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Her heart stopped beating for a moment as she watched him fall into the canyon. “PETER!” She cried as his aerorig was shot down and he disappeared from view. Everything froze for just a moment before it caught up on double time making her feel sick to her stomach.
“What happen?” Shouted Rocket from her right, but went ignored as she followed him down the crevice.
It was deep and her hope of him surviving diminished with each meter. “Peter!” She shouted into the comms, hoping for any sort of response. The only sound aside from the explosion and fighting was the sound of the rushing river that created the canyon at the bottom.
She dove as fast as she could and it was only then that she saw the red lights of his mask and a sandbar attached to a battered body, she let go of the breath she had been holding. He hadn’t been swept away by the river and it was a tender mercy. One step at a time.
Quickly, she landed next to him and reached behind his ear to turn off his mask, taking it off him and placing it into her pocket. “Peter.” She called out, placing a hand on his cheek. He gasped at the touch and his eyes shot open though they were unfocused. “It’s okay.”
He blinked a couple of times as he tried to gain his bearings. Everything hurt. Except for where Gamora’s hand placed on his face. Everything looked fuzzy and everything sounded fuzzy, what happened?
He heard her voice and assumed that she said his name, but it sounded foreign. He looked at her face, but her lips weren’t matching with the sound that came out of her mouth. She said something again, this time something longer and he didn’t understand what she was saying.
Gamora was starting to get worried. “Peter are you okay?” She asked as he tried to sit up, only for her to push him back down softly. “Stay still, you are hurt pretty badly.” He look at her confused which quickly turned into panic.
He made a sound that she didn’t understand, but it was as if he was calling out for her and it was then she realized he couldn’t understand her, or vice versa-his implanted translator was broken. She placed her hands on his face to sooth him. “Shhhhh, it’s okay.” She said to him in the softest voice she could muster. Carefully she turned his head to see the bruising in his neck where she assumed they placed the his transmitter, it was where hers was.
He gave a groan, Gamora held up a finger to signal for him to hold on. “Rocket!” She yelled into the communicator. “Rocket, where are you?”
“We are still on the surface, baddies are gone.” He responded. “Where did you guys go?”
She looked over Peter, taking in his cuts and bruises. “We are at the bottom of the canyon, Peter’s hurt and his translator is broken.” She reported, Peter attempted to sit up again and she glared at him causing him to freeze.
“Shit.” Rocket sighed.
“Yeah.” Gamora commented, her hand finding Peter’s when his panic set in again. “I will need help getting him out of here.”
“I will send Drax down and we’ll get the ship ready.” Rocket said, Gamora put the communicator down and her attention went back to him. He laid there obediently, waiting for her to direct him, his panic momentarily forgotten at the sad look on her face.
“What are we going do Peter?” She asked him softly, reaching out with her other hand to brush the hair that rested on his forehead. He had a cut that rested on his temple, probably where his mask hit the mountain face.
Peter spoke, his tone sounded reassuring even though she didn’t understand what he was saying. She gave him a weak smile before she helped him sit up right, his vision began to swirl around him. “Easy.” Gamora soothed, she could hear Drax yell down to her and Peter flinched at the sound of his voice and looked up as he got closer.
Drax landed gracefully next to them. “He is conscious, that is a good thing.” Drax commented.
Peter flinched again, his language sounded like a trash disposal. Drax looked him over, slightly confused at his reaction. Gamora brushed her fingers through his hair to sooth him, he opened his eyes and stared deeply into hers. “His translator implant was damaged when he fell, we need to get him to a hospital.”
Drax nodded and carefully scooped him up in his arms causing Peter to whimper in pain and called out, Gamora didn’t have to know what he was saying for it to sound dirty. Gamora shared a look with Drax before they both leapt into the air towards the top of the canyon.
Rocket, true to his word had the ship parked a meter away. The hostiles were taken care of, so the gangway stood open waiting for them. Drax ran through the thick sand and up into the ship with Gamora right behind. “Take him to his room, I’ll go grab the medical supplies.”
