(Goodness, has it really almost been a year since I updated? My bad! Covid really made keeping track of time difficult. Am I the only one who felt that way?

By the way, if you've been enjoying the song selections, have I mentioned that you can listen to the whole playlist as it's being made on Spotify? Look up 'Come A Little Bit Closer' and click on the playlist with a blue rose against a galaxy background. The description with tell you that it's the playlist that goes with this fanfic.)

[Song for Chapter 15]

~ 'Paradise City' by Guns N' Roses (I say listen to this when the Lydia and the others have landed on the planet and are splitting up.)

~ 'Barracuda' by Heart (the chase scene)

~ 'Anything, Anything' by Dramarama (the arcade scene)

~ 'You're My Best Friend' by Queen (Peter, Lydia, Halvi, Kraglin, Colvin, and Yarov scenes; yep, we're going cheesy montage with this one, folks :)

Chapter Fifteen

Take Me Down to the Paradise City

Terran Date: August 14th, 1989

You ever tried to convince a man to do something? Depending on the kind of man he is, it could be an easy or difficult task. But have you ever tried to convince a stubborn man to do something? Not only that, but a stubborn man who, before you're able to finish your request, is already saying –

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause it's stupid."

I rolled my eyes. "Should've known you'd be against celebrating a birthday."

"Birthdays are like any other day, yer just a year older. Big whoop."

"It's Peter's ninth birthday today, Yondu, and glom it, he's getting something special."

"Woman, I done told you, I ain't stoppin' at some planet just to go present shoppin'."

"Tell the men it's a supply run."

"We just made a supply run when we replaced the AC system ten day-cycles ago. It ain't happenin'!"

"Cap'n?" Kraglin called on Yondu's comm-link.

Yondu pressed a finger to his ear. "What is it, Kraglin?"

"We just got hailed from the Vyn Clan."

"On my way."

I followed Yondu to the bridge despite his grumblings about me doing so and insisting he wasn't going to change his mind about my request. But you want to know what's even harder than convincing a stubborn man to do something? Deterring an equally stubborn woman once she's set her mind on it.

"Sulfric Vyn!" Yondu greeted with a broad grin when the other Ravager's face appeared on the large holographic screen. He was a humanoid with eyes such a light shade of blue that they almost appeared to glow. "What can I do for ya?"

Vyn ran a hand through his thick white hair and sighed. "Got a proposition for ya. See, my ship sustained some damage from an asteroid field, and I've got to get it fixed up."

"You stranded?"

"No, no," Vyn assured. "We're already halfway to a repair dock, but this has put me in a bit of a bind. My crew and I were given a bounty job with a deadline. Unfortunately, the target's not one to stay in one place for too long and I've spent most of my allotted time chasing after the guy. I've got a bead on his current location, but I'm worried that by the time the ship's fixed he'll have moved on again. If I miss the deadline, the bounty gets offered to someone else. It's a pretty hefty amount and I'm not too keen on missing out on it, so I'd be willing to split the pay with you if you could go after him for me."

"Why me?"

"I did a signal scan for any Ravager ships within the vicinity and you're closest."

Yondu grinned. "Pays to be in the right place at the right time."

"That it does," Vyn conceded, also smiling. "So, what do you say?"

"Send me the coordinates for the target and anything else I'll need to prove to the bounty poster that I can claim the reward in your stead."

Vyn sighed with relief and began to tap on his info disk. "I owe you one."

"We'll talk about that when we discuss how to split the bounty." Yondu's info disk alerted him the information had been received.

"Good luck, Yondu. And be fast. The Collector's deadline ends in forty-two hours."

My jaw dropped. The Collector!? I caught the tightening of Yondu's jaw. Once the call from Vyn ended, the frown finally appeared. "Sooo," I began, "does the Collector know it was you who stole his drill ship?"

"We didn't leave a greetin' card if that's what ya mean. But he coulda figured it out by now. No tellin'."

My shoulders slumped. "Greeeat."

Yondu pulled up the information Vyn had sent him and let out a grunt. "This guy musta had a death wish."

Kraglin stepped forward and peered over his shoulder. "Wha'd he do?"

"Stole a one-of-a-kind sculpture apparently."

"Lydia, Lydia, Lydia!" Peter called excitedly as he rushed in.

"Boy, how many times I gotta tell you not to run in the bridge," Yondu hollered, but it fell on deaf ears as the kid made straight for me.

"What's up?" I asked, smiling.

"Vorker gave me a birthday present!"

"Oh really?" I said pointedly, side eyeing Yondu. He rolled his eyes. "What have you got?"

Peter brought it out from behind his back. "A knife!"

"NO!" Yondu, Kraglin, and I screeched, all lunging for the kid at the same time.


Yondu was all for letting the boy have a strong stun-blaster in order to defend himself, but a knife wasn't exactly something that had settings you could adjust. The boy was full-on pouting at having his knife taken away from him, which only strengthened Lydia's resolve to get Quill a proper present.

"You're going planet-side anyway, so why not?"

"You're forgetting that you're part of the ground team, so you'll be part of the bounty hunt, Brosh, which means you ain't got time to go present shopping with him."

"Glom it," she muttered under her breath. Green eyes scanned the floor as if searching for a solution. "What if…" She gritted her teeth, obviously reluctant to voice the suggestion aloud, but still determined to give Peter a chance to celebrate his birthday. "What if Colvin and Yarov went planet-side with him?"

Yondu blinked in surprise but thought over it. Yarov had shown a fair amount of patience when it came to Quill, and Colvin had offered to look after the kid without being asked on more than one occasion. So, the chances of them murdering the boy from sheer annoyance was fairly low. "Well…Who's gonna front the money for buyin' Quill a gift?"

"I will, you blue tight-wad," Lydia answered peevishly.

He scratched his jaw, considered it a little more, then shrugged. "Ask them first before you go promisin' Quill anything."

"Thank you!" Lydia burst and took off.

Yondu couldn't help the slight upward quirk of his lips as he watched her go. The girl could be down-right cute when it came to making the boy happy. Just as annoying too when she set that stubborn mind of hers on something.

Shaking his head, he turned to go. He just couldn't understand the importance of birthdays, but apparently it was considered something worth celebrating if you lived another year. During those twenty years of slavery, Yondu used the date the Kree had logged his arrival on their planet as his way to mark the passage of time. Every year that passed was another year he'd survived and nothing more.

Must be nice to have a day to celebrate being alive, I guess.


After getting a 'sure' from Colvin and a 'do I have to?' from Yarov, I decided to forgo hailing Peter via the comms in favor of telling him in person so I could see the excited look on his face. His door was already open. I lifted my hand to knock and froze. The kid was crouched next to his bed, holding his mother's unopened present. The brightly colored, festive wrapping was such a contrast to the sadness in his eyes.

