The Cadet and The General (Final Space)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Returning Home

As their two days went by, Pawblo and Butch spent time together as much as they could. They went to the park, played board games together, and chatted about their lives, and wondering what could've been all those years ago. But that didn't matter.

When the time came for them to head back to the base, Pawblo felt a little saddened. He wanted to stay longer and get to know his father some more, but Butch was okay with it. He was a soldier, and he had responsibilities to uphold with Cataloupe.

The three of them stood at the spaceport. Cataloupe was busy making sure their luggage got on board the ship. That left Pawblo to talk with his father one last time before the visit would end.

"So...this is it, huh?" Butch had his hands buried in his pockets. He was looking away, feeling sad that this was goodbye. "I only just got to know you, kiddo. But now this feels as if I'm abandoning you again." Pawblo patted his father's shoulder. "Relax, Dad. It's just my time to go back to the base. I can't be away from the army forever." He shrugged. "It's my duty."

Butch nodded, as a tear fell down his eye. "Look at you. You're a man now." He pulled Pawblo into a hug. The two of them hugged it out for a bit until Cataloupe came back. "Pawblo, the plane's about to take off." The big ventrexian made looked at Pawblo's father with a smile.

"Don't worry, Mr. O'Connor. Your son will be safe under my watchful eye. I love him." He lightly smiled. Butch chuckled and nodded. "You'd better. And don't call me that. Makes me feel old. Butch is fine. Besides, you're family now." The ventrexian chuckled, and he shook Cataloupe's firm hand.

As they walked away, Butch stood there. He waved one final goodbye, yelled "You have my cell number. For now, though, go be the man you want to be. But you better come visit soon!", and then walked away. Pawblo began to tear up a bit, and smiled. Cataloupe pulled his lover close in an attempt to comfort him.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah. Just...happy." Pawblo wiped the tears off of his face, and turned to face Cataloupe. "Let's get back to base, shall we?"

The two of them waited and soon boarded their ship back to the base. They talked about plans for future visits, dates, and occasionally made out with some passengers on the ship taking notice. But that didn't bother them. Not at all.

The next day, the ship made it back to the spaceport where the two ventrexian men took off from. As everyone got off the plane, Pawblo remained in his seat. He kept staring out the window. Cataloupe was curious as to why his lover wasn't moving.

"Blueberry? Are you okay?"

Pawblo snapped out of his trance and got up from the chair. "Y-yeah. I am. I feel better." He smiled widely. The worried ventrexian sighed in relief. He held out his huge hand towards Pawblo. "Come on, babe. Let's head back." The cornflower blue ventrexian grabbed hold of his hand, and got up from the seat. The two of them exited the plane, grabbed their luggage on the conveyor belt, and had Cataloupe's truck delivered.

On the way home, Pawblo leaned his head on Cataloupe's shoulder. It was one of the many advantages of being his boyfriend; his arm was a pillow when he needed it to be. The older male noticed this but didn't mind it. He kept his eyes focused on the road.

"Hey, so I was thinking..."

Pawblo looked ahead at the view the windshield gave them. He didn't want to be much of a distraction to his loving driver. "What's up? What's on your mind, Cataloupe?"

The big ventrexian chuckled nervously. "I was thinking that...maybe you and I could...take one more day off." Pawblo began to question him. "W-what? What for?"

Cataloupe sighed, and let out a small chuckle. "It's just...I love you. And I want to spend some more time with you before we go back to being together in secret." Pawblo was kind of happy to hear that. The plane ride did feel different this time.

"Sure. I'm down. What do you want to do?"

The big male curled his mustache as he drove. He was blushing a little. "Oh, I don't know...pizza...a movie...maybe a glass of wine..." Pawblo rolled his eyes. He knew where he was going with this.

"I'd be delighted."