aromantically | ( OPEN ) Peter Q

She wants to make things right. Gamora has spent her life a prisoner. If she's going to truly be free from Thanos, dead or not, she needs to take steps to ensure she won't land in another cell. The best way she can think to do it is to go plead her case on Xandar. If any law agency in the galaxy is likely to hear her out, maybe even believe her, it'd be the Nova Corps.

Maybe she should have asked about their fate before running off. She finds herself in ruins as it slowly occurs to her that it is very likely her crimes do not need to be explained or forgiven if the people they were against are too dead to listen. It's a sobering thought that distracts her or so she tells herself at least.

Peter is quiet enough when he wants to be. She doesn't know that yet. She's spotted him first so it hardly matters. Rather than run again, she audibly walks toward him. Her hands rest on her hips when he catches on and addresses her. She winces a little when he takes off helmet. She isn't sure a Terran can bear this environment. She isn't going to admit that either.

"What do you want?" Gamora puts on a good show of being irritated despite her curiosity. She isn't the woman he loved. What possible reason does he have for tracking her down? Speaking of.... Her eyes narrow. "Are you following me?"

"Following you?" He scrunches up his face like it's a ridiculous accusation, taking a half step towards her out of habit more than anything. He won't remember moving later. "No. Well..."

It sounds unconvincing to even his ears, and he laughs only to immediately regret it, closing his helmet for a few moments at least so he can catch his breath again.

"They're rebuilding." he says, effectively changing the subject. She doesn't know him well enough yet to know he'll circle back. "It'll be more amazing than it was before. Do you remember?"

Peter hits the button again, his eyes wide and wet when they're revealed. She can never remember what happened, and it hurts, but just seeing her again overrides all that. He really needs to not cry right now, as impossible a task as it seems now to hold it together in front of the one person he trusts to see him fall apart.

"This is where we first met. Do you wanna hear about it?"

She's wary of him. It's not fair in the slightest. This is a man who has taken in her sister evidently more than once. As far as she can tell, no one on his ship is being mistreated. She's still skittish from many years of imprisonment. Her hand goes to one of her daggers as she waits to see if he'll get any closer. She's still waiting for a threat that isn't coming.

It's his eyes that disarm her. Without realizing it, Gamora's hand drops to her side. She's only known love as a weapon to be wielded against her for so long. When he looks at her like that she doesn't think he means to hurt or manipulate her. He reminds her of an open wound. She can't find it in her heart to be cruel to him even if it'd make things simpler. "You know that I don't." Gamora reminds him. She's resigned to knowing she lived a life once that her fath- captor stole from her. This man is a part of that lost life. It makes her want to meet him halfway if only for now.

"You can tell me about somewhere else. What I'm looking for isn't here."

His face flushes subtly when he realizes he asked the wrong question. It's only when he sees her drop her hand that he registers the step he took earlier too and he makes an effort to stay still from that moment on, slowly lowering his hands so she can see he's not reaching for anything.

"I meant... this place. It was really beautiful." Peter smiles softly and shrugs a shoulder, something playful entering his expression at the last minute. He gives a show of thinking about a different story to tell her and ends up with just the right one, he thinks. It's like a visible lightbulb appearing above his head. "You... uh. Sorry, is it better if I call other-you "she" or "you?""

He wrinkles his nose before pressing on.

"Whatever. I told you this story about when I was a kid, you said you loved it. I would carry a picture of Hugh Hefner in my pocket to school - he's a famous actor and movie star on Earth - and tell the other kids he was my dad. They made fun of me for him never being around, so I made up that story so they'd leave me alone. You were there when I met him, not Hugh Hefner, my real dad. A real creep named Ego, he was a god, little-g. We went to his planet together even though I wasn't sure, you told me I had to know the truth. And if he turned out to be total garbage me and you would just kill him."

Those tears come back, a prickle in each eye she'll be able to see though he still refuses to let them fall.

"It was an amazing place even though you can probably guess what happened next. And I was just happy I got to see it with you."

She watches his hands carefully for a moment. Gamora can see what he's doing and it's nice? She thinks. Or insulting; like she's being pacified. Maybe that take is just another way of keeping her distance from him. Gamora can't be sure since this man seems to make everything complicated. She wishes that would stop.

She does listen. He is right. She likes this story. It's sweeter than any Thanos ever told even the end hurts a little. She can guess a little-g god would be an unkind creature even if his tears didn't betray him.

This time she doesn't hold back the cold truth despite seeing them. "You should call her by the other name. She isn't me. I never saw those things." She can't keep the hurt out of her voice. Can you miss something you never had? Gamora wonders.

His expression softens even more, somehow, feeling he has to correct her now even as his air is thinning out.

"She was you, though. You can be her, if you wanna be."

