Rating: K
Summary: While comforting Groot after the whole Ego nightmare, Gamora comforts Peter and Nebula.Work Text:
For the first time in forever, Gamora felt clean. Killing a planet, as it comes to find out, is a very dirty job and it took a while for it to feel like that she had gotten all of the dirt out of her hair. The hot water was plentiful and it soothed her aching muscles.
Everyone else had gone to claim a bed somewhere on the ship, but she was still wired.
She walked down the hallway slowly, the ship was eerily quiet. She remembered the last time she was on the Eclector it was so loud, men filled every corner of the ship. But the Quadrant was filled with sorrow, the loss of Yondu and the rest of the Ravagers, be it the mutineers or the ones loyal to Yondu, was deafening.
The only sounds were the small pattering of Groot's feet against the metal floor.
Gamora stopped and turned around to see the small tree with tears streaming down his small face. "Oh Groot." She said, taking the steps towards him and picked him up.
He cuddled into her collarbone, soft sobs wracking through his tiny body. "I am Groot." He cried.
"You had a bad dream?" She asked and he nodded against her chest. A wave of sadness washed over her. It had been a rough couple of days for all of them, but even more so for the poor young tree.
Her hand rubbed his back and it didn't take long for him to relax against her. His sobbing soon slowed to soft hiccups. "I am Groot." He whispered, he missed Yondu.
"I know, Groot." She whispered, pressing her lips to the top of his head. "Peter and Kraglin miss him very much too."
He looked up at her with sad eyes. "I am Groot?" He asked, did she miss him as well?
Gamora nodded. "Of course I do." She whispered, rubbing his back slowly. "Yondu saved Peter. . . ." She stopped, Yondu-for how awful he was to Peter, actually cared for him and raised him to be who he was today. She hated him a little bit, but she would always be grateful for him for saving Peter, when she was unable too.
That set off another wave of tears. Gamora held him tightly against him and slightly bounced him as she walked back to the bridge. "Shhhh." She whispered to calm him, he was overtired and upset, so she knew that it was going to take awhile to comfort him.
She started to hum a lullaby from her childhood as she swayed to soothe him.
/
Peter couldn't sleep.
That's a lie, he was beyond exhausted and probably could sleep for a week straight, but he wanted to find Gamora. To be completely honest, he was hoping to curl up with her in a bed and fall asleep for a month, but he'd settle for whatever he could get-he'd settle for just seeing her one more time before succumbing to the nightmares he knew were about to plague him.
Checking the rooms along the way, Gamora wasn't in any of them.
He went up the stairs to the bridge and saw Nebula leaning against the door frame, her arms folded and a calm look filled her mechanical features. "Hey."
She turned to look at him before turning her look to the occupant on the bridge, Gamora was swaying Groot in her arms and singing softly. "She used to sing that song to me." She said softly, she didn't want to disrupt the scene before them. "When we were little, after training with Thanos all day. . ."
Peter placed a soft hand on her shoulder, she tensed but didn't move. Peter Quill wasn't a threat. "Gamora used to sneak out of bed when the guards would disappear and crawl into bed with me." She said, but Peter remained quiet-he didn't know the extent of their relationship, but he wasn't entirely surprised that Gamora literally took Nebula under her wing when she was a kid. "She would sing this lullaby and I would fall asleep, she would stay as long as she could before having to go back to bed without being caught. It was a song that her true parents would sing to her."
Peter smiled, it sounded like something Gamora would do-risk getting rest at the sake of comforting Nebula. Nebula sighed heavily, filled with sadness and at the risk of opening some old wounds that were nearly already opened. "It was more often than not. . ."
Nebula walked away with a small frustrated huff.
Peter let her go.
With a deep breath, he looked over at Gamora. The little tree in her arms had his eyes closed, tucked against her collarbone. She turned around and saw him standing in the doorway, a soft smile tucked on her lips.
"Hey." He said softly with a smile that matched hers. He felt lighter than he had in hours.
"Hi." She said, looking down at Groot to keep the flush from filling her cheeks.
Peter took the steps to stand in front of her. "Nightmares?" He asked and she nodded. "Maybe I could be next?"
She rolled her eyes affectionately as soft chuckle escaping her nose as she looked down at Groot, who had fallen into a deep sleep and snoring softly against her chest. Peter gave her a crooked smile and shrugged his shoulders.
Gamora sashayed past him. "Come on, let me put him to bed and then it will be your turn." She said and his smile grew into a smirk. "Only this one time though." It was light for her, teasing almost and it made the darkness inside of Peter a little brighter.
