The Neighbor Next Door

A slow visit

The following Friday, 3gs made his way over to the house to visit for the weekend. They decided to do something they had done before, meeting up in town for lunch to start the visit, a good way to catch up, and a good way for both of them to not have to be in the house at the time. A good idea for 3gs, really, as the two of them planned to look around town a bit too, just to spend the afternoon out instead of ultimately ending up sitting on the couch or not really doing much. They had actual plans for this visit, and MePhone was honestly a bit excited. A good bunch of distractions, really.

He was on his way into town currently, just enjoying the weather. It was cold today, but he preferred that over it being too warm out. It was a quiet day overall, and nothing had happened before this. Just the usual getting up in the morning, feeding his cat, and some basic cleaning up a bit. He had good hopes for the weekend, really. He had stuff he needed to do on his own, sure, but that could wait.

For now, he was just going to enjoy his time out today. Really, despite some days being a little muddled, he had reached an area in living where everything just felt calm, and normal, really. It was nice, even if nothing was really happening. Just days going by, but not in an awful way. He didn’t feel like he was stuck in a never ending cycle, or a pit again, and that was nice. He felt… Normal. That was the best way he could put it, really.

Overall, he liked feeling normal. He hoped that would continue through this weekend, and beyond that, though only time could tell.

Eventually he made it to the place they had chosen to meet up at, a restaurant neither of them had been to, but a place they had both decided they’d be up for trying. He could see his brother’s car already in the parking lot, and then his brother actually in the car-- looking just to see, not to be creepy, as he made his way over, hoping he wouldn’t seem awkward as he waved. 3gs looked up from the book he was reading-- seeming to have been waiting for the other to show up, with a smile. He took a moment to bookmark his page, and set it aside, before getting out, and fetching his cane from the backseat.
“Hey,”
“Hello, Blue,” 3gs still smiled, MePhone just smiling back, not really minding it too much when 3gs called him that. He knew by now it was just habit, and something he was still used to.
“Ready?”
“Yep,” MePhone gave a small nod, the two heading in for lunch. It was a nice place, really. A bit on the fancier side in the area, but it thankfully had some interesting enough options to seem worth going to.
“So, have you two settled in yet?” He decided to ask, while the two of them were waiting for their food.
“Mostly, yeah. We’ve met some of the neighbors, too.”
“What are they like?”
“Well Knife’s becoming good friends with one of them. Small world really, he already knew her at some point. But uh… Yeah, she’s nice. Her partner is, too. Our other direct neighbor is some really old woman-- but she’s sweet. She’s social, and likes calling me over to help her with stuff.”
“That’s nice,”
“We also have a cat now.”
“...Oh?”
“Yeah. She’s a little menace, but she’s our little menace.” 3gs just smiled, thinking about it.
“Does she have a name?”
“Knife wanted to call her rocket launcher.”
“... Is that--”
“No, we compromised with rocket, and I guess that’s fine. She’s fast enough to act like one, honestly… Though speaking of which, have you named your cat yet?”
“... Nope. It hasn’t responded to anything I’ve suggested positively.” MePhone just sighed, taking a sip from his water. Surely he’d find a name for it eventually, but for now it was still just ‘cat’.
“Well, maybe it will someday. Or maybe it just likes being called the cat,” The older just shrugged as he looked around the area they were sat in currently.
“Next time we hang out, you should visit us. I think you’d get along with our neighbor, honestly.”
“The old one?”
“No, the other one.”
“I feel like you say I’d get along with anyone, honestly.”
“I mean, if you tried enough that’s just how it works,”
“Yeah, but it isn’t always right.”
“I suppose. Either way, you should still visit. We have the house fully set up now, and my fiance is looking into stuff he can put in the backyard. We have big plans now that we’re finally out of the apartments, and can do stuff with the space we live in. We’re going to paint the kitchen another colour when we have the chance,”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I think it would look nice if it were yellow. It might not seem like either of our colour, but it would match the stuff we have set up in there.”
“That would be nice. I’d like to see that,” MePhone just smiled at the idea, trying to imagine it for himself.
“Anyways, enough about me, what have you been up to?”
“Oh, well I’ve just… Been around, honestly. I went out last weekend with my friend Fan, uhm… I met OJ’s sister formally too, but that was kind of rocky… Uh… I’m sure that’ll improve with time but we’re both kind of awkward,”
“There’s something about you and being friends with awkward people,”
“Oh not this again.” MePhone narrowed his eyes, not wanting to accidentally raise his voice in public again like he did last time his brother called him awkward, especially in a nicer establishment.
“I’m just saying,” A bit of mischief to his tone, and expression, before he took a sip of his own drink, refusing to elaborate. MePhone just rolled his eyes with a sigh, deciding to move on;
“But uh… OJ’s kids also know I’m a robot now,”
“Oh. Does that… Change anything?”
“It hasn’t yet, but I dunno. I’m still worried about it for the next time I go over for dinner,”
“Yeah? When’s that?”
“Probably Monday after you leave,” He shrugged; “We’re still planning when, but I’m hoping it’ll be then,”
“If you wanted to go over one of the nights I’m here, I wouldn’t mind,”
“But you’re only visiting for so long, I could go over to his house any time,”
“It’s up to you, really,” 3gs shrugged, unbothered.
“It’ll be after you leave. I wanna spend time with you,”
“Alright. Are you excited for what we have planned, by the way?”
“Yeah, actually. I think it’ll be nice,” MePhone smiled again, just thinking about it.
Despite it being colder, the two planned a visit to a hiking trail. Neither of them were really the biggest on physical exercise for two very different reasons, but a slow paced walk through the woods sounded nice, honestly, and during this time of year, less people would be around. It would be nicer than just taking a walk on the side of the street anyways.