Chapter 14
We stayed on Contraxia for a few solar cycles while the teams got set up and I got the kids to understand who the Hell is in charge, having to throw Gamora in the Brig again with Indri and Steve after we took off. Bucky didn't agree with Steve being in the Brig and landed himself in the same situation as him for swinging at me.
"Anyone else wanna fill up the Brig today or should I start filling Tex's Med bunks?" I barked and no one said anything. "Get your asses to work. Now!" They all went to do their own thing and I rubbed my temples slightly, getting frustrated because it was early and I hadn't fucking eaten anything.
"Captain," I raised my eyes to look toward Loki as he came in and handed me a nutrition bar. "Good morning." I took the bar and tore it open before eating, nodding slightly as thanks. We've been talking every night over whiskey and it's been amazing because talking to him helps me get to sleep easier without an entire bottle of whiskey or pills. He nodded back and left to get to work. I did what I needed to do and got a job lined up for the beginning of the next annual cycle, looking out of a porthole to look at the stars where we had just put Dad and Gamora, right before Indri got thrown into the brig with his niece.
"Gods... Is this karma for the crap I pulled? Was I seriously that bad?" I muttered under my breath and rubbed my face slightly, going back to what I was doing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a couple of lunar cycles and Loki knocks on the door to my quarters for our nightly whiskey talk. I open the door and motion for him to come in. He hands me chocolate and a single flower. "My Captain. Happy Valentine's Day." I smile a bit and look at the flower, noticing it's fake. "So that it does not die and you do not have to maintain it."
"Smart."
"Thank you. Am I pouring the whiskey tonight or are you?" I motion to him and he nods, pouring two glasses for us before he hands one to me.
"Thank you, Loki. For the drink, flower, and chocolate. They're great. Want a piece?" I offer him an unwrapped one and he just eats it from my fingers, smirking slightly.
"Mmm. You are quite right. These are delicious." I don't know how to respond so I just take a sip of my whiskey as I sit down and he sits across from me, sitting in his normal position. I carefully rake my eyes over his frame and he smirks. "See something that you like, Dear Captain?" I clear my throat awkwardly and drink my whiskey, blushing a bit. He chuckles and sips his whiskey as well, looking me over in a way that I don't notice as we talk.
"Well, Captain, I shall allow you to get to bed." He sets his glass on the bar and I do too, leading him over to the door. "Good night, Dear Captain." He starts to leave and I bite my lip a bit.
"Hey, Loki," He looks at me and I place a quick peck on his cheek. "Good night," I say quickly, blushing more, and shut the door as he chuckles.
------------
He smiles and heads to his Quarters that he shares with Thor. The other Avengers were in there talking and look at him as he comes in, a small smile still playing on his lips. "What's making you smile like that, Loki?" He looks at Rhodey and drops the smile.
"I have no clue what you are talking about," He says simply and gets ready to rest for the night, the small smile coming back as he turns his back to them.
"You have never smiled like that, Brother. Is it a woman?" He tenses slightly and Thor laughs. "It is! Who is she? How long have you been pining for her, Brother?" He doesn't respond and gets in his bunk.
"I would like to rest now if that is alright with all of you. The next solar cycle comes early, as you are all aware." They roll their eyes and leave to go to bed themselves.
"Who is she, Brother? I must know!"
"Good night, Brother." Loki turns the light off and ends the conversation there, by ignoring Thor when he continued to pry.
-----------
The other Captains and First Mates in my family contact me with a transmission while what's left of the Guardians let themselves in with a code only Groot knows as I'm dancing and humming softly, headphones in. Rocket answers the transmission and I turn to see most of my dysfunctional family looking at me as I take my headphones out. "What? I was getting ready to go to sleep."
"Whose glass is that on the bar?" Martinex asks with a smirk and I glance at the bar to see that Loki's glass was still out, silently cursing.
"Mine."
"What about the other glass?"
"Also mine. Forgot I poured a glass and poured a second one. Wow, would you look at the time! I should seriously get to sleep. Night!" I try to end the transmission and Mantis touches my bare hand, smiling brightly even as I snatch my hand away. Damnit.
"Rogue has a crush on someone," She squeals and they all look at me while I'm trying to think of words to say.
"Yeah? Who is 'e?" Kraglin asks and I tap my fingertips against each other slightly, thinking of how to get my voice to work.
"Or she?" Lumes adds from over Yondu's shoulder and Senso pops up from behind Kraglin.
"Or they?" I see that her hair's a mess and she was covered by a sheet with bare shoulders while Kraglin had messy hair and a bare chest.
"Kraglin, did you two just have sex?" He blushes blue and the focus is off of me. Thank Gods.
"That isn't the point! You like someone?" Mainframe asks and now the focus is back on me. "Do they conform to a gender? If so, what one is it?"
