Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’d been four years since Gary Goodspeed had made contact with another living being, in any way shape or form. Four years of deafening silence made for a very, very long four years in the cold, empty vacuum of space. Being alone with your thoughts does things to a person- makes them warp in on themselves and turn into monstrous things. Gary wasn’t doing very well, by anyone’s definition.

It had been four years since he had seen Quinn. Four horrible, boring years of videos sent out; one for every day he spent waiting patiently for her reply. The signal would always fizzle out in space and never reach her, every single time, but he still sent them out every single day, just in case.

He never expected to reach anyone, but he held out hope that someone would find them. And on the day of the two year mark, he got what he wanted.

He just got lucky that day, maybe. Someone was flying by within a 500 mile range and caught his signal. He got the ‘message delivered’ notification and nearly had a heart attack; he didn’t even know it notified him of that!
HUE was even surprised by it. None of his calculations had ever prepared him for Gary actually reaching anyone. But sure enough, the message had been received.

But by who?

Gary had been alone for so long, he didn’t really… expect a response. But he was nothing if not the most hopeful person on earth, and hope he did.

“Hey, Quinn! It’s me, Gary. It’s uh.. Been another year! Out here, onboard the Galaxy One. Been quite a while.. I miss you! Of course, I always say that I miss you. But uh.. I do. I miss you. I need someone to talk to- Anyone to talk to, really, heh.... But… nobody will see this, will they? Probably not. I’m just.. Gonna go. Please respond… I’m sorry.”

In hindsight it was a dumb decision. Avocato knew it was dumb to go around answering random distress signals, but this guy sounded like he was in all kinds of distress. And after all, what did Lord Commander need more than allies?

He rationalized everything in his head over and over but deep down he knew he just needed something to distract him. He tried everything to keep his head clear, to focus on his singular goal, but it was getting stressful.

He wanted to be first in command. He wanted to call the shots in Lord Commander’s army. He wanted immunity from consequence, and he wanted a safe place to raise his son- to shelter him from the blood on his father’s hands. He would be free, finally. He wouldn't have to be afraid anymore, of losing his position or of his son getting hurt. It was all he wanted. Safety and freedom.

He mulled over the distress call for a while, drifting in space. There was still time to send out a signal. Just a little something to let the person know that there was hope- something Avocato would have loved in that situation. So he sent out something small, something simple and formal, and he prayed that he wasn't making a mistake.

“Gary, I have some news that you may find interesting.”

Gary looked up from his paper, a detailed drawing of a lunar moth half traced out on the page. “HUE, if you can't tell, I'm a little busy being the most talented artist in this part of the galaxy.”

“Oh. I just thought you would want to know about the incoming response to your most recent video log, but”

Gary stood up, knocking his chair over with a loud clattering. “I got a message? Like a real response from a living, breathing person? Was it Quinn? Did she finally reply?!”

If HUE had the ability to sigh, he would have. “No, Gary, the response is not from Quinn. It is a text response from an unknown source. It appears the sender took great care in remaining anonymous.”

Gary slammed his fists on the table. “Well, HUE? What are you waiting for, read it to me!”

Hue began reading off the response, monotone and slow. “Your message has been received. Hello. I cannot reveal my name to you yet, but I have seen your distress call and am confirming that you are seeking assistance. I will be back in range to receive your next signal in exactly 72 hours. Please respond. A. “

Gary blanked, his heart pounding. They wanted to help him. They were coming back. They might be able to get him off of this god forsaken ship.

HUE interrupted his thoughts. “Gary, you must be aware that you have to finish your prison sentence regardless of interference.”

Gary sighed, fixing his chair. “Yeah, yeah, go shove it up your port. I have a response to plan out.”

It took Gary 2 of the 3 days provided to think of something to say. Anything to say. It was hard to talk to someone when you hadn’t talked to anyone alive in four years, but Gary thought he did decently.

Avocato made good on his promise, tracking down the source of the signal easily and finding the Galaxy One floating alone in the middle of nowhere. it was almost sad.

He got the notification easily, opening the video log and sitting back. There was a sense of nervous excitement in his stomach that he didn't expect to feel, making him shift in his seat as he clicked play.

