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"Okay, Quill, truth and dare?" It's morning, or at least that's what the quadrant insists. The artificial daylight just buzzed on and Groot has managed to climb onto Peter's bunk and shove the Zune into his face. He blinks against the lights, his eyes adjusting to the scene in front of him. Groot is sitting on his chest, still small enough that the Zune he's presented needs to be carried with both arms. Past him, standing at the foot of the bed, is Rocket.
The two are known to get up much earlier than the rest of the crew, so Peter isn't surprised when he meets a pair of beady animal eyes. The raccoon has his furry arms folded, his foot tapping almost impatiently against the blankets. Peter shakes his head, his brain still warm and fuzzy from sleep and his recent dream. And damn, was it a dream. Gamora would never do something like that if-
"Are you daft, Star-Douche? I asked you a question." Quill focuses back on Rocket, narrowing his eyes in response before the smaller one hops off the bed.
"Whaddya want," Peter sits up, scrubbing his face with his calloused hands. He feels groggy and gross, like he needs a shower. At the thought of warm water running down his back he moves a little faster. Pulling back the blankets, he's shocked when a tiny mouth clamps down onto his arm. "Ow what the hell-"
"Woah Groot, what did I tell you about biting?" Rocket crosses over to them, parental disappointment obvious on his face. It's odd to see Rocket act so...maternal towards Groot. Although he is old Groot's sapling, Peter supposes, so it only makes sense that Rocket would take responsibility.
"I am groot?"
"Not even Quill, you know that." Rocket sighs, "Even if he is an idiot."
Peter scoffs sarcastically, twisting his back a bit until he hears a satisfying pop. "Thanks."
"Anytime," Rocket smirks and Quill rolls his eyes, carefully picking up Groot and standing up. "So are you ready?"
"For what?" He sets Groot down on the small bedside table and stretches some more, his back aching from their last fight. Speaking of, he should probably go check on Gamora...for captain reasons....because he's the captain...and he checks on all of his crew after battle. He's about to step forward when Rocket blocks his path, a small pistol now whipped out and pointed at Quill's groin. The Terran jumps back a little, green eyes blown wide.
"Woah, Rocket, woah! Important stuff down there." Quill rushes to cover his crotch, "Very important stuff, watch where you're aiming that thing."
The creature snickers, cocking the gun, "I asked you a question."
"What question?!"
"Truth and dare?" It takes a moment for Peter to catch on and when he does, Rocket continues, "Do my dirty laundry and tell Gamora you got the hots for her."
"Wait, what?" Quill takes another step back from Rocket's aim, "That's not how it works."
The raccoon lowers his weapon, "What are you talking about? That's exactly how you explained it yesterday." Yesterday? Peter thinks for a moment and when the memory comes back to him he almost smiles- /almost/ but that pistol is still very close to his junk.
On their last mission, before things got explodey and slashy, Peter had been telling stories about his years in elementary school. He told them how during rainy days the kids would have to stay inside and find things to do during recess. Quill had revisited the memories of playing these little games that required nothing other than another person and how they'd have to hide from the teacher when playing.
One of those games, he recalls, was 'Truth -or-Dare'. He was never a huge fan of it, only because once in a while when he chose 'truth' the question "Where's your dad?" would pop up. He mused about it regardless, reminiscing about how it scored him his very first kiss from-
"Megan Hinsor," Peter had grinned almost smugly, "She was blonde and had these really pretty blue eyes."
Gamora seemed to dislike the story and instead focused on Groot, who was growing flowers and making them into a crown. Quill wanted to think her lack of interest was caused by jealousy, but then he remembered that he was 7 at the time and Gamora had no knowledge of his existence.
He continued to tell them about other games after that like 'Spin-The-bottle' (which Peter was never allowed to play) and 'Never-Have-I-Ever'. The last one seemed to peak Drax's interest when Quill mentioned how the adults at the time played the game with alcohol.
