We're All in This Together
Disclaimer: All familiar characters, situations, settings, etc. belong to Disney/Marvel.
A/N: Thanks for the kind reviews! Cass's sister would definitely use the kids to convince Cass. ;)
Two days later Cass watches as her brother-in-law maneuvers a white minivan into an empty parking spot on the street outside the café. In a moment her family begins pouring out: she sees Tadashi hop out of one side, racing around to the other to impatiently wait while his dad releases Hiro from his carseat. Her sister steps out of the passenger side, spotting Cass on the sidewalk. She flashes her a huge grin and waves wildly, right before popping the hatch on the van and lifting out an entire cardboard tray of…
Cabbages?!
"I really want to try making kimchi," Mae explains, dumping her haul of vegetables on Cass's kitchen counter when they walk inside. Who's going to eat that much kimchi? Cass wonders. What's she planning to store it in? Where is she planning to store it? Her sister starts digging through a reusable grocery bag. "Oh, and I brought a bunch of stuff from our cupboards too. I have quinoa and some chia and...oh my gosh, Cass, have you tried this 10 grain cereal?"
Cass frowns at the jolly grandpa on the bag of cereal pellets Mae is holding up. "Yes," she answers, trying to decide whether or not to say it's disgusting out loud.
"Hi Cass," Tomeo interrupts her inner conflict, bringing in the kids. He sets Hiro down and nudges up his glasses. "Thanks for letting us crash. The apartment was already feeling pretty tight."
But Cass only partly hears him because Hiro has already crossed the room and slammed into her shins, trying to wrap his arms around them in some weird toddler hug. "Annie Cass!" he yells, releasing his death grip and grinning up at her. "Where's you kitty?"
"He wants to know where Momo is," Tadashi explains, stating the obvious.
"She's probably hiding somewhere," Cass responds, lifting Hiro up for a big squeeze. "How's my favorite little nephew?!" Momo might be old, but she's not stupid. The cat probably found a good hiding place as soon as she heard the van pull up. Hiro starts to squirm and she sets him down, taking the opportunity to give Tadashi a big hug as well. "And my favorite big nephew?! I'm so glad you guys are here!"
"Good," Tadashi answers, hugging her back for a moment before propping his elbows on the countertop and watching his mom rearrange the contents of the fridge in order to squeeze in all the vegetables. "My teacher said we're going to do school online, so Mom says maybe I get two hours of screen time now." He holds up two fingers for emphasis, then seems to remember something important. "And Aunt Cass! Dad says we can build a Rube Goldberg machine, as long it's okay with you. Would that be okay?"
A what?
Tadashi seems to misinterpret her confusion for hesitation, because he hurriedly adds, "I promise we'll clean everything up when we're done…"
"Cass, do you care if I use one of the blenders from downstairs? I thought I could start making oat milk for the kids instead of buying it." Mae interrupts, peeking out of the fridge for a moment.
"Where do you want this?" Tomeo asks, standing at the top of the landing. He's somehow carrying a duffle bag, a collapsible crib, and a huge plastic tote all at once. How much stuff did they cram into that minivan?
"...I promise we won't break anything," Tadashi adds, following Cass as she hurries to take some of the items Tomeo is carrying.
"Sure, okay," Cass agrees absently.
"Honey, I told you that bin could stay in the van until tomorrow."
"It was easier to just grab it now."
"Do you have any paper towel tubes?"
And then there's a crash. Followed by a distinctive m'rowwww! from the cat and another slightly smaller crash. "Come back, Kitty!" hollers Hiro.
Several dustpans full of potting soil, two destroyed houseplants, and one somewhat insincere toddler apology later, Cass is holding out hope that once her sister's family is settled, things will calm down. It's not like they've never stayed here before - it's just always been for very short periods of time.
She drops the last of the dirt into the paper bag Tadashi is holding out. "Sorry about your plants, Aunt Cass," he apologizes.
"It's okay," Cass responds, shrugging it off. "I'll find new ones when everything is open again." Speaking of open...she's got a few orders for pick-up that she should really be getting ready.
"Are you guys good?" she asks Mae and Tomeo, feeling a little inhospitable for leaving them when they're still hauling things in and figuring out where to put all their stuff.
"We're fine," Mae assures her. "It's okay if we all stay upstairs, right?"
"You mean in the attic?" Cass gapes at her. She didn't clean the attic. She never cleans the attic, even though she walks through it every single day to water the plants on the roof patio. She has seen the cobwebs and dust with her own eyes - they're definitely there. But she only cleaned the MAIN apartment - including the guest room where they are SUPPOSED to stay.
"Yeah," Mae nods enthusiastically, apparently not catching onto Cass's horror. "I thought we could lay the futons out."
"It's not clean," Cass blurts out. Better that she just tells her than let Mae discover the disgusting state of things on her own. "And I don't think the toilet up there works. It's gross."
Mae doesn't seem to care, instead insisting that she'll tidy things up and ask Tomeo to take a look at the toilet. "Go for it," Cass agrees, still not understanding the appeal. She makes her excuses and heads down to the café, busily filling orders and prepping for tomorrow's baked goods. Mae pops down once in a while to ask where to find cleaning supplies and tools, and in the afternoon she comes down with two bowls of curry.
"I thought we could have lunch together," she announces, grinning as she and Cass slide into one of the café's empty booths. "Hiro finally fell asleep."
"He's a busy one," Cass states, blowing on a spoonful of curry before taking a bite. The texture is odd and she gestures to her bowl. "Is this cauliflower?"
"Maybe?" Mae raises her eyebrows, not revealing anything for sure. "It's not bad, right? Tomeo doesn't like it."
"The man is Japanese, Mae," Cass points out. "You don't mess with the rice. Even I know that."
Mae shrugs, taking another bite. "Thanks again for letting us stay. I know it makes things a little crazier for you."
"It's okay," Cass responds. It hasn't been too bad so far. A fridge full of cabbages, two busted houseplants, and the invasion of her neglected attic is totally survivable. Especially since she got out of cleaning the attic. "You know I love you guys."
Mae smiles and gathers up the bowls. "You'll be done down here in time for dinner, right? I saw a frozen pizza in the freezer - we could have that."
Cass happily agrees and works through the rest of the afternoon, finally clearing up as the smell of cooking pizza begins to waft down the stairs. She snaps a photo of all the pies prepped in the cooler and uploads it to social media, typing out a caption. You've survived three days of lockdown. You deserve pie.
You do deserve pie, she thinks to herself, and she scrapes the final remnants of pie from the display case into an empty pie plate to bring upstairs. And ice cream. She plots how to broach the idea of dessert to her sister as she climbs the stairs, and then she almost drops everything she's carrying.
There is string everywhere. Dominoes and toy car tracks and just...just random crap EVERYWHERE. It looks like her entire recycling bin has been scattered around her living room...toilet paper tubes and milk cartons and…
...and it's not just the living room.
But how?! How could this possibly happen when the goddess of domestic bliss and 10 grain cereal has been in charge? Cass gapes, realizing an entire table has been moved in front of her window seat and covered in junk. Is that a roll of wrapping paper? How?!
"It's not finished yet," Tadashi announces when he catches sight of her. He frowns a little. "It's going to take a few days."
"A few days…?" Cass manages to ask, not sure if she wants to look into the kitchen.
Tomeo gives her a somewhat quizzical expression, stepping around the kitchen counter with the pizza cutter. "He asked you earlier, right?" He looks down at Tadashi. "Did you ask Cass if it was okay?"
"Yeah," Tadashi nods confidently, and Cass remembers.
Oh crap.
This is a Rube Goldberg machine.