He nodded and Peter’s heart sank as he watched Gamora go in the opposite direction, deep down he knew she was getting supplies but her language was calming. Drax sat him gently on the bed and removed his broken aerorig. For a man so big, he was surprisingly gentle. “Come on friend Quill, you need to take off your jacket.” He said as he moved to remove Peter’s beloved ravagers jacket, Peter protested in a foreign language and swatted his hand away looking offended. A big smile followed by a great laugh came from his mouth. “Your language sounds so stupid!”
Peter looked offended, even though he didn’t understand but he did know that Drax was laughing at him. He opened his mouth to protest when Gamora’s voice filled the room. “Drax.” It sounded exasperated and annoyed, he held out his hands in surrender. “Don’t harass him!” She brought with her some supplies.
He disappeared down the hall, his laughter carried with him. Gamora rolled her eyes and turned her attention to him. “We need to get you cleaned up and just how much damage you’ve done.” Her voice was soft as she moved to push off his jacket. He groaned and complained, but complied.
She kneeled down to pull off his boots, setting them beside his bed. Standing back up, she gave him a cursory glance, he didn’t seem to be bleeding uncontrollably anywhere, the cut on his face had stopped bleeding and crusted over. Gamora pointed to his shirt and he looked at her confused. She sighed heavily and stepped into his space-his attention on her as if she was the only being in the universe, pulling his shirt up and over his head with gentle care.
Gamora gasped, breaking the moment when she saw the bruises that littered his strong chest and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
Footsteps from the hallway made her turn away. Rocket returned with the first aid kit, looking over the battered man. “Shit dude.” He said. “That looks bad.” Peter cocked his head, looking him over. Rocket sounded like what he imagined racoons on Terra sounded like a squeaky rodent.
Rocket held the scanner in front of him, searching for any damage. Gamora took a cloth and started to wipe away blood from his face. His eyes closed at her touch, she was gentle. “He’s got a quite few bruised ribs, but nothing seems broken.” Rocket reported and Peter huffed a chuckle, Rocket’s voice sounded so. . . adorable for just how much of a hard ass he was. “What’s so funny?”
“His translator is broken, he doesn’t understand what you are saying.” Gamora answered for him. “I think it has something to do with your native language, he hears it in the raw form.”
She tilted his head towards her, resting it against her stomach so that Rocket could see the bruising under his skin right behind his left ear. Rocket poked at it carefully causing Peter to curse loudly. “That’s what he sounds like?” He said, stifling a laugh.
“Focus!” She snapped and Rocket made a face at her as he scanned the area of his neck. “Do you think you can fix it?”
Rocket gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to try with it being implanted and all.” He commented somberly. His gaze went over their leader, who was practically turning to goo at her touch.
Gamora gave a defeated sigh. “How far are we from Xandar?” She asked, she pushed Peter back slightly and her hand cupped his cheek.
Rocket put down the scanner. “6 jumps or so, we can be there by morning.” He shrugged. “I’ll set a course now and let them know we are coming.”
“Thank you.” She whispered, running her thumb over his cheekbone. His eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of her fingers on his skin.
Rocket turned to leave. “Will you be okay?” He asked. “Do you want me to send Mantis in to help you?”
Gamora shook her head. “I don’t want to overwhelm him.” She answered. “I’m going to get him cleaned up and some rest. He’s going to need some pain medication.”
The racoon nodded and disappeared from the room, pulling the door behind him. Gamora motioned for him to stay put while she disappeared into his bathroom, turning on the shower to warm it up for him.
She returned to the room, to see him sitting with his head in his hands and Gamora assumed that it was because his head was starting to hurt. She crossed the room and he looked up weakly. “Come on, you need a shower.” She said softly and pulled him to his feet.
He was obedient to her request, walking into the shower. He turned around expectantly and raised his eyebrows at her. Gamora shook her head, even though they didn’t share a language. She scoffed and shook her head, resting her hands on his hips until he turned sheepish mumbling under his breath and she assumed it was dirty.
Gamora turned on her heels back into the room and grabbed a clean set of clothes for him. She returned to the bathroom and she could see his shape behind the frosted glass under the hot water. She set the clothes on the sink, moving the towel that was on the hook to where he could reach it. She busied herself by turning down the bed and tossing his dirty clothes in the shoot, he had gotten a lot cleaner since they had met.
