Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You had been called into a sudden emergency meeting one afternoon, and walked in expecting to be sent on perhaps an urgent but still run-of-the-mill mission, or briefed on a sudden change to an existing case. You didn’t expect to essentially become the babysitter for eight aliens. Well, one of them was human, but still.

You waited in the briefing room with five other agents and Maria Hill. One of your fellow agents, you thought her name was Stacy, tried asking what the meeting was about, and Maria would only reply to wait for Fury, and that he should be there soon.

Admittedly that made you a little nervous. It wasn’t often that you didn’t get any information before a meeting, but you tried not to think too much into it.

Fury arrived a few minutes later followed by six people you had never seen before.

Two of the men looked normal enough- that is to say, human- but they were the only two. One with red hair and another with strange tattoos on his neck. Then there was a large shirtless greenish/greyish man with what looked at first glance to be many swirly red tattoos covering his body. He had what you thought was a raccoon holding a wooden doll sitting on his shoulder, until the raccoon jumped down onto the table and you saw that not only did the raccoon walk upright, but the “wooden doll” was actually alive, and walked around as well when set upon the table. The other man was a rough looking type, and he was as blue as the sky with what appeared to be a red metal mow-hawk. There were two women with them as well, a taller green one who looked like she could kill you without blinking, and a smaller paler one with antennae who actually looked kinda scared to be there, as she was all but hiding behind the larger shirtless man.

Now, with your line of work you were of course aware of the reality of aliens, but these were actually the first you’d seen up close other than some of the Skrull people Fury worked with.

This group, however, seemed a little… dysfunctional. The red haired man said something snarky to the raccoon, and to your surprise the raccoon spoke back, saying something equally snarky in return before snapping at the red haired man’s hand. The man then mimed smacking the raccoon across the room only to then be smacked in the back of the head by the green woman, earning snickers from both neck-tattoo guy and the blue man.

Fury loudly plopped a folder on the table and looked at the group sternly, prompting them to silence. He then turned to you and your fellow agents. “You’re probably wondering why I called you all here.” Not waiting for an answer he continued, “In simplest terms, we need to provide sanctuary for this lot because they went and pissed off some very dangerous people, and the Nova Corps urgently insists that they need protection.”

An agent to your right, you didn’t know his name, spoke up. “Then why aren’t they hiding them? Why pawn them on us?”

“This is their way of hiding them. Earth is considered primitive by the rest of the galaxy’s standards. We have virtually no contact outside this planet, and Nova figured this would be one of the last places anyone might look. Buy them some time to diffuse the situation with the people after these guys before they blow them to pieces.”

For seemingly no reason, the red haired man then flicked the raccoon, only to fall on his ass when the raccoon lunged at him, receiving many annoyed looks from the rest of the group.

The same agent spoke again, confusion on his face. “Pardon me, but why is this Nova Corps putting all this effort into hiding… them?” The inflection was clear. What was so special about these dumbasses?

Fury, after witnessing the buffoonery, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, in addition to them being idiots.” He punctuated the sentence with a sharp look toward the group, making the man and raccoon attempt to straighten up. “They’ve also managed to save the galaxy on more than one occasion. Nova is understandably less than willing to see them come to deadly harm. This is where you come in. We can’t keep them here, so we need agents who can house them until everything blows over. Now, we’re considering dividing them them among the five of you-”

“Wait! Whoa whoa whoa! You never said we’d be split up! We’re a team! You can’t split us up!” cried the red haired man. The rest of the group seemed agitated as well, and started to argue with Fury.

You heard a couple agents to your left whispering that they were in no way going to house any of them, and you couldn’t help but agree as you watched the scene in front of you.

The blue man had the red haired man by the arm, irritably telling the younger to “Calm down, boy!” as the red haired man tried to pull away, yelling and pointing at Fury about how “This wasn’t the deal!” The green woman was also yelling at the red haired man, something about having no choice if they wanted everyone to be safe, as the neck-tattoo guy just stood there, almost as if he didn’t know whether to be angry or sad. The woman with the antennae looked even more frightened, now burying her face into the chest of the large tattooed man while he simultaneously patted her head comfortingly and somehow also managed a deadly look at your director. The raccoon had now hopped back on the table to comfort the little wooden creature, which was now crying, soothing it and saying, “It’s ok, buddy, I’m not gonna let them separate us, I promise. Look at me, it’s gonna be fine.”

That’s all it took, and you cursed yourself.

You rubbed a hand down your face. Damn it. “I’ll do it.” you said, voice raised just loud enough to be heard over the commotion.

Loud enough to capture Fury’s attention. He turned away from the now quieting group and shared a brief look with Agent Hill. “What was that?”

You sighed, a voice in your mind yelling at you to reconsider. “I’ve got a place. Out of the way.” Wait, what the hell are you doing? “I can take them.” No. Turn back! It’s not too late! “I mean, people will have to double up in the bedrooms, but I have the space to take them all.” Dammit! What’s wrong with you!?

Fury nodded. “Where do you live?”

“In the interest of security, sir, I think that’s a conversation best had in private.”

Fury smiled. “Good answer.”

***

After Fury dismissed the other agents and discussed the whereabouts of your home and its security, he surprised you by declaring that you’d all be leaving within the hour.

You were taken a bit aback, having assumed you’d have some time to prepare, but agreed, assuming that time must be of the essence. Preparations could be made as you went, you supposed.

The ride to your home was a bit awkward, to be honest. Fury split the group between your car and a larger black SUV that he would be driving. In your vehicle you transported the red haired man and the green woman, who’s names you learned were Peter and Gamora, along with agent Maria Hill in the front passenger seat. You assumed she had been assigned to ride with you rather than Fury for security purposes, but you didn’t ask. Fury transported the rest, which you were sure would have been an interesting ride to say the least.

Your journey, however, was quite quiet. Peter kept trying to make conversation, but it never went much further than a couple-word answers from you or Maria. Reason being that you honestly just didn’t know what to say, and you weren’t exactly the most open book, and you’d never known Maria to be much of a conversationalist while on the job, though you two usually got on pretty well together.

Your home was an old double storey stone farmhouse set in the countryside, miles away from the nearest house, and even further away from the nearest town. The back of the property was a decent sized lot that emptied into a forest that also shielded around the sides, and at the front there were hedges and tall trees blocking the property from the sight of nearest road. It was easy to miss if you didn’t know where to find the drive path that turned off the main road and winded up to the house. For all intents and purposes, to any average person taking a country drive, it was as if it wasn’t even there, lost among the vast amount of trees.

Therefore, when you did finally arrive at your home a good bit later, you were more than surprised to find three black vans already parked in your drive. You were first alarmed, worried that somehow your location had already been compromised. You stayed behind the wheel for a moment, unsure of what to do, until you looked in the rearview mirror to see Fury and his lot exiting his vehicle. You looked to Maria in confusion.

“Yeah, there may be a bit more you need to be briefed on.” she said in reply to a question that hadn’t left your lips, smiling apologetically.

You got out of your car, followed by the rest of your passengers, and walked over to Fury who was standing in front of his passengers as they stared up at their new (hopefully) temporary lodging.

“What’s going on here?” you asked when you reached him, gesturing to the men coming out of your house.

“Slow workmanship. They should have been done and gone 30 minutes ago.” Fury said flatly, gazing at a man who nodded apologetically to the director and spoke into his walkie for his men to wrap up.

“Fury-” you say, your tone unamused.

“Agent Hill was supposed to brief you on the way over.” he said, looking past you to Maria with a raised eyebrow.

“I considered that it might be better to wait until we reached the destination, sir, rather than inside of a moving vehicle, considering.”

Fury half nodded as if in agreement, then turned to look back at your home. “We already scoped your place out a week ago. You’re right, it was nearly the perfect place.”

“Excuse me?” you say, eyes widening in confusion and surprise. What the hell did he mean he had already scoped it out a week prior? You had been under the impression these people had just been spontaneously dropped in Fury’s lap.

“Your home,” he said as if that would clarify things. “We had already looked into it, and other than needing a few adjustments, it was the perfect safe house to hide them.”

“You- How-” you sputtered. You took a moment to gather your thoughts. “You mean to tell me that this was all already decided before you ever called that meeting?”

“Of course. It would have been irresponsible to drop them off at the first place we found.”

“Then why call the meeting? Why the damn charade if this wasn’t really my choice?” You were fighting not to raise your voice too much, but it still came out irritated. You threw an accusatory glance at the group, who were clearly listening in on the conversation, not like you had been quiet enough for them not to hear if they hadn’t been. “Were you lot in on this?”

Peter held up his hands and shook his head defensively, as did a few of the others. You only narrowed your eyes and turned back to Fury as he spoke.

“Oh, you always had a choice, I just wanted to make sure you’d be willing.” Fury said calmly, only now turning to look at you. “I knew you’d say yes.”

“How could you possibly know I’d say yes!?”

“Well you did, didn’t you?” You could almost hear laughter in his voice. The fucker practically seemed pleased with himself. You could feel your blood boiling.

“Oh yeah? How do you know I won’t take it back after this stunt?”

Fury turned back to watch the vans turn around to exit the drive. “You won’t. I know that well enough.”

“How can you be so sure?” you say defiantly.

The Guardians look to each other worriedly. What if you did take it back because this Fury guy pissed you off? Would they have to be separated? Would they have to find a whole new planet to hide on?

Yondu eyed you as you asked your director how he was sure you wouldn’t take back your offer, expecting him to say that he would be paying you too much to refuse, but he didn’t expect the answer that actually came out of Fury’s mouth.

“Because you offered with asking how you’d be compensated, and you still haven’t asked. That, and I read your face like an open book.” He now grinned as he looked at you, saying much softer, “You don’t have it in you to turn them away.”

You felt your face grow hot and you stuttered a bit before looking up at the sky in defeat, sighing at the darkening clouds beginning to gather overhead, a testament to your torment, to be sure. “Fine.” you say. Suddenly remembering what he said, you looked back at him, “What did you mean by adjustments?”

Maria smiled at Fury as she placed a hand on your back and guided you towards the door. The other’s followed.

“I know this seems like an intrusion, but we promise we didn’t hurt anything. We simply added a couple beds, stocked the pantry, and updated the plumbing and wiring.”

“The plumbing was fine,” you grumbled, “and I was working on the wiring.”

“Your home is just over 200 years old. The plumbing might have been fine when it was just you here, but now you’ll be housing eight other people. I think you can understand why we would consider improving it.” Fury stated, almost like a reprimand to your stubbornness. You eye him, wondering how he could know how old your home was, but you supposed he knew that the same way he knew where to find your home a week before you ever told him where it was.

Because he was Fury.

Looks were exchanged among the Guardians as they entered the home behind you, surprised to hear of the age of your home to see it in such nice condition. Though, if you had been living here they supposed it shouldn’t have come to much surprise that you would have cared for it.

The front door opened up to a large hall featuring a staircase to the left. On either side of the entrance were two more doors.

Maria lead you all through the door on the right into the kitchen to briefly show they had stocked the pantry with some foods they, The Guardians as you heard them referred to as, were used to, to make the transition to Earth foods easier. They would be making bi-weekly supply drops to your home to keep the pantry stocked to feed all of them, but the food would soon be coming only from Earth, as it would be both expensive, and a possible security risk to try and keep importing foods from outer space.

You all then exited the kitchen and travelled up the stairs while Maria explained that everyone’s bags had already been placed in the rooms based on what they assumed would be the correct sleeping arrangements. Of course, everyone was free to switch it up at their discretion. Once at the top of the stairs you instinctually step forward and reach up to pull the string for the light, as the hall was a bit dim due to the fading light outside, but you find it missing.

“Where the hell did-” you think softly out loud, looking up to see the whole fixture had been changed. The light then came on by itself and embarrassingly resulted in you startling in surprise. You turn to see Fury grinning slightly while shaking his head, his finger still near a switch that definitely wasn’t there before you left the house that morning.

“Man, they weren’t kidding when they said you Terran types were primitive, eh Pete?”

You shot the raccoon an offended look before Fury reminded you that they had updated your wiring. You blushed and looked at the new switch suspiciously, wondering how they managed to rewire your house so quickly without destroying the walls, but resisted the urge to sarcastically accuse him of witchcraft lest you give these ‘Guardians’ the idea that you were actually scared of electricity. Not that you cared what they thought, or anything.

Maria motioned to the first door on the left of the landing, and said to you that they naturally assumed it was the one you slept in, as it appeared to be the only one currently being inhabited. You nodded that she was correct and she continued, opening the door and informing you that they had added an extra bed and had placed Mantis’s bag inside. She pointed to the woman with the antennae, indicating that’s who she was referring to.

You silently nod again, a gesture that you were accepting of this arrangement. Of everything else they had done, this was one of the lesser intrusive things, next to the pantry. The woman seemed like one of the least annoying of the bunch, so you weren’t going to argue. Could be worse. They could have put the raccoon or the dude with red hair in there.

You didn’t see, but Mantis let out a sigh of relief at this knowledge that you weren’t going to be angry about sharing your room with her. Her mood immediately brightened, convinced she was about to make a new friend.

You peeked into the room as the others pushed forward with Maria. Inside was your wooden framed single sized bed, only now pressed against the right side of the room from where it had previously been centered beneath the window. A new bed had now been set up on the left side of the room, opposite corner from your own, to leave clearance for the attic door. This bed was a black metal framed single, already fitted with grey and white sheets.

You naturally assumed Fury’s team decided to add similar beds to the other rooms while also making use of the remaining beds that were already there, and so you didn’t follow the others to see. You didn’t really care to see, hadn’t been in those rooms much in years for a reason.

You just crossed your arms and leaned to rest back against your doorframe and watched on as Maria sorted them into the rooms and Fury took to standing in the corner opposite of you, watching everything.

Fury’s team had apparently placed the belongings of the blue man and the man with the neck tattoos in the room directly across from your own, and you learned their names were Yondu and Kraglin, respectively.

They placed the large man, raccoon, and wooden child all in the room further down at the end of the landing on that side, and you learned the large man was called Drax, the raccoon was Rocket, and the tiny wooden child was Groot. Something twisted in your belly seeing the little wooden child shyly peek into the room from atop Drax’s shoulder, but you forced it down. No time to think about who previously owned that room right now.

The raccoon could be heard complaining, “You’re seriously gonna make me sleep in a crib?”

The twisting came back, and you looked at Fury, ignoring the snickers and banter from the raccoon’s friends as they both teased him for his misfortune and told him to get over it.

“We might have taken advantage of some furniture in the attic.” Fury said, shrugging.

“It was locked.” you say, your eyes narrowed. How would he even know to look up there? Did they literally go through your entire house when they 'scouted’ it?

“So was the front door.”

You sigh bitterly, only eyeing him in response.

“Is there a problem?” Fury asked, not altogether sincerely.

You shake your head and break his gaze. “It’s fine.”

Directly across from the previous room, Maria informed the ones you now knew as Gamora and Peter that that’s where their belongings had been placed, Maria stating that they hoped they weren’t being forward in assuming the pair were a couple. Gamora only nodded and said it was fine, while Peter gave her a cheeky grin that made her roll her eyes. Them being in that particular room meant you’d be sharing a wall with them, and with the knowledge that they were a couple you hopped it wouldn’t mean you’d wind hearing any… 'special’ noises at night while you were trying to sleep.

Once everyone knew where they’d be sleeping and seemed happy enough with the pre-arranged sleeping arrangements courtesy of who you were now mentally dubbing Intruder Fury, neck tattoo man-Kraglin- looked at Maria and asked where the restroom happened to be.

You lowered a hand from where it had previously been crossed over your chest and rapped twice on the wall, getting his attention, and pointed to the only still closed door to your left, centered in the wall across from the opening to the stairs.

He nodded in thanks, seeming slightly embarrassed that he had forgotten that this was, in fact, your house and not Intruder Fury’s or Co-Intruder Hill’s.

Fury gave you an unimpressed look that you read as, “Use your words.” and you spoke up saying there was another bathroom downstairs if anyone else needed it. Peter spoke up saying that he could use it, and so you nodded your head towards the stairs in a “come on then” gesture and lead him as well a couple others downstairs to point where it was, down the hall towards the back of the house, past the kitchen. It was the only door at the end the hall that could be seen from where you stood, so he couldn’t miss it.

Maria and Fury met you at the bottom of the stairs behind the rest of the Guardians, sans Kraglin of course.

“We trust everyone will settle in nicely,” Fury said, turning a pointed look at the Guardians as he said “and will be on their best behavior.” This earned a few nods from the group and he then turned to you, adding almost jokingly, “Would you like to finish the tour?”

You pointed towards the kitchen and spoke flatly, “Food’s in there, so is laundry,” you pointed towards the bathroom Peter had disappeared into, “Shower and toilet’s in there,” you pointed upstairs, “Sleep’s up there,” you opened the door to your left, the only room not yet explored that you were willing to open, and pointed inside, “Sitting room is in there. Watch TV, read, knock yourselves out.”

Fury spoke first. “I get the way we went about this situation may seem less than ideal to you, but I assure you there’s no need to be testy.”

“I have every right to be 'testy.’ You couldn’t have just asked? If you really somehow already knew I’d say yes than why go through all-” you waved your hands around, trying to find the words, “You had to go and be all… you?!” There was an edge to your voice that drove the message. He had manipulated you, if that were even the right word for it. He had this all planned out in advance, made you a puzzle piece, you fell right where he said he knew you would, and you were meant to what? Smile about it?

“I could have,” he conceded, looking thoughtful, “But that’s not how I do things.”

“You shook your head. You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

Fury only nodded once in response before asking, “Do you have any further questions?”

You look out the door window briefly to see the clouds had gotten much darker. “Looks like rain, director. Better hurry, wouldn’t want you to get wet.” The edge to your voice got sharper. Fury simply nodded with a half smile. Message received. Get out.

The Guardians, who hadn’t gotten your hint to go shoo off someplace, remain stood in the hall, glancing at each other awkwardly. It surprised them that a man like Fury, and the way he seemed to be, would be seemingly so cool with the way you were speaking to him.

You spoke again as he reached for the door. “See you tomorrow. Ottawa case, right?”

Fury stopped. “Actually no. You won’t be coming in tomorrow.”

You blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve been moved off that case to this one, we won’t be shipping you off to Canada. In fact, you’re off all further cases for the foreseeable future.”

“Am I being punished for something, sir?” you ask, the edge still not having left your voice, but it was now softened by confusion.

“No.” Fury replied, “If anything, consider it a vacation.”

“I did not ask for a vacation, sir.” you say, trying to bite back the irritation in your voice. “I have no desire to just stay home.”

Maria looked at Fury with a 'told-you-so’ expression, stating to him that she had known you wouldn’t have taken this well.

Fury looked at you firmly. “You’re due for one, and we need someone to stay and guard them. You already live here, they’re staying here- Two birds, one stone.”

Your face hardened in indignation. “So I’m a babysitter now? Look, if you’re retiring me just say so.”

The Guardians still stood there awkwardly, Kraglin finally coming down the stairs to quietly join them, eyes wide and wondering where all the tension had come from. Maria tilted her head toward the sitting room, hoping they might get the hint. They did, awkwardly backing into the room, not wishing to interrupt your argument with Fury.

“You’re not being retired-”

“Good. Then I can keep working. There’s literally no reason why I need to stay home.”

“You haven’t taken a vacation in five years.” Fury said, the authoritative tone in his voice rising, “This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

Peter then exists the bathroom, saying “What did I miss-” and almost shrinking back inside when he notices his friends are gone and the tense looks between you and Fury. Mercifully, Agent Hill gestures him to the sitting room and he sidesteps his way past while you ignore him, too focused on trying to burn Fury with your eyes.

Knowing you had no options and could make no further arguments, you angrily yielded. “Yes, sir.” you say bitterly.

“That’s better. If you need anything you know how to contact me or Agent Hill.” With that he bid you goodbye and opened the door.

It was now beginning to rain outside.

“Warned you about that rain.” you snarked as he made his way out the door.

***

Agent Hill looked at Fury as they entered his vehicle, the rain coming down harder now.

“Stubborn as hell, that one.” Fury remarked, turning his key in the ignition.

Maria agreed, but also stated she thought this might be good for you as they drove away.

***

You stood there in the hall for a good moment before Gamora asked if everything was ok from the doorway of the sitting room. You looked at her, and she went on to apologize for their intrusion in your home but also said they were grateful you allowed them to stay.

She started to say something else, probably was going to be more apologies border-lining on 'please don’t change your mind,’ but you raised your hand and cut her off, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not you guy’s fault he’s an asshole,” you say. You look at her and you can see she is tired, probably both from lack of sleep and worry. You try to be more gentle. “Look, it’s fine. Just… settle in. I know it’s late, but there’s food in the kitchen if you guys are hungry, I’m- I’m gonna go clean something.” You break eye contact and head into the kitchen, sure there was at least a plate or glass in the sink you could tend to.

Sure, enough, once you got to the sink you noticed a few dishes from the morning, and so you turned on the tap. You decided cold water was good enough, not feeling like waiting for the immersion to heat up, but you turned the knob for the hot water anyway out of habit. Realizing you had thrown the old dish rag in the laundry without replacing it, you allowed the water to run while you searched the drawer for another.

You heard footsteps entering the kitchen as you returned to the sink, and assume someone must have finally decided they were hungry. Not turning to greet whoever it was, you absently run the cloth under the tap to get it wet- only to immediately rip it back with a, “g-OW! Damn! Fuck!”

You doubled over, holding your burning hand.

“You ok? What happened?”

You look up, squinting through pain, to see Drax had asked the question, standing in the doorway with Mantis and Gamora, the little tree child sitting on her shoulder.

You breathed. “Yeah. One of those fuckers must have turned the immersion on and left it.” You straighten yourself, your hand still smarted but you knew it’d be alright, and turned off the tap with the dishrag. “I’ll check it out.”

You exit the kitchen through the other door at the far end of the room to check the hot press to the right of the cellar door behind the stairs, intent to turn the immersion off, and bitterly wondering just how long it had been left on for. However, once you opened the door your immersion was nowhere to be seen. You stared in confusion at the new pipes that now ran straight through the floor into the cellar before noticing a note taped to the back wall that only said “Upgraded to boiler. Check basement. ♡ Maria.”

You narrowed your eyes and opened the cellar door, already pulling out your phone as you descended the stairs. You quickly located this new boiler fairly quickly. It was cylindrical in shape and black in color, and much larger than your previous heating unit, probably why it was now in the cellar. You dialed the phone, the first word out of your mouth when you got an answer was simply, “Why?”

***

The other guardians in the sitting room had also heard your swearing and peeked out of the room just in time to see you walking very cranky-like across the hall. They looked at the three standing in the kitchen doorway and they only shrugged in response to their quizzical glances.

Curious, and hearing you walk down the stairs, Peter and Kraglin tiptoed over to the Cellar door to see what was going on, standing just off from the door. They caught bits of your end of the conversation.

“Why?”
…

“Well, yes I can understand that, but-”
…

“Well you could have warned me! I just about burned my hand off!”
…

“Fine. How does it work?”
…

“No, I’m not going to-”
…

“Yes, I know they-”
…

“You know what, I’ll figure it out. Bye.”

They hear you start to climb the steps and scurry back to the sitting room, not wishing to make it apparent they were eavesdropping on their new host.

You re-enter the kitchen and grab a glass of milk to soothe your nerves, seeing as it was now raining buckets and you couldn’t be bothered for a walk as you would have preferred.

You sit at the table and look to see the three still standing in the doorway. You raise an eyebrow. “You alright there?” Thinking bizarrely that they must be shy you gesture towards the pantry. “Food’s over there if you’re hungry.”

Drax merely shrugged and took up the offer, guiding Mantis over with him, but not before accepting Groot from Gamora.

Gamora stepped towards the table and took a seat across from you. “I couldn’t help but notice you seem less than happy about this arrangement, I’m sorry-”

You cut her off once again. “Don’t be sorry. I already told you it’s not your fault Fury can be a dick. It’s just a lot of new all at once and I wasn’t expecting it. You’re fine.” You take another sip of milk, finally realizing what it was that she was actually afraid of. “You don’t need to be scared that I’ll send you back or anything.”

She actually seemed to relax a bit. “Thank you. If there’s anything-”

You set your glass on the table and fold your hands. Sentiment made you uncomfortable. “Look, as long as you guys clean up after yourselves and don’t destroy my home, we’re fine.” Looking for a change of subject you said, “Why don’t you introduce the rest of your friends. It couldn’t hurt to get to know you a little.”

Gamora smiled slightly. “Well, that’s Drax and Mantis.” she said, pointing to the two who were now coming back to sit down with their snacks. “And this is Groot,” she added once Mantis sat the child on the table.

You smiled. “Cute little bugger, isn’t he?”

“I am Groot!” he said excitedly, taking a bite of a food you didn’t recognize. Must have been one of those outer-space types.

“Hello, Groot. How are you?”

“I am Groot.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Um..” Maybe he misunderstood you?

Before you could ask again, Drax speaks up. “That’s all he can say. He means he’s ok.”

“Oh.” You nod slightly and take a sip of your milk, bemused. “I see.”

The four of you conversed for a little bit. You learned that Drax liked knives, and he seemingly took everything very literally. Mantis was sweet, and she was convinced you two would be friends. She also said she was excited to share a room with you, because it would be like a sleepover. Gamora gave you a smile that seemed to say “forgive her,” but you honestly weren’t too bothered. It was almost sweet. Before you could ask about Gamora though, she stood up and asked if you’d like to meet the others.

You shrugged and nodded, placing your now empty glass in the sink before following her out to the sitting room where the other men were.

You walked in and saw Peter sitting in an armchair listening to a music player, seemingly ignoring the other two men as they stood looking weirdly at the TV. The blue man tilted his head at it, a hand to his chin in thought, while the other waved his arms slowly in front of it saying, “I dunno. Maybe it’s broken?” He looked ridiculous.

You stifle a laugh and asked, “What are you doing?”

They turn to you, the blue man speaks. “Tryin’ to figure out how to turn on this Terran TV of yers. Rat says they’re motion activated, but nothin’ we do is workin.’”

You give him a strange look. “Motion-? No- You just use the remote.”

Then you hear a snickering and find it’s coming from the raccoon, perched on the back of the couch. “Rocket.” Gamora says in a mix of scolding and accusation, and he starts laughing harder, jumping down on the cushions to retrieve the controller from between them. “You guys looked so stupid! Ahaha!”

Yondu glares and Kraglin snatches the remote, flipping the television on and raising his hands in an annoyed “There we go!” gesture, sharing an annoyed look with Yondu at Rocket.

You motion to one of the game controllers on the coffee table, stating they’d want to use one of those if they wanted to actually watch something, as the first controller only turned the TV on.

Before you could offer to show them how to use Netflix, Gamora started introducing the remaining guardians.

Peter removed his earbuds and greeted you, standing to shake your hand, only to be shot down by you saying there was no need to be so formal, keeping to yourself the fact that despite working for Fury, you hated formal with a passion. He held up his hands and sat back down. “No problem there. We’re probably the least formal people you can get.” he said with a smile. You didn’t see, but Gamora gave him a warning look that kept him from putting his feet up on the table.

The other two men and the raccoon seemed to agree with Peter, and nodded their greetings to you instead when introduced.

“Say, just curious, but how come it’s just you living in this big ol’ house by yerself?” came a question from Yondu.

You probably should have expected that question, but you didn’t like it all the same. You were trying to decided if 'Don’t worry about it’ would be too rude of an answer when Peter notices the change in your expression and adds his own question out of fear that Yondu had offended you in some way. “How long have you been here? Fury said this place was old.”

You chose to answer Peter’s question instead. “Grew up here. House has been in the family since it was built.”

“Oh. Cool.” said Peter.

Not looking forward to any more possible questions about yourself you looked up to the clock and found your way out.

“Well, it’s nearly ten, I think I’ll turn in early.” you say, excusing yourself.

Just then a loud thunderclap sounded and you heard a squeal from the kitchen.

“Kid scared of storms?” you ask, looking to Gamora.

The lights go out. You hear a scream.

“Nah, but apparently Bug is.” says Yondu.

Realizing he likely meant Mantis, and that Mantis was your new roommate, you sigh. “I’ll get a flashlight.”

The lights flickered back on.

“Nevermind.”

Everyone pretty much decided to go to bed after that, Mantis shyly shuffling into the bedroom a few minutes after you to retrieve some items from her bag and coming back dressed for bed as you scrolled through Tumblr, having already washed up and dressed for bed.

She crawled into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

Thunder cracked again and she whimpered. You honestly felt a little bad for her.

“Do… does this happen often?” she asked.

“The storm? No.” you answered honestly. “It’ll be over soon. Just try to sleep.” You stand up to turn the light off but pause, turning back to the curled up form on the bed opposite of your own, your face softening. “Would you like me to leave a lamp on?”

Mantis nodded.

You click on your desk lamp before turning off the overhead light and crawling into your own bed. You heard her say goodnight to you from across the room.

“Night,” you return, turning toward the wall.

They were an odd lot, a bit dysfunctional, but you decided they were ultimately harmless. 'This whole ordeal will be over before I know it,’ you thought as you closed your eyes.

You’d find out soon enough that you thought wrong.

Chapter Text

You awoke to the feeling of your lover’s arms wrapped around your waist, and you smile, sleepily snuggling backwards into the touch.

You are about to whisper their name, tell them good morning, but then you remember… it can’t possibly be them.

Your eyes snap open.

Who the fuck is in your bed!?

With a startled scream you twist around and kick, realizing only once your assailant is on the floor that it was Mantis, who had also let out a startled cry at being flung off the bed.

“Mantis? What the hell are you doing?!” you cry, hand on your chest as you sit on your knees on the bed looking down at her on the floor.

Mantis looks at you with wide eyes. “I’m sorry! The storm kept making the loud noises and I was scared and-”

Your door flings open. Peter and Drax tumble in asking what’s wrong, where’s the danger?

Waving them off you say irritably, “Nothing. It’s nothing. Just wasn’t expecting to wake up to Mantis in my bed.”

Peter lightly chuckles, almost nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “I guess we should have told you she can be a cuddler, huh?”

You throw a look at him and Drax. “You think?” You then shield your eyes. “Dude! Put some pants on or something!”

And that’s how you also unfortunately learned that Drax sleeps in the nude.

***

Breakfast went more or less smoothly. You had to find a straw for Groot so he could drink out of a cup, and someone spilled their drink all over the floor, and Rocket made one or two more complaints about the indignity of needing to sleep in a crib, but all-in-all it went fairly smoothly.

Well, if you didn’t count Rocket snapping at Kraglin’s arm for accidentally resting his elbow on his tail. That was also how the drink got spilled, by the way. You just gave them an unamused glance at threw a towel at them from the counter on your way to grab an apple. They got the message.

Ok, so it wasn’t totally smooth, but it definitely could have been worse. Maybe.

When you were finished your breakfast you got up to do the dishes you had meant to wash the previous night, this time being sure not to burn your hands off. Rocket hopped on the counter to drop his bowl in while you were washing, promptly scampering off without so much as a please or thank you, which slightly annoyed you, and you turned to side eye him as he hopped off the counter, but you let it slide for then.

It apparently also annoyed Peter too as you heard him say in a hushed irritated whisper, “Rocket!” only to be responded with Rocket whispering back “What? She was already doing them!”

You pretended you couldn’t hear them.

After you finished the dishes and wiped up the counter you went upstairs, having had an idea that might prevent another incident like this morning from happening.

You made your way into your room and closed the door behind you before heading to your desk to retrieve the key to the attic from the top drawer.

This would prove pointless, however, as you’d soon find that not only had Fury’s team not bothered to lock it back up when they finished, they hadn’t even properly latched it. You sigh in annoyance, but push on to the attic anyway.

You come to the landing and take in the space you hadn’t visited in some time. Boxes stacked neatly around the rafted walls leaving plenty space to walk. Light peaked through the small windows at either end of the rectangular space.

You located the box you came for on the furthermost corner of the attic, the stretch of floor that rested above the ceiling of the room Drax now stayed in. You open the box, and pull out a stuffed bear, looking at it with a mix of longing and sadness, remembering who owned it past. Shaking the memories away, you thought to open another box next to it, pulling from it a small wooden toy car. It wasn’t fancy, little more than a carved block of red-painted wood with some windows bored-in and some black stained wooden wheels, but you still thought it’d be a nice gesture- you mean, you thought it’d keep the kid busy… You doubted they had brought many toys with them to keep him occupied.

And after all, how much could these items really serve you by staying up in the attic til the end of time?

A teddy bear for Mantis, and a toy car for the little wooden child to play with.

After a moment of being stuck in the memories the objects brought, you close the boxes back up and leave the attic with the toys, locking the door after you made it back into the bedroom. You placed the bear on Mantis’s pillow, and went to return the key to the drawer.

Before heading downstairs you decided you would leave the toy in the room Groot was staying in, rather than give it to the child directly. You weren’t good with sentiment, and he’d find it soon enough anyway. Less awkward this way.

The door was open so you stepped just inside. A wood framed double bed rested in the left corner, the crib that Rocket seemed so unhappy with rested in the right. The twisting in your stomach came back, and you set the toy to the right of the doorframe on the floor, eager to leave the room. Too many memories, none of which you wanted.

You wanted to clear your head, so you decided you’d have a tend to your garden, make sure the storm hadn’t torn anything asunder, and you were sure that it could use a good weeding anyway. You could also stand a little time alone, too. You weren’t used to having people around the house anymore, let alone eight of them having been sprung on you overnight. Questionable judgement on your part, volunteering for this was, you were sure. Then you remembered this was all part of Fury’s plan anyway, so you supposed the choice wasn’t even really yours, so maybe you weren’t entirely to blame.

You had just sat down on the hall bench to lace your boots when you noticed Mantis and Gamora coming out of the sitting room, Mantis looking uncomfortable and Gamora irritated as they made their way past you and to the end of the hall.

Gamora knocked on the bathroom door roughly and in a loud but firm voice said, “Rocket! Hurry up, Mantis has to go and she says you’ve been in there forever.”

“I have not!” came Rocket’s reply, “And why doesn’t she use the one upstairs?”

“Drax is taking a shower.” Gamora answered irritably.

“So?” came Rocket’s incredulous reply.

“Rocket.” Gamora said warningly.

“If she can’t pee just ‘cause someone’s showering then she can hold it,” came the response from behind the door.

Mantis made a small unhappy noise and shifted uncomfortably, prompting Gamora to smack the door once more. “Rocket!” she said more forcefully, her tone having switched fully from irritated to angry.

You narrowed your eyes as you tied. Clearly the raccoon was going to be a problem.

“Ok! Ok! Jeez!” Rocket said in frustration, opening the door and walking out, Mantis quickly entering once he had cleared the doorway.

Gamora just huffed at him in annoyance and began to walk back towards the sitting room.

Having just finished tying your boots you pulled your jeans over them and straightened up, eyes still narrowed at Rocket, which he noticed.

“What?”

“Don’t do that again.” you say flatly, reaching over to grab your earbuds from the hall table. “You keep being an asshole and we’re gonna have a problem.”

Rocket looked at you defiantly, arms crossed, clearly irritated that you were telling him what to do. “What you gonna do about it?”

Still in the hallway, Gamora turned to glare at him.

Yondu exited the kitchen from the door further up the hall, saw Gamora glaring and turned to see you and Rocket looking like you were about to have a standoff. He had half-heard the conversation from the kitchen, but stood there with an eyebrow raised, curious to see how’d this would turn out.

You looked at Rocket calmly as you put one earbud in. “Fuck around and find out.” was your only answer as you inserted your other earbud and turned into the kitchen via the other door at the end opposite of Yondu, making your way towards the back door.

Yondu chuckled and Gamora rolled her eyes as Rocket flipped you the bird behind your back and angrily stormed past them to the sitting room.

***

Yondu found Peter in the sitting room looking among the many bookshelves along the back and sides of the back half of the room.

“Ya reckon you can still read Terran, boy?”

Peter looked at him, ignoring that 'Terran’ wasn’t a language, and said in a slightly offended tone, “Of course!” before quietly adding, “The translator helps too…” under his breath as he turned back to examining the books.

Kraglin laughed from his place on the sofa. “Didn’t know Quill could read at all, Cap'n.”

Peter shot him a glare even though he knew Kraglin wouldn’t be able to see it and Rocket, who was also sitting on the couch to keep an eye on Groot, said, “Why you still call him captain? Did you forget about a little thing called a mutiny? Pretty sure you were there…”

Gamora and Peter both snapped at him, Gamora hissing “Rocket!” and Peter scolding, “Not cool, dude!”

Yondu eyed him. “Ya know I can still run my arrow through you, right, Rat?” He leaned against a bookshelf. “Yer lucky it’d be mighty rude to get yer blood all over the floor of our host.”

Rocket mock held his hands up, “Alright, alright, soRRy. Didn’t know the wound was still fresh. Lighten up.”

This only earned him a few eye-rolls before Peter returned his gaze to the bookcases. “There’s so many.” he said. He picked up a white book that said “Atlas of Human Anatomy” and flipped though the pages. “Whoa.” he said flipping the book around to show Yondu the pictures.

“Yeah, that’s what yer insides look like, boy.”

Gamora approached and Peter handed her the book while he took another one from a shelf higher up. Gamora looked that the pictures and said, “Hm. You only have one liver. Explains why you’re such a lightweight.”

This earned chuckles from the others and Peter said, “I’m gonna ignore that. Look at this one.” He was holding a book of fairytales. “I should tell you some of these stories sometime,” he said, looking at the list of titles. “I remember my mom telling me at least half of these.”

Yondu decided he might as well glance over the books as well, seeing as he didn’t exactly have much better to do. He peered over the titles; Herbal Medicine- might be good to know… Grim Tales of Horror- Heh, maybe he could scare Quill with it… Wound Treatment- definitely good to know… Archery Fundamentals- he might actually look at that one later, just to see how the Terrans do it… What to Expect When You’re Expecting- weird title, wonder what that’s about?

Before he could pick up the book to examine it Kraglin spoke up. “Hey Pete, is it normal for Terran houses to be this… empty?”

“What do you mean?” asked Mantis, having just walked in to rejoin the group. “It doesn’t appear to be empty?” She glanced around at the furniture in confusion.

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean- Like there’s no photos? Don’t most people keep photos of their families and stuff out? Little knick-knacks? Personal effects?”

Peter looked around. “You’re right. Well- at least that’s how I remember it. My grandparents did, so did all my relatives.” It finally hit him how there seemed to be none of that in your house. “I guess it is weird.”

Yondu had noticed too the first night they arrived. Not a single photo adorned the walls or shelves. Not in the sitting room, not in the hall or kitchen either. A few plants sat here and there, but other than that, there was almost no personality. It did feel empty, for lack of better word.

Rocket spoke up, suggesting that maybe you just “didn’t feed into all that sentimental crap.”

The others shrugged. Maybe he was right.

However, Yondu felt there might be something to the emptiness. He felt something was a little off, although he kept it to himself. It was likely nothing a little watchful eye wouldn’t suss out. He had already been watching you, trying to get a read on his new host. It was strange to him that you would live in a place this big by yourself, and it didn’t help matters that you hadn’t seemed willing to answer that question when he asked. Sure, it was none of his business really, but still odd.

***

Mantis came outside just as you were about finished weeding. She stopped to admire the growing cabbages and asked a few questions about the various other vegetables and you removed an ear bud to give her answers, albeit short ones. Soon enough she got distracted by a small white butterfly and wondered off to chase it. “Don’t go into the forest!” you call after her. “Don’t want you getting lost!”

She hollered back an “Ok!” and you turned back to finish pulling the last of the weeds.

Once you were finished you dusted yourself off and decided to head inside for some water. You had only gotten a few feet inside when you could hear the sound of Mantis screaming, and it was getting closer. You turned around just in time for her to run through the door and into you.

Alarmed, you check her over. You instinctually grab onto her hands, then her shoulders, and finally cupping her face as you looked up and down for any injury as you say, “What?! What’s wrong?!”

Mantis sniffed. “I saw this cloud of tiny black things, I thought it looked interesting, so I reached to touch it, and they started biting.”

You let out a breath. Midges. She had only reached into a cloud of midges. “Gah-! Don’t scare me like that! I thought you’d been hurt!” you scold. Seeing her hurt expression you softened. “Let me see.”

She showed you her hand and her upper arm. The rest of her arm had fortunately been spared by her long arm bands. “It itches.”

“Yeah, just what I thought. Midge bites.” Sure enough, little faint pink welts were already forming that you missed earlier in your shock. Normally the bites didn’t appear so fast, but you assumed it must just be because whatever type of alien she was made her more sensitive to them. “You’ll be fine. Come here.” You led her to a drawer and pulled out a tube of gel that would help with the itching. You applied the gel for her. “Better?” you asked.

She nodded and you told her that if she needed the gel again she could find it in the same drawer, also telling her not to scratch the bites lest she make them worse before sending her off.

Once she left you sighed and finally got your water. As you drank you contemplated finding something else to keep you busy.

***

Yondu had been about to head upstairs when he heard a muffled sound of Mantis yelling before it was abruptly cut off with an “Oof!”

He walked to the doorway to see what was going on, telling himself he wasn’t being nosy, he just… had nothing better to do what with being stuck here and all.

He watched as you checked Mantis over, as you scolded her for scaring you, and as you treated her bites, noticing that Mantis’s “feelers,” as he called them, glowed almost the whole time, though you didn’t seem to notice yourself, being preoccupied.

He huffed a silent laugh through his nose. For you not being exactly happy with this arrangement, your actions now didn’t exactly match your previous “I don’t care, just don’t annoy me.” attitude. But maybe he was just reading it wrong. Maybe you were only worried because your boss wouldn’t be happy if any of them got hurt while in your care.

When you sent Mantis off and he saw she was approaching the doorway he quickly backed out so as to not be seen spying.

“Hey, Bug.” he said quietly once she was in the hall, making her jump.

Seeing it was only him, she relaxed and gave a friendly smile. “Yes?”

“Come here,” he nodded toward the stairs. “Walk with me.”

She obeyed and together they ascended the stairs.

“So, yer feelers there, they glow when yer doin’ that 'reading peoples feelins’ thing, right?”

Mantis nodded, smiling wide.

“Couldn’t help but notice you two in the kitchen,” he admitted, adding that he noticed she was doing her empath thing back there when you were fixing her up, and asked what kind of reading she got off you. Just out of curiosity, of course…

Mantis pondered and said, “It felt… maternal? Almost? It was quite nice to feel. It was almost like being hugged.”

“Huh…” is all he managed to respond. Maybe Mantis was mistaking your real emotion for something else? It didn’t quite fit with 'grumpy reclusive agent who got tricked into taking in a group of dysfunctional people.’

He then asked her if you knew she could 'do that’, meaning read someone empathically. He wondered if it would be possible for Terrans to fake an emotion well enough to fool an empath. He highly doubted it, but who was really to say?

Mantis shook her head. She said she hadn’t thought to bring it up, and asked him if she should tell you right now, wondering if she had been rude by not saying something.

He responded by telling her not to tell you yet.

“Why? Mantis asked.

"Oh, because it’ll be real funny later, trust me.” he said. It wasn’t the real reason, but he knew that she was more likely to keep a secret if he told her that. She liked to make people laugh.

“Oh! Like a practical joke!” she giggled.

“Uh, sure. Like that.” Yondu smiled. “You can run along now, Bug.”

Mantis trotted down the stairs while Yondu pondered over the odd puzzle pieces of his host.

***

You spent most of the day feeling antsy. You had always made it a point to keep yourself busy with your work, either for Fury or with work on your home, and knowing that you were essentially retired for the foreseeable future made you anxious.

It was when Peter came outside for some fresh air that he found you pacing along the back of the house, seemingly making an effort not to go past the windows.

“You’re gonna wear a hole in the ground.” he joked.

You only looked at him and sighed, but continued pacing.

Sensing you were agitated about something he tried to break the ice. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Nothing to talk about.” you reply.

“Right. So you’re just pacing for no reason. I’m sure it has nothing to do with any recent changes or anything.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the door with a knowing grin.

“Look- Just… I’m just not used to this,” you admitted. “I’m not used to people being here, I’m not used to not working on a case…” you continued to pace.

“Well,” Peter pondered, “What would you be doing if we weren’t here? What would you do on a normal day off.”

“I’d be working on the electrical, but Fury just had to take that away from me.” you say with a toss of your hand towards the house.

“Oh.” Peter said. He couldn’t help you there. “Well, what would you normally do to relax?”

You stopped. “What?” You shook your head, “I don’t need to relax, I just need to find something to do.” You began pacing again.

Peter gave you a strange look. He remembered what he heard Fury say the previous night about you not having taken a vacation in five years. “You really don’t know how to relax, do you?”

You then stop pacing in front of him, as if trying to prove him wrong. “I could if I wanted.” you say defiantly.

“Sure ya can.” He grinned back at you.

He was trying to bait you. You rolled your eyes and waved him off. “What do you know.” You start to pace again but then stop to look at him again. “You, um, ever had Earth food before?”

Peter smiles. “Well I lived here until I was eight, so yeah. I’ve had it before.”

You widen your eyes slightly in surprise. “So you’re from Earth?- I didn’t realize. I just thought you were all from space.”

“Nope.”

“And the other guy- Kraglin?”

“Nah, He looks Terran, but he’s from Xandar. It’s just me.”

“Oh,” you say, the wonder of how he had come about living in space being brushed aside by your need to be busy, “Well have any of the others tried Earth food before? 'Cause I could maybe cook something tonight… you know, to pass the time.” You were already mentally preparing the ingredients in your head. You already knew you had potatoes in the cellar, and some meat and a bag of mixed frozen veggies in the freezer. You were almost certain you didn’t have any lamb, but you could substitute ground beef and make shepherd’s pie like your grandmother used to make.

“I could ask, but I’m sure they’d be willing. They’re not exactly the type of bunch to turn down free food.” he laughed.

“Nah, don’t bother. If they eat it, they eat it. If they don’t, they don’t. I don’t care,” you say, not meeting his eyes as you shoo him from the door so you could enter the house. “Not like it’s gonna be a regular thing, ya know. Just doing it 'cause I’m bored.”

“Right. Of course.” Peter said, smiling as he followed you inside. If living with Yondu and later Rocket had taught him anything, it was how to tell if someone was putting up a shell, and you definitely were. He then made it his mission to chip it away. Who knew how long they’d be stuck there? Might as well attempt to make friends with you in the meantime.

You pulled out a skillet and let it heat up with some oil before grabbing some ground beef from the freezer.

“Need any help?” Peter asked.

“Nope. Go play.” you say absentmindedly, setting the package on the counter.

Peter chuckled. “Go play?”

You shook your head. “Eh- You know what I meant. Shoo. I’ll call you when it’s finished.”

“Maybe another time then.” he said, slightly disappointed you were kicking him out of the kitchen as he wanted to try and get to know you a little, but he didn’t show it.

“Yeah, maybe.” you reply, already heading to the cellar with a bowl to grab some potatoes.

***

Peter mentioned that you were cooking to the others when he joined them in the sitting room, mostly to tell them that even if they (Rocket) didn’t end up liking this Terran food, to still try and be nice. He said that while you acted like you didn’t care if they ate it or not, he didn’t want anyone (Rocket) being rude because he could tell you were having a rough time adjusting to everything.

Rocket rolled his eyes but everyone seemed to more or less agree with Peter to be nice and went back to what they were doing.

It didn’t take long for the smell to start wafting from the kitchen, prompting Kraglin to say that whatever you were making, it at least smelled good.

Groot nodded then looked at Rocket. “I am Groot.”

“I don’t want to play tag.” said Rocket.

Groot made puppy dog eyes at Rocket. “I am Groot.”

“It won’t hurt ya to play with the kid for a little bit, boy.” said Yondu, polishing his arrow at the the table on the other end of the room by the bookcases.

“You do it then!” Rocket complained.

“I’m too old to be doing that kid stuff, boy. 'Sides, yer more Twig’s size.” he chuckled, never looking up from his task.

“I am Groot.” Groot said sadly, really laying it on thick. Peter and Gamora hid smiles behind their hands as they pretended to be focused on the movie playing on the TV screen, Kraglin finally having figured out how the Netflix worked.

Rocket rolled his eyes. “Alright! Fine! I’ll play the stupid game.” he relented, muttering under his breath that he shouldn’t have ever taught him that game.

Groot shot up in glee and tagged him on the knee before taking off towards Yondu, making a hard left about a meter from the table and causing Rocket to slide on the wooden floor into the table leg. Yondu laughed so hard he nearly dropped his arrow and Rocket glared at him before declaring that Groot was “Really in for it now!” and making chase, following the tiny tree child out into the hall and up the stairs.

***

You listened to the sound of giggles and little feet running upstairs, then down the stairs, getting louder and softer depending where the little feet happened to run and you smiled. You missed that sound… You shook yourself out of the memory before it could play in your mind, refusing to let yourself get sentimental over a sound.

You had just put the mix of meat and veggies into a glass pan and turned away from the stove to start mashing your drained potatoes when a flash of brown and orange zoomed past your feet and nearly made you lose your balance.

“Hey Hey! No running in the kitchen! Take it outside!” you cry out, grateful you hadn’t been carrying anything. “Shouldn’t need to tell you that, I’m not your mother.” You shoot them a warning look as you continued over to the counter.

Then you hear Rocket say, “Good thing! You’d probably be terrible at it!”

You swallow and clenched your jaw, looking down at the bowl of potatoes. “Get out of the kitchen,” you say firmly, not looking towards him.

Rocket raised an eyebrow, having expected more of a fight than just being told calmly to leave, but he did so anyway when Groot tugged on his the leg of his outfit.

***

Peter and Gamora’s head snapped toward the kitchen when they heard you scolding the boys, and their eyes narrowed a bit when they heard Rocket’s response, but like him they of course hadn’t realized the weight of his words. They only knew that there was no reason for him to say that other than him just wanting to be a dick.

When Rocket walked back into the sitting room Kraglin was the one who scolded him this time. “Do you really need to be such an ass to everyone you meet?”

This was followed by Gamora scolding him and saying that you didn’t have to let them stay here, and that maybe he should try not to be so mean to the person willing to let them stay in their home.

Rocket looked to Drax, and then Yondu, to back him up, but he received nothing, so he settled for grumbling and climbing on top of the back of the couch to sulk.

***

An hour later Peter walked back into the kitchen to get some water and saw you putting plates out.

“Food’s done, if you want to get the others.” you say gruffly, putting down the last of the plates.

Your table wasn’t quite big enough to fit everyone, being only a six seater, but you figured the kid and the asshole raccoon could eat up on the counter until a better solution could be found.

The other’s filed in as you put the pan of food on a towel in the middle of the table. You look up. “Food’s there.” You then point to the spatula, “Here’s something to serve it. Help yourselves.” you say, adding that Groot and Rocket could eat on the counter since the table wasn’t big enough before starting to walk toward the other door as the others sat down.

“You’re not eating with us?” asked Mantis, seeming a little disappointed.

You kept walking. “Not hungry.”

Yondu narrowed his eyes and spoke. “Should we assume it’s poisoned then?”

This make you turn back. “Why the hell would I poison it?” you ask angrily.

Yondu stayed cool, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up as he said, “Well you went to the trouble to cook, but you’re not eating it. Seems mighty suspicious to me.”

Drax and Kraglin exchanged confused glances. Neither of them understood why Yondu was accusing you of trying to kill them.

Yondu didn’t really think you had poisoned the food, he was doing one of the things he did best. Playing a con. He was as sure as he was blue that your lack of appetite was a direct cause of Rocket being an absolute shit, and he’d be damned if someone was going to offer their home and cook for his group and then not join to eat it because the rat hurt their feelings. He may have been a space pirate, but he still knew a thing or two about good form, and that wasn’t it.

“First off, it wasn’t trouble. Only did it because I got bored. I couldn’t care less if you eat it or not,” you said with a roll of your eyes, trying to keep your tone even despite the insult.

“I think you’d care if I said I’m not gonna let anyone else eat it either until you sit down and prove to me it’s not poisoned by eating with us.”

Your nostrils flare. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh I am. What’s it gonna be? Ya really gonna let me make Twig and Bug here go hungry?” He grinned a wide smug grin and received a confused look from Peter who was wondering why he was acting like this. Gamora shot Peter a look as if to ask the same question, but he just shrugged and shook his head to let her know he was just as confused as she was. Mantis and Groot just looked at Yondu like he was nuts.

You seethed but approached the cabinet to pull down a plate for yourself. “You’re a real peice of work. Come into my house and accuse me of poisoning you lot-”

“Yeah, yeah. Just eat it.” Yondu snarked.

You refused to eat until everyone else was served, but did finally relent to take the first bite to satisfy the blue man’s irritating request.

Seemingly satisfied, Yondu gave the clear for everyone else to eat, and despite the awkward and rocky start, the rest of supper actually went more smoothly than breakfast had. You didn’t speak much, but everyone else seemed to like the meal well enough.

When everyone had finished Peter insisted that he and Yondu stay behind to do the the dishes for you, saying it’d be rude to make you both cook and clean up. You didn’t argue, wanting to put distance between you and them anyway. You stated that you were going to go take a shower, convinced that the new boiler Fury imposed upon you could handle both water uses at once.

Once Peter was sure you were gone he turned to Yondu. “What the hell was that? What happened to agreeing to be nice?”

“I was nice.” Yondu said flippantly.

Gamora scolded him, saying that accusing you of poisoning them wasn’t “nice.”

He only shrugged, handing a plate to Peter and stating that it got you to eat, so he didn’t care.

This, of course, earned looks of bewilderment from the rest of the team. He continued, “It would’ve been bad form to let our host cook and then not eat any of it, boy. Thought I’d have taught ya better than that.”

Peter frowned. “No, you taught me to fight and steal things.”

Yondu gave him a look but didn’t get a chance to reply before Rocket hopped down from the counter saying, “Who cares if she didn’t want supper? She’s an adult.”

Yondu then turned his full attention to Rocket, saying that he knew it was his fault you hadn’t wanted to eat in the first place.

“Me?! What did I do?” Rocket scoffed, majorly offended by the accusation.

Drax answered, “You’ve been rude since we got here. You complain about everything, and you insulted our host just for telling you not to run through the kitchen.”

Rocket rolled his eyes. “Really?” He looked defiantly up at Drax, “You honestly think me saying she’d make a terrible mother hurt her widdle feelings? Look around! She doesn’t even have kids!”

Tired of hearing him, Yondu said, “If yer not gonna be helpful, Rat, go find somewhere else to be.”

“Fine. Bye, losers.” was Rocket’s reply as he collected Groot and departed for their room.

***

After your shower you stayed in your room for the rest of the evening, scrolling through tumblr on your phone to pass the time.

Eventually Mantis comes up to get ready for bed, and she spots the teddy bear you left on her pillow. “What’s this?” she asks, picking it up.

“Teddy Bear. You sleep with it. Figured you could, you know, cuddle that instead when you get scared at night.”

Mantis’s eyes grow wide, and her waterline wet. Her bottom lip quivers as she says, “You- You gave me a gift?”

Really hoping she wasn’t about to cry you say, “If you want to call it that, I guess…”

Mantis practically attacks you with a hug and an excited squeal. “Thank you! Thank you! I love it!”

You all but fall backward on the bed from her hug attack. “Uh- Glad you like it.” you manage, patting her on the back before gently persuading her to let go.

She straightened up and hugged the bear tightly to her chest with a big smile before setting it back on her pillow so she could get ready for bed. Before she left, however, she came back to you and grabbed your hands, saying again how much she loved the bear, and you honestly started to wonder if she had never been given a gift in her life.

You noticed the little antennae on her head were now glowing, and you then wondered if that was happening because she was happy as you felt an unexpected, though not unwelcome, feeling of peace and happiness wash over you.

You smile, finding her whole display endearing as she giggled and released your hands before finally leaving the room.

By the time she came back about 15 minutes later, the feeling had already worn off, replaced by your previous melancholy. You heard Mantis returning and you pretended to be asleep just in case she would have tried to hug attack you again.

Once her breath deepened and you thought she was asleep you sat up. Maybe a walk would make you feel better.

You quietly pull on some jeans and made your way out of the bedroom into the dark landing, taking a moment to notice a thin line of light under the door of the room Yondu and Kraglin were sharing.

You didn’t turn on the light before descending the stairs. You knew this house like the back of your hand, even in the dark, and you quietly made your way down so as to not disturb any sleepers.

You make your way into the hall to grab your boots and ear buds before cutting through the kitchen and opening the back door. Putting in your ear buds and finding some music reflective of your mood, you set out into the cool night air.

***

Yondu and Kraglin stayed up a bit later in their room, just talking about nothing of much importance. How Rocket was being a dick, how it was mostly his fault they had to go into hiding, and wondering how long it might be until they could all come out of hiding.

Yondu’s bed was pushed against the window, his and Kraglin’s beds much in a similar arrangement to yours and Mantis’s.

Movement outside caught his eye.

“What is it?” Kraglin asked, noticing how Yondu’s attention had turned to the window and he had gone quiet.

Yondu turned to him, a look of puzzlement painting his face, and he told him it looked like you were walking out into the forest.

Kraglin raised an eyebrow. “What would she be doing that for?”

Yondu shook his head to indicate his lack of explanation.

“Should we investigate?”

Yondu thought for a moment before deciding they wouldn’t follow you. Not yet.

But he’d be keeping an eye on you.

Chapter Text

You might have slept in after having taken a middle-of-the-night walk, but your body had other ideas, waking you up right at seven A.M. Probably had a little something to do with eight strange people living in your house. Who’s to say?

Breakfast today went smoother than yesterday. Nothing was spilled, no one was bit. It was almost nice.

However, afterwards you found yourself at a loss for what to do. You knew the garden was already free of weeds from where you weeded the day before, so there went that idea.

Sure, you could sit and relax, maybe try to get to know your new house guests, but you were still feeling too antsy and irritable to do that. You wanted something to keep your mind busy.

Eventually you settled on laundry. The machine was half full anyway and so you went upstairs to grab the hamper from the bathroom and threw it’s contents in. Unfortunately you’d need to wait for the clothes to finish washing before you could hang them or fold them, but you supposed maybe you could sweep the floor while you waited.

You finished the kitchen much faster than you would have liked, and so you decided maybe you’d sweep the upstairs landing and work your way down.

You had swept about halfway down the stairs when Peter and Gamora decided to walk up the stairs about the same time as Mantis decided to walk down the stairs, hugging her bear. Upon seeing Peter and Gamora, Mantis then further decided to show them the “wonderful bear” you had given her before bounding down the rest of the stairs and out the front door.

They looked to you as she left, and you blushed and looked down at your task at hand. “Don’t read too much into it. Just- you know… Thought it’d keep her from crawling in my bed at night… Seems to have worked.”

“Right,” said Peter, throwing a cheeky grin at Gamora. His tone was overly inquisitive when he spoke to you next, “Say, would you know anything about the toy car Groot found waiting in his room last night?”

You quickened your sweeping down the stairs. “I should really finish up here. Got other work to do.”

Gamora looked pleasantly intrigued, and Peter lightly chuckled as they continued up the stairs.

You were grateful the sitting room was empty when you went to sweep in there, but you were also soon dismayed to have finished the chore so quickly. The washer still had a good chunk of time before it’d be finished and now you were once again left wondering what to do.

Might as well clean the bathroom.

More dismay befell you when you entered, however. Someone hadn’t flushed. Again. Know who doesn’t have to worry about house mates not flushing? People who live alone.

In disgust, you flushed for whoever the offender was, making a mental note to make a general callout to whoever it was to stop it, before getting a start on cleaning the bathroom.

The washer was finally done by the time you finished, and you jumped on the chance to grab a basket and bring the clothes out to the line. Sure, you had a dryer, but hanging them would keep you busier for longer. You put in your earbuds so you could listen to music while you worked.

Once outside you noticed that’s where most of the others had gone. All but Peter and Gamora where in the back yard enjoying the sunshine. Yondu, Kraglin and Drax were shooting the breeze while Rocket pushed Groot on the little wooden car, which was just big enough for him to sit on, down the stone garden path. Groot would squeal in delight until he reached the end, then he would cheerfully run back carrying the car for Rocket to do it again. Mantis had discovered the rope and plank swing hanging from the old oak tree and was gently swaying as she cuddled her bear.

You made your way toward the clothesline on the other side of the yard and faced away from them as you went to hang the clothes on the line.

You were about three towels in when Kraglin taps you on the shoulder, making you jump. You turn to face him and pull out an earbud to hear what he was saying.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle ya, ma'am!”

You frowned, embarrassed. You were usually never this jumpy, especially not on the job, but this whole new situation has been playing with your nerves.

“Would you like some help, there?”

You shake your head, reaching down to grab a shirt to hang on the line.

“Well, would ya like some company?”

You come back up from the basket with another garment and raise your eyebrow at him.

“Not much of a talker, eh?” Kraglin said, starting to feel a little awkward. He was trying to make nice with you, but you weren’t giving him anything and he didn’t really know what to do. He told himself it’d be easier if you were someone he was trying to steal from. Cap'n was better at stuff like this.

You shrug.

“Well, I just wanted to say it was real nice what ya did for the little fella and the girl.”

You look at him, already feeling a blush returning, and repeated what you said to Peter and Gamora earlier. “Don’t read too much into it.” You reach down to pull another garment.

Now Kraglin frowned. He tried to think of something else to say. Maybe he could break the ice with a joke? “Say, you ever hear about the guy who couldn’t get his blaster to fire?”

You raise an eyebrow.

“He had to read the trouble shooting section in the manual.”

You tilted your head. “Was that a joke?”

Kraglin made a grimaced grin and rubbed the back of his head, “Ah… yes?”

“Hm.” is all you offer and you return to work.

Kraglin tries again. “What about the one about the constipated Krylorian?

You didn’t look up. "I think your friends are calling for you.”

Kraglin, missing the hint, “I didn’t hear-”

You look up, the look in your eyes sending a chill through the former first mate. “Oh yes, they did.”

He got the hint.

***

“She turned you away so fast!” Drax laughed when Kraglin returned.

Kraglin shook his head. “Apparently she’s not a big talker. Actually almost kinda scary.” He glanced back toward you briefly as if to make sure you stayed there.

“Scary?” Drax asked, perplexed. “But she looks all small and weak like Peter, or you?” He shook his head. “You are terrible with women.”

“Hey!” Kraglin objected.

Yondu grinned.

“And I wasn’t trying to get her into bed! I was just trying to break the ice is all.”

Drax looked at you then back at Kraglin in confusion. “It’s too warm? There shouldn’t be any ice to break?”

Yondu shook his head and said, “No that’s- Nevermind.”

***

When hanging laundry you noticed some white mushrooms were starting to spring up around one of your clotheslines poles, and unfortunately you couldn’t quite tell if it was the safe type or the poisonous type. You might have left it alone, but knowing the little tree child was running around now, you wanted to be sure. Just in case. You told yourself you just didn’t want to clean up his vomit if he ate them and got sick.

You knew you had a book on mushrooms, so after you finished hanging the wash you headed inside and towards the sitting room to find it.

Everyone had long since come inside and now Yondu, Drax, Kraglin and Peter were already in there, playing a game of cards at the table while Mantis curled in the rocking chair reading a book of children’s fairytales.

You stood there looking through the titles of your books, trying to find the right one, when suddenly you felt a pair of hands fluttering at your sides. You jerk with a gasp and spin around to grab the hands of your attacker and see that it’s Mantis.

“Mantis- what are you doing?” You say, your tone laced with a gentle warning. You didn’t release her wrists yet.

“You seemed grouchy. I wanted to make you laugh!” She replied cheerfully, not alarmed in the slightest by your tone.

You raise an eyebrow at the innocence of her answer. Eyeing her you say, “I’m not ticklish,” before cautiously releasing her and making a shooing gesture. You turn back to the books.

Peter quietly catches Mantis’s attention and with a grin nods in your direction, encouraging her to do it again. Yondu sees this and shakes his head softly, grinning at the mischief.

Not twenty seconds go by before you feel her hands at your waist again, and again you jerk with a gasp before spinning to catch her again. “Mantis,” you say more warningly. Now Drax is grinning.

You hear snickers coming from the table and Kraglin says, “I think you are.” It was funny to him. Just awhile ago you were almost scary in your stoic-ness, now you were jumping and shying away from Mantis’s attempts to tickle you.

You glare at them but ignore him. “Mantis, go back to your book,” you say firmly.

Mantis just giggles but finally starts backing away as you eye her.

Assuming you’re safe you turn back to the bookshelf. You soon find the book you were searching for and reach up to pull it from the shelf when you feel it yet again, this time along your ribs. You jerk your arm down with a small squeak and turn to grab Mantis’s hands again, your eyes wide. “I swear I will turn you over my knee!” You threaten, a faint giggle in your voice making you sound a whole lot less threatening than you wished at that moment.

The guys are snickering again and Mantis innocently asks what that means.

You sigh and release her. You had no intention of doing it anyway, it just came out. Something that your elders used to threaten when you misbehaved as a child. “Go.” You say, pointing at her forgotten book in the rocking chair. “Read.”

Seeing mirth glistening in your eyes despite your threatening tone she obeys with a happy giggle and you turn once again to retrieve the book you had come for. Louder snickers could be heard from Peter when you stopped your motion halfway to turn and check that she wasn’t coming back. You narrowed your eyes at him before finally grabbing your book and leaving to do your research.

You found the mushrooms weren’t poisonous after all.

***

The next day you decided to practice your archery.

Rocket was still being a shit, being rude to his friends and to you, and he kept fighting with Gamora and Peter. Kraglin somehow managed to break one of your favorite mugs. You found out that apparently Drax had been the one not flushing, and that was super awkward. You left Peter to deal with him. You tripped over Groot’s vines at least five times. Mantis managed to startle you so bad you nearly had a heart attack (Though in her defense you had your music in so you didn’t hear her approach to ask you a question) Then there was Yondu, who you felt like he was watching your every move.

Needless to say, you were looking to blow off some steam.

You had a target set up behind your work shed and along the wood line of the forest. You pulled about 20 practice arrows and your bow from the shed and walked behind to aim at your target.

You had been out there maybe an hour or two, just shooting the target full of arrows, gathering them up, and then shooting them again, all while you listened to your music.

You had emptied your quiver again when you felt a hand on your shoulder and nearly decked Peter, catching yourself just in time when you saw it was him.

You caught your breath and scolded him. “Don’t DO that!”

“Sorry! Sorry! You couldn’t hear me with your music in so I waited until you ran out of arrows.” he reasoned. To be fair, it was a good idea. You probably definitely would have shot him with one if he snuck up on you like that before you ran out.

You sighed. “What do you need?”

“Nothing. Just, we hadn’t seen you for awhile. I thought I’d see where you went. I know it was a little rough with everyone today.”

You only grunted in response, going to collect your arrows.

He followed. “Look, I just want to apologize for everyone. I know you didn’t need to let us stay-”

You cut him off. “Didn’t I? Seems like Fury made the decision for me.”

“Cut the crap.”

You turn to give him a hard look that said, ’The hell did you just say?’

Peter backtracked slightly. “I mean, I was clearly there the day Fury sprang this on you. You offered before he told you he had already decided. You can’t try to tell me now that you don’t give a crap.”

You narrow your eyes before turning to continue on toward your arrows. “Hell if I can’t.”

“Well I know better.”

You reached your target and started pulling arrows. “You don’t know me at all. You haven’t even been here four days.”

“Ok, that may be true, but we can still try to be friends since we’re all stuck together, right?”

You stare at him a couple moments while you pulled the rest of your arrows, before huffing a breath through your nose and looking down.

“You need some time alone with the thought. That’s ok.” Peter said, relenting. “Just know the gang’s not normally like this. They’re still adjusting.” He lied. He knew they were totally like this, but he was still hoping maybe they’d settle down enough to not make you hate them.

You sighed. He had a point. Maybe you shouldn’t be avoiding them as hard as you had been. Maybe if you made an effort to be friendlier this whole situation would go smoother. “I suppose…” you began, “that maybe I have been a little…” you struggled for the right word.

“Grouchy? Scary?” Peter offered lightheartedly. “Like the crotchety old person they try to make you think is the masked monster in Scooby Doo, but it turns out to be some other guy that wants to scare them out of their house?

"Watch it.” you say eyeing him, but your mouth twitched. He was right. Perhaps you had been a little ‘crotchety.’

“Careful, that was almost a smile.” Peter teased.

You broke your gaze toward the ground so you wouldn’t actually smile. You weren’t ready to let your guard completely down yet. It only half worked.

Peter grinned. It seemed like his plan to chip your shell away was working. Slowly, but still. Progress was progress. He turned to walk back towards the house.

“Hey,” you spoke up.

He turned back to face you again.

“You hungry?” you ask. You offered to cook again. Stipulating that it was just because you were bored again, nothing fancy, and you weren’t going to make a habit of it or anything, of course.

Peter nodded and smiled, accepting the offer as you joined him to walk back to the house, stopping just long enough to put your bow and quiver back away in the shed.

***

Peter offered to help cook again, and again you declined, stating that you were only cooking spaghetti and it was like the easiest thing to make as you pulled out a pot and filled it with water.

He didn’t press it. Baby steps. He had already succeeded in getting you to (almost) smile, he wasn’t going to push his luck. However…

You place the pot on the stove and turn on the flame when Peter says, “Ok, but one thing before I go.”

“What’s that?” you ask, stepping away from the stove to grab the salt container from the cupboard.

Peter took full advantage of you reaching up to quickly aim a poke to your sides, making you jolt with a squeak.

He quickly went to run away, almost knocking into Yondu who had walked into the kitchen for a drink.

“Dammit!” you cry out, unable to hide the surprised laughter from your voice. “You behave or I’ll put you in that pot!”

Peter laughed. It was totally worth it.

Yondu just looked at him with a 'What the hell!?’ expression, asking, “Why is it funny when she says it?”

***

The pasta was nearly done and you had started working on the sauce when you realized you had run out of dried basil. Knowing you had some fresh out in the garden you decided you’d hop out for a quick second to grab some. The flame under the sauce hadn’t even been turned on yet, and you lowered the flame under the boiling pasta just out of habit before you went outside, so you trusted that leaving the stove unattended for five seconds would be fine.

However, fate had other plans.