"I haven't even confirmed if I like someone or not, yet!"
"That confirms it. Man?" Aleta asks and I just nod, rubbing the back of my neck slightly. "Someone from Terra?" I nod again and Mantis was bouncing up and down while everyone else was watching me. "The kid you let fall down the stairs?"
"No! He already has a girlfriend!"
"OK. The one with the hammer?"
"Ugh. Too many muscles, not enough brain cells." She snorts at that and I absentmindedly eat a piece of chocolate from Loki.
"Did one of us give you those?" Charlie asks and I, in my everlasting wisdom while uncomfortable, yeet the chocolate behind the bar.
"What are you talking about?"
"Smooth," Rocket snorts and I rub the back of my neck again.
"OK, OK. Hypothetically speaking, OK?" They all nod and I fold my hands at the back of my neck. "If I did like someone, how would I know that they also liked me and how do I tell them that?"
"How'd you do it with Jay?" Stakar asks and I open my mouth to say something before closing it again, thinking.
"I didn't have to. It was obvious and a lot easier to do cuz we grew up around each other. Know what? This is your two's fault, Gramps, Krags."
"Wha'? How?"
"You two idiots and Dad would flip shit whenever I was in the vicinity of a male that I was genuinely interested in. So, the only two relationships I have to go off of are one where I grew up around him and one where he was an abusive asshole."
"Tha' was yer Daddy's doin', kid," Kraglin scoffs and I tilt my head slightly to the side for a moment in slight agreement.
"OK, yeah... Fair enough. Why is this so difficult?"
"It ain't. Jus' tell 'im."
"OK. But, what if he doesn't reciprocate the feelings?"
"Yeah, there's a lot not to like about you," Rocket smirks and I kinda glare at him.
"Whatever. Look, I'm tired and this talk has been great, but good night." I end the transmission with a slight bow of my head and kick the others out, locking the door so that only Nebula can get inside in case of an emergency. I finish getting ready to sleep and crawl into bed, passing out for the night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I roll out of bed at 0500 and get a shower before going to Mess, noticing Loki and most of the other Avengers eating at the Captain's table, since a majority of them were Leads or Co-Leads. The ones that aren't, leave when they see me coming and most of the leads follow while I get the meal for First Shift along with a drink. I nod slightly in thanks and go to sit in my chair, seeing Loki had left Mess. That hurts for some reason and I'm not sure why as I eat my food.
"Do you think it's the Captain?" There's silence before everyone agrees it's not me and I'm confused. "How are we supposed to figure out who Loki likes?" I'm shocked and hide it behind my cup.
--------
I had no way of knowing Loki was hearing a similar conversation between the Guardians, Captains, and First Mates as he goes to do his job.
"How are we gonna find out who that kid likes? She has a pretty screwed-up sense of... Well, everything."
"Rogue is bound to give away small hints and clues as we look."
---------
I finish my food quickly and down my drink, walking out of Mess to find Loki, clueless to the Avengers following me. Loki was walking toward Mess with my family trailing him and we meet outside of the hangar.
"Loki."
"Captain."
"I have a question..."
"Yes?"
"Do you like m... Me... At? Do you like meat?"
"Meat?"
"Yes."
"Yes, I like meat. Is that all you wanted to ask me?"
"Uh... Yup! I, uh... I gotta go now... So, um... Yeah... See you later?"
"Of course, Captain." He bows slightly and I nod my head slightly at that, walking past him and my family, who were all looking at me like I was crazy.
"Actually!" I cringe at how loudly I say that and turn to look at him while my family turns to look at me. "There, uh, there was something else... Um..."
"Yes, Captain?" He waits patiently and I stumble over my words.
"Do you, uh... I mean... Did... Um... What are... How... How do you get your hair so shiny?" What?! Why did I say that?!
"What?" He looks confused and so does everyone else.
"Uh, yeah... How, um... How... How do you get your hair so shiny?"
"I use a special hair care routine."
"Really?"
"Yes..."
"That... That's, um... That's... That's seriously cool. Uh... Yeah... Good talk." I give him two thumbs-up and walk away, muttering under my breath at myself. "'How do you get your hair so shiny?' What the fuck, Rogue? How are you so bad at this?"
"Captain," He calls before I'm around the corner and I cringe slightly, turning to look at him after making my face neutral. "Are you free tonight?"
"Um..." I think about that and kinda nod. "Yeah..."
"Would you like to go out for a meal with me on the nearby planet? I have been saving units so I could treat you," He says smoothly and I try and fail, to speak a few times before clearing my throat.
