I hope it's not too late to wish my readers a very Happy New Year :).

I hope you will like this new chapter :D

One last fluffy chapter, before the real deal starts and before this fic starts to get a little more serious and a little darker even ;)

And as always, I am answering the comments from the previous chapter :)

Guest
Thank you very much, I am really happy that you liked this chapter :D
I had to laugh myself when re-reading the last part of this chapter. Poor Yondu XD.

GiuliaComix
Oh,thank you so much my dear :3
And same here. Scars can look pretty good on a man hehe.
I have some pretty big scars myself from all my surgeries and I am proud of them too,
for they are a sign that I was stronger than what wanted to kill me.
*LOL* Now that you mentioned it...that stair part has indeed some Kung Fu Panda vibes XD

Thisisafakename
Thank you so much. Really happy that you liked this chapter :3
And also thank you for still showing interest in my other stories.
I don't write anymore, but I still got a lot of finished stories here which I would like to share ;)
But I only share them if I see interest in this stuff^^
And nope, you are not the only one who comes up with scenes in your head.
Happens to me almost every day :3.
It wasn't really 12 years of silence. I started writing 12 years ago (now 13 years ago).
I share my writing online since 2011.
In the beginning, when I started uploading my english stories
in 2013, everything was great. I have had many people who liked my stuff and who commented on it.
Same goes for the german community and without those people, who commented, I would have never been able
to finish this one super long Transformers fanfiction of mine, which has 93 chapters.
Comments are not only a sign that people read your stuff, but they can also help you a lot with your longfics.
But sadly people don't care for this anymore and don't even do anything anymore to motivate a writer.
That's why I have stopped.
I hope you had a great start into the New Year and thank you a lot for the birthday wishes :3
As for your question: OMG yes, do it if you want to :D
I would feel very honored if someone would draw some fanart based on my stories :3
Thank you so, so much for the offer :D
And you can draw whatever you want to :3.
Do you have a dA accont? You could share it there then or upload it to your dA stash, so only you can see it
or the person who has the link then :)

Chapter 14

In the early afternoon, Yondu and Peter were back in the woods; always careful not to move too far away from the Milano, because Yondu wanted to be on the safe side. He didn't believe that there were any enemies on this planet who could harm them, because he had only seen Orlonis here, but his instinct as a pirate made him over-cautious and so he just felt better when he knew that his spaceship wasn't far away from them and ready, so they could flee in an emergency case.

But he hoped an emergency case wouldn't happen...

Shaking his head, he tried to banish those thoughts and focus instead on his real task, because today he wanted to teach Peter to use the weapon he had given him and which was a standard weapon of the Ravagers.

They had already found a perfect place where they could practice undisturbed.

"Here is a good place to practice. Come on, kid. Show me what you've learned."

The boy's eyes lit up with excitement and he quickly grabbed the gun Yondu handed him and showed him that he knew how to handle it. He dismantled the weapon, only to reassemble it afterwards. He described the individual functions to him and assured him that he was ready to lead it. And when he looked into Yondu's face, he could see clearly that even the Ravager thought that he was ready for a gun.

"Well, then show me how ya can deal with it. Stand here. Yes, exactly like that. Lift the weapon. Do ya see the little rock over there? Try to shoot it."

Slowly, the boy raised the gun, trying hard to focus on the target, but quickly he realized that it wasn't even as easy as it had always looked like when the others used their weapons. The weapon weighed heavily in his hand, his arm starting to shake, not being used to that weight and he just couldn't keep the target in focus, let alone hold the gun steady and when he pulled the trigger, he missed the rock by far. Frustration spread in him and he hung his shoulders, as he lowered the gun to look at the result. He couldn't even see where the shot had gone; so far away he had strayed from the goal.

The soft laughter of his Captain tore him from his thoughts and grumbling, he turned his head to him and looked at him, growling.

"Chin up, Petey. No one manages to hit the target at the first try. Be patient. Ya must first familiarize yourself with the weapon. Get used to the weight when ya lift it up. Try to keep yer hand steady and concentrate as ya focus on yer target. Don't be distracted by anything or anyone around ya. Always have yer target in mind and if ya think you're ready, shoot. Come on, let's try it again."

Actually, Peter would have liked to stop now, since the first fail had hit him more than he wanted to admit, but then the stubbornness took over him again and he raised the gun again and tried to focus on his target.

The shot didn't go that far this time, but it was still too far from its target and Peter grunted loudly, as he tried to lower the gun again, but Yondu prevented him from doing so by grabbing his arm and held it up in an extended position.

"Don't give up so fast, kid. Try it again. This time, I'll help ya a little bit."

And Yondu also stood by his word.