Edited 2019-05-06 22:18 (UTC)

She scoffs. That's so unbelievably childish. Her voice raises in exasperation. "I don't even know who she is!" She gestures to him. "I don't even know who you are!"

Peter chuckles, knowing he shouldn't have the second it comes out, but he's hopelessly endeared by even this version of her. It helps that she almost killed him the first time they met, so it's pretty much expected anyway.

"I was tryin' to tell you about her. And me. But I know it's... a lot." To say the least. He takes another deep breath in his mask and glances back towards the Milano. The last thing he needs right now is Rocket coming out here, though he supposes that would be better than one of the other idiots. Worst case scenario: Thor. Peter shakes his head. "Why don't we just start over?"

He sticks out his hand for her to shake, his smile and voice tellingly turning a bit wobbly.

"Peter Quill, son of Meredith Quill and Yondu Udonta, Captain of the starship Milano and Guardian of the Galaxy sometimes known as... Star-Lord."

She openly glares at him for laughing. Gamora knows he's right. He's trying to bridge the gap for whatever reason. He's even right about this being a lot. Gamora would be a mess of conflicted emotions even without the baggage of the future as Peter would know. This is the hardest part: the first few months of living freely when you've spent most of your life in a cage with a mad man. She's struggling with it all over again from everyone else's perspective.

Starting over is the break she needs. Gamora slowly relaxes at the suggestion, staring at his hand briefly before deciding to extend her hand to take his. Now comes the tricky part; introducing who she is the way she wishes to, not the way she'd been forced to for years. "I am Gamora, last of the Zen Whoberi, sister of Nebula." The best she can do under the circumstances, she thinks. The names of her parents were taken from her long ago. Gamora can't be sure if it was trauma or simply how young she was.

Rather than get into that, she raises a brow. "Star-Lord?" Seriously?

His hand lingers on hers just a moment too long, his smile growing goofy at her introduction. "You guys are tight like that already?" It took his Gamora years to call Nebula sister, it gives him hope that she'll fall in love with him again, or at least let him be around her. Right now it's taking everything he has not to pull her into an embrace. The smile quickly drops at her judgment and he lets out a little huff. "It's a cool alias. I used to be an outlaw!"

Gamora doesn't answer. Her guarded look says it all really. It meant a lot to her to have Nebula openly calling them sisters. She has no interest in going back now. She's owning this.

"An outlaw?" Gamora repeats doubtfully. A little smile creeps out despite her efforts to bring it down. It is fun to get a rise out of him. "You seem a little too honorable for that kind of life." They had met while he fought off an army of the worst killers in the galaxy. That would win some points with her even if she did have to rescue him.

"You think I'm honorable?" he teases, then shakes his head. Her non-answer on Neb said enough, and just the same he doesn't need a reply to his non-question. "You're not the only one who used to be kind of a jerkface. Actually, you were the first one of all the Guardians to do the honorable stuff... thing."

That part surprises her. She'd been all about self-preservation until the moment she realized what Thanos desired truly may happen. Her smile drops as she tries to gauge his sincerity. "Are you mocking me, Star-Lord?" She is daughter of Thanos or she was. Honorable isn't really in her nature.

Why is it cute that she actually called him Star-Lord? Even if she's probably mocking him in turn. he hits the button for probably the final time, deciding she's not going to suddenly run because she can't see his face now and breathing deeply is nice yo.

"Definitely not. I was gonna to sell the Infinity Stone, right there." He points to the burned out merchant stall that used to belong to that squirrely broker guy. "I didn't actually know what it was, but you did and you knew Thanos wanted that shit. You knew what he'd do with it too so you stole it to betray him except we all got yoinked by the Nova Corps and taken into custody— oops, sorry, you said you didn't wanna hear that story."

She follows his hand to the ruins. Gamora can easily picture what he's talking about. It's not unlike what she did earlier. She'd be suspicious if Nebula weren't as good at keeping her mouth shut as she is. He's not playing on her sentiment. He's just... oversharing. She tries to run through all the implications before stopping herself. None of those things will ever happen to her now. She should focus on reality as it is.

Gamora takes a deep breath to recenter herself and gets to the point. "Tell me what will happen if I go anywhere in the galaxy." Or as close as she can get. What she really needs to know is if they're still people who will hunt her down as a daughter of Thanos.

He blinks a few times, though she can't see his expression now. What will happen...?

"You're a Guardian, whether you hang out with us or not. And since we saved the universe a couple times now, most of the planets are pretty cool about it." If they recognize them, that is... "Oh, but probably steer clear of them gold guys. The Sovereign. They don't like us, especially Rocket."

Gamora stares at him in open disbelief. That... is too easy. It feels unearned despite the fact she faced off Thanos' allies for the sake of the galaxy once already. It takes a second for her collect herself. "The Sovereign are my only enemies now?" She just wants to make sure she has that right.

