Starmora Week 2018

Day 2 (First Date/Dancing): JUMP!

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE SHITTIN' ME!" Peter yells as he tosses his data-pad aside and plops down on his bed.

Well, it wasn't technically his bed anymore...it was theirs. A few weeks have passed since Yondu's funeral, since their unspoken thing wasn't so unspoken anymore. Even though the team was taking things slow, still coping with the death of their fallen friend, Peter and Gamora have yet to go on their first date.

It was something Peter had been stressing about for days, now. He wanted it to be perfect, not only for him, but for Gamora as well. However, every time he came upon a new idea, an obstacle always remained in his way, whether it'd be money, space, or even time.

The Benetar is docked on a humid, tropical planet. Gamora and Peter were on ship and Groot duty, while the others went on a small mission. It isn't too bad. They left the ship late at night, after Groot is already sound asleep. Gamora is cleaning up the dinner mess that the others seemed to have snuck out of doing. It's the perfect time for Peter to find a place to surprise Gamora on their first date. Unfortuantely, it's not going very well...

Soft footsteps approach the quarters, noticing the man laying on the bed, facing the opposite direction of the door. The footsteps continue until they reach the bed and pick up the data-pad that was still opened on a certain tab.

"Peter?" Gamora's voice, even though almost inaudible, causes the man to jump out of his own skin and fly out of the bed.

As soon as he catches his breath, he dramatically places a hand over his heart. "Dammit, Gamora. You scared the shit outta me."

"I'm sorry." Her focus wasn't towards Peter, but his browsing history from the past hour. When Peter realizes what she's doing, he snatches the data-pad out of her hand and quickly turns it off. "Peter, what the hell?!"

"It's not important. You don't have to worry about it." He rubs the bridge of his nose in frustration and turns his back to her.

Gamora immediately figures out what his intentions were and raises her eyebrows sympathetically. After she notices that Peter had no intention of facing her, she climbs onto the bed and kneels behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso and digging her head into his back. It must've worked because Peter immediately turns around and sits down next to her. She intertwines their fingers together and lays her head on his shoulder as if to tell him she was listening.

An audible sigh escapes his mouth as he thumbs the back of her hand. "We haven't really had any alone time together, which means we haven't gone on a real first date. I wanted it to be special, but every place I look into is too expensive for us right now or it's booked." He feels Gamora lift her head off of his shoulder to look him in the eye.

"We're alone right now. That counts for something, right?"

"It's just not the same." Gamora tilts her head up a little to give him a quick peck on the cheek and lets go of his hand to cup his face.

"Peter, I don't want to go to some overpriced venue."

"You don't?" Peter asks in surprise.

When Gamora scoffs, Peter knows he over exceeded what she wanted. "Of course I don't. Come on, Peter, you know me better than that." He looks away as if he disappointed her until she tilts his head back to face her. "Look at me, we don't need to go out to have a good time." No response. She lets out a deep sigh and closes her eyes.

Peter's eyes shift towards the fiddling of his fingers that laid in his lap as Gamora lets go of his face. He doesn't look up when she walks away, thinking maybe he offended her somehow. He doesn't even look up when he notices a familiar tune playing softly in their shared quarters:

'I get up, and nothin' gets me down

You got it tough, I've seen the toughest around

And I know, baby, just how you feel

You got to roll with the punches and get to what's real'

It isn't until a green hand comes into view that he finally shifts his eyes back to hers. Her smile is wider than he'd ever seen it before. Returning the gesture, he slowly places his hand upon hers to be quickly pulled to his feet. Gamora's pulls him to the middle of their quarters. "Dance with me." When he doesn't respond, Gamora spins herself underneath his arm. It's a gesture that immediately brightens Peter's mood.

"Watch this." He says with a smirk as he grabs both of her hands and spins them both underneath their arms. A rare laugh escapes her mouth as Peter begins to jump as the chorus states. "Stand on the edge of the bed." Gamora raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Trust me." She playfully rolls her eyes and does so. Peter stands a few feet away from her and holds out his arms. "Jump!" He exclaims in unison with the music.

Rolling her eyes once again, Gamora belly flops towards Peter and he surprisingly catches her and lifts her above his head. He lets go and catches her vertically against his chest in his arms, causing her to burst out in laughter. The sound of it makes his grin widen as he spins her a bit before setting her back down.

"See I told you." She whispers, only a few inches from his face.

A new song is now playing, one they haven't heard before. Their fast paced dance winds down as they begin to slowly sway to the beat. "I take it back. We don't need to go out to have a good time." The green woman smiles softly as she lays her head against his chest.

'I'll see you in the future when we're older

And we are full of stories to be told.

Cross my heart and hope to die,

I'll see you with your laughter lines'

"Have I ever showed you Footloose?"

***

"I can see why Kevin Bacon is a legend." Gamora is nuzzled into Peter's chest on their bed as they finish the movie projected on the wall in front of them. A soft smile makes it way to Peter's face as he plants a lingering kiss on top of his girlfriend's hair that smells like the usual fresh, exotic fruit scented shampoo she uses. In return, she hums in contentment and closes her eyes.

Gamora was right...best first date ever.