After observing him gazing at the present for almost a minute with no indication he was about to open it, I quietly back away from his door until I was a few feet down the hall. "Hey, Peter!" I called, cheerfully. I heard him shuffling around as I approached his room.

He stuck his head out the door. "Sup?" he asked. I noticed the corner of his bedsheets were rumpled from where he'd stashed the present under the mattress.

"You're going planet-side for some birthday shopping, kid."

Peter's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yep."

"Sweet!" Whirling from the door, Peter grabbed his jacket and backpack along with his Walkman. "Ready!"

"C'mon," I said, throwing an arm around his small shoulders. "Let's get to the hanger before Yondu changes his mind."


"I can't thank you enough for doing this, guys," I said as I readjusted my grip on the leather handle that dangled from the ceiling of Yondu's M-ship. We had just entered the planet's atmosphere and were preparing to land. Peter fidgeted excitedly in his seat in between Colvin's stocky body and Yarov's leaner frame.

"It's no trouble," Colvin assured me.

Yarov scoffed. "Right now it isn't." At the petulant frown aimed his way from Peter, the Ravager rolled his black-lined eyes and tousled the boy's hair as if to say, "No hard feelings." I did my best to hide a smile. Yarov played tough but he seemed to have a soft spot for kids.

The last time he and I were planet-side together, I'd seen him swipe a piece of fruit from a vendor and subtly toss it to a hungry little girl. He didn't turn around to look at her or anything, just kept walking. But I saw the grateful smile on the girl's face.

As my time with the Ravagers lengthened, I was catching glimpses of something a bit softer beneath the harsh exteriors that most of the crew put on display. That's not to say I believed every man on the ship had a gentle side. But those I witnessed with one, I took special note of to study more closely for Peter's benefit. The boy needed some sort of positive male figures in his life and I wanted to know who to steer Peter clear of and who I could give a bit of trust to. I couldn't watch the kid every hour of the day and it was nice to know that there were some crewmen who didn't mind him.

"Ever had any sylog candy?" Yarov casually asked Peter.

"What's sylog candy?"

Yarov's eyes widened, the eyeliner surrounding them giving it an almost comical effect. "Only the best candy ever! Okay, Colvin, first stop is the nearest candy store." As if he realized how eager he sounded, he added, "My stash is low."

"Those who were lucky enough to get a seat; brace yerself for landing!" Yondu hollered.

I gripped the handle with both hands and widened my stance. The landing jostled me slightly, but I was still standing when it came to a stop. Yarov, Colvin and Peter were the first to disembark. Peter looked back and waved at me before they vanished in the crowd.

"Alright," Yondu began, gaining everyone's attention, "we're on the hunt for a fella by the name of Jessimee Kloup. He's wanted by the Collector for theft of a statue. Vyn's tracked him to a hotel nearby. This particular city's known for black market trade and it's very likely Kloup intends on selling it here. He probably already has, but it's not our job to retrieve it. Our job is to bring Kloup back to the Collector alive for a pretty sum of money. Split up into pairs and radio me when you find him."

"Not to be such a newbie, captain," I interrupted, "but what do we do when we find him? How do we keep him in place?"

"Set your weapons to stun and amp it up to three." He eyed my spear and sighed. "Brosh, just use the gun. Less conspicuous."

Less conspicuous than a gun?

"I'd rather use my spear until I'm better with the gun. But if it's subtlety you want, no problem." I twisted the middle and my spear collapsed into a smaller version of itself, about as long as my forearm.

"What good's a mini-spear?" Horuz snorted.

I maintained eye-contact with him as the spear's staff shrank in length and the blade extended until it became a vicious looking sword. I strapped it to my holster and lifted my eyebrows at Horuz. The man frowned and but didn't criticize my gadget again. Yondu grunted, still not convinced, but said nothing as well. I took their silence for the begrudging admiration that it was because judging from the awed expressions on the other men's faces, some of them were barely holding back asking me to make them one.

Halvi and I were paired up and instructed to scout the areas near-by the hotel in case Kloup wasn't inside the building. Other members of the crew were assigned different floors of the hotel. Kraglin and Yondu were discreetly questioning the hotel staff about Kloup's possible whereabouts. All the crew searching inside the hotel had just reported via com-link to Yondu that Kloup was nowhere to be found when I spotted him exiting a bar.

He wore clothing in various shades of orange, but brightly colored clothes seemed to be the norm in this city so it's not like he stood out. His brown hair was messy and stuck up in several places, but I doubted it was purposely styled that way. Looked like Peter's hair when he woke up in the morning.

Someone from inside the bar hurried out and grabbed Kloup by the arm and started to have a heated conversation with him. Kloup seemed to be trying to placate the man, giving him a nervous smile.

"I've got eyes on Kloup."

Halvi, standing at a food cart several feet away, looked up at my words. Yondu was quick to reply. "Where you at?"

"Not far from the hotel's front entrance." I angled my body so that I was not outright facing Kloup but could still see him from the corner of my eye. "He's in front of the bar, having a talk with someone. Looks tense."

"Halvi? You see him too?" Yondu asked.

"Not yet. Changing my position as we speak." He casually moved on from the food cart to a vendor's booth selling jewelry. "Target sighted."

"Hold your positions until we can get him surrounded. Do not advance." Yondu proceeded to instruct the team on where to go so that we'd be able to block off Kloup's exits if he were to take off. Everything was fine until Kloup suddenly broke off his conversation and quickly looked around.

"Something's up," I alerted the crew. "Kloup looks nervous."

"Of the man he's arguing with?" Yondu asked.

"No. He's not paying him any attention. He's looking around."

"Boys, pick up the pace with your advancement. Halvi, Brosh; stay where you are."

And then I found out why Kloup was always able to avoid Vyn and his crew. Kloup lifted his nose and sniffed the air, then his mouth opened and a long, forked tongue darted out. "Oh sprek," I muttered.

"What is it?" Yondu asked.

"He's a scarrin' lorgan!" I hissed.

Suddenly Kloup's head snapped towards me and we made eye-contact. I distantly could hear Yondu swearing through my comm-link as everything seemed to move in slow motion. Lorgans had a fantastic sense of smell. So fantastic that they could actually sense when a person was lying or stressed based off the smell of their sweat, pheromones, body odor, etc. With the team steadily drawing closer to him, all our bodies, plus the tension we were experiencing combined, had begun to send off a signal to him until he'd taken notice.

Kloup broke into a run. I jammed a finger against my comm. "He's bolting!"

"Stay on him, Brosh!" Yondu barked. It took me a moment to realize that I already was. I'd gone after him the moment Kloup raised his foot.

