Kraglin woke next morning nusaling deep into Yondus neck for a kiss his hair getting in the wa. . . Yondu didnt have hair?
Arms tightening around his mate . . . no that wasnt right either Yondu may be on the chunky and stars did he love it but he definitely doesn't have boobs
"Wakey wakey sleeping beauty" Yondus dirty chuckle and hand groping Krags arse playfully would usually result in morning nookie that would leave him walking funny for most of the shift but not today
Echos head was pillowed on Yondus shoulder features relaxed in sleep as Kraglins head remained burried in her hair Yondu pulling them both closer like it was the most natural thing in the world
"Care to explain Yon?"
"She couldnt sleep so we talked awhile an ah got her drunk"
"Why?"
"Seemed like a good idea at tha time, had sum of that stuff Obolo brewed"
"Fuck that were strong shit yah got any more left?"
"Yah got 'nother few bottles stashed, she'll be out for a while by my guess didnt believe she were free"
"Would you?"
"No, comon shift ur arse"
"Dunt wana" burrowing further into Echos hair and the nest he sulked Yondu might be on this shift but he sure as hell wasnt
"Now, before the poor lass gets an eyeful of your skinny arse dressing and decides to hop out tha nearest airlock"
he had a point neither of them slept in more than their pants nor could they be classed as lookers
... ... ...
As Yondu made his way to the bridge growling absently at rookies who didnt move out of the way quick enough his mind wandered back to his cabin the one with the hungover ex slave in their bed, how the fuck did he always get messed up with this shit, what were they going to do with her? He had nothing against women as Ravagers but his crew was currently exclusively male and since the exhile finding crew was tough enough let alone crew with morals these were murderous retches the scum of the universe kept inline only by his reputation and a whistle it was hard enough keeping Peter safe around them . . .
still with no concrete idea what theyd do with her Yondu did what he did best and Ignored the problem either it would resolve itself or more likley Kraglin would figure it out no sence wasting his time on it when more important things required his attention draping himself over his chair as he started reading through the last shifts reports six fights a stabbing, non fatal and a missing crew member probably dead
sigh
they were on course to Contraxia a successful mission ment the crew had unit chits burning holes in their pockets itd be a week till they docked the crew would be antsy knowing what was coming keeping the violence to a minimum was going to be nigh on impossible
... ... ...
fuck fuck fuck Echo thought as she woke how was she still their bed and why hadn't he moved her?
Too late to worry about that now it was already half way through the morning at least she was alone in the bed if not the room
Testing the air she smelt them both strongly not surprising since was in their bed with undertones of leather, engine oil and plasma residue permeating the room marking it as their territory
A quiet chuckle reached her ears as she took in her surroundings
The taller one, Kraglin, was still in the room with her sitting up silently he was too absorbed in the latest storyline to notice her, his feet propped on the end of the nest as he grinned at the screen
Trashy storys they may be but most of the crew were hooked on this series not that theyd admit it
Looking around now with the lights on she took in in the cluttered mess of the room, clothes dumped on the floor paperwork stacked haphazardly on every avalible surface and a medium sized pot plant tucked in a corner the only thing in the room that appeared to be well cared for its glossy leaves a deep green stems darkening to purple a wall of shiny objects protecting it from the encroaching paperwork
"Fuck! Your awake?!" he fumbled the pad in shock droping it on the floor they both winced at the crack, shit when had he last checked on her?
"Sorry" worrying her lip between her teeth Echo slid out from the covers to retrieve the holo a quick check over showed a long spideweb crack over the lower left side not unusable at least with eyes downcast and heart racing she held it up for Kraglin to take
"Why ya sorry for? not your fault I droppedd tha darned thing, uh im Kraglin by the way" holiding out his hand as Peter had shown them was the custom greeting for Terrans, she smiled gripping his and shaking
"Ya ah . . . You hungry?" Shit he needed to sort her some proper clothes that tshirt of his while it coverd the essentials was distracting
"yeah"
"Go ahead an wash up" indicating the shower room "by the time I sorted yah sum clothes we can meet Yondu in tha mess"
"Thank you" smiling broadly Echo contemplated how different her life was only a day ago as she fiddled with the taps to try and start the shower memories flooded into her thoughts trying to pull her into depression at what had been
No, pushing the thoughts away quickly stripping off the tshirt that had served as nightwear she stepped under the cool water as the wave of panic hit again, No Not Now! there would be time to deal with it but not now
right now what was important was a good wash even if the shower itself wasnt the cleanest, explicit images crudely painted in the grime gave her more insite into the lives of her rescuers
trying not to look at herself in the showers refective surfaces she still knew what she would find dried blood in her hair and down her face bandage already unravelling she was covered in bruises at least she healed fast theyd be gone in a day or two eyeing up what looked like it could be soap Echo risked it and lathered up and got to work cataloging the other injuries as she srubbed her skin raw
The lump on her skull and and the cut through her eybrow, check, not too deep it was already healing well, skuffs around her neck from the collar were scabbing over none deep enough to scar, the only permanent reminder being the tattoos on her neck but a decent coverup could deal with those
Further down bruised ribs and pulled muscels along with a few cuts on her feet were the only other traces of the escape left shed gotten off lightly
She was truly free
Too cold to contenplate life any longer in the shower Echo stepped out wrapping a towel around herself and using what must be Kraglins comb since Yondu was lacking in the hair department she started teasing out the knots in her hair
... ... ..
Kraglins search was successful he had found a pair of leather trousers he never wore preferring his jumpsuit, a black wifebeater of yondus that would fit her better than his own Echo being significantly larger than him in the chest department and finally a jacket that had been intended for Peter after his next growth spirt oh well hed have to stop growing for a while the weed
Knocking on the bathroom door opening it just a little he called through
"Yah doin ok? got you sum proper clothes"
struggaling with the last knot she smiled
"Your a star Kraglin, Thank you"
Hearing the grin in his voice from the other room "Ravagers dont say thank you"
"Im not a Ravager, for the first time in a long time im me and I like to say thank you"
Gods even to her own ears that sounded like a petulant child but the shear joy of being able to say what she was thinking was unparalled
Taking the clothes she dressed too quickly the leathers sticking to her still damp skin not wanting to co operate
"Kraglin? do you have a knife i could borrow for a moment?"
laughing internaly he had 17 on him right now
"sure why?" handing over the one from his left wrist its hilt carved in Centauruan ruins, Yondu had given him it on their anniversary of course not in recognition of the day just a mere cowinkydink that it coincided
As Echos hand now sporting the wicked blade rose towards her neck kraglin panicked grabbing her arm
"No!"
"its just a knot, see? no need to panic" pulling the matted hair from the back of her head Kraglin sighed in relief still taking the blade from her he worked around the matt saving as much hair as he could
"Are you ok" Ech asked a little concerned by his behaviour
"You arnt exactly acting like we'd expect yah to" sheathing the blade Kraglin turned her to look at him
"Ive got no idea how I should be acting, right now im pretending it was all a bad dream so I can still function I'm sure it'll hit me soon and ill probably become a jibbering wreck who flinches from every touch but for now. . . "
"So you'll deal with it when you absolutely have to and not before?"
"Yeah"
"Ur jus like tha captian" shaking his head and sighing he pinged a comm message to said emotionally constipated Captian