"We shall drink and confess to our deepest of secrets!" The large man bellowed, his eyes bright. Peter tried to explain that the point was /not/ to have your secrets unveiled but he didn't seem to care.
Now, Quill regrets ever introducing them to the games. He shakes his head again, looking down at his friend, "You're supposed to let me choose between truth /or/ dare."
Rocket tilts his head before shrugging, "Fine then, truth or dare? Tell the truth to Gamora or clean my dirty underwear."
"You wear underwe-?" Peter stops himself, raising a palm slightly, "Nevermind, I don't want to know." The creature grins and Quill's face scrunches up in slight disgust, "The point is, you're supposed to /wait/ for me to choose before telling me. And I don't have to play if I don't want to."
"You never said that," The raccoon retorts, "You said that you always chose dare because you thought you were tough and shit."
Peter coins him a look of annoyance, "Okay, rude. And no, all those times I actually chose to play. You can't force someone to do your laundry, Rocket."
The small teammate scoffs, "Well that's stupid," He puts his weapon down and connects it to the strap against his back, "Whatever, let's go Groot, we'll see if I can convince Mantis to do it."
"Well that's hardly fair, man." Peter calls after them, but Rocket has already scooped up Groot and headed out of his room.
Peter sighs, exhausted even after just waking up. His hair is shooting out at odd angles and though he tries to tame it down with his fingers, it's clear only water will be able to fix it. He quickly gathers up his shower supplies- a towel and some gel like soap Kraglin bought them- and heads for the bathroom.
He doesn't mean to approach the one shower Gamora happens to be occupying, being that there are only two, but he does. At first Quill immediately makes a move to get out of the room but stops short when he hears her begin to hum. Its very rare for the assassin to ever show true interest in his music, though he manages to get her to dance along to it once in a blue moon. There's no mistaking it though, Gamora is definitely humming the tune to Sam Cooke's 'Bring It On Home To Me'. He distinctively remembers dancing with her to this song on Ego's planet- which is not the most positive location but that dance was probably the best thing to ever happen to him.
It's pretty obvious by now that they have some Unspoken Thing, although Gamora likes to avoid the topic whenever she can. Hearing her hum this song, though, proves that she at least feels a little something towards him. Well that's what he decides to tell himself anyway.
She has a lovely voice, from what Peter can tell. She's never been one to belt out lyrics like him, but whenever a song comes on that the whole crew knows she'll sing along. It's hard to hear past Drax's heavy singing and Kraglin's made up words, but when he listens hard enough he can catch a tiny fraction of her singing as well.
Gamora is a dancer and a singer, but he won't tell a soul.
Before he realizes it, the water has stopped and Gamora is facing him through a sheen curtain. He can't see anything, of course, but that doesn't stop his eyes from wandering which she makes a displeased sound at.
"Peter," There's something so attractive about how annoyed she gets, which is Peter's first thought. His second thought is to correct his line of sight before giving her an easy smile.
He tries to casually lean against the wall but misses it by a second, tripping over his own feet a bit. Quill clears his throat, trying his best to ignore the heat creeping up his neck, "Good morning...beautiful." He curses himself at the hesitation, never able to speak normally around her. Which is why he's so sure that he loves her, that she's not just some conquest his body is after. Gamora makes it hard for him to think straight, causes butterflies to rattle around in his stomach, and maybe even sweat a little.
She's unfazed by him, as usual, opting to turn away from him in order to reach out and grab her towel. He knows he can't see through the curtain, that he'll only look dumb and perverted trying to. That doesn't stop his eyes from following her behind though, which causes the blush to rise to his cheeks.
Gamora wraps herself in the towel, pulling back the curtain in order to look directly at him. Her hair is slicked back, only a strand curling a bit on her forehead and Peter restrains from brushing it back. He watches as she ties the sides of a towel into a tight knot before giving it a tug to make sure it won't fall.