I heard Halvi following close behind as we ducked and weaved through the crowds after Kloup. The lorgan was determined to lose us though, going so far as to grab people from the sidelines and throw them in our paths. I leapt over the head of one unfortunate male and hollered an apology over my shoulder to him.

"Where's he headin', Brosh?" Yondu demanded.

"Looks like the food market."

"I need teams to start convergin' at the main exit and side alleys!"

I was getting no where trying to chase after Kloup on foot in a crowded street. My eyes darted about and found just what I needed. A low stone wall to an herb garden provided just the right height for a jump onto the roof. I swerved from the street and scaled the wall, leaping as high as I could and grabbing hold of the roof to pull myself up. Those aerial silk routines I'd been practicing had really built up my upper body strength and I managed to get on the roof in a matter of seconds.

After that, it was just a matter of jumping from one roof to the next. And what was better? Kloup hadn't seen me change tactics. He thought he'd lost me and only had Halvi chasing after him now.

"Brilliant, Lydia!" Haliv laughed.

"What's she doin'?"

"She's tailing him from the roofs. She can tell us where he's going now."


"Jackpot," Yarov chuckled to himself as the candy shop worker handed over a large bag of sylog candy. "That should last me for a while."

"Do you have any Earth candy?" Peter pipped up. He had to stand up on tiptoe just to be able to see over the counter.

Yarov offered the confused worker a smile. "He means Terran."

The worker pointed. "Far right wall display," he answered in a bored tone.

Yarov followed Peter to the display and Colvin shook his head at the variety of sweets. "That's a dentist's worst nightmare, right there."

"And a kid's dream come true," Peter added reverently, his eyes almost seeming to reflect the multiple colors of all the candies.

"Alright, kid," Yarov said, nudging him forward. "Pick one."

"Just one?"

Yarov shrugged. "Just don't go crazy."

"Cool!" Peter darted forward and grabbed a couple of small bags that appeared to be his favorites, then began to carefully consider the other options. "Did you know that Lydia's part Terran?" he asked suddenly.

Yarov and Colvin exchanged a glance, wondering what had prompted the question. "Uh, I think I heard something about it before. Why?"

"She's never been to Terra before. So, she's never had any of the candy and I'm trying to decide what the best kind for her to try would be."

Colvin's lips quirked up in the briefest of smiles. Yarov rolled his eyes. "Can't help you with that, kid. I've never had any myself."

Peter cast a glance over his shoulder at Yarov that clearly told him the boy thought he was crazy. "And why not?"

"Everybody knows sylog candy is the best."

"But if you've never tried Terran candy, then you can't know that for sure."

Yarov opened his mouth to argue but stopped and blinked. Colvin coughed and scratched at his nose to hide a grin. Yarov nodded absently to himself as his eyes scanned the display then went to the bags in Peter's hand. "What's that?"

"Pop Rocks."

"Pop what?"

"Pop Rocks."

"…Terrans are so weird," Yarov mumbled under his breath as he grabbed a bag for himself and stomped over to the register to pay. Colvin waited for Peter to finish making his choices and accompanied him to the front with Yarov.

"What did you choose for Lydia?" Colvin asked out of curiosity.

"Butterscotch –,"

Suddenly the glass doors to the shop shattered into millions of little pieces as a humanoid-looking man clad in all shades of orange crashed through and knocked over several free-standing displays. Just as he was getting to his feet, Lydia came flying in after him, using her spear to propel her a few feet into the air and land a kick to the man's chest which sent him crashing into more displays.

"Cool!" Peter shouted excitedly.

Lydia got to her feet and dealt a punch straight at the man's nose the moment he was up. He cried out in pain, hands going to his face as he blindly backed away.

"Lydia!" Halvi's voice boomed from outside of the building.

"Here!"

Halvi popped his head in, took note of the busted glass, then ducked his tall frame through the ruined door. "Hey, Halvi," Peter greeted casually with a small wave. Halvi dipped his head in a short greeting then hurried over to help Lydia.

"My boss isn't going to be happy," the worker moaned, hunkering down behind the counter.

"This is awesome," Peter giggled, already tearing open a bag of Skittles and shoving some into his mouth as he watched Lydia and Halvi beat up the orange-wearing man. "Kick his butt, Lydia!"

She stiffened and whirled around. "Peter?!"

"Hi."

"Yarov, get him out of here – oof!" The man in orange managed to land a kick to her back while it was turned, and she went down.

"Booooo!" Peter yelled. "Foul move!"

Yarov quickly wrapped an arm around Peter's waist and hoisted the boy up so that he was lugging the kid at hip level and resembled a bizarre suitcase. "C'mon, kid!"

"But I wanna watch!"

"Sorry, no can do, kid. Colvin, out the back door!"

Peter hollered one last encouragement as they exit the building. "Show him who's boss, Lydiaaaa!"


Kloup gave us the slip when I got distracted by Peter's presence in the shop. When I stood to my feet, Halvi and I saw him sneaking out the shattered doors. "Target is back on the streets, leaving the candy shop," I alerted the team as I sprinted after Kloup. He gave a high-pitched yelp and took off.

"Brosh, I got me and some men stationed in the entertainment district about two blocks from where you're at. You and Halvi try to chase him our way and we'll have him surrounded. Look for blue awnings."

"On it."


Yarov, Colvin, and Peter stood idly outside of the shop, watching the people in the street try to make sense of the mess that had been made and keeping what they knew to themselves. "Soooo," Yarov began, causing Colvin and Peter to look at him. "Any ideas?"

After a few moments of awkward silence, Peter spoke up. "…Do ya'll have anything like an arcade around here?"


Peter was equal parts surprised and not when it turned out that there was an arcade – though they called it a gamer's gallery on this planet. It had about the same set up as the arcades back on Earth, except that the games were highly technologically advanced and involved a lot of virtual goggles and halo screens. It didn't take much for Peter to convince Yarov to play against him. All he had to do was mention a certain game of Go Fish and the Ravager was eager to avenge himself.

"WINNER!" the automated voice announced from the artillery game.

Yarov growled in annoyance, his head lolling back, as he barred his teeth. "How!"

Peter, ignoring Yarov's strife, went about doing a victory dance. "That's two times in a row!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Yarov grumbled. "Start another round."

Peter shook his head pityingly at him. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Yarov slooowly turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the kid who continued to display that annoyingly smug smirk. Colvin experienced a coughing fit and had to excuse himself, but he wasn't fooling Yarov. He saw that stupid grin.

A few minutes into the new round and Peter grew too cocky and made some mistakes that allowed Yarov to pull ahead. Yarov, sensing that victory was nigh, began to antagonize the boy. "Oh! Oh, what's this? What's this? It looks like I'm winning," he taunted. Peter frowned and tried to double his efforts, but it just wasn't doing any good. The end of the round was near, just a few more seconds – BOOM!

