The Cadet and The General (Final Space)

Chapter Ten: Helper

It was about to be the afternoon. Cataloupe was pulling into the driveway. He had finally finished the paperwork that he was asked to do. Now all he had to do was train the other soldiers until his next order was given. "Finally, some time at home. And with Pawblo, nonetheless." He smiled a little as he walked up to his front door and unlocked it, opening it.

When he walked in, he caught the scent of strawberries. As he looked around, the house seemed to be a little cleaner than usual. "Pawblo? You here?" He could hear a yell. "In the kitchen!" Cataloupe walked into the kitchen to see what he was up to. He saw Pawblo with his sleeves rolled up, wiping the sweat away from his forehead with a rag.

"What are you up to?" Pawblo shrugged. "I was going to do the dishes, but I noticed the dishwasher was acting up." Cataloupe chuckled. "Yeah, I've been meaning to get that fixed." The smaller ventrexian smirked. "You're lucky that I'm a technician and mechanic. Fixed it for you."

Cataloupe could not believe the words that he just heard. "You fixed it? You didn't have to—!" "I insist. I'm your guest here, so I figured I might as well try and be useful." Pawblo smiled. "I also replaced some lightbulbs in the upper floor, watered your plants, and tidied up the best I could." He nervously scratched his cheek fur.

The bigger ventrexian smiled. He really did care for this cadet. "Great work. I'm glad to see that you're making the best out of this situation. Now come on. I don't feel like cooking tonight, so I'm taking us both out to eat." He suddenly regretted what he said. "I mean, unless you don't want to. That's fine. You're probably tired, and—!"

Pawblo blushed but stopped Cataloupe from speaking. "No no no! I'm not tired! Just let me get cleaned up first, at least. But yeah, I wouldn't mind eating some food with you." He smiled, which caused Cataloupe to grin. "Oh! Really? Great! Ok, I'm going to freshen up, so you go get ready." Pawblo nodded as the two of them went upstairs and their own separate ways.

Cataloupe could not believe what just happened. "Don't mess this up", he mumbled. "Please don't mess this up."

Pawblo was in the bathroom, cleaning himself up with water and his towel. "Don't mess this up. Please don't mess this up", he told himself.

When they finished, Cataloupe and Pawblo both met downstairs. Cataloupe wore a blue long-sleeve shirt and some dark jeans. Pawblo wore pretty much the same thing, minus his vest.

"Ready to head out?"

"Uh...yeah!"

The two of them got into Cataloupe's truck and soon were out of the driveway and on the road. The bigger male drove, paying close attention to the road. Yet his biggest distraction was the presence of a cute ventrexian.

After about an hour of driving, Cataloupe parked the truck in front of a small diner. "Takeout okay?" Pawblo nodded. "Sure!" The older ventrexian smirked as he got out of the truck and went inside the diner. As Pawblo sat in the car, he wondered if it could be possible, between them. Sure, age would be a barrier, but at this point he doesn't care. He was head over heels for the General, and he wouldn't care what anyone else would think.

The driver's seat door opened, snapping Pawblo back into reality. Cataloupe had returned with food and drinks in tow. "Got you what I usually get. I don't know if you'll like it, but—!" "It's alright. Might as well try something new." Cataloupe nodded and soon placed the food bag in the middle, and handing the two beers he bought to Pawblo.

"Want to eat this back at the house?"

"Sure, but I kind of want fresh air."

Cataloupe smiled. "There's a patio out back. That okay?"

Pawblo nodded. They were soon on the road again, headed back to the house. Both were nervous to eat or say anything to each other the rest of the way back.