Temporary Home: Chapter 25
Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)
Summary: Just as things are starting to look up- spiders. So many spiders. Will everything be okay, or will Reader crumble under the pressure?
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Author’s Note: By gods, I've been writing this chapter since MAY of 2022!! Also, for my records this chapter ends on day 72 of the Guardians living with reader. Enjoy!
Word Count: 7,668
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.
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A Broken Promise
[GotG Oneshot|Hurt/Comfort|Fluff]
CW: Implied Abuse, Bruising, Whump, Unconcious, (mentioned) Violent actions
Word Count: 2.4 k
I actually wanted to write this whump ff for a long time now but wasn't sure about the outcome of it. Can't help it, I'm a sucker for the Found Family trope ahhhhghf... :')
Enjoy this cute lil oneshot :D
-- 💫
He had no idea how long he was laying there on the cold metal flooring. It could've been hours or several minutes. Peter's mind began to slowly drift away, he couldn't see anything through the darkness and his blurred eyesight. And then there was pain. On his upper arm, hip, his right thigh. His head was aching, as his legs from severe exhaustion. Upon the boy's flushed cheeks ran tears, his lips were cracked and bleeding while the little body was trembling in a mix of fear, cold and agony. He was weeping, letting out a soft cry along with quiet sobbing that filled the silence of the empty hall.
The child's crying became faintly, when he felt someone's strong hands reaching under his knees and on his back, slowly pulling him up, which made him wince and whimper to his injured body. He didn't dare to look the one in the eye, who was holding him in his arms, as he was too scared it would be another of them and he would be beaten up again for disobeying their orders or just for fun. Second mostly followed with the first one.
"Who done this to ya, boy?"
The voice was a familiar one, although out of everyone on this ship, Peter would've lastly expected it to be Yondu, who came here. The kid slowly blinked his eyes open to look at the man while pressing together his lips, tears still streaming down. Peter opened his mouth, he tried to respond to the question the captain asked.
"I didn't listen... to them...", The child muttered under his breath in a weakened voice, but loud enough that he understood what the boy meant.
Yondu knew very well who was responsible for that. He knew that part of his crew had been out on a mission in one of the galaxy's most dangerous quadrants. And it wasn't difficult to count one and one together to tell that they dragged along the boy on it too.
Blame on yerself. Should 'ave done what 'em told ya.
Thoughts like these ran through the Centaurian's head. He seemed to not rather care about the fact that they had beaten Peter up but they had ignored his order when he told them to leave the boy alone so that he could focus on his combat training sessions.
Fuckin' bums.
But also considering that they even dared to lay a finger on the child - not to mention he had threatened them if they ever did - made him grit his teeth in anger. He cussed them for that in his mind, screwed up his face in the thought of how they probably stood there in a circle, laughing while the kid cried and pleaded in pain.
Without any hesitant he decided to surely have a little chat with them about that, tomorrow morning.
But right now, his gaze fell upon the wounded child in his arms, which he had carried from the ship's hangar into his own quartier. He felt that the boy was shivering, probably because of the cold or because he was afraid of what would happen next. Completely unfounded was that fear though, when the Centaurian laid the small frail body on the way too big bed. Peter winced and whimpered in cause of his several wounds when he lay down, pulling his legs closer to his body.
"It hurts so much...", He quietly whined.
And although some would anticipate to say something like I know, i'm sorry or don't cry, you're safe now, like that were the words that came firstly to someone's mind when seeing the injured child, he still responded with the same old tone: "Better save 'em breath of yours, boy."
For real, if the boy will continue making such a fuss about every little thing, no one would ever take him seriously on this ship- by the lack of respect they all already have for the Terran. His crewmen were already annoyed by the child's permanent complaining and whining, so if it wasn't for Yondu, the kid would be pretty much dead by now.
The Centaurian had eyed the still shivering child for a moment or two, until he took a blanket from the bed and covered him with it, so that the boy would finally stop crying, for flark's sake.
Peter immediately felt the warmth as he was wrapped in the blanket which nestled softly around his small body. As he tried to slowly turn on the side, he narrowed his eyes, letting out a little sob as his hip still was aching. He started to feel dizzy as from the exhaustion or all the crying, that he felt his pulse pounding in his head.
"My head hurts..." Peter complained while slightly screwing up his face as he turned his head towards the captain.
No wonder from all 'em cryin'.
"I want ya to rest now, boy. Kraglin be there tomorrow checkin' up those wounds." Yondu mumbled to the boy who peered at him with reddened eyes, looking so exhaused and tired, but also ever so slightly comforted.
His voice was so unusually calm but also completely stolid, so you could not make any emotions out of it, that Peter wondered why that was the case. Wasn't he the one who also had beaten Peter up during their training sessions, just so that the boy learned to fight? How was he then the one comforting him too, after his crew did it now instead? To be fair, then he only gave the kid a black eye - almost nothing compared to what he experienced today - but that still appeared odd to Peter.
"And stop bawlin' yer eyes out, boy. It's makin' me furious." Followed right afterwards.
Peter paused and his glance fell again to Yondu, still no sign of emotion. The kid wondered if he was annoyed with him. Usually annoyance looked different on the Centaurian's face. Gritted teeth, accompanied with warning glances and snarls; whenever Peter got in trouble for something. Mostly, it was also him being lectured by the Ravager about sentiments being a sign of weakness over and over again.
"Never show 'em ya vulnerable." He always gets to hear.
or "Boy, quit whinin' now or i'll let 'em eat'cha!" or "One more complainin' of yers and ya'll be dinner!"
Soon or later Peter got used to it. He got used to the threats, to the constant mocking. Life among a bunch of coldhearted cruel pirates sure wasn't easy for a child like him but he also had nowhere else to go. They were his family now.