The wall furthest from them blasted apart in an explosion of dust and of rubble. Gallery players screamed and scattered about the building in terror. Amid all the chaos, the two Ravagers and Peter saw a man dressed in orange sail through the opening and collide into the game that Yarov and Peter were playing. The game crashed to the floor and the screen winked out.

"Noooooo!" Yarov howled.

"Undefeated!" Peter cheered.

"This does not count!" Yarov insisted.

"Yarov!" Lydia's voice barked. Yarov snapped to attention. As Ravagers clambered through the gigantic hole in the wall, Lydia stepped away from the others and stared at him in disbelief, as if he were purposefully bringing the kid to the same places that the danger ended up being. "Get Peter out of here!" she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," he gulped and hoisted the kid up like before.

"Oh, come oooon," Peter whined, sagging in Yarov's arm like a sack of potatoes.

Once outside, Yarov, Colvin and Peter plopped down on the curb and sulked over their fun being ruined once again. No one said anything for a minute. "…We could rent some flame throwers and burn crap," Yarov finally suggested.

"Yeah!" Peter cheered.


Pressing two buttons along the lower end of her spear's shaft, one end of the gadget disconnected from the body and shot forward after Kloup with a thin cable trailing behind it. Lydia pressed another button, and the cable went taught. It wrapped tightly around his legs and with a hard pull from she sent him crashing to the floor. Leaping over pieces of rubble, Lydia pushed her boot firmly on top of Kloup's back and kept her full weight on it while Halvi and Kraglin cuffed him.

"The Collector's gonna be miiighty happy to see you," Kraglin said with a cheeky grin as he and Halvi hauled Kloup to his feet.

"You can't take me back there!" Kloup pleaded. "You don't know what he'll do to me!"

"Don't rightly care to be perfectly honest," Kraglin responded. "Shoulda thought of that before you stole 'is statue."

Kloup suddenly brightened. "What if I gave it back to you?" he asked quickly.

Yondu eyed him skeptically. "You ain't sold it yet?" he asked.

"Well, no. I left it with an appraiser to take a look at. I'm supposed to pick it up later this evening."

Yondu rolled his eyes. "Is that right," he scoffed.

"It's true!" He thrust his right hip out. "Look in my pocket, I've got her card!"

Halvi looked to Yondu, who gave a small nod, and the darkness dweller retrieved a small silver disk with the appraiser's business details engraved on it. "Business must be good if she can afford to give out cards like this," Yondu said after looking over it.

"She's the best on the planet," Kloup assured him. "So, what do you say? Let me go and bring the Collector his statue back?"

Yondu smirked. "I say the Collector would be more than happy to pay double when we bring him his statue and its thief to him."

Kloup paled. "But –,"

"Lock 'im in the brig, boys," Yondu ordered with a chuckle as he turned away. He ignored Kloup's protests as he approached Lydia, his eyes running over her for any injuries. "You alright?"

She nodded. "A few scratches and possibly some bruises in the morning, but all good."

Yondu nodded. "You kept on Kloup pretty darn good despite him giving us the slip a couple of times. Probably wouldn't 'ave caught him at all if it weren't for you."

Lydia looked down and fidgeted, seeming to not know how to respond to the praise. "Just…doing my job," she said, flushing a bit. Yondu grinned. He felt satisfied at seeing her blush over his words.

Flipping the disk in his hand, Yondu took another look at it and called for Kraglin and Halvi to join him and Lydia on their visit to the appraiser.

"You sure you don't want more to come with us?" Lydia asked as they left the ruined gamer gallery behind them.

"Nah," Yondu answered confidently. "I've seen plenty of appraiser's in my time. More than likely it's some little old lady who'll be so terrified of us bein' Ravagers that she'll hand over the statue with no fuss."


The turquoise-haired woman at the counter was buxom enough to make even me mentally go, "spreeeeek," but for completely different reasons than Kraglin, who actually did say it aloud. I mean, the woman had to be wearing some sort of back brace, right? It hurt just to look at her. Of course, the men were practically salivating because big boobs only meant big boobs to them, whereas with us females, we think of the back issues she must experience.

At Kraglin's slip, the woman gave him a sly grin and leaned on the counter with one hand while the other went to her hip. The pose further displayed her curves and told me that this was a woman who'd long ago learned how to use them to her advantage. Please just be the assistant, I thought.

"Well, now," Yondu said, his eyes gleaming while a big toothy grin spread along his face. "Ain't that a welcome sight."

Rolling my eyes, I turned my head to give Halvi a look of shared disbelief, only to discover that he too was ogling the woman. My face fell into a deadpan expression. Men.

"How can I help you, Ravagers?" she asked, her voice cloyingly seductive to my ears. It grated on my nerves. Although, I could possibly try to learn from this woman for future reference if the need to be flirty or seductive ever arose. I gave my own chest a surreptitious glance and felt my brow wrinkle slightly. Yondu had mentioned on more than one occasion that I 'had a nice set of tits.' But compared to the counter-chick…

I self-consciously zipped up my leather vest and cleared my throat. My voice seemed to snap the men out of whatever spell they were under and got back on track. "Is the appraiser here?" Yondu asked, checking the card once more. "Pyme Lustra?"

"That's me."

Sprekin' perfect.

Yondu's toothy grin broadened and I felt a strange drop in my gut when I recognized that flirtatious glint in his eye as he stepped towards the counter and leaned on it, bringing him closer to Pyme. "Quit pullin' my leg, girl. Everybody knows appraisers are all ornery old people who been hit with the ugly stick one too many times. Yer far too pretty to try trickin' me into believing you're the appraiser."

Pyme's cheeks took on a light dusting of lavender as she lowered her golden eyes demurely and smiled. "I guess I'm trying to break the norm then," she replied, meeting Yondu's gaze.

Yondu raised his brows in false surprise. "You ain't kiddin'? Damn, girl. You sure breakin' the norm all right, and it ain't by halves, either."

Pyme leaned further over the counter, giving Yondu the best seat in the house no doubt. "How can I be of service?" Was I the only one noticing how Yondu and Pyme's heads seemed to be steadily getting closer?

Yondu dug out his info-disk and brought up a holo-image of Kloup. "This fella brought by a statue for you to look over. We're here to pick it up."

Pyme's half-lidded eyes slid over to Kloup's image then returned to Yondu without the slightest change in expression. "Is that right?" she asked in a breathy exhale. "I'm afraid that without my client's say, I can't give you the statue."

Yondu put on a hurt look. "Oh, come on, darlin'." His hand reached over and gently tucked a turquoise curl behind her ear. "Help a Ravager out?"

