#Avocato knows that it is not the same for Gary to do it than for him to do it himself

[no-place-to-be-happy]

How does Avocato bathe Orion? Does he clean him by licking him, how cats do? Or do they prepare baths, like humans? And if so, does he allow Gary to do it now and then? Or... heh heh, just had this idea... did he ever request that Gary clean him, but expected him to do it the cat way? xD

I feel like it's a mix between both, grooming is a daily task while baths are a little less frequent.

Avocato trusts Gary a lot, but it's Gary who's a little afraid of doing the shower part wrong, so Avocato takes care of that (with Gary's assistance, who is in charge of bringing things to the room, heating the water and drying)

Although I'm also sure that Avocato will at least once ask Gary to take care of grooming the little one because he's too exhausted to do so 😭, Probably at least the first or second time, Gary was confused as hell.

"...... Like a cat.....?".

Avocato will want to punch Gary for even asking that. And Gary will try to groom the little guy, it was a bit of a mess and little Orion looked a bit crunchy afterwards, but Avocato looked pleased with the result 😌

[liquidcatt]

I don't wanna say goodbye ● Avocato x gn!reader

Goodbyes are always the hardest. You just weren't ready to say it to the man you fell in love with.

cw/tags: angst, slight hurt/comfort, no happy ending, angst, all my tears were shed

Also on AO3

In front of you was a void. A big, black, empty void in space. The more you stared at it, the more you felt being sucked in. It was inevitable that this would be the end. You were prepared, but at the same time, you weren’t. You weren’t ready for this. You weren’t ready to say goodbye. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to your friends. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to Gary, to Quinn, everyone. Everyone you traveled with on the Galaxy Two became a second family.

‘So this is it huh?’ a voice pulling you out of your thoughts. You turn to see Avocato, staring at the void as well. He was smiling, though his eyes were full of sadness.

‘Yeah.’ you replied back. You could feel tears swelling up behind your eyes. ‘It is.’

The first time you met Avocato, you were taken aback by him. You’ve never seen a Ventrexian before though you’ve heard stories of them. You never imagined that he was once the second-in-command to an evil alien dictator. His son, Little Cato, would talk about how much of a great dad he is. Gary, his best friend, would chatter hours with you on what an amazing guy Avocato is despite his rocky beginnings. It was hard for him to open about his feelings as you were a new member at the time, but you assured him that you wouldn’t bite. He slowly started to get comfortable around you and would go on missions with you almost as much as with Gary.

Eventually, the two of you would become more than friends and the day he confessed his love was the best day of your life. You never thought you’d see yourself becoming his lover, but it was something you wouldn't trade for the world. Throughout all that life put you and him through, you always made it out alive, albeit without getting injured.

All these happy memories you created and shared with Avocato would be lost forever. And the memories you wanted to make would never happen and it tore you inside. First you got sad. Upset. Depressed. Then, you got angry. Real angry. Angry at the world. Angry at whatever entity was responsible for this. You never asked for this. You never wanted this to come to an end. You started to tear up til it stung your eyes. Your shaking hands turned to fists. Your lips started to quiver.

‘(Y/n), what’s the matter?’ Avocato looked at you with a worried look.

You looked up to him. ‘This isn’t fair.’ You yelled, tears falling down your cheeks. ‘Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to end like this? I wanted to go on more adventures with you. I wanted to see more of the galaxy and meet new people. I wanted to make new friends. I wanted to see your home planet. I wanted to get to know the rest of the team more. Maybe become a parent to Little Cato, but now’ gritting your teeth ‘....he’s gone.’

‘They’re all gone. And I’ll never see them again.’

You felt your body get numb. You felt like you were gonna fall. You wanted to fall and pretend this was all just a bad dream. Instead, you felt some big, gentle arms putting themselves around you. Avocato caught you to keep from falling. You felt the Ventrexian tremble and heard a few sobs coming from him

‘I know.’ Avocato croaked out. ‘I wish there was something I could do to stop this from happening. I wish there was a way I could rewind time so that you, me and Little Cato could be a family. I wish things could go back to the way they were, but I can’t.’ He held you tighter. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’

No, don't apologize. You wanted to tell him that this wasn’t his fault, but all that you could muster out was a loud sob. You wrapped yourself around him and bawled into his chest. You were gonna miss hugging him. You were gonna miss the sound of his heartbeat. You were gonna miss being a part of his life.

‘I love you.’ You sobbed.

‘I love you too (y/n).’

----

Neither of you knew how long you cried and held each other before you needed to reassure each other and that you've come to terms with what was happening. It wasn’t easy, but you both had to accept that this was the end. That's just how it had to be

Taking deep breaths to collect yourself, you looked up at Avocato. ‘Can I kiss you one last time?’.

He smiled. ‘Yeah, baby. You can.’

You moved your hands slowly to his shoulders to pull him close. Closing your eyes, you leaned up to gently kiss him. His lips were soft to the touch. This felt nice. You always loved giving him kisses before bed and sometimes, he’d shower you with kisses when he was in a good mood. You start to pull back, but suddenly felt Avocato grabbing your hips, holding you close and deepening the kiss. You responded by wrapping your arms around his neck and returned the favor. You didn’t want this to end. You wanted to stay like this forever. You two eventually parted and rested your foreheads together, gazing into each other's eyes.

‘I don't wanna say goodbye.’ you spoke up, sniffling your nose

Avocato moved a hand to your face, wiping away a tear from your cheek. ‘It's okay baby. You can let go. I’ll be okay.’

You took a deep breath. 

'Alright.'

Closing your eyes, you released your hold on the Ventrexian. It was only a split second, but when you tried to grab something, all there was was air. Nothing.

'Avocato?'

Silence

All that’s left was the void, you, and half of your heart.

a/n: this is a reupload to a fic I wrote back in 2021 cause it was the year Final Space was cancelled after ending on a cliffhanger . I'm happy we're getting the graphic novel, but it still feels bittersweet.

[babyblankyerror]

We heard your fave hcs for garycato and spiderpool, but what are your fave hcs for found families you like, like Gary Avocato and Little Cato or Spider Man Deadpool and their daughter? (Sorry i don't remember her name)

I have so many but here's the main ones:

Spideypool

Ellie obviously being a big fan of Spidey and its a lil awkward on Peter (before she finds out his identity)

Peter is the 'responsible' parent most times until he's not - Ellie will struggle with science homework and he'll be like "I have these chemicals in my lab that explode when making contact with oxygen- maybe that will help, wanna see?"

Wade is that proud father that will spoil his daughter (and partner)

Peter is the photographer and loves taking pictures of Wade and Ellie together, knowing Wade doesn't have many (and doesn't like his own image) - what he doesn't know is Wade also saves many pics of Ellie and Peter)

Wade will try not to use bad language near Ellie or talk about things that aren't PG

Peter has no concept of what's PG and will explain in full detail on what birthing a child is like and how painful it is because Ellie was unfortunate enough to ask him

Ellie starts to pick up Peter’s habits and Wade finds it adorable (until she uses Peter’s sass against him)

Ellie will sometimes jump from slightly high places (trees and benches) without warning and Peter is always there to catch her

Peter tutoring Ellie (Wade finding it incredibly hot)

Wade playing house with Ellie (sometimes Ellie decides Peter is her wife and Wade gets jealous "how come I'm not your wife?! </3" "you're the dog now dad")

Peter will sometimes come back from work to find Ellie and Wade having a tea party (will also join in and begin to complain and gossip with them)

Wade buys clothes for them a lot and often will be like "whaaat??? No way- can't believe I accidentally got 3 shirts that look exactly the same and are out perfect sizes! Isn't that crazy??!" Just so they can have couple outfits

Peter had gone to work with messy makeover (either he forgot about it or he didn't want to upset Ellie by taking it off)

Wade sometimes will waste money on advert billboards "see this guy/girl??? That's my boo" or something (both Ellie and Peter get embarrassed)

Wade is the type of guy to lie in restaurants about their birthday to get free cake, Ellie loves playing along (and since Peter hates it he's always the victim getting a surprise cake)

Garycato

Ventraxians get jealous easily but Little Cato and Avocato are next level- they fight over Gary's attention (Gary still doesn't realise this)

Avocato is happy Gary and Little Cato are bonding until he sees Little Cato's smug face-

Little Cato isn't used to Avocato being physically affectionate so he will purposely be like "what are you doing, creep" before running to Gary like "I've missed you!!" (They have been apart less than 5 mins)

Gary will go into old habits and maybe steal in front of Little Cato- then he'll be like "Stealing is bad!" When Little Cato does it

Silent contests of who gets more compliments from Gary being held without the humans knowledge

Gary loves texture of fur so cuddling is awesome with his new kit and hubby

When Gary gets tired of touch and company, he'll try to be alone but Little Cato doesn't quite grasp the concept yet and just seats near him (like in that episode where Gary says "just want to be alone" and little Cato is just "ok" and stays with him anyway)

Little Cato acting like both Gary and Avo- picking some of their habits

Sometimes Avo will walk in on Gary crying because Little Cato has lil beans

Sometimes Gary will walk in on Avo crying because Little Cato fell asleep holding his hand like he used to when a baby

Little Cato still clueless on his parents smexy timez

Gary doesn't make it obvious but he sometimes gets overwhelmed by the fact he finally has a family and people who love him (Avocato knows and just silently comforts him)

Gary will fight over toys with Little Cato and other petty things ("that's my mug! >:0" )

Gary is a good baker, Avocato a good cook

[lady-nightmares-blog]

Little cato (au)

Like Ash, this Cato has similar powers, although he is more aggressive.

Unlike ash, cato already had his powers activated since he was 7 years old, since he usually got very angry.

Avocato knew very well, but he preferred to keep it hidden since he was still working with the commander, this would be dangerous if he found out, wouldn't it?

Cato, unlike the other, this one is temperamental and usually has the same outbursts of anger that Ash has.

Cato and Ash have the same powers and the two treat each other as "brothers".

Although, cato is much stronger than ash, for the simple fact that he already had time controlling his powers.

He was a student, but due to an accident with a boy he stopped going to class...

(He broke the boy's nose) when he was 10 years old.

He is bad by nature, although he is not capable of bothering someone by himself, but yes, he has to have a reason to be mean to you for life.

His motives for being mean to you don't have a pattern, his motives can be very strange, so with Sertesa he doesn't know why he can bother you.

He is not a big fan of sweets, although he likes spicy and sour ones, they are his favorite.

It is not common for him to fall in love, although if he does you will be harassed, chased and have a strange amount of paper hearts on your doorstep, like a crazy self-proclaimed boyfriend.

And he won't take no for an answer.

He hates lies.

He has a laugh... oh no... his laugh is like a nightmare in a child's voice,

Trust me when I say it's scary.

He has huge dark circles under his eyes.

He is good at lying.

He has tried to strangle Fox twice, just because he makes him laugh with the look on his face.

It is not so necessary for him to be upset to use his power.

Although preferably, he is almost always upset.

Those 60 years have done him shit.

he is possessive and cadese of some manners.

he is an arsonist which is why he and avocato have had to move many times as this ventrexian from hell has burned and set many fires.

Avocado has patience with him, in his words (my son is like a surprise gift, you have no idea what awaits you, but you know you will want it).

Avocato hates being too hard on him and when the occasion calls for it he has given him a couple of leashes.

Gary loves him very much, but he does not deny that he is a little afraid of him.

In Galaxy 1, Cato took out his anger on the ship's robots (he strangled them).

he always gets what he wants, one way or another.

his methods are, very questionable.

he has a collection of organs (eyes and a couple of brains and other weird stuff)

That's why his room has a strange smell.

Avocato knows about his collection but he doesn't know or want to know how he gets that shit.

He only listens to or obeys Avocato, Gary and the voice in his head.

As if his laugh wasn't enough, he tends to stare at people, his gaze and his unblinking expression scares him and he knows it.

he loves the food of serpentis.

he loves it, because he likes to see how he vomits up his entrails.

his fantasy is to kill a titan.

he has anisocoria, that's why his look is so weird.

he drools a lot, and it is normal for him to have a rag to wipe his mouth.

if he annoys you, rest assured that he will totally suck at you.

I think he is crazy.

He loves to tease Fox and often follows him around to tease him.

if you look closely, you can see some small marks on his wrists, do they look like bites?

he is a cursed.

believe me, the ventrexian baby that everyone wants, he is innocent, but this bastard is the opposite, he is not innocent, no sir.

well he still has a long way to go, but I think it's a good start, can you give me ideas or scenarios, headcanon etc, I hope to answer the messages very happy 💗💗 uwu

[skytressmc]

I posted 2,777 times in 2021

310 posts created (11%)

2467 posts reblogged (89%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 8.0 posts.

I added 325 tags in 2021

#skytress speaks - 204 posts

#skytress answers - 35 posts

#final space - 17 posts

#final space x reader - 15 posts

#x reader - 14 posts

#avocato - 10 posts

#avocato x reader - 9 posts

#gary goodspeed - 7 posts

#sonic the hedgehog - 7 posts

#bakugo anon - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 53 characters

#the first person that came to mind was fucking bakugo

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Avocato sparring with you:

A/N: anon asked for Avocato sparring with male reader! Even though they asked for male reader, this can be read as any gender.

Warnings: a little spicy

😼 One way Avocato relieves stress is through sparring. But it's hard to find someone who's willing to spar with you.

😼Avocato doesn't like to brag but most of the time, he wins those spars and that's why no one wants to spar with him.

😼Everyone except you that is.

😼No matter how many times Avocato has beaten you, you always come back asking to spar again. And he appreciates this.

😼One day though, he is just off his game. He's having trouble dodging your hits. He's unfocused and he's unsure why.

😼You get a good hit on him making him fall. You sit on top of him. Putting all of your weight on him.

😼 He gulps as he stares up at you. You have this cute smirk on your face.

😼He isn't sure why he does it, but he leans up pressing his lips against yours.

😼He feels you freeze up at first before relaxing and kissing back.

😼Avocato moves his hands up to your hips. Gripping them as he deepens the kiss.

😼Doing this makes you let out a small moan. Avocato takes this chance and slips his tongue into your mouth.

😼Avocato instantly takes dominance of your mouth, making you let your guard down.

😼Sensing this, Avocato pulls away and quickly flips you both over, letting him get on top of you.

😼He smirks down at your red face. "Same time tomorrow?"

😼You just nod panting.

52 notes • Posted 2021-04-10 02:33:43 GMT

#4

How Avocato reacts to you getting misgenderderd:

A/N: @inutoaluv asked for this and honestly this meant a lot to me. So thank you. This was almost like a venting thing for me.

Warnings: Reader being misgendered, angry Avocato

H😼Avocato was always confused by human genders. But he was more than willing to learn when he began dating you.

😼He saw how being called male or female pronouns made you uncomfortable and was quick to make sure he never used them for you.

😼He also uses gender-neutral nicknames for you. Such as baby, love, and darling.

😼 As you two began dating, he noticed that you got misgendered. A LOT.

😼At first it was strangers, which you didn't mind as they didn't know your pronouns but Avocato always corrects the person. And he will death glare anyone who wants to argue.

😼What angers him the most is when your own friends misgender you. He hates seeing that pain cross your face when they call you she or he.

😼He will get everyone's attention and growls out what your pronouns are. Warning them not to make that mistake again.

😼Gary actually called you she by accident and Avocato almost gave him a black eye.

😼"It's they, you idiot!" "I'm so sorry Avo I didn't mean to!"

😼If Little Cato misgenders you, he will sit him down and explain why it's ok not to do that. And now you have two bodyguards.

😼Avocato wants you to be happy and will always be there to help you stick up for yourself. He knows how nerve wreaking it is to correct people but he will always be there to help.

😼He loves seeing that smile on your face when people use your correct pronouns, and how happy you are for just being yourself and he wants to protect you.

😼He loves you very much and will always be there for you. Even if he has to punch a few people.

57 notes • Posted 2021-04-10 03:26:25 GMT

#3

Avocato catching Reader and Little Cato having a parental moment:

A/N: Anon asked for Avocato catching Reader having a parental moment with Little Cato!

Warnings: Mentions of PTSD, Insomnia. 

😼 Avocato at first didn’t notice anything between Little Cato and you really.

😼 Of course he see you two talk and hang around each other, but he didn’t think much of it. Everyone was friends with each other on the ship.

😼 He didn’t see you go into Little Cato’s room at night when he cried from his nightmares. He of course knew Little Cato had nightmares. But he didn’t think they were that bad. But that’s because as soon as you heard a sniffle coming from Little Cato’s room, you would head over there.

😼 One night, Avocato couldn’t sleep. He decided to head to the kitchen to get some milk.  And to his surprise, they lights to the kitchen was already on. Maybe Gary was up?

😼 Avocato peaked into the kitchen was surprised to see you and Little Cato sitting at the table.

 😼 You held Little Cato in your lap, running your fingers through his hair, whispering reassurances to him.

“I just want to sleep” Little Cato sniffs. Avocato heart breaks hearing him say that. He had no idea he was having such trouble with sleep. 

You kissed Little Cato’s head gently. “I know sweetheart.” You got up, making Little Cato wrap his legs around your waist. You walked over to the fridge and grabbed the jug of milk with one hand and set it on the counter to grab a mug from the cupboard. You carefully filled the mug with milk and put it in the microwave, pressing a few buttons the microwave came to life and started to heat up the milk.

Avocato watched as you rocked Little Cato back and forth, pressing kisses to his head as you waited for the milk. The microwave beeping stopped your rocking. You carefully grabbed the warm mug from the microwave with your one hand and headed back to the table, sitting down. 

You gave the mug to Little Cato. “Carefully. It maybe hot.” Little Cato nodded and took small sips. Soon Little Cato finished half of the mug and gave it back to you. You set the cup on the table and resumed running your fingers in his hair from before.

Avocato watched as the kits eyes began to close from the action. His eyes turned to you quickly though when he heard you softly singing a lullaby to Little Cato. He never heard of the song before to it must of been one from Earth. 

Little Cato’s eyes soon closed, his breathes becoming deep and even. Showing that he finally fell back to sleep.

You slowly got up. Being careful not to move Little Cato to much as not to wake him again. When you turned you saw Avocato standing at the entrance watching you.

“How long have you been doing this?” Avocato asks before you can say anything. 

You looked down at the sleeping kit in your arms and sighed. “Almost every night.”

Avocato’s ears flattened hearing that. To think his son was hurting so much and he didn’t know.

“He didn’t want you to know.” You say quickly seeing his reaction. “He said he didn’t want to be a burden. Of course I told him he wasn’t but you know how he is. He has stubborn has his Dad.”

Avocato smiled gently hearing you say that. “I’m so sorry about this. If I took notice sooner, I would be the one staying up to help him not you.” He says with a frown.

You let out a tsk and walked past him. “I don’t know if you have noticed, but I care for him too. Staying up does not bother me.”

Avocato followed you as you walked back to Little Cato’s room. “Yes, but I am his father.”

You walked into Little Cato’s room and laid Little Cato in his bed, tucking him in. You placed a kissed on Little Cato’s forehead and left his room, shutting his door.

You looked up and saw Avocato was still there, staring at you. “Look, I really don’t mind taking care of him ok? I love the kid.” You say mumbling the last part.

Avocato stared down at you. Seeing you care so much for his son made his feel things. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling but he had a idea.

“Let me take you to dinner as a thanks.” He says.

You look up at him surprised. Was Avocato asking you out? “You don’t have too.” You quickly say.

“I want to know more about the person who has been helping my son.” He says smiling.

You smile back “Alright.” 

See the full post

58 notes • Posted 2021-04-07 05:50:45 GMT

#2

So i decided to take x reader requests for Resident Evil 8. Here are the rules:

What I will do:

Smut

Fluff

Platonic relationships

Angst with happy endings (im sad enough)

What I won’t do:

Yandere

Non con

Torture

Adult and minor in any romantic setting

So ask away! I will basically do any character!

127 notes • Posted 2021-05-21 03:00:14 GMT

#1

The Duke's S/O taking care of the shop while he's sick:

A/N: Anon asked for reader taking care of the shop when The Duke isn't feeling well. This is my first time writing for him so if you guys have any tips please let me know!

Warnings: mentions of person being sick but that's all.

🍖The Duke rarely gets sick. He may get tired but he has hardly gotten ill.

🍖But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

🍖When he wakes up one day he can feel his whole body ache. His nose feels stuffy and he can barely smell the breakfast that your cooking. But he still gets ready for the day. A cold won't stop him from making money.

🍖As soon as you see him, you knew something was up. You could see how pale he was.

🍖You immediately send him back to bed, which of course he tries to argue saying he needs to open the shop. And you tell him that you'll take care of it.

🍖He gets worried hearing this. He of course trusts you. But he doesn't trust the people out there. Especially the four lords.

🍖But you assure him that you can take care of yourself, and he hesitantly goes back to bed.

🍖Throughout the day you check on Duke and take of the shop. The only person who really came was a strange man with an injured hand, but he caused no trouble and seemed worried after hearing that Duke was sick but you let him know he was fine.

🍖The Duke is better with a few days and is back to running his shop. But you still help him. You have fun talking to the customers and you seem to bring the shop more life when your around, which the Duke loves.