After a moment of both staring at each other in silence, the Centaurian had averted his eyes from the child and wanted leave the room, when Peter dared to speak up and raise the question that had now circled in his mind all along.
"Why are you doing that?" The child asked.
"Doin' what?"
"Being nice to me..." The captain hesitated after that sentence.
He couldn't help but smile and turned back to the bed, to the kid, who was looking up to him in a confused expression and big tired eyes. Sure, it was rare that he showed - if even- some kind of affinity towards others, praise was also something you won't get to hear from him ever nor nice words coming out of his mouth. So he understood the boy's confusion and was also a bit amused by it.
After a brief moment of pondering and thinking what to reply to such a question, Yondu eventually went back and sat on the edge of the bed next to Peter as if he was a parent telling their child a bedtime story.
"Well, if ya want me to kick ya outta 'ere and punish ya for wailin' down there, that's fine too, boy." The Centaurian ducked his chin until he could meet the child’s eyes while his crooked grin revealed some of his skewed teeth, of which Peter had been so afraid the first time he ever saw him.
A lot has changed since. During his first days on the ship, the kid was terrified of everything and everyone, flinched when any of them - including the captain - came too close. At first, Peter had refused to eat anything the Ravagers tried to give him, so that to the point, where the boy was close to starving, Kraglin had made him something that was closest to food on Terra and Yondu had forced him to eat it.
It's been a year since.
Peter interrupted these thoughts by another question as he didn't comment on the reply the Centaurian had given him. He changed the topic.
"Kraglin keeps telling me something about a Ravager code. What is that actually?" The kid wanted to know and looked up to the captain, still sitting on the bed's edge right beside him. The boy's bright green eyes met his as he raised that question.
"When ya become a Ravager one day, you gotta follow our code. Keepin' an eye on yer crew, never betrayin' each other, that's the thing." He told Peter, who still glanced at him with big eyes. "That's how ya be gainin' honor above all."
By speaking out these words, he again became aware that he already broke that code by the abominations he committed when taking innocent children to Ego for big rewards and a promise that nothing would happen to them. A promise that was now broken. And Peter was that broken promise. The boy lay there beside him, breathing, listening to him as he told him that. He was the only one among many who survived, who got a chance to live, to become a man, a Ravager. Someone better than he himself could ever be.
"It says, when ya die as Ravager, 'em skies will be filled with colors of all kinds, shinin' above your grave." Yondu then continued, looking out of the windows of the quartier, remembering, when his captain had told him that back then. "Showin', yer life was worth it."
Peter had listened so interested in what the captain was telling him. He imagined how such a funeral would look like. Bright colors, accompanied by pretty nebulae and millions of stars. So different from funerals on Terra, where they just put dead bodies in a wooden box under the ground. Kinda sad when you think about it.
"I think that's beautiful..." The child said quietly, slowly starting to close his eyes, which the Centaurian didn't notice as he was still staring outside the room's windows into the vastness of space.
He averted his eyes.
"Well, I dunno how ya Terran's funerals be lookin' like but here in space we-
He hesitated in the next moment, when noticing that the boy had snuggled to him. Peter was laying there on the man's lap, breathing softly as his eyes were closed. The tears had disappeared from his flushed cheeks, his heartbeat slowed down, the little body stopped trembling. Something about that tiny way of showing affection made his heart skip a beat.
He had absolutely no idea how to react in such a situation. What to do, what not. So he stayed still, didn't even dare moving an inch as to not wake the kid and just watched him. And he just couldn't understand why the hell he was so nervous. He'd never been a man to hesitate or overthink a lot. Never had he feared something - not even death - when putting himself over and over again in mortal danger. But now, all of this side of him was gone. Washed away in an instant moment of physical affection.
Sentiments, duh.
He had sworn to himself to never grow something pathetic like such. He didn't even know what those were actually, tried to keep them away as far possible from him.
But then the boy came into his life. The little Terran, who is so full of joy and life, who seemed to warm up the Centaurian's cold heart.
One brief moment after, he carefully put one hand on the boy's shoulder - not even fully understanding why though - and slowly pulled him a bit closer to his side. The kid let out a soft whimper in his sleep but didn't wake up, to his relief. In his mind, Yondu cursed to himself, as he forgot about the wound on the child's upper arm.
Damn it, yer such an idiot!
He didn't want to hurt the boy even more, he has been suffering enough tonight. The child finally got the sleep he deserved.
So he listened to his breaths in silence, watched the slow rise and falls of the little chest and the softness in the boy's face.
It was...
adorable.
Heck.
The Centaurian pushed these thoughts aside.
And yeah, he could try to make it appear like he didn't care, that he also just could've left the boy down there in the cold hangar. But there was something, deep down in his heart, that told him otherwise.
Hell, what'chu doin' there, you moron?
It certainly wouldn't seem like it but deeply he adored everything about the boy; his smile, when he listens to his Terran music, his witty and easygoing demeanor, his stubborn yet so sensitive and frail mind. He adores talking to Peter, wheter he teases or praises him, he adores watching him dance secretly at night in the canteen when everyone is asleep, he adores teaching Peter how to fly a space ship, shoot with a gun or steal things without anyone noticing.
Ever since he saw the boy that night, he had a feeling, which he had never experienced before. Before, it was like his mind had been completely dull, no life, as if he was a statue, not even a living being. That child had made him feel at least something, for the first time in his frickin' god forsaken life.
Since the day of Peter's abduction, Yondu realized he would do anything in his power just to protect the kid and make sure he is safe from this cruel universe.
Is that love, he wonders.
How could he tell? He himself never knew how it feels to be loved. How should he then be able to give love to others?
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