Girly

Chapter 17

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Copyright © 2017 Girly
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Chapter 17

“Is this not a trader’s planet?” you ask, worried.

“Sadly not, girly.”

You almost want to punch the bastard in the face. “This must be all your fault!”

“My fault? How?” he snaps, glaring at you.

You point at him accusingly, “I told Kraglin about you leaving me in the morning and he must have organised all this shit!”

“So then how is this my fault?!”

“Because you were the asshole who left!”

Yondu’s face twists with anger as he jabs a finger at you, “You want to quit acting like a child? I have better things to do than wait until some girl wakes up in the morning just because she’s sensitive and emotional! I captain a ship and a crew to run and keep in line!”

You feel your chest constrict painfully. “Do you have better things to do than collar me like a dog? A personal slave?”

“What?”

You ignore his question, feeling your anger and emotional turmoil reach its breaking point. “You’re a lying a-hole. You’ve been lying and deceiving me ever since I met you. Kraglin told me the whole collar bullshit was just to keep me around – it’s just an excuse.”

The man scoffs, “Have I not been making you steal for me?”

“That’s not the point! The point is you wouldn’t have done this to me if you didn’t like me!”

“How could I like something like you?” Yondu barks, kicking the ground.

You take a step backwards, your chest constricting again. “‘Something like me?’”

“Yes! A child – a stupid, naïve little Terran girl!” he exclaims, throwing his hands up.

“After everything I’ve done for you …” you whisper, trying to force down the lump forming in your throat. “After all of your shit I’ve dealt with … after …”

Yondu snorts, “Oh don’t get so hung up on something like that, girl.”

You can feel yourself shutting down emotionally as you turn away from him and start walking off into the alien forest.

“Where are you going?!” you hear over your shoulder.

You don’t bother to respond as you storm off, willing the tears not to flow. How could I be so fucking stupid? Actually, how could I think he’d actually care about me after all that? Oh galaxy, I’m getting emotional like some child. You laugh at your pitifulness. Is this how human girls act? Do they feel like this too?

A little voice in the back of your mind – a rational voice – tells you that he’s just protecting himself, but you silence the voice just as fast.

Walking through the forest, you hug yourself and don’t look back. You know the Ravager isn’t following you as the alien forest is silent aside from your crunching footsteps. For some reason, it hurts more to know he’s not coming after you.

You used to be a slave for the Kree – you were hardened over the years and numbed to it all. And yet, somehow, this blue prick has weaseled his way into your life and he’s breaking down your barriers whether you like it or not.

~~~

You’ve been walking for what feels like hours, and somehow the planet is growing darker and colder with each passing minute. You can’t see a sun setting anywhere, but you don’t bother to dwell on it as you slow to a stop and glance around you. You hadn’t walked in a completely straight line and somehow, the tree to your right, looks somewhat familiar.

“Took you long enough.”

You jolt and whirl around to see Yondu resting against the base of a tree. He’s sitting there, inspecting his nails casually in the fading light.  

You narrow your eyes at him. “What in the galaxy … ? I walked off so I wouldn’t have to see you again!”

“You must’ve walked in a circle, girly.”

You whimper and drop to the ground. Pulling yourself over to a tree base, you lie down on your side and bring your legs up to your chest. Yondu watches as you shiver and sniffle, cold in the alien forest.

“I hate you,” you whisper.

The Ravager snorts. “You keep telling yourself that, girly.”

Seeing you shiver violently and close your eyes to fight off the forming tears, Yondu quietly stands up and crosses the fifteen foot gap between the two of you.

Shrugging off his coat, he places it over your cold body and slides down the rough bark to sit at the end of your feet.

He sighs, looking up at the stars as you feel a few tears leak out. You’re tired – physically and emotionally – and it’s all slowly overwhelming you as you lie there on the grass. How did I become like this? Where’s the me from last year? The me that defied the Kree slavers and was … strong?

“They’ll be back soon,” Yondu tells you.

When you don’t respond or acknowledge him, he adds, sounding irate, “I need a fucking drink right now.”

You rub at your eyes silently and pull the collar of his coat up to your cheeks, snuggling in it. It’s bittersweet: you care for him and are taking comfort in his scent, but you still feel so betrayed by him.

The Ravager, after a few minutes, leans over you with one hand planted on the ground beside your head. With his other hand, he gently touches your head and wipes away the rogue tears. You slap his hand away as it tries to caress your face.

“Go away,” you mumble tightly. Your face is still tingling from where he had touched you and you want nothing more to go back to the night before. You want to rewrite this morning – you wanted to wake up to Yondu beside you instead of waking up alone. You wanted to be able to feel his warm skin against yours and feel the solid weight of his body alongside yours.

Except, you didn’t have that this morning when you woke up. I’m fucking pathetic.

“Where do you go in the mornings?” you eventually ask him.

The blue man sighs in frustration and sits back, stretching his legs out in front of him and slumping against the tree. “Doesn’t matter.”

You don’t have the energy to push it and simply close your eyes, feeling the weight of sleep pulling on your mind.