He's so staring, he knows he's staring, he knows that she knows he's staring. He can't help it. She's just so, "Beautiful." He doesn't realize he's said it out loud at first, but when Gamora looks up to quirk a brow at him he feels his face heating. "I mean, yanno, the humming." Smooth one Quill. He winces at the sloppy cover up but Gamora seems to have believed it, her brows raising a bit.
"You heard that?" She almost allows herself to seem embarrassed before schooling face into a look of nonchalance. How she does that, Peter will never understand. "I tend to think of melodies while showering." She shrugs at this, reaching over to a small counter where a numerous amount of hair and face care sit. You wouldn't know it from fighting her in battle, but the amount of attention she gives her hair is almost obsessive.
Her hand wraps around the skinny handle of a brush, her fingers already working on combing out knots. Peter watches her, a smitten look on his face as she brings the brush through her hair. She is gorgeous, the mere idea that he is able to stand so close to her gives him the chills.
"You should sing," He squeaks out and she stops brushing in order to look at him.
A small smile makes its way onto her face and his heart quickens in his chest at the sight, "What?" There's a hint of laughter in her voice and Peter forces himself to look away, embarrassment written all over his face.
He leans his head against the wall, his eyes closing to avoid her gaze, "People on Terra usually...sing in the shower."
"Do they?" Peter nods in response and Gamora takes in the information, a teasing smile on her face, "Do you wish to hear me sing, Peter?"
He tries not to look so surprised, but his eyes flying open in shock kind of give it away. Peter gazes at her for a moment, smooth emerald skin graced with silver streaks. There is no other woman for him, he's very sure of that.
"I um...only if you want to." Is his stellar response and Gamora only shakes her head, that playful smile still on her face. He really loves that smile.
She sets down the brush and grabs for another towel, this one much smaller, and wraps it around her wet hair. Then, with what Peter swears is a wink, Gamora leaves the bathroom. When the door to the room closes, he forces himself to get into a quick shower, his grogginess long forgotten.
He's drying off his hair fervently when he stumbles upon Gamora again, this time she's expecting him. She's made him what looks like a bowl of worms but what is probably breakfast and is currently eyeing him from across the room. Peter settles into the chair next to her, his towel draping across his shoulders.
"The boys have been playing your school games," She reports, a hint of amusement in her voice, "Drax keeps daring Mantis to alter his emotions." Peter smiles at that, spooning up some of the contents in the bowl and slurping it down happily. Gamora turns to face him, her cheek pressed against the palm of her hand. "Groot keeps asking Kraglin to 'spin him'."
Quill gives her a questioning look, "Spin?"
She nods, her gaze seemingly soft as she watches him eat, "Something about a bottle, I wasn't paying much attention." Peter seems to understand what she's referring to and chuckles, a bit of breakfast showing as he does so. Gamora rolls her eyes at the display, reaching out to swipe some sauce off of Peter's cheek. He only stiffens a little bit before warming into her touch, which is fairly new for the both of them.
Still not used to touching him, she lets her fingers graze the angle of his jawline, testing the way the light scruff feels against her finger tips. He must have shaved after the shower, she muses. Peter leans more into her touch, food completely forgotten as his jade eyes stare longingly into hers.
It's hard to speak when he's looking at her this intensely, but she manages to break the silence, "So, how does one begin a game of Truths-and-Dares."
A sincere smile plays on his lips and Gamora tries her best not to stare at them, "Truth-or-Dare." He corrects softly, hearts practically dancing around his head. He's completely gone, off in another universe, completely and entirely smitten. "You just ask." All you have to do is ask, and he's not sure if he's talking about the game anymore. Ask me anything, I'll tell you everything I know.
She nods in quiet understanding, losing herself in thought for a moment and Peter takes it to really engrave her beauty into his mind. He never wants to forget her face, not one detail, not one silver scar. He's not sure how long he's been staring at her before Gamora says something again, he doesn't even hear her at first.
He blinks, his mind entirely not caught up in whatever left those perfect lips, "Wait, I'm sorry, what?"
