It was only after things finally settled down and Rocket, Drax and Groot agreed to come aboard the Eclector to discuss battle strategy that Gamora found herself relishing a brief moment of peace and quiet. Not that such a thing lasted overly long on a Ravager ship.
"Girl! I got a bone to pick with you," Yondu's raspy drawl called to her as the Centaurian himself made his way to her secluded corner.
She raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.
He strode up to her — purpose and power radiating from him in waves, red mohawk glowing slightly — and invaded her personal space. She never noticed how bright red his eyes could be.
"You ever let my boy do somethin' that stupid again, I'll fill ya so full o' holes they can use ya for a sieve!"
"To which stupid thing are you referring? Quill has done many in the short time I've known him."
"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talkin' about. He dang near died out there for you! He decided to throw his lot in with you idiots and first crack outta the box he up and tries to die!" He emphasized his point by poking her in the shoulder. It was a testament to how blindsided she was by the direction of this conversation that she didn't immediately move to break his hand for that.
"I did not ask him—"
"I don't give two flyin' craps if you didn't ask him to. In case it's escaped yer notice, young Mr. Quill has a hero complex that crops up at the worst of times. Despite the 20 years I spent raisin' 'im, never could knock it out of him. Boy don't know his limits, thinks he has to save anyone that's even kinda nice to 'im. It's up to the rest of us to know for 'im."
He whistled and his arrow hovered in the air between them. "I should kill you where you stand for that."
She scoffed at him. "From what I have seen of the interactions between you and Peter, you do not care if he lives or dies. So why should you care if he wants to risk his life for me or anyone else?"
Yondu physically deflated, all fire gone, arrow returning to its holster. He leaned against the wall and briefly closed his eyes. He opened them to look at her and what she saw there made her gasp. Regret, hurt, worry and something she was hesitant to call love.
"Quill ever tell ya how it was a Terran like him came to be a Ravager?"
Gamora shook her head no and opted to lean against the wall beside him, arms crossed.
"We was hired to pick him up and deliver him to some planet on the other side of the galaxy. After we found him, I contacted the guy and found out what he wanted the kid for. Didn't much like what I heard, he was a jackass and didn't pay nothin' anyway, so I decided to keep the boy instead.
"Some of the crew didn't take too kindly to havin' a Terran ankle-biter on board and tried to get rid of him a couple-a times. 'Course you don't get made Ravager captain without makin' a few tough choices, so I threw those guys out the air lock. Don't have any use for Ravagers who ain't loyal anyway and even back then, Quill more'n proved his worth. Always was a good kid, dang good Ravager too. Taught 'im everything I know."
Gamora was quiet for minute, taking in what she learned.
"What you mean to say, I think, is that you raised him…as a father would raise his son."
"Now I ain't sayin' nothin' like that—"
Gamora smiled at his defensiveness. "You can't take it back now. It's okay to admit that you care for him. You would have to, to threaten me. No one else would be suicidal enough to threaten an assassin raised by Thanos."
Yondu chuckled. "Assassin huh? Quill sure knows how to pick 'em."
She smiled again and nodded. "We are an eclectic group to be sure. But he is the one that holds us all together somehow."
"Yeah, that's Quill for ya, most complicated simpleton you'll ever meet. 'Bout time for you to meet with the rest of 'em and go over this brilliant plan o' his. Do me a favor, will ya?"
Gamora placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I will endeavor to ensure he does not try to sacrifice himself for anyone. But I can't make any promises. He is very stubborn," she finished with a fond smile.
"Just like his old man," Yondu replied with a jagged grin.