I suddenly found the floor to be a very interesting subject to study but couldn't help sneaking quick peeks at them.

"Weeeell," Pyme sighed. "I would, but here's the thing. See, I've gotten quite a good look at that statue and I know what it's worth. I also happen to know that someone like my client could never have come by that item by any legal means. So, I take it this isn't a normal business transaction, right?" She returned Yondu's gesture by fixing his coat's collar while maintaining her sultry demeanor.

Yondu's grin tightened ever so slightly, but the charm never left. "Say what's on yer mind, darlin'."

"I'd be willing to turn the statue over to you for something of equal worth."

"And just how much is that statue?"

"Nine hundred million units."

Kraglin let out a wheeze and Halvi whistled. Yondu didn't bat an eye. He simply tilted his head ever so slightly and gave Pyme a disheartened smile. "I'm 'fraid what I was gonna offer ain't monetarily worth as much as that, darlin' – though it hurts my pride a bit to admit it. Ain't no way a gal like you'd be foolish to consider it." He moved to leave and Pyme's hand laid atop Yondu's own while her other sought his arm.

"Let's not be so hasty. It doesn't necessarily have to be equal in monetary value. How about we … talk it over? In my office?" Yondu turned his head to look back at us and Pyme gave his arm an appreciative squeeze before adding, "Alone."

He kept his head diverted from Pyme so that she didn't see the wink and grin he gave us. "How 'bout ya'll enjoy the sights of the market while I –,"

"Enjoy the service of her business?" I quipped. Kraglin bit down hard on his lip to keep from laughing. Pyme's smile widened and Yondu leaned back against the counter as her hand snaked up his arm to his shoulder. Real subtle, Pyme. Real subtle. "Let's go, boys."


I felt iffy as we left the building and threaded through the crowded street towards the market. Not iffy as in I thought there was trouble in the works, but just…odd. Slightly ill. I put a hand to my forehead but didn't detect any increase in body temperature. Halvi caught the movement and looked at me quizzically. "You alright?" he asked.

"I think so. Just feel funny all of a sudden."

"You feelin' poorly?" Kraglin repeated, catching the last half of my answer.

I waved away their concern. "I'm fine, I'm just probably tired from all the running. Maybe I need a bite to eat?" I actually didn't feel particularly hungry but chalked it up to exhaustion overriding any other sensation and scrambling them to the point of making me feel weird. "I'm gonna find Peter first then head over to the food court."

"We'll come with," Kraglin offered.

I was too tired to protest and had no real reason to turn them down, so I just let them join me in my search for Peter, Yarov and Colvin. Funny how now that the danger was passed, I wasn't conveniently bumping into them. What the sprek was that all about?


"Buuuurn!" Peter cackled as he aimed the nozzle of the flame thrower at another large pile of trash. This beat the gamer gallery by a long shot! Earth totally needed to bring Burner Bashes to the planet! A place where you could actually rent a flame thrower and go nuts with the variety of junk the building had in its back property?! Genius!

The flames quickly ate away at the junk before him and he looked around to see how Yarov and Colvin were doing. Colvin was taking his time while Yarov was just about as gleeful as Peter as he dashed around setting things on fire.

Best. Idea. Ever!

"Peter Jason Quill!"

Yarov and Colvin came to a screeching halt and whirled around to face an irate Lydia who was flanked by Kraglin and Halvi. "Uh-oh," Yarov mumbled.

Peter beamed. "Hey, Lydia!" he greeted cheerfully. "Look!" He held up the flame thrower for her to see. "It shoots flames!"

Lydia leveled a glare at Yarov and Colvin. "Whose idea was it to give a nine-year-old a flame thrower?"

Colvin pointed at Yarov. "His."

"Rat," Yarov hissed under his breath.


"You hungry?" Lydia asked Peter as they entered the food court.

Peter inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled loudly. "Starved."

"I could do with some food," she agreed, and began to look around for a vendor that served anything that resembled Terran or Threxian food. "Ah; over there, kid." She guided him towards a food cart with a pink awning as the others followed closely behind. Peter got excited when he saw a dish that resembled something he called pizza and eagerly asked for it. Halvi went to a vendor not far off and came back with some dumplings while Colvin, Kraglin and Yarov ordered from the same cart as Lydia and Peter.

As they sat down to eat, Peter regaled them all with descriptions of the food he would eat back on Terra and how he'd once come close to winning a pizza eating contest at school but ended up getting sick. "Gross, kid. Don't tell us that while we're eating," Lydia chuckled, ruffling his hair. "So, you gotten a present yet?"

"Nah. Not yet," Peter said with a mouth full of food. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot! I got something for you!" He twisted around to fish something out of his backpack.

"Peter, it's your birthday. You don't need to be getting me something."

"You'll love it, trust me." He held out a bag of candy. "It's called butterscotch." He dug a piece out from the bag and held it out to her. "Try it."

Lydia smiled in amusement as she took the candy from him. "What is this? Some kind of Terran candy?"

"Mmh-hmm."

Unwrapping it, Lydia popped the candy into her mouth and tried to bite down on it and winced.

"It's not something you really bite into when you first get it. You kinda suck on it until it's thin enough to bite."

Lydia did as he said and made a face that told him she was enjoying the taste. "This is really good," she told him, smiling.

Peter grinned and handed her the rest of the butterscotch. "I got the whole bag for you, so you don't have to worry about sharin'."

Lydia tilted her head, observing him with a fond look in her eye. "You're not just saying that to get out of trouble for the flame thrower, are you?"

"If I was, is it working?"

Lydia tousled his hair again and snuck a quick tickle on his neck, just below the ear. He flinched back with a yelp of surprised laughter. "Yeah, just a bit."

Yarov snorted. "Softie."

"You on the other hand…" Lydia said, turning her attention to him pointedly.

"What if I helped chip in to buy the kid a present?"

"Done."


"Alright, kid, take your pick. Just don't get crazy," I added quickly before letting go of his shoulders to let Peter roam the market stalls. He dashed to a vendor that sold remote controlled miniature ships and watched the seller demonstrate how to operate one to a group of children. I kept close eye on him as I also perused the wares around me. With the impending pay that was to be had from returning Kloup to the Collector, and Yarov chipping in to help pay for Peter's gift, I figured I could afford a little something for myself. But just like I'd told Peter, I couldn't go crazy.

I saw a cart of books and curiosity drew me to it. Back on Knowhere, physical books were a rare sight. Which is why I'd managed to sell my dad's book of Terran fairytales for a pretty hefty sum when I was fourteen and in desperate need of units. The money had lasted us for four months, could possibly have lasted a bit longer, but I'd gotten sick. So sick in fact, that I'd passed out while at work in the garage and Malek called a medic to look at me. The medicine I needed in order to get back to work as soon as possible and the medic's services cost us a good chunk of the remainder of the units.