She walked down the hall and he followed slowly , she stopped at the room Rocket had claimed and slid inside to place the little tree in bed. The hard ass racoon would wake up in a panic if Groot wasn't there when he woke up. She crossed the room, the bed that Rocket had curled up in the middle of the large three person bed with a pile of blankets curled up at the top that Groot had gotten up from.
She laid the baby tree down and pressed a soft kiss to his barky forehead, covering him up with the small blanket.
Rocket peeked open an eye. "Thanks Gammy." He whispered.
Gamora nodded and stepped out of the room to where Peter was waiting for her, leaning against the wall casually as if he were waiting to pick her up. He led the way towards the captain's quarter. Gamora's fingers brushed against Peter's hand and he got the hint, wrapping his much larger hand around hers before lacing his fingers around hers as they walked shoulder to shoulder.
"Nebula said that you used to sing to her." Peter said breaking the silence.
She shrugged. "Nebula would cry at night and she wouldn't sleep." Gamora started. "She would wake up and be exhausted, she would become sloppy and Thanos would take another piece of her and turn her into a machine."
"No." Peter stopped, turning to face her-his free hand went to her arm. "It was so much more than that to her though." He said with so much conviction, that it made her insides fluttered. "You sacrificed so much to take care of Nebula and even with everything that has happened between the two of you, I know that she is still grateful for what you did for her."
Gamora looked away, his look too intense for her. "I doubt it."
He let go of her arm, his hooked finger lifted her chin to look him in the eye. "I believe it." He said softly. "I saw her watching you sing to Groot. I believe she regrets what happens between the two of you."
Her face softened. "I do too." She said.
His hand went to cup her cheek. "You are trying to mend things between the two of you, it will get better." He whispered. "Nebula is willing to work on it, she just needs some time."
She bit her lip and a soft shaky breath escaped her lips. "Come on." She answered.
He followed her towards the captain's quarters. He held open the door for her and she stepped inside and suddenly she felt nervous as she pulled off her boots. She swallowed her nervousness as she turned to see Peter climb into the bed.
Taking a deep breath, her nerves disappear. It was just Peter. Sweet Peter. Peter Quill, the man who cared so deeply that it always got him into trouble. She pulled her hair back, tying it with a she turned around to face him, he had a look of utter endearment on his face and it made all the nervousness deep in her stomach disappear, as he held the sheet open for her to climb in next to him.
She crossed the room and crawled into next to him.
It took a moment for them to get comfortable, the bed was a little too hard for her taste-not that she was going to complain, she was used to much worse. Peter took longer to try and find a comfortable position, but Gamora had other things in mind.
She took his hand and pulled him closer to her. "I will not carry you, but I cannot comfort you if you are so far away." She said, her voice filled with amusement.
A small chuckle escaped his lips as he rolled to his side, tucking his face into the space between her neck and her shoulder, his nose resting against her neck. "This is much better anyway." He whispered, his breath against her skin brought goosebumps to her skin. His hand laid flat against her stomach.
"I do what I can." She answered, her hand running through his hair. It nearly made him purr in contentment.
"You're very good at this." He whispered after a few moments, her long nails in his hair nearly put him to sleep already.
A breathy laugh filled the quiet air. "I haven't even started to sing yet."
Peter shrugged. "Go ahead then." He said, secretly excited for this. Their unspoken thing was nearly there and he wanted nothing more than this between them-forever.
Her voice filled the small room and he closed his eyes as he was enveloped by the most beautiful sound he has ever heard. It was soft and silvery in his ears, the words reaching his soul. It calmed his darkened thoughts, the loss of Yondu. The whole thing with Ego. Fighting with Gamora, all of it washed away with the sound of her song.
He started to drift off, when Gamora stopped singing for a moment, his eyes to heavy to lift-at the sound of his door opening and shutting quickly. Gamora spoke to the new comer before he felt the bed dip on the other side of Gamora, just barely.
The whirrs of Nebula's mechanics filled the quiet space before Gamora started to sing again, little more emotional this time. Peter peeked open his eye enough to see Nebula, tucked like he was on the other side of her with her eyes closed, her hand resting below Peter's. As much as he wanted this alone time with Gamora, he would wait-Gamora needed this as much as either of them. Tomorrow he would ask her about the song and tomorrow they would move forward, for now he would listen.
She continued to sing.
Peter fell asleep.
No nightmares plagued his dreams, only the soft melody from Gamora filled his dreams.
Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise.
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow bring them true
Here is the place where I love you.
Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place, where I love you.
