Chapter Text
Aleta is all out, as she walks into the hanger bay, flanked by two crewmen, and marching, actually marching toward Stakar with her holopad clutched casually in her hand. Once she gets closer - she throws it up to his face with the picture he sent her glimmering on the screen. One eyebrow is lifted infinitesimally, and the rest of her face is all sharp and still as she leans closer.
"What's this?" She says abruptly.
Her tone is just the right mix of flat and demanding, and soft and dark to let Stakar know that he better have a pretty good answer within the next few seconds or someone's getting dragged to their private Captain's Quarters to get a lecture on practical jokes.
"Ah," he says, searching desperately out of the corner of his eyes for his Second Mate.
Then he sighs, straightens. He did bring this on himself, and besides, how many times is an opportunity like this going to present itself? It's Aleta, after all.
"Like my gift?" The corners of his mouth are curling upward of their own accord.
Her hand holding the holopad falls downward as she taps it off with a click. Her eyes narrow. "Right, I'mma frame it and put it on the wall. Now tell me what the hell is - "
"Now, now, Captain," Stakar widens his eyes in innocent rebuke. "Must you use that kind of language? There's children around."
She chokes. He forgets, but she really does move quite fast, doesn't she?
"That goes for violence, too, you know-" He says quickly, fending off her attack. "Innocent eyes and all that."
She stops, rather suddenly, and shoves her face close enough to his to make him suddenly feel a little bit dizzy. How long has it been? Flark, he's missed this.
"Stakar," She warns, her breath on his cheek. It's just getting good, but of course Marty has to step in at this point.
"Captain Ogord," He says, addressing Aleta evenly. "Meet Yondu,"
And he pushes the boy, whose wide eyes look like he's trying to decide whether to run or jump in and attack something, forward. Aleta steps back, a soft, unsure look coming over her face.
"Yondu," she repeats.
"Our newest Ravager," Stakar says, lifting his head. Aleta whips around to look at him again. Forget glaring daggers, she's got the whole armory in her gaze, with some extra throwing knives besides.
"You adopted him as crew? He's a child!"
Stakar's lips set stubbornly. He's already had this conversation with Martinex, and this isn't the place or time to have it again. Not in front of the kid.
"And what is he wearing?"
"I'm going have him some leathers made!" Stakar protests.
"And in the meantime, just let him walk around in an oversized night shift, I'm sure he won't get sick at all-"
"Aleta," He starts, just a little annoyed because she's clearly missing what a flarking good job he's been doing of taking care of the kid.
"This isn't someone you can just have ride-along on dangerous jobs with you, or take on space-shuttle joyrides." Aleta jabs her finger pointedly at the blank holopad screen. "Flark, Stakar, have you - have you even thought about this?"
"Oh, I've thought about it," He says, voice low. He's barely thought of anything else the past few days. She must see something in his face, because she relents with a little sigh.
"You're sure he's not better off on Xander -"
Yondu lunges forward, and his hands dart out and grips Aleta's arm as he gasps, eyes narrowed and desperate.
"No! I can't - I won't -don't send me back there," Still clinging aggressively to Aleta's sleeve, his eyes trail guiltily toward Stakar, and he mutters. "I - I promise I won't stab no more people - I mean, unless you tell me to -"
Oh, kid. Aleta's eyes have gone startled and disbelieving in the background, but Yondu is Stakar's first priority.
"Hey, nobody's sending you back," Stakar says sternly, striding over to rest a gentle hand on Yondu's head. "Ravager, remember?"
Aleta looks like she's biting a thousand creatively phrased questions back, jaw steeled hard and dark eyes unfathomable as she watches the two of them. Yondu nods.
"And that doesn't change, no matter what trouble happens, right kid?"
"N-no?" The boy says dubiously, glancing up at him as if waiting for confirmation.
"Nope. It doesn't. Tell you what, we'll go have Marty take you to grab some chow, and then-"
"-And then when you come back," Aleta interrupts, and when did she move so much closer again? "I'll show you what a real ship looks like on the inside."
She gestures proudly toward her own vessel, and Yondu's eyes go wide.
"I get to see in that one, too?" He chances, and Stakar notices Yondu's looking at him, not Aleta. Until Aleta kneels down in front of him, and she looks at him steadily until his eyes pull hesitantly up to hers.
"Yondu, I'm going to give you the whole grand tour."
