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“Ok, remember everyone, stay with your buddy. That goes double for you Groot. I don’t want anyone getting lost.” Peter said as the gang filed out of the ship.
“I am Groot!” Groot pouted, and Rocket laughed, patting the little tree-child on the back.
The team had been sent by a client to Carthan looking for a very old and valuable scroll. The client had pinpointed the whereabouts of where it might be, but the potential location was still broad enough that Peter decided it’d be better if everyone split into teams and split up to look for it.
Peter paired with Gamora, of course, and Mantis and Drax got paired. Kraglin was with Rocket and Groot, and you got teamed up with Yondu. Everyone also had little maps of the areas they were meant to explore. Speaking of maps, Peter had just called out asking if everyone had theirs. Yondu held up the map you two had been given to show you guys had it, as did Kraglin and Mantis with theirs. Peter already had his and Gamora’s in his hand.
“Alright, it looks like everyone’s good to go, let’s go split up, we’ll meet back up at the ship before sundown unless someone finds the scroll before that. If you find the scroll, make sure to page everyone else so they can stop looking. Everyone got that?” Peter waited for nods from everyone. “Ok, good. Let’s head out.”
You turned to Yondu. “Ready, old man?” you joked, nudging him in the arm.
“Yeah, c'mon, brat.” he replied, heading off in the direction the map said you needed to go.
“So, where does the map say we’re headed?” you ask, glancing at the map in his hands.
Yondu pointed. “Ya see that cave over there?”
You saw what looked to be the entrance of a cave not in the distance. “Yeah, I think. So we’re looking around there?”
Yondu shook his head. “Nah, in the cave.” he said nonchalantly.
You swallowed. “Sorry, can you repeat that?”
“I said we’re gonna be looking in the cave.” he repeated. Looking over to you he added. “Is that a problem?”
“No, why would it be?” you ask, trying your best to act unbothered.
“Just checkin.” Yondu grinned.
You two finally reach the the cave a few minutes later. ‘Maybe this won’t be so bad?’ you think to yourself as the two of you approached closer, trying to psyche yourself up.
However, once standing at the cave entrance you hesitated.
“Ya coming?” Yondu asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I, uh, I think I need to go to the bathroom.” you say, stalling.
Yondu rolled his eyes and sighed. “Hurry up then.”
As you made your way towards a not too far off patch of bushes Yondu put his hands on his hips and called after you, “This is why ya go before leaving the ship!”
You made your way back a few minutes later, and stopped outside the entrance again. Before you could think of another excuse to stall Yondu spoke up. “Looks awful dark in there, ya bring a flashlight?”
“Yeah,” you say, pulling the small one you kept on you out from a jacket pocket. You went to click it on, but no light came out. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong now?”
“My flashlight’s dead.” You say, smacking it on your palm hoping that might work.
“Ya didn’t think to check it before ya left the ship?” Yondu sighed.
“Well I didn’t think we’d be be looking in a cave!”
“Always be prepared for anything.” Yondu lectured, pulling a flashlight of his own from inside his jacket. “Mine alone will have to do.” he said, clicking it on and making a grimaced face when he noticed the beam of light wasn’t the greatest. Not the worst, but still not the greatest. Perhaps he should have been more prepared as well… He started to head inside, making it a few feet before he noticed you were no longer beside him. He turned around to notice you standing there, staring into the cave. “Come on now,” he said, “Don’t tell me yer afraid of the dark.”
You blushed and looked at him indignantly. “No! Don’t be dumb.”
“Then what’s the hold up? Ya can’t possibly need to pee again- and if ya do then ya need to get that checked out.”
“Nothing,” you say, still blushing. “Shut up.” You defiantly catch up to him and the two of you enter the cave.
“I was gonna suggest we split up to cover more ground in here, but since we only have my light we might as well stick together.” Yondu said, sweeping his light back and forth over the empty cave walls and floor.
For a moment he flicks the light up to the ceiling of the cave, disturbing a bat-like creature in the process which then proceeds fly towards your heads before darting out of the cave. You let out a short scream when this happens and Yondu laughs at your reaction.
As you both walk further into the cave Yondu notices you growing more and more quiet. He allows the silence to linger for a bit before eventually tapping the back of your arm to get your attention, only to have you respond with a startled cry and jumping out of your skin.
Yondu’s surprise fades quickly into amusement, and he grins while asking, “Ya are afraid of the dark, aren’t ya?”
You feel your face grow hot again as you attempt to deny it, but Yondu isn’t having it.
“Ain’t ya a little old to be scared of the dark?” he teased.
“Aren’t you a little old in general?” you shot back.
Yondu only grinned, not even taking offense. “That’s funny coming from someone who jumps at any little thing that goes bump in the night.”
“Do not!” you retort.
“What was that then? Ya sure looked scared.” He laughed.
“Shut up, you just startled me, is all.”
Yondu turned back to the task at hand, grinning. “Sure. Sure. I believe ya…”
You punched him in the arm. “Leave me alone.”
The two of you didn’t say anything more for a long while, just walking through the cave by the light of Yondu’s flashlight and not seeing anything more than rock and dirt. You happened upon a widening in the cave and Yondu shone his flashlight over the walls to reveal the cave branched off in two directions.
