Hello all! Hope you're doing well! I've been tinkering with idea since the second movie came out but haven't had a chance to do anything with it until now. It's mostly just a collection of semi-cute moments between our favorite grumpy Ravager and his surrogate son because I'm still in mourning thanks to James Gunn and this is how I cope. If you're familiar with my writing you'll know how much I love scrappy!Peter so this whole first chapter is dedicated to that. Also the title does indeed come from Carry on my Wayward Son because I find there are few situations which are not improved by the musical presence of Kansas. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it! :D
There have been very few moments in his life when Yondu felt out of his element. He's been in places he had no business being in, grappled with people who could and definitely would have had his head on a plate if they got the opportunity, and ended up in situations he absolutely should not have survived. But he came out on top in every single scenario because he's a Ravager and that's what Ravagers do. Ravagers are strong, tough, and ruthless and they never, ever go down without a fight. He greets every situation head on because that's what he's always done.
That being said, Yondu will be the first to admit that he is completely and hilariously out of his element when it comes to the trials and tribulations of raising a stubborn, scrappy Terran child who has more mouth than brains half the time. He knew the kid would be a handful when he decided to keep him but he was not prepared for just how much of a handful Peter would actually be when it came down to it. Yondu does not feel out of his element very often but that feeling has skyrocketed exponentially since the arrival of Peter Quill on his ship.
He had expected the kid to run and hide and cry every time he came across one of the Ravagers on the ship. He expected him to beg to be taken back to that crappy blue planet of his and dropped off where they found him. Hell, he at least expected him to be afraid of them. And Peter was... for a grand total of two days. After that he squared up and fought back, refusing to be the weakest link on a ship full of killers and thugs. Yondu expected a lot of things from Peter in the very beginning but what he didn't expect was for the boy to go from fear to 'fight me' in the span of a few days.
None of the other Ravagers took him seriously at first, teasing and mocking him relentlessly and seeing just how far they could push him before he pushed back. As it turned out, it didn't take much for Peter to reach his tipping point. He's small and wiry and fast and all it took was one wrong word or an ill-timed shove to set him off. The boy will jump head-first into a fight at the drop of a hat and it might be cute if it didn't involve Peter launching himself at his assailant like a tiny, child-shaped missile. And yeah, sometimes he comes out a bit worse for wear in the end but Peter has more than proven in the short time he's been there that he's not going to take their abuse sitting down.
Yondu's not sure if it makes Peter stupidly brave or just plain stupid but the boy doesn't back down from anyone or anything on the ship. He's a tiny ball of unresolved anger and frustration and grief and he's more than happy to channel those emotions into a brawl if it comes down to it. Peter may be small but he's not a pushover and the Ravagers have quickly found out that even though Peter is never the one to start the fights, he can most definitely finish them.
As such, Yondu has come to expect that any kind of scrap or scuffle that takes place aboard the ship usually involves Peter in some way. Peter is the newest, youngest, and smallest member of their ragtag group and will subsequently be the subject of intense hazing and harassment for at least another few weeks. Once again, the kid doesn't go looking for fights but that doesn't mean the other Ravagers don't single him out either.
So when Yondu loses track of their tiny new Ravager and hears the distinct sound of fighting coming from somewhere down the hall, he mentally sighs and stalks off toward the noise. The brat can't seem to keep himself out of trouble for one day and Yondu is sorely tempted to slap a leash on him and not let him out his sight until the kid is old enough to grow chest hair.
It doesn't take long to find the source of the commotion or the tiny ball of fury involved in the middle of it. Peter is grappling with a much larger Ravager named Met and he doesn't seem to be on the winning side in this. Met has three feet and two hundred pounds on the kid and watching the fight is a lot like watching a giant swat away an annoying insect. Peter is nothing if not persistent though and every time he gets knocked down he bounces right back up.
The captain rounds the corner just as Peter launches himself at the other Ravager with an enraged snarl, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. Peter tackles him at the middle and to his credit, he's able to knock Met off balance and into the wall behind him. The kid is scrabbling for something in the other Ravager's pocket and his arms are just a little too short to reach whatever it is he's searching for.
Met growls and grabs a handful of Peter and slings him backwards like a dirty rag. The kid is airborne for a second or so before he crashes into the ground near Yondu's feet. Peter doesn't even notice the Ravager captain's appearance, he's too busy swiping a stream of blood away from his mouth with the back of his sleeve and pushing himself back up for another attack.
Persistent and stubborn; good qualities to have in a Ravager but not if they're going to get you killed. Yondu sees this as his time to intervene and he reaches out and snags Peter around the waist with one arm just before the boy launches himself across the room again.
"Alright, alright," he says, struggling to maintain his grip on the writhing, wiry boy in his arm. "That's enough. I dunno what started this fight'a yers but I ain't gonna let you two ruin my ship while yer tryin' to kill each other."
Peter struggles valiantly against the arm around him, pulling and tugging and doing everything he can to break free. He's squirming and wriggling like a bag full of pissed off cats and he's apparently less concerned with who's holding him and more concerned with taking another shot at Met. Yondu rolls his eyes and jostles him once to break his grip. "I said knock it off, brat."