He returned after his shower looking more human, most of his bruises hidden under his favorite long sleeved sleep shirt. He looked unsure, of what she wasn’t sure of as she crossed the room to stand in front of him. “Are you hungry?” She asked, motioning to her mouth. He shrugged and mumbled something,his cheeks flushing. “Come on.”
Taking his hand, she led him from the room and to the ship’s galley and motioned for him to sit at the table as she began to dig through the fridge to make him something.
Footsteps alerted him that they weren’t alone anymore, Mantis tiptoed around to sit across from Peter. “Rocket said that his translator broke.” She stated, Gamora shut the fridge and set the ingredients on the counter.
“We will be in Xandar by morning and it will be fixed.” She answered.
“He feels frustrated.” Mantis said almost sadly and Gamora shot him a confused look. Peter Quill was smart and put two and two together, shaking his head at Mantis as if she misunderstood him, the look on his face was pleading as he place a warm hand on her arm. “He feels grateful and love.”
Gamora flushed, ducking to place the carton back in the fridge as Peter gave a frustrated sigh even though he didn’t understand Mantis’ squeaky language, he knew it wasn’t good. Gamora smiled to herself as she turned back, bringing his favorite cereal to him. He grabbed her wrist gently and voiced a thanks to her as he took a happy bite.
She smiled and he scooted over to allow her to sit next to him. “His language sounds so funny.” Mantis said with a giggle. “I came to see if he needed my help, but he is content. He does not need his language to communicate with you.”
Gamora agreed as she watched him eat contently. He had always been so expressive and easy to read, she had always predicted it to be his downfall. His ‘poker face’ was going to fail him one day, even though he vehemently denied it.
He finished eating and she got up to wash his dish, he stopped her and shook his head. He pointed to the couch and she obeyed, Mantis disappeared-Gamora wasn’t paying attention to her as she watched him quickly wash his dish with his long sleeves rolled up on his forearm. She had to bite her lip, to keep the fluttering deep in her belly at bay-she loved these moments that they were alone, even though they were unable to communicate, she would tuck it deep inside to remember this on another day.
She placed her heels on the table, tenting her knees and making herself comfortable on the couch. Soon he joined her, she motioned for him to lay down with his head in her lap and his arm wrapped around her knees. He sighed heavily content as she ran her fingers through his hair comforting him.
Soon tiny footsteps ran towards them. “I AM GROOT!” Came the voice, he soon appeared with Peter’s Zune in his hands and a big grin on his face.
Peter spoke softly as he let go of Gamora’s legs to pick him up and set him on her knee. He greeted him as if it were a normal conversation, Groot didn’t even seem to realize that he was talking in a different language. “I am Groot.” He said as he handed Peter an earbud.
Peter set it in his ear and Groot took the other, sitting down on Gamora’s knee, Peter hit a button and soft music filled the room. His face lit up, finally something he could understand. The music was originally in his own language. Groot looked at Gamora proudly. “That was a good idea Groot.” She praised him.
He relaxed against her, flipping through songs at random until he stopped on his favorite song that Gamora recognized the beat but not the name of the song. She ran her fingers through his drying curls and soon, it was enough to put him to sleep.
//
A loud crash followed by a string of what he assumed to be cursing woke him up. Rocket’s squeaky voice carried down the hall closer to them. Gamora jumped at the sound of the crash, immediately ready to protect the two were dozing against her. Her voice came out in whispers at the Racoon, who for the briefest moment looked at her sheepishly. Groot had jumped off her knee to follow Rocket with an I AM GROOT as a goodnight. On the bright side, I am Groot was the same no matter what language.
Peter rolled on his back to look at Gamora. She spoke softly, smoothing the curls in his hair and he wished for nothing more to be able to understand her.
She asked him a question and pointed at the door, she was asking him if he was ready to go to bed. “You have no idea.” Peter said, sitting up and getting to his feet, yawning. His muscles were starting to ache and as much as he loved laying with Gamora on the couch, it hurt after awhile.
He took a step and his vision swirled, Gamora’s hands went to brace him as she spoke, probably telling him to be careful or better yet telling him that he had a concussion. He took a step and fought a wave of nausea, but continued the trek to his room and concluded that he definitely had a concussion.