While you were cooking Groot had convinced Rocket into another game of tag. Whether he deliberately disobeyed or simply forgot, you’d never know, but as he was running from Rocket he ran straight through the kitchen, and Rocket didn’t stop him.

Didn’t stop him has he climbed on the counter.

Didn’t stop him as he jumped over to the table.

Certainly didn’t stop him as he hopped onto the vent over the stove, though he most definitely should have.

Maybe it was arrogance on Rocket’s part that he could make the jump, or even just sheer ignorance over his ability to keep a grip on the sloping metal, but as Rocket pursued Groot, always just slightly behind the tree child, and he made the jump from the table to the vent hood, he slid, and tried to correct by pushing off the (thankfully cool) saucepan, which knocked the pot off sauce off the stove as he lifted off with a loud clatter as it hit the floor.

Groot was fine, having by now hopped off the cabinet onto the floor. Rocket regained his footing, clinging to the cupboard above the stove as he surveyed the damage.

He knew he fucked up.

That’s when you came back inside. He saw your face as you took in the mess, looked over to Groot, and then looked up at him.

He really fucked up.

The rest of the team also heard the clatter from the sitting room a few quickly came to see what had happened.

You didn’t notice. You only saw red.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!”

Rocket started to reply with something snarky about not getting your “panties in a bunch” and how it could be cleaned but you cut him off before he could.

“He’s made of wood!”

Rocket was slightly taken aback. “What?”

“That stove was- IS fucking lit.” You reach over to shut off the burner under the pasta, side-stepping the mess. “What if he had caught fire? Or what if you knocked over the other pot? What if that fucking pot of boiling water had landed on either of you?! Do you even understand what that would have done to you?!”

By now the rest had heard you yelling and came to join the others in standing in the doorway to see what all the commotion was about. You still didn’t notice them, you were too angry.

Rocket attempted to speak again. “I-”

You weren’t finished. “I get it, he’s a baby, he’s still learning, but YOU most definitely should know better! But no! You think it’s ok to play with him around a lit fucking stove! What the actual fuck! I swear, you’re about as thick as manure but only half as useful!”

Rocket looked at the others in the doorway with wide eyes, not quite sure what to say. There was no way around it. This one was on him. They wore shocked expressions but also didn’t say anything. Little Groot looked terrified at the (to him) giant angry lady screaming at Rocket.

You took a step back and finally assessed the mess. “And then there’s all this!” you say, gesturing at the red tomato sauce now splattered all over your floor, your cupboards, the table & chairs, your stove. There was even sauce splattered on the window above the sink and the curtains, not to mention the walls. It was as if a tomato bomb went off in your kitchen.

You pressed the ball of your hand to your forehead. “You know what? No. I’m not dealing with this. Nope.” You open the fridge, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. It was only then you saw the others standing in the doorway. You look to them, gesturing toward the pantry with the bottle. “Figure out your own damn supper.” is all you say before walking out the back door and slamming it behind you.

Peter was the first to speak. He skipped asking Rocket what he had done, it was obvious by the red splattering the kitchen. Instead, what he said was more of a statement. “You really fucked up, man. You made her leave her own house.”

“Should we go after her?” Drax asked. Mantis just stared at the giant mess as she hugged her bear, eyes wide. You had been very angry.

Yondu and Kraglin could see you out the back window, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle as you headed for the forest, much like you had the other night -minus the drinking of course. “No,” said Yondu, “Probably a bad idea. Let her go.”

Gamora agreed, and turned to glare at Rocket, demanding that he get down and help clean up the mess he had made.

Rocket actually looked kind of guilty looking toward the back door you had just left through. He didn’t even argue back anything snarky, just did as Gamora asked without a word, which didn’t go unnoticed as odd to the others.

He could have handled it if you had just yelled at him for making a mess. Could have shot back that you were uptight, had a stick up your ass- it was just a mess. Messes could be cleaned. Shit happens. Get over it.

But what he couldn’t handle was that your first words, your first instinct, was to be angry that he had endangered Groot by allowing him to play near the stove. That he couldn’t snark at- because you were right. What if Groot had caught fire? Or fell in the boiling pot?

He’d never forgive himself.

***

Hours had passed and half the bottle was gone before you finally returned.

Even in your drunken haze you saw that the kitchen had been cleaned, every trace of the tomato explosion gone. Even your curtains had been washed, dried, and re-hung.

You went to put what was left of the whiskey bottle back in the fridge, and saw someone had been kind enough to plop the pasta in a covered bowl and set it in the fridge so it wouldn’t be wasted.

Not that you gave a shit.

Right now you wanted to sleep, and so you made your way to your room and collapsed on the bed.

Sleep didn’t come right away. You faced the wall and covered your mouth, trying to hold back sobs from your anger, frustration, and sadness over everything. Even still drunk you had the presence of mind to know you didn’t want anyone to hear you cry, especially since one of your new housemates was currently sharing your room and sleeping not two meters away.

The raccoon was a right asshole, the worst of the bunch. You wanted to strangle the little fecker, but knew you wouldn’t. What you really just wanted was to be alone again, to bury yourself in work like you had before all this happened. Anything to keep your mind on other things-to push down the painful memories of your past that were now rudely breaking through your whiskey-addled brain and out your eyes.

Sleep did eventually come, and if you didn’t know better you could have sworn you heard a gentle voice softly whispering, “Sleep,” just before you passed out.

Chapter Text

This morning you did sleep in, but that didn’t make your day much better.

You were slightly hungover, to start, and you spent most of the day in a funk trying to avoid everyone.

This wasn’t completely possible, seeing as you now lived with eight other people, but the others seemed to mostly get the hint that you wanted to be left alone.

The first real interaction you had was around noon as you poured yourself some cereal and Yondu and Peter came in the backdoor to tell you they just heard gunshots from the forest.

You barely glanced at them. “Hunters.” you said. “Probably hunting pigeons, but more likely they’re poaching deer or fox. Happens every year.”

They seemed almost surprised by your blasé attitude at hearing there were gunshots, but did seem to relax a bit that you seemed so confident. You had said you grew up here, after all.

Peter was still a little nervous however. “Do they ever come this way?”

You look up to him, knowing what he was getting at. He wanted to make sure they wouldn’t happen upon your house while anyone obviously not human was outside and put them all at risk. “No. I’m pretty sure it’s just a man and his boys who live a couple miles away. I’ve never heard the shots come closer than a mile outside the property. You’re fine.”

Seemingly convinced they finally left you, but you did notice no one seemed to go out until well after the last of the shots were heard, and you assumed Peter must have warned the others to stay inside just in case.

After you ate you went upstairs to grab your music, fancying a walk. However, once you got there you caught Groot sticking his tendrils in the lock of the attic door.

“What you doing there?” you say, firm enough to get his attention, but gentle enough to hopefully not to scare him.

He turned to you, pulling back his vines, looking sorry. “I am Groot.”

You shook your head. “Sorry buddy, I have no idea what you’re saying, let’s find someone who can translate.” You beckoned him to come, holding out your hand.

Groot looked sheepish, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to come, but eventually he did, toddling over to you and allowing himself to be picked up.

You carried him downstairs and into the sitting room, finding everyone but Mantis, Kraglin, and Rocket sitting at the table. You walked over and asked if anyone there could translate, sitting Groot on the table.

“Sure,” Peter offered, “What’s up?”

“Well, I found him growing his vines into the lock of the attic door and I just want to know what he was doing.” Actually, you thought you knew what he was doing. It looked like he was trying to pick the lock, what you really wanted to know was why.

Gamora looked at the tree child with both confusion and intrigue. “Groot, why did you do that?”

“I am Groot.”

“No buddy, she’s not going to do that. She just wants to know what you were doing to her door.” Peter answered.

You raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I forgot we have to repeat the question for him. He doesn’t know what you’re saying. He was worried that you were going to be mad at him like you were to Rocket last night.”

You were taken aback by this. “He can’t unde-? But the first night you all got here-? I asked him a question and Drax translated his answer for me?”

Drax shrugged. “It was easier to make something up than explain he won’t be able to understand you because neither of you have translators. What he had really told you was that he had no idea what you said.”

Yondu and Peter looked at Drax like he was stupid. It wouldn’t have taken much more effort to explain. He literally just did it.

You also look at Drax. “So this whole time he hasn’t been able to understand a word I’ve said to him?” A realization hit you. “But wait- I’m pretty sure we-” you pointed a finger back and forth between you and them, “are speaking the same language??” You were wondering if they were trying to prank you.

Gamora looked at you apologetically. She would have corrected Drax when he made up an answer for Groot that first night, but she was too exhausted to deal with it, and afterwards it just never came up again. You had spent more and more time avoiding everyone anyway. “We’re actually not speaking the same language. We all have translator chips, it’s how we can all understand each other. It’s standard where we’re from. They work both ways. It’s how you can understand us and how we can understand you. However, because neither you or Groot has one, he can’t understand you.” She didn’t go into the fact that their translators didn’t actually translate Groot, or how their understanding of him only came from time spent with him and Rocket’s translations. She doubted they’d be there much longer for it to make a difference anyway.

“I see,” you said. You frown. “I guess that explains why he never seemed to listen.”

Peter lightly chuckled at that, as did Yondu.

“Anyway,” Peter said, trying to bring the conversation back to what you came for. “What were you doing to her door?”

“I am Groot.”

“He said he was trying to unlock it.”

“Alright, kinda figured that, but why?”

Peter repeated the question to Groot and came back with the answer, “He said he was looking for a hiding spot?”

You raise an eyebrow.

“I am Groot.”

“Oh that’s right, you were playing hide and seek.”

“Hmm. Well that’s all fine, but the attic is off limits. It’s locked for a reason.” you say.

“She says you can’t go in there, buddy. There are monsters in there.”

You give him a strange look, but he gives his head a quick shake as if to tell you not to question it. You figured he probably thought the kid would be more likely to listen if he thought there were monsters and let it go.

Groots eyes went wide and he turned to you. “I am Groot?”

Yondu answered, fighting back a grin. “Yeah, really. Now run along before we feed you to them.”

Peter smacked him in the arm as little Groot hopped off the table, and Yondu laughed and held up his hands in a “What?” gesture.

Almost on cue you then heard Kraglin call out, “Ready or not, here I come!” before walking into the sitting room and encountering Groot as he ran towards the door. He looked at Groot and laughed, “I don’t think you know how this game works, buddy,” before turning and leaving the room himself.

You also started to leave when Drax asked, “Why is the attic off-limits?”

Gamora shot him a look for being nosy but you answered anyway. “It’s.. unsafe,” you lie. “Old house, you know. Don’t want anyone falling through the floor.”

You leave them then, saying you’re going out for a walk.

Your walk wasn’t too long, just along the road a ways before turning back. When you got back to the house you decided to practice your archery some more. You may or may not have pretended that a certain someone’s face was the target.

When you finally did come back inside you arrived to a commotion in the hall.

You didn’t know what the fight was about. You didn’t ask either. All you saw was Kraglin and Rocket standing in the hall arguing about some nonsense. Drax was also there, but he was sitting down on the bench tying his boots and seemed uninterested in the argument.

Then you saw Rocket go to bite Kraglin, miss, and then settle for lunging on him and Kraglin struggling to get him off. Drax didn’t really do anything other than scold Rocket, and you suspected this must be so normal for him to witness that it just didn’t register anymore.

Your nostrils flared and your eyes narrowed at the scene.

Rocket attacking and Kraglin flailing.

Peter came out of the sitting room, presumably to tell them to knock it off, then he saw the murderous look in your eyes and his sentence caught in his throat as he watched you storm over.

You grabbed Rocket by the scruff of the neck and roughly pulled him off, both to his and Kraglin’s surprise. Rocket actually made a noise akin to a squeak.

The others watched as you wordlessly marched the fecker to the front door, earning many angry protests from the Raccoon on the way for you to let him go as he kicked and squirmed.

Hearing the sudden change in the commotion, this prompted Gamora and Yondu to join Peter in the doorway. Yondu, out of curiosity, and Gamora out of concern.

You jerked the door open, and told Rocket to take a walk before tossing him out like a rag doll, mercifully onto the grass. He landed and stared back in a mix of shock and anger, too stunned to think of running back towards you. “You can come back in when you stop wanting to being such a damn asshole.” you told him, promptly shutting the door and spinning the deadbolt.

You didn’t look at the others as you turned on your heels and made your way up the stairs to your room.

They stared at each other in the hallway, wondering if they had really just witnessed what they saw, and if they should do anything about it.

On one hand, you just literally threw their friend outside.

On the other, maybe it would cool him down to go for a walk?

In the end they decided not to intervene, see how it played out. Way they saw it there were two possible outcomes. One outcome, Rocket takes his time out and actually comes back calmer and ready to be civil. The other outcome, he spends his time out getting more pissed and then rips your face off when you finally let him back in.

The real outcome, however, was less conclusive.

You decided rather than waste the pasta one of the others bothered to save from the previous night, you’d re-make the sauce and heat the spaghetti and serve it for dinner that night.

You called the others to the kitchen and told them to serve themselves before leaving the kitchen. Fortunately there were no accusations of poison this time, but that could have been because Yondu saw which door of the kitchen you exited from and figured you were going to call Rocket back inside.

He was right.

You open the front door and call out into the open, “Hey, Rocket! If you’ve decided you want to play nice then come inside and eat!” You resisted the urge to call him ‘shit-head’ instead of his name. More flies with honey and all that.

You waited a bit and then saw Rocket turning the corner of the house to approach the front door. He didn’t say anything, just grouchily shuffled inside and you followed in behind him. You didn’t say anything either, trying not to antagonize too much.

When you saw everyone else was served you made a plate and took your dinner in your room. No one questioned. At the urging of Gamora they were still trying to give you your space.

They only hoped things would be less tense tomorrow.

***

The next time you were seen wasn’t until a little before midnight, when Yondu happened to glance out the window as he was tucking into bed and saw your shadowy figure walking towards the forest in the moonlight.

He frowned. Once was odd. Twice only made him that much more curious. What was nearly the tipping point of his curiosity was the fact that he realized he would never hear you leaving the old house, which to him implied you were sneaking out. Sneaking out of your own house. The hell?

What the hell was out there that you kept disappearing to at night? Where you disappeared to when Rocket ruined dinner?

Next time he was going to stay up and catch you before you left.

***

Starting out things were indeed NOT less tense the next day.

Your day started out with Kraglin accidentally walking in on you when you had just gotten out of the shower. Fortunately for both of you you had literally just wrapped the towel around yourself before he opened the door, but that didn’t make anything less awkward, or either of your startled screams less shrill.

He tried to apologize later, but you’d only responded with “Let’s just never speak of it again.”

Then you went to grab some breakfast, you thought toast would be nice. Only when you got into the kitchen the toaster was nowhere to be found. Maybe you put it in a cupboard? You opened the press where you might have put it, only to find your cooking pans instead.

That wasn’t the particular cupboard where you kept your pans, however, and you began to have a sinking feeling as to what might have happened.

You opened another cupboard and finally found the toaster alongside the blender- again, not where they were supposed to be. You then went to find a knife, and wouldn’t you know it, all your silverware was gone and replaced with towels.

You pinched the bridge of your nose.

“Do you like it?”

You turned to see Mantis and Drax beaming like they did a good deed. “What?”

“We re-arranged the kitchen.” Drax said. “Rocket said it was a Terran custom and you’d be very happy.”

You rub a hand down your face. Fecker pulled another prank. “And you believed Rocket why, exactly?”

Drax and Mantis shared a look, as if they just realized it wasn’t a smart idea to believe Rocket. They only grimaced apologetically back at you with an “Um…”

After a moment Mantis asked if you were mad.

You look at them for a bit before saying, “No. I’m not mad. I’m not happy about it, but I’m not mad. But, you two are going to help me put everything back.”

They nodded quietly and got to work. It took an hour to get it straight again.

After you finally got to eat you decided to tend your garden again. It didn’t need much weeding, so you decided to work slow to avoid going back inside for a bit. Mantis had also come outside with you and went over to play on the swing. She had seemingly become quite fond of it in her short time here.

After perhaps ten minutes you heard a snap and a startled cry and turned to find Mantis now on the ground. The old rope had finally snapped.

Mantis looked up at you and sheepishly said, “Sorry, I broke your swing.”

You look at her in exhaustion. “It’s fine. Not your fault, it was old. You ok?”

Mantis nodded and headed back inside as she rubbed her smarted behind.

You turn back to your garden. Today might be another archery day.

Instead of archery you thought of another idea. Rocket had complained about sleeping in the crib at least five times since he got here, probably more when you weren’t around to hear it. Maybe you could build him a little bed as a peace-offering. Maybe he’d be less insufferable if you fixed the problem he was always complaining about.

You already knew you had enough wood in the shed to do it, and you already knew the crib fit a 120 X 60 cm mattress, so you’d just build the bed to the same dimensions as the crib so the mattress would still fit- you weren’t going to go to that much trouble for the shithead. And as a bonus, this was also another way to keep busy.

You sketched out a quick plan on an old notepad you kept in the work shed and got to work cutting the pieces.

It was a simple design, but one that still required the bed legs and headboard to be joined and clamped together, same as the footboard. This meant you wouldn’t be finished by tonight, especially not if you decided to stain it, which was fine by you. You weren’t exactly in a rush.

You did what you were able to of the bed frame before heading back inside, maybe a little more than an hour later to grab something quick for lunch. Rocket was already in the kitchen eating something out of a little packet that looked unfamiliar to you. More alien food, you thought.

He looked up at you as you walked in with a raised eyebrow. “What you been up to?”

You looked down to where his gaze met and saw you still had a bit of sawdust on your jeans. You brushed it away and said, “Nothing.”

He eyed you before his expression changed to a grin. He thought he’d have a little fun with you, slight revenge for the previous day when you threw him outside. Nothing much, just something to take “Miss Cranky-Ass” down a peg. He looked at you innocently. “Hey, you want to try one of these? They’re good.”

You eye him suspiciously. Every instinct you had told you not to trust him.

Rocket could tell you weren’t biting. “Look, I know things have been tense between is, but consider it a peace offering.” He held out the bag and kept grinning.

Not a chance.

Peter walked into the kitchen at that moment, just the person you needed to see. You got his attention, “Hey, Peter, what’s this little fecker trying to do to me?”

Peter looked confused. “What?” he asked.

“He’s offering me whatever those purple things are, and I think you could forgive me for not trusting it right away.”

Rocket made a show of looking offended, “I’d never-”

Then Peter got a look at the bag and shot Rocket an annoyed look. “Yeah, do not eat that.” he warned. He looked at Rocket. “You know Terrans can’t eat xanti-berries.” He looked back at you, “Seriously, don’t eat them. You’ll be shitting yourself the rest of tonight and tomorrow.”

Your eyes widened and you looked at Rocket bitterly. Your instincts had been right. Can’t trust the little shit. And to think you were making him a bed so he didn’t need to sleep in the crib.

Rocket was now snickering, saying to Peter, “Come on- I mean we know that’s what happens to you-” More snickering. “But maybe it’s just a you thing-” Snickering now turns to laughing. “Maybe- Maybe she’d be fine. AHAHA!”

The little beast was now fully laughing at his own joke.

“Yeah, no thanks,” you say, turning to grab a granola bar instead.

Peter shooed still laughing Rocket out of the kitchen. “I’m sorry about him, he’s-”

“An asshole?” you finish for him.

Peter rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah…” he said with an apologetic look. He could tell you were past tired of his friend’s bullshit, which was bad because they hadn’t even been there a full week yet.

You shook your head and went to eat in your room, maybe you’d scroll some tumblr.

***

Not much later after you had gotten bored refreshing the page, you thought you’d look for a book to read in the sitting room, and walked in on Rocket and Peter arguing over what to watch. This eventually lead to the remote being flung across the room and just narrowly missing the TV.

You rub your temples and sigh. “You know, if you break that, I’m not replacing it.”

“Oh yeah, you think we’re gonna replace it?” Rocket snarked.

You looked at them. “That’s not what I said, is it? I said I’m not replacing it. Meaning if you break it, there just won’t be one. I’m not going to reward bad behavior by replacing it if you break it.”

You heard Rocket mutter, “Whatever,” and not long after you started hearing the noises of them bickering and smacking at each other again.

“Enough!” you say in a loud, firm voice that honestly startled Peter a bit and caught the attention of Kraglin from the table where he was doing a puzzle he found on a shelf. Your desire to find a book forgotten you left the sitting room, saying, “God, you act like children!”

You passed Gamora on your way out and said, “How do you deal with them?!” You continued on without waiting for an answer and Gamora shot a disapproving look at the pair on the couch, clearly unhappy that they were still finding ways to piss you off.

You went back into the kitchen, retrieved a glass from the cupboard, the whiskey bottle from the other night from the fridge, and sat at the table.

Yondu walked in about ten minutes later. “Starting a little early, I see.” He wasn’t actually sure if it’d be early to start drinking by Terran customs or not, but he knew from when he still had his crew and the Eclector, his crew typically weren’t allowed to start in until all their day’s duties were done, which, not always, but usually wasn’t until after dinner. Outward appearance would have suggested otherwise, but he kept a tighter ship than one might think. Couldn’t have someone piss drunk on the job and fucking everything up, now could he? That’s not to say the crew always listened… but they were well aware of the consequences of getting caught drunk on the job.

You only answered back with a, “There are glasses in the cupboard if you want some.”

Yondu chuckled and went for a glass, not one to refuse a drink.

As soon as he sat down you stood up. “I’ll be back.” you announce.

Yondu poured himself a glass and you shortly returned with another bottle of whiskey from the cellar. “Bottle was almost gone,” you explain, setting the new bottle on the table and re-taking your seat.

Yondu looked at you, amused, but also mildly wondering where you had retrieved a second bottle from. He had never been bothered to explore the cellar. If he had he would have known you kept most of your unopened alcohol down there, where it could stay cool without needing a refrigerator.

Yondu took a sip, and almost recoiled, having not expected this Terran stuff to be quite so strong. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, mind you, but he had honestly just assumed Terran whiskey would be weak. From experience with Peter, the boy always got piss drunk after only barely a couple shots of Xandarian liquor, which wasn’t very strong, so he just assumed Terrans had a naturally lower tolerance. Now he just supposed Quill was a lightweight.

“Anything on your mind?” Yondu asked. If you were sitting here drinking alone surely there must be.

You glance up. “Nope,” you say, as you down the rest of your glass. You pour another.

“Uh huh… right. That’s why you look like a grump-ass sitting here drinking all by yourself then.”

You give him a look, gesturing to him with your glass. “You’re sitting right there aren’t you? Looks like I ain’t alone.”

Yondu chuckled and shook his head. Cheeky shit. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Nope.”

Yondu grinned and pointed at you knowingly. “Gotcha.”

“What?” you say, confused by his tone.

“Ya said ya don’t wanna talk about it. Means there’s somethin’ on yer mind.”

You look at him through narrow eyes and take another sip.

“What is it? Tired of Rocket’s shit? Don’t blame ya. Rat can be a real asshole.”

You sigh.

“So it is the rat, then?”

“Quit,” you say, taking another drink and looking at him sternly.

Yondu held up his hands and backed off. “Alright. I won’t push it.”

“Push what?” came Peter’s voice from the doorway as he and Kraglin walked into the kitchen. Peter grabbed a snack from the pantry and tossed one to Kraglin.

“Cool, didn’t realize we were starting a party” Kraglin joked, referring to the two whiskey bottles on the table and you and Yondu sitting there with your glasses.

Figuring you might as well offer them some you motioned to the cupboard again. “Glasses up there. Might as well join us.”

You didn’t have to ask them twice. Peter got down a couple glasses and Kraglin poured them some drink.

Peter nodded to the two bottles and joked asking if you were trying to see who could outdrink the other.

You shrugged. “Nah. If we were to do that, he’d need to catch up.”

Yondu laughed. “You don’t wanna go there, missy. I’ll drink ya under the table before you knew what hit you.” He chuckled and elbowed Kraglin in the arm, who snickered, knowing full well Yondu could drink like a tank.

You rolled your eyes. “Like I said, you’d need to catch up to me first. I’m about four ahead of you.

Yondu’s head snapped back to you glancing from your drink to you. "Four?” You must be joking. You weren’t even tipsy yet that he could tell.

You were unable to hold back a laugh. “Nah, I’m only messing with you.” You downed your glass. “I’m two ahead after that one.” You poured yourself another glass. You grinned slightly. “Again, do I need to wait for you to catch up?”

Yondu grinned at you, his eyes almost inquisitive. “Ya really sure ya wanna do that?” He was confident you didn’t stand a chance.

Peter laughed. “What, you scared she’ll outdrink you?”

Yondu rolled his eyes and downed his glass. “No. Jus’ concerned she’ll hurt herself tryin’,” he laughed.

Now you rolled your eyes. “Fine. Don’t. I’ll accept your admission of defeat.” you say with a shrug as you take another sip. This was almost definitely the buzz talking. You weren’t a lightweight, but you still weren’t exactly the heaviest drinker.

Peter and Kraglin hid giggles behind their glasses as Yondu gave you a hard look and poured himself another glass and downed it.

“There, I’m caught up.” he said, pouring himself another glass to match you. “I’ll give you one more chance to back out, sweetheart.”

You down your glass. “I ain’t your sweetheart, grandpa.”

Yondu narrowed his eyes and downed his as well. “Then it’s on, pipsqueak.”

“Ooh-hoho. You’re gonna regret that.” you say, unable to hold back a grin as you poured another round for the two of you.

Peter and Kraglin were now openly laughing at the show as they sipped their drinks.

Yondu tipped his glass to you and took a sip. “We’ll see.” He wasn’t really concerned with the drinking game. He was fairly certain he’d win. He did, however, think the whiskey might loosen your tongue, get you to talk to him. Maybe he’d eventually get around to asking why you lived in such a big place by yourself or what was in the forest that you kept walking into.

You followed his lead, sipping your current glass rather than downing it right away. Maybe it was the buzz starting to talk, but you suddenly were curious about something. “I don’t think you guys ever told me why you needed to go into hiding in the first place.”

“Fury didn’t tell you?” Peter asked.

“Nope. He was too busy moving you guys in and changing up my house and getting into my shit to mention it.” you say, taking another sip.

Yondu also sipped. Tongue loosening: Check.

“Well it’s kinda a long story,” Peter began, “but short version, we were hired to do a job for these people, and we did it, but then Rocket insulted them, and stole their shit, and now they’ve vowed vengeance.”

“And they ain’t the forgivin’ type.” Kraglin added.

“No. Definitely not,” said Yondu mournfully, taking another sip. Bad enough his crew mutinied and he blasted his ship to hell, now he had to go into hiding. Yondu Udonta doesn’t hide… unless forced to by the Nova Corps because he joined his boy’s little team of galaxy savers, apparently… He supposed it was better than jail. He should really thank Peter for pulling those strings sometime.

“Anyway, so when the Nova Corps heard about it they insisted we go into hiding until they could try and smooth it over.”

“Hmm.” You say, finishing your glass. “So they’re trying to beg for your lives, is that it?”

Peter shrugged awkwardly. “More or less.”

“They must really like you.” you laughed, looking down as Yondu poured everyone another round.

“They should,” Yondu said. “He saved the galaxy twice.”

Peter looked at him and he tried to hide how his heart swelled. Receiving praise from the blue man for things other than thievery was still new to him, but he didn’t exactly hate it.

Yondu ignored his gaze. He wasn’t about to get caught up in sentiment. He changed the subject. “Why don’t ya tell us a little about yerself?”

You pretended to think a bit before taking a drink and saying, “Hmm… Nope.”

Yondu held back a sigh. Tongue loosening: Un-Check. He tipped back his glass and nodded to you, as if to challenge.

You tipped your glass back in turn and as you poured another Yondu taunted, “I think that was five now, sure ya don’t wanna slow down?”

You give him a patronizing look. “Is that your way of saying you give up?” You started to giggle behind your hand when Yondu’s expression read ’Oh please.’ and he finished his glass to keep the pour even between you.

Kraglin grinned wide and nudged Peter, “Eh, Pete, tell her about that time you got stabbed for flirting with that A'askvarii chick.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he looked at Kraglin, “Not cool, dude!”

Yondu chuckled and you just looked at Peter inquisitively, having no idea what an 'A'askvarii’ was. Before you could ask Yondu spoke up.

“If I remember correctly he didn’t get stabbed for that one. Kree girl tried to rip out his thorax. He got stabbed for trying to pull a runner on a Rajack girl.” Yondu said, grinning before taking another drink.

Peter glared at him. “New topic.” He looked at you. “What got you into archery?”

You sighed through your nose. You supposed it was an innocent enough question. “Dad taught me. How’d you’d come about living in space?”

Peter made a face and downed his drink. “Uh, long story, another time…” How would he explain that the reason he was in space was because his Celestial father sent the man sitting next to you to abduct him… and make it not sound awful? Better think of something lighter. “Uh… Got any family around or is it just you?”

You eyes narrowed. Your former giddiness visibly left you.

'Oh no.’ Peter thought. That apparently wasn’t lighter… You must not get along with your family. He tried to fix it. “Ok, touchy subject- I mean… Oh look, your glass is empty!” He quickly poured you and him another round.

You actually almost laughed at that, and a slight grin cracked your face.

Yondu saw how your expression changed and incorrectly assumed that it meant you weren’t actually that irritated by Peter’s question. He then took that incorrect assumption to pose his own question. “So, you didn’t quite answer the other night, and I’m still curious. How come it’s just you in this big old house?”

This prompted Kraglin to add his own question. “Yeah, and I’ve been wondering too, how’s come you don’t keep any photos?”

Your glare returned. You sat your glass down and stood up saying in a slightly slurred speech, “I have to pee.” and excused yourself from the table, stumbling a bit as the alcohol hit you. You righted yourself, earning a chuckle from Peter and Kraglin, who knew too well that it’s always easy to believe you aren’t as drunk as you are until you stand up and the room spins.

Yondu also laughed, but internally cursed himself. He wasn’t gonna get any answers like this. He hoped that maybe there was still a chance to save it when you got back. He saw a hint of pain in your eyes just before you left, and it made him want to know why. He felt he was so close to putting the pieces together.

***

You head to the bathroom irritated at being asked the personal questions. Leave it up to your new house mates to ruin your buzz.

You only got more irritated upon entering the bathroom, however.

Someone had left their wet towels on the floor. Rolling your eyes in annoyance you kicked them aside to make your way to the toilet. Mercifully you didn’t find any unpleasant surprises waiting inside it like you had been. Peter must have gotten the “Flush the damn toilet!” message through to Drax. However, once you had done your business you found that someone couldn’t have been bothered to replace the toilet roll properly, just having sat it on the roll holder.

You sigh irritably and replace it properly yourself. Yes, it could have been worse. They could have not replaced it at all and forced you to do a mini walk of shame to the sink cupboard to retrieve it, but you were too cranky to look at the bright side.

Then you went to wash your hands, only to see someone had smeared toothpaste all over the sink, a big pet peeve of yours. Your nostrils flared and you muttered to yourself as you washed that you weren’t going to clean it. Screw that.

You went to dry your hands, and find there was no towel to dry them. You gritted your teeth and ripped a towel from the small closet, hanging it on the hook when you were finished.

Before leaving the bathroom you tried to gather yourself, taking a deep breath and telling yourself to calm down. It would be ok. You were just a little drunk. It wasn’t that big of a deal. You were going to go back out and try to have some fun drinking that blue bastard under the table. (This, of course, was the alcohol talking. False confidence. You really did never stand a chance of outdrinking the Ravager captain.)

You start to open the door, and that’s when you reach your breaking point.

***

After you left, Kraglin nudged Peter again, whispering the words, “A'askvarii girl,” to him and giggling like a child.

Peter smacked him in the arm, “Quit it! That was one time! And I was only trying to get information! Tell him Yondu!” He tried to look angry, but the whiskey was having its usual effect on him, making him a giggly little bitch.

Yondu only grinned and shook his head. “I dunno boy, you were a little too convincing if ya ask me… Nobody asked you to sleep with her.”

Kraglin bust out laughing at Peter’s face, which was an odd mix of horror, drunken mirth, and “Dammit, you got me.” He playfully shoved Peter and Peter shoved back with a “You suck!” which prompted Kraglin to squeeze his side, which of course made Peter jolt with a laugh and smack him away.

Kraglin only did it again and Peter laughed out a “Quit it!” while smacking him again.

Yondu just rolled his eyes and chuckled, sipping his whiskey as he watched his boys mess around like they did when they were younger on the Eclector.

After a pinch to the knee Peter bolted off his chair, only to have Kraglin follow, laughing, “Come back 'ere, ya coward!” He got Peter in a headlock and started to give him a noogie.

Peter laughed and managed to worm away, taking off into the hallway.

Yondu watched in amusement as Kraglin followed Peter out of the kitchen, and listened as the sounds of their shenanigans took them from the front door down the hall. That’s when he heard the sound of a door slamming and a loud cry of “OW! Mother—FUCKer!” that sounded suspiciously like you.

'Oh shit,’ he thought, standing from the table to go inspect the damage.

***

It had all happened fairly quickly.

You had opened the bathroom door maybe a foot before it slammed back in your face. Literally in your face. You recoiled and swore loudly, the flash of pain made your eyes water and you saw red before you even realized you were bleeding.

Kraglin and Peter jerked away from the door in startled shock after hearing you cry out. They had only been horsing around when their antics caused Peter to fall back into the door just as you opened it. They jumped when the door slammed back open with an incredible BANG against the wall, and their eyes went wide when they saw you standing there, murderous rage in your eyes and blood running from your nose down your chin.

Maybe it was because he was the nearest person, or maybe it was because he instinctually held up his hands and said “Sorry! Sorry! It was an accident!” but Peter was the one you lunged at.

You grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him into the wall, nearly a week’s worth of frustration and rage channeled through you as his body connected with the plaster.

Peter, not just going to stand there and let himself get beaten up, tried to grab your wrists and get you off him, but you evaded his attempts and punched him in the stomach.

This slightly knocked the wind from him, but he managed to grab your wrist and push off from the wall. He spun you around and tried to restrain you in a bear hug, saying, “Take it easy!” but you only dropped to your knees and lurched forward, flipping him over your back towards the front door.

Kraglin looked to Yondu, who watched from outside the kitchen door near the end of the hall. His gaze asked what to do, but Yondu only shrugged and didn’t try to intervene. He knew Peter could handle himself and he was sure you needed to let off some steam, so he just enjoyed the show.

The commotion brought the others in though. Gamora and Mantis flew down the stairs, while Rocket, Drax, and Groot stepped out of the sitting room to witness the fight with wide eyes. They didn’t know what had happened, but you looked ready for the kill, and to the few who could see it from their vantage, you looked almost terrifying with your bared teeth full of blood.

You now straddling Peter, attempting to throw a punch when he blocked it and flipped the two of you over. He breathlessly told you to settle down as you struggled, but you wouldn’t hear it. If anything it seemed to make you more pissed off, and Gamora’s cries for the two of you to stop fell on deaf ears.

You kneed Peter in the stomach and flipped the two of you back over. You weren’t sure what next possessed you, but you threw your head down and sank your teeth into his shoulder.

Peter threw his head back and cried out in pain, mixing in a few curses as well.

Yondu cocked his head, seeming unsure on whether he wanted to be impressed or not to see you, Miss SHIELD Agent, fight dirty. Kraglin finally spoke up to say, “Hey, hey, now! No bitin’!” as if he were refereeing a wrestling match.

Right about then you felt large strong hands grip you about the waist, surprising you into releasing your bite on Peter as they pulled you off of him. The arms moved from your waist to secure your wrists and before you knew it you were being restrained in half a bear-hug by one very strong arm as you were turned away from Peter and pulled towards the front door.

Drax paused to open the door and, turning you to face him, flatly said. “You need to take a walk.”

“Drax!” Gamora hissed, appalled that he was throwing their host out of her own house, despite the circumstances.

Rocket, of course, laughed and asked how you liked it, like an asshole. It was only then he saw the blood around your nose and mouth and his expression changed slightly to reflect his shock, now wondering if you had actually taken a chunk out of Peter when you bit him. Were you some kind of maniac?

You spat blood at him, only for it to land on the floor at his feet as he was standing too far away, and then slammed the door behind you on your way out.

Gamora came the rest of the way down the stairs to inspect Peter’s shoulder, seeing the blood on his shirt.

“It’s fine,” he assured, “It’s hers, not mine. See, she didn’t break skin.” He pulled back his shirt to prove it. “I think I accidentally broke her nose though. That’s what started it.”

Gamora looked at him in confusion. “You broke her nose?! What the hell, Peter!”

“It was an accident!” he said again.

Gamora took a step back. “Ok. Tell me what happened. Start from the beginning.”

“Well, we were all drinking-”

Gamora threw up her hands. “Oh, well that explains everything!” she interrupted bitterly. Dumb stuff almost always seemed to happen when those guys and alcohol mixed.

Rocket spoke up. “You were drinking and didn’t invite us? Rude.”

Gamora threw him an unamused look. “Not the point, Rocket.”

Peter tried again. He explained he and Kraglin joined you and Yondu drinking, you got up to use the bathroom, he and Kraglin started horsing around, and one thing lead to another until he fell back against the door as you were coming out of the bathroom and it must have hit you and pissed you off.

Gamora looked at him. So it really had just been a big drunken accident. She also then realized Drax had not only just threw their host out of their own house, but threw you out while you were also drunk, broken and bleeding.

They were sooo getting kicked out.

“We should call her back in.” said Gamora. “You shouldn’t have thrown her out, Drax. This is her home. We’re only guests.”

Drax looked confused. “Why? It worked with Rocket. I thought I was helping?”

“Don’t bother trying,” said Yondu nonchalantly. “Bet she’s already well into the forest by now.”

They looked at him. “How would you know that?” Gamora asked.

He shrugged. “It’s where she went the other night she got mad. Saw her heading there out the window when Rat there destroyed the kitchen and ruined diner.” He left out the bit that he’d also seen you head there in the middle of the night too. He was saving that bit of mystery for himself to solve.

Rocket just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms at being called out for his past grievances. It got cleaned, didn’t it?

“I’m sure she’ll come back when she’s ready,” Yondu added. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to go look for you, if for no other reason than to see where you kept going to out there, but he had a feeling that if you didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t find you. He might have some experience tracking, but he couldn’t also forget what you did for a living. While he might not know much about what your job entailed, he got the feeling you weren’t just some desk-jocky.

Besides, if you found your way back, drunk, the other night, he was sure you could do it again.

Begrudgingly Gamora agreed to wait.

And wait they did.

Chapter Text

You didn’t return for several hours, long enough for it to start to get dark out and for the others to start to wonder if you’d come back at all.

Gamora was about to suggest she and Peter go looking for you when you came in the back door. The blood from your face was now gone, but remanent drops still stained the front of your shirt.

You were surprised to find everyone in the kitchen as if they had been waiting up for you.

“Where have you been?” asked Gamora. Her voice didn’t sound accusatory, despite her hands on her hips. She sounded oddly worried.

“Taking a walk?” you say with a raised eyebrow. You hadn’t honestly expected anyone to be worried with your absence. After all, you bit their friend.

“You were gone for six hours!” Kraglin said incredulously. “Who takes a walk for six hours?”

You shrugged. “Took a nap, too. Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Most of them were looking at you like worried parents, except for Yondu who was leaning against the counter looking at his nails disinterested, Drax who looked mildly disapproving, and Rocket who wasn’t even facing you, looking like he didn’t give one solitary shit if you came back or not.

“Because you were gone for six hours.” Drax repeated. “We thought you died.”

“You thought I- No. Look, I just went for a walk- like you ‘suggested’-” you looked pointedly at Drax and made air quotes around the word 'suggested,’ (your gesture only seemed to confuse him), “took a nap, slept the whiskey off, got cleaned up in the river… Why are you even worr- Oh. Right.” You roll your eyes. “Fury would have figured something out if I didn’t come back, don’t you worry,” you say bitterly.

Peter grimaced and stood. “No, that’s not- Alright. We got off on a bad foot here. We-” He looked at Rocket to try and include in the contrition, “-feel bad about how things have gone, and we just want to talk.”

You look at them a moment, considering. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Peter looked relieved. “First off, we’re sorry that we haven’t made the best housemates. We’re a dysfunctional bunch of dicks, we get it.”

“Some of you more than others.” you say, looking at Rocket.

“Yes,” Peter agreed, also looking at Rocket. “and we’re sorry. We’ve been in your personal space, and it’s obviously been tough for you and we haven’t helped that and we understand if you want us to leave. We’re sure NOVA will understand.”

You stare off into a blank space of wall for awhile. “No,” you eventually say with a sigh. “You don’t have to leave. It’s not entirely your fault things have been tense. I can admit I’ve been a little… less than welcoming.” Your eyes drift to the ceiling and you cross your arms. “I shouldn’t be taking my frustration with what Fury did out on you.” You finally look at Peter. “And I’m sorry I bit you,” you say shyly, feeling your cheeks grow warm.

“It’s ok. I’ve had worse. You didn’t even break the skin.” Peter said, before wincing, “I’m sorry I broke your nose.”

“I don’t think it’s broken, actually. Hurt like a bitch, but somehow not broken.”

Peter looked relieved. “That’s good- That’s it’s not broken, I mean.”

“I’m sorry I made you leave your house.” Drax spoke up. “Gamora told me that wasn’t a good thing to do.”

“It’s fine.” You shrug. “I mean, don’t make a habit of it… but no hard feelings.” Honestly you knew you needed that walk, both to sort you out, and to try and sober up. Again, you bit a guy. Know who does that? Crazy drunk people. You were lucky one of his friends didn’t clock you for it.

Drax beamed and approached you, “Great! Then we are friends!” Your eyes widen as he reaches out and pulls you into a bear hug and actually lifts you off the ground. You let out a wheeze as he squeezed the air from your lungs and you thought you felt a couple vertebra in your spine crack.

When he sets you back down you stumble back a bit, caught off guard. “Sure,” you say breathlessly, almost laughing as you regained your bearings. 'Well, at least this one doesn’t seem to hold grudges,’ you assume.

You were wrong, but of course you didn’t actually know Drax that well to know that if you had actually hurt someone he cared about, that he would have chased you across the galaxy to have his revenge. Good thing you hadn’t had to figure that out.

“So you’re not mad at us?” Mantis said hopefully. She was hugging the bear you gave her, little Groot perched on her shoulder, and your face softened. Her expression was just so… hopeful? Like she really needed to hear that you weren’t mad and that she hadn’t lost a friend. Innocent. That’s the word you were looking for. She just looked too damn innocent, and it melted your heart against your consent.

“No s-” you caught yourself before you could call her 'sweetie.’ “No, I’m not mad at you.” You mentally whipped yourself. What the fuck? What did you think you were doing almost calling her 'sweetie’? Getting attached or some shit? Some of that whiskey must still be in your system.

She claps her hands excitedly, somehow not dropping the bear in the process, and you can just tell she’s going to hug you too. Your eyes flick to Peter in a silent cry for help as she bolts up from her chair, and he just gives you a knowing look and a chuckle as if to say, “You should have guessed that would happen,” right before Mantis’s body crashes into yours.

You stumble back but don’t fall, and awkwardly pat her on the back and letting out half a laugh as Groot crawled on top of your head. “Alright, ok. Settle down now,” you say, pulling him from your hair and gently handing him back to Mantis.

Yondu watched in amusement. He was sure he heard you almost call her 'sweetie,’ and combined with what he had seen how you treated them so far, and having also been told by Mantis about the bear (because she told everyone) and he saw Groot playing with the toy car that could have only came from you, it only confirmed to him that you seemed to have a soft spot for her and the twig.

“Well if everyone’s apologizing, where’s mine?” Rocket asked, standing defiantly on the table with his arms crossed.

Kraglin looked at him incredulously. “For what?”

“She tossed me out the door like a rag doll yesterday!” Rocket threw his hands in the air, as if Kraglin was missing something very obvious.

You huffed a laugh out your nose. “No. Absolutely not. For one, I’m not sorry, and secondly, did you really think I’d forget that you tried to poison me earlier today?”

Rocket got several looks for that, ranging from surprise to disapproval. Even Yondu raised an eyebrow.

“Rocket!” Gamora and Drax said in unison.

Rocket put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t actually trying to poison you! You wouldn’t have died or nuttin!”

Peter then explained the situation from earlier that day with the xanti-berries to the others and how Rocket had tried to convince you to eat them, which earned more disapproving looks directed towards Rocket. It was well known among most of them what they did to the Terran digestion. Yondu and Kraglin made that unfortunate discovery early on when they fed them to Peter as a boy, a mistake you don’t exactly make twice and a memory Kraglin wished he could have scrubbed from his mind with the same solvents he had been tasked with cleaning Yondu’s M-ship bathroom with after said mistake. The rest of the team found out in a much, much cleaner way, having simply been told by Peter when offered some that Terrans couldn’t eat them.

Yondu finally spoke up. “If anyone here actually needs to apologize I think it’s Rocket.”

Rocket looked at him in betrayal, his expression saying, ’Man, I thought we were cool!?’ His tail twitched in annoyance. Yondu was supposed to be on his side, not yours,

“Don’t give me that look,” Yondu said. “Ya know ya’ve spent nearly all yer time here being a dick, not to mention its yer fault we’re here in the first place.”

Rocket rolled his eyes and hopped off the table with a, “Whatever losers.” and walked out of the room, flipping the bird as he went.

“Rocket!” Gamora called out angrily, but Peter put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Let him go.”

After a beat you begin awkwardly edging yourself out of the room as well, saying, “Well, this was awkward. Glad we made up. I’m gonna go wash up for bed. Bye.”

They didn’t stop you. You had reached an understanding, that would have to do for now. Peter and Gamora knew you all wouldn’t just become best friends after one heart-to-heart. At the moment reaching the knowledge of 'Your host doesn’t actually wish to burn you all alive’ would have to do.

***

You honestly expected the next day to be just as tense, but you were pleasantly surprised. You actually managed to strike up a decent, albeit short, conversation with Peter and Gamora at breakfast.

When you finished you excused yourself to go tend to the garden, but nothing could have prepared you for what you found outside.

You exited the back door, and just before you could put in your earbuds you heard the sounds of bickering. Confused and mildly irritated at the thought of needing to break up yet another fight, you turn your head to the left, where the noise was coming from.

You cocked your head, eyebrow raised. You rubbed your eyes just to make sure you weren’t seeing things.

Different emotions overtook you. Confusion. Shock. Disbelief. Then, finally, humor.

Your mouth twitched upwards of its own volition, and your stomach muscles twitched as a huff air forced its way through your nose.

Were you honestly seeing… what you thought you were seeing?

A few meters ahead of you laid Kraglin and Rocket, struggling against what appeared to be your garden hose. What was threatening to pull laughter from your belly, however, was the position they had somehow managed to get themselves into.

You’ll never know how they did it, but one of Kraglin’s legs was stuck in a sitting position, held in place by the hose wrapped around his thigh. He had one arm pinned behind his back, and another tied to his head with said hose.

That might have done it by itself, but that wasn’t all. Rocket was tangled as well, but it was where he was tangled that made you lose your composure.

Rocket’s limbs also pinned in crazy directions, but he wasn’t tangled separately from Kraglin, no. Rocket was more or less strapped to Kraglin’s back, but in a way that his head had nowhere to go but… well… Kraglin’s butt.

You attempted to walk towards them, knowing you should probably help them, but once you opened your mouth about halfway there you knew there was no way to hold back your laughter, though you did try.

“What- Ha-How-” You pause briefly to attempt to hold in your giggles before trying again. “How did you-?” More giggling. “How did you-” Even more giggles, “manage that?” You covered your mouth, unable to stop the torrent of giggles that only got worse once they turned their heads in shock and embarrassment to face you. “You- You? What?” You could barely string words together now.

“Oh come now! It’s not funny!” Kraglin pouted. Rocket just growled in annoyance.

“I-I’m sorry!” you say, not looking very sorry at all with the way mirthful tears wet your waterline and how you held your stomach from laughing so hard.

Then Rocket threatened to bite Kraglin’s ass if he didn’t figure out a way to untangle them, and Kraglin threatened to fart on him if he so much as thought of biting him.

That made you completely lose it. You dropped to your knees and laughed harder than you had in a very long time, unable to string anything longer than a mirthful “I’m sorry!” together to save your own life, let alone help untangle them.

Peter and Gamora heard your loud laughter from inside the kitchen, and having not heard anything more than a sarcastic half-laugh from you the entire time they’d been here, wanted to see what had been able to make you lose it like that.

They came outside to see you on your knees in the throws of a laughing fit almost a couple meters from where Kraglin and Rocket lay tangled together.

The scene made them laugh as well. Well, Peter laughed. Gamora was able to keep it to a wide grin and a couple escaped giggles as she mercifully walked over to help untie the pair, with Peter’s giggly attempts to help as well, that were actually more of a hinderance than helpful.

At one point you thought you had gotten it together enough to try and help them, but you didn’t make it all the way before your laughing fit had you doubled over again. You losing it again only made Peter laugh harder, and Gamora only grinned and shook her head as she worked at trying to free Kraglin’s arm from his head, having already managed to free his leg from its garden-hose-y prison.

“Ow! Ow! Fuck!” You exclaim, still laughing. “I think I pulled something!”

Peter looked at you then turned to Kraglin & Rocket and laughed more, pointing, “You made her laugh so hard she pulled a muscle! AHAHA!”

By this point Gamora had (more or less single-handedly) managed to free Rocket from Kraglin and Kraglin was free enough to untangle himself the rest of the way.

Rocket glared at you angrily, “I’ll teach you to laugh at me!” He looked like he was about to lunge at you when Gamora scolded out a warning, “Rocket.” and he then just muttered angrily and made his way back inside the house.

You had gotten your laughter in to more manageable giggles, until you looked up to see Kraglin had just finished untangling himself and was walking your way before your burst into laughter again. “AHA-Ow! Ow! Haha! I’m sorry- Haha-ow! I’m sorry!” you manage to say as Kraglin pouted and continued on towards the door, his pride a bit bruised. You thought you had pulled something in your ribs, and it made laughing too hard a little sore, but you honestly couldn’t help it.

You worked on catching your breath and Peter asked, giggling, “How did they even do that?”

You took deep breaths and answered, “I have no idea.” You turned your head towards Kraglin walking away and started laughing again, needing to turn away because it hurt to laugh. Peter and Gamora shook their heads, grinning.

This was definitely better than you being cranky and avoiding them all the time, now if only it would last.

You stated you needed to tend the garden and they took the hint to leave you so you could gather yourself.

Peter couldn’t help but think that if you pulled a muscle from laughing, it must mean you didn’t do it nearly enough, and he made a mental note to try and fix that while they were there.

***

You headed to the work shed after tending your garden, intent to unclamp and sand down the pieces of the bed you were making for Rocket.

You had almost considered scrapping the project after the whole “attempted poison” incident, but you were in a good mood, and still thought it might quell his whining, so you decided you might as well finish it.

Once everything was sanded to a nice finish you decided you might as well stain it too, and add a coat of varnish. Might as well do a complete job while you were at it.

Or maybe you were stalling.

Either way, you decided you needed to make a run into town. It had been awhile since you checked the mail anyhow.

You locked the shed back up and went inside to get ready to leave.

Before you were about to go, you caught Peter in the hall and told him you were leaving, and as a courtesy asked him if he knew if there might be anything anyone might need from town.

He thought for a bit, not really able to think of anything, one reason being that he didn’t know what Terran shops carried anymore that his friends would recognize, let alone need, but then an idea struck. “Hey, do they still make Oreos? If you don’t mind- I always kinda wanted to show the others what they were like. They were one of my favorites as a kid.”

You smile. Of all the things he could have asked for, and this grown man wanted oreos to share with his friends. It was sweet. “I’ll see what I can do,” you say, still smiling as you made your way out the door.

***

For the life of him, Rocket couldn’t understand why Groot seemed to like it here.

It was boring. Despite all this space, he couldn’t blow up anything, and he had been forbidden by the others to try. Something about Terran shit being “extra flammable” or something. Not like he had anything that could make a decent boom if he tried, it had all been confiscated by SHIELD, the bastards. They’d even searched his “back pocket.”

To be fair, his reputation had preceded him and they did find some small blast charges and a detonator…

Normally he’d use his resources, pull from the environment around him, but you only had primitive Terran shit that wasn’t good for anything fun.

It was like he was being punished, stuck on this Terran prison. Normally he’d just escape a prison, like he had the last 23 he had been in, but this time apparently it was 'safer’ to stay in the prison than to leave. As if he even could leave without a ship…

What had he done to deserve this punishment?

Sure, maybe he had insulted their last client… and maybe he had stolen their shit… but they deserved it for being so damn uptight and upitty. Everyone else was thinking it, he was just the only one brave enough to put them in their place!

And look where it got him. Stuck here. In the middle of nowhere, on a primitive hunk of rock floating in the middle of nowhere, with nothing fun to do or see, forced to sleep in a damn crib like an infant. He almost wished Peter hadn’t told him what it was that first night. He originally just thought it was a weird fancy little bed, until Peter peeked in and quietly chuckled a comment about, “Aww! Cute! You get to sleep in a crib like a little baby!” Which then prompted him to complain to the SHIELD woman about the sleeping arrangement, but he only got a shrug from her in response as she said stuff about being “crunched for time” and it was “the perfect size” while his friends laughed at him.

And then there was you. As far as he was concerned you were just as bad as their last client. Stick up your ass, skulking around and tossing him out for fighting like you owned the place…

Well, he supposed you did own the place… bit still! Who did you think you were?

Anyone dumber might answer, 'the person who was nice enough to take in eight strangers to keep them safe,’ but he knew better. No one was that good. You were either getting paid a shit-tonne to do this, or you had sinister intentions, and any trace of caring was just an act. Maybe both, who was he to say?

“I am Groot?”

Rocket was shaken from his thoughts by Groot’s question.

“What?” asked Rocket.

“I am Groot?” he asked again.

“Wha- No. There’s no monsters in the attic- who told you that? We would have heard them!” he then quickly added, “Monsters don’t exist anyway!”

“I am Groot.”

Rocket rolled his eyes. “Ohhh- Of course she would.” He could feel his irritation rising. Who the fuck did you think you were, scaring the little guy like that? He looked at Groot and told him you were just being a dick, and he was going to show Groot himself that you were a liar.

“I am Groot!”

Rocket rolled eyes again. “So what if it’s locked? I’ve got my-” He then remembered that his lock-picking set had also been confiscated. Dammit! “I bet there’s a key somewhere!”

“I am Groot!”

“We won’t get in trouble if you keep quiet about it!” Rocket said irritably. Groot simply crossed his arms in response, a displeased expression on his face.

He placed Groot on his shoulder, and they made their way silently from their room, around the landing, and peered down the stairs before making their way over to open your door. He knew the others wouldn’t approve of what he was doing, and he was grateful that he and Groot seemed to be the only ones upstairs at the moment. Well, that was assuming that no one was behind the closed doors of the other two rooms and they wouldn’t find Mantis sitting in the room you shared with her.

The room was empty. Good. He wouldn’t have to hear anyone complain about what he was doing, although he was certain if Mantis had been in there he could have played it off as Groot wanting to play more hide-n-seek.

Rocket knew you had left the house, otherwise he might not be attempting to do what he was, not looking forward to you possibly tossing him back outside for another 'walk,’ or more or less a glorified time out like he was a child. Bad enough he had to sleep in the crib…

However, he knew he should probably be quick about it. You had already been gone nearly a couple hours, and while he didn’t know how far away the place you were going was, he knew he should just assume you’d be back any minute.

He paused to listen, he had good enough hearing that he could hear just about any regular movement in the house if he was listening for it. After not hearing anything that sounded like someone getting ready to come up the stairs he got to work.

As quietly and as quickly as he could, he made his way around the room. He had a decent idea of which bed belonged to Mantis and so he didn’t bother looking over there.

He checked in your nightstand drawers. Nothing. Just a journal he considered taking a peek at, but decided against it due to being crunched for time.

He checked though your dresser drawers, and aside from one large garment that appeared like a comfy jumpsuit but looked like someone skinned some weird black and white spotted mammal, found nothing but your clothes and under-things.

He finally got around to checking the desk. There was nothing on top save for some pens, a notepad, and what Terrans excused for a computer- a 'lap top’ or whatever they called it. He pulled out the bottom drawer from the set of three on the right side, but it was only a bunch of file folders, again, none of which he could be bothered to fully read, only gathering cursory glances of boring titles with stuff like “Insurance,” “Deed,” and “Obituary,” whatever that was.

He quickly abandoned that drawer and moved to the next one up. Still nothing. Just pencils and a book of drawings he quickly flipped through before placing back in the drawer, unwilling to give you even the imaginary satisfaction of even mentally saying they weren’t half bad. He gave Groot an unimpressed look when he expressed interest in the pictures.

He reached the top drawer and almost wrote it off as a loss of pens, paperclips, sticky notes and other junk, until he just noticed a glint of metal from under one of the yellow pads of paper.

Jackpot.

He grabbed the key and grinned at Groot before turning towards the attic door.

But then he heard it. The front door opened.

Maybe someone’s just going outside? Maybe he still had time?

Nope, the footsteps were coming in, not leaving.

Crap. You were home.

He knew it would only be bad news if he got caught, so he quickly placed the key back in the drawer, saying, “Another time, buddy,” to Groot and made his way to peek out the door and make sure he wouldn’t be seen exiting your room.

He could just see down the stairs that you were standing in the hall holding a paper bag, and you waved for someone’s attention in the sitting room. Peter came and he followed you into the kitchen.

This was his chance, he quickly exited your room, quietly closed the door behind him, and bolted as quietly as possible toward the room he shared with Groot and Drax. It was times like these he was more than glad to be one of the smallest and lightest of the bunch.

***

You arrived home and brought Peter into the kitchen to show that you had indeed found him some Oreos, and a twin sleeve at that!

His eyes lit up when you removed them from the bag. “You got them!” he exclaimed as he accepted the package from you.

You lightly chuckled as he called for his friends to join him in the kitchen.

Feeling it would be awkward for you if he decided to excitedly declare that you bought them biscuits, you excused yourself before the others could arrive, saying that you had some other things to put away in your car and you’d be back when he seemed almost disappointed that you were running away from being social again.

You passed by Kraglin and Yondu on your way back towards the front door, and you were unable to stop yourself from giggling as you laid eyes on Kraglin. You covered your mouth, but of course they noticed.

“What was that about?” Yondu asked Kraglin in confusion, looking back at you as you exited the front door.

Kraglin only pouted and said, “Please don’t ask, sir.”

***

Rocket answered Peter’s call along with everyone else, and was a little surprised to hear that you had picked up some Terran cookies at Peter’s request. He ate some, because hey- free food, but he wasn’t going to fall for your sugary bribery, which he was sure this was. He certainly doubted you did it to be nice. Hell, if you were nice you would have helped him and Kraglin with getting untangled instead of laughing so hard you couldn’t stand up.

Something caught his eye out the window from where he sat on the counter, and he directed his attention to what he realized was you, walking toward that shed he kept hearing loud noses from but couldn’t get into because you kept it locked. The windows didn’t open either, he tried, nor could he make anything out when he tried to look through them due to the dark interior.

But there was one thing he could see clearly now as you made your way to the shed.

You were carrying chains.

His eyes narrowed as he nibbled on his treat. He knew there was something off about you. What were you doing in that shed? Were those chains meant for him and his friends? To chain up the next person who pissed you off?

He knew the others wouldn’t believe him. Until he could prove it to the others that you were bad news, he decided to keep his mouth shut for now.

Chapter Text

You came back inside through the back door more than half an hour later, having decided to run a quick coat of stain over the bed frame pieces. The sooner you applied the stain, the sooner it would dry, the sooner you could apply the varnish. Not that you were in a hurry or anything… You just got excited over having a project, that’s all. You totally weren’t stalling on going back in the house, or anything.

Peter was sitting in the kitchen with Gamora. The others had seemingly all dispersed by now.

Peter looked slightly disappointed. “Saved you some cookies.”

You were slightly taken back in surprise. “Oh, you didn’t need to.”

“You bought them, I wasn’t just not going to save you a couple.” Peter said with an odd look. “Anyway, thought you said you were coming back?”

You grimaced slightly and accepted a biscuit from the package in Peter’s outstretched hand. “I did come back… I just got caught up with something.”

Peter eyed you for a moment, as if he were considering something. He tilted his head, a slight smirk forming. “Are you shy or something?”

You blinked at him. “What? No-”

“Kinda seems like you are. I mean, before you avoided us because you were all cranky and hated us, but you don’t seem nearly as cranky today. Heck you even seemed to almost like us today. So the only reason I can see for you to still be avoiding us is that you’re shy.”

Gamora raised an eyebrow at him, but after a moment’s thought, almost seemed to agree with him and turned her expression to you. She didn’t think he really believed you were shy. Rather, she figured he was accusing you of being shy to make you come clean about the real problem. He did similar stuff like this all the time to trick Rocket into talking when something was bothering him. She often wondered where he learned it from, until she witnessed Yondu doing the same to Peter one day after he and Kraglin joined their group.

You shook your head at them. “No. That’s absurd.”

Peter nudged Gamora in the arm. “That’s cute. I think she’s shy.”

“I’m not shy. That’s dumb. My line of work doesn’t exactly mix with shy.” You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms over your chest in annoyance.

“Methinks you protest too much,” Peter teased in a sing-song voice.

You narrowed your eyes at him before turning to Gamora. “Is he always like this?”

Gamora half smiled. “Yes… but he might stop if you told us why you keep avoiding everyone.”

You sigh. “Look, it’s just going to take some time. I’m not trying to avoid anyone, well, not anymore. Just… being around and interacting with a bunch of people is just… not something I’m used to.”

“So you are shy.” Peter said, his grin almost smug, but mostly teasing.

You sigh in Gamora’s direction and she grins sympathetically. “I’m sorry about him.”

Before you could respond again you heard a knock at the door.

You looked towards the sound in confusion at who it might be, because you never got visitors. However, you quickly switched to alarm when you realized you had a house full of aliens and no idea who was at the front door. You look out the kitchen window, but you couldn’t see a vehicle.

They knocked again.

You turned back to Peter and Gamora. Preferably you’d want to tell them to get everyone to the cellar, but you were concerned on time and knew the curtain was open on the front door window and didn’t want to risk whoever it was seeing a bunch of figures fleeing to behind the staircase to the cellar door. You directed Peter to go upstairs and make sure whoever was up there stayed and remained quiet, while you directed Gamora to head into the sitting room, close the door, and do the same while you checked the front door.

Another knock.

You looked at the window of the front door. It was the type of glass where it distorted finer features of subjects, but even with that obstacle, whoever was there seemed to be purposefully standing to the side so they couldn’t be seen.

Once Peter and Gamora were out of sight you kept a hand on the knob and tentatively asked, “Who is it?” You eyed the small table by the door where you kept one of your issued guns well hidden. Just in case.

“Fury and Agent Hill. May we come in?” His tone was slightly sarcastic on the second line.

Dammit Fury. You rip the door open. “You ever heard of calling first?”

“No.” Fury said flatly, then more sarcastically, “Nice to see you too.” He looked around as he entered, seemingly expecting the house to be teeming with more life than it currently seemed. “Where are your charges?”

“I wasn’t expecting company. I hid them,” you say almost irritably, walking to open the sitting room door, telling those inside that it was alright, it was just Fury. You walk over to the stairs and look up to see Peter peering over the railing and nod to him in a gesture that meant that he and anyone else up there should come downstairs.

When you turn back to Fury he was smiling.

You pinch the bridge of your nose. Of course it was a test, and you complain as much. “Everything’s a test with you, isn’t it?”

“Not everything,” he said. “You should have been expecting us for a weekly check-in.”

“You neglected to mention that,” you said, slightly embarrassed because you honestly should have expected check-ins even without being told.

“Oh. Must have slipped my mind.” Fury said with a wry smile. He knew full well he didn’t mention it.

You roll your eyes. “Nothing slips your mind,” you confronted, turning now to Maria. She only offered a smile back that clearly said, ’Perhaps if you hadn’t been so cranky last time…’

Peter came down the stairs with Mantis, Rocket, and Groot and everyone filed into the sitting room. You caught sight of Kraglin and Rocket again and still had to cover you mouth to fight from laughing before you turned away and tried to keep your face serious. This, of course was much to Kraglin’s chagrin and Rocket’s annoyance. Yondu noticed and gave Kraglin another strange look, which Kraglin only responded with a shake of his head and an expression that read, ‘Please, don’t ask.’

Fury spoke when everyone was settled. “This is just a routine check-in. So far your situation has not changed. As expected, NOVA is still trying to make negotiations on your behalf. We’re just here to see how everyone is settling in, make sure there are no concerns or problems we need to know about.”

“I got a concern,” Rocket spoke up.

“If this is about the crib, we don’t want to hear it.” Maria replied semi-sternly.

Rocket deflated slightly before saying, “I have another concern.”

Fury looked unamused, but before he could ask Rocket to elaborate, Rocket was already going into about how you were a dick and how you tossed him outside like a rag doll.

“You were attacking him,” you said angrily, gesturing to Kraglin. “Was I just supposed to let you?” Of course the little shit would try to make you look bad to your boss while leaving out the part he played in the situation.

Rocket went on to say that you just had it in for him, and Mantis, who wanted to both try and calm the situation and also defend you, shyly spoke up and said, “Maybe she would like you better if you hadn’t tried to poison her?”

Fury and Maria exchanged looks, hers a mix of startled surprise, Fury’s one of surprised concern. Surely if there had been an attempt on your life from one of these people, you would have reported it. They turned back, Maria saying, “Excuse me?”

However, she was drowned out by Rocket saying, “That was after!” as if that were a valid defense. “And she wouldn’t have died!”

“Yeah, she would have just shit herself half to death. So much better.” Peter said sarcastically.

“Why do you care? She bit you!”

This earned raised eyebrows from Fury and Agent Hill. You purposely didn’t meet their gaze, embarrassed.

Peter, who felt guilty at the way Rocket was doing you, then stood up for you, “In her defense I did almost break her nose.” He caught the expressions of Fury and Agent Hill and added, “We were drunk, it was all just a misunderstanding,” as an explanation before realizing he wasn’t exactly helping either.

There was more bickering, mostly Rocket saying how much of a dick you were, and others scolding back that Rocket had been the one to start it, then he brought up how instead of helping untangle him and Kraglin you just laughed your ass off, and then others said more things that weren’t really helping and everyone was talking over each other while Gamora pinched the bridge of her nose in embarrassed frustration and you rubbed a hand down your face.

“Enough!” Fury said firmly, breaking up the squabbling. “We are not here to listen to petty grievances.” He gave the group a stern look. “First off,” he looked directly at Rocket, “do not try to poison my agent again. We can just as easily put you in a cell for the duration of your stay on Earth, but I think you’d agree this is a much better venue.”

Rocket grumbled something about how’d he’d just escape, but Fury ignored him.

Fury looked at you. “And you- Do try and refrain from getting into fights with your charges.” He nodded towards Peter to indicated he specifically meant drunken fights and biting. His tone was as if he was incredulously scolding a child who didn’t normally do naughty things, but had suddenly decided to moon traffic. He actually hadn’t expected to hear of this behavior from you. You were one of his best agents. He had the humorous thought that this group’s dysfunction might be contagious.

You look down and nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now does anyone have any real concerns? Is everyone healthy? Anyone gotten sick? Are the food rations sustaining?”

Peter spoke up, afraid that Rocket would start in again. “We’re all fine here. Don’t listen to Rocket, he’s just cranky and still adjusting. She’s been a good host.”

Fury grinned slightly as he looked at you. “I’d take that as a glowing review, seeing as it came from the man you apparently bit.”

You felt your face grow warm and you didn’t meet his gaze. You had a feeling he wasn’t going to let that go anytime soon.

Mantis spoke up again, now excitedly. “Oh yes! She’s been very kind! She gave me this bear!”

Oh geez. Of course she’d bring up the bear. You covered your face for a moment and wondered if she ever put the thing down.

Fury looked at the stuffed toy in amusement. He could tell it wasn’t new. It was in nice condition, but worn more than what would happen with a week’s worth of use. Meaning, he felt you likely hadn’t gone out to buy it, he had a feeling that it more than likely came from inside the house, which, if his suspicions were correct…

“Nice to see you’re making friends.” he said with humor in his voice, only briefly meeting your gaze before you broke it again.

Fury kept the rest of the visit brief, asking a few more questions before he clapped his hands together and said. “Alright, I believe we’re done here. If nobody has any further questions, we’ll be seeing you all next week. You know how to contact us if there are any problems-” he turned and gave a pointed look at Rocket, clarifying, “any real problems.”

“Same time?” you ask.

“We’ll see,” replied Fury, turning with Maria towards the door when no one spoke up with any further concerns.

You frowned. Clearly he intended to make the next visit a 'surprise’ as well. You probably shouldn’t be surprised, but you didn’t exactly like the anxiety attack he gave you with this 'surprise visit,’ and you weren’t looking forward to another one.

Rocket watched Fury and Agent Hill as they left, biting his tongue. He considered shouting out after him that you wanted to put them in chains, but of course he knew that him simply seeing the chains wouldn’t be enough proof. If he called you out now, you’d probably just make something up, or maybe you had them hidden so if anyone went to look they wouldn’t find them.

No. He couldn’t say anything yet. He was going to bide his time. He had a suspicion he might find answers in the attic. Why else would you have told Groot there were monsters up there to keep him out, if there wasn’t something you were trying to hide?

He only needed to find time to get up there when no one would notice.

At the door Fury pushed a button on his key fob and his vehicle shimmered into place as the cloaking disengaged. You looked unamused and both Fury and Maria nodded in goodbye as they departed.

You shook your head with a sigh and closed the door.

***

“I think that went well,” Maria said as she buckled in. “No one’s been killed yet.”

Fury let half a chuckle and just looked at her before driving away.

***

Some time after Fury had left and everyone had supper you decided to treat yourself to some reading. You decided to curl up on the armchair, something you hadn’t done since the Guardians first arrived. This was because you wanted to, definitely not to prove to Peter, who was sitting with Yondu at the table, that you weren’t too shy to stay in the same room with other people without coercion.

You were sat curled in the armchair reading a horror novel when Kraglin walked into the room, catching your attention. Of course, when you saw it was him you were unable to hold back your snickers, though you tried to hide them behind your book.

