Chapter 1
“Whaddya got, Pete?” Yondu said urgently. At thirteen years old, Yondu was finally letting Peter accompany the crew on missions. They kept him well away from any of the real action, but they trusted him to act as lookout. This was one of the most important jobs Peter had ever been on; if they managed to steal the artifact, they’d be getting a score close to half a million units.
“There’s about a dozen Nova officers on the roof adjacent to the market, but they don’t seem too attentive. They look like they’re here mainly for crowd control. If you hurry, you- shit!” he exclaimed.
“What is it?”
“The officers spotted me. I’ve been made- keep going!” Peter exclaimed. He stopped talking just as two of the guards made it to the roof.
“What are you doing up here, son?” one of the guards asked seriously. “This area’s off-limits.” Peter looked much younger than thirteen years old, and he knew it. He decided to play that up- not for the first time.
“Sorry, mister, I came to watch the parade with Kraglin, only I got lost. I thought if I came up here I might see him, but I can’t find him,” Peter said with a pout, conjuring a few crocodile tears for good measure. He’d intentionally left his comm on, hoping the rest of the crew would take the hint and not only catch his location, but keep their mouths shut. The officers smiled kindly at him.
“Hey, buddy, it’s gonna be okay. What’s your name?”
“I’m Peter, but Papa calls me Pete.”
“Okay, Peter. My name’s Rhomann Dey, and my parter’s name is Sharif. We’re going to help you find- Kraglin is it?” Peter nodded.
“He’s my big brother.” He knew that Kraglin was rolling his eyes at that proclamation.
“Okay, buddy. We’ll head down to the Nova Corp tent, and we’ll have them make an announcement so Kraglin can come find you.”
“The Nova Corp tent? Where’s that?” Peter asked intentionally. The crew wasn’t that thick, but he wanted to make finding him easier on them. He didn’t wanna give Oro a reason to complain that he’d cost them time. Kraglin would already be on his way to find him; Peter was just giving him a little extra help. After Dey gave him a descriptive enough answer, he surreptitiously shut off his comm so that Yondu could give orders and hash out the crew’s next steps. Peter knew Yondu would come to get him himself, except his face was relatively well-known to most of the Nova Corp. There’s no way they’d release a kid into the Ravager Captain’s custody.
As they walked past the parade, Peter was honestly impressed by the display. It was an intergalactic holiday, and species of all kinds were participating in different cultural displays. A Kree choir was singing, a Centaurian group displayed impressive weapons drills, and the Sovereign... Well, they basically just stood around looking self-absorbed, but it was still interesting.
When they got to the tent, they sat Peter down and gave him a snack and a juice box. Most of the time, it was irritating that he looked so much younger- like a ten year old, tops- but in situations like this, it was helpful. As much as he would like to be involved on a real mission, he was glad that he could at least be useful playing the “helpless little kid” card.
“Peter!” Kraglin yelled, entering the tent. Peter jumped up, running towards him.
“Krag!” Kraglin pulled him into a hug, ruffling his hair.
“I was worried sick about you, kid. Ain’t I told you to stay right by me?” Peter ducked his head, hiding a grin.
“I saw a puppy, Krag...” he whined. “I only looked at ‘im a minute, and then you were gone.” Kraglin sighed, keeping Peter close.
“What am I gonna do with you, Petey? Huh?” Peter wrapped his arms around him and placed a kiss on his cheek. The hug would have been enough, but Peter liked to piss him off. Kraglin hated physical contact. “Thank you so much for looking after him, officers. I swear, I oughta put him on a leash...”
“No problem,” Corpsman Dey said with a smirk. He’d been watching the scene in amusement. “Just glad we could get him back to you. Something tells me the kid keeps you on your toes.” Kraglin snorted.
“Yeah, no kidding. Anyway, thanks.” Kraglin kept a firm arm around Peter’s shoulders until they were out of sight of the Nova Corp. Then, he shoved the kid off and thumped him on the head.
“Seriously, Pete? Kissin’ me on the cheek? You did that just to be a pain!”
“Ow!” Peter said, rubbing his scalp. “’S not my fault you’re incapable of participating in normal human touch!” Kraglin rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, whatever. Anyways, you did good, kid.” Peter frowned.
“I got made.” Kraglin shrugged.
“Happens to the best of us. Weren’t your fault. Anyway, it worked out for the best. The distraction meant we got in and out with the artifact, easy-peasy. Smart of you to keep the comms on, though. Made finding you a hell of a lot easier.”
“So you got it?” Peter asked eagerly. Kraglin snorted.
“Yeah, we got it. What’re you so eager for, anyway? You ain’t usually this greedy.”
“Dad said I could have my own ship when I’m fourteen. That’s less than six months, Krag. My share’s going towards my own M-ship,” he said proudly.