The video started with the human (Gary, his name is Gary, Avocato reminded himself) brushing his hair out of his eyes and smiling nervously at the camera.

“Hi! I uh- hello! I got your response, and I wanted to, ah, explain a few things before you got worried or something. If you were worried.”

He looked off camera and took a deep breath, sighing. His voice shook. Was this guy really that nervous about this?

“I-I’m not in any danger. I've been out here for four years serving a TOTALLY UNFAIR prison sentence for the Infinity Guard. I-I haven't had anyone to talk to in four years, so, like, this is a bit of a big deal for me! My name is Gary Goodspeed. I know you didn't tell me your name but you signed off with the letter A. A could stand for a lot of stuff. I've uh, I've taken up calling you Alan in my head. I don't think that's right, though.”

Avocato felt himself smile against his better instinct. This guy was pretty genuine, and none of the things he said felt rehearsed after the first few lines. He stopped and looked back up into the camera with his eyes wide and hopeful, disarming Avocato as he watched.

“If you wanted to tell me your name, theres nothing I could really do with the information except trust you more. I..”

He took a deep breath and Avocato bit his lip, watching with complete focus.

“I already do trust you. And that's probably pretty telling about me, I hardly know you. But… I do. Please answer soon.”

Gary smiled at the camera and the video feed powered off, leaving Avocato staring at his own reflection as he breathed.

I shouldn't feel like this about someone I don't know. I have no reason to trust him, Avocato thought to himself, even as he pulled up his audio recorder and began to speak.

“Hi, Gary. My name’s not Alan, first of all. It’s Avocato.”

To be continued...

Chapter Text

Avocato was checking the clock every few minutes, anxious to get on his ship and get going. To be anywhere but where he was. Him and Gary had been talking back and forth for about 2 weeks now, Gary taking his sweet time on the satellite he was repairing so Avocato could easily keep track of his location. Avocato, despite his own sense of danger, knew that he was becoming attached to Gary. But he couldn’t help it!

Quite frankly it was addicting- thinking about how much Gary cared for him

Avocato came back out with a portable satellite that would extend their signal, but it would also encrypt it so that only Gary could read his messages and only he could read Gary’s- their secrets to keep. Avocato kept a lot of secrets from Gary, unfortunately.

He was a general of the most feared army in the Galaxy. In a mere ten years, they had managed to take over more than half of the major controlling empires, and within a few weeks they’d have the Infinity Guard under their control as well. That kind of work didn’t leave time for pleasure.

“Hey, Avocato! I got your message! I think it’s really cool that you work for a big group! It must be hard work, you always sound so tired. I mean, don’t get me wrong- I like your voice! I just- hang on- KVN! YOU-”

Or maybe it was that he thought he didn’t deserve that kind of feeling anymore, after all he had done. He was a murderer, after all- a monster. But he did have compassion and love in his heart, no matter how much he hurt the people around him.

“I originally was making these video messages for a girl named Quinn. She, uh… she never responded to any of them. I don’t- I don’t know exactly why..”

His son, Little Cato. Bright as a star and as sharp as a tack. He was so, so proud of everything Little Cato did. He was growing up so quickly, and learning more every day.

“Ooh, we passed this beautiful nebula earlier today. I figured after the first year of being out in space I’d get bored of sights like this but- hang on, maybe if I move the camera the right way I can show you! Let me just-”

He hardly saw his son anymore with all the orders Lord Commander was dishing out, keeping him busy and obedient whenever he could. Avocato felt like, maybe, Gary was the only innocent being in the universe anymore.

“I really like insects and bugs and stuff like that! I used to raise butterflies back when I was a kid. I had this lunar moth caterpillar named Mooncake that I raised until it was big and strong! I like to think he's out in the universe still, makin' a name for himself…”

Gary paced around the ship, staring out the windows and praying for that telltale sound to play over the intercom. It was about time for Avocato to send him another message, the promise of hearing from his friend proving to be a hell of an adrenaline rush. He kept his eye out on the stars, searching for a trace of movement.

“Gary,” HUE stated. Gary jumped.

“Did- did he respond? Is he nearby?” His voice was full of hope and desperation, a need for contact. He missed Avocato a lot.