Kraglin’s eyebrows knitted together. “It’s not that funny!” he groaned.

Yondu, who was growing more curious and amused asks, “What’s so 'not funny’ that she laughs every time she sees yer face, boy?”

Kraglin gives him a pitiful look, but before he can open his mouth to again beg him not to ask Peter answers for him, retailing the whole embarrassing story while giggling, to Yondu’s delight as he starts laughing right along with Peter once he gets to the part about Rocket getting tied to Kraglin’s butt.

This, of course, makes you laugh harder, and you’re now shaking behind your book.

Kraglin looks like he wants to die before his expression switches to mischievous. Sure, you said you weren’t ticklish the other day when Mantis was trying to make you laugh, but he was sure that was obviously a lie. He also knew from dealing with a bratty Peter through the years just how to teach you a lesson. Kraglin approaches you. “You think that’s funny? I’ve give ya something to laugh at, brat!” he says, lunging for one of your feet and scribbling his fingers over the bottom.

This lasts all of half a second before you let out a high squeak, which is then followed by an “OOF!” by Kraglin when your other foot connects with his ribcage.

“Ow! You kick hard!” Kraglin whined, rubbing his ribs where you had just donkey-kicked him.

You blushed slightly, peering over your book. “Yeah, well… I suppose it’s in your best interest if you don’t try that again.” You try to sound intimidating, but it comes out sounding more squeaky than you’d have liked.

“Yeah, no shit.” Kraglin replied, still rubbing his ribs as he walked over to sit on the far end of the couch, as if afraid to sit too close to you now.

You muttered into your book, “I’m not even ticklish.”

Kraglin just rolled his eyes at you, picking up the remote to turn on the television.

Peter and Yondu just kept laughing.

***

The next morning the novelty of having encountered Kraglin and Rocket tangled up had mostly worn off. Mostly. You didn’t burst out laughing every time you saw them anymore, but Kraglin was still slightly annoyed that you still couldn’t glance at him without cracking a smile. If you had just been happy to see him he wouldn’t have minded, but because he knew it was only a result of yesterday’s incident, it was slightly embarrassing.

However, it did make him feel a little better to tease you and Peter for jumping when the toaster popped.

You were buttering your toast when Yondu pulled a jar from the pantry. “What’re these?” He hadn’t tried much Terran food yet, aside from the few times you had cooked and when Peter beckoned him to try something, and today he was feeling adventurous. Might as well. He had the feeling they were going to be here awhile.

You look over to see him already opening the jar of pickled jalapeños and your eyes widen slightly. “Those are jalapeños. I recommend trying one if you haven’t eaten them before, they’re hot.”

“They ain’t hot, the jar’s cool?” Yondu said, spearing three slices of jalapeño on a fork. Whatever it was, he was sure he could take it. It was only Terran food, after all. What’s the worst that could happen?

Seeing the oncoming tragedy that was more than likely about to happen in his mouth you tensed, “No, that’s not what-”

Too late. He already ate them.

It was maybe five seconds before his mistake hit him. To his credit, he swallowed, but he also immediately closed the jar. “What the hell!?” he said, looking at you as he tried to suck air into his mouth to cool it down. “What the hell are these things?! My damn mouth is on fire!” He wasn’t panicking, to your relief, but he also wasn’t happy.

Peter laughed at him. He had thought he remembered jalapeños from when he was a kid, his grandpa would put them in his tacos. However, he didn’t try to further warn Yondu with you, wanting to see what would happen. He wasn’t disappointed even seeing Yondu glare at him for laughing as he sucked air through his teeth and wiped his now running nose on his sleeve.

You look at Yondu half-apologetically. “I tried to warn you! I told you they were hot- I mean spicy, that’s why your mouth burns. Um… here…” You pull down a glass and pour him some milk. “This will help.”

He eyed it. “What is it?” He thought it looked like the same white liquid Peter and Kraglin would pour into what Peter called cereal, but he had never bothered to ask them what it was.

“Milk.” you answered, getting a very strange look from him in return, a mix of 'What the fuck?!’ and near disgust.

Peter spoke up from the table. “It’s from a cow. It ain’t hers, dude. It’s fine.”

Your eyes widen, scandalized, as you look to Peter. “Excuse me?”

He looks at you apologetically. “Sorry, I know this is normal here, but uh, on most other planets… you won’t really find 'milk’ …unless you’re uh, feeding a baby.”

A high, “Hmmm…” is all you respond, not sure what else to say to the implication that the blue man thought you were somehow offering him your milk. Your eyes were still wide and you could feel your face growing warm at the uncomfortable information but you still offered out the glass, setting it on the counter between you. “Well this is all I have to offer for the burning. Otherwise you’re going to have to wait it out.” You cross your arms over your chest self-consciously.

Yondu looked like he was considering for a moment, before hesitantly reaching out to take the glass.

“Drink it slow, it will help with the burning.” You then add, mildly scolding. “Next time listen.”

He grumbled, but took the glass and sat down at the table next to Kraglin to drink it. Kraglin covered his mouth with his fist, trying not to laugh and looking like he wanted to say something, but Yondu glared at him, grumbling. “Not a word.”

Kraglin managed to giggle out a, “Yes, sir.” before returning his attention to his cereal, a new food Peter introduced to him a couple days ago that actually wasn’t half bad.

Everything was fine for about half an hour or so. You finished your toast and had some juice, and the guys had finished their food as well and the four of you sat in the kitchen talking. Well, they were talking, you were mostly sitting and listening, mostly just making an effort to sit for more than five minutes so Peter would stop giving you that look that said, “Ha, knew you were shy,” that he had recently taken to giving you.

Then Yondu suddenly bent slightly and held his stomach with a stifled grunt.

You raised an eyebrow, as did the other two. “You ok?” you asked, seeing his pained expression.

Yondu glared then tensed again, grunting out a “Dammit.” before pushing his chair back and making his way quickly from the kitchen without another word.

The three of you shared confused glances.

Then you heard the bathroom door loudly close, and not too long after that began to hear loud noises of the… smelly variety.

Peter half-stifled a laugh, saying. “When ya gotta go, ya gotta go, I guess.”

You could hear the sound of the toilet flush a bit later, but Yondu didn’t return. Instead you started to hear the “smelly” noises again, followed by muffled cursing.

Gamora entered the kitchen, holding her nose. You knew that wasn’t a good sign regarding the smell of your hallway, and you were only grateful it hadn’t made it into the kitchen yet, though you were now less than eager to leave and risk facing it.

“Is he alright?” she asked Peter.

“He’ll be fine.” Peter laughed in response, receiving a look from Gamora as she sat next to him, no doubt seeking a reprieve from the odor.

A few minutes passed and he still remained in the jacks, but the smell had its own travel plans.

“Oh hell,” you choke out, seemingly the first one of the four of you (aside from Gamora from before) the smell decided to assault. You motioned to Peter. “You- windows- help- please? Now?” you say, gagging as you stood and made your way to open the closest window.

“Right behind you!” Peter said, standing and quickly making to open any window in the kitchen he could find. Kraglin stood with Gamora and they left the kitchen, stating that they were going to open the windows in the sitting room and see if that might help. You could hear gagging from the hallway when they left the kitchen. Peter made his way further down the room and gagged as he opened the back door, a cloud of stink having unfortunately pooled down that way as it was the end closest to the bathroom.

He braved the stink just long enough to shout, “Damn, man! What did you eat!?” He only got a, “Oh, grow up!” in response from Yondu from behind the bathroom door.

You exited the kitchen from the other end to open the front door, coughing as your fears were confirmed and the smell was much worse outside the kitchen. You wondered if you should open the upstairs windows as well.

This thought was confirmed when you could hear the sounds of Mantis gagging at the top of the stairs and Drax asking if an animal had died in the house, then going on to confirm it wasn’t Rocket as he was with him and Rocket indignantly yelling, “Hey!”

You made your way upstairs, Peter taking your lead and following to open the windows upstairs to help air the house out.

Yondu had only just exited the bathroom when you came downstairs, not looking too pleased. However, he only made it about a meter outside the door before wincing as a cramp told him he wasn’t actually finished and spinning on his heels to return to the toilet.

Now Peter actually seemed mildly concerned. “Dude, you ok in there?” he called from a 'safe’ distance from the door, as if anywhere was safe from the smell anymore.

There was only more embarrassing noises in response to Peter’s question.

“Yondu?” Peter called out.

“Leave me alone, boy! Can’t ya see I’m a little busy at the moment?!”

“I can definitely smell it!” Peter shouted back.

“I’m gonna head outside,” you choke out, looking at Gamora. “Care to join?” It was less of an invitation and more of a hint. If you value air, maybe get out of the house.

“Way ahead of you dorks!” Rocket called as he ran out the front door with Groot clinging to his back, gagging.

Everyone else followed out the front door, not willing to risk walking toward the back.

“Fresh air!” Peter cried out once he was outside in such a funny way you couldn’t help but chuckle and shake your head despite sharing the same sentiments.

After a couple moments of taking in the fresh air, you decided to walk around back. While you were out here you might as well fix the swing.

“Where you going?” Drax asked after you.

Before you could answer, Peter replied in teasing voice, “She’s running away 'cause she’s shy.” Gamora elbowed him and told him to quit.

You rolled your eyes but didn’t turn back, flipping him the bird. “I am not. Knock it off.”

“Then you won’t mind if we join you then, huh?”

You shrugged as you continued walking. “I don’t care what you do.” you say flippantly, turning the corner of the house.

Peter grinned mischievously. “Oh! So you won’t care if I do this?” He jogged after you and all the others heard was a squeaky yip that likely came from you, Peter crying “Ow!” and you responding with, “Then quit that!”

Drax called out, “Mister Fury said no fighting!” as the rest of them followed after the two of you.

“Then Gamora, please come get your child!” is what response came from around the wall.

Drax gave a confused look to Gamora. “Does she really think Quill could be your child?”

Gamora shook her head. “No, Drax. She’s just insulting Peter for acting like a child.”

You glared at Peter as he rubbed his arm.

“Did you really need to punch so hard?” he asked, laughter in his voice despite the pain.

“Don’t startle me next time.” You warn, crossing your arms and turning back to keep walking.

Peter smirked. “Oh sure. 'Startle.’ Looked a lot more to me like that tickled.”

You look back to him with a glare.

Peter held up his hands in a defensive gesture and laughed, and you saw the others rounding the corner and decided to just walk away and let him live for now. Definitely wasn’t because you were slightly worried he might try to prove his theory in front of all the others.

You unlocked the shed, grabbed the items you needed from where you had placed them on the workbench the previous day, and shut the shed door and locked it back up all before the others really got near. You hadn’t told anyone about the bed frame yet and you didn’t intend to, at least not until it was finished.

You dropped the chains by the old swing and walked back towards the shed to grab the ladder leaning against the back wall so that you could cut the old rope away from the large eye hooks drilled into the branch that had been embedded in the tree so long they were now a permanent fixture.

On your way back with the ladder Kraglin asks, “Whatcha doin’?”

“Fixing the swing,” you say, not looking at him as you set up the ladder.

You grab the two lengths of chains and start to ascend the ladder when he speaks again. “Would ya like some help with that? Those chains look heavy.”

They weren’t. Well, they were heavy enough to support a person, but not heavy enough, or you weak enough, that you couldn’t hoist them up the ladder. “I think I can manage,” you say, slightly irritated. Last thing you wanted was some “Let the man do the lifting” crap.

“It’s just that-”

You look sharply at him, “Just what?”

“Nothin’ ma'am.” His voice cracked as he spoke and you turned back to carrying the chains back up the ladder.

Rocket, who kept an eye on you the moment he saw the chains, but tried not to make a show of it, came over and stood next to Kraglin, Mantis following close behind.

“Are you fixing the swing?” Mantis asks shyly.

“Yep.” you say, clipping one chain to the eye-hook with a locking carabiner.

“I’m sorry I broke it.”

You don’t look down, reaching up to attach the other chain as you say, “Already told you, wasn’t your fault. The rope was old. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, so if she breaks something you’ll replace it.” Rocket said bitterly.

You climb down the ladder and look at him in annoyance. “There’s a difference between the rope snapping on her, and you almost throwing the remote through the TV screen during a tantrum.”

“I was not throwing a tantrum!” Rocket said indignantly.

“Close enough. Fighting with Peter over it, better?”

Rocket doesn’t answer, just crosses his arms and glares at you before taking off. Truthfully, he was less mad about that and more surprised that he saw the chains were being used to fix the swing instead of being used to tie him or his team up. But this didn’t mean you still weren’t a dick. Just because he was wrong about this one thing, didn’t mean he was wrong about you probably hiding some dark plans or something. He just had to find it. He certainly wasn’t grasping at straws or anything just 'cause he didn’t like you…

You reach down and pick up the wooden seat of the swing. You cut off the rope still attached to the eye hooks running through the board and repeat the same process to attach the chain as you had above.

When you were finished to turned to Mantis and said, “Wanna try it out?”

She giggled excitedly and nodded before hopping on the swing.

You smile and pick up the scraps of rope you had thankfully tossed out of swing-range and noticed Kraglin was gone. So was your ladder.

You turned to see him returning it back to where you had gotten it from and you called after him, “You didn’t need to do that!”

He replied back with, “I know!”

You shook your head and started to walk back towards the shed to toss the scraps in the rubbish bin, wondering how long it might take for the house to be inhabitable again.

Gamora and Peter watched as you had finished repairing the swing and smiled. Peter internally noted that you seemed to have a soft spot for Mantis. Of all of them, her and Groot always seemed to get your softer side, even when it was obvious you were trying not to make it obvious. He grinned, sure that there were some advantages to be had from that.

By the time you had met back up with the rest Yondu could be seen exiting the house from the back door and walking towards the group, no doubt also seeking refuge from the smell.

Peter grinned cheekily and asked, “Everything come out ok?”

Yondu just glared at him before grumpily turning to you. “I think that milk stuff ya gave me went bad.”

Peter spoke up, “Inside of you, maybe. Kraglin and I ate it and we’re fine.”

Kraglin nodded in agreement, saying he felt fine. He then suggested that maybe it was those spicy things he ate that didn’t agree with him.

Your eyes widened and you crossed your arms nervously. You remembered how Rocket had attempted to poison you with the xanti-berries, and think you just realized what happened. You had accidentally actually did what Rocket had tried to do to you, to Yondu. You wince and say, “I’m sorry.”

Noticing your change in expression, Yondu asks, “What?”

“I’m sorry,” you say again, “I didn’t even think that the milk might make you sick.”

Yondu made a grouchy face but said, “Whatever. Guess I know now.”

Rocket, who had been listening in not too far off came up and said, “So when I try to do it to her, I’m an asshole, but when she actually poisons him, everything’s just dandy!?”

You narrow your eyes but before you can spout off Yondu speaks up irritably. “If I didn’t even know it would happen, how the hell is she supposed to know, Rat?”

“Yeah, she was only tryin’ to help him.” added Kraglin. “Ain’t her fault.”

Rocket huffed and skulked away. “Whatever,” he said, waving you all off, “Screw you all.”

“Ignore him.” Peter said, annoyance clear in his voice, and changed the subject to something less likely to piss everyone off.

Eventually you all were able to re-enter the house again without gagging.

Chapter Text

You were going to kill Peter. Probably Kraglin too.

It started maybe a couple hours after “the smelly incident,” as you had mentally dubbed it, had resolved.

Peter got bored, found some old DVDs in the cabinet below the TV, and when he recognized a movie from when he was a kid, SpaceBalls, he managed to convince you to watch it with them.

He might have also quietly pulled the “unless you’re too shy…” card for the thousandth time, and you might have told him it was getting old and he was working his way towards a black eye, but you did agree to watch the film with them. Peter had somehow convinced everyone else to watch the movie, too. Might have had something to do with the fact that no one exactly had anything better to do.

Kraglin sat at on one end of the sofa, Gamora on the other, and Peter & you were sandwiched in the middle, him next to Gamora and you next to Kraglin. Mantis, Rocket and Groot sat on the floor, while Drax and Yondu took the armchairs at either side of the sofa.

Only you and Peter got the Star Wars references, of course, but there were plenty of parts the others found funny even without it. Rocket mostly laughed about how Terrans didn’t understand space at all if you thought that’s how things worked, and compared Peter to the main character, Lone Star. He meant it in a derogatory way, of course.

At about the scene where Dark Helmet breaks the 4th wall with the line, “What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?” Peter had started to notice that you didn’t laugh openly like everyone else. You always covered your mouth like you were trying to stifle it, despite no one else bothering to be quiet, least of all Drax, who laughed loudly at parts that weren’t even that funny.

That simply wouldn’t do. You should be laughing freely with the others, like you did when Kraglin and Rocket got tangled up in the hose, which was probably the only time he had seen a genuine full laugh from you, now that he thought of it. To him, this was evidence that he was right, you needed to break that shell of yours and learn how to loosen up.

Annnd… if that required a little mischief on his part… well then so be it.

He waited a bit, just to see if you’d eventually let yourself relax, but when you just kept biting your lip not to laugh and covering your mouth when you started to, he decided he’d ‘help’ you along.

The scene came on where Dark Helmet’s men were combing the dessert with a literal giant comb, and seeing you trying to stifle another laugh, Peter decided to poke you in the side.

You tried to stifle your squeak and you glared at him, but he just shrugged innocently. Poke you? Never… Doesn’t sound like him…

He spaced a couple more pokes within the next few minutes of the film, making you jump and hiss at him to stop. He grinned at you and whispered he thought you could use some help laughing, since it seemed you had forgotten how. The little shit.

You irritably whisper back, “That’s not gonna work, I’m not-”

Peter rolled his eyes playfully and replied, “Yeah. Sure. Not ticklish. You’ve said. Too bad I don’t believe you.” He made to poke you again and you pinched him hard on the arm, which you admit was childish, but he deserved it for annoying you. He gave you a pouty look in response and then frowned when Gamora scolded him and told him to quit behaving like a child.

You sat back and thought he’d finally quit.

And he might have, seeing that it wasn’t quite working as he hoped, but Kraglin, who of course noticed your flinching and the childish bickering between you and Peter, caught Peter’s eye and they shared a look. He wanted in on the fun. Movie wasn’t all that interesting to him anyways.

Five minutes later you received a poke from each of them simultaneously, making your arms clamp to your sides. You turn your head from side to side to glare at both of them. Quietly threatening to break their fingers if they didn’t straighten up and just watch the movie.

Based on their expressions it was clear they didn’t take you seriously, but they seemed to back off… for about another ten minutes. That’s when they decided to poke you again and you jerked up off the sofa with a “That’s it.” and moved to sit down on the floor next to Mantis where you knew you were out of their reach.

Gamora smacked Peter in the arm for annoying you off the sofa, but no one paid much mind or reacted with more than a glance as they were paying attention to the movie. Well, except for Yondu, who had fallen asleep and was now snoring softly in his chair.

Peter was slightly disappointed that you hadn’t been able to let your guard down, but he wasn’t deterred. In fact, he was more determined to not just chip at your shell, but shatter it. There was someone who liked to have fun in there, and he was determined to find them and pull them out.

Thankfully, you were able to finish the rest of the movie unbothered. Rocket complained about the sappy ending where Lone Star and the Princess marry, but then Mantis said she thought it was sweet and he waved her off, grumbling about how she thought everything was sweet, or cute, or whatever…

After the movie you decided to go out to the shed and apply the varnish to the bed frame, and when you came back inside to wash some of the varnish off your hands you were startled when Kraglin snuck up behind you to poke you in the ribs. He dodged just in time to avoid being smacked and ran out of the kitchen, his giggles joined by Peter’s in the hall.

You sighed, now thinking you should have taken more time in the shed with the varnish. Maybe cooking something would keep you busy enough, but what would you cook? Your first thought was that lasagna would likely feed everyone, but then you remembered the cheese and you were not about to have a repeat of that morning. You were sure the hairs inside your nose were singed-off forever.

You walk out the kitchen door to catch the men still giggling in the hall and they jump from the unexpected sight of you, probably thinking you had come out to properly smack them for deliberately annoying you. You look at them, unamused, and say, “Supper will be in about an hour if you want it. If there’s anything else any of you can’t eat you should probably tell me now.”

Peter and Kraglin exchanged looks before Peter turned back to you and said, “If there is, we don’t know it yet.”

Kraglin nodded and added, “Not a lot of experience with Terran food, ma'am.”

You cringe slightly at being called ma'am, but give a short nod. “Well, here’s hoping I don’t poison anyone again,” you say, turning to head back to the kitchen. You are stopped when another poke to your waist makes you jump and you turn back with a hand raised to smack him.

Peter recoils with a laugh and says, “Just wondering if you’d like any help in the kitchen?”

You narrow your eyes. “Nope. Think you two better stay out here. Clearly can’t trust you not to annoy me.” You can hear their chuckles as you walk back into the kitchen.

Mercifully, they left you alone all through the cooking and eating of dinner, (you had decided to make a stew). Well, they left you alone physically, that is. Throughout dinner they kept attempting jokes, and it was obvious they were aiming them at you in an attempt to get you to laugh. Most of them fell flat, however, because most of the jokes Kragin told hinged on you knowing about creatures or other stuff not from Earth that you’d have not any way of knowing the context for to make the joke make sense. The others seemed to get the jokes and find them funny though, so at least they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Better than awkward silence any day.

Peter was able to tell a few jokes with Earth references that you could understand, but they were such old jokes that anyone who didn’t live in a cave would have already heard them before they finished primary school, so you didn’t really laugh at his either. You did, however, smile politely, assuming that they were only trying to be friendly.

After dinner you started to get ready to wash the dishes, and Gamora offered to help.

“No thank you, I’ve got them tonight.” you say, taking the couple of bowls she had gathered and put them in the sink.

“You sure? You cooked for us, it doesn’t seem right to let you clean up by yourself too.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to make a habit of it, just… some nights I like to have something to keep me busy, ya know?” You turn on the tap and start washing the dishes. You hated to admit it, but that boiler Fury replaced your immersion with had proven to be very helpful with eight extra people in the house. If you didn’t know better you’d say it was magic. Somehow there was just always hot water. You willed yourself not to get too used to it, however. No one had said, but surely SHIELD was just temporarily loaning it until the Guardians finally were able to go back home. You couldn’t imagine them just giving you an upgrade like that to keep forever.

“Ok,” Gamora relented, not wanting to push it. She could tell you probably still needed a bit more time before you could fully relax. “Thanks for supper.”

“Don’t mention it,” you say, not looking up as you sudsed a bowl.

Gamora nodded and walked out of the kitchen, passing Peter, Kraglin and Mantis on her way into the sitting room. They looked like they were conspiring something, but as a general rule, she didn’t get involved in Peter’s shenanigans. That meant that unless it was going to directly annoy her, or possibly injure someone else, she pretended not to notice.

She had been right, they were conspiring. Well, Peter and Kraglin had been, Mantis was just along for the ride. With nothing better to do, the two men decided they’d put their energy towards continuing to mess with you, however, it was clear that they needed to get smarter about their approach if they didn’t want to risk a black eye.

So they deployed Mantis.

It didn’t take much to convince Mantis to do it either. It literally just took Peter asking Mantis if she wanted to play a game and she agreed.

In truth Peter was testing a theory. He watched from the kitchen door with Kraglin as they sent Mantis in to do the poking while you washed the dishes.

She poked, you jumped and spun to face her, clearly thinking it was one of the guys, and then the irritation softened from your face as you realized it was her and all she got was a mild scolding. Mantis looked back and Kraglin encouraged her to do it again with an enthusiastic nod.

This time she fluttered her fingers at your waist from both sides like she had the other day, making you jump again, and, with what sounded suspiciously to the guys to be a poorly suppressed giggle in your voice, you scolded her again and shooed her away.

Theory confirmed. You couldn’t bring yourself to try and smack her away like you had with them. Good. He could work with that. Use your soft spot for her against you.

This time they motioned Mantis to come back.

She meets them at the doorway and on her way out whispers, “Did I do a good job?”

Peter smiles, “Yes. You did great. Hey, I want to show you a trick…”

***

A bit later you walked into the sitting room and Mantis calls you over to the table, saying she wants to show you a trick.

She’s sitting with Peter, Kraglin, and Gamora, and you walk over hesitantly, wondering if Gamora’s presence meant you could assume you’d be safe from mischief or not, seeing as she normally swatted at or scolded Peter for being annoying.

Once you reached the table Mantis stood and encouraged you to take a seat. You pull out a chair at the end of the table and sit, only to be instructed by Mantis to turn and face her.

You eye her suspiciously and then turn to Gamora. “Am I going to regret this?” you ask, your eyes moving to Peter and Kraglin who sat across from her, shrugging and shaking their heads. You were sure you could only trust them about as far as you could throw them, but Gamora appeared to genuinely have no idea what Mantis wanted to show you, so you decided to just play along. How bad could it be?

Mantis instructed you to hold out your hand for her, and you did as asked. She then held your hand palm up and placed her thumb at the tip of your middle finger, and rested the tip of her own middle finger where the palm of your hand met your wrist, as if she were measuring the distance with her own hand.

She then released your hand and moved the hand she used to measure the length of your hand with to your knee, placing her thumb on your kneecap and lowering the tip of her middle finger to rest on your thigh above the knee.

“What are you doing?” you ask, suspicion and confusion in your voice.

Mantis looked up to meet your gaze. She smiled happily and said, “I’m distracting you for this!”

You raise an eyebrow but before you could wonder much about it she squeezed your leg where her middle finger had been resting, sending a tickly jolt through your body and making you jerk in your seat and your breath catch in your throat.

You grasp for her wrist to push her away, but then she just attacked your other leg with her other hand. “Mantis! No!” you squeak, squirming in your seat and flailing for her hands. Every time you’d grab for one hand, she’d free her other hand and send ticklish pokes and squeezes wherever she could reach.

She was was a little stronger and quicker than she looked, so it made the task of restraining her hands difficult for you. You did your best to hold back any laughter as you flinched and jerked from your torment. You could hear Peter laughing and telling her 'good job,’ and Kraglin encouraging her to continue, which she did, happily giggling the whole time.

“Peter!” you half scold/half beckon.

“Yes?” he asked teasingly, folding his hands under his chin with a cheeky grin. Gamora rolled her eyes and tried to shake her head disapprovingly at him, but she couldn’t help grinning. Mantis just looked so playful and it was honestly adorable.

“Will you-AEK” you squeak as she darted a hand and squeezed at your waist before you could stop her, “Will you make her stop!”

“Thought you weren’t ticklish?” Kraglin said with a teasingly smug grin. “That shouldn’t bother you at all then. I don’t see a problem.”

Gamora sighed with a smile at the two men. So that’s what this was about. They must have put Mantis up to this.

“Dammit!” you jerk again as Mantis landed another squeeze above your knee. “I’m- I’m not- I’m-” you were having managing words, because each time you attempted, you were cut off by another poke or squeeze from Mantis, and you were afraid you would start laughing if you allowed yourself to talk through it. You were already having a hell of a time trying not to smile, and failing.

“I swear, if you actually say you’re not ticklish right now, Pete and I will pin you down and prove that you are.” Kraglin threatened with an evil grin.

“Kraglin!” Gamora scolded with furrowed brow, but her warning wasn’t taken too seriously on account of the humor laced in her voice.

“What? She’s the one being so stubborn she can’t admit it!” Kraglin laughed. As far as he was concerned, you deserved it for fibbing. Plus, wouldn’t kill you to loosen up a bit- you could be… well, scary… sometimes. Although it was kinda hard to think of you as scary at the moment while you were spasming in a chair as you kept trying to get a hold on Mantis’s quick hands and a grin more than threatened to crack your face.

You could feel your cheeks getting warm, hating showing signs of weakness, but knowing you didn’t have much choice at the moment. “Ok! Fine!” you cry out, still grappling at Mantis’s hands and biting back any giggles that threatened to spill out. You knew when you were beat. It was pretty damn obvious that you couldn’t deny being ticklish anymore, and you sure as hell weren’t about to give them a reason to actually properly tickle the snot out of you. You wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Fine… what?” Peter chuckled in a sing-song voice and leaned on the table.

You could kill him. “Fine! I’m ticklish, okay!? I admit it! Are you happy now!?” Just then Mantis managed to free both hands and briefly tweak your ribs before you got a grip on her wrists again, finally getting a short laugh to escape your throat as you spasmed in your chair. “Will you call her off now, please!?” Gods, this was embarrassing. You didn’t know how, but they were so going to pay for this.

Peter and Kraglin high-five and Peter says, “Alright, Mantis, good job.”

Mantis stood and clasped her hands, giggling and saying how that was so much fun, and you half-heartedly glare up at her before standing so you could get out of there, but not before turning to aim a glare at Peter and Kraglin. The jackasses.

When you turn back you notice Yondu leaning on the back of the sofa looking amused and you cringe, asking, “How long have you been standing there?”

Yondu folded his arms and pretended to think. “Hmm… Long enough to hear the boys threaten to tickle ya silly and then see ya fold like a cheap tent.” Humor twinkled in his eyes and you wanted to melt into the floor.

You inhale and look to the ceiling, your cheeks burning. Your expression then turned mischievous. Vengeance. Now.

“Mantis?” you say, turning back to face her.

“Yes?” she answers, smiling wide and sweetly.

You put on your best, most innocent face. “Ya know, maybe you should do that to Peter. Or Kraglin. Why should they miss out on the fun?” Your eyes flick to the pair menacingly to see Peter looking at you like you just shot him.

Mantis giggles and goes to take your suggestion, bouncing to their side of the table. Peter bolted from his chair, saying, “Mantis- wait a minute!” and tried to run around the table, getting slowed down when Kraglin tripped him, mostly likely to save himself as he also stood to get out of Mantis’s way, grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her in Peter’s direction when it looked like she was going after him. Unfortunately for Peter, he didn’t get much further after Kraglin tripped him as Gamora effortlessly caught him by the arm and then laughed as she held him in place and he complained.

You turned back to Yondu with a satisfied smile and started to walk past him to leave when he leaned over to speak in a low tone as you got near. “Hope ya know that was a mistake, girl,” he chuckled.

“What?” you say, surprised. Peter could be heard laughing and pleading with Mantis and Gamora behind you.

He grinned wider. “If there’s anythin’ I know about that boy, ya just declared war. An’ if that ain’t bad enough, now yer stuck in a house with him, and my first mate who ain’t got nothin better to do.”

“Ah.” Your voice cracks, your eyes widening, nervousness creeping into your belly. “Well surely they wouldn’t hold a grudge- I mean, they started it-”

He straightened back up and chuckled, shaking his head knowingly. “Jus’ figured I should give ya a heads up. Do with it what ya will. Boy’s partial to pranks when it comes to revenge. Might wanna be on the lookout for buckets of water above your doorways tomorrow. Or grease in your boots. That used to be Quill’s go-to.” Mirth glistened in his eyes and made you unsure if this warning was out of the goodness of his heart or if he enjoyed seeing the 'oh shit’ look on your face.

You swallowed. Fuck. Just what you needed. A war. You decided it might be a good idea to get out before Peter could escape, or before Kraglin could decide to avenge his friend. “Well I’m going to go to bed now.” Your voice was a little higher than you’d like and you could hear Yondu chuckling as you scarpered.

He knew it was more likely you were going to hide than going to sleep. It was barely dark out.

Yondu shook his head and walked to take a seat on the couch, still chuckling at the flicker of fear in your eyes when he told you that you had started a war. He switched on the TV and idly wondered who’d give up first. He’d gotten the impression that you wouldn’t be one to back down, despite the nervousness present on your face.

You may have the advantage of being on home turf, but Quill could be relentless. More than likely you were fucked, but it’d be interesting to see how it all played out.

You might surprise him.

Chapter Text

You woke up a little nervous, Yondu’s warning having gotten to you a bit. You couldn’t remember the last time you pulled a prank, and now he’s told you that you might have accidentally started a war with Kraglin and Peter? Just what you needed. Great.

The first thing you did, aside from seeing that Mantis was still asleep, was check yourself and your bed over to make sure they hadn’t left any surprise pranks for you in your sleep. You even checked your reflection in your phone just in case one of them could have managed to draw on your face while you were sleeping, even though you knew that would be ridiculous… or was it?

Okay, so maybe you were more than a little nervous.

It didn’t take long for you to scold yourself. Why should you be nervous? This was your home, you had the advantage. You weren’t going to hide like some scared child from some pranks. As you got dressed you told yourself that you’d prepare yourself for anything they had coming your way. Shut it down. Nip it in the bud. Besides, what if Yondu was wrong? Maybe they wouldn’t even to anything at all.

You’d barely finished that thought when Peter jump-scared you the second you opened your bedroom door, causing you to reflexively punch him in the face.

“Ow! Dude!” he complained, hands up to his nose and checking it for blood. Luckily there wasn’t any.

You cover your mouth, both in horror and trying to mask your humor at the belated karmic justice for the door incident. “I- I really want to say sorry… but I suppose you had that coming…” you say, swallowing your laughter and making your way around him to escape into the bathroom.

Well, that confirmed Yondu was right… You should probably start thinking of some ways to either prank back or defend yourself. If they wanted a war, you’d be ready.

***

You fancied toast again for breakfast and that’s when Kraglin struck, using your previous night’s admission against you. He spidered his fingers over your sides while your back was turned. You didn’t even know he had been in the kitchen, but you sure as hell felt the tickly sparks of electricity that jolted through your body and made you drop the knife as you spasmed under his attack with an embarrassing squeal.

He stopped almost as quickly as he started, doubled over and slapping his knee in laughter. “Oh! That’s just too good!” he teased.

You look at him with narrowed eyes, noticing Peter standing not too far off, looking pleased. “So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” you say, more of a statement that a question.

The guys only ginned in response and you turned back to your toast.

“I see,” you say cooly.

War it was.

***

After you ate you thought you’d make a trip to the attic. You knew you might have an asset or two up there that would prove useful. One such being, a big old rubber spider, another being a whoopie cushion.

You pocketed the whoopie cushion for now, but, seeing as you were the only one upstairs at the moment, you took your opportunity to slip into the room Peter and Gamora shared and leave the spider under Peter’s blanket. You hadn’t been in that room since it became Peter and Gamora’s, but you were able to suss out which bed was his easy enough. You had a feeling it was the one that was only half-assed made-up. Also, his jacket was laying on top of it.

You made your way out as quietly as you had entered and made your way downstairs, but not before grabbing a bath towel from the bathroom closet.

Once downstairs, you searched for Gamora, finding her washing up a dish she used for breakfast.

“Hey,” you say, “Can I ask you a favor.”

Gamora dried the dish, saying, “As a general rule I don’t get involved in any mischief Peter gets up to.” She knew Peter was wont to get into prank wars and after last night it honestly didn’t surprise her that he might have chosen to start one against you out of boredom. Naturally, she just assumed you were coming to her to make him back off.

“Oh, no. It’s nothing like that,” you clarify, then quieter, “I was hoping I could ask if you would be willing to keep Rocket busy and downstairs for a bit?”

Gamora looked at you with a raised eyebrow. How unexpected. Why would you need that?

You realized this would go better if you told her the reason. “Here, I’ll show you something,” you say, inviting her to follow you out to the shed.

Once inside you revealed to her what you had been working on, but she only looked at you in confusion, probably because the bed frame hadn’t been assembled yet. You had planned to wrap the pieces in the towel for transport and assemble the frame in the room, and you told Gamora as such.

“I made Rocket a bed frame. You know, since he keeps complaining about the crib,” you say, not wanting to sound too much like you cared.

Gamora now added surprise to the confusion on her face, “But why do you need me to keep him busy?” If this was a peace offering, like she assumed it was, then why would you not just tell Rocket about it? She knew that he would surely be grateful to get out of that crib he was always complaining about.

“So I can get these pieces upstairs and put the frame together in his room,” you say, stacking the pieces onto the towel.

Understanding came over Gamora’s face. “Oh. You want to surprise him.” She sounded a bit surprised, which was understandable considering how you and Rocket clearly didn’t get along.

You paused, giving her an apprehensive look. “Not exactly.”

She tilted her head slightly, an eyebrow raised.

“I’m just going to put it together… and uh… leave it.”

Gamora stared you down for a bit before a slight smirk formed on her lips. “You do realize he’ll likely ask where it came from, right?”

You make a face and return to rolling the bed pieces in the towel. “Not my problem. So will you keep him busy?” You finish and turn to look at her. “Please? It shouldn’t take long, I just need maybe ten minutes, fifteen tops.”

Gamora smiled and shook her head, beginning to wonder if Peter might actually be right that you were a bit shy. “Sure, I’ll see what I can do,” Gamora said with a smile.

Together you walk back towards the house, and you reach the door just in time to see it open as Rocket and Kraglin walked outside.

You freeze for just a second. This wasn’t part of the plan, but maybe you could work with it. Outside was even better than just downstairs, right?

“What you got there?” Rocket asked suspiciously.

Kraglin also looked suspiciously at the bundle in your arms, although for a different reason, wondering if it could possibly be something used for a revenge prank.

You kept your face calm and collected, and simply said, “Nothing.” with a shrug as you went to walk through the door, exchanging a brief look with Gamora, signaling that she should make sure he stayed outside until you could finish. She seemed to understand.

Rocket and Kraglin also shared a look, and next thing you knew Kraglin was following after and offering to help you carry the bundle and Gamora was making up something she wanted to discuss with Rocket to keep him outside.

“I don’t need any help,” you say nonchalantly as Kraglin shut the door behind the two of you.

“I bet. Wouldn’t want me ruining any revenge pranks… would ya?” he smirked.

You look at him unamused. “This isn’t anything like that. Go mind your own business.” You start to turn to leave the kitchen and Kraglin takes the opportunity with your arms being occupied to wiggle a finger in your ribs.

You jerk, nearly drop your bundle, and glare at him, hissing, “Don’t you dare!”

Kraglin chuckled and folded his arms. “Then why don’t you show me what ya got wrapped up in that-there bundle?”

You roll your eyes. “You’re such a child.” you scold, before nodding toward the door and telling him to follow you if he wants to know so bad. You could have opened the bundle on the table, but you needed to be quick. You couldn’t dilly-dally with showing him there and now.

You led your unwanted sidekick up the stairs and to the room Rocket slept in and knelt to lay the bundle on the floor to unwrap it. You turn back to him and say, “It’s a bed frame- and we didn’t have this conversation.”

“Ya made the rat a bed?” Kraglin said, with just as much surprise as Gamora had when she was told. He ignored the oddity of you instructing him to forget the conversation, for now. “Thought ya two hated each other?”

You break his gaze. “I got bored. Don’t read too much into it,” you say, starting to fit the frame pieces to the headboard. “I just have to put the pieces together real quick, and now that you seen what it is, you can leave me alone to get it done, ‘kay? Good.” You were grateful you had done a test fit and all the screw-holes were now pre-drilled as you quickly spun them into place with the screwdriver you pulled from your pocket.

Kraglin didn’t leave. He just stared at you putting the pieces together for a bit. Those bed pieces didn’t look like they were thrown together last minute in a fit of boredom- it all actually looked decently made. He had a feeling that this must have been what you’d been running off to do in that shed over the past few days. “Ya know, I’m startin’ to think ya don’t actually dislike us as much as you let on.”

You paused to give him a look briefly before turning back to work. “That would be reading too much into it,” you say, attaching the frame to the footboard.

A chuckle could be heard in Kraglin’s voice as he said, “Whatever ya say, ma'am.”

You ignore him, turning the last twist on the final screw and placing the bed slats to hold the mattress. You stood with the intent to transfer the crib mattress over when you paused to look around. There was the double bed, where you assumed Drax slept, and the crib, where you knew Rocket slept. Where did Groot sleep if there was only two beds?

You turn to Kraglin, who for some reason still hadn’t left you be yet, and asked him. “There was only two beds in here, where does the little one sleep?”

Kraglin shrugged. “I dunno. I think he just curls up with one of the others 'cause he’s so little.

You nod thoughtfully. Your intent had been to transfer the mattress and put the crib back away in the attic to get it out of the way, but now you reconsidered. Might as well give the kid the option to his own bed… but that would require another mattress…

"I’ll be back.” You tell Kraglin, briskly walking past him towards your own room. If you remembered correctly, there was a spare in the attic. An old one that never got thrown out due to mostly laziness and forgetfulness. You retrieved it, knowing exactly which corner you’d find it in, and while you were there, decided to grab a small folded blanket and a sheet for good measure.

You rolled all this tightly together for the trip down the stairs and returned to a confused Kraglin. You threw everything on the frame, the mattress expanding back to life once you released it. You quickly fitted the sheet and shook the blanket open, floating it over the bed. You then retrieved the towel and your screwdriver from the floor, looked to Kraglin and said. “Done.” and began to walk towards the door, shooing Kraglin on your way out. You hadn’t thought to look for another pillow while you were in the attic, but the raccoon could survive without one for now. After all, there hadn’t been one in the crib so he wouldn’t be missing much. Not that you super cared or anything.

Kraglin kept looking at you strangely. “So, ya gonna go tell him now?” he asked, walking backwards for a bit while you made your way towards the end of the hall.

“Nope,” you say, ditching the towel in the bathroom and then heading for the stairs. You were going to go find Gamora so she’d know she no longer needed to keep Rocket distracted.

“Is it a surprise?” he asked.

“Nope.”

Kraglin followed you down the stairs. “Then why aren’t ya-”

You stop on the stairs and look at him sharply. “You ask too many questions. Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is, 'kay?”

Kraglin frowned, but stopped bothering you as you made your way downstairs. You ditched him in the hall and made your way to the back door. You open it just long enough to catch Gamora’s eye and signal to her that her services were no longer needed. You close the door back up and turn around, jumping out of your skin to find that you had indeed, not ditched Kraglin in the hall.

“The hell, man!”

Kraglin laughed, apparently delighted with startling you, and excused himself around you to head outside.

You frown at his retreating form and decided it’d be better to not hover around the door yourself, thinking you might give the house a good dusting to occupy yourself.

***

After cleaning the house and a quick lunch you decided your garden could use a good tending, so you grabbed your earbuds and made your way to the back door.

You weren’t exactly sure what made you look up, probably Yondu’s warning about that the guys might boobytrap your doorways with water buckets, but when you looked up you spotted the biggest spider resting right above the doorframe and you froze.

You weren’t scared or anything… spiders, at least giant ass ones like the one above the door, just tended to freak you out a little… Ok, maybe more than a little. The irony wasn’t lost on you either that you had just hidden a rubber spider in Peter’s bed that morning.

Yondu, who you hadn’t spotted at the table when you walked in as you were preoccupied with finding a song title, saw you freeze and tilted his head. He then saw you take a hesitant step back from the door and decided to ask, “Whatcha doing?”

You startled at the unexpected voice and turned to him. Slightly blushing you said, “Um, nothing. Just-uh, thought I’d go tend the garden.” You considered going to use the front door instead but worried it might look a bit odd.

Yondu took a sip from his water and set his glass down. “Ya know, pretty sure you’ll get outside quicker if ya walk towards the door. Not sure how far you’ll get backin’ away from it.”

You blushed a bit harder. “Yeah- uh right.” Your eyes flitted back to the spider and you visibly jumped a step back as it scurried quickly about 20cm up the wall.

“What was that?” Yondu asked, “What ya look so nervous for?” He started to stand from the table. Was there something outside? Was there someone outside? If so, why not say it?

You could feel the blush creep down your neck and you let out a nervous chuckle. “Um- it’s nothing. Really.” You couldn’t help but glance back at the spider, and regretted it.

Yondu followed your gaze as he walked over and chuckled, relieved it was only a creepy crawly and not that they had all been discovered. He wasn’t in the mood to fight a bunch of assholes today. He was, however, always in the mood to tease. “Ya scared of that little thing?”

“No! I- uh.. just wasn’t expecting… it.”

Putting his hands on his hips, Yondu grinned and shook his head. “My mistake then. Wouldn’t wanna keep you from your garden.” He clapped you on the back and looked at you expectantly, a hint of humor in his eyes as he nodded towards the door.

“Yeah…” you say, however you hesitated, looking up at the spider.

After a moment Yondu speaks up, laughter in his voice. “Can’t do it, can ya?”

You give him a sharp look. “I can!”

“Alright then. Enjoy the fresh air. It’s behind that door in case ya forgot.” The mirth in his eyes told you he was enjoying this.

You look back up to the spider. You could do this. You start to take a step closer to the door when suddenly Yondu cries out, “Watch out! I think it jumped!” while mimicking a running spider with his hand over the top of your head, making you jump right out of your skin and smack at his hand (which you totally knew wasn’t the spider…) with a shrill squeak.

Yondu starts laughing at your reaction and you cover your face in embarrassment. When his laughter dies down you give him a mournful look.

“Jackass.” you mutter, arms crossed over your chest and face red from embarrassment.

Yondu rolls his eyes, mirth still present on his face, and he whistles.

It happened so quick you weren’t sure you had really seen it.

A whistle. A flash of red. The sound of something cracking into the plaster. Another whistle. He caught an object in his hand; the arrow you’d see strapped to his leg all the time for no discernible reason. He wiped the tip against the rubbish bin before placing it back in its holster.

You blinked. “What the hell was that?” Did he just- move that arrow… with his mind?? Or was it with that metal mohawk thing? It had streaks of red light glowing through it for a moment there.

Yondu just grinned. “Took care of yer little problem so ya could stop yer scared fidgeting and get out the door,” he said with a laugh, not really answering your question.

You blushed again but before you could protest he looked to where the spider had been and winced. “Hmm. Might have overestimated the toughness of yer wall there though…”

You follow his gaze to see that his arrow had left a small crack and a chip in the old plaster where he had killed the spider. You turn back to him. “I think that could be forgiven, if you can agree there’s no reason to mention it again…”

Mirth crinkled his eyes as he got the hint. You didn’t want to advertise that you were scared of the 'creepy crawly.’ Was almost cute if he was honest. Reminded him of Peter when the boy was younger. “I’ll take that as a 'thank you,’” he said with a cheeky wink as he walked out of the kitchen and left you to your business.

You mumbled out a, “Hmm… yeah,” and rubbed the back of your head as you made your way out the door.

***

Later that day Peter came to you and asked if you wanted to join the others to watch another movie. He had found another movie from when he was a kid, The Princess Bride, and he was excited to watch it.

You curbed your suspicion that he might be setting up for a prank and agreed to watch the movie, having nothing else to do.

You walked into the sitting room while Peter walked off to find the others and found Mantis already in there waiting, sitting on the floor in front of the sofa with Groot. Gamora and Yondu were also waiting, but they hadn’t sat down yet, instead they were standing by the TV looking at the DVD case and discussing how they hadn’t expected Peter to be into this type of movie, clearly assuming it was a fairytale love story rather than the comedy that it also was. Looking about and seeing that Kraglin and Peter didn’t seem to be coming back yet, you thought this might be a decent time to break out that whoopee cushion.

You pull it out of your pocket and with a quick breath blew it up, garnering the attention of Gamora and Yondu, who gave you funny looks. You quickly stuff the whoopee cushion under the sofa cushion furthest left and take a seat next to Mantis on the floor, furthest to the right. You look up to them nonchalantly, your expression saying, 'What? I didn’t see anything. Didn’t do anything either.’

A faint smirk played over Yondu’s lips but neither of them said anything. Gamora, because she wasn’t going to involve herself, and Yondu, because he ain’t a narc. Mantis and Groot, however, gave you confused looks, but you just put your fingers to you lips in a 'shush’ gesture and Mantis’s eyes lit up, correctly assuming you were playing a practical joke, and she loved practical jokes.

Soon after the rest filed in. You were asked by Peter why you were on the floor when there was room on the couch, and you flippantly answered, “Didn’t feel like being pestered like last time,” giving him a pointed look.

He almost looked guilty but then just waved you off and sat next to Gamora. More room on the couch then. No skin off his nose.

Like last time, Yondu and Drax took the armchairs, and Rocket settled in on the other side of Mantis. Kraglin was the last to sit and you bit your tongue to keep a straight face and look uninterested as you side-eyed to watch him sit.

It went off just as you expected. A loud fart noise as he sat on the far end of the couch, earning loud laughter from Drax, Rocket, and Peter. Mantis and Groot giggled adorably while Yondu snickered and Gamora only reacted in mild surprise, likely having not realized what the object you placed below the cushion would do.

Kraglin tried to deny it, but Peter only laughed harder and said, “Yeah right! The hole you just ripped in the couch says otherwise!”

Drax then spoke through his laughter that you weren’t going to be happy that Kraglin damaged the couch, only for Peter to tell him that it was just an expression.

You start to shake your head at Kraglin, give him an unimpressed look to sell your innocence, when you were startled by the blue tint to his face.

“Uh…” you say, moving to a kneeling position, “Are you alright?”

“Hah. Very funny.” Kraglin said, looking annoyed and standing and pulling the whoopee cushion from beneath the sofa cushion. “Ya really think I don’t know what these are? Pete had like a million of these.”

“No, really. You’re starting to turn blue, are you having any trouble breathing or anything?” you ask. He was acting fine, but you knew turning blue couldn’t be good.

Peter, seeing you were genuinely concerned, decided to fill you in. “Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s just embarrassed he still fell for that.” He laughed and punched a grumpy looking Kraglin in the arm.

You raised an eyebrow.

Peter clarified, “His blood is blue, not red like ours. He’s fine.”

“Alright then…” you say, hesitantly sitting back down. You hear Kraglin state he’s keeping the whoopee cushion and you roll your eyes at him as Peter finally started the movie.

You hadn’t seen this one in a long time, and you honestly barely remembered anything aside from a few funny quotes and the fact that you knew you had enjoyed it. The last thing you expected was for the movie to make you feel things.

You were doing pretty good until the man in black and Princess Buttercup began to talk about her lost love, and you kept it together until the line, “Death cannot stop true love, it can only delay it awhile.”

Then you got up to leave the room.

“Want us to pause it for you?” asked Peter.

“Nope,” came your answer.

No one thought anything of it, until they heard you go upstairs and you didn’t return.

After about 15 minutes Yondu got the sense you weren’t coming back, and he briefly wondered why before his sleepy eyes closed, falling asleep during this movie as well.

He had been waiting up the past few nights to try and catch you sneaking out at night, but each night he never heard or saw you leave, because you didn’t. Needless to say this made him a little sleepy, but at least with no crew to manage or ship to run he was free to take naps, even if Peter did tease him that he was getting old for falling asleep through the movie.

Rocket, however, was cursing himself. And you. He had just been about to slip out when you beat him to it. He wasn’t enjoying the movie that much, and he had realized that this might be the first chance in three days to sneak up to the attic when everyone was occupied, and you just had to go and ruin it by flaking out on the movie partway through. Rude.

They finished the movie without you and you mostly stayed in your room the rest of the night aside for a bit when you came down to grab something quick for a late supper.

You were in the kitchen having just finished the sandwich you had made when Peter came in for a snack.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” you say back, pulling down a small glass for some juice.

“Saw you didn’t come back to the movie earlier.”

“Yeah?” You didn’t meet his gaze as he opened a packet of that space food and sat down. “Seen it.”

Peter nearly chuckled, “Well, yeah. I’d think so, it was yours.”

You shrug. “Just didn’t feel like finishing it.”

“Hmmm…” came Peter’s response. His tone annoyed you, like he was about to suggest there was an ulterior reason for you skipping out on the movie without a word. Just because he would have been right didn’t mean you liked it.

You walk to the fridge to pour some juice and have the thought that you might spruce it up with a splash of vodka, which you kept in the freezer. You pull the bottle and gesture it to Peter, asking if he’d like some. He shook his head and you just poured some into your own glass and went to return the bottle to the freezer. When you did you spotted a small forgotten bag of ice you must have purchased awhile back. It was open, and you got an idea. Sneaking one of the chunks you hid it in your hand and closed the freezer.

You leaned against the counter and sipped your, now alcoholic, juice.

“Nice one with the whoopee cushion today. Good to see you have a sense of humor.” Peter smiled.

You shrug. You kept the hand with the ice folded across your body and tucked under the elbow of the arm holding your juice, trying to keep it natural looking.

“If you want, maybe you and I could call a truce, and combine our efforts against Kraglin.”

You smirk behind your glass. Either this was a trap, or he wasn’t very loyal to his friend. You placed your bets on the former. “I think you’re just afraid I might accidentally punch you in the face again if you keep it up.”

Peter rubbed the back of his head and laughed, “Well, there may be that… but I do think if we combined our efforts…”

He didn’t get to finish that sentence. You had downed the last bit of your juice and started to walk his way while he talked. As you passed behind him you quickly dropped the chunk of ice down the back of his shirt and then even more quickly scurried away as he seized up and gasped from the cold.

You snickered as you heard him squeak, “Ah! Cold! Cold!” on your way out and only spared a glance back at the door to see him abandon contorting his arms behind him to try and grab the offending ice in favor of resorting to hopping out of the chair and doing a funny little dance to shake the ice out.

Once he was free of the ice he caught your gaze and an evil grin passed over his lips as he bend down to grab the ice from the floor.

Your eyes widened and you fled up the stairs, hearing him call out, “Get back here!”

You made it to your room just in time to shut the door and flick the lock before he could have his revenge. You could hear laughter in his voice as he said, “And to think I offered a truce!”

“You didn’t mean it!” you called back through the door.

Peter laughed and said, “Well I definitely don’t mean it now!” You were right. He hadn’t meant it. He was going to try and convince you to pull a prank on Kraglin that they would then turn back on you, but clearly you weren’t going to fall for that. He heard you laugh at his statement and shook his head before walking back down the stairs.

At least he had made you laugh.

***

After an hour you decided it was probably safe to leave your room to shower for bed. Also, Mantis was knocking at the door and you had to let her in anyway.

You had just finished your shower and were heading back to your room when a high shriek could be heard from Peter and Gamora’s room. The others peeked out from their respective bedrooms to see what the commotion was. Rocket came up the stairs saying, “Thought I heard Quill screaming like a girl, what happened?”

On cue the door to Peter and Gamora’s room opened and out came Peter holding the rubber spider by one leg.

The two of you lock eyes across the landing. Your eyes widen slightly and you flatten your lips.

“Any idea how this ended up in my bed?” he asked, looking pointedly at you and waving the toy back and forth.

Shaking your head, you say, “Nope. No idea.”

Peter narrowed his eyes but smirked. “Oh really?”

You began walking toward the safety of your room. “Not a clue. Total mystery. Night.”

You could hear snickers behind you as open the door, and hear Peter shout after you, “I’m keeping this!” as you shut your bedroom door behind you.

***

Rocket had a surprise waiting for him when he decided to go to bed that night, having walked into the bedroom with little Groot asleep on his shoulder.

He looked at the new bed in confusion. He wanted to ask Drax where it came from, but the big guy was already asleep, and he knew better than to wake him if he didn’t want accidentally punched in Drax’s startled waking.

He hopped up to the crib and laid Groot down to sleep before inspecting the new bed, sniffing it and checking under the sheets. He didn’t really know what he was looking for, but looking couldn’t hurt.

Eventually, when he could find nothing wrong with it, he decided to settle in. Better than sleeping in a crib. He could ask where it came from in the morning.

***

The house was dark and quiet, and Yondu was considering giving up on trying to catch you sneaking out again, at least for tonight. After all, you hadn’t in several days, what’s the chance you would tonight? Might as well sleep.

Then he heard it. The tiniest creak of a door. Then barely audible steps down the stairs.

He stood from his bed as quietly as he could, and made his way over to the door he had left cracked in hopes of being better able to hear when you’d leave.

He peered out, but only just saw the top of your head dip below the floor as you descended.

He waited a moment, wanting to give a little space so as to not risk you hearing him follow. Opening the bedroom door slowly, he made his way out into the hall and to the stairs. He could see in the dark better than a Terran, but still moved carefully as he quietly made his way down the steps.

He stopped less than halfway down, having barely caught sight of you sitting on the hall bench to pull your boots on, and there he waited, out of sight in the dark, until you stood and grabbed a jacket.

He made his way quickly and quietly down the rest of the stairs and just caught you as you were opening the back door.

He stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed over his chest with a triumphant grin at having finally caught you before you could leave. He tilted his chin up and asked;

“So where ya sneaking off to?”

Chapter Text

You jumped right out of your skin but somehow managed not to cry out, whipping around to see Yondu’s silhouette standing in the doorway to the kitchen. It was a bit of a terrifying sight if you were to be honest. You’d hate to see it in a dark alley.

“What the fuck!” you whisper-yelled. “Don’t do that! You trying to give me a heart attack!?”

“Don’t change the subject. Where ya sneakin’ off to?” Yondu repeated. He had intended to use the voice he used when trying to intimidate an opponent, the one he uses when trying to get the message across that he’s not going to take any shit, so ya better just cough up what he wants to know. However, it came out sounding a bit more like the tone he used to scold Peter with when he’d get caught sneaking girls on the ship after curfew.

You did your best to look unfazed and close the door. “First off, it’s my house. I’m not sneaking, I’m just going. And what are you doing sneaking up on me?”

You were trying to turn the tables on him, but he wasn’t going to bite. “It’s the middle of the night and yer being awful quiet about it, ya really try'na tell me that’s not sneakin’?”

“Yes.” You tried to keep your tone even, but it was hard not to sound annoyed. “It’d be rude to wake up the others.”

“Uh huh. Well if yer not sneakin’ then why not turn on a light?”

“Don’t need it. Lived here all my life. Know the place just as well in the dark.”

“Right…” Yondu eyed you, sure that you’d come up with an excuse for anything else he’d throw at you. Might as well just cut to the chase. “Where ya going?”

“Out,” you reply, “For a walk.”

“You’re going for a walk, in the middle of the night?” He could hear it more now, he sounded like he was getting ready to threaten to ground you. Not exactly the tone he was going for. He blamed it on the lack of sleep. Brain must be instinctually reverting to “Yell at Quill” mode. Stars knew he did it enough when Quill was a boy that it became second nature.

“Yes.” You cross your arms over your chest, only to realize it made you look like an argumentative teen. Oh well, too late now. You kept them crossed.

“So, you suddenly just up and decided, in the middle of the night, that ya’d fancy a walk, in the dark, in the forest?”

“Yes.” you reply again, realizing a second too late that he shouldn’t have known where you were headed. “No- Wait I-”

Yondu chuckled. “Save it. I see everything… And I’ve been mighty curious to know what you’ve been sneaking off to do at night.”

You stare at each other in the dark for some time before you break the silence. “I have the sneaking suspicion that you intend to follow me.”

“You’d win that bet.” Yondu said with a grin that you could barely see in the dim light.

You roll your eyes. “You’ll get bored. Better off to just go back to bed.”

“After you.” Yondu gestured towards the hall from the doorway. You could hear a smirk in his voice.

You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose. “I’m not leaving alone, am I?”

“Nope.”

You really wanted to leave, and obviously you would prefer to do it alone, but if bringing a suspicious passenger was the only way you could do so, and likely the only way to prevent this happening again, you’d suppose once wouldn’t kill you. In fact, denying could potentially only make his suspicions worse, and you didn’t feel like possibly being reported to Fury over nothing if he got the wrong idea. You had been on enough jobs to know how quick a misunderstanding could go south. “Ugh. Fine. But you know curiosity killed the cat.” Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try and convince him to stay behind.

“Ain’t a cat. Not even sure what a cat is.” Yondu chuckled, fully aware that he was being irritating. He might not have exactly known what the Terran idiom meant, but he still knew it was just an idiom. Enough experience with Quill had taught him that Terrans say strange things.

You look up to the ceiling “Just hurry up.”

Yondu disappeared in the hall to pull on his boots and returned a moment later pulling on his duster jacket. You had to admit his silhouette was actually even scarier with the addition of the jacket, but you didn’t let it show.

You wordlessly motion him out the door and shut it behind the two of you. The walk across the yard to the tree line was awkwardly silent until about a couple meters away.

“So what ya keep coming out here for anyway?”

You answered with a question of your own. “You been spying on me?”

“Not exactly. Just happened to notice ya out the window a few times, and thought it was odd that you’d be sneaking out of yer own house.”

The two of you broke the tree line, finally walking amongst the trees. “I told you I wasn’t sneaking.”

“Sure, sure,” Yondu chuckled. “Ya didn’t answer my question, girlie. What’s out in this-here forest that keeps ya coming out here at night?” He kept pace with you as best he could. Your steps were sure, the ground was littered with rocks and sticks, but your gait never faltered. You clearly knew these woods well, and it was evident you knew just where you were going. You hadn’t even bothered to use a light. Yondu would almost think you had night vision if he didn’t already know better that Terrans didn’t.

“Nothing. I just come out to enjoy the scenery. Relax a bit,” you finally answer.

“Ya know, yer almost a good liar.” Yondu chuckled.

“I beg your pardon!” you say, offense fully clear in your voice.

“What? Take it as a compliment,” Yondu laughed, unfazed by your outburst. “But yer gonna have to do better than that to pull something over on me. I can spot a lie lightyears away.” Ok so he might have been exaggerating, but you didn’t need to know that. “And that there, that wasn’t the truth.”

You scoff. “What do you know? You don’t know anything about me and you’re really going to stand there and act like you do?” The nerve of him. You should have just pretended to go back to bed and then came back out later, or better yet, oiled the hinge on your bedroom door the other day when you noticed it starting to squeak. Probably what alerted Yondu to leaving.

“I know more than you think.” Yondu countered, nearly tripping on a large branch.

“You don’t know anything about me.” You repeat. You started walking faster out of spite.

A smirk fell over his face. If you wanted to be difficult, fine. He could just have fun teasing you until you loosened up, and he had a feeling he knew just what might push your buttons.

“I know yer ticklish.” He grinned, seeing how you visibly tensed.

You run a hand down your face. “You guys aren’t going to let that die, are you?”

“Nope,” Yondu chuckled, “it’s too funny.”

“It’s not,” you say, glad the dark was hiding the blush you could feel on your cheeks.

“I think it is,” Yondu disagreed, reaching out to poke you and chuckling when you jumped and flinched each time his finger connected with your side. He grinned, mentally drawing up the theory that you didn’t like to show weakness.

You swat at his hand and tell him to quit.

He laughs, but thankfully obeys, saying, “Aw, cheer up now. It ain’t that embarrassin’… though I do wonder now why that Fury guy would keep an agent around that seems mighty vulnerable to torture…” He was teasing, of course. Just trying to get a rise out of you. It worked.

You throw him a look of daggers and he holds up his hands in a relenting gesture. “Don’t worry, secret’s safe with me, girlie,” he teased, continuing to grin before nearly tripping again. He sighed, beginning to search his pockets for a light. There was no sense tripping around out here in the dark. You may apparently know this forest floor like the back of your hand, but he didn’t, and he most certainly didn’t feel like rolling an ankle.

He spoke up again. “I also know yer hiding something.”

You freeze for just a moment and then turn to him. “No. Nice try.”

He closed the meter wide distance between you. “Ya can deny all ya want, sweetheart, but I can still tell.”

“Whatever.” You turn and start walking again, this time at a regular pace.

“Don’t give me that,” Yondu said, finally finding a light in one of his inner pockets. He flipped it on and you instantly covered your eyes, which had been adjusted to the dark and very much didn’t like the sudden intrusion of the bright light.

“Agh- Turn that off!” you scold.

“What for?” Yondu asked, he had also suffered slightly from the sudden brightness, but at least he could see where he was walking now.

“Well, besides the fact that you just blinded me- you’ll attract bugs.”

“Ah right. Yer scared of creepy-crawlies. My mistake.” Yondu laughed, making a show of shutting the light off. “Wouldn’t want ya to be all scared stiff like ya were earlier.”

You glare at him best you could with your eyes trying to adjust back to the dark. “I’m not scared of bugs. I just don’t feel like getting bitten up by a bunch of midges. The bites itch like hell.”

“I dunno… ya looked pretty scared of whatever that bug was in the kitchen today.” Yondu teased, but he did make a mental note that midges sounded quite unpleasant.

“That was a spider,” you say, then muttering, “…and that’s different.”

Yondu hummed. “Seems a lil’ funny that you’d put a giant one in my boy’s bed then, seein’ as yer so scared of ‘em yerself.”

You stumble over your words for a bit, before admitting that you hid the fake spider before the incident with the real one happened, adding, “-and I wasn’t scared of it!”

“Sure ya weren’t…” Yondu said teasingly. “Guess ya won’t be bothered if I tell ya about the big one crawling on yer shoulder then.” He repeated the same trick as earlier, imitating a running spider on your shoulder with his fingers and laughing when you jumped a mile and smacked at his hand.

Face flushed with embarrassment at falling for the same trick twice you say, “You’re an asshole.”

“Yep,” came Yondu’s reply. Theory confirmed: You hated showing weakness. After a few steps he spoke again. “Where we goin’ anyways? Ya seem pretty sure about this path. Get the feelin’ we ain’t just wanderin’ aimlessly.”

You sigh, but relent. What could it hurt? “It’s just a little further.”

“It where ya go all the time?”

“No, just most of the time.” you admitted. “Sometimes I do just… 'wander aimlessly.’”

“But not tonight.”

You sigh again. “No. Not tonight.”

After a bit you finally happen upon a small clearing. In the middle of that clearing was a large old oak tree. Its trunk was nearly two meters in diameter and had lovely patches of moss growing on it. Thick branches poked out just low enough to climb on, it was beautiful in the dim light of the night, but it was even more beautiful in daylight.

“Here,” you say, “This is where I go. This is my favorite tree.”

Yondu was actually stunned for a moment by the magnificence of the the tree, and that didn’t happen often. “I can see why. It’s certainly a purty one…”

He walked with you closer to the tree and broke off to walk to one side as if he intended to do a lap around the trunk.

“Careful,” you say, not wanting him to go any further around the more shadowy part of the tree, “Ground’s got a bit of a soft spot over that way. Wouldn’t want you to sink in.”

Yondu, who, like anyone, obviously wouldn’t enjoy that happening, stopped his journey and headed back your way. Better to stay with the person who knew the land, at least when he couldn’t see for himself if he was about to fall in a hole.

You approach the tree and sit at its base, gesturing an invite for Yondu to do the same if he chose. He did. You look up at the thick branches and say, “My dad used to bring us out here.”

“Us?” Yondu questioned.

“My brother and me.”

“Didn’t know ya had a brother.”

“Didn’t ask.”

“Would ya have said if I did? Ya don’t exactly seem the most forthcoming type.” Yondu laughed lightly.

You huff in response. You look back up at the branches and remember the time you and your brother would climb the old tree. sometimes even your dad would try climbing with you, even though he wasn’t as agile as his children. You remembered the fun, the laughter, the three of you playing chasing games around the tree. They were some of your fondest memories of before your dad got sick. Before he couldn’t take you and your brother out to the tree anymore, though of course by that time the two of you were old enough to make the trip on your own, though it never was quite the same.

You had sat in silence for a bit before Yondu asked, “So what’s eatin’ ya?”

“What?” you ask, pulled from your thoughts.

“I’ve kinda gathered ya wouldn’t be comin’ all the way out here in the middle of the night if everythin’ was all fine and dandy, so what’s got ya down, girlie?” It seemed obvious to Yondu from what he observed that this would be the case. After some thought, he realized he only caught you heading towards the forest on bad days, like when Rocket messed your kitchen or the night you fought Quill. You were here, therefore, something must be wrong.

“Nothing.”

Yondu didn’t buy it. “I noticed you disappeared for a long while in the middle of that movie Quill wanted to watch. It have anything to do with that?”

“I told you, I’m fine.” you say bitterly. It honestly irritated you how accurate his assumptions were, but just because he was right didn’t mean you had to affirm his assumptions.

Yondu sighed. “Alright then, be that way.”

After a few moments Yondu breaks the silence again. “So… where are yer family? I know ya said yer daddy’s passed, but what about yer mama? Or this brother ya mentioned. Where they at? Why ya out here in that big house all alone?”

You inhale. You considered not answering, but then thought it couldn’t hurt much. You could talk a little since he wanted to be nosy. Not like you were going to spill your entire life story, just the sparknotes. “Well, my mom’s gone. Died giving birth to me.”

“Oh.” Yondu was almost sorry he asked. “And yer brother?” He now assumed you were the younger sibling, but he felt it would be in bad taste to mention it. He hoped talking about him might lighten the mood.

“Gone too.” you answered.

He winced. He hadn’t expected to hear that you were alone alone. “How?” Yondu asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” you replied.

Yondu saw you draw your knees up and rest your chin on them. He realized he shouldn’t push his luck. “Sorry to hear that.”

“Why? You didn’t do it,” you say sarcastically. “It’s life. Everyone dies eventually.” You un-hug your knees and lean back against the tree. “Just how it goes. Life’s a bitch and then you die alone.”

Yondu catches a crack in your voice but doesn’t mention it. He frowns. “Come on now. There’s more than that. Ya don’t got to spend the rest of it all alone and miserable.” He said this because he had to believe it himself. How close had he come to doing just that when his crew mutinied? If Kraglin hadn’t still been loyal and if Rocket and Twig hadn’t helped with an escape plan, he’d’ve been slain by the hands of the Kree- if he was lucky, or back in the slave barracks- if he wasn’t. He’d never have gotten the chance to save Quill, and even if he hadn’t intended to make it out alive, he couldn’t deny he was grateful the ship had gotten to him and Quill just in time so that he could spend more time with his boy.

He didn’t know your exact age, but he thought you looked at least a little younger than Quill. That was too young to have such a bleak outlook on life. If even he could find even a shred of happiness to cling to, then surely you could as well. He continued, “Surely ya got ya some friends- Or ya could find someone and settle down… start a family…. fill that house of yers with little ankle-biters- Hey, where ya going?”

Your breath hitched and you had stood up quickly, walking back the direction you came. “I’m heading back. You can follow or stay here. I don’t really care,” you say, trying to keep your voice even and not looking at him as you walked towards the edge of the clearing.

Yondu hurriedly stood to catch up with you. Sure, he could eventually find his way back without you, but he couldn’t deny he’d get back much quicker with a guide that knew their way back in the dark. “What’d I say?” Yondu asked, correctly assuming he had said something wrong.

“Nothing. It’s just late. Time to start heading back.” You still wouldn’t look at him, and he almost thought your voice sounded strange, like you were fighting not to cry or something.

Yondu followed you quietly, wondering if he should press the issue or not. He decided to not, convinced he would only make it worse. He hadn’t intended to dig up any bad memories, he hadn’t expected to find out you really were alone, although it was a sentiment he could empathize with. It’s how he had been during the mutiny and Tazerface killed all his good men. Surrounded by people, and yet utterly alone.