The woman just rolls her eyes again before repeating herself, "Aren't you going to ask me?" Her question isn't one he was preparing for, in fact he hasn't thought about such a moment in awhile. Quill may not be the most romantic, but he definitely didn't want to leave his lady waiting for him to- "To find out if I take your truth or your dare." Gamora elaborates when she sees his deep eyes swimming in what must've looked like panic.
"Oh," Peter breathes out a small sigh of relief, "Of course, yeah."
"Good." She straightens in her chair, her hands moving from his face into her own lap, much to Quill's disappointment. Once she is settled, Gamora nods at him, "You may proceed."
The Terran's brows raise on his face, not entirely sure how he has been blessed with such a woman. He's a bit mind blown as he sits up himself, reaching out to take one of Gamora's hands into his own. She doesn't verbally question it but acknowledges it with a slight tilt of her head, probably assuming it has something to do with the game. It doesn't. Not at all, but her hand fits perfectly in his and he'll never pass up a moment to enjoy that.
"Okay," He starts, mind only slightly freaking out over what to ask her. He hadn't even planned on playing this game with anyone on the ship, if only because it took forever to explain Earth customs to them. He prefers to stick with what they all know and understand, like fighting or music or these days, saving the world.
"Truth or Dare?"
Gamora is watching their hands as Peter's thumb runs softly across her knuckles, "Truth."
He's not even paying attention to his words anymore, eyes solely focused on Gamora. She's so beautiful, so breathtakingly gorgeous, it's a miracle she'll let him hold her hand. Her gaze lifts and meets his, a fond smile on her face and he just about melts when he sees it.
"Do you wanna...maybe...kiss me?" He sounds lame, no he sounds incredibly uncool, he wants to hate himself for it but Gamora doesn't pull away. Instead, her brows pull together, almost as if she's seriously thinking the question over.
"Hm, dare." She still looks as if she's thinking, but there's a flicker of humor in her dark eyes that Peter doesn't quite understand. He figures she just hasn't gotten the hang of the game yet, which is to be expected.
He shifts in the chair a bit, swallowing down a lump of nerves before going for it, "Um..I dare you to kiss me?" Oh god its second grade all over again. Except this time, the girl in the situation doesn't have a gap between her two front teeth. He's leaning in, he thinks she is too and if he's right about this moment- they'll totally have their first kiss.
Gamora gently presses her forehead to his, watching as his eyes flutter to a close. She smiles to herself before whispering her response, "Never-" She backs away a smidge and Quill's eyes open slowly "-have-" Gamora continues, releasing her hand from his grip "-I-" She quickly hops down off the chair and Peter's fast but he's not fast enough to stop her from getting a good distance away from him "-ever." Before he can stop her, Gamora is already turning out of the room, a playful swing to her hips.
It takes him a moment to recoup, but once everything sinks in, he can't keep the smile off of his face. He's not sure how far she's gotten but he calls out to her regardless, "That's so not the game we were playing, Gamora!"
He's about to slump down into his chair when he hears a laugh come from around the corridor- then before the voice completely disappears, it begins to hum. It's a different song than earlier, something that they had also danced to. Peter just can't believe that she actually remembers the melody to 'Fooled Around And Fell In Love'. It's been awhile since that trip to Knowhere, the first time he placed his headphones over her ears.
Quill sighs, turning back to his food, a gooey smile on his face. He scoops up another bite and-
"Friend Quill!" Peter almost chokes on his spoon as Drax comes from behind, clapping a large hand onto his shoulder. "You must teach me how this spinning of the bottles game commences!" Before he can respond to Drax's suggestion, loud cackling erupts from behind them.
Rocket's sporting a shit eating grin when comes into view, hopping onto the chair next to Peter's. He can already tell that this had been the raccoon's doing but can't seem to conjure up any insults and instead he nods at his teammate.
"Not bad," He appreciates and Rocket does somewhat of a bow, "But you should know, Drax," Peter turns his attention to the big guy still looming over his shoulder, "It requires the skinning of the furriest creature you can find."