DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, either in its movie or comic incarnation. I own any OC I can invent, though. I am not making a £ out of this. It is just for shits and giggles.
Thanks to diarmour, Priest of Pain, thefreakoutsideyourwindow and Ms. K29fan for their reviews. I am glad you appreciated the smut.
Ms. K29fan, there is not going to be kid-talk at least for a while, as there are a few world-endage issues to solve first, so i wouldn't hold my breath for that at least for a while, and even then, I'm not sure a "babies ever after" scenario is what I want for the ending. The conversation might not end the way you envision it.
Sorry again for the delay in posting, but I was at a conference in Madrid last week and my work laptop went bust, then I had some stuff to sort out, but now I am back in business and back to full health, so I should be a bit more regular in my updates, at least for a while.
Unfortunately, though I have still got quite a stash of written stuff on this fic, I haven't managed to write in a while, and on top of that I am starting a C# programming course that will eat up even more of my time (sigh). This doesn't mean that I will abandon SoW, but it might mean less frequent updates than the average week or so. I'll let you know when we get to that point and what the new schedule it's going to be, but we should be alright for another month or two.
So, now that the PSAs have been dealth with, let's get on with the chapter.
Warnings: angst, grief some language.
This is fairly short, but the next one is going to have more smut...
Enjoy, and please don't shout at me!
Something beeps.
Gamora forces himself to ignore it, but it doesn't seem to want to go away.
"What... what the hell is this?!" Peter mumbles sleepily.
"It's a comm." Ronan replies, sounding fully awake. He is one of those people that can go from fully asleep to wide awake at the drop of a hat, a bit like her.
"I think it is mine." Gamora says, shifting gently against him. She slips out of his hold as she leans towards the bedside table to grab it, but as soon as she has retrieved it, she snuggles back against him to check the message.
In spite of their efforts, this might still be the last night they can spend together in a long, long while, and she doesn't want to miss a moment of it.
Fate seems to have a different opinion on the matter, however.
"Hi, good-sister. We are having breakfast. Fancy some cake?" the message reads. It comes from Vesta's comm.
Gamora sighs, caught between hopeful enthusiasm and dread, with a generous side helping of just wanting to be left in peace for a few hours more.
"It's the girls. - she announces - They are done with the video."
"What time is it?" Ronan asks.
"It's six in the morning. - Gamora replies - Just in time for an early breakfast with some consolatory cake." she adds, setting the phone back on the bedside table.
"And plenty of time for the video to go viral." Peter comments, suddenly awake and alert. He props himself up on an elbow and looks at her expectantly over Ronan's shoulder.
"Hopefully. - Gamora acquiesces - I have to go and check on them." she adds with a small sigh.
"Do you really?" Peter asks, taking hold of her wrist and making puppy eyes at her.
"I wish I didn't, but I do. - Gamora replies - Those kids worked hard for us. The least we can do is to acknowledge them, and help them deal with what they have seen." she explains.
"She is right, Peter. They have gone through a lot, tonight. - Ronan confirms - Do you want us to come with you?" he asks.
Gamora hesitates just a moment before shaking her head.
"The less you know about this, the less you'll have to lie later. And you're not good at it." she retorts, brushing her fingers on his cheek.
"That's true." Ronan comments ruefully.
"Hey, actually, I am great at it! There is no better liar than me in the whole Galactic Cluster!" Peter protests.
"And you are also one of the most flamboyant people I have ever met. - Gamora retorts - This requires discretion, love."
Peter looks like he is going to protest more, but eventually desists. He is not hoing to leave Ronan alone, and they all know that it would be best if Ronan was nowhere near the girls for a while.
"As you wish." he finally acquiesces with a sigh.
Gamora forces a smile on her lips.
"I will be back before you know it." she promises, leaning over to kiss Peter and then Ronan.
She slips out of the bed and pads towards the bathroom. A quick shower to freshen up, some clothes, and she even manages to look reasonably awake and chipper.