Gamora followed him into his room and waited for him to climb into the bed. He settled on his back as she sat next to him and spoke softly, running her fingers up and down his covered arm. “Please stay.” He begged weakly and she responded in kind. His heart dropped as she got up and disappeared out the door.
Peter didn’t need Mantis to tell him that he was suddenly filled with sadness. He was sure that she would spend the night with him, she usually did (Or he with her) if one of them were feeling particularly sad. Did he overstep his boundaries by falling asleep on her lap while they were in a public space? This unspoken thing was getting more and more complicated by the moment, but a little bit of affection from Gamora was better than nothing. “Fuck.” He wheezed out. “Ouch.”
They were the best at silently communicating, where did he fuck it up?
The door opened, bringing him from his thoughts and his heart practically shattered when Drax came in. His language was rough and in all honesty hurt his ears. He spoke as if nothing was wrong and crossed the room, holding his hand out with something in it. Drax was hard to read, but Peter trusted him enough to hold out his hand for him to drop two white pills into it.
Oh. He preferred the pills to Mantis knocking him out for the night.
Drax handed him a water pouch and Peter took the pills easily. Drax spoke, his voice soft for him. “Thanks Drax!” He said as he disappeared through the door and shutting off his lights.
Now he planned on brooding until morning.
He should get up and look for Gamora, curling up next to her, but if she left him in his room-she must have wanted to be alone. She had spent the last few hours at his side and taking care of him, she needed her space.
Peter sighed dramatically.
Until he heard the door open and close quickly, it took an unusually long time for him to make out Gamora’s figure in the low lights. “You’re back!” He said happily and she crawled into bed with him. Her skin was damp from being in the shower and she wore her normal sleep clothes.
She spoke softly and rolled onto to watch him.
He reciprocated, slowly. “I’m so happy right now.” He whispered softly. He was going to spill his secrets. “I wish you could understand what I am saying right now, but if I say it now it will make me brave enough to say it again. I love you so much.” His hand went to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing over her soft skin.
The look on her face grew softer as he bared his soul to her in a language she couldn’t understand. His forehead rested against hers, she whispered something-probably his name. He couldn’t wait any longer, he nearly died without kissing her.
It was everything he had ever imagined it to be, soft and warm, minty from brushing her teeth. It was slow, just skin against skin, until he felt brave enough to run his tongue across her lips and she granted him access, his tongue greeting hers for the first time.
His fingers ran across the scars on her cheeks as he deepened the kiss. He didn’t need language to pour out his feelings to her, his earlier anxiety about her feelings for him washed away as she met him kiss for kiss.
She pulled away from him slowly, clearly by the look in her eyes she wanted more but she placed a hand on his chest to stop him. Her voice was soft, telling him to sleep and she carefully tucked herself against him.
Sleep came quickly.
Until Gamora woke him up two hours later, she tried to explain the reason but he didn’t understand.
She ran her hand through his hair to sooth him back to sleep.
It seemed like every time he fell asleep, she woke him up and it was after the third time it was because of his head injury. He buried his face into the curve of her neck, his hand resting against her stomach, sighing before falling asleep against her.
The last time he woke up, Gamora was talking softly to the squeaking that he recognized as Rocket. They must be close to Xandar, he sat up slowly and gave the racoon a sleepy wave gaining a tossed his head back in laughter as Gamora threw him a glare.
The door shut behind Rocket and Peter threw his arm around her again, pulling her close to him. She smiled and allowed herself a moment to cuddle with him and he knew that it was because he was still injured.
It didn’t last long, she pushed herself up and motioned for him to get out of bed. Her voice carrying through the room was music to his ears and he assumed that she expected him to get ready. He did as he was asked and she left the room, leaving him to his thoughts. Despite not being able to communicate, they were communicating better than they ever had.
The entire morning was spent on Cloud Nine, he ate breakfast with Groot sitting next to him. He was sure Drax, Mantis and Rocket was making fun of him, judging by the raucous laughter that surrounded him. Even a smile crack Gamora’s face, it was small but he didn’t miss it. His heart was full of happiness as he watched his family interact with each other with new eyes.
/
The hospital on Xandar was not a place he ever wanted to end up at.
