Author's Note: This is the last installment in this fic, but wait! There's more! The series, entitled "Stories from Me to You" after the song "Victoria" by Divinyls, will have as many installments as I have ideas for this setup. Suggestions and requests are welcome and thank you again to everyone who left comments, kudoes and faves!
Peter didn't know if it was better or worse that the rest of the adult crew had not yet returned from their evening of drinking, gambling and whatever else they were doing. Better because he really didn't want to get into the inevitable shouting match he knew was coming in front of their friends. Worse because, damn, he could've really use a big, solid, Drax-shaped buffer when Gamora inevitably decided take his head off.
Maybe if he got inside the Milano before her… and got to his quarters… basically, the equivalent of a child hiding from a monster under a blanket. Except in this case the monster was a very beautiful woman and the blanket was a modified Ravager ship that was less than useless against her.
"I'm going to double check our docking permit," he declared as soon as they were inside, increasing the frequency of his strides towards the nose of the vessel.
"Peter…"
Damn, he'd almost made it. With his back still to her, he took a moment to make his face as neutral as possible and turned toward her. Contrary to his earlier expectations, Gamora didn't look angry. Rather her face held a rare soft, sympathetic expression that he'd last seen directed at him after Yondu's death. This, Peter thought miserably, is going to be so much worse than I thought.
"Yeah?" He hoped he sounded casual enough.
"You know we to talk."
Peter made a face. "Did you know that's practically the last thing any guy wants to hear from the girl he… has an unspoken thing with?"
"You have to hear this," she insisted. "I know how much family means to you, how much you've suffered for it. But you do understand that that child can't come with us. You said so yourself: we can't just take her."
In that moment, Peter realized that he was going to be the angry one in this argument. The universe - Ego, really - had taken away all the family he'd ever had except the other Guardians and that was by some sheer luck. It was going to pry his baby sister out of his cold dead hands. The image of Yondu, frost creeping over his face as the man who raised him took his last breaths, came unbidden, and Peter shuttered.
"It's not like we're abducting the princess of Spartax." He shot back at Gamora. "No one's going to care! That gold lady even said she waited to hand her over to me because, oh right, I'm her family!" Peter fully recognized that that it was nearly the same argument he'd used when she had questioned Ego's intentions but he didn't care. "She's seven and she has no one else! What am I supposed to do?"
"You're supposed to be the adult and do what's best for her," his friend replied calmly. "She has a life here, Peter. I'd understand if she was in trouble, if there was some kind of danger…"
"Want to talk danger? She's the daughter of a Celestial!" He threw up his hands. "Don't you think somewhere, someone is going to find that interesting? Probably don't need to go too far. I hear the emperor of Spartax is a real piece of work."
"You lost all your powers when Ego was destroyed," Gamora pointed out. "I doubt Victoria ever manifested any to begin with."
"Bad guys don't know that!"
"What in blazes are you two yellin' about?"
Both of them turned at once to see Rocket and Drax standing a few feet away. They must have returned a short while after he and Gamora had, but neither noticed amidst their argument. Baby Groot, probably awakened by that same commotion, was nestled against Drax's shoulder, yawning. Their teammates looked at both of them expectantly, and Peter supposed it was as good a time as any to explain why he'd actually brought them to the planet. It didn't take long, and by the end the five of them were gathered in the cockpit, everyone but himself sitting.
"I am glad for you, Quill." For perhaps the first time he'd known him, Drax had just the right thing to say. "Is she well?"
"Yeah." Peter felt the warmth of pride spread through his chest. "You should see her, man. She's talented and beautiful and so, so smart. Much smarter than me, that's for sure."
"Not that it takes much," the raccoon puffed out a laugh, but even his usually snarky expression softened as he shook his head. "We can't, Quill. With what we do… Space's no place for a kid."
"I was raised in space," Peter hissed back, now mindful of the little tree-child in Drax's arms. "And Groot's a kid!"
"Groot'll be big again soon 'nough, and I'm bettin' he's a hell lot tougher than some little girl."
"Victoria's tough!"
He knew Rocket had meant something along the lines of 'more durable', which was probably true. There was very little that could do any permanent harm to the tree creature. Helpless, Peter leaned against the bulkhead and looked to Drax for any glimmer of backup. The big man was sitting quietly, but after a heartbeat, he met his eyes.
"I have loved my daughter from her first breath to…" he trailed off, unable to continue without choking on emotion. "Were I able to be with her, no force in the universe would part us."
Peter took that as support and nodded in gratitude. But looking back at Gamora and Rocket, he saw that they were far from convinced. The problem was, if he stopped to look at it logically, he knew his arguments were all weak. Victoria could probably live out the rest of her life on Spartax and be perfectly fine. She'd be upset with him for a while, but eventually she'd forgive, maybe even forget.
The problem was that when it came to family and friends, Peter's heart overwrote his head every single time.
"I don't even know why we're having this conversation," he declared, pushing himself off the wall. "This isn't up for a vote. Last time I checked, I was still captain and this was still my ship. If you don't like it… well, sorry."
