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[casfonsecasantcs]

A soft furrow creased between her brows when the business card slipped into her fingers. One that almost instantly vanished once she scanned the phone's screen again. "Wait. Seriously?"

She'd been so caught off guard by the information that she momentarily forgot herself, but she hoped from her open mouthed look of surprise the message still came across.

To be safe, though, and because her offer deserved an answer, she hastily typed out a fresh response. I'm more than interested. The idea that she could actually get help, legitimate help, in her quest to preemptively prepare for a situation they may or may not find themselves in— Cas felt like she could breathe for the first time in weeks.

I'm trying to learn for someone who means the world to me, she continued. There was a pause to her fingers while she swallowed, hard. If I'd known there were classes in town I would've signed up from the start. Pure gratitude filled her eyes while she passed back the phone in order to sign 'thank you'.

She handed her phone over when the woman gestured to it in response, eyeing as the other typed out what she wanted to say, watching thumbs fly over the screen more efficiently than they had helped form the words said between them earlier. A soft grin curved on her lips in amusement. Just with every language, most always fumbled their way through to fluent or, even, spent their entire way just fumbling, depending on how dedicated they were to learning. Maisie took the phone back and read the other's reply, wondering how dedicated the brunette was to learning herself. Pausing, she reached into her purse and pulled out a card, her very own Providence Peak University business card, and after pulling out a pen too, she flipped the card and wrote True Colors: Tuesdays 6-7pm. Then, she handed it to the woman opposite her before typing onto her phone; I teach a free ASL class for anyone who is interested in learning once a week at the True Colors community center. It's not quicker than learning online and there isn't any booze, but maybe I can help you give the language a well-rounded try if you're interested.

[casfonsecasantcs]

Cassia's head jerked with a tight, almost imperceptible nod. "It was never even a question."

From the moment they announced the pregnancy she knew she'd be in their baby's life in some capacity. When Nadia left and Boyd broke down she didn't even give the choice a second's thought. He needed her - he and Mattie needed her - so she was there. And she hadn't strayed from their side in the eight years since.

True, somewhere deep down she suspected her reasons for staying had evolved over time, that her feelings toward the man in between them had changed, but so too did her love for Matilda grow by the day.

And perhaps that's why she couldn't find it in herself to fully condemn Nadia or her actions. No matter what she did, or how long she'd been gone, she was still one half of Cas's second favorite person in the world. If she really meant what she said, if she intended to stick around for good, how could she ever wish to deny Mattie that chance and still live with herself?

Every kid deserved a mom. Even if her return effectively shoved Cas right out the door.

But acknowledging as much, however privately, was about as much as she could handle.

"I should get going." By that point she didn't even care about the coffee she still hadn't reclaimed from Nadia's fingertips. Whatever craving and need she'd had for a caffeine fix all but disappeared. "If you're being honest, with me and with yourself, I'm sure I'll... see you around."

Tact was something she'd learned could get her far. However, dealing with the mess she'd made required more than she possessed. Perhaps the problem was that she wanted to play by everyone's rules and expectations, except she had no clue what those were. Rather come in demanding to see her daughter, she'd stayed back and taken the gentle route in, only to be perceived as careless. Little did anyone know, it took everyone within her to keep from begging for the one thing she wanted most.

And that was to see her daughter and to make up for the eight years she'd selfishly missed. Or at least give Matilda the option to make the choice for herself. If she was the one claiming she wanted nothing to do the woman, then it was different.

Just the thought alone made her chest ache. Her own mother had fallen back into her life, but that was different too.

"I mean it when I say that I'm appreciative of everything you've done for my daughter and for Boyd." She wanted that much to be clear, spite aside, she was thankful. "I'm glad that Mattie has people looking out for her." She loved Mattie? Of course she did. She loved Boyd? Of course she did.

