Chapter Text
The soft buzzing of the plasma lights filled the air of the Elector, along with the occasional clang of the wall panels being taken apart put back together, and the soft murmur of two boys sitting in the floor, talking to each other. Not too far down the catwalk, a relatively young woman wiped the sweat from her brow and trudged over to the pair of boys. Her red jumpsuit was undone, the upper half hanging around her waist simply because she got too hot while doing her work, and her gray undershirt was stained with grease from working in the engine room that morning. She turned to a small panel with buttons that was on the wall above the smaller boy's head, and began typing in codes and such.
"This guy's name is Captain America!" The smaller of the boys--her son-- exclaimed, holding up an action figure coated in a red and blue outfit. "He's my favorite super hero! And he was a real guy too! In World War Two, he kicked a bunch of Nazi ass--"
"Peter!" The woman scowled.
"Sorry mom! I didn't mean to say that!" The boy, Peter, apologized. "It just slipped out. Sorry." Peter turned back to his companion, "Who's your favorite super hero, Kraglin?"
Meredith smiled down at the boys. Kraglin was older by several years. A teenager, to be exact, and Peter was only 8 years old, but the teen didn't mind spending nearly every hour with a kid much younger than himself. Truth be told, Kraglin loved Peter to death. Meredith guessed his childhood wasn't all that great, and that he found joy having a playmate to get in to all kinds of trouble with. Peter and Kraglin practically glued themselves to each other the moment they met (probably because Kraglin was the least threatening of all. The youngest, the smallest, the most non-intimidating, human-looking). When they first arrived on the ship, Peter spent nearly every moment curled up beside his sick mother in the medbay of the ship. Sometimes, the captain himself would have to physically remove Peter from his mother's side so they could continue with the treatment for the horrid sickness known as cancer.
Yondu, the captain, had even offered to give Peter a tour of the ship, just to give the poor woman a break. While they were and wandering about the many corridors of the ship, they ran in to Kraglin, who tagged along and instantly became Peter's new best friend. It made Meredith feel content. She was worried that Peter would've been terrified of everything when they finally made their journey in to outer space.
Despite the rumors spread around the area, Yondu Udonta was a kind man. At least, in Meredith's eyes:
Upon picking them up, he demanded that she be taken immediately to the medical wing of the ship, and stopped at nothing to assure they would get rid of her cancer, and anything else that could potentially be a problem. "You will be better than ever, I can promise ya that, and when we're through fixin' ya up, you'll be stronger than th' walls of this ship, that's f'sure," he had said, giving her arm a soft pat. She was forever grateful for aliens and their technology. Of course, once she was well enough, Yondu had requested that she do her part and become part of the crew for the rest of the time they stayed aboard.
Meredith was pulled out of her deep thoughts when Peter leaned back against her leg, fiddling with his action figures and, out of knowhere, saying, "I love you, mom."
With an even sweeter smile, she kneeled beside her son and drew him in to a bear hug, pressing a large kiss to his cheek and smothering him. "I love you too, my little Star-Lord! Mwuah!"
"Moooom, stop!" Peter whined, wiggling free from her grip. He was smiling, nonetheless, "You tried to suffocate me!"
"I sure did," she joked, pressing another kiss to his temple. Then she turned to Kraglin, tossed an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him in to a tight bear hug. She believed affection was vital for children, so she never hesitated to give either of the boys a hug.
"Thank you," the teenager mumbled, awkwardly casting his eyes to the floor. He wasn't used to much affection before Meredith came along.
"No, thank you. For keeping Petey company while I'm working. He, Uh...didn't have many friends back on Earth. It's nice to know he can get along with someone for a change," she ruffled the teen's mohawk.
"But I had you!" Peter said, scooting over to hug her. "You're my bestest friend--besides Kraglin!"
"Awe, baby," she gently bopped Peter's nose with a finger. "You're such a sweet bean, just like your daddy. I'm sure he cannot wait to meet you!"
"I know, mom, I know. You tell me all the time!" Peter said, sitting back and picking up his action figure again. He held one up, a man dressed in black with a golden helmet on his head. It's left leg had been popped off, probably due to the boys' natural rough nature of playing around. "Mom! Richard Rider's leg came off again!"
"I'll fix it later, baby," Meredith took the figure and it's leg and put both in her pocket. "Why don't you and Kraglin go to the mess hall to eat something and I'll meet you down there in ten minuets when I'm done working?"
"Okay!" Peter gathered the rest of his action figures and handed a few to Kraglin. "You get to hold on to Adam Warlock and He-Man! I'll take Captain America, Batman, and Wonder Woman! I used to think girl are weak but my mom is like Wonder Woman because they are both really strong and pretty!" He gave his mom another hug before linking arms with Kraglin and speeding off.
"That's s nice boy ya got," Yondu said, stepping in to the woman's line of view.
"He's very lovely, I agree," she smirked. "I love him more than anything. Even more than I love his daddy."
"Kids are trouble," Yondu awkwardly stood with his hands in the pockets of his coat. "They cry and whine and ask a lot of questions."
"Let me guess, Peter asked you a million questions when he ran in to you yesterday? He told me he talked to you," she laughed, leaning on the wall beside her and looking up at the man. "You've never had kids before, Yondu. It's amazing how fast they change your opinions.
One minuet you're seeing someone's kid screaming their head off in the grocery store and you're thinking ‘I never want kids’ but then suddenly you discover you're pregnant and you slowly fall in love with the child every day. And when you hold them, you finally meet them for the first time, you feel so overwhelmed with love that you've never felt yourself express before. They suddenly become the most important person in your life and you vow to never let anything bad happen to them. You want to hold them in your arms forever and love them for all of eternity..."
"...Well, ma'am, that sounds…intense," Yondu also leaned against the wall.
"It is. But it's worth it. I love my son more than anything...I just hope J'son loves him as much as I do."
Yondu shrugged, peeling himself off the wall and walking with Meredith toward the mess hall where the majority of the crew were gathered to eat. "Im sure they'll be fine. J'son'll probably tell him about how great it is to be a king and whatnot…Your Pete's a good kid. You've only been here for 9 weeks and the crew already loves the hell outta him, and you. I told them not to get attached, though!"
"That's good to know, that they love us, i mean."
"And, if things don't work out so well, uh...well, you're a really great, uh...a great addition to this crew, y'know, and your boy, he...he'd make a fine Ravager one day, Y'know? So, uh...come back?"
Meredith smiled. "Of course I'd come back. This ship has become a second home to us, and I think Peter really likes it here. He likes you, too," She reached over to lightly pinch his cheek, "Besides, I think you're great. You're nice, and kind, coming all the way to Earth to pick us up and everything. We like it here. Thank you."
She gave him a final grin and stepped in to the mess hall, making her way over to where Peter and Kraglin were sitting together. Yondu watched after her, fingers resting on his face where hers had been just a moment ago. She was a nice woman, that was for sure. She was smarter than anyone else on the crew (besides him, of course), strong, and very protective of the things she loved. That could be a strength and a weakness, depending on the situation. Aaaaannnnd, she was on her way to re-unite with her boyfriend and finally marry him, after 9 years of being apart.
Yondu turned around and headed for where the good liquor was stored on the ship. He needed to kill this crush before it got any worse.