He didn’t know what it was exactly, but he knew he wanted to make it better. You weren’t a child, but still, all he could see now was a sad little girl with no mama or daddy. No brother, no family. All alone. He thought to himself that if he had a heart it might be breaking. Or at least cracked a little.

He made another attempt at conversation, hoping to smooth things over. “So Quill says ya like to shoot arrows?”

“Um… yeah. A bit.”

Did he hear a sniff? Surely not.

“Maybe ya could show me how ya Terrans do it sometime.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” You sniffed again, and Yondu thought he saw your hand come up to your eyes as if to wipe them.

Aw hell. You were crying. Damn. He wasn’t sure what, but he was sure it had to have been something he said. He cursed himself. He hated when people cried. Bad enough when someone he stole from tried whipping out the waterworks, even worse when Quill would cry when he was scared or hurt as a boy. The only thing worse than seeing someone cry, was watching as they tried desperately to hide it, but yet couldn’t quite stop. 'Cause that meant they weren’t trying to get anything from you, they were just genuinely in too much pain to keep it together.

He had to do something to make you stop, so he did the only thing he could think of. He whistled.

A gentle melody played from his lips and you gasped as a streak of red shot through the air. You stopped in place from the shock and before long, you could see the outlined shape of what you could only describe as a fat little troll. It was cute, and so unexpected that you couldn’t help but huff out a laugh.

You finally looked at Yondu and he saw the hint of a confused smile playing over your lips. Much better.

He could see the question in your eyes and went ahead and answered without you needing to speak. “Just thought you could use some cheering up.” he said. Nice to see he’s still got it. That trick always worked to cheer up Quill when he was little.

“I’m fi-”

Yondu cut you off with a shrug. “Yeah. Yer fine. Got it.” He whistled again to call his arrow back. “Well this was mighty entertaining, all this… nature and whatnot. Should probably get a move on so this old man can get some sleep.” He exaggerated a yawn before walking forward, prompting you into motion as well, seeing as you were the guide. “I’m sure Bug and Twig would like it out here if ya ever decided ya wanted to come out here when the sun’s actually out.”

You hummed. “Maybe.” You tried not to stare as you walked together out of the forest. Had he really just used his weapon… to draw you a picture… to cheer you up? You wanted to laugh but you bit your tongue as you remembered he had also used it to kill a spider for you earlier that day. For as rough as he portrayed himself to be, he was definitely displaying big softie energy. That thought did make you laugh.

“What?” Yondu asked, hearing your snicker from beside him.

You shook your head, now grinning. “Nothing.”

“Uh huh.” Yondu said, mild suspicion in his voice as he side-eyed you. Whatever. It was better than hearing you try not to cry.

After awhile you finally broke the tree line and made your ways back across the yard and to the backdoor.

You reached the door first and pulled out your key.

“Good to see ya have some sense.” Yondu said. “Quill said Terrans always leave their doors unlocked.”

You gave him a look as you unlocked the door. You wanted to refute that, but you knew that, at least in the rural areas where you lived, people actually did tend to do that. You settled for saying, “Well, not everyone does. But still, it’d be really irresponsible to just go and leave the door open to any stray passerby with a bunch of obvious aliens inside.”

Yondu scoffed.

“What?”

“Ya Terrans thinkin’ yer the only ones in the universe. Callin’ anyone not from Terra 'alien.’”

You frowned. “Sorry.”

Yondu grunted and waved you off. “Eh. Ya’ll get there eventually. S'pose if this place wasn’t as backwards as it is then we wouldn’t be able to lie low here.”

You tried not to be offended at that, because he was right. That was literally the reason they were able to hide here.

The two of you re-enter the house and manage to get back to your respective rooms quietly. You changed into something more comfortable to sleep in without waking Mantis and settled into bed.

Before falling asleep you thought about the clearing and your tree. About how you needed to warn Yondu not to walk too far towards the backside of said tree.

You should really find the time to install a sturdier trap door on that tunnel.

Chapter Text

You slept-in the next day, as did Yondu, though he slept in a bit later due to having waited up for several nights before finally being able to catch you sneaking out.

When he did finally wake up the first thing he saw was you oiling the hinges to your bedroom door.

The two of you locked eyes on his way to the bathroom, no words exchanged. Just you very deliberately not stopping in your actions with an almost defiant look and him shaking his head with a half-laughed huff because you both knew why you were doing it.

***

Peter and Kraglin wasted no time continuing the prank war. Kraglin attempted to whoopee cushion you at breakfast, but you had seen it and decided to eat your apple standing against the counter.

He then later got you with the same ice trick you had pulled on Peter the previous night. Well, almost the same trick. Jackass actually stood there and kept the ice pressed to the back of your neck for a bit while you seized up and tried to escape the cold sensations before eventually letting it fall down the back of your shirt. He laughed the whole time, Peter too. You hadn’t seen him open the freezer so he and Peter must have planned it out before you got into the kitchen, arranging for Kraglin to do it instead, knowing you’d likely suspect Peter.

Your thoughts were that you needed to plot some revenge as you made your way out of the kitchen, but they were interrupted as you walked into the sitting room and Rocket confronted you.

“Hope ya don’t think you can bribe me with a new bed to get me to like you.”

You crossed your arms and feigned a mildly confused look, saying flatly, “I don’t know what you’re on about.”

Peter and Kraglin make their way past you to sit on the couch, throwing a glance to you and the raccoon as if to gauge the situation. Everyone knew that you and Rocket weren’t exactly on friendly terms, and to see you facing each other down inspired a degree of concern.

Rocket scoffed. “There was a new bed in my room last night, where else would it have come from?”

You shrug. “Haven’t a clue.”

Kraglin now threw a glance at you. He knew you said you weren’t going to say anything about it, but he hadn’t expected for you to actually outright deny you had done it when asked.

“Oh, so it just magically appeared then?” Rocket said sarcastically.

“Looks like it.”

“What’s going on?” Gamora asked as she entered the room, eyeing the two of you to see if she needed to help diffuse anything.

Rocket ignored her. “Beds just don’t appear out of thin air!”

“Apparently they do,” you replied.

Gamora tilted her head back in understanding, and then made her way over to the table where Yondu was sitting and playing with Groot. This didn’t appear serious, so she wasn’t going to get involved.

When she sat Yondu whispered over to her, “What’re they carryin’ on about?”

She didn’t get a chance to answer because Rocket then yelled, “DON’T CALL ME A RACCOON!”

What had happened was Rocket said, “They do not!” in response to your claim that beds could just magically appear. It couldn’t have been one of the others, it’s not like they could leave to go buy one, so it had to be you, and it pissed him off that he was so sure and more frustrated that you wouldn’t just admit it. He felt like you were making fun of him, calling him stupid for insinuating he would believe in something as dumb as a magically appearing bed.

To be honest, you weren’t even fully sure why you were denying it yourself. You had just wanted to set it up and be done, and you were annoyed by him insisting that you admit you had done something nice for him, especially if he was now going to accuse it of being bribery.

You replied, “Why would I have done it? I don’t even like you.”

Rocket was only growing angrier, crying out, “I know it was you! None of the others could have done it, and I would have seen if one of those SHIELD people showed up with it!”

You shrugged then responded with, “I don’t know what to tell you, I’m not in the business of making beds for raccoons.”

You knew you were being a little mean. You had called him a raccoon once already, shortly after he arrived, and received a very curt scolding from him for it. You had also seen how it pissed him off when Peter called him that, always angrily insisting that he wasn’t a raccoon. So, you had expected him to be a little miffed.

You hadn’t expected him to snap and actually lunge for you.

You dodged just in time, luckily, and he landed on the floor, growling at you.

Peter yelled at him to knock it off and Rocket retorted back that you deserved it.

You just stared him down and said, “I’ll punt you across the room next time, you little shit!” Why had you taken the time to make him a bed again?

“Alright, break it up!” said Kraglin firmly, standing up to show he meant business, used to having to break up Ravager fights and easily falling back into the old role of neutral mediator.

“Gladly,” you say bitterly, turning to leave the room.

Rocket grumbled something unintelligible and walked in the opposite direction, hopping up into the rocking chair to sulk.

***

You went back and forth with Peter and Kraglin with the pranks most of the rest of the day, and it actually helped improve your mood about the Rocket situation, or at very least took your mind off it.

You got them back around lunch when you squirted some lemon juice in Peter’s soda when he wasn’t looking, and smeared jam on the inside of the handle of the fridge knowing Kraglin was about to make a sandwich. The looks on their faces were satisfying, but you discovered their way of getting you back later was to leave two glasses of water on the table. Upside down. With a note that read, “Have fun! Don’t get wet! -Peter and Kraglin”

You didn’t have fun, but at least a bath towel made into a makeshift dam around the glasses kept you from getting too wet.

You immediately thought of a way to get them back. Unfortunately it didn’t work quite as planned.

That evening, sometime after supper when you finished washing the plate you had used, you placed a piece of duct tape just over the spout of the faucet, so that it was only mostly covering where the water came out. This way, when the water was turned on, it would spray directly onto the victim.

You knew that Peter or Kraglin would likely be the next ones to use the sink, as they had made their own dinner just after you had and were just starting to finish up.

You left the kitchen and went to the sitting room, pretending to look for a book to read but in reality you were eagerly waiting for the screams as one or both of the guys met their fate with an unexpected shower. You even considered returning to the kitchen once it happened just so you could tease them on not following their own advice, referencing the note attached to their previous prank about ‘not getting wet.’

Not too long and your desires were met, however, the voice behind the cries wasn’t the one you had intended to hear.

A loud, angry, bellowing of, “DAMMIT QUILL!” could be heard from the kitchen and your eyes went wide.

Oh no.

That was Yondu’s voice. Apparently he had fancied a glass of water and got in the way of the prank, becoming its unintended victim.

You quietly made your way out the sitting room door, hearing Yondu scolding that Peter needed to grow up and then Peter saying, “I swear! I didn’t do that one!”

You made it to the front door and heard Kraglin’s voice defending Peter, “No, for once he didn’t, sir. I’ve been with him all day! Pete didn’t do that.”

You quickly and quietly opened the door and escaped just in time to hear Yondu calling your name.

***

You decided it was probably safe to re-enter the house perhaps half an hour later after taking the time to do some light archery practice.

You were greeted inside by Mantis who was apparently coming to look for you anyway to see if you wanted to play a game of UNO.

You eyed her suspiciously, remembering the last time someone sent her to invite you for something. You lean in close to her and quietly say, “Before I say yes, I want you to answer honestly. Did Kraglin or Peter send you, and is this another trick?”

Mantis shook her head. “No, Gamora sent me. She said nothing about a trick.”

You thought for a bit. Mantis didn’t seem the type to flat-out lie, and Gamora already said she didn’t get involved in Peter’s mischief, so you decided it was safe and agreed.

Mantis grinned wide and took your hand, practically dragging you to the sitting room and exclaiming to the others upon entry that you had said yes to playing.

At the table you saw Gamora, Drax, Peter and Kraglin. You didn’t know where the others were, but you thought it was probably better that Yondu was elsewhere just in case he was still cranky about getting caught in the line of fire. You also didn’t feel like dealing with Rocket.

Gamora and Peter sat on one side of the table, with Drax at one end. Kraglin sat opposite of Peter and Mantis was about to take the seat across from Drax, only just releasing your hand when you realized the only other seat would be between her and Kraglin. You eyed him and said, “Do you promise to behave yourself if I sit here?”

Kraglin feigned being offended. “Of course, ma'am!”

You narrowed your eyes but went to take a seat hesitantly. Out of the corner of your eye you could see him reach his hand out toward your chair, thinking that you weren’t looking. If the last couple days had gone any differently you might have thought he was going to try a creepy move and grab your ass, but you had a feeling that wasn’t what he was going for.

Kraglin was startled when your hand suddenly darted to grab his wrist and pulled it up above the table.

Just what you thought. Whoopee cushion.

“Aha! Behave my ass!” you scold, ripping the whoopee cushion from his hand easily in his shock and sitting down. “I’m keeping this,” you taunt, mimicking what said the other day when he took possession of it from you. You stuck your finger in the opening to quietly release the air from the sack and stowed it away in your pocket as he pouted.

Gamora narrowed her eyes at Kraglin. “You two said you were going to behave.” She wasn’t referencing how you had made Kraglin promise before sitting down, but rather she had actually made Peter and him promise that they would behave and not cause mischief during the game while Mantis fetched you, wanting to try and make friendly with their host with a game without their shenanigans. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why she believed them.

Kraglin grumbled what sounded like a “Sorry, ma'am.” and Peter changed the subject by starting the game.

Surprisingly they did behave while playing. All six rounds of it before everyone was tired of playing and decided to pack it up.

***

You had just finished washing up for bed and were exiting the bathroom when a cry to “watch out!” made you turn just in time for a giant spider to fly towards your face.

You realized too late it was only Peter throwing the rubber spider at you.

Too late to stop yourself from shrieking as you batted it away, too late to prevent your loss of balance as you reared back, much too late to stop your socks from slipping on the hardwood floor or you from falling backwards, and unfortunately much, much too late to stop yourself from a poor landing where you tried to catch your fall with your outstretched hand only to be met with blinding pain.

Your eyes rolled back and you couldn’t even scream, the sound caught in your throat as if the pain were strangling you.

Peter realized his prank had gone wrong when instead of yelling at him, you only rolled to one side and muted gutted noises came out of your throat as you held your arm.

“Crap! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! That wasn’t supposed to happen!” Peter cried, rushing toward you on the floor. Kraglin’s voice could also be heard apologizing, footsteps coming from his and Yondu’s room where he and Peter had been waiting for you to be done with your shower so they could perform what was supposed to be just a harmless jump scare.

Finally finding your voice you yell, “Don’t touch me! Get the fuck away from me!” as Peter knelt down. Your senses were blurred into only pain and rage. Your only thoughts were “go away” and 'fix arm, stop pain.’

More apologies poured from their lips as you tried to right yourself up with only one arm as you couldn’t bear to move the other.

Peter tried to help you up but you only kicked him away, still blinded by pain and rage. “I said don’t fucking touch me!” Eventually you were able to use the nearby wall to use to crawl into a standing position while the other two made pleas for you to let them help, for you to calm down, and something about dislocation. You couldn’t really think clearly enough to sort out what they wanted, and only kept (figuratively) pushing them away as you made your way to your bedroom door where Mantis was now standing looking concerned.

You could just make out other voices, but didn’t have a clear understanding of what they were saying or what they wanted either. You were only focused on one goal, and that was getting to your room to assess your arm.

Mantis readily moved aside so you could enter, but then remained in the doorway once you entered, unintentionally preventing you from being able to close the door. You look at her, saying firmly, “In or out. Pick one.”

Looking a little frightened, she chose out, and you slammed the door behind her, locking it out of instinct more than clear thinking.

Almost immediately there came pounding on the door, and Peter’s shouts that you needed to come out and let someone help you.

“Fuck off! I’ve got it!” you yell back.

Outside the room was a mess of concern. Gamora stood in the doorway of her and Peter’s room, yelling at Peter and Kraglin from across the landing for their foolishness once she realized well enough what had happened. Yondu was standing on the stairs, having heard the loud thump of a body hitting the floor and then you yelling at someone to get away. He came to investigate only to find the scene before him.

Mantis, intimidated by the yelling, sought comfort from Drax who was standing in his doorway wondering what in the world was going on.

Rocket had momentarily stepped out of the room with Groot to see what the commotion was about, but upon realizing it was you just waved the situation off and returned to the room. Not his problem.

Yondu asked Peter what all the fuss was about and Peter admitted that he and Kraglin had fucked up a prank and it lead, to what looked to Peter, you dislocating your elbow, and then you locked yourself in your room. This explanation made Yondu join in with Gamora’s scolding.

Inside your room you assessed your arm. Nothing was broken, but the elbow was indeed dislocated. You felt sick, mostly from the pain but also from the unsettling feeling of having a bone out of joint. You knew what you needed to do, you just wished you had a shot or two of whiskey in you first.

Back outside the room Yondu scolded both Peter and Kraglin, telling them that he was putting a stop to this prank war. Gamora agreed, stating that it had gotten out of hand when the guys tried to argue that it was just an accident.

Yondu attempted to knock on your door and convince you to come out, but you wouldn’t bite, calling back through the door that you had it handled and for everyone to leave you alone.

Yondu glared through the door at your stupidity. He thought you were acting like a child. “Ya need someone to help ya put it back in place, now get out here. That’s an order!” That last line was mostly from habit, and it got pretty much the response anyone would have expected from you.

“I don’t take orders from you!”

Yondu growled, not exactly used to being defied, especially not the rare occasions he was actually trying to be helpful. He’d seen his share of dislocations, both from his crew and their victims. It was never pretty. “Well ya can’t just haul up in there like a wounded animal!”

You rolled your eyes inside your room, fighting the churning in your stomach as you positioned yourself for the unpleasant task, nestling the inner elbow of your injured arm against one of the short posts of your bed’s headboard. You took several deep breaths, trying to gather the courage to do what needed to be done.

After a few moments of you not responding Yondu beat on the door again. “Ya better not have passed out in there!”

You groan and say, “I’m fine! Give me a minute to handle it!”

Before anyone can speak again a pop followed by a cry of pain and a string of curses was heard from your side of the door.

Yondu stepped away from the door and rubbed his face. “I don’t believe it. She actually did it.” he said in disbelief.

Peter approached the door. “Hey! Hey! You alright?”

More curses, followed by, “I told you I had it handled. Now piss off.”

Yondu just shook his head and retreated to his room after that, muttering that you were insane and followed by a remorseful looking Kraglin.

Peter also went back to his room feeling guilty and receiving a scolding look from Gamora as well as an earful once they closed the door.

After a bit Drax convinced Mantis to also go back to your shared room, only planning to return to his once he was sure you’d let her in.

You heard a gentle knock and a soft voice asking, “Can I come back in now?”

You considered telling her no, that she chose 'out’ so she could stay out, but now that a bit of pain had subsided and your mind was starting to clear you had the presence of mind to realize that you’d only be being a dick by doing that, so you got up and unlocked the door for her.

She entered sheepishly, asking if you were ok, clearly seeing the pain in your eyes.

“I’m fine, Mantis,” you say curtly, tucking yourself into bed the best you could, settling for lying on your back with your arm resting on your stomach. “Go to sleep.”

Mantis turned off the light and quietly crawled into her own bed. You could feel her staring at you as you stared at the ceiling and waited for sleep.

***

The next couple days you mostly stayed in your room, leaving only to shower, use the restroom, and eat. You knew with that kind of injury you weren’t supposed to use your arm for a bit if you wanted it to heal, and that knowledge irritated you to no end.

You couldn’t tend the garden, you couldn’t practice your archery, or anything else that required the use of two hands. So, you just sulked in your room listening to music and reading.

The first day nobody bothered you much, sensing that you were very cranky. Peter tried to ask to look at your arm, but you ignored him, and he didn’t press it. Gamora had later tried to tell you that you needed to splint your arm, and Yondu added that if not that then you at least needed to keep it in a sling, but you only sighed at them at took your glass of juice to your room, much to Yondu’s irritation.

The second day they started getting more insistent when by around noon it became clear that you intended to stay in your room all day again. Yondu grumbled again to Kraglin that you were hiding away like a wounded animal. However, realizing that you’d only get mad if they all kept hounding you, they collectively decided to send Gamora in.

They knew you wouldn’t listen to Peter or Kraglin since the injury was their fault and you were understandably not really talking to them right now. Mantis might have been a decent choice since you didn’t ever really get angry at her, but she had no basic medical knowledge, so she was off the table. Yondu also could have been a decent second choice, but everyone, including himself, knew he wouldn’t have the patience to deal with you if you started refusing to listen to reason.

Gamora went up to your room and took it as a good sign that the door was open. She peered inside to see you sitting at your desk and knocked on the doorframe.

“What?” you asked, not looking up from your book.

“I just wanted to-”

“If this is about my arm again, it’ll be fine.” you say stubbornly.

Gamora entered your room without bothering to ask permission. “If you just let me look-”

“No.” you say curtly.

Gamora took a breath. “We really do just want to help you.”

“I don’t need it. I’ve been fixing myself up all by myself for a long time. I don’t need help now.”

“Look, I can’t force you, but please understand that it’s not weakness to accept help.”

You finally look at her, your expression hard. “I never said it was. Just said I didn’t need it.”

Gamora stared back at you. You were just so stubborn. Reminded her of a few people she knew… if she were honest. One being herself. There was a time where she had believed if she couldn’t solve every problem on her own, it made her weak. This wasn’t helped by the fact Thanos raised her to be an assassin, and punished such weakness. However, after she joined the Guardians, after she found a family, she came about unlearning that. It was ok to need help sometimes. It didn’t make you weak. She only wished she could help you realize it, but she knew that pushing wasn’t going to make it happen. You needed to get there on your own. You needed to trust them.

“Ok,” she relented, “but know if you ever do need our help, we’re here, alright?”

You shortly nod and turn back to your book. “Got it.”

She then left you alone. Sometimes, to get someone to come to you willingly, you needed to give them space.

***

The next time anyone saw you was late that evening when you finally decided to eat something for supper. You were in the mood for peanut butter and jam, though opening the jars proved tricky for obvious reasons, but you managed.

You were in the kitchen having just finished your sandwich when Drax came in the kitchen. He looked around a bit before asking if you had seen Rocket. You hadn’t, but before you could say as much you heard the sound of growling followed by Rocket’s voice shouting, “Fuck off!”

Your eyes flew wide and you bolted for the door, throwing it open to see Rocket fighting with another raccoon a few meters away, rolling on the ground with Rocket cursing up a storm as the raccoon snarled and snapped at him.

You swore, and pushed past Drax to grab the old shot gun you left hidden in a cabinet near the back door along with a couple shells and ran back outside.

You popped the shells in and took aim, trying to get a shot where you wouldn’t hit Rocket along with the other raccoon. Your aim was a little shaky due to your injured arm, the shot gun being just heavy enough to make steadying it with that arm a task, even with the adrenaline dulling the pain. You were worried you might accidentally shoot Rocket, but you had to take the shot. If you didn’t, and the raccoon bit him, he would likely be as good as dead anyway.

In what was likely seconds but felt much longer, you managed to line up a shot when the raccoon managed to pin Rocket on his back, the wide body of the raccoon up in the air providing a target that with your SHIELD honed skills would be as easy as hitting a cow’s ass with a shovel on a normal day. With your injury, however… well, you could still make it. You had to.

You took the shot. The crack rang loudly through the evening air and the raccoon fell off of Rocket and onto the grass, dead.

Rocket’s attention turned to you as you lowered the shotgun and quickly approached him, he was about to snark off that he had it handled when you said in a firm but yet still slightly worried sounding voice, “Did it bite you?”

He sat up irritably but didn’t answer. He didn’t need you of all people to save him. He looked down at his body. There was blood, but it looked to be just the after spray from where you shot the animal. Terran weapons were clearly messier than blasters.

“Did it bite you?!” you ask more urgently.

He looked himself over. “No? What’s it to you anyway? I had it handled!”

“Raccoons carry rabies, you dipshit!” you scold. Removing the other shell from the gun you tell him to get inside.

“I’m not a raccoon! And I don’t have whatever rabies is!” Rocket shouted at you angrily. “And I don’t take orders from you!”

You groan. You didn’t have time for his bellyaching right now. “You utter gobshite! I’m not talking about you! I’m talking about that!” you point to the now very dead raccoon, and just to be mean you threw in a, “You know, that fucker there that looks exactly like your furry ass!” He glared at you but you didn’t care. “They carry rabies! Now get inside so we can get you looked over and you better hope like hell it didn’t bite you.”

Rocket grumbled and started walking back to the house, making sure to complain just loud enough for you to hear that he was going because he wanted to, not because you told him too.

You follow behind him. You would dispose of the dead raccoon in a bit.

“That was an amazing shot.” Drax told you as you walked by. “I was sure you would have hit Rocket.”

“Not now, Drax, please.” you say, walking past him.

You got inside to find that the gunshot had attracted an audience, and everyone else was now in the kitchen wondering what had just happened. You put the shotgun and shell back in the cabinet, making a mental note to clean it later. It had belonged to your father, and never saw much-or any really- use from you as there wasn’t exactly a lot to need defending from, wildlife-wise, where you lived. Hell, you couldn’t even remember the last time you had even seen a raccoon around before tonight, and even when you had you never needed to defend yourself from one. If you left them alone, they returned the favor.

You turn back from the cabinet and lock eyes with Rocket. “Now are you going to let someone check you over or…” you left the question hanging, your tone clear that there was no 'or.’ He was going to get checked out. You tried to ignore the irony and your own hypocrisy.

“What happened?” Gamora asked.

“He got attacked by a raccoon.” You answered.

Rocket indignantly spoke up. “I had it handled!” He heard Peter snickering and he snapped, “What?!”

Peter just shook his head and quipped, “Already fighting with family…”

Rocket growled. “Shut up, Star-Munch!”

“Table. Now. You need to get checked out. Quit stalling,” you command, irritation and exhaustion present in your voice. “I’m not even kidding.”

“So what if it did bite me? How bad could rabies possibly be?” Rocket snarked.

“What’s rabies?” asked Drax.

You sigh and say flatly, “A very horrible way to die.” You look to Peter, thinking that maybe you had a way to get through to Rocket, and ask, “You ever see Old Yeller?”

“Yeah…” Peter answered, though seeming slightly unsure.

“You remember what happens to the dog?”

His eyes widen a bit. “Yeah…”

“Then will you please explain to him why this is serious?”

Peter looked at an annoyed Rocket. “Dude, she’s right. Just let us see.”

Rocket rolled his eyes and hopped on the table. “Fine! But only to get you all to stop whining.”

Peter checked him over, as it was silently agreed with a nod that Rocket would trust him more. While he checked Rocket you thought to ask if he was given any vaccinations when they got here. Peter said that everyone had, but they had been given so many that they weren’t sure what they all were.

You knew that Fury should be stopping by the next day for a weekly check-in, and said you’d contact him to suggest a booster for Rocket just in case.

Luckily, Rocket was bite-free, and he gloated as much. “See! I told you! I had everything under control!”

You roll your eyes. “Right. That’s why the raccoon had you pinned under it, then. Yeah?”

“Did not!” Rocket protested.

“Well you certainly weren’t having a cup of tea, were you?” you said, the tone in your voice saying that you were done.

Drax spoke up. “It’s true. The beast was winning.”

“It was not!”

“Enough,” you say. “Go get cleaned up. I’m tired of hearing you. ”

After he skulked off Gamora asked, “Just out of curiosity, what would have happened to him if he had gotten bitten.”

You avoided telling her. “He wasn’t, but I’m going to take the animal into town in the morning to see if it was rabid. Just in case.”

Gamora asked again. “What would have happened?”

You frown. You didn’t know how to put it delicately, and the others could tell you were trying and it worried them. Your eyes meet Peter’s.

His eyes widened in understanding. “We can’t do that to him.” Peter said, shaking his head.

Yondu spoke up for the first time. “Do what?”

You frown. “Just calm down. He wasn’t bitten. We won’t have to.”

Yondu sounded more irritated. “Do what?”

You sigh and look to the ground for a moment before looking back up to answer, “If he had gotten bitten, and he hadn’t already received a rabies vaccination…” You pause, choosing your words carefully, “the only merciful thing to do… would be to put him down.”

“Put him down?” asked Drax.

You pinch the bridge of your nose. “Do I really need to spell it out for you?” You kept your voice down, afraid to say it too loud and for Rocket to hear. “We’d have to kill him. There’s no cure, and if we didn’t, he’d go rabid, and die horribly.” You saw the horrified looks on the other’s faces and repeated, “But he wasn’t bitten, so that doesn’t have to happen. He’ll be fine. I’m just going to check with Fury that he was given the shot, and if he wasn’t I’ll make sure he gets one, just in case. Ok?”

They seemed to relax slightly and you stated that you were going to go take care of the raccoon corpse in your yard, mostly to just get away from the situation and hoping they would have dispersed when you got back.

You didn’t even get to take three steps before you felt someone grab your arm. Luckily it wasn’t your bad one. “What the hell?” you ask irritably, turning to see it was Kraglin, who had been so quiet the whole time you actually hadn’t noticed him.

“I really don’t think you should be doing that. If it was big enough to pin down Rocket, then it’s too big for ya to be lifting with your arm injured how it is.”

You sigh angrily and try to pull away, but his grip held firm. Strong for a skinny guy, you thought. “Let go.” you say, irritation thick in your voice.

“No. If this is the only way for you to take it easy and let us help, then I ain’t letting ya go til you agree to step back.”

You look at the others and you can tell they aren’t going to be on your side. You roll your eyes and focus them on the space above Peter’s head, where you could see where the ceiling met the wall. “You can’t help if I can’t unlock the shed,” you say, hoping to appeal to their sense.

“Fine,” Peter said. “But I’ll do the lifting. It’s mostly my fault you got hurt anyhow.”

“Fine,” you grumble, just loud enough to be heard and for Kraglin to release you.

You lead the way out the door, Peter, and also Kraglin and Yondu who wanted to see the raccoon, following behind. Gamora and Drax stayed behind to make sure Mantis and Groot were ok, seeing that they looked a bit shaken.

You instruct none of them to touch the corpse and unlock the shed, turning on your phone’s flashlight and pointing out an old box and a shovel to Peter.

“Wow, you’ve got a nice workshop in here,” Peter said, noting the various saws and tools set up around the room that he could make out in the dim light.

You used to make things with your dad and brother growing up, and had inherited most of the tools inside, but instead of traveling down memory lane you just told Peter, “Another day. Let’s get the raccoon sorted, please.”

Peter obliged and grabbed the items so you could finish the task at hand.

Yondu and Kraglin were staring at the raccoon when you returned.

“Thought it’d be bigger.” Kraglin said, cocking his head.

He was right. It did look smaller now that it was dead, but it was still a decent size.

Peter unceremoniously scooped it up with the shovel and dumped it in the box.

“We should probably keep that in the shed until morning,” you said, “I don’t want it stinking up the car overnight. I can wash the blood off the shovel real quick-” You reached for the shovel but Peter handed it off to Kraglin instead. You looked at them in annoyance. “I’m not helpless, you know.”

“And it won’t kill you to accept some help, girl,” retorted Yondu, fed up with your stubborn attitude.

You roll your eyes and call after an already retreating Kraglin, “Try not to tangle yourself up in the hose this time!” You could see him bristle at the taunt, but he ignored you.

After everything was back in the shed and you locked it up everyone headed inside. The others were nowhere to be seen and you assumed they had all decided to just go to bed, in which you also followed suit, but not before sending a quick text to Maria (Yes, you had said you’d contact Fury, but Fury doesn’t exactly text) asking about the vaccination situation surrounding Rocket.

You hadn’t expected an answer so late at night, but she responded asking what had happened, correctly assuming that you wouldn’t be asking unless something had.

You kept it short. Said you shot a raccoon and wanted to be sure Rocket had his shots.

She didn’t respond, and you couldn’t help but wonder if that was a bad sign.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

“Where you going?”

You turned and looked towards the source of the voice, Peter’s voice, coming from a door to the kitchen. You had just grabbed your keys from the kitchen counter and you were finishing up the short list on your phone.

Obviously you had intended to quickly run your errands the other day when you planned to take the raccoon corpse into town to be tested, but when Fury showed up having brought his own doctor and lab to test the raccoon on site, and also sentenced you to wearing your arm in a sling, you obviously hadn’t done that.

It had been a couple days since then, you having wanted to get used to the sling a little bit before attempting to drive. You knew it still wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do, but you really wanted out of the house.

“Just running into town,” you say, not paying him much mind.

“Why?” he asked, his tone weighting the word, almost as if he wanted to tell you that you weren’t allowed.

You look up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Because I need to? Ya know, check the mail, pick some stuff up, post a few bills?” You knew it could all wait, and the bills could be paid online if you really needed to, but he probably didn’t know that. “Unless you need something I really don’t see what it is to you.” You weren’t meaning to sound like a dick, but he was acting weird. You didn’t like his tone, and his weirdness was only emphasized when you start to approach the doorway to exit the kitchen but he didn’t move.

His eyes briefly went to your arm in the sling-brace. “Don’t you think you should be taking it easy?”

That’s what it was. Knew it. You roll your eyes so hard one might think they’d get stuck. “I’m literally fine.” You make a shooing motion but he still doesn’t move. Sighing, you make your way toward the other door, only to hear him jogging up the hall to meet you there, the sound making you pause before completing the distance, rolling your eyes before continuing on to see he had indeed done just that. You awkwardly cross your good arm with the one in the sling. “Can I help you?” you say irritably.

Gamora entered the kitchen from the other doorway and you looked to her. “Can you please make your boyfriend stop being annoying?” you ask.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” she quipped with a slight smile, “Why? what’s he doing now?”

By now Peter had entered the kitchen through the doorway he had been blocking. He ignored Gamora’s quip about him being forever annoying and said, “She’s trying to leave, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Well, lucky for me, you’re not my boss,” you say, admittedly a bit childishly.

Peter then donned a smug grin. “You’re right. She is.” He nodded in Gamora’s direction, referring to the task Fury had assigned Gamora, essentially making her your babysitter as punishment for you neglecting to seek medical attention for your arm.

Your nostrils flared in irritation at him bringing it up and Gamora gave him a look that clearly stated she was uncomfortable. No one had mentioned the incident since the first day. You, because you didn’t want to be reminded Fury was treating you like a child, and the others for pretty much the same reason, seeing no reason to provoke you, especially since you were seemingly behaving. (Again, aside from Rocket, but you had taken to keeping your earbuds in for most of the time, so if he did act like a dick to you it often fell on deaf ears.)

“Peter, I really doubt Fury intended for us to keep her locked inside.” Gamora said, having assumed Peter was only wanting to refuse to let you go out for a walk, which she didn’t understand, because he hadn’t said anything when you took one the other day.

“Well I really doubt she’s supposed to drive like that.”

Finally understanding the issue Gamora grimaced. Peter was probably right.

Just then Yondu and Kraglin came into the kitchen looking to make something to eat, but saw the tense atmosphere.

“What’s goin’ on?” asked Yondu with a raised eyebrow. He hadn’t heard any fighting coming in, but the way you were standing between Peter and Gamora almost implied someone was getting into it.

Peter spoke up, stating how you were looking to make a run into town and how he thought it was a bad idea for you to drive, only he phrased it to group him and Gamora together as having the thought, which prompted Gamora to say back to him that she actually hadn’t given her opinion on the situation yet.

Yondu eyed you, or more specifically the brace on your arm. “Can ya drive like that?”

“Yeah.” you reply. It was true, the arm in the brace wasn’t the one you’d need for changing gears or signaling, so you should be fine, even if truthfully it’d be better if you didn’t.

Yondu shared a glance to Kraglin and then shrugged. “Don’t see a problem then.” He turned toward the pantry, Kraglin following his lead, before he added, “Long as ya take Quill with ya.”

You blinked. “Excuse me? Why would I- That’s not- I’m not-” You were caught off guard and were now sputtering, clearly not thrilled with his addendum.

Yondu grinned at Kraglin, who was wondering where the elder was going with this, before saying nonchalantly, “If you’re too nervous to take a passenger like that, then ya don’t need to be going alone.”

“I didn’t say that!” you countered, pushing down the fact that the thought actually had entered your mind. “Maybe I just don’t want to be annoyed by him- and I actually don’t know if I can take him. That was never discussed.” Again, this was also true. The topic hadn’t come up. You had no idea if they were allowed to leave the property. Sure, for some it seemed obvious that they couldn’t go into public, but you truthfully had never asked and had consequently never been told.

“He’s Terran. Not like you’ll run into issue there. I s'pose we could always call yer boss and ask…” His tone was laced with a grin as he turned back to face you with a Terran fruit he’d come to enjoy. A pear, he believed it was called. He was sure you wouldn’t go for calling Fury, and he was right.

“No, we don’t need to do that,” you say irritably. Last thing you wanted to do was call Fury for something like this when he was already unhappy with you.

“I do think it’d be better if someone went with you,” Gamora finally spoke up. “It couldn’t hurt, at least.” She was actually leaning towards the “don’t let the Terran with an injured arm drive” party, but part of her believed you’d probably be fine and wanted to soften as much conflict as possible. Being transported in SHIELD vehicles she had seen how the insides operated, and it didn’t look so complicated that you’d need both arms. It’s not as if you were piloting a ship, and if you did wind up needing help, she was sure Peter could figure the vehicle out well enough.

You give her a mournful look and Yondu speaks again.

“But if yer still set on goin alone, I’m sure Gamora there won’t mind callin’ that Fury feller. Bet ya just wanna get away so ya can take that brace off without gettin in trouble,” he said cooly with a grin. Catching the frown Gamora threw his way he added, “An’ if she don’t, I can always do it myself.”

You tilted your head at the man, expression a mix of confused irritation. “First off, no, I’m not just leaving to do that. Secondly, who do you think you are? My mom?” you snarked.

“Nah, but yer acting like a kid. Somebody’s gotta knock some common sense in that stubborn head of yers.” Yondu replied, unfazed by your attempted insult as he took a bite of the pear and nodded once more to your injury.

You didn’t get it. Why would he care? Why did any of them care?? Was it guilt? Because you wouldn’t have been injured if they weren’t there? You wanted to ask but settled for just sighing in defeat. You looked Peter over. He wasn’t wearing a shirt with any alien writing on it, so at least he wouldn’t get any funny looks for that. “Fine,” you relented. “Get ready.”

Peter let out a triumphant laugh and said he was already ready to go.

You took a moment and opened a couple drawers before finding what you were looking for. “Take these just in case.” You tossed him a pair of black sunglasses. “You’ll look like a douchebag, but you’re probably used to that.”

Peter let out a, “Hey!” but you ignored him, making your way past the others to the front door, telling Peter to hurry up.

***

“Can I drive?” Peter asked as the two of you walked to your vehicle.

“Absolutely not.” you answered back with an incredulous glare.

“Why not? It’d be easier to let me drive than you try to drive with your arm in that.”

“Because I seriously doubt you have a drivers license,” you begin to say. Peter opened his mouth to retort but closed it again when you added, “that would be valid here.” You open the driver’s side door and add, “And because I don’t even know if you know how to drive.”

“I’ll let you know I’ve been flying a ship since I was ten!” Peter countered.

“I don’t care.” you reply. “You’re not driving. I can’t risk us getting pulled over and you not have a license. You’re fully free to stay here if you have a problem with that.” You gesture back towards the house.

Peter disappointedly huffed but got in the passenger seat. You won this round.

***

Once you and Peter had left out the front door Yondu grimaced. “Might’ve miscalculated that one…”

“What'dya mean?” Kraglin asked. Gamora also gave him a funny look.

“Thought fer sure tellin’ her to take Quill would’ve made her see that stayin’ put wasn’t that bad.”

“Wait, you were trying to use reverse psychology??” Gamora asked, clearly annoyed.

“If that’s what ya want to call it.” Yondu shrugged with a frown, watching through the window as you pulled away down the drive, making sure the vehicle looked like it was driving straight. Luckily for you, it was. Otherwise he was fully prepared to whistle and spear a couple of your tires. Kitchen window would’ve needed replacing too if that happened, seeing as it was closed.

“Doesn’t matter what I call it! It didn’t work!” Gamora scolded. “If you didn’t think it was a good idea you should have just taken our side instead of trying to play games and sending Peter with her!!”

“What'dya mean ‘our side’? You were saying she should take someone with her too!”

“I didn’t mean it!” Gamora snapped back.

Kraglin looked uncomfortable, not liking the feeling of being stuck in the room while the two of the more intimidating Guardians argued. Not wanting to draw attention to himself by leaving he just stood there and nibbled at his protein bar.

“Calm down, missy.” Yondu said. “It’ll be fine. And if not, Quill’s got one of those phone things SHIELD gave us. Boy can handle himself.”

Gamora glared but didn’t speak any further, choosing instead to grab an apple off the table and head to her room. Yes, it likely would be fine, but it didn’t mean she felt good about it.

***

After several minutes of driving in silence Peter tried to make conversation.

“So… lotta trees out here…”

“Uh huh.”

“You make these trips into town often?”

You shrugged.

“I can see you don’t feel much like talking…” Peter said awkwardly. You obviously weren’t pleased with taking a passenger.

You turned on the radio in response.

Peter tried again after a few minutes when the music cut to a commercial break, trying a different tactic. “So, why are you afraid of doctors?” he asked, turning the radio down.

You gave him a strange look. “What? Where’d you get that idea.”

He went into how you seemed tense when the doctor was checking you over when Fury came, and then recounted an incident that had happened the other day.

You had been reading in the sitting room when Mantis came in. You overheard her tell Gamora that her throat hurt, and so you pulled a lozenge from a drawer in the nearby table, telling her to suck on it and to tell you if it still hurt in an hour. If it did, you’d contact SHIELD to inform them she needed to see a doctor. Hearing this, Kraglin had piped up and asked why you would see that Mantis got a doctor straight away, but you had to have one forced on you. You gave him a look before telling him that it was different, and left the room before he could ask how.

“I only just put the two together.” Peter said. “It must be because you’re scared of doctors.”

“No,” you said flatly. “I’m not scared of doctors. I just didn’t need one. If Mantis was sick, she would have needed one.”

“But you did need one.” Peter countered. “And Agent Hill told me about what you did in Romania. You needed one then too. Why would you do that to yourself unless you were too scared to go see a doctor?”

You exhale out your nose, annoyed that Maria had been telling him your business. “I’m not afraid of doctors, ok? It was an important job. There wasn’t the time to stop and say 'Oops, will ya look at that, my appendix needs out. Better put the job on hold so I can find a doctor.’ Not when I can do it myself. Happy?”

“She said you nearly died. That doesn’t sound like being able to do it yourself. You can’t do things like that. It’s insane.”

Your face hardened. Who did this guy think he was? Telling you what to do, you barely knew each other! “What’s insane is a crime ring that traffics children to the wealthy elite for sexual favors,” you snap at him. “So I guess I’m sorry if I wasn’t willing to compromise the job to go lay in a damn hospital bed.”

Peter didn’t know what to say to that. He still thought you were insane for performing surgery on yourself, but he couldn’t quite find a suitable argument after what you just said. After a moment he asked, “Did… did they get out?”

You knew he meant the kids. You swallowed. “Most of them. I don’t want to talk about it.” You turned the music back up, and Peter let it go.

The two of you rode in silence for a good bit longer before Peter turned the music back down again to speak.

“How much longer until we get where we’re going?” he asked.

“Not long. Another ten minutes maybe. Why?”

“I need to take a leak.”

You almost roll your eyes. “Why didn’t you go before we left the house?”

“I didn’t have to go then!”

A huffed laugh escaped your throat. “Seriously? You’re like a toddler.” You shake your head and say, “Do I need to pull over? I can if it’s an emergency.”

Peter almost pouted from the toddler comment. “No, I can hold it.”

“Alright. Suit yourself.”

About five minutes later you come up to a town, and a few minutes after that pull into the lot of a shop, the first stop on your list.

“I just have to run in here and grab a few things, they’ll have a toilet you can use.” you say as the two of you got out of the car, adding, “Don’t forget those sunglasses. I don’t want to take any chances.”

He rolled his eyes but put them on anyway.

Upon entering the store you told Peter he’d find the toilet in the back and told him you’d be looking in the spices, pointing in the direction he’d find you when he was finished. You debated going along and waiting for him since he was technically your responsibility, but you decided against it. The shop wasn’t too large so you trusted he wouldn’t get lost on his own.

You split off on your separate ways and you grab a hand basket before heading towards the spices. You had only browsed for a short while when suddenly Peter was back at your side. “That was quick.” you said to him, locating two of the spices you needed and dropping them in your basket.

“Door said it was out of order.” Peter replied, sounding almost pouty.

You shook your head and said, “See, this is why you go before we leave the house.” You find the last spice you needed and give him a knowing look as you began walking away from the spices.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a kid!” Peter said indignantly, following you as you left the aisle.

“Don’t act like one.” you reply, turning to find the cleaning aisle. SHIELD had been kind enough to include other basic things like toilet tissue on their supply drops, which you had been grateful for with eight other people living in your home, and the Guardians had already come with their own toiletries like toothpaste and soap, but you were seemingly on your own for cleaning supplies. You were now running low on dish and laundry soap. Gods, there was always laundry now. At least they did their own. Mostly.

“You’re one to talk!” Peter retorted, gesturing to your arm.

You glare over to him as you walked. You swore, if you heard one more time about how you were acting like a child just for being stubborn about not seeing a doctor…

“Ow! You did that on purpose!”

“Did not.” You said flatly, though you absolutely had smacked him with the basket on purpose. Not super hard or anything, but enough for him to feel it crack him in the knee.

He pinched you on the shoulder.

“Ow!”

“Didn’t do it on purpose.” Peter mocked.

You were by the dish soap now and so you set the basket down to grab a bottle. However, you were sure to flick Peter on the back of the head before you did.

“You did not just flick me!” he said irritably, retaliating by giving your exposed side a couple quick squeezes.

Your arm jerked down fast as lightening, having been just shy of grabbing your preferred bottle of dish soap. Your cheeks were burning and you looked around as you scolded him in a whisper-yell. “We are in a public shop! Don’t you dare start that!”

“You started it,” he countered smugly. However, his the smugness was wiped off his face when you gave him a taste of his medicine.

“See how you like it then!” you say, using your good arm to return his actions. You hadn’t been positive it would work, but you weren’t disappointed to see the playing field leveled when it did.

Peter’s eyebrows shot above the sunglasses, his eyes widening as he crippled away from the touch and grabbed your wrist. “Don’t! I told you I had to pee!”

“Oh.” You had been so busy bickering it had honestly slipped your mind. “Sorry.”

“Truce?” Peter offered, releasing your hand.

“Yeah, fine. Truce.” you agreed, reaching up to finally grab the bottle of dish liquid, a little embarrassed as you realized how much like children the two of you had just acted. “Just hurry up and figure out if you or your friends need anything before we leave,” you say, making your way down the aisle to grab the laundry detergent.

It was Peter’s turn to look embarrassed, only for a completely different reason. “Actually, now that you mention it- if it’s ok, I was wondering if they sell… "certain”… things here?“

You put the detergent in the basket and begin to head towards the pharmacy section, realizing it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some bug spray and more of that gel for the bites. Mantis had a bad habit of getting bit by midges, and most of the others had started falling victim to them as well. You didn’t look at Peter as you walked, saying, "You’re going to have to be way more specific than that, dude.”

Peter’s cheeks we turning noticeably pink by the time you looked at him when he said, “You know… um… the things… for "special moments…” he used air quotes and looked quite uncomfortable, even with the sunglasses hiding his eyes. “Um… you know… uh… When two people like each other very much…”

You wanted to cover your mouth to hide your grin, but one arm was stuck in a sling-brace and the other was too busy holding the grocery basket. “Are you asking if they sell condoms here?” You tried really hard to bite back a laugh, but a tiny chuckle slipped out. It wasn’t that he was asking for them that was funny, it was the way he seemed like a teenage boy about it, all nervous and such like you’d call his mother on him.

Peter’s face was bright red now. “Don’t laugh! Just- never mind.”

“No, it’s totally cool. It’s just funny. I mean, we’re adults, you can ask for them. Like, at least you’re being safe about it.” Suddenly feeling in a better mood and wanting to tease him you say, “Unless… do we need to have 'the talk’ young man?” Now you really couldn’t hide your giggles.

“So not cool!” Peter pouted, hiding his face in his hands.

You nudged him in the arm and pointed him down that aisle and told him he could find what he needed there. You continued up a couple aisles to grab the bug repellent and itch cream.

You met back up and he wordlessly threw what he had retrieved into the basket, barely looking at you as he did so. You held back giggles at his behavior and asked if he knew of anything else you needed to grab before checking out.

Peter shook his head, and you can tell by his expression he’s eager to leave the shop and go back to the house. You almost feel bad for laughing, and you get an idea.

“If your friends liked the Oreos I can pick you up some more. We’ll pass that aisle to get to the checkout anyway.”

Peter nodded and you grabbed another double sleeve of Oreos before walking to check out. You only hoped you wouldn’t get stuck with one of those chatty cashiers.

Wouldn’t you know it, of course you did. You weren’t super familiar with the cashiers despite frequenting this store, but you had become familiar with the fact that you didn’t care for the one who’s line you got stuck in, not realizing you had until it was too late.

Normally you feel for retail workers. You knew it was a tough job, but this one cashier just didn’t know how to get the hint that not every item he scanned needed a comment.

Laundry soap? “Ooh! Great taste in scent!”
Spices? “Someone likes cooking! Anything good tonight? Yum Yum! Ha ha!”
Bug spray and itch cream? “Oh those nasty midges are out again. I feel you, haha.”
Cond-? Oh fuck. “Oh ho! Someone’s getting luck-ay tonight! Am I right, my dude?” He winked at Peter, who noticed you looked like you wanted to reach across and murder the cashier.

Peter chuckled nervously and tried to smooth it over. At least, that’s what you thought he was attempting. “Oh- aha- no. We’re not together. We’re uh- She’s my sister.”

You snapped a glare at Peter as you thrust your payment to the cashier and grabbed one of the two bags before storming off, telling him to keep the change. Peter grabbed the other bag and left the cashier standing there, who at least finally had the decency to look embarrassed by his comment.

Peter caught up with you quickly.

“Don’t call me your sister. I barely know you,” you say grumpily. That wasn’t really the full reason it upset you. Peter wasn’t your brother. Your brother was gone. Peter didn’t get to call you that.

“Sorry, I panicked,” he said.

You brush him off. You knew there was no way he could know. “Whatever, let’s just leave. Sooner we finish in town sooner we can go back to the house.”

You made your next stop to a nearby petrol station to fill up your car and give Peter a chance to find a working toilet. After the two of you successfully completed both tasks respectively, you stopped by the post office to grab the mail and post your bills while you left Peter in the car. On your way out of the post office you caught glimpse of someone across the road and a brick fell in your stomach when they waved, indicating they clearly saw you. You nodded back out of politeness but hurried to get in your car.

You buckled in and looked in the rearview mirror, only to see the person, a middle aged woman in a flowery blouse, walking towards your car, still not quite to the road yet, and waving her arms trying to get your attention.

“Fuck,” you say, putting the car in gear to reverse before stopping to put it back in drive to finish pulling away. This would be so much quicker if your arm wasn’t in the damn sling, but you still managed even with having to completely stop to remove your hand from the wheel to safely change gears.

“What?” Peter asked, turning to look out the back window once you began to pull forward.

“Don’t worry about it- and don’t look back!” you scold. You take a peek in your review mirror to see the woman gesturing in defeat, thinking you hadn’t seen her trying to get your attention, and you let a small relieved sigh.

“Who was that?”

“No one.” you replied.

“So you ran away… from no one. Sure.”

You shoot him a look and turn the radio back up, clearly signaling that you weren’t about to discuss it. The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

***

Once home you told Peter to put his “special” items (yes, you called them that, air quotes and all, just to embarrass him) in one of his pockets unless he didn’t mind advertising them to the rest of his friends. You had assumed he’d be embarrassed if they were just on display for the others based on how he acted in the shop, and the fact that he obeyed implied to you that you were correct.

Once inside you and Peter made your way to the kitchen to put things away. He had refused to let you carry both bags, and you didn’t fight him.

Sitting at the table were Kraglin, Yondu and Rocket. On the table were five empty bowls and an empty tub of ice cream.

You sat your bag on the counter and began pulling out it’s contents to put them away. Honestly you were slightly bummed that they had finished off the whole thing, if you had known that you might have picked some more up while you were in town, but you didn’t say anything about that. You did, however, say something along the lines of “Looks like you guys had fun without us.”

Kraglin, who knew you didn’t like the house to be messy and knew they were expected to keep up after themselves, began gathering the bowls to put them in the sink, to the eyeroll of Rocket.

“Yup. Ya two missed the party,” said Yondu with a chuckle. “I’ll admit, that ice cream stuff ain’t bad.” He then said to Peter, “Yer girlfriend is the only one who didn’t want any.”

You froze in place, your eyes widened. It hadn’t clicked before. Your mind had been preoccupied with other things. Ice cream. Five bowls. There were seven people left at the house. Gamora hadn’t wanted any. Tiny Groot probably shared with someone else. Yondu literally said he ate some. That meant… fuck.

You turned around to face them. Looking right at Yondu you say, “Uh, how long ago would you say you guys had the ice-cream?”

“Not quite half an hour ago, why?”

You bit your lips before saying, “Do none of you think to read labels before you eat things?”

Kraglin rolled his eyes playfully as he sat back down. “What? Ya mad we ate your snack?” he teased.

“No no no-” you state, holding up your pointer fingers like a teacher instructing the class on why they were incorrect. You didn’t know if you wanted to laugh or groan. Probably the later. You look over at Peter, who held a slight grimace on his face. You say to him, “You know what ice cream is?”

Peter nodded. He remembered ice cream. He also knew the moment Yondu claimed to have eaten it what the problem was.

You look back to the others. “Any of you know what ice cream is?”

Yondu and Kraglin exchange a strange look and Rocket rolls his eyes, wanting you to get to the point.

“It’s basically frozen milk.”

“Ah.” Yondu says, clasping his hands on the table and dipping his head with a slight wince of understanding. He was about to have a bad time. Kraglin and Rocket now share a look that can only be described as 'Crap…“ (No pun intended)

Disbelieving laughter bubbles up your throat as you bend below the sink to retrieve a can of aerosolized air freshener and plop it down on the table in front of Yondu. "That’s for you, for the inevitable. Use it.” You walk to haphazardly throw the contents of your grocery bag in the pantry, leaving your mail on the counter and grabbing your earbuds. “Make sure to open the windows… I’m going for a walk, because there’s no way I’m sticking around to deal with that again,” you say, giving a mock salute as you make your way out the back door, leaving the guys there to deal with what was sure to be the horrible aftermath of their oversight.

***
You finally came back a couple hours later to find all the windows still open, but no one outside, and decided that was probably a good sign.

You cautiously re-entered the house to find that no bad smells seemed to have stuck around and decided to go look for survivors, but first you needed a snack. You were starving.

You ate a pop-tart just for something quick and then found everyone in the sitting room. Feeling in decent humor you said, “Oh good. You lived.” This earned groans from the others. They weren’t really annoyed with you for abandoning ship, so much as they were annoyed that Yondu would have messed up and ate dairy for a second time. Well, Peter was a little annoyed that you had just left him there when he hadn’t been part of who caused the issue, but he’d get over it.

Your phone started to go off, startling you and a couple others in the process. You checked the caller-id and recognized the number. “Nope,” you say aloud, ignoring the call.

“Who was that?” Peter asked.

“No one,” you reply, only for your phone to chime with a text almost in response. You open the text and your eyes widen before you make your way quickly but calmly to the windows to shut them and draw the curtains.

This, of course, gathers the attention of the Guardians.

“What’s wrong?” Yondu asks, perplexed by your behavior.

“Nothing,” you answer at first, before turning to face them and amending it to, “Nobody’s home,” and continuing your task with the other three windows, still trying to retain a semblance of being calm.

The others watched as you made your way about the room, sharing perplexed glances. Once finished with the final window at the back of the room you started heading towards the door when Mantis grabbed your hand.

“Are you ok? What can we do?” she asked, concerned. “Please tell me?” She could feel you didn’t want to ask for help, but she hoped her asking nicely might work.

You barely glance at her, don’t notice her antennae are glowing. “I’m fine. If you want, I could use some help shutting the rest of the windows and curtains, please and thank you.” You pull away and head to the hall, where they can see you draw the curtains on the front door shut through the sitting room doorway.

“I know you said you can ease people into compliance, but I didn’t think you could actually make people do things.” Peter whispered to Mantis. He naturally just assumed that’s what happened. You, miss “I don’t need help from anyone!” had actually asked for help. Clearly that wouldn’t happen without some Mantis mojo. The closest you had come to asking for help was the first time Yondu had dairy and you wanted Peter to help open the windows, but still, that was less asking for help and more of telling him what to do if he wanted to live.

“I can’t.” Mantis replied. “She was genuinely asking. She’s very nervous.”

Peter shared a look with Gamora and Drax stood up from the couch to follow you, and the they followed him along with Mantis.

Yondu and Kraglin stayed in the sitting room with Rocket, who told himself he didn’t care about whatever this nonsense was about and continued to play with Groot. Kraglin and Yondu exchanged puzzled looks, because unlike Rocket they were genuinely curious what was going on to make you as nervous as Mantis claimed. Why were you batting down the hatches for?

In the kitchen Drax helped you close the windows and curtains. As soon as he heard Mantis say she felt you were nervous he felt there must be a good reason and that he should probably help you, just in case.

Then you started shutting out the lights, and this increased the other’s concerns.

“What’s going on?” Gamora asked, authority in her voice as she followed you out of the kitchen. You may be their host, but she still felt they had a right to know what was going on, if they were in danger.

“Nothing.” you say, shutting off the lights in the hall on the way to the sitting room.

“If it was nothing you wouldn’t be doing this. Something is wrong. Do we need to call SHIELD?” She asked more insistently, not believing you.

You turn to her irritably at the doorway. “No. We don’t need SHIELD,” you say, flicking the switch to turn the sitting room’s light off, much to the puzzlement of those inside.

“I will if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.”

Just then there was a knock at the front door, and you visibly startled in response before freezing in place and whisper yelling, “Quiet!”

The other’s obeyed, not sure what else to do or what was going on.

Peter quietly stepped out of the kitchen where he had been peeking through one of the curtains when he thought he could see the dim glow of headlights through the fabric. He saw a blue car pull up next to yours, and out of it stepped a tall man in a light grey sweater and a woman in a floral print blouse. She looked familiar.

“Hey,” Peter whispered across the hall, “It looks like that woman from earlier. The one you ran away from.”

“Shut up.” you hissed.

Gamora looked at the two of you in confusion, but didn’t say anything, didn’t get the chance, because the knock sounded again and a woman’s voice could be heard from the other side of the door calling your name.

“We know you’re in there.” said the voice. It wasn’t angry or confrontational like the others might expect for someone you were apparently hiding from. “Your car’s in the drive and we saw you shutting the lights out when we drove up.”

You grimaced.

“We just want to talk.” It was the man’s voice this time.

Peter and Gamora looked at you expectantly, and you shook your head at them. Drax was now standing behind Peter in the kitchen doorway, Mantis having already moved past him to stand next to Gamora in the hall with you.

“Yes, we just want to talk.” The woman’s voice again. “We saw you in town today, we’ve been thinking about you.”

By now Yondu and Kraglin had made their way closer to the door to better hear what was being said. They didn’t care if they were being nosy.

The man spoke your name now, questioningly, as if to ask if you could hear them. “Ok, we understand if you don’t want to see us, but please listen; We forgive you, and we’re sorry.”

You take in a breath, trying to mask your feelings with the others near. They were looking at you. Gamora’s face had softened, wondering what the man meant. Forgave you for what? Sorry for what?

“We shouldn’t have blamed you for what happened. We know that now.” came the woman’s voice. “We’ve had a lot of time to think it over, and we were wrong.”

The man spoke again. “We were just hoping you could find it in your heart to forgive us, too.”

You felt your chest tighten and you eyes burn, and so you clenched your jaw and your fists, unwilling to show any emotion to the space-strangers in your home, but they noticed anyway.

Peter gestured to get your attention and mouthed, “Open the door.”

You shook your head, and he gave you a confused look. You nodded your head towards Mantis and Gamora as if to say, “Um, not with aliens in my hall!” Although that wasn’t completely the reason, and you had the feeling he could tell, as he only sighed and frowned slightly in response.

After a pause the woman spoke again. “Alright. We understand you may not be ready yet. Maybe another time. We’re still at the same place when you’re ready to speak with us. Hopefully that’s soon. We’ll be going now.”

You waited a few moments before approaching the door, and the other’s thought you might finally be going to talk to the couple. You didn’t, mostly to Peter’s disappointment. Instead you peeked through a sliver in the curtains to watch them leave, not pulling away until their vehicle was gone.

As soon as you stepped back from the door Peter asked, “What was that? Who were they?”

“Nothing and no one,” you answer, not meeting anyone’s gaze as you flicked the hall light back on and walk towards the stairs.

Mantis grabbed your hand, but you pulled away, telling her that you weren’t in the mood to hold hands right then and you were going to go take a shower. She just looked down sadly in response, but you wouldn’t look at her to notice.

No one stopped you as you walked upstairs, and when you were out of earshot, Drax whispered to Mantis asking what you had been feeling just then, having noticed Mantis had been reading you when she grabbed your hand.

The other’s listened in to her answer as she mournfully replied. She hadn’t been able to touch you for long enough to get a full reading, but there had been one dominant emotion when she did touch you. You had been sad.

This only rose more questions from the team. Had the couple been been angry with you? What had you done? Why would their forgiveness have made you sad?

Weren’t most people happy to be forgiven?

The sound of your bedroom door opening and shutting travelled down the stairs, followed shortly by the same noise of the bathroom door as you entered for your shower.

Yondu almost thought he could hear the faint sounds of crying before the noise was drowned out by the sound of a shower blasting on.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Rocket, though he finally had a way to repair the device, had decided to wait a bit before actually doing so. Hell, he had waited this long, certain that his smuggling had been in vain once he found one of the parts had broken on... ahem, "departure," so what was another day or two? It was obvious they were going to be here awhile anyway, so he wasn't too rushed.

One might wonder, how was Rocket able to smuggle anything if SHIELD had searched him, already having found and confiscated contraband he had hidden in his "back pocket?"

Well, Rocket wasn't an idiot. He knew of other ways to smuggle goods on his person. Or, in his person, rather. That being said, maybe to say he wasn't an idiot might be giving him a bit too much credit... Swallowing the pieces of a small data pad might not have been exactly the safest thing to do, though he had given himself a pat on the back for rightfully assuming the Terran's wouldn't think to put him through a body scanner.

He had been damned lucky that nothing had gotten lodged or had punctured any of his innards on the way through, but hey, it worked, didn't it? 

Well, mostly. 

As said, a part had broken on "departure," which he of course blamed on Gamora and Mantis for rushing him in the bathroom that first day. If that bug-eyed chick didn't have such a tiny bladder then he could have allowed for a more "graceful landing."

No matter, he now had a way to fix it thanks to you. This had admittedly softened his attitude towards you the tiniest bit, though he wasn't going to admit it, nor was he going to completely let his guard down. Use of your workshop was probably just another bribe to win his favor, after all. Just like the bed. He was definitely going to take advantage of it, don't get him wrong. He wasn't just not going to use the tools available to him. Just like he wasn't going to just not sleep in the bed you built him. It was better than sleeping in the crib, though he had been grateful the crib had been left in the room when you left the bed. He had been hiding the pieces of the smuggled device under the crib's mattress -the only good use he saw for it, other than the fact that Groot actually slept pretty well in it- because boy, if the others had found out he had smuggled that in, they would have been pissed. Hence, why he wasn't in too big a hurry to fix it just yet.

Perhaps it couldn't hurt to maybe fix that broken stool in the shed for you, though. Just for a warm up, not because he thought he owed you anything, of course.

***

The evening of the check-in you had found yourself with nothing to do and back in the thoughts that had plagued you since the couple came, and you once again considered pouring yourself a glass or two of whiskey. 

Yondu had been leaning against the counter enjoying a snack when he saw you retrieve the bottle from the fridge. Remembering the previous night he raised an eyebrow at you. The last thing he wanted was to witness a repeat, but thought he'd still keep an eye on you. Cut you off again before/if you started to look a little too "weepy." He had doubts that you even remembered what you'd done the previous night, and this was confirmed when he made a lighthearted comment about, "Ya goin' to take it easy tonight, or will I be needin' to cut you off again?" and you raised an eyebrow at him before saying, "What? You didn'- Oh right- I think I do remember you taking my drink now that you mention it," as you set the bottle on the table and went to retrieve a glass from the cupboard.

You now sported a slight blush and, pausing your actions, asked, "I um, didn't say or do anything embarrassing to have warranted that, did I?"

Yondu looked you right in the eye, and lied. "Nope. It was just clear ya had a bit much. Figured I'd save yer wimpy Terran liver." He laughed at your slight pout and added, "Ya just whined at me fer takin' yer drink and then fell asleep. Nuttin' too excitin'."

Yondu could see the relief on your face and it solidified his lack of regret of not telling you. Sure, he might have wanted to crack the mystery to see why you were the way you were, but not like that. He hadn't expected the previous night's display, and if anything, it made him feel like he should back off. Yes, it prompted more burning questions, but even he knew there were some things you just didn't pry into.

Around that time Peter and Kraglin came into the kitchen, messing about and horse-playing. You considered telling them to break it up, but then decided you didn't actually care enough as long as they weren't about to break anything... or anyone. You were about to make your standard polite offer of a drink when suddenly a rip was heard and Peter whined out, "Aw man! You ripped my favorite shirt!"

Sure enough, their rough-housing had managed to rip the seam along the left-shoulder of Peter's dark blue shirt, leaving a sizable hole of a couple inches long that revealed another white shirt underneath. 

You rolled your eyes and told him where he could find the sewing kit.

Peter looked at you sheepishly and said, "I don't know how to sew."

You sighed and said, "I guess I'm not doing anything..." and you began to walk towards him and the exit of the kitchen, abandoning the bottle of whiskey on the table without having poured a drink.

Peter took off his ripped shirt and in a surprised voice said, "Oh!- Thanks-" starting to hand you the shirt as you walked past.

You didn't take the shirt, just looked at him as a laugh escaped your throat. "I didn't say I'd do it for you. I meant I'll teach you." With that you cocked your head towards the door and headed out towards the sitting room.

As you walked away you shook your head and muttered something Peter couldn't hear but assumed was an insult as he blushed both from embarrassment at his mistake and from hearing Yondu and Kraglin now laughing at him. He wordlessly followed, not wishing to make more of a fool of himself.

Watching Peter leave, inspiration struck Yondu. It might be overstepping, and might have been a long shot, but it was worth a try. He nudged Kraglin in the arm to get his attention. "Ya remember last night? How things got a little too..." he searched for the right word.

Kraglin finished for him, "Sad? Yeah. I remember." He caught sight of the bottle on the table. "She back at it tonight?" He and Yondu hadn't discussed what happened when he had returned to the kitchen after walking you to your room. It had gone unsaid that you were in a bad way.

"She was gonna," Yondu answered, "but then you two came in and gave her something to distract herself. Might not hurt to keep doing that for a bit."

"Ya wanna keep her busy?" Kraglin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Better than watchin' her drown herself in a bottle," Yondu replied flippantly with a shrug, but Kraglin could see through his blasé attitude.

He was slightly surprised, but not completely opposed to Yondu's suggestion. You had been drinking a lot the past few days. It didn't take a genius to see that something was obviously wrong, and he knew better that drinking like that only made sad feelings worse. If this had been the Eclector, and you part of the crew, he or Yondu would have cut you off well before now once they saw the pit you were digging. You just don't let sad people drink themselves into a stupor. It's bad form. But this wasn't the ship, and you weren't crew, and they couldn't stop you. They were in your house. They've barely known you for three weeks. He knew they couldn't just order you around, but if a little bit of distraction kept him from seeing you looking that sad again and kept you from hiding in the bottom of a bottle, he was for it.

Yondu spoke again, more or less repeating Kraglin's thoughts back at him. "I know we're on her turf, but someone's gotta do somethin'. It's bad form to just let h- to just to let a person drown like that. She needs to get her mind off what's been troubling her."

Kraglin examined the former captain's features. There was something else there. An emotion behind his eyes the first mate was familiar with after years of faithful service. Cap'n might not always be the best at admitting his softer feelings, but Kraglin knew. He could see it. 

It was a look similar to the one he wore after he finished telling Rocket just how alike they were, right before they went to fight Ego. It was the same look in his eyes he had shortly after Peter came aboard the Eclector as a boy and it was decided he wasn't going to be delivered to Ego. One Kraglin even thought he recognized being on the receiving end of when he was a younger lad on the crew. 

Kraglin smiled, a soft mix of understanding and sadness. "Sir," he said gently. 

Yondu grunted in response and glanced at him.

"First, I do agree with ya, we should help keep her mind off it, but I just gotta say this too." He sighed before continuing. He knew Yondu wasn't going to like what he was about to say, but they were alone now, so he felt safe to say it. He knew if he said this in front of anyone else it'd a a surefire way to put Yondu dangerously close to whistling territory. "We can't be getting too attached, now."

Yondu glared at him. "Who said anythin' about-"

"Sir, all respect and all, but I think I can say I know ya better than anyone else here." Kraglin said, having cut Yondu off with a slight chuckle. "I can see it, I can tell when you're getting attached." His tone got slightly more serious, more comforting. "I don't think it'll be good for ya to get too attached, sir. We'll be leaving here eventually, and we know she ain't gonna be coming with us."

Yondu set his mouth in a firm line and stared Kraglin down hard but didn't say anything. He knew his first mate was right, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. Finally he answered with, "I ain't gettin' attached to nuttin' or nobody."

Kraglin sighed. If he knew anything else it was that Yondu could also be stubborn as hell. If he wanted to live in denial, well there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. "Alright, sir," he said with a shake of his head. "I believe ya." He didn't, and his tone betrayed that, earning him a narrowed eyed look from Yondu, but they dropped the  conversation, at least for now.

***

Showing Peter how to sew went fairly smoothly. He seemed to grasp the concept well enough, watching you sew the first third of the tear - not the easiest task with your brace on- and then repeating what you had shown him on the rest himself. He finished soon enough and thanked you before leaving the table.

However, almost immediately after that Kraglin showed up with something ripped and asked if you could teach him too. You sighed, and mildly scolded him about how come he couldn't have asked while you were showing Peter, but you agreed regardless. Again, it wasn't exactly the easiest task considering you only had a limited range of motion to move your arm, but you managed. After he finally seemed to get it (he asked a lot of questions, even if he understood, assuming it'd be helpful to keep you occupied for longer) you noticed it had gotten dark out, and you were tired anyway, and so when it looked like he had a handle on it you decided to just go to bed.

***

The next day it seemed like people just kept asking you to do things. Not like they were ordering you around, but more like asking you to do things with them, which they hadn't often done.