With that final word, he stalked off to his quarters. He knew how shitty it all sounded, but with the mood he was in Peter care less. Yondu would've - and had on many occasions - said it outright: don't like the captain's rules, get off the ship. He couldn't quite bring himself to be that cold to his friends, but Peter wasn't going to bend on this one, no matter what Gamora and Rocket thought.
Because music had always been the best distraction from all his problems, Peter fell backwards on the bed, closed his eyes, and let Dobie Gray take his mind off everything. Even having listened to everything on the Zune once through, he hadn't gone much past the early 90s when it came to replaying the songs. The later stuff still sounded too strange to him though Peter had a feeling they'd grow on him eventually.
Wonder what kind of music Vicky likes, he thought, absently drumming his fingers against his chest. What're the chances we can get some good kid-friendly movies up here? What was that one with Bowie...
His train of thought was interrupted when his peripheral vision caught the motion of the door to his quarters slide open then closed again as Gamora stepped inside but didn't move far from the entrance. I really need to remember to start locking that thing, Peter thought in annoyance and contemplated continuing to ignore her before deciding against it and releasing a deep sigh.
"I don't want to fight," he said quietly, still staring at the ceiling and not bothering to remove the earbuds. "Of all people, I thought you'd understand. I know how badly you wanted Nebula to stay."
"You know that's different. Nebula's an adult," Gamora pointed out gently. "A highly trained adult who's more than capable of looking after herself."
Peter turned his head slightly and gave her a look. "Does that mean you worry about her any less?"
"No," she admitted. "She's my sister. I grew up with her."
Something in the way she said that last part made him pause. Peter frowned, then finally pulled out the earbuds and raised himself on his elbows slightly to look at her in earnest. "You think I want Victoria here just because she's Ego's kid?"
"Isn't that what this has all been about?"
"No! I mean, yes, of course she's blood, but it's so much more than that." Swinging both legs over the side of the bed, Peter sat on the edge and held up the small music device in his hand. "This is what my real dad left me. This and Victoria. I wouldn't have her if it wasn't for Yondu, and this is all I have left of him. Please, please, don't take her away from me."
He didn't realize he was crying until Gamora stepped forward, cupped his face, and gently brushed her thumbs over both his cheeks. When she sat down by his side and entwined his fingers with hers, they were wet. Now that the floodgates were open, he felt like he was drowning in the fallout of everything that had happened over the last few weeks, like he couldn't make the tears stop.
"I'm on your side, Peter," Gamora's voice was a gentle whisper as she ran her fingers through his hair in a comforting rhythm. "I'm always on your side."
"I know I should've probably never come here, should've left her alone to be adopted by some nice family," he choked on the words. "I'm not stupid, 'mora, just selfish. So selfish…"
"A little," she agreed, then pressed her lips against his temple. "We'll make it work."
He must have registered that as acceptance but at it took a little while longer for the tears to slow, and by the end Peter felt exhausted, like a wrung out sponge. At some point he found himself lying down again, eyes closed, but Gamora was still by his side, still stroking his hair. It was only when he felt the mattress shift as she rose to leave that Peter opened his eyes again.
"Stay," he whispered, catching her hand. "Nothing else. Just… stay with me tonight."
He couldn't quite see the expression on her face, but after a heart beat, Gamora dimmed the lights, removed her boots and settled on top of the covers facing him. Their hands were still clasped together on the pillow between them. Peter scooted closer to her, not quite touching anywhere else but enough that he could feel comforting warmth radiating from her body. Gamora simply gave his hand a small squeeze in response.
"Sleep, Star-Lord. You have a busy day tomorrow."
When he awoke, at first Peter couldn't quite place his finger on what exactly the odd sensation was. Then, as he came more awake, he realized that it was the glorious feeling of the first night of good sleep he'd had in weeks. No nightmares, no anxiety about the future. Nervousness, sure - it was going to be a big day, after all - but Peter couldn't remember when he'd felt this well-rested. Next to him, Gamora's eyes were still closed, her clothes a little rumpled for having been slept in, but her face was relaxed and scerene.
Peter couldn't remember ever thinking she looked more beautiful than this.
Careful not to wake her, he rolled off the other side of the bed and made his way to the adjacent bathroom to make himself more presentable. When he emerged, Gamora still hadn't risen but rolled over to the other side, and something told him she was at least partially awake now. Walking back to her side of the bed, Peter leaned down slightly to whisper.
"If I kiss you, are you you going to pull a knife on me again?"
A ghost of a smile tugged at Gamora's mouth. "Try it and find out."
Without any hesitation, he pressed his lips against her cheek and stood back up. Gamora let out a laugh and finally opened her eyes.
"I can't decide if that was a good move or not."
"Well, I'm not dead and you're smiling," he grinned back at her. "So I'm going to go ahead and call it a win."