He gently gripped Peter's arm, directed the gun into the right position and told Peter how best to aim at the target and then, when everything was in place, Peter pulled the trigger. And this time, the small laser bullet hit the middle of the rock where it left a small, smoking hole.

Pride and joy rushed through Peter's body and a pleased laugh came from his throat, as he turned his head back to Yondu and grinned at him.

"Did you see that?"

The Ravager grinned at him as well and ruffled his hair.

"Oh yes, I saw that. Well done, Petey."

Laughing, the boy tried to push his hand away from his head.

"Do ya want to try it again alone?" the Centaurian asked him as he pulled his hand away from him and there was a challenging sparkle in his eyes that Peter just couldn't resist. He wanted to prove it to Yondu! Wanted to show him that he was worthy of being a real Ravager and so he nodded, got back in position and raised the gun. He remembered Yondu's words and as he raised the gun this time, he was holding it much better than before. His arm no longer trembled, his stance was firm, his concentration was only on the rock in front of him and when he was ready, he pulled the trigger.

The laser bullet hit a hole into the edge of the stone and Peter's heart almost exploded with joy and pride at the same time and when he looked at Yondu it seemed that he felt the same, but he didn't show it as much as the boy did.

"Look at this. We've got a fast learner here, huh? Very good, Peter. You're becoming more and more one of us," he said with a wink and once more he ruffled the boy's short hair.

"Come on, kid. One more time!"

For how long they trained that day, they didn't know later, but the hard training paid off, because Peter was getting better at handling the weapon and when they were about to stop, he hit the rock right in the middle and Yondu even decided to increase the level of difficulty a bit and he took his Yaka arrow as a possible target. Peter was worried at first, because he didn't want to destroy the arrow, but Yondu had assured him with a laugh that hardly anything in the universe was strong enough to even scratch his arrow and that it was perfectly okay if he used his arrow as a target.

And after initial hesitation Peter had even hit the arrow, which made him proud as never before and Yondu was proud of the little Terran as well.

When the sun had already set, they sat again in front of the Milano and a small campfire and reminisced about the day. Yondu told him how proud he was of him and laughed when Peter's cheeks turned red.

"Will you teach me how to fly an M-ship now?"

Yondu almost choked on his food, as these words came to his ears and he gave Peter a look, which told him that he was definitely not going to teach him how to fly an M-ship.

"You're not ready for that yet, kid. And didn't I say that ya have to defeat me in a fight until I teach ya how to fly one of our ships?"

The grin was practically audible in his voice and Peter grumbled something into his nonexistent beard and poked around in the fire with a stick. He winced when Yondu put his arm around his shoulders.

"Be patient, Peter. Small steps, no big ones."

He had heard that somewhere before.

Hadn't that been the words Kraglin had said in the engine room back then?

Even if he knew that Kraglin and Yondu were right with these words, he had difficulty in patience and he let the Centaurian know that by looking at him defiantly.

"I can fight!"

The Ravager's lips twisted into a broad grin and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Oh yes? Do ya have the guts to prove it to me?"

Instead of a verbal answer, Peter simply threw himself on top of him and Yondu was so surprised by this sudden "attack" that he fell backwards with a surprised cry. The branch on which the piece of meat hung, which he had just wanted to eat, fell out of his hand and carelessly to the ground and his arms wrapped around Peter when he hit the ground. The boy freed himself from his grip and straddled his hips, looking at him with a broad grin.

Before the Elder even had the slightest chance to ask what kind of assault this was, Peter attacked him with tickling fingers. At least that's what he was trying to do, but Yondu was far taller and stronger than him, so it was easy for him to grab his hands and push them away from his body. But Peter didn't want to give up so fast. He repeatedly pulled his hands out of his mentor's not so strong grip and tried to tickle him. Soon he found these little places that made even Yondu laugh and it wasn't long before the silence was broken by their joy.

It was rare to see Yondu laugh and hear such merry sounds from him and Peter knew that he only did so since they were alone here. But he didn't bother about it. He enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the attention he received from the Centaurian since they traveled together through the galaxy; without the other Ravagers, making fun of him, mocking him or even threatening him with terrible things like eating him...

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he noticed it way too late how Yondu gained the upper hand in this small and not-so-serious "fight." Seeing that Peter let his guard down, he immediately pressed his fingers into the boy's sides and tickled him back. Startled, Peter squealed and tried to push his hands away from him, but he couldn't do this and soon it was him who fell to the ground, laughing and squirming on the ground, with Yondu leaning over him, trying to get at all those places where he knew that it would make him laugh.

"Look how fast the table can turn, Petey. Rule number one in a fight: Never ever let yer guard down! Ya see, in what it ends..."

The teasing words didn't make it any better, rather worse and in a final desperate attempt to save a little of his dignity, Peter raised his arm and tried to punch Yondu in the stomach, but the elder saw the attack coming and grabbed his hand before it could hurt him.

