And the next chapter.

Updates will be pretty slow now, since real life has become super busy for me.
Especially my work has become super busy and when I come home, I am usually so tired
that I just want to sleep and I don't want to re-read my stories and looking for mistakes before I can upload the next one.
Thank you for understanding.

I hope you enjoy this chapter though^^.

As for GuestyGuest:
I appreciate your kind words, but I have to disappoint you. I have given up on all my writing months ago and I don't want to start writing ever again. It's not the insults, that made me stop writing (I don't care for this kind of stuff that much), but it's because of how a writer gets treated nowadays. We get ignored most of the time and same goes for our stories. I have given this community so many chances in recent years, but nothing has changed. On the contrary, for it got worse and worse with every new year (for example: all my other writer accouts are dead now) and thus I don't want to upload my stuff anymore, let alone write AND translate all of this, so they can read it, because this just feels a big waste of time when nobody shows me interest in my writing. I am just not interested in spending so much time and so much hard work for nothing. My so called followers don't even do anything to motivate me to keep going, except for a very tiny hand full of people who are still sincere interested in my work (some of the others even insulted me badly for simply asking for feedback and I know they are still talking bad about me behind my back on other websites like tumblr). And I am sorry to say this, but I don't write AND translate my stuff for like two or three people, since this is way too much work to do (and I am sure none of these people,who talk so badly behind my back now, does know WHAT kind of hard work this is or how long it takes me to translate all of this from german into english! In the end it's just another story they read within minutes on which I spend weeks, if not even MONTHS on to write and translate it!). I don't want this anymore. It's people like that who totally spoiled it for me with their shitty behavior. Writing once was one of my most favorite hobbies, but it got dostroyed thanks to such people and the ongoing silence. As if writing a little bit of feedback would kill them. I only got excuses why they won't comment, but weird thing is: They all have time to read my stuff, but they don't have time to comment? Or they only have time to "comment" when sending me insults? Yeah right. Seriously, I am SO sick of this. That's why I decided to stop. And I don't plan to start writing ever again. Sorry.

GiuliaComix
Thank you very much for your kind words, my dear :)
And also a big thank you for all the support you have given me, for you seem to be the only one who is REALLY interested in this story.
Thank you for that :). To be honest: You were the only reason why I decided to translate the rest of this story^^

Thisisafakename
First off: Thank you so, so much for the kind feedback you have been sending me :3
Not only here, but also on my Supernatura and Venom FF collection. That really means a lot to me.
I am going to answer these comments of yours too, when I upload a new chapter.
Let me know if you still have interest in my Venom stories though, for I wanted to abandon this collection too.
You are the only one who shows interest in it now. The others stay silent, like always and this makes me feel like
nobody likes these stories anymore or that they just lost interest and if there is no interest
I don't post updates anymore. So please, let me know.
Also a big thank you for the compliment :3. Nature photography is actually my biggest hobby. I spend many, many hours
with it when I have the time to do so. Sadly time is something I don't have at the moment, for my work has become super
busy (we have to prepare the orders for christmas already). But I hope I can start with it again, once spring has arrived^^.
I miss going out and taking photos *sighs*.
Again big thank you to you for your support and for being so kind to me :3.

Chapter 12

Actually, Yondu had long since wanted to go to bed and wanted to sleep, but in the end he had let himself be softened by Peter and stayed with him for a while.

And now he was sitting here, still with a sleepy expression on his face, his head propped on one hand, his red eyes staring into the fire, while Peter sat next to him, gesturing wildly with his arms, telling him one story after another.

Stories of nefarious pirates sailing across Earth's oceans, spreading fear and terror. And yes, at that moment Yondu had to think of his first mate Kraglin, because he had told him not so long ago that Peter suddenly started telling him these stories and didn't want to stop. Yondu had just grinned and had told him not to be such a wimp. After all, Peter was still a child and he should be glad that he finally started to feel comfortable around them and felt well after all this time. But now that he himself was affected, he doubted his own words. Especially since he just wanted to sleep now. He didn't want to hear stories of earth pirates who, in his opinion, were total wimps anyway.

Why the hell would a pirate be drunk all the time?

Or why in the name of the galaxy should a pirate bury his booty on an island and then leave it where anyone could fetch it?

Peter assured him that the stories of Captain Flint and Treasure Island was just pure fiction and that real pirates probably had been different back then, as in the stories and books his mother had read to him when he was younger, but Yondu doubted that. There was a spark of truth in every story. You only had to search long enough to find the truth.

But all he wanted now was his peace and a good portion of sleep.

But still...it also made him happy and a little bit proud that Peter felt so comfortable in his presence and also in Kraglin's, that he told them these stories. And how excited he was. Now he behaved at last, as a child should behave, even if that was more exhausting for Yondu than he wanted to admit it.

But remembering how scared the boy had been after he'd gotten him aboard the Eclector, or when he told him about the little translators which they had implanted him so he could understand them and to speak to them...the fear in his eyes had spoken volumes and he had panicked, imagining that a strange, non-human being had been fiddling with his brain. Yondu couldn't blame him, because he hadn't felt any different when he had gotten his own translator. And the Kree hadn't been as gentle to him then as he had been to Peter...

But the boy had gotten used to it quickly and at some point he just thought it was "cool" that he could now talk to everybody and understand all inhabits of the galaxy and he didn't find the translator scary anymore.

He was still scared of the rest of the crew though.

No wonder, as mean as they were against him and even Yondu couldn't help but feel a little shame when he thought back to how he had treated him and from time to time he still threatened to eat him. Of course he didn't mean it seriously, just meant it as fun, but as terrified as Peter always looked at him, he didn't seem to understand that kind of "fun".

Maybe he should change that at times?