"I - I like your ship," Yondu's still looking at her.
"'Course you do!" Aleta gives a pleased smile as she rises to her feet. "She's a beauty. And the faster you get back with Martinex, the faster you'll see her. In fact - I may even have a special little something to show you on board..."
She could be referring to a myriad of different things, but the look that comes into her eyes makes Stakar's lips flatten in suspicion. Yondu gazes at her, as if weighing her words, and finally he nods. "Okay."
Martinex takes his shoulder and leads him back out of the command center. There's a long silence after the doors airlock behind Martinex and Yondu. Stakar doesn't look at Aleta, and Aleta's still staring after the doors.
"So," She says, finally, her tone dry. "Who got stabbed?"
Stakar crosses his arms, trying to fend off the flash of guilt he feels, because if he hadn't been so tired that night, he would have predicted that incident in the med bay. That never would have happened.
"Medic," he grunts.
She nods sharply. "He live?"
"Yeah. Kid ripped him open with his own scalpel," Stakar snorts a little. "But…medic's fine. All healed up now."
There's another silence, and then Aleta says softly, in a way that's not really a question, "You took him from the Kree, didn't you?"
He feels startled, for a long moment, before he remembers this, how she just seems to knows things, that intuitive keeness, her quick, sharp wits.
"He's a battle slave."
"Not any more." Stakar's words are quick and fierce, and she jerks her head over to study him. "I'm keeping him, Aleta -"
"He's not a pet, Stakar!" She snaps.
"What do you want me to do?" He demands quietly, dropping his hands. He sighs, weary. "I found him on a battlefield, Aleta. I tried - I really tried, this one Children's Home on Xander -" He shakes his head. "No. He's better off with us. Shocking as it is," He gives a bleak laugh.
Her fingers touch his arm softly, and his breath stills.
"It's not so shocking." She says, and he remembers her eyes on him as he calmed Yondu down. The vulnerability hanging in the air is so thick and fragile it feels like it might break if he breathes too hard, stifling and precarious, until Aleta laughs, all teeth again.
"I always knew you were one big softie, Captain Stakar."
"You're one to talk," He grumbles under his breath, but he's grinning. "I'm not the one who actually has a pet on board -"
"Lyra is not a pet!" Aleta straightens indignantly. "She's a mascot, and I'll have you know every decent starship has one!"
When Yondu comes back, it's Aleta who takes his hand, and he jolts, but then seems to still when he realizes it's a touch that, even though it's not Stakar, isn't hurting him. She walks him up the gangplank and into the ship, talking and gesturing animatedly, and they're in there for a long time before Yondu comes trotting back out, eyes blown wide and excited, and with less careful wariness than Stakar's seen his face free of since that day on the shuttle back from Xander.
Aleta comes out behind him, looking steelclad and steady, and Stakar aches for a moment as all this time without her catches up, and oh, he's missed this. Her.
But then he realizes that there's some very smug look on her face, much too smug for his liking - and then he notices they aren't the only two that came off the ship.
"I said every decent starship has a mascot." Aleta sidles over to him, looking for all the world as if he should have expected this. Her lips smirk. "No need to thank me. Lyra had her litter, and this one has been following him around, seemed to take a shine."
The tiny, fluffy thing on legs that is scampering at Yondu's heels is - it's fur is bright red. It looks at Yondu, and Yondu squeals, reaching down to touch it's fur, then jerking his hand back.
Aleta grins. "I told him you'd let him keep it."
"Not it," Yondu protests. "He."
Stakar's mouth twitches.
Yondu's big, hopeful crimson eyes turn to his, and then the kitten turns little unblinking blue eyes on him, and flark, he can't stand up against the whole three of them. Stakar exhales loudly.
"You heard the woman."
And that - that was worth it, the grin that breaks out on Yondu's face, all like his greatest wish has come true, and a little incredulous, like he didn't expect Stakar to relent.
"It's gonna be your job to take of it," Stakar tells Yondu seriously. "It'll be a real important job."
Yondu calms and says, "Yes, sir," so solemnly, and Stakar's lips twist upward. Then Yondu picks it up and cradles the little thing in his arms, fingers soothing over it's fur like wonder. Aleta's looking at Stakar with a tranquil satisfaction, though Stakar can't quite tell if it's directed toward him or herself.
Yep, they're gonna be fine, all of them. They're together, and they're gonna be fine.