🍖He of course still gets worried. Hell, he almost had a heart attack when one of the 4 lords came to get to buy something. But was put at ease when you handled it like they were any customer.

🍖So now he trusts you from time to time to take over the shop for the day but it isn't often.

220 notes • Posted 2021-05-29 03:28:46 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[enerday]

So I don't usually write here about any series and stuff, but I wanted to share some thoughts on final space season 3. It's been released 12 episodes out of 13 and the last one hit me really bad.

I love final space with all my heart for its comedy and I love it much more for its dramatic moments. Season 2 has this perfect blend of golden comedy (well, except the piss battle) and heartbreaking drama. I mean I liked season 1, I thought that avocato was amazing character and his death in the middle of season was brilliant move, but season 2? I fell in love with it. I managed to get through first episodes without caring much, yes, even episode 3 with ash and her sister. But episodes 4 and 5? They rip your heart out. (It's the one where little Cato gets stuck in time anomaly and the one where Gary's mom appears). They made me fall in love with themes of loneliness and family that the show invests so well, with so damn good animation and the perfect amount of comedy in drama and drama in comedy. So I rewatched those like 3 or 4 times.

So what about season 3?

I'm not gonna say it's bad or even that it's worse that previous seasons. Don't get me wrong - it's still great. I enjoyed every minute of watching it. Yes, I thought that episodes were a little less memorable as episodes in season 2. But that may or may not be because I rewatched season 2 for numerous times and I watched most part of season 3 within 3 hours (I tend to remember a little bit less stuff then usual when watching it in one shot).

So season 3 I liked a little bit less than season 2. And here's some thoughts about it - I tried to make them as little biased as possible.

Of course there are spoilers.

1. Opening

Why is it just Gary falling down? The story has never been just about Gary and it is shown in openings 1 and 2. My guess is that they didn't want to spoil who's gonna stay in team-squad and who's not. But in my personal opinion it wouldn't matter if they showed all members of team-squad from the beginning of s3 and then Fox died and so on.

Opening 1 was all of them standing together in nearly static fight scene and well it wasn't that interesting but the viewer was getting the ambiance of the show. Opening 2 was so good - it was well-animated, it showed characters' personalities and basically was fun to watch every episode without struggling or fast-forwarding (my personal favorite is when Gary throws KVN - it says so much about both of them). And I guess it wasn't so fun for me to watch Gary failing down alone for 12 times.

2. Comedy and drama

Like I said season 2 has perfect amount of comedy and drama mixed together. And for me it just didn't feel that way in s3. Drama is on a whole new level - Quinn episode or death of Fox, and don't even get me started on little Cato and his real parents. And while dramatic episodes still hit so damn hard, there's an episode with kinda new atmosphere for the show - the one with ash and her new (girl)friend evra. It's kinda melancholic but not in a sad way, more like in a reflective dreamy and wistful way. I'm really glad they're not getting stuck on the one and only way of doing things.

But sometimes it feels like they don't mix comedy and drama anymore. Like I can't really remember fun part of sad episodes, maybe just a couple of jokes but as for me they're not the same. For example, said 4 and 5 episodes of season 2. There's funny bonding moment in the ep.4 and hilarious loggins dancing scene, then little Cato stuck in this time zone and it's sad but also fun with Clarence, and Tribore others stuff and KVN becoming murderous crazy. And then it turns out that they had never been here, and the amount of loneliness little Cato had to face just tears your heart apart. Unforgettable, and it works so well because of the comedy and fun parts of the episode. Because you can only feel that devastated if you don't expect this while laughing. Same with ep.5 - you laugh on fun part with Gary not wanting save his mother from jail and pretty cliche (still funny though) moments of Sheryl befriending everyone except for Gary. And then it's not the betrayal that hits you with sadness, it's the realization during that heartbreaking flashback that Gary still had hope that he can be family with her. And the moment of him losing that hope.

What I'm saying that in these episodes comedy and drama coexist in the same space and inseparable from each other.

There's still funny parts in season 3 which are mostly hilarious (personal favorite - "I finally found him - father of beelzebub") but it feels like there's a little bit less of them and that they carry less weight for the story-telling and building the atmosphere purposes. And as an aftermath you can separate fun parts from sad parts without losing something. They don't support each other and the story feels less holistic.

Again, it could be that creators were trying to show that the stuff became so much more serious than it used to be, but personally I wish they mixed drama and comedy a little bit more.

3. Themes

So I don't actually know if I think of it as a good or bad thing. It's different for sure, though.

I think themes this season were much less obvious and straight shown as before. For example there's still loneliness theme - but sometimes it's so subtle you might not notice it right away. Like this last episode little Cato tries to spend some time with Gary or Sheryl but everyone shooshes him because they have stuff to do. And you know that they're still family but that feels kinda sad and a little bit familiar. (Also in the beginning of ep.12 there's this kinda sad intonation which with he asks Gary in which team he was).

There's a lot more moments with different themes which you maybe don't notice but feel I can't really recall what are they specifically.

So yeah while season 2 serves themes of the show on big plate and put them right under your nose, season 3 sprays them in the air and makes sure you feel rather then see them.

(Maybe I'm overthinking it but still).

4. Characters and stuff

I'm not really gonna say too much in this section because everyone has pretty much different opinion on each of them.

But some things have to be said.

I saw a lot of people hating ash arc this season and saying that it's artificial. But I find it quite natural. Like, yeah, she makes bad decisions and jumps to wrong conclusions but it's not like it's not in her character. She's always been proactive type and now more than ever she wants to take action, not to sit and wait. And it doesn't mean that if character does something you don't like it makes a plot poorly written or her arc artificial.

I like how Quinn's decision to stay in final space raises debates. There is no clear answer whether her decision was right or wrong, and it's amazing that the show can ask the audience this type of question. And again there's much more to discuss with no clear morally right answer than it was in season 2.

Every father-son bonding moment between Gary and little Cato is precious. Period.

Gary himself feels much more mature and this is amazing job with his arc and character development. Avocato has this inner (soon to be external) conflict with him killing little Cato's real parents and sometimes it feels like it's all that he got in this season, but it's fine, I guess. Tribore is simply the best as always.

Not sure I have something unique or smart to say about everyone else that is not obvious itself and I don't want to extend this so freaking long post for things that have already been said.

Except for that it's been 12 episodes and I still have no idea why it was story-wise necessary to add Biskit to team squad. He's not plot relevant. For me personally he's not even that funny.

So, I guess that's all for now. Definitely gonna update this when season finale is released. Just to talk things out.

Sorry, there are probably ton of mistakes. English is not my first language but I try my best to be better, so feel free to correct me.

[cookie-earning-things]

I’m not gonna get too publicly involved with my own hot takes (I generally try not to) but as a queer fan I feel I should throw my own thoughts on the table...

I’m thrilled to have Ash in on the team. Yes the timing was poor, yes it would have been better to wait like Olan wanted and focus on family; yes Little Cato can is gay; yes it was jarring because the material is still sorta “lol just good friends” (I know Ash blushes, but trust me that is still not enough for some people)...

My first worry is the sort of pattern we see that is a flaw in this show: little to no *or stilted character development for supporting characters.* This smells like an executive and straight writer move, even if any queer folks were involved. Evra is adorable and an absolute personality right off the bat, and don’t get me started on the genderqueer vibes! But will we get more than that?

This season is already jam packed and we know next season, which is still only being placed on the table, is Ventrexia focused. Fox was a passionate personality, but only very on-the-surface and shallow. Ash had a point: no one but her knew her brother. We got vague crumbs.

Same thing with Quinn’s sister. While that was such a powerful episode, and something I hope to touch base on more and see insight on, I admit my hopes are small on a deeper dive. We already missed the big chance with this episode — Quinn and Ash or circling around the Nightfall topic; they both suffer a loss from a sibling only they really knew in a super dysfunctional family with unrealistic expectations placed on them; Nightfall, a branch of Quinn, was the first on the team squad to really get THROUGH to Ash!! Why wasn’t this utilized?? Quinn shoves the comfort on to Avocato and we get that terrific scene and...an unfitting subplot that, while delightful, was absolutely off beat and off tone with everything going on. Quinn jacked a hawk and went against an entire organisation she trusted in to the point of self-delusion. There’s a connection that’s unmistakeable between her and Ash...you’re telling me my girl is really gonna sit back and stare out a window? I see her as the type to bury herself in doing to avoid crises...her mom raised her that way. But we don’t get that. Even with some sweet rep, we miss out on something that, with everything going on, I think would have been more powerful and on tone.

This show promises big but delivers for select few characters. Even Little Cato, who has been spotlighted and through some serious stuff, still has things pushed off to the side and no re-visitation. (Or so little and shoved in it can be jarring)

I don’t know. It just seems like a lot is left to tell not show and that it rides on fan interpretation...and then just kind of doesn’t fly with it 90% of the time.

I love this show. I’ve gotten two of my different friend groups involved - we’ve bought merch, started doing role play and fic writing and AU discussions...I’m branching off with my own comic ideas and even thinking of trying an animatic,,,I haven’t had this passion for a creative work in a long, long time. It even inspired me to be an artist again, after a FIVE YEAR HIATUS. That said, I don’t know what’s happening in the writers room, but there’s so much material to work with and darning the tears might be a bit better than fleshing out a whole new pair of pants at the moment.

*edited because for ex with Gary like the developments are HUGE but it’s the sun vs earth being center of the universe things. Jesus, Nova.

[alfairy]

I'm rather curious why Lord Commander and Invictus have this thing about Ash, (well we know why with mooncake), and this Gary we see unlike the rest.

They don't really care that much about any other person in the group (besides maybe avocato because he went against lord commander, and he has no problem making avocato suffer the consequences)

But I wonder if Gary will even be killed, I wonder if Lord Commander's gonna use him for something else. I wonder what Invictus wants with Ash besides being freed as well.

It's clear Invictus wants Gary all alone, but if Invictus wanted Gary dead- it would've been done already. Since season 1 I've questioned if Gary has some type of titan power/ability maybe made possible by nightfall or so on.

Idk how to do read more on tumblr so imma just tag as a long post just in case. I’m not sure Gary has any abilities. At the most, I could see something similar to what happens with Madoka Magica? Where all the constant time traveling the girl does to save her friend from dying only ends up tying more strings of fate to her and makes her more of a target in the future.

I think Invictus has this obsession with Gary? Think about it. You’ve been trapped in your space prison in Final Space for thousands of years. And for the past 20 (according to Nightfall at least) this same guy has been showing up nonstop and stopping you every time. That’s gotta bring up some interest from Invictus. It knows Gary better than Gary knows himself at this point.

I think Invictus knows how useful and dangerous Gary could be given the circumstances. Compared to the other timelines, our Gary is kinda unstable. He lost his father, his mother wasn’t there for him, he was homeless for a while after he was abandoned, then he spent five years in space in isolation before latching onto the first people he met.

What reason does he have to care about the universe after the shitty life he’s had? The only reason he freed Bolo and went to final space was to save Quinn, that’s it. If Gary has nothing left to lose or care about, I think he could be dangerous. Why else would Bolo think he could be the death of everything? Without people to ground him, he probably wouldn’t really care about the rest of the universe. Which is why Invictus seems to be trying to separate him from the others.

Sure, Ash is a main priority given her powers, but it’s interesting how Invictus hates Gary for constantly stopping it, yet when the opportunities present themselves it doesn’t straight up kill him to get him out of the way.

[aren-hai]

Rant about Avocato and Sheryl

I love seeing discourse come up about people giving Avocato a free pass for actual genocide and other war crimes, and people hating Sheryl because she was a neglectful absentee parent.

And here are my thoughts, nobody asked but here they are.

We can look at this a lot of different ways, our view on the characters, the in-universe view of the characters, or the characters' view of each other. So I’m gonna do all of them because god I love this show and talking about it. And then I’m gonna yodel about my opinions, even though that’s basically all this is.

We get to meet Avocato episode one, sure he’s a bounty hunter trying to take away Mooncake the adorable squish ball, but it's just a job, it's just money right? Nope wrong, episode two we see that his son is being held captive by Lord Commander and that Avocato really doesn’t want to work for the mean green jelly bean, but wants his son to live so it's kinda messy. Throughout the six episodes that he is alive, we see Avocato is a very loyal character, a loving (IF NOT VERY FUCKED UP) father, a hard worker and an excellent fighter. He’s a ride or die person with Gary and Mooncake. (Quinn he doesn’t vibe with but that’s an entire other essay for another day.)

By the time he dies at the end of episode six, we know he’s a morally gray character who had made many mistakes, but in the end, gave his life to save his son’s. We can talk about his genocides or how bad of a parent he was, but one way or another he gets redemption via death. (Also the music is fucking phenomenal, my god Enter One is on all my sad playlists now because it’s so hauntingly beautiful.)

Sheryl, on the other hand, we are introduced to in season 2. By now we have a status quo, her being introduced threatens that just with her existence. Gary monologues almost the entire time before we meet her about how neglectful she was, leaving him at one of the most traumatic moments in his life.

Throughout her intro episode, we see Gary fighting for her to notice and love him, to give him any of the attention he was starved of as a child, and she rebuffs him. She is visibly uncomfortable around Gary and takes every opportunity to avoid spending time with him.

We know she’s a con artist, and that she's using him and the crew for her own benefit, but it's still heartbreaking to watch Gary jump through every hoop just to be rebuffed again.

So that’s how we get to see the two of them, we know that they’re morally ambiguous, neglectful (Neglectful is a nice word, both of them almost killed their children) characters with their own agendas that don’t necessarily match up with the main cast.

But with Avocato we see him fighting to fix his mistakes, to rescue his son come hell or high water. And along the way he decides Gary and Mooncake are worth his loyalty as well, we see the bad aspects but the good ones are much more in our face.

With Sheryl, we don’t get any of that. We are shown the entire time how selfish and self-serving she is, her even admitting that she is unable to love Gary. We don’t get to see any of her redemption! While Avocato’s entire arc was him fighting to save his son from his earlier mistakes. While Sheryl’s arc is getting the key’s by any means necessary to save John. 

These goals are similar, but you can argue that saving a fourteen-year-old kid in prison is different from reviving a 30+ something man from being dead.

In-universe, they’re on more equal grounds. Avocato was The General ™ for Lord Commander, committing the normal heinous acts of war, as well as genocides. He has a massive body count, he’s willing to kill to get his way, and the second Quinn speaks out against his son he’s already decided she should die.

Sheryl is one of the most notorious criminals in the galaxy, to the point where everyone knows her name and her crimes. She also works (worked??) for a mysterious shadow society who wanted John’s research about Final Space, the same research that eventually opens the breach and he has to sacrifice his life to close. The same research that Quinn rediscovers (from her own genius) and that allows Lord Commander to reopen the breach, this time costing Quinn to close it.

In-universe everyone is aware of their crimes, and how these are two of the most badass badasses around.

And now the character views on each other. Gary is in complete isolation in space, his only companion’s being K.V.N (Who deserves more love my god he sacrifices his sanity chip for Fox! Another essay) and H.U.E (Who is beautiful and does his best but he is an A.I, and not a companion one, a prison running A.I)

Gary is so lonely that the first things he meets, he immediately bonds with. Mooncake, and the bounty crew that comes to kill him and take Mooncake. And I am saying the crew because he argues against H.U.E demanding that the A.I let them in so they can play cards, even as the hunters are obviously not here for a friendly visit. And had the rest of the crew lived, Gary would have been just a single-minded in his efforts to befriend them as he was Avocato.

Gary is relentlessly loyal to Avocato, to everyone really but that is another essay!! By episode two Avocato is agreeing to protect Mooncake and Gary while they search for Lil’ Cato. He and Quinn dislike each other but again that’s because of the messy love polyhedron that is Gary’s sphere of influence. Lil’ Cato loves his father, but he recognizes that he wasn’t the best dad. (That scene where he says Avocato never said he loved him can choke me up faster than anything swear to god)

Sheryl, however, is almost universally disliked by all the characters, mostly because Gary dislikes her and everyone would die for him. So not liking his neglectful mom (Who betrays the crew after getting what she wants from them) isn’t that hard of a task. 

And in all of this! I haven’t mentioned Sheryl’s backstory? What little we get of it? She was obviously part of some secret society that wanted to open Final Space, that’s how she met John! He was a target that she fell in love with! She had postpartum depression after she had Gary, which can fuck even the most loving and devoted mothers up, let alone one that wasn’t ready for a child and really only had him to stay with John.

Look both characters are fucked up, and that’s why I love them. Avocato did commit war crimes. He did kill billions of people with his orders. He was known as the Lord Commander’s Master of Death. But he was also a struggling single father, a best friend, and guardian to Gary, a man who was willing to throw everything away for his son’s life. Sheryl did abandon Gary, she did use him and the crew for her own gain, and she is the most notorious bandit/thug/villain in the galaxy. But she was also a deeply flawed human being who loved her husband so much that it shattered her to lose him, she is the ideal of loyalty gone to an unhappy extreme, where she would throw everything away just for the chance to be with John again.

TL;DR Neither character should get a free pass, they have both fucked up and fucked up bad, their consequences hurt other characters and cost everyone a lot. But they are struggling to make things better and improve, and some of their most hated traits are things we exemplify in others. And hopefully, season three has both of them developing and making up to their children and growing as people.

[trashyazeohane]

Perforated stars

Part 1/Part 2

Summary: “You don’t look scared at all.” Gary huffed, hinting on a joking tone, but a sudden shiver appearing in the last word sold him out.

“Very flattering of you to say, but I’m terrified like most of the time.” Avocato said, feeling the words scratching his throat.

“Really?” Gary asked, glancing at him.

There was something in his eyes, some hidden need, some kind of pulse that thrummed and beat and vibrated. Some kind of emotion Avocato couldn’t exactly name. Just something that made Avocato all messy inside.

Additional comments: Fluff, Slow Burn, Angst

Not beta-read, so it may contain some mistakes!

You can also read it on AO3! Enjoy!

Part I ミ★

Avocato was confused. This was a good word to use in his current situation. Confused. Or maybe perplexed. That word worked too. A little bit lost, but he was used to this feeling. But right now it was a tad different confusion than usual.

Mostly because it was related to Gary and the human was, well, confusing.

Not in the bad meaning of this word. Definitely not. He was just so different than Avocato that most of the time he couldn’t make heads or tails of what Gary was thinking.

So he usually didn’t think too much about the reasons and just let Gary do whatever he wanted.

And it worked until now.

Now something had changed. Well, that was wrong. A lot of things had changed. Avocato had been dead, or to be more precise almost dead in his case, but he had been back. Only to be possessed during the very next day and had been forced to leave the crew and his little boy again.

(Avocato would never forget what he had made Little Cato do. He would never forgive himself either for that, for making him live through so many horrible moments. That he had forced his son to do unimaginable things, weaving terrible memories. But God, how proud he was of Little Cato was beyond his heart’s comprehension. He felt like bursting from pride whenever someone simply mentioned his son. Or should he say ‘their’ now?)

Being possessed hadn’t been nice, but if Avocato had to be honest he had to admit that he didn’t remember everything. There had been bits and pieces, voices, images and pictures mingling in his head. There had been times when he could have looked with his own eyes and there had been times when the only thing around him had been darkness, filled with voices from the past. Time had been forgotten, consciousness had been something that had slipped through his fingers like cosmic dust. He had been there and not, both in the same time.

(There had been times when he had forgotten that in the end he had been a living being with a body.)

It wasn’t a part of his life he wanted to remember. Now he was glad he had got his body and family back.

He was getting distracted again.

The whole point was that Gary had been acting confusing.

After Avocato had returned, the whole crew had been acting differently around him. Scared. Almost like they had waited for him to leap, attack and tear the throats apart, leaving the bodies to float in the space. The only people who had not been treating him strange had been his son and Gary.

(Who actually had quite a big fight with the rest of the crew about how they had treated Avocato.)

Now, after some time had passed, everything seemed fine. Well it had been fine, until some time ago. Well even now it technically wasn’t not fine, it was just different.

Because Gary was acting weird. Like not his usual weird, but different type of weird. What was even worse was that it wasn’t an unwanted type of weird. Hell, even worse was the fact that Avocato really liked it, though he would prefer for this weirdness to not make his mind a fuzzy mess and his heart be two steps away from a cardiac arrest.

(But he had gotten used to these things. Or at least he thought he had been used to them. But during the past few weeks he had found out that he had been as vulnerable to them as long time ago.)

“And Uno!”

“Wait, were we playing Switch the whole time?��

“I thought we were playing Poker?”

“What?”

Avocato sighed and put down the cards. To be fair he had gotten lost what they had been doing until now.

The fact that Gary was proudly puffing out his chest wasn’t exactly helping him. Especially as he was wearing that goofy smile which did things to him. Bad things. Strange things. Uncomfortable things. Cosmic things.

Little Cato – who was sitting next to him – also put down his cards, showing a perfect collection of all Kings, and then slumped down on the couch.

Nightfall frowned and also moved the cards down, not showing anyone what exactly she had been playing. Though it seemed like she had hard time understanding what was happening around her.