Surprisingly, the admission meant a lot. If Cassia didn't hate her, then maybe there was a small chance that she could convince of the same. "I'm not asking for blind trust here. Trust takes time, I get that, and I'm willing to put in that time. No matter how long that takes."

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ their apartment, with @boyd-connors —

A few days? A week? A month? A year? Exactly how long was Cas supposed to sit around and wait for Boyd to break the news, pretending all the while she didn't already know his ex was practically right next door?

For some reason she thought it wouldn't be long. For some reason she expected to go home the same night she ran into Mattie's biological mom and hear a confession breach his lips. Turns out she'd been wrong.

By that point she'd lost track of the days since their fateful collision at the coffee shop, but she hadn't missed all the little opportunities Boyd had to break his silence and... didn't.

She was almost certain keeping the peace for Matilda's sake was the only reason she hadn't blown a gasket yet. Except now their blissfully ignorant little buffer was nowhere to be found, and the more they sat there at the table, making small talk in between bites of their meal, the more she felt her patience unravel.

"So where is Mattie tonight?" Approaching the subject with a deceptive measure of nonchalance she speared a piece of carrot with her fork. "At a friends house?" There was a pause brimming with the bitter tang of accusation. "— or is she sleeping over at Nadia's?"

[casfonsecasantcs]

[casfonsecasantcs]

Cássia’s gaze dipped as the other woman pulled out her phone, typing her next response across the screen. “Why didn’t I think of that?” She muttered more so to herself. It sure as hell would’ve been a lot easier to understand than her butchered attempt at sign language. 

Still, she appreciated her effort when it certainly wasn’t her responsibility to meet Cas halfway. 

Another smile grew across her lips. A brief gesture to the phone later - do you mind? it implied - she typed: Thank you. I tried my best. Her smile grew wider and somewhat self-deprecating before she added: I’ve been slowly teaching myself online. Clearly not well, either, which is probably half why I’m here to stock up again. Sometimes things feel easier when you're a little boozy. That's what I tell myself, at least.

Maisie was used to being in situations where communication may have been at a loss. In fact, it was more common than not in her life, but she was always surprised when the other person made an attempt or knew even the smallest bit of the language she relied on and the response, a mimic of her own apology brought a soft smile to her lips as she gathered the gist of what the other was trying to saw with the shapes falling off of the woman's lips. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she forgot her goal of finding the perfect bottle of gin in favor of the woman that caught her attention, and she typed in response: It's okay, you did great! It's nice when someone knows even the smallest amount. I wish everyone was as willing. Are you currently studying it?

[casfonsecasantcs]

Cassia's fingers tightened around the steaming mug she held, yet it was the warmth in her chest she felt most, not the warmth in her hands. Since starting the job she never quite knew what to expect with Nate each day, but this - his generosity - wasn't far up on the list.

"Thank you." It tumbled past her lips quietly, but there was no mistaking how much she meant it. Her lashes fluttered for a moment, the only indication given that she was possibly on the verge of getting choked up over such simple kindness. "If I ever need more time off I'll be sure to ask, but I promise I won't take advantage."

She needed this work too much to do something so foolish as that. Needed it too much to be thought of as slacking off, either.

So did she get back to the kitchen before he got the wrong idea, or indulge just a minute longer in his surprisingly chatty mood? Indecision warred. She stalled through a lingering sip of her coffee. "Do you... have any exciting plans for the day? Or anything coming up at the house I should prepare for?"

Nathan's eyebrows drew together in a frown. Before their step-father came along, he and his siblings had worked the first chance they got running odds jobs for a variety of shady figures. They'd all had to pitch in. He could remember the certainty he'd felt that they'd never escape it, working themselves to the bone for the rest of their lives. Jack Crane had been a miracle. Not everyone was afforded such a luxury. The thought of someone as soft as Cassia burdened with the struggle he'd escaped was rather galling.

