Forever Mine
Chapter One
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Those eyes.
Those damn eyes.
The way they looked back at her haunted her when she closed her own. Sleep wouldn't come as Gamora tossed and turned in bed, but every damn time she closed her eyes, she could see his looking into hers after saving her from the ship and Adam Warlock. She held closely to Blurp, Adam's new pet, before looking back at Peter. The way he looked at her made her stomach swarm with butterflies. He gave her a smile and she couldn't help but return it. She could tell what Peter Quill was thinking in that very moment and a part of her almost leaned in and placed her lips upon his, but decided against it.
Gamora tossed onto her back and tossed the blankets off her body. The Ravagers had decided to stay at Knowhere to stock up on supplies and to celebrate the Guardians' success in saving Rocket without any fatalities. Gamora had returned unscathed which the Ravagers celebrated even more. Gamora didn't stay for the festivities though. She decided to call it a night and stayed in one of the motel rooms where she could catch up on uninterrupted sleep. But, how do you catch up on sleep when sleep won't come?
She rubbed at her tired eyes and sighed heavily. She slid off the motel bed and peered out from her room window. She could see the Ravagers and Guardians still celebrating outside of one of the bars, dancing to music. She wondered if her variant self ever danced. She so desperately wished she knew what life was like as her future self and how she interacted with the other Guardians, especially Peter Jason Quill.
Her heart raced thinking of him. She closed her eyes and visions of him battling the High Evolutionary's army flashed in her mind. She remembered looking at him at one point in the hallway and could feel an immense amount of attraction as she watched him dodge bullets and shoot at the others in a spew of vengeance. She bit her lip and cringed at the thought of her being some lovestruck little girl.
"Stop it, Gamora." She whispered, but the thoughts wouldn't stop. Peter Quill was on her mind and there seemed to be no end in sight. She groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound of a knock on the door. Gamora jumped at the sound and her heart raced. A part of her desperately hoped Peter would be on the other side of that door, but the other half wasn't ready to face him. She hurried to the door and opened it quickly to see her sister on the other side. Gamora didn't want to admit to the wave of disappointment that came over her.
"Oh. It's you." Gamora said, almost out of breath.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Nebula questioned.
"No." Gamora said quickly. Nebula raised an eyebrow and Gamora regained her composure. "I mean.." She trailed off as her sister's accusing eyes burned her skin.
"Who were you expecting?" Nebula asked. Gamora rolled her eyes and turned away from the door, allowing Nebula to enter. Gamora sat on the edge of the bed as Nebula made her way to the window to look down at the chaos below them.
"I hope they're not keeping you up." Nebula spoke, still looking out of the window.
"I can't sleep anyway." Gamora admitted. Nebula looked towards her sister.
"You look stressed."
"Good observation."
Nebula rolled her eyes. "What's got you all pissed off?"
Gamora looked at her sister with a disapproving look. "I'm not pissed off."
"Then why are you so defensive?"
"What's with all the questions?" Gamora was only getting more defensive as Nebula grilled her with questions she wasn't quite sure how to answer.
"Is this because of working with them again?" Nebula asked, regarding to the Guardians.
"No." Gamora scoffed. Nebula smiled at her sister.
"It is." Nebula chuckled to herself.
"Stop it." Gamora gritted her teeth. Nebula stopped laughing and gave her sister a sincere look.
"What is it?" Nebula's voice was now gentle, which was new for her. Gamora drew in a deep breath as Nebula sat down next to her.
"I can't stop thinking about him." Gamora admitted. Nebula placed a hand on Gamora's. Gamora's eyes began to well up in tears.
"I am just so confused." She began to cry. It was the first time Gamora cried in front of somebody. She usually kept her shield up, but the confusion and the exhaustion was just too much for her. Her emotions poured out in front of her sister.
"I understand." Nebula spoke gently. "You don't know them, but they know you and you have no idea the bond you shared with them and you're constantly reminded of it." Nebula watched as her sister cried in front of her. It broke Nebula's heart to see her sister hurting so much. Before Nebula would have rolled her eyes and made some snarky comment but working with the Guardians and the Avengers and the events within in the blip made her a different woman.
"I will never be who he needs me to be." Gamora said shakily.
"That doesn't matter to him." A male voice spoke. Gamora's soft cries stopped abruptly as both her and Nebula jumped in their seats. Their eyes shot to the doorframe to see the small raccoon standing still. Gamora gave Nebula a worried look. Nebula took this in and returned a small nod to her sister, letting her know she was safe.
"Quill is many things, but he would never force you to be something you're not." Rocket explained.
"But he will never forget what once was." Gamora said defensively.
"That may be true, but at the same time, maybe he will look forward to what could be." Rocket was wise and cared about his best friend. He saw how his best friend was hurting after losing their Gamora and watching him interact with this variant made him realize how Peter would do anything to have her back. Whether it was the Gamora they knew and loved or not.
"Maybe you should try talking to him." Nebula suggested. Gamora looked at Rocket, awaiting a response.
"Is he still here?" Nebula asked, looking at Rocket now.