Avocato wasn’t surprised. It was already late. Some of them should be sleeping right now.

And almost like on cue his son opened his mouth and yawned loudly, moving his arms to stretch them above the head, reaching for the stars.

“I’m going to sleep.” Little Cato said, then swung his whole body up to stand on his feet and put his hand on the table, spreading and messing the cards. “G’night.”

But it was fine, the game apparently ended with no winner.

“Good night.”

“Sleep tight.”

“And sweet dreams.”

Even if Little Cato wanted and tried to hide the smile, he was pretty miserable at it, so Avocato immediately saw his mouth stretching.

Little Cato lifted up sleeping Mooncake, to cradle it in his arms, and quickly walked out of the common room, shuffling his feet on the floor, barely lifting them up.

Avocato needed to sneak past Little Cato’s and Fox’s room later on and check whether he really went to bed or not. Little Cato had a tendency to simply curl and sleep on the first vacant place found while being seconds away from dozing off. So he wouldn’t be surprised if he found the boy in some vent system for example.

“I think I’m going to sleep too. It has been a tiring day.” Nightfall said, standing up too and moving her shoulders in circles.

Yeah, running after KVN who had stolen a quite important part of the ship because it had been shiny and sparkly had been definitely an exhausting experience. Ash had managed to capture him in the end, but after almost making the ship crash, so it was understandable that everyone deserved a break.

“Okie dokie, good night.”

“G’night.” Avocato murmured.

Nightfall nodded and then slipped away from the room without a sound. To be fair, if she hadn’t said it out loud, neither Gary nor Avocato would probably notice her going out. She was like fog when she wanted to, moving, sliding through space and time without a trace.

So this left Gary and Avocato alone.

And if he had to be honest Avocato was really, really tired. He dreamed about nothing more than a pillow, a blanket and the cozy darkness surrounding his mind, however he didn’t utter a thing.

Gary reached, collected the cards and started to shuffle them.

“Beggar-my-neighbor?” He asked.

There was a hint of sugary dreams intertwined with his voice, almost like he too was on the verge of lulling away to the dreamland. Yet he stayed. He didn’t even move to walk away, almost like –

(Almost like –)

Avocato wasn’t sure about the answer. But he knew Gary didn’t move, even though it was clearly visible he was tired and wanted to sleep. He persistently stayed and clumsily shuffled the deck.

“How many card games do you actually know?” Avocato asked, raising his eyebrow and crossing his arms on his chest.

Gary grinned widely.

“A lot.” He made two stacks of the cards in front of himself, but left both hands on each of them. “So?”

“Give them to me.”

Gary did and they started the first round.

***

Returning to reality had been way harder than Avocato had thought it could be. Mostly because he simply never had thought he would have to do it. He had expected a lot of things to happen in his life.

Being possessed by a mysterious entity, almost killing his best friend, being forced apart from his family and then being rescued had been definitely not on the list.

But it had happened.

Returning to reality had been hard. Avocato had felt like everything had changed. And it had changed, no, it definitely had had to change after such long time had passed. Yet because so much time had passed Avocato had hard time finding himself in the new reality.

(Time jumping while being almost dead and then being dead mentally could have such consequences.)

The hardest part for Avocato had been finding himself in the new life.

First, Gary had adopted his son, which well, to be honest it was pretty great. Amazing even. Astonishing. Okay, maybe at first, when he had found about it he had kinda frozen like his body had been floating in space without a suit. But it hadn’t meant that he had been against it. On the contrary.

(It filled his heart with joy to see how much Little Cato relied on Gary, who seemed to love doing it, taking care of their son.)

Little Cato was Avocato’s stable connection to the past. His beacon. His lifeline. His lighthouse. His satellite. He knew that no matter what, his bond with his son would stay the same. It was a constant in a formula, a symbol that simply was there, comforting, loving, familiar.

Gary had been like that too, at the beginning. But then after some time it had shifted, changed, morphed into something different. Not unwelcomed, just different.

(Nice different, but Avocato pushed these thoughts away. It was better not to dwell on them when he didn’t have any chances. There was no way that Gary – that he – no, it was impossible.)

Voluntarily spending more time with Avocato was one thing. At first he had thought that it had been due to missed time which could be spend together. Then it had changed into thinking that maybe Gary had been scared that Avocato would simply disintegrate while he hadn’t been looking. But it also hadn’t been that. Or maybe it had been at the beginning, but then it had changed.

In the end, right now, Avocato thought that Gary wanted to spend time with him as friends, best buds, BFFs or whatever he called their friendship. But even this wouldn’t explain the amount of time Gary spent with him. Almost like he was searching for excuses to stay with him, talk, joke, converse about past and future or just to simply stop in the time and enjoy being there.

For example, Nightfall was Gary’s close friend too and he wasn’t losing sleep just to play a card game with her.

“So we were just there, jumping off the ship!”

“Somersaulting in the air!”

“While screaming!”

“Little Cato a few meters behind me! I thought I would die!”

“But then bam! I finally managed to grab him!”

“And I survived!” Gary proudly said, then moved his hand to wrap it around Little Cato and ruffle his hair with the other one. “Thanks to this guy!”

“Ugh dad, stop!” Little Cato whined, trying to swat the attacking palm away, but failing miserably.

Maybe in the end he didn’t try that much. Maybe he simply just did that to keep up an image, a hologram, but deep down didn’t really mind that. Judging by the smile dancing and floating on his face it was definitely the case.

Avocato really loved seeing them interact. It was astonishing how free, how fitting, how comfortable they seemed with each other. It looked like they could understand each other without words. And the amount of affection being exchanged was incredibly sweet. Their relationship was like a binary star with love and trust in the center.

They really were fit for each other.

“Nevertheless I’m really grateful.” Gary said, sung it even and then turned his head to Avocato. “And this, my dear friend, was how we escaped Morinx S-27.”

Avocato couldn’t force himself to tell them that he had already heard the story two times. He loved seeing the utter joy on their faces too much to butt into the sudden storytelling moment that would erupt from time to time.

“That’s great.” Avocato said and nodded. “But now finish your vegetables, Little Cato. Don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to distract me.”

Little Cato smiling face quickly turned sour. His son flopped, even slumped down on the seat, turning into a jelly with a frown. A quite endearing look, especially as his whiskers moved and nose scrunched adorably.

Unfortunately for Little Cato, Avocato knew all his tricks. Even after being possessed and repossessed by himself.

“But they are disgusting.” Little Cato whined, slumping even farther down on the seat, slowly, but steadily disappearing beneath the table.

Avocato pointed his spoon at him.

“Eat or no more wild rides on Nightfall’s plasmic bike.”

After hearing that Little Cato’s eyes widened comically and he moved closer to the plate to start almost devouring the remaining vegetables.

Gary laughed at that, making that short, kinda broken snort which tore from his body. But it was such an honest, sweet, enthusiastic, real and so adorable sound that Avocato twitched after hearing it. He was so glad that no one paid him any attention.

Both Ash and Fox had already left.

Avocato looked at his own plate and the remaining food on the spoon.

He loved that kind of moments, when there was nothing happening and they were just drifting through the cosmos with the traces of antimatter moving past them. The stars passed behind the windows, blinking and shimmering, waving and winking at them, watching as they were slowly floating across the universe.

They didn’t have many calm days, so Avocato treasured each and every one of them.

“Can you pass me the salt, Brocato?” Gary suddenly asked.

Avocato looked up, then glanced down at the container near his hand and grabbed it to pass it forward.

It was supposed to be a quick exchange.

Gary reached forward, leaning a little bit above the table, and then took the salt container while sliding his fingers delicately across Avocato’s paw.

And damn, his heart betrayed him again, jumping wildly as all nerves tensed and stressed, while his mind blackened out and then came back online in less than a second.

Gary slowly moved back to season the rest of his food.

Avocato’s hand floated above the table for too long to call it normal, so he quickly moved it back after noticing.

His fur and skin burned in the place where they had touched. It had been like electricity had run through this place, tensing the muscles, making it all vibrate beneath the skin. The contact hadn’t been long, hell, it had been short, but for Avocato it had felt like eternities and light years had passed.

It had been just a touch! Something simple! Something that happened everyday! Why was Avocato acting like that?

Avocato swallowed hard, brushing his fingers together and still feeling the warmness on his hand.

(Please, don’t give him hope. Avocato didn’t need that. He had agreed with his fate, he didn’t need it.

Even though he wanted it.)

***

The crew was bigger and different.

Hue had a body. A kinda not fully functioning body, but it was a moving, mechanical body. There was also Nightfall – who really had surprised Avocato after meeting her – and then Ash and Fox – Clarence’s ex-kids. He knew that man was no good deal. And of course, AVA, the new AI of the ship.

Getting used to them had been a feat, but Avocato had found out he quite liked the new company. They were good people, a little bit lost and kinda strange, but everyone who was around Gary was weird in some aspects.

Maybe it was due to the weirdness of the man himself. Because Gary was weird, but weird in that good way. Strange was his fixation with cookies, his giddy and too joyful mood and his love of touching others, trying to get close to them and show them his affection.

Yet there was something even more off with Gary approaching and touching Avocato. Not in the bad way, but in a kinda unusual way.

Like why did it feel like Gary was doing it on purpose, catching every occasion like butterflies to be able to touch him? A pat on the back. A small shove to the arm. A pinch to the cheek. A poke to the side. Pointing at something on his armor. Asking to pass something. Finding weird excuses to do something.

(Avocato’s favorite moment had been Gary running to him to compare their hands’ sizes.)

Maybe there was no undertones to it, maybe Gary was simply like that. And some part of it was true. Gary was like that. He liked touching people, aliens and other beings. It seemed like a moment without getting near to someone was a wasted moment for him.

But there was something different in the way Gary approached him. It almost seemed calculated, in lack of a better term. Like Gary was just waiting for an opportunity to do this or that. It wasn’t spontaneous in most cases, more like pre-reacted a thousand times in the head and then played out in real life.

And every time it had happened, or well after that, Gary had been wearing this goofy smile.

“Okay so you’re taking Ash and I’m taking Little Cato?” Avocato asked, uncrossing his arms.

Gary nodded.

“Sure, yeah, that works for me.”

They moved closer to the two lumps laying haphazardly on the couch in the main living area.

Avocato slowly scooped Little Cato up, making place for Gary to do the same with Ash, letting her head rest on his arm and drool on the jacket.

Little Cato mumbled something in his sleepy state and curled in Avocato’s grasp, making him grin happily under his nose.

Avocato looked at Gary who bobbed his head at him.

Together they slowly moved through the ship, getting the kids to their respective beds. First it was Ash as her room was closer.

After knocking on the door and not getting a response, Gary opened the door, huffing and puffing quietly under his breath as he did so. The room was empty and both bunkbeds were unmade.

Gary laid Ash down on the bottom bed, moved her body around so that the blanket which was beneath her would be free and then covered her body almost to her nose. His hand stayed there for a moment, almost like he was checking whether she was breathing or not, and then moved it to her forehead, pushing the pink hairs away. There was a sudden beat of silence, a short buzz of machine going on somewhere nearby, a sudden stillness to the world as Gary leaned and pecked Ash’s forehead.

It was a strangely timid and private moment. A gap in space-time continuum that deserved a break. A tiny pause in the flow of accidents that tore the hearts apart. A supernova of peculiarity and sweet emotions.

Avocato felt really out of place. He wasn’t sure what he felt towards the new members of their team, squad, team-squad. He didn’t dislike them, but he also didn’t know them long enough to trust them completely.

Gary, on the contrary, seemed to love them. Seemed to burst with energy whenever they were nearby. Seemed to simply expand and grow like universe whenever Fox, Ash or Little Cato asked him something.

(Avocato really loved seeing Gary interact with Little Cato. It was clear as the day that he loved his, no, their son. And he clearly loved Ash and Fox too. But somehow it was a little bit different with Little Cato. It didn’t mean that he loved Ash and Fox less, no, the emotion was clearly visible on his face. But Gary and Little Cato had a weird connection even Avocato couldn’t explain.)

“You’ll grow to love them too.” Gary said, when he stood up and moved to exit the bedroom.

Avocato shrugged. He didn’t want to agree or disagree with this opinion or statement.

The trip to Little Cato’s room was a quiet one, interrupted only by beeps and whistles of machinery around, controls going on and off somewhere in the distance, like a never ending companion on a lifelong travel. A breathing lifeform made of metal vibrated beneath their feet, huffed and sighed with every step they took.

The door to Little Cato’s and Fox’s room opened without a problem.

Fox was already there, asleep, wrapped like a cocoon.

Gary grabbed the metal rails and hoisted himself up, leaning above Fox and kissing the top of his head.

Avocato grinned under his nose, put Little Cato on his bed and warmed him with a blanket secured tightly around the small body.

The boy stirred a little, murmured something under his nose, furrowed his eyebrows and then turned on the bed, messing the fur on the top of his head and cheeks.

Little Cato looked adorable, curled up like that. And maybe it was the calmness of this moment, a sudden need that erupted in his chest, a hidden whisper, or simply something that he wanted to do. No matter what it was Avocato also leaned down and kissed the top of Little Cato’s head.

“Aww you’re mimicking me, you copycat.”

“From what I remember I was a dad first. You just followed in my footsteps.”

“Says a person who asked me to take care of his boy.”

“I don’t see you complaining.”

“That is because I’m not.” Gary said, shrugging as he jumped off the bed, only to immediately kneel down.

He tucked Little Cato more, straightening the blanket as his hand glided on the surface. And just like with the others Gary leaned forward and kissed Little Cato’s forehead, letting his lips rest there for a few seconds.

Avocato smiled under his nose as he leaned on the doorframe and observed the scene, cataloguing every moment in his mind and heart.

Gary slowly moved away, caressed Little Cato’s cheek with the back of his hand and tugged him in one more time.

“Sleep tight, Spidercat.”

Little Cato murmured something and then snuggled further into the blanket.

Gary patted him one more time and then stood up, letting all the bones crack and rattle.

“Come on, let them rest.” Avocato said and then exited the bedroom, glancing at his son.

Gary quickly followed him and then reached his hand up above his head, stretching it when the door closed behind him, leaving them alone in the empty corridor.

There was a short moment of silence, wrapping them into its embrace. It could be even called a calm silence, comfortable one, until Gary opened his mouth of course:

“You know what we just had?”

Avocato had no idea.

“What?” He asked warily, feeling like he already didn’t like the answer.

“An indirect kiss.”

And Avocato was right. He didn’t like the answer.

“Way to ruin the moment, baby.” He sighed, feeling like the energy simply disappeared from his body, making him incredibly dull, empty like a vacuum.

Gary laughed, making his shoulders shiver and tremble, with a hesitant, awkward undertone at the end. It was a pure sound, kinda skittish on the side, but honest and true nevertheless.

Avocato felt like he fell for him even more.

***

Trying to get used to the new life had been really weird at the beginning. Everything had seemed off, strange, not fitting. Like he simply hadn’t been supposed to be here. Like a star in an asteroid belt.

And some part to of it had been true. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He should be dead, drifting in the cosmos, in the middle of nowhere, waiting for his body to discorporate.

But he was alive. He was living. And he was having emotions and feelings, strong, deep feelings that burned him to the core.

Avocato couldn’t explain some things Gary said. Almost like he was searching for some reaction. Almost like he was hinting at something. But it couldn’t be true, it couldn’t be real. Avocato’s brain simply didn’t want to believe it.

(It would be too good to be true.)

Gary would say things that would imply other things. He would make jokes in that awkward voice of his, sometimes too high, sometimes too low, that strung a specific cord inside Avocato’s chest. He would insinuate and hint and there were times when it seemed like Gary was waiting for something, was searching for something in Avocato’s reactions.

Yet he didn’t know really what.

Avocato’s brain was at constant mess, in a fight with itself, where the synapses were snapping and clawing at each other.

Gary probably didn’t know what he was doing to Avocato. Of course he didn’t. How could he know when Avocato never had told him about his feelings? At first he hadn’t been sure about them. Because hell, who falls for a person they were supposed to kill, which in the end captured them and then became their best friend? No one! He had thought that he had become simply too attached to the human due to the lack of many emotional connections through his life.

But then Quinn had appeared and Avocato had noticed that it hadn’t been a very strong friendship unfortunately. It had been – and was – something way more. Something that was bigger than friendship, something that was like it and not, both in the same time.

He wanted some form of closure.

Avocato had tried to be happy with what he had had, but deep inside he had wanted more. More he couldn’t have. So why dwell on it? Why think about the unchangeable? Why ponder about possibilities that may never come true?

Plus back then he had had more important matters on his mind. Saving Little Cato.

They had done it together, then Avocato had died or almost died, or died and not, both in the same time? It was really confusing with the time jumping and staying behind.

The point was that Avocato was back, together with Little Cato, and now he had time to ponder. Especially as there was no Quinn around.

Maybe they hadn’t started on the best terms, but he admired her strength and devotion. She was a good person, very smart and brilliant. And he didn’t hate or dislike her, no, even on the contrary, he had quite fond feelings for her.

It just really hurt.

But Avocato had no doubt that Gary still loved her. He was constantly saying that they had to save her and Avocato had to agree with him. They needed to do that. Quinn deserved it.

And Gary deserved her too.

So they did it. They saved her, snatching her away from the Final Space after a long and tedious battle that left them breathless and way too many times close to dying than it was comfortable. But they all survived it, they were there, happy and alive.

(The whole world was wrong again. They hadn’t fixed even one thing, it had seemed like they had messed it up even more, leaving tear after tear in the space-time continuum, breaking the cosmos and galaxies apart.

And the fact that Invictus was still out there wasn’t a good sign. That was a thing they had to deal with at some point. But now, all of them were safe and sound aboard the Crimson Light.)

Avocato expected Gary and Quinn to hug and kiss and just do something after the haze of fight died down and they could catch a breath. He prepared himself to have his heart shattered once again in a million tiny atoms, just as he was slowly starting to glue it back together, piece after piece. He knew it would be hard to watch but at least Gary would be happy. He would grin blindly at them and everything would be fine for now.

Yet it didn’t happen.

Nightfall elbowed Gary as he was nervously glancing at the ground and intermittently  at Quinn, who was trying to pat the flames on her clothes down.

Gary lifted his head, looked at Nightfall and it seemed like they had an entire spacious conversation during this short moment.

In the end Gary slumped his shoulders and turned around.

“Quinn, we need to talk.”

The girl looked up at him, with a sweet, hopeful glint shining in her starry eyes as a smile appeared on her mouth.

“Sure, we definitely do.”

Gary winced, grabbed her hand and then they both exited the hangar, leaving the rest of the team squad awkwardly standing there.

“So, that was new.” Ash finally said, moving to the rest and combing her covered with dirt hair with the fingers.

Nightfall clicked her tongue and moved to Ash to get the bigger debris from her hair.

“Gary and Quinn just need to have a very serious talk.”

Little Cato approached them, followed by Fox, who was checking something in his hand.

“Uh shouldn’t it be all fine now? We finally saved Quinn.” Little Cato inquired.

Avocato reached and wrapped his son in a hug, bringing his body closer to feel the familiar heat radiating from him. He had to take Little Cato to the Medbay to have the wounds checked and taken care of, not matter how small they were.

Nightfall smiled sadly at him.

“I’m afraid it’s not so easy, Little Cato.”

The boy lifted his eyebrows as he leaned towards Avocato, glancing up at him in search of the meaning of the woman’s words.

Unfortunately he also didn’t know what Nightfall had been talking about. Gary and Quinn should hug, kiss, talk, then hug some more and everything would be back to being brighter again.

Gary and Quinn talked for a pretty, pretty long time, during which Avocato and Nightfall got Little Cato, Ash, Fox and Mooncake to the Medbay and took care of their wounds. After that was covered and the little ones were sent to their beds, together with Hue, KVN and AVA, Avocato and Nightfall assessed the damage done to the ship, what needed to be done to repair it and what should they do from now on. But no one really wanted to talk about that just yet, so they ended the topic and returned to their respective rooms to get very much deserved sleep.

And Gary and Quinn were still talking.

(Or maybe they weren’t talking at all.)

Avocato didn’t really want to think about possibilities, about what they actually could be doing. He tried to fall asleep, something his body desperately needed right now, but found out that no matter how hard he tried to drift away, he simply couldn’t. His mind and heart were still buzzing with the excitement of the fight.

He couldn’t call it a won fight per se anyway. It left a bad aftertaste in his mouth at so many lost lives. They had been really lucky they had managed to get out of there alive, get out of the dying planets and destroyed ships, when so many of other living beings hadn’t made it and couldn’t escape. Their souls had been dragged away from their bodies which now floated somewhere in the cosmos with no place to bury them.

So many destroyed celestial bodies, so many lost lives. Poor lives that had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Consumed lives that had lived in peace until then, not knowing about the war that had started.

It seemed like they were destroying everything.

In the end Avocato stood up and paced around the ship, calming his mind to the tune of the working machine. An engine pumping energy into the whole ship purred tiredly beneath his feet as he walked, huffing and puffing with its metallic lungs.

