Prompt fill: Peter and Gamora's Wedding Day
AN:This prompt was submitted on tumblr after I posted my one shot contribution to Starmora Week day 6 titled "Wedding Night", and even though this is posted roughly 8 days after that, I'm still counting this as part of Starmora Week.
This fic's theme song: Rillo Talk by Wild Child
Starmora Week 2018
Day 6: Wedding
Wedding Day
Gamora frowned, trying to straighten the flower crown on her forehead that Groot had made for her, but then it looked too straight, and she decided it looked better tilted. Yes, it definitely looked better tilted, she thought, looking in the mirror.
Groot had clearly worked hard on it, made a ring out of vines he had grown himself, interweaving flowers as he crafted it. It was simple yet beautiful, and lovingly made.
She had told him about it during a bedtime story one night- about the flower crown her mother had worn the day her parents wed. It was dried and preserved, and her mom would let her touch it and hold it as long as she promised to be very careful, because it was something very special.
Gamora hadn't even realized that Groot had remembered that story until their surly teenage sapling gifted it to her in private, a present he had started making for her after she and Peter had announced to the team their intention to get married and have a wedding ceremony.
When they made the decision, they told the group the next day.
Now it was their wedding day.
They would've gotten married the week of their announcement if Drax hadn't insisted they take at least a little bit of time planning and pick a destination for it to occur to be special, not just stopping planetside at the first hospitable place they came across.
While Gamora was very excited and didn't want to wait for a place with a view, and Peter was just as eager and impatient as her, they indulged him. By waiting a whole month after they'd decided and made their announcement to the team.
At first Gamora was against the idea of making it some long drawn out process, and didn't understand why Drax was so adamant about them taking the time to plan something unique and making an occasion of it.
What did it matter if she and Peter were happy? It was their wedding. They could have it at a seedy bar if they wanted to (they didn't, they wanted it to be a little bit nicer than that, but the point was they could if they wanted to).
Other couples had to do things like making guest lists and sending invitations. When she and Peter already knew who they wanted to be there. They lived with the only people they wanted at their wedding. Their family.
They weren't getting married through any official channels anyway. Marriage by a local government or some other regulatory power worked fine for people who stuck to a planet to live their life. As intergalactic nomads, it wouldn't make sense for them to try to get married according to a certain planets regulations or laws whenever other planets had their own laws that applied only to them, and didn't recognize what other planets said had to be done before a couple could be considered married.
So they didn't need time to gather official documents or register with some ruling body in whatever section of space they happened to be traveling in at the moment. They wouldn't be going through any official channels to get married.
This wedding was for Peter and Gamora only. Just for them.
As you can see, they didn't need a lot of time to plan their wedding.
Gamora didn't understand why Drax insisted on putting much more effort into it than she thought was necessary, and was a bit annoyed that he was hijacking her and Peter's day, completely adamant they include all these unnecessary things.
She didn't understand why it was so important to Drax, and she was a little impatient to marry the man she loved and had been with for four years after she had decided to do it. Why should she have to wait for Peter to become her husband?
But after a couple days of Drax being way more invested than she expected, Gamora caught the wistful look in his eye as he asked her of her mother's wedding ceremony, and if their were traditions she remembered from her home planet that Gamora realized. Kamaria.
Drax's daughter would not have seemed too much younger than Gamora is she were still alive. She would have been full grown by now, a lovely young woman, if she had survived.
His daughter never got to be old enough to have a wedding of her own. She never got to wear her mother's ceremonial crest as her tearful father made a toast. That's why it meant so much to him.
Because of Drax's family. He missed his wife and daughter, and this stirred up happy and sad and joyful memories. That's why it mattered so much. His family.
His daughter never got to grow up. In a brighter world, Kamaria might have already gotten married by now. If she had lived these years that her father had to spend without her. She would be that age right about now, getting ready to have a ceremony of her own. A ceremony like he and Hovat had.
Now the guardians were family. Gamora had been a part of Drax's family for nearly five years now.
Drax was excited that someone in his family was getting married again, and wanted to make a celebration and momentous occasion of it. And helping his family of Gamora and Peter have a wonderful wedding was like helping his family of Kamaria with the wedding she should have gotten. That's why it was important to him.
Gamora was a bit more amenable to Drax and his involvement after she understood. And, after looking for a more suitable location, they found a planet with a nice, idyllic meadow rather quickly. And it was perfect.
Besides, it was nice kinda being pampered (after she accepted it, of course). Drax was very involved in the process, and it was like having her father fussing over her to make sure her wedding day was perfect.