It wasn't all bad, but you had the feeling it wasn't just a coincidence that they were seemingly trying to keep you engaged in various tasks and activities after Maria had informed you that one of them had expressed concerns about your well-being. You didn't know if they were now acting on their own or if Fury or Agent Hill had suggested it, but either way you figured you'd just roll with it. If you made an effort maybe they'd be happy and drop it.

That morning, before you realized what was going on, Mantis came to you with a book on plants and asked you to help her identify different plants around the property. You had almost said no, perhaps another time, but then you saw the expectant look on her happy face and decided you had time to kill anyway, so what could it hurt?

It was about when you were asked by Mantis and Drax to join the others for a game of UNO that you started to suspect what was going on.

Before this, Peter had kept coming up to you wanting to show you funny videos he found, having recently discovered the YouTube app on the TV; Yondu had come to you with an archery book and tried making small-talk asking about Terran types of archery; and Gamora and Kraglin asked you to help ref while everyone sparred. 

You had agreed to reffing, feeling a little better than you had been all those days you had refused and now therefore not seeing any reason not to.

It was a slight bummer though, needing to sit on the sidelines and watching others train, but you supposed watching them to see if they knew any cool 'space moves' couldn't hurt. Plus, watching how the raccoon was able to hold his own against human-sized opponents was always interesting. Groot sat with you, not being permitted to spar with the others (except for when Rocket would decide to pretend spar with him, just to make him happy) and he was adorable as he played with the grass, so it wasn't all bad.

After that everyone else was pretty much tired, but Groot came up to you with the car you had given him, holding it above his head. You raised an eyebrow and looked to Peter, who informed you that the little guy wanted you to push him on it. You did, because how could you possibly say no to that? 

What was cute to Peter, however, was the fact that no one had prompted Groot to do that. He just genuinely wanted you to play with him.

After a while of playing with Groot is when Mantis and Drax had come to you about playing UNO. Now you were getting a hint of what they were doing, but you agreed to play a few games with them anyway. You even caught yourself actually starting to have fun.

Around suppertime Peter came up to you, asking if you could teach him how to cook something. He talked about how he thought it'd be fun to learn to cook more things from his home world, and also reminded you how you did say several times that he could 'help you cook later.'

You sighed and after some more prodding from Peter you finally agreed, asking him what he might like to learn how to cook.

Peter looked like a deer in the headlights before admitting that he didn't actually know. He didn't remember a whole lot of different Terran foods from when he was a kid, and he was now drawing a blank.

You nodded towards the kitchen and told him the two of you would figure it out.

After looking for a bit you decided on a vegetable stew, mostly because this had been unexpected and you hadn't pulled any meat from the freezer to thaw. 

Peter was surprisingly not bad at it. He handled the knife safely, he cut the vegetables evenly, and he listened as you told him what to do and when. You wondered if he had some experience cooking before, but you didn't ask.

After dinner Gamora wouldn't take no for an answer on helping with the dishes, of course using your injury as an excuse. You sighed, but allowed it, agreeing to dry while she washed, still under the impression that if you just indulged them for a bit they'd eventually stop and start leaving you along again. 

Just as you finished Peter came to the two of you asking if you wanted to see a new movie he found on Netflix. 

Figuring it wouldn't hurt to make an effort, you agreed to watching a movie with them and followed into the sitting room, wondering what film he had picked out.

Turned out, he had chosen a horror movie. Candy Man.

You sighed. Obviously you weren't completely immune to jump scares, but you didn't really mind horror movies. You could even go as far to say that you enjoyed most of them. However, you were concerned about Mantis, who you could see sitting happily on the rug in front of the couch next to Rocket as you entered the room.

"Are you sure this movie is appropriate for everyone?" you ask Peter.

"What? You scARed?" Rocket taunted with a smirk, and it was then that you saw Groot on the rug as well, having been sitting in Rocket's lap.

You roll your eyes and explain that your concerns were for the wooden child and Mantis, as your time spent with them hadn't made you very confident that they would recieve a scary movie well. "I'm more concerned the movie's gonna give them nightmares," you explained as you took a seat at the end of the couch.

Gamora seemed to agree with you, but the two of you were outvoted.  Rocket just rolled his eyes and snarked that he bet you were scared, and Mantis assured excitedly that she could watch it. Groot, even though you couldn't understand him, also seemed adamant. You had a feeling they didn't really know what they were getting into, but combined with the fact that Mantis was an adult, and Groot wasn't your child, and Peter was doing his best to convince you and Gamora that everything would be fine, you eventually gave in, stating, "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. She better not crawl into my bed tonight. I'll send her your way."

Peter just laughed and shook his head, not taking you seriously, before turning out the lights and taking a seat next to Gamora at the other end of the couch. Kraglin took the last available seat between you and Peter and Rocket smarted off again. 

"If you're gonna get scared maybe Kraglin will hold your hand!" he laughed as Peter turned on the film.

You rolled your eyes at him and crossed your arms over your chest, refusing to look at Kraglin to give the rodent any satisfaction that he might have succeeded in embarrassing you. This, Kraglin was grateful for, because he was sort of an easy blusher, and he didn't want you to get the wrong idea. He just gave Rocket an unamused look, but he was also grateful the lights had been dimmed so that Yondu couldn't see him blushing and then tease him for it. Whether or not the former Ravager captain would actually believe Kraglin might have managed to develop feelings for you wouldn't matter. That fact that Kraglin had just told Yondu the previous night that he shouldn't be getting attached would be enough for him to jump on it and tease the hell out of him purely out of spite.

Despite the movie being old, it was still relatively new to you. You had heard about it, thought you remembered seeing a commercial or maybe a clip or two of it over the years, but this had been your first time actually watching it. 

It was about halfway though and nothing terribly scary had happened yet. There was the flashback scene of a little boy having been mutilated that made you cringe, as any show that featured little kids being harmed always hit a sore spot, but it didn't really show much more than a bloody bathroom. 

You were starting to think it probably wasn't going to be any real scary scenes, but then Candyman started to call the college lady's name, and it actually made you fight a shiver. You didn't know why, but creepy sounds were one of the few things from a film that could actually strike fear in your heart. Thankfully it didn't last long. You weren't looking forward to being teased for jumping or shivering at a movie that wasn't really even that scary.

At least it would mean that Mantis would be unlikely to crawl into your bed scared tonigh-

Candyman just shoved his hook through the college lady's medicine cabinet.

Half of everyone jumped, including you. Among those startled was Kraglin, and he shot you a glance that you purposely didn't return, not wanting to answer to any cocky smiles or teases accusing you of being scared.

A shot came on the screen centering on the baby Candyman took and you tensed, worried he was going to kill it, but you were relieved to see that he only let it suckle on his finger.

Kraglin felt you tense and then relax beside him, and he frowned, remembering the other night. He considered asking if you were alright, but then thought better of it and held his tongue, instead watching on as a scene played where the lady was now stuck in a mental hospital, having been believed to have killed her best friend and said baby from the previous scene.

Yondu didn't think he liked this movie, but he continued to watch in silence. He didn't want to see kids being hurt, and he had also tensed at the previous scene. Like you, he was sure that the bad guy was about to kill the baby. However, as he was sitting in his usual spot in the armchair, his tension went unnoticed.

Mantis let out a short scream when the lady summoned Candyman and he killed the psychiatrist. You sighed, realizing this wasn't looking good for her staying in her own bed tonight. Little did Peter know, you hadn't been kidding. If she tries to crawl in with you, you're sending her right to him, seeing as it would be his fault.

The lady was now exploring Candyman's lair, and you started to get a little tense at the creepy sounds of his breathing, and you mentally cursed whoever mixed the sound for this movie.

You got even more tense and fidgety when he opened his robe to reveal a ribcage full of bees. You only hoped no one noticed to tease you for it. Body horror was another thing that never failed to make you shudder.

Eventually the movie started to come to a close, a scene played where the lady's jerk ex-fiancé was having flashbacks to how good he had it with her now that she was dead, and you thought it was just going to end on a sad note.

That is, until he said her name, Helen, five times in the mirror (just like Candyman) and she came back and killed him with the Candyman's hook. Her sudden appearance made you startle slightly, and you heard more squeals from Mantis. You sighed again. Yep, she was definitely not going to sleep tonight.

The movie was finally over and Peter got up to turn on the lights. He turned to see you giving him a glare and he smiled. "What? Was it too scary for you?" he jeered.

You just pointed down to Groot. He had his head buried in Rocket's chest and was softly whimpering. "I told you that movie wasn't for kids."

Rocket scoffed at you and told you he would be fine, then turned it on you, saying how he felt you jump at least three times from where he was sitting. 

You rolled your eyes and ignored him, turning to Peter and this time gesturing to Mantis, who still looked a bit shaken. "I meant what I said. She tries to crawl in bed with me, I'm sending her to you," you say, leaving to go to go get ready for bed, both because it was now late, and to avoid any inevitable further teasing from Rocket.

The others seemed to have much the same idea about bedtime, and a few of them followed you up the stairs. 

You let Mantis shower first, hopeful that if you went after her that she might hopefully be asleep by the time you got out. However, when you finished your own shower, Peter had thought it'd be funny to jump-scare you as you exited the bathroom, grabbing your shoulders and shouting, "CANDYMAN'S GOTCHA!" which resulted in you jumping a mile with a noise you'd deny was a shriek before you turned to punch him in the arm scolding, "Damn you!" 

He, along with Rocket, only responded by laughing their asses off at you. You thought you could also hear Drax's own booming laughter down the hall from his room, and you caught a glimpse of Yondu and Kraglin sharing amused glances and snickering from their shared room.

Your face getting warm at the fact that he had actually managed to get you pretty good, you then just storm off to your room, ignoring Rocket's teases that he bet that you'd be the one crawling into Mantis's bed tonight.

You shut the bedroom door behind you to see Mantis awake and clutching her bear for dear life. Whether she was just already awake due to nerves or you had woken her with your startled cry, you didn't know, but you flicked on your desk lamp for her, turned out your overhead light and crawled into bed without a word.

Sometime later, long enough for you to have drifted off into a decently sound enough sleep to be dreaming, you were startled awake by someone crawling into your bed. 

Guess who. That's right. Mantis.

You groaned and turned to see she had already crawled halfway into your bed before you stopped her by rousing. "Mantis," you groaned, pointing towards the door, "go climb into Peter's bed. He's the one that chose the movie."

Mantis tucked her chin sheepishly and admitted she had already tried that, but his and Gamora's door had been locked.

You stared at the ceiling and sighed. Clever bastard. 

You made a mental note to squirt lemon juice in his coffee in the morning before letting out another groan. "Ugh, fine. But just this once," you allowed, ignoring the fact that this would actually technically be the second time. You were also not actually quite as salty as you let on. If anything, you should maybe thank her for waking you from a bad dream involving the Candyman's ribcage full of bees, but you weren't going to tell her that. 

She smiled gratefully and thanked you as she snuggled in.

You sighed quietly and Mantis fell asleep quickly. At least she didn't snore.

You spent the next bit before you fell asleep yourself contemplating different ways that you might be able to annoy Peter for sufficient payback.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Peter’s face was still red by the time you finished pulling your boots on. He had just come out of the bathroom and stood near you as you got up from the bench. He had a strange look about his face and when you went to ask, “What?” he grabbed your wrist with a wet hand and said, “Don’t ya hate when you pee on your hands?”

This, of course, was revenge for you embarrassing him just a few minutes prior.

Your expression turned murderous and you ripped your arm away. Was he serious? How dare he! What the hell was wrong with him!? Just as you were angrily saying, “I’m going to fucking kill you!” and absolutely looking like you’d actually follow through, Peter held up his hands and said through laughter, “It’s a joke! It’s just a joke! It’s just water! I promise!”

You backed down slightly, anger still burning in your eyes. “You know I don’t have to take you, right? Fury said I could take anyone who passes for human.” Just then Kraglin walked by and you gestured to him. “I could just take him instead if you want to start out being a little shit.”

Kraglin grinned at the two of you and, clearly seeing that Peter had managed to push your buttons already, said, “Nah. I can catch the next one,” and continued on his way up the stairs.

You huffed in his direction before turning to Peter in frustration. “Just get in the car. And don’t piss me off.”

Peter gave a little mock-salute and followed you out.

You could have killed him on the ride into town. The annoyance was constant.

He started by turning up the radio and singly badly along with the songs, made worse due to the fact that most of which he didn’t know the words to. Eventually you couldn’t take it anymore and you shut the radio off.

He tried to turn it back on a bit later and you smacked his hand away, only able to do so now that your braced arm wasn’t in a sling and you could now grip the wheel with both hands.

He then started asking, “Are we there yet?” about every minute. He knew you weren’t close.

This was coupled with the classic, “I’m not touching you!” game. You almost didn’t notice for the first five minutes, intent on ignoring him and keeping your eyes on the road. When you finally did notice and tell him to knock it off, well, you know what he responded with.

You were fuming when you finally pulled into the post office. You threw the car into park and angrily ordered him to sit quietly and promptly left him.

He was actually starting to wonder if maybe he should cool it for a bit. You did look pretty mad… probably still weren’t over the whole fake pee on hands prank. Maybe he shouldn’t go through with what he was considering next?

When you finished your business in the mail office and returned to the car you were actually surprised to find that he had behaved. You don’t know what you had actually expected him to do- maybe get out and crouch beside the car to make you think he’d run off?- but no. He was still sitting right where you left him.

You get back behind the wheel and toss your mail on the dash, prepared to head to the grocery shop. Peter doesn’t say anything.

The short ride over you were a little leery of just how quiet he was being. He was too quiet. When you pulled in park at the grocery lot you turned to give him a suspicious look.

“What?” he asked innocently, returning your gaze.

“You. What are you up to?”

“What ever do you mean?” He wore a face of innocence, but you knew better.

“The whole ride into town you didn’t let up with all your annoying shit, now on the ride from the post office to here you act like a perfect angel. I don’t trust it.”

“Thought you could use a break is all, you seemed really cranky.” A grin was starting to crack Peter’s innocent façade. “You know… I think I know what might cheer you up…”

Your eyes narrowed. “Peter-” Whatever he intended, judging by his tone you knew it couldn’t be good.

Before you could say more his hand darted out to connect with that spot above your knee, which of course made you spasm in your seat and cackle loudly. Whatever you had been expecting, for some reason you foolishly didn’t consider that. You really should have though, considering how often you would now get teased with little pokes and squeezes. Unfortunately for you, a good portion of your guests were apparently an affectionate bunch… Or maybe they just liked to annoy you. You weren’t sure which.

You smacked and pushed at his hand but he didn’t let up. “Peter! Peter stop that this instant!” you scolded through your laughter.

“Come on, cheer up sour-puss!” he teased in a high voice, still squeezing rapidly into the muscle. “Being stuck with me isn’t that bad.”

“You little shit!” you cried, smacking at him again, your eyes closed tightly as you laughed and kicked to the best of your ability, trying your best not to accidentally lash out and hit the horn. You were effectively trapped by having a car as your surroundings. So unfair. “Stop it! Cut it out!”

Peter finally stopped and grinned at you as you caught your breath, chuckling when you punched him in the shoulder.

“You’re such a brat!” you said, residual giggles still slipping out. However, you didn’t seem quite as angry as you had been, so Peter counted it as a win. Maybe now you wouldn’t be quite as cranky with him when you discovered the prank he had pulled on you. Honestly he was surprised you hadn’t noticed before you sat down…

After a moment you spoke again. “Come on, let’s get this over- aw shit.”

“What?” Peter asked, confused by your sudden change of tone.

“You didn’t bring those sunglasses with you this time, did you?”

“Oh…” Peter’s eyes widened in realization. Not wanting to have to wait out in the car he thought to reason. “I think it’ll be ok. I mean, It’s been what- like 26 years since I went missing? And I wasn’t even from this area of Earth so I really doubt anyone would recognize me-”

Your eyes widen as big as saucers. “Excuse me?”

“What?”

“Went missing??” Had you seriously heard him right? Did Fury know?Who were you kidding? Of course Fury knew. Fury knew everything.

“Oh… so you didn’t know about that… Ha- well it’s fine! Honest! I was just trying to let you know it’ll be fine if I don’t wear some lame disguise like sunglasses-”

“That’s not why I had insisted on the sunglasses! It was for any possible undercover aliens looking for you! I didn’t know you’d be on the missing persons bulletin!”

Peter could see you were stressed. That wasn’t good in his opinion. You’d be no fun to pick on if you were worried, so he tried to smooth it over. After all, it really was fine. “Look, everything’s fine. Ok? I was on that list for missing people, Fury told me that shortly after we arrived, but we talked about it and he made sure I was wiped from it just in case.”

You relaxed a little, sitting back in your seat. You turn to look at him again. “Twenty-six years… that means you were, what? Ten?”

“Eight,” he corrected.

“That’s not better.” you reply, and then a realization hit you. “Wait- is that how you got into space? Were you literally abducted by aliens?” Yes, you might have been aware of aliens due to your employment by SHIELD, but from the little you had seen of and about them you had come to assume that the whole “alien abduction” thing was a myth crazy people talked about. They just barely came here, let alone had use for random Earth people.

“Like I said, it’s a long story.” Peter answered, “We should probably get going.” he cracked his door open and gestured with his head towards the store.

Remembering yourself, you give a half nod and exit your vehicle so you could complete the shop visit.

As the two of you walked towards the shop you speak up. “Is it alright if I ask what happened? You don’t have to answer if it’s a bad memory or anything. I’m just curious about… you know…”

“What?”

“Like, you must have had a family? Now that you’re here, why haven’t you tried to find them?”

Peter looked like he was searching for the right words. “It’s kinda complicated.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“No, it’s fine.” he said as the two of you entered the shop.

You grabbed a trolley and looked at him to see if he would continue, but hoping that he wouldn’t feel you were pressuring him.

After a moment he did continue. “My mom died right before it happened. Literally minutes before.” Seeing the look on your face and realizing what you might be assuming he clarified. “It was cancer. She’d been sick a long time.”

“I’m so sorry.” You say, leading him towards the haircare section of the store to start knocking things off your list.

He shook his head, trying to vanish the memory of her lying in that hospital bed. “Yeah… me too.” He sighed and went on to say how when it happened he was upset, and angry. She was gone just like that and he didn’t know what to do. So he just ran. He ran outside the hospital and then just collapsed on the lawn. Next thing he knew there was the bright light of a spaceship right above him, and it took him.

“It just randomly came by took you? For no reason?” You ask, approaching the hair wash section and deciding on a conditioner that you thought Gamora might like the scent of. You turned to Peter for his opinion and he pointed out a lavender scented one before answering about the motives of his abductors.

“No, they had a reason” he said, “Turned out my father was this celestial being and sent them to fetch me. But of course I didn’t know that at the time. Like I said, mom had cancer. In her brain. So when she said my dad was this ‘angel’ composed of 'pure light’, of course no one believed her. They just thought it was the tumor.”

“Oh. Wow.” You didn’t know what to say to that as the two of you were now walking over to the moisturizers. Eventually you settled on, “So you’ve been with your dad then?” Just as you finished that sentence something clicked in your brain, but you thought for sure it couldn’t be right, could it? “Wait, do you mean Yondu? He’s your father?”

Peter laughed. “Are you serious? Drax thought the same thing. ”

You frowned slightly, picking out a decent smelling lotion and dropping it into the basket. “Well, I have heard him refer to you as "my boy” at least a couple times, and you just said your dad was alien. I think you could see why I might now make that connection there.“

Peter smiled softly, seeming lost in thought. "Yeah, yeah I guess. But not exactly. You see, Yondu was the guy my father hired to fetch me. He was supposed to take me to him, but he didn’t. He kept me.”

You gave Peter a confused look as you led the way towards the razors. You knew from Peter’s last story that Yondu had been the captain of a faction of space-pirates called Ravagers before joining the Guardians, but this bit was news to you. Apparently Peter was with the Ravagers before the Guardians of the Galaxy, but why had Yondu kept him? Why not just give him to his father?

Peter continues. “I know what you’re thinking, but like I said, it’s complicated. He kept me to protect me. 'Course, for the longest time he never told me that. Always said he kept me 'cause I was skinny and good for thieving.”

“Protect you from… your father?” You asked. How bad must his father have been for a space pirate captain to decide the kid was better off joining the crew? You raised an eyebrow at him as you grabbed some decent disposable razors off the shelf. Upon second thought, you grabbed some refill-heads as well.

“Yeah. Remember how I told you about that time we saved the galaxy from Ronan, and I was able to touch the Infinity stone without immediately dying?”

“Yeah?” You now led the way towards the DIY section. You knew it was unlikely, but hopped that maybe the shop carried some filler so you might finally repair that chip in the wall above the back door from where Yondu killed that spider for you. You would have already fixed it by now, but the tub of filler you did have was long dried up. Kraglin asked about it the other day, stating he didn’t remember that being there when they arrived, and you passed it off as the house being old, unwilling to admit what had actually happened.

“Well, word spread about that pretty fast because I shouldn’t have been able to do that.” Peter continued, following beside you. “My father caught word of a man who was able to hold an infinity stone and live, and knew it had to be me, so he tracked me down.”

“And that was… bad?” You asked, turning into your desired aisle.

“Not at first. At first it was cool. He took us back to his planet- that’s where we met Mantis- and this next part is really gonna blow your mind, the whole planet was him.”

“What? How does that even work?”

“Honestly, I don’t even fully get it, but like I said, he was a celestial. He just was the planet. The guy who we met was just like this… avatar version he made of himself to travel and stuff. He had like these magic powers, and he taught me how to use them… kinda.”

“Wait, so you have special powers?” you ask, “I had no idea.” You were so surprised by these revelations that you almost missed the small tubs of repair filler the shop did carry, but recovered and placed one in the basket.

Peter rubbed the back of his head. “Well, not exactly. Not anymore. You see, they came from his celestial genes- it’s the only reason I was able to hold onto that infinity stone and live- but anyway, I don’t have them anymore. I um, I kinda had to… kill him. And when he died so did the light, so I’m just a regular Terran now.”

“What?!” you gave him a very confused look. “Did you just say you killed your own dad?” You tried to keep your voice low. You had been lucky to avoid too many other shoppers during this conversation, but just then a couple of boys walked by. You eyed them, but they were lost in their own conversation and didn’t seem to have heard or cared about what you had said. You continued towards the cleaning supplies, remembering you were dangerously low on various cleaners for the bathrooms.

“Again, complicated,” Peter replied. “He turned out to be not such a good dude. Long story short, He had this plan to expand and make the entire universe him, like he would literally be the only thing left, but he needed another celestial to help him- that’s where I came in. Apparently he had a butt-load of other kids, but I was the only one that actually inherited the celestial gene. Well, obviously I had doubts about his whole plan. I mean, all my friends would be gone, for one.” He chuckled. “But he was… quite convincing. I don’t even think I could describe the things he showed me…” He trailed off, and then seemed to remember himself a moment later. “Anyway, eventually he told me he was the one who put the tumor in my mom’s head and that finally snapped me out of it.”

You were taken aback. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. That’s awful!”

He shrugged. “Nah. Don’t be. That guy was a jackass. I mean, who names themself "Ego” anyways?“

"Probably the type of person who wants to literally be the center of the universe,” you quipped.

Peter chuckled and nudged you in the shoulder, apparently appreciative of the joke. “Yeah. I suppose it probably was fitting for him…” he stared off for a moment. “Anyway, it’s funny that you thought that Yondu was my father, because all that happening made me realize that Yondu had actually kinda been my dad all along.”

You give him a quizzical look as the two of you reach the aisle you were looking for, and he just grins knowingly in return. “Complicated?” you say, sure that that would be his answer.

“Yes and no.” Peter answered, and then just let the silence linger.

After a bit you asked him. “You said Ego had other children? Do you know what ever happened to them?”

Peter frowned. “He killed them. They didn’t have what he needed, so he just killed them. There was a whole cavern on the planet filled with their bones.”

You only managed a soft, “Oh.” You felt your stomach twist. What kind of bastard would kill their own- You shook that thought away, telling yourself to compose yourself. Not now.

“Yeah. I know. Pretty dark.” Peter said, his tone obvious he was trying his best to keep it light. He didn’t say anything, but he saw something in you change a little when he revealed Ego just murdered his own kids like it was nothing, and he remembered a previous conversation he had with you about that job you had in Romania and part of him wished he had lied just then. He tried to steer the conversation in a happier direction for both of your sakes. He didn’t like to think about it either. “Apparently at some point Yondu had found out what Ego had been doing with all those kids he had him fetch, and that’s why he kept me. I think I turned out alright, all things considered.” He nudged you and gave you a wide cheeky grin.

You couldn’t help but grin as you responded, “I dunno… depends if any of that contributed to how annoying you are.” You located the toilet cleaners and plunked a couple bottles in the trolley.

“Hey!” Peter mock-pouted, but he was glad that the mood had been lifted again.

The two of you walked in silence towards the tub cleaners when Peter suddenly says, “Oh hey, you dropped something.”

You stop and look around for whatever might have fallen out of the trolley, asking him what you had dropped.

Peter grinned and said, “Your speed.”

You roll your eyes at him. You weren’t sure if you were more annoyed at the lameness of the joke, or the fact that you fell for it. “Really? You’re gonna start that again?”

“Yup.” Peter grinned.

You just shook your head and continued down the aisle to grab some disinfectant wipes, but little did he know you had a trick up your sleeve.

The wipes were just before the air fresheners and after you grabbed the wipes and were walking past you picked up a refill at random and said, “Oh hey, you should smell this.”

“Nice try, I’m not falling for that.” Peter said.

“Falling for what?” you ask innocently.

“I bet it smells like crap, you’re just trying to get me back for the other day.”

You roll your eyes dramatically. “It says on the package it’s 'Blossom and Breeze.’ Here,” you smell it yourself to prove to him it wasn’t nasty. “See? You’re so paranoid. They wouldn’t sell these if they smelled bad.” You offer the item back to him with an unimpressed look.

Seeming mostly convinced he hesitantly takes the item from you and slowly brings it up to sniff it. Then he looks confused. “I don’t smell anything?”

You knew he wouldn’t, it was encased in plastic, but that wasn’t the prank. “Oh, you might need to breathe deeper, they put the scent in the cardboard bit so people can test it before they buy it, it can be a little faint.” This was a blatant lie. Sure, this could have made a decent prank on it’s own, but it still wasn’t the prank you were going for. It was more of a distraction until that group of pretty young women you clocked entering the aisle earlier when grabbing the wipes had made their way close enough, which they would in 3… 2… 1…

You snatched the item away from a now very confused Peter.

“These don’t go in your mouth! How many times do I gotta tell you!?” you ask, acting exasperated.

Peter opened his mouth but seemed at a loss for words. Then he noticed the handful of pretty women walking by who were now staring at him and giggling to each other behind their hands as you said, “They’re not gonna taste like how they smell, we’ve been over this!”

His cheeks started to redden and he turned his attention from the departing group of young ladies to you, his expression switching from wide-eyed and embarrassed to unamused, having now understood what you did.

You were giggling now and he narrowed his eyes at you. “Not cool, dude!”

You tossed the item back on the shelf and, still giggling, said, “But it sure was funny.”

Peter just grumbled and followed you to the grocery section.

You spotted some brownie mix and asked him if he thought his friends might like to try brownies.

“Probably. And if they don’t like them, more for us.” He punctuated the sentence by taking the box from your hand and plopping it in the trolley, making you shake your head and giggle at him.

You then grabbed the couple snacks that had been requested as well as a few things you’d enjoy, including some ice-cream since you found the guys had eaten all of it when you returned from your last trip into town.

Just as you were dropping the ice cream in the trolley Peter decided that would be time for his revenge. There were several people about doing their shopping in that particular aisle when he suddenly said out loud, “Hey, is that rash still contagious?”

You looked at him, mortified, and you noticed the people start to quietly but quickly clear out of the aisle. You give him a glare, but just sigh and say, “Well played.”

“I thought so.” Peter replied, looking proud of himself.

“Still not 'The Master.’”

“We’ll see,” he chuckled.

You finished up the trip, and headed home. Gratefully, Peter wasn’t nearly as annoying on the return trip.

You supposed the whole trip could have gone worse. It really was too bad you didn’t get a chance to go alone though. You might have been able to grab some glitter for… nefarious purposes. Though, you supposed you could always order it online. Oh well, at least you managed to pick up some jelly. He wouldn’t be suspicious of jelly… until you used it against him, that is.

***

It wouldn’t be until you had been home for a little bit that you would discover what prank Peter had pulled on you in the car. Or rather, Kraglin discovered it.

You were getting a glass of water when Kraglin cleared his throat and awkwardly asked you why there was blue tape on your bottom.

You raised and eyebrow and reached back while Rocket snickered and teased Kraglin, asking him why he had been looking at your ass.

Kraglin began to stutter. “I-I wasn’t! It’s just- The tape is bright blue! Her pants are black! How was I not supposed to see it!?” He was blushing now and decided to just leave the room. Why did the rat have to be such a dick?

You peeled the strip of blue tape off your butt and looked at it with a half frown before looking up at Peter who was standing with Rocket and grinning. “You have anything to do with this?” you ask accusingly. Who were you kidding? It’s not like you just happened to sit on blue tape. Of course he had something to do with it, but how?

Peter grinned wider then pulled the rest of the roll out of one of his pockets. “I put a piece of this sticky side up in your car seat before you got out of the Post Office.” He then tossed the roll to you. “Found it in one of those drawers,” he said, pointing to the drawers behind you.

“I see you fancy yourself the Artful Dodger,” you say in annoyance to his confession that he had knicked the tape with the sole purpose of annoying you. You also realized this meant you had walked around the whole shop with blue tape on your bottom. Well, you supposed there were worse things… like what you were sure to do with that blue dye tonight.

“I have no idea what that means.” Peter replied.

You roll your eyes at him, but not altogether surprised he didn’t get the reference. “Nevermind.” you say, tossing the tape back in the drawer. “Childish…”

Peter just chuckled and left the kitchen.

***

If you hadn’t been set on using that food dye to prank Peter the past few days, you definitely were now.

Sometime after discovering the blue tape, you went upstairs and thought you might put one of your sticky notes to use. You stuck with the classic, 'kick me’, sign, and thought it’d be a good idea to sneak up behind and jump-scare him and use that as a diversion to stick it to his back. It worked as expected.

It took him less than half an hour to find it. Or rather, Mantis found it, and asked him why he had a sign telling people to kick him on his back. She plucked the sign from his shirt and he turned to see what she was talking about. Taking the sticky note from her, he frowned in annoyance for becoming victim to one of the oldest tricks in the book, and then shouted your name.

You, of course, didn’t answer. Just smiled behind your book in your room, of course not realizing that your prank had technically failed.

In revenge, Peter decided to bring up a video on YouTube he came across the previous day titled, “Broken TV screen 1 hour” and set it to play on full screen. Then he went to fetch you.

***

You were in the kitchen when Rocket startled you by jumping up to climb up your back without warning. He had managed to climb all the way up to your head when you let out a startled yelp and asked, “What are you doing??” as you jerked from the unexpected sensation of being climbed on.

“Hold still, will ya? Just needed a boost up to reach up to this cabinet, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he said with half a chuckle, balancing himself on your head as he opened the cupboard.

“You never needed one before now!” you said, irritated. That was the cupboard you kept the glasses in, and you’d seen him get up there just fine plenty of times without needing a human ladder.

“Eh. You were there,” he said, amusement in his voice. It was seemingly clear he had only done this to annoy you.

“Will you hurry up and get down!” you said, trying to keep the giggles out of your voice as his tail was flitting over your ear.

“What, ya got somewhere to be?” he asked sarcastically.

“Yes! Anywhere without a rac- a furry little beast sitting on my head!” you replied through gritted teeth. You were still trying- and mostly failing- to hide your giggles. Yes, maybe you could have told him to cut it out with the tail twitching, but you didn’t want to admit that it tickled. Last thing you needed was to reveal a weakness for the raccoon to exploit.

Rocket heard how you almost called him a raccoon, but let it slide because you stopped yourself. Mostly. He’d allow you to live, however, he stayed up there a couple moments more, pretending to take his time deciding on a cup and grinning as he continued flitting his tail over your ear. He knew exactly what he was doing. The little shit.

He finally grabbed a cup and closed the cupboard, teasingly scolding, “Hey, hold still!” when his tail “accidentally” brushed your neck on the way down and you jerked your head to the side from the sensation, and then twitched when he hit a particularly sensitive area of your shoulder blade on his descent. That one actually had been an accident, but he still logged it away for later. Knowing Peter’s tickle spots had proved useful as a payback method, he was sure yours would too if needed.

Rocket had just touched down on the floor when Peter sheepishly came in to tell you to come into the sitting room because he needed to show you something. Having a feeling it wasn’t going to be good, you sighed and followed him, leaving the raccoon behind.

He was dismayed, however, when your only response to seeing the “broken” TV was to just sigh and say flatly, “Well, I hope you enjoy reading then. Like I told you before, I’m not replacing it.”

He blinked. “Wait- you’re not mad??” This was not the reaction he expected. He was sure you’d yell at him. You yelled at Rocket when he spilled tomato sauce all over the kitchen, surely you would have had a similar reaction now?

You just stare at him. “While I’m frustrated that you can’t respect other people’s property enough not to break it, I barely use it anymore since I’m always- well, I was almost always gone for work. Soon as you guys leave it’ll be the same. No sense in rewarding bad behavior by getting another for you guys to use when I doubt I’ll be using it much once you leave.”

Peter rolled his eyes and picked up the controller. “Ugh, you’re no fun!” he complained, turning off the video and revealing the TV wasn’t actually broken.

“Wait, so that was a prank?” You say in realization.

“Well, yeah!” Peter said in frustration. “It was supposed to be!” Honestly, he was hoping you world have been mad. It would have been funny to reveal the lack after you lost it. But no, of course you would have just hit him with some version of “I’m not mad, just disappointed.”

“You know, for someone who keeps claiming to be 'the prank master,’ your pranks are kinda lame.” You grinned at him. Sure, maybe not all his pranks were lame- the broken screen on might have been a good one had he done it to anyone else, but you’d still say they were to annoy him.

“Oh yeah?” Peter said with a mischievous grin before lunging forward to aim a squeeze-y tickle attack on your sides, making you let out a squeak as you jumped back and smacked him out of reflex.

Giggling, you scold him for being a child and turn to head out of the room, only to bump into Kraglin who just said, “Hi there,” before tweaking your ribs.

You laugh and push him away, telling them that they played too much before heading upstairs.

The two men watch you leave and then share a grin. Little did you know, the TV had only been Peter’s diversion prank. Not the one that finally made you fully resolve to use the food dye on him.

***

To get him back for both the TV prank and the tickle attack you decided to take a thumbtack from your desk and use it to poke a hole in a can of fizzy drink that you knew only you and he really ever drank. You placed the hole near the top so that when he took a drink it would dribble down onto his shirt and then positioned the can in the fridge towards the front so that he’d grab that one first. It was a clear drink, so you were sure it wouldn’t stain. You weren’t a complete asshole.

This consideration could be considered ironic, considering what you’d do to him that night.

You grinned from your room when you heard him loudly cursing your name sometime later.

To get you back for that he made use of a few pieces of macaroni pasta he found in the pantry. He went upstairs and placed them under the toilet rim so that when you sat down the sound of them crunching would startle you. It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but he knew you were reading upstairs, and most everyone else was downstairs, so he rolled the dice that you’d be the next person to use that toilet.

Awhile later he heard you shout his name in frustration from upstairs and he chuckled in victory. And no, this still wasn’t the prank that sealed his fate, although that one was currently in progress…

Sometime later you were in your room on your laptop doing some research and contemplating what a suitable prank might be to get Peter back for the macaroni thing when Mantis came into the room to retrieve something. You switch away from the tab you were in researching tunnel maintenance to one you had open of tumblr and offer her a short greeting.

She returned the greeting and went about her business behind you for a couple minutes.

Then, out of the blue, you felt her fingers skitter up your side. You nearly jump out of your skin from both the startle and the ticklish sensation and a startled laugh escaped your throat as you jerked away in your seat and squeaked out a giggly, “Mantis! What are you doing?!”

She stopped tickling and just giggled in response before jogging out of the room.

You stared after her before returning to your work with a shake of your head. ’Awfully playful bunch tonight,’ you thought.

***

A bit later you decided to go out back for some fresh air. When you do, you notice Yondu already out there, leant against the stone of the house and just looking at the clouds pass by.

Not wanting to disturb him you just nod in his direction and say, “Hey,” before walking by towards the garden. He returns your greeting and leaves you to it. Or so it seemed.

You reach the garden and stand there in the peace and quiet, glancing over the plants for any sign of insect damage. It’s not too long, however, before Yondu walks up behind you and shouts, “Boo!”

You jump right out of your skin and turn to face him. You frown, but before you can ask him what the hell that was for, he starts to tickle your stomach. You laugh out a protest, but he only switches to tickling your ribs instead. You laugh some more and latch onto his wrists to push him away and he relents. Residual giggles still coating your words you scold him. “Jeeze! What was that for?!”

Yondu just grins at you like he was privy to some joke you weren’t in on, shrugs, and turns to head back inside without explanation.

You watched him go, beginning to wonder what had gotten into everyone.

***

Turned out it would be Drax who would spill the beans on Peter’s prank.

You were minding your own business, washing the dish you had just used for your supper, when you are rudely interrupted by Drax spidering his fingers over your ribs, causing you to laugh out loud and drop the dish in the sink. Luckily it didn’t break, but you quickly turn off the tap and spun around to scold him and ask what the big deal was.

You knew something was up now. Rocket might have done it on accident. Peter and Kraglin- well, they just routinely did stuff like that to mess with you. Yondu could also fall in the category of “just did it to mess with you.” Mantis- she was playful and it wasn’t out of the realm of normal for her to randomly decide to do that just to make you laugh.

Drax, however, though friendly, hadn’t shown himself to be the type to just randomly up and decide to tickle someone, namely you, without reason, or ever.

And all of them deciding to do it in one afternoon? No. Something was up.

Drax looked almost confused by your annoyance. “Well the note-”

Your eyes narrowed. “What note?”

“The one on your back.”

You quickly reach behind you and feel a piece of paper. Peter. You rip it off and look at it, but find you can’t read it. It was written in some alien text. “What’s this?” you ask Drax.

“It’s the note you taped on your back?” He answers, confused.

“I didn’t put this there! I can’t even read this! What does it say?” You hand it out towards him, but he doesn’t take it.

Instead a look of realization comes over his face and he says. “Oh! This must be one of Peter’s practical jokes! Haha! That’s a good one. No wonder you looked so surprised!”

“Drax-” you say, your tone frustrated.

“What’s going on here?” Gamora asked, having just moments prior walked in on the scene. She walked up to the two of you, concerned she might need to stop a fight before it began. You’d never be able to take on Drax, but she could almost see you trying if he made you angry enough.

You thought that maybe she’d be more help. “Could you tell me what this says? Apparently Peter taped it to my back.”

Gamora took the paper and read it. Then she rolled her eyes and huffed a short laugh. “This note reads, 'tickle me.’” It was indeed written in Peter’s handwriting, but of all the things he could have written, at least this was innocent enough.

You look up to the ceiling, unamused. You meet her gaze again and say, “Thank you, though respectfully, your boyfriend is a brat.”

Gamora smiled. “I’m aware.”

You then start towards the frontmost doorway of the kitchen, dish forgotten in the sink, and yell, “PETER! I’m gonna kick your ass!”

This was then followed by the sound of Peter laughing, the sound of running footsteps, and then the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut.

You stop in your pursuit. “Coward.” you mutter.

You knew you might be able to catch him, but decided there was better things you could do with your time. Like refine your plan of counter-attack. You change course and head upstairs to lie in wait.

Unfortunately for Peter, his running away ended up giving you the perfect opportunity to strike.

***

Peter spent his time outside walking about the property and listening to his Zune, which he luckily had in his pocket when he fled from the house. He was almost surprised you didn’t try to track him down, but he brushed it off, satisfied with his prank and how well it had apparently worked/ how long it took you to realize what he’d done.

He knew it was bold to try and get you back with basically the same prank you had just attempted to pull on him, and so that’s why he paid Rocket to pretend like he was climbing on you to reach something so he could be the one to plant it on you. You would have absolutely suspected Peter if he came patting a sign on your back right after you had just pulled that prank on him. The other pranks he pulled were mostly just to cover his tracks. And because it was too fun not to pull them.

It was getting dark by the time he came back in and was late enough that everyone else had apparently already gone to bed as no one was downstairs. He was getting pretty tired himself and almost considered skipping showering that night, but decided against it. Big mistake for him.

Once he got upstairs and gathered his things to go shower he headed for the bathroom. Upon getting closer to the door you emerged from the room and seemed to jump back, startled to see him.

Peter snickered. “Did I scare you?”

You roll your eyes and turn towards your room. “No,” you answer.

“Uh huh, sure.” He grinned smugly.

“Oh, just go wash your stinky ass, already.” you call back as you walk towards your room.

Peter gasped in mock-offense. “I’ll let you know my 'stinky ass’ smells like a pretty flower!” he joked.

You turn back at your doorway and retort with, “A corpse flower, maybe.”

Peter scrunches up his face. “That’s not a thing. You just made that up!”

“No, it’s totally a thing. Look it up,” you respond, laughing. You shut your door before he can respond further.

He shakes his head and enters the bathroom, muttering, “That’s so not a thing.”

***

You stayed up to hear the aftermath, and it didn’t take too long.

Maybe ten minutes later you hear Peter curse your name, followed by, “What did you do?!”

You couldn’t help yourself. You stand up to go peak out your door, biting your lip to hold back giggles. When you look out you see that Peter is now standing outside the bathroom, and that his outburst had also prompted the others to look out their doors as well. Kraglin was the first to start laughing.

The prank went better than you might have hoped. Peter only had a towel around his waist, allowing you to see that he was stained in an uneven coat of blue. Most of it was around his head, chest, and shoulders. It seemed to get lighter the further down his body it went, but it was more than enough to satisfy you. You hadn’t been fully certain it would work.

When Peter didn’t come back until after most everyone had gone to bed, you realized you had the perfect opportunity to carry out the prank. You did still have to wait until everyone else had finished showering though. You didn’t want anyone get caught in the crossfire.

You waited for the second you heard him come back inside, just in case, and then you made your way into the bathroom with the vial of food gel. You unscrewed the shower head from its hose, squirted the whole vial in the head portion, then carefully screwed it back on. You were sure he’d take his shower before bed like always and felt safe to boobie-trap the shower head now since everyone else had already washed up for bed.

You did see his bottle of shower gel in the bath as you set up the prank and realized in hindsight that you could have just put the food dye in there instead so you wouldn’t have needed to time everything so perfectly. On the other hand, you also didn’t quite want to ruin his whole bottle of soap, so it was probably best you went for the shower head method instead.

Either way, it didn’t disappoint.

You bit back laughter as you said, “Feeling a little… blue, there, Peter?”

He shot a look at you and responded with, “You massive turd! What did you do?!”

You feel Mantis come to look over your shoulder and she starts giggling at the sight of Peter. “Did you play a practical joke?” Mantis asks you. “That’s so funny!”

Peter looks like he’s about to storm over to you when Drax can be heard saying, “See! I knew Yondu was his father! Quill’s finally starting to grow into his color!”

You couldn’t tell if Drax was joking or not, but his comment started off a new round of giggles from Mantis, Kraglin, Rocket, and little Groot.

Peter just glared at him.

Yondu was standing next to Kraglin in the doorway of their room looking both contemplative and sleepy.

“Hey, Quill,” Yondu said, getting Peter’s attention. “Remember how ya rigged those dye packs up in my dresser drawers as a boy? Looks like ya finally got someone to give ya a taste of your own medicine.” With that he made a sleepy retreat back to bed. His comment earned a laugh from Gamora, which made Peter pout.

A slight blush over Peter’s cheeks appeared violet through the blue dye. He looked at you again and said, “You’re so gonna get it!”

This of course prompted you to quickly usher Mantis back so you could shut the door and flick the lock, laughing as you did so.

It was totally worth it.

Chapter Text

Red covered your mouth and nose, all over your hand, and a bit on your sheets. You blearily tried to gather your senses, tried to open your eyes against the unforgiving light that blinded you.

Peter stood over you, laughing. Telling you that you got what was coming to you as you groaned.

That fecker had put ketchup in your hand while you slept and then tickled your nose with one of the fuzzy-tipped novelty pens on your desk. The dickhead.

“Ugh! Gross! Dude!?” you complain, sitting up and reaching over to grab the tissues off your desk so you could clean yourself up.

“Serves you right for what you did to me!” Peter countered, gesturing to the blue staining his body. He began to walk out of your room, making sure to let you know that you shouldn’t expect the two of you were even.

You roll your eyes and continue wiping the ketchup-y mess off of you. You glance down at your sheets and realized you’d need to wash them today too. Great. Guess this is what you got for sleeping-in.

Once you had finally cleaned yourself up you gathered your sheets to take them downstairs to wash them, but not before making a pit-stop to Peter’s room. Wanting to make the trip quick you grabbed the first thing you could find- his comb- and pocketed it. It was about to have a date with some jelly.

As you turned to leave his room you saw Rocket standing in the hall just outside the door.

With a knowing grin he asked, “Whatcha doin’ there?”

“Nothing,” you answer flatly, gathering your sheets back up.

He let you pass but said, “So I guess I didn’t just see you steal Quill’s comb, then?” There was amusement in his voice.

“He’ll get it back,” you answer, not pausing in your walk towards the stairs.

“What do you plan on doing to it?” he asked, intrigued. He had no intents to squeal on you. This prank-y-ness was a side of you he had been pleasantly surprised to see. Much better the the stiff agent-type you usually liked to display. Had he maybe misjudged you?

“The less you know the better,” you answered, continuing down the stairs.

No witnesses. Rocket liked your style. Maybe you didn’t have such a stick up your butt after all.

***

You threw your sheets in the washer and put the kettle on. It was time to make some jelly.

While waiting for the kettle you grabbed the packet of jelly from the pantry and something quick for breakfast. Deciding on a granola bar, you go to pull one from the box when you also notice that all your spices had been flipped upside down. Obviously Peter’s doing. That’s also when you remember that you had hidden the rest of the food dye behind the spices, prompting you to give a quick peek to see that the box was still there.

It wasn’t.

Peter must have found it while setting up his prank and took them, intent on making the two of you “even.”

Crap.

The kettle began to whistle and you pulled yourself out of your thoughts of doom to start fixing the jelly. You could think about the dye later. Right now you had mischief to make.

You mix up the jelly in a glass bowl, adding in an extra packet of gelatin to make sure the shape would hold later. Then, looking around to make sure no one was around, you take Peter’s comb out of your pocket and drop it in. The bowl was just big enough for the comb to catch on the sides roughly about halfway deep in the jelly water, so that when you turned it out it would be nicely suspended in the green jelly. You then quickly take the bowl to the fridge to set, burying it in the back on the bottom shelf so it hopefully wouldn’t be seen.

Then you simply went about your day as normal.

***

Other than several bad puns, Peter surprisingly didn’t attempt much to annoy you that day, and you had no doubts that it was because he was confident that he’d be able to return the favor in dyeing you an odd color when you showered tonight.

Not if you had anything to say about it.

Too bad for him he had no way to know that you knew, and you were confident that you could deal with it when that time came if you paid enough attention. For now you were just going to act none-the-wiser, and accept his invitation to watch a show with the others.

You settled in on the couch and the episode starts. It’s a title you haven’t heard of before.

Watching it you gathered it was a type of mystery/detective/thriller type that was somehow also a comedy. A detective was accused of killing this old lady, and he was on the run to try and prove his innocence. Lots of action, a bunch of red-herrings, overall not a bad show so far if you had to judge by this episode.

Then there was the end-scene.

The detective finally found the actual murderer, the mayor, and after tricking him into broadcasting his confession over the radio in this abandoned radio station- where he somehow had managed to make a broadcast work- the two fight. Only the mayor has a gun, and the detective’s fell into a storm drain two scenes ago.

Through his cunning the detective manages to escape alive, but not unharmed. He’s got a compound fracture to his leg. Cops are on the scene and arresting the mayor after surrounding him at gunpoint, and ambulances can be heard in the background.

You feel the hair on your arms stand up.

The sound of the sirens just keeps getting louder.

You swallow, your throat suddenly dry.

They get louder. You look away from the screen into your lap.

All you can hear now is sirens. You don’t realize they’ve already stopped on the screen. There’s now instead dialogue, a conversation between characters, but you are unaware of it.

Your hands clench into fists, nails digging into your palms. You fight the images in your head. You don’t want to see them. You hear sounds of tearing metal. Sirens. Screaming. Beeping. Your breathing gets shallow and you work to keep it quiet. You had to fight it back. Sirens. Bright lights. Glass shattering. Screaming. Sirens. You keep saying to yourself inside your mind that it’s ok. You’re ok. But what about-

Kraglin makes a comment to Yondu about something said on screen. You don’t hear him. You only hear the sirens. God, why won’t they stop? Screeching. Sirens. Blinding lights. Sirens.

Yondu turns to reply to Kraglin, but sees you looking strange. He raises an eyebrow, which Kraglin notices. He follows Yondu’s gaze and sees you staring into your lap, body rigid, hands balled tightly into fists. Your eyes are wide, but unseeing. Your jaw is set.

Before either of them can say a word the buzzer on the washer goes off and you seem to jolt out of it, quickly hopping up and making your way out of the room.

Yondu and Kraglin share a look. What was that about?

***

You didn’t return for another episode. Instead, you decided it was a nice enough day to hang your washing on the line. It hardly took you any time at all to finish, but you decide to stay outside for a bit anyways. Fresh air and all that.

Everything was fine. You were ok.

When you finally come back in it’s well after a suitable lunchtime, and realizing that the only thing you had today was a granola bar, you decide to cut up an apple and sit at the table, scrolling on your phone as you eat.

Yondu comes into the kitchen for a drink and joins you at the table. “Where’d you go runnin’ off to?” he asks, “Decide you didn’t like the show?” What he really wanted to ask was what had prompted that look in your eyes earlier, but he knew better than to just come out an ask. You’d just deny anything had happened.

“Had laundry to dry,” you answer, not looking up from your phone.

“Ya were gone an awful long time for laundry.” Yondu said, not missing that you completely ignored his question about the show. But the question still bugged him. He recognized the look in your eyes back then. He remembered sometimes catching it in the eyes of some of the older battle slaves in the barracks when he was younger. It was the look one had when they were flashing back to something horrific they had been through. He and the other younger battle slaves were always told by other elders to leave those be when they were “stuck in it”, as they would say. Don’t disturb them. They’ll come out of it. Nothing for it but to let it pass.

That never did sit right with him.

“It’s a nice day. Thought I’d enjoy it,” you answered.

Yondu hummed shortly. You weren’t giving him anything, and he knew you wouldn’t.

He decided not to press it for now, but he could tell something had triggered that response from you, he just didn’t know what. He suspected it had something to do with whatever it was that you kept locked away inside. He had clues and suspicions as to what, but of course he couldn’t be sure, though he was more determined now than he had previously been to figure you out. Only one thing was certain. You had pain inside you. A lot of it. No one should have to go through that alone.

***

Kraglin, unlike Yondu, wasn’t nearly as subtle when he saw you next. However, he wouldn’t get any further.

“Mind if I help?” he asked, joining you in the garden where you were pulling a few weeds.

“Go for it,” you reply, barely looking up. There weren’t many to pull, as it was starting to get cooler lately. You mostly just came out for something to do. Soon it’d be time to harvest the whole garden.

The two of you work in silence for a bit. Then, Kraglin asks, “So, um, was you alright earlier? I mean, saw that ya looked mighty shaken when we was watching that show.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” you answer, standing up and tossing the weeds you picked over to the compost bucket.

Kraglin looked up to meet your gaze, frowning. He was about to say something along the lines that you were full of shit, but he stopped himself when he saw your stern expression. You weren’t just denying it. With just those few words, combined with the subtly hard look on your face, you were outright telling him that he didn’t see whatever it was that he thought he saw.

He exhaled out his nose and just gave you a look that said that he didn’t believe you, but he wouldn’t push it. He could see that you would just shut him out, and he felt like it wasn’t his place to press it.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out, breaking the awkward silence and causing you both to jump.

You sigh, not appreciating the jolt, and said, “Damn hunters.”

Kraglin nodded and tried to take this distraction as an opportunity to change the subject. If you wouldn’t open up, maybe he could try and make you smile instead. “So… nice job on dyeing Pete blue last night. Real funny.”

“I certainly thought so,” you said.

He almost thought he saw you crack a smile. Wanting to bring about a full grin he decided to tell a story. “Yeah, it was just like this time Pete rigged a dye pack up in one of Yondu’s drawers, I think he mentioned it last night. Anyway, so somehow Pete rigs it up, I think he got mad at Cap'n for making him scrub the grease traps or somethin’, but anyway then Yondu goes to open his drawer one mornin,’ yeah? And he’s blasted in the face with this red dye. Ohhh boy! He was madder than a muzzled Flerken!!”

The mental image was enough to make your lips curl up involuntarily.

Kraglin noted this and continued, “What’s worse is he had to meet with some lady client the next day about a job, and he couldn’t get it off. He was this funny shade of purple for over a week!”

A short laugh suddenly breaks through your throat and you look at him. “Really?” you ask, mirth in your eyes. The mental image of the blue man looking quite cross and splattered purple while trying to commit space pirate business dealings was a humorous one.

“Yeah. He grounded Pete for so long after that.” Kraglin replied, chuckling.

“I’ll bet,” you say as you stand up and brush yourself off, now finished with weeding and prepared to go inside. “Thanks. For helping in the garden, I mean.” you say.

Kraglin also stands. “Not a problem, ma'am.”

You wince and shake you head as you turn back to the house. You thought of telling him to knock it off with the 'ma'am’ stuff, but you were concerned with what might replace it. So you left it alone for now.

***

You were on alert when you got ready for your shower that evening. You knew Peter had plenty of opportunity to have tampered with your bath products, but you played it cool. Acted unaware.

The plan? Beat him at his own game.

First you turned on the shower and let it run. You cupped your hands beneath the stream to make sure the water wasn’t an odd color.

All clear.

You get into the shower, deciding to inspect your shampoo and conditioner bottles first. You felt it was unlikely he’d put it in those, as it would be unlikely to have a decent enough payoff for him, but you still checked just in case. Your shampoo bottle was see-through and the liquid inside clear, so it was obvious it had gone untampered. You went ahead and used it.

Time for conditioner. Unscrewing the top you look inside the conditioner. Completely white. Untampered. Good.

Finally you checked your body wash. It was a rose scented type and was already colored pink. If he was was going to strike anywhere, it would likely be there with the red dye. You squirted a little into a rag to test it on your hip, an inconspicuous area. You didn’t even need to use it before you realized you were right. The body wash came out much darker than usual. It was like he hadn’t even mixed it. Actually, that’s likely exactly what he did. He probably wanted to make sure as much dye got on you as possible and so just squirted it right on top. Just out of curiosity, however, you still tested it.

Yep. It left a red steak right on your hip. You catch a glance at Peter’s bottle on the shower shelf, and grin.

Silly Peter. He shouldn’t have forgotten his bottle in the shower. Again.

You reach out of the shower for a new washcloth, and use some of his body wash instead. Of course, not before testing it on the first rag to make sure it wasn’t left behind on purpose as a trap. It wasn’t. The test proved it free of dye and safe to use.

For now.

Once you finished washing you then unscrewed the top off of Peter’s bottle and carefully poured in as much of the dye from the top of your tampered bottle as you could without getting it on your hands. You had to sacrifice a little of the soap down the drain just to make sure it would come out clean the next time you used it.

Was he sure to notice? Probably, but you didn’t care. You’d be just as happy with the message it would deliver if nothing else.

He was going to see that you were the Prank Master here.

***

Once finished with your shower you retreated to your bedroom. On the way you could hear Peter in his room asking Gamora if she had seen his comb, and you grinned. You sure knew where his comb was.

Mantis is gathering her own stuff together to take a shower when you enter the room. You glance at what she’s carrying to make sure she has enough soap. God forbid she might run out and then use Peter’s instead of yours. You actually would feel bad if the prank accidentally hit her instead of Peter. Satisfied that she does you shut your door behind her and wait, unable to keep a grin from splitting your face.

Perhaps half an hour later, a good bit after Mantis had returned from her shower, you can hear Peter shouting.

“Are you KIDDING me!?”

Mantis looks towards the sound in shock before turning to see you covering your giggles with your hand.

Now you can hear Peter cursing your name.

“What did you do?” Mantis asks, both intrigued and alarmed.

“He tried to get me back for turning him blue by putting red dye in my soap. I found out and turned it back on him,” you answered, nearly stuttering over your giggles.

“How?”

“I just poured the tainted soap into his bottle. Now he’ll have been dyed twice.” You grinned, but it fell shortly when you heard the bathroom door slam open and heard his footsteps coming in the direction of your room. You jumped up and quickly flicked the lock just before he reached the door.

The knob jiggled and then he started to pound on the door, cursing your name and demanding you come out.

Feeling cheeky, you answered, “Nobody’s home!”

From the other side Peter said loudly, “Come out here, you coward!”

“Do you need something?” you ask, your grin wide.

“You. Out here. Now.”

“Whatever for?” You’re have a real hard time biting back your laughter. Mantis is sitting on her bed, hugging her bear and openly giggling.

“You know exactly what for!”

You look to Mantis. “Should I?” you chuckle.

“YES! You should!” answered Peter from the other side of the door.

“Didn’t ask you!” you retort. You look back to Mantis and she nods excitedly. She wanted to see what had happened to Peter.

“Alright,” you answer, loud enough for Peter to hear as well. You unlock the door and slowly open it.

You tried to hold it in. Honestly, you did. But the sight of Peter standing there in his pajama bottoms, and now purple where he had previously been blue, and a pinkish-red just about everywhere else you could see, you lost it.

Your laughter, combined with seeing that you didn’t have a spec of dye on you, made Peter cry out in frustration. “HOW?!”

“It-It’s your fault,” you laughed. “You left a trail!”

Peter narrowed his eyes. “I did not leave a trail!”

“You did! I-I saw you had taken the rest of the dye and I knew what you’d do with it. Dude, you- you really should have left the box behind. I might not have noticed then.” It was all you could do to say the sentence coherently as you tried to hold back your giggles. “How did you not notice I turned it around and poured it back in your bottle? Don’t you look??”

As Peter sputtered indignantly for a reply you noticed that you again had an audience. Yondu and Kraglin stood at the bottom of the stairs, grinning up at the scene and shaking their heads. Rocket and Drax were standing by their room, Drax chuckling with a giggling Groot on his shoulder and Rocket almost looking impressed. Almost. Gamora was standing across the landing, shaking her head, though it appeared more out of second-hand embarrassment for Peter rather than disdain for you.

“Don’t I- You- I’m- UGH!” Peter sputtered in frustration. He had half a mind to tickle you until you peed your pants for this- Well, not literally, though he wouldn’t be above threatening it. He may be an asshole, but he wasn’t 100% a dick. Regardless, the other half of his brain was too busy trying to think of any suitable comeback… and failing. He was The Prank Master! How were you beating him at his game? He glared at you. He wanted to wipe that smirk off your face. “You think you’re so funny, don’t you?! Just wait. You better watch your back. I’m gonna… I’m gonna…”

“You’re not going to do anything, Peter.” It was Gamora who spoke now, her tone teetering somewhere between warning and exhaustion, with a hint of amusement buried somewhere in there. “She beat you at your own game. Go to bed.”

You couldn’t stop the grin that split your face if your life depended on it. You took a calculated step back, hand resting on your door. You put on your most innocent voice. “So…” you started. “Does this mean I’m The Prank Master, now?”

The look in Peter’s eyes could have vaporized you. “That’s it!” he cried, stepping towards you. He wasn’t sure what he’d do when he got hold of you. Hold you in a headlock until you apologized? Wet Willie? Both? Neither? Didn’t matter. All he knew was you were going to pay for this.

However, he’d never get the chance. You were too fast, slamming the door in his face and flicking the lock just before he could get near.

You and Mantis doubled over laughing and Peter sputtered some more empty threats before Gamora could be heard scolding him and telling him to go to bed.

It was even better the second time.

***

The next morning you were, dare you say, cheerful.

Peter, less so. He was still a bit cranky that not only had he been the victim of the dye prank twice, just one night after the first, but that it had happened because he tried to get you back and you turned the tables on him. Sure, he had cooled down a bit from last night, but he was still an uneven purple/pinkish-red mess and the others kept snickering at him. Even Gamora had been caught hiding a grin behind her hand a couple of times.

It wasn’t fair. He was determined to get you back, but how would-

He spotted something on the kitchen table, interrupting his thoughts. Something shiny, and green, and was that…?

Oh you were going to get it.

***

You were minding your own business, walking over to one of the bookcases in the sitting room, when suddenly you were accosted.

Peter had pulled you into a headlock from behind.

“Hey! What the hell! Let me go!” you demanded.

“Tell me you’re sorry and I’ll think about it!”

You had a feeling what this was about, but you played dumb. “I’m not going to apologize for turning the tables back around on you! It was your own fault for trying.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it!”

You started softly laughing despite the moderate chokehold. You couldn’t help it. “Did you- Did you ever find your comb?”

Suddenly you feel something wet in your ear. You knew there was only one thing it could be. “Ew! No! Peter!” you squeal, trying to squirm away. “That’s disgusting! Stop it!”

Peter was chuckling now, still giving you a wet willie. “Say you’re sorry!”

You jerk against him. “Never!” You were laughing despite really only having one hand to fight him with. The limited range on your brace made it so you couldn’t bend your elbow enough to grab his arm with that hand, and you were standing too close to the bookcase to throw him over you and get out of the headlock. Well, too close to do it without hurting him, or your books, that is. You were stuck, but you still weren’t going to give in.

Turns out you wouldn’t need to.

“Alright. Break it up,” came Yondu’s voice from somewhere off to the side. “What’s going on here?”

Peter released you and you rubbed your ear against your shoulder to get the wet feeling out of it. “She put my stuff in Jello!” he complained.

Yondu gave you a weird, albeit amused look. “Don’t ya think ya did enough to him already, missy?” He wasn’t scolding you, but he actually was surprised you were still on the attack after having seemingly won the war last night.

Fighting a grin you reply, “In my defense, I’d already done that before the dye thing. I only found out he was planning that afterwards,” Technically not the full truth- you actually found out during the setup of the jelly prank, not after, but it was close enough, “and what was I supposed to do, not turn the tables back on him when I found out?”

Peter punches you in the shoulder, but there was no anger behind it, just cheekiness. You stick your tongue out at like a child in retaliation.

Yondu grinned and shook his head. It’d been awhile since he’d seen his boy carefree and goofing off like this, even if he was bickering with you like the two of you were kids. Still, he should maybe try to persuade a stop to the prank war again before things escalated any more and you two killed each other. It’d be a shame to save him from Ego just to let him die in a prank war of all things, and bad form to let him kill their host. “Boy, I think ya might need to accept that she won this round.” he said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

“I will do no such thing! She just got lucky.” Peter replied.

You smirked. “Yeah. Sure. 'Lucky’,” you taunt. “Just say it and I’ll call us even.”

“EVEN?!” Peter exclaimed. He gestured to the stained purple and pinkish red of the areas of skin you could see. “Look at me!”

Trying not to smile you slowly look down to the brace on your arm. Head cocked to the side your eyes look back to Peter. “You were saying?”

Peter bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. You could tell he wanted to retort with something, but he knew he had no leg to stand on. Eventually he settled for, “I’m still not saying it.”

Yondu snorted a laugh. “Whatever it is, just be a man and say it, boy. Quit while yer ahead.”

Peter looked at him indignantly. “I am not going to declare her The Prank Master.”

Unable to suppress your grin any longer you nudge him in the shoulder and say in your sweetest voice, “It’s ok, you don’t have to say it,” taking a few steps away you add, “We already know.” You then jogged out of the way when he made a grab for you.

You made your way out the front door, but he didn’t follow, instead just stood there pouting.

“Ya finally gonna give it up, boy? Take yer loss like a man?” Yondu chuckled, teasingly.

“Never.” Peter responded, too busy plotting revenge to fully catch the “take it like a man” part as he walked out of the room.

Yondu chuckled and rolled his eyes as he went to take a seat on the sofa. It was nice to see that you had a goofy side, though he wondered if it was Peter rubbing off on you, or if you had just had it buried under layers of stubbornness and sass.

Either way, it seemed certain that the boy was gonna have to relinquish his self-proclaimed title of “The Prank Master.”

***

Over the next couple days the pranks between you and Peter had slowed down. This was likely in part because of how you made Peter realize that he couldn’t complain too much about getting even for the dye prank if he considered that you were still in a brace as a result from one of his previous pranks gone wrong, but also in part because the two of you had pulled so many pranks so far you were seemingly running out of ideas.

Peter moved the furniture in your sitting room 3 inches to the left, likely to get your back for putting his comb in jelly.

You retaliated by setting up some cling film up at head height in the kitchen doorway for him to walk into and then calling him into the kitchen.

He got back at you by swapping your salt and sugar out, thereby ruining what would have been a perfectly good cup of tea.

For this high crime, you decided to get him back by scrapping out a couple Oreos and filling them with toothpaste. He was most definitely not fond of that one. Called it a crime against nature, and he may have been right, but so was what he had done to your tea.

Other than that, nothing really escalated, well apart from the oreos and tea, that is. The two of you kept making little jabs at each other and annoying one another. Really bad puns, petty insults, that sort of thing.

You did assume, however, that Peter was just biding his time, trying to think of something big that he could spring on you that might make you give up the game and declare him The Prank Master, because gods knew he wasn’t going to concede.

And you’d be right.

Peter spent a decent amount of time brainstorming ideas for a really good prank, or even just a decent way to annoy you, in between all the smaller ones, but he was coming up with nothing he deemed quite good enough.

He was about to consider throwing in the towel when you inadvertently provided him with the fodder he needed.

***

It was the fourth day since the first dye prank and most of the dye on Peter had worn off by now.

You were reading on the couch, little Groot was playing with the TV and flipping through random videos on the YouTube app with Drax, and Peter and Kraglin were in the middle of a card game at the table on the other side of the room.

In what you would chalk up to a cruel twist of fate, Groot managed to find his way into a video of ambulance calls.

Rudely and immediately torn from your book by the sound, your hand shoots out for the TV remote and you mute the TV, much to the dismay of little Groot, who had found the noise fun and had been cheering the siren on. As calmly as you can despite your rapid heartbeat, you ask Drax, who was confused by your behavior, to please tell Groot to find something else to watch.

Drax looks at you strangely, but translates for Groot anyway, which again, only sounded to you like he was repeating your words verbatim due to his translator. You still didn’t know that the translators didn’t actually translate into Groot, but rather Groot had just picked up and could understand a bit of Galactic Standard, even if he couldn’t speak it.

Groots looks slightly disappointed for a second but agrees and switches videos and you unmute the TV.

You didn’t bother checking what new video he had chosen. That had been a mistake.

After the ad finished playing you were jerked back into reality from your book by the sounds of now multiple ambulance calls going at once. You mute the TV once again and say, “I’m sorry. I should have been more clear. Anything else. Anything else except for videos of that sound.”

Drax, rightfully confused, asks, “Why?”

“I do not like it.” is all you offer, and you don’t elaborate when asked.

Peter, of course, overhears all this, and thinks he’s found his new way to annoy you. He of course had no way of knowing the reason you couldn’t bare the sound wasn’t due to annoyance. He had no way of knowing its effect on you.

***

He tested the waters the next day after lunch.

You were washing up the dishes with Gamora when the sound of an ambulance siren makes you freeze in the middle of drying a bowl.

Gamora turns her head towards the noise and wonders aloud what it was.

Without answering you take towards the direction of the sitting room to, gently, scold Groot for playing those videos again.

Of course, when you get there, you only see Peter, who pretended to be surprised to see you.

“Turn that off,” you say sharply.

“What?” Peter asked innocently.

You didn’t ask him again. You just grabbed the control and exited the video before throwing the control back down into his lap. “Don’t play that again,” you warn.

“Why? Does it annoy you?” Peter asked with a smirk. He didn’t notice your hands shaking.

Your eyes hardened. “Just don’t,” you say, returning to the kitchen.

Peter grinned. He was going to have fun with this.

***

Peter would play that sound three more times that afternoon, each time eliciting a more irritated response from you until you finally ripped the plug to the TV out of the wall and turn to him to angrily yell, “Stop it!”

“What?” Peter asked, chuckling in surprise at your latest response. You must really hate that noise.

“You know exactly what. I’m seriously, genuinely asking you to knock it off,” you reply.

Gamora, who could tell Peter was working your last nerve and who was also becoming irritated by the repeated playing of the sirens, nudged Peter and told him he had his fun.

Peter half smirked and seemed to relent, saying simply, “Okay.”

You sigh. “Thank yo-”

“After you declare me The Prank Master.”

Gamora rolled her eyes and propped her head up on the hand resting on the arm of the couch, not wanting to get involved, but inches from yelling at her boyfriend that she was ending the prank war herself.

You were seething. “You’re a goddamn child!” you scold, leaving the sitting room and considering getting out some of the vodka you had in the freezer just to calm your nerves.

You had only just made it into the kitchen when the sound started up again.

You back against the wall and cover your face, inches from tears. Your breaths came in shallow gasps as flashes of bright lights and the sounds of tearing metal and screaming fill your senses. You tangle your hands in your hair.

“FUCKING STOP IT!” you scream.

Peter and the others in the sitting room, as well as those upstairs, all paused in shock at the sheer volume behind your scream.

They then heard the sound of the back door slamming forcefully.

Yondu, who had been at the table playing cards with Kraglin, had only been present for the second and last incidence of Peter annoying you with the sound, and it wasn’t until now that he put the pieces together. That day when you acted strange and walked out on the show- this siren sound had been playing then too.

Shit.

He got up and scolded Peter, who in his shock still hadn’t turned the video back off. “Turn that shit off now, boy! If I hear it again I’m gonna shove my arrow up your ass! You hear me?”

Peter, recognizing the tone in Yondu’s voice as one that he had encountered many times as a child when he was in trouble, immediately switched the video off. He had to concede that perhaps he went a little too far this time, but of course he didn’t actually understand just how true that sentiment was.