"Anything I can help you find?" the vendor asked.

"No, just browsing." The vendor nodded and returned to organizing a stack of books. The one in his hand caught my attention. "Excuse me…" I pointed at it. "Is that a book of Terran fairytales?"

The vendor glanced at it and nodded. "It is indeed."

"Can I…?" I held out my hand and the vendor gave it to me. I eagerly flipped through the pages, relieved to see that my translator implant worked with the Terran lettering. "How much?" When the vendor didn't respond immediately, I looked up and was surprised to see a look of sympathy on his face as he watched me. I was also aware that my vision was a bit blurry. I dabbed at my eyes.

"Fifteen units."

"Really?" I glanced at the pricing sign that I hadn't noticed at first, but now tried to skim over, hardly believing my luck. I just managed to see something about Terran books being listed at thirty-five units when the vendor blocked my view.

"Fifteen units, yes."

I grinned and paid him, already eager to find a moment to myself and look through the list of fairytales the book contained. Would it have the same ones that my dad used to read to me? Maybe some new ones? Would it have my favorite version of the Cinderella story?

"Lydia, Lydia! I found what I want!" Peter hurried over and grabbed my arm, cutting short my thank-you to the vendor as he dragged me over to a cart where Yarov and Halvi waited. "Look, look, look, look!" Peter urged, pointing at the vendor doing a demonstration to multiple young onlookers.

It was a sapphire blue sphere that bounced like a ball, but apparently had a gravitational setting that allowed you to manipulate how high it could bounce or float in the air. "Only one hundred and fifty units," the vendor announced. Peter looked up at me questioningly. I looked at Yarov.

"Fifty-fifty?" he offered. I nodded at him then at Peter. He let out an excited whoop and hurried over to the vendor to claim his present.


After dressing as quickly and quietly as possible, Yondu shouldered the bag carrying the Collector's statue and eased shut the door to Pyme's bedroom. Turned out that 'office' meant, "the apartment I live in above my workplace." Not that Yondu was complaining. A bed was infinitely more comfortable than on top of a desk.

It hadn't taken Yondu long to figure out where the statue was in Pyme's apartment. In the midst of Pyme shoving her tongue down his throat and him removing her clothes on their way to the bedroom, he'd spotted an indention in the carpet alongside a plain wall and new she had a secret compartment. All he had to do was get her good and tired, wait until she was deep asleep and snatch the sucker out of there.

Yondu left the building with an extra pep in his step. He'd needed a stress reliever and he felt damn good. Pyme had been eager and enthusiastic in the sheets and honestly Yondu was feeling a mite tired himself. But despite how good the sex had been, there was a nagging sensation in his chest. It kinda felt a bit like…guilt.

Though, Yondu had no idea why. It wasn't like he hadn't done something like this before. So, what made this time different?

A glimpse of red hair had him slowing his steps as he came upon Lydia, Quill, Kraglin and a few others in the market. He watched the group for a moment before his eyes settled solely on Lydia. The gnawing feeling in his chest increased.

Oh, hell…

Lydia turned and they happened to make eye contact. She gave him a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes. Kraglin also spotted him and nodded. Yondu nodded back as he closed the distance between them. Peter, catching sight of Yondu, immediately launched into telling him all about his day and Yondu had only been half listening, but he could have sworn the boy mentioned something about flame throwers.

"You make out alright, Cap'n?" Kraglin asked once Yondu was close enough he wouldn't have to yell to be heard. Yondu smirked and slid the bag strap off his shoulder and handed it to his first mate. Kraglin opened the bag and peered inside. He screwed up his face in confusion. "That's worth nine hundred million units?"

"Accordin' to Pyme it's made of pure alabastorium crystal."

Kraglin's head shot up to look open-mouthed at Yondu. "That stuffs rarer than a Ravager goin' straight."

"Exactly. I think we're lookin' at the biggest payload we've ever had once we help Vyn turn over Kloup and this statue. The bounty for Kloup alone was one hundred million units."

Kraglin's face slowly broke into a wide grin. "We'll be sittin' pretty for a long while if he pays anything over three hundred million…"

"Yondu, take a look at what I got," Peter said excitedly, holding up a gravity ball for him to see. Yondu took it, tossed it into the air a couple of times to test it out, then handed it back. "Not bad, boy. Just don't be playin' with it in areas of the ship where you shouldn't be."

"Is there some place besides my room that I can play with it?"

Yondu thought a moment. "If it ain't too busy in the mess hall…maybe the upper observation deck, and the hanger."

Peter grinned "Cool." He seemed to suddenly become shy and mumbled something under his breath.

"What's that?"

Peter mumbled again.

"Speak up, son."

"I said maybe you could show me some tricks with it?"

Yondu blinked. The awareness that Lydia and his men were watching and waiting for his answer was like a physical weight on his shoulders. Kraglin had warned him of the recent whispers among the crew that some of them thought he was going a bit soft. He couldn't afford to lose control of his men. Not if he wanted to keep Quill and Lydia safe.

Roiling his shoulders, Yondu let out an annoyed scoff as he walked past Quill. "I ain't got time to play ball wi' 'chu, boy."

Quill's hopeful expression dimmed. He quickly lowered his head to hide the disappointment as he stuffed the gravity ball back into his backpack.

Yondu turned to Kraglin. "That appraiser gal could wake up any minute. I'd prefer to already have our wings in the air before that happens."

Kraglin saluted. "Yes, sir."

"Let's move out," Yondu ordered loudly and the small group began to leave the market. Quill kept his gaze fixed on the ground as he followed Kraglin and the others. Lydia remained where she was, arms crossed and shaking her head. "What?" Yondu asked with some bite.

"Would it really have damaged your macho, Ravager captain image if you'd said okay to the kid?"

"Brosh, not right now, I'm too tired to have this discussion."

Something flickered in her eyes. "Oh yeah. You've had a very exhausting day. How inconsiderate of me." She turned away, intending to join the others, but Yondu grabbed hold of her arm.

"I don't appreciate the sass, Brosh."

"And I don't appreciate you scoffing at a little boy asking you to play catch with him on his birthday."

Yondu pulled her closer, a growl rumbling in his throat. "You better check that attitude, princess. I ain't in the mood to tolerate insubordination from you right now."

"I thought getting laid was supposed to loosen a person up," Lydia shot back. "What happened, did she turn out to be no good?"

Yondu's grip on her arm tightened. His words passed through tightly clenched teeth as his eyes bored into her. "Get. On. The ship…Now." He released her arm with a shove, and immediately she marched away. What the hell had gotten into that girl?