It was rather nice.
It was nice to be spoiled and doted upon by an affectionate and loving father.
So yes, it was a month after their announcement that Gamora was fussing in the mirror on the day of her wedding. They were having the ceremony outside, but she had been left alone in the ship to get ready in private.
Just as she got her flower crown in perfect placement, Gamora realized she was going to be late. The ship was parked an unfortunate distance from the meadow. As soon as she noticed how close she was cutting it, she hopped out of the ship and started racing to the meadow barefoot in her flower crown and wedding dress to make it to her own wedding on time.
As she sprinted through the fields, barefoot and free, it made her feel like a child again, racing through the fields of her home planet, because she had promised Mamma she would be home in time to help her with supper.
Her feet were dirty from playing outdoors all day, but, as green little toes pressed into the freshly tilled ground beneath her feet, she was fast, laughing like a wild child as she ran, confident that she'd make it in time to keep her promises.
This time, she had a different promise waiting for her.
It was a different ground beneath her, one she'd never been to before today, but running bare feet in the grass still felt good, just like she remembered. As she ran, long green toes were pressed into a soil that was a different color than she remembered, and her sprinting feet were long and sure as they pounded against the earth with the speed and grace of a gazelle in its natural habitat. Her feet were practiced now, balanced and efficient. This wasn't the clumsy running of little feet slapping down with every step. This was quick, light, elegant movements, barely touching the ground before propelling into her next step, with long green toes covered in dirt of a foreign land.
Much had changed.
But she was still running and smiling like a wild child, racing home, because she had promises to keep.
Then, finally, she saw home in the distance. She knew she'd make it on time. She didn't know why she'd had to get ready so far away. It took 8 minutes of full out sprinting on this planet she'd never stepped foot on before today before she finally got there.
She had a different home with a different promise waiting for her than the little girl with the manic laughter, bright shiny eyes, and little green toes.
But she was still the same wild child with bare, dirty feet running and smiling and free.
She had been, well, a little excited when she caught sight in the distance. She actually sped up when she was within shouting distance, right where home was waiting for her in the middle of this meadow, practically gleaming in the sunlight. Maybe glowing was the right word.
Peter looked up at the sound of footsteps, his whole face shining brighter than any star she'd ever seen when he saw it was her running towards him.
Right where he said he'd be. Like he promised. Looking like a dream in the flowers, waiting for her to become his wife.
His smile grew wider and wider as Gamora got closer and closer, and he couldn't wait.
Peter's smile suddenly fell though, because they both seemed to realize at the exact same time that she was running too fast and was now too close to have a hope of stopping in time. She was only seconds away now, running barefoot in a meadow, and there was no way she could skid to a halt in time to not slam into him and take him down with her in the crash.
She wouldn't be able to stop in time. So she kept running. She kept running to him.
Gamora was only two lengths away and still running full speed at him when she leapt into the air and into Peter's arms.
He caught her. Of course he did.
He stumbled backwards a great many steps, absorbing all her momentum and almost toppling over in the process, still holding her, but he managed to keep his balance and stay upright.
Peter was just wide eyed in surprise, staring at an equally wide eyed and breathless Gamora, who was just panting as he held her in his arms.
It was about five seconds of staring before they both broke out in laughter at the same time.
She was breathtaking. The smile on her face, the dark hair framing her features, the dress that was just made for her- all of it. She was perfect. The skirt that fell just below her knees was tilted and delicately tattered, making it look so mystical. Making her look so mystical.
She looked like a fairy princess with that flower crown on her head. Absolutely breathtaking and magical. The kind of wonder that myths and legends were made about, not flesh and bone, not someone real who was crazy enough to love him back. Gamora looked like a daydream right now. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her smile so much- smiling so wide and for so long. She wore happiness well.
"You look like a fairy," Peter breathed in absolute wonder.
Gamora tilted her head to the side. "What's a fairy?"
For a second he almost said waif, cause wasn't that ethereal will-o'-the-wisp image the same one called to mind, but even Peter Quill wasn't that stupid, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
They starry eyed waif comment was so not the kind of joke he needed to make right now.
Gamora looked like a mystical fairy princess who put the stars in the sky every day and night.
He really didn't need to bring that up right now, but he couldn't help but think about it.
The words she had said with a knife pressed to his throat about not becoming a starry eyed waif when right now she looked a fairy princess who took the stars from her eyes and put them in the sky every single night.
