Intimidation Means Different Things
Peter had been waiting for days to get Amelia alone. He caught her making lunch while Drax was sparring with Gamora.
"Groot tells me you find me intimidating."
She shrieked slightly and turned around.
He expected her to deny it. He would have.
"Yes. Yes, I do. You are tall and gorgeous and so far out of my league that back home I would have been buying you drinks, if I did that sort of thing. You look like the kind of guy who could totally be an evil secret agent and not get caught because you have just enough adorkable going on. Plus not practicing English has given you a slight mysterious accent that was totally my thing, back in the day. "
At this point she paused for breath. "The thing is all those evil secret agents who hurt me were so pretty they didn't look real. And you kind of match that. It isn't your fault but you managed to trip my fight or flight drive and the same time as having my libido sit and take notice and the whole emotional mess is just...". She took another breath. "I have issues. But they are my issues, not yours and I am working on them."
He just stared at her.
"I'm sorry to make this weird." She said.
"This is you panicking a little, isn't it?"
"Maybe a little, but I'm ok."
"So, how come Drax doesn't freak you out?"
"Sometimes he does, but I've never been sexually assaulted by a seven foot tall grey man with red tattoos."
Peter's brain stuttered. "You never mentioned that."
"Yeah, the whole tentacle guy aside. Some of the bad guys ... took liberties after my abortion. I haven't told Drax that. I'm coping but I don't like to dwell. It helps knowing they are dead."
"Um.. you seem surprisingly calm talking about this."
"I'm not calm, but I’m good at faking calm. It was the most horrific day of my life and I thought I had seen some bad shit in my life. But it was only one day and I survived. There may have been some hiccups a long the way, but Drax treats me better that I could have imagined. I'm more happy than freaked out most of the time and I like the little family you all have."