The ship seemed utterly off with no soul around as he quietly walked through it, trying to find a sole place to sit down and disconnect from the world for a bit. Almost like he was moving in a dream, floating in between states of consciousness and not – an askew part of the dimension, a weirdly torn part of the string that made their universe.

The stars blinked and shimmered behind the window and Avocato wondered for how long they could do it. Was the end of the time already breathing on their necks? Did they even have a lot of time? He wasn’t sure. He knew that the world was messed up and it was their fault.

Avocato sat down on the ground and stared at the expanding cosmos in front of his eyes, blocking his mind from all thoughts that pushed and knocked and tried to take down the doors to his consciousness. But for now he only saw the astral place spreading in front of his eyes, calming him down for a moment.

He wasn’t sure how long he was sitting there, but probably for too long.

“Avocato? What are you doing here?”

He twitched and then lifted up his head. He already knew who was coming thanks to the voice. He would recognize it everywhere, in a millisecond, during a spark where the atoms break into two.

Gary was slowly approaching Avocato, the dirty and destroyed clothes still on him. He looked utterly exhausted with the dark bags under his eyes and the remains of his own blood already crusting on the cheeks and beneath the nose.

“I couldn’t sleep.” He answered honestly.

Gary let out a dry chuckle.

“After a day like today?”

“Well, I think there is some leftover adrenaline inside my muscles. Like my brain is waiting for something to happen.”

“Uh yeah, actually I totally can understand that.” Gary scratched the back of his head, looked at the view Avocato was observing. He cleared his throat and then pointed at a space of ground next to Avocato. “Is this seat taken?”

Avocato snorted.

“No, it’s free.”

Gary smiled tiredly and then flopped down next to Avocato, crossing his legs on the ground.

For a blissful, beautiful and terrible moment they only stared at the space in front of them. There were clouds gathering in the distance, bright, enormous, fluffy gases – nebulas – swirling together, trying to form something incredible and new. There was a lone comet flying far-flung. A moon of a planet that was nearby slowly rotated around it, together with its twin.

It was a beautiful place to be. And also terrifying.

Avocato tried to find something to talk about, something easy, something nice and calming.

And then of course he dropped the bomb.

“So, how are things between you and Quinn? Everything’s okay?”

Fuck his life. Why had he asked that? Of course everyone was curious about what they were talking, although it seemed that Nightfall knew the most and wasn’t sharing it with anyone, protecting their privacy.

Gary twitched and then started to play with the thread sticking out from his pants.

“Everything is… well… fine. Between us I mean. I think. I hope.”

Avocato glanced at him.

“You don’t look fine.” He stated.

Because it was a fact. Gary looked miserable, not only because of his outward appearance, but there was something in his eyes, inside of him, something that simply was torn apart and he didn’t know how to stitch it back together. His eyes almost screamed for something, or maybe they screamed at the world, at the unfairness of it all, at the wrong and devastation that spread around while they could do nothing but cry.

“What gave it away?”

Avocato wanted to say that a lot of specific and small things, but shut his mouth. He didn’t want to let Gary know that he had observed him thoroughly. So he only said:

“Everything.”

A dry laugh left Gary’s lips as he tugged on the thread violently. It didn’t come out, but stuck persistently to the trousers. But other than that he didn’t answer. Just looked at the world passing them by.

So they simply sat there together, staring at the space and breathing slowly in and out. They were alive. They were here. They got everyone back. They were breathing. It should be alright. It really should be.

But it wasn’t.

It simply wasn’t because the world was slowly tilting towards destruction with Invictus on the loose and the Final Space and all the titans being seconds away from consuming their world, tearing it into pieces and destroying every atom in its wake, moving protons away from each other and stealing electrons.

There was a delicate movement to his right and a warm heap landed on his shoulder. It took Avocato awfully long time to notice, through his wildly beating heart, that Gary rested his head there, simply as that.

“Do you mind –“

“No.” Avocato quickly said. Too quickly, if he might add. “It’s okay.”

It really was okay. More than okay.

Gary was breathing slowly, letting the air out in puffs and huffs as his head maneuvered a little to find the best position on Avocato’s shoulder.

There was another long spasm of time, a terribly protracted seconds that prolonged themselves into oblivion as they stared at everything and nothing both in the same time, until Avocato heard a soft sniff nearby.

He snapped his head in Gary’s direction.

“Hey, is everything really–“

“We’ve lost so many living beings today.” He softly whispered, voice so quiet it was almost not even there.

But it was there and it strung a painful string inside Avocato’s chest, making him hitch his breath for all the wrong reasons.

“Yeah, yeah we did.” Avocato nodded, shifting a little so his body was a bit lower, which made leaning on him hopefully also easier.

(He didn’t want to lose the contact, that spark of happiness in the dark cloud that seemed to envelop them, seemed to thunder above their heads, saying that the rain and storm were on their way.)

There was something wet hitting his shoulder as another sniffle left Gary’s lips.

“It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It is.” Gary fought back, croaked even, seeming to be on the verge of breaking.

“No, it isn’t. We and them were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. You didn’t kill them. It wasn’t you who took their lives away.”

It was the truth. He had seen today hundreds of lights disappearing from brave faces, he had seen smiles turning into grimaces, into startled mouths opened to scream and shout. He had seen the hope, the beautiful hope, flicker and die quickly under the sheer force that had bent their knees in the face of Death that simply had taken their hands and helped guide them to the other side.

There had been blood, so much blood and screams and shouts and pain and tears and misery and pain and pain and pain.

But it wasn’t their fault. And it definitely wasn’t Gary’s fault. Nor was it anyone else’s on their side.

Avocato slowly reached his hand, trying not to jostle his companion, and then rested it on Gary’s shoulder, bringing him in for a close hug.

He knew it wouldn’t fix anything in the world. It was broken apart, maybe beyond abilities to be repaired. Maybe they were on the way to doom, to their death, to the annihilation that would swipe them away. Maybe there was no hope in the future and every thread connecting their fingers would be burned.

But Avocato still decided to not lose hope.

He hugged Gary closer and let the tears flow down, freely, letting him cope with the loss, hopefully helping him overcome the traumatic moments of today.

He did it even when Gary fell asleep.

And if he carried Gary to his room, then who was here to see and judge him?

***

Avocato had problems with showing his true feelings. It probably, scratch that, definitely was due to the environment he had grown up in. Showing emotions, or worse, weakness had been unacceptable. They had had to be strong, they had had to be brave, they had had to do everything Lord Commander had said. Or else there had been painful consequences.

Showing emotions was a sign of the biggest trust.

(Only Little Cato had seen him crying.)

Yet Gary had done it. Showed him the biggest sign of trust someone could. He had believed him, leaned on him and showed what had been troubling his heart.

Avocato felt awfully happy and devastated about this idea, both in the same time.

Life after the fight, at least those few first days, wasn’t easy. The gloomy atmosphere seemed to be etched into the ship circuit. Everyone’s heads were down with hands tightening when a memory flew by. The never-ending presence of failure followed their every step.

But at least Quinn was with them.

Avocato expected her and Gary to spend every minute together, almost glued to a hip. He expected to see them kiss each other’s cheeks or foreheads or mouths, hug from time to time or simply glance at each other.

They did glance at each other, but with a different tone to it. There was no soft touches on the side, no quick smooches here and there, no desperate hand holding, nothing.

At first he thought that it was due to the atmosphere that walked around them, but it wasn’t that. It was something else, something deeper, gravity waves of emotions.

Something changed between them, that was for sure. But Avocato couldn’t make the heads or tails of it, nor did he think it was his place to ask, so he let the matter be.

(Some part of him was happy that they didn’t show their affection everywhere on the ship.)

It seemed that Quinn also had hard times with accommodating and fitting in with so many unfamiliar people around. She had the best contact with Hue, KVN and apparently Little Cato. With whom Avocato found her speaking quite a lot.

She was talking with him too, but there was always a tone of awkwardness to it.

“Hey, do you know where butter is?”

“That yellow thing which goes on the bread?” Avocato asked.

Quinn nodded, a little bit taken aback.

“Yeah, that.”

“In the cupboard on your right.”

Quinn turned and reached for the shelf.

“Why are you keeping butter in the cupboard? It should be in the fridge.”

Avocato shrugged.

“It’s pretty cold in the cupboard.”

Quinn glanced at the cupboard, then at the butter she now held in her hand, then one more time at the cupboard only to sigh loudly and flop down on the chair in front of Avocato.

He took another sip of his drink, looking through the news on the tablet in front of him. The bounties on their heads were increasing every day and Avocato wasn’t sure whether to be flattered by it or incredibly scared. Maybe a bit of both.

It seemed like Quinn wanted to say something as she was currently drilling holes in his head with her gaze and not making any sandwiches even though all the components were on the table. Avocato decided to let her start speaking whenever she wanted.

In the end she finally made sandwiches

So they sat there, eating, drinking, glancing through new information across the universe, until one of them broke.

Quinn cleared her throat and looked at him. There was something confusing in her eyes, a sudden resolve that didn’t want to be tamed nor couldn’t be controlled, a sudden pure strength that shimmered like a moon – reflecting the power of someone’s else, a sweet inspiration.

“Avocato, I…”

He lifted his head, looking at her and closing the news on the tablet.

The strength was still there, but it was mixed, couldn’t be really described, escaped every trap that the girl tried on it, playing with her like she was only but a mouse.

“I know we didn’t start on the best terms, but I want you to know that I…” She looked to the side, scratched her cheek, then moved the curls away from her forehead only to look him back in the eyes. “… I think you’re a good person and well… I trust you… with Gary and well… Yeah, I trust you.”

Okay. That was pretty… pretty strange to drop such a bomb in the middle of the morning, but at this point in life and with such a crew on the ship Avocato should get used to it. Only he didn’t, so now he only stared perplexed at the woman with his finger still floating in the space close to the tablet.

“Uhh… thanks?” He said slowly, not sure if it was the right answer to give in this situation, but it seemed okay enough to say it.

He wasn’t sure whether anyone should trust him. He had done very bad and terrible things. Really horrible things that plagued his mind during nights, woke him up with hands around his throat and blood splattering on his face. There were faces he knew he would never forget, eyes filled with fear and tears and mouths hanging open in a silent scream for help.

Avocato could never forget those poor souls.

(Avocato didn’t deserve to forget it.)

He didn’t think he deserved the trust everyone around was giving him. He didn’t deserve the amount of hope they were showing him when they were entering another fight. It was badly misplaced.

But they saw something in him he didn’t exactly could see himself.

And he wasn’t going to let them down this time, nor ever again.

Quinn smiled at him and Avocato noticed that it was probably the first time she had done it towards him. They had behaved normally around each other, or well tried to act normally, polite, nice, but there had been always something off about it.

Back at Galaxy One they had been more often seen jumping at each other’s throats with the difference in their perspective, with divergent weight of morals and hearts, but now, after so many things had happened and changed it seemed like they found a silver lining of understatement.

Plus seeing her face, alive, smiling calmed Avocato a little.

He had no doubt that Gary had to do something with Quinn changing her mind about him, but he wasn’t going to question it. He liked her and definitely preferred her covering his back with trust than pointing the gun at it.

***

Why and how Gary changed people’s opinions about Avocato was another mystery Avocato simply couldn’t solve. He didn’t have enough pieces, enough evidences to even form a proper theory around it. So he left it at that and accepted it as another Gary’s confusing trait.

Not that he minded that much. He wasn’t good with people and aliens and other life beings and forms.

Slowly Quinn found her place on the ship. There were still some awkward moments when she stared at Gary and he did it back with some kind of remorse in their eyes, but these were sparse.

Avocato wasn’t sure what had happened between them and he wasn’t really keen on asking about it. It was their private thing, he shouldn’t interfere.

(But he couldn’t stop himself from being a little bit curious. Because it seemed like they weren’t together. There was clearly a deep connection between them, but the spark was lost.

Avocato hated himself for felling hopeful.)

He paced around the ship slowly with a towel wrapped around his shoulders, hanging on the wet fur. Or mildly wet fut. He knew if he stayed longer in the drying chamber he would fall asleep, so he decided to finish drying himself with a towel.

The ship outside of the warm showers was cold, freezing even. It made all the wet hairs on his back and arms stand up, so he fastened his pace to get to his room quicker and turn on the heating to drift away into hopefully dreamless sleep.

Most doors were already closed, signaling Avocato that almost the whole crew was asleep. He didn’t mind, he got used to being the last one to do it.

(Often accompanied by Gary. They had spent quite a lot of nights playing cards in the main room of the ship.)

Gary’s room was open, which wasn’t actually that surprising. What was off was the soft light coming from between the small, thin gap that was there. What was even more astonishing was a soft tune sneaking between it and scattering across the floor, clearly coming from that room.

Avocato sneaked closer to the gap, being cautions of his steps and the sounds he was making, and leaned forward, stealing a peek inside.

He definitely didn’t expect to see it.

Gary was leaning on the wall, sitting on the bed and humming a soft tune under his nose as his eyes were illuminated by the holographic tablet he held in his hand and clearly read through. On his lap laid Little Cato, whole body curled and hidden almost fully under a blanket thrown over it. There was a steady rhythm of his heartbeat, mirrored in slow rises and falls of the chest, showing Avocato that the small Ventrexian was fully asleep.

That didn’t stop Gary from leisurely moving his hand through the cyan patch of fur on his son’s head, playing with the strands and scratching him behind the ear occasionally, which also flicked form time to time.

(There was also a small lamp in the corner, giving a soft hue to the whole room. Never turned off.)

Mooncake laid nearby the wall, squished between Gary and Little Cato and snoring peacefully, while giving a few sounds ever so often.

Avocato knew they were close. They had to be. Gary even had adopted his – their – son.

He had seen them interact a thousand times already.

But it didn’t stop the sudden beat of the heart from going haywire when he saw moments like that. Peaceful. Calm. Tranquil. Comforting. Fitting.

Gary looked utterly happy, moving his hand slowly while his eyes scanned the letters, coordination, galaxies and space stations nearby that they deeply needed to avoid. There was a tired smile, hiding in the corners of his mouth, in accompaniment of the hair standing in weird directions.

Little Cato exhaled slowly and snuggled closer.

Gary glanced down, smiled more and then returned to reading. Or at least he seemed to want to do that, but his eyes moved, glided along the small crack in the doorway and then their eyes met.

“Avocato?” Gary’s mouth said, barely letting the words out.

He didn’t have to be so quiet. When Little Cato was asleep even a comet crashing through the roof wouldn’t wake him up.

Should he step inside? There was no need for him to do that. He could wave his hand and let them be, give them much needed rest. But there was something enthralling in the picture he just had seen, something that called to him, something that made him want to be a part of it, not a spectator from the side.

It was a stupid need, but he simply couldn’t stop it.

So he opened the door a little, which hissed as it moved to make place for him to step inside.

“Hey.” He whispered.

“Hey to you too.” Gary murmured, showing him a line of white teeth. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I was taking a shower.” Avocato said and then pointed with his head at the lump laying in Gary’s lap. “I would ask you the same thing, but I can see you have your hands full.”

He chuckled, curling one strand of baby blue hair around his finger and brushing it with his thumb.

“Quite full indeed.” Gary said and then much softer added. “But I can’t say I mind.”

Little Cato tilted his head a little, like he was seeking the warmth that seeped from Gary’s fingers, and then moved to rest his cheek on the human’s stomach, one hand gripping the t-shirt, forming an ocean of wrinkles there.

Gary didn’t look like he minded. If anything he looked even happier than before.

The image, the atmosphere, the sweet warmness that seeped from Gary and Little Cato was so serene, so calming that Avocato’s heart just yearned to flop down on the bed next to them, lay his head down and lull away too. It was a deep need, powerful like a cosmic wave, thermic in its wake, even more endearing by the fact that he simply just had to step forward.

But –

“You can stay the night.” Gary suddenly said, not looking up at him, but staring fondly at the Ventrexian in his lap. Then it seemed like a sudden blast, a meteorite crashed in his mind, because he snapped his head up and mumbled. “If you… I mean… If you want to, of course.”

There was a soft hint, a delicate, darkish hue to Gary’s cheeks, navy blue in colors in the faint light coming from the holographic screen and lamp that just tore Avocato’s heart apart.

He didn’t want anything more than just that – no innuendos, no higher reason, no adult stuff that sometimes sneaked into his mind. Just a calm night shared with his loved ones.

No, he didn’t deserve that. He had hurt them enough. They were happy now, why should he interrupt this small piece of time filled with joy with his presence?

“No, it’s okay. I’m good.“ He wasn’t, but it wasn’t their problem either. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

Gary nodded, quickly replacing something on his face with a small smile.

(It definitely hadn’t been sadness. Definitely not disappointment. It couldn’t be. Why should it even be there? No, Avocato had to be seeing things. He had to be. It was quite late and Avocato didn’t have enough sleep lately or like ever.)

“Yeah, uh, sure. Totally. We’ll see each other in the morning. I’m super fine with that.” Gary cleared his throat, moving the screen to hide his mouth. “Yeah, yeah, fine. Good night.”

Avocato smiled.

“Good night.”

And with that he left the room, feeling like he was leaving something precious behind.

***

It seemed like Gary almost naturally knew what Avocato wanted, even before he could simply form the thoughts. Or always seemed to know what to ask, shaping, molding the needs into the words.

A peculiar talent indeed. A rare one. A very confusing one.

Especially as it was getting harder and harder to resist some of them.

Avocato never had been a very touchy and warm person. Years of killing people could do that to living beings. They start to lose the sense of humanity, they stop seeing the spark of life in the others and start treating them as a burden, a hindrance they need to take care of.

Avocato had hated himself for doing and thinking like that.

Living beings had been pawns he had had to destroy or move to another part of the board. Conceal emotions. Don’t think about their families or friends or loved ones. They had been just a collection of atoms, a cosmic dust, a moment, a light that needed to be blown out.

Then it had changed when Little Cato had been born. His whole world had shattered into thousand, if not million, pieces and had formed something entirely new. Not something stable at first, but Avocato immediately had known, right after seeing his little son, that he was going to try his damn hardest to make it all work.

He would steal a thousand stars for his son. He would break the space–time continuum. He would snap and tie back the strings of reality. He hadn’t always showed it. Hell, he probably never had showed it. A great mistake. One of the biggest mistakes of his life.

But he had gotten a second chance. Or well actually a third chance, maybe even a fourth one if he could count right. But these two in the middle didn’t count because he hadn’t been long enough here to actually use them.

Little Cato had been and was his sunshine, his hope, his sun, his moon, his gravity and his light. Everything he had done and did was for him.

Avocato loved spending time with Little Cato, whether it was eating breakfast or dinner, steering the ship, playing random games during games nights which happened almost every day or simply spending time while doing nothing.

Now unfortunately wasn’t one of those times, but Avocato still was going to enjoy it.

“And remember, if your gun jams, there is an additional one on your left.” Gary said, pointing at the holster hanging on Little Cato’s belt.

The Ventrexian sighed loudly and pushed Gary’s hand away.

“Dad, come on. I know how to shoot and I know where I have my weapons.”

Avocato smiled.

“Gary, chill. He’s a Cato, using guns is in our blood.”

Little Cato grinned to him.

“Oh is it now, Avocato? I clearly remember someone forgetting to bring his backup ammo for the last mission.” Gary said, straightening his back and crossing his arms on his chest.

Oh, he hit a point.

“I made it work in the end, didn’t I?” Avocato smirked.

“Throwing a gun at the enemy doesn’t count!” Gary huffed.

“Hey, if there is no ammo, you use whatever you can as an ammo.” Little Cato added, adorably grinning from ear to ear.

“Well said, son.”

Little Cato almost bubbled with excitement, jumping in place and whispering encouraging words to himself. There were sparks leaping from his eyes, shimmering for a second like burning particles of metal. He radiated energy like a comet moving through the space.

Gary sighed at that.

Avocato smiled under his nose and checked the energy stabilizer in his gun. There was nothing better than plasma weapons. Deadly, yet longer-lasting. A small ampule of energy was enough for many rounds of ammo.

“Can we go?” Little Cato asked, swinging back and forth on his heels.

Avocato was just about to answer that they should actually move to the drop zone, when Gary one more time butted in.

“Oh no, you can’t, bud. Not without your good luck charm.”

Little Cato stopped swinging and looked at the man, rolling his eyes brutally.

“Dad, no. I don’t need it!”

“Let me be the judge of that.” Gary frowned and then leaned to peck Little Cato quickly on the forehead.

The Ventrexian frowned, trying to look as disgusted as he could, but failing somewhere in the middle as the smile broke on his face, snapped it in two like a meteor.

“Dad, stop, you’re embarrassing me in front of everyone.” Little Cato whined, moving his hand to his forehead, but not brushing the place, only gently resting his paw there.

“You have to live with it.” Gary said, moving to straighten his back.

Avocato wasn’t sure exactly why he opened his mouth. Everything was fine and dandy, maybe even sweet due to the situation that had unfolded in front of him like a Mobius strip, and he had to break it.

(Maybe the needs that had been locked inside of him finally had enough and found a small opening in the corner, clawing their way out. Maybe it was an urge to share something similar, something pure and sweet and calm and comforting all in the same time.)