She looked like a magical woodland spirit- powerful, pure, childish, and happy, who controlled nature as she was one with it. She looked beautiful.
Gamora totally could've been a woodland spirit in another life.
He was just glad it wasn't this one.
The fairy princess with her flower crown looking at him now was the woman he was marrying.
Peter's lips pressed into a smile as he played with her hair. "Something from earth folklore. Like a woodland spirit. A magical being that's all mysterious and ethereal, and connected with nature. They have this sorta… air about them. Kinda transfixing. They're beautiful and mysterious nature spirits who don't show themselves to humans unless it's something really special. You look like one. Shimmering fairy all mystical and breathtaking with your gossamer wings and just something else. You look beautiful."
Gamora actually blushed at his compliment. "Yes, we had similar myths on Zehober. Of magical creatures and spirits who made a home of the woods. Acting as guides for those who were lost in them. I… thank you."
"What's this?" He asked, fingers straying to what she was wearing on her head after he'd set her back on her feet.
She hadn't shown him the crown Groot made for her. She wanted it to be a surprise.
He'd never seen it before when his love came crashing into him wearing a traditional Zehoberi patchwork layered wedding dress and a flower crown.
He thought he knew what her wedding outfit looked like since he'd only helped her make it after all. Well, he had nothing to do with her unbelievably soft shirt loose cuffs spilling off her elbows (though she did look incredible in it) and the cream wrap that wrapped around her hip to her shoulder came as is. Really, the skirt was they only thing they altered. Pretty much made it from scratch, after they got all the materials.
It was a joint collaboration crafted from Gamora's memories with Peter's sewing skills.
She wasn't sure if the tattered layers were part of the original design or if it had resulted from wear and tear or if the materials had degraded after years in her mother's closet. But it was pretty. And Peter made the multiple layers tattered into something artful. It was beautiful.
As were the patterns on the patchwork parts that he helped her stitch into it.
She didn't remember anything particularly special about the upper portion of her mother's outfit. But she remembered holding the skirt between little grubby fingers, admiring it and turning it over in her hands, cause her Mamma's skirt was so pretty.
Her family had been too poor to afford a portrait or photograph of the day her parents wed, so things like outfits and flower crowns were precious momentos.
She always felt so privileged when Momma would bring out her special skirt when Gamora asked if she could see it again.
Peter helped her bring those memories back to life.
The flower crown Gamora was wearing now had been a surprise herself, but she kept it tucked away and hidden from Peter so it could be a surprise today.
"It was a gift from Groot," she smiled, her hand moving to the accessory automatically, making sure it was still tilted just right.
A warmth spread to Peter's eyes at learning that, admiring the craftsmanship of the interwoven flowers and vines. "It's beautiful. Looks like he worked hard on it."
"I didn't ask him for one," Gamora said shyly, almost apologetically. Her and Peter creating her outfit together had been a joint project almost as special as what they were making it for. Something just the two of them did. She didn't want him to think she had outside consultations without telling him.
"You're beautiful," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead, careful not to displace her crown.
Gamora didn't know if things had ever been so perfect.
She couldn't wait to marry him.
"Where is everyone?" She asked, eager to get their wedding started. She noticed that everyone was still conspicuously absent from the idyllic meadow location. She liked that they were able to have this warm, special, private moment together- there was something almost magical about being alone in flowers. She loved their family, but there was something about being in their alone little world together right now, just the two of them. She never wanted it to end.
"They're waiting back at the gazebo," Peter told her, referring to the quaint little structure that was just a leisurely stroll away from where they had parked the ship.
Gamora turned to him, brow furrowed in confusion. "Waiting? I thought we'd settled on having it out here, not the gazebo."
It had been their first choice for location, but then they actually got to the planet, and this meadow was too perfect not to get married in, right here.
"We are," Peter smiled. "They're waiting for us back at the gazebo. Waiting for us to get married. The wedding's happening right here, just us. They're waiting back at the gazebo for us to get married already."
"I thought we were supposed to have people- what was it- witnesses?"
"You really think anyone's ever gonna believe them about literally anything? They're absolutely useless as witnesses," Peter shook his head with a smile, and Gamora laughed.
"I thought they were supposed to be guests too. Our family," she gave him a pointed look before rolling her eyes at him.
