And the next chapter.

Please enjoy it.

Chapter 3

Yondu listened to the human child silently and attentively.

No emotion left his body and even in his face you couldn't tell what feelings he currently felt.

Peter had his head turned away from him at some point, as tears had gathered in his eyes again, which now mercilessly rolled down his cheeks and no matter how much he tried to keep himself from crying, he just couldn't do it.

Every word he spoke hurt like a thousands of knifes that were stuck into his heart and he often stuttered, as he had to sob so much that he could hardly speak anymore. Especially when he told Yondu how he had stood by the bedside of his terminally ill mother and how she had reached her hand out to him and how he hadn't grabbed it. Even his head he had turned away from her, when she had died and that seemed to be the worst for him, because the boy made himself great reproaches. When he told him all of this, he could see the scene in his mind's eye, witnessing the death of his mother again and it was as if his heart was brutally torn from his chest.

He also told Yondu that he was still suffering from terrible nightmares when he slept and that he hardly got any sleep because of that.

It was as difficult for him to admit this as to talk about the death of his beloved mother, because he didn't want to look weak. Certainly not in front of the watchful eyes of his Captain. But he couldn't hold back the tears, couldn't stifle his sobs, no matter how hard he tried. And he didn't dare to turn his head to Yondu. Not even when he ended telling him his story. He was ashamed of his tears...ashamed of his weakness...

The two sat there for a long time in silence after Peter had stopped talking and nobody seemed to find the right words. Peter didn't want to say anything anymore and Yondu? He didn't really know what to say, because it was completely new territory for him. He had never consoled anyone before and didn't really know how to do that, or what he should say in this situation. He thought about it for a long time, and when he had found a few words, he didn't look at the boy, but kept his eyes straight ahead and it was as if he was caught in his own thoughts.

"It's terrible what happened to ya, there's no doubt about that, but let me tell ya one thing, Peter: Ya can be glad to have had a mother who loved ya so much. This is worth more than all the riches the galaxy has to offer..."

The last words came as a whisper over his lips and melancholy clouded his eyes. He heard the Terran snivel beside him and saw out of the corner of his eye how he wiped the tears out of his eyes, before looking at him.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Not all of us can claim to have had loving parents..."

And there was something in Yondu's voice that made Peter shudder.

That one, little sentence, said so much about him, that it was almost scary, and it was at that moment when Peter could look behind the otherwise so hard facade of the space pirate for a few seconds. Here, at that moment, he saw a completely different Yondu. A Yondu, who seemed to have lost everything he had ever loved and this experience seemed to have made him to what he was today. There was no doubt about that…

But as soon as the moment had come, it faded again so quickly and soon the hard facade had been rebuilt, as the Centaurian turned his head and looked at him.

"Well, since you've kept yer word, I'll keep mine, too. Ya wanted to know where I got those scars from, right?"

Peter nodded silently and still looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'll tell ya everything, kid. But that might take a while, so make yourself comfortable..."

And he also stood by his word and told the boy everything and he didn't omit even the smallest detail. He told him about his parents and how they had sold him into slavery, when he had been a small child himself. He told him about his time as a battle slave and how he had to fight in the arenas of the Kree. He told him how he had received all these horrible scars on his body and how he had become more and more cold and stoic over the years. He also told him about Stakar and how he had freed him from slavery and made him a Ravager...and how he had later banished him for breaking the Ravager Codex...and with the Codex, all their hearts...

Then he told him the story of how he had met Kraglin and the rest of his crew and how he eventually became the Captain of the Eclector. Of course he didn't tell him about the thing with Ego and his children and why Stakar exiled him...

When he had finished, it was so quiet in the captain's quarters that Peter heard his own heartbeat in his ears. He could hardly believe what Yondu had gone through and yes, now he could understand why he was so cold-hearted. Who wouldn't be like that if he had gone through something like this?

Peter remembered his own time when he was a little kid.

He remembered his schooldays and how he had been bullied there by some of his classmates and how they had taunted him with his sick mother. When he thought about it, he had never really had any real friends. Those who called themselves his friends had also stabbed him in the back or had simply abandoned him, when he had needed them in his darkest hour. This thought brought tears to his eyes again and it didn't get any better when he thought about Yondu's words from earlier.

The Centaurian looked at him questioningly, when he saw thick tears running down his cheeks again and before he even got the chance to ask Peter what was wrong with him, the boy threw himself into his arms and clawed at his coat, as he pressed his face into his chest and sobbed heartbreakingly into it.

This reaction surprised Yondu so much that he flinched and his eyes widened. He had never experienced anything like this and he was completely overwhelmed with this reaction and didn't know how to react or what to do.

Should he just push the boy away from him?

Or should he just leave him alone?

No, he couldn't do one or the other, but what exactly was he about to do?

Damn it! He just wasn't made for this emotional stuff!

Nevertheless, he eventually put a hand on Peter's back and stroked his fingers reassuring up and down. The fingers of his other hand gently stroked through his short hair and this gesture seemed to help for real. But Peter's reaction was not what he had hoped for, because instead of calming down, the boy pressed himself even more against him and clawed even stronger at his coat and sobbed loud and heartbreakingly into his chest. But no word left his lips.

"Shhh, everything will be fine, kid. You'll see..." Yondu whispered softly, hoping it would calm the Terran down a bit and in fact it seemed to work. Peter's body relaxed a bit and his grip around his coat loosened a bit as well. Still, he was still clinging to him, seeking support and comfort at the same time and Yondu tried to give him this as best as he could.

For how long they sat there in the end, none of them knew.

But eventually Peter had fallen asleep in his arms, because his sobs had stopped and also the tears had dried up and Yondu dared to loosen his small fingers from his coat and push him a little away from him. He was always careful not to wake him up in the process.

He quarreled briefly, struggling with his ego and pride, but in the end he just decided to forget his stupid pride for a few hours and cautiously he took Peter in his arms and stood up, just to put the boy into his generous bed a few seconds later. When he wanted to put the blanket over him, he paused and looked at his face. His cheeks were still slightly flushed and here and there he still saw the marks left by his tears and even if he didn't like to admit it, but yes, that sight hurt even in his not so cold heart.

Peter was still a kid and he had been through so many terrible things already.

Yondu didn't know what life on Earth was like, but he could imagine that it was much more peaceful and idyllic than on his own home planet. Where he had been cold-heartedly sold into slavery!

He hated his parents to this day and would he ever see them again, he swore he would kill them with a single whistle!

But it was unlikely that he would ever see them again, because he didn't feel the desire to go back to his home planet. The Eclector was now his home and the Ravagers were his family.

And Peter was at home here too, even if the boy didn't like that thought.

After all, it was better than the alternative...

Yondu would never bring him to this monster called Ego!

He would rather die if he sacrificed another innocent child to this psychopath!

He would take care of Peter himself.

How he would do that, he didn't know yet.

He knew only one thing: It was going to be anything but easy and maybe this would be his most difficult task yet, but he would gladly accept it and he was sure that Kraglin would help him, because the boy seemed to like his first mate a lot. Yondu saw how they often spent time together and whenever Peter was with Kraglin, he seemed more relaxed, less anxious and here and there he had even seen him smile, if not even laugh.

Yes, Kraglin would help him and together they would take care of Peter.

He would make the boy to one of them.

And he would start with it tomorrow...