When she gets out of the bathroom, dressed and ready to go, the boys seem to be nearly asleep again, curled up into each other's arms in a tight ball of cuteness. Why would anyone want to leave them, even for a minute?
"Rest now, my loves. - she says, pausing by the bed to ruffle Peter's hair and caress Ronan's head - You'll need your strength later." she adds.
They murmur sleepily and reach out to hold her, but she sees it coming and manages to dodge with ease, standing again and backing towards the door. She can't let them drag her back into bed or she'll never get anywhere.
With a sigh she slips out, into the empty corridors of the still-sleeping palace.
The girls have ensconced themselves in a terrace in the gardens. A table with fruit, cheese, bread and cake has been laid out before them and a spare chair is waiting for her.
Gamora takes a seat. Andromake and Vesta seem exhausted, but at the same time fiercely satisfied.
"Where are the others?" Gamora asks.
"They left about half an hour ago. - Andromake replies - It's been a long eighteen hours. They needed to rest." she explains.
"And you? How are you feeling?" Gamora asks.
"Done in for, but as soon as we finish here, we are going to crash until midday." Vesta chimes in, yawning so hard that it looks like her jaw is going to fall off.
"I imagined. - Gamora comments - But I mean, how do you feel about what you've seen? Do you want to talk about it?" she asks.
The two girls share a quick glance.
"Let's just say that we are glad Helenai and Gladiator managed to stop the war before it came to the stuff we saw in there." Andromake replies with a slight shudder.
"The video has already a few tens of thousands of likes. It's spreading fast. - Vesta adds - Let's hope those fascists start feeling the pressure." she adds.
"Tens of thousands of likes?! - Gamora exclaims in astonishment - How long ago have you posted it?" she asks.
Vesta shrugs her thin shoulders. "About an hour ago. Lukan and his team have a vast network of friends. They are helping us spread it." she explains as if for her distributing incriminating evidence to influence a foreign government is a commonplace pastime. She will have a future in intelligence.
"I hope those bastards get lynched by a mob." Andromake growls. She grabs a piece of cake and bites it as if it has personally offended her.
"Sons of a bitch..." she mutters with her mouth half-full.
Gamora lays a hand on her arm. "It was bad." she says without needing to ask.
"It was worse." Andromake replies She looks down at the tablecloth, pretending to be interested in its patterns, but a tear drops, leaving a wet stain on the fabric, and gives her the lie.
Vesta wraps her arms around Andromake's shoulders and gives her a quick hug.
"I'm alright!" Andromake protests, but doesn't try to push her friend away.
"No, we are not. But we will be, in time. - Vesta objects - I don't regret doing this. It needed to be done." she adds.
"Damn sure it did! - Andromake agrees vehemntly, thumping a fist on the table - Your boyfriend and Dey did most of the work, but I am glad I had a hand in exposing those bastards. I feel like I have done something important, something that really matters." she confesses.
"You did. - Gamora reassures her - And we are grateful to you two for all you have done."
"And we are grateful that you have us this chance, that you have trusted us with this. - Vesta retorts - We know how important all of this is to you guys." she adds.
Gamora feels her heart clench a bit at the thought of just how much hinges on the effect of this video, but she puts on a brave face and smiles.
"You are family." she says with a small shrug.
The two girls smile back at her.
"Speaking of this, there is something we want to show you." Vesta declares, pushing a data chip towards her.
"I don't think it would be a good idea for me to watch the video now." Gamora objects, laying a hand on hers and pushing it back.
"Of course not. - Vesta agrees - You need to be as surprised and shocked as anyone else." she explains.
"And trust me, you will be." Andromake adds, nodding gravely.
"Yes, you will. Make and Siobhan have done a great job with that. - Vesta confirms - But this is... well, related, but it isn't in the video. We thought you might want to see it, though." she offers, pushing the chip back towards her.
Gamora hesitates a moment, then takes the chip and pops it in her comm.
There is only one file in it, a picture. She opens it.
From the screen, a family of four, a couple and their two sons, grins at her. They are Kree, with the bright blue skin of high nobility, and dressed formally for some solemnity.
