It certainly took me long enough to post this chapter, but I'm officially moved into my new house now! Whooo for stability and true adult responsibilities!
Blackwidow7777: You're welcome :) and I don't want to spoil anything, but soon, very soon :) Rockyrose13: Thanks for saying it's well written, I really do try! And soon they'll learn! Kamiccolo's rose: Thank's :) Nadia: Thanks for all the reviews, I recognize your name from my hobbit story as well :D Thanks for reading so much!
Knowhere, a colony of greed, debauchery, violence, and some of the finest liquor Cass had ever tasted. Dropping her glass of amber liquid back onto the counter with a heavy clink, she glanced over her shoulder to the betting tables. Drax and Rocket seemed intent on the horrid, vile game. Yelling over the crowds at one another, as if they were the only two really playing.
Cass rolled her eyes and hunched back over her glass, tracing lines down the condensation. Good liquor and loud company, at least there was one thing she was comfortable with. Raising the cool liquid to her lips she took another pull. Initially it snaked like fire down her throat, then simmered down, leaving hints of vanilla and caramel.
It wasn't something that she'd ever waste her hard earned money on, but apparently it was her official thank you for 'saving' the Milano. Running her finger around the rim, Cass allowed herself to indulge.
"Have you ever tasted something so fine?" Quill sidled up beside her and leaned heavily on the bar, flicking his hand to the bartender. The tall, blue skinned man waved a tired hand back to let them know they'd been seen and returned to the women ordering in front of him.
"I can honestly say I haven't," Cass smiled lopsidedly and tipped the remainder of her glass back. Relishing the cool burn.
"Great!" Quill looped his arm over Cass's shoulders and swayed slightly. He'd obviously had too much already. Cass mimicked the bartender and rolled her eyes but let him use her for balance. "My good sir, I'll take another round for my savior and myself!" Quill boasted when the bartender finally made it down to them, he spoke in a strange accent she'd never heard before.
"Oh, I don't think either of us need another," Cass motion to the bartender to cut him off by waving her hand in slicing motions in front of her neck. But when Quill slammed the units on the chipped wood, the bartender shrugged unapologetically at her and grabbed the bottle and two new glasses.
Units were units, she guessed.
"Nonsense," Quill raised his glass and held it to toast Cass.
Smiling, she picked hers up to match. "What are we toasting?"
"Music, Milano, and dance offs with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
It didn't make much sense, but he was drunk. Cass joined him and clinked her glass off his, then took a long swig.
"And hot women." Quill added at the last second. Startled Cass coughed mid drink and spit the liquid back into the cup. What didn't come back up shot into her nose and burned her eyes like fire. "Well hello there hot stuff, did you know I have my own spaceship?"
Cass rubbed her eyes and shot a glance over her shoulder to see Gamora. "I think you've had quite enough for one night." Gamora lithely slid the glass from his hand and placed it back beside Cass on the bar, holding Quill's attention by running the other down his chest. She was good.
Slowly they melted back into the crowd. Cass sighed and turned back to her two drinks now. Why not get totally wasted? What's the worst that could happen? It was the liquor talking, normally she'd be trying to sneak out of here at the first moment. Even though she knew that, Cass downed the entire glass and slammed it back onto the counter with a shudder. Gripping the second she planned on doing the same until Rocket jumped onto the stool next to her.
"Oi! Big guy! I need me another!" He leaned on the bar and yelled down to where the bartender was talking with the women once again. Either they were friends, or he wanted them to be. "Hey, how you doin?" Rocket asked but didn't give her a second to answer. "You seen Groot?" Again she opened her mouth to say he'd stepped out, but he spoke again. "Eh, he'll be fine, big guy like him."
Cass blinked against the tears from snorting liquor and nodded along, no longer bothering to try and answer.
"Hey." A man stepped up beside Cass and growled at her. Looking up after taking a swig, the liquor froze halfway down her throat. "We don' want yer kind round here," he drawled dangerously. He sported a tank top that was painted to his wiry frame, lean but muscled, about half a foot taller than herself. He leaned one elbow on the counter, chewing something, then spitting on the floor before returning his gaze. Not to her…past her.
Cass turned to look at Rocket, his ears were flattened back but he still stood on his stool, pretending he didn't hear.
"Hey, vermin," the man grabbed Cass and shoved her back a few steps with one orange tinted hand. She stumbled back, useless and shocked. Had he just called Rocket a vermin? She blinked and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the haze that was beginning to form from the liquor.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Rocket had lost his jovial buzz and leaned tensely against the counter, pretending to not care, but the tail twitch gave him away.
"Then I suggest yu git ta skamperin outta here," the orange brute chewed his cud and eyed Rocket.
"Or what? You're shirt will shrink more, cause between you and me buddy, you could use another inch or two of fabric." Rocket tipped his glass towards the man but didn't turn to look at him.
Cass blinked quickly, still trying to clear the haze. The man's lip curled up and he spit a glob right next to her boot. "Watch what yer sayin."
"Watch how much tanner you use," Rocket retorted.