"Here?" Gamora questioned, looking at her sister then again at the raccoon.
"Pete said he was going to Earth. He was going to pack a few things and then leave in a few hours. That was almost two hours ago." Rocket responded. Gamora's breathing stopped as it felt like her heart fell to her stomach.
"He's gone?" She questioned in a quiet voice. Rocket shrugged.
"He might be."
"But, you're not sure?"
Rocket remained quiet. Gamora was at war with herself. On one hand, if Peter Jason Quill had left for Earth she wouldn't have to admit she had feelings brewing and she could move on, but on the other hand, she would forever remain wondering what could have been. She paced in the room. Nebula was still sitting silently on the bed as Rocket was leaned against the doorframe.
"Y'know, if you keep pacing, you're definitely going to miss him." Rocket said in his normal snarky tone of voice. Gamora shot him a glare.
"Shut it, Rodent." She gritted her teeth.
"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that." Rocket glared. Gamora stopped pacing and gave Rocket a sincere look.
"I'm sorry. I took it too far."
Rocket dismissed with a shrug of his shoulders. "You're under a lot of pressure. I get it."
"What do I do?" Gamora questioned.
"We can't tell you that." Nebula responded, still sitting on the bed and watching as Gamora ran her fingers through her hair.
"Whatever you decide, we will support you." Rocket added. Gamora looked at Rocket then at her sister. She drew in a shaky breath and grabbed her boots from the bedside.
"I need to talk to Stakar." She pushed past the raccoon who remained in the doorway, making her way down to the bars. Gamora trusted Stakar. His words and judgment would tell her what she needed to do. She made her way down to the bar where she found Stakar outside, laughing with the other Ravagers.
"Stakar, I need to speak with you." Gamora said in almost a shout so he could hear over the chaos around them.
"Gamora!" He exclaimed happily. He held out his arms to welcome her in an embrace. "I'm so glad you decided to join us."
"Look, Stakar, I need to talk to you about something important." Stakar noticed the seriousness in Gamora's voice and led her away.
"What is it?" Stakar asked, his voice low enough for only them to hear.
"I need to talk to you about Peter Quill." Gamora replied.
"There ain't much to know about Quill." Stakar responded. "He's a good kid although he had gotten into quite a bit of trouble over the years, but he did save the galaxy numerous times."
"What do you know about him?" Gamora asked. Stakar rubbed the stubble on his chin as he drew in a deep breath.
"Well, Yondu brought him in when he was just a kid. Said he was hired by his dad, but Yondu changed his mind about taking him. It broke our code. We don't deal in kids, so I had to exile him. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make." Stakar explained. "I kept an eye on them though. Quill turned out alright. But, like I said, he had a rep for getting into trouble."
"Isn't that the case with all of us?" Gamora questioned. She felt it was hypocritical to talk about Peter being a troublemaker when at least all of them had gotten into some deep shit before. Stakar chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess it is." He looked at Gamora quizzically. "Why do you want to know about Quill?" Gamora's body tensed.
"I'm just curious." Stakar's eyes never left her and she knew that he knew she wasn't telling the truth.
"Why do you want to know about Quill?" Stakar asked again, giving her another chance to tell him the truth. Gamora sighed.
"I can't sleep. He's all I think about." Gamora explained. "I've only known him for a short amount of time, but I feel like a lovestruck teenage girl." Gamora's voice was filled with disgust. Stakar sighed heavily.
"Gamora…" He began, placing a hand on her shoulder. "According to the other Ravagers, it didn't take you long to develop feelings and love for Peter and the rest of the Guardians."
"What are you saying?" Gamora questioned.
"I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised if you were going through the motions again. If you did it before, you're bound to do it again." Gamora sighed heavily.
"I'm just so confused. I'm not the Gamora they need me to be."
"How do you know they need you to be that Gamora and not just Gamora?" Stakar asked. Gamora thought about his question for several seconds.
"What do you think I should do?" Gamora asked in a small voice.
"I can't tell you that. You have to decide that on your own, but whatever you decide, I will support you. You know that." Stakar gave her a small smile before patting her on the back and going back to the bar, leaving her outside. Gamora closed her eyes and again, visions of Peter flashed throughout her mind. Her stomach turned with excitement and anxiety. Her heart raced. Her mind was already made up, but she had yet to act on her decision. She opened her eyes and spun on her heels as she began making her way to Peter's apartment. With every inch that came closer, her heart beat faster and louder. It was as if she could hear it pounding in her ears. When she arrived at the door, she drew in a shaky breath before lifting her fist up and knocking on it.
"Peter?" She called in a gentle voice. "It's me, Gamora." She knocked again. No answer.
"Peter?" She asked again. No answer. A door behind her opened and Gamora turned to see Drax.
"Gamora?" He questioned.
"Hey, have you seen Peter?" She asked. Drax gave her a solemn look.
"He went back to Earth." Gamora's heart felt as if it had stopped right then. She held her breath as she eyed Drax carefully.
"I'm sorry, but he's not here anymore."
