CHAPTER 5: Late nights
The next chapter (Chapter 5)! Thanks again for all the readers, favourites, followers and reviews. I still can't believe that people are actually reading and liking something I wrote! :)
I wrote this purely because I absolutely love the show and this ship. I'm so happy that people like it too. ^^
Anyway, enjoy!
After dinner, Little Cato walked off to his room while Ash went to the lounge room to watch a movie. Once Ash had walked in, she saw Avocato sitting on the couch with the remote in his hand. Ash looked at Avocato slightly nervously. He seemed okay but she didn't really know him as well as the rest of the crew. Ash stood there for a moment before deciding to join him on the couch.
"Hi." Ash greeted as she sat down on the couch beside him leaving a good distance between them.
"Hey." Avocato answered as he changed the channel again.
"Is there anything good on?" Asked Ash watching him flick through the channels.
"No." Avocato replied before pausing for a moment. "Oh, and by the way, KVN sneaked into the room after you and is probably trying to spy on us or something ridiculous."
Ash's expression changed to one of shock as she looked behind her. Sure enough, floating at the other side of the room was KVN trying and failing to hide from the other two.
Before Ash could express her annoyance, KVN darted out the door. Ash groaned in aggravation as she turned her head to look at Avocato.
"How did you know KVN was in here?" Ash questioned inquisitively. She hadn't seen Avocato look away from the TV.
"I heard him come in." Replied Avocato.
"But how? I didn't hear him come in and he was right behind me." Asked Ash, slightly confused.
"Ventrexian's have excellent hearing." Avocato stated with a superior smirk.
"Really." Said Ash, then she froze. "Wait. Does that mean…Little Cato has good hearing too?"
"Yep." Replied Avocato with a chuckle. "Didn't he tell you?"
"N-No, he didn't." Replied Ash still slightly stunned.
This meant that whenever she'd whispered to herself around Little Cato, he had heard her! Whenever she'd walked to a room he was in and stopped outside because she was too nervous to face him, he had known she was there. Every time she had hummed to herself while he was in the room, he would have heard her!
"Why hasn't he told me?" Asked Ash with a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and a hint of anger.
Avocato shrugged and replied, "He probably didn't think it really mattered."
"Is there anything else about Ventrexian's that I don't know of?" Asked Ash with the slightest tone of bitterness in her voice but it seemed like Avocato hadn't notice.
"Well, on top of great hearing, Ventrexian's actually have a great sense of smell and can see better in the dark than most humanoid species." Avocato explained trying not to laugh as he realized he sounded like a living dictionary.
"What?!" Ash exclaimed, impressed but also slightly annoyed that she hadn't known this information before.
Avocato watched Ash smugly. He was enjoying talking about the unique qualities that Ventrexian's had, although he couldn't help but wonder why she'd looked slightly embarrassed after he told her about his and Little Cato's superior senses.
Ash stayed quiet for a moment thinking to herself, then she let out a yawn. All this thinking and new discoveries had made her tired. "You know what, I'm going to bed." Said Ash as she stood up and left the room.
Avocato was still smirking to himself as he continued to flick through the channels. He had to admit, Ash's reaction had been pretty funny.
Little Cato went to bed at around 11:00 and lay awake in the dark. He groaned as he turned onto his side. He couldn't stop thinking about everything! About the titans! About final space! About everyone on the ship! About his dad! About…Ash.
Little Cato sighed as he finally sat up and checked the time. It was 3:00 am! Little Cato then decided that he would get up and go to the kitchen to get some milk or something, in hopes that doing that might help him fall asleep.
Little Cato quietly walked down the dark hallway and to the kitchen. While walking, he could just hear the sound of what was most likely the TV coming from the lounge room. Could someone else be up? Or did someone just leave the TV on?
Little Cato peered into the fridge and suppressed an irritated groan. There was still no milk or anything!
Little Cato reluctantly decided to settle for a glass of water. He flinched slightly at the loud sound the tap made as he filled up his glass.
He took a few sips and listened to the noise coming from the lounge room. He was a lot closer to the lounge room now so he could hear the TV a lot louder than before.
Once Little Cato had finished his drink, he washed his cup and put it away. He was really curious about if anyone was in there and if there was, who. 'Should I go check or just go back to bed?'
Little Cato thought about his options for a few seconds before deciding he would go to the door and listen to see if anyone was in there. There wasn't any harm in checking, right?
Little Cato stealthily crept further down the hallway stopping at the lounge room door. Standing as close as he could without the door opening, he quietly listened. After a few seconds, he was sure he could hear breathing. Someone was in there. He needed to see who it was. He wanted to know who was up at this time of night watching TV.
Without a second thought, Little Cato walked closer to the door allowing himself to be seen.
"Dad?"
Avocato was sitting on the couch watching TV. Then he heard soft footsteps coming his way. He knew those footsteps could only belong to either Ash or Little Cato. No one else's footsteps could be that quiet. Turning his head to face the door, he listened as the footsteps came closer.
