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It was all been because of a game. A stupid bit of fun at the end of a job well done. Letting off steam.
"Give me that one. You've already got two."
“Yes.” Kraglin said. "And now I've got three."
Yondu shook his head, ignoring the impending fight brewing behind him as he sorted through his own acquired trinkets. These rich folk sure did love leaving their stuff just lying around behind easily unlocked doors where anyone could find it and take it. Yondu was doing them a favour by offering to take the stuff away and keep it safe for them. Okay, safe from them as well.
"Oh and look." Kraglin stepped into Yondu's view, three golden statues held against his chest by his arm, and a fourth in his opposite hand. "Now I have four."
"Give him some more, boys.” The Captain said over his shoulder. “I want to see how high he can count."
Kraglin threw a mock glare at the Ravager's Captain, and dropped the statues carelessly into a bag by his feet. "Higher than you, I bet. Don't take much brains to boss this crew around. But it's me that does all the planning." He pointed at his temple.
"Going the right way about getting an arrow in that mouth of yours."
"Gonna get me a drink first?" Kraglin said, winking as he picked up the sack, throwing it over his shoulder and turning his back on the crew.
"GET HIM." One of the Ravagers jumped on his back, throwing a sack over the First Mate's head and holding on while he spun. Kraglin dropped the bag, and two more of the crew grabbed it between them, taking the statues out. "Ours now, Kraglin."
They laughed, spinning the blinded man round and round, passing him between them.
Yondu joined in the laughter as he picked up a statue of his own. "So much for them brains of yours." He said, using the head of the statue to gently tap the bag covered head of his First Mate before giving him a gentle shove back into the waiting arms of the man stood opposite him, who proceeded to pass him to the Ravager on his left and so on around the circle.
Yondu collected together the four statues, putting them back in Kraglin’s bag. “Letting your own crew get the jump on you. Bad show.”
The Ravagers laughed, and finally let up on their game. Kraglin stood in the middle of the circle, the bag on his head twitching as his breathing manipulated the cloth.
When he made no effort to remove the bag, or to move in any way at all, Yondu shook his head.
"Alright. Stop hiding and take the shame like a man." Yondu roughly pulled the bag off, and the sweat covered man it had been covering collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. He sat at their feet, shaking, eyes wide and unseeing and seemingly unaware that he was surrounded, or even in the room.
For seconds. Minutes maybe.
“Come on Krag, this ain’t funny. Get up.”
Yondu raised his hand, silencing the other Ravagers. With an equally silent hand gesture he ordered them out of the room. They filtered out quickly, not even making footfall noise. The only audible clue to their presence was the quiet click of the door as they pulled it shut behind them.
Yondu's hand was still raised from giving the 'leave' order. "It's okay. Caught you off guard back there, didn't they. Guess we trained them all a bit too well, you and me. Takes some skill to sneak up on you."
Kraglin didn’t respond, or even look at the captain. Instead he stumbled backwards, hitting the chair Yondu had just vacated and knocking it over.
The change happened in an instant. The younger man clawed at the blue collar of his coat like a thing possessed, yanking it down in jerky, frantic motions while his breathing became erratic. A whistling sound was made as the air sucked through his teeth and tight throat.
"Can't..."
"I've got that." Yondu kept his voice deliberately steady. Calm, but loud enough to be heard over the frantic breaths. He knelt down and took control, loosening the collar and parting the material of the coat into a v shape. "There you go. Don't want you ruining your best coat."
Kraglin knocked his hands away, now clawing at his chest the same way he had been the collar. Fingernails rough from being bit scratched at the skin while wild eyes, glassy with moisture, darted around the room.
"Kraglin?"
"Heart attack." He whispered. “I think I’m-”
"It's alright." Yondu got to work quickly, patting each pocket until he found what he was looking for and setting the scanner to work, while one hand rested on the hyperventilating man’s shoulder.
He let out a sigh of relief as the scanner returned its reading. “It’s not a heart attack. See. You’re fine. Just had a fright.” He turned the scanner so that Kraglin could see it.