"I see. Well... let me know if you need an extra few days off, it's no good you burning yourself out now, is there? Especially if you have someone to take care of." He knew how it felt to be apart from family, albeit for different reasons. Briefly, he considered offering to fly her folks out or to fly her to them, or offer a little more to help. But he knew how pride worked, and he was fairly sure he knew what the answer would be. He didn't want her to think he pitied her. "That goes for whenever, I mean it."

[casfonsecasantcs]

When it came to Nadia nothing would ever come easy.

The second Cas realized she hadn't even asked to see Mattie yet, that she hadn't pressured Boyd or put expectations on a little girl who only knew her by name, she was flooded with relief. The sort of relief that was almost instantly followed by more doubts. More suspicion.

Because after eight years why hadn't she tried to see her daughter yet? Was it because she knew she didn't have the right to make demands, or because she truly didn't care?

Her head was a carousel of back and forth thoughts, each one conflicting with and warring against the next. She couldn't even try to make sense of it all, or separate her own feelings from the mix.

It was with a heavy sigh that she regarded Nadia again, otherwise mutely nodding along to her words. She was there and she wasn't going anywhere. Message received.

"I'll never pretend I have any decision making power here." No matter how involved she'd been in Mattie's life she wasn't her legitimate parent. "Whatever you do or don't deserve is up to Boyd." Quieter, she murmured, "I'm not trying to be your judge, jury, and executioner, Nadia. I just—" worry. "I just can't help being protective of the people I love."

Another sigh spilled out. "But I don't... hate you, for whatever it's worth." She didn't agree with or understand her decision to leave, but she didn't wish her ill. "I just don't trust you very much. And I guess that's something we'll both have to live with."

She was torn between the wicked choices of being thankful for the other's hand in raising Mattie and being sickenly bitter over the same thing. It was a well deserved gut punch for another to step into the role she should have played. It was no wonder the other woman could barely stand to look at her. If the roles had been reversed, she would have felt the same damn way.

That didn't mean she was cutting the other any slack. She'd just have to hadd hypocrisy to the growing list of things she'd done.

She wouldn't beg for the other to understand her point of view. She hadn't even lowered herself to that level with Boyd. He had anger to work through and after eight years of silence, she imagined he had plenty of it and only time would tell if he'd ever move past it.

Though, she couldn't muster the thought of him never being able to.

"I haven't. I haven't asked," she admitted, her own nerves being kept at bay with the tight grip on her coffee cup. If she wasn't careful, she'd squeeze it until the lid popped off the top. "I'm not trying to push this. Not on him, not on her." Not on you, she failed to say, though it danced on the tip of her tongue.

"I know I don't deserve anything when it comes to either of them. I'm not here to play devil's advocate, even if it seems that way, but I'm here and I don't plan on going anywhere else. I just want to make that perfectly clear." It wasn't a threat, nor was it any kind of warning. It was fact. Fact that she and Boyd would either accept, or would grow to hate her for even more than they already did.

[casfonsecasantcs]

"Whether it's soon or ten years from now I'm sure I'll go eventually," Cas mused noncommittally. There was rarely the time nor the money for things like school. And beyond those few courses? She wasn't even sure what she wanted to do. Over the last eight years she'd spared little thought for her own life, let alone the long term future.

Unless, of course, it revolved around Mattie and Boyd.

Her heart still tripped a foolish beat whenever she thought of Sawyer's brother. It stopped altogether whenever she imagined a day he wasn't just in the next room. When she was no longer part of his life, or Mattie's, unless from the sidelines. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him about it. I'm sure he'll appreciate the offer." Even if he didn't love the idea at first glance.

Cas tucked back into her coffee after that, draining it almost to the dregs. "Speaking of dinner, though, you should come over soon. Think you could fit us into you busy schedule?" Not that she was one to talk.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Sawyer replied with a shrug. She knew more than anyone how important education was to Boyd--he was after all, the one that convinced her to go. If given the opportunity, he would absolutely support Cas going to school. But that required an opportunity, which wasn't in ample supply.