“How come Little Cato got a good luck kiss, but I didn’t?”

And he failed miserably. Someone give him a round of applause.

The hangar, previously filled with so many voices, became instantly quiet, silent as space spreading behind these metal walls.

Avocato’s heart stopped beating for a moment after the words had left his mouth. There was a hollow void inside his chest, an emptiness that sucked everything into it. A sudden pause of the time which prolonged the awkwardness into infinity.

Gary looked at him with the mouth a little bit open and eyes wide as moons.

Avocato clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, trying to come up with an idea on how to get back his words. Maybe he should play it as a joke? Would laughing work? Maybe he simply can pretend that he hadn’t said that? He just had to do something to escape the sudden stillness that had appeared inside the hangar.

But before he could do anything, Gary moved closer and nervously smiled.

“Well when you put it like that, I admit it wasn’t fair.”

Avocato felt like he was dreaming. Because he had to be dreaming. It couldn’t be real. There was no chance that he was actually awake and not turning on his bed. But if it was a dream then please let him sleep for at least one more minute.

Gary leaned up, moved closer, impossibly close, so close that Avocato could sense the warmness seeping from the human body, traveling, enveloping him. There was a familiar scent trailing after him, smell that made all his bones melt and mind become a galactic mush.

It was a short moment, a sudden spark of a dying star, or maybe the beginning of a new one, when the gases all combine to form an explosion that could make everyone kneel.

Gary pecked Avocato’s cheek, letting his lips stay there for a second or so, before slowly moving back, glancing hesitantly at Avocato like he wanted to gauge his reaction.

And well, Avocato was a lost man. His heart beat rapidly in his chest, thrumming loudly like an overworked engine that was on the tip of exhaustion. It hammered and knocked on his ribcage so vehemently that he was sure it was the most audible thing in the entire universe.

The place on his cheek was burning.

Gary smiled at him and stepped away, moving his one hand to scratch the back of his neck.

The silence stirred around them, until even it finally broke down.

“How come they get good luck kisses, but not me?” Fox suddenly asked.

“Hey, I was on a mission two weeks ago and I didn’t get any either.” Ash added, moving to her brother and crossing her arms.

“That is because you sneaked out, not went on a mission.” Gary quickly clarified, looking at her. “By the way you’re grounded for that, young lady.”

“There was a music festival on a planet nearby!”

“Still grounded!”

“And I still didn’t get my lucky kisses!” Fox whined.

Gary sighed, letting his shoulders drop like it was the most tedious thing to do. But the happiness, hiding in the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes sold him out.

“Come here then!”

Avocato observed fondly the ridiculousness of the situation in front of him, correcting the belt where his main weapons were situated. In the corner of his eyes he caught Little Cato looking at him, so he did the same, raising his eyebrow.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Little Cato said, in the voice that clearly indicated that ‘nothing’ was clearly a lie.

Avocato wanted to pursue and continue the topic, but AVA announced they were getting closer to their destination.

His cheek burned long after that.

***

The affection was never his companion.

A side effect of working for Lord Commander. But that wasn’t the only reason. He had simply grown up while being taught that showing any kind of emotions led to disasters.

Life had quite confirmed those suspicions.

It always had seemed that whenever he had seek comfort and warmness the universe, the people around him and he himself had been punished for that.

(There had been times where he had been afraid of even trying to seek this kind of feelings from other people.)

Things had changed when Little Cato had been born and later on when he had fell in love with Gary Goodspeed.

For Little Cato Avocato would do everything, he would disintegrate and destroy every particle of fear inside of him if his son even needed a hug, pat on the back or comforting kiss on the nose. He had been there through every sickness and every heartbreak and every tears filled night. Until Little Cato had been ripped away from him.

Another confirmation of the suspicions.

But then Gary Goodspeed had appeared and helped him get his boy back, breaking the chain, smashing it to pieces with just a few words and things that couldn’t be described by them – words.

And somehow Gary knew how to sneak past his defenses to give enough amount of affection for Avocato to feel loved.

(Which was a dangerous thing, because after tasting it for the first time he needed more and more, finding urges and needs that plagued his mind.

Maybe it wasn’t a plague, but a calm home.)

Avocato couldn’t remember much from the time when he had been possessed by Invictus. He had bits and pieces here and there, tears in the continuum of space canvas with strings weaved together like a beautiful veil. The most he remembered were the beginning and the end.

(Shooting Gary, almost killing Gary, almost shooting Little Cato. No matter how many times he had apologized, the guilt was still there, a never-ending thread that had a start, but no end.)

Affection was something that should be familiar, yet wasn’t.

Gary patted the flashlight, which flickered and then died down, giving a few coughs of light at the end.

Avocato stared at it, furrowing his eyebrows. That was their last and only one flashlight. Avocato didn’t worry too much, he could see clearly in the dark, but humans couldn’t.

Gary swallowed hard

“It is dark as hell in there.” He murmured, staring into the epitome of darkness.

Avocato nodded.

“It is.”

“Do you think there are like super giant monsters that are gonna eat our brains and then make chairs out of our bones?”

“What?”

“It’s was a yes or no question, Avocato!” “I know, I was just surprised by it.” Avocato grumbled, atounded by Gary’s sudden outburst. “I suppose there is a possibility?’

“Oh no, we’re going to die.”

“I doubt it.”

“It’s easy for you to say, you have like twelve guns on you.”

“Eh, fourteen actually.” Avocato shrugged, loading one as he spoke.

“Even better!”

Avocato sighed, glanced into the dark abyss that spread in front of them, consuming every particle of matter that dared to go inside and then looked back at Gary who anxiously looked at the sight before him.

Gary was wriggling his hands together, playing with the hems of the sleeves as he stared at the entrance, mulling the idea over by biting his lip. His shoulders were tensed, the sudden stress almost precipitating on them. The picture was filled with the eyes jumping from left to right, desperately trying to find something to focus on for the next moment.

There was something off about the picture, something unfitting that wasn’t made to be here, like a fifth corner puzzle piece that you try to put in a square drawing.

Avocato stared for a good long minute, trying to locate the source of the problem, trying to find the root of the dilemma that clearly clung to Gary’s body.

He glanced at the cave, then back at Gary.

There was one possibility that was coming as the most plausible one here.

“Gary, are you afraid of the dark?”

The response was immediate.

“No! Me? Of course not! Definitely not! Nu huh!”

Avocato lifted his eyebrow, but put down the shotgun and then affixed it to his back, freeing both hands, so he could grab a smaller plasma hand pistol with his right one.

Gary massaged his one arm with the other hand, looking with his eyes at anything, but at the dark void that emerged in front of them.

Avocato reached with his left hand to Gary, letting his fingers twitch in the cold air of the planet.

“Come on, grab my hand and let’s get this over with, baby.”

It was said in a carefree tone, almost a joking one. But it was a play, a calculated deception to hide how much Avocato’s heart thrummed in his chest and how his mind become fuzzy at the simple prospect that they could hold hands.

Not to mention he wanted to be there for Gary if he needed him. Gary had been his support, his livewire, his lighthouse and familiar home since the moment they had seen each other and Avocato wanted to repay the debt.

He expected Gary to resist, maybe joke a bit, bicker back and forth, but he almost surged forward, clasping Avocato’s palm in both of his hands and holding tightly like he was a lifeline on a wide ocean.

Avocato wiggled his fingers a little, finding a better position and then looked towards the cave.

They moved forward, at first terribly slow, letting the light guide them for a few meters or so, before the void fully consumed every particle of light that tried to cross the boundary. It seemed like the darkness devoured all the wavelengths, letting no color inside. Only the cold, freezing blackness remained.

Even though the void expanded around them, filling every pore of their bodies, Avocato could see more or less clearly. For example he could see that there was a hole on the right after two meters and that if they didn’t move their heads down in ten meters they would hit their foreheads on the stone ceiling being suspiciously low.

The further they were walking, the more cold and freezing it was starting to be and the stronger the hold on his hand was getting.

Gary didn’t talk, as it seemed like every breath was a feat for him. A fatiguing experience that he wanted to stop doing. He was twitching and shivering all over his body, but whether it was due to the coldness or stress Avocato wasn’t sure.

Avocato squeezed back the fingers holding him, trying to send some comforting feelings and thoughts through the link.

Gary immediately gripped back, changing the hold so only one hand was interlocked with Avocato’s fingers.

They walked for a few more minutes. Exactly eight to be more precise, before Gary finally opened his mouth.

“I uh… at my home… I mean back on Earth… I lived uh… quite a long time without the electricity…”

“You did?” Avocato asked, hoping that Gary would catch a bait.

He moved his fingers a little in the hold.

“Oh yeah… After my dad died and my mom left me, I… I lived in our house for some time… I think that the Child Protective Services didn’t actually know I was left alone… They probably thought my mom was still living with me… even though she wasn’t…” Gary inhaled sharply. “I mean… it wasn’t so bad at the beginning…”

Avocato knew it wasn’t the truth. The drop of the tone, the sudden tightness in the voice, the hesitant shivers running through the fingertips sold Gary out.

“There was some spare money my dad had hidden in the vase with the fake succulents… So I used it to buy food and all the stuff…” There was an audible gulp next to him. “I was a kid back then… I didn’t know how rents or banks worked, that you need to pay for water and gas and such things… And well, after some time they…”

“Cut the electricity off?” Avocato finished, glancing tat Gary.

He wasn’t looking at anything per se, mostly staring at the ground that he couldn’t see, like by just focusing hard enough he could maybe spot the obstacles in his way.

“Uh… yeah… One day it randomly just disappeared during the evening. The house became so silent all of a sudden… I didn’t notice before but with it the house had been so loud. The fridge had been buzzing, the boiler had been bubbling, the AC had been hissing. But after that it all… quieted down. And I… I got so so scared.” A sudden break. A hiss. A sniffle. “I felt so alone.”

Avocato couldn’t really imagine what it must have felt like, but he knew a lot about loneliness. A pesky feeling. A horrible companion. A hollow sensation.

Avocato had been alone for most of his life. He knew how isolation really felt like – a weight that held down, with the gravity pulling the strings towards the bottom from where there was no escape.

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He wasn’t good at this lifting up other people’s moods. He wasn’t good at being there for others, even though he tried desperately to do that. He simply wasn’t good enough.

But Avocato decided he wanted to try.

So he gripped the hand tighter, letting his thumb brush across the skin and tugging the human closer.

“This had to fucking suck.” He whispered and winced immediately after that.

Yep, Avocato wasn’t the best, he wasn’t even remotely good in comforting people related stuff. It was always Gary’s thing to do, lifting people’s mood with a joke here, a pat there, a hug in-between, mixed with soft words.

In comparison Avocato was harsh and plain, cutting straight to the core.

Gary sniffed and moved his fingers, finding a better hold on Avocato’s palm.

“Yeah, it fucking sucked.”

Avocato wasn’t sure whether he was doing a good or terribly bad thing for his heart, but he tugged Gary closer, letting their shoulders brush, squeeze together like they were two pieces of a puzzle.

“You can hold onto me if you’re scared.” Avocato whispered, feeling like in the spreading void his voice was still ten times louder, shaking the waves in the air around them.

And he really meant it. He wanted to do that. He wanted to be that. Someone better. Someone more.

They weren’t living in calm times, no, they were far away from that. They had to escape countless bounty hunters and people with personal vengeances. They were wanted people, always on the run. The calm times were sparse with the rip to Final Space getting bigger and bigger with every passing day and Titans peeking curiously and dangerously at them from behind the broken threads.

All of them were scared. And all of them needed someone more.

Gary moved closer, wrapping his other hand around Avocato’s arm and almost snuggling him, but not letting go of his palm.

“Thanks.”

Avocato wanted to say that it was no problem, but his mouth failed him.

***

Not many people and aliens liked to talk with Avocato. He didn’t have problems with that. He wasn’t overly talkative person. He could keep up a conversation  if he needed to and he could give orders, but beside that he preferred to remain silent.

Especially when it came to sharing something personal. This was a giant leap of trust he didn’t think anyone should do towards him.

Yet Gary did just that. He shared his secrets, fears, passions with Avocato like it was the most normal thing to do. And Avocato didn’t feel that he was good enough to be gifted with all of those things.

He didn’t deserve any of that. Gary should have come with it to other people on the crew, but not him. Definitely not him.

“Nightfall, Gary you have to jump!” Quinn, standing next to him, shouted into the mic, holding it closer to her mouth to be audible above the clouds of explosions going off around them.

The heavy breathing was getting louder in Avocato’s own com.

“We kinda have our hands full right now.” Came Nightfall’s voice, filled with huffs and puffs and sounds of blasters going on and on.

Avocato barely could distinguish words between the noises of gunshots going off inside and outside the headset.

“Leave them be. The station is going to collapse soon. We’ll open the hangar door and catch you.”

“You better do that, because I don’t really – Shit!”

Avocato glanced at Quinn and nodded to each other, putting on the helmets and fastening the security ropes to their backs. The hangar door opened with a hiss as the vacuum sucked the whole air from the room, almost pushing them outside with the sudden gust of the force. They both kept their place, holding onto rails with one hand and preparing a gun to fire with the other.

The cosmic station K–27β was in utter disarray. Or the part of it that was still intact was quickly dissipating, shaken by the explosions and fire that roamed freely along the surface. The last tank with oxygen was exploding, fueling the fire and letting it combust more.

Just outside the ship there was a landing platform, barely holding onto the rest of the construction. It was squeaking and wheezing as too many pairs of feet scrambled across it, jumping and running around, dancing the Danse Macabre while trying to remain alive.

“I see them.” Quinn whispered into the com in her helmet and glanced at Avocato.

He could see them too, getting closer to the end of the platform, splitting their attention between checking where they were going and observing the crowd of aliens following them.

Avocato readied the weapon and shot five bullets, each and every one hitting the aliens that were pointing their guns at Nightfall.

The woman turned back and her eyes widened. Nightfall then turned to Gary, who was pretty occupied with shooting the aliens which were closest to him, and said something to him, which they barely heard through the com due to the sudden waterfall of shots.

“Little Cato get us closer.” Avocato said.

“On it.”

The ship moved closer, with the open door to the hangar hovering a few meters below the end of the platform.

Quinn sent out another round of plasma bullets, freeing Gary from the sudden anguish that was coming their way.

“Jump, now!” Quinn shouted.

“Nightfall, go! I’ll keep them occupied!”

“But–“

Avocato could see Gary throwing a small parcel at her – the main goal of their mission – and then moving to the front.

“The platform isn’t going to hold much longer. Now!”

Nightfall nodded and then leaped from the stand into the hangar.

For a moment Avocato wanted to move to catch her, but knew better not to do that, as the woman perfectly rolled on the ground and landed in a position with the gun raised up to kill two aliens that were getting too close for comfort.

Avocato was impressed, but he couldn’t watch for much longer as he had more important matters to tend to.

“Gary, now it’s your turn.” He said into the com of his helmet.

“A moment, I’m kinda in a middle of something!” Gary wheezed, rolling across the ground when one alien tried to stomp on him.

The station rattled as another giant explosion made one third of the ship crumble down, letting it float away while still burning like a comet. The aliens, which were standing closer to the edges, swayed and then fell down, moving their hands around to try to find something to hold on or grabbing their necks as the oxygen thinned out and they were left with nothing to breathe.

“Gary, the station is going to collapse! Jump!”

Through the connection Gary groaned heavily as he got up from his almost laying position and quickly glanced back at the three of them waiting for him.

“Okay, but you better –“

Everything shuddered.

This explosion was bigger than the ones before. It was bigger than each and every one before. It shook and rattled and wheezed and screamed and broke until there was almost nothing left.

The following blast of energy that erupted from the core of the station sent the Crimson Light a several meters away, covering their faces with blazing hot air that almost made it hurt to remain there.

The reinforcement of the platform broke in a few places, bending the whole construction to the side and letting aliens slip and fall down to their doom.

Unfortunately Gary was one of them. His hands clawed the metal surface, trying to find some kind of support to hold onto and not fall into the hollowness of the space that would clearly consume him in mere seconds. There was a long red streak of blood that wasn’t there before, running slowly and dripping onto the shirt.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, fuck, shit–”

Nightfall attached the gun to her back and ran forward, stopping next to Quinn and looking around, trying to find some kind of solution to the problem.

Gary clung to a broken metal panel with his dear and precious life.

“Little Cato, can you bring us closer?” Quinn asked, voice trembling at the last tone.

“No, I can’t. Even a meter closer and the heat will start melting the engines! We need to get outta here, fast!”

“We can’t leave Gary!”

Avocato had an idea. It was a very crazy idea which required a lot of trust and strength. And an interstellar amount of faith.

But it was the best idea he had right now, so he hid his gun and said into the com.

“Gary, I need you to let go!”

“What?!” Gary shrieked, waving his feet around like he tried to find a ground or floor that simply wasn’t there.

“You need to let go. I’ll catch you, don’t worry!”

Quinn and Nightfall looked at him surprised, eyes widening for a second, only for the look to be replaced with understatement in the next moment.

To be honest Avocato expected Gary to put up a bigger fight. Maybe whine and yell, maybe angrily, maybe fearfully. He expected shouts that he was crazy. He expected something more, something tremendous.

Yet what he received was something greater than that.

“Okay, okay, I trust you. On three!”

When the three came Gary let go of the metal panel and slipped, falling down into the void of the cosmos spreading beneath and around them.

Avocato had to be precise. A millisecond too fast or too late could cost him dearly. And he desperately didn’t want that. So he observed, waited patiently, twitched and recalculated everything one more time in his head, only to take a step back and then leap forward, clicking his boots to give himself a small boost.

There was a short spasm of time when he feared, when he was terribly afraid and scared that he was wrong, they he would miss and everything would be simply not okay.

But then he reached his hands forward, crashed into the body which fell down due to the last pull of gravity around the station that wheezed and coughed, giving out its final breath.

Avocato quickly wrapped his hands around the human, gripping tightly as not to accidentally let him slip past his fingers, due to the energy of the crash that made them swing down and then back and forth. His one hand moved higher to click a button and make a helmet envelope Gary’s head, who took a sweet deep breath when the material snuck into place.

The station crackled and shimmered with tiny burst of lights and flames going on in different sectors of the last remaining part of the construction that was now crumbling to its destruction.

It wasn’t a part of their plan, but well…

The rope holding them made them swing back and forth, straining itself at some parts, but nevertheless holding onto them strongly.

Avocato exhaled heavily, feeling the warm air coming from his own mouth on his face. His heart seemed like it tried to escape from his chest with the sudden rush of adrenaline that overtook his entire core. His hands subconsciously clung tighter to a body in his grasp.

Somewhere along the process Gary’s hands sneaked around him too and now tightened the hold on him.

Gary was breathing heavily too and if Avocato wasn’t mistaken he could feel the erratic heartbeat in his chest due to the close proximity.

“I got you, baby, I got you.” He whispered quietly, whether to himself or to Gary he wasn’t sure.

But the man definitely heard him as he let out a broken chuckle and lifted up his head.

And then he simply stared at Avocato. Stared for a long time with the blood still running down his forehead, across his cheek and chin to disappear in the folds of his clothes.

Yet there was something in his eyes, something enthralling, something exciting, something more that was burning in the nicest ways. Something familiar, yet never directed at him. Something comforting, yet scary, both in the same time.

“I may be a little lightheaded due to the hit to the head, but I must say that was hot as hell.”

“You almost dying while the station exploded in the background?” Avocato asked, raising his eyebrow, quite bewildered.

“No, not that. That was terrifying as fuck.”

There was a screech in their coms.

“We’re going to pull you in now, boys.”

The rope twitched and both of them were hauled back on the ship while Gary still looked at him with eyes shining and full of something Avocato couldn’t exactly name.

Or maybe that was wrong.

He was terrified to name it. Because if he did, it suddenly would become real.

And he was scared that he might be wrong.

***

Avocato wasn’t really an open person when it came to saying out loud things he was thinking. No, that was wrong. He was straight-forward, when someone asked about his opinion. He didn’t hit around bushes, preferring honest and painful truth to comfortable lie.

But there was a difference in the truth Avocato spoke and the truth Gary did.

He couldn’t really grab the concept. The point was Avocato had a lot of thoughts. They were cluttering his mind like tiny stars, swishing through the universe of his head. They were like cosmic dust and the matter that spread around. They were like meteorites, crashing on the surface of his tongue, they were like lonely comets, sometimes just passing through behind his eyes. But he kept them all behind his teeth, guarding them with pure passion. It was better to keep those thoughts for himself, hidden away from the world. They would bring him nothing good, just more awkwardness and hesitant laughs to hide what he was really feeling.

(Even when there were thousand things he wanted to say to Gary at very random parts of the day.)

Yet Gary seemed to just say out loud the first thing that popped into his mind. His sentences were often disjointed, messy, barely holding themselves together. Yet they were honest and comforting, warm at the finishing syllables, sometimes having a joking undertone.

But he always could say things that were on his mind and almost never seemed ashamed of doing so.

Which didn’t exactly help Avocato that much. When those were simple things, it was okay. A short compliment here and there was okay. Gary was naturally that kind of a person. Plus he always complimented other people too – Quinn, Nightfall, Hue, Mooncake and AVA.

