I recommend listening to Zayn Malik's songs 'There You Are' and 'Back to Life' when reading this as they are what gave me inspiration for this.

The mission had been going relatively smoothly for the Guardians. That was until Peter had had his arm pulled back and twisted by one of the large men they were fighting. Gamora had jumped on the man from behind, her sword entering his back and exiting through his chest. She'd pulled her sword out of him and stepped over him to help Peter stand.

Peter had gripped onto her with his uninjured arm, his other hanging low by his side, as she guided him to a wall. She demanded he stay there until the mission was over and he had watched her run back into the chaos, slicing her way through a bundle of men.

To Gamora's annoyance, Peter hadn't listened to her and had started to limp back into the action, only to then have a laser graze his side and his stomach as it burned through his top. He'd collapsed to the floor then, hitting his head and rendering himself unconscious.

Now, he lay in bed with Gamora sat by his side and a cold towel over his abdomen. He was still unconscious, much to Gamora's dismay. She had considered asking Mantis to wake him but decided it would be best for him to remain in this state. She didn't want him to wake and have to feel the pain of his injuries just yet.

Drax had helped her manoeuvre his arm into a position, and sling, that would help it from being damaged further, and she had massaged an ointment into his skin that would help with the burn before placing a cool cloth over it.

Her fingers combed through his hair as she watched him sleep. She admired him as he breathed rhythmically, allowing her other hand to rest on his chest. It comforted her to feel him breathing, and to feel the heat of his bare skin underneath her fingers.

She was angry at him for not having listened to her, for messing up, but her concern outweighed her anger and all she wanted was for him to be okay.

Her fingertips played with the hairs on his chest as she watched him carefully. She bit her lip, remembering the last time she had touched him like this. It had been more than a week since they had been able to be intimate or even share a bed. He had stayed sitting in the bridge during recent nights, unable to sleep. Gamora had joined him on occasion but most nights she had ended up too worn out to stay awake and had either fallen asleep on a chair or alone in their bed.

Since the incident with his father, and the loss of Yondu, he had been quiet. Just under a month later, he had started to perk up again and act as though everything was fine. He and Gamora had started sharing a bed together after acknowledging their 'unspoken thing'. The Guardians had begun to think Peter was on the mend, but after being hired for their most recent mission he had started to act strange once more. He'd become quiet again, stopped sleeping, started drinking alcohol once more, and stopped eating as much as he would usually do. He'd reverted back to the way he was after Yondu's death. She, unlike Drax and Groot, knew Peter needed space, so she had made sure not to hover around him when he made it obvious that he wanted to be alone; but she had started to miss his presence and touch.

Gamora lifted her fingers from his chest when she heard him groan, and she placed her hand instead on his cheek. His eyes opened, and her thumb ran over the scratch under one of them.

"Hi," said Gamora, a light smile following it.

Peter winced as he tried to sit up but Gamora held him down, her hand on his shoulder.

"No. Don't move yet."

She stroked his hair and he moved his head more into her touch.

"I should have listened," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Let's not worry about that right now. I'll yell at you later."

Peter smiled at that.

"You're always here to look after me," he continued to smile and thanked her with a look. "I'm so glad I met you, if you weren't here to watch over me, I… I probably would be a total mess."

She leaned down and kissed him, softly, on his lips, her hand running over the scruff over his cheek and chin.

"We need to get you cleaned up."

Peter groaned, disgruntled by her words, but agreed.

She removed the cloth from his abdomen, her eyes briefly moving to his face to see him bite his lip in pain. His arm looped over her shoulder and she guided him to the bathroom, sitting him on the edge of the bathtub. Its water began running and, when it was full, she helped Peter out of his jeans and underwear and into the tub.

He looked down, as though embarrassed, as Gamora grabbed a cloth and started running it over his back. His arm that wasn't in the sling moved to cover in between his legs and Gamora almost laughed.

"It's nothing I have not seen before, Peter."

She could feel his muscles in his back tense under her hand and reached her other hand down into the water to capture his.

"I'm here to take care of you," her voice was delicate as she spoke, and she squeezed his hand before resting it back on the edge of the tub. "Try to relax. Your sling is probably going to get wet but I have another one ready for you."

Peter remained silent as Gamora scrubbed his body with the cloth. She cleaned under his arms as carefully as she could then worked her way down the rest of his body, as he washed his face with his hand.

"Close your eyes," she said as she filled a jug with water and raised it over his head. She held the back of his neck as he tilted his head and she poured the water over his hair. Her fingers caressed his scalp as she rubbed in the shampoo. "We need to cut this."