"Is that a head?" Peter asked, pausing in our game of catch with his gravity ball as Knowhere's appearance became more noticeable from the upper observation deck's windows.

"Yeeep." I could barely believe it had almost been a year since I'd left.

"…Is it a giant's head?"

I let out a small chuckle. "Nah. It's a Celestial being."

"A celery what?"

"Heh. A Celestial being. They were this ancient race that were supposedly even older than the Asgardians. Practically as old as the universe itself. They were said to be the most powerful beings in the galaxy. Many were worshiped as gods."

"Sooo, they're gone?"

"Nobody's seen a Celestial for…sprek, hundreds of centuries I think."

"…It's an entire city…inside a giant head…"

"Yeah. The mining colony is called Exitar."

"Why? Why would people want to live there?"

"People don't go to Knowhere to live, Peter. They go there to work, but since Knowhere's so far from any other planet, it's easier for the miners to just stay. There's families on that mine who're descendants of the first miners to colonize Knowhere."

"What do they mine?"

"Bone marrow, spinal fluid, brain matter; that kind of stuff."

"Gross," Peter said, his lip curled in disgust. "Who'd want that?"

"Lots of people all over the galaxy. Celestial's were powerful beings, remember? Finding any physical trace of them is extremely rare, so anything mined from that place goes for high prices at the black markets."

"It's still gross."

"Hey, Brosh, Vyn's ship just arrived. Cap'n's ready to go," Kraglin alerted me over my comm.

"Be right there." I said, not at all looking forward to returning to the space mine.

Peter sighed and dramatically slumped onto a chair. "Let me guess, I have to stay on the ship?"

"Yeah, kid. Knowehere's way too dangerous for a kid."

"But I thought you told me that there were mining families that live on it."

"There are. But that doesn't change the fact that it's too dangerous for a kid. This kind of mining, Peter, harvesting from bodies, is illegal. So, there are no regulations on Knowhere. No Nova Corps. It's everyone for themselves." I ruffled his hair and turned to leave.

"You'll be careful, right?" Peter asked nervously.

I hesitated at the door. I was about to meet the Collector, Taneleer Tivan, in person. And guess who was a member of the very first family to colonize Knowhere. I'll give you a hint.

"I'll be fine, kid. I lived there for years, so I know the ins and outs, do's and don'ts. It's just like riding a chider."

Peter's head tilted. "Huh?"

"I'll explain later. See you later, Peter."

"Later."


"Are we suuure the Collector doesn't know we stole his drill ship?" I whispered under my breath to Yondu. I didn't want to attract the attention of the armed guards that the Collector had asked to 'escort' us into the museum.

Vyn, walking a scant few inches away from me, snapped his head in my direction. "You. Did. What?!" he hissed at Yondu. "Brother, have you lost your mind?"

"'Bout fifteen years ago, thanks fer noticin'," Yondu responded with a sarcastic smile tossed over his shoulder at him. The other Ravager captain rolled his bright blue eyes and groaned.

"Stop dragging your feet," Horuz barked at Kloup, and shoved him forward in warning.

I found my steps slowing down a couple of times as we were lead through the Collector's museum. It was quite the sight. There were beautiful things that took your breathe away, items that made you scratch your head in confusion, and things that were what nightmares were made of.

Of course, I caught glimpses of some display cases that made my stomach turn sour. Living beings trapped within the glass. Not just small creatures, intelligent beings gazed out at us as we passed. Yondu's jaw muscles twitched a couple of times when we passed such displays.

"Hold," the leader of the guards said, bringing everyone to a stop. We waited in silence. I nervously brought a hand to the gadget at my belt.

"Captains Udonta and Vyn," an accented male voice acknowledged.

From behind a column stepped forth a white-haired humanoid with dark eyes, a black line running from his bottom lip to the midpoint of his chin and wearing some kind of white fur throw over one shoulder. He lifted his hands, arms outstretched. "Welcome."

Yondu and Vyn nodded their heads at him. The Collector stepped closer and I noticed that although he had white hair, he – like Vyn – was not old. Though the Collector did appear to be a few years older than Vyn. In Terran estimation, I'd have said he was in his late forties while Vyn was in his mid-thirties. "I see you brought what I asked for," the Collector remarked, casting a cool glance at Kloup. Kloup shied away from the Collector's stare before it returned to the captains.

Yondu gestured for Kraglin to come forward. "And then some."

Kraglin opened the bag containing the statue and showed it to the Collector. His mouth fell partially open as he shuddered with delight. "You retrieved the statue," he said, pleased.

"Seein' as how you thought the statue to be beyond recovery when you placed the bounty, I figured the return of somethin' so valuable should be worth discussin' a change in award."

The Collector seemed to consider Yondu's words, glanced at the statue once more, then faced the captains with resolve. "Very well." He turned his gaze to the guards and motioned lazily with a beringed hand at Kloup. "Take him to the preparation chamber."

Kloup eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. "No – no, no! Please!" The guards took him from Horuz and dragged him away.

Kloup's please for mercy soon died away and the Collector resumed his talk with the captains. "Let's talk things over in more comfortable surroundings, shall we? Your crew can enjoy themselves in some of our local establishments. Might I recommend The Boot of Jemiah? I can see to it that your crew get the best treatment there."

Yondu nodded at Kraglin, who returned the gesture and signaled the men from our crew to follow him. Vyn's second in commanddid the same at his captain's nod of approval. I turned to leave as well when suddenly I heard the Collector call out, "You there. Girl." I froze.

"What is that at your belt?"

I slowly turned to face him, noticing Yondu's tense posture as he watched us closely. I touched my gadget. "Yes, that," the Collector confirmed. "What is it?"

"It's uh…just something I built for protection…sir."

The Collector's lip quirked up in amusement then smoothed into a blank expression once more. "A weapon of your own devising?"

"Not so much a weapon as a…trouble preventor."

Yondu snorted, which the Collector ignored and approached me. I gulped. "A demonstration?" he asked, though I knew it was anything but a request. I glanced at Yondu. The Collector noticed and looked to see who I was seeking approval from. "Is she one of yours, Captain Udonta?" he inquired.

"Yeah, she's mine. Fer all the trouble she causes me despite her 'trouble preventor'," he teased. I felt my face flush at his words. She's mine.

"Do you have any objections to her showing me the device?"

"Nah. Go ahead, sugar."

The Collector chuckled. "'Sugar'. How quaint."

I unclipped my spear and twisted the shaft. It sprang into a full-sized spear and the Collector ran an appraising eye over it. "Interesting."

