This one takes place in between Ragnarok and IW. It's kinda self-indulgent, not gonna lie.
Clankclank clank claaank.
"Did...did we just break something?" Peter asks.
"Damn it! Damn!" Rocket screams from some compartment in the ceiling. Smoke billows out of it. He jumps down, coughing and vigorously rubbing his eyes with his paws. "It's the intake valve!"
"What do we-"
"Land! Land now!"
"Shit! Shit shit shit," Peter mutters. He jumps into the Captain's seat to try and steer them to a safe landing spot without crashing or destroying anything.
They barely have time to buckle up (Groot nearly falling over) before they completely lose engine power and plummet into a field of glorious dirt.
Well, at least it wasn't garbage.
Rocket groans loudly. "Is everyone okay?" Mantis asks.
They all respond with some form of affirmative.
"I am Groot?" Groot asks Rocket.
"Can't fix it without replacing the parts." He looks out the slightly cracked window. "Think we can buy stuff here?"
Gamora peers outside as well. She thinks she recognizes the place. "We're lucky. This planet has some good markets. Good deals if you know where to look."
"Do you?" Mantis asks, eyes wide, fascinated.
"Yeah," she replies. Best not to think about her time with Thanos too much.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Rocket asks, standing up and stretching. Drax does the same.
"We should leave someone behind to guard the ship," Peter points out.
They all freeze and stare at one another. "Well I'm obviously going," she says. Nobody objects.
"Well I'm going with her," Peter says.
Rocket frowns. "Why do you always have to go with her?"
"Uh...she's my girl-"
"Ugh," Rocket scoffs. "Romance." Gamora huffs a little fond laugh.
Drax slowly raises his hand. "I rather think romance is a beautiful concept that signifies the bond between soulmates."
A pause. "See? Drax agrees with me!" Peter exclaims.
Rocket protests. "He never fucking said-"
"Woah! Woah woah woah," Peter says. Mantis covers Groot's ears. "You're who Groot's been learning all those curse words from!"
"I thought that was obvious," Gamora says. Peter can be oblivious at times.
Peter's jaw drops. "Gamora!"
"Kid's gonna learn them sometime!" Rocket points out. "Might as well get it over with now."
"Just for that, you're staying and Drax is coming!"
Rocket looks like he's going to get an aneurysm. "But I'm the one who knows what parts we'll need! Who put you in charge, anyways?"
Gamora sighs and plops herself onto the floor beside her seat. This is going to take a while.
In the end, Gamora, Peter, and Rocket go out to buy the things they need while Drax, Mantis, and Groot stay behind to watch the ship.
They pass multiple streets of vendors, each selling to survive. Peter has to drag Rocket away from a few when he gets that look in his eyes for a battery or something; but she's pretty sure Rocket managed to nick some things off of stalls, anyways. She, on the other hand, carefully keeps her face hard, neutral. Most of the locals shy away from her because Thanos (and his children) have a reputation here. She may not be working for Thanos anymore, but she's still in his shadow, nonetheless.
The reputation is useful here. Not so much in other places.
Peter inches closer to her. "Why don't we buy from that lady?" he asks, pointing at someone in the periphery. Said seller freezes in fear.
She shakes her head minutely, muttering, "Too expensive. Better to go...here." They reach a small alley. On the other side lies an entirely different kind of market.
"Hell yeah," Rocket says, eyes glinting with the light of all the parts.
"Uh...this looks a little sketchy," Peter says, reaching out to poke at what looks to be a thermal regulator before being spooked away by the buff guy manning the table.
Gamora shoots her little assassin smile at the seller, in the way Nebula always said scared the hell out of their targets. The seller backs off minutely. "It's the black market. It's supposed to be sketchy," she says.
Peter drags her away from the table. "Why are we in the black market?" he whispers loudly.
"You complaining?" Rocket asks from his position by another stall. He looks through the products while the vendor stares at him unblinkingly, probably trying to figure out his species.
"It's cheaper," she says. "We don't have much to spare."
Peter looks utterly confused. "But they'll probably con us out of a deal or something. Stuff out there are better quality, less chance of our stuff breaking. Again."
Gamora shakes her head. Evidently, Ravagers are more used to stealing whatever they see. "Cheaper, but high quality. That's how the markets work. They don't want their reputation on the line." Her reputation is on the line, though, with Peter here questioning everything.
