Just take a deep breath. It's easy. Peter inhaled, clenching his fists at his sides. That's no good. He slipped his hands into the pockets of his dark red leather coat. Yeah. That's better. He took another breath and cleared his throat, striding up to the weapons tent and the thirteen-year-old girl who helped her parents run it.

"Hey, Baria."

She glanced up from the knife she was polishing, purple eyes lighting up slightly. "Peter!" She turned her hand, pale blue fingers twirling the knife before laying it alongside its twins. "Here to get another blade?"

Peter smirked, pulling his coat back to reveal the weapon fastened to his hip. "I'm actually here for something a little more powerful."

Her eyes lit up even more, a look of excitement crossing her face as her hands came together, clasped under her chin and purple lips. "You've got a gun now?"

"Yup." Peter let his jacket fall back into place. "Once I buy some batteries from you, we could go out to the shooting range and… do some target practice."

Baria smiled, turning to look over her shoulder. "Let me ask my parents." She bounded into the small hut behind the weapons tent, a red curtain falling shut behind her.

Oh, boy. Peter felt a twitch of nerves, not knowing what kind of reputation he had with her parents, though he had always tried to be polite. He kept his hands in his pockets, wondering if it was normal for them to be so sweaty, and he tried to roll his shoulders and relax.

"They said it's fine!" Baria came back out with the batteries in one hand, the other resting on her own weapon, a long and thin sword hanging on her left hip. "Once we put the batteries in, we can go."

"Awesome!" Peter wanted to smile wide, but he knew he had to play it cool, so he cleared his throat and tried to recover. "I mean, it's great, you know."

She giggled, and when she handed over the batteries, he was quick to load his gun. Then they walked—and ran from time to time—through the marketplace and out to the shooting range. He showed off a few moves, and even though the gun was a new addition to his arsenal, it wasn't so new that he wasn't a good shot. He had been training day and night.

"Wow! You're really good at this, Peter!" Baria smiled, moving a little closer to him. "Do you think… I could try to shoot some targets?"

Peter grinned. "Sure. I'll show you how." He slid up behind her, placing the gun in her right hand. "Just take it like this…"

He walked through the basics with her, figuring out which eye was dominant and explaining how to aim and fire. Once she knew a little of what she was doing, he maneuvered his arms around her and held her hands in place, his heart pounding on the inside of his chest. He had never been so close to a girl in his life, and as she started to fire his weapon at the silver targets across the range, Peter found himself wondering if he could die from too fast of a heartbeat.

"Peter, that was amazing!" Baria handed the gun over to him and bounced in place, brown curls bobbing against her shoulders.

Still trying to look cool, Peter holstered the weapon and waved it off. "It's no big deal."

She smiled at him, purple eyes bright, and then she leaned in, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for showing me."

"Oh, I—" He swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying not to freak out. "Sure. You're welcome." Clearing his throat, he started to walk back toward the marketplace. "You're a pretty good shot yourself."

Baria giggled, reaching over and grabbing his hand.

Peter buffered for a moment before tightening his grip, and he had no idea if he was doing the whole 'girl' thing right, but he got a feeling he was. Of course, his brain wanted to take things a couple steps further, but for a first time, he thought he was doing pretty good.

"Okay, this is your stop." Peter slowed outside the weapons tent, reluctantly letting go of her hand. "I've got to get back to the ship anyhow, so—"

"But I'll see you again, right?"

Peter flashed a quick smile, knowing that Ravagers would go for months without returning to a planet, just to keep the law off their tail. "Yeah. You'll see me again." It might take half a year, but he would probably make his way back to Burginia. They had gone there for supplies before, after all.

"Alright. Have a safe journey!"

Peter gave a two-fingered salute and started jogging toward the docks. He remembered where they had parked the ship, so he weaved his way through travelers and traders of every shape and kind, hoping he hadn't stayed out too long.

"Peter!" Kraglin stood on the ramp to the ship, hands cupped around his mouth. "Peter!"

"I'm coming!" Peter went from a jog to a run, cutting through the crowd and scrambling up the ramp, out of breath. "Sorry. I was, um—I was getting batteries. For my gun."

Kraglin wet his lips, looking like he was trying not to smile, and he put his hands on his hips. "You know she was wearing lipstick, right?"

Peter froze, his hand instinctively flying to his cheek. "Um—" Remembering her purple lips, he started to rub, hoping he could remove the evidence before anyone else saw. "It was nothing. It was just—it was just—"

Kraglin threw his head back laughing, turning toward the ship and walking the remainder of the ramp. "Hey, boys! Guess what Peter's been up to!"

Running after him, Peter tried to think of a way to spin the situation without coming across as soft. "It was just—it was just one kiss!"

"Oh!" Nuntak said, leaning toward Bablik. "It was just one kiss."

"Right there in the market?" Kinsel asked. "You didn't set the mood, you stupid boy!"

Peter felt even more flustered than he had with Baria's lips on him. "I took her to the shooting range, alright?"

There was more laughter, and Nuntak leaned over to nudge him on the arm. "Hey. Hey. Did you show her your weapon?"

"No, I just—I mean, I didn't—we just—" Peter stammered through a few more sounds that didn't even resemble words, and then he put his head down and stormed past the group, fists clenched at his sides. "You're all jerks!"

Raucous laughter continued behind him, and with flaming red cheeks, he marched toward his room. He had barely gotten to the first hallway when Yondu came around the corner.

"Boys, are we ready for—where you goin' in such a state, boy?"

"I'm not in love!" Peter shouted, not even looking in Yondu's direction.

"Huh? Did I miss something?"

More laughter, and Peter kept storming down the hall.

Stupid freaking Ravagers!

Author's Note: Remember, as always, you can check out my website or my tumblr for updates on the different things I'm working on! I also have a Facebook page for Nicole Shank - Author, if that's more your style. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!