Yondu went to go see where you went, and he didn’t need to look very far, which surprised him. He was for sure you would have taken off for the forest again, since it was kinda your thing.

Instead, you were sat with your back pressed against the stone of the house about a couple meters from the door, hand clamped over your mouth and eyes in that terrible 'wide yet unseeing’ way. In the dim light provided by what shone out the kitchen windows from inside he thought he could almost see the remnants of fallen tears.

He tried to approach you slowly, but you caught him out the corner of your eye and jerked to a standing position.

“Hey, hey-” Yondu said, holding his hands up. “It’s alright-” he started, but then found he didn’t know what else to say. After a moment he settled on, “Ya wanna talk about what that was about?”

You don’t meet his gaze. “Nothing. He just pisses me off. He’s a damn child.”

“While that may be true, yer still full of shit.”

You glare at him.

He continues. “If this was just about Quill gettin’ under yer skin ya wouldn’t be shakin’ like that, and I doubt you’d be crying neither.”

“Am not,” you mutter. You turn away, wipe your eyes, cross your arms self-consciously, and start walking away. “It’s cold.”

Yondu rolled his eyes. It was cool out, yes, but it wasn’t that cold. “Ya wanna talk about why ya dislike the particular noise so much?” Yondu called after you. “Ya ain’t got to, but I can tell somethin’s eating ya. I might help to get it off your chest.”

“It’s nothing.” you reply. “Just an annoying sound.”

Yondu frowned. “Now listen here. I ain’t gonna force ya to tell me, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let anyone just flat out lie to my face, missy.”

You turn to him, indignant. “I’m not-”

“Hell if ya ain’t. I’ve seen that look before, I know what it is. Ya can lie to yerself, but ya can’t lie to me!”

You glare at him. “Who the hell do you think you are? Coming in here acting like you know anything about me!”

“I’m the person telling ya that it ain’t healthy to keep that shit bottled up inside ya. It’ll eat ya alive.”

You don’t respond. Just roll your eyes and start walking away again.

Yondu threw up his hands. “To hell with you then!” He starts to walk back inside but stops at the door to speak again, this time his tone a little softer, “I have a feelin’ no one’s ever told ya, girl, but ya don’t have to 'be strong' all the time. Sometimes it’s ok to let people in. It don't make ya weak.” With that he heads back in the house.

You lean your back against the cool stone and sigh in frustration. What did he know.

***

You head back inside a bit later, not feeling much better.

Peter catches you as you’re about to head up the stairs. “Hey, I just wanted to say sorry for-”

“Don’t.” You cut him off, not stoping in your path. “I don’t care. I’m going to bed.”

Peter frowns, but lets you go. Maybe he could try again in the morning. He truly was sorry. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun.

***

You stared up at the ceiling from your bed for what felt like hours. You couldn’t sleep, couldn’t stop thinking about it. You knew Peter had no way of knowing why you couldn’t stand that sound, but you still couldn’t help but be unhappy with him. He just wouldn’t stop.

You can feel your jaw clenching with each flash of horrific memory.

You were annoyed at Yondu too. Acting like he knew anything about you or some shit. What did he know? Not you, that’s what. You didn’t need someone acting like they cared. You didn’t need anyone, really. People come, people go. No one stays forever.

You feel your chest clench. Your throat tightens and you sit up. You didn’t want to cry.

A walk. That’s what you needed. A walk in the forest would surely help wash the memories away. You could walk until you were too tired to think about it, then sleep it off. It would be better in the morning. You’d be ok.

You quietly slip on some jeans and make your way downstairs to put on your boots and grab a jacket. Choosing your thin leather one because it had been chilly when you were out earlier, you open the back door and head out into the cool night air.

You’d find out soon enough that you should have stayed in bed.

Chapter Text

The night was cool, and you were grateful you thought to bring your jacket as you crossed the tree line. It had been more than a week since you visited the forest, and a least a couple more since you’d taken a walk through it at night. You considered yourself overdue.

You sigh and glance up at the moon through the leaves. It provided just enough light for you to not walk face-first into a tree, assuming those clouds didn’t decide to come cover it.

You pull out your earbuds from your pocket, deciding some music would make some lovely company on your walk, a companion to drown out the memories.

Tonight would be one of your “wonder aimlessly” nights, rather than heading to your favorite tree. As much as you loved to sit under it, tonight you’d keep walking, tire yourself out and forget what pained you.

It had been maybe an hour or more of you listening to the same playlist, trying to drown out memories of sirens and screams and pain, when you finally pulled out your phone to switch to a new song set.

Although you may have known most of this forest nearly like the back of your hand, you weren’t immune to the occasional blunder, such as not paying attention to what was right in front of you, thus side-swiping a bush and dropping your phone in the process.

And, of course, it fell face down. That, or you had accidentally locked the screen when you dropped it. You weren’t sure which. Either way, you sighed internally. Without the benefit of the phone’s light to guide you meant needing to get down on your knees and patting the ground to find it. Wonderful. Hopefully the screen didn’t break when it fell.

After a few moments of patting around on the ground your hand finally grazed the smooth plastic of your phone case, and just as you claimed your prize, a loud CRACK sounded, followed by an unfortunately familiar hot, wet, feeling in your side.

***

Mantis woke late into the night/early morning, not quite certain what exactly had woken her, but regardless, sleepily got up to use the toilet. Upon returning to the room, and having woken just enough from her brief nighttime quest, she realized that you weren’t in your bed.

The clock on your desk read nearly 3:30 AM, and the corners of her mouth drooped slightly in confusion. She had learned enough about how Terrans tracked time to know that that was very late. Where could you be?

She didn’t need her empathic abilities to know that you had been very upset that night before bed, perhaps you went downstairs because you couldn’t sleep? Once she found where you had gone she could ask if you could use a friend to talk to, and maybe while the two of you were talking she could use her abilities to see what you were feeling. Perhaps that could help? She still hadn’t told you about her empathic abilities, not wanting to ruin the “practical joke” Yondu had come up with, (She really should ask him when the ‘punchline,’ as Peter called it, was going to happen…) but she still used them from time to time without your knowing and she was confident this time would be no different.

Making her way carefully down the dark stairs she made her first stop the kitchen. Perhaps you were having a late night snack?

The kitchen flooded with light when she flicked the switch, only to reveal you weren’t there.

Leaving the kitchen light on to provide some light to the hall, she crossed the dark floor to the sitting room door. It was possible you might have decided to watch TV or read. However, no light was found to be emanating from the TV or from any of the lamps you might have used for reading. A flick to overhead light switch also proved that you hadn’t decided to just sit in the dark.

How strange…

Maybe you were in the downstairs bathroom, having coincidentally also needed the toilet while she was using the one upstairs? The light wasn’t on under the door, but she still lightly knocked anyway, gently opening it when there was no answer. You weren’t in there either.

Mantis turned to the two remaining doors in the hall. A closet and one leading down to the cellar.

Hall closet first. Definitely.

Opening that door revealed nothing but a small empty space with some pipes, the note from Agent Hill still stuck to the wall where you had never bothered to remove it. She closed the door and turned to the one leading down to the cellar.

The creepy cellar.

Maybe she should go check the cupboards in the kitchen, instead. You could be hiding in one of them, right?

Obviously, she didn’t find you there either.

Returning to the hall she glanced at the cellar door again. Surely, you wouldn’t be down there, right? There was a small closet in the bathroom she didn’t check that you’d be much more likely to be hiding in.

You weren’t there.

Behind the couch? No.

What about behind the shower curtain? No.

Under the kitchen table? No.

Mantis frowned and wrung her hands nervously. There was only one place left to try- Actually, maybe you went for a drive! That must be it!

Unfortunately a glance out the front kitchen windows would prove disappointing. Your car was sitting right in your driveway.

Shoot. Now there really was just one place left to check. Begrudgingly, she made her way to the cellar door. She really didn’t want to go down there. It was just so creepy, and the fact that it was nighttime and she had to make the trip alone only made it worse.

Taking a deep breath, she went down anyway, flicking the light on before she descended, because there was no way she was going down there in the dark.

She bit her lip nervously, each step down making her heart beat just a little bit faster. When she finally reached the bottom of the stairs she tentatively called out your name, her voice coming out in a near squeak.

You didn’t answer back.

She called again, slightly louder this time.

Nothing.

Just as she was considering touching down on the cold brick floor to search for you the light blew out, throwing the cellar into blackness. With a tiny frightened squeal, she decided what she’d already done was good enough and darted back up the stairs. Her heart threatened to flutter out of her chest as she swiftly, yet quietly, shut the door behind her once she reached the top.

She took a moment to catch her breath.

It would seem you were nowhere to be found. How odd… Where could you be then? Frowning, she decided she should maybe try to wake Gamora. She’d know what to do.

***

It took you a second to fully realize that you had been shot. There wasn’t exactly pain straight away, more just the sensation that someone had chucked a pebble at you. It was the blood and the aforementioned booming CRACK that tipped you off.

When the realization of your situation did hit you, however, your first thought was simply, 'Fuck. Fuck.’

There wasn’t pain yet, but you knew there would be.

You ripped the earbuds from your ears, knowing you needed to take in your surroundings immediately. You knew what happened, but you didn’t know the why, who, or the full extent of how screwed you were. You needed to find out the why and who before the pain inevitably set in.

As quiet and aware as you could be as you applied pressure to your wound, your ears searched to hear anything that might give a clue as to who shot you, sure that they’d try it again.

Why was this happening? Had you been somehow compromised? If so, why were they shooting at you in the forest? How would they even know you’d be there? Unless… unless they followed you- Fuck. Did that mean there where others at the house? Did that mean- Shit. You didn’t even have a weapon on you. Sure, you had a pocket knife, but you know the saying about knives and gunfights.

One of them speaks. “I think you hit it, Michael!”

The other answers. “Awesome! Wait until dad sees it! That fox sounded big.”

“Are you kidding? It was way too big to be a fox! It must have been a deer!”

Oh no. No. They weren’t enemy agents, or aliens.

They were kids.

They were the boys of the man who lived a couple miles down the road. They were hunting. Illegally. Poaching at night, out of season.

And they’d shot you.

They sounded far off, maybe thirty meters away? Twenty? You weren’t sure. You tried to control your breath as you felt the wound, unable to see it clearly in the dark. The hole felt small, clean. Maybe a .22 round? If so, that was good. Meant you could dig it out later whole, rather than deal with the aftermath of the round having exploded inside you. You were bleeding, but not gushing. They hadn’t hit an artery. Also good. Meant you wouldn’t bleed out in minutes. You just needed to keep pressure on it…

Twigs and leaves crunched as they began walking your way. Coming to claim what they believed to be their kill.

No. Fuck.

If they find you, the authorities will likely be called, someone to bring medical assistance because, well, they shot you. If the authorities are called, they’ll probably come to your home. You can’t let that happen. Your charge’s location cannot be compromised. Fuck. Fuck.

And this is all of course assuming the boys will feel guilt about shooting you and want to do the right thing. From what little you knew them they seemed like decent boys, but that’s the thing, you didn’t know them. You’d seen enough movies to know what can happen if someone doesn’t want to get in trouble for an accident of this severity. They were also out hunting illegally. What if they just tried to finish the job? Eliminate the witness and avoid repercussions for shooting a person while poaching? You couldn’t let that happen either. You had a responsibility to your charges.

Ok, so maybe panic was starting to set in from the adrenaline, clouding your judgement. This wasn’t helped by the fact a hot pain was starting to creep out around your wound. Maybe you weren’t thinking your clearest. But still, you couldn’t allow them to get close.

They were getting closer, and you desperately needed a plan. You had the benefit of the bush for concealment, but just sitting there wasn’t an option. Neither was running away. For one, they’d hear you and possibly see you. Secondly, you wouldn’t be at your top running game with a bullet wound. You patted the ground for something, anything to throw and alert their attention elsewhere.

Your hand grazed over a decent sized rock, and you thanked the stars for your good fortune that it wasn’t so big you wouldn’t be able to throw it one handed and that it wasn’t so small it wouldn’t make enough noise.

Grabbing the rock, you threw it as hard as you could in the direction heading away from your home. Unfortunately, that also meant removing the hand you were using to apply pressure to your wound as you couldn’t throw with your other arm being still trapped in a brace as it was, but you considered it a necessary risk.

The rock landed in another bush somewhere and you felt dizzy as one of the boys said in the distance, “Oh! I think I heard it run over that way, you must have just stunned it!” Rusting could be heard headed in the direction the rock landed, and you sigh in relief that they had taken the bait.

That relief was short lived. Pressure still needed to be applied to your wound, and the hot pain now enveloped nearly your whole side. The wet patch had grown in the few moments that your increasingly foggy mind had neglected it. As quietly as you could, you laid on the ground. Fatigue overcame you, but you couldn’t allow yourself to sleep. No. Just lay there. Just until the coast was clear. Until traces of their voices and footsteps can no longer be heard. Maybe rest your eyes while you waited…

No! Stay alert. You needed to head back to the house as soon as you could.

But could five seconds really hurt?

Yes! Of course they could!

But your eyelids were already so heavy…

You exhaled slowly as the world went black.

***

“Gamora?” Mantis whispered quietly, staring down at the green woman’s sleeping face.

Gamora didn’t stir.

“Gamora?” she tried again, a little louder this time as she shook her gently by the shoulder.

Gamora sleepily groaned and blinked her eyes, asking Mantis what she wanted before startling when her eyes opened fully and she was confronted with Mantis’s face inches from her own. Once the startle wore-off Gamora sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Trying not to show her irritation at being woken up, she reached for the phone SHIELD had given her. It had a Terran time clock inside. She asked again, “What do you need, Mantis?” as she made out the time on the phone to be a quarter to four, and added, “It’s late.”

Mantis backed away slightly and answered that she couldn’t find you anywhere.

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Gamora asked.

“She’s not in her bed, and I checked the whole house, she’s not here. Her vehicle is, but she is not.”

This got Gamora’s attention. If you weren’t in the house, where would you have gone in the middle of the night?

“She was upset earlier at Peter earlier, do you think she ran away?” Mantis asked, sounding worried.

Gamora shook her head. No, this was your home. If you were really that unhappy with them it’d make more sense to her that you’d kick them out rather than just abandoning your home. “No Mantis, I’m sure she’s around somewhere, we’ll help you look.”

With that, she took her pillow and threw it across the room at Peter, who was dead asleep and snoring softly. It smacked him in the head.

He woke with a start. “Hey! What was that for?” he asked groggily, sitting up to throw the pillow back.

Gamora caught it, informing him that Mantis said you were gone, and that he was going to help them check the house for you.

Peter groaned. “Really? I’m sure she’s just downstairs. I’m going back to sleep.” He laid back down and turned to face the wall.

“What if she ran away? You made her pretty upset last night, what if she doesn’t come back?” Mantis asked, ignoring Gamora’s previous assertions that that wouldn’t have happened.

Peter flopped on his back and groaned into the ceiling. He also knew that scenario was highly unlikely, but now Mantis had made him feel bad. Now he had to help them search for you. “Fine!” he said, “I’ll help look, but I’m telling you, she’s probably just downstairs getting a snack or something.”

They made their way down the stairs together, trying to be quiet about it so as to not wake the others. The way was lit just enough to see the steps, courtesy of the lights Mantis had left on downstairs in the kitchen and sitting room.

Like Mantis had before, they checked the bathroom, the kitchen, the sitting room, and, after obtaining a torch from the kitchen drawer you kept them in, Peter checked the cellar again too. Nothing.

“Let’s check outside,” Peter suggested, now more awake and seeing the oddness of your absence. “Maybe she just wanted some fresh air.”

Gamora grabbed another torch from the drawer and started to head outside. Just before exiting the front door Gamora noted the door was still locked, which prompted Peter to check the back door as well. It was locked too. This likely meant you’d likely not be outside, because why would you lock yourself out if you were just getting some fresh air? Regardless, they checked outside anyway. They walked around the house, shone the light in your car, peered in the garden, and investigated the tree swing. You weren’t in any of those places either.

Peter went to check the shed, but found it locked. No lights were on inside, and he didn’t hear anyone stirring around in there, but he knocked anyway. No answer. Not like he really expected one.

Puzzled, they all went back inside the house.

Maybe you were in someone else’s bedroom? Sure, they knew it’d be odd to find you in someone else’s room, as you usually never went in them to their knowledge, but maybe you had sleepwalked?

They headed back upstairs, taking a quick peak inside your room and the upstairs bathroom again just in case, before quietly looking into the other’s rooms, not wanting to wake and alert them right away just in case.

Well, Peter and Gamora had intended to be quiet. Mantis, however, just flipped the light on in the room Drax, Rocket, and Groot shared, which woke them.

Drax groaned and covered his eyes at the sudden intrusion of bright light and Rocket grumbled. Groot just sat up sleepily and yawned, stretching adorably as Rocket sat up and asked Mantis what her problem was.

She repeated what she had said to Gamora earlier, that you were missing.

Rocket rolled his eyes, and had much the same reaction as Peter had. Told her that you were probably just downstairs.

Gamora stepped next to Mantis, followed by Peter, and vouched for her claims. They’d already searched for you. You weren’t there.

Rocket frowned. “She’ll turn up. You worry too much.”

Gamora’s eyes narrowed. “What if something happened, Rocket?”

Before he could answer, Yondu and Kraglin, who had been woken by the voices, sleepily stepped into the hall. “What’s goin’ on here?” Yondu asked, sounding gruff and none-too-pleased at having been woken.

For the fourth time that night it was explained that you were missing, and Yondu and Kraglin shared a look. “What’d'ya mean, 'missing’?” Kraglin asked, his eyebrow raised.

After some more talk about how the search for you turned up nothing, and wondering if something had happened, Rocket rolled his eyes and said “Like what? You really think someone came in here, just took her, and woke none of us up?”

Drax was sitting up now. “He is right. We would have heard it if something like that happened.”

Gamora sighed, saying, “I don’t know, but don’t you find it the least bit strange that she just vanished? I seriously doubt she just decided to go take a walk in the middle of the night.”

Yondu and Kraglin had moved closer to the doorway of the bedroom everyone was currently hovering around and Yondu spoke up. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that one.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked.

“She might’ve done just that. Probably went for a walk.”

“Why would she-” Gamora started.

“Not a chance,” Rocket said disbelievingly, cutting her off. “I would have heard the door. I hear every time one of you guys gets up to get a drink or take a leak in the middle of the night. I would have definitely heard her leaving the house.”

“Clearly ya don’t hear as well as ya think,” Kraglin said, “Cap'n and me seen her go out for walks at night through the window a couple times. We never heard her leave.”

“Surely the door would have been easier?” said Drax, perplexed.

Yondu just pinched the bridge of his nose, but didn’t correct him.

“Yeah right,” Rocket scoffed, ignoring Drax. “You’re probably just losin’ your hearing to old age. Terran’s ain’t that stealthy.”

“Hey!” Peter objected.

“She can be real quiet if she wants to,” Yondu said, wondering if he should mention you might just be in the forest. He shared a glance with Kraglin, who seemed to be wondering the same.

“Oh wow. The geezer can’t hear. Shocker.” Rocket said sarcastically.

“Well you clearly never heard her leave either, Rat.” Kraglin tossed back at him.

“Or us searching downstairs for the last fifteen minutes.” Gamora added.

That shut him up.

“But who goes for a walk this late?” Peter asked.

“Well, ya did make her mighty upset last night,” Yondu said.

“So?”

“So, I noticed on bad days she would go out for walks.”

Peter frowned. “Bad days?”

“Yeah. Like when Rocket messed the kitchen, or that night she bit ya. Days when she’d be upset. She seemed to quit going after she hurt her arm, but maybe she was finally feelin’ more up to it, or just upset enough to not care.”

Drax spoke up in realization, repeating what Yondu had previously said. “That’s right! Quill did make her very mad last night! That must be where she went!”

Rocket looked at Peter accusingly. “So it’s Quill’s fault that we’re all awake at…” he glanced at the clock on the wall, “four in the morning.”

Peter frowned and Yondu made a concerned humming noise. He hadn’t realized the time. Didn’t realize it was quite that late.

“What?” Peter asked.

“That is real late to be out…”

“That’s what we’re saying!” Peter said in frustration. “So what do we do? Should we wait? Go looking for her? Call SHIELD?”

Yondu looked down thoughtfully for a moment, then looked up to meet Gamora’s gaze, her face illuminated by the light coming from the bedroom. “Let’s wait. If she ain’t back by mornin’ we’ll call SHIELD.”

“What if she’s hurt?” Peter asked, guilt setting in. If you had indeed gone out for a nighttime walk because you were pissed at him, and then got hurt, or worse, it’d be his fault. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun. He only wanted to get a little under your skin. He didn’t think he was going too far, but still, if that was the outcome-

Mantis interrupted his thoughts. “Oh no! What if a monster ate her!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

“A monster did not eat her.” Gamora said to calm her, slightly frowning. Though, secretly, she was unsure of this. Terra did have some terrifying creatures. Just the other day she read about the Hippopotamus. Where they native to this area? Could one have gotten to you?

She pushed those thoughts aside and said, “Peter and I will stay up and watch for her. The rest of you can go back to sleep.”

“Finally!” Rocket said, laying back down and pulling the blanket over his head. Groot had already fallen back asleep several minutes ago, having been too sleepy to fully grasp what was going on and unable to keep his eyes open.

Gamora gently nudged Mantis back to her own bed, and Peter did the same to Yondu and Kraglin with a nod of his head, though they seemed reluctant to go. Yondu only frowned and they didn’t make an immediate move to leave.

Drax, who usually woke early anyway, then said, “I’m already awake, I might as well stay awake.” With that, he threw off his blanket and went to stand up.

This was met with complaints and the others shielding their eyes.

“Dude! You got to start wearing underwear to bed!” Peter scolded.

Drax just rolled his eyes and waved him off, muttering something about Earthers having hangups.

Yondu and Kraglin turned on their heels and escaped to their room to save their eyes from further assault.

***

“Mommy?” a small voice whispered. “Mooommmyyyy?” it said again in a sing song voice.

You hum in response, “What is it, sweetie?”

“Get up, mommy!” said another small, giggly voice. This was almost immediately followed by two small bodies flinging themselves onto the bed, someone’s knee connecting with your side and sending pain jolting through you. Your eyes immediately pop open with a groan.

“Sorry!” apologized one of the little voices.

“It’s ok, baby.” you say, trying not to grit your teeth despite the pain not ebbing away.

“You need to get up, mommy!” the voice giggled.

“Five more minutes,” you joked, re-closing your eyes.

“Come on, wakey-wakey!” This time the voice came from your partner as they briefly tickled your ribs.

You laugh before wincing in pain, your side still aching you. You open your eyes and look into those of your love. You smile despite the pain.

“Get up, darling,” they said, smiling lovingly down at you.

You reach out to touch their face before it hits you. Wait… This- They can’t…

Your partner’s face falls, they look worried. “Get up, darling.” they say, there is more urgency to their voice.

You open your mouth to answer when one of the small voices speaks, sounding frightened. “Get up, mommy!”

You furrowed your brow at them in confusion. What’s the matt-

This thought is cut off by a stab of pain in your side. You look down, but nothing’s there.

“Get up, mommy!” It’s more frantic this time. Your partner joins in, just as frantic. “Get up!”

Now you’re frightened. All three of them are screaming at you now. “Get up, mommy! Get up! GET UP! GET UP, MOMMY! GET UP, NOW!”

***

You jolt awake, tears running down your cheeks and a hot pain in your side despite the cool air. You shivered.

The entire side of your shirt was soaked in blood, and you could feel some pooled on your backside. How long had you been out? Minutes? Hours? It was just beginning to get lighter out, so perhaps not hours?

With some difficulty you managed to pull yourself to your knees. Your phone and earbuds lay next to you on the ground and you stuff them in your jacket pocket before moving to stand up.

Dirt and leaves stuck to the blood coating your hand and you wiped it as best you could on the hip of your dark jeans. Dried blood and dirt still remained in translucent smears on your hand and you frowned at the sight. It’d be a bad idea to press it back against your wound. Your other hand, however attached to your injured arm, was reasonably clean. So, you pressed that to your side instead, using your opposite hand to help keep pressure against it from outside your jacket.

Maybe if you found the river you could clean-

No. Fuck the river. You needed to get home. You had supplies there.

The thought of walking all that way made you dizzy, but you needed to press on. You could do this. Just one foot in front of the other.

***

Peter and Gamora sat at the kitchen table sipping coffee to keep themselves awake, unsure how long it’d be when, or if, you came back. After a bit Kraglin joined them.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Peter asked as Kraglin made his way to the coffee.

“Nope.” Kraglin sighed. “Yondu’s trying, but I gave up. Hard to sleep when he’s tossin’ n’ turnin’ like that. Get’s like that when he’s worryin’, about stuff.” He approached the table, coffee in hand. “Though, he ain’t gonna admit that.”

“Wait,” Peter raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down. “You saying he’s worried about her?”

Seeing Peter’s expression Kraglin said, “Pete, we both know he puts on a tough act, but if ya ain’t figured out by now that Yondu’s really jus’ a big softie, I don’t know what to tell ya.”

Now Peter and Gamora shared a look.

Kraglin rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee before speaking lower, as if afraid Yondu might hear him. “Ya seriously haven’t noticed how he’s taken to her? How he teases and messes with her? Like how he does with you, or how he did with-” he cut himself off, seeming unsure if he should have said anything.

“With who?” Peter asked, intrigued.

Kraglin seemed hesitant, but eventually answered. “Well, with the other kids your dad had us fetch. Cap'n cared about every single one, Pete, even if he didn’t say- 'cause he never says. They may never have stayed long, certainly not as long as you,” he chuckled a bit, looking down at the table, “but he couldn’t help carin’ about all of 'em, the big softie.”

Peter looked at him, surprised. He wasn’t expecting this conversation, but if the universe was giving him a chance to have some things clarified, he was going to take it. “Ya know I asked him once, a little while back, after all that stuff happened with Ego, why he took that job. Why he brought so many kids to him, but he just shrugged and said it was good money.” Peter’s tone was questioning, as if he knew he didn’t quite believe that but wanted Kraglin to confirm.

Kraglin lifted his coffee, but didn’t drink. “Yeah, the money was good, but he also thought he was doin’ a good thing at the time, even if it didn’t adhere to the code. Bringin’ youngins back to their daddy.” He frowned a bit. “It killed him when he found out what Ego was doin’ to those kids.”

He paused a moment, set his mug down, and glanced out the back window. “He hated knowing he had a part in it.” Another pause. He looked back at Peter. “It’s no surprise to me that he kept ya instead of dropping ya back off here. He didn’t just want to do right by not delivering ya to Ego, ya know. He got attached.” Kraglin then let out a half-chuckle. “He can’t help himself. Like I said, big old softie.” There was more to it than that, Kraglin knew. Though, he didn’t say. Yondu had a habit of taking in the broken or the lost. Give them a place to belong. He was rough on the outside, but if you could peel back the many layers he hid under, you’d see a softness. Someone who just wanted a family. It was no wonder it broke his heart when Stakar exiled him. Yondu had only been trying to reunite a family, but this mistake had resulted in him being disowned by his.

After a moment Kraglin spoke again. “Ya know, I told him not to get attached to this one 'cause we’d be leavin’ eventually, but he don’t listen. It’s just how he is, Pete.” He took another sip of coffee.

Peter sat there in silence a moment, having replied with nothing more than a short, “Huh.”

He had actually not given much thought on whether Yondu had cared about the other kids he fetched for Ego in the short time since that whole situation went down. He supposed it didn’t surprise him now though, given how things had turned out. He saw how quickly Yondu and Rocket got along, and how he played around with Groot almost like a grandpa. Not to mention the fact that Yondu’s near-death experience had made Peter better able to appreciate the fact that he had definitely gotten special treatment apart from the rest of the crew growing up, even if he hadn’t noticed at the time.

Gamora sat and watched the two men in silent understanding. This revelation about Yondu did honestly surprise her, but if her last adventure with Peter had taught her anything, it was that sometimes people aren’t always how they seem. Everyone has hidden parts.

She blinked, a sudden realization having hit her. She nudged Peter in the arm. “The attic,” she said.

“What?” Peter asked, confused. Kraglin also raised an eyebrow at her.

“We never checked the attic. What if she’s been up there this whole time and doesn’t even realize we’ve been looking for her?” It could be possible. You had spent plenty of time up there when that couple upset you.

Now Peter blinked. Then he sighed in slight annoyance. “If that’s where she’s been this whole time I’m kicking her ass.”

Gamora gave him a scolding look and Kraglin stood.

“Hold that thought,” he said, explaining that he wanted to tag along, having been curious about the attic ever since he learned no one was allowed up there, but he wanted to excuse himself to the toilet first. Then he’d be ready.

Peter and Gamora figured waiting another couple minutes wouldn’t kill them, so they stayed at the table and waited for their friend to come back. Peter was still grumbling about how if you worried “Mantis” for nothing he was going to 'kick your ass’, and Gamora telling him that he would do no such thing, when they heard the front door open.

***

The time you spent stumbling your way back felt endless, the effort of standing upright and walking was doing nothing to dull the pain of your wound. You did your best to keep pressure on it, but you still felt dizzy, and you wondered again just how much blood you had lost when you were out and just how long you had been laying there. The sky was growing lighter still, but it wasn’t near dawn yet. You must have been out all night.

Eventually you came to a break in the trees, only you weren’t where you expect to be. Granted, you were disoriented, but you didn’t think you were so much so that you would have managed to exit the woods to the side of your house, rather than behind where you normally came and went from the forest.

No wonder it felt like it was taking forever to get home.

No matter. Your home was finally in sight. The others wouldn’t likely be up for a few hours, so you’d have time to clean yourself up in the kitchen with the aid kit you kept under the sink and get back to bed before anyone noticed you were gone. No need to listen to anyone fussing about you having been shot and the likely resulting questions about the hows and whys.

It took longer than it really should have for you to fully register that lights were on inside.

They shouldn’t have been. They weren’t when you left.

Someone was up.

Crap.

Nothing for it but to continue on your way. You were about three quarters of the way there now. Almost there.

Nausea creeped in your belly, you blamed it on the anxiety.

This was fine. It was fine. If someone was in the kitchen, you’d just sneak by to the bathroom. You had enough supplies in there to do what you needed in the medicine cupboard. Not like whoever it was would barge in to see you treating your wound, right? It’s fine.

It was a hollow plan and you knew it. For one, there was your bloody clothes to consider. Well… you probably did need a shower… You could feign having forgotten your clothes upstairs if whoever was downstairs hadn’t made their way back to bed before you were done. Worst that would happen is that whoever it was would see you making your trip upstairs in a towel. You could live with that, right?

Sure. Sure. It’s fine.

At least that’s what you told yourself in your impaired state.

You finally reached your front door and reach out with your good arm to grab the doorknob, only realizing as it turned easily to let you in that it shouldn’t have. You always locked the doors at night, and you had left out the back door, so if you had forgotten to lock any of them, it would have been that one as you left.

What if someone broke in?

Anxiety tightened your chest and stomach as you quietly shut the door and quickly took in your surroundings. The lights to both the sitting room and kitchen were on, the hall light was off, as was the upstairs light. The other two rooms provided just enough light for objects in the hall to be visible enough that a person wouldn’t walk into anything, but the space was still largely dark, and got darker the closer one would get to the staircase.

Drax could be seen in the sitting room, resting in one of the armchairs and facing away from you towards the TV. He hadn’t seemed to notice you come in, and a little tension relieves from your shoulders.

Surely if someone had broken in then he wouldn’t just be sitting there watching TV. And if he was in there, maybe he had just been in the kitchen and forgot to turn off the light? You hoped so. It would make your life a whole lot easier right now.

Nope. Someone was rustling in the kitchen. Someone else must be awake. Damn. You prepared yourself to clean up in the bathroom, but then noticed the thin light under the door.

Damn it! You really didn’t want to climb stairs right now. You were so tired.

Guess that’s too bad, because it seemed the upstairs bathroom was your only choice at the moment. It was the only place left where you had any medical supplies stored.

You made you way towards the stairs, fighting the dizziness and pain. You could do this. One step up. Good. That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now just to repeat that sixteen times until you reached the landing. Oh what fun.

“Where have you been?” called a stern voice from behind you.

You turned to see Peter and Gamora standing in the hall near the kitchen doorway that was closest to the front door, looking rather cross even in the dim light provided from the kitchen.

“What?” You frowned and turned completely to face them, hoping to keep your posture looking natural while still keeping pressure on the wound. Your braced arm couldn’t extend straight anyway, due to being locked in a limited range of motion, so that helped your case a little. If you just put your good hand in your pocket you thought your posture would almost look natural and relaxed. You only hoped they didn’t turn on the light. Your dark jeans and jacket paired with the dim light were the only things saving you from them seeing the blood on your clothes.

Gamora tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Something was off here. You seemed strange.

“Where have you been all night?” Peter repeated, taking a few steps closer and becoming more of a silhouette as he walked out of the range of the kitchen’s light.

Squinting at him you feigned a short laugh, moving backwards up a step on the stairs. “What are you? My dad? I don’t need your permission to take an early walk,” you said, making to turn away but stopping when Gamora spoke next.

“You’ve been gone since at least 3:00 AM, it’s nearly 5:00 am now.” You seemed strange to her, and she wondered if something was wrong. You seemed in an awful hurry to get away from them.

You grimaced both at her words and the pain in your side. So you had been out for quite a bit… “Alright, so a very early walk.” You take another backwards step, bringing yourself to stand on the third stair. Please let this conversation end soon. You were getting shaky, or at least you noticed it more now that you were forced to stand still.

“Bullshit. You were out all night.” Peter confronted. “Where did you go? What’s the big idea?”

You were glaring at him and trying to find a way to cut this conversation short when Drax came out of the sitting room, having heard you guys talking.

He smiled and said, “Peter, Gamora! She’s back!”

Gamora pinched the bridge of her nose. “We know, Drax.”

You took this distraction to climb up another step, trying to take deeper breaths to ease your rapid heart.

“Friend! We thought you had climbed out a window and then got eaten by a monster!” said Drax, who, for reasons unbeknownst to you, decided that now was apparently a good time to hug you.

Your eyes widened as you saw him approaching with outstretched arms. In a slight panic you take a quick and painful step backwards to rest on the fifth step. “Stop!” you say, a little harsher than you intended.

Drax stopped, having only been able to take a few steps in your direction and looking confused.

You made an attempt to recover. “I’m sorry, just… no bear hugs right now. I’m… not feeling too well. I’m going to go lie down now,” you say, throwing a glance at Peter and adding, “assuming you’re done telling me what I can and can’t do in my own house.” Ok, so that was a little harsh, considering they actually did have cause to be concerned, even if they were unaware of your current circumstances, but you really needed to get upstairs.

A thoughtful look came over Gamora’s face. You had been acting strangely in her opinion, but she supposed if you really weren’t feeling well that could explain it. She decided not to press it.

Peter narrowed his eyes at you before waving you off with a scoff, he and Gamora turning back to the kitchen. Drax simply nodded and turned back to the sitting room, seeing no reason not to comply with your request. It made perfect sense to him that you wouldn’t want to be squeezed if you weren’t feeling well.

You sighed in relief, and used the added adrenaline to force yourself into taking the steps quicker. You made it to about the twelfth step before one of your knees buckled and you tripped, letting out a short cry of pain when you caught yourself.

Many things then happened simultaneously in the next couple of minutes.

First, Peter rolled his eyes upon hearing you stumble up the stairs. He turned with a sigh, making his way over to the switch while Gamora paused and waited for him just outside the kitchen. “You know you probably wouldn’t trip if you bothered to turn on a dang light!” he scolded, still frustrated with you. What was the big idea? Being gone all night, making him feel guilty that you might have gotten hurt and it would’ve been his fault, worrying Mantis, just to show up and act like they were being overbearing? Jackass.

You shook your fall off best you could, ignoring Peter’s scolding about walking up the stairs in the dark. You shakily continued up, only to then see a thin light under the upstairs bathroom door just before reaching the final step, certain that you could also hear the shower running. ’Is the whole damn house awake?’ you bitterly wondered. Whatever. You’d just wait them out in your room. Hopefully they were almost done.

Then the hall light flicked on below, making your breath hitch in surprise. You tried to calm yourself. It was still relatively dim upstairs, now brighter than it had been in the hall, but still dim enough. They wouldn’t see the blood on you. You were fine. Just get to your room, before someone sees.

When the hall flooded with light Peter was finally able to notice a red smudge on the floor. Another rested a little ways from that one, and another, and another. Like a trail.

The few steps to your bedroom door from the top stair were dizzying, but you made it. However, just before you could grab onto the knob a gruff voice spoke behind you.

“Finally decide to turn in for the night?” Yondu asked, a layer of scolding in his voice. He had decided to finally follow Kraglin’s lead and give up on sleep, telling himself his sleeplessness was just curiosity about where you had run off too. He wasn’t worried, he was just curious. Maybe a little annoyed that you’d worry Mantis like this by staying out all night, but him worried? No.

At least that’s what he told himself.

So imagine his relief surprise when he opened the bedroom door to see you standing on the landing just outside your own room. He had half a mind to give you a piece of his for scaring him Mantis like you did. What had you been thinking? Staying out all night, worrying the others? Downright rude.

You turn to face him, resting your shoulders against the door. “Peter already pulled the mother hen act downstairs,” you quipped weakly. “You can give it a rest.”

He walked closer. You were being your usually snippy self, but something was off. Part of him wanted to ask if something had happened, but instead he settled on scolding you for being out all night. He didn’t know what you meant by 'mother hen’, but your tone implied cheekiness. He narrowed his eyes, his tone got darker. “Ya know you had the whole house up lookin’ fer ya,” he began. A bit of an exaggeration, but as long as it had the desired effect- “Thought somethin’ might’ve happened to ya. Got anythin’ to say fer yerself?”

Yondu walks a few more steps towards you, hoping to see your face better, get a read on you.

Downstairs, Peter followed the red trail across the floor slowly with his eyes until they rested on a larger red stain on the first step. Gamora followed his gaze. 'What the hell?’ Peter thought, sharing the same sentiment as Gamora without either needing to speak, 'Is that… blood?’

Upstairs, you frown at Yondu. “Clearly nothing happened,” you lie, brushing him off. “Now if you excuse me, I’m not feeling well and I’m gonna lie down,” you say, satisfied that lie would work just as well for him as it did for the others.

You may just be wanting to avoid being questioned further, but Yondu actually believes you when you say you don’t feel well. You look like crap. Even in the dim light you look paler than normal, and almost kinda shaky. But something was still off, he just couldn’t put his finger on it…

In haste to get into your room, and satisfied he bought it, you turn away without another word.

In that moment he saw what you didn’t even realize you’d been hiding, and he moved quickly to close the distance between you before you could shut yourself in your room.

Of course you aren’t going to be feeling well! Not when he can see the damned exit wound through your jacket and the wet stain of what he was sure was blood trailing down the back of your leg.

As for you, you were finally out of steam. You barely even registered his footsteps rapidly approaching. Hell, you didn’t even get a good grip on your doorknob. That final turn back to your door proved to be the last straw, causing your vision to swim as your knees gave out.

The sound of your body hitting the floor upstairs snapped Peter’s gaze up. He could now make out yours and Yondu’s voices, but not what you were saying, just that neither of you seemed to be engaged in a particularly cheerful conversation. Peter uttered the word, “Shit,” before running up the stairs, Gamora following close behind.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something bad had happened. What they didn’t understand was just how bad yet, or why you had attempted to hide it.

When Peter and Gamora reached the top of the stairs you were lying on the floor, weakly pulling yourself into a kneeling position. Yondu was frustratedly ordering you to “let him see,” but you kept ignoring him.

“What happened?!” Gamora said, more of an order for you to explain than a question.

You barely paid attention to her. You were feeling too dizzy. Why couldn’t they see that they needed to let you be?

“Turn that light on, boy!” Yondu ordered.

Peter complied and flipped the switch at the top of the stairs, illuminating the upstairs landing.

This action revealed the same bloody tracks on the floor as downstairs which lead to you, and the blood that soaked the whole side of your shirt as well.

Peter and Yondu both swore at the sight, and Gamora again demanded to know what happened. She cursed herself internally. She knew something had been up, and wished she had listened to her instincts.

“Looks like she’s been shot,” Yondu answered for you, since you didn’t seem interested in answering.

You groaned out that it was fine. It was just a bullet wound- you’d had worse. You could take care of it yourself. You didn’t need their help.

Yondu glared at you. “Bullshit,” he said, not bothering to ask permission as he forcefully turned you so he could pull back your jacket and take a look at your backside. “Looks like it went all the way through.” He said this more to Peter than to you. He, incorrectly, assumed you already knew.

Those words froze you for a moment. All the way through? Oh fuck. You had never checked for an exit wound. Why didn’t you check for an exit wound? You knew better than that. Oh hell, that’s why this was so bad. You were keeping pressure on only one side of your damn gunshot wound. How much had you bled out?

Shit.

“How did this happen?” Peter demanded, “Who shot you? Where are they?”

Fueled with misplaced anger you found the strength to elbow Yondu away from you and scoot yourself back against the door. You didn’t answer his question. Instead, you told him not to worry about it and to leave you be so you could take care of it.

Yondu locked eyes with Gamora and instructed her to call SHIELD before grabbing at you again. You were either stupid, or delusional, and he had his bets placed on the latter. He had a feeling that you had lost way too much blood to think straight. You didn’t seem to quite understand the severity of your injury, or that they were trying to help. “Don’t you dare fight me, girl!” he said angrily when you smacked his hand. “We’re trying to help you, dammit! Look at me, you hear! Let me see your eyes!”

You tried to pull your head away but he wouldn’t allow it. He tilted your head back and held each eye open to the light. He then pressed his fingers to your throat and growled at you to 'stop it’ when you tried to twist your head away. You make a low whine in response, your eyelids growing heavy. So tired. Your head leans back against the door.

Being a space pirate taught one a few things. One of those things was what could go very wrong if shot or stabbed. Like losing too much blood and going into shock. Ravagers were all taught at least basic first aid. It was often needed in their line of work. Of the things taught were the signs of shock, several of which you were currently presenting. Your skin was clammy and you had lost your color, your pupils were blown wide, your heart rate was rapid, and those were just the signs Yondu was able to see. “Fuck, she’s in shock, boy. I’m sure of it,” he said.

“Quick, lay her down.” Peter said as Gamora thrusted some towels she retrieved from the bathroom at Yondu, still on the phone but now trying to get ahold of Agent Hill after she got a busy tone from Fury.

Lay down? You didn’t want to do that. They were just being dramatic, you weren’t in shock. Sure, you lost a decent amount of blood, but you walked all the way home, there was no way. Shock? Pfft. You just needed to grab your aid kit, treat the wound, and then you could sleep this off. Sleep was better than the pain. You swatted at Peter’s hands, telling him it wasn’t that bad.

This, of course, pissed him off. “Stop being an idiot! You need to lay down.” he scolded. Peter, having been raised by Ravagers, had also been required to learn first aid and therefore also knew the basics of what to do for shock. He knew they needed to lie you down, try elevate your feet, and stop the bleeding until help could arrive. If only you’d quit fighting them.

“Why the hell is she fighting you?” Rocket asked in the background. He hadn’t been able to fall back asleep either, and had been the person showering in the upstairs bathroom when you came up. He had come out just before Gamora rushed in for the towels, and was quite confused by the sight that greeted him on the landing. “Can’t she see you’re tryin’ to help her?”

“I don’t need- OOF!”

Suddenly the door opened behind you, cutting your sentence short as you fell on your back and stared up at what appeared to be a shocked and frightened Mantis.

Mantis? Oh that’s right. You had forgotten you shared a room with her. Oh… That probably really wouldn’t have gone over well if you had succeeded in your plan of hiding out in your room until the bathroom was free and you had entered the room covered in blood. You could only imagine the look on her face. Well, you didn’t have to try hard, she was pretty much already wearing that expression.

Mantis’s hands were clasped at her chest as she asked what happened to you.

Peter briefly filled her in before asking you again who shot you, only to be met with a choked grunt and a curse as Yondu pressed a rolled up towel under your back to help stop the bleeding of the exit wound you were now too delirious to fully care about.

Seeing Peter frustratedly ask you again, Mantis realized her services may be needed. Kneeling down, she pressed her hands against your temples and Peter looked up at her gratefully as you began to still. He knew she was using her abilities to ease you into a more compliant state.

Gamora now told the others that SHIELD was on their way, ignoring your weak response of “What’d you call them for?”

By now Kraglin and Drax had heard the commotion and came to see what was going on. Upon learning you had been shot Drax offered to go find the person responsible and return the favor by ripping out their spine.

You let out a short whimper, your eyes fluttering as you tried to stay conscious. “Please don’t,” you say, a hint of desperation in your voice that made the others exchange glances. “It was just an accident. They were just kids. They don’t even know they shot me.”

“How could they not know they shot you?!” Peter said incredulously.

“They thought I was a fox,” you answer weakly, “I couldn’t risk anyone coming here and finding you lot, so I hid... threw a rock for distraction... laid down until they were gone.” You left out the bit about passing out, certain it would make them more fussy. “It was just an accident… I swear…” Your voice was getting weaker and Peter lightly slapped your cheek a couple times, telling you to stay with them. He could ask how they hell they thought you were a fox later. You only weakly responded with, “You’re safe…”

He looked up at Mantis, his brow furrowed. “Can you keep her awake?”

Mantis bit her lip and shook her head. “I can’t. She’s weakening.”

You tilted your head back slightly to look at her, wondering what she meant, but at the same time losing your ability to make much sense of what anyone was saying. Your eyes fluttered once more. So tired.

Peter tapped your cheek again, telling you to keep your eyes open.

You couldn’t.

Chapter Text

Agents stand round a casket to pay their respects to their dear departed coworker and friend.

A hard worker, they say. One of the best, they say. Stories of accomplishments, good times, and what could have been, abound.

Tears, laughter, memories.

Loss.

Your brother gives a moving eulogy. The casket lowers into the ground. You cry on your lover’s shoulder. Your children, two little boys, sit on the knees of your in-laws, too young to fully understand where grandad went.

Your dad should still be here.

But he’s not, and despite the fact you knew it was coming, it’s too soon, and it’s not fair.

* * *

“How long 'til they get here?” Peter asks urgently before instructing Rocket to grab another towel. He’s still slapping at your face, trying to wake you up. It isn’t working.

“They didn’t say,” Gamora answers. “Hopefully soon. We might need to try to close the wound ourselves. I’m not sure how much longer she’ll last if we don’t.”

Concern etches Yondu’s features. Gamora was likely right. He looks to Kraglin, asks if he remembers where that sewing kit you showed them was, and told him to go fetch it.

Mantis whimpers.

Gamora tries to soothe her. “It’s gonna be ok, she’ll be ok, Mantis.” She’s not altogether sure if she’s Mantis telling the truth.

“She’s sad.” Mantis replies, not looking up at Gamora, fingertips on your temples. “I think she’s dreamin-Hgnn-” She shudders almost violently from the feelings she reads next, cutting off her own sentence.

* * *

Pain. Indescribable pain. You can’t move. Your eyes flutter open. Glass and twisted metal have you pinned. So much blood.

Quiet… It’s too quiet. Why can’t you hear them? You should be able to hear them! Why-

No… it’s not quiet. You can hear wailing. Ok. Wailing is better than silence. Wailing means-

No. Not wailing.

Sirens.

Deafening sirens.

Getting closer. Getting louder.

You reach over-

Blackness.

* * *

“Should we try to move her?” Peter asks.

“Just enough to get her out of the doorway. Help me pull her back.” Yondu instructs Peter.

“Wait! Just a moment!” Mantis starts urgently, only to release you a second later, just before Yondu could scold and inform her they didn’t have time to wait. “I calmed her dreams,” she explained.

Rocket started to tell her that whatever you were dreaming about was the least of your worries, but Gamora quickly stopped him and thanked her. “It’s a good idea to keep her calm. It’ll help steady her heartbeat.”

Rocket sighed and wordlessly conceded that they were right with a shrug.

* * *

It’s sunny. The air feels wonderfully warm on your skin. Two little voices laughing and calling for you. Your babies. Your sweet babies.

Laughter and running and happy squeals. A game of chase. Excited laughter. Your lover calls from the back door, the baby cooing happily in their grasp. Your little girl.

Time for lunch. You playfully chase the little ones inside.

Happy squeals.

Squealing. Squealing tires. Something hits you. You are thrown.

The light is blinding. You are moving. Where are you going?

Yellow. Sickening yellow. Getting closer.

Where are they-

Your brother’s face. Blood. So much blood. They cover him with a white sheet. The blood seeps through.

Another white sheet. This one covering your lover. No. Please no…

More white sheets. The forms underneath are too small. Far too small. Please, please no! No.. no…

Your chest is tight. You are screaming. No. No no no! It’s not fair-

* * *

You begin to stir, but you aren’t awake. Your hands are clenched into fists and you’re becoming rigid.

Yondu tries to pull up your shirt to get a better assessment of the entry wound, and your hand shoots out to grasp his, nails digging in. He doesn’t think you’re actually trying to fight his helpful advances this time, however. He’s more certain that you slipped into some sort of nightmare or hallucination, and he calls to Mantis for her aid again.

She quickly eases you into a happier place in your mind, trying not to read the pain and fear in you as she does so.

Yondu is finally able to pull your shirt up, and Gamora brings him a wet cloth so they might find the wound somewhere in the mess of fresh and dried blood. She’s also brought the aid kit from the sink cabinet, knowing there would likely be something inside to help sterilize.

Kraglin returns with the sewing kit and hands it to Peter to hold until Yondu is finished wiping away the blood.

Rocket has moved closer. Call it morbid curiosity. Once most of the blood is cleared he raises an eyebrow. “Damn, wonder what the hell happened to her,” he says, confused by what he sees.

Kraglin, who hadn’t spoken in some time from his place on the stairs with Drax, makes an even more confused face and says, “She got shot, ain’t ya been payin’ attention?”

“I can see that, dickweed!” Rocket retorts. “I’m talking about all the scarring below that.”

Yondu and Peter frown, already seeing what Rocket pointed out. Old, jagged scars creeped from below your belt-line up to your waist, about the area you had been shot. Gamora takes a glance, and is left sharing similar thoughts to the others, wondering what could have possibly caused that. There’s no time to ponder it long though. Yondu has Peter turn you over so he may attempt to close the larger wound first. Gamora opens a bottle of iodine.

Mantis doesn’t look at the scars. She’s too busy trying to calm the distress provided by your dreams once more, despite the worry that, yet again, it won’t hold.

* * *

Bedtime stories. Young maiden with a red cloak. Big bad wolf. Happy ending. Goodnight hugs. Lights out.

You can’t see. You can’t move. Voices all around you. Buzzing. Beeping. Pain… pain… PAIN.

So much pain. You’re being cut open. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

The sound of a circular saw fills your ears. No. NO!!! Make it stop. STOP! You want to scream. You cannot.

TAP TAP TAP.
TAP TAP TAP.

What are they doing? God it hurts. Please, please! You just want to die. Why won’t they just let you DIE?

* * *

You wake.

You weren’t sure how long you had been out, but light was now streaming in through your bedroom window. Relief washed over you, grateful to have woken in your own bed.

You were also surprised to find Fury sitting in your desk chair, staring at you as he leaned against the wooden back in a relaxed manner, one knee crossed over the other, as if he were simply waiting for you to wake.

“Hello, Agent.” he says, his face emotionless.

“Um, hello, sir?” you croak out weakly. You make an attempt to sit up, but he instructs you not to with a simple wave of his hand.

“You seem to have had quite the night.”

“Um…”

Fury didn’t wait for you to form a response. “Gamora briefed me while you were out. I’d recommend perhaps not taking late night walks in the woods, especially if you’re going to get yourself shot.” His eyes widened for emphasis and he shifted in the seat before continuing. “Though, I must commend your dedication to keeping the location of this safe house confidential.”

You only hummed in response. You were starting to recollect the events that happened of the previous night. Had Gamora told him how you had attempted to hide the injury? Was he here to inform you that once this assignment was over you’d be confined to desk work for your recklessness?

“You’re very lucky, Agent. When we got here with a medical team you were already passed out in shock, but your house guests had been kind enough to start closing your wounds.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. They… did what? Had you heard that right? Something glints in the corner of your eye and you then see that you’ve been hooked to an IV drip. There were two nearly empty bags hanging from the pole. One was clearly blood, and the other some clear fluid you couldn’t see the label for, but was likely just a fluid to help resuscitate for the shock.

Fury stood and continued, walking towards the window at the far end of the room. “The others said you had been in such a bad state when you returned home you were delirious. Walked all the way upstairs to grab a first aid kit, forgetting you already had two downstairs.” There was something in his tone. Something that implied he knew better, but he wasn’t going to call you out. He’d let you do that.

You stayed silent.

He turned to face you. “Again, you’re very lucky that you had others here to help you after your accident. Could have been a very different outcome if you had returned in that state to an empty house.”

You swallowed. “Yes, sir.” You could tell he knew, or at least suspected, but you weren’t dumb enough to admit it if he wasn’t going to outright accuse you. He likely also knew that, too. Perhaps he was letting it slide without saying so.

Fury began his way back towards you, his movements slow and relaxed. “Rest up, Agent,” he said, giving you a nod on his way out.

You silently sigh in relief. You weren’t about to be scolded.

Then Fury stopped at the door and turned. “Oh, one more thing.”

Your breath caught in your chest.

“I’m sure you already noticed, but you’ll be happy to know that the doctor gave the clear for you to remove the brace. I mean, you did bleed all over it so the medics already removed it for you, but you’ve been given the clear to not need another.”

You looked to your arm. Sure enough, the brace was gone. A small smile cracks your face, glad to be rid of it. It was awfully inconvenient.

“Thought you’d like that.” Fury says, slight humor in his voice. “It will certainly make caring for your wounds much easier,” he added. Before finally leaving he informed you that the medic should be in shortly to remove the IV’s and told you again to rest up.

You could by his tone you were meant to take it as an order rather than a well-wishing.

Just as Fury had said, not too long later a medic, a tall woman with light hair, came into the room, Agent Hill accompanying her. The medic looked you over, removed the IV, and gave you some antibiotics with the instructions to take them each day until they were gone. You had been shot and then “rolled in the dirt,” it was imperative to fight against infection. She then made mention that you’d be better off in hospital, but Maria spoke up to remind her that Fury had reason to make arrangements for you to be treated in your home, although she didn’t detail what those were.

Maria stayed quiet until the medic was gone. Then she laid into you.

“Are you crazy?!” she whisper-yelled suddenly, catching you a bit off guard. “What were you thinking? Waltzing around a forest in the middle of the night? And somehow getting into a hunting accident!? What were you even doing out there?”

You shrugged best you could from your bed. “Just… walking?”

“At three in the morning!?” Maria half-asked, half-scolded.

You gave her a look and a shrug that read, 'I’m not really sure what you want from me…’ You knew you had made a dumb decision. A few, in fact. Going out so late, not paying attention to your surroundings, not checking for an exit wound, among others…

Maria sighed. “I talked to the others. Mantis said something about you having been upset that night. Is there anything to that?”

You glance away from her. “It’s nothing. Just wanted to clear my head. Wasn’t paying attention. Couple boys out poaching mistook me for an animal and shot me. End of story.”

“You know I can tell when you’re not being honest with me, right? You need to stop keeping things bottled up. We have people you can talk to-”

“Maria, please!” you cut her off, more harsh than you intended. You soften your tone, feeling guilty. “Please.”

Maria sighs and looks off towards the window. “Alright,” she says, “Alright. It’s just, you havn’t been the same since… you know. And I know I can’t force you to see someone, but if you think I can’t see it, you’re crazy.”

You crack a smile at her, hoping to lighten the mood and ignoring her comment. “Oh we already know I’m crazy.”

Maria rolls her eyes, fighting a slight grin. “You’re lucky you’ve already been shot.”

“I mean, if you wanna have a go too, I could start up a collection,” you joked.

Maria rolled her eyes again, but there was a slight sadness there laced in the humor. She appeared as if she wanted to say something, but instead grabbed the pillow off Mantis’s bed and mimed a threat to hit you with it before throwing it back down. “Maybe that 'crazy’ should be changed to 'stupid.’”

“Eh, whatever works,” you try to keep your tone joking, but the fatigue can be clearly be heard in your voice.

The corners of Maria’s mouth tug down slightly. “I’ll let you rest. Contact us if anything happens. Fury and I will see you next week. A medic will be around throughout the week to check up in the meantime.”

You nod. “Yes. Thank you.”

She left and you allowed yourself to sink into your pillow. It wasn’t long before you succumbed to sleep.

***

Peter stopped Agent Hill before she and Fury left. There was a question he wanted to ask, but he didn’t know how to ask it. For one, he didn’t know if either she or Fury would have the answer. Secondly, he was slightly intimidated by Fury, and reluctant to ask him.

Still, he wanted to know, even if it was for selfish reasons.

“Hey,” he said quietly, getting Maria’s attention as she stepped down from the stairs. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes,” Maria answered, “although I can’t necessarily guarantee I’ll have the answer you want.”

“Ok, um,” Peter began, not really sure how to start his question. “There’s just… um… I was wondering… I know Mantis mentioned to you earlier about how we think she went out because she had been upset…” He trailed off. How could he properly phrase a question asking if Mantis was right and him playing that sound had set off a chain of events that got you shot? Was he dumb for asking? Agent Hill was just a coworker of yours, would she even know? If she did know, would she think he was a terrible person? Even if he hadn’t meant to?

“Yes?” Maria pressed, seeming impatient.

“Sorry. I just- I was just wondering if there was a chance… this might be my fault?”

Maria looked utterly confused, but then said in a serious tone, “I’m going to need a bit more information. Or any, for that matter.”

Peter rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. “Ok… Well, we had been in a bit of a prank war, you see-”

Maria raised an eyebrow.

“-and I noticed she seemed annoyed by this certain sound… And so I kept playing it, thinking it would get her to surrender… but then it just made her really upset and Mantis and Yondu said that maybe that’s why she went on the walk last night and… well… I didn’t know if maybe you knew her well enough to know if that could be true?” He kept his voice low, as if afraid someone may hear.

Maria was silent for a moment, appearing to frown in confusion. “What was the sound?” she asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

“Just an ambulance siren.” Peter answered.

Maria’s eyes widened just a bit. Of course she couldn’t be sure, but she’d definitely be discussing this with Fury. As for Peter’s question, while she could respond with her suspicions, you hadn’t exactly been very open with her since the incident, and she didn’t feel it was her place to discuss your matters with someone who was effectively a stranger- all things considered.

She looked at Peter with a face that didn’t give anything away, answering flatly, “That’s something you’ll need to ask her,” and then turned away before he could ask anything further.

Peter frowned. That didn’t tell him anything, and he wasn’t fully sure he could bring himself to ask you.

He watched Agent Hill and Fury depart after the medics, unsure what to do next.

***

Fury and Agent Hill had just buckled into their vehicle when Maria turned to Fury with a concerned expression, stating that they needed to talk about you and the incident.

***

You slept on and off that first day, and for the most part the others left you alone. They thought it would be best to give you some space after what you had just been through. Of course, Mantis would still come in the room occasionally to ask if you needed anything and of course to sleep herself. Gamora stopped in a few times as well just to check in, but only managed to catch you awake once. The conversation when she did was brief. She asked if you needed anything, you declined. She then asked how you were feeling and you let out half a laugh as you answered, “Like I’ve been shot.”

She smiled at that, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. Finally, she stated she’d let you rest, but before she could leave you called her name to stop her. “I just wanted to say thank you for helping me, um, not die… even though you didn’t need to. Thanks.”

Gamora raised an eyebrow in concern and frowned slightly. “Of course we did,” was her only response as she turned to head back down stairs. She couldn’t for the life of her understand why you would think anyone wouldn’t have helped you in that situation.

* * *

The second day you were able to get up and walk and take care of your needs pretty much on your own, even if you were still in a bit of pain. You had actually been encouraged by the medic to get up and walk at least a few times a day to prevent blood clots, so that gave you an excuse other than stubbornness to be up and about. You decided you’d go downstairs and grab a book.

You almost wished you had stayed in bed.

You entered the sitting room only for Drax to notice you and express his gratitude that you hadn’t died, then try to thank you for trying to protect them.

You cringed, and as politely as you could, told him not to mention it.

Drax being Drax, however, questioned why he shouldn’t mention your “heroic act.”

Wincing, you said, “It was just an accident. Not anything 'heroic’ about it.”

Mantis then piped up from the couch. “But you put yourself in danger to keep the people who shot you from finding us! You told us yourself.”

Grabbing a book of fairytales, you pinch the bridge of your nose. You didn’t want to be thanked. In your mind, you hadn’t been 'heroic,’ you had been stupid. You wouldn’t have needed to prevent them from being discovered if you had been paying more attention. If you had seen or heard those kids before they 'saw’ you and mistook you for an animal. It was a mistake you paid for, not an act of heroism. You started to say, “No I- They were just kids-” before stopping yourself with a sigh and instead saying, “I’m just gonna go lay back down,” when you realized mid-sentence you didn’t feel like arguing with them. You left them mildly confused as you retreated back to your bed.

Yondu, who had quietly listened to the exchange from the sofa, frowned as you left.

* * *

The next few days, much like the first couple, you spent much of the time dosing off due to the medication and recovering.

Most of the others did offer help you with some things, and the medic also came about every other day to check your wound and provide instruction where needed for care. Normally you’d have protested extra help, but the antibiotics left you feeling just tired enough to not put up much of a fight.

Unbeknownst to you, this actually worked in your favor, considering the medic had been instructed to report back if you refused any treatment or care, something Fury had been concerned about after your previous behavior with your now-healed elbow injury.

Regardless, you had to save that energy up for when the others tried to mention or thank you for your perceived mistake, as Peter inevitably did one morning.

He had been trying to work himself up to asking you if it had been his fault you went out that night and got shot, but didn’t know where to start. So far his guilt had kept him from attempting to say much to you, but this morning he decided enough was enough and he was going to talk to you about it. However, he was still nervous, so he decided to start slow maybe try and make small talk. He approached you in the kitchen and started with the only thing he could think of to bring about a conversation steered in hopefully the right direction. “Hey, so… that was pretty cool of you to have risked yourself just to protect us.”

“Kinda my job,” you replied tiredly, not looking towards him as you poured your hot milk from the kettle into your mug for your cocoa.

Peter rolled his eyes. Perhaps he should have expected an answer like that from you. However, you didn’t sound outright hostile towards his attempt at conversation so he took that as a good sign, and decided to try and throw a bit of banter. “Actually, your job was technically just to give us a place to stay. I didn’t hear Fury mention anything about risking your life in the job description when we got here.” He kept a teasing edge to his voice, trying to keep it light.

You sigh and finally turn to him, stirring your cocoa. “It goes without saying that my job also includes keeping you all safe, that includes maintaining the secrecy of this house and your occupancy in it. That’s really all there is too it.”

Peter frowned a bit, but before he could speak again Yondu’s teasing voice came from the doorway.

“Come on now, ya can admit ya like us just a little.”

You and Peter both turned to see him walking in with Kraglin.

“I can’t admit what’s not true,” you reply, “You’re all just a thorn in my side.” You recognized you were being cold, even for you, but with the pain from your wounds combined with being uncomfortable with them expressing gratitude for what you considered an idiotic mistake on your part, you were a little irritable.

“Right. Sure.” Kraglin rolled his eyes at your 'I don’t give a shit’ act. “That’s why you gave Mantis that cuddly bear? Or made Rocket that bed? 'Cause ya didn’t care? 'Cause they didn’t find a little soft place in that damned stubborn heart of yours?”

Your eyes narrowed. “Bold of you to assume I have a heart. I only gave her the bear to stop her from crawling into my bed at night, and only made that bed to stop him from whining about the crib.”

By now Yondu had smelled your drink, or perhaps that’s what drew him and Kraglin to the kitchen in the first place, regardless, they asked for some and you nonchalantly showed them how to make it, telling them to be sure to use water for Yondu, of course. It was lost on you that you were, in fact, inadvertently showing that you were, indeed, not heartless just with this act, but the three men just smiled to themselves and didn’t mention it.

Instead, Peter decided to continue the line of questioning, not believing your responses in the slightest, and forgetting about what he originally came in to ask you. “What about when you taught us how to sew?”

“Or fixed that swing for Mantis?” Kraglin added before you could answer the first question, waiting for the water to heat on the stove. He had decided to just make his cocoa with water as well, rather than wait for the milk to heat separately. Like Peter, he knew you were full of shit, and was determined to make you admit it.

“Got bored,” you replied, taking a sip of your own cocoa.

“And that time you saved Rocket from that raccoon critter?”

“Again, part of my job.”

“What about the prank war? Pretty sure engaging in mischievous fun ain’t in that job description.”

“What can I say. I’m competitive and Peter’s annoying and not only started it but deserved it.”

“Hey!” Peter protested.

You shrugged. “Like I said. You’re all just a job to me.”

“Then explain why ya sang Twig a lullaby that one time.” Yondu challenged with a smirk.

Shit.

You only vaguely remembered that, and you didn’t think anyone had seen or heard. You could feel your face heating and decided the best course of action.

Blatant lies.

“I did no such thing.”

“The video I recorded of it says otherwise.” Peter grinned at you, finding amusement in the way your eyes widened behind your mug.

After a second you finally replied. “You’re lying.”

“Nope.” He definitely was. While he now wished he had recorded it, he hadn’t thought of it at the time, not to mention he hadn’t had anything to record it with either. But you didn’t need to know that.

“Bullshit,” you responded.

Mantis then came into the room with Rocket and Groot at the same moment the kettle began to squeal. You considered this a good distraction and great moment to escape. However, just before you could excuse yourself from the argument over whether or not you had a heart, Mantis revealed they had also smelled the cocoa and wanted to know if they might also have some.

You simply nodded and pointed to the guys, telling her that they could teach her how to make it and promptly excused yourself to your room. It was no secret that you had been pretty tired lately, so you knew no one would question it or try to stop you, even if it was obvious to the guys that you were just using this fact to run away from the argument.

This fatigue would continue for the next few days. You were so fatigued during this time, in fact, that the others would sometimes find you having fallen asleep downstairs on the sofa. One such time Kraglin noticed you looking a little cold sitting there and decided to lay a blanket over you. You weren’t fully asleep, but you weren’t nearly awake to fully register what happened or who did it. Was it Kraglin? Peter? The medic? You weren’t quite sure. You dozed off pretty much immediately when you were presented with the warmth and your body relaxed.

Peter had glanced over as Kraglin laid the blanket over you and grappled internally. Obviously he had missed his chance the other day to talk to you about the night you got shot and if he was guilty. Now he had to wonder when, how, or even if he should try to ask you again. He settled for not, at least not right now, telling himself you were too tired and busy recovering to be bothered. You also seemed reluctant to talk much, as any time anyone brought up that night and tried to thank you you shot down the conversation fairly quickly. He told himself that all this was a sign he should wait. In truth he was just nervous and guilty and looking for excuses to avoid the question. He did ask Gamora what he should do at one point, but she assured him that it was just a freak accident. That even if you had taken that walk due to being upset at his actions, that didn’t mean that you getting shot by a couple of kids was his fault. He nodded and told her that he supposed she was right, but internally he still wasn’t sure.

Rocket also watched you as you napped on the couch. He would normally have teased Kraglin about mothering you, but he decided not to bother. It was the first time you had spent much time downstairs since you first got shot, and he was still processing the fact that you had risked your safety for them. Sure, getting shot was an accident, but hiding out after so you wouldn’t risk compromising their location? He really hadn’t expected that. Sure, he had starting warming to you a little in the recent couple weeks, but he didn’t know many people who would do that for people they didn’t really know. Perhaps he could trust you…?

* * *

By the fifth day you were more awake and active. Enough so to start being a little cranky when anyone would try and be too helpful, but you tried to curb it, though not too much. On one hand, you didn’t want to be mean. On the other, you wanted to be firm in your independence. Also, you didn’t want to give them an excuse to say you cared or liked them or anything. At least no one had tried to metaphorically pat you on the head for what they perceived to be a 'heroic deed’ in a while.

SHIELD sent over a psychologist- or therapist- whatever she called herself. You assumed it was standard procedure for gunshot trauma, and you were mostly correct. What you didn’t know, however, was that her presence was also the result of Fury and Maria’s discussion about 'the incident’ prompted by Peter’s question to Maria before they left.

Needless to say, you weren’t exactly pleased when she began asking about said incident, and after the first visit you told her she didn’t need to come back.

Was there the possibility that Fury would order you to accept the visits? Possibly. But that was a problem for future you. Right now you wanted that incident furthest from your mind.

Gamora and Peter overheard you at the door coldly telling her that her services weren’t needed and shared a look of concern. They felt this was a bad decision, that it’d be good for you to talk to someone since you didn’t seem willing to talk to them, but also felt that it wasn’t quite their place to intervene. Well, Peter thought it wasn’t their place. Gamora tried to say something, but was only met with a hard look before you slowly ascended the stairs to lie back down.

* * *

Fury visited again on the seventh day for one of his standard check-ins and to restock the rations. As expected, you were questioned about refusing the therapist. You noticed that Fury had brought said therapist along as well and you took a mild defense. However, unlike you feared was about to happen, the visits were not being forced upon you- as long as you agreed to sit with the therapist during the current check-in for an assessment. You suspected that this might a be ploy he’d engage each week to sneakily trick you into actually going to therapy, but you agreed anyway, concerned that refusal may result in you appearing belligerent or stubborn and him changing his mind to make the therapy mandated.

In truth, he considered it, believing you could use it even if you couldn’t see it, but wanted to give you the chance to either come around on your own, or show that you didn’t need it. He knew as well as any other sane person that therapy often works best if the patient is willing to recieve. It also helped your case that you hadn’t refused the care of the medics earlier in the week. This action showed him that perhaps you were coming around to your senses and he hoped you would make the decision to talk with someone on your own.

* * *

Around the tenth day your wounds were mostly healed over, the front more-so than the back. You were still a bit lethargic from the course of antibiotics you were taking, but you were able to get around with a lot less trouble and pain.

