Disclaimer: I do not own anything Dwarfy apart from a few DVD's and a Smeg Ups video, and anyone who wants to argue to the conterary is very delusinal... I do own Cat in my dream though if that counts!

Right well this was written at midnight which is probably why I decided to write it,and also why the title's so crap, it's a one shot Cat/Lister slash story. (barely any slash though - mostly just gibberish) Its more restrained version of Ellie ET's stories, and it's set a few minutes after the Turantula scene in Terrorform. (I am likely never to write slashish stuff ever again, but all critism welcome anyway. prepares for onslaught of reviews on how bad it was)

Saying Sorry

Lister and Cat sat down in Starbug in a daze, the hand that had been mistook for a tarantula was busy typing to Holly in binary codes, explaining to her the coordinates, the known circumstances and asking if she was having a good day. – The usual.

Cat leaned in and spoke softly in Lister's ear as the autopilot flew them towards the moon. "I guess it wasn't a tarantula."

"No." Lister replied shuddering at the feelings of fear and torture he had felt as the "tarantula" had crawled up his leg.

"It did have an eye the size of a meatball though." Cat commented, wishing Lister would stop acting all zombie like, and behave as he usually did.

"Hmmmm."

"Bud, are you ok?" Cat asked beginning to feel concerned for his friend.

"No… No I'm not. – I really thought that was a tarantula – so did you! Why couldn't you smell it was Kryten's hand or something? I was terrified then." Lister admitted as he turned away from Cat and looked at his monitor.

"I've never seen a tarantula before you know, and I was scared too." Cat protested feeling annoyed at the way the conversation was going.

"YOU were scared? I was MY leg it was climbing up you know!" Lister retorted, once again shuddering as he watched the had move across the console, its task with Holly completed.

"Look I'm not sure what I'm saying sorry for but I am ok?" Cat hissed wishing Lister would change the subject.

In response Lister grabbed Kryten's hand and after switching the off button, waved it in Cat's face, with some difficulty due to its weight. "You don't know what you should be sorry for? How about being sorry for not helping me for start!"

Cat knocked Kryten's hand out of Lister's and winced in pain.

"Are you ok?" Lister asked with genuine concern as Cat's cut knuckles began to redden with blood.

"What do you care?" Cat said with malice that made Lister blink, he was unused to Cat's anger been directed at anyone other than Rimmer.

"Look I care ok? Let me look." Lister reached out and after a moment Cat stretched his own damaged hand out for Lister's inspection. Lister took it gingerly and smudged the blood as he looked at his friend's slim and dark skinned (but ever reddening and swelling) hand.

"Does it hurt much?" He asked as he let go and looked rounded for the first aid kit.

"No I'm just wincing and pricking back tears my own amusement." Cat retorted, lifting his hand to his lips and flitting his tongue over the wound to temporarily clean it. Lister watched this movement and bit his lip as he began to feel guilty."

"Sorry…" He said softly, trailing off as he found and opened the first aid kit.

"Now who has to say sorry?" Cat responded, Lister searched his friend's voice and face but this time there was no malice, and a hint of a smile was visible on his lips.

"Look it was stupid having a go at you, I mean there wasn't that much you could have done."

"Not unless I had ripped your boxers off." Lister smiled at this though the two organic life forms descended into silence and thought for a moment or two.

"I can't imagine you doing that – You looked just as scared as me." Lister remembered as he took Cat's hand from his lips, suddenly feeling very self conscious as his finger brushed Cat's lips in the process.

He rubbed the cream he had found gently into Cat's skin and cut, waiting for a response, but none came.

"Cat?"

"Mmmm?"

"You ok?"

"Yeah bud, the cream stuff's good; it's stopped the pain…Thanks." Cat smiled at Lister and ran his other hand through his perfectly styled hair.

"I can't believe you thought I was playing that Lord Of The Rings adventure game." Lister giggled as he replaced the top on the tube of cream and wiped the excess on his fingers off onto his trousers.

"And?" Cat questioned, suddenly feeling rather dumb that his hadn't understood his friend's pleas sooner, or bothered to smell the scent of fear that had been radiating from him at the time.

"Nothing, I wasn't been insulting or anything you know… I was just saying…" Lister answered feeling annoyed that he had subconsciously brought Cat's intellect into it.
"I know." Cat replied softly, recognising that Lister honestly wasn't being rude, and that he was no longer angry with Cat for things neither of them could control. A silence had become to elapse, neither sure how to continue the conversation.

A sudden jolt of the ship caused Cat and Lister to fall out of their chairs and land in a heap on top of each other. Cat screamed as Lister's leg crushed his hand. Lister scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry Cat!" He cried in alarm.

"I know, weren't your fault bud." He groaned as he sat up and checked his hand for more damage.

"Holly what was that?" Lister asked as he watched his friend continue to wince.

"Sorry Dave I wasn't paying attention, missed a bit of space turbulence." Holly replied as her face filled a nearby screen.

"Space turbulence?" Lister echoed in an annoyed manner "… Just forget it, go back to… Whatever." Holly responded with a nod and disappeared from the monitor.

"Errr hello? I'm still on the floor here and it's kind of hard to stand up when one hand is out of commission and your mate is stood on your jacket… In other words – GET OF THE JACKET!" Cat tried to make the words sound as menacing as possible but the pain from his hand prevented that.

"Sorry." Lister mumbled, moving his feet and reaching his hand out for Cat, He grabbed it with his healthy right hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, the two stayed like that for a moment, both acutely aware of how close they were to each other's bodies, and that their hands were still touching.

"Thanks." Cat breathed, looking into Lister's eyes as they stood there, their lips centimetres apart, Suddenly Holly appeared on screen again breaking the moment and the body contact between the two, Cat let go of Lister and ran his hand through his hair, before brushing down his coat, taking particular interest in the place Lister had stood on. Then, satisfied he was looking as perfect as ever he flopped back down in his chair and watched Lister as he too sat down again in his chair and waited for Holly to speak her business.

"A few minutes till we enter the moon's atmosphere Dave, would you like to switch to manual?" She asked in a bright voice.

"Probably best – I don't think we fancy dieing today, hey Cat?" Lister grinned as he flicked the manual switch. Cat smiled in response, the nature between the two friends restored as they prepared to land on the moon's surface and search for the others