Chapter Text
"I knew I'd need you here," Yondu looked up from his comm which he almost used to call for backup.
"You know damn well you'd already be dead without me," Meredith said, aiming the crossbow that she'd picked up off the floor. "I thought you said this was just a negotiation!"
"It was," Yondu threw his arrow through the air like a spear, sending it through a man's throat. "But it turned in to an ambush! We need to get the hell outta here!"
"Already ahead of you!" She sounded distant.
Yondu turned around to see her sprinting toward the doors of the building, leaping over a flipped table as she did so. She literally was way ahead of him. With a shrug, he followed her lead, attempting to jump over the table, but failing miserably as his coat got caught on the corner and yanked him down. A gunshot was fired at his head and he ducked behind the protection of the table.
"Yondu! Stop messing around!" Meredith scolded, reappearing by his side, holding her newfound weapon. He had to admit, the crossbow looked really good in her hands. It made her look stronger. More powerful. Hotter. "C'mon theres a speeder just outside those doors, we can jack it and get the hell out of here…stop staring at me and c'mon!"
A shot was fired, and Meredith doubled over in pain. Then sank to the ground.
"Fuck!" Yondu crawled over to her. "Are you alright!?"
"I'm fine, get off!" She shoved him away and grabbed her crossbow. "I'll be fine, lets get out of here!"
"Yeah, uh," he looked back over the edge of the table, there was a lizard-like reptile thing on two legs across the room, facing the opposite direction and shooting down the hallway. An arrow pierced it from behind and Yondu looked up to see Meredith standing, her crossbow aimed at the reptile. She smirked down at him and lowered the weapon.
"Seriously, get up!" She grabbed the shoulder of his jacket and hauled him up. "C'mon."
"I'm the leader here!" He scowled, running after her.
"You ain't acting like it!" She shoved the doors open and stepped out into the cold night air. "It's raining! Why is it raining! It wasn't raining five minuets ago."
"You weren't even outside five minuets ago! Where's the speeder!?"
"It was here, I swear! One of our crew must've taken it while you were too busy messing around!"
"I ain't messing around," he grabbed her wrist. "Le's go around the building! There's probl'y somethin on the other side we could use!"
"I can run, I don't need your help!" She said, running with Yondu around the side of the building. She yanked her arm free from his grasp and ran passed him. She turned the next corner and slid to a stop, turning around, "Go the other way! Go!"
"What!?"
"They're on that side, go the other way, c'mon!" This time, she grabbed his arm and yanked him along.
"I don't need your help!" He mocked in a high pitched voice.
"I do not sound like that!" She said, using the forearm of her other arm to wipe her wet hair out of her face at an awkward angle, avoiding jabbing herself in the face with her crossbow.
"Ya do, too!" Yondu said, picking up his speed to match hers, and shifting his arm so they were holding hands instead.
She said nothing, but looked down at their hands.
"There!" Yondu said, jerking his head in the direction of a small ship that was left unmanned. He dragged her through the hatch and shut it just as someone yelled at them and shots were fired in their direction. He hauled ass to the cockpit and started the ship up, speeding it away from their destination and sending a message to any Ravagers to return to the Elector.
"That was-- wow!" Meredith plopped in to the chair beside him. "That was so crazy! That guy with the knives, and I found the crossbow and the explosion, and--and you with the guns!" She imitated Yondu shooting his blasters for a moment, then slumped back in her chair. "Quite an event!"
"Yeah, I gotta admit I was damn good with my guns," Yondu smirked, piloting the ship.
"I've never experienced anything like this in my lifetime!" She said, smiling. "And there were so many times we almost got shot!" She found the reclining lever on the side of the chair and reclined the chair all the way back, giggling.
That caused Yondu to laugh lightly, too. It was hard to believe this same woman was a mom (who could maul an army of men for hurting her child). But then again, Peter was also a very happy child. He was glad the boy really took after Meredith rather than J'son. His fingers clutched the controls tighter. J'son was a salty prick who didn't deserve those two. He'd stolen from Yondu, banned him from Spartax, and then came crawling back to him when he was too lazy to collect his own soon-to-be wife and kid. What an A-hole.
"We have to do that again sometime," she lightly kicked her legs. "That was great. Being a Ravager is great."
"Apparently not everyone thinks so," Yondu shrugged.
"Sometimes I think about just staying with you all," she sat up. "But I have to get to Spartax…I have to get to J'son and although being a Ravager is great, I...I don't want Peter to grow up like this…"
"What's wrong with us?"
"Nothing," Meredith sighed. "I just don't want him to get shot or stabbed or killed. And what's gonna happen to me when I'm older than dirt? At least Peter's got his daddy's blood and genes to keep him young as long as possible. He'll be strong forever. I'm only human. I probably won't live past a hundred. At least with J'son we'll be safe and happy, but…a part of me worries about that. Worries about what will happen if J'son doesn't like Peter, if they'll bump heads constantly. And if my Petey's not happy, I'm not happy."
Yondu stayed silent for a moment. He was not prepared for her to get all deep on him like this.
"Well...If ol' J'son's a huge dick, you and lil Pete are always welcome back on the Elector. You'll have to work as crew again, but it'll be your home…plus, what's better than being a full-time Ravager instead of a temporary one?!"
She surprised him by jumping over and hugging his shoulders.
"There's a reason you're my best friend," She said, hugging him tighter. "You're so good to me and my son. I know you and J'son aren't the best of friends...but I'll make sure Peter and I never forget you and your crew. Ever."
"N'aww, Merri. Don't make me get all soft!" He laughed, playfully nudging her off. "This'll make a great story to tell Pete, won't it?"
"It definitely will!" Meredith pulled away, grinning. "Especially since I have this badass new weapon and battle scar to show off!" She held up the crossbow enthusiastically.