Met flashes an ugly grin at him. "Yeah, brat," he parrots back, eyes leveled on Peter. "Better do what the captain says."
For some reason that just adds fuel to the fire and Peter starts struggling again. It's more furious this time, desperate and full of rage, and Peter is a lot stronger than anyone seems to give him credit for. Yondu growls and gets a better grip on the writhing child in his arms and squeezes him tightly. "Stubborn littleā¦" he mumbles, fading off because Peter still hasn't stopped struggling and it appears he has no intention of stopping anytime soon either.
"Alright, that's enough," he grumbles shortly, adjusting his grip again and turning back down the hall, carting Peter off in the opposite direction. Sometimes snatching Peter up by the scruff of the neck and physically hauling him away from whatever kind of trouble he's landed himself in is the only way to deal with things. The child struggles for a second or so more before giving up, either from exhaustion or the fact that he realizes it's a losing battle, and hanging irritably in Yondu's arm.
The captain fights the urge to smirk at the sulking child in his arm and continues to carry Peter down the hall away from Met. Peter weighs a grand total of fifty-three pounds soaking wet but he's pouting right now and trying to make himself heavy out of spite and he's hanging there like a bag of wet sand.
He's not fighting as much anymore though so it seems like he's calmed down to some extent. Yondu doesn't trust him not to run back the fight the second he sets him down though so he keeps the kid wrapped in one arm and tucked against his side as he walks down the hall.
By the time he's reasonably confident he's put enough space between Peter and Met, they've reached the opposite end of the ship. He stops at the end of the hallway and sets Peter down, standing tall and imposing in front of him just in case the boy tries to make a break for it.
"Alright, brat," he begins gruffly, leveling Peter with a look that indicates he's in no mood for any of the boy's sass or backtalk. "Ya wanna tell me what that was all about?"
Peter is glaring, not so much at Yondu but just at the situation in general. He's still shifty and tense and angry and he's rolling something around in his mouth that's making a very tiny rattling sound with each pass.
Yondu frowns and drops down to crouch in front of him, opening his palm beneath Peter's jaw. "Spit," he tells him simply. It's not a request.
Peter slumps a little in defeat and spits whatever's in his mouth into the captain's hand. It's a tooth. His tooth.
The Ravager captain stares at it incredulously for a moment. He would have been marginally more alarmed if he hadn't done some reading on Terran biology that stated the juveniles lost their first set of teeth during childhood before growing a more permanent set in their place. Hopefully this was one of the first set. Still, it doesn't change the fact that Peter just had one of his teeth knocked out by one of the other Ravagers and he needs to get a handle on this before it gets out of control.
He sighs and shakes his head, dropping the tooth into his pocket. "Yer more of a handful than I know what to do with, boy," he mumbles more to himself than Peter. He looks at the Terran child again and tries a different tactic. "What started the fight?"
Peter fidgets uncomfortably for a moment and doesn't answer.
"'ey," Yondu says, reaching out and tapping Peter's chin up with one knuckle. "I asked you a question, boy, an' I ain't gonna ask again."
Peter lets out a heavy, heaving sigh in response and slumps a bit more. "He stole my Walkman," he mumbles finally, voice quiet and sullen. He still looks angry but he also looks like he's right on the verge of tears as well.
Yondu blinks at him. If he had learned anything from having the boy on his ship it was that Peter was weirdly attached to that silly music player he always carried around.
"So ya got into a fistfight with someone twice yer size over a music box?" he asks incredulously.
Peter shoots him an impressively furious glare. "It's not just a music box," he grinds out, tiny fists balled at his side. "My mom gave it to me and it's the only thing I have left from earth and he took it!"
The captain holds his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, no need to get worked up," he says because Peter looks like he's either about to cry or punch something and he just hasn't made up his mind which.
He sighs and shakes his head, knowing full well Peter will go right back to Met the second he lets him out of his sight and will more than likely get several more teeth knocked out for his efforts. "Listen, if I get yer music player back for ya will ya stop tryin' to take on people double yer size?"
Peter sniffs a little and nods, wiping his bloody mouth with the back of his sleeve again. He still looks like he wants to fight something but then again he's looked like that ever since they picked him up. It's almost become a defense mechanism of sorts.
"Good," Yondu says with a small, satisfied nod. He stands slowly and physically picks Peter up and turns him in the direction of another hallway. "Kraglin's on the main deck. Why don't you go find him an' stay up there for a while? That way ya won't get tangled up in anythin' else for today."
Peter bobs his head once in a agreement and starts off down the indicated hallway. He's still learning his way around the ship but Yondu is at least reasonably certain he can get to the main deck of the ship without getting mixed up in something along the way. He can hope at least.
He watches Peter stumble along until he's out of sight before he straightens his coat and walks off the other direction to have a conversation with Met.
When Peter gets back to his room later that evening his Walkman is sitting on his cot. Peter doesn't mention it and Yondu doesn't bring it up. There's also no discussion as to why Met has a broken hand the next day. No one tries to take the Walkman again.
Thanks so much for reading guys! More to come soon! :D