"If you say so," Peter says. "I trust you."
Warmth blooms in her chest. "Thanks. Learn to whisper more softly."
He squawks. "I do whisper softly! Soft is, like, the definition of whispering. What do you mean I don't whisper softly?"
She laughs, pushing him away with a hand to his chest. "Forget it."
They continue through the market, sifting through the parts. Rocket does most of the work, but when he goes to barter for something, she comes to stand quietly behind him so that the vendor gulps and gives them the best deal. Being the deadliest assassin in the galaxy (not her words) does have its perks. Peter, on the other hand, manages to annoy some of the people after trying to start some small talk with them. They end up having to drag him out of there before a fight breaks out.
"Do these people not talk or something? I just wanted to talk!" he says.
Rocket and Gamora's eye rolls are simultaneous and equally exasperated.
"Why do we always have to drag your ass out of trouble, Quill?" Rocket asks with a sigh. Their bag of parts clanks against his leg.
"Okay, no," Peter says with a finger pointed at him. "Who stole those batteries from the Sovereign again?"
"I did, and I'm proud of it."
Peter has nothing to counter that.
They're maybe halfway to the ship when she sees him.
(She supposes it fits, that the first time the two of them meet in years is by utter coincidence.)
She doesn't freeze, but she does slow down. Peter and Rocket don't notice, too wrapped up in their bickering.
Loki looks the same. Older, perhaps; hair a bit less wild. But the same, in his stature, the way he holds himself, in his slicked back hair and green eyes and nimble fingers. He's wearing blue leathers, for once, which is a weird change from his apparent obsession with the color green, though she supposes that time changes everyone. By his side are two people: a woman, with an impressive sword and equally impressive armor, and a man, slightly short in stature, eyes wide and taking in everything in sight.
She (discreetly) watches as Loki barters for some fuel for their ship. His eloquence is still very much there, and he is very good at negotiation, but he would probably be better suited in the back markets where they had just come from. He may be smart, but he was a prince, and doesn't know a lot of things about the locals like she does.
The woman elbows the man and tells him to please stop gaping at everything for one second. Loki's lips twitch as if he's trying not to smile, but his attention stays focused on the task at hand.
Gamora abruptly realizes that she's in plain sight, and moves to catch up with Peter and Rocket. She mulls over the scene in her mind. Loki seems lighter, happier; he seems so different and it hurts her to acknowledge that they hadn't known one another for that long, that she maybe hadn't known him much at all.
"You good?" Peter asks, hand at her elbow.
She lets out a sigh. "Yeah, just...thinking."
Peter furrows his eyebrows in concern, but before he can say anything, Rocket exclaims, "Shoot! Dropped something."
They both turn to him. "What'd you drop?" Peter asks.
He growls. "Something small, a bolt."
"We have a lot of spare bolts, y'know."
"Well this bolt was special! Help me find it!" Rocket starts searching the ground, retracing their steps, and after a second or two, Peter joins in, all the while complaining about it.
Gamora doesn't know why this particular bolt has Rocket's attention, but she's certainly not going to help. (It would ruin her reputation here as Thanos's ruthless daughter. At least, that's her excuse if Rocket asks.) She watches them for a few seconds before turning her gaze back to her brother.
Her brother.
She hasn't called him that in a long time.
They have their fuel now, probably wasting a whole 50 more credits more than if they'd bought it in the black market. He and the woman are explaining how currency works around here to the man, who is listening with rapt attention because he apparently doesn't know. With a wave of his hand and a flash of green, Loki shoves the fuel (and some other stolen knickknacks, probably) into his dimensional pocket. The vendor's eyes widen, and she has to stifle a laugh. Loki's magic has always been more showy than necessary.
"Have you found it yet?" Rocket asks, irritated.
"Nope! What is it supposed to look like?" Peter replies.
"What do you think?! It's supposed to look like a bolt, you dolt!"
"Ooh! Nice rhyme."
It hits her, then, that Loki is always aware of his surroundings, just like she is. He's better at it, though, with his magic, so he...he must have spotted her first.