"That seems fair." She raised herself on one elbow and looked him up and down, noting the fresh clothes. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No, thanks," Peter declined. "Not that I don't want you there, but I have someone else in mind. But if you want to do me a favor, you can make sure Rocket cleans up all his explosives and actually keeps them confined to his room or engineering for once. Threaten to eat him if he doesn't."
"Because that always works." Gamora sat up, stretching. "Fine. I'll get Drax to help if I have to."
Peter nodded and was halfway to the door before the process of elimination caught up to him. He stopped and turned his head, frowning at her. "How'd you know I was taking Groot?"
Gamora just rolled her eyes in response.
He found the youngest of the crew in the galley, sipping water from the smallest glass they had. Groot grinned at him and held out his twig-like arms expectantly. "I am Groot?"
"Sorry, bud, no tunes right now. Want to go on a field trip with me instead?"
He was pretty sure he hadn't signed so much paperwork in his life. Well, that wasn't quite true because the paperwork was actually digital and his signature was usually a thumb print on the data-pad at the bottom of each page. Peter supposed he couldn't complain too much. It was understandable that they'd make you sign tones of stuff before they released a small child into your custody, and he really wanted to do this one by the book.
The only time he paused was when he came to a blank box marked Family Name. How would his mom feel about him giving her last name to Ego's daughter? The thought made him sick, not because he thought for a moment Meredith would have held anything against the child, but because thinking of the Celestial and his mother or that precious little girl in the same sentence made his stomach churn. He'd be damned if he'd let that monster taint anything about either of them.
Setting his jaw, Peter quickly typed 'Quill' in the box.
"That should do it," he said to himself and looked over at Groot, hard at work a few feet away. "You all done over there, little guy?"
"I... am... Groot." There was a definite look of determination on the sapling's face. After a moment he turned around and presented his little project for inspection. "I am Groot!"
"That's fantastic," Peter gave him a thumbs up as Groot hopped onto his shoulder. "Give them to her yourself, okay?"
Just in that moment, the office door opened and it was almost a deja vu of last evening. The same gold woman walked through with Victoria behind her, except this time in addition to her duffel bag, the girl carried a small backpack. Peter rose from his seat, nodded to the woman that all the paperwork was in proper order, and then bent down to study Victoria's face. The girl bit her lip.
"Really?" Her eyes still held caution, like she dared not hope.
"Really, really," Peter smiled, because if he didn't smile, he'd cry, and he'd cried enough recently. "Hey, I have someone else here who'd really like to meet you. Groot, this is Vicky, my baby sister."
Taking that as his cue, Groot waved from his spot on Peter's shoulder and extending his other hand, held out a small, simple bouquet of flowers to her.
"I am Groot!" the other child said by way of greeting.
Delighted, Victoria waved back and accepted the flowers with all the grace of an actual princess. "Thank you, Groot. They're really pretty."
"I am Groot!" Groot puffed out his chest, beaming with pride.
Slightly confused, the girl looked at Peter for an explanation, but he just grinned. "You'll figure out what he means soon enough. Got everything?" He glanced over at her backpack and duffel bag. "Did you take… um… any toys?"
"No," but she didn't look terribly broken up about it, attention focused on curiously studying Groot's bouquet. "I left them for the other kids."
Such a simple gesture… Peter hung his head. Had he ever been this selfless?
"We'll get you new ones," he promised and held out his hand to her. "Ready to go? I don't know about you, but I'd love to get some breakfast."
Spartax wasn't so bad, all things considered. Sure, the lack of ice cream was a problem, but there was a diner that looked and smelled pretty appealing. He picked a table outside, ordered five different dishes for the sole purpose of figuring out what Victoria liked best, and made a mental note to bring more to the Milano as a peace offering to Rocket and to have a little more variety in general.
"So I've been meaning to ask," he by way of conversation, looking around casually at the city. "Who's the guy in all the statues?"
He'd been wondering ever since they got to the planet. The capitol at least was practically littered with statues of a stern bearded man in what appeared to be a military dress uniform. Someone sure had an inflated sense of importance as far as Peter was concerned.
"That's emperor J'Son." Victoria didn't even look up from her food. She'd probably seen them a million times considering how many there were and was unlikely to have any opinion about politics.
"Huh." Her brother rubbed his chin. "Looks kind of like Riker."
"Who?"
"William Riker." Peter grinned. "He was the commander of this really awesome starship called the Enterprise under Captain Jean-Luc Picard." Never did find out how that series ended...
"Oh?" Victoria raised her eyes curiously. "Were they pirates you worked with?"
"Nah," he waved dismissively and leaned back in the chair, hands clasped behind his head. "Now don't get me wrong, baby sis, they were cool, just not cool enough to hang with the crew I sailed with. But let me tell you about the greatest Ravager captain of all time…"
Author's End Note: For those unfamiliar with the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series, Jonathan Frakes who played Commander Riker on Star Trek: TNG also voiced J'Son (Peter and Victoria's father in the show and comics). And yup, in the show he literally had a city full of statues to himself :)
