"Peter!" Kraglin roared angrily, stomping his way into one of the many bunk blocks, trying to find the hiding little boy.
He cranes his neck to looked beyond the multiple number of bunks, sighed irritably, then positioned himself on his hands and knees and began to crawl on the floor; searching for little Peter.
It was bathtime.
Peter absolutely despised bathtime, when it was time to get cleaned up he, Kraglin and/or Yondu would have to hunt him down, which took about a good thirty minutes.
And the little squirt was good at hiding too! He'd his under bunks, climb in the ship's air conditioning vents, and even crawl in the kitchen's cupboards.
Once they'd find the little runt, they'd drag his screaming, little fit-throwing self to their private quarters. Kraglin would sometimes have to pry his little hands off doorways or halls.
Finally, they get him washed down, but he always fights through the whole damned process. Splashing water, soaking both the Captain and his First Mate to the bone.
Hollering and swear words that echo through the little washroom can be heard nearly a mile away.
At the end Peter tuckered himself out and ends up falling asleep on their bed.
"I ain't gonna play this game, Peter!" He growled as he poked his head under a bed. "We do this every stinkin' time."
He pulled himself up and looked around. "Peter! I swear to whatever God there is I'm gonna find ya, whip your ass, and throw ya in the brig if ya don't come out."
Empty threats. Sometimes they work, sometimes not so much.
"One."
Kraglin announced. He could hear a little whimper from the corner of his room. He narrowed his eyes.
"Two!"
A small whine was heard, not before you heard rustling of blankets, Kraglin watched as a pile of blankets moved slowly, then shaggy red-blond hair popped from the top, then two green eyes.
"Hi, Daddy..."
They never knew why, but Peter always came out or did what he was told before they came to the number three. No one ever really knew what comes after three any way.
Kraglin sighed, propped himself up, then went to scoop up his boy. He took the boy and sat on a nearby bunk, dropping Peter in his lap as he rubbed face in exhaustion.
Peter wrung his tiny hands nervously, looking at the ground.
"I don't wanna take a bath."
Kraglin hummed lowly, as if he understood.
"Why?"
That's a good question though. They never really dug to see why Peter hated and protested his daily cleansing, they just didn't find it very necessary.
But Kraglin's to fucking tired to even try a carry the boy to the tub.
"'Cause, I don't want'cha ta fall 'an hurt yourself...like what happened to ya a long time ago."
He whispered.
Kraglin turned to face Peter. "What do ya mean, kid?"
Peter wrung his fingers even faster, still concentrating on looking at the ground.
"When you were really, really sick. Remember?"
He asked, looking up to see if Kraglin had any recollection of the terrifying events.
He didn't.
"You were giving me a bath, we was playing spaceship, 'an you kept swaying and groaning." He stopped to wipe tears off his red cheeks. "I asked if you was ok, you didn't say nothing. You tryin' to stand, but you fell, and hit your head really hard."
He sniffed quietly and rubbed furiously at his eyes, trying his best to make the crying stop.
"You wouldn't wake up. You just laid there. I tried to call you, but you couldn't hear me."
He cried even harder, hiding his face in Kraglin's chest, and clutching on to his Ravager's for dear life.
Huh. Kraglin didn't remember any of that to be honest. He remembered giving Peter a bath with a really bad headache and then waking up in the Med Bay with an even worse headache.
Kraglin sighed for what feels like the trillionth time and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Let's skip bathtime tonight."
Peter peeked from Kraglin's chest, peering up to meet his Daddy's eyes.
"Really." He asked, his small voice hoarse from crying.
Kraglin nodded, and placed to Peter on the floor.
"Go on." He said, shooing the boy away. "Before I change my mind."
Peter beamed brightly and scurried out the room, not before he gave Kraglin's knee a tight hug.
He scoffed.
"It was Yondu's turn to give ya a bath anyway."