alnifolia | OPEN POST;

Aww.

[ She flops back down on her back, scooting in a little closer. ]

It's okay. I'm well-aware that the Milano will always be the true thief of your heart. I'm fine with the decoy.

[ There's a hint of a smile that tugs at the corner of his mouth. ]

If it's any consolation, the decoy is probably a lot better than the genuine article. It probably has, like, karate-chop action or something.

Karate-chop action.

[ She chuckles. ]

That does make me feel so much better, thanks.

[ She continues to look on at the meteor shower after that, and spaces out. Wishes, huh? If there's one thing she would wish for, at this moment, it could only be Peter's happiness. And that's something she definitely cannot steal, something she wants--for him--but there are times when she doubts whether she's the one who can give him that.

She really, really hopes that she is, though. ]

[ Peter doesn't wish. He watches, and he appreciates; he thinks about how strange it is that something as small as a grain of sand could cause such a stir, could flare to life and burst across the night sky.

And he thinks about Mom and Earth and feels that pang of nostalgia, bittersweet and aching. He thinks of every night between leaving Earth and now, how the sky was different every time he looked, how the stars rearranged every time he turned away. Every night there were new constellations, new configurations for him to stare at, and he felt so small.

He misses looking up and seeing the same sky, sometimes. He misses the stability. He misses knowing where to look for the Big Dipper or Orion's Belt. There were so few things in his life he could be sure of, and even that was taken from him. He could only trust himself -- because everyone and everything would change. Shift. Leave. Disappear.

And then those idiots burst into his life. And then the Collector made the mistake of thinking Kasumi Goto, best thief in the galaxy, needed back-up. And aside from a few hiccups along the way, they've stayed. They've stuck by him. And Kasumi's the biggest surprise of all; someone who slips from sight so easily but stays around with his stupid ass because-- she likes him, he guesses. Lord knows he's not exactly useful to her.

But that's not what it's about, is it? Sometimes he forgets that relationships aren't about equivalent exchange. Sometimes he forgets that people don't need a concrete reason to just-- stick around. He's never quite sure what it is that gets Kasumi to stay, but whatever it is? He's glad for it. He's glad she's here. Warm and alive and here.

His hand moves down to find hers, and he squeezes it, turns to catch her gaze. ]

Hey. [ His voice is quiet, small. Like he's not sure of his words or where he's going with this. ] Thanks for-- this. For-- being here.

[ Although she's never made it clear just how much he means to her--how his friendship kept her from a life of isolation and perpetual grief, how moving beyond that friendship made her feel alive again--she's always hoped that her actions would speak louder than words. When she realized he had been taken, she all but tore through the galaxy to try and get him back, and she would do it again and again until Yondu would get tired and leave Peter alone. And she realizes that's an unlikely scenario, but that won't stop her.

She would do that, and she stays because he's the greatest thing she's found in this galaxy since Keiji died, since the crew of the SR-2 was forced to split up. Because he gave her a reason to fight instead of throwing her hands up in the air and letting the Reapers take what they want and, as Peter might say, she's one of the idiots that lives in this galaxy--a galaxy that's worth saving if it meant she could be with him.

When she feels his hand take hold of hers, she gives it a squeeze back, looks into his eyes as he speaks, and finds herself affected by the way he speaks. ]

There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Peter.

[ She hopes he'll understand that she really does mean it, that even though she gets called away doesn't change the fact that she'd still rather stay with him. ]

[ Yeah. He gets it. He's still not sure if he understands, still isn't quite sure what it is that she sees in him--

(aside from the good looks. rapier wit. winning personality.)

--but he appreciates it all the same.

Things'll settle, he tells himself. Or they'll settle as well as they can in a galaxy at war. He just needs to see this shit through for once. He wants to run from this weird coil of messy emotions that got knotted up while he was back on the Eclector, ignore it till it fades away, but-- that's not an option, not anymore. Not when people are looking to him to be there, trust him to stick around.

Stay. Wait. See it through. Kasumi did that for him, right? He can do that for her.

At this point the meteor shower seems to be ending; the meteors are appearing less and less frequently. Peter takes a deep breath. ]

Ready to head in?

[ She pauses before responding. Truthfully, she'd be perfectly fine laying down here with him, for a while. Even if he's still mad at her, and they just stayed there silently--she'd still take that over being away. But maybe he's tired; she did stress him out by being so goddamn late after all, she figures. So she concedes, for now-- ]

Wait--

[ She sits up and leans over to plant a quick kiss on his forehead. ]

Okay, now I'm ready to head in.