"They are. And our friends and family are waiting for us back at the gazebo, probably already getting into the after party snacks. And you and me, right here. Getting married right here. Our wedding happening right here, right now, just the two of us. Just us," Peter stepped closer, murmuring as he tucked the hair behind her ear. He hesitated, a flash of insecurity appearing on his face before he shrugged. "I just thought it'd be kinda romantic and intimate if it was just us here exchanging vows and doing the ribbon ceremony thing. Just the two of us getting married in a meadow. But we can go get the others-" he started, thinking that she thought it was a bad idea.
Gamora laid her hand on his cheek to stop her very cute fiance and soon to be husband from heading into an endearing panic spiral.
"You and I. That sounds perfect, Peter. Like a dream come true. Just us two. You ready?" She asked, smiling.
"Always," Peter grinned.
They got the ribbon ceremony from Drax. Try as they might to incorporate their native cultures into a traditional ceremony, the reality was that the last time Gamora or Peter had stepped foot on their respective home planets, they had been children. Gamora was the last of the Zehoberi- all she really had access to were the cobbled together memories from her childhood and asking her mother to tell her the meaning behind all the symbols on her wedding skirt again as she pet down the sides of the fabric with pudgy little hands and listened to the story.
Peter was pretty sure he'd seen enough wedding tropes in movies as a kid to have a vague idea of what an earth wedding looked like (something about a white dress and a half remembered line about something borrowed and something blue)- oh, and he still remembered the the Duh-duh-duhduh here comes the bride song with the made up lyrics that he'd learned from the other boys in second grade. But that was pretty much it. Maybe some other general ideas that he was about 80% sure originated from earth.
Gamora had much clearer memories regarding Zehoberis takes on weddings, even though Peter was something like two years older than she was when they last saw their home planets.
Gamora got told stories of her parent's wedding as a child and had interactions with the mementos- Peter's mom never got married or had a wedding, so he didn't have any physical memories from childhood solidifying a traditional representation of a wedding all these years later.
And he wasn't even the last of the humans. Earth was still around, even though he hadn't been to it since the day his mom died. Gamora didn't have anything to go back to now.
If it really mattered that much to him, he could've gone a bit out of his way to check up on how they did weddings back in Missouri. But it didn't matter that much to him. It didn't matter at all to him.
Gamora was what mattered to him. His family. His mom had already given him all the earth culture he needed. He didn't need any more. He definitely didn't need to do research into Terran weddings.
Anyways, Gamora remembered things like her mother's outfit, but she didn't remember anything from what an actual ceremony process should be. Peter didn't have any cultural memories of the wedding process either.
This whole ribbon thing they had gotten from Drax.
Not because Drax told them to do it this way, but more because both Peter and Gamora had heard Drax's recounting of his wedding to Hovat detailing the wrapped hands and vows before breaking the knot many, many times before they'd decided to get married, and they kinda both already thought it was the most romantic thing in the world by that point.
When they brought the idea to Drax, of incorporating the ceremony from his homeworld into their wedding, supportive and overjoyed were the understatements of the year.
It was simple really. All you needed was one long piece of ribbon. A friend or family member (or really anyone other than the the two people getting married) tied a slip knot in the middle of the ribbon in advance. During the wedding, the couple would both take one of the ends of the ribbon and wrap it around their hand and deliver their vows to each other. To complete the ceremony they would then pull their ends in unison, the knot would come undone, and they would be married.
(The knot and the ribbon also acted as a sort of proof of marriage for couples that had eloped- both Hovat and Drax's families were very supportive and they had a large wedding full of family. But elopers would traditionally get a friend to tie the slipknot in the ribbon, go off and have the wedding in secret with just the two people getting married present, and when they came back the untied ribbon was supposed to basically be the same thing as witnesses).
Peter and Gamora weren't eloping, but they'd come back with an untied ribbon, so same difference.
It wasn't until he had a ribbon wrapped around his hand and Gamora had the other end wrapped around hers that it occured to Peter that maybe they usually had people at weddings for a reason. Like vows were written like announcements, not like a conversation between two people, so it felt weird and kinda silly to deliver them like a speech when you were really just talking to that person.
Peter breathed out, rocking back on his feet, staring at the knot between them as they held up their hands.
"Would you like me to go first?" Gamora asked, smiling at him.
"Uh, y-yeah. That'd be good," he blushed. She had to smile even wider at that, because she hadn't seen Peter this nervous in a long, long time. Literally years. It was maybe completely, utterly adorable.