Never KVN.

(Little Cato, Ash and Fox didn’t count. It seemed like if Gary could, he would shower them with praises. It seemed that after adopting Little Cato some kind of dad mode had been turned on and even since he couldn’t stop. Not that anyone minded, no matter how many times they groaned.)

Yet there was something different in a way Gary said things to him.

Or maybe Avocato was simply adding something, giving bigger and different meaning to things that were happening around him.

The whole point was that Gary was incredibly confusing. He did things that Avocato couldn’t clearly explain, nor could he understand. He did things that introduced other, different thoughts inside of Avocato. He did things that just fueled the hope that was sparkling, coming to life in his chest, like a star that was only now being born due to masses of gases gathering and mixing together.

He did things and Avocato yearned.

And it was a dangerous thing. Something that was slowly slipping through the fingers of his control, like a fog, a dust or a smoke, sublimating from something that had been once solid.

“Hey Brocato, what are you doing?”

“Oh uh staring?”

Avocato wasn’t sure how to answer that. He just had stopped walking from the control room to his room as the cloud of thoughts swarmed through his head. He had no higher reason than needing a break to simply think.

Gary smiled at him and then turned his head to look at the window where the never-ending cosmos was spreading around them, getting bigger and bigger with every passing second, consuming matter and atoms in its wake and forming something new, something incredible, dangerous, terrifying and exciting all in the same time.

But to be fair Avocato wasn’t staring at the universe. His eyes just wandered there to find some kind of buoyant to hook himself in just in case his mind would take him far away.

“Mind if I join in?” Gary asked, glancing at him and then returning his gaze to the vastness.

Avocato shrugged, feeling as his heart jumped high in his throat.

“You’re the Captain here.”

To be honest it was mean to be a joke. If anything Nightfall was the captain of the ship, the fearless leader who knew what fear tasted like, the strongest soul that knew the devastation and horrors of the world.

But Gary was, well, still close to the position.

And the sudden grin that he showed him was worth it, even if Gary didn’t exactly take it as a joke. Maybe it was better this way. The way where he could see that blinding, radiating smile.

So they stood next to each other, staring, looking at the universe, their closest companion and their biggest enemy, the greatest gift and the most terrible unknown that was there, ever changing, never a constant, always moving, shifting, switching.

But there was beauty to it.

For Avocato for a long time space and planets had been things to conquer, things to destroy, things that had marginal value if they hadn’t wanted to obey their laws.

However that had been wrong. He had known it back then. He knew it now.

Yet somehow he had never stopped to really admire what was in front of them, next to them and guiding them with the hands on their backs. Until now.

They didn’t speak for quite a long time. Too long time to call it comfortable. Even Avocato started to sense the awkwardness in a form of small prickles on his arms. He moved his hand to rub one shoulder and dared to steal a glance at Gary.

Who looked mesmerized as he looked into space. His eyes were so wide and there was this childish glint in them, a sudden spark, a collision of atoms which formed something incredibly new. It was a joy and fear, a happiness and nervousness, electrons and protons mixing together.

And Avocato felt pulled in, felt like there was a gravitational field so strong, so deep that he couldn’t fight it. It was tugging him forward and forward, closer and closer. Maybe in the end he was falling, moving fast through the hollowness towards the source.

But in this very moment he didn’t mind.

Avocato leaned closer, feeling the tug on his chest that dared him to go forward and he really wanted to do it. He was so close, so so close that he could count all the small scars on Gary’s face.

“It’s scary, isn’t it?”

Avocato blinked and moved quickly back, like a backslash of warm smoke and cosmic dust hit him in the face.

“What, what is scary?” He asked, feeling the need to clear his throat but stopping himself from doing so.

“Space, cosmos, universe…” Gary lifted his hands and swung them at the window. “… is scary.”

“I thought you loved it.”

“I did… I do…” He said, waving his metallic hand around like he tried to find the perfect words, the most suitable combination. “But it doesn’t mean I’m not afraid of it. Because I’m like hella super afraid of it.”

“Why are you scared of it?” Avocato asked, partly genuinely curious, partly to cover the sudden heat that covered his cheeks.

“Well uh for first it’s pretty big. Like super big. Enormous even!”

“And it’s still expanding.”

“Yeah, yeah, so it’s like totally super giant and like we are so incredibly tiny and small and in the biggest picture it doesn’t terrify you? The scale of it? This super big unknown around you?”

Avocato never really had thought about it. He had had bigger problems and worries to tend to before. And now, now he also thought about other things.

“I suppose so? I’m not sure, I never thought about it to be honest.” Avocato said, whispered it even as he stared at the world. Their world.

“Oh.”

There was a beat of silence, a sudden stillness to the air. It almost seemed like the space was inside the ship, wrapping them in its embrace and blocking all the sounds from moving through it.

“Are you scared now?” Avocato asked instead.

Gary glanced at him and shrugged.

“Depending on what you’re asking about.”

“Of space.”

“Not all the time, I’m not. Just when I start to really think about it.” Gary sighed and then moved his hand to scratch the back of his head. “Mostly when I was a kid and space was some faraway place I couldn’t exactly reach. Back then it really, really terrified me. Now the feeling is a little bit smaller. You know, not mini smaller but smaller.”

Avocato could understand the implication behind it, the hidden meaning, the truth radiating behind the words like some kind of wave made of invisible particle. The fear that had moved through the atmosphere was still there. Maybe in the end it never had left Gary’s body, his bones and muscles, had weaved itself into his heart.

It seemed like an everlasting patron on their journey.

“I mean, to be fair a lot of things scare me.” Gary continued, sniffing a bit. ”Now that I said it out loud, I noticed how dumb it sounded. Gosh, sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, you can just forget about it –“ The words poured from his mouth, swirling in the air, transforming into something new, something that coursed through Gary’s body and was making it tense and strain and Avocato didn’t want to see it.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He quickly said, moving his hand to put it on the human’s shoulder stopping the quivering movements that suddenly rattled the body. “Fear is normal.”

“Easy for you to say. You don’t look scared at all.” Gary huffed, hinting on a joking tone, but a sudden shiver appearing in the last word sold him out.

But Avocato was scared. He had been and was scared so many times. His life was a never ending stream of moments filled with terror so dark that sometimes it seemed like it could swallow him whole. A black hole that pulled everything into it.

“Very flattering of you to say, but I’m terrified like most of the time.” Avocato said, feeling the words scratching his throat.

Avocato felt really vulnerable.

“Really?” Gary asked, glancing at him.

There was something in his eyes, some hidden need, some kind of pulse that thrummed and beat and vibrated. Some kind of emotion Avocato couldn’t exactly name. Just something that made Avocato all messy inside.

Maybe it was hope, some kind of pure hope that crashed and rolled and dove, trying to catch onto something. Like a shooting star, terrified to fall down and yet hoping to rest on a safe land.

It was blinding, but it was also so so warm. Intoxicating, but sweet and bitter. Confusing, but familiar.

And it was true. Avocato had been and was afraid of many things. He was afraid of deep waters. He was afraid of losing his son, losing Gary, losing the crew and losing hope. He was afraid of new things and old stories. He was afraid to make choices that could tip the scale. He was afraid of the road they were taking.

But he wasn’t going to let that stop him from staying here.

So he nodded.

“Really.” He said, sliding his hand down, letting it hang near his body.

There was another pause, a sudden thrum of the cosmic heart that shook the universe. It was the silence which spread around them that made him focus on the heavily beating heart, on the warmness seeping into his fur and bones from the close proximity of the human, on the abrupt stillness and strange force that pushed them forward through time and space.

To where, they didn’t know.

There was a cold, a sudden stinging sensation near his paw, like a comet touched his fur, but then it quickly seeped into something warm. The feeling rested there, barely touching his skin for a few seconds, testing the ground, before it snuck closer, wrapping itself around Avocato’s palm and delicately laying there.

Avocato didn’t have to look down to know Gary caught his hand.

“You know, we can be scared together.” Gary quietly said, the voice almost lost to the stillness. “I know that won’t make the fear disappear, but well it could make it more tolerable. You know, sharing it with someone. And that someone could be me. So you know you wouldn’t have to be so scared anymore.”

Avocato let out a small laugh, a sudden chortle that seemed to simply rip out of his chest, tore through his throat like a rogue.

“Uh rude.” Gary said and moved his hand to dislocate it from Avocato’s palm.

But he didn’t let go. Avocato didn’t let him escape. He moved his fingers, interlocking them with Gary’s ones and gripping softly as to show that he was there. That he didn’t mean anything bad by it. That it was a reaction that simply had happened.

Gary stopped moving.

“Ah uh sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you, it just sounded ridiculous.”

Gary glared at him and Avocato simply knew that the man wanted to disappear.

So before Gary could pull away, he turned to the window and stared at the vast and scary space that was spreading in front of them.

“But I like it. Let’s be scared together.”

Avocato wanted and yearned and all his resolves were crumbling.

Gary was confusing like that, being able to destroy his every wall without even thinking and trying too much.

Avocato looked at the cosmos spreading in front of them, the vastness of possibilities and dangers and happiness and fear. And in this mess and haze he noticed a lone object falling down, leaving a sparkling trace after itself, disappearing a mere second later.

Gary tightened the grip on his hand.

For now he felt comfortable. He felt calm and content, even though there was a storm going outside. Their future was an unknown, it was an enigma, an undiscovered particle moving through the world.

But he had people he trusted around him. People he wanted to protect. People who were there for him. People he loved deeply. And, oh, how Avocato wished things would stay the same.

Only he knew it was wishful thinking.

to be continued

[dadspeed-appreciationsquad]

He'd be Proud of You

Set sometime between Gary adopting Little Cato and the Season 2 finale.

Little Cato has been plagued with nightmares since long before he met Gary, but this is the first time he felt inclined to seek comfort.

Little Cato shoots up in bed, his eyes are crazed and he has to bite on his fist to stop himself from screaming out. He sucks in a few breaths, trying to get his manic breathing under control to no avail. His chest hurts from how deeply he's breathing, if you can call it "breathing." Tears well in his eyes as he looks around the room. He can't remember exactly what made him so upset, but he knows deep down what it was.

He can just picture the snarl on his father's face. But this time, he wasn't possessed by Invictus. The snarl was directed strictly at Little Cato and what a disappointment he was. Avocato had left Little Cato to die alone. To wallow in his own shame.

He wipes his eyes and pulls his blanket off himself. He tries to steady his breathing by following the method that Gary taught him after witnessing Little Cato have a panic attack not too long ago, but it wasn't working very well. After taking a few deep breaths he stands, although a bit shaky and unstable, and he runs down the hall.

His feet hit the floor loudly due to the silence that drapes over the ship. He sniffs and quickly wipes his eye once more before he stops in front of Gary's door. Little Cato raises his hand to knock, but stops.

His thoughts plague him like a disease. Is he bothering Gary, by coming to him like this? He shakes his head. No, Gary wants you here. He wants you to feel safe. He said to come to him when he wasn't feeling well. Yeah but did he mean that or did he just say that to make you feel better?

Against his best judgement, he knocks on the door.

"Come in." Little Cato jumps at how quick the response was and nervously walks in. Gary is in his sleepwear, a tank top and some pajama pants. He's sitting in bed like he was just sleeping, but the bags under his eyes say he hasn't slept a wink.

"What's up kid? Is everything alright?" Gary rubs his eyes and gestures for Little Cato to come closer.

"I uh, yeah. I'm fine." Little Cato takes a step closer, but stops in the middle of the room. He begins to tap his foot against the ground. Gary waits for him to continue with a patient smile. "You know what? Th-this was stupid. I'm gonna go." Gary quickly moves to stand. He's kneeling on the bed, his arm slightly reached out, as if he wants to pull Little Cato to his chest and comfort him, but Gary stops himself before any of that ensues.

"Are you sure? We can talk about it if you'd like." Little Cato looks from the door to Gary. Gary offers a small smile and pats the bed.

"Do you want to sit?" Little Cato nods and walks over. Gary sighs and moves so he can comfortably lean back against the wall.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gary doesn't move to look at Little Cato, he just stares straight ahead of him. Little Cato thinks Gary does this to give him some privacy, as Gary knows Little Cato is still new to the whole idea of "expressing his feelings". It's almost as if Gary feels this will somehow help make him feel more comfortable.

Little Cato shakes his head. "I don't know." He says after realizing Gary wasn't looking at him. Gary turns his gaze to Little Cato, the young boy pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them close. His ears were flat against his head and his shoulders were tense. A few minutes pass as they sit in a tense, yet comforting silence. Just enjoying the heat radiating off the other and the company.

"I had a nightmare." Gary admits. Little Cato looks to Gary, slightly surprised.

"You did?" Gary nods.

"I have nightmares a lot lately." Gary laughs slightly as he says this. Little Cato looks to the ground and back to Gary nervously.

"What about?" Gary ponders for a moment.

"I used to have nightmares about the Lord Commander, with you know, the whole ripping my arm off thing." Little Cato winces. "But after your dad, you know, I started dreaming of him." Little Cato's eyes widen and he turns to face Gary completely.

"What do you dream of?" Gary sighs and pushes his head harder against the wall.

"Losing him." Gary sighs and rubs his forehead with his robot hand. "I always feel like I could've done more to save him. That's actually why I'm awake now." Little Cato sighs

"That's uh, why I'm here too."

"You had a nightmare?"

"Yeah, but it was different than usual. This time, it wasn't about losing my dad, it was," Little Cato pauses and bites his lip, "it was about him leaving me." Gary turns to Little Cato.

"When did he leave you?" Little Cato rolled his eyes and sighed.

"When didn't he? He left me when he was working with the Lord Commander, he left me to be imprisoned. And then," Little Cato pauses, "then he left me for good." Little Cato says sadly. Gary swallows and stares down at Little Cato.

"Avocato made a lot of mistakes. But the thing I admired most about him was his willingness to change. He wanted to be there for you, he would've done anything to save you." Little Cato tilted his head towards Gary.

"You think so?" Gary nodded.

"I admired your dad a lot." They sit in silence again. A few moments pass before Little Cato speaks in a quiet voice.

"Did….did you…love my dad?" Little Cato gazes up at Gary, he looks so small. It never occurred to Gary how young Little Cato really is. He's so mature for his age, but how can you not be mature when going through what he had to? Well, right now he looks his age, 14, a young, small boy that shouldn't have to face the roughest side of the world as often as he does.

"Yeah. I loved your dad." Gary sighed contently. He's never said it out loud before, but it felt right saying it.

Little Cato smiled. "He's pretty great isn't he?" Gary smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, he's the best." Gary said matter-of-factly. Little Cato bit his lip and looked away.

"Could you… could you tell me… about him?" Gary scooted down the bed and fell back. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

"Well we met because he was trying to kill me."

"That's just how my dad makes friends." Gary laughed and Little Cato lied down next to him.

Gary waved his hands around excitedly as he told the young boy of all the adventures him and his dad went on, and all the things they did to save him. He spoke highly of their friendship and what it meant to Gary. Gary may have exaggerated his and Avocato's awesomeness in most of his stories, but who was going to correct him?

Little Cato listened intently to each of his stories. Absorbing every piece of information he could learn about his dad.

"I wish I would've gotten to know him more. The him without the Lord Commander." Little Cato shook his head and sat up. "Its like, I don't even know who he is. I was gone for 3 years, people change in that amount of time, he doesn't even seem like the same person I knew before…before everything." Little Cato's ears flatten against his head and he scrunches up his face, refusing to let tears fall. Gary sits up as well and pats Little Cato on the back.

"His personality may have changed bro, but his love for you never did. I didn't know him for long and he never talked about himself. But one thing I knew for sure was that he'd do whatever it took to get you back. He loved you kid."

"I just wish it didn't cost him, well him." Gary nodded. "And I wish I got to tell him that I loved him too."

"He knows little buddy. Just know that he'd be so proud of you Little Cato. Of the man you're growing to be." Gary swallowed and took a deep breath. He carefully thinks of how to address this situation without overstepping and making Little Cato feel worse. "I'm sorry he can't be here to see it, I know what it feels like to be alone like this." Gary leaned down slightly so he was level with Little Cato, he places his hand on Little Cato's shoulder and offered a smile as he turns Little Cato to face him. "I just hope you know that you aren't alone. Not here, not while I'm alive. I've got your back kid, for life." Little Cato smiled and wiped his eyes.

"Thanks Gary." Little Cato looked down before back up at him. He launched at Gary and wrapped his arms around his neck. Gary stumbled back slightly but was able to catch himself before falling against the bed. Gary paused as he took in what was happening, as he took in the warmth that surrounded Little Cato, and is that purring he's hearing?

"Anytime bud." Gary wrapped his arms around Little Cato tightly.

Little Cato places his hands against Gary's neck, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat luring him to sleep in a few moments. Gary smiles when he sees that Little Cato is finally getting some sleep. Gary brushes some of the blue hair out of his face and leans down to kiss his forehead.

"Goodnight Spider-Cat." Little Cato snuggles closer, oh that's definitely purring.

"Goodnight Dad."

[randomfandomfamily]

Avocato finally telling his son verbally he loves him and is proud of him

---

Hm... feel like Gary might have a few things to say on that, huh?

It had been a really long friggin’ day. Gary wasn’t actually sure what classified as day and night in this place, but the past several hours had definitely been rough. Too many close calls with too many strange things, not to mention the Titan that almost got ahold of the Crimson Light.

Seriously, those things were way scarier when they were up close and trying to grab your ship like a toy.

But, stressful as it was, everyone held it together. The kids, especially, did absolutely fantastic. Between Ash’s thingy-thing, Fox’s gun, and Little Cato general enthusiasm about everything, they were pretty much an unstoppable trio, and Gary was continuously impressed with them. And also kind of afraid in a ‘the kids could take over the ship and literally none of us could stop them but I love them so that’s alright’ kind of way.

“Great job today, guys!” Gary patted Ash’s head. She smiled a bit through her mess of pink hair, though she did her best to hide it. “At this rate, the Titans will be more afraid of us than we are of them!” He looked up at Fox. “How’s your arm, big guy?”

“Not too bad.” Fox inspected his right arm. “I think my gun took most of the damage. Gonna need to do some repairs.” He nudged Little Cato beside him. “Think you can help me out?”

Little Cato hummed. “I’m not too familiar with bioengineering. Not really sure how everything connects to your arm and all. We could ask HUE though, he could guide me through… whatever process we need to fix you up.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Avocato said as he took off his helmet. “That’s gonna require a steady hand, son.”

Little Cato smiled. “Well, yeah, I know that. I can-”

“As shaky as you were on the turret today?” Avocato asked. “Might wanna ask Quinn to help you, Fox.”

Gary frowned. “Now, hang on-”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Little Cato shrugged. “Could have been a little steadier.” He gestured for Fox to follow him. “Come on! Let’s go get Quinn.”

“I’m coming too!” Ash said excitedly, floating after Fox and Little Cato about two inches off the ground. “I wanna watch Quinn fix his arm!”

Avocato started after them, “And I’ll start weapon inventory. After today, we’re gonna need-” Gary held out an arm to stop him. “Gary?”

He waited until the door closed behind the kids before saying, “Dude, what the hell was that?”

“What the hell was what?”

Gary looked at him in disbelief. “That line of total crap you just told Little Cato! What was that?”

“All I said was he could have been steadier on the turret. What’s wrong with that?”

“Because the kids kicked ass today,” Gary said, “ Little Cato helped fight a Titan, and the first thing you do is tear him down like-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Avocato interrupted. “I am not tearing him down.”

Gary crossed his arms. “Okay, so what do you think you were doing?”

Avocato shrugged. “It’s motivation.”

“Motivation to do what, exactly?” Gary asked. “Because telling a kid who shot up a goddamn Titan that his hand wasn’t wasn’t steady enough to help his friend doesn’t sound like motivation to do anything.”

“He wasn’t even sure what to do,” Avocato pointed out.

“And you think Quinn does? She’s an amazing pilot, a whiz at math, and amazing at pretty much anything she does,” Gary said, “But she is not a doctor. Or an engineer!”

Avocato’s tail flicked in agitation. “I already told you-”

“Motivation?” Gary finished. “But you never answered my question, Avocato: Motivation for what?” Gary narrowed his eyes when Avocato huffed in response. What the hell was this? He’d never seen Avocato like this before. Grumpy, yes. Blunt, sure. But this was ridiculous. “I’m serious, Avocato. Tell me what you’re trying to motivate him to do.”

“I want to motivate him to do better!’ Avocato exclaimed.

“By telling him he’s doing bad?” Gary shot back, trying not to yell in retaliation. “He’s the most experienced engineer on the ship. And just told him that someone else, who is not an engineer, would do a better job than him at fixing a mechanical arm!”

Avocato crossed his arms. “What should I have said then?”

Gary rubbed his face. “Oh my god, Avocato.”

“What?!”

“He’s your son!” Gary said. “Can’t you think of a single positive thing to say to him? Does his life have to be in danger before you start being nice?”

Avocato recoiled, looking horrified. “Of course not!”

