love really hurts without you
—
“She collapsed upon laying eyes upon Quill.” Nebula stated. “How is that not the basis for taking her in?”
Rocket, who’d sedated both Peter and Gamora for their own sakes, looked back uneasily at the green-skinned woman on the medical table as images he recognised played out on a small data screen.
“I’m not saying it’s not. It’s just that… “ He sighed again, his tail swishing behind him agitatedly. “Did you know, by any chance, that your sister, I don’t know, has a frickin’ memory bank?”
She looked pointedly at the smaller Guardian.
“I didn’t. Changes Thanos made are not just on the outside.”
Drax chimed in from across the room without missing a beat, as usual.
“Are you afraid to see your sister and Quill copulating on the memory bank?”
Nebula glared daggers at him, her nose wrinkling and lip curling.
“Make another quip, and you’ll be on the receiving end of a flamethrower, Beefcake.” Nebula snapped.
Still, the quirk of her lip when she turns away tells a faint smirk.
She’d never admit that, though.
“Is that what being stuck on a ship with a man made of iron does to you?” Drax questioned Rocket as he sharpened his knives in the living area, taking advantage of the whole Quill-wasn’t-here situation to prop his feet up on the seats.
“Yes. Get your feet off of the furniture.” Nebula responded flatly as she returned to her sister’s side, swiping across the screen of the display. “And don’t think I don’t see you doing it too, Rocket.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Rocket snorted, but regained his composure, frowning again as he stepped down from the sofa. “Anyway, how long did you say this was gonna take? What’s going on with Gamora?”
The cyborg let out a huff.
“I am performing a re-upload of my sister’s memories to this alternate version of her body. I have done this on myself many times. It should work within a few hours.”
“Nifty,” the racoon noted dryly. “So that’s it? We get her back?” His nose twitched nervously, as he blinked in the ship’s dimmed light.
“Yes.” Nebula confirmed.
She hoped. She really, really hoped.