A/N: Waiting for Deadpool & Wolverine to come out makes me antsy. I've been fishing through all the Marvel movies like an obsessed maniac, and landed on GotG, which I've never really cared much about before. Maybe I had never actually seen the second one, because I completely forgot about Yondu. Not sure how that is possible because he is the best dad EVER. I decided to take a shot writing something. Took some ideas from a few other fanfics, so thank you all for the inspiration and guidance!

Disclaimer: I do not own GotG or anything Marvel.

Yondu hated sentiment. It made him want to vomit. That was part of why he was so good for the job Ego had given him — he never let himself get attached to anyone. He could look these scared, pathetic little children in the eyes and tell them to suck it the hell up, before delivering them to their jackass father, no questions asked.

Of course, that was a trained ability. It came from years and years of covering up his own soft pathetic heart that had been hurt too many times to count. Playing mean and tough was how he had learned to survive. It's what got him through those long twenty years as a battle slave, and what made him the Captain of the most savage Ravager Clan in the galaxy.

But when Yondu inadvertently discovered what Ego had been doing to those children after he delivered them… that's when his soft side finally started to seep into the forefront. He was hit with a heavy wave of guilt and nausea. He'd known in the back of his mind that what he was doing was technically wrong; he knew he was breaking the code. But he did it anyway — mostly out of greed and selfish pride.

He hadn't realized the extent to which it was wrong. He hadn't realized he was willingly participating in a bloody child massacre.

Even worse, Yondu couldn't remember a single face of the children whose corpses now lay in an underground pit of that godforsaken planet.

Yondu ignored the ugly emotions bubbling in his heart. This is why he didn't ask questions. It was good money, and that was all he needed or wanted to know. He pushed down the guilt to the deepest part of his gut and went to fetch Ego another one of his damned kids.

Peter Quill. That's what this one was called. A Terran boy. He arrived onto the ship with a sack on his back, and a strange rectangular device in his hand that connected to his earlobes with strings.

From the moment they pulled him on board he was sobbing loudly — a heartbroken wail that held far more emotional weight than one would expect from a child. He didn't act surprised or frightened by the sudden abduction. In fact, he seemed to care very little about where he was or who he was with. He simply lay curled up in a ball on the floor, gripping tightly to his hand-and-ear device like a lifeline.

Yondu had no patience for this sort of behavior. Normally the children would be in shock, or would start screaming in fear. Sometimes they'd even try to fight or run. Yondu could handle that — a few smacks and they'd turn compliant. But this… this kid was an absolute mess.

"Get a transplant in his head," Yondu shouted to two of his men, who quickly went to lift the limp boy off the ground. He turned to Kraglin next to him. "Set 'im up in the cargo unit, and call me in an hour," he growled at his first mate, before quickly exiting the room.

The boy's cries echoed in Yondu's head as he made his way back down the corridor of the ship. Like a distant memory, the sound ran coldly through his blue veins and caused him to shiver.

He knew that cry. It was the cry of someone who had lost everything worth living for.

Once the wailing had quieted, Yondu made his way down to the lowest levels of the ship to the old cargo hold. Most of it was storage, but it was also where they had been keeping Ego's kids during transport. The captain paused before going inside. They were about three days out from Ego's planet. T-minus 72 hours until Peter Quill would be as dead as the rest of them.

Yondu silently cursed himself for letting his mind go there, and then put on his brave face as he slammed the door open.

The boy sat on the dank floor, leaning his back against the sleek walls of the cargo hold. He still had those strings in his ears, and he tapped his foot rhythmically against the ground. When the Centaurian stepped into his line of vision, the kid looked up, but his eyes seemed to be glazed over. He looked either bored or defeated, Yondu wasn't sure which.

"You understand me, boy?"

Peter didn't respond. He just stared.

Yondu raised his voice. "I said, you understand me, boy?!"

The kid gave him a confused look, and then pulled the strings from his ears. "Huh?" He said stupidly.

Yondu growled angrily. "What, are you deaf or somethin'?"

Peter's eyes lit up in surprise. "Woah! You speak English?" He said in awe.

Not deaf. Just an idiot. Yondu wanted to be irritated, but there was almost something amusing about the way this kid didn't seem fazed by him at all.

"But how do you know English if you're an alien?" Peter said. "Or, well, I assumed you're an alien, since you're like, blue —"

"It don't matter what language I'm speakin'!" Yondu interrupted impatiently. "My men installed a translation device into the back o' yer head so you can understand anyone from anywhere in the galaxy."

"Oh," Peter replied.

"Listen, boy—"

"Are you my father?" The kid asked suddenly.

Yondu was taken aback by the question. He was starting to wonder if every Terran kid was this stupid.

"You think I'm your father," he gestured to himself skeptically. "Me, with my blue skin and my space ship?" He added.

