A squirrel perched on his leg and he bends down, whispering to it a little, and giving it a small kiss on the nose when it turns to sniff his face. He gives it a smile as it wipes its face and skitters away with a handful of food.
Ben looks up to the attic. “How am I gonna do this.” He sighs.
Violet walks up beside him and takes his arm. “Be gentle, Benjamin. He likes them.”
Ben runs a hand through his hair. “But why??”
Silver choked, involuntarily squeaking. She couldn't recall ever seeing Gabriel smile before, or looking so content or peaceful. She vaguely heard Ben and Violet speaking and mentally shouted, No, no, no, Ben, don't come up. Please no, you'll scare them all.
Miki crossed her arms, watching Ben and Vi upstairs. To Cage she said thoughtfully, "We could just burn the house down."
Cage nods. “That has my vote.”
Ben rubs his temples. “I don’t want to go up there, he’s talking to them. I’ll just. I’ll wait.” He turns around and paces. “What is that guy? A Disney Princess?”
Violet smiles. “I’ve never seen a Disney Princess with pointy teeth and black nails.”
Gabriel snaps his attention to Silver, focusing on her with wide eyes.
I didn’t know you were here.
She wiggled her fingers at him in a little wave and mouthed "Hi".
"Ben!" Miki called. "Can we just burn the house down??"
He goes to speak, but closes his mouth.
Why are you here. When did you come in??
His cheeks turn a rosy red and he looks down to the robins hopping and eating in his lap.
Ben looks over the balcony. “Oh trust me, I would if I could.”
Slowly Silver inched her way over to sit beside him and watched the birds, slipping her arm around his. "How long have you had these little beans up here?" She asked, keeping her voice low and gentle, for the animals sake and Gabe's.
Miki snort-laughed and darted into the kitchen. "I don't even care how they get them out I just–CAGE"
Cage jumps. “AH BEN DO YOU HAVE AN ICE CREAM MACHINE!!?”
Ben looks over the balcony again. “?? Yes??”
Gabriel swallows and stays completely still, his heart racing.
“A… a month…”
"WHAT. YOU DO?" Miki cried, racing back to the stairs. She almost started climbing them but then stumbled backward as if they burned her. "Um. Please tell me it's not… up there."
Silver tried to hide her smile but failed. "Oh. Okay. How… How many are up here? I saw some racoons and squirrels and birds."
“T- twelve.” He quietly stutters.
This isn’t ok.
I didn’t even think about asking.
Whats a Disney Princess?
I should’ve talked to Ben about them.
Ben rolls his eyes, “no no. Did you idiots even look in the kitchen? Under the sink.”
Silver reached up and smoothed his hair. "Oh wow. That's more than I thought. How did you find them?"
Miki froze, blinking at Ben, and then slowly turned and trudged back into the kitchen. "Cage." She said. "It's been under the sink this whole time."
Cage sighs, staring at the machine. “We cursed our minds with the knowledge of our own kind betraying us and harboring rodents in the attic… just to find out we did it all for nothing… I’m not sleeping tonight.”
Gabriel wipes his face and a squirrel skitters away.
“I’m sorry.” He quietly squeaks.
Miki rubbed her face. "My whole life is a lie."
"Heyhey," she crooned. "It's okay. They didn't hurt anything. You didn't hurt anything. I am surprised you got them to stay here for so long though."
Gabriel pets a robin and it chirps under his hand.
“I like them.”
Cage sits in the ground. “I don’t have the will to live anymore. Kill me now.”
A full grin spread across Silver's face. "They're super cute. Can I…?" She leaned into him and reached toward the bird, but paused, unsure.
Miki giggled and poked him with her foot. "Nooo Cage, we still have to taste the ice cream and see how nasty it is!"
Cage looks in disgust on the ice cream. “If you don’t kill me, that definitely will.”
Gabriel nods. “He doesn’t care. Go ahead.”
Miki bent over laughing. "Why were we even making this again???"
Silver gasped in excitement and carefully touched the bird, running her finger down his back. "Ohhh he's so soft!" She whispered.
Gabriel slips his hand over hers, carefully correcting how she’s petting the bird. “Like this.” He whispers. “He doesn’t like his head or wings touched.”
Cage shrugs, standing. “But we’ve come this far so we gotta finish.”
"Oh okay. I'm sorry." She barely breathed as he moved her hand along the bird's body. "He's so beautiful."
Miki nodded. "Yeah we do. And I want to see how gross it is when it's done."
A smile flits across his face. “I think so.” He quietly whispers.
Cage pulls out the machine then pours the ice cream gunk in. “Alright, here this goes.”
Silver beamed up at him. "I had no idea you loved animals so much."
Miki plugged it in and turned it on, watching the paddle go around. "Well. Our arms aren't gonna die now."
Cage nods. “Yeah. That’s why I love machines.”
His cheeks flush again and he tries to hide a shy grin. “Yeah. They’re… sweet.” He quietly says, staring at the bird.
and they don’t talk.
Miki watched it for a minute before flipping on the floor. "Now we can lay on the floor for an hour instead."
Silver bit her lip to keep from giggling, her eyes on him and not the bird. "You love them, don't you?"
Cage spread out on the floor. “Ah, much more productive.”
He nods slowly. “Do you like them?”
Silence reigned for several minutes, only disrupted by the whirr of the machine motor.
" This house creeps me out now." Miki whispered. "I feel like there are things crawling on me."
Silver nodded, glancing back at the bird. "Of course I do."
Cage sighs. “Actually there’s a fly on you right now so you’re not wrong.”
Gabriel goes to speak when Ben calls up rather quietly. “Gabriel? Can you get those out of my house please? I don’t-“ He sighs. “I don’t want random animals in my home.”
Silver reluctantly let go of Gabriel and crawled to the top of the ladder. "We're working on it. Where–is there somewhere else we could put them? Do we have a shed or anything?"
"AHH" Miki jerked up and smacked her arm so hard it left a mark on her skin.
Ben rubs his hand over his face, then places his hands on his hips. “Ey, no? The backyard? They’re animals, Sil. They belong outside.”
Cage gasps. “GEEZ mik. It’s just a fly.”
"They're…" She glanced back over her shoulder at Gabe, then turned back to Ben and whispered, "He loves them, Ben. They're not just animals to him. They're his friends. Please?" She begged.
Miki rolled her eyes. "I'm just super creeped out right now, Cage. Don't judge me."
Ben stares up, brow furrowed. “Ah- Sil, do you expect me to just leave them here?? They go outside. They’re not puppies.” He whispers.
Cage purses his lips. “I’m… judging, sorry.”
"Yes." Silver nodded. "Outside, in a shed or something. I don't want them to stay in here either. But you know if we throw them outside Gabe will build a stick fort by the pool or something. Or sneak them into the basement."
Miki smacked him (LIGHTLY). "I feel so betrayed." She put a hand over her heart and sniffed. "I never thought it would come from you, Cage."