“Which way should we take?” you ask as the both of you make your way further into the clearing.
Before Yondu answered the light went off, leaving the two of you in complete darkness.
You gasped audibly and your breath caught in your throat. “Yon-Yondu?”
He didn’t respond.
“Yondu?” you say more urgently. You reach out for him, but he isn’t there. You begin to hear a low growling coming from your other side and your voice trembles as you say, “Yondu, this isn’t funny!”
You let out a shrill shriek when suddenly you are grabbed from behind and shaken as a snarly voice yells, “RAHHH!”
You are released just as quickly as it happened, the snarly yell having turned into Yondu’s laughter. “Aw, man! I wish I could’ve seen yer face!” Yondu said, doubling over and slapping his knee. His laughter was cut short, however, when he started to hear what sounded like you crying.
They weren’t loud sobs, but more of the kind of quiet, frightened tears of someone who was trying not to cry but just couldn’t stop.
“Aw, hell, darlin,” Yondu said remorsefully, flicking the flashlight back on so he could see you, only for you to hide your face from him. “Come on now, I didn’t mean it.” he said, pulling you against his chest in a comforting gesture, feeling guilty because he hadn’t meant to scare you that badly and realizing that you must actually be absolutely terrified of the dark. “It’s alright. It was jus’ me. Yer ok.”
He rubbed a hand up and down your back in further attempts to comfort you as you were still crying against his chest. He attempted to lighten the mood, “Guess it’s a good thing ya already went outside, otherwise it’d probably be down yer leg with how good I got ya.”
He quickly realized this was the wrong thing to say, as it only made you cry harder, your breaths now coming in hiccupy gasps. Yondu quickly tried damage control, hating to see you like this. “Sorry! I was just being funny- I take it back!! Ya don’t need to cry no more!” he said, squeezing you tighter. “Yer ok. Ya don’t need to be scared of anythin’ in here. Scariest thing in here is me.”
He held you for a few more moments, soft shushes and 'it’s ok’s’ being muttered as you started calming down. ’Damn. I really am goin’ soft.’ he thought.
You wiped your eyes and Yondu lifted your chin to make you look at him. “Feel better?” he asked.
You nodded softly.
Just then the two of you were surprised by the sound of snarling coming from the left of you. It wasn’t Yondu this time.
Yondu swung the light to fall on a short, slimy looking creature. It was completely white and hairless and looked a bit like a fat mutated dog. It had no eyes, but what it lacked in eyes it seemingly made up for in extra jagged teeth. It snarled again and lunged for the two of you, but it was quickly taken out by Yondu’s arrow before it really even got off the ground.
Yondu called his arrow back, chuckling lightly. “See, I told ya. Scariest thing in here is me- What’s that face for?”
You had gone completely white, your eyes wide as saucers. “Ba-Baby.” you managed to stammer out, starting to tremble.
“Baby?? What the hell does that mean? What’s gotten into you?”
Your voice now came out as a strained whisper and you pointed behind him. “That- That was the baby…”
Yondu momentarily raised an eyebrow, and then he felt hot breath on the back of his neck. His eyes flew wide and he spun around to see a giant, and much uglier, version of the creature he had just killed standing right before him. He shielded you with his body and attempted to whistle for his arrow, but the creature smacked him aside with its giant paw before he was able.
Yondu flew into the wall, whereas you, having been behind him, had only gotten knocked to the ground. The flashlight was spinning in lazy circles on the ground, its beam of light spinning about the room with it.
Yondu yelled for you to grab the light, to train it on the creature so he could get a shot.
Adrenaline coursed through your veins as you lunged for the light, training it towards the sounds of the beast. Yondu was pulling himself up to a seated position while he tried to aim his blaster at the creature. He fired off a shot, but it only seemed to make the creature angry, its roar nearly shaking the cave.
You pulled out your blaster, your hands shaking as you attempt to aim. You fire, but only hit it in the shoulder.
This made it angrier and it turned to you. You fired again, only this time you missed. You heard Yondu’s blaster fire and the beast whipped back to face Yondu. He tried to fire again, but nothing happened.
“Dammit, my blaster’s jammed!”
Panicked, you drop the flashlight and you fire. You fire again. And again. And again. And again.
One of your shots managed to kill it, but you weren’t sure which one. In truth you only realized it had died when you heard the weight of its fall and the cave grew silent.
Yondu picked up the light and pulled you into a side hug. “Ya did good. Saved my ass.”
“Don’t mention it.” you say numbly.
A transmission then came over your communicators. Mantis and Drax had found the scroll under the floorboards of an abandoned shack, so everyone else could stop looking and head back to the ship.
“Good,” you say, then looking at Yondu, “Can we please get out of here?”
“Sure ya don’t wanna stay awhile?” Yondu teased, only for you to playfully shove him. “Alright, alright, we’re goin’!” he laughed.
As you two made your way out of the cave Yondu spoke up again. “Tell ya what. I won’t tell anyone 'bout ya being afraid of the dark,” he started,“-or how good I scared ya-” he laughed, earning him an eye-roll and a half-hearted swat from you, “if ya don’t say nuttin to the others about me going soft. Deal?”
You grinned up at him. “Deal.”