Sawyer was still avoiding eye contact when Cas responded, and she couldn't help but cringe when she did. "Oh my god, stop," she groaned at the words she believed were entirely too nice for her. "It's just what family does, you know? Boyd helped pay for my first laptop that I needed for school. Least I can do is pay him back."

Her lips tightened as she weighed the offer. Neither option seemed good, honestly. "I mean, yeah? It might be better coming from you. He gets kind of weird with us and this kind of stuff," she admitted. Of course, he was the oldest, and technically the "man of the house" after their Dad left. But his pride--any of theirs--didn't matter as much as Mattie did.

[casfonsecasantcs]

with @nathanccrane continued from HERE.

Next to none... but Cas didn't admit as much. She just offered another light smile accompanied by a shrug. "It's definitely a packed schedule, but I've learned to get used to it." It wasn't the first, nor would it probably be the last, time she juggled multiple jobs. "I started working when I was fifteen and haven't stopped since. I'm not sure I ever knew what free time is to begin with."

She didn't care to find out, either, if it came at the expense of those she loved. Mattie would have medical bills pilling up soon; being able to help Boyd cover them all mattered more than a night out on the town.

Fiddling with the pair of mugs while they waited she grazed teeth against her lower lip. "My parents actually moved back to Brazil shortly after I graduated." Much as she'd love to see them again it hadn't happened yet. "This is actually for—" Again, she paused, struggling to define exactly who Matilda was let alone their unusual relationship.

"Well, she's the daughter of a friend, but I've basically helped raise her since she was a baby. In a way I guess you could say I consider her mine, too." Secretly. Unofficially. With the kind of hope she knew better than to hold onto. Pouring their coffees to avoid admitting as much to even herself, she explained, "She has some medical stuff going on right now and Thursday is a really big appointment. I promised I'd be there for it if I could."

[casfonsecasantcs]

'They think she might be losing her hearing...'

Ever since the day Boyd returned home from a conference at Mattie's school with those words on his lips she'd been doing everything in her power to navigate this new and unfamiliar world before them. She picked up a second job because medical bills were expensive. She helped schedule appointments to figure everything out. Hell, Cas had even started lowkey teaching herself sign language via YouTube on the off chance she might some day need it.

Unfortunately, she didn't think fumbling through phrases like 'good morning', 'sleep tight', or 'have you finished your homework' would help much in this situation.

Still, she offered a warm and apologetic smile that mirrored the other woman's while she tracked the motion of her hands. Maybe she didn't know much, but she could guess what she'd said with a fair amount of confidence. After attempting to mimic her gesture, and on the tail end of a quiet chuckle, she admitted, "I'm sorry. I probably got that all wrong. I know a little bit of sign language but I'm not very good at it yet."

— open starter cheers!, university heights.

Usually Maisie made an effort to go to a liquor store in another neighborhood or a vineyard in Summit Lake to get the alcohol she needed, not wanting to task any of her students with running into their professor while doing a beer run on a Saturday night, as no student should have to worry about during their reckless university days. As long as they were being safe, she believed they should do what they want and have fun. But, she was running on a time crunch to get everything perfect for the few friends she was having over that night and needed a bottle of gin for cocktails that she'd forgotten to pick up earlier that week and now didn't have time to run to another neighborhood to do so. Instead, she braved a walk to the local liquor store, hoping that she wouldn't bump into any of her students as she searched down the aisles of the store, so focused on reading over all of the brands, trying to figure out which was the best one for the recipe she had pulled up on her phone, when her shoulder bumped with someone else's, causing her to step back quickly and glance at the person with an apologetic look and an immediately sign for Sorry!

@providencepeakstarters

[casfonsecasantcs]

"I mean, yeah, in theory I guess it is, but I think I'm a long way off from actually making a move on it yet."

