Work Text:
“C'mon, just one date,” Peter said, draping himself over the counter at the front desk of the studio, where Gamora had just so happened to choose to get her work done that day.
It's not like they really needed a front desk anyway, but they were renovating the offices (replacing the heating ducts that were in desperate need of replacing), so Gamora had taken over the space as her temporary workstation. She was just typing away at the computer when her favorite bother came along, and couldn't help but smile while Peter was being his usual over dramatic self.
They'd had this little flirty banter going on between them for months now, and honestly, she quite enjoyed it. Peter was always fun to talk to- a genuinely bright person who made her laugh far more often than anyone ever has.
At first, when he showed curiosity about the producer side of things, she had made a joke about him wanting to cut out the middle man so to speak, learning how to make a producer's role defunct so he could be an actor and producer himself. It didn't take long to figure out that he only started asking her about it as a way to spend time with her.
(Plus, Peter made it pretty clear he was not cut out for it when he heard about all the goddamn paperwork that was just one aspect of her job. Sure, there was a lot of stuff about being a porn star that wasn't fun, but they had to make it look like it was when cameras were rolling, but at least he didn't have to review applications and check for fraud. That wasn't even to mention monitoring literally thousands of cam sites and all the technical aspects thereof. That was so not his deal. He liked hearing her talk about it though. He liked listening to her talk about anything, really.)
“Haven't you ever heard not to mix business and pleasure?” Gamora asked, a sly smile at her lips.
“Honey, we're in the pleasure business.”
He said it like he was in some John Wayne movie, when Gamora was pretty sure he stuck to westerns and not porn. Though Peter would probably jump at the opportunity to do a western porn parody. Oh god, the puns.
“Really, Peter. It wouldn't be ethical for me to see you, socially. It'd be like a real life casting couch scenario, or at least that's how it would be viewed. I'm in a position of power over you. We can't have a personal relationship- taking advantage would be putting it lightly.”
And Peter frowned, because yeah, that is a whole genre of porn. A very popular one. He'd never considered what it looked like cause he had the biggest crush on Gamora and knew her and knew her character, and that she'd never take advantage of a power imbalance in a relationship. But he never stopped to think about how it would look, and reflect on her as a professional.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “But you do actually like me, right? It's only cause of work that this isn't gonna get a try?”
Gamora paused, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, because he deserved a genuine response. She knew Peter liked her. Really liked her. He was horribly open about it- not so much overt (their banter has always stayed on the side of friendly teasing), but he didn't try to hide it either.
As much as she would hate to admit it, she really liked Quill too.
“I find your company... enjoyable,” Gamora said. She resumed typing, if only for a distraction. She knew she'd have to go back over everything she typed and correct errors from multitasking, but she wasn't as good as Peter was with the whole being-honest-about-feelings, so she at least needed the illusion of something else going on other than this conversation. “And I wouldn't mind seeing you in a social context-” she phrased the sentiment very carefully and very awkwardly, but it got the point through. “In other circumstances, I think it would be nice. Trying that with you. But we can't.”
They’d had this unspoken, extremely flirty thing for awhile, and Gamora would genuinely consider them friends now (something she never expected when they first met). But it couldn’t be anything more than just- banter between them. She wasn’t going to lie to him and say she didn’t like him, though. He at least deserved the truth.
The gears kept turning in Peter's mind at her words, though.
“My contract's up in three months,” he said suddenly. “If I don’t renew it- then you’d say yes? If we didn’t work at the same place anymore?”
Gamora’s fingers suddenly came to a halt, looking up at him in shock. “What? You’d actually do that? Why would-”
“There are other porn companies, Gamora. There’s only one you.”
She stammered, gaping like a fish, utterly taken aback by how committed he was to just the chance of going on a real, actual date with her.
Sure, a lot of Peter's work was freelance, but giving up a contract- or just letting it lapse- wasn't nothing either. Contracts were pretty cushy gigs, you know?
Not that Peter Quill would have a hard time finding work otherwise. He'd made a pretty big name for himself over his career. Still.
He smiled at how speechless she was. “You just let me know if that's something you'd consider,” he said, and actually winked at her, before turning on his heel and walking right out the door, confident he'd nailed the cool exit.