#and lemme tell you. classmates have told me people do??? its awesome????? one of my favourite projects

[bmpmp3]

Didn't do anything all day except learn how to bagline very poorly. Now I have a small sack. Wait hold on. Hold on

Fffffffuuuuuck yessssssssss

[castorsilver]

silver and gold: a day in the life of the silver brothers

An average day in the life of Castor and Pollux Silver

“Brother!! Castor!! Wake up, it’s morning! Don’t sleep the day away!” Pollux’s voice carried easily through their small, two bedroom apartment. Of course, Pollux never did learn the concept of an inside voice. 

Cas groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Lack of sleep, was more accurate. Most of the night had ticked by, as usual, with Cas lying awake. He’d managed a little over three hours, that was more than last night. His muscles ached, as they often did first thing in the morning, when he climbed out of bed. His movements were slow, and his face was devoid of its usual grin. Instead, a tired grimace pulled at the corners of his mouth, and his eyebrows pinched together in discomfort at the ache in his bones. Another positive thing about Pollux was he never learned how to walk quietly. It wasn’t difficult to hear the thundering footsteps — almost like an uncoordinated giraffe — approaching his door. Castor swiftly pulled on a white t-shirt, making sure it covered up the medley of scars on his back and that he had a grin on his face just before Pollux burst through the door. 

“CAST–Oh, you’re up!” Pollux exclaimed, brown eyes bright with child-like mirth. “Where are your pants?”

Cas looked down at himself. He’d managed a shirt before his brother barged in, but his sweatpants still remained crumpled on the floor, strewn over a clothes hanger. “They’re right there on the floor, hangin’ out,” he replied with a teasing grin. 

Pollux rolled his eyes dramatically, but Cas could see the grin pulling at his little brother’s lips. Pollux loved Cas’ puns when they were kids, but now that he was older, he sometimes tried to pretend he’d outgrown them. Castor knew better. “Yes, I can see that. I meant why aren’t you wearing them.”

“Oh. Well, ya shoulda just said that, Polly.”

“Must you call me that? Put on your pants, I just finished making my famous pancakes! I know you love them!”

Over his twenty-three years of life, Cas had gotten very good at school his facial expressions. He very rarely broke, but if there was anything that could make him break, it was Pollux’s pancakes. They were horrendous. Somehow both burnt and undercooked, but Cas didn’t have the heart to tell him that they were awful. “Awesome, just lemme get dressed and I’ll be right there.” 

The pancakes were just as bad as usual, and Cas choked them down with nothing but a grin. Coffee helped to wash away the doughy taste, and it helped to lift the dark cloud of exhaustion that hovered over him. “So,” he began, setting down his coffee cup. “Whatcha got planned today?”

Pollux rambled on effortlessly. While Cas was quite chatty himself, he was the quiet one compared to Pollux. But he didn’t mind. Watching his little brother talk so animatedly — about his classes, his projects, his friends — warmed Cas’ heart. He was eternally glad that, despite Pollux having gone through living as a pirate as well, he didn’t seem to be any less positive and antisocial for it. 

“Are you seeing Reese again today?”

Cas was snapped out of his thoughts by the question, blinking owlishly.��“...Huh?”

Cas noted the small, knowing grin on his face. Despite Pollux’s more innocent, positive nature, they were still brothers; it was moments like this that reminded Cas of that. “I said are you seeing Reese again today?”

Suddenly those pancakes looked a lot more interesting. “I mean uh– Maybe. Dunno. It’d be nice to see her, but she’s got her own life, ya know? We’re just friends, anyway.” Cas looked up to see that small grin had now turned into a larger one. “What’re you grinnin’ at?” 

“Nothing, nothing.” 

Comfortable silence fell over them again with only the scraping of forks resonating through the makeshift dining room — aka the small, round table Cas had managed to squeeze into a corner of the room. Their apartment was modest, that much was certain. At least it was larger than the first place they’d lived in. It had been a run-down, old, one bedroom apartment. Cas had given Pollux the room and slept on the couch. The kitchen had been merely a foot of counter space between the sink and the fridge, and the bathroom hadn’t been much better. It was a constant struggle, convincing the worried Pollux that the couch wasn’t affecting his ability to sleep. And, truth be told, it wasn’t. Cas wouldn’t have been able to sleep anywhere, but Pollux didn’t need to know that. 

“You deserve it, you know,” Pollux said softly, breaking the silence. 

Cas could hear the growing, sentimental tone in his little brother’s voice. Wary of where the emotional conversation may go, he turned to what he so often did humor. “What, your delicious pancakes? I know, I think I deserve more actually.”

“Castor...You deserve to be happy, the way Reese makes you happy.”

Cas stilled in his scooping of more pancakes. For a moment, the Silver brother shared a look — the sort of look where Pollux silently says I know you’re not as happy as you let on and Castor plays dumb. It happened every so often, and it always ended in the same way:

Cas flashed a lazy grin. “I’m always happy, Polly.” 

With a lie. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

“Have a good day in classes, bro,” Cas said, waving from his spot sprawled out of the couch. 

“And you have a good day at work, Castor!”

