The Babysitter - Garycato (Final Space Fanfic)

Chapter 60

A quiet gentle melody was hummed on loop. A soothing voice and a soft hand brushed against his scalp, massaging it so gently that it dragged a purr out with each movement.

It was strange but comfortable. A warmth that made him hazy and his head fuzzy as if he were in the clouds, as if there were no worries to be held in his life. He knew this feeling... it was the same feeling he got when he was around...

"Mom...?" He croaked out, eyes cracking open slowly before closing again at how bright his surrounding were

A whispered chuckle, so quiet unlike the man that hovered above him, looking down with the kindest eyes Little Cato had ever seen. His head blocked the orange sun from Little Cato's eyes in a way that made his dirty blond hair appear a bright copper and gold, eyes crinkling at the edges with the amused smile that grew.

"You're awake" Gary pointed out, proceeding with his previous repeated motions of brushing the kid's hair with his fingers
The young ventraxian couldn't help but close his eyes once again, snuggling towards his mom's stomach as he kept using the man's tights as his pillow.

"It's alright" Gary whispered "you may sleep, I'll keep you warmer than the sun would ever be able to do and like an armour, I'll protect you from any harm that may come to you..." he began to utter those words, leaning down to speak more quietly

"In times where you must cry, I shall cry too and I promise to trade your fate with mine if your death is due" he whispered

"I don't want you to die..." Little Cato managed to mumble as his eyes grew heavier and heavier

"Then I won't" Gary promised with such confidence that Little Cato couldn't help but believe his words.
Little Cato turned just enough to see Gary's smile. Warm and comforting...

"Go, off you go now" Gary sighed "off to sleep with you...but promise me, one thing..."

"What?" Little Cato blinked slowly up at him , small hands coming to grasp the one that lay atop of his stomach. Cold metal but comforting nevertheless.

"Once asleep, you must wake" Gary said "Do it for your father" Gary seemed to smile sadly

Little Cato nodded, yawning as he cuddled the metal arm

"Will you be there too?" He asked, eyes closing as he drifted off to sleep.

"I'm afraid not" he heard his mom say as darkness engulfed him, Gary's voice muted by it

Still Little Cato heard

"Not yet, anyway"

The first thing he noted when his eyes snapped open was the burning in his back. He gasped at the growing sharp pain, finding sudden difficulty to breathe.

The second thing he noticed was he was alone. Alone and cold.

Little Cato whimpered at the pain and cried at the sudden lack of comfort. Like he had been forced to trade a good dream for a nightmare...but this wasn't a nightmare, was it?
This was reality.

Layed on his side, the boy wrapped his skinny arms around himself, attempting to return to that made up world where Gary had been by his side and there was no pain or anguish or-

"Do it for your father..."

He forced himself to opens his eyes once again, claws digging into his sides as his ears stretched for any sound, a sign of his dad.
A footstep, a breath...even a quiet heartbeat would be enough...

Nothing.

Startled by the sudden reality of being truly alone, Little Cato stood, yowling in pain as he did.
With his tiny heart beating against his ribcage, he panicked- memories flooding back to him of what had happened.

The human lady hurt him...
Gary's mother hurt him.

His, supposedly, grandmother hurt him.

Ears falling, Little Cato leaned against the dirty wall to perch himself up, hissing as his skin felt as if it were being stretched across his back.
He sniffed the air, nose crinkling at the disgusting smell but catching a whiff of his father's scent.

He looked down

"Dad's shirt" he noted, realising his torso was wrapped in it. Most likely to stop his bleeding.

"OK..." Little Cato's cogs started turning in his head "Mom isn't here...Dad is somewhere half naked...I'm hurt-" he breathed as he finally stood, clawing up the wall to refrain from falling "and my only grandma is an insane freak" he added, reminding himself that, certainly, she wasn't his grandmother... He's seen it in movies and books, grandmas cook as if you're starving to death and will pull your cheek not make sure you nearly starve to death before ultimately almost cutting you in half

"Or trying to kill your mom...who is her son-" Little Cato mumbled, eyebrows furrowing with confusion at the whole situation.

He felt dizzy. Weak...
His little arms and legs shook with effort at every little movement-

How had Gary managed to bear with the pain?

Little Cato recalled how his father refused to use the medical pod for his large wound on his back.

How had Gary managed to smile through it?
How had Gary managed to smile everytime Little Cato came to check up on him?
How had Gary-

Little Cato frowned further as he recalled the sudden heart to heart Gary had given not long ago before he left to do whatever that lady asked him to do.
It wasn't unusual, he came to the haunting realisation. Gary was one to flicker from a negative emotion to a positive like it was nothing...

The fire in his apartment, the kidnapping, his wounds...all those because his of his own mother. His own blood.

Did his father know? Had his dad come to the realisation as well?
Did he realise just how little it took to make Gary happy?

Of course he has... He is Avocato.
Little Cato had been so childish to not have noticed...

He loves Gary... He should've noticed.

With new found strengh, Little Cato stands properly at last, tiny hands at his sides as tiny fists.

"Do it for your father..."

"No" Little Cato glared ahead at the dark tunnels of the sewers "I'll do it for mom as well"

((Little Cato chapter baby!! I missed him ;0;

This chapter was going to have a lot more of Little Cato realising Gary's pain but I deleted it because he is still a child and wouldn't exactly understand the whole weight of it.
So I just made Little Cato have a wake up call from the things he's seen- it's easy for us to put things behind without noticing because they're hard to deal with but once reminded of them it's just like a "hold on a second" moment when you realise that it's not normal.

Now both Catos officially are in Gary'sprotection squad

After this chapter uploads might be a bit slow as I'll be moving ^^))