[ When she tells him to wait, he figures she was gonna do something like find one last meteor and make a wish. Or just-- sit and watch until the show ended.

He wasn't expecting the kiss, so she surprises a small smile out of him; he props himself up on his elbows. ]

What was that for?

[ when she sees that she's managed to coax a smile out of him, she returns with one of her own. ]

Do I need a reason? I just felt like it.

[ He hums thoughtfully, then, ]

I bet you broke something.

[ And she responds, without missing a beat: ]

I haven't broken anything except the hearts of lads and ladies across the galaxy.

Hope it didn't leave too much of a mess, at least.

Oh, I'm sure it did.

[ And she means more on his part than hers; not a lot of people even know she exists (much less know that she's involved with Star-Lord), but Peter is still a somewhat-celebrated hero in some parts of the galaxy, and a notorious troublemaker and casanova in others.

That doesn't really matter though, not right now. Her expression softens into a gentle one as she reaches with her free hand--the one that's not still holding Peter's--to touch his cheek, as she often does. It's a small act of affection, but to her, it's a way of showing Peter that she's here. It's always been that. And it's always been a way for her to ground herself, too, a way for her to make sure that he's here and this thing they have is--real. Maybe. Or at least, she hopes it is by now, after everything they've gone through together.

She lingers like that for a moment before she speaks again. ]

Sorry. I know we're supposed to be heading back in.

[ He leans into her touch, as he always does -- it's real and physical, and sometimes he doesn't realize how touch-starved he is between their visits with one another until she's there and whole.

So he reaches up, holds her hand there against his cheek, closes his eyes, and breathes. He tells himself things will be okay. He needs to work harder at normality, push down his stupid anxiety and fears, and everything else will fall back into place. ]

It's fine. I'll follow your lead.

Really? In that case...

[ She leans in to close the distance between them, opting for a kiss on the lips, this time around. ]

I didn't get a chance to say this earlier, but--I missed you.

[ -- Yes, good, kissing. He can do kissing. It's easier than those tricky, messy emotions he's been grappling with, anyway.

His gives her one of his small, genuine smiles. ]

Yeah, 'course you did. [ A joke, because that's his default mode. ] I missed you, too.

Of course you did. [ Her smile turns into a grin, a little. ] And if it weren't kind of sad to say, I could honestly listen to you tell me that over and over again.

[ She means it as a joke, but it's--one of the sweetest things she ever hears Peter say to her. And it's oddly nice to feel needed, sometimes, even though she knows that it's not his favorite feeling and that sincerity is still a difficult thing to grapple with. ]

Edited (moar words) 2015-01-02 03:50 (UTC)

I can record it, if you want. It'll probably be true every time.

[ And there he goes, being honest again. It should give him pause, he thinks, but-- he'll let this instance slide. Just this once. ]

[ And just this once is good enough for her. She wasn't quite expecting that second bit, though, and she feels her heart twist when he says it. Maybe some day, it won't have be a thing they say to each other too often. Maybe. She hopes--maybe once the Reaper War is over, if it ever ends with anyone at all being alive (she knows if anyone can pull that off, though, Shep can). ]

No need. I'd rather hear the real thing every time.

[ She lets a small sigh escape from her lips. ]

We probably should head back in. They're going to give us crap for taking so long.

[ Peter shrugs, but he sits up all the same; he keeps his hand closed around hers, though. ] That's nothing new. I get shit from them all the time.

[ Not as much lately, though. Tiptoeing around egg shells. Broken glass. Testing the waters. It drives him crazy, but Kasumi doesn't need to know that.

He heaves himself up, help her to do the same. ]

C'mon. You should get some rest. Your job must've been rough.

[ Funny--months and months ago she would have insisted she could get up on her own; now she lets him help her, because it feels nice.

In any case, she can't resist giving him a flirtatious look when she's back on her feet. ]

Rough, sure. But I'm actually feeling a little restless right now--could use some tiring out, maybe?

[ He raises an eyebrow at her, his smirk taking on a slightly more ~wicked~ edge. ]

You know, I think I know someone who could help with that.

Edited (random enter???) 2015-01-03 07:43 (UTC)

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OPEN RP POST ① Pick a character ② Pick a prompt (or DIY) (shamelessly and selectively pilfered from bakerstreet's Random Scenario Meme) ③ Do the thing!. table code by betterdolphin