You were in the kitchen getting some water and decided to sip it leaning against the sink counter as you looked out the window of the back door.

Peter came into the kitchen with Kraglin, Rocket and Groot bringing up the rear. You heard one of them mention cocoa and so you preemptively moved aside to give them access to the sink, figuring from the other day there was a chance they would make their cocoa with water rather than milk.

They tried making small-talk with you, and not really feeling up to it you decided to try and look for a reason to leave without being too rude about it. However, before you could, something was then said about you having taken a bullet for them and you immediately cringed.

“Don’t do that,” you say flatly, lightly shaking your head. “I didn’t take a bullet for you guys.”

Kraglin gestured to your side and said, “Uh, you kinda got a bullet wound that says otherwise, there.”

Your nostrils flared a bit. You had to nip this in the ass. It was still too much for you. What happened was an accident that you could have avoided if you had just actually listened to your surroundings on your walk instead of blasting your eardrums with your music. You knew better than to do that, but you had let yourself get lazy with your discipline. Had you put your health in danger to stop the possibility that their location might be compromised after you got shot? Yes. That much was true. But that didn’t mean you cared. Regardless of that, though, you still couldn’t let yourself be praised for protecting them when you considered it your own fault you got shot anyway. If anything, you should be thanking them for saving your dumbass from bleeding to death. Why did they seem so intent on proving that you cared, anyway? This was your job, dammit. You weren’t here to make friends. Perhaps it was time to tell them as such, drive it home. “I get paid to hide you,” you retorted, “I was just protecting my ass. I wouldn’t be good at my job if I let my mistake get you all caught, would I? It didn’t mean anything more than that.”

“Bullshit.” Peter said, appearing both annoyed and slightly confused. What did you mean by your mistake? “You don’t risk dying like that for people you don’t care about. Nobody does that.”

You shook your head. “Part of the job,” you reiterate, “Nothing more.” However, you didn’t exactly meet his gaze when you said it, choosing to instead sip your water and look back out the back door window.

“Look me in the eye and say that,” Peter challenged.

You looked at him and frowned, but prepared yourself to say it anyways.

“I am Groot?” Groot looked up at Rocket, not quite sure what was going on, but sensing it wasn’t great.

Rocket’s eyes narrowed. He should have known. Who was he, starting to think you might actually not be that bad. He was right before. You didn’t actually care about them- they were just a paycheck to you! Before he could open his mouth to tell you to fuck off, and before you could likewise do effectively the same to Peter, a voice came from the doorway.

“Say what?”

It was Mantis, looking at the five of you innocently as she walked into the room. The other three remaining guardians were following in behind her.

You would have wondered if they always travelled in packs like this, had you not glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearly lunch time.

Peter looked back at you with a smirk and said, “Better yet, say it to her.”

“What?” You looked at him incredulously. Obviously you didn’t want to do that. You weren’t looking to hurt her feelings.

“Yeah,” Peter went on, “I want you to look Mantis in the eyes and say that. Even better yet-” he took a few steps towards a confused Mantis, clasped her by the hand, and led her to you, “-hold her hand and say that to her.”

Gamora, Drax, and Mantis understandably looked confused, not knowing what they had walked in on. Yondu, having been present the other day, had an idea of what Peter was doing. He had a feeling this was going to be good.

You glared at Peter. Was this some kind of sick kick for him? To see if you’d really be able to do it? Well, he was about to have a rude awakening. You could do it. You didn’t want to, but honestly it was better to stop any attachments before they fully took hold. How much longer could they really be here anyway? Plus, it’s not like they’d come back to visit you after they did leave either. No skin off your nose if you made her dislike you. At least, that’s what you were telling yourself.

“Fine,” you finally answer, putting down your water and taking Mantis by the hand before looking into her eyes- her deathly innocent eyes. Her antennae started to glow- a sign you had come to assume to mean she was happy. You pushed aside the small ache in your heart for what you were about to do, tilted your chin up, and told her, “You guys need to stop thinking I took bullet for you out of friendship. I get paid to hide you. I was protecting my ass and nothing more.”

Peter and Kraglin blinked. They really didn’t think anyone could look someone like Mantis in the eye and say something like that. Had they been wrong? Did you actually mean it?

Gamora and Drax were also taken aback, wondering why in the galaxy you would say something like that to Mantis. They all knew how Mantis liked you, considered you a friend even in the short time they knew you. Drax’s eyes narrowed a bit. It seemed cruel for you to say such things, and you said them way too convincing to not have meant it, all while looking into the eye of innocence to boot. Maybe he didn’t like you as well as he thought. Friends don’t say stuff like that.

Yondu only frowned. He didn’t fully believe you, but damn if you weren’t convincing. If he wasn’t too busy watching Mantis he might have yelled at you for saying such a crappy thing to her.

Mantis’s face appeared to fall in hurt and confusion at your words. You kept a straight face. It wasn’t hard for you to do, considering your line of work. You’d had practice.

Groot looked up at Rocket for some indication of what you had said to Mantis, but Rocket only glared at you in stony silence, prepared to rip your bullet wounds back open if you made Mantis cry with your hurtful words. Sure, the bug eyed chick got on his nerves sometimes, but she didn’t deserve that. He glanced at Mantis, sure he was about to witness the waterworks any second now.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Mantis didn’t cry.

Instead, she started smiling and giggling.

You raised an eyebrow in confusion and she released your hand in favor of giving you a gentle hug, careful of your healing wounds.

When she released you, you glanced around, not sure what to think. At least she wasn’t crying, but why did she seem so pleased after what you just said?

Even more confusing was the smug looks on Peter and Yondu’s faces.

“You do care, silly!” Mantis giggled happily, “You couldn’t fool me with your practical joke!”

“What?” Now you were taken aback. There was no way she could actually know one way or the other if you had been lying. This must be a massive case of denial, poor thing. Now you actually felt more guilty.

“I knew it!” came Drax’s joyful cheer and laughter, seeming as if he was privy to a joke you weren’t. Gamora just looked relieved, as did Kraglin, while Rocket seemed like he didn’t know how to react for a moment. Eventually he just settled for rolling his eyes.

Peter lightly punched you in the arm and said something to the tune of 'nice try.’

Yondu began chuckling and got Mantis’s attention. “Maybe we should tell her about your 'practical joke’ now, Bug.”

You looked at him as if he were insane. What practical joke? What were you missing??

“Oh, can we?!” Mantis clapped her hands excitedly.

Yondu nodded.

Mantis turned back to you with a wide grin and said, “I have empathic abilities. That’s how I am able to know you didn’t mean what you said!”

Your face fell and you blinked a couple times. “Ex-Excuse me?”

Mantis grinned wider. Peter answered for her instead.

“If she touches you, she can feel your emotions, dillweed.” He continued to smirk while you processed this information.

You paled. “So you- you can read my thoughts?”

Mantis shook her head. “No. Telepaths read thoughts. Empaths feel feelings. Emotions. If I touch someone I am able to feel what they’re feeling!” Still smiling she added, “Yondu thought it would be funny if we didn’t tell you! Like a practical joke! Did you like it?”

Your eyes snapped to Yondu, who was grinning like a cheshire cat. You’d deal with him later. Eyes snapping back to Mantis, you ask, “So… so every time you’ve touched me you knew what I was feeling?”

“Not every time,” Mantis admitted. “I have to choose to do it. Though, I was worried you’d notice my antennae glowing when I did!”

“I did- but I didn’t think-”

“What did you think her antennas were glowing for, smart one?” Rocket jeered, finding amusement in your shock at this new revelation. He was no longer cross with you, but boy, was he gonna tease you now, now that Mantis had proven you actually cared about them despite all your efforts to seem detached. This was going to be better than that time Agent Hill made you admit to having built him that bed.

You throw him a glare and say, “I thought that meant she was happy or something! How was I supposed to know she was reading my freakin’ feelings??”

“Wait wait wait-” Rocket responded with his hands on his hips. “So just then- you thought she was happy and you still said that stuff? Wow, real asshole…” Rocket was teasing, and the others could tell, but you still glared at him before returning your attention back to Mantis.

“So when your antennae glow, you’re reading other people’s feelings?” That thought made you a bit uneasy. What had she felt from you? When? You weren’t exactly sure you were comfortable with having someone else know what you were feeling without your consent. You tended to like to keep that private.

“Yes!” Mantis giggled excitedly, “Like the other day at the kitchen table when-”

“Nope!” You cut her off. You had a feeling you knew where she was going with that. You and Mantis had been sitting at the table. A spider had crawled across and made you jump, which of course immediately led to you softly groaning in pain and placing a hand to your healing wound. Mantis had reached for your other hand in what you thought was a comforting gesture. Her antennae had been glowing so you, still assuming that meant she was happy, thought she hadn’t seen the spider.

Now you realized she would have read that you were creeped out by it, and she likely also would have read the relief you felt when Yondu glanced up at you, and with a knowing smirk nonchalantly picked up an old newspaper on the table and smashed it.

Nope. You didn’t need her airing that out for everyone. It was bad enough that Yondu was now chuckling at you, most likely realizing just why you had shut her up. You internally cringed as you wondered what other feelings you might be embarrassed to know she read from you.

“Looks like ya can’t pretend not to like us now.” Kraglin teased, recalling the argument from the other day. “Mantis just told us all that was a lie. You dooo have a heart.” He and Peter laughed together at this, playfully demanding in funny voices that you admit it.

Mantis giggled at this and reached for your hands again, but before she could grab them you pulled them behind your back and stepped to the side to get away. “Nope! None of that! We’re gonna have a talk about boundaries, missy! You’re not to be doing that with me without my permission, understand?” You kept your tone firm, but not cross.

Mantis nodded, but didn’t look too sad as many of the others were still grinning and chuckling over the situation.

“Aw, what’s wrong?” Rocket taunted. “Afraid she’ll tell us how much you looove us?” He held his sides as he laughed and you felt heat creep into your face. His joke made Mantis giggle as well, solidifying in her mind that she had successfully pulled off her and Yondu’s 'practical joke.’

You would have refuted, told them you didn’t, but you knew that would likely only bring more teasing about how you apparently actually did, in fact, have a heart, and you actually did not, like you led on, dislike their presence that much. Jig was up, because apparently Mantis could reveal feelings you had mostly convinced yourself didn’t exist. Eventually you just sighed and muttered that you were going… anywhere else. You needed some time to think.

Yondu playfully called after you as you walked away, saying with a laugh, “Aw, don’t be like that, now! It’s not like we didn’t already know ya had a heart!”

You responded by flipping him the bird as you continued your escape, leaving their teasing laughter behind you.

***

Later, alone in your room, you thought to yourself. Perhaps, since now it was out there that you did care for them… a little… maybe you should just… let them in? Try to be friends? The thought made you a bit uneasy, and you weren’t fully sure you could do it, but honestly what would it hurt? What were you afraid of? That you’d get attached and then they’d leave? Yes, they may leave, go back home, but you already knew that no one stays around for ever. It might not kill you to make friends. Even if it was just for a little while. Make some new happy memories, and just be grateful you had the chance. Maybe… Maybe not everyone needed to be pushed away.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The Guardians, sans Kraglin and Groot, were essentially trapped in the sitting room. They anxiously wondered both what Kraglin’s plan to deal with the couple might be and where the hell Groot was, all while you were taking a nap upstairs, completely unaware.

In addition to all this, they had also just heard the front door swing open, and they could only hope Kraglin knew what he was doing. Until the coast was clear, all they could do was stay in the sitting room and very quietly speculate what was going on. Peter even stood by the door, attempting to listen in.

Gamora and Rocket, however, were near frantically searching the sitting room in the hopes that Groot was in there with them and perhaps just sleeping in a nook or cranny.

They only wished someone had noticed he wasn’t with everyone else before Kraglin (they really hoped it had been Kraglin, that is) opened that front door.

***

Kraglin had ripped the door open before the woman even had a chance to knock, startling her and her male companion in the process.

What surprised them more, though, was finding a tall scruffy looking man with a growing out mohawk and neck tattoos standing in the doorway instead of you.

“Can I help ya?” Kraglin said with a frown.

The man stepped forward, slightly in front of the woman and explained that they were looking to see you.

Kraglin wanted to tell them you had moved out, but decided against it. Surely they noticed your car in the drive and that excuse wouldn’t check out like he hoped. Instead he chose to tell the truth, that you were taking a nap and you weren’t available, the whole time keeping what he intended to be an unfriendly expression on his face so that they might get the hint and leave.

“I’m sorry-” the woman spoke up, “but who are you?”

“I’m her… coworker.” Kraglin lied, though it was still more believable than the truth by Terran standards, he supposed. “Just visitin’. Now who are ya’ll, and what do ya want?”

***

Inside the sitting room Groot still could not be found, making the others grow more nervous.

“He must be somewhere else in the house,” Gamora whispered to Rocket as she threw down the last pillow she had checked under back onto the couch.

Rocket rubbed his face in frustration, but didn’t reply. Of course that’s where he’d be. Come time when they need to stay hidden and he’s off stars know where, doing stars know what, and Rocket can’t leave to go find him to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. Just flarkin’ great.

Yondu pinches the bridge of his nose. Hopefully wherever Twig is, it isn’t anywhere near that front door.

Drax, seemingly not as concerned about Groot’s whereabouts, asks quietly to Gamora, “Who do you think those people are?”

Gamora sighs and walks towards Peter. “I have no idea, Drax.” She wasn’t in the mood. This wasn’t really the best time for conversation.

“I have a theory.”

Gamora rolls her eyes, but Drax doesn’t see. Mantis, however, asks Drax about his theory.

“I think they’re spies. Probably come to capture her.”

Peter whips his head towards Drax, looking at him as if that was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, and told him as such before putting his ear back to the door. “What could possibly make you think they’re spies?”

“She’s an agent. Surely there are always spies coming after her?”

“They’re not spies, Drax.” Gamora whispered irritably, stressed out by the whole situation. She quietly tries to persuade Peter to come away from the door. She was worried that even their whispers might be heard through the door if they stood too close.

“I have another theory.” Drax said after a moment. “They could be Geff Obit Witnesses.”

Peter gave into Gamora’s urging and left the door. He wasn’t able to make out much anyway. “What the hell is a Geff Obit Witness?” The term sounded familiar to him, but he just couldn’t place it.

“I don’t know. But I saw them in those Terran TV shows. They come to peoples doors asking about Geff Obit, but they always either get the door shut in their face, or the people inside pretend not to be home.”

“You mean like what we’re doing now.” Rocket said bitterly, wondering if for once the big guy might be right. “How do we get them to leave?”

Peter sighed. Drax’s description triggered a memory- he now knew why that term had seemed familiar. “Dude, that’s Jehovah’s Witness-,”

“That’s what I said.” Drax interrupted.

Peter ignored him. “-and I seriously doubt that’s who they are. Like I said earlier, I think they know her.”

Drax was about to make another argument for his case but Mantis spoke up first.

“Could they be her parents?”

This made them pause a moment. Gamora turned to Mantis with an expression of contemplation. The thought hadn’t occurred to her, but it could be possible?

Yondu shook his head. “They ain’t her parents.”

“How do you know?” Drax raised an eyebrow. Yondu had seemed awfully sure in that statement.

“‘Cause she told me her parents are dead. These people ain’t them.”

“Oh. That’s sad.” Mantis said quietly. “I wonder if that’s who she mourns for.”

The others turn to her, all but Yondu with questioning faces.

***

The couple eyed Kraglin up and down, not seeming to quite believe his answer that he was one of your coworkers. They knew what you did for a living, and they figured that your coworkers were more likely to be… a little more 'put together.’ The woman clearly wanted to call this claim out, but a look shared with her husband stopped her. He spoke instead, not answering Kraglin’s questions. “Might we come in?” He further went on to explain that they’d like to speak with you, and that they were fine with waiting.

“Said she’s napping.” Kraglin reiterated. “Bit under the weather, not really the best time for visiting.”

Something could be heard falling in the kitchen, and Kraglin’s facade broke for just a moment. He pulled it back up quickly.

The woman frowned now. She didn’t quite believe his story, and assumed that sound had been from you somewhere in the house, hiding from them. Come hell or high water she was determined to see you, even if you were too stubborn to do so willingly. Furthermore, who was this stranger to tell her she couldn’t? “We’re sure she won’t mind-”

“Let me be more clear, ma'am.” Kraglin said sternly, his expression hardening as his voiced raised to a slightly more authoritative tone. They needed to leave now. He couldn’t let them in even if he wanted to, and he wasn’t about to stand there and debate them all day about it. Eventually you’d wake up, and he didn’t want to see a repeat of these people’s last visit. The sooner they left, the better. “I think ya’ll should leave. Last time ya’ll came it messed her up pretty good, and she don’t need that again.”

***

The eyes of those currently trapped in the sitting room went wide when they heard the sound from across the hall. It was a not-so-soft thud, as if something had been dropped from a height.

“I think we know where Groot went.” Rocket said in a quiet, annoyed voice.

Peter and Gamora shared a look of concern. What do they do now? What if he comes out of the kitchen and accidentally reveals himself to the couple because he doesn’t know what’s going on?

Something heavier, and louder, fell.

Shit- what if he wakes you?

***

Upstairs you stirred, half-awoken by the sound of something thudding downstairs. You sigh and turn over. Whatever it is, it can wait until later as long as it doesn’t get too loud.

As far as you’re concerned, until then, it’s safe to assume they aren’t destroying your home down there.

***

“We have to do something!” Peter looked towards the door and prayed that Groot settled down whatever he was doing. “I think Kraglin’s having trouble getting them to leave.”

Those inside heard Kraglin’s voice raise a bit, but they continued to speak in hushed tones.

“What can we do, Peter?” Gamora gestured to nothing in particular. “We can’t exactly go out there and find him while they’re here and the door’s wide open.”

Peter frowns at her and throws his hands up in frustration just as another noise sounds from the kitchen. This time it sounds almost as if something had been thrown against a wall.

“Shit. What the hell is he doing in there?” Rocket wondered aloud.

Mantis fidgeted nervously. “If only there was some way we could get Kraglin a message, maybe he could close the door so one of us could go get Groot?”

“Yes, maybe we could push a note under the door?” Drax offered. “Or we could send Rocket out the window and he can mime the message to Kraglin from behind the couple where they can’t see?”

Rocket frowned and shook his head. He wasn’t even going to dignify that idea with a response. In addition to the fact that Drax’s idea was just too risky- because what was stopping the couple from just turning around- there was also no way they were going to get him to mime.

Yondu crossed his arms and rolled his eyes before speaking up. “Did y'all really forget that Peter can literally just walk out that door? He’s a Terran, ain’t no one gonna think twice about seeing him.”

The others turned to him and blinked. They had been so busy stressing out that they had literally forgotten the obvious right in front of them.

Peter started to blush and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Oh… uh… right.” He began walking towards the door. “I’ll go get Groot. You guys uh… hang tight.” He turned and motioned for the others to move out of the sightline of the door. Once everyone had, he finally turned the knob.

***

The couple looked taken aback by Kraglin’s words. The determination that once graced the woman’s face now fell into something more resembling remorse.

“Oh- we didn’t realize.” She looked up at the man, who wore an expression of regret. They had never considered the impact of their last visit on you. They had taken your silence and lack of response for either stubbornness or apathy.

Kraglin heard the click of a lock turning behind him followed by the soft creak of the door beginning to open slowly. Annoyed that whoever it was didn’t have the sense to stay behind the door, he grabbed the knob of the front door and shut it, leaving himself outside with the couple. Luckily he was able to make it look like a gesture of finality.

“Yeah, I can see ya didn’t realize, seeing as ya came back. Either that or you’re both real assholes. Now what do you want?”

***

Peter heard the front door shut and he peeked the rest of the way out the sitting room door to find that the coast was clear and Kraglin was now outside speaking to the couple. He sounded agitated, and Peter only hoped that things were going well.

He practically sprinted across the hall into the kitchen. There, he found Groot sitting sadly on the floor next to a broken toy car.

The scene of the kitchen made it easy to assume what had happened. The pantry was open, a jar of peanut butter lay on the ground, thankfully unbroken. A large wooden bowl laid upturn on the floor right below what was clearly a makeshift ramp setup on the counter, possibly knocked off during said setup. The ramp consisted of a cereal box sat leaning against a large pan, aimed so that one little toy car might roll down it and across the countertop… where it apparently rolled right off the edge and broke an axel upon colliding with the wall, which now sported a small streak of red where some of the old paint had transferred from the body of the toy car on impact.

Peter relaxed a little, but half frowned at Groot, feeling sorry for the little guy, who had barely looked up when Peter walked in. “Hey, you ok?”

Groot nodded sadly, then gestured to the car. “I am Groot.”

Peter bent down to pick both Groot and the car up. “I can see that.” He held Groot up to eye level. “See? This is why Gamora told you not to make ramps with those books earlier. And this-” he gestured to the set-up on the countertop, “-this is a whole lot more dangerous. You could have gotten hurt. You’re lucky you only managed to break your toy.”

“I am Groot.” Groot looked sadly into his lap.

“No, I won’t tell Gamora, but you have to promise to not do that ever again, ok?”

Groot nodded. He finally looked up to meet Peter’s gaze. “I am Groot?”

Peter laughed a little out his nose. “Yeah, we can try and fix it, but it will have to be later. Some people are here and we gotta be quiet, ok?”

“I am Groot?”

Peter smiled softly. “Yeah, like hide and seek.”

Groot’s face immediately lit up. “I am Groot!” He then hopped down from Peter’s hand and took off.

It took Peter half a second too long to realize what was happening. He tried to call after the tiny tree child, careful not to raise his voice too much. “Groot- wait!”

It was too late. Groot was already out the door and running off to find a hiding spot somewhere within the house. Peter sighed and looked up to the ceiling in exasperation. Great. Now he had to go find him, again. He began to set off for the journey of finding where Groot had run off to, when the sound of the front door opening made his blood run cold.

***

The man and woman both widened their eyes in shock at the brazenness of this man before them. The gall he had to insult them like that!

“Now listen here-” the man started.

Kraglin took a step forward, forcing the couple to back up a step. “Naw, you’re gonna listen. I ain’t letting ya in here. I don’t know what the deal is between ya’ll, and I don’t rightly care. Whatever it is ya want with her, ya ain’t getting it. Ya hear me? It ain’t worth putting her through what ya did to her last time, understood?” He tone was firm. He wasn’t yelling, but rather making sure they understood he meant what he was telling them, and he did. Sure, he only knew you for some weeks, but that didn’t matter. After seeing how their last visit tore ya down, and you had only actually listened to them through the door, he knew it’d be cruel to allow them to see you. He only hoped they got the hint and didn’t come back- ever. If he had to be a little mean to make that happen, then so be it.

“We… we didn’t mean-” the woman started, her voice wavering.

“Bet ya didn’t care either, did ya? Just get out of here.” Kraglin waved a dismissive hand towards their car. “Ya ain’t welcome, far as I’m concerned. Go on, git!”

The couple exchanged a glance, trading looks of astonishment and possible regret.

“I’m- we’re sorry,” the man said. “Can you at least tell her that for us?”

“I can’t guarantee I’ll even tell her you showed up.”

The man opened his mouth to say something and then shut it again with a shake of his head. “Come on, dear.”

“But-”

The man shook his head again and took her hand, beckoning her to come along. She acquiesced, looking back to frown at Kraglin one more time before they got to their car.

Kraglin sighed as the car turned around and began to drive away, finally turning to let himself back into the house.

He walked into the hall to find a startled Peter looking at him with wide eyes.

“Dammit, Krags! You scared the shit out of me! I thought Groot had gotten to the door!”

Kraglin just frowned at him. He wanted to ask what Peter or Groot were doing outside the sitting room, but he didn’t. It didn’t matter now. He just turned to open the sitting room door and called to those inside that the coast was clear.

Gamora was one of the first to exit. “What happened? What did you say to them?”

“I just told 'em to leave.” Kraglin shrugged.

“Really?” Gamora raised an eyebrow.

“That was your big plan? Just tell them to get lost?” Rocket asked in disbelief. He frowned and crossed his arms.

Kraglin rolled his eyes. “Never said it was a 'big’ plan, Rat. And I did also tell 'em she was napping and not to disturb her.” He wasn’t sure why he was justifying to the raccoon, but here they were, he supposed.

“What if they come back to talk to her when she wakes?” Mantis asked.

“I have a feelin’ that won’t be a problem.” He looked to Yondu. “I was kinda mean about it.”

Yondu shook his head in understanding and shrugged. “Do what ya gotta do. As long as it works.” He clapped Kraglin on the shoulder. “Ya did good, boy.”

Rocket rolled his eyes. Kraglin only told them to go away. He could’ve done that. But sure, let’s just all just pat him on the head for a job well done, even if doing literally nothing would have had the same effect. Pfft.

Gamora looked to Peter. “Did you find Groot?”

“Um, yeah.” Peter said sheepishly. “But then I lost him again. He thought we were playing hide-n-seek. Wanna help me find him?”

Gamora gave him an unimpressed look, but then Mantis piped up with a, “Ooh! I wanna play!” Followed by Drax’s “I shall also play this game of hiding and seeking, and I shall be victorious,” and then Gamora just smiled and shook her head, now giving Peter a look that said, “You started it, now it’s your problem.”

Peter sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he was now apparently playing hide-n-seek. It wasn’t so bad, he supposed. All-in-all it could’ve gone worse.

Upstairs, out of earshot from both the others and you as you slept peacefully on your bed, your phone began to vibrate on your desk with incoming text messages.

***

“Found you again, Drax!” Mantis giggled and stretched to bop the large man on the head. She had found him in approximately 30 seconds, same as he last three times.

“How could you see me? I was standing so impossibly still that I should have been invisible.” He stared down at Mantis in confusion.

“I don’t think it’s working.” Mantis replied as she happily bounced off to find Peter and Groot while Drax just sits down on the sofa next to Gamora with a frown.

About ten minutes later Mantis returns with Peter and Groot. “Ok Drax, I found you first, it’s your turn to seek again!”

“Maybe that’s enough hide-n-seek for today, Mantis.” Peter suggests, having grown tired of playing two rounds ago. “We- or you- could maybe do a puzzle instead?”

“Or maybe read a book, there’s plenty of those.”

Peter starts, not expecting to hear your voice behind him. “Oh! Hey! Nice nap?” He smiles confidently, knowing there’s no way for you to know what happened earlier and glad they had pulled it off.

You nod slowly, standing still with your hands clasped behind your back. “Yep. Nice game of hide and seek?”

Peter starts to sense that something is off about you, and momentarily wonders if he forgot to clean up Groot’s mess in the kitchen. “Uh… yeah. Maybe you’d like to play some with Mantis?”

“Another time. I was just checking in. Wondering if you guys had a nice time while I was upstairs.” Your eyes pan from Peter’s to the others, who had now grown a little quieter. That was an… odd question… Or was it just perhaps their own paranoia that made them think so? They exchange glances and provide you with a few nods. “Good. Good…” you say, pausing a moment before you bring your hands out from behind you, clasping them with your phone in front of yourself. “So, there’s nothing you guys maybe want to tell me?” You eyes pan over and lock on Kraglin’s, who visibly swallows.

The others share more glances. Did you know? How could you know? Several of them shake their heads in response. Various forms of 'no’ are expressed, and you see Mantis look at Peter questioningly.

“Hmm. I see.” You lift your phone up and unlock it. Peering down at the screen you say, “So… nothing at all, then?” You glance back up at them, your face expressionless, blinking.

They didn’t know how, but somehow you must know. Why else would you be acting like this? Should he tell, or double down? Peter looks to Gamora, who shares a slightly wide-eyed gaze. Gamora’s face doesn’t provide him with an answer. He looks at Kraglin and Yondu. He can’t read Yondu’s face at all, but Kraglin looks concerned. He turns back to you, really hoping that the fact that you had brought out your phone didn’t mean you had hidden cameras around or something that would prove they were lying. He choses to double down. “Uh… no?”

You hum a moment, nodding your head. You lock eyes with Kraglin again. “What about you? Do you have anything you’d like to tell me?”

Where Kraglin had been stern and authoritative earlier when telling that couple to screw off, now he shrank a little under the pressure of your stare. You had been asleep the whole time? Or at least that’s what he thought… But how could you possibly know?? He shakes his head and doubles down regardless. “No- No ma'am.”

You frown. There he was calling you “ma'am” again. No matter. You turn to Mantis, who’s face betrayed her this whole time. “Mantis? Anything you’d like to tell me?”

Mantis shoots worried glances to Gamora, Drax and Peter. Would you be upset if they told you the truth? Would you be upset if they didn’t? The expressions of her friends clearly tell her not to say a word. Looking back at you she nervously says, “I… don’t think… so?”

“Mantis…” you say reassuringly, “You do know if there is something, you can tell me, right?”

Mantis nods.

Rocket sighs and rubs his eyes. They’re screwed.

“Good. Now did anything happen while I was upstairs?” As before, your face is blank, no indication as to what you are thinking.

“Well…” She gives a timid glance back at Gamora, who’s eyes have hardened slightly. She looks at Drax, who gives the tiniest shake of his head at her. By the time she looks back at you your expression has changed just enough to make her crack under the pressure. “Y-Yes-”

Soft groans sound from the others.

You ignore them. “And what would- No, no- look here. -What would that have been, Mantis?”

Mantis sheepishly looks back to you after having attempted to look for a cue from her friends. Yondu pinches the bridge of his nose.

You tilt your chin up slightly and lower the phone back down, tapping the back with two fingers in a deliberate fashion.

“Um… that um- That couple came back today.” Mantis tucks her chin and folds her hands in front of herself.

“Hmm…” You glance past her at the others, who were now very deliberately not looking at you. “And what happened?”

“We- we hid in the sitting room… and Kraglin made them go away.”

Your eyes pan back over to Kraglin, who is looking pointedly down at the table, and nod slowly. “I see.” Your tone is still even, the others are unable to tell if you are upset or not. “Thank you for your honestly, Mantis. Though, I’ll remind you all that it’s my job to protect you, not the other way around.”

Mantis nods softly, and Peter looks about ready to make an argument before you speak again.

“That being said, thank you.”

The others look to you in surprise.

“You mean you’re not upset?” Gamora tilts her head slightly, eyebrow raised.

You shake your head, your face finally betraying some softness of emotion. “No. No I’m not mad. I mean, you guys should have gotten me to deal with it, but still-” you lift your phone back up, gesturing with it before looking back at the screen. “-thanks.” You softly huff a laugh out your nose. “You guys might have gotten away with it too if she hadn’t texted me to complain… among other things… I think Kraglin offended her.” You glance up to him with an amused grin. “And apparently they think you’re my boyfriend, care to tell me what that’s about?”

Kraglin’s eyes went wide and a blue blush started to dust over his cheeks as the others were now looking at him expectantly. “I- I- No I- I have no idea what that’s about! I didn’t tell them nothin’ funny like that, I swear!”

You bring a hand up to cover your grin as he stammers, stifling a laugh. Shaking your head you decide to give him mercy. “I believe you,” you started, then your voice quieting a bit, “she always was the type to jump to conclusions…”

“So you do know them?” Drax asked, appearing disappointed. “Damn it. I really thought they were Geff Obit Witnesses.”

You shoot him a very confused look, but then Peter, already assuming what your answer might be based on the last time he tried, asked, “Is it alright if we ask who they were?”

Softly sighing, you shake your head. “I’d rather not talk about it. Just- thank you… but next time just come get me. It’s not fair to involve you guys in my bullshit.”

Before anyone could attempt to discuss the point further you changed the subject. The texts were hard enough, you wanted to discuss literally anything other than them or why they showed up again. You now wanted a distraction. “Anyway, I was considering trying to cook tonight since it’s been awhile, if you guys wanna eat.”

“I don’t-” began Gamora. She couldn’t help but feel like you were overextending yourself. After all, you only took a trip into town and needed a nap after, maybe you shouldn’t be busying yourself with cooking for nine people.

Peter gestured slightly with his hand and subtly cut her off, saying, “Only if you let me help. You did promise to teach me how to cook some Terran stuff.” He knew by now that trying to tell you that you shouldn’t do something would only make you want to do it more out of spite. He knew if he wanted you to take it easy and allow someone to help he had to use your own words against you.

This stipulation from Peter earned him looks from some of the others, who were unaware of this arrangement or that Peter had any interest in cooking at all, although no one spoke up despite their surprise.

You sighed. He did have you there, and honestly you were still a little tired from earlier so you chose not to argue. “Alright. I guess I did say that, although I think 'promise’ is a strong word…”

Yondu watched on with a small smile as Mantis declared she also wanted to help, followed by an offer from Gamora who quickly caught on to what Peter had done, before you just shook your head and allowed them all to follow you to the kitchen.

He’d taught his boy well. Sure, there might have been a prior arrangement between the two of you, but he could tell in that moment that Peter was mostly interested in you not over-doing it, and knew that cashing in on a “promise” would yield much better results than trying to tell your stubborn ass not to do something. With just a couple words he had accomplished what he wanted and made you think it was your own idea.

Just as he told Kraglin; Do what ya gotta do. Just as long as it works.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

It was near midnight, and you knew you really shouldn't, but you also couldn't help yourself. You just really wanted to take some time to be alone with your thoughts. The cold air would do you some good, surely. Perhaps it would also have an added bonus of tiring you out, too.

Chapter Text

Your little chat with Yondu had actually made you feel better, to your surprise.

Sure, you still had bouts of post-vulnerability-embarrassment, but you found that a weight had been lifted somewhat when you went to bed that night, and you couldn't deny that you actually did feel better in the morning, enough so that you actually got right back into using the remote to prank Peter, though you of course now refrained from using it when Yondu was also watching the television for fear of prompting him to tell Peter what he knew out of spite.

The next couple days your mood improved even further.

You decided to join another sparing round with the others, though you did avoid matching with Peter out of paranoia that he'd pull another stunt like the last time. You were teased for this, mostly because when it happened you had turned to see he was your next match only to audibly state, "Nope!" and motioned him on to pair with Mantis instead. This made the others laugh, but you simply rolled your eyes with half a light-hearted smirk and brushed it off.

The day after that you decided to finally show Yondu some "Terran Archery" as you had said you would some time ago. He actually caught on really well, though he didn't deny that he preferred his own arrow. Then, seemingly just to show off, he whistled to command his arrow circle you three times before taking off to shoot clear through your target and then come back to rest in his holster.

Pretending not to be impressed, you start to head back toward the shed to put your bow and quiver away. "You know, you still never really said how Fury allowed you to keep that arrow."

Yondu just grinned and shrugged as he followed your lead to return. "Like I said. That's for me to know."

"Come on now!" You scoff. "Surely after making me spill my life story the other night you can at least tell me that."

Yondu pretended to think, smirking all the while. "Hmm… Nah. Pretty sure we never came to any such agreement."

"Seriously?!"

"Yup."

You sigh, letting it go for now. "Well, can you at least tell me how it works?"

"Whatcha wanna know that for? Ain't like ya'd be able to use it." He grinned teasingly at you.

Whether he meant he wouldn't dream of letting you try it, or that it literally only worked for him, you weren't sure- though you had a suspicion it was the latter. "Just curious," you respond, "I mean, I showed you how humans do archery, figured maybe you'd at least tell me a little something about your space arrow?"

Yondu appeared slightly annoyed, rolling his eyes and stopping to turn to you. He realized he was going to have to give you the same talk he gave Quill shortly after he brought him aboard the Eclector as a boy. "Let's get one thing straight. I know you Terrans ain't know a lot, so it ain't fully yer fault, but here's a lesson. You and me?" He gestured back and forth between you. "We're both 'human-' Got it?"

Confusion prompted you to look back at him. Both human? That couldn't be right. You were from Earth. He was from a different planet- an alien. Did people on his planet call themselves 'humans' too?

He continued. "You Terrans might think you're the only ones in the universe, but that don't make everyone else less than human."

Oh.

The guilt must have shown on your face because he sighed and tried to curb his annoyance. Slightly. "You? Me? Both human." He points at you again. "You and Quill, ya'll are Terran." He points to himself. "I'm Centaurian. Different races, both still 'human.' Got it?"

You nod. "Yes. Sorry-"

He waved you off, seeming satisfied enough and wishing to change the subject. The two of you begin walking again as he spoke. "Anyway, the fin picks up my whistle and sends it to the arrow. Arrow gets the whistle and goes where -and through who- I want it to."

"Uh, that's it? It's that simple? Do a lot of people use that in space?" you ask, deciding to move forward in the conversation with him.

Yondu laughed out his nose. "It's the best explanation yer gonna get, and no, it's actually not simple at all, and no- I'm sure I'm the only one with something like this."

Your eyebrows raised. "Oh. Why's that?"

"That's enough questions about the arrow for now," he replied flatly. His expression was just as flat, and you couldn't get a read on the reason for his reluctance to talk much about his arrow. He didn't seem upset or uncomfortable. Was he was just a "keep to himself" type of person, or was he just good at keeping up a mask?

You relented, slightly disappointed, but deciding to push forward with another question as you neared the shed. "Alright then. Um, what is your planet like?"

Out of nowhere Yondu's hand connects with your side to give it a couple quick squeezes, which results in you jumping with a startled giggly shriek. He hadn't even looked at you before doing it, which only made it all the more unexpected.

It was over in an instant but you still glared at him indignantly, feeling your face heat up. "What was that for!?"

Yondu shrugged with a grin. "To change the subject. Worked, didn't it?" With that he continued off towards the house, leaving you alone at the shed.

You huffed slightly and just went to put your quiver and bow back away.

* * *

Later that day you fancied yourself a glass of juice after switching the laundry you had just washed over to the dryer. The plan was to enjoy it in the sitting room while you re-read one of your favorite mystery books. After pouring yourself a glass and placing the bottle back in the fridge you grabbed said glass from the counter and turned to walk back towards the sitting room. It was then that you saw a shot of brown dart across the kitchen floor.

Recognizing it immediately as a house spider you jumped nearly out of your skin and dropped your glass, spilling your juice all over the tile floor, but fortunately not breaking the cup.

Unfortunately, Yondu and Kraglin had walked in around this same time and saw the whole thing, if Yondu's chuckling was any evidence to the fact.

Cheeks heating up, you quickly grabbed a towel to clean up your mess. You expected to be teased about the spider, but instead you heard, "Damn, I know Krags is funny-lookin', but we didn't expect to startle ya that much!"

You glance up, not intending to argue but grateful they didn't seem to notice the real cause of your startle. Kraglin jokingly put on a disgruntled face towards Yondu for the insult before turning to look in the pantry.

Then you saw Yondu throw you a wink before doing the same.

So he did see… and he was covering for you? Why? Never mind. You weren't going to argue or ask. But you did think you should consider making a special trip into town tomorrow to get some repellents or maybe some traps.

Once your mess was cleaned up you left the kitchen- no longer in the mood for juice, or to read. However, you thought maybe you were in the mood to watch something on TV, and upon seeing that nobody was occupying the television you decided to scroll through Netflix, finally settling on a familiar movie you had seen several times before.

Miraculously you got through the whole movie without anyone even coming into the sitting room, and you actually started to wonder where the others might be before you glanced at the clock and noticed how late it had gotten. They must all be in bed, and you should probably follow suit.

Doing your best to be quiet as to not wake anyone you went about getting ready for bed in the bathroom. It wasn't until you were about to shut off the light and retreat to your bed after brushing your teeth did you spot another spider. It was perhaps half the size of the one you had seen in the kitchen, but that didn't make you feel much better considering it was still about 3cm wide. You had almost touched it when you went for the switch and jerked your hand back at the last moment, catching an exclamation in your throat.

The spider quickly scurried away before you could act and somehow you lost sight of it. Unwilling to stay up to find it you quickly shut out the light and left the bathroom. That was a problem for anyone else. Tomorrow.

For now you were definitely sure you were going to the shops in the morning for both repellent and traps.

Fucking spider season.

* * *

Despite going to bed late you managed to wake early, and you would have tried to sleep-in if you hadn't reasoned with yourself that the sooner you left the sooner you would be back with stuff to get rid of the spiders and hopefully keep them away. Also you had to pee.

It seemed no one else was awake, which you became grateful for as it meant it was unlikely that anyone heard the very loud gasp you let out the moment you turned from closing the bathroom door towards the toilet and found the spider from last night sitting on the opened toilet lid, taunting you.

You considered for a moment nope-ing right out of there to go use the toilet downstairs, but you could hear the sounds of someone opening their door and started to feel self-conscious of someone possibly seeing you flee one toilet for the other due to a spider. It also wouldn't solve your problem as you'd need to come right back to this bathroom anyway because everything you needed to wash up and get ready with for the morning was in here.

Damn it.

Ok. What were your other options?

Maybe flick it off with a towel? But then you'd have to worry about where it would run to after. The thought of it crawling up your leg while you did your business made you shiver and you immediately threw that idea out.

Well, what if you closed the lid? Maybe it'd fall off into the bowl and you could flush it away? But that would require putting your hand way closer to the spider than you were willing. You weren't about to risk it crawling on you. Also you had a feeling you'd need to slam the lid for that to work and you weren't thrilled about drawing attention to yourself.

You needed to find a way to kill it somehow, a feat easier said than done considering you couldn't stand the thought of getting too close to it and the fact that you really just wanted to be able to use the toilet, get ready, and get on with your day.

You looked around for something you could maybe squish it with, because as much as you wanted to avoid it you sure as hell weren't going to go ask one of the others to come kill it for you. You'd use the bathtub as a toilet before you did that. Luckily for you, you weren't nearly that desperate.

Speaking of the bathtub though, you spotted a bottle of shampoo. Considering it a good enough weapon, you snatched it up and aimed the blunt cap towards your enemy. Moving slowly, sure the spider would run if you made any sudden movements, you inch closer… closer… until smack! You finally darted your weapon forward and crushed the spider between the toilet lid and the lid of the shampoo bottle, grateful the spider also hadn't decided to make any sudden movements before getting squished. It would be very likely that you would have dropped the bottle in the toilet if it had.

You pulled the bottle away and found the spider-guts had decided to stick to the cap, leaving little more than a slight smudge on the toilet lid.

Grabbing a sheet of toilet paper you sat the bottle with it's arachnid corpse on the sink, intent to remove any evidence of your enemy's unwanted prior existence from the toilet lid before finally relieving yourself- deciding to wait until after you had done so to give the spider it's "sea burial." It might be dead, but still- no. Ew. It could wait it's turn.

After finishing your business, flushing your friend, and cleaning off the shampoo cap, you were finally able finish getting ready for the day, and thought maybe you'd reward yourself for your bravery with a muffin for breakfast.

* * *

You had just finished up eating and were about to get ready to leave when Mantis came over to you from the pantry asking if you could help her get the jar of peanut butter open.

Little did you know this would be the start of a chain of events that would significantly delay your morning plans.

For what felt like several minutes you did your best to open the jar but didn't succeed, so you handed the jar off to Drax who had just happened to walk into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Rocket filed in behind him, ignoring everyone as he made his way to the washing machine and threw something inside.

Drax got the jar opened in nothing flat, but he apparently had news for you; Groot had decided to take some juice upstairs and had spilled it in their room.

You sigh, but grab the mop as you internally begrudged Drax for not just cleaning it up himself instead of coming to tell you about it. Though, it was probably just as well- he wasn't exactly the most thorough of cleaners and you didn't want his poor mopping to leave a sticky juice residue behind.

As you filled a bucket you wondered how the tiny tree child would have managed to get a glass of juice all the way up the stairs without spilling any only to then spill it in their bedroom.

It would turn out, as you saw when you reached the stairs, he hadn't. There were little puddles of juice over nearly every step on the staircase. Enough so that you wondered how there was even any left for him to spill in his room when you finally reached the door and located the glass overturned in a puddle of juice near Rocket's bed- which was missing it's blanket. There was, however, no sign of Groot. You'd worry about that later.

For now, you had just never been more glad that you didn't have carpeting in your home- and idly wondered as you cleaned if Groot had actually managed to drink any of his juice before spilling it everywhere.

When you finally finished mopping you grabbed the first person you could find- in this case Kraglin, before tracking down Groot and having Kraglin translate that the wooden child was no longer allowed to carry liquids upstairs.

You weren't totally sure the message got across, but there wasn't a whole lot more you could do so you just had to hope the kid actually understood when he nodded in response and ran off. You awkwardly thanked Kraglin and went to return your mop to the kitchen.

It was there you encountered Rocket again, who opened the dryer and then gave you grief about having left your clothes inside.

You roll your eyes at him but say nothing as you snatch your clothes out of the dryer and move to take them upstairs. Might as well fold them now so you don't need to worry about them later when you get back from town.

Once your clothes were folded and you were putting the last of them away you think you might finally be in the clear to be heading to town when Mantis startles you by running up to you crying and holding her hand.

You almost scold her for scaring you like that when you see that she only had a paper cut, but you held your tongue and instead helped calm her down and find a plaster in the medicine cabinet.

Once you had her settled you headed to leave before anyone else could manage to stop you again, once more being startled by a spider in the hall and cursing the creature.

Soon after, Gamora came across you as you were pulling on your jacket, keys in hand. It was then you realized you hadn't bothered to tell anyone you were leaving and you thought you might do so then, but Gamora actually beat you to it.

"Are you going into town?"

"Uh, yeah actually. Did you need anything?" you asked, pulling up your jacket zipper. Silently you hoped it wasn't something else that would delay your departure even further.

"Take Peter with you."

Taken aback, you let out a surprised half-laugh and looked at her. "What?"

"I need you to take Peter with you."

You blink at her. "…Is everything ok?"

She glanced down the hall before lowering her voice. "Yes- it's just-" She frowned. "Ok, he's driving me a little crazy today."

"It's not even noon?" You raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"I know," she said pointedly.

You frowned. You hadn't intended to bring a passenger with you. "Won't he ask questions? I've never exactly brought him along willingly before."

"Somehow I doubt that will be a problem. I'm fully certain he's just being annoying because he's stuck here and bored."

You open your mouth to reply just in time for Peter to step out of the bathroom. To your surprise Gamora calls out to him and tells him that he's going to be accompanying you into town.

"Cool!" Peter says, going for his jacket as you blink at Gamora, who doesn't look at all apologetic.

Defeated, you sigh and just motion Peter toward the door, throwing one last glare over your shoulder at Gamora who finally mouths "sorry" just as you close the door behind you.

The ride into town was much less annoying than you expected. Instead of deliberately trying to annoy you, Peter seemed content with just listening to the radio the whole way into town, which wasn't at all unwelcome seeing as your thoughts were on what sprays or traps you might get this time around for the spiders, and considering how you weren't exactly looking forward to discussing the situation.

Eventually you reach the shop, where you manage to park, go inside, and grab a hand basket all before Peter tried making small talk.

"So, you're quiet today."

You glanced at him in puzzlement. "I could more say the same of you. Normally you never shut up. Maybe I was enjoying the quiet."

"Rude." Peter said, giving you a quick poke to the ribs.

You jumped and glared at him with narrowed eyes, to which he only grinned and mock held his hands up in defense as you walked past him and made your way toward the aisle where you knew the pest control items would be, trying to think of anything else you might need to pick up while you were in town, which wasn't a lot since you had just recently been in.

Unable to think of anything on your own, you glanced at Peter and asked him if he knew of anything he or the others might need. You knew the answer was likely also nothing, as Fury had just come a couple days prior with a restock, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"No, I can't think of anything. Wouldn't argue against some Oreos though."

This made you huff a laugh out your nose and as that aisle was coming up first you opted to detour and grab them on the way to your actual reason for coming to the shop.

As you were leaving that aisle Peter speaks up again. "So, I noticed you seem to be a little… less grumpy lately." In a joking tone he continued, "That mean you're finally starting to like us?"

"Don't read too much into it," was your reply. "Maybe you all have just gotten less annoying after a couple months. Or I'm suffering a weird form of reverse Stockholm Syndrome."

Sure, you could have said you had a sit down with Yondu where you spilled your guts. Could have mentioned how somehow you actually felt better afterward. Could have also mentioned how you had no idea why- since all that mandatory therapy SHIELD ordered you to take couldn't even do it. But you weren't going to. Just because that one talked helped didn't mean you were ready for a repeat of that vulnerability anytime soon. Besides, the more you thought about it the more you figured it was probably a fluke or something.

"Rude," Peter joked again, rolling his eyes and poking you in the ribs once more like before and jolting you out of your thoughts.

This time your reaction was to accidentally elbow him in the side, and you glared at him with wide eyes as he laughed and rubbed the sore spot. "That's what you get, now cut that out!"

There was a slight playfulness behind the scolding that didn't go unnoticed, but Peter once again held up his hands in mock-surrender. "Ok!" He could tell you were deflecting, but he wasn't going to push it.

By now you had reached the pest control aisle, only to find it wiped out of any kind of repellents or traps that might be useful against spiders. Perhaps if you had just gotten here earlier- but no. Everyone else in this area knew as well as you did that it was spider season, so you should have anticipated this. Better yet, you should have remembered to grab some stuff before the season came- though one couldn't blame you for being distracted the last couple months. Not like you had taken in a group of dysfunctional aliens or anything…

"Damn," you mutter under your breath.

"What?"

You shake your head. "Nothing." Ok. Think. Would there be anywhere else in town that might have anything still in stock?

"Aww naw!" came a voice from behind the two of you. Upon turning to look you saw there were a couple young men maybe in their early twenties. Clearly they had come looking for spider repellents too, and like you, were disappointed to find the supplies out of stock. Before they walked off the young man who had exclaimed could be heard saying to his friend, "This was the last place in town. Thought for sure they'd still have some in stock. Tough luck for us innit?"

Well, there went that idea.

Peter looked to you and caught you frowning. "Is there something I should know?" he asked.

"It's nothing, like I said," you reply, thinking to grab some juice on your way to checkout, realizing that much of what you did have at home had found it's way onto the floor. "It's just spider season… and I thought I'd grab some supplies before I had to listen to you scream like a little kid every time you saw one." Of course you were going to leave out the part that the real reason was that you really hated spiders. "Forgot about it until too late is all," you continued. "Been a little distracted lately." You throw him a pointed look as you said the last bit, knowing that he would know what you meant by it.

Peter frowned, offended. "First off- I would not scream like a little kid." He went to poke you again for the insult as the two of you approached a self checkout, but you smacked his hand away before it could make contact. "But that does explain so much," he added watching as you quickly scanned your small shopping haul and paid.

"What do you mean?"

"Why I've seen so many spiders lately." He replied, following you out of the store. "Saw three just this morning. Big suckers too- but I suppose that makes them easier targets to squish." He chuckled. What he wasn't about to say, however, was that he had actually called Gamora to come kill each one he saw.

"Oh," you reply, walking to the car. You did not like the sound of that. There had still been a part of you hoping that you wouldn't see much more than you already had. "Yeah- they come about this time of year- when it gets colder. I'm sure they'll have some more repellent in soon," you say, hoping he didn't notice the nervousness in you as the two of you reached the car. Once inside, however, you promptly dropped your keys before you could put them in the ignition. Nice. Real smooth. You continued talking as you reached down to grab them, "-or I can look into some home remedies. It's no big deal- they're harmless." That last bit was mostly a front to make you seem indifferent.

Harmless or not, you still hated them. It made you feel weak to admit it- not that you cared what they thought or anything- but showing vulnerability wasn't something you were used to. After all, you were still recovering from your talk with Yondu, and that was days ago.

Finally grasping your fallen keys you sit back up and insert the key into the ignition, but don't turn it just yet. You look to Peter now, trying to think of any other topic to switch to. Literally anything would be better than thinking about going back home to a house full of big-ass spiders.

Or so you thought.

You open your mouth to speak, intending to just pull a topic out of thin air, and then you hear it.

Blood turns icy in your veins as the awful wail creeps into your ears, and your chest tightens so that you can barely breathe. As your mouth closes, your eyes widen. However they do not focus on anything in particular- your vision beginning to cloud with images in your mind's eye. Broken glass. Twisted metal. Sickening yellow.

Peter sees the sudden change in you and speaks up in concern. "Agent?"

You don't even hear him, ears flooded with the terrible sound that's only getting louder. Turning away from him you begin to shake, now facing forward in your seat. No. No no no no. Please- Those words swim through your thoughts as horrific memories swim through your mind. Memories of pain… darkness… loss.

"Agent?" Peter says again, more concerned now. One moment you had been fine, and then you just froze- face falling into an expression of silent horror.

By now your breath is coming in an almost silent sob and you've brought one hand up to cover your mouth.

"Hey, hey- woah," Peter says gently, utterly confused about your sudden change in behavior but wanting to provide some sort of comfort. He reaches out to you and barely grazes your arm before you jerk away from him. Actually, he could tell it was less you pulling away, and more you had startled from the contact.

Terrible screeching. So much blood. Flashing lights. Please- No no no-

You seem to draw into yourself, and before long it starts to dawn on Peter what's happening. He had been too concerned with you to notice it before, but not only was it louder now, he caught a glimpse of it speeding on the road in the distance through the car window.

An ambulance, blaring it's siren. The sound he had played over and over that one night before realizing he really shouldn't have. Before he realized that sound had a dark effect on you he'd likely never understand. The sound that caused you to go out into the woods that night, the action that resulted in you getting shot.

Shit.

He looked at you, and could see you were barely with him anymore. Your gaze was distant and your waterline was flooded with yet unshed tears.

White sheets. Red stains. Darkness. Screeching. Pain. So much pain. Broken glass. Where are they- Blood. So much…

Peter felt he should do something, but he had no idea what to do. He knew of a couple guys on Yondu's crew that had PTSD, but he was never close to them. He had never witnessed anyone having a flashback before- if that's what this was. He had no idea how to help you. He couldn't mute the outside like he could the television.

Unless…

He knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try. He reached over to the radio and hit the buttons, and turned the knobs, trying to get any other sound to drown out the siren that only seemed to be getting closer.

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

Fuck.

He looked and saw the key you had left in the ignition, and reached over to turn it, realizing that nothing in this damn vehicle must work without it. Stupid Terran caveman tech.

The lights on the dash came on. So did the radio.

Jackpot.

He quickly turned the volume knob and the music blared out, drowning out the siren. Having come on so suddenly and loudly, it also actually seemed to startle you out of whatever dark place you had gone. Not instantly, of course, but the resulting jolt managed to nudge your breathing towards a better rhythm.

You take a couple shuddery breaths as you start to come back around.

You are safe. You're in your car- but everything's fine. At least, as fine as it can be all things considered-

A blink made the tears finally escape your waterline and you quickly wiped them away, turning your face towards your window and away from Peter. You realized what happened and you wished he hadn't seen. You felt weak. In a voice that you tried to keep strong, you say, "I'm sorry."

Peter frowned. "Hey- don't do that. It's ok. You're ok." He glanced between you and the center console, and in what was probably a hasty decision, he reached across and pulled you into a very awkward hug.

Luckily for him, instead of being cross, this action, combined with the fact that "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard-" was blaring on the radio actually made you let out a short laugh. "What- What are you doing?"

"You looked like you could use a hug, and I happened to have one ready."

You didn't know how to respond, so you just laughed again and tapped out, pointing out that the center console was digging into your ribs.

Peter released you and you each settled back into your respective seats, where you both sit in silence- aside from the radio- for a little while.

After spending that while staring at your lap, you think to turn the radio down to a more appropriate level. By now the siren was long gone. In reality it had likely only been present for a few minutes, but it felt much longer. Looking at Peter for a moment, you finally speak again. "Um, thanks. For uh, not making this any weirder than it had to be. Sorry you had to see that."
'So much for not showing vulnerability,' you thought bitterly.

Peter scoffed lightly. "Don't be sorry. Look- I know I might not understand, but I do know it's not your fault."

You returned your gaze to your lap and he speaks up again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

You let out a soft chuckle and smile sadly before meeting his gaze again. "Thanks, but I think I just want to go home now."

"Ok." He wasn't going to press it. He was just glad you hadn't had to go through that alone.

And so were you.

* * *

The ride home was mostly quiet. Peter could tell that while you might have been pulled from the bulk of that darkness with his radio trick, it wasn't a magic cure. It wasn't as if he had snapped his fingers and made you "instantly better." He knew better than that, and knew he should probably give you space.

You had made one request, however. That Peter not mention the incident to any of the others.

He agreed, and when the two of you finally returned to the house the two of you went about like nothing was wrong.

For Peter, it was easy.

For you, not so much.

After putting away the messages and grabbing something to eat you decided to go upstairs to try some breathing and meditation exercises you had learned a long time ago.

The last time you had a bad flashback like that was years ago, and you were shaken for several days afterward. Hopefully you could skip that this time -if that were even possible. You honestly thought you had gotten past the flashbacks. It's not like you still broke down like that every time you heard a siren "in the wild." Hell, you hadn't even had one that night Peter played it over and over again, so you didn't know why it happened today. Sure, you had lost it and screamed at him, but it didn't result in a flashback.

Was it stress? Sure you had more than enough to be stressed about lately... but surely none of that could make the flashbacks return, could it? You tried to remember what any of those therapists had said, but came up blank. Maybe you should have paid more attention during all that mandatory therapy... Maybe you should call- No. No you'd be fine. You don't need to be digging into old wounds. You just needed to 'mellow out' and take it easy for a bit. Everything will be fine if you just relax.

The exercises helped just enough that eventually you felt up to do something else, and you decided that something else would be to open your laptop and try searching some DIY spider repellent methods.

Unfortunately, once you got to your desk you were greeted with one of the little bastards sitting on top of your laptop before it skittered away to hide somewhere else on your desk when it noticed you.

Nope. No fecking way. You are not going to deal with this now. The last thing you needed right now was to have fecking spiders piled onto your nerves- more than they had already been that is. Not when you also were recovering from the incident in town.

But you also couldn't just leave it in your room…

Ok. Breathe. Just relax and you'll be fine.

Thinking quick you grab a cup with some pens from your desk, dump them out, and look to see if you can find where the spider had gone. Obviously your intent was to trap it under the glass, maybe leave it to suffocate. The spider however, had other plans, as the next time you saw it the fecker was bolting down the side of your desk and quickly scurried under the door and out of your room. Nearly gave you a heart attack too, but at least it had left your room.

Even though it was gone the whole event had sort of turned you off from sitting at your desk for the moment. Turning to grab your phone from the bed, you decide to do the research in the comfort of the sofa downstairs instead, but not before easing your door open to make sure the spider wasn't waiting right outside. Fortunately it was nowhere to be seen, and you made your way downstairs.

In the sitting room some of the others were watching TV, so you opted to sit in the rocking chair instead as you did your research.

The results were halfway promising, though did leave you wishing you had looked them up before you left the store. The most effective DIY it seemed was peppermint oil, of which you had none. The next best bets were citrus and white vinegar, which you luckily did technically have both, but the remedy called for "fresh squeezed lemons or citrus peels." Currently you only had a little bottle of lemon juice. Hopefully that would do, as you weren't looking forward to making your house smell like vinegar.

Just as you were getting up to to attempt the DIY repellent you saw two brown steaks cross the floor from under the couch. At first you were concerned they were more spiders, but you'd only be half right. One was a spider, the other was Groot- chasing the spider.

Speechless and restraining yourself from picking your feet up into the rocking chair, you witnessed the wooden child actually take a flying leap and land on the spider, which must have been nearly as wide as your hand. Then, in a move you could hardly comprehend, he shortly wrestles with the spider before putting the fecker in his mouth.

Groot looked up at you happily with half the spider hanging out of his mouth, it's legs kicking erratically as he chewed on it. All you could do is stare in disbelief- barely able to comprehend what you just saw with your own two eyes. He… ate it??? Alive??? How-??? The legs!? The thought made your stomach churn.

It didn't take long before Rocket came along and starting scolding Groot, telling him to spit it out, that he doesn't know where it's been.

Groot, apparently unwilling to part with his impromptu snack, attempted to make a face at Rocket (as his mouth was still overflowing with spider) and ran away from him, upon which Rocket gave chase, continuing to scold him as he did so.

You blinked and just sat there for a moment, processing what you had just seen. Eventually you finally decide to attempt that DIY spider repellent, and that you might like a drink while you did so.

According to the website, you needed the juice from half a lemon mixed with water and to put it in a spray bottle. Unfortunately, it didn't say how much water. You also weren't sure how much juice would equal 'half a lemon.' Come to think about it, you weren't even completely sure you had a spray bottle.

Well, might as well try to find one first before bothering with the rest.

So, first pouring yourself a drink from an opened whiskey bottle in the fridge, you set out to look under the sink to see if you had any empty spray bottles down there- only to witness a spider scurrying away inside the cabinet as soon as you opened the door.

You jolted right out of your skin and shut the cabinet. Nope. Not dealing with that. Looked like there probably wasn't an empty spray bottle in there anyway...

Taking a long swig from your glass you decided to check the bathroom closets instead.

The downstairs bathroom proved fruitless, as did the upstairs, so you tried to rack your brain on where else you might keep one, if you even had one. The only other logical place might be in the cellar, as you were fairly certain you wouldn't find one in the attic. Even so, you debated going down there as you had a feeling you just didn't have an empty spray bottle at all.

With a sigh and another sip of your whiskey you decide to go for a look.

There was no spray bottle to be found down there. There were, however, several spiders, most of them smaller than what you'd been seeing upstairs, nesting in the corners of each room in the cellar.

At this point you were starting to feel slightly nauseous. Today was just not being a good day. First you wake up to spiders, then you can't find any repellent in town, then 'the incident'-as you were calling it, and now everywhere you turned there just seemed to be more spiders. To make matters worse you couldn't even bring yourself to run up the stairs to get away from them, despite your instinct, in case someone heard you and got concerned- because there was no way in hell you were going to confess that you were running away from some damned spiders.

Upon returning to the kitchen you finished off your drink to calm your nerves and decided you'd try cooking dinner in an attempt to further settle yourself down. A simple task to put your mind elsewhere. You'd be fine. Just breathe, and focus on another task.

Fortunately, dinner went just fine. Spaghetti was the choice you made, along with the decision to cook dinner for the whole house, and you managed to do so without any unpleasantness. Everyone even got along without any bickering when it came time to sit down and eat as well.

After the dishes were done you thought you could try to top the day off by curling up in your room with the book you had intended to read the previous day. Try to end the day on a better note and then wake up to better day tomorrow.

As you obtained your book from the sitting room you noticed everyone else was either watching TV or playing cards at the table. This meant you'd likely have the upstairs to yourself for awhile, something you wouldn't argue against. Some peace and quiet was sure to help in your quest to 'mellow out.'

Thoughts of cozying up in your warm bed to read helped make you feel better as you opened the door to your room and walked inside. You weren't usually one to curl up under the covers unless you were going to bed, but you felt like you were probably overdue for a simple comfort like this.

Just as you were turning back your covers & preparing to snuggle-in your eye caught something by your pillow.

You tensed as you thought you recognized what looked suspiciously like a couple legs of a certain creature that you knew all too well and very much despised, but then you relaxed again. Took a breath. Tried to think rationally.

Surely it's not. It wouldn't be. You've never found one in your bed in your whole life of living in this house, you highly doubted they'd start now. Peter must have somehow gotten your fake spider back from Yondu and thought he'd play a prank. Probably hoping that if you were focused on a prank war your mind wouldn't be trapped in any bad thoughts or memories. That was the case, surely.

Denial is one hell of a drug.

You rolled your eyes as you reached down and lifted your pillow up, only to drop it just as quickly and jerk back from your bed.

Not only was the spider real- and huge- it had a (slightly smaller) mate. Surprisingly they didn't seem phased by you uncovering them, or your sudden movements. They just laid still, as if asserting dominance.

No. No no no. Not ok. You couldn't handle this. Not in your bed. Nope. Nope nope.

Barely breathing, you didn't even have a chance to clear your head enough to think of a solution before one of them moved- and then you bolted.

There was a brick in your stomach and you needed air. Heart was thundering in your chest and your footsteps were coming a bit rushed as you descended the stairs, but you didn't care. You just needed out. You didn't even bother to grab your jacket and only moments passed before you cleared the back door and the cold night air hit you in the face.

It was only then that you realized you also hadn't bothered to throw on any shoes, and you had regained enough presence of mind to be grateful that at least the ground was dry as you made your way toward the shed.

Not really having a plan as to where you were headed, you stopped and rested against the backside of the shed. The wood was cold against your back as you took some deep breaths, attempting to keep yourself quiet and tell yourself not to scream. It was all you could do to keep the tears back.

Perhaps if the incident in town hadn't already taken a massive hit to your defenses you might be better able to deal with this, see that it wasn't actually a world-ending event, but you weren't exactly in a current position to think rationally. All you knew is that you were NOT okay.

Spiders were in your bed! How could you sleep knowing spiders were in your fucking bed?! The thought of them crawling on you while you slept was too much. Visions of giant-ass house spiders crawling over your face filled your head. As irrational as the images may be, you couldn't help but see spiders trying to crawl in your mouth- your eyes- You felt sick, and your shaking now had almost nothing to do with the cold. You didn't know what to do, so you tried to take deeper, slower breaths, trying to still your rapidly beating heart. You just needed a moment to pull yourself together and then you could think. But you couldn't think- all you wanted to do was scream-

"Bit cold to be wanderin' without a jacket on, don't ya think?"

A gruff voice had spoken up out of nowhere beside you, and they really shouldn't have done that. Sure, they couldn't have known your current state, or that because of it this startle would have triggered a fight response in you. But it did, and unfortunately for them, before you could even think you were already swinging out to deck whoever it was in the face.

Chapter Text

There was only just enough time for you to register the color blue in the dim light before your would-be punching victim grabbed your wrist to block the blow and in one fluid motion had you spun facing away from them with your arm pinned behind your back. Soon followed the same gruff voice, which you now realized to be Yondu’s, saying, “Alright, easy now-”

The two of you stood there for a moment with him pinning your arm firmly behind your back, your breath coming in quick bursts as your heart threatened to launch itself from your chest.

He spoke again. “For yer benefit I’m gonna assume that ya didn’t mean that,” he was clearly referring to you nearly sucker punching him, “-which is the only reason you’re still standing. Now, if I let you go are ya gonna behave?”

Wordlessly, you nod.

“Alright then. I’m gonna let you go and you can explain yourself.”

He released your arm and you slowly turn to face him, your gaze not quite meeting his. “Sorry.” you say quietly. Then, slightly more loudly, “Did you need something?”

“Well, I was a little curious as to why ya just ran out the house like that, but now I kinda wanna know why ya just tried to knock my block off.”

Your face began to grow hot. You had been in such a hurry you hadn’t noticed anyone else on your way out. Then again, you hadn’t been looking too hard either. Furthermore, what could you say? That you were running away from some spiders? You didn’t think you could bring yourself to admit it.

“I- um,” your gaze fell to the ground, “Did anyone else see?” you asked, declining to answer why you just swung at him. Again, what would even say?

Yondu let a short laugh out his nose. “Nah, pretty sure I was the only one. Surprised you didn’t see me, I was right there in the hall.” After a beat he spoke again, “Now come on. Out with it.”

Unsure if he still meant why you ran out, or why you about hit him, you reply, “Nothing. What do you care for?” Crossing your arms over your chest, you continue to look anywhere but towards him.

“Just curious. People usually don’t run out of a place like that unless something’s wrong. Thought I’d investigate to make sure you weren’t chasing after something or need backup. Then I find ya hiding behind the shed and ya just tried to knock my block off and so now I figure something must be goin’ on with ya.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you say sullenly, your face growing hotter.

“Why? It can’t be any worse than any of what you’ve already told me.”

Finally meeting his gaze you offer nothing more than a glare.

He rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Alright. Don’t tell me then. I also won’t tell you about that spider crawling in your hair either.”

It had just been a joke- just some good-natured ribbing- but it didn’t take long to he realized he fucked up.

No sooner than those words left his lips you reacted very badly, jumping out of your skin and immediately batting at your hair to get the alleged spider off of you. Then you half-collapse onto the wall of the shed and begin quietly sobbing.

He simply stared at you a moment, too stunned to speak. Something was very wrong. It was finally clear you weren’t just being moody- but fuck- what should he do?

“Um, hey now…” he said awkwardly, eyes wide.

You didn’t respond. Just continued to sob, unable to stop, your cries muffled behind your hands.

“Come on now- I didn’t mean anythin’ by it,” Yondu tried again.

Still, you didn’t acknowledge him.

He debated if he should try and nudge you or something, or if that might result in you swinging at him again. Damn. He hated seeing people cry. He needed it to stop. But what should he do? Walk away? Shake some sense into you?

Eventually he rolled his eyes and sighed before saying, “Aw hell, come here-” as he grabbed you and pulled you into a tight bear hug.

Apparently it worked. The shock of it all- combined with the fact he practically knocked the wind out of you- startled you into silence mid-sob.

“What… are you doing?” you asked after several moments, confusion evident in your voice.

“Had to make ya stop somehow, and slapping ya just seemed kinda mean seein’ as ya were already crying.” There was an edge of humor to his voice that almost made you crack a smile yourself. He spoke up again after a moment. “So, ya done now?”

You sniff and nodded your head the best you could despite being squished up against his chest.

“Alright. I’m gonna let ya go… again… and then I want ya to tell me what this is all about.”

He could feel you slump in defeat, but let you go anyway.

Once free, you took a step back and looked at the ground, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“Well?”

“It’s- I don’t… I mean- ugh.” You covered your face with your hands. You just didn’t know how to say it, so eventually you settled for. “It was just a rough day.”

“Just ‘a rough day,’ huh?”

You nod, still not looking at him.

Yondu frowned, but said, “Well, it ain’t gonna get any better standing out here in the cold. Ya ain’t even got any shoes on. Come on.” He gestured you back in the house.

You finally look up at him, but instead of following, you stiffened.

Yondu furrowed his brow. “What?”

You again looked down in shame. “I-… I can’t.” you said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow and looked towards the house in confusion before turning back to you. “What do ya mean ya ’can’t??’”

With a groan you look toward the sky. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to say a word to anyone else.” Returning your gaze back to Yondu you finish with a, “Understand?”

Yondu chuckles shortly. “Sure, whatever ya say.” Finally- maybe you’d finally tell him what this all was about.

It takes you a few moments, but you finally manage to get out a quiet, “There are spiders in my bed.”

He raised an eyebrow, his face a mixture of confusion and amusement. “That’s it? Ya found a spider in yer bed, and it sent ya runnin’ for the hills?”

You frown at him, then mutter that there were, in fact, two spiders in your bed.