Their pose and expression has nothing solemn, though.
The woman is very pretty. Her dark hair is done in a complicated up-do and her dress is well-tailored, but her smile has nothing artificial. Her blue eyes sparkle with joy. She holds her youngest son in her arms, and the little boy, maybe three or four years old and cute as a button, is frozen forever with laughter on his face.
Her husband stands at her side, tall and strong and handsome, with the same striking blue eyes as his wife, and disturbingly familiar, high, sharp cheekbones. He looks like a warrior and his uniform identifies him as a relatively high-ranking officer. He has wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, pressing them side to side down the length of their bodies, while his other hand, a prosthetic by the looks of it, is ruffling his eldest son's unruly black hair.
The kid can't be older than six or perhaps seven. He is tall for his age, and wears a uniform a bit like that of his father. A kid-sized sword hangs from his left hip, signalling him as a cadet. Standing straight in front of his parents, he is clearly the center of the composition, and he is grinning in pure happiness, as if he had just received the best present ever.
"First day of Academy!" the caption reads.
Even though the picture must be at least twenty-five years old, Gamora cannot fail to recognise the face of the man she loves hidden in that of the child he was.
His features are rounder and softer with youth, but they are the same, and the deep, intense gaze has not changed either.
That smile, the carefree, eager smile of a child that knows no pain and no sadness, and thinks that the future will always be like a big, fantastic adventure, is gone though, erased forever.
For a long time, when she first met him, Gamora had thought that Ronan did not know how to smile. His face was either blank, or frozen in a solemn frown. His lips did curl in a sort of a smile at times when he fought, but it was a cruel, almost painful thing, more the angry baring of teeth of a beast, than the expression of joy of a sentient.
Ronan does smile now, he smiles often, even, and his whole face lights up with it, making him look even more handsome, but there is always some trace of melancholy in his smiles.
Some things heal, but leave permanent scars, she thinks, tracing a finger along the features of the child in the picture. Her eyes fill with tears.
"Where did you find this?" she asks, hating how her voice catches mid-sentence.
"It was in the hard disk. - Vesta replies quietly - Your boyfriend... he kept files for victims, survivors and witnesses. There were statements, pictures, investigation reports, medical records. Everything. This was in one of them, just like that. There were no special markings, as if it was just a piece of the puzzle." she adds, looking sad.
That is so very like him, Gamora thinks. She knows he loved his family, that he still mourns them, in a way, but in the eyes of the law they were no more special or significant than any other victim, so no matter what he felt in private, in his work they were just three victims among many and he just a survivor.
"We thought you would... I mean... - Andromake says, pausing to find the words - I am sure the Nova haven't let him keep anything of his stuff. And, well, I know it might be painful, but I think he should have this. I still have my mum's picture, though she died when I was little. I don't want to remember just that I have lost her. I want to remember her like she used to be." she explains awkwardly, twisting the napkin into a tormented corkscrew.
Gamora hugs her tight, and Vesta jumps in and hugs them both as tight as she can, and they all start crying together.
"Thank you, good-sisters. - Gamora manages to sob - Thank you so very much for everything you've done."
"You are family. - Andromake retorts, sniffling and trying to wipe her eyes with the napkin - Gods, we need to get a grip, otherwise everyone will realise we've been crying!" she adds, forcing cheerfulness.
"It's alright to cry. - Gamora says, trying to wipe her face in turn - It helps sometimes."
"It does." Vesta agrees.
She takes a deep breath, and then another.
"It's like cauterising a wound. It hurts, but it helps it to heal. - she says, with that distant, faraway gaze she gets when her power kindles in her - We are holding the coal to the torn flesh of the Galaxy. There will be pain, but also deliverance." she announces, turning towards Gamora.
The assassin shivers, caught by a dreadful sense of foreboding.
She has not prayed in years, ever since her mother and fathers were killed in front of her eyes, but now in her mind, she calls upon the half-forgotten gods of her people, hoping that they can protect her family from more loss.