Right now she needed to work more than she needed to go to school. To take off of Boyd's shoulders, sure, but most of all for Mattie. Their little patchwork family was a far cry from absolutely destitute, but they weren't exactly living large, either. Now that words like 'hearing loss' and 'specialist's opinion' were being thrown around that was even more true.

They had no idea what to expect on the financial end of this new development other than a guaranteed headache from all the stress.

Perhaps that's why her eyes shot up and away from the dwindling coffee in her hands when Sawyer stumbled through an offer of support. "You're seriously too good for this world." Cas meant every bit of that, too. "I think between Boyd's hours at the garage and this new job we'll have it handled, but ultimately that's probably up to him to decide."

At the very least, worth a conversation where he was included. Despite eight years of helping raise Mattie she tried not to overstep when it came to stuff like this. "I can mention it to him, though. If you'd like?"

Continued from here with @casfonsecasantcs

Sawyer returned her smirk, shaking her head slightly. In a city where so many people lived in three bedroom houses in Claret Park or fancy apartments downtown, there were few people that understood the struggle for money like she and Cas did.

The weight of that felt extremely clear when she spoke again, the air growing heavy around them. Sawyer's thoughts lingered on the latest check she had cashed from the Cranes--how these new illicit tasks being asked of her brought in enough to pay her rent and then some. She knew how much Boyd and Cas were currently struggling, especially with Mattie's medical bills. She could offer help, but trying to broach such a tricky subject...

"Hey, that's great!" Sawyer offered, genuinely. She wanted Cas to be able to do what she loved--and certainly didn't want her to be getting harassed as a waitress anymore. In the pause that followed, she figured it was now or never. "Listen, uhm..." She lowered her voice. "This might come out shittier than it's meant to be. I'm not trying to pull a Zara or anything. But uh...I got a few extra jobs recently. If ever you guys need something to help with tuition or Mattie's bills or anything...you know, I'd rather it go to that then some new video game or something, yeah?" She shifted, deeply uncomfortable, her eyes dropping back to her laptop. "Sorry."

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ @nadiamorgan — continued from here.

'... what's happening between Boyd and I...'

Cas hadn't wanted to let her thoughts go there, hadn't wanted to consider the possibility of anything ever rekindling between Mattie's mother and her best friend, but with those words Nadia sent her into another spiral whether she knew it or not. Whether she meant it that way or not.

Unease and unwarranted jealousy festered in her veins. She had to tuck her hands into the back pockets of her jeans just to hide their trembling.

For all she knew she was widely off base, but suddenly she couldn't picture anything but Nadia and Boyd falling back together. Moving in together. Raising Mattie. Forgetting her name while they played happy family and lived out the life they always should've had in the first place.

Because even if she didn't want to admit it (hadn't ever admitted it even to herself), Cassia cared about more than just Mattie's well being. She had her own, personally invested stakes in this game.

"I think I'll leave that up to him." Except hadn't he already made his position clear by not telling her Nadia was back in town? God, she was going to be sick.

Cas swallowed against the even larger lump in her throat, tearing her gaze away. "So you've seen her already? Or do you mean down the line?" Exactly how much had he left out when they caught up at the end of the night?

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ CONNORS, BOYD —

Boyd nodded when she told him to make the appointment, not knowing what else to say and not trusting his voice would carry it if he did. He would never believe he deserved someone as wonderful as Cas in his life, and long before this point, he had given up hope of ever getting square with her again. She was always giving him more than she was getting in return, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t waiting for the day that she got sick of him and left just like everybody else. Until recently, it was finally sinking in that he might be waiting forever, that Cas’ promise of always was the true exception to the rule. He could see the years stretch out before them just like every year that had passed, and even if it wasn’t what he’d always envisioned, if things were never as stable as he had wanted them to be, he would consider himself lucky so long as he had his two girls at his side. One day, but now… Cas’ generosity made him feel slightly sick to his stomach…

It was the first time he felt like a fraud in her presence. And for someone who had seen him at every terrible, painful stage of his life, that was saying a lot. If he were a better person, he’d find another way. He’d finally come clean and tell Cassia the truth. But the words stayed trapped behind his tongue, and the stakes were too high for him to do anything other than accept what she offered.

