The Captain - Garycato (Final Space AU)

Chapter 4

"Yep! It's all good!" Little Cato, Gary noted, replied cheerfully "Ash come help me set the things up!" He called, earning a groan from a teen with magenta hair.

Little Cato, the Captain's kid, had been in the kitchen cooking... how did Gary not notice him? How did HE not notice Gary?

The blond anxiously played with his braid as he watched the two teens bring food to the table, his mouth watering when

"Crap-" he thought as he stomach rumbled

Everyone seemed to go quiet, looking around as the sound hadn't come from anywhere near the table, before Little Cato laughed

"Hungry as always, huh? Fox?" He said a bit nervously

"What? It wasn't me!" The big guy with a similar bandanna to the kit said in embarrassment "in fact, I think it was you- you're doing that nervous laugh of yours" he said as-a-matter-of-fact

"Wasn't me! If it wasn't you it was definitely... Evra" he nodded, pushing the blame to the other teen

Gary watched things unfold, the pirates growing lower until the main problem was forgotten and they just were both arguing and laughing.
The Captain, Bartolomew, just sighed annoyingly and started serving his own food, eating in silence as he made no effort to stop them...it seemed to be an usual thing for them.

Pirates...people who steal and sail on adventures- just like Gary but...not alone.
Must be nice...

The blond decided to return to staring at the dark wood in the barrel, listening to their conversations and smelling the delicious food. He wrapped the crystal in some silk he had and placed it in his pocket with a pout out of boredom.

It took a while but everyone had left once again, bringing the quiet and the fake peace to Gary's mind.

"Hey" a whisper seemed to make him jump out of his skin as the lid slowly came off. Gary looked up with wide eyes to see Little Cato looking down at him.
The kid just gave him a smirk before handing him a plate of food and some cutlery

"Heard you were hungry" he said, shushing the human when the other began to stammer for excuses "go on eat"
Little Cato jumped on the balcony of the kitchen and watched the human who stared at him before shrugging and eating with caution

"I poisoned it" he widened his eyes slowly in a haunting manner

Despite having said that, the human still swallowed down the food but now with a more terrified expression

"Like...Deadly poison or diarrhea kind of poison?" The blond whispered, unsure if he'd rather die than get the other, causing the kid to laugh out loud.

Little Cato was quick to shut himself up, looking at the stairs with caution before back at the human
"So like...are you here for our bounties?" He asked

"What? No" the blond shook his head "I don't even have enough weapons to go against you pirates...just a knife- like...a very tiny knife...for cutting apples and stuff..." he continued, taking a big scoop of his food

"Oh? Can I see it?" Little Cato leaned fowatd in curiosity

"Why?" The other replied a bit taken aback, afraid the kid would take his only form of self defense

"Oh...maybe I should call dad--"

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Gary said quickly, digging  in his boot and pulling out what looked like a knife wrapped in cloth. He nervously opened it up to reveal a quite expensive looking knife, made of pure gold

"Woah!" The kid gasped "is that gold? What the heck- are you rich or something"

"Depends on what type of rich you mean" Gary replied "if you mean rich in money then no- rich in knowledge? Probably not... rich in love? Definitely no-- yeah I'm not rich" Gary sighed

Little Cato only chuckled, finding the strange human interesting. He eyed the knife and slowly reached for it

"Can I?" He decided to ask before, watching the human weigh the odds against him before handing him the knife "woah...." Little Cato felt the weight in his hands, certainly pure gold....why was this man carrying such a thing? Was it a family object passed down to him?

"Just don't kill me with it" the man chuckled, finishing the last bit of his food

"Who are you?" Little Cato asked, handing the knife back, to Gary's surprise "and why are you in our ship if not a bounty hunter?".

Gary paused to think, trying to come up with the best way to introduce hi.self without giving his real identity- not that it should matter as he had lost his when he had been sold to slave traders.

"I'm just a wanderer" he replied with some truth "I stay not in one place but travel the lands- where I want to go, I will" he folded his arms behind his head, making himself conformable in the small space

"A wanderer huh..." Little Cato hummed "what's it like? I only travel by sea so I'm curious"

"Oh it's fun" Gary smiled "you learn a lot and you see a lot" he nodded

"What's something you've seen that you can never forget?" The boy asked curiously, being surrounded by nothing but seas could get a bit boring

Gary paused yet again, though it was clear he had an answer on the tip of his tongue already

"The sea in the North reflecting the northern lights" he smiled, understanding that "my father" wouldn't be a good answer so he went with his best second.

"Woah...so the sea? Cool!" The boy said before gasping as he heard his father call for him. He looked down at the worried wanderer before giving him an encouraging smile

"Stay there for a few more days- I'll try think of something" he whispered with a nod, taking the plate from him and placing the lid on the barrel.