She freezes. His eyes are determinedly trained on his friends and not on her, which means he has almost certainly spotted her already. He probably heard the locals whispering about Thanos's daughter in a panic, or maybe detected her magical signature (she never really understood that) the moment she'd stepped onto this backwater planet. Or, at least, he could have detected the magical signature of the dagger hanging on her belt, the dagger that he had gifted her.
He's ignoring her.
No, not quite.
He's giving her a choice.
"Is this it?" Peter asks, holding up something. She doesn't look, because her vision has tunneled so that it is only her and her lost brother.
"No, you idiot! That's a nut!"
"What's the difference?!"
She might be reading too much into this, and maybe he hasn't actually spotted her and she's just assuming, but maybe...maybe he's giving her a choice.
He knows he left her. He knows he left Nebula. He knows he left them and that his little gifts - Nebula's necklace and her dagger - could never make up for it. He knows that Gamora might not want to speak to him right now (she knows Nebula probably didn't, if you had asked her a few years back). He knows a lot about vulnerability under armor, about bonds formed under pressure, about Thanos.
He knows, and so he's giving her a choice.
She could walk away right now, forget she had ever seen him. She could walk away and continue ignoring his existence until the end of time. She could walk away with her new family and Loki would just swallow and bear it because he seems to have a new one of his own, too.
She could walk away right now.
But she can't.
Nebula may drown in her anger, but Gamora needs closure.
"What about this?" Peter asks.
"Quill," Rocket says, "if you have to ask, it's probably not it. Gamora, help!"
Gamora stops her staring contest with Loki's back to stare at the two of them, unimpressed. "How do you know someone hasn't picked it up by now?"
They pause. "Oh," Peter says.
Rocket frowns determinedly. "Then we'll just have to pick everyone's pockets until we-"
"No!" Peter says, trying to steer him away from the closest person. "It's just a bolt! You don't need it!"
"Yes, I do! I am emotionally attached to it! You wouldn't dare threaten my emotional stability just for a bolt, would you?"
Gamora sighs in order to distract herself from...everything. "Rocket, you've never been emotionally stable. I don't think any one bolt will change that."
"Well I'll just get two!"
Peter stares at him for a few seconds before turning his gaze to her. He shrugs. "Well, his reasoning's pretty sound. It probably wouldn't hurt to get a few extra bolts."
"That's the spirit!"
"Not when you're proclaiming your plan to the entire market," Gamora mutters. The two of them look around, and sure enough, they've become the center of attention. Everyone's watching the 'drama' with wide eyes, all the while protecting their goods.
It's safe to say her reputation as a deadly assassin has gone down the drain.
(To be fair, it had already gone down the drain once she'd started hanging out with these idiots, but the news hadn't exactly spread to all the planets yet.)
"Let's go," she mutters fiercely, grabbing the two of them by their collars and dragging them in the vague direction of their ship. She'd have to go talk with Loki later, or maybe never (she needs closure, but she's scared to confront it).
Of course, the crowd blocks them, and a few of the mercenaries she'd seen lurking in the shadows have stepped forward into the light and towards them.
Without a sound reputation, people tend to remember that there's still quite a huge bounty out for them.
Peter takes out his blasters, and Rocket starts to casually load his absurdly huge gun. It'd be a shame to blow this place up, but if that's what it takes...
All of a sudden, a cloud of green envelops them, only to unceremoniously drop them off by their ship.
"What the hell?" Rocket says, wide eyes examining their ship to see if it's real, since last she'd checked, they hadn't been anywhere near it. Peter simply stumbles around for a bit before falling over, dazed. Gamora doesn't move to catch him, because she knows that magic and she knows that color and-
And she knows that face.
"I believe this is the measly object you had been looking for," Loki says from his spot a few feet away from them. He snaps his fingers, and sure enough, a bolt falls into her hands.
It looks like a normal bolt.
"Thanks, I guess," Rocket says, snatching the cursed object from her hands and shoving it into one of his many pockets. "Who the hell are you?"
"You don't need to know," the lady standing next to Loki says. Then she turns to him and hisses, "Why are we helping them? Do you know who that is?!" She's pointing at Gamora with her sword; Gamora has to admit she's slightly offended.
Loki rolls his eyes, and it's so familiar it hurts. "In fact, I do know. I'm not an idiot."
"Hard to know with you, sometimes."