The man growled, pulling his arm back. Cass stepped forward. The blow, meant for Rocket's head, hit her on the shoulder. Dull pain throbbed distantly. She toppled over into Rocket's chair, catching one of the rungs with her foot and sprawled out over the floor. It all happened so slowly, yet was over before she knew it.
"Hey, git outta the way," the orange man barked.
"Caden, what was that?" Rocket skittered around the floor, pulling up on her jacket. It wasn't helping her stand in the least, but it was motivation. Cass rolled onto her stomach and swayed to her knees.
"He was gonna hit you," Cass slurred. She cleared her throat, not realizing she was that drunk. "I had to like, stop it." Someone grabbed the back of her jacket and drug her up. Cass stumbled back, grabbing hold of a large man's jacket to steady herself. "Sorry."
"Stay outta this," the orange man hissed right in her face.
"Wheew," Cass gagged at his breath and waved a hand between them. "When waz the lassst time yu brushed?" The man took a step back, furrowing his brow, lip twitching up in a scowl. By now a ring had begun to form around them, pushing the crowd back. "Watchit Rocket, I think his breath miiiight be worse than Quill's gas." Cass pushed around him back to the bar, making a display of shielding her face in case he breathed on her again.
"Why don'tcha shut yer firkin mouth, this doesn't involve yu." The orange man grabbed the back of her jacket and shoved her around to face him again. She'd grabbed her glass, trying not to spill any.
"Careful," Cass whined, before throwing back the rest of her drink. She was in a bar fight, at least verbally. A fact that didn't go over her head, but where she'd normally cower, right now she just didn't feel like it. "Acctually that's were yer wrong, my foul breathed friend. See, Rocket here," Cass waved dramatically to Rocket, "is my coworker, and friend. Annnd yu insulted him. Say yer sorry." Cass waved between the two of them, motioning the sorry to commence.
The orange man's eye twitched at the embarrassment, he opened his mouth…
"No, no, no, point that weapon thata way," Cass pushed his face away from her with one finger, drawing a laugh from the crowd.
"I outta rip yer tongue from yer head," the orange man growled.
"I think you should get outta here Caden," Rocket warned, but Cass didn't listen. Nobody talked to her friends like that.
"Resorting to violence so soon?" Cass tutted at the man, tightening her grip on her glass. "It'sa shame, thought yu were jus gonna gas me ta death."
Without waiting for him to strike first, Cass did the impossible and started. Kicking out, she crunched her boot into the front of his knee, making him stumble back and cry out. While he recovered Cass swung her glass towards the man but it careened off into the crowd. Busy watching a poor pink woman double over, she didn't see the man lurch forward. He nailed her in the gut with his shoulder and rammed her back into the bar, slicing pain across her shoulder blades where she hit with an 'oomph'.
Rocket sprung off the counter and onto the man's back, digging his claws into his short hair. "Whoooo hoo!" He cried, dodging left and right as the man made desperate grabs for him. It wasn't until he flung Rocket off into the growing crowd that Cass pushed herself back to her feet. The man swayed back and forth in front of her, and she didn't know if it was the liquor or he was getting tired. None the less she launched a fist that magically hit its target, but when he turned his attention back to her, he looked more annoyed than actually hurt.
Pure bloodlust boiled in his eyes, before she could raise her hand in defense, his fist crunched into her cheek. Stars exploded across her eyes, and she stumbled back and hit the bar, hot liquid pouring from her nose. As he stalked up one more time Cass put her hand up. "Wait, wait," she spit blood on the floor when she spoke. To her surprise the man actually hesitated. Behind him, she could see Drax, with Rocket on his shoulder pushing towards them. Drax look furious, brow knitted, throwing people out of his way.
"I hope yu got friends here," Cass laughed but leaned back heavily against the bar on her elbows. Groot's head bobbed over the crowd as he ducked through the door, dark eyes finding her quickly.
The orange man chuckled darkly, not looking away, "boys, you with me?" Several men stepped out of the crowd. All orange skinned, but larger than this guy. One flicked a knife out of his boot and grinned at her, the dull metal caught the light just enough for her heart to leap into her throat. She didn't like knives.
Leaning back, she pretended she didn't care, her heavy buzz making it easy for once. "Great, cause I brought mine."
As if on que, Drax broke from his side of the crowd, heavily shoving one of the orange men. The man hit the wooden boards hard, sliding across the cleared area on his face. Beside her Groot shoved through, looking worried at Cass, apparently the situation was a bit lost on him. He gasped loudly, his hands rising to his face when he finished looking over her bloody face.
The man didn't wait for more than a second. Another blow landed against the side of her face toppling her over the stool that Rocket once stood on. Cass hit the ground with a hollow thud, ears ringing. Dull pain lanced through her head, settling behind her eyes. Just a moment later Groot's distinct roar floated over her. The man flew over her head, landing behind the bar. The crashing sounds of him hitting bottles and falling to the floor sounded hollow and far away.
"Hey, hey, you still with us?" Rocket grabbed her face and smacked her cheek lightly with a paw. Behind him she saw Groot's arms grow and stretch behind the bar were the man had landed.
"Yup," Cass nodded. Unsure where he thought she might be. They could see her right there couldn't they? Groot whipped the man back over the counter and across the room out of sight.