"Uhhhh... Okay, that's probably an overstatement? Like, there was definitely a guy who wanted to kill you in prison. Oh wait, nevermind, that was Drax."

Let him think a minute!!!!

"Being heroes pisses people off almost as much as being a bad guy does, so I'm not gonna say everyone loves you or anything. But most other good guys are chill. You know? It's like a clubhouse."

She shakes her head. That was a lot of words that sort of made sense. One thing she should be clear on though: "I don't need to be loved." Gamora is positive it'll make her uncomfortable. She doesn't deserve it. She treasures Nebula's sisterly affection despite thinking that, of course.

Oh wait he did say one thing that seems important. "Which one is Drax? Is he still trying to kill me?"

"Well, here's the thing..." He swallows, hearing her voice in his ear, It's just some unspoken thing. Peter finds himself breathless for a whole different reason. Her question is a good distraction. "No, you guys are good now. He mostly wanted to kill Ronan since that dick killed his family. But we took care of that already. Um. Yeah."

He puts his hands on his hips, feeling like he's talking to someone with amnesia or something. It's so unnatural to tell Gamora about all the things they'd been through together, but the alternative is her never knowing and that's unthinkable for him.

"What else do you wanna know?"

Gamora frowns in frustration. The start and stop is unsettling. The unknown never bodes well for her. She folds her hands in front of her as she decides to press for answers. "I want to know what you want. You never answered my question, Star-Lord." She stares at him in expectation. That's the last thing she really needs to know... before what? Gamora doesn't have a second move planned, but he doesn't need to know that.

What he wants? Peter regards her with an expression akin to wonder, grateful she can't see it now, and sighs.

"You can call me Peter, you know. Even if that name sounds pretty cool when you say it." He smiles behind his helmet and scuffs his boot against the ground idly. "I want you to come home." It comes out even with him trying desperately to stop it. The words seem to drag him down the second his lips release them to the air and he slumps in on himself miserably.

"Not that- I know it don't feel like home to you, yet. And you don't remember us, or anything that... Ugh, sorry. That was too much? I know it was. Forget it."

Edited (dw don't be rude ) 2019-05-13 01:18 (UTC)

The words hit her square in the chest. She is still reeling when he corrects himself. Gamora finds herself glad for it. Her first reaction had been to reject the offer. It isn't her home. There is a place on that ship that belongs to a woman who she will never become. He needs to understand that.

The painful thing is when she can see clearly that he does get it. He knows the awkward position he put her in. Gamora finds herself empathizing with him. How would she feel if it were her mother or father standing before her with no memory of their daughter? Or Nebula not knowing what they shared together? Her expression softens as she watches him. Maybe she had been too hard on him. He's struggling just as much as she is albeit in a different manner. She has no idea where she belongs anymore. He... Gamora thinks Peter's struggling with her very existence.

In classic early Gamora fashion, she will not admit to it. She reigns in that softened gaze and straightens up. She can't know transparent that must be to Peter. He's seen her playing at being a hardened professional with no feelings too many times. "If my sister is still aboard, I'd like to join her." She looks off to the side, refusing to meeting even the bright red eyes lest anyone see she might have two whole feelings!! "Nebula can tell you that I can more than earn my keep." Because clearly he'd have no idea.

That soft look has something dislodging behind his breastbone as he straightens up too in unconscious mimicry of her posture. He doesn't want to jump too quickly on the opportunity though what he wants most is to drag her onto the Milano and beg her never to leave again. The truth is, he isn't sure if the others can cope with this. His heart breaks all over again every time he looks at her, but the alternative is unthinkable: leaving any version of Gamora out in the cold universe alone to fend for herself. He knows all too well how lonely a person she is, and he takes a tiny shuffling step forward so he can extend his hand to signify them forging a deal. He opens his helmet for the last time, revealing a goofy smile with none of his heartache readily displayed although if she dug for it in his eyes it wouldn't be hard at all to find.

"I'll hold you to that."

Gamora studies his hand for too long and she knows it. She's still suspicious of every bit of contact even when she knows better. That look he gave her when they first met is all the proof she needs that the last thing he'd do is bring harm to her. Old habits die hard though.

It takes an awkward fifteen seconds before she grasps his hand and shakes to seal the deal. That goofy smile is infectious once she catches sight of it. She finds herself smiling, a weight lifting off her chest. The truth is she didn't know where to go or what to do. His offer is coming at the right moment. "Not too closely I hope if you want to remain captain of this ship." Gamora jokes before releasing his hand. "You should show me where I'll be staying." And get into actually breathable air for a Terran goes unsaid. It's not like she cares about other beings or something!!!

( OPEN ) Peter Q

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