"Now look at that. We are pretty cheeky today, aren't we? And guess what? I ain't like this at all..."

The older man stopped tickling him briefly, but continued to hold his wrist, as he didn't want Peter to punch him.

"Do ya know what I do to cheeky little Terrans, who don't respect their Captain?"

Peter's stomach tingled and a giggle escaped from his throat and he shook his head with a grin and at the same time tried to slip away from Yondu, as he bent down to him. His blue hands reaching for his sides, holding him to the ground and with a dark grin he looked at him.

"I eat them!"

It was a loud shriek that broke away from Peter's throat, as Yondu leaned down to him fast and began to nibble gently but effectively on his stomach. But he quickly realized that it didn't have the desired effect, because Peter just giggled and tried to push his head away. There was no sign of regret and he wanted to change that. Without further ado, he freed the small belly from the disturbing fabric of his Ravager clothing and repeated the playful attack on the bare skin. And this time it also had the desired effect, because as soon as his lips touched the soft skin, the boy squealed and began to squirm wildly under him, pushing his hands against his head or shoulders. But he couldn't free himself, could only lie there and laugh and had to endure the attack somehow.

And Yondu?

He clearly enjoyed making the little Terran laugh and he often caught himself interrupting his tickle attack for a few seconds because he himself had to laugh so much. Meanwhile, he had also grabbed Peter's wrists and held them pinned next to his head, because the boy had started to hit at him at some point and he didn't want to get hit against his head.

"Are you giving up?" he asked, grinning, but Peter only pressed a loud "No!" through his laughing fit.

All right. Then the hard way...

Peter's eyes widened, as Yondu took a deep breath and before he got the chance to protest, he blew a fat raspberry against his belly, causing him to scream loudly.

The boy had no idea where Yondu had learned that and he just didn't care in this very moment, because he just wanted one thing: that this mean attack would finally stop!

"Okay! Okay! I give up! AHHH! No! Y-Yondu, p-please! Stohohohohop!" he squealed through his loud laughter.

One last time Yondu blew against his stomach, before he let go of him and sat down next to him. Grinning, he watched Peter, who still giggled and curled up in a ball and quickly pulled his clothes back down.

"You are so mean!"

Yondu's grin widened and he poked Peter in the side.

"That's how we Ravagers are. But don't worry, Petey. One day ya will be as mean as we are," he teased.

Peter just stuck his tongue out at him, as he turned back onto his back and sat up again.

"One day I will manage to defeat you and then you will teach me how to fly this ship!"

"Perhaps. But until that happens, ya still have to learn a lot. As I said: Small steps and no big ones."

The Ravager thought for a moment before continuing to speak.

"But I see that you are trying and that you are good with our weapons. You are brave and that is a good feature. And I think you're getting ready to become a true Ravager."

Peter raised an eyebrow in question.

"What do you mean by that?"

The elder grinned and something sparkled in his eyes, which Peter couldn't quite interpret.

"Would ya like being part of a little adventure, Peter?"

The Terrans eyes lit up as he heard these words.

"What kind of adventure?"

"My boys and I pulled something ashore. A small mission to get something from a planet that doesn't have much life and which is near the Andromeda galaxy. I have been there before. The inhabitants of this planet ain't dangerous. There is a building there, but we can't get into it without being discovered. But you, kid...you could get in there undetected by going through the ventilation shafts, avoiding the security systems. Well, how about that? That sounds like an adventure, right?"

Peter could hardly believe what he heard there.

Was Yondu really serious?

Did he really want to take him on one of their raids?

"But, if you are too scared, then..."

"NO! I'm not scared! I'm ready, Yondu!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

There was so much determination in his eyes that Yondu simply couldn't say no. He trusted Peter and he knew this mission was nothing dangerous. The building, with the piece the client wanted, was deserted and Yondu knew that it was only used as a sort of warehouse. The inhabitants of the planet were a primitive, almost stupid species and wouldn't be dangerous either. The building was just a remnant of older space pirate generations and was still used by various raiders as some sort of warehouse; especially as hardly anyone ever traveled through the Andromeda galaxy. And right now there was a very valuable piece in this warehouse which Yondu's client wanted. But none of them would be able to go unnoticed into this building. The security systems were still active. But Peter could come undetected through the ventilation shafts into the building and bypass the security systems. It would be an easy job. He would take Peter to one of the shafts, the boy would go into the building and Yondu would communicate with him via a small plug in his ear and show him the way. As soon as Peter had the booty they would go back again.

A simple job and perfect for a young Ravager who could prove if he was really ready to become a true pirate.

"All right, Petey. Then it is decided. Tomorrow we will fly back to the Eclector and there I will tell ya everything about the job. And then we'll see how brave you really are..."