Cass Cass Cass Cass
Had it been anyone but Cassidy, Ezra would have declined the invitation and stayed home. He would be lying if he said he wasn't longing for his usual spot on the couch at the moment. It certainly beat wearing this suit... even if his standards of neatness wouldn't allow him to loosen his tie, it didn't keep the hand not occupied with mechanically holding his drink from fussing with it during the speech.
Well, it was too late for regrets. He couldn't just stand there and mope, he was being an idiot and Cass would notice and probably feel hurt. If it wasn't already painfully obvious that he was entirely out of practice socializing, even with his best friend... what had Cass been up to all of this time? He didn't know... and the string of texts and calls left unanswered just made getting back in touch even more awkward...
Ezra felt the part of him that was Hound pointedly steer his train of thought in the right direction as Cassidy spoke up, and he took a sip from his glass to buy himself some time before replying. Cass had already made the first move, so this mental angst was entirely unnecessary. He needed to make an effort...!
"Yes. It was a long one," he heard himself say while staring down into his glass. "This next one could stand to go a little easier on us... what about you? Any... goals?" He looked up at his friend expectantly. Some things never changed, like Cass's optimism towards the future, and Ezra admired him for it.