“Ah, two spiders. I see.”

From the sound of his voice it was clear he was holding back a laugh, and you frown at him.

Yondu crossed his arms. “Well you’d oughtta know that I’d find that at least a little funny, considering…”

A sigh left your nose. Of course you knew he was referring to the fake spider you had hid in Peter’s bed awhile back, and that Yondu had confiscated in an attempt to stop you and Peter from pranking each other. The irony wasn’t lost on you either. Didn’t make you any happier about your situation, though. “Not helping.”

“Are ya asking?”

“What?” You raise an eyebrow.

“Are ya asking?” He says again, almost grinning. “Are ya asking me to help ya with yer little problem.”

You stammered a bit, unsure what to say. Of course you weren’t! Were you? Should you? Absolutely not- you weren’t a child… and yet…

With a short laugh Yondu claps a hand on your shoulder and pushes you toward the house. “Understood. Ya need someone to come squish some creepy crawlies for ya.”

You pull away. “No- No I never said that.”

“Didn’t need to.” Yondu said with a grin. “It’s all over yer face. Don’t worry, I won’t tell nobody… long as ya make it worth it.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, nuttin much… Let’s just say you’ll owe me a favor and we’ll call it even.”

“What… kind of favor?” you ask, hesitantly.

“Well that’s for me to know when the time comes. Do ya want my help or not?”

By now most of your adrenaline was wearing off and you were starting to feel the cold. He was right, you couldn’t just stay out here all night- especially without any shoes or jacket. However, at the same time you knew you couldn’t go back inside to your bed if those spiders were still in it. Damn it. You knew you were going to have to take his offer.

“Fine. Just… don’t make it obvious. Please.” Eyes squinting, you search him for any signs that he intended to trick or embarrass you, but you couldn’t quite read him.

He didn’t answer you either, just motioned you towards the house with that half-grin.

Letting out a silent breath, you finally start to make your way back toward the house, hoping to get it over with a soon as possible.

Once inside it was quiet. It appeared that no one noticed at all that you had even left the house let alone what transpired outside. You didn’t peek inside the sitting room door as you approached the staircase, but it seemed the TV had been shut off and you heard someone utter the words “draw four,” which told you the others were possibly wrapped in game of cards, which at least let you know they were otherwise occupied.

Yondu and you quietly made your way upstairs to your room, and once there, you hesitated at the door. Yondu simply grinned and shook his head, but entered first anyway, you slowly following behind him after a quick glance around to make sure you were alone upstairs.

Once you were both in the room Yondu glanced over your slightly disheveled bed before nodding, seeing that two spiders were indeed still in your bed. Quietly, but not in a whisper, he says, “These here, I take it?”

You nod.

Shaking his head with an amused grin he got down to business. A sharp whistle pierced the air, summoning his arrow and spearing both of the giant feckers in one go before catching the weapon in his fist. He stood there, admiring his kill stuck upon his arrow.

“They bite?” he asked, curious as to why you harbored such animosity towards these little critters in particular.

You shake your head. “Not really,” you answer. They could, but you knew they rarely did. Even if they did they weren’t poisonous, for that matter.

“Then why is it ya hate them so bad for?”

You frown at him. You knew it was irrational, but that didn’t matter. What mattered now is that they were gone.

Yondu didn’t mind your lack of answer, and didn’t have time to press the matter further as the sound of footsteps could be heard making their way quickly to the stairs from below before Peter could then be heard somewhat apprehensively calling up from the bottom.

“Um Yondu…” he called, letting a pause linger after as if he were unsure. “We heard a whistle- Like a really familiar whistle… I really hope no one’s being threatened with an arrow up there… We noticed that it’s just you and the Agent that aren’t accounted for…”

“Quit yer worryin,’ boy! I was just getting some target practice!” Yondu hollered back down.

“That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence about what I just asked!” Peter called back up, sounding a little more worried now.

“Everything’s fine,” you think to answer back, forcing a laugh into your voice. “Looks like he just took out some spiders.”

“Ok…” Peter responds. “If that changes let us know…”

“Come on now!” Yondu scolded, seemingly jokingly. “I’m insulted. Thinkin’ I’d just go whippin’ out my arrow and be terrorizin’ a lady for no reason!”

“Don’t give me that!” Peter called up. “I’ve seen what you do when you’re bored!”

Yondu actually looked genuinely offended by that, and with another whistle his arrow took off again and it was seconds before Peter could be heard screaming like a little girl, quickly followed by him scolding Yondu that he 'could have at least cleaned the spider guts off it first!’

Admittedly you had to fight a grin, and Yondu was pleased to see it as he called back his arrow, Peter seemingly having retreated back to the sitting room to rejoin the others after yelling back a final, “Dickhead!” He either ignored, or had been given too much a fright to notice, that the arrow had come out of your bedroom.

The spiders were now gone off the tip of his arrow, but you chose to ignore it as he went to holster it. You could deal with the corpses later- you didn’t mind so much if they were dead and you had a dustpan.

Yondu happened to glance over at the bed once his arrow was in its place and noticed he had sliced a clean cut in your bedsheets when he speared the spiders. He gestured to it and said with a half-apologetic chuckle, “Looks like we got a casualty.”

You shook your head and told him not to worry about it, but stopped him just as he was turning to leave.

“Um, thank you,” you mutter awkwardly, rubbing the back of your head.

He simply grinned back at you cockily and replied, “Just a simple transaction is all. Pleasure to be doing business.” With that, he turned and left.

His footsteps sounded down the stairs and you turned to look at your bed before carefully reaching to gingerly pull back your blanket, momentarily wondering if you should have asked him to stay longer just in case you found more, but ultimately knowing you would have felt like even more of a child if you had.

Luckily you found no more, but you did completely strip your bed of it’s sheets and remade it with fresh ones, throwing the ones the spiders had spoiled with their presence in your hamper to be washed in the morning. Again, you knew it was irrational, but there was no way you’d be able to bring yourself to sleep in that bed with sheets you knew recently had spiders crawling in them.

This also meant you now needed to go upstairs to the attic to fetch a spare blanket, seeing as yours was also now in the hamper to be washed.

Climbing the attic stairs you couldn’t help but also wonder what exactly Yondu would call in for his favor, and if you might come to regret this “transaction,” or not. To late for that now, you supposed. All you knew know was that as soon as you retrieved a blanket you were hitting the showers and going straight to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.

* * *

Luckily, the next few days were relatively smooth sailing.

Nearly the first thing you did when you woke up the next morning was to think to order some spider repellent online. Fast shipping of course.

All you had to do in the meantime was wait. Fortunately the spiders seemed to be giving you a break for now. What you didn’t know, however, was that the reason for this was largely due to Yondu quietly running any he saw through with his arrow under the guise of target practice and boredom if anyone else noticed. Of course he never mentioned it to you. In fact, he’d barely seen you since that night aside from when you’d come up to him when no one else was around to ask him about that favor you now owed him, only for him to flippantly tell you that he’d figure it out later.

Groot might have possibly eaten a couple spiders as well when he was able to evade Rocket’s eye. But that was less for your benefit and more because he wanted a snack.

When the morning came that you got the notification that your spider spray was waiting for you at the post office you quickly readied yourself to go back into town.

Your intent was to slip out quietly, but you were surprised by Mantis speaking up from behind you as you were slipping on your jacket.

“Are you leaving?”

You jolt, not expecting to hear her, and turned only to be surprised to see her wearing a pout. Raising an eyebrow, you answer, “Um, yeah. Just gotta run to the post real quick. Did you need something?”

“I want to see the Terran town! Can I go? Pleeease?”

“Oh-” You blinked, puzzled. She had never expressed interest in going before, at least not that you had noticed? Come to think of it, would that really even be the best idea? People would definitely start staring at her completely black eyes and those antennae…

Wincing slightly, you notice Peter and Gamora walking into the hall, and speak up so they might hear. “You’re wanting to go into town, Mantis?” You weren’t sure what they’d do, but you hoped they might see the impending bad idea and talk her out of it instead.

“Yes!” She gestured over to Peter, who had now stopped to exchange glances with Gamora upon hearing you. “Peter and Kraglin have gotten to go into town so many times! I want to see too!” She now dropped her pout in favor of excitement, and you were now worried she had mistook your question for an offer.

“Did I hear my name?” Kraglin asked, entering the hall from the kitchen.

Mantis nodded. “Yes! You and Peter got to go with the Agent into town many times. I’m going this time!”

Gamora meets your gaze and she seems to be on the same page as you. “Um, Mantis… I’m not sure-”

Kraglin interrupts, clueless. “Ya better hope the Agent has a hat to cover your feelers there, Mant.”

Mantis looks confused, but then Peter chimes in before her feelings even have a chance to be hurt. “Yeah, gotta remember we’re undercover.”

Now Mantis grins wide and turns back to you excitedly. “Do you have a hat!?”

You just stood there a minute. Blinking. Part of you was annoyed they had seemingly made the decision without you. The other part was surprised that you hadn’t thought of covering her with a hat in the first place- after all, you had made Peter wear sunglasses the first time he went into town with you, which wouldn’t be too bad an idea in this case too now that you thought of it… Wait- what were you saying? You couldn’t take her into town! You’ve seen how easily distracted she can be-

But damn it- that face! You knew you couldn’t say no now. Begrudgingly you reply, “I think I might have something in the attic.”

Mantis squealed excitedly as you glide your gaze over to Gamora and Peter. For a moment you wondered why she was looking at Peter that way before she met your gaze again somewhat apologetically and you immediately knew what she was about to say next despite you narrowing your eyes warningly.

“Perhaps Peter should go too?” She glanced back at Peter. “Give Agent a break while she runs her errands?”

You continue to glare at her as Peter shrugs and says he won’t argue with a chance to get out of here for a bit. Damn it. You knew she likely just wanted some space again and found an out to get some. You attempted to curb your annoyance with the silver lining that this was further proof that she truly hadn’t taken Rocket’s words to heart when he pulled that stunt of trying to convince her you were gonna steal Peter.

Then, on cue, Yondu walks through from the sitting room towards the kitchen, only to clap Kraglin on the shoulder and say, “Ya should probably go with 'em too then, Krags. Quill may be watching Bug for the Agent, but who’s gonna watch him?”

Yondu laughed as Peter protested the insult, and as you turned your glare to him he threw you a wink right before disappearing into the kitchen. Clearly he had heard the previous conversion happening and simply wished to stir the pot. Bastard.

Taking a deep breath, you state you’re going to check the attic real quick for a hat that might work for Mantis. Maybe you’d take your time, figure out how a trip alone turned into you now bringing three people with you. You tell the others to get ready to leave while you look as you turn to head upstairs.

It didn’t take you too long to find a hat. There had happened to be one hanging on an old coat rack near the top of the attic stairs. Only thing was it wasn’t exactly… subtle. It was an old wide-brimmed sunhat that you think might have belonged to your mother, but you weren’t sure. All you know is that you had never even bothered to wear it to play dress-up as a kid, which is probably the only reason it was still in decent condition with as old as it’d have to be.

Without bothering to look around for anything a little less… noticeable… you grabbed the hat, beat off the dust, and headed back downstairs. The faster you’d get all this over with the better. You were just going to pop in and grab your package after all. How much trouble could they possibly get into?

You return downstairs and find that Gamora had left, leaving Peter, Kraglin, and Mantis waiting for you in the hall. She was already wearing the sunglasses and beaming excitedly over how she’d finally get a turn to leave the house. Someone, likely Peter, had already managed to locate them and gave them to her. However, unlike Peter who had put on his jacket and Kraglin who was currently slipping his poncho over his head, Mantis didn’t appear to have anything of the sort. When you questioned this, as it wasn’t very warm out, she informed you that she didn’t have one.

You frowned and handed over the hat, which she put on gleefully. “Wait here a minute. I’ll grab you something.” And back up the stairs you went, knowing that you had a cardigan or two in your dresser. You pulled out a brown one and went back downstairs to hand it to her. “Ok, now is everyone ready?”

Mantis nodded excitedly as the other two shrugged their affirmatives. They, of course, were happy to get out of the house for a change, but they were no where near as excited as Mantis.

With a sigh, you motion them out the door and off you went.

* * *

Mantis was a chatterbox the whole way into town. She gushed over the trees as you drove past, and pointed out every animal she spotted- mostly livestock- and asked what they were from the back seat.

Admittedly it was a little endearing, her innocent excitement. She didn’t even ask “Are we there yet?” throughout the long ride, too enamored with the scenery to care.

Mantis gasped when you finally approached the town, right before she joyously squealed that she was finally getting to see a Terran town. You couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm as you pulled into a parking spot at the post office.

Rightfully assuming she’d want to come inside to ogle the post office interior, you didn’t even bother asking if the others wanted to come inside or stay in the car. Hell, Mantis had practically jumped out before you even parked.

…And started off down the street.

“Mantis!” you yell, causing her to immediately turn around, nearly losing her hat as she done so. “Don’t run off, I don’t want you getting lost.”

“Oh-” Mantis said, before nodding her head with a smile and coming back to rejoin the group and following you into the building.

There was no line today, which you took as a blessing. Wouldn’t have to worry about too many people gawking at your housemates as Mantis busied herself ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the postcards in her out of season sunhat and sunglasses getup while Peter and Kraglin watched over her fondly as they glanced over some old magazines, waiting on you to retrieve your package.

Within a few minutes the woman behind the counter handed you over the box with your spider repellent and you thanked her before turning back to the others and gesturing them to follow you out.

The second the four of you were out Mantis piped up asking excitedly where you’d all be going next.

Truthfully, you had only planned to grab your package and head back home, but something about the excitement on her face made you preemptively feel bad to disappoint her. Before you could decide what to do, Mantis announced she spotted some flowers in a window box and then promptly stepped into the street, right in front of an oncoming car.

Luckily Peter was quicker than you in that moment and snatched her back before anything bad could happen, though the driver of the car did yell some choice words at her as he drove by. Mantis wasn’t even phased, though Peter did scold her for walking out in front of a car. Perhaps it was good he and Kraglin came after all…

With a stern look you tell Mantis and the others to get in the car before someone actually did get run over.

Sensing that you were displeased with what just happened, Mantis didn’t argue, but that didn’t stop her from asking again what they could see next.

You thought for a moment… what could it really hurt to stay in town for just a little longer?

“Say, what do you guys think about bringing pizza back for dinner?”

“I mean, I’m game,” Peter replies for the other two, “but the cheese might be a problem…”

“Ah shit, right. I forgot about Yondu.” you say, frowning, but then a light bulb goes off in your brain. “Oh wait- I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before! There’s medicine for lactose intolerance. We can pick it up right from the shop.”

Kraglin raised an eyebrow. “Lactose intolerance? I thought it was that 'dairy’ stuff he couldn’t have? The hell is 'lactose?’”

“Yes- I mean, lactose intolerance is just what they call it when you can’t have dairy. Look-” you shake your head as if waving off the conversation, “If you guys want to try pizza we can pick him up some of that medicine so he can have it too, or we can not do that. Your choice.”

Mantis and Kraglin look at Peter for his opinion as he would presumably know if this 'pizza’ was worth trying, and so he shrugs and nods. “Sure,” he says, the other two deciding to nod with him, Mantis smiling wide- obviously excited to try some new Terran food.

“Alright. We’ll stop by the shop first and pick up the medicine. There’s this one pizza shop nearby that should be good for carry out.”

With no arguments from anyone, you set off for the shop.

Mantis behaved liked an excited toddler. She ran off no fewer than 4 times in what was supposed to be a short visit to just grab some over the counter lactose intolerance medication. Sure, it was still a little endearing to see someone clearly so happy and excited to see so many new things, but also a little exhausting since Peter and Kraglin didn’t seemed too concerned with her running all over the place. Some help they were.

You finally check out - with a few extra items like soda and napkins alone with the medicine - and get everyone rounded back up in the car to head off towards the pizza shop.

When you get there you figured three large pizzas would be more than enough to feed everyone, and let the other’s look at the menu to decide what they wanted to try and what they thought the others would eat.

In the end the order wound up being one pepperoni and peppers (mostly to have a safe choice),
one vegetation with peppers, tomato, mushrooms, and onions, with pineapple and sweet corn on half (Mantis insisted she wanted to try that, and you supposed she could pick them off when she realized that wasn’t a great idea),
and one loaded up with meats like pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, and even chicken (they figured that would be more enjoyed by Rocket, and probably also easiest to be filling for Drax.)

The place wasn’t very busy at the moment, but it still would take a little bit for them to make the pizzas, so you decide to take the others outside to walk about while you wait.

Just like with the post office and the grocery shop, Mantis was amazed with everything, even though you personally didn’t see anything particularly special about most of it. Then again, you were used to all of it. To her this was a completely new place. Again, endearing, but increasingly exhausting trying to keep up with her.

Exhausting to the point that you took a moments pause and looked over at Peter who was just chatting to Kraglin with a blasé attitude. “How do you guys keep up with her?” you ask, a littler perturbed that they weren’t help keep track of her as was supposed to be their reason for coming. Well, Peter’s anyway. You supposed Kraglin was technically holding up his end since he was staying with Peter, though you knew that whole “If Peter’s watching Mantis, who’s gonna watch him?” was just Yondu messing around.

Peter shrugged. “We mostly don’t. I mean, she’s never gotten lost before. She always turns back up sooner or later.”

Well that explained why they didn’t seem too concerned that she kept running off.

You simply sigh in response and look back in the direction you last saw her, only to see that unlike each time she’d wandered before, this time you had completely lost sight of her.

Eyes wide, you get Peter’s attention again. “She’s gone.”

“Don’t worry so much. She’ll turn back up. She always does.”

You scoff at him and turn to look all around you. You couldn’t see her anywhere for a good thirty seconds before finally spotting her by her hat down an alleyway across the street. “Shit. You two stay right here, I’m gonna go grab her.”

Not waiting for an answer you took off, quickly avoiding cars as you crossed the street towards Mantis. You were glad it wasn’t dark yet, unless you counted the storm clouds that had started moving in on an otherwise overcast day. Last thing you would need was for the sky to open up before you all got back to the pizza shop. But no time for worrying about that now, because you just fully noticed where Mantis was walking.

She was heading toward what appeared to be a white, unmarked van, and you didn’t like the looks of it. It was parked at the back of the alley where the alleyway turned, and you could only see the back half, as the front half was obscured by a building.

Rarely does something good ever come from an unmarked van. Especially in an alley. You knew from experience, both from working jobs where you had to find people who used them to kidnap the vulnerable, and from working jobs were you were the one inside the van, tracking those who might do harm. Sure, you might have been the good guy, but what happened to the assholes wasn’t exactly nice for them either.

“Mantis!” you call out, picking up the pace, but she doesn’t seem to hear you. So, you start jogging as Mantis continued getting closer to the van. You call out her name again, but again, nothing. Damn it. Switching to a full run, you notice the back lights turn on, like someone had just turned the ignition key. If there was someone unsavory in there and they grabbed her they could take off down the rest of the alley and you’d never catch them. What if they were traffickers? What if the people after the Guardians had found them and they were stalking them in that van?

Ok, so maybe you were catastrophizing, but better safe than sorry.

You finally catch up to Mantis and grab her, startling her as you jerked her away from the van. As you start pulling her back in the direction that you came the van pulls away. Perhaps this wasn’t 'one of those vans’ after all, but still. You had every right to be worried.

“Didn’t you hear me call you?”

“No- I’m sorry!” She winced, knowing she messed up. “I didn’t mean to run off again- there was just this pretty insect and I didn’t want to lose it!”

Whatever the insect had been, it was long gone now, but your anger wasn’t. “You just can’t keep running off like that. You could have gotten lost. And don’t ever go near an unmarked van, do you hear me?” Your tone was harsh, scolding.

“Sorry,” Mantis replied, nodding. She looked sad from getting yelled at, but you willed yourself to ignore it.

The two of you were quiet for a moment after, you just focused on getting her back to the others, before Mantis spoke up again. “Agent? Why were you afraid?”

“What? I wasn’t afrai-” It was then you realized you were still holding her hand, and you promptly let go of it. “Thought we talked about you not doing that without asking,” you scold, irritated.

Mantis apologized again. “I didn’t mean to- I promise! You startled me and I just… sort of did it on instinct?”

You toss her a quick glance and see she genuinely just looks so sad to have disappointed you that you can’t bring yourself to stay angry. Irritation now softened, you just repeat what you said earlier, “Never go near an unmarked van, 'kay? They’re just not safe.” You hoped she wouldn’t ask why, as you weren’t sure you cared to explain just what sort of horrible things you’d seen them be used for in the past.

She didn’t. Mantis simply nods and the rest of the short walk back was silent. You considered texting Maria about the van so they could look into it just in case, but if it turned out to be nothing or wasn’t even actually 'unmarked’ (since you only saw the back half of one side) you didn’t want the fallback, so you didn’t.

When the two of you reached Peter and Kraglin you suggested that you all head back to the pizza shop to wait. They got the hint that you needed to cool down a little and so didn’t speak much on the way back. Even Mantis restrained herself from her former excited antics, walking quietly beside Peter with her head down, and honestly you were starting to feel bad for yelling at her. Yes, she needed to be more careful, but she was just excited.

The pizzas were ready pretty much as soon as you walked through the door, and after paying you and walking to the car you asked Mantis if she wanted to be charged with the task of holding the pizzas on the way home. She seemed to perk up a bit at having been given a job, and you cracked at smile when she remarked how warm they were in her lap.

Mantis was less excited on the way home, and at first you thought she was still sad, but a glance backward made you smile when you realized the reason for her silence was that she had fallen asleep.

You guessed the heat from the pizza boxes combined with the rain that was now coming down around you, was just cozy enough to put her to sleep.

The rain had mostly let up by the time you got home and after Peter woke Mantis and brought the pizza’s inside, you placed the pizzas in the oven to heat them back up a bit before eating, as the ride from town to home wasn’t exactly short.

While you waited you presented Yondu with the lactose intolerance medicine.

“What’s this?” he asked, looking at the bottle.

“It’s something to keep you from shitting yourself to death after eating dinner,” you reply cheekily.

Yondu narrowed his eyes at you.

“It’s up to you though. You can always find something else to eat if you don’t trust it.”

He could smell the food, and it actually smelled pretty good. He also didn’t feel like making something else for himself if there was already food made, so he shrugged his shoulders and took a dose. “This better work,” he said, washing it down with some water.

“Yeah, for all our sakes,” Peter quipped from behind the two of you, earning a glare from Yondu before exiting the kitchen with Kraglin and Mantis to tell the others you guys brought food back.

Now that it was just the two of you, you thought to ask, “Um, if it does work, I don’t suppose this will count towards whatever favor I owe you?”

Yondu just laughed and shook his head before leaving the kitchen.

“I guess I should have expected that…” you say after him in response, slightly cringing at how obvious you were making it that you were nervous about what he might ask for in return for his 'services.’ You weren’t used to owing other people. It felt weird.

* * *

Dinner went pretty well.

Everyone enjoyed the pizza, even Yondu who’d made the previous complaint that 'Terrans put that 'dairy shit’ in everything.’ And surprisingly to you, Mantis actually didn’t wind up pulling the pineapple or sweet corn off her pizza. Neither did Kraglin, who also had some of that half of the pie. More power to them, you supposed.

On the flip side, unsurprisingly Groot didn’t eat much, considering his tiny size. He mostly picked the toppings off one of Rocket’s slices. Or was it his own slice? You couldn’t tell. All you knew was Rocket put two slices on one plate and sat Groot down with him on the countertop where Groot ate the toppings off the slice Rocket left on the plate and Rocket finished off the slice when Groot had his fill of the toppings.

Also, luckily for everyone, the lactose intolerance medicine worked for Yondu.
Well, mostly.

You all weren’t run out of the house like the previous incidents, but every so often throughout the evening as you were winding down in your room you could hear Kraglin loudly complaining and Yondu laughing from their bedroom across the hall, each time preceded by fart noises. You couldn’t help but laugh and be grateful that the smell didn’t waft over to your side of the hall, and that your door was also closed if it did.

Mantis was holding back giggles as well when Kraglin could be heard proclaiming that he was gonna go sleep in Drax and Rocket’s room after the third or fourth time. Yondu was only heard laughing in response and making some quip about having the room to himself.

The two of you shared a look and you could tell she no longer thought you were mad at her for running off earlier, and you were glad. It made you feel better knowing she was no longer sad about the situation, but you still took the time then to apologize for yelling at her, and in turn she apologized for running off so many times.

All in all, the day seemed like a success to you. Nothing truly bad happened in town, no one argued at dinner, and you sprayed the house down with the spider repellent that evening so it was very unlikely you’d be finding anymore spiders in your bed anytime soon.

Speaking of spraying the repellent, it seemed Gamora had either convinced the others to tidy up around the house while you were gone, or she had done so herself as perhaps a thank you for agreeing to take Peter into town to give her some space, because you noticed the house definitely seemed cleaner than you left it as you went about spraying in the corners and windows with the repellent. You made a mental note to thank her in the morning.

You were in a pretty good mood, all things considered. Much better than the other day when you nearly punched Yondu in the face.

And with the house already seemingly cleaned, the only thing really left to do was to think about what you wanted to do tomorrow, but now that you thought about it, there wasn’t really anything pressing that needed done. You could maybe try and take some time to do an inspection of that tunnel like you had been meaning to? Or you could just take a day to just do nothing? Spend the day outside, taking a walk through the woods while you can before the weather really starts getting colder?

Oh wait- Fury should be coming tomorrow for another check-in and restock. Guess that means both a day-long walk or tunnel inspection are out of the question. You should really be around and available when he shows up- whatever time that could wind up being. One of these times he’s probably going to come at midnight just to keep you on your toes.

Although, thinking about it some more, it has been a few days since you played the remote prank on Peter… that should be able to keep you plenty entertained while you wait for Fury and Maria to come and go.

You should see about getting the remote back from Rocket tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Woken up by knocking, you glance at the digital clock on your desk.

Barely 4:30 in the damn morning... and you knew it must be Fury. Well, it wasn't a midnight check-in, but it might as well have been. You mentally cursed yourself for jinxing the situation- sleepily reasoning that if you hadn't made the comment to yourself that one of these days he'd show up at midnight to keep you on your toes, then maybe he wouldn't be so early now.

Begrudgingly, you got up and descended the stairs, having waved Gamora and Kraglin, who the knocking had woken up as well and had emerged from their rooms to see what was going on, back to bed.

You opened the door to a bright and fresh-looking Fury and Agent Hill. Maybe it was that you were still half asleep, but you could have sworn they looked pleased with themselves.

"Where are your charges, Agent?" Fury asked, as if he didn't already have an idea.

"Sleeping," you said flatly, with just enough edge that made it clear you wish you still were too.

"Very well." Fury replied before adding, "Might want to get some shoes on and help Agent Hill with the packages."

"Packages?" you asked. "But you just restocked last week?"

"Different packages. Figured they'd be needing some warmer clothing in the coming months. Just some sweaters and jackets. Figured we'd bring them early just in case- can't be too careful, now."

There was an edge of amusement in his voice that solidified to you that he was doing this on purpose to annoy you, so you didn't bother responding. Just glared shortly before turning to throw on your boots and a jacket.

It was a damp, chilly morning, but not freezing or anything. Just cold enough to make you very much wish you were back in your warm bed instead of going out to bring in packages- apparently by yourself too for as soon as you came back out and Maria opened the van Fury 'suddenly' needed her to look at something. To make matters worse it appeared there was one box for each of the eight Guardians. They were each big enough that you could only manage one at a time, but at least they weren't too heavy.

You carried them all into the kitchen and left them on the floor, and miraculously Fury was only finished with Maria once you carried in the last box. However, he had some disappointing news.

"Sorry Agent, but it appears we were given the wrong boxes. Mix-up back at SHIELD. Gonna need you to load them all back in the van and we'll have to do this again next week."

He had to be kidding.

You glare at Fury for a moment, but obey the order without a word. Sooner this was done and over, sooner you could go back to bed.

Maria made to come help you out, only for Fury to claim he needed her to review something again 'real quick.' To you it was clear they were putting on a show to mess with you, but you didn't know why. Were you being punished for something?

The boxes all now loaded back into the van, you close the hatch and walk over to Fury and Maria, hoping that would be an end to this visit.

"Well, wouldn't you know it- Seems there was a mix up about the mix up." Fury said when you came near.

You just stared at him incredulously. Did he seriously-?

"Yup. That means those were the right boxes! Sorry about that. Guess we better get them unloaded again. Maria can help you out this time."

Not saying a word lest you say something you'd regret, you turn back toward the van, not waiting for Maria, only to be halted by the van having locked when you closed it and needing to wait for her to catch up and unlock it anyways.

Both you and Maria grab a box, but before Maria so much as lifts hers, Fury calls her back over to review some 'intel.'

You were definitely being punished for something. Had to be. But you didn't know what.

All eight boxes having been loaded back into the kitchen you return to Fury and Maria looking quite grumpy. "Anything else?" you ask.

"Nope. Not unless there's anything you need to tell me." Fury answers.

You couldn't read his face to tell if this was a standard check-in question, or if he wanted you to think he knew something and was giving you the chance to come clean with whatever it was.

"No, everything and everyone has been fine," you answer curtly. "Nothing's changed since last week." You didn't know what he might be getting at, but you were too tired and grumpy to acknowledge his game- assuming he was playing one.

"Alright," Fury answers. "We'll be going then." And with that he and Maria started back towards the van, just like that.

You watched them approach the van, and just as Fury was getting in the driver seat he stops and looks at you over the top of the door, still halfway out of the vehicle.

"Oh, Agent, one more thing," he said. "Make sure to keep a good eye on your charges. We wouldn't want any running off and getting lost, would we?"

He didn't wait for a response before fully getting into the van and closing the door to drive away.

You, however, just stood there gobsmacked. Did he-? How did he-? Somehow he must have known about what happened with Mantis the previous day, but how??

You already knew the answer. He knew because he was Fury. Man has eyes everywhere. Probably put a tracker on your car for all you knew.

Well, nothing really for it but to go back to bed, and so you did.

* * *

The rest of that day and the next were pretty uneventful. Each Guardian figured out which box was for them and stored their jumpers away. They each got two jumpers, one black, one grey, and a thicker jacket in a dark blue color that was clearly meant for winter. Two months too early to be useful right now, but you knew Fury knew that.

You also noticed someone even made teeny jumpers for Groot, which were adorable, despite them having been packed in the same large box as all the others. One of the Guardians made comment on it, but you just shook your head and brushed it off, knowing it had been done on purpose to aid in the punishment Fury sprang on you that morning.

Other than that, you spent your time reading, cleaning, and pranking Peter with the remote any chance you got, provided it wasn't during one of the times you handed the remote off to Rocket.

And given that you hadn't seen anymore spiders, all that combined you were relaxed enough and having enough fun that you actually once again forgot about inspecting the tunnel. However, you only realized this around time you were going to bed.

Sure, doing it at night would solve the problem of any nosy eyes peeking about, but you also worried that if Mantis woke up to find you gone again and alerted the others it could cause unnecessary drama, so you better not.

Geeze, keep this up and the whole thing will likely be caved in before you ever got to it...

You resolved to definitely do it the next day. No exceptions.

* * *

About those 'no exceptions...'

It was raining when you woke.

Not just rain, either, but a full on downpour. It hadn't rained this hard since that first night the Guardians came. Hell, it was coming down worse than that night, and it obviously wasn't letting up anytime soon.

Sure, technically you wouldn't get wet inspecting a tunnel considering it had one entrance located in the dry safety of your cellar, but you also found yourself less willing to adhere to your 'no exceptions' plan anyway, justifying it with how the tunnel wasn't going anywhere and how, now that you thought of it, maybe it'd be easier to avoid the others noticing your absence if you started from the woods and worked your way back toward the house.

Under the guise of you going out for a walk, no one would wonder where you disappeared to for so long, and you already knew the door back there needed replaced anyway. You could order those brackets you never bothered to get, build the door, then find a way to get out and do it at night. Not so late that you'd have to worry about any drama or Yondu's annoying habit of somehow knowing when you intend to go out in the middle of the night, but late enough that someone would be less likely to look out the window and see you actively dragging a door into the woods. Or better yet, take it out in smaller pieces and assemble on site.

If you were being honest though, that was all just a bunch of reasoning to justify to yourself that you just didn't feel like doing anything today as you watched the rain pour out the window from your spot at the kitchen table.

Yondu and Rocket were there as well, the three of you finishing your respective breakfasts without saying much.

You were grateful not to have to experience storms like this often, though you did remember a time when you used to love and be comforted by them. Now that comfort was negated by a nagging physical reminder that you often suppressed either with alcohol or ibuprofen, and unfortunately for you, it seems you had let yourself run out of medication. When you went to grab the bottle from the cupboard before sitting down to eat you found the bottle empty, and with a sigh you tossed it in the bin. You must have finished it off at some point without realizing it.
A stiff drink would be your next choice, but you felt it would raise concern to be caught breaking out the whiskey first thing in the morning.

Oh well, you'd get through it. It's not like you hadn't had worse.

Contemplating whether you wanted to go back to bed, or to watch TV in the sitting room, you got up to wash your cereal bowl.

Rocket watched as you got up, and noticed how stiff you appeared when you stood. He hadn't been expecting it, and his memory momentarily flashed back to the morning he saw those scars. Could you- well it could make sense... nah. He was being stupid. Overthinking it.

But-? Come to think of it, you did appear a little stiff when you'd went to sit too... Could that mean-? Nah. Again, overthinking it.

None of you brought attention to said stiffness as you rose, but Rocket did raise his eyebrow and tossed a glance over at Yondu as these thoughts ran through his head, and he simply nodded. They had shared an unspoken conversation. A theory had been hypothesized, and then proclaimed to be true despite any actual evidence other than what the two of them had witnessed during their time with you. Could have been projection on their part, but the pieces did fit a little too perfectly with the aid of hindsight.

Little did you know, Rocket was in a similar boat as you, though he'd never just come out and say it. That might involve feelings, people feeling bad for him, and he wasn't about that crap. Instead, he'd just self-medicate or suffer in silence. Well, aside from irritable grumblings.

The only other one who seemed to have any idea what it was like for him was Yondu, though to a lesser extent. Neither of them ever really had a conversation about it- not out of any sort of shame or anything, they just didn't need to. From experience, they both knew what metal does in a mammalian body, and an unspoken understanding formed between them about their respective situations.

They could also theorize now, with the aid of hindsight, that you likely had some in yours, too.

* * *

Opting to watch something on TV you now sat curled on the sofa wrapped in both a cardigan and a throw blanket as you surfed through Netflix. It wasn't actually that cold to need both, but the extra warmth did help you feel better.

After a bit Mantis came in and flopped on the sofa next to you, happily asking if you wanted to join her, Drax, and Groot in a game they learned from the TV called "duck, duck, goose."

"Will you play!? It looked like so much fun!"

While admittedly you believed it would be amusing to see someone as large as Drax play said children's game, you weren't up to all the up and down and running about it would entail, and so you declined.

Mantis looked disappointed at first, and like she might try to persuade you, when Yondu spoke up from the table in the back where he had been playing cards with Kraglin and Rocket.

"Hey, Bug. Go see if Peter will play with ya. I think I remember him trying to get some of the crew to play a game called something like that with him when he was a boy."

Mantis immediately stopped looking disappointed and happily took Yondu's suggestion, quickly darting off to find Peter.

With Mantis gone and your brain now filled with images of big, scary-looking space pirates playing children's games, you had to ask. "Did they ever do it? Play with him, I mean?"

Yondu grinned slightly, and looked down at his cards. "Never when they knew I was watchin', but a couple of them used to, on occasion."

You saw him briefly glance at Kraglin, and though Kraglin was facing away from you, you could tell he had just become very interested in the wood grain on the table.

* * *

You must have fallen asleep at some point, because you woke up gritting your teeth in pain to an apologetic Peter who, for whatever ungodly reason, was sitting in your lap.

"OwOW-Ow! Motherfucker, get the fuck off!" You cry out, laced with more expletives as you pushed him off of you.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! I'm sorry!" Peter exclaimed as he nearly fell on his ass off the sofa, now very worried that he had injured you seeing as you were now rubbing at your hip and had turned your face into the back of the sofa. "Shit- please don't tell me I made you dislocate something else!"

He reached towards you, and as if you could sense it you barked at him, "Do not touch me. I'm fine."

"Oh, like I'm gonna believe that- That's what you said last time too," he said, referring to the time when you dislocated your elbow- of which he still felt guilty for.

Pain finally starting to subside you now glared at him, "I'm fine- you just mostly startled me," you lied, angrily, "but what the fuck do you think you were doing?"

You could see now that others had heard the commotion and came to see what was going on. Mantis was half hiding behind a confused Drax with Groot on her shoulder, and Gamora had just peeked around the sitting room door looking concerned. Behind you, out of your eyeshot, you had the other three's attention as well. Yondu watched on all frowny, while Kraglin and Rocket were still processing what idiocy must have just taken place.

All at once, Peter, Mantis and Drax began talking. So did Groot, but you couldn't understand him. Eventually you were able to piece together that apparently their Duck Duck Goose game had changed into a game of hide and seek tag, and someone, for whatever dumb reason, had declared you the safe space, and for whatever dumber reason, Peter thought it'd actually be funny to plop into your lap as he declared himself safe.

When they finally finished rambling you just blinked at them, unsure what to say. Mostly you just wanted them to go back to leaving you alone, so you decided to use what some might call 'Mom Voice™,' and scolded them. "I could have sworn I said at least once not to be running in the house-"

"I am Groot," Groot interrupted.

You blinked and raised an eyebrow, not expecting to be cut off.

"Um, he says that you only said not to run in the kitchen... and we never did run in the kitchen..." Mantis translated shyly.

Your eyes narrowed, and you genuinely had to catch yourself before you told them off to their rooms before immediately feeling silly for nearly sending three adults to their rooms like they were children, so you settled again for 'Mom Voice™: Version-Scary' and said, "You all better go find something else to do quietly that doesn't involve jumping on top of me."

Getting the hint that a great fuck-up was made, the four of them scattered, and you could hear Gamora giving Peter further scolding as he exited the sitting room.

With them gone you turned, stiffly, to face forward on the sofa and glanced out the window to see that the storm was still coming down pretty good. You rest your head back with a sigh, rubbing your hip some more before tossing off the blanket and scooting to the edge of the sofa so that you might get up. Maybe retire to your room where you could properly lie down and read or something- assuming the stairs wouldn't give you too much trouble.

With a deep breath you make a move to stand, but abort mission partway up and sit yourself back down.

You try again, with the same result.

Alright. Annoying, but you genuinely knew you were fine. Just need a minute for the ache to subside from Peter jumping on you, is all. Just a minor setback. Next time you'd remember to stock up on pain medicine. You didn't know what had gotten into yourself to just run out like that. However, now that it was on your mind, what better time than now to take out your phone and place an order for some more.

Better to pace yourself anyway, you told yourself as you opened the shopping app. Better that than push too hard and wind up limping out of the room, as that was bound to result in pointless comments or worrying from others. In the meantime you'd just sit and watch the rain. Breathe through it. You'd been through much worse- so you should be up in no time.

Wasn't long until Yondu appeared beside the sofa, Kraglin and Rocket at his side. "Look like you could use a drink," he said lightheartedly.

You stare at him a moment and then nod. Damn right you could. "I'll catch up," you respond. "I think there's an opened bottle already in the fridge." Sure, it was still early, but you didn't care anymore, and at least you wouldn't be drinking alone. Perfect excuse.

Yondu communicates to Kraglin through a slight motion of his head, and Kraglin responds with an equally slight nod before heading off toward the kitchen saying, "I can get us some glasses down then." Rocket, who understood the same message, followed behind with a quip about how he bet he'd be able to outdrink you.

Once they were gone Yondu moves to stand in front of you. Not directly in front, but sort of toward the side. One might describe it as blocking the view of where you were sat on the sofa from the doorway. He wouldn't describe it that way- but someone might.

Giving him a quick glance, you repeat, "I'll catch up, go ahead."

Yondu doesn't speak, just holds out his hand.

You glance at his outstretched hand, then up at him, then back down into your lap again. His expression had been blank, and you didn't know why he was still there, offering out his hand. There was no way he could know, but why else would he offer? Was he making fun of you? No, you're just being paranoid. His lack of expression also seemed to point that his intention wasn't to mock, but you were still reluctant to accept his offer. You didn't need it. Never needed help getting up before, saw no reason why you'd need it now.

Trying again, softer, yet more forcefully than before, "No, really. I'll catch up."

Yondu simply cleared his throat.

You glance back up at his face, seeing his expression was still blank, with maybe just a hint of, 'Let's not make this harder than it needs to be.' You sigh, able to tell, for whatever reason, that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

So, with a quick glance around him to make sure no one was looking, you took his hand.

* * *

The next day was much better. The storm had started letting up sometime after you started drinks with the guys, and by that night you were feeling much better.

Better enough that the next day you woke up ready for some well deserved mischief.

The day before you hadn't gotten much use from the prank remote, both due to having slid it to Rocket the previous night and the whole weather related crankiness thing. But, Rocket had gotten it back to you this morning and you set to use it the first chance you got.

You walked into the sitting room where Peter was already watching TV with Kraglin. You would have winked at Rocket as you walked in, but he had his nose buried in some manual over at the table. (And if you knew him better, that alone would probably leave you worried about just what he was intending to tear apart.)

Glancing over the bookshelf you pretended to be busy looking for something to read for a few moments before clicking the button on the prank remote to mute the TV.

Peter groaned immediately. "Seriously?? This again??"

You unmute it.

Peter wasn't done complaining. "I seriously think your TV is broken, Agent."

Feigning disinterest, you respond, "I don't know what to tell you, it always works fine when I'm watching." You put on a show of pulling down a book, pretending to mull it over, and placing it back to sell your indecisiveness as Peter grumbled and returned to watching his show.

And then you hit the button to shut the TV off.

Smacking noises could be heard and a glance confirmed that Peter was smacking the remote thinking perhaps that was the cause.

In your best annoyed tone you scold him, returning your gaze to the books. "Dude, don't abuse the controllers. Maybe that's why you can never get it to work."

Peter protested. "I swear it's not me! That's literally the first time I've hit it!" That was a lie, but still, he wasn't wrong about the issue not being him, even if he didn't fully know it. "Maybe there's a loose wire or something!"

"Did you try changing the batteries, Quill? You always forget the batteries." Rocket chimed in, also feigning annoyance with his friend.

Sounding slightly defeated, Peter turns to you and asks if you have any spare batteries he could try.

"Sure, there's some in that drawer over there," you say, gesturing to a short chest of drawers by the window.

There was the sound of the remote being placed on the coffee table and then Peter stood up to get the batteries. He barely takes one step when the TV turns back on.

"What the hell???" Peter exclaimed.

"See, it's working now," you say, opening a book you had just pulled from the shelf. "Maybe it wasn't the batteries after all."

"I already took the batteries out!"

"Oh-" You look to see the remote in his hand and then glance over to see the batteries on the table. Well shit. You should have been paying more attention. "Weird." Glancing at Rocket, you see that he is now paying extra attention to that manual. He barely looks up at you, clearly realizing you fucked up a bit. You glance back at Peter and put on your best confused face. "Put them back in, I guess? Maybe you were right about a loose wire?"

Peter's eyes narrow. "What do you have in your hand?"

Brushing it off, you scoff, "A book?" and snap the book shut for emphasis. However, you knew full well he must have caught a glimpse of the tiny remote in your hand that you were hiding behind said book.

"No- you have something else! Have you been pranking me this whole time!?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Show me your hands."

"Excuse me?" You lower the book to your right side, not breaking eye contact.

"Show me your hands," he said again, fully facing you with his arms crossed. The sofa still separated the two of you and while Peter was now standing, Kraglin remained sitting, watching back and forth between the two of you like a tennis match.

"Ugh, fine." Rolling your eyes, you hold up both hands, still holding the book. "See," you pass the book between your hands to show him each hand was empty one at a time before once again lowering the book to your side, this time on the left, "Nothing in my hands- other than this book. Happy?"

Peter eyed you suspiciously.

"You done now?"

"Hand me the book."

"What?"

"I said, hand me the book," he repeated, taking a moment to discard the remote onto the table next to it's batteries to free up his hands.

Laughing, you oblige. "You're ridiculous- here."

Peter accepted the book, and looked it over, not fully sure what he was looking for. Finding nothing, he handed it back. "I know this has got to be you somehow."

"Why? Literally what have I done? I'm just looking at books."

Rocket spoke up. "Hate to agree with the Agent, but you're looking real paranoid right now, Quill." He definitely wasn't helping you- he was just... protecting his investment. If you messed this up then the whole prank was over and then a perfectly good device would be wasted. Well, at least until he tore it apart to make something else, anyway.

"Do not!" Peter protested.

"Do so. Now keep it down, some of us are trying to read here."

Peter waved his hand at Rocket dismissively and returned his attention to you. "Fess up, and I might go easy on you."

Well that didn't sound good. You had no idea what he might mean, though you suspected he was declaring another prank war. Regardless, you needed to play it off. You scoffed, "Go easy on me?? You must be joking. I didn't do anything!"

"Fine, if that's true, you'll have no problem letting me search your pockets." Peter retorted with a smirk.

"What? No. I'm not gonna let you search me!" You reply, playing up your offended act.

"Aha! So you admit it!"

"There's nothing to admit!"

"I know this has got to be you!"

"Why do you assume it's got to be me? Kraglin's the one always around when it happens!"

Kraglin was momentarily offended and started to express so, before a sudden silence fell on the room. Peter's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but grin. At the table behind you, Rocket internally groaned but retained his outward appearance of not being invested in what was going on.

You had fucked up.

"Ohhhh" Peter said with a cocky grin. "Tell me, how exactly do you know that Kraglin is around every time it happens."

"Well- I... he-"

"Gotcha!" Peter exclaimed, and started around the sofa towards you.

You immediately took off in the other direction, and in short order the two of you were still separated by the sofa, but each now at opposite arms.

Rocket made a show of looking annoyed and choosing to leave the room just as Peter went to chase you back around the sofa the way you came so you wouldn't be able to run out of the room, and you took this as a chance to drop the remote. You had to time it just right, and hope that Rocket was paying enough attention and cared enough about his creation to snatch it before anyone saw.

You ever so briefly lock eyes with Rocket whilw he was trying to avoid getting stepped on as he was leaving just as you rounded back around to stand again at the opposite sofa arm as Peter, only this time the two of you had more or less switched sides. You held the remote behind you and felt Rocket sneakily snatch it out of your hand as he walked past toward the door.

Not a moment too soon either, because just as Rocket was leaving Peter lunged around the sofa for you again, corralling you once again toward the back side, only this time you didn't stop there.

Just as you were about to round to the front of said sofa yet again, Peter said to Kraglin, "Quick, grab her Krags!" and Kraglin happily obliged, standing just quick enough to block you, but not steadily enough to catch you properly. He did catch you, but the two of you almost ended up on the floor when you half-tripped over him before he finally got a good grip on you.

Fuck.

"Peter, listen-"

"Nope." He returned to the front and helped Kraglin wrestle you face down onto the sofa where they both sat on you to hold you in place, Peter on your lower back and Kraglin on your legs, all while you protested with profanities. Once they had you more or less settled and a quick pat-down didn't reveal anything Peter spoke again. "Ready to come clean?"

"Oh, fuck off!"

"Suit yourself." Peter started gently poking at your sides and ribs. "One last chance..."

"Get off!" you scolded, holding back your giggles and still trying in vain to squirm out from underneath them. You should have guessed he would default to that kind of childish tactic. "That's not going to work!" you scold him.

"Hmm... So you do admit there's something to get out of you." Peter grinned. "That's alright. I've got time." And with that he started to properly tickle you.

You fought against the urge to laugh, all while attempting to smack at Peter, throw him off, and scold profanities at him all at once.

Kraglin, who you would had practically forgotten was still sitting on your legs had it not been for the lack of ability to move them, just huffed a laugh out his nose and shook his head at Peter's childish antics, of which he wasn't going to attempt to stop considering you tried to frame him for whatever it was you had been doing with the TV.

For that reason, now that he thought of it, why shouldn't he join in the fun? He could easily reach your feet, and you couldn't possibly kick him now like you did the last time...

"Hey Agent, remember back when you found it so funny how me and Rocket got tangled in that hose? And how you couldn't quit laughing every time you saw me- so I fixed to give you something to laugh about, but then you kicked me something fierce?"

You barely registered any of what he said, too busy fighting off Peter and failing. So, when he reached down and scratched at the bottoms of your feet with such a gentleness that you would never have expected from the man, it actually managed to finally startle a laugh out of you, and from there you were unable to hold back anymore laughter as the pair tortured you for the crimes you wouldn't admit to.

Seconds later Yondu walked into the sitting room, looked upon the scene, and raised an eyebrow. "Do I wanna know?"

Peter briefly paused, as did Kraglin, and told him of your crimes. "She's been pranking me the whole time with the TV! I don't know how, but I know it's been her! Figured a little... 'gentle persuasion,' would get her to talk."

"And she tried to frame me for it" Kraglin added.

They then resumed tickling you right as you began protesting your innocence and stating their lack of proof.

"Ah..." Yondu said with a slight nod of his head. Now, he could have scolded Peter about it being bad form to resort to torture without proof of a crime- yada yada... but honestly, Quill probably learned that behavior from him. So he opted to not get involved. Also, he, of course, already knew you were guilty as hell and probably had this coming. So, instead, he just continued on with what he came in there to do. He picked up the game controller from the table to surf Netflix, and only bothered putting the batteries back in the the other remote once he realized he was probably going to need to turn up the volume.

Just as Yondu ignored the happenings on the sofa, Peter and Kraglin ignored his presence as well, and went about their business tormenting you.

"Ready to confess and say sorry yet?" Peter questioned, once again pausing his torture for a moment along with Kraglin.

"Get off and go to hell-haHA!" you replied, the end of your sentence punctuated by laughter as Peter resumed tickling.

Kraglin found that what Yondu put on the TV held his interest more than tormenting you, so he took a break- lounging back to watch the program while remaining on top of your legs to hold you in place.

"Shame," Peter said in mock disappointment, "This can all be over if you just admit what you did and apologize..."

"I did nothing you lihittle shit!! Get off me!" you scold through your laughter. You weren't going to give in, and he should've guessed that. You had told him before that you were trained against torture, after all.

Peter dramatically sighed and continued, this time moving his hands up your sides to attack your armpits.

Immediately clamping your arms to your sides, your shriek, though it was muffled into the sofa cushion where your face had fallen now that your arms were no longer propping you up, and you let out a string of sounds through your heavy laughter. "NOTTHERE!NOTTHERE!GETOFF!!AHHH!!!"

"How is this not fair?" Peter said mischievously as he moved his fingers back down your sides, his goal being to not linger in one place for too long so hopefully you couldn't get used to a sensation. "I told you the rules. Fess up and apologize, and I'll stop."

Yondu chuckled from his armchair and spoke up, unable to resist. "I don't think she said 'not fair,' boy." He grinned wider, remembering back when he had teased you about being vulnerable to torture. Seems you were proving him right. "Pretty sure she said 'not there.'"

"Ohhhh!" Peter said gleefully. "Well in that case, I think that's exactly where I need to focus!"

Of course, him returning his hands to your underarms caused you to let out another scream, only for it to be cut off by Peter playfully shoving your face back into the cushion to once again muffle it. Kraglin found his interest in the mischief renewed with your screams and decided to join back in, which of course only made you shriek more with the unexpectedness of his touch.

Yondu just turned up the volume on the television to drown out your squeals- that rat bastard.

When you could think more clearly you were going to get them all back for this. For now, though, all you could do was struggle uselessly under your attackers and shriek with laughter. The ticklish feeling under your arms was nearly unbearable, and having your feet tickled at the same time just made your situation all the more maddening.

But you knew they would learn sooner or later -hopefully sooner- that you weren't one to give in or beg for mercy. Never had been. You knew better. Give in once, that would only tell your enemy that they found an effective way to get what they wanted out of you in the future.

Sure, this wasn't actually as serious as being in the field, where being captured and tortured for information generally had never (in your memory) included tickling, but still, good principle to stand by considering how your housemates acted like overgrown children.

Outside the sitting room, Rocket sighed and stood. He had taken up residence on one of the steps to listen-in out of curiosity. See if you'd talk. Crack under the pressure. See if you'd spill the beans, or even try to rat him out to either save yourself or take him down with you.

So far he was actually impressed that you hadn't talked, given how you were carrying on. Not bad, for a Terran.

However, once he heard your laughter turn to screams he figured maybe he better go find Gamora to call Peter off before he tickled you insane.

Not because he felt he owed you a favor because he felt guilty for the previous day or anything. How was he supposed to know that you would have needed the pain medication? Right, he couldn't have. Sure, he was at fault for not realizing he put the bottle back empty after he took some of it to relieve his own weather-induced pain, but how was he supposed to know you'd need it? That's your fault for not telling anyone that you very likely had some sort of hardware in your body. ...Right? Right. So he totally wasn't doing you a solid out of guilt or anything.

So... why was he doing it? Because, shut up. That's why.

He thought he remembered seeing Gamora go outside with Mantis, and he was right, spotting them almost as soon as he opened the back door.

"Hey, might wanna go save the Agent from Peter," he called out nonchalantly, walking toward the shed.

Gamora raised an eyebrow and walked closer to him. "What?"

He continued towards the shed, replying over his shoulder. "Yeah, they got into it over something or other. Now he and Kraglin got her pinned to the couch." He opened the shed door and shrugged. "Figured you might wanna break it up before they kill her or something. Up to you though, not my problem," he said just before entering the shed.

Gamora and Mantis shared a look of alarm before rushing inside, which was quickly replaced by relief to see that you were only being tickled, and not, as Rocket had implied, engaged in a fight with Peter and Kraglin.

"Alright, break it up." Gamora said in a commanding voice that one could perhaps find laced with a bit of relieved humor if one listened very carefully. She remained standing inside the doorway, hands on her hips. Mantis stood slightly behind her, looking both curious and amused.

Peter halted his actions and turned toward her, looking disappointed. "But she-"

"Don't care. I'm finishing it."

With a dramatic sigh Peter dismounted you, as did Kraglin- who simply stood and moved his butt over to the other armchair and continued watching the TV with Yondu like nothing happened.

"Kill-joy," Peter muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Peter turned back to you as you pulled yourself into a sitting position to catch your breath, your cheeks still pink from laughter and residual giggles still escaping your throat. "This isn't over," he said, "I know you did it someh-"

Gamora cleared her throat. "I said, break it up."

"Let it go, boy. Ain't like you ain't pranked her tons of times before." Yondu chimed in, mostly not wanting to deal with the start of yet another prank war between the two of you. Surely that was enough revenge for a simple prank.

You smirked slightly at Peter, causing him to frown. You clearly felt like you had gotten away with it, and Peter clearly felt injusticed that you might.

"But we were in a truce!" Peter whined in Yondu's direction.

Damn. Yondu couldn't argue with that. Bad form to walk back on a truce- and he knew Quill would likely site him as the one who taught him something about that. Not that he'd ever admit to it. Of course the boy would only listen when it could come back to bite him in the ass. Yondu looked at Peter, then at you, and then back at Peter. He sighed- it was the only thing he could really do- before finally waving his hand in a dismissive gesture and saying, "Whatever. Just make sure ya don't annoy me."

Peter pumped his fist with a cheer while you and Gamora gave Yondu similar but separate looks of surprise.

Had Yondu seriously just given Peter permission to get revenge against you? Because it sure as hell sounded like it. What happened to 'If there's one thing we don't need it's you and Quill startin' another prank war! It always ends in trouble'?

Gamora looked like she wanted to say something, but opted instead for just rolling her eyes and pulling Peter out of the room. Just before exiting the doorway he turned and did the 'I'm watching you' signal, while you sat there, still dumbfounded from Yondu's apparent sign off on Peter's future shenanigans and the fact that you were all, apparently, abiding by schoolyard rules.

"Ya done it now," Kraglin warned nonchalantly, continuing to watch TV like nothing had happened.

"Yup." Yondu agreed, leaning further back into his chair.

"Ya ain't supposed to go back on a truce." Kraglin added, shaking his head gently, barely bothering to glance at you.

"Nope," Yondu agreed again, resting his arms behind his head casually.

Kraglin knew Yondu well enough to know that he hadn't technically given Pete permission for anything, not that Peter would have waited for or even wanted it anyway. What he had done though, was stated that he wasn't going to get involved or stop whatever Peter might decide to do. Truce was a truce, and while Yondu wouldn't want to deal with the likely scenario of being in the crossfire of any potential new prank wars, (as Peter was wont to do), he wasn't about to deny a man his revenge justice for a broken truce. And seeing as you tried to frame Kraglin for that prank, Kraglin wasn't going to get involved or try to save you either.

Kraglin looked over at Yondu as he stood. "Think I'm gonna make some popcorn, ya want some?"

Yondu gestured that he wouldn't mind some popcorn and Kraglin left to fetch them some from the kitchen.

You continued to sit on the sofa, wondering how exactly you, an Agent of SHIELD, had managed to get yourself involved in a prank war for a third time- or was it fourth? You had lost count.

Well, you supposed you better sleep with one eye open tonight.

Chapter Text

The room was still dark when you woke. Nervous energy, along with the aid of an alarm, helped you wake early so you might get ahead of Peter, catch what prank he'd have inevitably set up for you during the night.

You checked everything- your boots for grease, above doors for water buckets (noting the advice Yondu had given you weeks ago about how those had been Peter's go-to pranks on his ship.) You also checked your toiletries for dye, just in case he'd revisit one of your best pranks to try and finally pull it over on you.

However, you found nothing. This surprised you, but you suspected maybe he wasn't so motivated that he'd sacrifice sleep to get you back. His revenge must be yet to come.

But it didn't.

At least, you hadn't noticed anything by breakfast, nor after. You kept a watchful eye, but there was still nothing by the afternoon. At most he would grin mischievously at you, or repeat the 'I'm watching you' signal from the day before.

Clearly he was waiting for something, or planning his attack carefully.

Regardless, you knew you needed to get out of the house for your own sanity. Should you stay to keep an eye on him? Probably. Would your absence give him the freedom to do whatever he wanted? Most likely, assuming Gamora didn't reign him in to keep him out of trouble- which she likely wouldn't. Still, you knew you needed a breather before your composure betrayed you. Before your anxiety started to crack your calm faćade and it be known how nervous you were over whatever hellfire would be coming your way.

If nothing else, you wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing you sweat.

So, you decided today would be the day you finally check the tunnel, starting with the door behind your favorite tree. This would kill two birds with one stone. You could get in a 'nature walk', and once you reached the cellar, maybe you could take a minute to 'listen in' and see if you could possibly hear any plotting of Peter's plan while he thought you were away...

Checking your boots once again before putting them on, you started to get ready to go out, doing your best to be relatively quiet so no one would notice you getting ready and ask to join you, as certain members of the Guardians had been wont to do lately.

Luckily, everyone else seemed to be busy doing their own thing, either watching TV, playing cards, or lounging upstairs, so no one was around to notice you putting on your jacket in the hall, or making your way to the back door in the kitchen.

Just as you were about to leave, however, you stopped. It occurred to you that leaving without a trace was bound to concern some nosy someones, so you quickly grabbed a notepad from a drawer and jotted down a quick, "Went for walk. Be back later." before setting the pad down on the table. Surely one of them would be able to read it, you knew you'd seen at least a couple of them reading the books from the sitting room from time to time. And if anything happened, you knew they had a SHIELD phone, of which you were sure must have your number programmed into it.

Hopefully they would call you first, and not immediately Fury.

On that note, you put an earbud in one ear and left.

The walk through the woods was blissfully uneventful. You'd missed this; the leaves had changed color and had started to fall, leaving the starts of a beautiful orange and red carpet on the forest floor; the call of a rook occasionally breaching the music from your earbud; the smell of crisp autumn air...

Though, as much as you loved this alone, you couldn't help but think maybe you should offer to bring the others out here, like Yondu had suggested way back -on the same night he had insisted on following you out here. However, even before that night, the others seemed wary of venturing into the woods once they found out there were hunters in here, and that apprehension almost certainly would now be worse seeing as they had witnessed the aftermath of one having accidentally shot you...

Yeah, probably not a good idea.

In what felt like no time at all you reached the spot of your favorite tree. You looked up at it's mossy branches and considered taking a moment to just relax beneath it. Couldn't hurt, could it?

That thought was quickly brushed aside for the reality that you had already been pushing this off for weeks for one reason or another. Well, years actually, if you wanted to get technical about it...

Better to just get to it.

You let out a breath and make your way to the backside of the tree, where the old door was hidden under some brush. The plan was to open the door, and (assuming it didn't fall to pieces right there) climb down into the tunnel (assuming the ladder was still in good condition) and, if neither of those warranted immediate repair, make your way through the tunnel and inspect it all the way to the house, making a list of any repairs needed.

Bending over, you sweep the leaves and other brush away from the door to inspect the wear- only to receive quite a shock once said debris was cleared away.

* * *

Back at the house Peter was in his room, busy trying to think of the perfect revenge prank- but he couldn't for the life of him think of anything good. Also, it was hard trying to think of a 'master plan' that you'd 'never see coming' while you were in the same house, likely watching his every move in anticipation.

When he thought about it, what really was left that the two of you hadn't already done to each other? Fake spiders, dye in the soap, innocent food pranks, 'misplaced' items, etc. He was running out of ideas, and any he could think of just didn't seem good enough to compare with the remote prank. It was too good. And sure, he technically hadn't 'proved' it was you- and yes, he had never been able to find whatever you were using to do it- but he still knew it was you. Had to be.

Regardless, back to planning.

He wasn't going to try dye again- that really didn't work out for him last time. And bucket of water in the doorway just seemed like child's play. Sure, he could put jelly or something in your boots, but would that really be satisfying?

Should he consider teaming up with Rocket? He usually had good ideas? Then again, last Peter knew Rocket and you didn't get along so well- which might go well in convincing him to team up- but also he didn't want to risk whatever Rocket would plan winding up injuring you. Yes, he wanted revenge, but not like that.

Peter sighed. Maybe a snack would help- who can think of master plans on an empty stomach anyway? He stood up from lying on his bed and made his way downstairs into the kitchen. He'd just grabbed a bag of nuts from the pantry when he happened to notice a note on the table.

After a quick read his eyes brightened. So you weren't home... Meaning that plotting- or setting up- a prank would be much easier. It actually opened up a lot more possibilities! What possibilities? He wasn't sure yet, but possibilities nonetheless.

'Oho- leaving was a mistake on your part,' he thought. He could almost see your face now, coming home to find whatever prank he set up for you.

Now all he had to do was think of one...

* * *

You looked down in disbelief, unsure if you were really seeing what you were seeing.

How was this possible? Who could have done this? Why had they done this?

You rubbed your eyes, just to be sure, but nope. The sight before you hadn't changed.

Someone, you didn't know who, had completely replaced the tunnel door. The old, weathered wood with the flaking paint that you remembered was now replaced by new wood, freshly painted in a color that matched well with the soil it lay in.

After the shock had mostly worn, you cautiously reach down to pull the door open. It was heavier than you remembered, and you quickly saw the reason for this was that the underside was now re-enforced with an aluminium frame.

This was certainly alarming. Who the hell could have done this?? No one knew this was here?? Other than you, the only other people who knew of this tunnel's existence were long dead. Not even Fury knew this was here, and he knew everything!

A glance down the hole showed that the door was not the only thing messed with. The stairs, while seemingly not in need of repair, looked a bit too clean for something that had supposedly been left alone for years underground. Could some crazy person have come along and just... commandeered your tunnel? Oh- that wouldn't be good at all, considering where it led to.

You quickly threw the door completely open and shined your phone flashlight down the hole, though it didn't really help you see much further than the floor directly below you. So, cautiously, you climbed down.

Once in the tunnel you debated if you should have closed the door behind you, but ultimately decided against it. If there was someone living down here, you might need a quick escape, considering you didn't bother to bring a weapon with you. Closing the door would only slow you down. If everything went well you'd close it on your way back out.

You shone your light down the tunnel, and for the most part it looked more or less how you remembered. Dirt and stone walls with many wood supports lining the entire length. Further in you started to notice that at least one of said supports looked new. This gave you a bad feeling, because the only way that could happen is if someone had been down here. You certainly hadn't been, not for years now.

You continued on, but realized once you came to the door at the other end leading into your cellar that you had found nothing out of place other than two replaced supports. No other signs of life, past or present.

This was truly bizarre. You debated opening up the door/false wall into your cellar closet for a few moments before carefully pulling it open to view the closet door itself, and then carefully opening that as well, doing your best to be as quiet as possible.

You gave the cellar a quick but thorough look-through, already knowing the door to the upstairs was locked from the other side. If anyone was down here they wouldn't have been able to make it into the house without someone knowing.

Finding no one, and nothing disturbed, you quietly made your way back into the tunnel, making sure to completely close the false wall and door leading into it.

You tried and failed to make sense of it as you journeyed back to the other end of the tunnel. No one else knew about this tunnel. You hadn't told anyone, not Fury, not Maria, you didn't even have any living family that knew about it.

Thoughts swirled in your head the entire walk back. Yondu had been the only one you ever brought out to the tree- could he? No. There's no way. Even if he somehow figured it out on his own, there was no way. Surely you'd notice his absence if he went out there, and where would he had gotten the materials from? He didn't seem to have much interest in your workshop at all.

Wait- your workshop... Could... Rocket-? No. That was even more absurd. Would he have been easier to miss tailing you on a walk to find the tunnel? Sure, but you still knew that even if he had, which you were sure he hadn't, you didn't have any aluminium in your shed, and you had doubts he could have pulled the wood out there unnoticed, or without help. He was a raccoon after all. And none of them could just leave to get more materials on their own. So it couldn't have been any of them.

Crawling up out of the tunnel you thought about how Fury found your home despite it supposedly having been kept off the books. He was Fury, and he knew everything. Is it possible that this also included the secret tunnel on your property? They had said he had vetted your property for weeks beforehand.

But he'd never said anything-? Though you supposed that wouldn't be unlike him. And if he did know, why only recently repair it? When you had been out here weeks ago to look at it, it had still been the same old weathered door. This had to have been done after that.

Is it possible he didn't know about it at first? Could he somehow had found out about it later? Or knew from the beginning but only decided to inspect it recently?

You closed the door and re-covered it with brush.

Ok, even if that was true. Why? And How?

Well, for all you knew he had hidden cameras around your property to keep watch while he wasn't there. If that was true- no. No it couldn't be that, could it? Because how would he know to set them up exactly in this area? Surely not even Fury could manage that.

You racked your brain for answers the entire way home, and the concern must have shown on your face as you came through the back door.

"You alright?" Gamora asked from the table, Mantis sitting beside her.

You blinked a moment before answering, undoing your jacket. "Uh, yeah. Just thinking." Clearly, you weren't going to let any of them in on your discovery.

"About Peter's prank?" Mantis asked. "Are you worried?"

You turn to her and raise an eyebrow, before shaking it off. You had been so busy thinking about the tunnel you had actually managed to completely forget about this prank feud with Peter. So shaken up, in fact, that you hadn't even bothered trying to listen in to see what Peter might be plotting while you were in the cellar, as you had entertained doing before you first left the house. Forcing a slight chuckle you ask, "Oh, has he finally figured out what he wants to do?"

Mantis shrugged. "I have no idea. He keeps saying it's a secret."

"Ah," you smile, shaking your head to appear completely unbothered as you left the kitchen to hang up your jacket and remove your boots. In reality, you were honestly a little worried, but you sure as hell weren't going to let any of them know that.

* * *

Over the next couple days no pranks happened, and you got increasingly paranoid.

You did your best not to show it, but it was increasingly difficult considering you had to constantly watch your back for Peter, and you still had the tunnel situation on your mind.

On the fourth day Fury made one of his visits, and you had to admit it was awkward. It didn't help that Maria didn't come with him this time, having been called away on another duty, as that only made this visit longer, which didn't help with your current stress.

For one, you were nervous the entire time that Peter was going to pull his prank while Fury was there- which wouldn't have been good at all. At one point in the visit you even pulled Peter aside and asked him what he was planning, and that he better not do it while Fury was here. He simply grinned in response and said he'd of course be on his best behavior. Little shit.

You didn't trust it, and therefore did your best to keep an eye on him the entire time.

Then there was also the matter of how you suspected Fury had something to do with the tunnel, but you couldn't just ask him because if he hadn't known about it, he would then. The whole visit was you mostly giving Peter side-eye and staring warily at Fury wondering if he knew, how much he knew if he did, and -if he did- did he now suspect that you knew that he knew by your behavior?

If he noticed you looked stressed he didn't mention it. Was that a sign that he knew? Or just a sign that he just did not care whatever antics might be going on because it was clear much of your stress was aimed towards Peter?

Luckily the visit ended soon enough without Peter pulling a prank to embarrass you in front of your boss, which was a relief. However, that didn't stop the paranoia. In fact, when nothing continued to happen well after the visit, combined with the fact that nothing had happened the past few days, it only made the paranoia worse because you knew the shoe was about to drop eventually.

That night you pulled him aside again, once again demanding to know what he had planned, only for Peter to smile and tell you "Oh, you'll know when you see it," and then walk away with a sinister laugh.

You were fucked.

* * *

Once again you woke early, just as you had the past few mornings in an effort to stave off whatever Peter might have planned. Like the other mornings you checked everything in your morning routine to make sure it hadn't been pranked before using it, and like the other mornings nothing had been messed with as far as you could tell.

You made your way down stairs for a quick drink, considering if you might go back to sleep for a bit, when you stepped in something wet in the kitchen.

You groaned and inspected the damage- apparently just a bit of juice. First your tired mind went to thinking Peter finally pranked you, but after only a moment you realized it wasn't a prank. There was an overturned cup on the counter and you realized the actual culprit was likely just Groot having gotten up for a drink during the night again, and being messy with his cup when he was finished, judging by the fact that there had only been a tiny puddle on the floor that you'd stepped in.

At any rate, this still meant you needed a fresh pair of socks, so after tossing your soiled ones into the washer, you set off back to your room to grab some.

However, you couldn't help but notice that all the socks in your dresser were gone when you got there. Instead of being frustrated, you were actually relieved. Peter must have finally pulled his prank.