“Then how come the only time I’ve ever heard you say anything positive is when we were saving him from the Lord Commander?”

“That is not true!”

“So when was the last time you told Little Cato you were proud of him?!”

“That’s ridiculous, Gary, I-!” Avocato blinked. “It… hold on…”

Gary could see Avocato’s distress, but he was too angry to slow down. “You ever tell Little Cato you love him?” Avocato opened his mouth to answer, but Gary cut him off. “It’s a rhetorical question, Avocato! I already know the answer, because Little Cato already told me you haven’t!”

“Wait-”

“The kid friggin’ adores you, Avocato. Despite all the shitty things you did to him, he looks up to you and admires you above anything else!” Gary jabbed Avocato in the chest. “Little Cato went to war for you. Not for the Earth, not for me, for you! He tried taking on the Lord Commander--alone, might I add--for you. He was willing to be stuck in the past just so we could bring you back! And he would have done it too if I hadn’t taken his place!”

“I…”

“Everything Little Cato has ever done, he did it for you, and you can’t even tell the kid you love him?!”

The sound of the door opening made both of them turn. Little Cato smiled as he walked in. “Hey Dads! Quinn is helping Fox with his arm, but they’re having a bit of trouble.”

Gary’s forced his hands to unclench. He probably went overboard yelling at Avocato, and he didn’t want Little Cato to know they had been arguing.

Little Cato continued, apparently unaware of the tension in the room. “But I remembered that you helped Gary attach his metal arm and thought- well, it’s not exactly the same because Fox has a mechanical life support system, but you still might be able to help Quinn.”

Avocato pushed past Gary. “Avocato,” Gary warned, hoping that whatever came out of his friend’s mouth wasn’t something destructive.

“Dad?” Little Cato frowned. “Are you- whoa! Okay!” Avocato wrapped his arms around Little Cato tightly, and the teen didn’t seem sure what to do about it. He looked to Gary for an explanation, but Gary knew this was between Avocato and Little Cato.

It wasn’t really his place to say anything right now. He’d already said his piece.

Receiving no answer from Gary, Little Cato glanced up at Avocato. “Uh… Dad? You okay?”

“I’m sorry, son.”

Little Cato’s brow furrowed. “For what?” He pulled away from the hug and looked Avocato up and down. “Seriously, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Avocato replied, “I just… what I said earlier-”

“That? Dad, don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” Little Cato shrugged. “It’s just how you are. I get it.”

Avocato shook his head. “No, it’s not fine.” He knelt so that he was eye-to eye with Little Cato. “You are the greatest kid I know, and I’m not saying that because I’m biased either.”

Little Cato laughed. “Dad, come on-”

“I’m serious,” Avocato said, “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don’t tell you that enough.”

Gary leaned against the wall, his anger dissolving as he watched the conversation play out.

Avocato put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “Son, I know I’m not the best father. I’m pretty damn far from it. But please know that I mean it when I say I love you, Little Cato. I love you so much.”

Little Cato looked confused. “Huh?” Gary felt another twinge of annoyance. The concept of Avocato saying I love you shouldn’t be so foreign. But he knew Avocato was making an effort, so he said nothing.

“I said ‘I love you’, Little Cato,” Avocato repeated. “I know I don’t say it enough--or ever. But I should. And I’m going to.”

After a few seconds of silence, Little Cato said, “I know you love me, Dad… but I gotta be honest, it is kinda nice to hear you say it out loud.”

“I’m sorry for not saying it sooner,” Avocato apologized. “Now…” He stood and offered a smile. “Should we go see what we can do about Fox’s arm?”

“Oh! Yeah, probably. Quinn’s been struggling a bit since she’s never really done anything like this before but…”

Little Cato continued talking as Avocato glanced back at Gary. Raising an eyebrow, Gary asked, quiet enough that Little Cato didn’t hear. “Was that so hard?”

Avocato chuckled and followed after his son. Gary sighed when the door closed. He really hadn’t meant to yell at Avocato, but damnit if Little Cato didn’t need to hear those words. Maybe he’d apologize to Avocato a little later for his harsh words, but for now, he’d just let the Ventrexians enjoy each other’s company for a while.

[metamorphicrocky]

Neither is He

did the discord just start going off an angst earlier? yes. did I start thinking about s3 angst between Gary, Little Cato, and Avocato? yes. so did I write this? absolutely :)

Ever since the Crimson Light went into Final Space, Avocato has been very confused.

Which is to be expected, seeing as how he died and then was brought back to life only to be possessed right up until he was flung into a nightmare dimension with his friends and a bunch of strangers.

Was everything explained to him? Yes, Gary and Little Cato did an...enthusiastic retelling of the events. But is he still utterly lost? Oh, absolutely.

Avocato has never been someone who likes being in the dark, so their current situation has put him seriously on edge for the past few weeks. He doesn't know what to expect in this new environment with a new crew, and the new developments between a certain two have to be the most unexpected parts of this whole thing if he's being honest.

"Hey, Dad?" Little Cato asks, peering his head around the entrance way into the bridge.

"Yes?" Avocato says at the same time as Gary says, "Yeah, buddy?"

The two men look at each other, and Gary flicks his eyes away when he notices the slight annoyance in Avocato's expression.

The kid doesn't even bat an eye at the very slight tension in the room. "Do you wanna go do something in the arcade?"

Avocato watches as Gary smiles and jumps up, bounding over the kid to ruffle his hair and smirk. "Oh, you wanna get beat again, little man?"

Little Cato smirks back, crossing his arms, "Oh, you're wrong on that. I'm gonna beat you so good, Thunder Bandit!" Then, he turns towards Avocato. "Dad, you coming?"

The Ventrexian stays silent for a moment, staring at the way Gary's hand naturally sits on top of his son's head and how Little Cato's tail wraps around Gary's leg unconsciously. The two of them interact like they've known each other for years, not the few months that Avocato knows it's been.

"No thanks," he states plainly.

Little Cato's face falls slightly almost in tandem with Gary's doing the same. "Are you sure?" the human asks, raising an eyebrow. "We could fit a game of cards in?"

He shakes his head. "I'm good."

Gary and Little Cato glance at each other, then together, they walk out of the room. Almost instantly, Avocato can hear their distant excited chatter over what games to play and the two of them playfully egging each other on.

His best friend adopted his son. That's a reasonable thing to do when someone dies, but Avocato is more than alive now. Yes, he asked Gary to take care of him, and he's grateful that his friend took on that responsibility....

But now? There isn't any reason why Gary should still be in that role.

A blooming anger forces a low growl from Avocato as he ruminates on the bridge.

----

Avocato yawns as he walks out of the bridge after his shift, Tribore taking his place. He is so ready to sleep in his room and not think about the floating corpses that he sees every second of the day.

As he's marching tiredly to his room, he hears some quiet talking in the hallway up ahead. He stops in his tracks and sneaks towards the corner to see who's there. He leans out from his hiding spot, only for Gary and Little Cato to be in his sight.

He freezes in place, watching as Gary cards a hand through the boy's fur. His friend is holding the boy tight to his chest as Little Cato clings to Gary's shirt, trembling fiercely. The shine of tears glisten on the kid's cheeks under the dim light of the ship's hallway, and Avocato frowns.

Little Cato hiccups, burying his head into Gary's stomach miserably.

"It's okay, bud. Let it all out," Gary soothes. "You're on the Crimson Light with me. We're both alive, and you're not alone. You're safe, okay?"

"I'm–I'm safe," Little Cato tries to say in between sobs.

Gary nods, rubbing the Ventrexian's back. "Yeah, you're safe with me."

The kid takes a few more moments to calm down, then he loosens his grip on Gary's shirt and hugs him instead.

"Do you know how you got here?" Gary questions softly.

"I had a nightmare about...," his son mumbles too quietly, so Avocato misses what he says. "I woke up and went to get you, then you brought us out here in case I woke anyone up."

Little Cato specifically wanted Gary?

"Good job, can you tell me anything else?" his friend encourages softly.

"I'm fourteen. You're thirty-two. You're real. We're in Final Space."

"There you go!" Gary smiles fondly at the boy. "Feeling more grounded?"

The boy nods, and Gary plants a soft kiss to the top of Little Cato's head. He snuggles into his adoptive dad as Gary starts rambling about something random.

Avocato finally stops his spying, disgruntled that he feels like a stranger over checking into his own son's well being. He glares at the wall across from him and walks away.

The next morning, the only sign that Little Cato was ever upset is the way Gary is extra affectionate towards the kid. Neither of them talk about it.

The anger in Avocato's chest grows.

----

The more Gary and his son interact, the more annoyed Avocato is.

He needs to fix this. His relationship with his son was going to be rough to navigate through, and Avocato was well aware of that fact. But this is ridiculous, the kid is with his friend more than his biological father.

Right now, Little Cato is in his room according to the weird girl.

Avocato strides down the hallway, then knocks on the kid's door. Little Cato opens it after a few seconds, and his blank expression turns into excitement when he sees his dad.

"Hey, Dad! What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could do a little father-son bonding," Avocato says, smiling at his son.

The boy lights up, pumping a fist in the air. "Yes! That is tight! I'll go grab Gary!"

Avocato's face scrunches up in confusion, and he grabs his son's shoulder before he can run off. He laughs awkwardly as the kid stops and tilts his head. "I was thinking just the two of us?"

"But...you said father-son bonding?"

Little Cato's confused expression shockingly resembles Gary's, and he tries to ignore it.

"Just us today. It'll be just like old times, right?"

His son still looks confused, and maybe even a little worried, but he puts on a smile anyways. "Um, okay. What are we doing?"

Avocato smiles, knowing that his son is going to love this. He leads him to the weapons room and spreads his arms out, gesturing towards the array of guns set out.

"We're gonna fix these babies up, just like we used to!"

Avocato's ecstatic smile drops when he sees the boredom already on his son's face, but Little Cato scrambles to appear excited when he notices his father looking at him.

"Well," Avocato says, at a loss for words for one of the first times in his life, "Let's, uh, get going!"

They both sit down and begin working in silence. Avocato is content enough with the calm quiet and rudimentary cleaning and replacing of parts. Little Cato, on the other hand, looks like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Hey, that's a GXV-76 over there. You always wanted one of those, so I'll let you deal with that one," Avocato says, knowing that his son will at least enjoy that.

Instead of the expected reaction, his son stiffens as he sees the gun, and he laughs nervously. "You can do that one. I'm kinda over those now, anyways."

"Well, what's your new favorite blaster, then?"

Little Cato shrugs. "Dunno, haven't really thought about it much."

Well, that's new to Avocato. His son not being obsessed with weapons of all kinds? Come to think of it, the gun he uses now is one that he had no interest in previously.

They fall into an awkward silence again.

"So, uh, what's some stuff you did before all of this?" Avocato tries to ask, hoping he doesn't come off as pushy.

"Other than trying not to die, a bunch of stuff. Ash taught me how to paint nails. Gary's been giving me homework and stuff since there isn't a school in this area." Little Cato laughs at his own joke. "Oh! Gary and I play this game called—!"

"How about something that doesn't involve Gary?" Avocato cuts in, a little too forcefully. "Something that's just Little Cato."

The young Ventrexian's face falls, the excitement draining from his eyes. He shrugs. "I don't know? Everything's been so hectic lately, and when we were first on the ship, I was with Gary most of the time."

The conversation falls as Avocato's increasing frustration with this bonding activity makes its presence known. This is not going according to plan.

Does Gary really have that much of an influence over his son?

As if the universe just wants to make Avocato's life as difficult as possible, Gary happens to walk by the room. The blond stops as he notices them, bounding into the room with a bright smile on his face.

"There you two are! I've been looking all over for you!" Avocato doesn't miss how Little Cato brightens like the rising sun when Gary comes. "You two wanna get in on a team squad BS game?"

His son leaps out of his seat, running up and doing a weird handshake with Gary. The two of them laugh when they finish, and Avocato's chest tightens.

Gary's smile turns towards his best friend, the signature Gary Goodspeed smile that Avocato knows from back when everything made sense.

"What d'you say, buddy? Ready to get beat by me yet again?"

He smiles tightly. "Oh, just you wait, baby. I'll finish this up and be there in a few."

His son nods and bounces out of the room, trailing on Gary's heels to go be with the rest of the crew.

The anger morphs into rage.

----

Another night of Little Cato going to Gary for comfort over him, even though they were in the same room at the time.

Little Cato has a panic attack one day, and Gary is the one to calm him down.

They dance to some music called Loggins.

Little Cato wrestles and spars with Gary.

Gary ruffles his son's hair.

Gary plays games around the ship with his son.

Gary is the first to praise his son when he does something impressive.

Gary and Little Cato.

Gary and his son.

Gary and his son.

Gary and his son.

The rage consumes him.

----

"Gary, we need to talk about something."

The blond turns around, an open expression on his face. "Yeah? What's up, man?"

Avocato doesn't sit down across from Gary. He stands over him, a deep frown on his face.

"You can stop fathering Little Cato, you know."

Gary's face scrunches in confusion—just like Little Cato—as his mouth opens and closes as he tries to process his friend's words. He moves his hands around aimlessly, not knowing how to react.

Finally, he speaks, "What?" Confusion laces his voice.

"I know that you had to do it while I was gone, but now that I'm back, you can step back now, Gary. You don't have to do everything for him anymore," Avocato states.

Gary laughs incredulously. "Avocato, I don't think I can just stop being his dad."

"Yes, you can! It's simple!" he growls in frustration.

Gary stands and stares into Avocato's eyes, searching for something within them. He looks for a solid few seconds, and he steps back when he doesn't find what he's looking for, his face portraying the definition of devastation.

"You're serious?"

"Yes, why would I joke about this?"

Gary splutters. "Because you sound ridiculous! Do you even know what you're saying?!"

"Gary! Yes! I can parent him on my own, just like it was supposed to be before everything!" Avocato shouts.

"I can't just stop," his friend says sadly. "It'll crush the kid to lose another person."

The Ventrexian waves off his concerns, rolling his eyes. "He's a tough kid, he'll get over it."

Gary crosses his arms, lifting an eyebrow as a challenge. Avocato glares at him in response, not appreciating how Gary has been way too eager to keep his son so far.

"Do you really know that, Avocato? You haven't been around the kid in over three years; he's not the son you knew anymore," he states calmly. "He–he won't react the way you think he will, trust me, buddy."

Avocato scoffs. "Yeah, the reason why I don't know my own son anymore is because you changed him! He doesn't even care about GXV-76's anymore, and he loves them!"

Gary stops at that. "Is that the yellow gun? With the curved handle?"

He huffs in response, nodding his head as his rage continues to grow.

His friend groans, burying his bead into his hands and then throwing them out with frustration. "He tried to kill himself with that gun! This is why I'm trying to tell you that you don't know anything about him anymore!"

"He what?" Avocato whispers, glaring at Gary in shock. Fury overcomes him as he shouts, "No wonder the boy is so fucked up. The only reason I don't know my son anymore is because of you!"

"Avocato—"

"No!" He's seething, his chest rising erratically. "Gary, this is my job, and I don't want you to keep taking my kid away from me!"

Gary's face is white as a ghost, his hands shaking. "I just want to help you guys, that's all. Isn't it better to have more people in the kid's corner? Helping out?"

"Help is fine, but you're not doing that," he growls. "You can't take my son away from me!"

"...Dad?"

Gary and Avocato whip their heads towards the doorway, and there stands Little Cato, Mooncake trailing behind him. The boy's eyes are dilated, fear reflecting across his face.

"What's going on?" Little Cato whispers, his voice shaking.

"Don't worry about it, buddy. It's just a dad to dad conversation," Gary says, somehow managing to sound calm.

"But—"

Gary smiles encouragingly at the boy, but the kid just keeps looking between Avocato's angry and surprised face and the other man. "It's okay, Spidercat."

Avocato groans, "This is what I'm talking about, you need to stop!"

"Okay, Avocato, this is clearly not the time," Gary tries to reason, and for some reason, he's still so fucking calm.

"Tell me what's going on," Little Cato pleads, walking up to his dads.

"Buddy, it's fine—"

"No, you two are upset—"

"And I said it's—"

"Tell me, please!"

"Spidercat, not now—"

"Yes, now—"

"Enough!" Avocato roars, silencing them both instantly. Both of their shocked faces—they look so alike—turn towards him. "Boy, get the hell out of here!"

Little Cato flinches back at his dad's tone, full of rage and hatred and weeks of pent up emotions, and tears pool in his eyes. Avocato hears gasps from the hallway, and he turns towards the other members of the ship all crowded around the doorway.

His attention is brought back to Gary when the man grabs him by the shoulder, heatedly forcing him to turn around. Avocato's glower drops from his face when he sees one on Gary's, the emotion of pure fury looking wrong and foreign on the generally happy guy's face.

"Don't you ever yell at him like that again," Gary says, quiet and strong like an incoming storm. Avocato notices that Little Cato has moved to stand next to Gary. "This kid is the best thing that will ever happen to either of us, okay? He's my son as much as he is yours, whether you like it or not. If he gets the chance to have more than one parent, I will never take that opportunity away from him."

Little Cato's head whips up to stare at Gary in what looks to be fright, then he stares at Avocato in shock. "You don't want him to be my dad anymore?"

The raw hurt in his son's voice causes Avocato to falter in his rage, pausing momentarily before continuing on his rampage. "You have me now! And all you've been doing is spending time with him over me! I barely know you anymore!"

Little Cato shakes his head, his face absolutely distraught.

Gary moves to stand slightly in front of his son, something that Avocato cannot let slip from his notice. "Avocato," Gary says calmly. "Come on, man! Let's not fight, you're obviously upset and not thinking straight."

"You stole my son away from me!"

"He didn't steal me," Little Cato says firmly, his voice cracking. It slows his anger. "I want both of you to be my dads!"

Something inside of Avocato—something fierce and powerful and conflicting, that feels almost familiar—sparks. His glare sharpens as he growls, throwing his arms out furiously. A culmination of everything, especially the way his own son is cowering behind the man that stole him away, lights that spark.

"You would choose him over your own father?!" Avocato screams, guttural and full of rage like the force of a typhoon.

The sound almost echoes, fading into a dead silence. Little Cato and Gary have blank expressions on their faces, but his son's quickly turns into one of horror as he steps out from behind Gary and—

click

Avocato is frozen in place, staring down the barrel of a gun that must not have been one that Little Cato tried to commit suicide with, because his son has a gun pointed directly at his chest. Little Cato's face is a mix between terrified and determined, his eyes sharp, yet they almost have the appearance of being empty. The tears shine against his fur where they fall. No one is making a sound or moving, the tension almost tangible.

"Little Cato," Avocato breathes, shocked beyond belief.

"I'm not letting you shoot him again!" his boy screams, his arms shaking from holding his gun so tight.

Avocato glances to Gary, who also looks horrified at the kid in front of him. The blond slowly moves to be in front of Avocato, and Little Cato's facial expression stays the same. Gary gently kneels down in front of his son and whispers, "Buddy, it's Gary. Everything's okay, no one is trying to kill anyone."

The boy shakes his head. His eyes remain glossed over. "No no no, he's gonna kill you! He's mad at you and me and he's gonna try to kill us," the kid cries.

"We're on the Crimson Light. Avocato and I just got into a bit of an argument—," Gary takes this pause to glare at the Ventrexian who's still frozen in spot. "—that got pretty heated. Something upset you, but everything is fine right now."

Little Cato sobs. "No, he's gonna kill you! He thinks you stole me from him!"

Gary takes in a shaky breath. "No, he doesn't, Spidercat. You can put down the gun."

"But—"

Gary gently places his hands on top of Little Cato's, pushing it down to face the floor when the boy offers no resistance to the motion. The gun clatters to the floor as Little Cato's grip slackens. His eyes focus again, and he starts blinking rapidly through the tears. He glances at the two men in front of him, his eyes widen, then he bursts into sobbing as he falls to the ground. Gary catches him and holds him protectively in his arms, quickly whispering reassurances and comforting words to him.

Avocato steps back, his eyes wide and breath coming fast as everything that has happened comes crashing into clarity. He did this to his son.

"Gary, I—," Avocato starts, but Gary's heated glare shuts him up.

"Don't say a single word right now," he orders, his voice staying scarily calm.

He stands, picking up Little Cato into his arms and holding the boy's head to his shoulder. He tosses a sideways glance towards Avocato, making the Ventrexian back away from them. As Gary enters the hallway, the crew parting to let him through, a sobbing boy in his arms, he stops.

Everything is silent for several moments other than the sound of crying, then Gary says in a frigid voice, "None of you let him out of here."

He walks away with Little Cato, and Avocato falls to his knees, punching the ground with a shaking fist.

The rage dies.

----

"I don't even think I could possibly tell you how mad I am right now," Gary says, the rage buried within the usually easygoing man making itself clear.

Avocato doesn't lift his gaze from his hands in his laps as he sits hunched over on a bench.

Gary sighs and slams down in the spot next to him. "If you ever try to do that to Little Cato again, I will not hesitate to snap on you."

"Noted," Avocato says.

The two stay silent as Gary leans back and crosses his arms. Avocato doesn't want to see the anger on Gary's expression because of the guilt swirling viciously inside of him, and his friend's reaction will only make it worse.