Peter kept his eyes closed; he was in pure bliss as Gamora continued to wash his hair. He grew so relaxed and comfortable that he started to hum a song that was stuck in his head. Gamora smiled at this as she wiped away droplets of water from his temples. She trailed her knuckle from his temple, along his jawline, and down his neck.

"Do you want me to shave this?" she asked, running her finger over his scruff.

"Only if you don't mind doing it?"

"Of course, I do not mind."

"You have to get the sideburns right."

Gamora chuckled, "I will, we can't have Star-Lord's sideburns looking silly now, can we."

She helped him out of the tub and to get dry then into fresh clothes. She kneeled in front of him and lifted his shirt, applying ointment to his burn. He grimaced at her touch but let her do it.

Once they were in their bedroom, Peter sat on the floor, a dry sling holding his arm in place, with Gamora behind him as she cut his hair. The sound of the blades chopping his hair soothed him. He found the sound oddly pleasant and closed his eyes to listen closely to it.

Gamora was careful as she cut the strands that curled around his ears. She was worried she might snag him with the blades, even though she had a completely steady hand.

When she was finished cutting the back of his hair, she ran her hand through the rest of it and knew he was smiling.

"I think we'll leave the rest."

"Gives you something to play with and pull on, huh?" teased Peter, and Gamora was happy he was in that kind of mood once more. She kissed the back of his head then shifted around to the front of him.

She picked up the blade he used to shave with after slathering the cream on with the brush he had told her to use.

"Please don't slit my throat," he joked and Gamora tilted her head, playfully glaring at him, then glided the blade over his neck after she had shaved his face. She held his head up with her thumb to his chin so she could reach every spot. "You're good with a blade."

"I know," she smirked.

Peter was silent for a moment then when she allowed him to lower his head to normal, he looked into her eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

"For today… and for being so… distant recently," he added, when Gamora looked puzzled.

Her shoulders sagged and she looked at him with sympathy, "Apology accepted… though, it wasn't really needed."

"How do my sideburns look?" he asked her as she wiped a warm cloth over his face and neck then rubbed, what Peter called, shaving balm into his skin.

"Perfect."

She held his head in her hands, her fingertips tickling his ears, and kissed his forehead. He nudged his nose with hers and a shiver rippled down her spine at the feeling of his hot breath against her lips. She closed the gap between them, her fingers running over his now smooth, freshly shaven skin.

She removed the towel from around his shoulders and cleared everything away. She didn't take long to change into fresh clothes and when she came back into their bedroom, she saw Peter had moved from the floor to stand, resting against a wall. She moved to him, holding her arms out wide, waiting for him to step into her embrace, which he did.

Gamora cradled his head in the crook of her neck, her hand massaging his nape. She was a lot shorter than him without her boots, but rather than her reaching up to have to hold him, he allowed his body to become heavy against hers as he bent into their hug.

A smile made its way onto her face when she felt him kiss her neck and squeeze her with his arm around her waist. The anger she had once felt in response to his stupidity earlier that day floated away.

"You need rest," she mumbled, she was becoming distracted as he continued to kiss her neck.

"I can rest tomorrow."

His breath against her neck sent a shiver through her entire body, making her knees buckle a little.

"No, you need to rest now."

She was telling him 'no', but allowing him to continue his kisses. She knew he needed to sleep and gather his strength but she had missed the physical side of their relationship. Her hands gripped his, taking him with her as she walked backwards to their bed.

Gamora usually slept on the side of the bed closest to the wall, but this time she helped him lie down on that side. She wanted to lay on the side that his injured arm wasn't on so she wouldn't hurt him during the night.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pinning her body to the side of his, and kissed her vigorously. She clutched his shirt in her fist and deepened their kiss. As her tongue dipped into his mouth, her foot slipped in between his legs and he smiled against her lips in reaction to the cold of her foot.

"I've missed you," she whispered into his mouth.

"I've missed you, too."

"I don't think this is the best idea. You're injured."

Peter huffed, moving his hand to the back of her head to keep her lips pressed to his.

"Peter, you know how I get when we… I don't want to hurt you."

"That's the fun of it," he winked but Gamora moved her head back. "Fine," he yielded. "But as soon as I'm better-"

"You want to be ravished?" she smirked.

"You know it!"

She always knew what he wanted. She knew him inside and out.

Please review and leave any suggestions (or PM me) if you want to. Apologies for any errors. Thanks.