It was finally Sunday, and Mason had been anticipating an actually peaceful break from work. He had taken a shower on Thursday while still in a more productive mood from washing his clothes and he felt considerably less disgusting than usual, which both him and Domino were thankful for. They were sitting together on the couch listening to Jargon's self-titled album as per Mason's usual after work routine, although for the past forty or so minutes, they had actively been engaging with it as opposed to putting it on in the background. The track "Olive and Lime" was playing, and Mason's high was beginning to die down at this point, however it wasn't too far out from its peak. Domino stared at him intently, amused by his change in behavior. 

"This is kinda like when we met, huh?" Domino asked. "Did you want me to get you some of those crunchy triangle things like last time?"

Mason slowly turned his head to face Domino. "Chips? Nah, I'll get them."

He continued to stare blankly in Domino's direction for roughly 30 seconds or so. "You know, I actually thought you were like... A hallucination or something when we met, or that I was like, dreaming or something," he said with an absent-minded giggle. "I mean, a cat that can talk, right? Shit's crazy."

Domino tilted their head. "Did you still want the chips?"

"Heh, oh yeah. You might need to get them for me, though."

Domino got up and proceeded to the kitchen, trying in vain to see above the fridge and ultimately resorting to feeling for the bag instead. After some effort and a few failed attempts, Domino finally grabbed the desired item.

They borderline pranced back to the couch, sat down, and placed the bag in Mason's lap, figuring that he wouldn't have the energy or ability to lean over and grab it himself. "There you go!"

Mason reached over and scratched Domino under the chin. "Thanks dude. These are awesome."

Domino smiled and scooted closer to Mason in order to more easily reach the chips, grabbing one and sniffing it before taking a cautious bite. "I'll admit that it's really weird for me too. Being like this, I mean. Being treated like a person and all that. There's still so much I don't really understand."

Mason nodded. "It's weird for me too, and I was born like this. Do you ever feel like you're kinda on the outside of everything? Like you can try as hard as you can, but you'll just never understand anyone else? They might even tease you or mock you for it. All these made up rules and shit."

Domino's ears perked up in excitement. "Yes! I never even understood what humans were talking about before! I actually couldn't even tell the difference between us!"

Mason turned to Domino. "Really? I guess that makes sense. I understand your perspective for sure, dude. In a way, at least. I think."

Domino blinked. "You understand being a cat?"

"Well, no! I just, I understand the disconnect from everyone else, I guess. Autism and stuff."

"I was about to say! We're very different. I still haven't gotten used to the lack of affection, for one. What's that about?"

Mason froze a little. "Well, humans don't really do that too much, that's all. It's more for like, family or... partners, or like, super close friends. There are a lot of rules to it, too. Like, you can only do some types of affection with certain people."

"That's weird."

Mason eased up and nodded. "I know, dude. Sometimes I wanna just cuddle with people, but people see that and think it's some romantic thing. You know what I mean, right?"

Domino shook their head.

"Well... Huh. I'm not sure what romance is either, actually. Kissing, I guess. It's definitely that and like, a really deep bond with someone who understands you, I think. I haven't really dated before, though. Not since high school, and that was a mess."

Domino stared deeply into space before returning. "Hmm. Not like what I had with my kittens, right?"

"Not really." Mason began. "You have kittens?"

"Yeah! I don't know where they are though."

"...huh."

The two sat in silence. Mason's attention slowly shifted back to the song playing through his speakers.

"Y'know... This song kinda sounds like the rapid expansion of capitalism and the change of public opinion on it," Mason began hazily. "You know what I mean? Wait probably not, my bad."

"Capitalism is related to your job right? I remember Tristan using that word when talking about his before I left. A bunch of times, actually. He didn't seem to like it."

Mason nodded. "Yeah. Basically capitalism is when the machines that people use to like, make stuff are owned by people with a lot of money, and they pay you to use the machines for them."

"How did they get to own the machines though?"

"I don't really know, actually. Usually it's based on like, generational wealth; the people born into... having a lot of money are the ones that are more likely to do stuff like own factories and businesses. I don't really like anything about it."

Domino nodded. "What's money?"

Mason's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to scramble for an answer. "Uhh... You trade it for stuff. Like, this apartment costs way too much of it but if I don't keep paying the rent once a month, I lose the place."

Domino contemplated this for a moment. "The rent is an amount that you can afford, right? Does your job pay well enough?"

Mason scoffed. "Maybe it would have like, 40 years ago before I was born." He sighed. "I can't really find any good jobs around here, and I can't afford a way of going places that have better jobs, so I'm kinda stuck here with a landlord that's gutting the fuck outta me. Supposedly the actual price of this place should only be like, 990 a month, but I'm paying nearly twice that. I actually didn't even know that until recently and I've been living here for like, a year or something."

Domino blinked rapidly, looked around, and then looked back at Mason. "I miss being a normal cat."

Mason nodded in understanding. "I get that. I'm glad you're here though! It's been nice having someone to talk to. It gets lonely around here."

Their eyes slowly closed halfway. "I'm happy to be here too. For the longest time I was worried that if I reached out to anyone, they'd react in disgust or confusion at me. I'm just glad I finally have a place to sleep; it gets cold out there."

Mason nodded in sympathy and thought for a moment. "Hey, so uh, do you want a hug?"

Domino opened their eyes. "Why though?"

"I just... Thought it'd feel nice. It's how humans reassure each other, and I've also just been curious what hugging a giant cat would be like."

Domino nodded. "Sure! It sounds nice."

Mason awkwardly extended his arms before Domino practically lunged in and squeezed the air out of him.

"Too much, too much!"

"Oh my bad!" Domino replied, loosening their grip. 

He found himself moving his arms around to find a comfortable position, but thanks to the weed, he lost focus of that soon enough as he ran his hands along Domino's soft fur. It had been years since Mason had hugged anyone, and he needed it more than he could have ever known. The purring next to his ear relaxed him even further as he felt himself begin to nuzzle up against Domino's face before catching himself and pulling away. Mason blinked rapidly a few times, turning away from Domino.

"I wanna do that more. It really did help!" Domino stated. 

Mason scratched his head, smiling. His reply was somewhat shaky, certainly against his will. "I guess that'd be nice, yeah."

"Can you pet me more too? I miss that."

"Uhhh... Maybe eventually."

"Nice!"