He could just hear breathing as the footsteps stopped. Whoever was out there, was very quiet and right outside the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and Little Cato came in.
"Dad?" Little Cato asked tilting his head to the side in surprise.
"Son?" Asked Avocato raising an eyebrow in slight concern. What was he doing up at this time?
"What the hell are you doing? Do you know what time it is?" Asked Little Cato looking slightly confused.
"I could ask you the same question?" Answered Avocato giving his son a questioning look.
"I…couldn't sleep." Little Cato answered as he stood at the doorway. "What about you?"
"I was trying to find something to watch on TV and then I found a channel that was having a Space Wreck marathon. I guess I lost track of time."
"Oh. So the show must be good then." Asked Little Cato with a grin.
Avocato just nodded with a hint of a smile.
"Can I watch it with you?" Asked Little Cato hopefully.
"Sorry, son but like you said it's late. You have to go to bed." Avocato responded firmly as he tried to avoid looking his son in the eye. Sometimes it was so hard to say 'no' to his son but he couldn't allow him to stay up any later than he already had.
"Oh…okay." Said Little Cato giving his dad the saddest look he could before turning around to leave.
Avocato now felt extremely guilty. He wasn't sure if his son was just trying to guilt-trip him or if he really was sad. Either way, it was definitely working. Another second went by and Avocato sighed. He couldn't let his son go to bed feeling that sad!
"Fine. We can watch one episode and then you have to go straight to bed."
"Really?" Little Cato exclaimed brightly as he happily joined his father on the couch.
Avocato smiled at how cheerful his son looked as he took a seat next to him. Then he turned to the TV only to notice a new episode had just started. Perfect!
They watched in comfortable silence, which was occasionally broken by laughs or talking. Once the episode had ended, Avocato was slightly sad but he knew he and his son had to go to bed.
"Okay, time for bed." Avocato said as he moved to stand up. He then looked over at his son and was slightly surprised when he gave him a pleading look.
"Please, dad. Just one more episode." Little Cato begged.
Avocato struggled to keep to his word as he looked at his son's hopeful gaze. 'Well, I guess one more episode couldn't hurt…' Avocato reasoned with himself as he looked at the time. The episodes only went for around 20 minutes…
"Okay." Said Avocato with a sigh as he sat back down. "But I really mean it this time."
Little Cato simply nodded thankfully as he turned back to the screen, where the ads were still on.
Avocato was disappointed in himself. He knew it was late and they both had to go to bed but his son had looked like he really didn't want to go to bed. Did he really want to spend time with him that much or was it something else.
Due to the ads still being on, he decided he would just ask. "Little Cato?"
"Yeah." Replied Little Cato turning away from the TV to look at his dad.
"I've noticed that you haven't been sleeping too well lately. Why?" Avocato asked flatly looking at his son to see his reaction. He didn't look like he really cared but Avocato knew Little Cato was really good at hiding what he was feeling when he wanted to.
"Just can't stop thinking." Stated Little Cato with a small shrug.
"About what?" Asked Avocato curiously and he was surprised when his son actually answered.
"About lots of things. Like the titans, being in final space, everyone on the ship and…" Little Cato stopped as he felt himself heat up. He couldn't believe he had almost said that!
"And?" Asked Avocato, even more curious than before. He could have sworn his son looked embarrassed a moment ago but a split second later his expression had shifted back to normal. What was he about to say?
"And what's going on in normal space." Finished Little Cato thinking fast.
Avocato wasn't buying it. He was definitely about to say something else.
"You sure that's what you were about to say." Asked Avocato suspiciously.
Little Cato just simply nodded as he turned back to the TV. He was relieved when he realized the ad break had just finished.
Avocato gave his son one last disbelieving look before turning back to the TV. He knew perfectly well that Little Cato was hiding something and he really wanted to know what. However, he also respected his son's privacy and if his son didn't want to tell him something, he had to respect that.
Avocato then focused on the show for a while. It really was a great show, probably one of the best he had ever watched.
Then, of course, another ad break came on in the middle of the episode. Both Little Cato and Avocato groaned. The ads always seemed to turn on at the worst times. They were just about to find out who really killed Harold.
Avocato briefly began to think about earlier that night and his short talk with Ash. Then a smirk made its way onto his face. He had an idea!
"Hey, son." Avocato asked turning his head around to face him.
"Yeah?" Replied Little Cato tearing his gaze away from the ads.
"Ash came into the lounge room earlier and was quite surprised when I told her about our heightened senses. Do you have any idea why?" Avocato was still smirking. He was amused and slightly surprised when Little Cato did almost the same thing as Ash when he had told her. He had frozen, only for a second though.
"No." Little Cato answered trying to keep the shock and embarrassment hidden from his father's gaze.
Avocato could hear a slight waver in his son's voice. He could tell that he had lied.
"Really?" Asked Avocato teasingly.
"Yeah." Replied Little Cato hiding his nervousness with a blank expression.