“No, Gary. I was just going to say that Avocato transmits his messages from too far away for you to be able to see him. You will only give yourself a headache if you keep straining your eyes to try and see his ship.”

Gary groaned and sat down, sliding down the window and crossing his legs. “You know what else would give me a headache, HUE? Slamming my head against the wall.”

“Gary, I-”

The sound of a chime filled the air and Gary gasped, practically sprinting to the control room. There was a huge projector in there, and it had the best surround sound on the ship. Gary told HUE to turn the volume all the way up as he sat in the middle of the floor, letting Avocato’s voice wash over him like warm water.

“Hey, Gary.”

Gary always thought it was some dumb sappy thing when people talked about being able to hear someone smile, but he could hear it in Avocato’s voice when he talked, there was a layer of happiness that hadn’t been there in the past. He liked it, feeling at ease and blissful.

“I wanted to ask you something, and you’ll have to respond quickly so I can get to work on it. I found a prototype communicator that will work as a sort of… Basically, you won’t have to use satellites anymore and I won’t have to worry about losing contact with you. We. Uh-”

Gary felt his stomach flutter. Avocato worried about losing contact with him- worried about losing him! He feared the same things Gary feared every day.

“So if you want me to fix that up for you, I can do that. Just… be quick. Signed, Avocato.”

It only took Gary two minutes to respond with a resounding yes, please.

Little Cato was a smart, smart boy.

He may have only been 12 years old, but he could tell something was up with his dad right away, because he came home from work  smiling . He came home, and he saw Little Cato fiddling with the handheld game they’d found for him, and Avocato had scooped him up in his arms and smiled and laughed and Little Cato was almost sure it was too good to be true because he hadn't heard his dad laugh like that in forever.

“What’s the deal, did you win the lottery?” He said as his father spun them around, still holding him

Avocato grinned and nuzzled the top of his head. “Hey. Can’t I just be happy to see my favorite kid?”

Little Cato looked off into the distance and scrunched his face up. “Hmmm… Nope. What’s the scoop?”

Avocato sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, rocking Little Cato back and forth. “Damn, I can’t hide a thing from you, can I?”

“Nope! Now, spill!”

Avocato rolled his eyes as he brushed Little Cato’s mohawk back. “I uh… I made a new friend.”

“Oh?” Little Cato smirked. “What kind of friend?”

Avocato laughed (a rare sound) and held him tighter for a moment. “Nothing like that . He’s just… Nice”

Little Cato shot him an incredulous look. “Mhmm, whatever you say, dad. Tell me about him, what’s he like?”

Avocato sighed, glancing off to the side with a soft smile. “He’s… Nice.”

“Your words say ‘nice’ but that whole look you've got right now,” he gestured vaguely towards Avocato’s face, “says otherwise.”

Avocato rolled his eyes and looked back at him with a good natured laugh. After a few moments, the smile on his face faded and he grew more serious, almost melancholic. “You know I can’t… Do that kind of stuff anymore. Not until I make sure you’re safe.”

“I know,” Little Cato said, his ears drooping slightly.  “Don’t remind me, your dumb job comes first.”

Avocato frowned. “I.. I know things are tough right now, but I promise that things are going to be better, soon. Have faith, alright?”

Little Cato hummed and sighed, nodding slowly. They remained like that for a while, in eachothers arms, thankful for the rare moment of bliss that came with it. Then Avocato glanced down at him, looking almost nervous.

“His name is Gary. I think you’d like him a lot- he uh... he reminds me of you.”

“Tell me more about him..?”

“...Alright.”

Chapter Text

“So, like, I keep thinking about what you might look like. I bet you're really rugged and cool looking- you probably would wear like, a leather jacket. With, uh, spikes and cool patches and stuff on it. Ooh! And boots! You sound like a boots kind of guy- like.. These boots were made for walkin’! Like, uh, I bet you have a really cool biker type of look going on. All mysterious and handsome. Yeah.”

Avocato stared down at the holoscreen on his wrist, a distant smile on his face as he replayed the most recent message Gary had sent him. He and Gary were sending each other messages by the hour now- sometimes, even faster. It had only been about a month since they started talking but Avocato already liked him... a lot. Gary had this almost glow about him. Everything he did and said was so genuine and real, like he didn't care what anyone thought about him, but he still really clearly wanted Avocato to like him. Those two things normally would cancel out, but somehow it was just… Gary.

