranda understands that accepting this defeat should make things easier going forward.
"Alright. You can drive the cart. Just make sure to stay with it." Miranda relents. Ellie has a large smile on her face after two great successes in getting her way. She beings to walk with the cart like a small dog with a stick that is far too large for it. Every so often the cart would hit a bump and Ellie would have to quickly fight against it to right it. The entire time Miranda is fighting every urge that she has to tell her that she knew that it was going to be broken. After a few near misses guiding the cart to the entrance with profuse apologies from Ellie to Miranda and Miranda to other people nearby they finally get to the sliding doors that herald a cornucopia of semi-fresh produce.
Entering into the neutral tone, air conditioned space with the various people milling about set Miranda at ease with the situation. She was considering that Ellie seems to want to be helpful so maybe she might just keep a low profile and crack a few jokes now and then. This was just a simple trip to the grocery store with a sex demon.
"Alright, so you are the one with the plan and the list. Where first, boss?" Ellie asks as she surveys the various people around. Most of them are couples, mainly older, that are engaging in light conversation that makes the place more inviting than the sound of the refrigerator isle or air conditioning that is constantly in the background.
"Gonna pick up some fruit, just some apples and pears, and some tomatoes..." Miranda stops for a second to grab the list out of her pocket, "Oh yeah, I want some peppers and lettuce for sandwiches."
"Can we get one of those fruit trays?" Ellie asks Miranda as she follows her lead, Miranda walking beside her with a single hand lightly resting on the cart.
"Why do you want that? We can just get specific fruit and it will cost less." Miranda is more preoccupied with looking around for various sales to really get engrossed in the conversation.
"I like variety and they are always cut up in cubes." Ellie shrugs, "just feels fancy is all." Miranda scowls a bit at the reasoning before coming up with a counter offer.
"How about we get some pineapple and a mixed berry thing. There are half-pineapples here and they are 30% off." Miranda walks in front of the cart and begins fiddling with the bag roller to tear a bag off, managing to make it work after not too much difficulty. Ellie looks over the pineapples and considers for a moment before nodding her head at the deal.
"Oh, pineapples, very erotic. They are probably my favourite parts of those trays." Ellie says with a thumbs up to Miranda. Miranda's eyes close shut in frustration as she takes in a slow breath and balls up the bag in her fist.
"I think you mean exotic..." Miranda is trying to keep a cool head as she still has the hope that this was just a slip of the tongue by Ellie.
"What did I say?" Ellie asks seemingly oblivious to why Miranda is reacting to her support of buying a tropical fruit.
"You said 'erotic' when I think you were trying to say 'exotic'." Miranda tries to explain as she clams herself down as it appears that Ellie just made a mistake. Ellie takes a moment to consider what Miranda said.
"No, I think I said the right one." Ellie seems confident which makes Miranda place the pineapple down she had just picked up to be able to process the way the conversation was going.
"Ellie, what is erotic about a pineapple?" Miranda said these words and as they exited her mouth a look of horror came across her face as she realized what she unwittingly has brought about. Ellie simply smiled and raised a single finger as if she was at a podium about to give a lecture on her life's work.
"Well, I am glad you asked. The pineapple, has many interesting qualities. One of the more well known ones is that it changes the taste of..." Ellie was speaking in a distinctly more eloquent tone before Miranda, with panicked waving of her hands towards Ellie, cut her off.
"No no no, you can just stop that right now. I don't want to know. I don't want to know how or why you know. I just don't want to know." Miranda, emotionally exhausted at the panic she just went through, is basically begging Ellie at this point.
"Alright, calm down. I was just answering your question because it seems like you were genuinely curious." Ellie is obviously stifling her laughter as she sees the fruits of her labour in the exasperation that has been created in Miranda.
"Good, that is good." Miranda is too relieved at the willingness of Ellie to avoid the topic to notice Ellie's attempt to stifle her laughter.
"So, can we still get the pineapple?" Ellie asks after properly containing her glee regarding the exchange, "I'll make you a smoothie when we get home. You do have a blender right?"
"Uh, yeah. I think I was gifted a hand blender once from my parents. I think they think I cook a lot more than I do." Miranda says grabbing one of the half-cut pineapples and places it in the cart.
"Hmm, well why don't you tell them that you don't?" Ellie asks as she leans on the cart as she follows behind Miranda, having to actually grab it when turns come. Miranda seems kind of lost in thought for a moment before answering.
"I mean, I like the gifts that they give me. They are always useful or at least well meaning. I think they are just thinking about how I live alone and that this sort of stuff can be helpful. I also think my dad likes to cook so he ends kind of getting me things that he knows are good." Miranda explains as she places a few pears in one of the see through bags.
"Well, I guess they don't have to worry about you living alone anymore." Ellie casually states. Miranda, being too absorbed in the process of picking produce and thinking about her family is confused about the statement.
"What?" Miranda looks back at Ellie who chuckles a bit with a little smile on her face.
"I'm living with you now. Did you forget?" Ellie jokes at Miranda who very much did forget about that. The whole thing was so strange that Miranda chuckled to herself about it before responding.
"Yeah, I guess you do."