Chapter Text
CHAPTER ONE:
“What’s the catch?” Quill demanded, glaring at the viewscreen in the dining area of the Quadrant.
The Broker looked insulted. “What makes you think there is a catch, Mr. Quill?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he replied sarcastically. “Maybe because last time you told me it was just ‘a simple recovery of an artefact’, I ended up on an extremely dangerous planet being chased by the minions of a whack-job Kree and the ‘simple artefact’ was an infinity stone with the power to destroy the galaxy!”
“I didn’t know it was an infinity stone or that Ronan was involved,” the Broker defended. “I promise you, this really is just an artefact—some sort of religious statue. My buyer is willing to pay generously for it, so I am paying you generously to retrieve it.”
“Forty thousand units isn’t generous.” Actually, it was, but Quill prided himself on his ability to negotiate a better price.
“Fine,” the Broker relented. “Sixty thousand units.”
Peter remained silent.
“Eighty thousand units, but not a single more,” the Broker stated firmly.
“Deal,” Quill agreed happily. “Send me everything you know about this artefact.”
“The temple is west of here.” Quill pointed to a blinking red arrow on the map displayed on the large viewscreen. He and Gamora were alone in the galley of the Quadrant. “A volcanic eruption buried the area in ash a thousand years ago, but a recent earthquake revealed a way inside. I’m thinking the two of us can do this. Rocket and Kraglin can be trusted to resupply the ship and Drax, he can do whatever it is he and Mantis do together when we’re in port. Groot will be fine without us for a few hours. There’s enough adults to look after him.”
Gamora studied Quill’s hopeful expression critically. “You are using this as an excuse to get me alone.”
He didn’t deny it. “We’ve never actually had a real date, just me and you.”
“You cooked dinner for me once,” Gamora reminded.
“Yeah, but then Rocket started building a weapon of mass destruction at the table while we were eating.”
“True. What about when we went to that place on Spartax together?”
“Spartax is a weird place for a date and as I recall, Drax got us all thrown out when he started a brawl at the gaming table.”
Gamora paused, thinking carefully. “What about that night we sat together in your quarters, listened to music, and talked?”
“And I got as far as putting my arm around you before Groot came in,” Peter recalled.
“He had a nightmare and wanted to stay with us.”
“There was no way we could say no to the little guy.”
“But I see your point, Peter. Time alone with you would be enjoyable.” Gamora took his hands in hers and smiled.
Quill couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was so beautiful, especially when she looked at him the way she did now, with the soft smile she reserved only for him and her dark eyes expressing their unspoken thing.
Gamora thought she could lose herself in Quill’s green eyes. He never looked at anyone the way he looked at her, with respect, desire, trust, and an emotion neither of them had been daring enough to put words to. She pulled him closer, wondering what it would be like to kiss him. She knew he wanted their relationship to be more physical, but he never demanded or even asked for it. He waited patiently for her to be comfortable moving to that. Maybe she finally was. “Peter?” she asked softly.
He recognised the permission she was granting. He leaned down slowly. She felt his warm breath on her skin, his lips so close but waiting for her to make the final move as he closed his eyes.
Kraglin stumbled into the room. “Hey! In port should we buy some…” He stopped abruptly when he noticed Peter and Gamora jump apart. He looked from one to the other and swallowed uncomfortably. “Uh… Sorry, Capt’n. Didn’t mean to… uh…”
Quill glanced apologetically at Gamora. She flashed him a smile of both understanding and promise. He sighed and reminded himself there was a painful sweetness waiting for just the right time.
“This isn’t exactly what I planned for a date,” Quill apologised as he flew the Quadrant’s small transport shuttle west. “This is more Indiana Jones than conventional date, but I’m just happy to be spending time with you.”
“We are not exactly conventional people,” Gamora stated matter-of-factly. “And what is Indiana Jones? Another thing from Terra?”
“Yeah, but it’s who, not what.”
“A Terran hero?”
“Yeah. He was supposed to be some sort of scientist, but had adventures around the world finding powerful artefacts. He was best known for finding the Ark of the Covenant, this golden box that could make an army invincible. He kept the bad guys, these evil people called the Nazis, from getting it. They wanted to take over the world and kill millions of people.”
“Hmm…” Gamora thought for a moment. She rested her hand on his forearm and stated, “He recovered a powerful relic and kept evil fanatics from using it to harm innocent people?”
Quill nodded.
“I find such heroes attractive.”
“Yeah, it was a pretty good… Uh…” He paused as his brain processed what she had said, and what she implied. “Did you say attractive?” He looked at Gamora. Her lips were curved into a slightly teasing smile. Was she flirting with him? Gamora? Flirting?
She patted his arm. “Tell me this Epic of Indiana Jones someday. Right now, you should watch where you are flying.”
“Right.” He returned his attention to their flight path. “We’re almost there.”
Gamora looked out the window with concern, seeing nothing but endless deep green beneath them. “It’s not in the forest, is it?”
“No, it’s in some rocky hills at the edge of the forest. From what the locals told me, we don’t want to go into those trees,” Peter warned. “They said there are these… I don’t remember what they called them, but they’re some sort of animals that sound a lot like dinosaurs living in the forest.”
“Dinosaurs?”
“Umm… Big, scaly, scary animals. Some of them wouldn’t mind eating us for dinner.”
“Risaedla,” Gamora explained. “They are called risaedla. I was also told there are flesh eating plants in the forest.”
“Like the Venus fly-trap?”
“I do not know that plant. These are said to eat risaedla.”
“Whoa! I thought bug eating plants were creepy,” Quill stated. “Dinosaur eating plants—that’s just wrong.”
Gamora nodded. “I think we can agree to stay away from the forest.”