The Babysitter - Garycato (Final Space Fanfic)

Chapter 16

"I'm back!" Little Cato hopped in, dropping his bag near the door as he sniffed the air, grinning wide.

He wasnt walking to an empty home...

"Gary? Whatcha cooking-" Little Cato's grin turned into a surprised expression, looking at Gary who swayed in the unused apron

"Oh hey! Welcome back Spidercat!" Gary beamed, twirling around "I'm almost done so just hold on" he smiled.

"Youre wearing the apron" Little Cato stated the obvious. Gary only blinked in reply, looking down at himself and the apron, wondering if maybe it was really important- hence the reason why no one wore it.

Gary started to become worried, he didn't want to ruin the sweater Avocato lent him but now he was wondering if he was ruining something more important.

"I bought that for dad" Little Cato stepped closer

"Little Cato- I-I am sorry I didn't-"

"As a joke" Little Cato finished his sentence, eyeing the comically girlish apron with frills and a heart "and you're wearing it?"

"Im...sorry" Gary looked down at the boy with guilt "I just didn't want to- I'll remove it right now-"

"What? No! It's fine!" Little Cato laughed "I just- you wear it like it's nothing" he giggled

"Well...it is pretty cute" Gary checked the apron once again, not understanding what was funny

"Wait- you like it?" Little Cato snickered to which Gary nodded, confused by the whole situation.
"O-okay-" Little Cato took a breath, trying to calm his laughter "you can keep it then" he grinned, clearly amused

"What?!" Gary gasped "I couldn't! This was a gift- to your dad!" Gary began to try undo the bow on the back "p-plus I kinda wanna see him wear it- just imagine, a general wearing something...adorable...ooooooooooooh" Gary stopped undoing his knot, realizing why the apron was a joke now.

"Yep" Little Cato perked up, proudly "I have a picture" he grinned.

Gary's eyes went big, gasping with a tiny squeal as he quickly turned the stove off
"Show me show me show me show me" he grinned as wide as the boy, leaning in to look at the picture on his phone screen.

There it was, in all its glory, a picture of general Avocato. The man looked obviously embarrassed, trying to keep his image in a cute frilly apron.
Gary could already see it, Avocato not wanting to let Little Cato down by not wearing the gift, ending up in this.

"Oh my-" Gary snickered "he looks so adorable" he covered his mouth, holding in his laughter.

"You should've seen his face when I told him I was only kidding with him" Little Cato laughed, putting the phone away. The boy was ready to go on about how his father was embarrassed for a long time and how he would bring it up all the time just to watch his father hide his face in shame but he was interrupted by the sound of the house's phone ringing.

Little Cato and Gary exchanged looks, shrugging to each other as they knew what each were thinking.

Little Cato was the one who was always home answering the calls but Gary was obviously the adult and slightly more responsible one.

Maybe it was the finally having someone over and not being alone anymore but Little Cato wanted to be selfish for once, lightly nudging Gary to go forth and answer the phone, Little Cato wanted to feel like a kid- not having to take over adult's phone calls.

Gary took a nervous step forwards, glancing back at the boy with uncertainty before lightly smiling. It must have been hard for Little Cato, he couldn't let the boy down now...not when Little Cato finally has someone to rely on when his father isn't around.

"He-" Gary cleared his throat in embarrassment as his voice cracked "hello?" He answered.
Gary's voice was much lower than usual, his 'phone voice' sounding much more mature than his regular one.
Little Cato sat on the couch, watching in awe at the change in Gary's behaviour, suddenly reminded that Gary was really an adult.

"Little Cato's father isn't present....I am his caretaker, yes" Gary glanced over at the boy as he hummed in response to whatever the other line was saying "I see, I will have a talk with him and his father, thank you" Gary sighed, sounding disappointed before he set the phone down.

Little Cato tensed when Gary turned, his expression still serious from the call
"It was the school" Gary informed the small kit who's ears were quick to lower

"I-I'm sorry--"

"Well done" Gary smiled, catching the boy of guard

"W-wha--" Little Cato stammered, what did Gary mean by "Well done"? Didn't Little Cato do a bad thing? Didn't he cause trouble?

"I heard how you made a fool out of those kids" Gary grinned, walking over to take a seat besides Little Cayo on the couch "you were pretty awesome"

Little Cato blinked in surprise
"You're not going to tell dad?" He asked with worry, not wanting to bother his father anymore than he already has

"Not if he asks, no" Gary smiled softly "plus...I know you wouldn't have done it for the sake of the fun of it" Gary pat the boy's head "so what was it?"

"What?" Little Cato wasn't sure how to react. Someone was actually willing to listen to his side of story.
He stared up at Gary with wide eyes before leaping foward and wrapping his arms around the other? Smudging his face against the human's chest.

"W-woahohoho" Gary winced between his surprised chuckle, bringing his arms around the kit "you alright, Spidercat?" He asked with worry

"Yeah...its just-" Little Cato nuzzled closer, finding that he quite enjoyed Gary's scent mixed with his father's "You gave me permission right? To do all that.."

"Well...not exactly" Gary laughed quietly "I gave you permission to be awesome- and that...well that was awesome but only for the right reason so...you gotta tell me and I will be the judge of it, alright?" He spoke softly to the kid who finally let go to look up at him

"Alright" Little Cato nodded, taking a deep breath and looking down as he recalled the events of the day and the previous ones.

"I was sick of it" Little Cato spat "I was sick of getting picked on for either being too strong like my dad or not strong enough- I never was foing the right thing! If I was too quiet, I wasn't brave enough and if I was too talkative, I was too annoying!
No matter what I did, whenever I tried to correct it later or not, I was always picked on..." he tried not to frown, wanting to remain angry instead of upset "t-they are always pushing me around and taking advantage of the fact that I dont strike back, of the fact that I dont want to cause trouble or get told off by my dad-" he sighed, ears flopping "so when you told me to be awesome...I thought that maybe...I dunno"

Gary listened carefully, picking up the kit to set him on his lap
"So you were defending yourself or did you go look to give some payback?" He asked the boy, patiently.

"I guess...defending myself" Little Cato looked down at the lap he sat in, not used to the contact but not disliking it either "they pushed me against the lockers and were going to beat me up again..."

"I see" Gary sighed, frowning slightly as he learnt that this was a frequent thing. He would have to take these matters into his own hands if this kept up.
"Then...I say you were pretty awesome" he smiled down at the boy "you showed them who was boss- up top!"

Little Cato looked at the offered high-five then at Gary's grinning face that was so contagious that Little Cato found himself grinning back.

"Yeah!" Little Cato slapped his palm against Gary's

"Nothing's more awesome than standing up for your self, Spidercat" Gary stood with the boy in his arms "so when the school tells you are in trouble for trying to protect yourself you remember my words, alright? Because there is nothing wrong with not wanting to get your ass beat" Gary walked towards the table with a soft smile, setting the jit down on his chair "now...Im going to set up dinner and as soon as I sit down- I want all the details!" Gary span, walking in the kitchen.

Little Cato stared after Gary, a small smile of surprise at the other's words but also at the amount of physical contact Gary seemed to offer. The boy found that the chair he sat in was no where as comfortable as the human's arms.