Avocato chuckled as he shook his head and turned back to the TV. Little Cato may be pretty good at lying but Avocato had always been able to see through his son's lies. "Okay. Now it's really time for bed. For both of us." Avocato said as the episode ended.
Little Cato smiled sheepishly and nodded as he checked the time. It was almost 4:00 am.
Avocato turned the TV off and everything went dark and silent. They both then walked down the hallway together. Little Cato tried his best to hide his disappointment as they reached his dad's bedroom door. He wasn't tired at all and he knew when he got back to his room it would take him a long time to get to sleep.
"Goodnight, dad." Said Little Cato fighting the urge to look down.
"Goodnight, son." Said Avocato with a smile as he hugged his son.
Little Cato was quite surprised but was extremely happy to just hug his father back. Avocato had barely ever hugged him a few years ago. Usually, the closest thing he would get to a hug was an appreciative nod or a smile, which those had been pretty rare too. However, now he had been hugged 3 times by him in the past two days. It didn't make much sense to him but he didn't mind at all. Sure, he wasn't one to love physical contact but his dad was an acceptation.
Avocato then let go and waved as he walked through his bedroom door. Little Cato waved back as the door shut.
Little Cato then continued to walk through the dark hallway to his room. Once he arrived, he climbed up the ladder, lay down on his back, and began to think about his dad and the show they had watched together.
Little Cato didn't know how much time had passed, all he knew was that it had been a lot. Little Cato sat up and checked the time, it was 7:00 am. He groaned in annoyance. He was really tired and all he wanted was to just go to sleep! So why couldn't he?
Little Cato made his bed and walked to the bathroom, where he took a shower and brushed his teeth. He hated showers. It meant that he had to get wet and it took a long time for his fur to dry. It was really uncomfortable walking around with wet fur, so he usually had to blow dry it, which took ages.
After he was moderately dry, Little Cato left the bathroom and walked back to his room. He then decided he would just lie down on his bed and try to fall asleep again.
Ash woke up early in the morning and absentmindedly started thinking about what she was going to do that day, but her mind began to wander and she soon found herself making a mental list of all the things she liked about Little Cato. There were so many good things that she was sure it would be impossible to name them all. However, there was one thing that she had begun to notice about him. She knew that he was very protective of almost everyone on the ship but she had reasons to believe that he was extra protective of her.
Thinking this made Ash blush, the room was dark though, so no one could see it.
She thought back to the time when they were trying to escape the happy place and a large rock was about to fall on her. Little Cato had saved her by leaping up and pushing her out the way before she had gotten hit. It was super lucky that he didn't get hit by the rock in the process but then again he was incredibly fast, flexible and amazing at dodging. He obviously knew what he was doing. She could clearly remember how he had looked at her after he'd saved her. At first, he cautiously looked around the room to see if there was any more danger but then he turned around and smiled at her.
Ash sighed dreamily replaying the memory in her head trying to remember every detail.
Then Ash thought of another time where Little Cato had been very protective and brave. It was the time where the evil KVN's had cornered Little Cato, Clarence, Fox, and her. Once Little Cato had caught sight of the KVN's, he had instantly put up his arm in front of her protectively.
Ash picked up her toy and started patting its bright orange and cyan fur, a giddy smile on her face. Little Cato was so amazing.
Then Ash began to think of something that worried her a lot. Little Cato put his life at risk repeatedly to save others but what if he gets hurt while doing so. What if he died!
Ash tried to think of anything else and soon found herself continuing her list of things she liked about Little Cato. She did this even though she knew that she wouldn't be able to name even half of the things she liked without a piece of paper, a pen, and heaps of time, which she didn't have.
"Ash, are you up yet." Came Quinn's voice from above startling Ash slightly.
"Yeah." Ash replied.
"Can I turn the light on?" Quinn asked as she started to climb down the ladder.
"Sure." Ash responded. She had barely started her list yet and she knew Quinn usually went to the bathroom to have a long shower straight when she got up, often leaving Ash alone with her thoughts.
Once she had climbed down the ladder, Quinn turned on the light and walked over to the cupboard to grab a towel.
"I'm gone to have a…" Quinn started trailing off at the end, unable to hold in a chuckle as she stared at Ash.
"What?" Asked Ash confused.
Quinn hesitated for a second, before deciding to tell Ash. "Your cheeks are so red."
Ash's confused expression changed to one of shock and embarrassment as she put her hand to her cheek. Her cheeks were indeed burning.
Quinn glanced at the toy in Ash's hand and smiled teasingly.
"It's not too hard to guess who you were thinking about." Quinn stated.
Ash didn't know what to say because she knew Quinn knew who she had been thinking about just by the knowing look on her face. Ash soon decided to simply say nothing and glare at Quinn. After a few seconds, Ash turned away from Quinn to face the wall.
Ash was relieved as she heard the automatic door open and then shut behind Quinn.
Now she could think about whatever she wanted to without being teased by her roommate.