Another twist and my spear transformed into the deadly-looking trident, but unbeknownst to Yondu, I'd added an extra feature to it. The prongs crackled with blue electricity as energy hummed within it. "…That's new," Yondu muttered disapprovingly. I gave him an apologetic shrug.

"Fascinating," the Collector murmured. "What else?" I showed him a few more features I'd installed but told him I preferred to keep the rest a mystery. The Collector gave polite applause. "How much?" he asked suddenly.

I gaped. "What?"

"You really offerin' to buy that gizmo?" Yondu asked incredulously.

"Of course. It's a one of a kind. Unique. I collect such items."

"No disrespect, Mr. Tivan – er – Collector, um… I lost my original gadget and just got this one built. It's actually not finished."

"It ain't?" Yondu asked warily.

"So, I'm going to have to decline. Thank you for the offer. It's…flattering."

The Collector shrugged, a bored expression on his face. "No matter. If you should change your mind, you need only contact me. On to other business then, captains?"

As the Collector guided them further into his museum, Yondu looked back at me and jerked his head at the exit. I wasn't about to argue. I turned on my heel and hurriedly left the museum.

Once outside, I intended to join the crew at The Boot of Jemiah but paused and looked in the opposite direction. Malek's garage was only a couple of miles away, but I could be there within minutes if I took a transportation cab. I had the money….


"Lazy, no good, bags of puss!" Malek bellowed at a trio of workers before storming back to the front of the garage.

"Mmmh. Still have a way with words, Malek."

He froze at the sound of my voice and slowly craned his head to look at the entrance. It took a moment for him to speak. "…And you still have hair that looks like a reshk nest."

"I disagree. I've been trying something new with my braids."

"Still looks like a reshk nest."

"Hm."

It was quiet for a few seconds, then a smile gradually appeared on both our faces. "Glad you're not dead, you big ugly troll."

"You too, cheeky she-devil."

"Hey, Malek, we're running low on coupling…" Zeg halted in the hallway, his yellow eyes fixed on me. "…Lydia?"

"…Hey, Zeg."

Zeg seemed to collapse into himself. "Lydia, I am so – so sorry!"

I came forward and touch his arm. "It's okay. I can't stay long. I just wanted to check on you guys."

"Where've you been? I looked all over Exitar for you and your mother."

"I've been working on the Ravager ship that I tried to steal from."

Zeg and Malek's eyes widened. "No sprek," Zeg said in disbelief.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "It's a long story, but just know that I'm doing okay. Mom's back on Threxia getting medical care and she's actually getting better too. We're okay."

Zeg's eyes still held a look of shame. "Will you forgive me? Please, Lydia, you know how hard it is to come by friends on this forsaken mine."

I nodded. "Yeah, I do. And honestly…I can't blame you for what you did. I might have done the same in your position – sprek, I know I would have. If I'd died, who would have looked after my mom? So, stop beating yourself up about it. It worked out in the end."

I got a ping on my info-disk and checked the message. It was from Yondu.

Negotiations completed. Return to M-ship.

"I've got to go," I told them.

Malek nodded. "Take care of yourself, she-devil."

I chuckled. "You too. Both of you. If I'm ever in Knowhere again, I'll be sure to stop by."


When I returned to Yondu's M-ship, I found him to be in an extremely good mood. He met me at the ramp, one arm leaning on the extension bars. "You look happy," I remarked upon seeing the giant toothy grin on his face.

"Oh, I most certainly am," he agreed. He leaned towards me, that grin turning into a sly smirk. "Daddy brought home the bacon today, baby girl."

I kept my face neutral to avoid showing just what his recent nickname did to me. It made my face grow warm and my skin tingle. Thankfully, he hadn't taken to calling me that often. Yet,my thoughts added. Because I just knew it was going to start catching on, call it intuition.

"And how much bacon are we talking?"

"Six hundred million units … per crew."

I blinked. "What?"

"The Collector awarded both crews – Vyn and mine – six hundred million units each."

My jaw dropped. "That's – that's," I spluttered trying to come up with the words. I broke into giggles. "That's amazing!"

Yondu cackled and swept me up in his arms. He spun me around as we both whooped and hollered. "We got some celebratin' to do, baby girl!" He set me down on my feet, grinning from ear to ear.

I quirked an eyebrow. "Well, even more reason now."

"How's that?"

"Peter's birthday," I reminded him.

"Oh…" Yondu thought a moment. "I s'ppose I should do somethin' for 'im, huh?"

"If you want to continue feeling this good and not have me bring you down from the high of your success, then yes."

Yondu raised a brow at me. "That a threat, sugar?" he asked, playfully.

"The deadliest kind."

Yondu snorted. "Fine. But not a word to –,"

"I know, I know," I interrupted, waving away his warning as I walked past him and into the ship. "Not a word of it to the crew."


Later that night, I was settling Peter into bed and secretly fuming that Yondu had not done a thing for Peter like he'd alleged earlier that day. I kept it hidden from Peter though. No need to spoil the good mood he'd managed to recover while I'd been away. He'd apparently been kept entertained for hours by a few members of the crew, Yarov being one of them, by playing several challenger games with Peter's new gravity ball. When I asked Yarov about it, asking if he wasn't worried about appearing soft to his crewmates, he stated that it was strictly to keep the kid distracted until I returned. I let him think I believed him.

"Could you read me a story from your new book?" Peter asked, wiggling down into his pillows and blankets until he was comfortable.

"Alright. Let me grab it from my room."

I was gone for less than a minute, but when the door to my room opened again and I stepped out, I saw Yondu standing in the doorway of Peter's room. I held back. Yondu scratched his jaw and looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but there. He opened and shut his mouth a couple of times, as if trying to come up with something to say. Peter just stared curiously at him.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, Yondu shoved his hand into his coat pocket and dug something out. He tossed it onto Peter's lap, grunted, then turned on his heel and – well, practically fled the room. I hurried inside, craning my neck to peer out at Yondu's retreating back until he vanished behind a corner.

"What was that about?" I asked, facing Peter.

He held up a little figurine of a squat looking creature with wild, neon orange hair. "He left this." He looked up at me questioningly.

I smiled as understanding came to me. "I think that's Yondu's way of saying happy birthday, Peter."

He gave the figurine another look and a happy smile crossed his features. "Cool." He stretched his arm towards a small shelf on the wall next to his bed and placed the figurine on it. He admired it for a few seconds then turned his eyes to me. "Got any stories about trolls?"

I opened the book and skimmed the pages. "Let's find out."

(Does anyone have a favorite Ravager crew member in this story so far? Or is there one you'd like to see more of?

Don't forget to leave me a review! I'm dying to hear from you, Dear Readers.

Also, for the music lovers among you, don't forget to check out the Spotify playlist for this fanfic! Until Next time, Dear Readers.)