Ah yes, work. Cas glanced at the clock as Pollux headed off to class. Today he was working at the convenience store, stocking shelves and cleaning up the aisles. It was his least favorite day of the week, because convenience store employees don’t make tips. It was easier to make quick cash with tips. At least he worked at the diner tomorrow, and at the next day he worked at the pizza place. Those would be sure to make him some extra cash. 

With a loud sigh, Cas got ready for his least favorite job of the week. Another few weeks there and he’d quit, move on to the next store, just like he always did. 

“Silver. You’re late,” snapped his boss as he strolled into the building. He was, but not as late as usual. 

Cas flashed a grin at the elderly woman and tipped an invisible hat at her. “Always a pleasure to see you too, Barb. Did you do something new to your apron?”

“Get to work. Some kid already puked in aisle three.”

Cas hated Tuesdays. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Pollux’s hand shot up excitedly. Normally he wasn’t that great at math, but thanks to Cas’ tutoring last night, he actually knew this answer. He chose to ignore the snickers around him, deciding to pretend as if he didn’t know they were laughing at him. 

“Yes, Pollux?” the teacher asked, his expression brightening when Pollux have the correct answer. “Very good! And can anyone solve this equation...”

Interacting with his classmates was always a hit or miss thing. Some of them adored him. Much like Castor, Pollux was friendly and outgoing, always eager to chat. Others found him annoying, and often made fun of him — because of his booming voice, because of his gangly appearance, because he was excitable and positive, because they believed him to be unintelligent. He didn’t mind, though. Not everyone had to like him, because that was life, and Pollux couldn’t fault them for it. He knew that he was a lot to handle sometimes. 

“Good job today, Pollux,” said his teacher as he passed by the desk. 

“Oh! Thank you, sir!” Pollux exclaimed, brimming with glee. 

“Yeah, you actually got a question right today,” muttered a mocking voice of one of his classmates. 

Pollux’s smile faltered slightly, but only for the briefest of moments. His teacher continued, none the wiser. “Let me know if you still want that tutor, I’d be happy to set you up with someone.”

Pollux hesitated. Part of him did want to get his own tutor. Someone to help him that wasn’t Cas. Not because he didn’t love and admire his brother, but because Castor had enough things to worry about — like his insomnia that he’s convinced Pollux doesn’t know about, or his growing alcoholism, or his multiple jobs that he has to keep them financially afloat. And Pollux was eighteen now, an adult according to the humans’ legal system. He should be able to take care of himself without his brother’s help. However, another part of Pollux also knew that Cas found a special wort of joy in helping him with things. What kind of brother would he be if he took away one of Castor’s few sources of happiness? 

“No, no, that’s okay. I have my brother to help me. But thank you.” 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Cas’ day was as long as he’d expected. His body and mind were both exhausted, drained from his lack of sleep and from dealing with his cranky boss. At least the day was over and he’d made some good money. 

Walking the sidewalks of WDA’s campus, Cas saw some familiar faces. He had a few conversations, made some people laugh, and energized himself by being near people. Pollux should be out of his last class of the day at any minute. It was a tradition for Cas to meet his little brother at campus. They’d go and grab food somewhere — usually at the dining hall, because it was free — and would hang out. Sometimes Pollux’s friends would join them, sometimes people who Cas knew would stop by. It was nice, and something he always looked forward to. 

Mostly it was because he loved his brother more than anything else, but Cas also found comfort in the familiar halls of his alma mater. College was easier. There was a clear goal, an obvious path to go down: graduation. Real life was much more complicated, full of options and forks in the road and different ways for him to fuck it all up. 

“Mr. Silver!” 

Cas turned on his heels, spotting one of his old science teachers — one of the few teachers who actually liked him — strolling up with a grin on his face. 

“’Sup teach, how’s it hangin’?” Cas greeted with a lazy wave and an easy grin. 

“Quite well, thank you. How’s post-grad life treating you? How’s the job hunt?”

Nonexistent. There were only a few Astrophysicist opportunities in Buena Vista, and Cas had no desire to uproot Pollux’s life by moving somewhere for a job. And so, rather than search for a solution, he simply gave up looking. Once the application he’d sent to the Science Institute of Buena Vista had been ignored by the recruiting agents, the job search had stopped entirely. 

“I’m takin’ a little break from stuff, ya know? Takin’ my time to enjoy my freedom before I dive into a career.”

Judging by the mildly concerned expression on his previous professor’s face, that answer hadn’t gone over well. It never really did. Thankfully, much like the godsend that he always was, Cas saw Pollux approaching in the distance. “Oh, there’s my baby bro! Sorry, teach, gotta go. It was good seein’ ya.” 

The two Silver brothers approached each other, each of them grateful to escape their own thoughts. Pollux’s smile was bright, and Castor’s was relaxed — just as they always were. 

“Dinner?” Cas asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Pollux hesitated for a moment, and Cas worried that perhaps he’d caught a glimpse of the professor over his shoulder. However, that hesitation quickly vanished. “Sure!” he said excitedly. “Do you mind if we go to the dining hall? There’s supposed to be Mac & Cheese there tonight!”

Cas chuckled, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Mac & Cheese, huh? Sure, but it feta be good.”

Pollux let out an exaggerated groan and Cas let out a happy chuckle, both of the brothers relieved that their day was at an end.