"Yondu? Yondu wake up you idiot!" Peter begged, shaking the older man the moment they made it to the ship. Thank God for Rocket. Sonofabitch located them in record time. He could still make it. Yondu couldn't die here. Not after one Father's death. "Please...wake up."
He'd done a lot of bad things in his life. Broken a lot of rules and promises, but Yondu would have been happy to die with the fleeting thought that maybe, just maybe he'd done something right for once. Peter had grown up fine. He'd grown up with his mind in the right place, and his heart too. He'd seen it in the fleeting moments before his vision had fled. Power like no other. So, floating in that dark place he thought maybe was death, the ravager found peace with his final choices. There were regrets, but Peter Quill was not one of them.
It did seem a little odd that he felt a burning sensation in his fingers though, or the desperate need to draw air. A shallow breath filled his lungs.
Oh, thank whatever God dared to show him mercy. The moment he saw the frost evaporating around blue sharp cheekbones, he let hope overwhelm him. But hearing the soft wheeze of air? Peter had no problems breaking down right then and there. Tears once again started to build in his watery blue gaze. Gently, like the boy he once uses to be...he tugged on Yondu's jacket, a silent desperation just to see his eyes open.
"Y-Yondu?" His voice was breaking, it sounded like a child, pleading for his Father. In many ways...he was. "C'mon you sonofabitch...y-you can't say that crap and die." Quill begged in a hitched whisper. "Wake up. C'mon."
The hushed whisper of voices echoed in the far reaches of his mind. Words that reverberated and bounced off the inside of his skull were almost enough to give him a headache. Another slightly bigger breath filtered between his filed teeth. He could almost make it out. Yondu could almost hear the words clearly. A small groan left him and his fingers twitched in displeasure. The feeling coming back to cold digits was far from pleasant. " Quit yer whining..." he mumbled weakly, eyes rolling behind his lids as they fluttered.
And just like that, Peter Quill felt utter and complete relief. With a shaky sigh, he dropped his head some, ignoring the relief filled tears starting to drop from his lashes. Goddamn Yondu.
"Pr-Prick." He grumbled out in a quiet voice. His hands never unclutched from the jacket he still held tightly to. Nothing had ever made him so terrified in all his years than this moment now. He didn't know if he wanted to slap the old man upside the head or hug him. "...God, I hate you so hard right now man." There was no real venom in his voice.
As consciousness came back, he realized that he wasn't dead. " Always have been, " he grumbled at the name Peter called him. When his eyes finally opened though he was graced with the sight of the man he'd raised like his own. A good man. better than Yondu ever had been. " And that wouldn't be the first time..." Oh Peter had said he hated him many times over. It had been something he'd accepted.
"Isn't that the truth." Finally, the younger looked up, his eyes still bright with emotion but filled with silent relief. That had been too close. Too close to a goodbye he wasn't ready for. Carefully he pulled away some to help the older man to sit up right, checking him over with concern.
"Are y-you... you alright?" Quill asked cautiously, still a bit shocked they were able to save him in time. "You idiot!" He suddenly snapped once he was sure the Captain wasn't gonna die on him again.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Peter was mad. Very VERY pissed. "I could have lost-...I could've lost you dammit. Why would you do something so damn stupid?!"
Yondu winced as Peter helped him sit upright. Everything ached. He supposed he was lucky he wasn't suffering decompression sickness. Or something like it. Maybe it was something that would come up later. He let the younger man rage at him, head still a little fuzzy.
" Stop acting like you don't know why I did it," Yondu grunted. " You know damn well why. "
After a long moment, he glanced up at Peter. " I've done a lot of wrong, but out of all of it you're the one thing I can say I've done right. Besides. Your Rat would have had my hide..."
Yeah...Yeah he knew why. He just couldn't believe it still. The man he had been searching for all his life. His /dad/ had been right there this whole time. All he had to do was turn around. And Peter felt ashamed. Quill felt ashamed for the thought that it took Yondu to almost die to figure that out. The younger dropped his head like a shamed pup, his gaze staring down at where his hand still clutched the blue skinned Captain's jacket. Finally, he let it go.
"M'sorry." Was all Peter could murmur in return. "And...thank you." He confessed quietly, his eyes still downcast in shame.
" Don't be sorry," he stated quietly, working the stiffness out of his hand. "You didn't do anythin'." Yondu couldn't blame Peter for the choices he'd made. He had never actually told him why he kept him around. He didn't say that he didn't want Ego to kill him like he had the others. He didn't say that he'd become attached to the orphaned boy from Earth. None of those things had ever come out of his mouth. But through and through, Peter was family, and Yondu had been prepared to protect him with his life. Like any good father would. Because no matter where Quill went, or who he became, there would always be the wayward little boy playing havoc on his ship.