Under the bickering is companionship, familiarity. They send barbs at one another as a game, one Loki has evidently mastered over the years. It seems that Loki has moved on from Thanos very decidedly.
Gamora - doesn't really know what to say; so in lieu of greeting him, she turns to the man next to them, whose face holds a tint of green. "Are you okay?" she asks.
Another face seems to jump out of his, and he growls out, "FINE!" Gamora jumps back a few feet to lay a hand on Peter's shoulder. His eyes are wide. That hadn't been what they were expecting.
By now, Drax, Mantis, and Groot have joined them at the opening of the ship. They seem equally as surprised.
"Well shit," the woman curses, putting her hands on the man's shoulders and steering him away from them. "Come on, Bruce, let's just...calm down, or whatever. Deep breaths? The hell am I supposed to be doing?" She turns back to Loki only to mouth, 'This is your fault!' before turning back to their green friend and leading him farther away. Loki has the decency to wince.
They stand there, the seconds stretching out between them.
"Look, I dunno who you are," Peter says, standing up now that he's mostly recovered, "but I doubt you did this out of the goodness of your heart."
Loki brings a hand up to his chest. "I'm wounded. What makes you think my intentions aren't entirely altruistic?"
"You wear Sakaaran leather. And you talk weirdly," Rocket says.
Loki looks down at his clothes. "That's fair," he says.
He's still ignoring their connection, and she realizes it's still her decision whether they acknowledge it or not.
Thanos hadn't taken Loki as a kid as he had Gamora and Nebula. Loki can sweep the whole ordeal under the carpet and keep it compartmentalized, has already. On the other hand, she and Nebula had been on Sanctuary for years. It's deeply ingrained in them, and she. Can't. Move. On.
(If she truly embraces her new family, then what happens to her old one?)
She isn't Peter or Drax; her family isn't completely evil or dead.
Her family's just complicated.
"So why did you help us?" Rocket is asking. They all know not to trust someone too easily.
"The lot of you were surrounded simply because you talked too loudly. It was utterly pathetic. I took pity on you," Loki says, curt.
Peter gasps. "Now I'm utterly wounded!" he says, trying to copy Loki's accent. Loki wrinkles his nose in disdain. "We would've been able to fight our way out!"
"I agree," Drax says, just because he can. He has that much confidence in their abilities.
"I...agree too," Mantis says, raising her hand. In response, Loki raises his eyebrows.
A part of her old family is judging a part of her new family, and it's so weird and it's too much but it's so-
"Loki," she says. Just one word, just his name.
"Gamora," he greets with an acknowledging tilt of his head.
"You guys...know each other?" Peter asks, pointing at the two of them.
"Yeah," she says softly, a bit fondly.
Loki purses his lips. "Consider saving you all a favor returned."
"A favor?" Gamora says blankly.
"An apology," Loki concedes. He means it.
But it makes her so angry that he can just swoop in and save them and call it even just like that (like a snap of fingers). What is he even apologizing for?! What does he think he can do that will make everything better after years of being apart, after everything they went through with Thanos?! What - who does he think he is?!
The anger sweeps her off of her feet, and before she knows it she has the nearest weapon - a dagger - in her hand to throw at his face. He stops it with his magic.
"Woah!" Peter cries out, and soon enough Rocket has his gun out again and Drax his two knives. Her family, always ready to protect her.
But Loki's her family, too. "How impolite," he says, taking hold of the floating dagger and examining it in his hands, "attacking me with my own weapon."
"You gave it to me," Gamora says, voice steady despite everything. "It's technically mine now."
"Ah...but I crafted it. Would it not be incorrect to call it mine?" he asks, even as he throws it back at her. She catches it easily.
"I am Groot?" Groot asks timidly from where he's hiding behind Drax.
"No," Gamora breathes out. "No, he's not an enemy."
"I'm getting mixed feelings here," Peter says, eyeing Loki suspiciously.
"Gamora attacked me first," Loki tells him with a shrug.
She scoffs, raising her eyebrows. "You deserved it. Do you know how - how mad Nebula was after you left?" She decides not to say anything about herself, figures it must be implied.
The mention of their sister has him caught off guard. "How is Nebula?"
"Okay, last I checked," she says. "Definitely less angry than before. Though if she were here she'd have beat you up."