Would Gary even want to be his friend after this?

"I'm sorry."

"You should be."

Avocato wants to voice his need to apologize to his son, but Gary probably knows that and won't let him even near the kid. Honestly, Avocato agrees. He hurt his son badly and his best friend, too.

A sniffle makes him finally look at Gary, only to see the blond wiping tears away.

He reaches a hand out, maybe for comfort, but retracts it almost immediately. "Gary—"

"I had Ash and Fox hide all of the guns on the ship while Little Cato cried himself to sleep again. I had to tell him that it wasn't his fault that he pulled a gun on his father again," Gary whispers, his voice cracking again. He finally looks at Avocato, and the stress on his face makes Avocato's heart clench. "That it wasn't his fault that you didn't want me to be his dad anymore.

"It doesn't matter if we don't agree on parenting decisions or whatever, Avocato. The kid isn't gonna see it like that. He's been through so much, he can't lose a dad again. I don't care if you don't want me to do it, and I can't blame you for it...but he isn't the son you knew. You have to accept that."

Gary sighs, scrubbing his face tiredly and blinking away stray tears. "What you did to him just now, and in the past, you're gonna have to work hard to earn that trust back."

"What if he doesn't want me back?" Avocato chokes out.

Gary looks him dead in the eyes, complete exhaustion radiating from his body. "You're just going to have to live with it." The human squeezes his shoulder as he stands up, walking towards the entryway. He stalls, his hand holding the wall and his back towards Avocato. "I'll tell you when our son can handle looking at you without feeling immense guilt."

Then he walks away, almost stumbling from how mentally exhausted he has to be.

A large part of his brain knows that Gary will never forgive him for the way he has treated Little Cato, and he deserves that. He may not've had a strong relationship with his boy, but now they're starting from square one.

A tear slips down his cheek, and he wipes it away with his thumb.

In the void where rage once burned, regret floods over the ashes.

[coffie-coffieraptorstudios]

So. What is that Ventrexian doing outside in the cold rain??? You could catch a cold out there!

Gary helps the stranger to the couch and getting the towel from when they were drying Moonkit and hands it to him. The Ventrexian started to slowly dry himself off, though it wasn’t having much effect on how deeply soaked his fur was.

“So... what’s your name? N-not that you have to answer it’s just... yaknow... you did save my little buddy and all.” Gary asked the stranger, who was continuing to gently dry himself.

“...’s Garth...” They slurr softly. Gary smiles a little getting an answer out of him. But his smile fades as he finally gets a good look at him in the light. His fur is (not only soaked) but very thin and scruffy, even less than Avocato’s (who had thin hair for a Ventrexian), his eyes had dark bags under them, he was visibly trembling, and something he had noticed even when they’d found him with Moonkit, he had a big chunk out of his ear.

“...see somethin’ ya like human...?” The Ventrexian mumbles with a slight chuckle. Gary snaps out of his thoughts. “Oh s-sorry. It’s just... your not looking too good.” Garth sighs and rubs between his eyes gently. “...been rough lately... just catchin’ up to me is all...”

“Oh... what got to you?” Gary asks timidly as he glances at the Ventrexian’s clipped ear. “This? Nah. It’s old... had it for years... Damn Tryvuulian scum...” Garth mutters to himself as he flicks his wounded ear slightly in annoyance.

“So... why were you out in the rain?? Why weren’t you at home??” Gary noticed the striped Ventrexian’s averted gaze after he asked that. “...don’ live anywhere... I just keep on the move until my body can’t keep movin’... then I just crash n’ wait until I’m ready to move more...”

Gary felt a pain in his heart hearing this... he instantly remembered when he and Avocato had to do the exact same thing... he knew what it was like very well... he knew the pain...

“Wait here one second. I’ll be right back.” Gary says as he gets up and heads down the hall to the bathroom. Garth just mumbles and shakes some excess water off his fur, shivering more. Seconds later, Gary’s coming back with another larger towel and a bowl of warm water and a washcloth. The human then sits by the Ventrexian and wraps the second towel around him. “...you don’t have to do this yaknow human... you really oughta just chase me off like everyone else I run into...”

“Come on... I told you, this is the LEAST I can do to thank you for finding Moonkit..! Besides... I know what you’ve gone through and I wanna help you.” Gary says comfortingly as he gets the washcloth wet with warm water and starts to brush it against the Ventrexian’s fur, which he sees Garth relax more at the nice warm touch...

“You need to at least get your strength back before you leave, okay? You just focus on letting your body rest Garth, and I’ll get some warm soup made for you, and some bread. Okay?” Garth smiles faintly and nods. Gary smiles back and leaves the warm wet rag on Garth’s head as the Ventrexian lays back. The human then gets up to go make the Ventrexian something to eat.

[pitterpatterpot]

Giant Mice?

Sheryl will admit that the change is… disorientating.

The purple-haired ghost girl definitely isn’t happy that Sheryl is her new roommate. Sheryl isn’t happy that she’s stuck will a little alien who nearly blows her head off every time she has a nightmare and randomly shoots purple fire.

The Tryvuulian edges around her, giving nervous smiles as he tries to strike up conversations. HUE does the same before awkwardly waddling away, Mooncake usually floating after him. AVA insults her to her face, not that Sheryl really minds.

Gary is trying, truely trying, to get along with his mother. There are times where Sheryl sees him flinch away from her, but overall her son seems to enjoy their conversations about piloting. She doesn’t doubt it, she knows how long he must have wanted to have a conversation with his mother without her trying to kill him. If anything, she’s the one that struggles during their talks.

Quinn is…

Sheryl is unsure of what to make of Quinn. She reminds Sheryl of John, which hurts more than the thief would like to admit. Quinn edges around Sheryl in a similar manner, not knowing the full story between her and Gary. The poor lady seems torn between wanting Gary’s mother to like her and being cautious of the criminal.

Avocato has been indifferent ever since Sheryl tried to distract him with a red dot. Really though, floating through Final Space can be quite boring. She needed some kind of entertainment. Barely-repressed hostility seems to be the only thing between them.

There’s only one person she hasn’t really interacted with yet.

“Hey, Grandma.”

And there’s a good reason for that.

Plastering on a smile, Sheryl swivels around in the pilots seat. “Hey… kiddo.”

The small Ventrexian hops into the seat to the right, tapping away at the screen. If there’s one thing Sheryl has to admit it’s that the kid knows how to fly. But being called Grandma? She’s still getting used to Mom.

“Are the primary thrusters online?” Little Cato perks up, eyes big and wide as he looks at her.

“Uh… yep.”

“Cool, cool… whydon’tyousoundlikeGary?”

The kid says it so fast Sheryl has to blink. “What?”

“You, um,” Little Cato’s ears droop slightly, his eyes flickering away. “You sound different to Gary. He said you have an accent.”

Ah, right. Most aliens learn American English. Her Aussie accent must sound weird to the kid.

“It’s ‘cause I’m from Australia,” Sheryl keeps her focus on the controls. “We speak English there too, but different from America.”

“America?”

“The place Gary is from. It’s a country on Earth.”

“Oh, cool.”

Sheryl waits for another question, but the kid stays silent. They both fiddle with the controls, the ship slowly following Bolo through Final Space, everyone on edge as they wait to come across the first Titan besides Bolo.

“We have kangaroo’s in Australia.”

“Huh?”

Sheryl winces, regretting the words. “They’re a, uh, an animal. Kind of like a giant, jumping mouse.”

Preparing to face the kid, she turns slightly in her seat. And immediately swears at the large eyes of the kid blinking right at her. Somewhere during the giant mouse moment the kid had left his seat and padded over to her, leaning with his hands against her arm rests and eyes wide with wonder.

“Jesus Christ,” Sheryl hisses, clamping a hand over her heart. “You’re a quiet one, aren’t you?”

She gets a little shrug in response, the kid leaning in closer. “Giant mice?”

Sighing, the thief settles back in her seat. “Yeah, kid. Giant mice. Most are red, like a rusty red, and some are kind of blue and gray. Depends on the kind.”

“Whoa,” the little Ventrexian breathes the word. “Giant, colourful mice? Can you eat them?”

Now that throws Sheryl off for a moment, making her laugh. “Uh, yeah. We can eat kangaroo meat. It’s actually pretty good. I’d never eat a joey though.”

“Joey? Is that, like, a person?”

“No,” Sheryl snorts. “It’s a baby kangaroo. Their mum’s keep them in a pouch they have on their belly to carry them around.”

“Huh,” Little Cato rests his head on his arms. “My dad’s carry me around sometimes. Usually on their shoulders.”

“I noticed,” Sheryl smiles slightly. “You’re a light one, aren’t ya?”

“Yeah,” those little ears droop again. “I didn’t really eat properly for a while. I’m kind of small for my age.”

“What, did Gary forget to feed you?” Sheryl smirks, chuckling. “Or let me guess, only gave you cookies?”

She expects some kind of comeback. Not for the kid to shuffle on his feet and look away. It makes something oily roll in her stomach, a weird feeling that’s been occurring more frequently lately ever since she decided to stop trying to kill her son. So far the feeling has only been restricted to when she’s dealing with Gary and her past mistakes. It can’t be a good thing if that feeling is spreading to the kid.

“What?” Sheryl rotates the seat to face the kid. “When didn’t you eat?”

“I…uh…” Little Cato winces. “I kind of spent three years in prison? Well, different prisons. They had to move me around a lot.”

Sheryl blinks.

And blinks again.

“You went to prison?”

“Yeah,” Little Cato shrugs once again. “The Lord Commander placed me there to keep me from my dad. I was in the Sector F8 military base until I started a small fire, then got moved to the Sector 472 prison colony, and after my third escape attempt there they decided to just keep moving me.”

For the first time, in a long time, Sheryl laughs. Her head tips back and the sound bellows out of her lungs. Little Cato jerks back, surprised, before starting to giggle along. It isn’t long before they’re both cackling.

“Crickey,” Sheryl wheezes, tears nearly squeezing out of her eyes. “You little bastard! You’re a demon!”

“Yeah, and?” Little Cato raises his brows, grinning.

Sheryl looks the kid over. The Ventrexian that Gary trusted to fix the light-fold engines, that obviously knows his way around mechanics. And that has obviously raised hell in his short life-time.

“And have you ever hot-wired a ship before?” Sheryl smirks.

“No,” the kid pivotes around to poke at Sheryl’s controls. “Always wanted to learn. Just don’t tell my dads.”

“I think we can make that work. Alright, so what you’re gonna want to do is remove this panel here…”

~~~

“Uh, Mom?” Gary eyes the second plate in his mother’s hand, tiredly rubbing at his eyes. “What are you doing?”

Sheryl throws a look over her shoulder. “I’m showing that kid of yours how to really pilot. We need fuel.”

“We’re in Final Space, now isn’t the time for a lesson!”

“All times are good times, sweetheart.”

~~~

“So,” Little Cato speaks around a mouthful of what has been deemed the ‘purple yams’ by Gary. “You’re pretty good at fighting.”

“Thanks,” Sheryl throws a glance to the kid, relaxed in the pilot’s chair. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Why do you call me ‘grandma’?”

“Because Gary is my dad,” Little Cato shrugs. “Or at least one of them. And he loves you and wants you to be his mom. That makes you my grand-mom. Or, you know, grandma.”

“Huh, it’s that easy for you?” Sheryl taps against the arm rest of the chair.

“I guess,” Little Cato fiddles with a loose screw. “I can stop calling you that if you want.”

“…Nah, it’s alright. Say, kiddo, you mind passing me that screwdriver? We should probably keep that panel from falling off.”

“I’ll fix it.”

“Thanks.”

They spend the next few minutes fiddling with the systems, Sheryl checking over the systems as Little Cato fixes all loose screws. After a while Sheryl pauses for a moments, blinking, annoyed when she struggles to open her eyes again. A yawn from the kid sets her off, her jaw clicking.

“Alright,” Sheryl stands, cracking her back in a stretch. “I’m gonna go get Gary to take over. I’m hitting the hay.”

“’Kay,” Little Cato mumbles, finishing the last screw.

Sheryl pauses at the doorway, sending one last look at the kid. She can see his fuzzy ears, the rest of him hidden by the pilot’s chair. The orange tips are drooping slightly and she knows that the little Ventrexian is slouched. The door clicks behind her as she makes her way to the dining room, where everyone most likely is. Take your shift, sleep, then eat. No doubt Gary is having breakfast with the rest.

Now that she thinks about, Sheryl took the shift that no one else wanted to avoid everyone. The kid shouldn’t have been awake.

Shaking the thought out of her herd, Sheryl pokes her head into the dining room. “Hey, hun, I’m hitting the hay.”

“Oh,” Gary looks up from his plate, blinking. “Cool. Uh, thanks, Mom. I’ll take over.”

Before she leaves, Sheryl looks to the adult Ventrexian with the name that sound like an Earth fruit, Avocado… Avocato. “Hey, your son’s asleep in the control room. He’s been there for hours.”

Swearing under his breath the Ventrexian stands immediately, hurrying past Sheryl. Garry gives his mother a long look before he begins to smile. She tries to ignore it for the first few minutes. Her skin begins to crawl.

“So, you talked to Little Cato?” Gary grins, leaning forward with his arms braced on the table.

“Oh, yeah,” Sheryl smiles over her shoulder, her usual aloof yet sarcastic tone in place. “I did. Oh, and just a quick warning, hun. Don’t be surprised if the kid starts asking about giant mice.”

“Giant- Mom, what were you talking about? Mom?”

Sheryl closes the door behind her, smirking.

The kid isn’t so bad.

________

I like to imagine that Sheryl and Little Cato would eventually get along. Also, it is so good to have an Australian character. I don’t need to worry about keeping her speech and dialect American. 

[monkey-network]

to Defend Desti’s Death

I’m not particularly one to make major response posts like these, but I feel these thoughts I’ve had have simmered for quite a while now and I just wanted to get this off my chest. To some that may know, I’m a fan of the Anime Arc cuz honestly, it was fun and hype to sit through. On the look back, it still is, even with the noticeable drawbacks. But I won’t deny that the moment we fans know is divisive is one for a reason. For some, it was bad and other say it was good but frankly I haven’t seen many properly explain why. Which is where I want to come in momentarily, give my two cents on why Desti’s passing worked on an objective level.

Initially, and I hate doing this, but I gotta respond to the most notable saying of why it doesn’t work. So link here for the argument: https://todpolle.tumblr.com/post/185301760988/meme-gene-scene-how-to-kill-a-life. And I only wish to say, no hard feelings @todpolle. I’ll get to the main argument in a moment but I wanted to discuss the setup point where it revolves around the deaths of Avocato from Final Space and Gamma from Sonic Adventure. 

Now truly, I remember these passing moments fondly but I feel that comparing them to Desti’s death is noticeably unfair if we wanna talk contextually. Like if we’re taking both series to its full context, Final Space has the disadvantage where it resurrected Avocato while SMG4 kept Desti dead; the resurrection not only undercutting the weight of the initial departure but having not as much weight as before. Much as I like Avocato, having a “No One’s Ever Really Gone” approach to Final Space kinda devalued the idea that death is permanent for Gary and his friend, if only for a moment. If Desti’s resurrected later on, I’ll eat that crow, but that is doubtful. Though, if we take season 2 out the equation, it’s fair to say both deaths have their considered impacts with who it affects especially. 

I’ll express that a little later, but I want to move over to Gamma’s death where, and I hate to say this, it’s an unfair comparison all around cuz Gamma’s story doesn’t have the same set pieces as Desti’s because contextually his death was understandably sacrificial, he willingly self-destruct after knowing his true identity. Heck, you can’t even stack Gamma’s with Avocato’s because his heroic death meant something far different than the other two. Nah, I say the death reminiscent to Desti’s the most is with Aeris’ of Final Fantasy VII. But, I think it’s fair to first point out what this counter purposefully omitted: Desti’s character.

Now it would stand to believe the most we see of Desti aside the anime arc is “If Mario was in Splatoon 2”. But to say that is all to her character is being ignorant towards her character because the anime arc furthers expressed who Desti was as a character. She was prideful, no-nonsense, loves being a step of Meggy even when it means playing unfair. She was basically Meggy put to a logical extreme. In “Splatoon 2″, “Meggy’s Bootcamp”, and “Mario Showdown”, we see that seed of how much Meggy means to her as a rival and how focused she can be when it came to their rivalry, considering her the biggest threat in the Splatfest games. These traits are expanded in “The Splatfest Incident” where she is willing to her pride aside for a moment to help the gang find Meggy when she goes missing. The search for Meggy doesn’t throw away her hot-headedness and pride however, as we see in “The Inkling Disappearances” and “Mario and the Experiment” that she is more than willing to throw down regardless of what stands in her way, even to where she’s making her and Meggy’s escape into a challenge. 

More importantly, we get to see a soft side of her where she isn’t fully aloof and tries to be there for her team, or those she come to find as close as she gets. You get to see her bond with someone she wants to fight free and true to form. I say the writers did their job in giving us reason to stand with Desti, make us like her beyond being the Negachin. She’s much the better half to Meggy, the Zero of Megaman X, the being our main inkling girl strives to be in the right way. Now, I wanna talk about Aeris.

Aeris was a very cool character in my eye when playing FFVII. She’s not Tifa but she still had a badass charm to her, especially in the part where she and Cloud go a rescue/date to infiltrate a brothel that held Tifa hostage by helping Cloud disguise as a woman. It slows the game down in a good way, giving us some time to know Aeris. Like Cloud, you get to feel just as attached to her, in both the story and gameplay where she is a boss when it comes to magic. She shows herself as the one that helps Cloud shed his initial machismo and is a very considerate friend while they’re on the journey to escape Midgar. She certainly has more of a character than what most of the images on Google would make you believe. I’d say like with Aeris, the anime arc subtly make you invested in Desti. And like Desti, it happens...

Now I can say, yeah, this shouldn’t make sense. But really, as much sense as I wanted to wrap my brain around why this shouldn’t have happen, this emotionally got me every time. I say what makes this work, what makes Desti’s death worked, comparative to the previous mentioned, is how it worked it’s way both before and after the moment. For Aeris, you can feel the weight of her loss in our main characters in the story and in the gameplay where with her gone, it’s pretty hard to fill the void of what she excelled at. Put that with what we got to see of her which makes the loss all the more shocking. Which makes Cloud avenging her with his final conquering over Sephiroth all the more cathartic. Now I’m not saying Desti’s death had as much intentional thematic development as Aeris’s, but when you take into account how it is structurally, especially the aftermath, the oomph of it all feels just as real, feels respectfully impactful for what it did.

But before I get to my main point, I wanted to address another point against this case where “SMG4 was supposed to just be a comedy like Spongebob and such, this totally goes against that tonally.” Which, I don’t know what else to say beyond “Did we watch the same show?” I can understand not liking the 2nd half of the anime arc writing wise, but it’s not like the arc turned everything into a whole different show all together. We weren’t getting some Heavy Rain type melodrama shit, the tone of the 2nd half was clear, the objectives were there. It wasn’t that heavy-handed, it wasn’t that serious, they didn’t sacrifice the comedy all together for some oscar-bait Gotham brooding bullshit. A dumbass Monkey like myself could understand the direction the bros were going with that arc, regardless of whether I liked it or not. It is pretty myopic to think a series like this can’t and shouldn’t be anything else beyond a skinner box type comedy, because god forbid experimenting with the stories in lieu committing to a considerable routine most of your career to keep a certain mindset happy and buttfucking numb. *sigh* I apologize. To carry on...

I’ve talked about this before, so if you want here’s a link about the funeral scene of the arc’s final episode (quick read), but I wanna say that with Desti’s passing, they treat it with respect. They have their couple of jokes, but they don’t treat it like a joke; Desti's death would’ve been a lot more insulting to me if they didn’t take it as seriously. It showed that yeah, that shit hurt, it was not expected, and we’re with the gang as we see Meggy and them send her off, guns out. We’re with the characters where all that happens and it felt... organic. Like I said before, Desti was “someone who appeared to be distant and feisty but still had a heart. Someone who was among people that [grew to] care about her, in life and death.” Whether we consider it was for shock or not, she made her impact, it hit hard in the end, and they made the moment matter in the respective time.

And like Final Space, this affected the likes of Meggy the most, a character that had the most connection to Desti than the others, all while the others respect her grieving and trauma that came with it. Moments like “Something’s Up With Meggy” and “Mario Does the Chores” show that that stuck with her for real, and they don’t treat like some sick running gag. SMG4 mentions it not long afterward but respectably knew not to dwell on it for the rest of the year until “The Grand Festival” where it comes back as a soft, yet optimistic reminder.

Now I won’t say you can’t have your issue with the arc, I have my issues with it. But to say Desti’s death was crap was to objectively ignore the effort they put into making it a solid plot point, a solid heel turn for both Desti and Meggy. To ignore that they gave us a good character to basically just feel mad that they pulled the rug from under you. And I would’ve been mad too if killing her off was done poorly, but it wasn’t. The bros didn’t make a whole masterpiece, but they did what they set out to do and I say they pulled it off well for what it was. For who Desti was.