Drax's large fist gathered the material on the front of her jacket and pulled her to her feet.
"Not very good at bar fighting, am I?" Cass swayed in place and spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor.
"It was an attempt," Drax rumbled, slapping her on the back.
"Yea, thanks for that, but I could have handled it," Rocket crossed his arms and shifted from one foot to the other.
"I thought that 'bout the time I saw ya flyin' ta the crowd," Cass slurred but offered him a lopsided grin while using her sleeve to wipe the flowing blood from her face.
"I think it's time to get you back to the ship," Drax rumbled, fist clenched in Cass's jacket behind her shoulder. The crowd split impressively for him, making sure to give him plenty of room to drag her out. Cass waved to one of them, stumbling behind the enormous man like a child that had misbehaved, grinning without meaning.
Gamora paced the living area of the Milano. Already the place was looking noticeably better. She gave Caden another week before this ship would be considered clean. Quill on the other hand thought the place hadn't looked nicer since he'd gotten it. She rolled her eyes and watched Quill fall onto a chair with a glass of water.
"What did you wanna talk about?" Quill asked, squinting up at her through his drunken fog.
She'd wanted to talk about Caden. A few days ago she'd suggested that they get to know the man better, if only to learn about how he'd managed to incapacitate all those Ravagers. Then Drax had to throw a twist into their plan by later confessing to her that he had feelings for the man. Drax, of all people.
"This was not the plan," Gamora continued to pace, arms crossed before her. "The plan was to clean the ship and drop the man off on the next planet we visited." That plan worked out best for them, that plan was the one they'd all agreed on.
"Who said that wasn't still the plan?" Quill leaned his head back on the wall and closed his eyes. When she'd drug him from the bar, he'd expected a different outcome without a doubt.
"Attachment is growing rapidly," Gamora stopped in front of him, his face had relaxed suspiciously. "Don't fall asleep when I'm speaking to you. Quill!"
Quill jumped, splashing his water onto his pant leg, eyes flying open. "What! What happened?"
"I think Drax is developing feelings for Caden," Gamora began her pacing again. Feelings weren't something they'd factored into their initial plan.
"Drax?" Quill leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, running his free hand through his hair. "Wasn't he married to a woman?" He asked, squinting up at her confused.
"Preferences change Quill," Gamora huffed, "the real question here is whether or not we are prepared to take on a new Guardian."
"Do you think he'd stand a chance?"
"He did fairly well for himself with naught more than a dish. With proper training who knows what he might be able to accomplish." Gamora had thought about this after the events with the Ravagers. Caden might make a fairly decent brother in arms. He was easier to deal with than either Drax or Rocket. So far his idiosyncrasies didn't exactly hinder her in any way, and she was rather pleased with the way he kept to himself for the most part. All in all she wasn't opposed to the idea.
But that didn't change that keeping him wasn't part of the plan.
The door slid open and Gamora stopped her pacing to watch the rest of the crew return. Why wasn't she entirely surprised when Drax gripped onto a bleeding Caden, pulling him though the door. He wiped his face on his sleeve but the blood had begun to dry and merely flaked off and fluttered to the floor. As if ignoring the obvious pain he must be in, Caden grinned ear to ear.
"Awww, I missed a fight, Gamora you made me miss a fight." Quill pouted.
"Not much of a fight, guys split pretty quickly once we got serious." Rocket shrugged, strutting through the little room to the kitchen.
"It was a glorious attempt, yet his execution was just as flawed." Drax drug Caden to the closest seat and released him so he could collapse into it.
"I am Groot," Groot growled and snorted, looking angry. He hadn't fully returned to his size yet. Calculating his growth rate so far Gamora guessed he'd need possibly a week, perhaps a day or two less.
"That's right, you should see the other guy, Groot grabbed him-"
"What started it?" Gamora interrupted Rocket who'd returned with a water of his own.
"I did," Caden raised his hand, grinning and wincing slightly. His voice sounded an octave higher than usual. "They called Rocket a name," Caden pointed to Rocket and squinted his eyes, thinking. "Can't remember what it was though."
"Don't worry ah 'bout it," Rocket 'pffft' at him and waved his paw. His brow was furrowed and he glanced down to the floor for a second. Gamora was fairly sure she knew about what they'd said.
Drax crossed the room, rag in hand, and knelt in front of Caden. "Hold still," he whispered, yet the rest could hear.
Gamora looked to Quill who raised his brow and looked back. As Drax carefully cleaned the blood from Caden's face, the two continued to glance back and forth, silently acknowledging the fact that she was right. Drax was developing feelings, and he didn't realize it.
She stayed silent while the rest of the group filed off to their rooms, waiting until it was just her and Quill.
"Did you see that?" Quill hissed, looking down the ladder to make sure no one was listening.
"Of course I did," Gamora rolled her eyes.
"What should we do?" Quill asked, scratching his head.
"One job. Lets include him on one job and see how he does. If he passes our expectations, I think we should invite him to join us. If he doesn't, we leave him." Gamora uncrossed her arms and slid down the ladder. It didn't seem fair to just leave him where ever they happen to see fit, but the universe wasn't fair like that.