He laughs. "You think so lowly of me, Sister?"
"I think you'd let her." They stare one another down.
"Awkward," Rocket intones. "I'm gonna go fix stuff in the ship now. Come on, kid," he says to Groot, starting to walk into the Benatar.
Groot follows him in, before turning around and saying, "I am Groot." Your magic's cool.
Loki blinks. "Thank you."
Everyone freezes. "You understand Groot?" Drax asks incredulously.
Loki lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Erm...yes. I had to help my brother study it for a class."
Rocket shrugs before walking fully inside the ship with Groot.
And Gamora, well, Gamora notes his use of the word 'brother'. Like they're true, like they've reconciled.
Loki's not denying his existence anymore, their relation. He has his new family now, with his old brother and the lady with the sword and the man in green and probably more.
And if he can do all that, then maybe - maybe she can do the same.
It's not the same, because he had a family before he met Thanos.
But then again, they were never exactly the same.
She runs up to him and engulfs him in a hug. "Norns, Gamora. Has time made you sentimental?" Loki murmurs, but wraps his arms around her nonetheless.
They stand there for a few seconds. Loki presses a kiss into her hair and it burns her heart.
But then Peter clears his throat, and they hastily break apart. "Is he, like, your ex or something?" he asks.
Gamora's eyes widen in horror. "Norns, no!" Loki exclaims, stepping away from her as if to emphasize the fact.
"Okay, good; that's good," Peter says. "'Cause she's kinda...involved right now?"
Loki stares at him for a few seconds before it clicks. "You're - you-" He laughs breathlessly. "You're a pathetic, idiotic Terran and you-" He continues to laugh uncontrollably.
"I- I'm not pathetic!" Peter says, clearly offended. "What do you have against Terrans?"
From his position behind Peter, Drax begins to laugh as well. "He called you pathetic and idiotic!" he says.
Mantis touches his shoulder with a hand, and nearly begins to cry with mirth. "Ha! You - this is the funniest thing I have ever heard!"
Peter is still offended; he has that poutily distressed look on his face that Gamora can't resist. "To be fair," she says, "Mantis thinks every new funny thing is the funniest ever." Her lips twitch.
"Have you lost your wits?" Loki asks her. Gamora decides to punch him in the arm because she has to defend her boyfriend somehow. "Ow."
"He's cute," Gamora says. And a goofball, but understanding and kind and a hero, and he taught her to dance, so...
"Yeah, you heard her," Peter says, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm cute."
Of course, that just causes Loki to laugh again. Nebula had had a similar reaction when she had first found out; after the mirth, she'd made it her life's mission to intimidate Peter into leaving.
It hasn't worked.
"What's with the blue, anyways?" she asks, swiftly changing the topic.
"Oh. This?" Loki looks down at his clothing, then looks back up and shrugs. "A change of pace."
"Y'all done?" his lady friend with the cool armor asks, walking back over to them. By her side, the man seems nervous but is decidedly not green.
"Yes," Loki says after a second. Gamora nods, too. It's best for them to part ways before they get too attached (at least, more attached than they already are).
"By the way, what species are you?" Mantis asks the man - Bruce? "I have seen much after leaving Ego, but I don't believe I have seen your kind before."
The man is clearly uncomfortable with the attention, twisting his hands together. "Uh...I'm - I'm from Midgard, I think?" He looks at his companions for confirmation.
"Terra," Loki corrects him. They blink.
"Do you not know Earth?" the man asks. "I mean, I know it's not the most technically advanced planet, but-"
"You're not from Earth," Gamora says. "You can't be. Peter's from Earth." She gestures at Peter, who nods fervently at her side.
"It's...a long story, but I am most definitely from Earth."
"I didn't know you could turn green, Peter," Mantis says, almost fascinated.
"I can't turn green!" Peter protests.
"Yeah. That's just a me thing," Bruce says.
"Oh," says Mantis, slightly disappointed.
"Alright, we need to get back to the ship," the woman reminds them all.
"I agree with Val," Bruce says.
"Come on. I just met my first Terran in years! Can't we chat for a bit? Is Footloose still the most amazing movie to ever exist?" Peter asks.
"No."
The answer doesn't compute in his brain. "Wait, wait. Hang on."
"Let's...step away from these idiots," Val says slowly, "and go back to the ship, where they're waiting for us to bring the fuel."