He cleared his throat before finally daring to look back up at her, the change of topic a more than welcomed change. “I can see if Grant’s able to get us discounted lift tickets,” Boyd offered. “We can go inner tubing.”

—

It was during that liminal moment, the one after her question but before he had a chance to reply, that, against better judgement, she took in her second fill of Boyd. Her eyes slipped over his face and down his frame with a certain slowness, cataloging what they found and filing it away.

Cas convinced herself she only stared twice because he looked tired. More tired than a long day at the garage and a looming uncertainty would explain. The truth she so expertly avoided was a touch different. A little bit more. 

That figurative line between ‘just friends’ and interested was never so blurred than when it came to Boyd.

She wanted to reach over and smooth away the ever present lines of worry that lived between his brows. Wanted to fit herself within his arms and hug away his stress. At the very least, she wanted to ask if he was truly okay. There were so many ways she wanted to comfort him - to seek comfort with him - but she found herself tiptoeing around those urges, instead. 

“So that you and Mattie can make bets on how many times I trip over my own feet and land on my face? Sounds like the best time of my life.” Strapped to skis, buckled on a board, sat in a tube— it didn’t matter. She was hopeless on the slopes and he damn well knew it, too.

But, her lifelong battle to remain even somewhat coordinated in the snow aside, a little smirk made itself evident while Cas indulgently licked her way back around the spoon in her hand. “She’ll love it, though.” It’d been longer than she could remember since they’d taken her up for the day. Perhaps almost as long since they’d all been free at the same time. 

“Should we tell her now so she has something to look forward to, or keep it a surprise?”

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ CRANE, NATHAN —

He almost felt bad for making her jump. Almost. The last few weeks aside, Nathan’s house was usually a quiet one, but it was best for her to get used to the unexpected, especially when his family stopped by so often. Being skittish around the Cranes was a beacon for disaster, there was nothing his younger siblings loved more than to toy with easy targets. 

It would be a shame to lose her as a housekeeper just because he was related to a group of menaces. He liked her.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he tried an apologetic smile, though it came off as more of a grimace. There was a twinge at his temple that signalled an oncoming tension headache—sleeping at his desk had done him no favours. Crossing the kitchen, he headed for the coffee machine doing his best not to get in her way. “No, no. I’m alright, thank you. I’m not much of a breakfast person.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole reason he turned her down either. Though he was sure there was nothing wrong with her cooking, Nathan preferred to prepare his own meals. That was he could oversee every step. His sister called him paranoid for it. He called it caution. Besides, he quite liked cooking when he got the chance. It was soothing.

“But if you need to eat, you should. Coffee?” It was tacked on as a distracted afterthought as he fiddled with the machine, which beeped at him uselessly. He sighed, whacking it gently on the side. “If I can get the machine to work, that is. I hate this thing. My cousin bought it for me, but I think it might’ve been his idea of a sick joke.”

—

“No, you’re fine.” Cassia brushed off the apology with a faint curve of her mouth and a wave of her hand. “Sometimes I just get too far into the zone and tune out of my surroundings for a little bit.” It felt easier to take the burden of her reaction off his shoulders with that little fib than admit the truth: when it came to Nathan Crane she’d simply grown used to him being a temperamental shadow around the house than fully fledged man. 

All these months later her boss was still half legend, all mystery.

Perhaps that’s why she glanced up next with invigorated curiosity in her gaze, already filing his admission away for later. “I’m not much for breakfast, either, but I think that’s more a learned behavior than actual preference.” When you worked one job overnight and another the second that one left off there was little time for squeezing in a balanced meal.

So yeah, in that sense his offer was appealing, but— “No, no. Thank you, but no. I couldn’t possibly put you out like that.” It was her job to look after him (rather, his house), not the other way around.