On the bright side, nobody was dying (knock on wood) and they were going to fix his translator. Both Gamora and Peter were dropped off at the door while the others went to pick up supplies and restocked the ship.
Being a two timing galaxy savers gave them the express pass through the waiting room, the nurse-a pretty brunette with short hair, who Peter would have normally flirted with, did his pre-examination but his attention was on Gamora, who filled out the required forms.
Even though he couldn’t understand what the nurse was saying, he could tell that she was trying to flirt with him. She leaned over to give him a view down her top as she shone a light in his eyes and he inwardly groaned. “Please stop!” He said, but she only gave a giggle.
Now he was partly blind and couldn’t understand. Gamora was by his side, sliding her hand into his. She spoke with the nurse who nodded, turning her attention to the tablet to fill in the blanks regarding his condition.
Soon the doctor joined them, a dark skinned man with a stethoscope around his neck. He started talking to them, it was warm and welcoming like someone on the radio. Gamora explained again and the doctor’s hand went to Peter’s neck, turning his head to look. It hurt as he prodded it.
He sounded positive in his tone and Gamora squeezed his hand reassuringly. Nodding her permission for him to treat Peter. The doctor turned behind him and picked up a scary looking syringe.
Peter’s eyes widened. “What the fuck!?” He cried as Gamora moved to stand in front of him, pulling his head to rest against her. She shushed him as he felt the needle insert into his neck. His eyes closed as it pinched for a minute, his grip on her waist tightened and then relief.
He focused on Gamora’s heart rate, thumping loudly against him.
Her fingers dug through his hair and it was soothing. God he loved this woman.
It was over before he knew it, the doctor stood up and walked around them. Peter didn’t move, there was nobody talking so he wasn’t sure if it was working yet. Beeping from a datapad and then it click. “Peter?”
His body tensed as he pulled away to look at her and a huge weight off his shoulders. “Gamora!” He sighed before pulling her into his arms. “I can understand you!”
“I’m glad.” She said, squeezing him tightly. “It makes telling you what to do a lot easier.”
He laughed happily and his hands went to her cheeks. “I love you so much.” He admitted before kissing her quickly, she was surprised. He pulled back and looked excitedly at the doctor. “Thank you doctor!”
“You’re very welcome!” The doctor said and reached over to shake his hand, Peter shook it enthusiastically with his other arm still wrapped around Gamora’s waist. “It’s more advanced than your other one, you will be able to communicate with more known species, but let us treat the rest of these bruises.”
///
They were checked out of the hospital an hour later and decided to walk back to the ship, taking their time to enjoy the busy streets of Xandar. “It’s soooooo nice to be able to understand things again!” He said happily, his fingers wove tightly with her. “Everybody’s native tongue is so weird.” She smiled happily at him. “Your language though, is sweet and calming.”
“Yours was. . . fragmented?” She commented.
Peter shrugged. “I was eight when I left Terra, it’s been awhile since I’ve spoken it.” He answered. “I don’t think I was super fluent when I left either.”
She stopped and he followed suit, his hand going to her waist. “I’m glad you are okay, when you fell. . .” She admitted and he stepped closer. “I just don’t know what I’d do if you . . .”
He brushed her hair back behind her ears. “I’m okay, thanks to you.” He said, leaning down to capture her lips with his in a tender kiss.
“I love you, Peter.” She admitted in between kisses. It was the only words he had ever wanted to hear. He wanted to hear it again and again, and if it was the last thing he ever communicated-he’d die a happy man.
Peter’s face broke into the biggest grin she had ever seen as he kissed her happily.
Before he could deepen it, there were a pair of cat calls from in front of them, followed by a “OI, GET A FRIGGIN ROOM!” From Rocket, his voice his normal gruffness that Peter had come to know.
“They have their own rooms, why would they need another?” Drax asked Rocket, gaining an eye roll.
Peter sent them a rude gesture with his hand, his grip still tight around Gamora as he still kissed her wildly. He didn’t care that they were watching them, he was going to enjoy this moment with his girl.
“EWW GUYS! NOT IN FRONT OF GROOT!”
Giggles from Mantis. “They’re so happy!” She squeed.
“I am Groot.”