“He’ll getchu a ship,” Kraglin told him, snorting. Peter shrugged. Sure, Yondu got him the odd toy or game, but Peter had never asked for something this big. He preferred not to gamble on Yondu’s generosity. He’d been waiting for his own ship since he was four years old.
“Maybe... But if he don’t, I’d be ship outta luck, right?” Peter said. He couldn’t even finish his sentence before he started laughing hysterically. Kraglin cracked a smile.
“Funny. But he ain’t exactly denied you anything before, has he?”
“He wouldn’t let me get a dog,” Peter pointed out.
“You were four,” Kraglin said drily. “He already had one dumb pet that was loud and pissed and shit everywhere.” Peter shoved him, but the older man had bulked up recently- he didn’t move.
“I was completely toilet-trained well before I came, thank you,” he said haughtily.
“You ain’t denying the dumb and loud part?” Peter thought about it, then shook his head.
“All kids are dumb and loud,” he decided. Kraglin laughed.
Yondu pulled Peter into a hug when they made it back onto the ship, lifting him off the ground. He had to be ecstatic to give this kind of display; though he’d gotten better over the years, Yondu still wasn’t very demonstrative unless he knew Peter needed it.
“You done a damn good job, boy.” Several of the other Ravagers- who were emotionally constipated at the best of times- clapped him on the back and echoed the sentiments. “Tonight, we drink!” Yondu shouted to the crew.
Peter was always vaguely amused by the Ravagers’ drinking binges. He never had any himself- Yondu had never forbidden it simply because he didn’t think he needed to address it.
Peter had asked Kraglin if he could try his drink once, and surprisingly, Kraglin agreed. Peter had immediately spat it back out, to the man’s endless amusement. Peter suspected Kraglin knew he wouldn’t like it.
Still, these nights were fun for Peter. They often played cards, and Peter taught them what he remembered of games he’d played with his mother... Go Fish, Uno. He always had the impression that he was mixing up the rules a bit, but none of the crew ever knew or cared.
He was sitting on the floor, playing a game on his pad and leaning idly against Yondu’s knee. After his fourth yawn, Yondu nudged him.
“Hey, I was comfy!” Peter complained.
“Bed, squirt. I ain’t carrying you again.” Peter considered protesting that remark, but considering it really hadn’t been all that long since Yondu carried him to bed, he let it go.
“I ain’t tired,” he complained, but he got up anyway. He didn’t often disobey his dad, but he had to at least pretend to be annoyed.
“G’night, son,” Yondu told him.
“’Night, Dad. Night, Krag,” Peter called. Kraglin was three sheets to the wind- Peter didn’t think he’d ever seen him this drunk in his life.
“Petey,” he slurred, “you really did it boy. You’re a real good kid, ya know that?” Kraglin pulled him into a sloppy hug.
“Yeah, yeah. Geez, you’re drunk,” Peter laughed. Horuz snorted.
“Boy never could hold his liquor.” Kraglin seemed to take this as a challenge, and as Peter left the room, he was downing an entire bottle of Xandarian whiskey.
Peter was contemplating waking Kraglin up in the morning by blaring “Hooked on a Feeling” just to be a pest, when he passed Oro. He sighed. Oro had joined up just a couple of months ago, and he seemed to have a bug up his ass when it came to Peter.
Peter thought maybe it was because he had his own room, which none of the crew had ever begrudged him before- most were glad they didn’t have to hear his music late at night. Oro probably also resented that Yondu and the crew favored Peter. Most of the crew didn’t mind- even the newer ones understood that Peter had been a toddler when he’d first come on board the ship, and if nothing else, they treated him well because he was Yondu’s kid.
Regardless of the reason, Peter had definitely picked up on Oro’s resentment of him, and so he’d tried to keep his distance. Oro made him uneasy. The crew all teased him, but Peter accepted it for what it was- kidding. Oro’s comments seemed more vicious, cruel.
Peter hadn’t said anything to Yondu; he didn’t want to seem whiney. Plus, he knew that if Yondu got involved, it wouldn’t end well for Oro. As annoying as he was, Peter didn’t want him dead.
Peter tried to pass him with a nod, but Oro slammed into him with his shoulder.
“Watch it, brat,” he warned. Peter tried to brace himself, but Oro was bulky, and he bounced off of the man's shoulder and into the wall.
“What’s your problem?” Peter spat before he could stop himself. Oro pushed him into the wall, his elbow digging slightly into Peter’s throat. “Get... offa me!” Peter gasped.
“You stay outta my way, runt. Or else I might not stay outta yours.” With that, Oro stalked off. Peter panted for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He’d gotten the odd shove from Oro before, but nothing like this. Nothing that couldn’t be passed off as accidental.
I should tell Dad, he thought. Or even Kraglin. But I don’t need them fighting my battles for me all the time...
He’d give it a few weeks and see what happened.