There was only one thing about Kraglin that Yondu hated.
It was stupid, insignificant, something that Yondu, badass space pirate, feared throughout multiple galaxies, shouldn't even be worried about.
He hated that he hated it.
He hated that he hated it because he loved everything about Kraglin (which was something he'd never admit, but was true nonetheless).
Kraglin was loyal. Kraglin was fearless. He was honourable and confident, kind and loving. He was wonderful. And Yondu appreciated every single hairy quality about him.
All but one.
Kraglin, first mate extraordinaire (and quite possibly the love of Yondu’s goddamn life), just happened to be tall.
Very, very tall.
And Yondu hated it.
It wasn't really something that he noticed when he was performing his captaincy duties; Yondu's ego was big enough to fill the whole room, a whole ship even. And Kraglin was always a steady presence at his side. They made for a formidable duo, bright blue and bulky, and tall, dark and menacing. The mere sight of them would strike fear into anyone that dared challenge them.
But it was in private moments that Yondu would notice how much of a height advantage Kraglin had.
And usually it was because he was in pain.
Often, he would find himself tilting his head all the way back, just to get a glimpse of Kraglin’s murky blue eyes. He’d leave it tilted while they kissed, so that Kraglin didn’t have to stoop. It never failed to give him a terrible neck ache, the fin heavily weighing down his skull. The other option was for Yondu to perform a ballerina act, pushing up high on his toes, so that he could insert himself into Kraglin's space and brush his lips along a furry jaw line. But that always ended in leg spasms and muscle cramps. Kraglin would always generously cradle his legs, working out the knots in his calf muscles with his deft fingers until the pain was gone (which usually had Yondu’s eyes rolling shut and his brain drifting off to sleep).
His first mate was infuriatingly vertically gifted, and he knew it too.
Kraglin would tease Yondu.
He’d taunt him about being a ‘shortie’, place Yondu’s favourite trinkets on the highest shelf so that he couldn’t reach them, adjust the captain’s chair on the bridge so that Yondu’s toes only just brushed the floor when he sat in it. He’d even tried to pick Yondu up once, but that resulted in both of them falling to the floor grates and an arrow three inches through the steel just left of Kraglin's temple.
Still, the boy tried.
He'd lean his arm across the back of Yondu's shoulders, kiss him on the forehead before leaving Yondu’s cabin, play leapfrog with those ridiculously long legs whenever Yondu decided to bend over. It was especially funny for both of them when Kraglin would accidentally put Yondu's pants on in the morning. Their frayed hems would end just past Kraglin’s knobbly knees, and he’d stare at them in quiet exasperation as Yondu laughed at him until his belly ached.
There were perks to Kraglin being tall.
He could just about see over every crowd, which meant he was excellent at spotting a young Quill trying to slip away into the throng of people. It was also a bonus in that he could tower above market vendors, always swindling them down to a reasonable (ridiculously low) price on the trinkets that Yondu just so happened to love. His lanky arms also came in handy when the Eclector’s rusty circuitry fried another photon tube; the boy was good at changing light bulbs.
Still, there was something about Obfonteri’s height that irked Yondu.
Yondu loved kissing Kraglin.
His kisses were addictive.
They were like sugar syrup, saccharine sweet. They stuck to Yondu’s teeth and he swore he could feel them, hours later, the phantom feeling of skin on skin, soft and delicate.
He craved them, took liberties in stealing them.
He’d sneak a quick peck in in plain sight of the crew, pushing up, up, onto the tips of his toes, until he could snag a hold of pink lips with sharp teeth. There was something about the particular kind of kisses that Kraglin could give, something about the way that they tingled through Yondu’s system, that always had him going back for more.
Yondu couldn’t help but that Kraglin was ridiculously tall. But if the only reasons why the few extra inches of height bugged him were that he suffered from the occasional leg cramp and neck ache, and was teased a little by his favourite Ravager?
Well, it was a small price for Yondu to pay. After all, he loved everything about Kraglin.