Final Space Oneshots

So Much Better

A request made by Darkraider46 so if you want any extra info on characters ask them (a03 user)

It was like it was real time.

He could feel their eyes burning into his, their frozen smiles excited for the future ahead. He couldn't bare to look at them, and yet he couldn't look away.

He could've done so much better.

"Gary?" Little Cato's voice pulled him out of his haunted thoughts, and he quickly shoved the tattered photo in his pocket before turning around.

The rest of the crew were staring at him from their campfire circle, all waiting on him. The crumpled Crimson Light lay behind them, still smoking slightly.

It had been a few hours since they crashed, and Gary wasn't sure how much more he could take of being here. The dry dirt, the glowing rocks – it was the same. After all these years of running, it had found him. He was sure, if he walked far enough, he would find her.

"You in?" Ash asked him curiously. Gary wasn't even sure of what was going on, but nodded and sat down next to his son. He focused his eyes on the floor, trying not to look back to the scenery around him.

It was his fault.

"Ok, I've never told anyone this, but I accidentally blew up a science lab when I was thirteen, and blamed it on some other kid. He got suspended." Nightfall said with a chuckle. Fox gasped, thrusting up his hand.

"My turn, my turn!" He announced with a smile. "I've never told anyone this, but..." Gary became distracted again, focused on the bright smiles and shining eyes of the people around him. He remembered similar days before all of this, when he thought life was getting better for him.

The memories were almost at breaking point, the grounds around him forcing them all back. He shut them away, away forever. And yet, he was pulling out the photo again, the last piece of evidence that they existed. Now they were nameless, soulless, lifeless. It hurt in the worst way to know that he was here whilst they had moved on.

"What's that? Who are they?"

Gary jumped, tucking the picture back into his pocket. Little Cato was staring at him with innocence.

"Nothing. No one." Gary replied quietly, but it was too late. Little Cato's question had got the attention of everyone. He could feel their eyes on him. It was too many.

Gary stood up quickly and walked away from the group. He found his feet steering him to the place he never wanted to go to again, vowed he would never see again.

(She would be there, waiting for him)

"Gary! Wait up!" Gary did the opposite, picking up his pace. They caught up anyway, and he was left wondering why he bothered with anything. It all didn't matter.

"What's wrong?" Little Cato's asked from his left, jogging to keep up with him. Gary didn't reply, not even sparing a glance his way. If he did, then he'd break. He wasn't allowed to break again.

"Who were they?" Nightfall's hand rested on his shoulder, her voice calm and smooth against the ringing in his head. Gary slowed to a stop, letting his shoulders drop. Something about her calmed him down, like they had.

He missed them.

"They were my old crew, before any of this happened." Gary quietly said. "Before...anything."

"What happened to them?" Ash asked from behind him. Gary began to walk again, knowing where he needed to go. He pulled out the wrinkled picture, pointing at each of them.