"It's a date," I say then realize what I said and quickly backpedal. "Unless it's not supposed to be a date, then it's not a date. It... It's just a meal. Between a Captain and her crewmate. Not a date. Unless it is, then-"
"It's to help us get information for the mission, Captain." He smiles and it makes me happy on the inside as I smile back a bit. "What time would you like to leave?"
"Um... 0000."
"What?"
"Not the time I meant!" I chuckle slightly and Aleta takes pity on me.
"1915. She wants to leave at 1915." He comes over and smiles at me.
"I shall come by your quarters at 1900 then, Captain," He says with a slight bow and kisses my hand before he leaves. "I shall see you then." I smile and give him two thumbs-up again, my voice not working.
"That was painful to watch," Martinex says and I nod my agreement, still kinda smiling. "Probably more painful to be a part of, huh?" I nod again and Charlie waves a hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my slight trance. "You OK?" I just give him a thumbs-up and most of the Avengers look at me a bit.
"Captain Rogue.exe has stopped functioning," Peter scoffs and I nod my agreement, just happy right now.
"You guys have got stuff to do. Get to work," I mutter with a wave of my hand and my crew goes to do as I told them while I walk away, wandering the ship now with my family following me, which I don't notice. I hum softly and do anything that needs to be done, going toward the Brig to deal with the idiots in there while I'm in a good mood.
"This is tyranny," Gamora yells and I rub my temples slightly, going over to the cells that she and Indri were in, along with Steve and Bucky. Again. "Tyranny!" I kick the door and she shuts up as she turns to look at me, glaring. "This is fucking tyranny!"
"You got thrown in here for fighting with Leads."
"And what about goody two shoes there?" I look at Steve and Bucky and they were sitting close to each other.
"Honestly, I think they just get thrown in here to be able to make out. Hey," They look at me and I raise an eyebrow. "Why the Hell did you two get thrown in here this time?"
"Drunk fighting with some Leads. Nebula let them out earlier," Steve explains while Bucky rubs his temples and I roll my eyes slightly.
"Why, though?"
"They talked shit about America and wars. How they weren't any different from what you used to do."
"Which they aren't." He rolls his eyes and Bucky hits him.
"Steve, watch it, you idiot. Do you want to get out of here anytime soon?" He doesn't respond and Bucky shakes his head. "Steve started it and I got thrown in here with him for trying to break it up."
"It's easy to understand if you'd get it through your thick damned skulls. No fighting unless you're in the fucking gym! I'm tired of seeing you assholes and you two little shits," I direct at Gamora and Indri, who look insulted. "In here every few solar cycles because you can't fucking get along with anyone else! If you can't fucking start, I'm gonna start kicking your asses myself before I throw you in here then you can all clean the damned hangar from top to bottom! Are we clear?"
"Yes, Captain," They say resignedly and I let the guys out. Gamora starts to leave and I push her back in.
"What the Hell? Let me out!" I shut the door and she grabs the bars, trying to swing at me.
"I will for the next meal. After you've had more time to calm down. So, I suggest, you sit your ass down and shut the fuck up," I bark and she does that while I give her some food. "Enjoy." She eats and I lean against the cell opposite hers, watching her a bit.
"What?"
I start to respond when Indri is dragged back into the Brig by Jaz, who had a cut on his lip, and Indri had blood on his knuckles. "Cap'n," He nods respectfully at me and deposits Indri at my feet.
"What happened?"
"Kid came up an' decked me in m'face. Fer no reason."
"Of course he did." I notice the two of them exchanging small smirks and narrow my eyes at them. "Know what? Today's a slow day." I tap Indri's head and he looks at me. "Congratulations. You've earned yourself a chance to clean the hangar from top to bottom until it's spotless. Get to work."
"Fine. I'll get Petey to help me," He huffs as he walks away and I catch him by the collar of his jacket, pulling him back. "What now?"
"By yourself. And you," I look at Gamora and her eyes snap to me. "The vents haven't been cleaned in Gods only know how long it's been since they have. Congratulations, once you're done with that, you get to clean the vents. Cuz we'll be landing to prepare for our next mission shortly." Indri was still there and I snap my fingers as I point toward the door. "Get to work!" He scurries off and I look at Gamora. "Hurry up. If you work hard, you might even wind up sleeping in your Quarters instead of the Brig."
She finishes her food quickly and I open the door, handing her the tool for cleaning the vents. "Get Thor to help you out." I give her a rundown on how it works and she takes it to get started, Jaz already back to work as we were landing. "Gamora," I call gently and she turns to look at me as I hand her the small blade I usually spin around my fingers. "There might be Orloni's in the vents. Be careful, alright?" She looks at me and nods, taking the blade before she leaves the Brig.
I sigh softly and rub my temples before leaving to help get prepared for the mission, thinking a bit. Tonight will be fun. My first date ever, but it's not a real date. That's just a cover. Still kinda counts.