This caused Yondu to grin.
"Y'know...we make a good team, Merri."
"We do!" She grinned, then winced, looking down at her side.
"Sit down before you hurt yourself, kid...you just got shot...you're okay, right?"
She didn't answer.
"Merri?!" He glanced at her. She was staring down at her side.
"I've never been shot before...my adrenaline gave me enough energy to get to safety and I guess it's wearing off now..."
"You're gonna be fine, kid," Yondu said, switching on autopilot and spinning the chair to face her (thank god for rotating seats!)
"I'm bleeding..."
"Yeah that usually happens when you get shot," he slid off his seat to kneel beside her. "Do you mind?"
She shook her head.
"Aight...let's have a look, yeah?" He unzipped her jumpsuit and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pushing it up to get a good look at the wound. "It's...kinda bad. You're tougher than I thought."
"Will I die?"
"Nope. You'll just have a lot of hurtin'. But I'm gonna send a call to the elector to have a med team on standby. You need to get this checked out by a pro as soon as possible." He stood tall. He could tell that the shock was wearing off, and she was in pain and unsure how to deal with this. He awkwardly ruffled her hair, unsure of how to comfort her.
He sat back down and activated the transmitter, sending a call to the elector. "Doc...this's Cap...we got a hurt crew member, gun wound, pretty bad, have a team on standby."
---
Returning to the Elector was quite the hectic event.
many questions of "What happened to your m-ship!" and "did we lose any crew" and "are you hurt, darlin'" (to Meredith)
She was about to answer to the Ravager (who was one of the many who constantly tried to hit on her), when they were both interrupted.
The Doctor herself pushed through the crowd and straight up to Meredith. She had walked in, leaning heavily on Yondu.
"C'mon, child," Doc said, allowing Meredith to lean on her instead. "Luckily nobody else got hurt to badly so we can get ya fixed up quickly."
She began to lead the team out of the room, Meredith leaning on her.
"Mom!"
Peter sprinted full speed toward Meredith, but Yondu stuck his arm out and stopped the boy. "Leave her, boy. She's headed to the medical ward."
Instantly, Peter began to freak out.
"No! Mom!" He tried to push passed Yondu, but the man held him back.
"Stop, kid. Calm down!"
"Mom! She's hurt she's gonna almost die again! MOM!"
Yondu wrapped his arms around Peter, frowning. He was tried to keep Peter from sprinting full speed after the med team. The boy's screeches caused the rest of the crew to back up a good distance.
"Calm down, boy!" Yondu tried to hold on to the wriggling child, but the feeling of small teeth sinking in to his forearm cause him to yelp and let go.
"MOM!" Peter began running, and Yondu ran after him. He reached out and grabbed Peter's shirt, stopping the boy from moving any further.
"Peter!" He roared. The boy stopped immediately "Calm down! She's gonna be fine and you need to calm down."
"B-but...but..."
"She's alright, boy. She's gonna be fine, Doc's gonna patch her up. She's gonna be good as new, and I'll bet she'll tell ya the entire story when she gets better. It's gonna be okay, alright?"
Peter reached up to wipe at his face.
"Hey, c'mon, now." Yondu stepped around the boy to stand in front of him. "No crying...none of that. Dry your tears, boy."
"Okay," Peter mumbled.
"Good job. If you're good, I'll take you to see her later. Sound like a deal?"
Peter nodded. "C-can I stay with you?"
Yondu thought about it...they'd finished their job. All he had to do now was make sure the ship was up and running. If the kid was asking to follow him around, that mean that Kraglin was probably busy. "Uh...yeah. Yeah, alright."
Despite still having watery eyes, Peter looked up and smiled at Yondu.
--------
Peter had fallen asleep (in Yondu's bed). And Yondu felt bad for waking him up, but he promised the kid he'd take him to see Meredith later, even if it was late as fuck.
"Petey," he turned away from the desk in his room and over to the bed to shake the boy awake. "C'mon."
Peter mumbled incoherently, but made no move to get up.
"Don't you wanna go see your mom?"
"Tired," Peter rasped.
Yondu sighed and lifted the kid in to his arms. "Good thing ya ain't too heavy."
Peter made himself comfortable against Yondu's chest.
"Special delivery," Yondu said, placing Peter down on the bed Meredith was laid down on.
She smiled. "C'mere, Petey," she held her arm out. He scrambled up the bed to cuddle against her non-injured side, pillowing his head against her chest.
"Mama." Me mumbled, cuddling close. "Don't almost-die again."
"Nothing's gonna happen to me, Petey," She assured, kissing his forehead. "I'm gonna be okay."
"He had another meltdown earlier," Yondu sighed. That time, he couldn't get Peter to calm down, so he let the boy cry until he fell asleep.
"He's still scared. When the cancer had the best of me, all he saw was his mother confined to her bed. I hardly played with him anymore, he didn't have very many friends, instead of playing outside or with his toys, he would sit next to me until his grandpa came and ushered him off to bed. If you wouldn't have saved me, he would have lost his mother. We owe you everything," she said, petting Peter's hair. "I'll make sure J'son pays you back greatly."
"Nah, I don't want his money," Yondu shook his head. "We're friends. Merri. You know that I did it because I c--...I ca...c..."
"Wow." She chuckled. "Does it physically pain you to say aloud that you care about other people, Udonta?"
"Yes."
She shook her head, smiling. "And you'll never change, will you?"
"Nope," he smiled back. "I'm good the way I am."
"Tough on the outside, softer than cotton candy and kittens on the inside."
"Yeah. Wait--no! I ain't soft!"
"Sure you aren't. You literally walked in here carrying a child and admitted that you care about us."
"That doesn't make me soft! I'm captain of the Ravagers!"
"And a big softie!"