He was cute, for a human. He made Avocato feel wanted and loved by someone other than Little Cato, which was new. He loved his son, but the idea that someone cared about him just because he was himself felt entirely unique, in a fuzzy and warm way.

Avocato went through his video files again (he saved all of them and would re-watch them while he was alone) and pulled up his favorite message log so far.

It opened with Gary laughing hysterically, leaning on the wall of the ship for support. He tried talking, tried calming down, but only managed to pause for a moment before snorting and looking up at the camera.

“ Okay, okay, okay-- so. So I just found a book I used to doodle and write in back in year one and it’s, uh -”

He flipped through the pages of the book in his hands as he spoke, pausing to giggle between words.

“I found this masterpiece of a drawing, stashed away in the darkest depths of the captains quarters.”

He held it up to the camera and Avocato couldn't help but laugh at the crudely drawn picture of Gary wearing a cape kicking a man in the face. Gary snorted again and the image grew shaky as he grabbed the camera, looking into it with a smile.

Avocato looked back and his chest grew lighter, his breathing picking up. It felt like he was really, truly happy. Gary kept talking, telling a story about the picture, and Avocato listened with great attention.

Then he felt that familiar, sickening crackle in the air, the smell of spent energy and dry blood flooding his senses with a rush of fear. His fur stood on end and he frantically shut the recording off, standing silently at attention as the door down the far end of the hall swung open with a violent clanging.

The footfalls from the other side of the room were quiet and hurried, clearly not that of anything predatory or dangerous, but Avocato could feel the approaching creature in the back of his mind like a live wire spewing electricity, or the timer on a nuclear bomb ticking down to zero.

The Lord Commander headed towards him, hovering a few inches off the ground as always while his little assistant Eric followed him. His eyes radiated a sickly yellow glow and Avocato resisted the urge to cringe in distaste as the sense of danger in his stomach grew stronger.

“ Avocato .”

He saluted, regular as clockwork, as natural as breathing. Lord Commander settled to the ground before him, looking into his eyes while Avocato stared directly ahead.

There’s something truly terrifying about having your own body moved without your control, but Avocato barely registered the feeling anymore after all the years of being thrown around and used as a metaphorical chess piece.

His legs grew numb and he collapsed, kneeling to the Lord Commander’s eye level. The pins and needles feeling shot up his body and he winced, biting back a pained gasp.

“You’ve been doing particularly well, lately. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

Avocato blinked, looking up blankly.

“No, sir. Nothing to report.”

Lord Commander kept eye contact for a moment, scanning Avocato’s face. When he was met with that same steely look, he scoffed, shifting his weight in annoyance. “Nothing fun happens around here anymore! Strangling Eric only has so many charms about it…”

To make a point, he raised his hand and flung Eric across the room, a sadistic grin on his face. Avocato remained still, kneeling, staring blankly ahead. Lord Commander looked back at Avocato and frowned, his displeasure clear as day.

“ You're not very fun at all . Would you like to play some cards with me, Avocato? I'm very good at it. You should play with me,” he leaned close enough that Avocato could feel the radiation in the back of his neck.

He spoke evenly, refusing to let the blatant threat intimidate him. “No, sir, I have work to do.”

Lord Commander laughed, a cold sound. “Fine, fine, fine. Keep up the good work and uh- all that. Whatever.”

He continued down the hall, the air thinning back out as the door slammed shut behind him. Avocato stayed still for awhile afterwards, worried eyes were still on him. A good ten minutes later, he sat down fully and turned on his microphone.

“Hey, Gary. I’ll start by saying that I'm flattered you think I'm cool, and that you're not so bad yourself. I wish I could send you a picture of me, but I don't think I'm ready for that. Plus, I… Don't think I'm quite what you're expecting I'll be. I can give you some simple details, though. I’m 6’3, I have green eyes and dark hair. And… I’m not human. I figured you should know that much, because…”

He paused and looked away from the microphone, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

“One day I want to meet you. In person, face to face. Just… not yet. I can’t explain why right now, but I promise that it’s for a good reason. See ya soon, baby.”