Peter looked down, almost like he was disappointed. "I just thought… my mom said my dad was some space angel who would come get me after she…" His expression grew dark, and he pulled the hand device closer to his chest.

Yondu was hit with a strange feeling of warmth in that moment, and he quickly squashed the odd desire to smile. Instead he chose a combination of disbelief and exasperation.

"I ain't your father, boy!" He exclaimed, not bothering to hide his blatant judgement of the child. "My name is Yondu Udonta. I'm a Ravager, and Captain o' this ship!"

"What's a Ravager?"

Yondu growled under his breath. He was getting tired of answering this kid's dumbass questions. Peter Quill was too brave for his own good, and Yondu didn't like it. It was time to shift tactics.

He crossed his arms threateningly. "You think this is some sorta joke, boy? 'Cause I got a whole crew o' Ravagers who wanna eat you alive. They ain't ever tasted Terran flesh before," he told him.

That finally got the terrified reaction Yondu had been looking for. Peter's eyes widened into round circles and he curled up closer to the wall. "Eat me?" His voice raised an entire octave. Yondu grinned.

"Now they won't, so long as you follow my orders," he assured the boy. "Think you can handle that?"

Peter nodded vigorously, still gripping to that strange box as if it were glued to his hand. Then out of nowhere, a loud crackling sound started blasting from the strings of the little mechanism. The boy quickly fumbled with the device to make it stop.

"What the hell his that thing?!" Yondu shouted.

"It's okay! It's just music—"

But Yondu had already grabbed the box out of the boy's hand.

To the captain's utter surprise, Peter went absolutely ballistic. A wretched scream came out of his throat as if someone was torturing him. Then he wildly tackled Yondu like a punching bag.

Luckily, Yondu had gotten over his shock quickly, and was able to yank the boy off of him one-handed. The scrawny kid was so unbelievably light that he almost felt bad pinning him effortlessly to the ground.

Peter didn't stop fighting though. He squirmed forcefully beneath the Centaurian's arm and continued screaming bloody murder. "Give it back!" He screeched. "It's mine!"

Yondu held the device above his head, out of the boy's reach. "I ain't givin' nothin' back!" He shouted right back at the fearless child. "Not until you tell me why the hell this thing is so damn important to ya!"

"It's from my mom!" Peter cried, tears returning to his eyes. "It's all I've got left, please!"

Yondu froze for a long moment as he stared down at the desperate child. The raw pain in the boy's expression was uncannily familiar — it was an expression Yondu had been seeing in the mirror his whole goddamn life. Memories of his own miserable childhood started flooding his thoughts, from a time when he still wore his heart on his sleeve. Back when he still had a glimmer of hope.

Then for a split second, a new image flashed in his mind — a vivid vision of Peter as a corpse. Fear unlike anything Yondu had felt before rippled through his body like an electric shock.

Yondu stood slowly, his eyes never leaving the boy's face. He tossed the device onto the ground next to him and Peter scrambled to snatch it back into his grip.

The Captain crouched down, leaning towards the kid until their noses were inches apart. "You think I give a shit about your deadass mama?" He sneered quietly. "Sentiment makes you weak, boy. If you wanna stay alive on my ship, you're gonna have to buck up real fast, you hear?"

Peter grit his teeth, his tear-stained cheeks trembling as he held in a sob. His breathing was shaky, but he didn't dare speak.

Without another word, Yondu left the boy inside the dark room and stormed his way back up to the main part of the ship.

Kraglin greeted the Captain in the corridor, and paused when he saw Yondu's expression. "Is everything alright, sir?" He asked in concern.

"Where we headin', Kraglin?" Yondu asked.

"Back to Ego to deliver the boy, sir," he replied.

"Turn around."

Kraglin looked confused. "Cap'm?"

Yondu lowered his voice. "You heard me. Turn the damn ship around, Kraglin, and get as far from that jackass as possible. We're keepin' the kid."

Kraglin knew better than to question him again, even though he definitely wanted to. Instead, he dutifully saluted his superior and nodded. "Yes sir," he complied, before leaving to follow through on the order.

Yondu took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment in the silent corridor. A brave, skinny kid could be useful among the Ravagers. A face of innocence, that could steal more easily and fit into places the men couldn't. It was the only way to ensure that Ego wouldn't be able to get his hands on him.

That assurance didn't stop the fear and worry that now possessed Yondu. He didn't know the first thing about raising a kid. Life was full of harsh realities — loss, betrayal, greed, cruelty. A heart as big as Peter's didn't stand a chance.

The galaxy was gonna tear that boy to pieces.

A/N: What do you think? I hope you liked it! Yondu is such a great character, and such a protective daddy. Please tell me your thoughts in the reviews!