Dance
Using the empty bottles that were lying on the table as microphones, Peter and you screamed the lyrics at each other. Occasionally when all of the guardians where together at the headquarters with nothing to do, Peter would play some music and sometimes you would just listen while reading, other times you would go full karaoke mode with your friends (well mostly Peter or Rocket and Mantis if they were in the mood; Gamora and Nebula would most likely roll their eyes and Drax would be falling asleep on the sofa).
As the rhythm of the song was getting faster, you took Peter’s hand and you both just danced and jumped around, running out of breath. When the song came to an end, you let out a yelp as he tried to carry you the Dirty Dancing way, making you both lamentably collapsed to the ground in laughter. Rocket, Groot and Gamora laughed with you, Nebula was sitting on a chair with her cold stare and Drax was… snoring.
All of you stopped for a second to catch your breath, and a few seconds after Peter got up to go change the song, your favourite slow song started playing. Can’t help falling in love by Elvis Presley.
“Oh my god, I love this song!” you exclaimed as soon as you heard the very first notes. You turned to Nebula, extending your hand to Nebula.
“Come on, dance with me!” you said with a smile. She looked up at you from her sitting position.
“...I-” she looked around, embarrassed and avoiding your eyes. “I have to go.” and with that she got up and left the room. You couldn’t say you were surprised but a part of you expected her to just agree and come have fun with you. With your head down, you looked to the ground and then at your teammates. Peter and Gamora were dancing together Quill holding her close and even Mantis and Groot were dancing friendly, hand in hand with dumb smiles. As you watched them you couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy.
“Nebula is not for you, y/n” Drax made you jump from behind.
“Damn it, Drax!” you yelled at him for startling you. “what do you even mean?”
“You are a dancer. Nebula is only going to make you sad, she is not a dancer.”
“Didn’t you say the same about Gamora?” you raised an eyebrow, turning to the green woman who was still slow dancing.
“I was wrong. But that won’t happen again. I am never wrong.” he said, towering you.
“..Riiiight..” it was hard taking him seriously not matter how serious his face was. But he had a good point, Nebula could sometimes make you sad but given her background you at least considered yourself lucky that instead of giving you snarky comments like she did with the others she would either avoid you or try to make small talk when nobody else was around and she was feeling brave.
“Come over here y/n, I’ll give you a dance. Everybody knows I’m a better dancer than Blueberry anyway.” Rocket said from his chair, trying to cheer you up a bit.
“Nevermind…” you sat on the same chair Nebula was sitting in a few minutes ago. “I needed a break anyway.” you forcefully smiled to the raccoon to convince him you didn’t care that much.
-
A few days later, you were in the headquarters again, but alone this time. And that was good because you didn’t want to see anyone. Lying into a comfy chair, you curled into a ball, hugging your knees, your head facing the back so you really wouldn’t see anyone that might walk by.
Your week had been awful. Your last mission had been an entire mess and you thought it was all your fault which only reminded you of everything that had ever gone wrong in your life.
Your depressed thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the sound of footsteps coming towards you. You turned your head just a bit to find out who it was, and went back to your previous position when you saw Nebula standing next to you.
“What are you doing?” she said with her usual angry tone.
“Ignoring you.”
“Rocket said you’ve been in here for hours.” she stated.
“So?”
“Have you even eaten anything?”
You raised your head just to look at her briefly, thinking it might help you figure out why she was bothering you. She probably needed you for work or something. “What do you want?”
She inspected your face. “Have you been crying?” she said, still towering you.
Once again you dropped your head back on the chair to hide your face. “No” that was the least convincing “no” that ever came out of your mouth.
She stood still for a second, not sure what to do.
“Get up.”
You sighed. “Leave me alone.”
“Get. up.”
“I said leave!”
“There is no point in staying locked inside all day doing nothing.”
“Why do you even care?”
“It’s...weird seeing you like this.”
“Then don’t look.”
“Stand up, I won’t ask again.”
“Why can’t you just let it go?!”
“Because I always get what I want. My determination has never failed me” she answered, her tone flat as if it was a certain fact.
“Well there’s a first time for everything. Now get outta here.”
She grunted and made her way outside.
Finally. Peace. You thought.
Even though she didn’t know how to handle facing someone who was depressed, she was determined to find a way because, while it was hard to admit it, it was hard for her to see your usually funny and energetic self like that.
Alone again, you allowed yourself to close your eyes and go back to your depressed lazy state. Until music started playing loudly through the speaker, making your eyes jolt open. You immediately recognized the song as it was the one that had been played in the very same place a few days earlier. Can’t help falling in love by Elvis Presley.
“What the hell-” you muttered as you turned around, but instead of facing an empty room you were met by Nebula, extending a hand to you. Your face suddenly lit up and a big unsure smile spread across your face.
“What are you doing?”
“Come on, dance with me.” she said, borrowing the words you had used a few days ago.
“But last time you said no?” you remained seated, wondering why the blue woman had suddenly decided she wanted a dance.
“Hurry up before I change my mind.” her face stayed very serious but you could tell her lip was twitching a tiny bit.
You grabbed her hand and lead her to the dance floor (which was actually the middle of the living room but in this moment it was all the same to you). The only time she had seen people slow dance was with Gamora and Quill, so she imitated their gesture by putting a hand on your shoulder and the other on your waist. As you knew how to dance, you took the lead and started moving in sync with the music.
“Why are you doing this?” you looked her in the eyes, asking sincerely.
“ I told you, I always get what I want” she didn’t move her eyes from yours.
“Is that the only reason?” you asked, feeling bold.
“The only one I will say out loud” she said before making you spin like a professional waltz dancer. You knew she had probably never danced before but as she started taking the lead herself, moving her feet swiftly, it was obvious to you that she was a natural.
“You know, Drax said you weren’t a dancer.”
“I’m not.”
“After this, I would have to disagree. You’re good at this, it’s a shame no one ever knew about your hidden dancing skills.” you joked.
“If you tell anyone I’ll have you dead” she meant it as a threat but she was so lost in the moment that it came out way softer that she intended.
You spent the rest of the song in silence and as it came to an end, you decided to rest your head against her shoulder as she kept swaying to the song.
“Thank you, Neb”
Not knowing how to answer, she let her body language talk and rested your head on top of yours.