On the seats of Mephistopheles, sat Magnhild and Tahmasb, next to each other, quietly talking to each other and giggling, something that the other sinners thought was most likely gossip between two girls that shouldn't be interfered with.
“So, so, Magnhild, how was Gregor's cooking?”
Magnhild tried to stifle a laugh before answering.
“It was... edible..!” The quiet giggles she tried to drown out were drawing some attention to the duo, most importantly from the coworkers that were sitting right behind them.
“No way! That bad?”
Ishmael sighed at hearing eavesdropping on the small gossip, scolding the girls sternly.
“Don't you two have anything better to do than gossiping about people?”
Magnhild and Tahmasb jolted at hearing Ishmael's voice, so specifically calling them out. Tahmasb, though, seemed quite upset that not only was Ishmael eavesdropping on their conversation, but had the guts to also poke her nose into it.
“So rude, Ismail,” she feigned being hurt, “it's so rude to pry into another's conversation.”
Ishmael seemingly did not expect Tahmasb to appear so hurt and coy over this, which could explain the way she tried to reluctantly explain herself to the girl. Meanwhile, Gregor sitting next to her did actually hear the two gossiping, but he decided against saying anything because he knew that Magnhild would probably give him the same treatment that Tahmasb was giving Ishmael right now. Eh, but well… His ego really was hurt from their gossip, right after getting his cooking insulted by Magnhild in the kindest, least insulting way possible. But girls will be girls, eh?
“Well, I would rather you two talked about me somewhere farther away from me y'know…” He finally spoke up, which somehow seemed to have made Magnhild get a bit embarrassed. But Tahmasb was there to take the eyes away from her friend's blushing face, so it was alright.
“Well, Gregor,” she tried to sound as kind as possible, which was her usual voice really, “you must learn to cook better, because…”
There was a thrilling stop to Tahmasb's speech as she tried to come up with something.
“Because if you can't cook, no one will marry you.”
Oh…
“Well..!”
Magnhild buried her face in her hands to not burst out laughing.
“Well, I'm sure I can get a spouse even if I'm lacking in some departments..! Love is all about overlooking flaws, eh?”
Magnhild took her hands off her face.
“Pfft… Yes, Gregor darling, I will marry you, don't worry~”
It was now Gregor's turn to hide his face. In this unfolding small chaos, Ishmael called out to Tahmasb, maybe a bit angry.
“You're so superficial, Tahmasb. Are such qualities the only thing you look for in a husband?”
“A hit dog will holler. Ismail, can you not cook?”
“…I spent half my life on a ship, what do you expect?”
“Why are you getting defensive, Ismail? I would love to marry you.”
Ishmael wanted to clap back, but this comment was a bit… she got a bit flustered, that's all. She simply clicked her tongue and looked away. Magnhild called out to Tahmasb.
“Ah, come to think of it, Tahmasb, you can cook, right?”
“Ah, I can~ Maybe I could get a husband, but my dad would chase away all my suitors because he hated when boys approached me~” She cooed, eyeing Ishmael, taking note of the way her expression changed when she talked about her father not wanting her to get married. “…But he wouldn't mind if I wanted to marry a girl.”
Ishmael wanted to storm off, but there isn't anywhere to get away from Tahmasb when the bus is only so big. For some reason, the scenery outside became really interesting for her.
“Ah, my late sister would like to see me get married… Especially to a gentleman like Gregor.”
For a moment, Gregor thought about cutting his own head off so he would not have to go through this teasing. Maybe he really shouldn't have poked his nose into their talk… How embarrassing, being made into a toy for Magnhild… Though, to envision a marriage with her doesn't sound too bad somehow..? He tries to shake away the thought.
“Say, say, Magnhild, why don't we go on a double date?”
“Ah, perfect idea, Tahmasb!”
Ishmael got increasingly more agitated as the conversation went on.
“I didn't give consent!”
Tahmasb, faking yet another hurt look, called out to Ishmael, sounding defeated.
“So you don't like me..?”
“Well, I do, but…”
Before Ishmael could finish her sentence, Magnhild burst into laughter again, at which point Ishmael just got off her seat and walked to the back of the bus where she could be as far away as possible from teasing.
“Ah, well, if Ishmael is gone, then I guess it will only be you and me in our date, hm, Gregor?”
Gregor, before joining Ishmael in solitude, groaned and tried to perhaps come up with a witty answer and tease Magnhild back, but he failed miserably and went to the back of the bus as well.
The girls only giggled as both Ishmael and Gregor waved their white flags in defeat, immediately jumping back to their gossip.
“Oh, Magnhild! You know, last day I saw Hong Lu and Heathcliff…” After that, Tahmasb put her hands around Magnhild's ears, whispering to her friend.
“Nooo, you don't say!”
Ishmael and Gregor could only watch quietly.