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falling through the void wasnt fun, but that didnt mean cass couldnt have fun either that would be completely unfair- at least thats how they saw it. they had opened their eyes to see they were still inside the apartment, that was a plus. seeing as the apartment hadnt really changed, the walls still the same grey-ish colour and the couch still having their favourite blanket and their stuffed animal on it it couldn't have been that long of a time since they had ended up in the void. cass swore they could have been an excellent detective. well if it wasnt for the whole crime thing.
but besides that fact there was a bird on the window, and ace had always been the worst about letting friends in the apartment, so cass sat talking to it through the glass as they had been told to.
"hello!" cass waved enthusiastically to the bird. ace said they should work on their ability to talk to people, but they swore this was proof they were fine about it. "how was your day?"
like normal the bird didnt pay any attention to cass but they didnt mind, gripping their ankles as they sat criss-cross on the ground. "my days been really weird, but ace hasnt come back yet so im sure i wasnt gone too long! i even have my frog- he usually puts it away if im gone too long- i can show you!"
cass scrambled to get their stuffed animal frog from the couch but by the time they got back to the window, the bird had flown away.
"i guess its just you and me" cass sighed, looking down at the frog in their hands resuming their position on the floor. they stayed that way for a while, fidgeting with the toy in their hands. cass knew how to boot up the computer to watch spiderman on their own but, , ,they didnt want to watch it alone today. they didnt want to be alone today.
cass was pulled out of their thoughts by noises at the door. jumping to their feet cass sprinted to the door, opening it hoping to see ace. well they did see ace- but who the hell was next to him? there was a man next to ace, he had dark brown hair and a longer than normal (though cass couldnt be one to talk about normal) along with a plaid jacket that cass couldnt stop staring at. ace was there as well, god cass had felt like they had been falling through the void for months they missed him more than they could describe.
he seemed surprised to see them, which made no sense to cass seeing as they were probably gone for a couple hours at most. ace welcomed their hug, picking cass up and letting them wrap their arms around his shoulders. cass could hear him say something they vaguely paid attention to in response to the stranger staring at the scene before him, but they were already getting distracted cass's hands going to ace's hair and starting to braid.
"david- shit im sorry- this is my brothers kid, i have to watch them for a couple months" cass knew that was a lie and frowned slightly leaning their head on ace's shoulder "cass, say hi to david okay?"
", , ,hi david" cass mumbled not making eye contact with him. why couldnt this person just be a bir-
"hello cass!" david smiled at them, interrupting their thoughts and seeming way too friendly for someone they just met. "your uncle has told me a lot about you, i like your socks!"
uncle. right. cass had to stop themself from laughing at what david said as ace put them down. "thank you! i dont like your's- they're boring."
ace made a face at them and cass made one right back. it wasnt like they had meant to be rude, cass was just stating the facts. their socks had frogs and ponds on them and davids, , ,didnt. therefore davids socks were boring- even more so because they were plain white. it should be a crime to have such boring socks. ace just laughed them off when cass suggested ace called in to the representative about making it a law after cass had seen an interesting commercial about making change. something about that not being a serious offence and the two had just robbed a bank and didnt need more attention on themselves. ace was part of the problem.
"cass-" ace cut in "i need to talk to you for a second, davey you can go in um, , ,make yourself at home"
cass crossed their arms at ace as 'davey' walked into the apartment, ace pulling them into the hallway looking a little freaked out.
"okay," ace took a breath, rubbing his temples. "first of all, im really really really glad to see you, holy shit. second, uh. i invited a, , ,friend, , ,over tonight- and i know we have spiderman to watch! im really really sorry, but, , ,maybe we can watch it with him? it'll be like if we let the birds into watch it with us, right?"
"but we get pizza and watch it- what if he doesnt like pizza?" cass was concerned, anxiety rising in their chest "what if i start blipping and cant stop? cant you just make him go home-"
"i, , ,i cant, kid" ace kneeled down to cass's level "i didnt know that you would be back or i wouldnt have planned this, its like you always say, , ,"
", , ,the universe doesnt like our plans" cass finished for him, staring at a spot on the ground "do we have to go in now?"
"i think so, but hey look at me for a moment please?" cass raised their gaze to meet ace's eyes "if he does anything bad we can just replace him with a bird, but he's really nice so i dont think we will have to"
cass cracked a smile at that and ace picked them up, bringing them back inside the apartment.