But how?

That was probably one of the few questions he probably wouldn't find an answer to and at the moment he didn't care. He just wanted one thing: his peace!

But Peter talked and talked and talked...like a damn waterfall!

First it was the pirates he told him about, then it was things he had done on earth with his friends or his mother and then it was the food he had eaten on earth and which he now terribly missed. In Yondu's ears, terran food just sounded strange.

He still wondered what a pizza or what chocolate was...

Finally, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he simply took Peter into a headlock, which startled him so much that he shrieked.

"Hey! Yondu! Let me go! What are you doing?!" he complained, as the Ravager rubbed his knuckles over his head and grinned at him.

"Where's the off switch on you, Petey? I can't stand it anymore!" he teased.

"You're such a spoilsport!" the boy said, laughing and he tried to free himself from the strong grip and only managed to do so, as Yondu deliberately loosened his grip a little, so Peter fell back into the grass.

"I'm not a spoilsport. For hours ya tell me these stories. I'm just tired, Pete. Let's go to sleep."

"Oh, come on, it's so nice here. Just a little bit longer."

"No."

"Please Yondu~."

And there it was again: that damn look that could soften even the heart of the galaxy's toughest pirate.

Yondu growled, fought inwardly with his ego and he just wanted to grab Peter and carry him to the Milano, but he couldn't bring this over his not so cold heart. He saw so much excitement in those children's eyes that he just couldn't help himself and gave in.

"Alright. Fine. But only an hour more! Then we go to bed. No argument!" he growled resignedly and even as he spoke, he dropped back into the soft grass and crossed his arms behind his head.

Peter answered him with the widest smile he had ever seen, got up and disappeared in the Milano for a moment and Yondu thought he had changed his mind, but it wasn't long before Peter came back to him. In his hands he held this weird thing, which he had often seen him with and what he called "Walkman". He lay down next to him, placing the walkman's headphones in the center of their heads, pressing a button and Yondu winced as these strange sounds came out of the headphones.

Earth music, as Peter explained to him.

"I often did that with my mom. We lay down on a meadow and watched the clouds in the sky."

"What's so interesting about clouds?"

Peter grimaced and poked Yondu in the side.

"If you have a little imagination, clouds can be great."

"But there are no clouds here."

"But there are stars..."

Then Yondu remembered what he had said to Peter about the stars, and a small smile crept over his face, as his eyes wandered back to the starry night sky.

"I've never seen so many stars in the sky before..." he heard Peter say softly.

"Maybe that's because there are no annoying lights here, Petey. There are far too many lights on your planet that will take away the view to the stars. There is no such thing here."

"It's wonderful…"

"Yes, it is, little one..."

The two lay there in silence for a long time, listening to the music and staring at the stars, each seeming to be caught in their own thoughts.

"Yondu, look! A shooting star!"

Yondu winced in shock as Peter's excited voice suddenly broke the silence and he thought something bad would happen, but as he looked back into the starry sky, he saw a small comet passing the night sky, pulling a small stream of light behind him and he relaxed immediately.

No enemy ship...

"That's just a piece of rock flying past here."

"On Earth, we call it a shooting star and whenever you see one, you have to close your eyes and wish for something. But you aren't allowed to voice the wish aloud. Otherwise it won't come true."

Yondu could only shake his head.

"Ya Terrans are really weird..." he murmured and then there was silence between the two of them, as they turned their eyes back to the stars, listening to the music...

At some point, the music also stopped playing when the cassette had gone through and Yondu turned his head to Peter and was amazed when he saw the boy lying next to him with his eyes closed. He was completely relaxed, his chest rose and fell gently, showing him that he had finally fallen asleep. No wonder, for he had experienced and processed a lot and this seemed to have taken its toll now. The adrenaline had left his body, had given way to fatigue and Yondu was grateful for finally having a little rest. He turned on his side, propped his head in one hand and watched the boy for a while, before standing up slowly, first taking the Walkman and tucking it into his pocket. After that, he put out the campfire and gently took Peter on his arm and carried him to the Milano, where he took him to his room and to bed. He set the Walkman on a small table not far from the bed, anchored in the floor, so it wouldn't slide back and forth when the spaceship was in motion.

He pulled the boy's boots off his feet and then covered him with the blanket. He paused for a moment, watching him for a few more moments, then turned around and disappeared from the room.

He closed the hatch of the Milano and turned off the outer lights so that only a soft glow inside the ship showed him his way to his own room.

He quickly freed himself from his Ravager clothes, threw them carelessly into the next best corner and then went, dressed only in his underwear, to his bed.

A comforting sigh left his lips as his head finally dropped down onto the soft pillow and he snuggled into his blanket.

But despite everything, it was hard for him to find sleep that night, because his thoughts kept coming back to Peter over and over again.

The boy didn't have it easy in his life and if Yondu was honest, he reminded him a little bit of himself. He himself had experienced many bad things. And there was something to which he even envied Peter: the love of a family. He had never experienced anything like that, didn't know what a mother's love felt like. He only knew hate and pain and nothing else. At least that was the way it had been before he met Peter.

Although...when he thought back to Stakar...

No! He definitely didn't want to think about him now, so his thoughts quickly returned to the little terran.

There was something about the boy that intrigued him and it seemed to change him slowly but surely. Something that he wasn't supposed to like, but he himself noticed how he tried less and less to fight against this feeling.

The feeling, of being someone who protected, raised and gave this child what he believed he would never ever experience in his own life: sincere, fatherly love...

He shook his head, but that thought didn't want to let him go that night.

And so he just gave in and fell asleep with exactly that thought in his head.

And that night, a small but sincere smile stole itself onto his lips, which persisted even after he fell asleep...