" It's not like they can do anything worse to me for goin soft on yah again..."
"I almost got you killed. " His voice wavered again, the flash of all his friends dying going through his head...the image of a freezing over Yondu still there in his head. He flinched and looked away, swallowing hard.
"I was an idiot. And you were a bigger one for caring about me." Without hesitation the younger grabbed his adoptive Father and pulled him in close, giving him the first hug he's ever given the grumpy ass old man since he was kid. He didn't care if any of his friends walked in on it. Peter was still horrified, still afraid...and he honestly needed to make sure this was reality.
"Sh-Shut up and take the goddamn hug just this once." The blond muttered against Yondu's shoulder.
Yondu grunted a bit when peter grabbed him and pulled him in. Affection had never really been his strong suit. He'd been hard on the kid. He'd wanted to make him stronger. He wanted to prepare him for staying alive in a place that wanted to do nothing but chew you up and spit you out. Still, He was reminded of a moment when Peter had been much smaller.
Still troubled by his mother's death and he'd taken a quiet moment to try and bring some sort of comfort to the boy. After a moment, he returned the embrace, eyes a little glossy though he refused to cry. " You're family boy... We do what we can. "
Peter tried to hide the small sniffle that came after his Father's words. Knowing silently, they were family was one thing but hearing him admit it out loud made him realize just how much his rag-tag family slash team really meant to him...how close he came to losing them all.
He gripped the back of Yondu's jacket tighter, clinging to it like he had all those years ago when this grumpy hard ass had knelt beside his sobbing form and scooped him into a gentle hug. "Y-You will always be my dad." He whispered back firmly. Because Yondu had been right. Ego had been his Father but he was never his dad. And that was what made Yondu his family. Not that freak of a god.
He'd been sure that his chance at redemption had been given up as he'd gone numb and his vision had fled. That was changed now. He had all the chances he could hope for to make right the wrongs he'd done. The Ravagers were done with him. But that didn't mean he was going to just run off. He still had a ship. And the little team of misfits seemed good enough to him. " You've always been my Boy. Don't need no big shot asshole tellin' yeh what matters. You follow your heart Peter. It'll point yah right. "
The younger chuckled softly as he pulled away enough to rub at his eyes. He'd blame this ship for being to damn dusty or whatever. He nodded though, giving a faint smile at words of wisdom. Youndu could be a prick sometimes but he always spoke with his heart when it came to his boy. "Yeah...I will. I promise. The only asshole I want around here? Is you." The younger confirmed with a smirk. He sighed some, looking back over his shoulder to the control room where he was sure all their friends were waiting for them. He stood, offering his hand to his Father with a reassuring wink. "C'mon you old fart. M'pretty sure Krag and Rocket will be happy to see you're alright. Haven't seen Rocket get along with someone so easily. He really likes you."
The smile that flashed across his face was brief, mostly because it made his skin feel too tight and it hurt still. Even so he grunted out, " That rat of yours might argue that..." Rocket, at least that's what he thought his name was, could be a right dick. Yondu was a hard ass yeah, but Rocket just seemed spiteful sometimes. Course, he wouldn't have blamed him.
Taking the offered hand, he heaved himself upright, incredibly stiff and achy but otherwise okay enough to walk.
"Raccoon." Peter corrected with a roll of his eyes. "He's like that with people he cares about. Trust me it's just a safety mechanism. Here I thought you of all people would get that." The younger jabbed, keeping an arm close around his adopted fathers side just in case he needed the help. Being the stubborn ass he was, Yondu would rather keel over than ask for help. He grabbed the elder by the arm some, hoping to grab his attention. "And hey...about what I said earlier. I mean it. Thank you...for everything."
Yondu was obviously being a jerk calling him a rat. He'd called the tree a twig. Whatever that thing was. Still. It was his way of showing affection. When he felt Peter grab at his arm he stopped, turning his head to look at him. " I've protected you as best I could all this time. I wasn't about to let him take you away from me after all of it. Not a chance in hell." He patted Quill on the back and shuffled forwards a bit.
That made his cheeks feel warmer than they should. He smiled fondly, his gaze warm and proud to have just a cool dad. Heh...he was lucky. "... Thanks dad." Peter murmured quietly with a shy smile. With that he walked forwards too, a hand clapping his adoptive Father on the back gently.
Yeah...this family was alright. It was great.