He shook his head. “Can’t breath.”
"You're talking." Yondu said quietly, gently squeezing the shoulder he was holding. "Talking means you’re breathing. You’re breathing." He put the scanner down on the floor beside them.
"Mad?"
"Am I mad at you?"
Kraglin shook his head, still frantically breathing.
"You ain't going mad." Yondu said, hoping that he wasn’t lying to the other man because truth be told he had no damn idea what was going on. All he knew was that the man sat in front of him looked and, if the readings on the scanner were to be believed,was absolutely terrified.
"Would it help if I held you?"
Kraglin finally looked at him.
"Just us in the room. No one to see it."
Kraglin took one hand away from his chest to wrap around the Captain’s wrist and give him a weak tug that in any other situation Yondu would have described as pathetic. Now, it just seemed tragic as Kraglin gently pulled himself closer, and laid against the captain's chest as if listening to his heart, while his hands wrapped into the coat. Yondu tilted his own head slightly to see that the younger man's eyes were still wide.
Yondu wrapped relaxed arms around him, holding his head steady with one hand while he held the other splayed over his heart. He kept the hold light, not wanting to trap the younger man when he was apparently frightened enough. "I can feel you breathing. And you’re hearts beating there."
He felt the body against his start to shudder, and he moved his hand around to rub up and down his friend’s arm. "Cry it out. That’s it. Safe to do that. It’s safe.” Yondu wondered if he should start rocking him, way he had done when Quill had been a kid and upset about ‘Quill’s issue of the week’. He tested the motion, but stopped when the heard the other man gulp as if swallowing vomit. He opened his arms, but then closed them again when Kraglin made no effort to move. Well, worst case scenario was he got vomit on his coat. It had been covered in worse.
“Damn crew and me took things too far.” Yondu said, smiling when the head held between his chest and hand shook frantically. “We did. Should have noticed it was upsetting you.”
When that got no reply, he closed his eyes and just waited. “You’re safe. Got my word on that. It won’t happen again. Now we know it upsets you. It won’t happen again. You’ll get through this and then it will be over.” Kraglin’s breathing finally started to calm down, Yondu wasn’t sure if it had been minutes or hours. “See. You’re getting through it. Just like I knew you would.”
The First Mate relaxed against him, and Yondu risked the rocking motion again, carrying on when it received no negative reaction. More time passed, and Kraglin sniffed and sat up out of the hold, wiping at his eyes with the balls of his hand. It was a few moments before he looked up at the Captain, seeming to relax slightly when all he saw in the other man’s eyes was genuine concern rather than the disappointment and ridicule he had probably been expecting. His entire body was still shifting with each breath, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. Now he just looked like he had finished running up a flight of stairs, instead of just finished fighting off an army of Kree lackies single handedly, while his legs were tied together.
“You alright, now?”
Kraglin nodded, then paused, and then shook his head.
“Do you know what just happened?”
“It was exactly the same.” Kraglin sounded detached, as if he was talking in his sleep. “Like it was happening again. I, I KNEW it wasn’t, but...”
Yondu didn’t know what Kraglin was referring to when he said again, and he was not all that sure that he wanted to know. “Other Ravagers joke around, but they’d never hurt you. Neither would I.”
Kraglin let out a hitched laugh. “You think I weren’t telling myself that, genius?”
“Well, you’re the one with the brains.” Yondu said, before inching himself forward ever so slightly, so that he could reach Kraglin’s arm. “What happened to you?”
“Not now.” Kraglin closed his eyes. “Please.”
“Alright.” Yondu took his hand away. “I won’t ask again.”
He stood, brushing his coat down before offering a hand to the seated man. “You’d have more time if it were up to me.”
“But we need to get out of here.” Kraglin finished the sentence for him.
“You need anything?”
“Sleep.”
“All yours. Take as long as you need. I'll make sure the crew don't bother you.”
“Thanks.” Kraglin quickly looked him in the eye, then looked away, his skin flushing. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me.” Yondu picked up the bag from the floor. “I'm keeping these statues.”