Terran Whiskey
Yondu strolled into the bar, ignoring the looks shot his way with skill that only came from experience. He had never been welcomed anywhere on Terra. Hell, no Offworlders ever were, even though they saved all these poor Terran fucks from being obliterated by the Kree during the War. People were always coming up with new reasons to kick him and his boys out; it didn’t matter if they saved the planet or not. They were Offworlders, and Offworlders weren’t allowed in respectable Terran establishments.
Terrans were scared of anything they couldn’t explain or understand. They couldn’t even begin to fathom the vastness of the galaxy and the life within it, so they pushed it away. They pushed everyone who was different to the brink of society to barely survive. As long as the Offworlders stayed out of sight, they were out of mind. No one wants to think of the harsh reality: there are people outside of Terra. A lot of people, and some of those people wanted Terrans in chains.Q
Somehow, Yondu’s mind wandered back to Meredith. She wasn’t much: a skinny little Terran woman with a big mouth and fire in her eyes. She had only been surprised by his appearance for a few moments before she was spewing some hellfire words right at him. There had never been a trace of fear in those green eyes of hers, with her shoulders held back in unusual pride. That was something that Yondu hadn’t ever seen before in a Terran, especially in the women. They all rolled over so easily.
Not Meredith, though. Meredith was the sting of a wasp and the honey of a bee, all mixed up into one person.
She didn’t look too bad either, he reminded himself. Dressed just a little scandalous in order to get more tips; showing just enough skin to let the mind wander… and oh was his mind wandering.
Yondu smirked as he dropped down into a chair, downing a drink that had already been bought by his young, scrawny first mate. Well, used-to-be first mate, way back when they had a ship to run.
“What took ya so long, Cap’n?” Kraglin asked, fixing onto him with trusting blue eyes. It didn’t matter what Yondu had done, Kraglin always looked at him with that same stupid look: blind trust. Not even their crash-landing after the War had changed that look. The rest of his crew abandoned him, but Kraglin was still there. He always would be.
Yondu shrugged and carefully worded his response. “I ran into a lil Terran woman named Meredith. A fiery lil thing,” he said, being sure to leave out the part about getting hit in the face with a door. Kraglin didn’t need that kind of ammunition against him.
“Ya finally gonna get lucky tonight, sir?” asked Tullk, a shorter, strongly accented lad with dreadlocks. He and Kraglin could pass as Terrans if they hid their tattoos and mouths full of metal teeth, but Yondu stuck out like a sore thumb.
“That’s a bold question to ask your captain,” Yondu shot back, baring his teeth. Usually he had no trouble pulling in women, but on Terra, he seemed to be shit out of luck. Hell, Kraglin, a stick figure teenager, was pulling more girls than he was. That right there should’ve been a crime in itself.
Kraglin snickered and nudged Tullk, ordering them all another round of shots in the same motion. “That’s a no.”
“Boy,” Yondu warned. His first mate and third in command smirked the exact same smirk, having adopted it from each other after years of being closer than blood brothers.
“Movin’ on, Cap’n,” Kraglin grinned, downing his shot. He winced at the alcohol before continuing. “I got us a map earlier today and found out we’re in St. Charles. There ain’t much here besides people, sir. This bar is the most well-established place in town. Hell, there’s barely a courthouse; I looked. We should move on; head farther West. Maybe we’ll find somethin’ out there that can get us communicatin’ with Stakar and Aleta.”
For a moment, Yondu said nothing. He stared at his filled shot glass and pondered each answer to the same question. One, they could keep heading West. There were some hushed rumors about gold in the mountains, and gold could have the right elements they needed to establish communication with the Admiral of the Ravagers. If they could just talk to Stakar, there’d be a pod beelining for Terra to make one of the biggest rescue missions in recorded history.
Then there was the other option: stay in St. Charles. It was a nice little town, that’s for sure. No one would ever look from them there; especially not the hot shots in the east who were pissed off at them for stealing and fighting and simply existing. Those bastards were too lazy to trek all the way across the American wilderness just to catch three Offworlders. Plus, the little town had its benefits. The whiskey was good, the people seemed relatively open to some Offworlders (as long as they didn’t cause trouble, mind you)... and Meredith Quill lived here.
Yondu downed his shot. He was intrigued by this Terran woman. Besides, it’s not like he had anywhere to be anyways. Time runs slower on Terra than it does in space; the long two years that they had been stranded here was probably around two or three months up in the galaxy. Yondu had all the time in the world, and he planned on using it.
“We need a rest, Kraglin. We’ve been travellin’ for months now. This town don’t seem too bad when it comes to outsiders, so let’s take advantage of it. Let’s catch our breath before we go wildin’ out west on the rumor of there bein’ some gold in the mountains,” Yondu decided, looking over at his companions. While he had the final say, he knew that what they wanted mattered. The only reason they made it this far was because they were considerate of each other.
Tullk nodded after a moment. “I agree, Cap’n. We gotta rest so we can come back strong.”
Kraglin fiddled with his empty shot glass as he pondered the answer. Yondu could practically see the wheels in his head turning as he pictured what the next few months might look for them depending on which course of action they took. He had never been afraid to call Yondu out on his bullshit, and that was something that the captain always appreciated.
“A’ight, I guess I’m outnumbered,” Kraglin spoke up, finally looking at the two men on either side of him. For a teenager, he was awfully good at tactical thinking. “And y’all are right. We need to catch our breath. What better place to do it other than St. Charles?”
Yondu grinned slightly, clapping Kraglin on the back. He ordered a shot of something a little stronger. “That’s exactly what I was thinkin’, Krags.”
The rest of the night was full of drinking and laughter. They had finally found a town that didn't want to kick them out; they planned on enjoying it for as long as they could. Besides, Yondu couldn't remember the last time he had something decent to drink, and this little bar in the middle of nowhere had surprisingly good whiskey. Terran whiskey, but whiskey nonetheless.
Yondu was barely able to push Meredith from his mind, although the Terran whiskey did help him more than expected in the end. His mind just kept wandering back to their conversation: her words, her posture, her confidence. There weren’t words to describe his interest, but he had done so much more with other Terran girls and forgot them in an instant. What made Meredith Quill so damn different?
Yondu didn't give himself time to ponder that question. Him, Tullk, and Kraglin (who was the most sober) had to use all of their focus to try and get back to the little inn down the street without being hit by a carriage or kicked out for making too much noise in the dead of night. They had to pay extra because they were Offworlders, but the Ravagers were sick of sleeping on the ground. Beds were one of their main (drunken) priorities at that moment.
Once they finally checked in -the clerk threatened to kick them out if he heard any ruckus from their room- they were able to finally settle down. Yondu got one of the beds while Tullk and Kraglin were forced to share the other. Yondu couldn't help but grin as he heard the younger boys fighting drunkenly over a pillow; oh, how good it was to be captain.
Eventually, the noise quieted down. Kraglin and Tullk's arguing drifted into loud snores only broken by the occasional groan or curse. To the sound of strange bugs that Yondu still hadn’t learned the name of, he started to drift to sleep, luckily without any thoughts of that pesky Terran.