He sent the message and rested his head against the wall. He hoped Gary would understand, and not get his hopes up as to how soon it would be before they would meet up. He wanted to be able to reassure him in person, to be there for him. He wasn’t even sure why he wanted to protect Gary so badly, it was almost instinctual.

He thought about Little Cato, and about Gary, and about his job.

If Lord Commander asked him to, would he kill Gary? Would he be able to harm his son? Would it be worth it? Would he be able to betray everything he’s ever known?

He shook off the thought. After all, what’s the likelihood of that ever happening?

Gary jumped at the gentle ringing over the intercom, buzzing with excitement. HUE didn't even need to wait for permission, playing the recording over the intercom. It had become part of his daily routine to sit and listen to the recordings, imagining Avocato talking to him in person in a million different forms.

Over time, Gary started to realize that he didn’t really care what Avocato looked like. He was his best friend, regardless, and Gary would love him no matter what he looked like.

However, it was still fun to fantasize about what he looked like. Now that he knew Avocato wasn’t human, it left a lot of room for thought.

He had been around humans a lot of his life, but ever since aliens had integrated themselves into earth life it was more or less the norm to see extraterrestrials of all shapes and sizes roaming about. It gave him a lot of ideas on what Avocato could be, but really his imagination just kept drawing on an image of a ridiculously attractive and badass rebel space prince coming to sweep Gary off his feet and ride off into the sunset with him in his arms-

Okay, okay, so maybe he had accidentally developed a bit of a crush on this guy. How could he not?

Avocato liked his jokes, and had a beautiful laugh, and he was so smart and cool and actually cared about him. His voice was addicting and Gary genuinely wished he could spend all day listening to him talking about his life.

He knew it was stupid to think about it, but… What was the alternative? Going back to sending messages to Quinn? Never getting an answer? Pining after a ghost? No way. Nuh-huh. Not anymore, not from Gary Goodspeed.

“You're not so bad yourself.”

Gary's cheeks burnt and he grinned as the words processed in his mind, flapping his arms and pacing back and forth. “He thinks I’m cool! He wants to see me in person !”

He giggled and ran around the halls like a kid, uninhibited joy rushing through him like a drug. He pulled the camera up and started recording again. His hair was a mess, but he was too excited to care.

Lord Commander grimaced as he stared out into the stars. Something had to be done, soon.

He was chosen to wield godlike power. He was chosen to become a god himself, to ascend to the ranks of the Titans. But he knew his time was short, and true allies of his cause were a rare commodity.

He wanted to escape the threat of death. He was willing to do anything to survive.

His vessel was growing weak with time. He could feel his body decaying around him. The power he held was burning through him like the filament in a lightbulb, and soon the weak body he resided in would not be able to take the current anymore.

He was dying, pretty much, which sucked . It really, really sucked. Dying was the thing he was ripping the fabric of reality apart to avoid. Things were starting to look grim, but he knew, in whatever remained of his heart, that he would emerge victorious.

It might take a while before he got the chance to find E-351 again and re-open the breach into final space. For now, he’d be patient, and he'd be vigilant. But he couldn’t afford any slip-ups.

He had a plan on how to make sure his generals were completely loyal.  He had three days to organize it, and then he would execute it.

There was not a doubt in his mind that every last one of them would go through with any orders given to them, but he figured, it's better safe than sorry. After all, what is one pathetic child's life worth in the presence of a young god? All these sacrifices were for a good cause. An important cause.

For eternity.

For the Lord Commander.

Chapter Text

Hey, so I don’t actually plan on ever finishing this fic, but I get comments on it all the time asking for an update so I figured for y’all’s sake I’ll post the outline for the fic that I have!! I wrote it back when season 1 was still airing so the characterization is a little off and honestly I could probably write better now (I was only 16 at the time 😭) but it is what it is!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rO4lRD-GyQpa3mbnyRuAr1bhooygfZnxgAIP1PM1Mf8/edit?usp=sharing

if anyone wants to finish the fic themselves based on this outline I won’t stop you !! I just don’t have the energy to do it myself U_U

thank you all so much for your support on this fic, though!! It was such a good idea and I wish I could finish it U_U