"I love you. So much. More than anything," she started. "I love everything about you. And even the things that drive me crazy are things I know I couldn't live without. You've become my family when I had none, and now I have this whole life built up around me, and I have you to thank for helping me build it. To have a home again. A place where I belong. And a love that's all my own. A life that's full of danger and silly things, kicking ass and saving people, and it really is beautiful. Risky, but beautiful," she said, her free hand moving to cup his cheek. "And worth every second of it. No matter what. And in a universe as full of losing as this one is, I am thankful for every second I get to have with you. I am so glad to have any time with you at all, and that you want to spend your time with me too. I'm so glad I met you, Peter Quill. Every moment we have together is much more than I'd ever thought I'd get. I am so lucky to have you. Friends, family, love, hope, you've given me it all, Starlord. I am so happy to be with you and have this life that we have built up around us."
"I am so lucky to have a family, to have a partner, a best friend, and a husband to spend it with me. You have given me that, Peter Quill. I will love you, forever and always. I love you so much."
He wasn't sure when he started crying- halfway through? Pretty much after lifting her hand to his cheek, she spent the rest of her speech brushing the tears that started flowing and just wouldn't stop.
Peter sniffed. "Oh shit, I think I should be gone first,' he said with a wet chuckle, voice breaking. "Oh my god, I don't think I can even talk," he tried clearing his throat, but his voice was a wreck, and he still had tears spilling from his eyes that did absolutely nothing to make the hoarse whisper that barely came out any better.
"I think we have time to wait," Gamora said with a playful smile.
"But I don't want to wait to marry you," Peter whined, or rasped was more like it. Pouting and crying with tears rolling down his cheeks with an honest to god trembling lip- and absolutely melting her heart. His eyes were wet but bright, teary and happy, a spark of amusement and laughter at himself, even though he could not stop crying for the life of him.
"Come here," she murmured, the hand that she had on his cheek moving down to his shoulder and pulling him into her without actually waiting for a response.
Her sudden move startled a laugh and hiccup out of him as she tugged him into her arms.
Gamora cradled his head to her shoulder, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, nuzzling into her, and they just held each other. The red ribbon was still wrapped around both of their hands, though now that they were embracing, their red ribboned hands were between their chests, curled together. The ribbon was slack from them basically holding hands, the slipknot still tied and firmly in place, keeping it safe while they basically just paused their wedding for a hug.
Peter wasn't sure if most people hugged each other right in the middle of their wedding, but they'd never been like most people.
"I've spent an awful lot of time thinking about what I was going to say to you today," Peter whispered, his voice still rough and soft as he curled into the crook of her neck. "And, you know, off the cuff speeches I'm usually pretty good at, but planning in advance…" he chuckled weakly. "A month was too long. I was going to memorize something word for word, but you have no idea how many times I've changed it. Must've been a million times, this big long speech I was writing for today. Wanted to make it perfect. A month was too long. I kept changing and adding to it. Trying to fix it. It never came out right. I was still making edits to it after you fell asleep last night," he admitted, smiling against her skin in spite of himself. Gamora ran her fingers through his hair, so gentle and warm. "And then I just looked over at you, and you were smiling in your sleep, and so beautiful, and I realized maybe I should stop trying to make it about what I thought weddings and vows and speeches were supposed to be, and just have it be about loving you. And I do. Love you, I mean. More than I had any idea was possible before I met you.
"You're just… You're everything, 'Mora. You're everything. I will love you, forever and always. I love you so much."
"You ready?" Gamora tilted his chin up, whispering after he finished his final words. Peter nodded.
They were both smiling as their lips joined in what was definitely the kiss of both of their lives.
They both pulled their hands back amidst their kiss, and the slipknot came undone between them, leaving their hands connected by one long, smooth length of red ribbon.
They could have broken apart after that, but they didn't. Instead, with the new range of motion, and his end of the ribbon still wrapped around his hand, Peter buried his fingers in Gamora's hair and pulled his wife closer, deepening the kiss. Gamora moved to cup the back of his neck, the silk wrapped around her hand brushing against his skin in a way that made his hair stand on end, and kissed him in a way that made his heart race.
Yes, this was definitely the kiss of their lives.
Wait around all day
I'd wait around all day
Take my hand this time
I swear I'll make it alright
Tear down the walls we can't fight
This town's got secrets tonight
Bare feet the grass it feels good
We'll build a life in these woods
If it don't feel like it should
We'll tear it down tonight
Wait around all day
I'd wait around all day
Wait around all day
I'd wait around all day
~FIN~
AN: Lyrics at the end are to Rillo Talk by Wild Child (AKA the song mentioned in the AN at the beginning of this fic)