That in mind, she eased over to the finicky machine to help before it ended up in pieces. “Luckily for you, whenever I’m not here I’m fighting with similar beasts.” She fussed about for a few seconds, adding, “I just started working weeknights at the Midnight Club, too.”

And it was her reason for seeking that additional paycheck that pulled her attention from the finally brewing coffee. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, by the way.” Cas wedged her lower lip between her teeth, hesitating. “Would it, uhm, would it be alright if I didn’t come in next Thursday? Normally I’d never try to get time off, but there’s this thing I need to be at. It’s, uhm—” how did she explain Mattie?— “it’s a family thing, I mean.” 

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ @aydinbarak — continued from here.

“I’ll move you up to number one on my speed dial,” Cas teased with the flash of a wink. “Just don’t tell Boyd.” The joke made something twinge in her chest (because she knew her best friend was actually keeping secrets from her these days) but it went ignored. Now was neither the time nor the place to dwell on her conversation with Nadia yesterday and all it revealed. Instead, she skimmed the menu for another second, decided on her usual order, and then pushed it back to the other side.  “Kids are funny little things, aren’t they?” She had experience in that department thanks to helping Boyd raise Matilda. A corner of her mouth twitched with a smile before she continued, “Life has been... challenging lately, but I’m getting through it.” Mostly because she had little choice. “Mattie’s just dealing with some medical things we need to figure out. Once we do I’m sure everything will smooth out again.” Or so she hoped.

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ BARAK, AYDIN —

Aydin smirked at the girl, shaking his head “Ha, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I’ll start my own company, call me up when you need a pep talk or something.” He said shrugging his shoulders “but really, I meant every word I said” he said smiling at her. Aydin smiled at her nodding his head, “cool” he said also picking up the menu to look at what to eat. “I’ve been good. Renata is five acting like a teenager” he said laughing. “I don’t know where she gets the attitude, cause it certainly isn’t me.” He said smiling at her. “What about you, how have you been?” 

—

“I’ll move you up to number one on my speed dial,” Cas teased with the flash of a wink. “Just don’t tell Boyd.” The joke made something twinge in her chest (because she knew her best friend was actually keeping secrets from her these days) but it went ignored. Now was neither the time nor the place to dwell on her conversation with Nadia yesterday and all it revealed. Instead, she skimmed the menu for another second, decided on her usual order, and then pushed it back to the other side. 

“Kids are funny little things, aren’t they?” She had experience in that department thanks to helping Boyd raise Matilda. A corner of her mouth twitched with a smile before she continued, “Life has been... challenging lately, but I’m getting through it.” Mostly because she had little choice. “Mattie’s just dealing with some medical things we need to figure out. Once we do I’m sure everything will smooth out again.” Or so she hoped.

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ BARAK, AYDIN —

Aydin looked at Cas and smiled “hmm I’m sure you look beautiful when drunk and hungover” he said smiling. Aydin said looking at her, “I mean you can walk a runway right now” he said nodding his head. “Oh yeah is that so?” He said laughing. “Ahh, that makes sense” he said nodding his head “well I don’t go feral, but you’ll start seeing me cry” he said laughing, but shaking his head as the small bits of laughing he was doing, was even making his head hurt worse. “You have a minute for a bite to eat? Or are you on the run?” 

—

“You know,” Cas smirked after taking another blessed sip of her coffee, “if you ever decide to quit your day job I think you’d have real promise as a professional flatterer.” She didn’t have to fully agree with his compliments to appreciate them, right? 

A few quiet chuckles followed (the idea of Aydin sobbing while she catapulted over the counter in a fit of rage was honestly too funny) before she nodded. “But yeah, I have time.” So she pulled a menu forward, diverting her attention between the pages and his face. “Hangovers, sleep depravation, and caffeine addictions aside... how’ve you been?”