Gamora frowns. "We're not-"
"Also, if we don't come back soon, Thor's gonna panic and come out to find us."
"But Heimdall can tell him not to," Loki says, as if it's obvious.
"All rational decision making leaves his head when it comes to you," she says. Loki grimaces in response.
"I would prefer for you not to teleport me without asking first," Bruce tells him, "or I'll Hulk out again."
"My apologies." Loki gives him a dramatic bow. "May I teleport us back to the pod now, so we can go back to the ship?"
Bruce stares at him. "Yes. I'd appreciate it," he says dryly.
And then they disappear in a cloud of green, but not before Loki shoots her a wistful smile.
Gamora suddenly feels very, very alone.
Later, when they're in the air again, Gamora lets herself into Peter's room.
He's sitting on the bed, facing the door. Like he'd expected her.
"Loki. Who is he, to you?" he asks without preamble.
Gamora sighs, leaning against the wall by the door. "My brother."
"I'm guessing not biologically," he says.
She chuckles. "No, no. He's - he's like Nebula."
Peter's brows furrow. "So Thanos..."
Her voice is soft when she answers. "Yeah. His situation's a bit different, but...yeah."
"No wonder he's such an asshole!" Peter says, miffed. "Insulting Terra like that."
Gamora laughs, moving to join him on the bed. "Sorry to break it to you, but Terra's kind of a joke to the rest of the galaxy."
They wrap their arms around one another, holding on and ignoring the rest of the world. "So this is what you've been worrying about," he says after a few minutes.
"Yeah," she says back.
"You're trying to choose between them and us."
"Yeah." She doesn't really know how to explain it, but Peter seems to understand anyways.
He sits up suddenly. "Then don't choose."
"What?" she asks, sitting up as well.
"Don't. Choose," he repeats, looking her in the eye with such earnestness.
"But...but how can I not? I spend more time with you guys, so...so it's logical that I'll love you guys more." The guilt pools in her stomach.
"Look, Gamora," he says, cupping her face with his hands. "From what I can see, your other family's not pure evil...or dead - sorry Drax." He winces. "Your family's good, or getting there, so you don't have to choose. It's that simple."
"But Loki-"
"You think he chose?" Peter asks, raising his eyebrows, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "Why'd he decide to save us today, then? Huh?"
She doesn't have an answer.
"He might have another family now, but that doesn't erase yours. Don't feel guilty because of us."
"...I don't have to choose," she whispers. The realization is slow. "I can have both."
"Yup," he says. "Come on." He pulls her up off the bed and turns on his music player. The sounds fill the room.
"Let's dance," he tells her, twirling her around a little. She laughs, and they continue messing around for the next song, and the next.
Soon enough, her hands are laying on his chest, and his are wrapped around her waist. "Love isn't logical," he says. "More time spent doesn't always mean more love. The heart doesn't work that way; it does what it wants."
"But-"
"Nope," he says, bringing a hand up to block her mouth. He drops it once her glare registers. "You can love two different families, each with 100% of your heart."
"The math isn't sound."
"It doesn't have to be," he says, laughing a little. "Don't think, just feel."
"But-"
"Don't think, just feel," he repeats, swaying them along with the beat of the music. "It's not supposed to make sense," he whispers in her ear after a moment, as if it is a dirty secret. "You just have to feel it, how your heart almost bursts with all the love."
And with her eyes closed, her arms wrapped around him, swaying to cheesy Terran music, she thinks...
No.
She feels that things will be alright.
Cue Infinity War, where things are Most Definitely Not Alright.
So that definitely went in a different direction than I thought it would. In my notes outline, I had planned for a whole fight and everything. But then when I got to that point, it just didn't...flow. My brain was like, 'Nope. Do it this way.' And that's how I got to here.
So the next (and last) installment to this series will be the much anticipated (I hope) Infinity War AU!
It won't come until, like, August, maybe (in the Avengers category)? I've planned out 14 chapters, but as you can see, things don't always go to plan once I actually start writing. Also, my stint with Whumptober has taught me to write all the chapters first, and then edit when I need to post.
So I'll keep you waiting for the first chapter, but not in between chapters if I happen to lose inspiration. You'll thank me later.
Hope to see you there!